*CFP* “UMBRELLA ACADEMY: IDENTITY, FAMILY, VIOLENCE”, BOOK CHAPTER

Coming of age and identity quests are often intertwined in stories, be it in novels, comics, or films. However, not every identity quest happens to teenagers. Adults, too, are on a constant search for who they are and/ or why they are. These questions are tackled and examined in the 2019 Netflix TV show Umbrella Academy as well as in the eponymous comic books series from 2008/2009. The comic series consist of 3 volumes, “Apocalypse Suite,” “Dallas,” and “Hotel Oblivion.”

Umbrella Academy tells the story of a group of former teenage superheroes come back together after their father’s death. Having grown up, they still have their superpowers but they have grown apart over the course of the past 13 years and they are far from being heroes. Trying to define what it means to be a hero, what it means to have powers, what it means to be human, and what it means to be a family, they need to start over. They need to overcome their own individual struggles by means of their family to be a family once again.

This anthology aims at exploring the different questions on identity, individualism, and family raised by the show, but also including the role of violence within the show. The series depicts violence that is directed at the self and at others but it also discusses different forms of violence within the family.

Chapter proposals for this edited volume may address but are not limited to topics such as

• The (foreign) Other
• The other within the self
• Heroes vs villains
• Humans, superhumans, robots
• Coming of age
• Scientific experiments and the limits/risks thereof
• Artificial intelligence
• Domestic violence
• (mis)communication within the family
• Nature and violence
• Spaces and violence
• Gendered perspectives and voices
• A comparison between the comics and the show (with a clear thematic focus)

The chapters may focus on individual characters within the show and the comics, individual episodes or volumes, or the overarching narratives and its themes. Since only the first season is available, the focus for an analysis of the show will lie on these 10 episodes. Of course, the entire comic book series can be considered. This edited volume shall serve as an initial incentive academic discussion of the comics and the TV show to encourage further academic research into Umbrella Academy and establish it as a valid subject of academic discourse in the field of popular culture, literature, and film studies.

Please send a proposal of 500 words including a short bio (250 words) to lisann.anders@es.uzh.ch. Final articles should be between 5000 and 8000 words.


Estimated time frame:

Abstract deadline: July 15, 2019

Acceptance/rejection:  July 31, 2019

Chapter submission: November 15, 2020