This dissertation is a study of cultural memory, exploring how superhero comic books, and their readers and creators, look back on and make sense of the past, as well as how they use that past in the creation of community and stories today. It is my contention that the superhero comics that exist as part of a long-standing "universe," particularly those published by DC and Marvel, are inextricably linked to a sense of cultural memory which defines both the organization of their fans and the history of their stories, and that cultural memory in comics takes the twinned forms of fandom and continuity. Comic book fandom, from its very inception, has been based around memories of past stories and recollections about favorite moments, creators, characters, etc. Because of this, as many of those fans have gone on to become creators themselves, the stories they have crafted reflect that continual obsession with the histories -- loosely termed "continuity" by creators, fans, and comic book scholars -- of these fictional universes. Often, this obsession translates into an engagement with actual events from the past. In many of these cases, as with much art and ephemera that is immersed in cultural memory, these fans-turned-creators combine their interest in looking at the history of the fictional universe with a working out of actual traumatic events. My case studies focus on superhero comic books that respond to such events, particularly World War II, the Vietnam War, and 9/11. / text

As histórias em quadrinhos foram definidas como arte sequencial e costumam ser popularmente associadas como um veículo de comunicação voltadas para o entretenimento. No entanto existem histórias em quadrinhos que são destinadas ao uso na educação, na transmissão de informações e na construção de conhecimentos específicos para o aperfeiçoamento profissional e humano. Este projeto teve como objetivo analisar a potencialidade dos quadrinhos na educação corporativa no Brasil, com recorte em São Paulo. Para atingir esse objetivo, o trabalho abordou algumas definições básicas sobre histórias em quadrinhos, suas características e alguns eventos importantes durante a sua evolução histórica. Realizou-se também um levantamento das produções e publicações de quadrinhos corporativos em São Paulo identificando os principais autores e as editoras desse segmento. Para averiguar a potencialidade dos quadrinhos na educação corporativa, este estudo foi sustentado por duas premissas: a primeira se referiu ao reconhecimento dos quadrinhos como linguagem autônoma e a segunda foi constatar a existência de profissionais especializados em atender o mercado de produção dos quadrinhos corporativos no Brasil. Além disso, foram verificados os métodos de produção, distribuição e utilização dos quadrinhos nos programas de educação de algumas corporações. A hipótese principal deste estudo foi que o uso estratégico dos quadrinhos pode contribuir positivamente para a comunicação no ambiente corporativo. Os resultados demonstraram que os quadrinhos têm sido utilizados por grandes corporações como SEBRAE, ABNT, Metrô SP, Petrobrás, Telefonica, O Boticário, SENAI, Votorantim e outros. Existe no Brasil uma produção regular e bem organizada de quadrinhos corporativos realizada por estúdios, autores e editoras especializadas. Essas produções ocorrem, pelo menos, desde 1994. A maior parte desses quadrinhos foram distribuídos dentro de empresas ou em ambientes mais restritos. No entanto, também houve algumas publicações que foram distribuídas e comercializadas em livrarias publicados no formato Graphic Novel. Verificou-se também que alguns quadrinhos corporativos têm sido publicados em suportes digitais, como foi observado no caso do convênio entre o SEBRAE e a ABNT. De acordo com os resultados coletados nesse estudo, a potencialidade do uso dos quadrinhos na educação corporativa foi associada, principalmente, em auxiliar nos processos da conscientização, compreensão e memorização de ideias e informações. A sua aplicação estratégica através de tiras e cartuns também facilitou e beneficiou a apresentação de ideias ou conceitos durante aulas/palestras e em textos de natureza mais complexa. O uso dos quadrinhos também possuiu o efeito de conseguir romper com o excesso de formalidade na comunicação com os funcionários em algumas empresas, ampliando o seu interesse e envolvimento com os programas de educação. Além disso, alguns elementos usados nos quadrinhos como a concepção de personagens e o humor gráfico também se mostraram como elementos de grande potencial para auxiliar o desenvolvimento de programas de educação corporativa. / Comics were defined as sequential art and commonly associated as a communication vehicle aimed for entertainment. However some comics are used to transmit information, give support to education programs and help to improve the knowledge building about specific themes related to the human and professional development. The main objective of this project was to analyze the potential use of comics in corporate education in Brazil, focused in São Paulo state. To reach this object, this study described some basic definitions of comics, their characteristics and some important events occurred during its historical evolution. Moreover, a bibliography survey of comics productions and publications of corporate comics in São Paulo was also done and the main authors and publishers of this segment were identified. To investigate the potential use of comics in corporate education, this study was supported by two premises: the first one referred to the recognition of comics as an autonomous language and the second was to verify the existence of specialized professionals who support the production of corporate comics in Brazil. In addition, methods of production, distribution and utilization of comics in some corporate education programs had been also checked. The main hypothesis of this study was the strategic use of comics can contribute positively to improve the communication activities in the corporate environment. The results showed that comics had been used by important corporations like SEBRAE, ABNT, Metrô SP, Petrobrás, Telefonica, O Boticário, SENAI, Votorantim and others. In Brazil, there is a regular and well-organized production of corporate comics which is made by studios, authors and specialized publishers. These productions have occurred at least since 1994. The majority of these comics were distributed within companies or in restricted environments. On the other hand, there were also some publications which were distributed and sold in bookstores published in Graphic Novel format. Interestingly, some corporate comics had been published in digital media, as it was verified in the case of covenant between SEBRAE and ABNT. According to the results, the potential use of comics in corporate education was associated mainly to assist the processes of awareness, understanding and memorization of ideas and information. The strategic application of comics through comic strips and cartoons also facilitated the comprehension of ideas or concepts showed in classes/lectures and in texts with specific contents that were difficult to understand. The use of comics also showed the effect of breaking with excessive formality in communication between instructors and employees in some companies, resulting in the increase of employee\'s interests in the activities of the education programs. Furthermore, some elements used in the comics like the design of characters and graphic humor also showed a great potential as elements to assist the development of corporate education programs.

