English 154 - Spring, 2018

The Graphic Novel

Class Information

Instructor: Milburn, Colin
CRN: 81972
Time: TR 3:10-4:30
Location: 106 Olson

Description

This class covers the history of the graphic novel, or the book-length comics narrative, focusing on some of the most important English-language examples. We will trace the emergence of the graphic novel within the larger media ecology of comics, cartoons, and popular fiction, studying how literary form is shaped by market forces as much as artistic ambitions. Focusing on major figures--including Art Spiegelman, Alison Bechdel, Will Eisner, Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, and Neil Gaiman--as well as the cartooning traditions and narrative genres that provide context for their work, this course will look at a range of topics: the comics industry, fan communities, cartoon autobiographies, animal fables and funny books, horror comics, science fiction, and superheroes. We will also learn key critical approaches to the study of comics, addressing the medium-specificity of what Spiegelman famously calls the "co-mix": the mixing of words and pictures to tell a story.

Grading

Midterm (20%), final exam (30%), 2 essays (50%)

Texts

Art Spiegelman, Maus
Will Eisner, A Contract with God and Other Tenement Stories
Alison Bechdel, Fun Home
Daniel Clowes, Ghostworld
Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, Watchmen
Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, We3
G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona, Ms. Marvel: No Normal
Charles Burns, Black Hole
Neil Gaiman, et al., The Sandman
Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
Bradford Wright, Comic Book Nation: The Transformation of Youth Culture in America