About Me

My current focus is on the evolving position of superhero and supernatural video game adaptations and associated franchises within contemporary convergence culture.

For work or queries, feel free to contact me:  carl@carl-wilson.com

I have also been an Associate Lecturer at The Sheffield College, UK; given academic conference talks in places such as New York, Oxford, and Copenhagen; served as the Film Editor for PopMatters.com; and operated a local media production company.

Forthcoming Publications

• The Routledge Companion to Superhero Studies. Co-editor with Lorna Piatti-Farnell. Routledge, 2025.

• ‘Representations of DC Comics Women in Video Games and the Video Games Industry: 12 Months of Crisis Events During the Coronavirus Pandemic’ in Super Cultures III, edited by Mikayla Laird. 2024.
• ‘Catwoman – Comic Book Character’ in Cats: A Companion, edited by Dawn Stobbart. Peter Lang, 2024.
• ‘Sex, Poison, and Control in Comics: The Evolving Representation of DC Comics’ Poison Ivy’ in Poison in Popular Culture, edited by Lorna Piatti-Farnell, 2025.

• ‘What is a Vampire?: Hunting Dracula’s Forms Across the Castlevania Video Game Series’ in Adapting Horror in Popular Culture, edited by John Darowski and Joseph Darowski. McFarland Books, 2024.
• ‘The Future of Resident Evil Video Games: Remakes, Revivals, and the RE Engine’ in Future Zombies, edited by Simon Bacon. 2024.
• ‘Death Stranding – Digital Death’ in Visions of Death in the 21st Century, edited by Simon Bacon. Peter Lang 2024.
• ‘The Half-Life Series: Aliens in Gaming’ in Aliens: A Companion, edited by Elana Gomel & Simon Bacon. Peter Lang, 2024.

Print Essays (2,500 words +)

• ‘Digital Avengers, Disassembled: Understanding Thirty Years of Changing Superhero Bodies in Marvel Licenced Video Games Across Three Distinct Phases (1982-2012)’ in The Digital Age of Superheroes: Superheroes and Data, edited by Sarah Young & and Freyja McCreery. Lexington Books, 2024.
• ‘The Narratives of Survival: Final Girls in Videogames’ in Heroic Girls as Figures of Resistance and Futurity in Popular Culture, edited by Simon Bacon. Routledge, 2024.
• “My relationship with Batman has never been what I’d call ‘stable’”: Catwoman’s Flirtations with Superheroism and Her Evolving Role as the Monstrous Feline Fatale’ in Batman’s Villains and Villainesses: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Arkham’s Souls, edited by Justin Martin & Marco Favaro. Lexington Books, 2023.
• ‘Gaming and Vampires’ in The Palgrave Handbook of the Vampire, edited by Simon Bacon, Palgrave Macmillan, 2023.
• ‘Nosferatu, Gnomeferatu, and Orlox: A Survey of Count Orlok’s Vampire Clan in Video Games’ in Nosferatu in the 21st Century, edited by Simon Bacon. Liverpool University Press, 2023.
• ‘Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis, and Joe Prado’s ‘Aquaman Volume 1: The Trench’ (2011-2012) – Aquatic Superheroes’ in The Deep: A Companion, edited by Simon Bacon. Peter Lang, 2023.
• ‘Of Selina Kyle and Harley Quinn: Branding and Controlling Women in Batman Video Games’ in The DC Comics Universe: Critical Essays, edited by Doug Brode. McFarland Books, 2022.
• ‘BioShock (2007): Toxicity and Contagion’ in Toxic Cultures: A Companion, edited by Simon Bacon. Peter Lang, 2022.
• ‘Frictions, Factions, and Fatalities: Adapting DC Comic Characters into Video Games’ in Parallel Universes: Remaking Superheroes in Film and Popular Media, edited by Lorna Piatti-Farnell. Lexington/Rowman & Littlefield, 2021.
• ‘Branded a Tyrant: Rescuing Superman Video Games with the ‘Injustice’ Series’ in Adapting Superman : Essays on the Man of Steel in a Transmedia Context, edited by John Darowski. McFarland Books, 2021.
• ‘We’ll always have Iceland, Indy’: Indiana Jones and His Adventures in Video Games. Excavating Indiana Jones: Essays on the Films and Franchise, edited by Randy Laist. Published by McFarland Books, 2020.
• Noah Baumbach: Presenting Characters that Explore Self-Worth to Become ‘Kind of an Asshole’. Directory of World Cinema: American Independent 3, edited by John Berra. Published by Intellect Books, 2016.
• Spike Jonze: Examining the Collective Work Behind the Indie Brand Name. Directory of World Cinema: American Independent 3, edited by John Berra. Published by Intellect Books, 2016.
• Welcome to Hollywood North, Canada: A World of Stand-Ins, Tax-Breaks, Studio Expansion, and Cultural Erasure/Reinscription. Mapping Cinematic Norths: International Interpretations in Film and Television, edited by Julia Dobson and Jonathan Rayner. Published by Peter Lang, 2016.
• Who Teaches the Daleks?: ‘Doctor Who’ and Fulfilling the BBC’s Remit for Educational Programming. New Worlds, Terrifying Monsters, Impossible Things: Exploring the Contents and Contexts of ‘Doctor Who’, edited by Erin Giannini. Published by PopMatters, 2016.
• ‘Though This Be Madness, Yet There Is Method In’t’: Speculating on [Joss Whedon] Adaptations of Shakespeare. After the Avengers: From Joss Whedon’s Hottest, Newest Franchises to the Future of the Whedonverse, edited by Valerie Frankel. Published by PopMatters, 2015.
• A Grand Tour of Pemberley. Fan Phenomena: Jane Austen, edited by Gabrielle Malcolm. Published by Intellect Books, 2015.
• “I let you be a part of my movie”: Christopher Molitsanti and the Reflexive Development of the Gangster Genre in ‘The Sopranos’. The Essential Sopranos Reader, edited by David Lavery, Douglas L. Howard, and Paul Levinson, published by The University Press of Kentucky, 2011 [online].

