I’ve always enjoyed crime literature and film, so when I started grad school, I was excited about the opportunity to take a scholarly approach to the genre. Along the way to my dissertation, I started finding parallels between Victorian crime and detective fiction and Batman comics and films. While Sherlock Holmes and Batman certainly are brilliant characters, I found the villains that flood the streets of Gothic London and Gotham City to be so enchanting and spell-binding. Mr. Hyde and Two-Face, Dracula and the Joker—all wreaking havoc on corruptible environments. As a result, I focused my dissertation on urban Gothic supervillains in Victorian London and Gotham City. I earned my Ph.D. in English Literature from St. John’s University in 2016.
During my graduate studies and since graduating, I’ve published several articles and presented papers on Victorian and Gothic literature and media, crime in comics, and detective fiction. I also write for Fanbase Press, a wonderful comic book publisher and online community of creators. I like to look for connections between the great, influential works of the nineteenth century and the popular media of today. The Gothic continues to be popular, and brilliant creators reimagine Gothic settings and villains in fresh ways that keeps the genre exciting and relevant.
I have a background teaching high school English and currently teach college-level literature and writing courses. Villains 101 allows me to provide analytical mini-lectures about some of the greatest villains of fiction and media. I teach about the exciting characters who push limits, test heroes, and break boundaries.
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Villains 101 