ENGL 53.26 From More Fun to Fun Home: A History of the U.S. Comic Book
This course examines the development of the American comic book in its historical, cultural, and political contexts. Key topics include: pre-comics visual storytelling and the conceptual problems with seeking such precedents; the explosion of the American comic strip during the Yellow Journalism period; the formats, forms, and genres of the early comic book industry; the rise of DC Comics, home to Superman; artist-run “shops” and the development of romance and horror comics; the 1950s Kefauver hearings and the introduction of the Comics Code; the “Silver Age,” the decline of DC and the rise of Marvel Comics; Underground Comix and Sixties counterculture; censorship and creative rights skirmishes of the 1980s and 90s; and the legitimation of comics as “graphic novels.” Along the way, we will read historical comics (in reprint anthologies) to explore the comics form: visual narration, the development and assignment of distinct styles to different genres, and the historical import of individual creators from Jerry Siegel and Will Eisner to Alison Bechdel and the Hernandez Brothers.
Instructor
Not being offered in 2022-23
Department-Specific Course Categories
Course Group III