Online Essays (2,500 words +)

• Back to Earth for Ripley, Newt, and Hicks in the Alternate ‘Aliens’ Trilogy: ‘Outbreak,’ ‘Nightmare Asylum,’ and ‘Earth War’ and the Study of Humanity. Published by Fanbase Press, 2019.
• ‘The Ghost in the Shell’ and the Anxiety of the Machines. Published by Fanbase Press, 2018.
• ‘Serenity: Leaves on the Wind’ and Developing the ‘Firefly’ Family. Published by Fanbase Press, 2018.
• Playing with Harley – A Guide to Harley Quinn’s Character in Video Games (Part 2). Published by Fanbase Press, 2017.
• Playing with Harley – A Guide to Harley Quinn’s Character in Video Games (Part 1). Published by Fanbase Press, 2017.
• The Society of the ‘Fight Club’ is the Society of the Spectacle. Published by PopMatters, 2017.
• Navigating the Hollywood Monsters of the ‘Resident Evil’ Videogame Franchise. Published by PopMatters, 2017.
• ‘The Sopranos’: Mythologizing the Gangster Genre. Published by PopMatters, 2017.
• Future Technology in the ‘Star Trek’ Reboots: Complex Future(s). Published by PopMatters, 2016.
• Future Technology in the ‘Star Trek’ Reboots: Tethered and Performative. Published by PopMatters, 2016.
• ‘I Ain’t Afraid of No YouTube’: When Hollywood Trailers Become Unhitched From Their Films. Published by PopMatters, 2016.
• Hardcore POV: ‘Hardcore Henry’, the POV Shot, and ‘Let’s Watch’ Cinema. Published by PopMatters, 2016.
• The Turner Prize: A Brief Introduction to Film and Video (and Disappointment in 2016). Published by PopMatters, 2016.
• Surviving the Moral Narrative of ‘Taxi Driver’ 40 Years On. Published by PopMatters, 2016.
• Exploring the Morality of Romance within ‘Brief Encounter’, 70 Years On. Published by PopMatters, 2015.
• Rooting for Harry Lime: ‘The Third Man’ As Morally Ambiguous Heterotopia. Published by PopMatters, 2015.
• ‘Citizen Kane’ Is a Labyrinth Without a Centre. Published by PopMatters, 2013.
• Hitchcock’s Final Steps on the Path to Destruction. Published by PopMatters, 2010.

Reference (Print)

• ‘Video Games: Fantasy London’ in London’s East End: A Short Encyclopedia, edited by Kevin A. Morrison. McFarland Books, 2023.
• ‘Video Games: Modern London’ in London’s East End: A Short Encyclopedia, edited by Kevin A. Morrison. McFarland Books, 2023.
• ‘Half-Life 2’. Aliens in Popular Culture, edited by Michael M. Levy and Farah Mendlesohn. Published by Greenwood, 2019.
• ‘Firefly’/’Serenity’. Aliens in Popular Culture, edited by Michael M. Levy and Farah Mendlesohn. Published by Greenwood, 2019.
• ‘BioShock’. 100 Greatest Video Game Franchises, edited by Robert Mejia, Jaime Banks, and Aubrie Adams. Published by Rowman & Littlefield, 2017.
• Leni Riefenstahl (1902–2003). Women Screenwriters: An International Guide, edited by Jill Nelmes and Jule Selbo. Published by Palgrave Macmillan, 2015.
• Anna Melikyan (b. 1976) and the New Post-Soviet Person. Women Screenwriters: An International Guide, edited by Jill Nelmes and Jule Selbo. Published by Palgrave Macmillan, 2015.
• Hollywood Genres: Thrillers. Directory of World Cinema: American Hollywood 2, edited by Lincoln Geraghty. Published by Intellect Books, 2015.
• The Dream Factory. Directory of World Cinema: American Independent 2, edited by John Berra. Published by Intellect Books, 2013.
• Directors: Charlie Kaufman. Directory of World Cinema: American Independent 1, edited by John Berra. Published by Intellect Books, 2010.

