The issue of alternative certification teacher training has greatly affected art education over three decades. As a result of training through alternative certification, many art educators enter the profession unprepared and unable to cope with the realities of teaching. This study attempts to understand and represent the experiences and struggles of four alternatively certified art teachers, including myself. By reading these stories, others within the education community can empathize with and provide support for struggling novice teachers. This creative thesis uses a graphic novel format to represent participants' stories. By combining text and imagery, the graphic novel format provides different meanings, interpretations, and insights into the teachers' lives. This medium offered a unique and rich perspective on the stories of what it is like being an alternatively certified art teacher.

My research demonstrates how Othering practices affect the cultural status of the comics form. Comics frequently rely upon Othering practices such as stereotype when representing minority characters. This tendency contributes to the low cultural status of comics throughout the better part of the last century. In recent years, however, comics artists have cultivated revisioning techniques that challenge the use of Othering practices in comics. These efforts represent an important step in the push toward what is now known as the comics-as-literature movement, which Scott McCloud believes will allow the next generation of comics readers and artists to accept the idea that “comics can yield a body of work worthy of study and meaningfully represent the life, times and world-view of its author” (Reinventing 10). Even as Othering practices in comics create negative perceptions, these same practices, ironically, provide comics artists with the necessary mechanisms to undermine or revise these negative perceptions and to move comics into the literary arena. The primary mechanism that I focus on in this project is the denotation/connotation relationship. In “Rhetoric of the Image,” Roland Barthes -- speaking about advertising images -- suggests that “the denoted image naturalizes the symbolic message, it innocents the semantic artifice of connotation” (“Rhetoric” 45). Building on Barthes’ work, I demonstrate how the comics image uses the denotative component in visual representations of minorities to naturalize symbolic messages (connotations) that project inferiority. This is how comics create and perpetuate Otherness. At the same time, by interrogating the denotation/connotation relationship, contemporary comics artists have been able to undermine this naturalization process and expose the misconceptions that are inherent within representations of the Other in comics. When comics commonly adopt Othering practices, they create what Charles Hatfield refers to as “encrusted connotations” (4), where the reader’s experience of a comics work is deeply affected by the social perceptions that surround comics in general. When the treatment of minorities in comics is based upon outdated stereotypes, for example, readers may assume that comics are a popular art form without literary aspirations, and the readers then treat these comics accordingly. Conversely, when comics artists challenge the encrusted connotations of the form, they undermine these connotations and open the comics readers’ eyes to the possibility that comics can indeed yield a body of work worthy of study. As I demonstrate, this revisioning work of contemporary comics artists is an important component of the comics-as-literature movement. In order to prove this, my work isolates three distinct forms of Othering that comics speak to in a prominent way. By studying the manner in which comics represent women, racial minorities and geeks, I develop the pattern by which Othering practices contribute to the cultural status of comics art. Each chapter isolates touchstone texts with regard to minority representation (Wonder Woman as gender representation, Happy Hooligan and Luke Cage as racial representation, Clark Kent as geek representation, etc.) in order to establish the formation of encrusted connotations that can then be seen across the medium as a whole. I then show how some of the most prominent and critically acclaimed comics literature of the past twenty years (Maus, Jimmy Corrigan, Persepolis, etc.) enters into a self-reflexive dialogue with these encrusted connotations in order to move beyond them and to help transition the form toward a higher cultural status.

My research demonstrates how Othering practices affect the cultural status of the comics form. Comics frequently rely upon Othering practices such as stereotype when representing minority characters. This tendency contributes to the low cultural status of comics throughout the better part of the last century. In recent years, however, comics artists have cultivated revisioning techniques that challenge the use of Othering practices in comics. These efforts represent an important step in the push toward what is now known as the comics-as-literature movement, which Scott McCloud believes will allow the next generation of comics readers and artists to accept the idea that “comics can yield a body of work worthy of study and meaningfully represent the life, times and world-view of its author” (Reinventing 10). Even as Othering practices in comics create negative perceptions, these same practices, ironically, provide comics artists with the necessary mechanisms to undermine or revise these negative perceptions and to move comics into the literary arena. The primary mechanism that I focus on in this project is the denotation/connotation relationship. In “Rhetoric of the Image,” Roland Barthes -- speaking about advertising images -- suggests that “the denoted image naturalizes the symbolic message, it innocents the semantic artifice of connotation” (“Rhetoric” 45). Building on Barthes’ work, I demonstrate how the comics image uses the denotative component in visual representations of minorities to naturalize symbolic messages (connotations) that project inferiority. This is how comics create and perpetuate Otherness. At the same time, by interrogating the denotation/connotation relationship, contemporary comics artists have been able to undermine this naturalization process and expose the misconceptions that are inherent within representations of the Other in comics. When comics commonly adopt Othering practices, they create what Charles Hatfield refers to as “encrusted connotations” (4), where the reader’s experience of a comics work is deeply affected by the social perceptions that surround comics in general. When the treatment of minorities in comics is based upon outdated stereotypes, for example, readers may assume that comics are a popular art form without literary aspirations, and the readers then treat these comics accordingly. Conversely, when comics artists challenge the encrusted connotations of the form, they undermine these connotations and open the comics readers’ eyes to the possibility that comics can indeed yield a body of work worthy of study. As I demonstrate, this revisioning work of contemporary comics artists is an important component of the comics-as-literature movement. In order to prove this, my work isolates three distinct forms of Othering that comics speak to in a prominent way. By studying the manner in which comics represent women, racial minorities and geeks, I develop the pattern by which Othering practices contribute to the cultural status of comics art. Each chapter isolates touchstone texts with regard to minority representation (Wonder Woman as gender representation, Happy Hooligan and Luke Cage as racial representation, Clark Kent as geek representation, etc.) in order to establish the formation of encrusted connotations that can then be seen across the medium as a whole. I then show how some of the most prominent and critically acclaimed comics literature of the past twenty years (Maus, Jimmy Corrigan, Persepolis, etc.) enters into a self-reflexive dialogue with these encrusted connotations in order to move beyond them and to help transition the form toward a higher cultural status.

