Literature is taken seriously in academic circles. Ditto for film. So why not comic books, which merges the best of both? In editors Mark Berninger, Jochen Ecke and Gideon Haberkorn’s COMICS AS A NEXUS OF CULTURES: ESSAYS ON THE INTERPLAY OF MEDIA, DISCIPLINES AND INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES, the argument is made — about two dozen times over — that it’s high time that change.
The McFarland collection — number 22 in its “Critical Explorations in Science Fiction and Fantasy” series — presents essays that not only take the graphic format seriously, but illustrate to readers why it deserves to be. Ironically, the people most likely to read this book won’t need convincing — you know, people like me, who deep, deep down love to see something like DANGER: DIABOLIK appear alongside footnotes and annotations.
Ecke uses DIABOLIK — as well as Zack Synder’s 300 and Ang Lee’s HULK — to discuss how modern movies are increasingly aping the look of comics on the silver screen. Andreas Rauscher looks at how Marvel Comics overcame made-for-TV cheesefests featuring its characters into the pre-eminent blockbusters of today.
More seriously, Paul Ferstl considers “novel-based comics” like CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED (but neglects its most obvious current counterpart, GRAPHIC CLASSICS); Dirk Vanderbeke focuses on political statements in comics; and Dan A. Hassler-Forest details how superhero comics changed in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, facing the tragedy with a head-on reality.
The midsection of NEXUS is less interesting, because it’s comprised of essays on foreign comics I have zero familiarity with, from Scotland, Germany and even Portugal. Some sample panels and/or pages would have helped considerably. However, Ben Little’s look at the history of Britain’s 2000 AD is something I can totally get behind.
Final chapters delve heavily into the educational aspects of comics, including Berninger’s pro-and-con look at the teaching of such in schools. Subsequent entries suggest good starting points, from the much-lauded Neil Gaiman/Charles Vess SANDMAN story of Shakespearean fancy to Lee’s much-debated HULK film.
NEXUS has the occasional “huh?” moment, such as when Rauscher refers to Louis Lettier’s THE INCREDIBLE HULK reboot by the title HULK 2, and admittedly, a good chunk of it is going to read dry. These are, after all, academic papers, not magazine articles, and again, more illustrations would have gone a long, long way. But for those into a serious, scholarly examination of the medium, it’s a good, if pricey, bet. Look at it this way: If you were taking a college class, wouldn’t you rather have this be your textbook? —Rod Lott
Related posts:
- Heroes and Villains: Essays on Music, Movies, Comics, and Culture
- Science Fiction America: Essays on SF Cinema
- GRAPHIC CLASSICS announces half-price sale
- Baseball/Literature/Culture: Essays 2008-2009
- Vampire Weekend: A 2008 Comic-Con International Wrap-Up
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Any mention of my comic Nexus?