© 2024 Kansas City Public Radio
NPR in Kansas City
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Up To Date

Where Comics And Reality Intersect

Ammon Beckstrom / Erjk Prunczyk
/
Flickr-CC

  He flies through the air and leaps tall buildings in a single bound. Of course, we're talking about Superman. But there’s more reality in comic book superhero tales than you might think.

On Tuesday's Up to Date, we talk about how the comics have reflected contemporary life and historical events. Take a look at World War II-era comics, and you’ll see a caped crusader shilling for the war effort.

Skip ahead through the decades, and the attitudes at the Daily Planet are ripped from the real-life headlines of the day. We look from Metropolis to Gotham City and beyond to understand how reality shaped the fiction.

Guests:

  • Larry Tye, author of Superman: The High-Flying History of America's Most Enduring Hero
  • Michael Uslan, executive producer of Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever, Batman & Robin, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight

HEAR MORE: Larry Tye speaks at 12:45 p.m. March 25 at the Jewish Community Center and at 6:30 p.m. March 25 at the Central Branch of the Kansas City Public Library. 

Tags
Up To Date superheroescomics
Matthew Long-Middleton has been a talk-show producer, community producer, Media Training Manager and now the Community Engagement Manager at KCUR. You can reach him at Matthew@kcur.org, or on Twitter @MLMIndustries.