SUPERHEROES at T.R.A.C.S

Saturday February 18th Noon SLT (9pm CET)

with

DJ Zise

at

T.R.A.C.S

http://slurl.com/secondlife/River%20Island/221/249/22

Superheroes

A superhero is a type of stock character, dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas — have dominated comic books and crossed over into other media. The word itself dates to at least 1916. A female superhero is sometimes called a superheroine. "Super heroes" is a trademark co-owned by DC Comics and Marvel Comics.

By strict definitions, characters require actual superhuman powers to be deemed superheroes. However, this term has also been applied to costumed crime fighters, characters without super powers, who perform the same functions as superheroes; examples of the latter being Batman and Green Arrow. Broad interpretations of the superhero genre included masked vigilantes, such as the Spirit, who fought crime with their wits, fists and guns rather than superhuman powers, while concealing their identities with only a mask, hat and coat.

Costume features

 A superhero's costume helps make him or her recognizable to both the reader, and the general public of the comic-book reality. Due to the serial nature of comics, the style and appearance of the title character often changes with the introduction of a new artist. To make the title character immediately distinguishable from other characters within the same title or from competing characters in other comic-book titles, it is practical to make the costumed character flamboyant and therefore more iconic. Costumes are often colorful to enhance the character's visual appeal and frequently incorporate the superhero's name and theme. For example, Daredevil resembles a red devil, Captain America's costume echoes the American flag, Batman resembles a large bat, and Spider-Man's costume features a spider web pattern. The convention of superheroes wearing masks, frequently without visible pupils, and skintight unitards originated with Lee Falk's comic strip hero The Phantom.