Slaying Is Hell : Essays on Trauma and Memory in the Whedonverse

The films, television shows, and graphic novel series that comprise the Whedonverse continually show that there is a high price to be paid for love, rebellion, heroism, anger, death, betrayal, friendship, and saving the world. This collection of essays reveals the ways in which the Whedonverse treats the trauma of ordinary life with similar gravitas as trauma created by the supernatural, illustrating how memories are lost, transformed, utilized, celebrated, revered, questioned, feared, and rebuffed within the storyworlds created by Joss Whedon and his collaborators.

Through a variety of approaches and examinations, the essays in this book seek to understand how the themes of trauma, memory, and identity enrich one another in the Whedonverse and beyond. As the authors present different arguments and focus on various texts, the essays work to build a mosaic of the trauma found in beloved works like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Dollhouse, and more. The book concludes with a meta-analysis that explores the allegations of various traumas made against Joss Whedon himself.

Alyson R. Buckman is a professor in and current chair of the humanities and religious studies department at California State University, Sacramento. She has published on Alice Walker, Octavia Butler, The Gilmore Girls, Orphan Black, and the Whedonverse.

Juliette C. Kitchens is an associate professor and the director of graduate studies in the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Her published research includes identity studies, technology, and transmedia.

Katherine A. Troyer is the director of The Collaborative for Learning and Teaching at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. In addition, she teaches, writes, and podcasts (as a co-host of Such a Nightmare) about all things horror.