Submitted by Josimara Dias Brumatti (bcgdigital@ndc.uff.br) on 2017-04-03T17:34:30Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_Joao Alt.pdf: 13032903 bytes, checksum: a88b473b5819e948ca36ca147db3950a (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Josimara Dias Brumatti (bcgdigital@ndc.uff.br) on 2017-04-03T17:35:25Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_Joao Alt.pdf: 13032903 bytes, checksum: a88b473b5819e948ca36ca147db3950a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-04-03T17:35:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_Joao Alt.pdf: 13032903 bytes, checksum: a88b473b5819e948ca36ca147db3950a (MD5) / Em meados do Século XIX as histórias em quadrinhos despontaram na cultura ocidental como uma forma de linguagem fundada no sincretismo verbo/imagem, que propiciou uma nova experiência de leitura. Recentemente, surgiram as chamadas histórias em quadrinhos abstratas que trouxeram consigo novas possibilidades de interação com as HQs, promoveram rearranjos no equilíbrio entre os planos da função semiótica e configuraram um novo campo para os estudos da significação. Esta tese, que opera na interface dos estudos de comunicação e semiótica, investiga os mecanismos de produção de sentido nas HQs tradicionais e abstratas, compara procedimentos enunciativos das duas correntes, e analisa, com enfoque na narratividade do conteúdo e na narratividade da expressão, a dinâmica da relação entre os dois planos da linguagem, à medida que o olhar analítico se desloca do domínio dos quadrinhos canônicos para o dos quadrinhos abstratos. Para isso, dá prioridade aos conceitos e ferramentas de análise das vertentes plástica e tensiva da semiótica, mas recorre também a fundamentos da psicologia da percepção e da história da arte, e a exemplos ilustrativos e noções pertinentes aos campos da pintura, da literatura e das artes gráficas. / During the nineteenth century, comics emerged amongst western culture as a form of language grounded on the word/picture syncretism, which provided a new reading experience. Recently, the so-called abstract comics have brought new possibilities of interaction with comics, reorganizing the balance between the plans of semiotic function and setting a new field of the study of meaning. This thesis, which operates amidst the studies of communication and semiotics, looks into the mechanics of meaning construction in traditional and abstract comics, compares discursive procedures of both courses, and analyses, concerning mainly content and expression narrativities, the dynamics between the two plans of language as the analytical eye places itself further from canonical comics towards abstract comics. Thereto, it prioritizes the concepts and tools of analysis of both plastic semiotics and the tensive model, but also calls upon grounds of psychology of art, gestalt theory and art history, and illustrative examples and notions concerning the fields of painting, literature and graphic arts.

