As décadas de 1980-1990 marcam um ponto importante da história das revistas de quadrinhos de super-heróis. Mudanças no mercado, no público, na política, nos debates morais e culturais do momento ofereceram um cenário propício para novos desenvolvimentos no gênero super-herói. Esse quadro é cercado pelo pós-modernismo, a urbanização, a contracultura, mudanças nas artes e condições políticas que se desenvolvem da Guerra Fria, geograficamente centrada entre a Europa e os Estados Unidos, para a Guerra do Iraque, o que desloca atenções geopolíticas e conflitos para o Oriente Médio. Os quadrinhos de super-herói passam a oferecer maior liberdade temática para seus autores, e discussões sobre direitos autorais ganham força. Este cenário dispõe das condições para que alguns autores pudessem levar os super-heróis para discussões diferentes das décadas precedentes, permitindo o surgimento de trabalhos significativos, de autores que marcam suas obras abordando os super-heróis de forma pessoal. A presente pesquisa procura entender como o autor de histórias em quadrinhos Frank Miller se posicionou diante de uma determinada área de produção artística, utilizando-se das revistas de super-herói para discutir posicionamentos ideológicos, e reforçar seu caráter mítico e simbólico. Utilizando princípios da história cultural desenvolvidos por autores como Ginzburg, Burke, Gombrich, Schorske e Barzun, contextualiza-se a trajetória das histórias em quadrinhos até os anos 1980 e 1990, estabelecendo as condições da mídia quando do trabalho do artista. Para posicionar Miller em relação a seu mercado e suas relações de produção, são utilizadas as ferramentas analíticas de Michael Baxandall, que oferecem um modelo interpretativo das relações que se dão na produção artística. Finalmente, observam-se as abordagens temáticas e morais de sua obra, com seu contexto dentro de uma trajetória na história cultural. Para isso, traça-se um panorama que discute como a obra de Miller atualiza a jornada do herói de Joseph Campbell, utilizando-se da cultura popular para fazer um diálogo entre discussões morais, históricas e políticas, por meio de uma construção de narrativas heroicas que operam como mitos populares modernos e parâmetros civilizacionais, carregando em si princípios, valores e ideias de uma cultura. / The decades of 1980-1990 establish an important point in the history of comic books. Changes in the market, the audience, in politics and in the cultural and moral debates of the time offered a scenario which was welcoming to new developments on the super-hero genre. This moment is marked by post-modernism, urbanization, the counter-culture, changes in arts and the political conditions which develop from the Cold War, geographically centred between the United States and Europe, to the Iraq war, which moves the geopolitical attentions and conflicts to the Middle- East. Super-hero comics start offering wider thematic freedom to their authors, and discussions about creator\'s rights gain momentum. This scenario contains the conditions for some of these authors to take super-heroes to discussions which are different from the ones happening in the preceding decades, allowing the emergence of important works, made by authors which marked their work in a very personal manner. This research seeks to understand how comic-book author Frank Miller has positioned himself before an area of artistic production, using super-hero comics, and comics in general, to discuss moral positions, and to underline their mythical and symbolic character. Exercising principles of cultural history developed by authors like Ginzburg, Burke, Gombrich, Schorske and Barzun, we situate the trajectory of comics from their inception as magazines until the 1980s and 1990s, establishing which were the conditions of this medium when Miller produced the works we look at. To understand Miller in relation to his market and his production, we use the analytic tools of Michael Baxandall, which offer an interpretative model of the relationships which happen in artistic production. Finally, we observe the thematic and moral approaches of his work, with their context within a trajectory in cultural history. In order to perform this, we establish a context which discusses how Miller work updates Joseph Cambell\'s hero\'s journey, using popular culture to make connections between moral, political and historical debates, creating heroic narratives which operate as modern popular myths and as civilizational benchmarks, carrying with them the principles, values and ideas of a culture.

