Academic literature on the topic 'Western comic books'

Comic books are not only designed to entertain the readers but they also become a medium to communicate something between the lines. Comic books are a popular medium in western countries. This paper investigated the depiction of terrorist incidents allegedly involving Muslims in English comic books. The study aimed to analyze the treatment that was given to the Muslim and non-Muslim characters especially as a part of terrorist organizations while showing real-life terrorism based incidents. It was also intended to explore how they induced fear appeal in their stories regarding particular characters. Through purposive sampling, two comic books have been selected to know how the Muslim characters in the comic book were portrayed in a derogatory manner and to know how they have recaptured the incident of September 11, 2001. Liberality for All and Holy Terror are the two books that were selected and analyzed by using the method of content analysis. Drawing upon the theoretical perspective of Agenda Setting (and Framing), it is assumed that the comic books were prepared deliberately to depict Muslims in a deprecating approach. The results ask the orientalist scholars to raise their eyebrows toward the depiction of Muslims in comic books whose audience is relatively younger and the particular portrayal in such manner can have a profound and longer effect on the young minds regarding Muslims.

The object of the study is “silent books” – books without text; the plot and author’s position are revealed exclusively through a sequential series of illustrations. The subject of the study is the graphic novels of young but already internationally recognized authors - Sean Tan and Guojin. "Silent books" are a relatively new direction in children's book illustration. The prototype of “silent books” - comics - was distinguished by rather primitive graphics, so although they were popular, but they were considered a “low genre” in the professional community. Then the comic went beyond kitsch culture and became an element of middle-class culture, and at the end of the century the comic was reinterpreted in pop art and included in the formation of neo-elite culture. The individuality of the authors is manifested in the choice of a plot related to personal and family history, as well as in the choice of a character of a certain psychological make-up - “silent heroes”, endowed with a rich imagination, the ability to empathize and equal friendly relationships. The technique in the “silent books” of Sean Tan and Guojin has the syncretism and dualism of Western and Chinese traditions. It can be interpreted both in terms of Chinese writing with “dry” ink, and in the European style of “chiaroscuro”; in all cases we had clearly defined contour and a sharp contrast of light and shadow. The author's self-expression in a graphic novel is very specific to book illustration. “The Quiet Book” can be considered as a special type of author’s utterance, similar to improperly direct speech in literature. All this distinguishes the graphic novels under consideration from other forms of children's book illustration, as an example of new paths in art, as well as an original and modern interpretation of social problems of society.

Albert Lewis Kanter launched Classic Comics in 1941, a series of comic books that retold classic literature for a young audience. Five of Shakespeare’s celebrated plays appear in the collection. The popularity of Classics Illustrated encouraged Seaboard Publishing to issue a competitive brand, Stories by Famous Authors Illustrated (1949-51), which retold three Shakespearean dramas. Although both these enterprises aimed to reinforce a humanist perspective of education based on Western literature, the classic comics belie a Posthuman aesthetic by presenting Shakespearean characters in scenes and postures that recall Golden Age superheroes. By examining the Shakespearean covers of Classic Illustrated and Stories by Famous Authors, this essay explores how Shakespearean characters are reimagined as Superhuman in strength and power.

Starting with a survey of historical and ideological reasons for the unprecedented rise of Western interest in Russia after 1917 and especially after the Great Depression, the paper focuses on the travel books widely read on both sides of the Atlantic in the 1930s. The decade saw the blooming of travel prose in the English-speaking world, as well as the peak of enthusiasm for Russia during the XXth century. The paper attempts a closer look at the travel books on Soviet Russia, usually dismissed by critics as lacking in the quality of writing, too ideological. First the model of stereotypical book based on short Intourist tour is described (motive structure, prevailing parroting of Soviet propaganda clichés). Next follow the books produced by Western residents in the USSR, or persons who escaped Intourist surveillance and experienced some direct contact with Soviet people. They certainly look at Russia under the Western eye, but are able (to a different degree) to empathize with the drama and tragedy of Stalin’s Russia. From half-hearted account of “fellow-traveller” M. Hindus, the paper proceeds to fundamental “Assignment in Utopia” by E. Lyons, who turned from ardent Communist into highly argumentative critic of Soviet Russia, and to the unique project of writing a comic book about kolkhoz by E.M. Delafield, that resulted in a witty critique of Soviet aims and ways. In finding their way not just around Stalin’s Russia, but in providing the reader with the road to the authors’ inner selves, these books are still relevant today

