A fundamental element of the American imaginary, superhero and heroic narratives have seen a new apogee since the turn of the century. New and old heroes and heroines have populated popular culture, giving rise to a variety of texts that tackle diversity, nostalgia, and the need for imaginaries and narratives that help us deal with the struggles inherent to our current times.

This two-part dossier, co-edited by Marica Orrù and Igor Juricevic, will collect essays on (super)hero figures in twenty-first century US popular culture, with a specific focus on diversity, cross-genre texts, and transmedia representations.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Superhero franchise and transmedia representations
• Diverse heroism and heroic feats: critical examinations of hero figures from gender / ethnic / queer perspectives
• Game heroes: heroic configurations in videogames and board games
• Fiction vs reality: social justice and the construction of real-life popular heroes
• Heroic narratives and nostalgia
• Comparative studies between US and foreign superheroes (as well as US adaptations of foreign figures or vice versa)
• The material representation of superhero characters: merchandise, collectibles, toys and more
• The use of superheroes in advertising and communication
• The role of superhero narratives and figures in the construction of US national discourse
• Cross-genre feats: heroes and heroines in horror and science fiction
• Apocalyptic heroes: environmental / political / monstruous narratives
• Nonhuman heroes in human narratives
• Antihero and supervillain configurations
• Superhero saturation: analysis of the overabundance of superhero narratives, franchises, and adaptations
• Heroes and political representations: nationalism, exceptionalism, activism, and counter-narratives
• Politically correctness and superheroes: how new inclusive trends have influenced the most recent heroes-related productions

Deadline for submission: April 15, 2023 | to be published in vol 5 no 1 (November 2023)

Deadline for submission: October 15, 2023 | to be published in vol 5 no 2 (May 2024)

Submission guidelines

REDEN accepts proposals of articles (6000–7000 words approx. including references) about any aspect related to the call. For any inquiry, refer to revista.reden@uah.es. Please, upload your full article to https://erevistas.publicaciones.uah.es/ojs/index.php/reden as a single file (.doc, .docx, .odt). Keep in mind that you will have to upload an abstract and keywords as well during the submission process.

You can find author guidelines here:

https://erevistas.publicaciones.uah.es/ojs/index.php/reden/about/submissions to prepare your paper, as indicated using the latest Chicago manual of style and author-date citation system.

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