As décadas de 1980-1990 marcam um ponto importante da história das revistas de quadrinhos de super-heróis. Mudanças no mercado, no público, na política, nos debates morais e culturais do momento ofereceram um cenário propício para novos desenvolvimentos no gênero super-herói. Esse quadro é cercado pelo pós-modernismo, a urbanização, a contracultura, mudanças nas artes e condições políticas que se desenvolvem da Guerra Fria, geograficamente centrada entre a Europa e os Estados Unidos, para a Guerra do Iraque, o que desloca atenções geopolíticas e conflitos para o Oriente Médio. Os quadrinhos de super-herói passam a oferecer maior liberdade temática para seus autores, e discussões sobre direitos autorais ganham força. Este cenário dispõe das condições para que alguns autores pudessem levar os super-heróis para discussões diferentes das décadas precedentes, permitindo o surgimento de trabalhos significativos, de autores que marcam suas obras abordando os super-heróis de forma pessoal. A presente pesquisa procura entender como o autor de histórias em quadrinhos Frank Miller se posicionou diante de uma determinada área de produção artística, utilizando-se das revistas de super-herói para discutir posicionamentos ideológicos, e reforçar seu caráter mítico e simbólico. Utilizando princípios da história cultural desenvolvidos por autores como Ginzburg, Burke, Gombrich, Schorske e Barzun, contextualiza-se a trajetória das histórias em quadrinhos até os anos 1980 e 1990, estabelecendo as condições da mídia quando do trabalho do artista. Para posicionar Miller em relação a seu mercado e suas relações de produção, são utilizadas as ferramentas analíticas de Michael Baxandall, que oferecem um modelo interpretativo das relações que se dão na produção artística. Finalmente, observam-se as abordagens temáticas e morais de sua obra, com seu contexto dentro de uma trajetória na história cultural. Para isso, traça-se um panorama que discute como a obra de Miller atualiza a jornada do herói de Joseph Campbell, utilizando-se da cultura popular para fazer um diálogo entre discussões morais, históricas e políticas, por meio de uma construção de narrativas heroicas que operam como mitos populares modernos e parâmetros civilizacionais, carregando em si princípios, valores e ideias de uma cultura. / The decades of 1980-1990 establish an important point in the history of comic books. Changes in the market, the audience, in politics and in the cultural and moral debates of the time offered a scenario which was welcoming to new developments on the super-hero genre. This moment is marked by post-modernism, urbanization, the counter-culture, changes in arts and the political conditions which develop from the Cold War, geographically centred between the United States and Europe, to the Iraq war, which moves the geopolitical attentions and conflicts to the Middle- East. Super-hero comics start offering wider thematic freedom to their authors, and discussions about creator\'s rights gain momentum. This scenario contains the conditions for some of these authors to take super-heroes to discussions which are different from the ones happening in the preceding decades, allowing the emergence of important works, made by authors which marked their work in a very personal manner. This research seeks to understand how comic-book author Frank Miller has positioned himself before an area of artistic production, using super-hero comics, and comics in general, to discuss moral positions, and to underline their mythical and symbolic character. Exercising principles of cultural history developed by authors like Ginzburg, Burke, Gombrich, Schorske and Barzun, we situate the trajectory of comics from their inception as magazines until the 1980s and 1990s, establishing which were the conditions of this medium when Miller produced the works we look at. To understand Miller in relation to his market and his production, we use the analytic tools of Michael Baxandall, which offer an interpretative model of the relationships which happen in artistic production. Finally, we observe the thematic and moral approaches of his work, with their context within a trajectory in cultural history. In order to perform this, we establish a context which discusses how Miller work updates Joseph Cambell\'s hero\'s journey, using popular culture to make connections between moral, political and historical debates, creating heroic narratives which operate as modern popular myths and as civilizational benchmarks, carrying with them the principles, values and ideas of a culture.

The purpose of this thesis was to study how journalism is represented in graphic novels, what roles are represented and if journalism in graphic novels is good or evil. The goal was also to see if there were any similarities or differences over a period of time. This was done with a qualitative analysis of two graphic novels written and drawn by Frank Miller. When we did the analysis we focused on pictures and texts that directly had a connection to the journalistic role. We used a semiotic approach to analyze the two graphic novels were our main focus where on what connotation, what denotation and what stereotypes could be found. This study establishes that stereotypes are used to represent journalism in a negative way. Journalists are also the cause of more harm than good. When you put journalism into the narrative technique of good versus evil they are clearly evil and use their power to undermine the heroes of the story. The journalists are put into stereotypical roles such as the female news reporter who is all looks and no brain, or the overzealous male reporter who tries to tell the truth but no one will listen to him. It is also clear that journalism is represented in a way that describes it as a phenomenon that spreads panic because the journalists in many cases come to their own conclusions without having all the facts. The study also shows that over a period of fifteen years the role of the journalist is the same but the way they are represented is very different.  Because of the larger rivalry from other news sources the media is forced to find new ways to attract an audience. Therefore the newer graphic novel portrays a sexualisation of the journalistic role.

