Villains, Monsters & Heroes
From Early British Literature to Modern Day

The archetypes of the hero, villain and monster have enjoyed a lengthy history of development. This webpage will provide resources for the study of these popular characters from their ancient beginnings to the heroes, villains and monsters of today.

Overview of Archetypes        Archetypes Chart

Book Sources

R 133.03 MAN   Man, Myth & Magic (21 vols.)
R 133.4 GUI    The Encyclopedia of Vampires, Werewolves, and Other Monsters
R 803.21 QUI     A Dictionary of Literary and Thematic Terms
R 809.933 DIC    Dictionary of Literary Themes and Motifs (2 vols.)
R 809.30876 GRE   The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy (3 vols.)
R 820.9 GOT    Gothic Literature

291.13 CAM    The Hero with a Thousand Faces
292 SWI    Greek Myths: Gods, Heroes and Monsters
398 ARC    Archetypes and Motifs in Folklore and Literature
398.2 HAZ     Hero Tales from Many Lands
398.21 NAR    Monsters
741.5 ROV    Adventure Heroes: Legendary Characters from Odysseus to James Bond
741.5 SUP     The Supervillain Book
741.5 Sup      The Superhero Book
808.8 MYT    Myths & Motifs in Literature
820.8 EVI    The Evil Image: Two Centuries of Gothic Short Fiction and Poetry

Use a Power Search in the online catalog, Web Collection Plus, to look for books on your specific archetype.  For example, a power search for comics will retrieve the following:
741.5 Bat    Batman from the 30s to the 70s
741.5 Ros    Mythology:  the DC Comics Art of Alex Ross

Databases
Bloom's Literary Reference Online from Facts on File
Cambridge Collection
Gale Virtual Reference Library from Thomson/Gale
Literature Resource Center from Thomson/Gale
Literary Reference Center from Ebsco
Oxford Reference Online from Oxford University Press
World Folklore and Folklife from Greenwood

Websites
Examples of Archetypes - this is a list of web pages of archetypes
American Film Institute - 100 Movie Heroes and Villains
International Movie Database
Super Heroes - use the Warner Bros. site to locate heroes and villains from the Superman and Batman series
DC Comics - use this site to learn about the comic book heroes and villains
Disney characters - heroes and villains
Heroic Archetype - learn about the origins of this archetype