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Comic book superheroes have become adopted into American popular culture, and yet few have considered why these characters resonate with Americans. The first comic book superhero premiered in 1938 when Superman appeared on the cover of the first issue of Action Comics. For almost seventy years his adventures and the adventures of other costumed heroes have been continually published. Batman soon joined Superman as a popular costumed crime-fighter, and the early 1960s saw another generation of superheroes created that would be embraced in American culture. Among this new group of heroes were Spider-Man and the X-Men, who have proved as popular as Superman and Batman. The never-ending narratives of comic book characters provide a unique opportunity to analyze how superheroes have evolved across the decades to remain relevant for new generations of Americans. Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, and the X-Men are the most popular heroes, not only in comic books, but in other media adaptations. An exploration of why these specific characters have such resonance with Americans will provide insights into American mindsets, ideologies, and philosophies. Furthermore, comic books are uniquely positioned to allow a new historicist reading, as the characters' adventures have been published on a monthly schedule for decades. A consideration of the alterations made in the narratives to reflect the time periods is inherently enlightening.

<p>This study charts the real-world impact of Superman and how embedded the superhero is within American culture. Since debuting in 1938 as the first superhero, kids embraced Superman as a heroic symbol to emulate while adults mainly used him as comedic fodder to discuss race and ethnicity, gender, and sexuality. Although Superman is a fictional character, he maintains traceable documentary footprints and should be treated as a historical figure. Through sincere and satirical play, the public brought the Man of Steel and his make-believe world to life as an immersive realm and metatopography. This project studies the reception and adaptation of Superman by the populace and the geography of Comicland, a surreal realm mirroring our own modern reality that exists both within the imagination and the material world through pageant, masquerade, and multimedia. The beauty of this fictive universe is its mutability, being a permanent yet intangible place that imprinted itself in the real world. Comics fans do not have to travel to a theme park, even though it is now part of that type of entertainment, to participate in the fantasy. Comicland is, thus, a mental and physical landscape that audiences can inhabit as their own regardless of location and serves as a portal between fantasy and reality. From Superman’s inception, critics dismissed the superhero as a fad and its culture as marginal. However, multigenerational and multidecade engagement with Superman shows that the genre is mainstream and an unfading facet of Americana.</p>

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic found a fertile ground for the spread of online misinformation, with emphasis on social media. Avoiding misinformation spread requires rapid, engaging, and effective science communication in a clear, easy-to-understand, attractive, and entertaining format that can be readily shared online. Comics fulfill these characteristics, being a promising tool to fight misinformation on social media. The goals of this study were: 1) Develop a novel narrative comic strip to promote recognition of misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine among adult social media users (ages 18-65) based in the United States, drawing on the existing research on the Health Belief Model and Theory of Planned Behavior; 2.) Compare the comic strip evaluation and capacity to influence misinformation identification to those of an educational text about COVID-19 vaccination. 3a) Evaluate differences in the key outcomes (misinformation identification, and attractiveness, trust, perceived usefulness, willingness to share, and acceptance of each educational tool) across participants with varying demographic characteristics, health literacy levels, COVID-19 vaccination history, and demographic characteristics. 3b) Across the entire sample, evaluate the correlation between these constructs and health literacy, digital health literacy, vaccine attitudes, trust in science and health authorities, and social media use. Participants (N = 285) were recruited via social media advertisements and randomly assigned to the comic strip group (CS) (N = 92), educational text (TX) (N = 96), or a control 4 group (CL) (N = 97), which had not read any educational material. An online survey accessed the main outcomes (misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccines, evaluation of the educational tool (attractiveness, trust, perceived usefulness, willingness to share, and acceptance of the educational material). Participants also answered demographics questionnaires, COVID-19 vaccine concerns scale, and questionnaires on Health literacy, eHealth literacy, social media use, trust in health authorities and scientists, and COVID-19 vaccination history. Group CS answered questions regarding transportation into the narrative. There were no differences in misinformation identification between groups, possibly explained by a low sensibility of the misinformation identification instrument, timing of the data collection, and sensitiveness of the vaccination topic, subject to accrued attitudes, such as believing in misinformation. Participants with lower health literacy in group TX scored less on the misinformation identification questionnaire than those with higher literacy, which was not observed in the CS group, indicating that the comic strip may benefit better individuals with low health literacy. Vaccine hesitant/ refusers’ misinformation identification scores seem to have been benefited by the comic strip. The comic strip was better evaluated for trust in its content and acceptance than the educational text. Still, misinformation identification scores were not correlated to any evaluation construct in both groups CS and TX. Transportation into the narrative was positively correlated with all comic strip evaluation constructs but not with the misinformation identification score. Future studies should focus on exploring different styles and sizes of comic strips, using more heterogenous sample and addressing different health topics.

