The look of the 1960s : Barbarella and pulp pop comics / Jan Baetens and Hugo Frey

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Baetens, Jan, author.

Frey, Hugo, author.

Series:

World comics and graphic nonfiction series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Forest, Jean-Claude--History and criticism.

Forest, Jean-Claude.

Barbarella (Fictitious character)--Adaptations.

Barbarella.

Graphic novels--Europe--History and criticism--20th century.

Graphic novels.

Graphic novels--United States--History and criticism--20th century.

Graphic novels--Political aspects--History--20th century.

Graphic novels--Social aspects--History--20th century.

Graphic novels--Adaptations.

Pulp literature--Fiction--Influence--20th century.

Pulp literature.

Pop art--Influence--20th century.

Pop art.

Mass media--Influence--20th century.

Mass media.

Popular culture and literature.

Pop art--Influence.

Europe.

United States.

Genre:

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

History

Comics criticism.

Fiction.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Edition:

First edition

Place of Publication:

Austin : University of Texas Press, 2026

Summary:

"While comic books and graphic novels are increasingly studied, few scholars have turned their attention to the first wave of graphic novels of the 1960s and '70s. Prominent comic researchers Jan Baetens and Hugo Frey examine these early adult narratives that drew upon older pulp traditions and had a profound effect on contemporaneous popular culture. Perhaps the most notable of these was the French Barbarella, widely remembered now through the film version starring Jane Fonda. Calling the phenomenon "pulp pop," Baetens and Frey examine these graphic novels and their role in U.S. and European culture between roughly 1962 and 1975. Their transnational, transmedial approach incorporates not just the graphic novels themselves, but lifestyle magazines, news magazines, government brochures and military newspapers, cinema, art, literature, and music. Beginning with Barbarella, Baetens and Frey examine its influences from science fiction illustration and stories, comic books, pulp fiction, pin-up illustrations, film, and fine art, and show how its publication pushed against contemporary state censorship and repression in France of the early '60s, which was roiled with political tension after the decolonization of Algeria following their war. From there, they examine the overt objectification of women in these early graphic novels as the medium pushed beyond standard pin-ups and pornography but was still blatantly sexist. They explore how women, some of whom worked for the very publishing houses that were issuing these comics, resisted this material, such as by shutting down the studios or by creating their own work that ran against the grain. Baetens and Frey then investigate how pulp pop influenced the films of Jean-Luc Godard and others as well as photography of the time, before exploring how this French influence then traveled across to the US as the independent Grove Press began translating works such as Barbarella and Jodelle. The study of the transnational movement continues with an examination of the increasing legitimization of the pulp pop phenomenon in art galleries and exhibitions, even as the genre became increasing political and anti-militaristic during the US's involvement in Vietnam. Finally, Baetens and Frey study pulp pop's adoption into literature, providing close readings of some of the most important literary pulp pop encounters"-- Provided by publisher

Contents:

Barbarella and the invention of pulp pop graphic narrative

Pulp pop and the "pinup girl" : stereotypes and originals

Pulp pop goes to the cinema : trans-media Interventions

Pulp pop photography : a forgotten rendez-vous?

New York calling : the further adventures of Barbarella, Jodelle, and Company at Grove Press

"Jazzy auspices" : pulp pop, cultural legitimation, and the American War in Vietnam

Writing pop/pop writing

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index

Online resource; title from PDF title page (De Gruyter Brill, viewed September 30, 2026)

Other Format:

Print version: Baetens, Jan. Look of the 1960s

ISBN:

9781477332528

1477332529

9781477332511

1477332510

OCLC:

1546778536

Publisher Number:

CIPO000362060

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license