This thesis examines occurrences of hypermasculinity in examples from the genre of comic book fiction, utilizing textual evidence to suggest the current collection has re-iterated the more negative hypermasculine components of their source material: comic books. In doing so, the thesis compares the present novels with the creative element of the PhD submission – This Is It – a novel which serves as a critique of the prevalence of hypermasculinity in heroic figures within comic book fiction. By analyzing the sociological reasons behind hypermasculinity, and its subsequent effects, this thesis aims to make apparent the danger inherent with the continued association of hypermasculinity and hero figures in a new medium such as comic book fiction. It will also argue that the development of such a form divergent from comic books allows scope for a deconstruction of the hypermasculine comic book hero.

This bachelor´s thesis wants to look closer at librarians´ experiences of comics, manga and graphic novels. In order to bring these experiences forward qualitative interviews and the method of phenomenography was used. The material was then examend againstna theory of previous research, revealing that the problems librarians in Sweden face with these media are largely the same as the problems faced by librarians in other parts of the world. It also became clear that the participating librarians held a positive attitude to the presence of comics, manga and graphic novles in their libraries.

This paper discusses how the author created a comic as a way to explore their personal suffering and the suffering of those around them throughout schooling. It defines the inspirations, both personal and technical for how the comic was produced and how it will expand to a graphic novel after college.

One of the most interesting aspects of Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1999[1946]) is its dual address. The illustrated narrative is at once a charming story for children and an allegory inviting adults to consider philosophical questions. In the graphic-novel adaptation of the book by Joann Sfar (2008), this allegory is obscured:; the abstract, philosophical ideas recede to the background while the material details of the story become more prominent. But this recession of the allegory does not mean that the adaptation turns its back on adult readers completely. The graphic novel creates a web of intertextual references, which, among other things, amplify the suggestion in the source text that the protagonist is Antoine de Saint-Exupéry himself. It thus displaces the adult interest from allegory to autobiography and the mechanism of adult address from allegory to intertextuality, restricting its adult audience. For those adult readers who remain addressed by the graphic novel, however, the text identifies itself explicitly as a translation, which has consequences for we should think about the “voice” of the translator. Un des aspects les plus intéressants du livre Le Petit Prince d’Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1999 [1946]) tient au fait que le récit illustré est une histoire charmante pour les enfants en même temps qu’il invite les adultes à réfléchir à des questions philosophiques. Dans l’adaptation du récit en bande dessinée par Joann Sfar (2008), les éléments abstraits du livre s’estompent derrière les détails concrets de l’histoire. Cet effacement de l’allégorie ne signifie pourtant pas que la bande dessinée tourne le dos aux adultes : elle crée un réseau intertextuel qui renforce l’impression donnée par le texte source que le véritable protagoniste est Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Ainsi, l’intérêt pour les questions philosophiques se reporte sur l’autobiographie et, passant de l’allégorie à l’intertextualité, la bande dessinée sollicite alors moins les adultes. Cependant, pour les adultes auquelles la bande dessinée s’addresse toujours, le texte s’identifie explicitement comme une traduction, ce qui implique une réévaluation du concept de la “voix” du traducteur.

The first part of this submission is a graphic novel entitled “Diss”. The novel is set in South African in the near future, and is based on Dante’s “Inferno”. The work also draws on various ancient mythologies and works of fiction. Essentially, this graphic novel is a reflection on contemporary South African society, as the reader travels with the main character, Dirk, through the rooms of a club in the South African capital, Pretoria. The club contains the nine circles of hell, and leads Dirk to discover aspects of himself that he has suppressed, such as his mother’s brutal murder. He meets his three guardians from ancient Egyptian mythology, who are also the keepers of the hallway. He further has to confront the three aspects of the Queen of hell, based on the three archetypal aspects of woman, who tempt him into letting go of a memory. At the climax, he is confronted with the queen herself, who, craving the taste of Dirk’s pain, tries to remove the memory from him by force. Throughout “Diss” Dirk’s best friend Gugu travels with his, and acts as his moral guide in the club. The second section is entitled “The graphic novel: an international and South African exploration.” The research essay explores the definitions and background of the graphic novel, and looks at how the genre can uniquely explore aspects of time and space, myth and intertext and hybridity and cultural production. To illustrate these aspects the essay explores definitive works in the genre, namely “Maus” by Art Spiegelman, “The Sandman” series by Neil Gaiman, and “Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi. The essay further looks at the history of African comics, and, more specifically, the graphic novel publication industry in South Africa. Lastly, the essay explores the possibilities of the graphic novel within the multimodal classroom, particularly in how the genre can be used in promoting literacy. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Afrikaans / unrestricted

