MLitt Comics Studies
EN52033: International Comics Cultures
Semester: 2
The aim of the module is to introduce students to a variety of comics emerging from different national traditions, facilitating an understanding of the differences and similarities between these comics cultures. The module would trace the formal and cultural relationships between the art, writing and production of Chinese, Japanese, French, American and British comics.
Course Outline (Session 2011/12)
- Week 1: Introduction to course
- Week 2: British Comics 1: From Hogarth to The Beano: selected stories
- Week 3: British Comics 2: The Eagle, 2000AD and Charley’s War: selected stories
- Week 4: American Comics: From The Yellow Kid to Crumb: selected stories, including examples from Krazy Kat, Peanuts, Superman, Spider-Man, and EC horror and war stories
- Week 5: Belgian and Italian Comics: Masereel, The City and Herge, Tintin in the Land of the Soviets and Destination Moon, and Lorenzo Mattotti, Fires
- Week 6: French Comics 1: Classic Bande Dessinée: René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, Asterix the Gaul, and Edgar Pierre Jacobs, Blake and Mortimer
- Week 7: French Comics 2: Modern Bande Dessinée: Jacques Tardi, It Was the War of the Trenches and Moebius, selected stories
- Week 8: Polish and Russian Komics: Andrzej Klimowski, The Secret and Nikolai Maslov, Siberia
- Week 9: Japanese Comics 1: Osamu Tezuka, Astro Boy and Machiko Hasegawa, Sazae-san
- Week 10: Japanese Comics 2: Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima, Lone Wolf and Cub, and Katsuhiro Otomo, Akira
- Week 11: Emerging Comics Cultures (China, India, Africa, South America): selected stories
Secondary Reading
- Groensteen, T. (1999), The System of Comics (Jackson: Mississippi UP, 2009)
- Hatfield, C. Alternative Comics: An Emerging Literature (Jackson: Mississippi UP, 2005)
- Heer, J. & Worchester, K. (eds), A Comics Studies Reader (Jackson: Mississippi UP, 2008)
- McCloud, S. Understanding Comics (New York: Kitchen Sink Press, 1993)
- Round, J. and Murray, C. (eds), Studies in Comics (Intellect)
- Grove, L. (ed) European Comic Art (Liverpool UP)
Assessment
- Weekly journal (20%) 200 words per week, due on the Friday of each week
- Presentation (15%), given in class, topic to be agreed with module organiser
- Literature review (15%) 1,000 words, due Monday Week 7
- Research essay (50%, 4,000 words), due Monday Week 12
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