The French Comics Theory Reader
Ann Miller und Bart Beaty (Hg.) Leuven University Press 334 Seiten ISBN: 978-9-0586-7988-8 ~€ 59,- Juli 2014 Verlagsseite Key French-language theoretical texts on comics translated into English for the first time. The French Comics Theory Reader presents a collection of key theoretical texts on comics, spanning a period from the 1960s to the 2010s, written in French and never before translated into English. The publication brings a distinctive set of authors together uniting theoretical scholars, artists, journalists, and comics critics. Readers will gain access to important debates that have taken place among major French-language comics scholars, including Thierry Groensteen, Benoît Peeters, Jan Baetens, and Pierre Fresnault-Deruelle, over the past fifty years. The collection covers a broad range of approaches to the medium, including historical, formal, sociological, philosophical, and psychoanalytic. A general introduction provides an overall context, and, in addition, each of the four thematic sections is prefaced by a brief summary of each text and an explanation of how they have influenced later work. The translations are faithful to the originals while reading clearly in English, and, where necessary, cultural references are clarified.
Comics & Media: A Special Issue of “Critical Inquiry”
Hillary L. Chute und Patrick Jagoda (Hg.) University of Chicago Press Journals 272 Seiten ISBN: 978-0-2262-0846-6 ~$ 30,- Juli 2014 Verlagsseite The past decade has seen the medium of comics reach unprecedented heights of critical acclaim and commercial success. Comics & Media reflects that, bringing together an amazing array of contributors–creators and critics alike–to discuss the state, future, and potential of the medium. Loaded with full-color reproductions of work by such legends as R. Crumb, Art Spiegelman, Alison Bechdel, Chris Ware, Daniel Clowes, and Lynda Barry, the book addresses the place of comics in both a contemporary and historical context. Essays by such high-profile figures as Tom Gunning, N. Katherine Hayles, Patrick Jagoda, and W. J. T. Mitchell address a stunning range of topics, including the place of comics in the history of aesthetics, changes to popular art forms, digital humanities, and ongoing tensions between new and old media. The result is a substantial step forward for our understanding of what comics are and can be, and the growing place they hold in our culture.
BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! Ein Comic(ver)führer
Frank Schäfer Verlag Andreas Reiffer 128 Seiten ISBN: 978-3-934896-76-5 ~€ 9,90 Juni 2014 Verlagsseite Lange Zeit galt der Comic als »unliterarisches« Genre, das »zu einer inneren Verarmung führt« (Gero von Wilpert, »Sachwörterbuch der Literatur«). Glücklicherweise gehört ein solcher Kultursnobismus mittlerweile der Vergangenheit an. Nicht zuletzt jüngere Autoren wie Chris Ware, Craig Thompson, Chester Brown oder Marjane Satrapi haben bewiesen, dass sich die Professores von Wilpert dieser Erde mal gehackt legen können. Frank Schäfer ist Fan und Kenner der Neunten Kunst. Gnadenlos subjektiv, mit viel Sprachwitz und vor allem ohne Dünkel porträtiert er kleine und große Meister, widmet sich in Reportagen und Interviews der jungen deutschen Szene, gibt immer wieder Einblicke in seine eigene Comic-Sozialisation und berichtet von spannenden, beglückenden Streifzügen durch die zeitgenössische Comicproduktion.
The Quest for Jewish Belief and Identity in the Graphic Novel
Stephen E. Tabachnick University Alabama Press 272 Seiten ISBN: 978-0-8173-1821-5 ~$ 39,95 Juni 2014 Verlagsseite Many Jewish artists and writers contributed to the creation of popular comics and graphic novels, and in The Quest for Jewish Belief and Identity in the Graphic Novel, Stephen E. Tabachnick takes readers on an engaging tour of graphic novels that explore themes of Jewish identity and belief. Among the topics he discusses are graphic novel adaptations of the Bible; the Holocaust graphic novel; graphic novels about the Jews in Eastern and Western Europe and Africa, and the American Jewish immigrant experience; graphic novels about the lives of Jewish women; the Israel-centered graphic novel; and the Orthodox graphic novel. The book concludes with an extensive bibliography. No study of Jewish literature and art today can be complete without a survey of the graphic novel, and scholars, students, and graphic novel fans alike will delight in Tabachnick’s guide to this world of thought, sensibility, and artfulness.
Graphic Details Jewish Women’s Confessional Comics in Essays and Interviews
Sarah Lightman (Hg.) Mcfarland & Co Inc 316 Seiten ISBN:978-0-7864-6553-8 ~$ 49,95 Juni 2014 Verlagsseite The comics within capture in intimate, often awkward, but always relatable detail the tribulations and triumphs of life. In particular, the lives of 18 Jewish women artists who bare all in their work, which appeared in the internationally acclaimed exhibition “Graphic Details: Confessional Comics by Jewish Women.” The comics are enhanced by original essays and interviews with the artists that provide further insight into the creation of autobiographical comics that resonate beyond self, beyond gender, and beyond ethnicity.
X-Men and the Mutant Metaphor: Race and Gender in the Comic Books
Joseph J. Darowski Rowman & Littlefield 242 Seiten ISBN: 978-1-4422-3207-5 ~$ 65.00 April 2014 Verlagsseite First appearing in 1963, The Uncanny X-Men had a rough start, lasting until 1970 when the comic book was canceled due to low sales. Following a relaunch in 1975, however, it found new popularity thanks to intricate scripting by Chris Claremont and the artwork of John Byrne. Within a few years, The Uncanny X-Men was one of Marvel Comics’ best-selling series and over the decades it became one of the most successful and popular franchises in comic book history. Spin-off titles, mini-series, multimedia adaptations, and a massively expanded cast of characters followed. One of the reasons for the success of X-Men is its powerful “mutant metaphor,” which enhances the stories with cultural significance and the exploration of themes such as societal prejudice and discrimination. In X-Men and the Mutant Metaphor: Race and Gender in the Comic Books, Joseph J. Darowski thoroughly analyzes The Uncanny X-Men, providing its historical background and dividing the long-running series into distinct eras. Each chapter examines the creators and general plot lines, followed by a closer analysis of the principal characters and key stories. The final chapter explores the literal use of race and gender rather than the metaphorical or thematic ways such issues have been addressed. This analysis includes insights gained from interviews with several comic book creators, and dozens of illustrations from the comic book series. Of particular significance are statistics that track the race and gender of every X-Men hero, villain, and supporting character. By delving into the historical background of the series and closely examining characters and stories, X-Men and the Mutant Metaphor illuminates an important popular culture phenomenon.