What They Did to Princess Paragon
Encyclopedia
What They Did to Princess Paragon is a humor novel by Robert Rodi
, which tells the story of what happens when a venerable comic book
superhero
ine is retconned as a lesbian
.
. One deranged fanboy in particular, Jerome T. Kornacker, is so outraged that his favorite superheroine is being "perverted," that he takes radical steps to stop the change.
Robert Rodi
Robert Rodi is an American novelist, playwright, comic book writer, essayist, and performance artist.-Biography:...
, which tells the story of what happens when a venerable comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
ine is retconned as a lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
.
Plot summary
Gay comic book creator Brian Parrish is hired by Bang Comics to take over Princess Paragon, a superhero comic book that's been around since the 1940s, but whose sales are slumping badly by the 1990s. Parrish decides to reimagine Princess Paragon as a lesbian, a move which causes quite a bit of excitement and publicity for Bang, but also causes consternation among some of the fan baseFan (person)
A Fan, sometimes also called aficionado or supporter, is a person with a liking and enthusiasm for something, such as a band or a sports team. Fans of a particular thing or person constitute its fanbase or fandom...
. One deranged fanboy in particular, Jerome T. Kornacker, is so outraged that his favorite superheroine is being "perverted," that he takes radical steps to stop the change.
Major themes
What They Did to Princess Paragon is a tongue-in-cheek look at the comic book industry, the artists who create comics, the corporations that publish and sell them, and the fans who support and consume the books. The story is also an exploration of 1990s lesbian feminist thought.Publication history
- 1994, USA, E. P. Dutton ISBN 0525937722, Pub date 01 May 1994, hardcover
- 1995, USA, Plume ISBN 0452271630, Pub date 01 May 1995, paperback