<p>The purpose of this thesis was to study how journalism is represented in graphic novels, what roles are represented and if journalism in graphic novels is good or evil. The goal was also to see if there were any similarities or differences over a period of time. This was done with a qualitative analysis of two graphic novels written and drawn by Frank Miller. When we did the analysis we focused on pictures and texts that directly had a connection to the journalistic role. We used a semiotic approach to analyze the two graphic novels were our main focus where on what connotation, what denotation and what stereotypes could be found.</p><p>This study establishes that stereotypes are used to represent journalism in a negative way. Journalists are also the cause of more harm than good. When you put journalism into the narrative technique of good versus evil they are clearly evil and use their power to undermine the heroes of the story. The journalists are put into stereotypical roles such as the female news reporter who is all looks and no brain, or the overzealous male reporter who tries to tell the truth but no one will listen to him.</p><p>It is also clear that journalism is represented in a way that describes it as a phenomenon that spreads panic because the journalists in many cases come to their own conclusions without having all the facts. The study also shows that over a period of fifteen years the role of the journalist is the same but the way they are represented is very different.  Because of the larger rivalry from other news sources the media is forced to find new ways to attract an audience. Therefore the newer graphic novel portrays a sexualisation of the journalistic role.</p>

At just under thirty years the serious academic study of American comic books is relatively young. Over the course of three decades most historians familiar with the medium have recognized that American comics, since becoming a mass-cultural product in 1939, have matured beyond their humble beginnings as a monthly publication for children. However, historians are not yet in agreement as to when the medium became mature. This thesis proposes that the medium’s maturity was cemented between 1985 and 2000, a much later point in time than existing texts postulate. The project involves the analysis of how an American mass medium, in this case the comic book, matured in the last two decades of the twentieth century. The goal is to show the interconnected relationships and factors that facilitated the maturation of the American sequential art, specifically a focus on a group of British writers working at DC Comics and Vertigo, an alternative imprint under the financial control of DC. The project consulted the major works of British comic scriptwriters, Alan Moore, Jamie Delano, Grant Morrison, Peter Milligan, Neil Gaiman, Warren Ellis, and Garth Ennis. These works include Watchmen, V for Vendetta, Shade: the Changing Man, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Animal Man, Sandman, Transmetropolitan, Preacher and several other important works. Following a chronological organization, the work tracks major changes taking place in the American comic book industry in the commercial, corporate, and creative sectors to show the processes through which the medium matured in this time period. This is accomplished by combining textual analysis of the comics with industry specific records and a focus on major cultural shifts in US society and culture

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T18:12:04Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Adelio Goncalves Brito.pdf: 55870463 bytes, checksum: 4884765df8fcc405255c564841ce4601 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-08-10 / The goal of this study is to investigate the semiotic building process of a hero in the graphic novel 300, by Frank Miller, through the identification of a unique style of the author, based on narrative protocols of this media. Object of the investigation and contextualization determinant of this construction, the language of comics is exposed and analyzed in what constitute it, that is, on what defines it as a genre and characterizes it as a singular media, propitious as an entertainment use, especially in its graphic novel format. So, the research predisposes to unravel this language discursive course (Comics in graphic novel format), through which represents and constitutes the character of King Leonidas, leader of the warrior campaign which gives name to the aforementioned graphic novel. Such unraveling is supported by a semiotic analysis of the representation games between the characters and the narrative in the journey of the hero, which justifies the use of a theoretical reflection provided by the narratology of Vladimir Propp, supported by the Haroldian study on Macunaíma and the deepened analysis on that subject made by the studies of Christopher Vogler, and, finally, under the perspective of myth Joseph Campbell. The studies showed a King Leonidas built from a rescue of he old style hero, celebrated in the early days of comics, associated with multiple layers of meanings, which are repeated in two other Miller s characters, while they identified a millerian style, that works with elements of comics language in an unusual way, combining them with other languages, such as film and painting / O objetivo desta pesquisa é investigar o jogo de construção semiótica do herói na graphic novel Os 300 de Esparta, do quadrinista Frank Miller, por meio da identificação de um estilo próprio do autor, embasado nos protocolos narrativos desta mídia. Objeto da investigação e contextualização determinante dessa construção, a linguagem dos quadrinhos é exposta e analisada naquilo que a constitui, ou seja, naquilo que a define como gênero e a caracteriza como uma mídia singular propícia ao uso como entretenimento, especialmente em seu formato de graphic novel. Assim, a pesquisa se predispõe a deslindar os percursos discursivos desta linguagem (História em Quadrinhos em seu formato graphic novel), por meio dos quais se representa e constitui a personagem do Rei Leônidas, que é o condutor da campanha guerreira a que se refere o título da HQ. Tal deslinde está embasado numa análise semiótica dos jogos de representação entre as personagens e a narrativa na jornada do herói, o que justifica o uso da reflexão teórica proporcionada pela narratologia de Vladimir Propp, apoiada pela análise haroldiana do Macunaíma, além dos aprofundamentos que os estudos de Christopher Vogler acrescentam e, por fim, sob a perspectiva do mito de Joseph Campbell. Os estudos apontaram um Rei Leônidas construído a partir do resgate do modelo antigo de herói, celebrado nos primórdios das HQs, associado a múltiplas camadas de significações, que se repetem em outras duas personagens consagradas de Miller, ao mesmo tempo em que identificou-se um estilo milleriano, que trabalha elementos da linguagem dos quadrinhos de maneira inusitada, combinando-os com outras linguagens, como cinema e pintura

