Komiksy superbohaterskie wydawnictw Marvel i DC w dyskursie naukowym i krytycznym okresu PRL

In the United States, superhero comic books achieved widespread popularity in the 1930s, and during the next decades of the 20th century they grew to become one of the most important elements of American culture. Nowadays, characters like Captain America, Superman, Batman, or Spider-Man are global household names know not only from comic books but also blockbuster movies, video games, and TV or streaming series. In contrast, the availability of superhero comic books in postwar Poland was scarce. Recognised as an element of the so-called ‘American imperialism,’ the majority of cultural production from the United States was denied print in the country, and, in addition to that, comic books were widely criticised by the majority of the press and other media outlets. The medium was clearly not popular among Polish researchers as a subject of cultural or literary studies. There are, however individual examples where Polish authors tried to analyse and remark on the phenomenon of superhero comic books, or at least familiarise readers with the products of American popular culture. The main objective of this article is to reconstruct the traces of reception of comic books by Marvel and DC Comics found in Polish books and journals published between 1945 and 1989. The author attempts to portray the attitude of Polish authors towards comic books, their knowledge about the field, and assess the possible impact of their writings on readers. Another key goal is to answer the question of whether the examined sources could have had any significance for the broader reception of comic books in Poland.