Graphic Novels sind ein Comic-Genre, das gerade immer größere Umsatzzahlen generiert und großes Zukunftspotential hat. Entgegen diesem Trend ist die Nachfrage nach Graphic Novels in der Stadtbücherei Trier noch eher verhalten, was sich in geringen Ausleihzahlen zeigt. In dieser Arbeit sollen die möglichen Gründe für die noch geringe Nachfrage in Trier analysiert und Maßnahmen entwickelt werden, um dem entgegenzusteuern. Dabei wird der Fokus auf dem Graphic-Novel-Bestand für Erwachsene liegen. Da der Begriff „Graphic Novel“ nicht eindeutig definiert ist, muss zunächst eine Arbeitsdefinition mit charakteristischen Merkmalen des Genres erarbeitet werden. Im Anschluss folgt nach der Struktur des Marketing-Management-Prozesses eine Analyse der aktuellen Situation in Bezug auf Graphic Novels in der Gesellschaft, auf dem Buchmarkt, in Trier und in der Bibliothek. Grundlagen für die Analyse sind die aktuelle Literatur zu Graphic Novels, Gespräche mit der zuständigen Bibliothekarin vor Ort, die Auswertung der lokalen Ausleihstatistik und eine Befragung der Graphic-Novel-Leser der Stadtbücherei Trier. Aus den gewonnenen Erkenntnissen werden konkrete Maßnahmen erarbeitet, wie die Nachfrage nach Graphic Novels für Erwachsene in der Stadtbücherei Trier gesteigert werden kann.:Abbildungs- und Tabellenverzeichnis 1. Einleitung 2 Die angewendeten Methoden und Informationsgrundlagen 3 Der Begriff „Graphic Novel“ 3.1 Aufkommen und grundsätzliche Bedeutung 3.2 Merkmale 3.3 Kritik 3.4 Verwendung in dieser Arbeit 4 Anwendung des Marketing-Management-Prozesses 4.1 Marktanalyse 4.1.1 Umfeld-Analyse 4.1.2 Buchmarktanalyse 4.1.3 Nachfrage-Analyse 4.1.4 Gemeinwesenanalyse 4.1.5 Wettbewerbsanalyse 4.1.6 Bibliotheksanalyse 4.1.7 Ist-Stand-Analyse 4.2 Festlegung von Marketing-Zielen – strategisches Marketing 4.3 Maßnahmen zum Erreichen der Ziele – operatives Marketing 4.3.1 Maßnahmen für Ziel 1 4.3.2 Maßnahmen für Ziel 2 4.4 Evaluationsmethoden 5 Fazit Literaturverzeichnis Anhang 1: Der schriftliche Fragebogen Anhang 2: Hinweisplakat zur Befragung Anhang 3: Ergebnisse der Befragung Anhang 4: Flyer „Wo finde ich was?“ Anhang 5: Liste aller Graphic-Novel-Titel für Erwachsene der Stadtbücherei Trier

Esta dissertação tem como objetivo realizar uma aproximação entre dois campos distintos: a Literatura e as Histórias em Quadrinhos. Especificamente, pretende-se aqui analisar como Watchmen constroi e organiza sua narrativa partindo de um pressuposto realista. Nesse sentido, esta dissertação realiza uma aproximação entre dois gêneros: o romance literário e o romance gráfico (graphic novel). A ascensão de ambos os gêneros já aponta paralelos entre os campos. Após essa exposição, é feita a análise propriamente dita, que compreende duas partes. A primeira se constitui do levantamento das estruturas visuais de Watchmen (balões, formato dos quadrinhos, estilo do desenho) que se organizam em um jogo entre convenção mimética e deslocamento. A segunda parte da análise tem como recorte os capítulos II e XI do romance gráfico e se debruça sobre o tratamento dispensado ao super-heroi; o que significa, no contexto de Watchmen, construir um super-heroi realista. / This thesis aims to approximate two distinctive fields: Literature and Comics. It intends to analyse how Watchmen constructs and organizes its narrative from a realistic assumption. In order to do so, this thesis approximate two genres: the literary novel and the graphic novel. The rise of both genres indicates similarities between the two fields. After that, the two-part analysis is presented. The first part consists of listing and interpreting Watchmens visual structure (speech bubbles, panel format, drawing style) and how they reveal a play between mimetic convention and displacement from it. The second part focuses on Watchmens chapters II and XI and analyses how the super-heroi character is constructed; what does it mean to make a realistic super-hero in Watchmens context.