El siguiente trabajo de investigación tiene como objetivo analizar el tratamiento de la sexualidad de las villanas y antiheroínas en los cómics de DC, Marvel e Image Comics, entre los años 2017 y 2020. En consecuencia, la hipótesis sostiene que el movimiento #MeToo, viralizado en el 2017, ha generado un cambio en la representación gráfica de las mujeres en los cómics de superhéroes. Por comprobarla, se ha realizado un análisis de contenido de veinticuatro números en total, seleccionando un personaje por editorial: Poison Ivy, Emma Frost y Jessica Priest, respectivamente. Se tomaron en consideración herramientas del lenguaje visual y su valor dentro del contexto narrativo. Igualmente, se realizaron entrevistas a una ilustradora de cómics, así como una especialista en cómics y estudios de género. Los resultados evidencian que Marvel presenta un tratamiento adecuado de Emma Frost, mientras que DC exhibe un diseño de personaje inconsistente con respecto a Poison Ivy. Por otro lado, la representación de Jessica Priest, por parte de Image Comics, muestra mayor disonancia en cuanto a decisiones artísticas y valor narrativo. Asimismo, la única editorial en la que se observa la inclusión de artistas mujeres en relación a estos personajes es DC, aunque aún no logran la paridad. Es posible concluir que el tratamiento de las villanas y antiheroínas no ha cambiado significativamente desde la aparición del movimiento #MeToo. Esto se debe a que la mirada masculina continúa viéndose reflejada en la libertad artística de las casas independientes y a la falta de la perspectiva femenina. / The following research aims to analyze the treatment of the sexuality of female villains and antiheroines in DC, Marvel and Image Comics between 2017 and 2020. Consequently, the study’s hypothesis holds that the #MeToo movement, that grew in popularity in 2017, has sparked a change in the graphic representation of women in superhero comics. Thus, twenty-four issues were examined using a content analysis method, selecting a character per publisher: Poison Ivy, Emma Frost and Jessica Priest, respectively. Visual language tools and their value within the narrative were considered in the investigation. Similarly, interviews were conducted with a comic illustrator and a specialist in comics and gender studies. The results show that Marvel presents an adequate treatment of Emma Frost, while DC exhibits an inconsistent character design when it comes to Poison Ivy. On the other hand, Image Comics’ handling of Jessica Priest shows greater dissonance in terms of artistic decisions and their narrative value. Likewise, the only editorial in which the inclusion of female artists is observed is DC Comics, although they have yet to achieve equality in job opportunities. In conclusion, the treatment of female villains and antiheroines hasn’t changed significantly since #MeToo went viral. This is evidenced in the way the male gaze continues to be reflected in the artistic choices of independent houses and also, in the lack of a female perspective in the superhero genre. / Trabajo de investigación

Диссертация посвящена теоретическому анализу комиксов и их экранизаций, ориентированных на подростковую аудиторию, в современной российской экранной культуре. В работе анализируется состояние проблемы в зарубежных и отечественных социально-культурологических исследованиях; кинокомикс рассматривается как феномен экранной культуры; выявляются основные проблемы функционирования кинокомиксов в современных условиях российского кинорынка; анализируются перспективы развития кинокомикса как направления отечественного кинематографа. В проектной части диссертации представлены концептуальные и содержательные составляющие проекта фестиваля кинокомиксов для подростков «Российский кинокомикс: вымысел или реальность?». / The dissertation is devoted to the theoretical analysis of comics and their adaptations focused on teenage audience in modern Russian screen culture. The paper analyzes the state of the problem in foreign and domestic socio-cultural studies; film comics is considered as a phenomenon of screen culture; identifies the main problems of the functioning of film comics in the modern conditions of the Russian film market; analyzes the prospects for the development of film as a direction of domestic cinema. The project part of the thesis presents the conceptual and substantive components of the project of the festival of film comics for teenagers «Russian film comics: fiction or reality?».