For all the lip-service French culture pays to reason and logic, it undergoes periodic eruptions of déraison or unreason. In the wake of Napoleon’s defeat, ballroom dancing began to be infiltrated by such unbridled popular dances as the cancan and the chahut. Exuberant, even bacchanalian physical display served as a safety-valve in a heavily censored society. In the Second Empire, four working-class amateurs introduced the high-kicking, parodic Clodoche quadrille at the Paris Opéra. A non-verbal equivalent of the Marx Brothers, they became bywords through the Western hemisphere of zany, comic demonstrations of the hysteric convulsions described by the medical establishment. Laurence Senelick is Fletcher Professor Emeritus of Drama and Oratory at Tufts University, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a contributor to the International Encyclopedia of Dance. His many books include British Music Hall: A Bibliography (1981), The Age and Stage of George L. Fox (1999), and Cabaret Performance 1890–1940 (2001–2005).

Since the expansion of Japanese comic books throughout western countries, the so-called “manga style” has get attention from audiences and theorists. But how can we identify such Japaneseness? Trying to fulfill readers` interests, books have been published under the how-to-draw-manga label, usually highlighting the visual composition of characters, from clothes to facial expressions to hairstyle. From the academic perspective, particularities of page layout have been also considered since Pierre Fresnault-Deruelle`s idea of tabularity. Such structuralist perspective is also echoed by contemporary scholars such as Benoît Peeters and Thierry Groensteen. Investigations on what is called the “grammar of mangas” were also proposed by Neil Cohn or Scott McCloud (or at least based on his contributions). But what are they referring to by “manga”? Artists from all around the world translate mangas into transnational experiences. This study proposes a wider understanding of the manga narrative style and its particular aesthetic influence on readers. The study focuses on the Asian philosophies of Tao and Buddhism, identifying how their ideals are articulated to promote reader’s immersion in the narrative. The article investigates the visual representations of the Taoist idea of vacuum and the Zen idea of trivia, which characterize the visual and narrative fluidity of manga – especially those whose stories are based on everyday life.

AbstractRenewed popular interest in the Pinkertonovshchina – pre-Revolutionary, Western-styled detective fiction – invites a closer look at this fascinating phenomenon. An examination of the original serial's reception among young readers holds out clues to the psychological motivations of those who devour popular cultural genres in times of social flux. Memoirs and letters by Valentin Kataev (1897-1986), Leonid Borisov (1897-1972), and Sergei Esenin (1895-1925), who had all experienced the first Pinkerton craze as 10- and 12-year-olds, indicate that these colorful, readily accessible parables of Manichean justice in exotic locales allowed young readers to displace their own anxieties about an all-too-confusing domestic situation in the wake of the 1905 Revolution and the subsequent "Reaction". In this, the Russian Pinkertons of the 1900s and '10s functioned in much the same way as American comic books of the 1940s and '50s – another cheaply priced, fixed-format, violent, and markedly graphic (i.e., visual) genre which captivated young readers during a highly reactionary period in their nation's history.

Reseña de Lone Heroes and the Myth of the American West in Comic Books, 1945-1962 de David Huxley (Palgrave MacMillan) y The Comic Book Westerns. New Perspectives on a Global Genre (Christopher Conway y Antoinette Sol, editors) University of Nebraska Press.