The depictions of women in film noir and neo-noir have long been objects of interest for feminist scholars. In this report, I extend this scholarship to examine Frank Miller's Sin city graphic novel series as a version of neo-noir that is both intimately connected to noir tradition and innovative in its approach, specifically in terms of his representation of women. Miller depicts his female characters in a variety of ways that reflect both the positive and negative imagery of women in classic noir and neo-noir; in doing so, he creates a new and complex vision of women in noir. This report uses three different characterizations of women in film noir--the spider woman, the femme moderne, and the angel--to explore the ways in which Miller's female characters can be understood to simultaneously uphold and challenge these conventions. / text

« Comic book » est un terme anglo-saxon, plus spécifiquement américain, employé pour désigner les fascicules de bande dessinée. Il a trouvé son autonomie en 1938 avec la création de « Superman » qui a amorcé l'hégémonie de la figure du « super-héros » dans la production. Au cours du vingtième siècle, éditeurs et auteurs ont eu recours à des stratégies de conquête et de fidélisation du lectorat dont le procédé de la réécriture est le plus significatif. Le super-héros fut alors soumis à l'interprétation de nombreux créateurs et devint le témoin à multiples facettes de l'Histoire des États-Unis. Il s'est dessiné à partir des années quatre-vingt une tendance réflexive qui prend cette figure comme objet critique et qui a donné naissance à ce qu'on appelle ici le « metacomic ». À partir d'un corpus représentatif, cette thèse est consacrée aux stratégies qui fondent cette réflexivité et aux discours qu'elle véhicule dans les œuvres. Elle se divise en quatre chapitres. Le premier est un descriptif de l'industrie du comic book qui explique ses particularités et l'hégémonie en son sein du genre « superhéroïque ». Le second est dédié aux processus formels qui permettent de justifier la constitution du corpus en définissant la réflexivité des œuvres. Le troisième est voué à une analyse du caractère idéologique de cette métafiction, afin de montrer en quoi la mise en crise du super-héros sert un discours sur l'Histoire et la politique américaines. Le dernier s'intéresse à la manière dont les œuvres consacrent le super-héros comme figure de l'imagination : adoptant une approche fictionnaliste, on y démontre comment transfictionnalité et univers fictionnels sont utilisés pour revisiter / “Comic Book” is the Anglo-Saxon, more specifically American term employed to describe a specific material medium for comics. The epochal moment in the history of the comic book was the 1938 publication of « Superman », which marked the starting point of the hegemony of the figure of the superhero in comic production. Over the course of the twentieth century, authors and publishers have used various strategies for winning over readers and securing their loyalty. Among these, the technique of rewriting is the most significant. Thus, the superhero has been the subject of many reinterpretations, and consequently, has born witness to many facets of the United States’ history. The publications of the 1980s have seen the rise of a reflexive approach in which the superhero becomes an object of critique himself. This new genre is here referred to as Metacomic. Drawing on a representative body of works, the doctoral thesis at hand examines the strategies that constitute this reflexivity, as well as the multiple discourses that it gives rise to. The thesis is divided into four chapters. The first chapter gives an account of the comic book industry and explains its particularities, as well as the hegemonic position of the superhero genre in the industry. The second chapter attempts a definition of reflexivity in comic books, which permits to establish a body of works to be examined. The third chapter attempts an analysis of the ideological aspects of this metafiction in order to show how the crisis of the superhero reflects on a certain discourse on American history and politics. The fourth and last chapter examines how the analysed comics establish the superhero as an agent of imag

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / This project responds to previous available literature on the subject of heroism, which tends to deal with either an isolated work or with genre- and archetype-specific analysis, and applies their concepts to case studies of Frank Miller’s various heroic models. In particular, this project addresses the film Sin City and the graphic novel The Dark Knight Strikes Again, arguing that DK2 serves as a departure of sorts from Miller’s ideals of heroism in his middle years (such as those presented in Sin City), as the protagonist becomes more of a revolutionary engaged in revamping society than the vigilante or “lone wolf” on the fringes of society. With the aforementioned sources as a general background, it is evident that Miller’s heroic ideals shift in their active capacity and scope but remain more or less steady in their strong individual sense of ethical duty. In addition, these sources aid in establishing the comparisons Miller actually invites to traditional, “archetypal” understandings of the hero as well as to the particular heroic form of Ayn Rand, which he explicitly references in DK2. Miller’s response to these previous models bolsters the assertion that theories of heroic ideals are inherently political as they deal with representations of the kind of person a hero must be, in turn involving issues of gender, ethnicity and class.