Den här studien undersöker hur serieböcker kan vara ett verktyg i undervisningen i svenskämnet. Undersökningens fokus riktas mot hur serieböcker kan främja elevers läslust och om de kan vara ett verktyg för värdegrundsarbete men lyfter också lärares attityder runt serieböcker i undervisningen. Tidigare forskning menar att serieböcker främjar elevers läslust med sin multimodala kommunikation och sitt lustfyllda uttryck. För att undersöka detta har fyra klasslärare och en bildlärare intervjuats. Intervjuerna utgår ifrån en fenomenologisk metodologi som innebär att intervjuerna genomförts ostrukturerat för att få fram vad just den enskilda läraren tycker är viktigt. För att kunna analysera resultatet gjordes ett kategorischema där citat från intervjuerna sorterades i olika teman. Resultaten visar att tillgängligheten till serieböcker är en komponent som påverkar läslusten och tycks se olika ut i olika klassrum. Frågan om hur serieböcker kan användas i värdegrundsarbetet visade också olika resultat. Bildläraren lyfter normer och maktstrukturer samt hur människor påverkas av visuellt berättande medan klasslärare lyfter budskap som förmedlas i berättelsen.

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Thesis (MA (VA)(Visual Arts))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / This thesis aims to investigate the representation of gender in Afrikaans underground comics. Initially the work of Conrad Botes and Anton Kannemeyer in Bitterkomix, dating from 1992 to 2004, will be discussed, followed by a closer look at Stripshow. Chapter one is primarily a discussion about pornography, starting with an overview of feminist arguments against it. This is followed by a number of counter arguments which are also rooted in feminist discourse. The sexually explicit images in Bitterkomix are then analysed according to the mentioned feminist arguments with a short investigation of the context which led to Bitterkomix’s inception, focusing on the dynamics of power and authority. This leads to a discussion of the origin of pornography which establishes Bitterkomix as part of a tradition where sexual explicitness is used in the service of social commentary. Chapter two investigates the connection between satire and iconoclasm and relates it to Stripshow and Bitterkomix. A discussion of the context in which Stripshow originated then follows. Finally, one story in Stripshow is analysed according to the preceding research in order to investigate the manifestation of satire and irony in the relationship between word and image.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University , 2002. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis is concerned with a study of the two basic elements of communication, namely image and text. How these basic communication tools function in the genre of the visual narrative with regard to their roles in the comic strip and the artist's book, will be examined. Both genres, the comic book and the artist's book, consist of complex structures regarding their workings in the framework of the visual narrative, and this work explores these complexities by analysing how image and text function in the visual narrative. The area of semiotics is used as a basis on which the arguments in this thesis are built. The principles contained in semiotics act as useful guidelines in the reading and understanding of communication in general, but in this study these principles give focus and structure to the research of especially the comic strip and the artist's book. Concepts that are discussed in depth include the interesting interactions which occur between image and text when they are used together. Signs, icons, symbols and how they function with (or without) text, are also examined. Text can also function as image, and this visualisation of text is explored. The role of concepts like interpretation, perception, the study of images and image-association, are all very important in the visual communicator's eventual success with his/her communication. How these concepts influence the creation and forming of one's visual intelligence and visual literacy, and the eventual effect it has on the process of communication, make up a very important part of this study. These arguments lead to a discussion of the dynamics contained in the visual narrative when looked at from a semiotic perspective. Central to the discussion on the visual narrative in this thesis, is the differentiation between two similar genres: 1) Firstly, a discussion of the functioning of the comic strip medium. Important aspects of this subject are the interactions of image and text, and how the comic medium consists of a unique set of symbols, which influence the specific communication in this genre. 2) Secondly, the genre of the artist's book, and how the medium of the book functions as a unique phenomenon in communication. The systems of meaning contained in the medium of the book are looked at against the light of a semiotic analysis of text and image. This research supports the importance of a semiotic approach as a helpful aid in the interpretation of any piece of communication, but especially that of the comic strip medium and the artist's book. The theories of Charles Peirce, Ferdinand de Saussure, Roman Jakobson, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Umberto Eco are used as basis of the arguments in this thesis and serve as valuable ground for a useful discourse. The implementation of above mentioned theories lead to an indication of the complexities involved in the special visual language of the comic strip and the artist's book. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie is gemoeid met 'n ondersoek na die twee basismiddele of "taal" van kommunikasie, naamlik beeld en teks. Hoe hierdie basiese kommunikasiegereedskap funksioneer in die visuele narratief, met verwysing na veral die komiekstrip en die kunstenaarsboek, word ondersoek. Beide van laasgenoemde genres beskik oor komplekse strukture in hul bestaan binne die raamwerk van die visuele narratief, en hierdie navorsing ondersoek hierdie kompleksiteite deur die funksionering van beeld en teks in die visuele narratief te ontleed. Die area van semiotiek word as basis gebruik waarop die argumente in die tesis gebaseer is. Die beginsels vervat in die rigting van semiotiek tree op as 'n handige hulpmiddel in die lees en verstaan van enige vorm van kommunikasie, maar in hierdie studie verleen dit veral fokus en struktuur aan die navorsing binne die raamwerk van die komiekstrip en kunstenaarsboek. Konsepte wat in diepte bespreek word met die oog op hul uiteindelike funksionering binne die visuele narratief, sluit die interessante interaksies wat ontstaan tussen beeld en teks wanneer hulle saam gebruik word, in. Konsepte soos tekens, ikone en simbole, asook hul werking saam met teks (en afsonderlik daarvan), word bespreek. Teks kan in werklikheid ook as visuele beeld funksioneer, en hierdie "ikonifisering" of "beeldwording" van teks word ondersoek. Die rol van konsepte soos interpretasie, persepsie, beeldherkenning en assosiasie, wat uit hierdie proses van visuele kommunikasie voortspruit, is baie belangrik in die visuele kommunikeerder se uiteindelike sukses met sy/haar poging tot kommunikasie. Hoe hierdie konsepte aanleiding gee tot die skep van 'n persoon se "visuele intelligensie" en "visuele geletterdheid", en die uiteindelike effek wat dit op die proses van kommunikasie het, maak 'n belangrike deel van hierdie navorsing uit. Hierdie konsepte lei tot 'n bespreking van die dinamika van die visuele narratief wanneer daar vanuit 'n semiotiese oogpunt daarna gekyk word. Sentraal tot die bespreking van die visuele narratief in hierdie tesis, kan daar tussen twee ooreenkomstige genres onderskei word: 1) Eerstens is daar 'n bespreking van die funksionering van die komiekstripmedium. Belangrike aspekte van hierdie onderwerp is die funksionering van en interaksies tussen beeld en teks binne die medium, en hoe die stripmedium bestaan uit 'n unieke stel simbole wat die kommunikasie van die werk beïnvloed. 2) Tweedens die genre van die kunstenaarsboek, en hoe die boek as unieke medium funksioneer, word bespreek en ontleed. Die sisteme van betekenis vervat in die visuele narratief betrokke in die boekmedium, word beskou teen die lig van 'n semiotiese ondersoek na die interaksies van die basismiddele beeld en teks. Hierdie navorsing steun die belangrikheid van semiotiek as hulpmiddel in die interpretasie van enige stuk kommunikasie, maar veral in die stripmedium en die kunstenaarsboek. Die studie maak veral gebruik van die teorieë van Charles Peirce, Ferdinand de Saussure, Roman Jakobson, Maurice Merleau-Ponty en Umberto Eco. Die toepassing van bogenoemde teorieë in hierdie studie, lei tot 'n aanduiding van die kompleksiteite vervat in die spesiale "visuele taal" van veral die komiekstrip en die kunstenaarsboek.

