Nostalgia Reader > Recent Status Updates

Skipped over the introductory material as I wanted to get to the good stuff. It's quite interesting so far, although I do wish there was a bit more background to some of the creatures? The descriptions are very brief. There's good summarizing of how the ecosystems have evolved but still relatively stayed the same (at leas the 2 I've read so far), as well as the relationship between predator & prey.

During the 20s, when eugenics was widespread, superpowered characters became much less popular (some diminishing their powers). They suggested there was still a more superior race that would take over & considering them heroes didn't jive. The Depression changed worries though and superheroes became hugely popular as escapist lit for people in the 30s.

Original superpowers were given to outcasts-- villains, mosters, artificial beings.

Werewolves are essentially lupine doppelgängers.

Compared to costumed avengers, Supermean weren't as common in lit of the Victorian era.

"The Man of Extraordinary Capabilities" = Larry Stu, so unfortunate :/

Dupin the first open-ended series hero (perpetually in second act).

Coates's Spring-Heel'd Jack the first with a costume that gives superpower.

Continues to be fuzzy on just how influential something can be to be considered a proto-inspiration. Level of violence is also fuzzy--just how much/what "crimes" are allowable for a hero to commit?

British fiction justice was seen as in the hands of the newly formed & capable police (1829), American's was in the hands of radical individuals, since police forces weren't widespread yet (1880s). (of course, leading to the idea that the KKK and discriminatory POVs in general provided the foundation for superheroes, yay America!)

Vidocq & Dupin are not superheroes, but heavily influenced the independent crime fighting/solving trait.

De Quincy's Klosterheim has The Masque, another hidden city master, who overthrows the government, something a modern superhero wouldn'y do (they uphold the status quo, even if it's corrupt).

"If more superheroes were true revolutionaries, superhero comics might look quite different."

Long Meg and Moll Cutpurse were the first modern protosuperheroines--crime fighters rather than military. They also intro'd the urban hero, but this was taken much further by "Venetian Batman" Count Rosalvo (Abällino Rugantino).

Räuberroman=robber (highwayman) novel

Geheimbundroman=secret society Gothic novel.

Amazons, Bradamante (Orlando Furioso), & Britomart (Faerie Queene) are the epic heroines. Chastity & romance over martial skills more common in 1600s.

Faerie Queene would likely have been more influential if it hadn't been so dense on style.

Talus (Faerie Queene) is the first superheroic android.

This book is awwwwe-someeee. Although the thesis is rocky-ish. On one hand, Nevens is saying if a protosuperhero doesn't have a selfless, heroic mission, they're automatically on the lower end of the superhero scale. But he's also saying that without that selfless mission, they're not heroes at all. Also, the stance on war heroes is sketchy right now, I'm looking forward to getting more clarification on that.

Butterscotch "taffy" (toffee) is made from sugar and butter, boiled, poured, & "scotched" into pieces--scotched, meaning a "shallow cut or incision". The temperature is below the caramelizing point, so the flavor is from browned butter.

Key Limes really aren't a thing--they're just Mexican limes that grew in the Keys. And after a hurricane uprooted the "Key" lime crops, Florida farmers planted Persian limes, the generic limes you find now.

Pumpkin pie was traditionally made from squash (easier to handle & more flavor), and even today, the "pumpkin" in a can is closer related to butternut squash than proper pumpkin.

The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar: 4.5 stars. O_o

The Cask of Amontillado: 5 stars. I JUST LOVE IT SO MUCH!!?!

Hop-Frog: 5 stars.

The System of Dr. Tarr & Professor Fether: 4 stars.

The Purloined Letter: 3 stars. Meh, but at least it was shorter than the other two Dupin stories. Literally skipped the whole mathematical rants because who cares.

Extra Credit Read: The Black Cat: 4 stars. WTFFFFFF, okay that was properly creepy and properly hecked up. Which means it was also really good.