The Marvel Studios Phenomenon: Inside a Transmedia Universe

Marvel Studios has provided some of the biggest worldwide cinematic hits of the last eight years, fromIron Man(2008) to the record-breakingThe Avengers(2012), and beyond. Having announced plans to extend its production of connected texts in cinema, network and online television until at least 2028, the new aesthetic patterns brought about by Marvel's 'shared' media universe demand analysis and understanding.The Marvel Studios Phenomenonevaluates the studio's identity, as well as its status within the structures of parent Disney. In a new set of readings of key texts such asCaptain America: The Winter Soldier,Guardians of the GalaxyandAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the thematics of superhero fiction and the role of fandom are considered. The authors identify milestones from Marvel's complex and controversial business history, allowing us to appraise its industrial status: from a comic publisher keen to exploit its intellectual property, to an independent producer, to successful subsidiary of a vast entertainment empire.

Format: Paperback | Pages: 288 | Publication Date: 2017-12-28