The figure of the cyborg, or more latterly, the posthuman body has been an increasingly familiar presence in a number of academic disciplines. The majority of such studies have focused on popular culture, particularly the depiction of the posthuman in science-fiction, fantasy and horror. To date however, few studies have focused on the posthuman and the comic book superhero, despite their evident corporeality, and none have questioned comics’ readers about their responses to the posthuman body. This thesis presents a cultural history of the posthuman body in superhero comics along with the findings from twenty-five, two-hour interviews with readers. By way of literature reviews this thesis first provides a new typography of the posthuman, presenting it not as a stable bounded subject but as what Deleuze and Guattari (1987) describe as a ‘rhizome’. Within the rhizome of the posthuman body are several discursive plateaus that this thesis names Superhumanism (the representation of posthuman bodies in popular culture), Post/Humanism (a critical-theoretical stance that questions the assumptions of Humanism) and Transhumanism (the philosophy and practice of human enhancement with technology). With these categories in mind the thesis explores the development of the posthuman in body in the Superhuman realm of comic books. Exploring the body-types most prominent during the Golden (1938-1945), Silver (1958-1974) and contemporary Ages of superheroes it presents three explorations of what I term the Perfect Body, Cosmic Body and Military-Industrial Body respectively. These body types are presented as ‘assemblages’ (Delueze and Guattari, 1987) that display rhizomatic connections to the other discursive realms of the Post/Human and Transhuman. This investigation reveals how the depiction of the Superhuman body developed and diverged from, and sometimes back into, these realms as each attempted to territorialise the meaning and function of the posthuman body. Ultimately it describes how, in spite of attempts by nationalistic or economic interests to control Transhuman enhancement in real-world practices, the realms of Post/Humanism and Superhumanism share a more critical approach. The final section builds upon this cultural history of the posthuman body by addressing reader’s relationship with these images. This begins by refuting some of the common assumptions in comics studies about superheroes and bodily representations. Readers stated that they viewed such imagery as iconographic rather than representational, whether it was the depiction of bodies or technology. Moreover, regular or committed readers of superhero comics were generally suspicious of the notion of human enhancement, displaying a belief in the same binary categories -artificial/natural, human/non-human - that critical Post/Humanism seeks to problematize. The thesis concludes that while superhero comics remain ultimately too human to be truly Post/Humanist texts, it is never the less possible to conceptualise the relationship between reader, text, producer and so on in Post/Humanist terms as reading-assemblage, and that such a cyborgian fusing of human and comic book allow both bodies to ‘become other’, to move in new directions and form new assemblages not otherwise possible when considered separately.