Between 1880 and 1920, newspapers, magazines, and journals figured as the most important media for the public discussion of current events, as central nodes for the circulation of mass entertainments, and as windows into bustling art scenes. Periodicals thus presented themselves as crucial media for the negotiation and implementation of cultural modernization processes. Modernity and the Periodical Press explores this privileged role of the periodical press and focuses in particular on the often-neglected intersections between mass print culture and the practices of literary and artistic avant-gardes. In doing so, the volume examines a variety of materials that are shaped by the formats and themes of the periodical press, including Modernist little magazines, mass-marketed scrapbooks, advertising campaigns, comics, and more.

This is the first book-length study to examine the enduring popularity of block-buster films based on DC or Marvel superhero comics properties. It argues that the success of superhero movies is rooted in aesthetic practices unavailable to other types of film, and suggests that the multi-dimensional seriality of these movies, combining practices of serialisation, adaptation, and transmedia storytelling, endows them with an unmatched potential to engage audiences over time and to actively intervene in the discourses of online fandom. The book develops a critical theory of digital-era popular seriality, examining the narrative strategies of superhero movies and their evolution, from 1978's Superman to 2018's Avengers: Infinity War and beyond. It discusses textual and extra-textual practices of fan mobilisation, and considers the genre's shared political imaginary and its purchase on contemporary political debates.