Peter Coogan | |
|---|---|
 Coogan in 2025 | |
| Occupation | Comics scholar |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Doctorate inAmerican Studies |
| Alma mater | Michigan State University |
| Subject | Comics studies |
| Notable works | Superhero: The Secret Origin of a Genre |
Peter M. Coogan (/ˈkuːɡən/) is an Americancomics scholar. He is the co-founder and co-chair of theComics Arts Conference, which runs duringSan Diego Comic-Con andWonderCon.[1][2] Since 2009 he has taught for the American Culture Studies Program at Washington University in St. Louis<https://amcs.wustl.edu/people/peter-coogan>, and he served as the Communication Lab Coordinator at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis from 2012 to 2024<https://brownschool.washu.edu/2018/01/how-and-why-we-use-gender-neutral-pronouns/>
Peter Coogan gained adoctorate inAmerican Studies fromMichigan State University, with his dissertation “The Secret Origin of the Superhero: The Emergence of the Superhero Genre in America from Daniel Boone to Batman” (2002), which he revised for wider publication in 2006(see below).[2][3]
He coined the termWold-Newtonry in a paper titled "Wold-Newtonry: Theory and Methodology for the Literary Archeology of the Wold Newton Universe." In it, he talks aboutliterary archaeology, a term which he says was inspired (for him) byWarren Ellis's termmystery archeologists in Ellis andCassaday'sPlanetary comics. The paper isavailable online atPhilip José Farmer's Wold Newton pages, and as a chapter inWin Scott Eckert's (ed.)Myths for the Modern Age book, published byMonkeyBrain Books.[4]
Coogan co-edited (with Randall William Scott) theComic Art Studies newsletter and also set up the Comics Studies Email service to "coordinate communication about comic scholarship."[citation needed] The newsletter's motto wasComica Amica Nobicum ("Comics Are Our Friends!") and originated from theRussel B. Nye Popular Culture Collection, to "facilitate communication about the Comic Art Collection at Michigan State University, and communication about public comics collecting and scholarship in general."[5]
In 2005, Coogan presented a paper titled "The Definition of the Superhero" at the interdisciplinaryHoly Men in Tights Superheroes Conference at the School of Art History, Cinema, Classics & Archaeology (AHCCA),University of Melbourne inMelbourne, Australia.[6]
In 2012, Coogan was awarded theInkpot Award.[7]In 2017, Coogan coauthored with Professor Vanessa Fabre the report "“Use of Singular They in Academic Writing and Communications: Background and Recommendations for the Brown School,” which led the Brown School to formally accept use of singularly "they" and "themself" as gender neutral pronouns in student work and the School's communication<“Use of Singular They in Academic Writing and Communications: Background and Recommendations for the Brown School.”<https://brownschool.washu.edu/2018/01/how-and-why-we-use-gender-neutral-pronouns/>
Coogan is co-founder (with Randy Duncan), co-chair, and co-organizer of the Comics Arts Conference[8] which is held annually atSan Diego Comic-Con and at WonderCon. The purpose of the conference is to "bring together comics scholars, practitioners, critics, and historians who want to be involved in the dynamic process of evolving an aesthetic and a criticism of the comics art form."[9]
In 2006,MonkeyBrain Books published a much revised and expanded form of his dissertation asSuperhero: The Secret Origin of a Genre (MonkeyBrain Press, 2006), with a foreword by Batman-legendDennis O'Neil. The book's main purpose is to define the superhero genre, and produce a standard definition for the term itself. Coogan writes:
He draws a distinction between terms used as metaphors and terms used literally, concluding that - at least part of - the problem is a lack of scholarly definition of the superhero genre.[10]
Comics writer and criticPeter Sanderson, in his "Comics in Context" columns dealing with Coogan'sSuperhero, summarizes the contention over the term "superhero" by noting that some fictional characters not "explicitly portrayed as superhuman... nonetheless perform feats that real people would be unlikely to duplicate," citingLuke Skywalker andJack Bauer as two examples. Coogan's remit, therefore, is to clarify these issues and “provide a basis for the study of superheroes and help to make more studies possible in the future.”[11] Sanderson also notes that Coogan - and his publisher,MonkeyBrain, who also publishJess Nevins' annotations onAlan Moore'sThe League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - are not following the common trend in academic circles to largely ignore the superhero genre when comics are discussed.
Coogan seeks to define not merely the superhero as a character, but also the genre itself, thereby discussing not just individual attributes, but types of story, noting that the superhero:
Coogan's definition makes reference toDC's lawsuit againstVictor Fox, who publishedWonder Man in 1939 (not to be confused with thesimilarly namedMarvel hero), in imitation ofSuperman. The presiding Judge Learned Hand identified three defining characteristics in his ruling(see:here), which form a key part of Coogan's argument:
Peter Sanderson, notedMarvel Comics historian and author of theComics in Context blog at QuickStopEntertainment, while not agreeing completely with Coogan's points, nevertheless states that the book "should become a basic text for study of the superhero genre," recommending it to all fans of the genre.[14] (For more on Peter Sanderson's in-depth critique, commentary and analysis of Coogan's work, seeComics in Context#162[usurped],#163[usurped],#164[usurped],#165[usurped] and#166[usurped].)
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