UNIVERSITY PRESS OF MISSISSIPP
COMICS TRAUMA & NEW ART OF WAR SC
(W) Harriet E.H. Earle (A) Alissa Torres
Conflict and trauma remain among the most prevalent themes in film and literature. Comics has never avoided such narratives, and comics artists are writing them in ways that are both different from and complementary to literature and film. Harriet E. H. Earle brings together two distinct areas of research - trauma studies and comics studies - to provide a new interpretation of a long-standing theme. Earle concentrates on trauma in American comics after the Vietnam War. Examples include Alissa Torres's American Widow, Doug Murray's The 'Nam, and Art Spiegelman's much-lauded Maus.
GOTHIC FOR GIRLS MISTY & BRITISH COMICS SC
(W) Julia Round (A) Pat Mills
Fans still remember and love the British girls' comic Misty for its bold visuals and narrative complexities. Yet its unique history has drawn little critical attention. In the first book on this topic, Round closely analyzes Misty's content, including its creation and production, its cultural and historical context, key influences, and the comic itself. Largely based on Round's own archival research of this comic and richly illustrated with previously unpublished photos, scripts, and letters, this book uses Misty as a lens to explore the use of Gothic themes and symbols in girls' comics and other media.
JEFF SMITH CONVERSATIONS SC
(W) Brannon Costello (Ed.) (A) Jeff Smith (CA) N/A
First with his magisterial fantasy Bone to his mind-bending, time-warping sci-fi noir RASL, Paleolithic-set fantasy Tüki: Save the Humans, arthouse-styled superheroic miniseries Shazam!, and his latest children's book Smiley's Dream Book, Jeff Smith (b. 1960) has made an indelible mark on the comics industry. As a child, Smith was drawn to Charles Schulz's Peanuts, Carl Barks's Donald Duck, and Walt Kelly's Pogo, and he began the daily practice of drawing his own stories. After writing his regular strip Thorn for The Ohio State University's student paper, Smith worked in animation before creating, writing, and illustrating his runaway success, Bone. This volume collects career-spanning interviews with Smith.
SUPERMAN IN MYTH AND FOLKLORE SC
(W) Daniel Peretti
Superman began in comic books, but people have so embraced the character that he has now become part of folklore. This transition from popular to folk culture signals the importance of Superman to fans and to a larger American populace. Superman's story has become a myth dramatizing identity, morality, and politics. Through examinations of tattoos, humor, costuming, and festivals, Peretti portrays Superman as a corporate-owned intellectual property and a model for behavior, a means for expression and performance of individual identity, and the focal point for disparate members of fan communities. As fans apply Superman stories to their lives, they elevate him to a mythical status.
VISIBLE CITIES GLOBAL COMICS URBAN IMAGES & SPATIAL FORM SC
(W) Benjamin Fraser (CA) Frans Masereel
Benjamin Fraser explores the representation of the city in a range of comics from across the globe. Comics address the city as an idea, a historical fact, a social construction, a material-built environment, a shared space forged from the collective imagination, or as a social arena navigated according to personal desire. The works selected comprise a variety of international, alternative, and independent small-press comics artists, from engravings and early comics to single-panel work, graphic novels, manga, and trading cards. Fraser touches on many themes of modern urban life: activism, alienation, consumerism, flânerie, gentrification, the mystery story, science fiction, sexual orientation, and working-class labor.