A Review of: McKechnie, Lynne (E.F.). “ ‘Spiderman is not for Babies’ (Peter, 4 Years): The ‘Boys and Reading Problem’ from the Perspective of the Boys Themselves.” The Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science 30.1/2 (2006): 57-67. Objective – This study looks at what constitutes legitimate reading material for boys and how this material is defined in light of assessed gender differences in reading, and is part of a larger, ongoing research project on the role of public libraries in the development of youth as readers. Design – Semi-structured, qualitative interviews and book inventories. Setting – The research originated from the MLIS 566 (Literature for Children and Young Adults) class at the Faculty of Information and Media Studies, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. Subjects – Forty-three boys, ages four through twelve, were interviewed. Most of the boys lived in Ontario, although a few came from other Canadian provinces. Methods – Library school students who were registered in a Literature for Children and Young Adults class interviewed children and young adults about their reading and information practice as part of a “Book Ownership Case Study” assignment. The researcher also interviewed children and young adults, for a total of 137 case studies. For the purpose of this article, a data subset for the 43 boys included in the larger project was analyzed. The boys ranged in age from four to twelve years. The mean age was eight and the median age was nine. The theoretical perspective of reader response theory was used to situate the study. This theory has the relationship between the text and the reader as its focus, and it suggests that to understand the reading habits of boys, there needs to be recognition that the experts about their reading are the boys themselves. The interviews, which explored reading preferences and practices, were qualitative, semi-structured, and took thirty minutes to complete. In addition to the interview, each boy’s personal book and information material collection was inventoried. The researcher used a grounded theory approach to analyze the inventory and interview data to pull out themes related to the research questions. Grounded theory “uses a prescribed set of procedures for analyzing data and constructing a theoretical model” from the data (Leedy and Ormrod 154). Main Results – The collection inventories revealed that all 43 study participants had personal collections of reading materials. The collections ranged from eight volumes to 398 volumes. There was a mean volume total of 108 and a median of 98 books per boy. In addition to books, other materials were in the collections. Video recordings were owned by 36 (83.7%) of the boys, 28 (65.1%) of participants had computer software, 28 (65.1%) owned audio recordings, and 21 (48.8%) of the collections also included magazines. In the interview data analysis, a number of themes were revealed. All of the boys except one owned fiction. Some genres appeared frequently and were different than the ones found in the inventories taken of the girls in the larger study. Genres in the boys’ collections included fantasy, science fiction, sports stories, and humorous stories. The boys also discussed genres they did not enjoy: classic children’s fiction, such as The Adventures of Robin Hood, love stories, and “books about groups of girls” (61). All but five boys had series books such as Animorphs, Captain Underpants, Redwall, and Magic Treehouse in their collections. All study participants except for one owned non-fiction titles. When asked what their favourite book was, many of the boys chose a non-fiction title. Holdings included subjects such as “jokes, magic, sports, survival guides, crafts, science, dictionaries, maps, nature, and dinosaurs” (62). In addition to books, the boys reported owning and reading a wide range of other materials. Comics, manga, magazines, pop-up and other toy books, sticker books, colouring books, puzzle books, and catalogues were among the collection inventories. Only one boy read the newspaper. Another theme that emerged from the interview data was “gaming as story” (63). The boys who read video game manuals reported reading to learn about the game, and also reading to experience the game’s story. One boy’s enjoyment of the manual and the game came from the narrative found within. Various reading practices were explored in the interviews. Formats that featured non-linear reading were popular. Illustrations were important. Pragmatic reading, done to support other activities (e.g., Pokeman), was “both useful and pleasurable” (54). And finally, the issue of what counts as reading emerged from the data. Many boys discounted the reading that “they liked the best as not really being reading” (65). Some of the boys felt that reading novels constituted reading but that the reading of computer manuals or items such as science fair project books was “not really reading” (65). A distinction was made between real books and information books by the boys. Conclusions – The researcher explored what has been labelled as the “problem” of boys reading in this paper. She found that the 43 boys in this study are reading, but what they are reading has been undervalued by society and by the boys themselves. Collection inventories found a large number of non-fiction books, computer magazines, comic books, graphic novels, and role-playing game manuals—items not necessarily privileged by libraries, schools, or even by the boys themselves. The researcher suggests that “part of the ‘boys and reading problem’ then lies in what we count as reading” (66). By keeping what boys are actually reading in mind when it comes to collection development and library programming, children’s librarians can “play a central role in legitimizing the reading practices of boys” (66).

<div><p><strong><em>The purpose.</em></strong><em> To trace the peculiarities of the formation of the community of fans of comics in the modern Ukrainian information space.</em></p></div><p><strong><em>Research methodology. </em></strong><em>During the research general scientific methods of synthesis, analysis and observation were used. System analysis was used to study the available Internet resources on comics.</em></p><p><strong><em>Results.</em></strong><em> Comics are more interested in society. Interest that arouses consumer interest. Today, comics are a unique product of publishing, an effective means of presenting and disseminating information from various fields of knowledge, as well as an artistic tool and already established art. Ukrainian comics have many genres, subgenres, touch on different topics and a wide range of issues, as well as aimed at readers of different ages, social status, type of activity.</em><em> </em><em>The tradition of comics and cartoons is an integral part of many cultures around the world, both Western and Eastern. Comic book readers are described as a unique sub cultural group. The main types of communication between readers and publishers of comics are formed. Described the main types of comic book promotion in Ukraine among different groups of readers. The main media resources used by publishers and readers of comics to promote and discuss new publications are listed. It is emphasized that the formation of a loyal community of comic book consumers will contribute to the development of the genre.</em></p><p><strong><em>Novelty.</em></strong><em> For the first time, the peculiarities of forming a community of comic book fans in the modern Ukrainian information space have been studied. It should be noted that comics and graphic novels are already present in the Ukrainian discursive field, but the discussion of these special cultural phenomena is conducted mainly in a journalistic way on «comic-oriented» Internet resources.</em></p><p><strong><em>Practical significance.</em></strong><em> The results of the work can be used for scientific work or to create lecture material.</em></p><p><strong><em>Key words:</em></strong><em> comics, promotion, communication, media.</em><em></em></p>

This thesis examines the depiction of warfare in post-9/11 ancient world epics and assesses the extent to which these films engage with contemporary events by means of allegory and analogy. Inspired by scholarship on allegorical and analogous interpretations of 1950s-60s ancient world epics, I explore how the current cycle engages with the American socio-political landscape in the wake of 9/11, with particular emphasis on the War on Terror and ensuing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. I chart the genre’s evolution in relation to the combat film, and examine how the current cycle of ancient world epics integrates the tropes of other genres into its portrayal of warfare, invasion, occupation and imperialism. Within this context, I explore the recurrent motif of the father-son dynamic, and assess how its use in combat films corresponds to that in ancient world epics. I also discuss how this motif was employed in 1980s Vietnam War films, and what its use in these modern epics suggests about the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Furthermore, I discuss the use of the unreliable narrator to engage with wider debates on the value of historical films compared to written history. The aim of this study is to demonstrate that the ancient world epic is a malleable construct with which filmmakers can engage with the present while depicting the past. I build on existing studies of the ancient world in cinema, contributing new understanding of the current cycle’s relationship to its predecessors, to other genres, and to post-9/11 American society. In so doing this thesis contributes to notions of film as art, as industry, and as history, and how they intersect in cinematic depictions of the ancient world.

Superhero comic books, part of American popular culture since 1938, have been recognised as a site for the reproduction of dominant ideology, however, their ability to resist dominant ideology has not been as equally considered. This study examines the narratives of DC Comics and Marvel Comics superhero characters’ Batman and Captain America, in the time period 2001-2008 to evaluate the ability of these superhero narratives to reproduce, critique, challenge and contest dominant ideological versions of the American Dream. The years 2001 to 2008 were a time of ideological upheaval in American society influenced in no small part by specific articulations of historical events; 9/11 in 2001, the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, the invasion of Iraq in 2003, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and the election of the first African American to the Presidency, Barack Obama, in 2008. To position the dominant ideology this study adopts the theoretical lens of hegemony as developed by Antonio Gramsci, and radicalised by Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe. Methodologically, the theory of hegemony is used to develop a sociological tool of analysis; the analysed hegemonic ideology. When this tool is applied to the ideology of the American Dream it exposes the constituted ideological components of the ideology that are subject to articulation within the process of hegemony and counter hegemony. The changing articulations, ideologies and process of hegemony from 2001 to 2008 are detailed in this study as a necessary step in analysis. When the specific constituted ideological components of the hegemonic ideology are applied to the superhero narratives of the same period, the true ideological position of the superhero narratives are exposed. The results suggest that superhero comics’ engagement and role in hegemony as a popular cultural product are extremely complex. While there is evidence of superhero narratives reproducing the ideological positions of the Right Wing hegemony that emerges after 9/11, there is also evidence of ideological resistance within the narrative and later support for the Left Wing hegemony that emerges in the Presidential campaign of Obama in 2008. In the changing landscape of hegemony in American society, superhero comics offer intelligent and detailed ideological contributions to process of hegemony and counter hegemony. This suggests both a progressive power to the concept of the American Dream and a degree of agency within the realm of popular cultural production.