No description available.

The genre of comics has had a tumultuous career throughout the twentieth century: it has careened from wildly popular to being perceived as the source of society’s ills. Despite having been relegated to the lowest rung of the artistic ladder for the better part of the twentieth century, comics has been gaining in quality and respectability over the last couple of decades. My introductory chapter provides a broad, basic introduction to the genre of comics––its historical development, its different forms, and a survey of comics criticism over the last thirty years. In chapter two I clarify the nature of comics by comparing it to literature, film, and pictorial art, thereby highlighting its hybrid nature. It has elements in common with all of these, and yet it is a distinct genre. My primary focus is on Chris Ware, whom I introduce in chapter three, a brilliant creator who has garnered widespread recognition and respect. His magnum opus is Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth, the story of four generations of Corrigan men, most of whom have been negligent in raising their children. Jimmy Corrigan, as a result, is an introverted, insecure thirty–something–year–old man. Among comics creators Ware is unusual in that his story does not address socio–political issues, like most of his peers, which I discuss in chapter four. Jimmy Corrigan is an isolated tale with a very specific focus. Ware’s narrative is somewhat like those of William Faulkner, whose stories have a narrow focus, revolving around the lives of the inhabitants of Yoknapatawpha county, rather than encompassing the vast landscape of national socio–political concerns. Also, in chapter five I explore the intriguing combination of realist and Gothic elements––normally at opposite ends of the generic continuum––that Ware merges in Jimmy Corrigan. This feature is especially interesting because it is another way that his work explores aspects of hybridity. Finally, in my conclusion I examine the current state of comics in American culture and its future prospects for development and success, as well as the potential for future comics criticism.

Cette thèse porte sur la trajectoire éditoriale et artistique de la collection Vertigo créée en 1993 par DC Comics, maison d’édition états-unienne spécialisée dans la bande dessinée. Je me propose d’aborder Vertigo à travers l'apport des scénaristes britanniques employés par DC Comics depuis le milieu des années quatre-vingt. Leur rôle est en effet considérable, tant au moment de la fondation de Vertigo par la rédactrice Karen Berger que dans le succès ultérieur dont jouit la collection. La genèse de Vertigo met en lumière l’importance du phénomène appelé l’ « Invasion britannique », c’est-à-dire l’arrivée sur le marché états-unien de nombreux créateurs qui sont nés et travaillent à l’étranger pour DC Comics. Cette « invasion » révélera au public américain des scénaristes de tout premier plan tels Alan Moore, Grant Morrison ou Neil Gaiman, dont la série The Sandman est considérée comme un jalon majeur de l’histoire du média. La critique existante au sujet de Vertigo en général tend d’ailleurs à se focaliser sur la portion du corpus produit par les Britanniques, mais sans nécessairement prendre acte de cette spécificité culturelle. Le travail à mener est donc double ; d'une part, il s'agira de retracer une histoire du label en tant qu'instance productrice d'une culture médiatique particulière, qui s'inscrit dans un contexte socio-historique et repose sur les pratiques et les représentations de l'ensemble des acteurs (producteurs et consommateurs au sens large), eux-mêmes nourris d'une tradition qui préexiste à l'apparition de Vertigo. Il sera dès lors possible de prendre appui sur cette connaissance contextuelle pour interroger la poétique du label, et ainsi identifier les spécificités d’une « école » britannique au sein de cette industrie culturelle. / This thesis deals with the editorial and aesthetic history of the Vertigo imprint, which was created in 1993 by DC Comics, a US-American comics publisher. I shall consider in particular the contribution of British scriptwriters employed by DC and then by Vertigo from the 1980s onwards. Theise creators played a tremendous role, both at the time of Vertigo's founding by editor Karen Berger and at a later date, as the imprint gathered widespread recognition. The genesis of the Vertigo imprint sheds light on the so-called “British Invasion”, that is to say the appearance within the American industry of several UK-based creators working for DC Comics. Spearheaded by Alan Moore, the “invasion” brought to the fore many of the most important scriptwriters of years to come, such as Grant Morrison and Neil Gaiman, whose Sandman series has been described as a major landmark in the recognition of the medium. Existing criticism regarding Vertigo tends to focus on the body of work produced by British authors, without necessarily discussing their national specificity. My goal is therefore double; on the one hand, I intend to write a history of the label as the producer of a specific media culture that belongs to a given socio-historical context and is grounded in the practices and representations of the field's actors (producers and consumers in a broad sense). On the other hand, the awareness of the context in which the books are produced shall allow me to interrogate the imprint's poetics, thus identifying the specificity of a “British school of writing” within the comics mainstream industry.

