Comics, Trauma, and the New Art of War

Nonfiction, Health & Well Being, Psychology, Mental Illness, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Cultural Studies, Popular Culture, Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism
Cover of the book Comics, Trauma, and the New Art of War by Harriet E. H. Earle, University Press of Mississippi
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Harriet E. H. Earle ISBN: 9781496812476
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi Publication: June 19, 2017
Imprint: University Press of Mississippi Language: English
Author: Harriet E. H. Earle
ISBN: 9781496812476
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
Publication: June 19, 2017
Imprint: University Press of Mississippi
Language: English

Conflict and trauma remain among the most prevalent themes in film and literature. Comics has never avoided such narratives, and comics artists are writing them in ways that are both different from and complementary to literature and film. In Comics, Trauma, and the New Art of War, Harriet E. H. Earle brings together two distinct areas of research--trauma studies and comics studies--to provide a new interpretation of a long-standing theme. Focusing on representations of conflict in American comics after the Vietnam War, Earle claims that the comics form is uniquely able to show traumatic experience by representing events as viscerally as possible.

Using texts from across the form and placing mainstream superhero comics alongside alternative and art comics, Earle suggests that comics are the ideal artistic representation of trauma. Because comics bridge the gap between the visual and the written, they represent such complicated narratives as loss and trauma in unique ways, particularly through the manipulation of time and experience. Comics can fold time and confront traumatic events, be they personal or shared, through a myriad of both literary and visual devices. As a result, comics can represent trauma in ways that are unavailable to other narrative and artistic forms.

With themes such as dreams and mourning, Earle concentrates on trauma in American comics after the Vietnam War. Examples include Alissa Torres's American Widow, Doug Murray's The 'Nam, and Art Spiegelman's much-lauded Maus. These works pair with ideas from a wide range of thinkers, including Sigmund Freud, Mikhail Bakhtin, and Fredric Jameson, as well as contemporary trauma theory and clinical psychology. Through these examples and others, Comics, Trauma, and the New Art of War proves that comics open up new avenues to explore personal and public trauma in extraordinary, necessary ways.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Conflict and trauma remain among the most prevalent themes in film and literature. Comics has never avoided such narratives, and comics artists are writing them in ways that are both different from and complementary to literature and film. In Comics, Trauma, and the New Art of War, Harriet E. H. Earle brings together two distinct areas of research--trauma studies and comics studies--to provide a new interpretation of a long-standing theme. Focusing on representations of conflict in American comics after the Vietnam War, Earle claims that the comics form is uniquely able to show traumatic experience by representing events as viscerally as possible.

Using texts from across the form and placing mainstream superhero comics alongside alternative and art comics, Earle suggests that comics are the ideal artistic representation of trauma. Because comics bridge the gap between the visual and the written, they represent such complicated narratives as loss and trauma in unique ways, particularly through the manipulation of time and experience. Comics can fold time and confront traumatic events, be they personal or shared, through a myriad of both literary and visual devices. As a result, comics can represent trauma in ways that are unavailable to other narrative and artistic forms.

With themes such as dreams and mourning, Earle concentrates on trauma in American comics after the Vietnam War. Examples include Alissa Torres's American Widow, Doug Murray's The 'Nam, and Art Spiegelman's much-lauded Maus. These works pair with ideas from a wide range of thinkers, including Sigmund Freud, Mikhail Bakhtin, and Fredric Jameson, as well as contemporary trauma theory and clinical psychology. Through these examples and others, Comics, Trauma, and the New Art of War proves that comics open up new avenues to explore personal and public trauma in extraordinary, necessary ways.

More books from University Press of Mississippi

Cover of the book Big Jim Eastland by Harriet E. H. Earle
Cover of the book Black Boys Burning by Harriet E. H. Earle
Cover of the book Toni Morrison by Harriet E. H. Earle
Cover of the book The Snare by Harriet E. H. Earle
Cover of the book Drawing France by Harriet E. H. Earle
Cover of the book Operation Pretense by Harriet E. H. Earle
Cover of the book The Complete Folktales of A. N. Afanas'ev, Volume II by Harriet E. H. Earle
Cover of the book Mississippi's American Indians by Harriet E. H. Earle
Cover of the book You Don’t Know Jack by Harriet E. H. Earle
Cover of the book The Woman Fantastic in Contemporary American Media Culture by Harriet E. H. Earle
Cover of the book New Orleans Memories by Harriet E. H. Earle
Cover of the book America's Great Storm by Harriet E. H. Earle
Cover of the book Slavery and the American South by Harriet E. H. Earle
Cover of the book Dictionary of Louisiana French by Harriet E. H. Earle
Cover of the book Lost Mansions of Mississippi, Volume II by Harriet E. H. Earle
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy