The editor of The Ages of the Flash is seeking abstracts for essays that could be included in the upcoming collection. The essays should examine the relationships between stories featuring the Flash or comic book characters closely related to the Flash ks and the social era when those comic books were published. Analysis may demonstrate how the stories found in Flash comic books and the creators who produced the comics embrace, reflect, or critique aspects of their contemporary culture. This will be a companion volume to existing volumes in the series that have already focused on Superman, Wonder Woman, the X-Men, the Avengers, Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk, and the Justice League.

Potential chapters include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Racing to Save America’s Atomic Advantage: Jay Garrick’s First Adventures
• Comedy Comics and the Golden Age: Contextualizing Winky, Blinky, and Noddy
• Showcase #4 and the Birth of the Silver Age
• Nostalgia and the Golden Age/Silver Age Crossover
• Lazy Kids in Gorilla City: Generational Angst as Baby Boomers Age
• The Death of Iris Allen and the Flash’s Loss of Innocence
• The Trial of Barry Allan and the End of the Silver Age
• Cultural Turning Points and Why Barry Allan Had to Die in Crisis on Infinite Earths
• “Born to Run” and Reimagining the Past
• Establishing a New Identity in the 1990s
• Emergency Stop and the Humbling of a Superhero
• Geoff Johns and Re-Defining Villainy in the 21st Century
• Flashpoint and the New Normal

Essays should focus on stories from Flash comic books or comic book stories that heavily feature the Flash or characters closely associated with the Flash. Issues of the Justice League or DC Comics mini-series such as Crisis on Infinite Earths or Flashpoint would be acceptable topics for analysis. Similarly, essays focusing on characters such as Iris Allen, Kid Flash, or Jesse Quick would all be welcome in this collection. Essays should solely focus on comic book adventures, not media adaptations of the characters. Furthermore, essays should look at a single period of comic book history, rather than drawing comparisons between different publication eras. For example, an essay that analyzed Flash comics from the 1940s and contextualized them with what was happening in American society would be more likely to be accepted than an essay that contrasted Jay Garrick comic books from the 1940s with Wally West comic books from the 1990s. The completed essays should be approximately 15-20 double-spaced pages in MLA format.

Publisher: McFarland & Company

Abstracts (100-500 words) and CVs should be submitted by June 15, 2017. Please submit via email to Joseph Darowski, agesofsuperheroes@gmail.com.