Litcomix : graphic novels, comix, and literary theory / Adam Geczy, Jonathan McBurnie.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Geczy, Adam, author.

McBurnie, Jonathan, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Comic books, strips, etc--History and criticism.

Comic books, strips, etc.

Popular culture and literature.

Genre:

Literary criticism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (270 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New Brunswick : Rutgers University Press, [2023]

Summary:

Critical studies of the graphic novel have often employed methodologies taken from film theory and art criticism. Yet, as graphic novels from Maus to Watchmen entered the literary canon, perhaps the time has come to develop theories for interpreting and evaluating graphic novels that are drawn from classic models of literary theory and criticism. Using the methodology of Georg Lukács and his detailed defense of literary realism as a socially embedded practice, Litcomix tackles difficult questions about reading graphic novels as literature. What critical standards should we use to measure the quality of a graphic novel? How does the genre contribute to our understanding of ourselves and the world? What qualities distinguish it from other forms of literature? LitComix hones its theoretical approach through case studies taken from across the diverse world of comics, from Yoshihiro Tatsumi’s groundbreaking manga to the Hernandez Brothers’ influential alt-comix. Whether looking at graphic novel adaptations of Proust or considering how Jack Kirby’s use of intertextuality makes him the Balzac of comics, this study offers fresh perspectives on how we might appreciate graphic novels as literature.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Introduction

Part I. Theories

1. Literary Theory: The Relevant and the Real

2. Recuperating Realism: Lukács

3. Classic Novels, Classic Comics

4. Was Wertham Right? Comics as Antisocial and Subversive

5. The Balzac of Comics: Jack Kirby, World Building, and the Kirbyesque

6. Figurative Pseudonyms: Biography and Confession

Part II. Case Studies

7. Josh Bayer

8. Nina Bunjevac

9. Simon Hanselmann

10. The Hernandez Brothers

11. Tommi Parrish

12. Yoshihiro Tatsumi

Conclusion: Our New Urizens

Acknowledgments

Notes

Index

Notes:

Includes index.

Description based on print version record.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

1-9788-2867-5

1-9788-2868-3

OCLC:

1374540770