This thesis explores the zombie’s rise to prominence in popular culture, with a focus on its development within the comics medium. The zombie is not just a ‘floating signifier’ (according to Jerrold E. Hogle), but a revenant signifier, actively and aggressively linking with existing concepts, and transforming them. The thesis also considers both the zombie figure and zombie genre within the parameters of several media – comics, television, film, and literature. The medium of comics is examined in detail as it has evolved through the influence of the zombie just as the zombie has been reshaped by each new representation. In contemporary horror comics, The Walking Dead series is not just commercially successful, it exploits properties of the medium (including panel arrangement, transitions, repetition, and the liminal space within the gutter) to thoroughly explore the metaphors and allusions that have been associated with the zombie. I discuss these metaphors by charting the zombie’s development. A lack of pre-twentieth century literary texts featuring this creature frustrates easy comparison with the monsters of Gothic fiction. Rather than evolving within the novel form, as its rival horror icons have done, the zombie has maintained a visual and visceral identity, maturing with each new incarnation, and becoming ever more gruesome: the walking corpses of ancient texts; a symbol of eternal slavery within Haitian Voodoo folklore; and its modern interpretation as violent and virulent monster. The recent notion of a zombie plague has redefined the creature as a representation of modern fears, and has led to ‘zombie apocalypse’ becoming a commonly-used fantasy scenario. The zombie’s connection to apocalyptic literature is simultaneously ancient and contemporary, with the creature being a signifier of social disorder and disrupted identity. While the emphasis throughout is on the shifting relations between media, comics are the main focus of this study. The symbolism present in the zombie, and the political and cultural ideas stemming from its slow maturation are revealed within The Walking Dead and sustained through the functions of the comics medium. Through the application of Scott McCloud’s comics theory, the closure between panels and the transition within the gutter enhance these ideas, and provide further understanding of the zombie as depicted in comics. The visual/textual relationship within comics is compared with Jacques Lacan’s modalities of consciousness, and the psychoanalytic reading provided here explores the crises of identity within the zombie, and within the fragmented narrative of the comics medium. Alternative psychoanalytic readings, and the physiology/pathology of the zombie itself are undertaken, revealing the creature to be responsive to Julia Kristeva’s concept of the abject, and Slavoj Zizek’s postmodern reworking of Lacanian ideas. The thesis also returns to notions of the Gothic, haunted spaces, and the role of suburbia in the zombie narrative. This is augmented with a study of intertextuality and the “revenant” status of the zombie, and of comics. Through incorporating the critical theory of Kristeva, Mikhail Bakhtin, and Jacques Derrida, and by positioning in parallel comics theorist Thierry Groensteen’s concepts of braiding and arthrology, I emphasise the operations of the zombie figure in the comic book, and other media, asserting that the zombie is a revenant signifier continually returning and transforming, never resting, but endlessly cannibalising and reconstructing debate about identity, morality, and society.

This essay is an analysis of Brian Wood's Viking epic Northlanders, published by Vertigo/DC between the years of 2007-2012. The aim is to identify how Old Norse faith and Christianity are portrayed. This is done by using the theory of representation as developed by Stuart Hall and putting them into the historical context of a postmodern, secular western world of thought. The research shows a wide variety of religiosity in both Norse and Christian characters. Some common trends have been identified though, and these are a general appreciation of physical strength within the Norse religion and a general tendency in Norse religion to explain natural phenomena and to have fatalistic leanings while Christianity rather seeks to offer comfort in times of need. The results also show that one of the greater roles Christianity plays in Northlanders is contributing to, or sometimes forcing a societal change, while the practitioners of the Norse faith tend to lean toward stability. There is also a tendency to present the northerners as outcasts, while the Christian counterparts are part of an establishment.