• 4 entries in Directory of World Cinema: American Hollywood 2, edited by Lincoln Geraghty. Published by Intellect Books, 2015.
• 2 entries in Directory of World Cinema: American Hollywood 1, edited by Lincoln Geraghty. Published by Intellect Books, 2011.
• 5 entries in Directory of World Cinema: American Independent 2, edited by John Berra. Published by Intellect Books, 2013.
• 6 entries in Directory of World Cinema: American Independent 1, edited by John Berra. Published by Intellect Books, 2010.
• 5 entries in World Film Locations: Havana, edited by Ann Marie Stock. Published by Intellect Books, 2014.
• 3 entries in World Film Locations: Toronto, edited by Tom Ue. Published by Intellect Books, 2014.
• 3 entries in World Film Locations: Vancouver, edited by Rachel Walls. Published by Intellect Books, 2013.

Journal

• Special Issue on Superheroes for The Australasian Journal of Popular Culture. Co-editor with Lorna Piatti-Farnell. Intellect Books, 2023.
• Taoism, Shintoism, and the Ethics of Technology: An Ecocritical Review of ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’. Co-written with Dr Garrath T. Wilson. Resilience: A Journal of the Environmental Humanities, Vol 2, No.3 (Fall 2015).
• DVD Review: ‘Metropolis’ (1927). Film International, Vol 9, No.6 (Jan 2012).
• Book Review: ‘Independent Cinema’ by D.K. Holm & ‘Declarations of Independence: American Cinema and the Partiality of Independent Production’ by John Berra. Scope: An Online Journal of Film and Television Studies, Issue 18, October 2010.
• Conference Report: American Independent Cinema: Past, Present, Future. Liverpool. 8-10 May 2009. Scope: An Online Journal of Film and Television Studies, Issue 16, February 2010.

Blog Series

• #DataMines: Mining in Games. A five part, bi-monthly blog looking at the connections between mining and videogames. National Coal Mining Museum for England. 2021.

Selected Online Short Articles (under 2,500 words)

• Alienday 2022: Game Over, Man? ‘Aliens: Fireteam Elite’ And The Direction Of The ‘Aliens’ Video Game Franchise. Published by Fanbase Press, 2022.
• This Year, I am Thankful for . . . Superman. Published by Fanbase Press, 2021.
• Fanbase Press’ Scariest 2021: ‘Dark Souls’ in The Age of Pandemic. Published by Fanbase Press, 2021.
• Superheroes For Super Hire: Fandom, Ownership & Knowing When To Pass It On. Published by Late Reviewer, 2021.
• In Space, No One Can Hear You Waka Waka Waka – ‘Alien’ for the Atari 2600. Published by Fanbase Press, 2020.
• Fanbase Press’ Scariest 2020: ‘Resident Evil 2’ (2019). Published by Fanbase Press, 2019.
• Geeky Love Letters: A Love Letter to ‘Fallout 4’. Published by Fanbase Press, 2019.
• Remembering ‘Alien’ Differently with ‘Alien: The Illustrated Story’. Published by Fanbase Press, 2018.
• Two Steps Forward, One Step Back: Comic Book Movie Women of 2017. Published by Fanbase Press, 2017.
• Creative Failures and Failing to be Creative: Sci-Fi Cinema in 2017. Published by Fanbase Press, 2017.
• ‘Doctor Who’ and the BBC’S Remit for Education and Information. Published by CST Online. 2015.

Reviews (Journalist)

• Various weekly DVD and television reviews for PopMatters 2015-2017 (50,000 words +).

Including: ‘Frankenstein Chronicles’, ‘Jekyll and Hyde’, ‘An Inspector Calls’, ‘Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell’, ‘Sherlock’, ‘Game of Thrones’, ‘The Scandalous Lady W’.

‘In Competition’

• Lost as a Blue team contestant on the BBC1 television show, ‘Bargain Hunt’.
• Won an international competition to design a level for the sequel to the 24 million+ plays online game, ‘Crush the Castle’ (2010).