This research explores the potential value of online comics in Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) education for nonbackground learners in the context of Australia. Mixed research methods, quantitative and qualitative, were adopted to investigate the affordances of online comics in CFL education, examining their effectiveness in improving students’ word recognition ability and exploring how students’ attitudes towards online comics influence their word recognition ability. During the time of the research, when the researcher was a teacher-researcher in the research school, data was collected from 60 students and one mentor teacher, through pre- and post-tests, artefacts, survey questionnaire, interview, and the teacher-researcher’s self-reflective journals. It was found that online comics’ affordances were connected with the characteristics of meaningful learning, which afforded CFL teaching and learning by showing it as usable with everyday life content, by making it useful through online comic creation, and by creating a fun and conducive teaching and learning environment in the classroom. In addition, the quantitative data analysis indicated that as the main teaching and learning method, the strategy of using online comics to teach Chinese characters may have improved their word recognition ability. Moreover, students’ attitudes towards online comics had significant influence on their Chinese word recognition ability. Students’ perceptions of online comics’ effectiveness, regardless of year and gender, were found to be related to their improvement in word recognition ability. On the other hand, students of different years and genders had different preferences towards online comics, and such preferences had different influences on their word recognition ability. Specifically, Year 6 students’ perceptions of online comics increased their motivation and were found to influence improvement of their word recognition ability. Girls’ opinions of thinking online comics were interesting in CFL learning were found to influence their improvement in word recognition ability. This thesis hopes to illuminate online comics in CFL teaching and learning. The findings of this research suggest the importance of adopting effective teaching approaches that align with students’ preferences.

Leaners in the 21st century acquire as much knowledge about the past from films, novels, comic books and other popular forms of entertainment as they do from the classroom. Ongoing debate surrounding the use of alternate media to record and depict the past, coupled with the 2017 introduction of the New South Wales Education Standards Authority Syllabus presents an opportunity for an examination of popular media depictions of history to engage students. Approaching the syllabus through the familiar and entertaining medium of comic books potentially bridges students’ experiences of history in the classroom and representations encountered in everyday life, and can be used to develop analytical skills in historical enquiry, theories of history, as well as skills in communication and critical thinking.

AbstractThis chapter focuses on illustrating the steps of Legal Design (LD) and Visual Law (VL). Before delving into the process of comic book co-creation, the chapter provides an overview of LD and VL, emphasizing their relative unfamiliarity, even among legal scholars. LD, originating from an initiative at Stanford Law School, aims to simplify legal language by evaluating and designing legal business in a simple, functional, attractive, and usable way. It centers on people’s needs, shifting focus from professionals to recipients, such as citizens, organizations, and communities. LD emphasizes ongoing interactions and feedback from recipients throughout the project, fostering empathy and active listening. While LD focuses on effective communication for the benefit of legal beneficiaries, VL serves as its visual manifestation. VL utilizes various visual elements, such as images, illustrations, videos, infographics, comics, and more, making legal documents more explanatory. LD and VL, initially tools for law firms to aid law firm clients understanding, have evolved for broader applications in legal education, research dissemination, empowering society to advocate for their rights, and supporting the decolonization of legal mindsets. The chapter discusses the interchangeable use of LD and VL in legal research, legal education, and as strategic tools for societal empowerment. Importantly, it highlights their potential role in decolonizing legal mindsets by involving participants outside the dominant Western legal doctrine and supporting knowledge co-creation. The chapter underscores the importance of LD and VL in contributing to the re-emergence of Indigenous perspectives and cosmovisions, ultimately facilitating effective participation in environmental matters.

In Christopher Frayling's book Spaghetti Westerns (1981), he highlights how the character of the Spaghetti Western has since become subsumed into later Western comic books, evidenced through the Lee Van Cleef-like bounty hunter featured in Morris and Goscinny's bande dessinée (French comic) Lucky Luke: The Bounty Hunter (1972). Drawing upon this relationship, this chapter will take a similar approach to Frayling, who mediates between comic book influences upon the Spaghetti Western and the later reciprocal impact of these Westerns upon the comic book. It begins by demystifying some of the tacit references to the comic-like qualities of the Italian Westerns. This provides context for the exploration of the impact of these films upon the Western comic book, primarily achieved through a case study of the bande dessinée series, Blueberry (1963–2005), by Jean-Michel Charlier and Jean Giraud. In a collection that looks to map the relocation and appropriation of the Spaghetti Western, the chapter reinterprets these Italian productions through the comic book.

Chapter three follows the lineage of frontier and Western fantasies from the nineteenth century to the twentieth via the comic book adaptations of novels like The Last of the Mohicans and comic depictions of frontier figures like Boone and Girty. Following in the line of late-nineteenth century dime novels and early twentieth century film, comic books inherited many of the tropes and conventions of the Western and frontier genres, including those of the white Indian and playing Indian. Multiple adaptations of The Last of the Mohicans, from the 1940s to the 2000s, testify to that story's persistent appeal. In the 1950s, a flurry of Boone comics demonstrates his popularity as an American hero while engaging in many of the themes and cultural implications that are essential to this book's focus.