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Claudia Franziska Brühwiler
Title
Prof. Dr.
Last Name
Brühwiler
First name
Claudia Franziska
Email
claudiafranziska.bruehwiler@unisg.ch
Phone
+41712242755
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Publication"A Is A": Spider-Man, Ayn Rand, and What Man Ought to BeIn 1979, writer Tom DeFalco was paired with artist and cocreator of Spider-Man, Steve Ditko, to work on an issue of Machine Man, one of the many superheroes populating the universe of Marvel Comics. Instead of the usual introduction and business chatter, Ditko challenged DeFalco during a first conversation: "Are you Tom? What gives you the right to write about heroes?" (Tucker 2012). By the time of this exchange, Ditko had not only (co-) created and continued numerous superhero stories, ranging from Captain Atom to Dr. Strange or the Hulk, but he had also dedicated a lot of thought to the question as to what composed true heroism. In the 1960s, he had already found answers in a place not uncommon for that time, namely, in the novels of a Russian immigrant whose work should serve, in her own words, as "the projection of an ideal man" (Rand 1943, ix; 1975, 162; 2005, 230): Ayn Rand (1905-1982).Type: journal articleJournal: PS: Political Science & PoliticsVolume: 47Issue: 1
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PublicationBatman Shrugged: Ayn Rand's Influence on Comic SuperheroesIn 2009, The Economist noted that "Atlas felt a sense of déjà vu": in the wake of the economic crisis and the market interventions by the US government, the novels by Ayn Rand (1905-1982) experienced an actual renaissance and would keep making news thanks to the Tea Party movement as well as due to high-profile US politicians like Paul Ryan, who had to explain the extent of Rand's influence on them. Once again, Americans discussed the appeal of novels like The Fountainhead (1943) and Atlas Shrugged (1957), and how a Russian immigrant could become "the ultimate gateway drug to life on the right," as historian Jennifer Burns put it. While most people are aware of Rand's political impact, her legacy in American culture-low and high brow-is less frequently commented on, even though it is the one arena in which she has been a constant source of inspiration. From Mary Gaitskill's novel Two Girls, Fat and Thin to the "Ayn Rand School for Tots" featured in The Simpsons, Rand's work and persona have been satirized, ridiculed, celebrated, and perpetuated in different forms and contexts. Her presence is, however, most markedly felt in one particular form of "low brow art," namely in the superhero comic book genre, as I discuss in a recent article.