scholarly journals Indian spooks: What Indian Comic Books Readers Are Afraid of

Politeja ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (2(59)) ◽  
pp. 161-176
Author(s):  
Marcin Ciemniewski

The comic book industry in India began in 1950. Back then leading American comic books like The Phantom, Flash Gordon and Rip Kirby started to be published in India and translated into local languages. Indian youngsters in no time became interested in the new medium, especially in superhero comics known from the American popular culture. The success of these translations encouraged local publishers and cartoonists to create Indian themed comic books, set in India with Indian heroes (and superheroes) − even though Indian comics were still strongly influenced by American ones, mainly in terms of esthetics. However, around 1950, American comics publishing companies also tried to attract adult readers by presenting more adult content in a form of horror and thriller stories. Publishers in India quickly adapted this trend launching a very popular comic book series in Hindi of thrill, horror and suspense. In this way horror – till then almost completely absent from Indian literature and popular culture – was introduced to the local audience. The question remains, how different are those local spooks from the American ones and finally: what are Indians afraid of?

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 584-611
Author(s):  
Tammy S. Garland ◽  
Christina Policastro ◽  
Kathryn A. Branch ◽  
Brandy B. Henderson

Previous studies have examined intimate partner violence (IPV) in popular culture; however, little attention has been given to the presence of domestic violence myths in comic books. Using a convenience sample taken from popular comic book series, this content analysis examines the prevalence of IPV and the myths used to justify such portrayals. Findings indicate that the reinforcement of IPV through myths is clearly evident within mainstream comic books. Discussion of the negative impact of the acceptance and reinforcement of IPV myths is addressed.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle Landon Jossy

This study looked at how males and females were portrayed, based on the amount of skin shown in the clothing worn.  A Content analysis was performed on a sample of 20 randomly selected popular comics from the last 3 years.  Both male and female characters were rated on how much skin they showed in three clothing categories; neck line, sleeve length, and lower body.  Results showed that in all 3 categories, women consistently wore more revealing clothing.  The findings demonstraetd that the comic book industry is comparable to other forms of media, in the sexualization of female characters, by having them wear more revealing clothing.


2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 189
Author(s):  
Michela Addis ◽  
Gabriele Troilo

<p>One of the most firmly-established and widespread marketing policies in the comic book industry is the humanization of superheroes as a strategy to achieve success, especially for characters populating the Marvel Universe. However, there is no clear evidence of how exactly artists actually and operatively create human superheroes, and whether those variables truly affect sales of comic books. To address those two issues we run a quali-quantitative study by interviewing experts, and regressing sales on a broad range of variables of comic books gathered through content analysis and secondary data sources. Our findings show that humanization is not as powerful as expected in driving sales of comic books.</p>


Author(s):  
Magdalena Kempna-Pieniążek

DOI 10.24917/20837275.9.4.3Ubogie domostwa, rozsiane po pustkowiu przyczepy zamieszkane przez zdegenerowanych ludzi, pokryte kurzem drogi, po których poruszają się zdezelowane samochody – pejzaż indiańskiego rezerwatu we współczesnej kulturze audiowizualnej naznaczony jest świadectwami upadku. Równocześnie jednak przestrzeń, w której tak wyraziście manifestują się liczne problemy społeczne, na czele z alkoholizmem oraz bezrobociem, stanowi część dyskursów dotyczących marginalizacji, nietolerancji, alienacji i społecznej stygmatyzacji. Filmowy i komiksowy pejzaż „rezu” stanowi krzywe zwierciadło oficjalnej amerykańskiej kultury, symbolizowanej przez Mount Rushmore, w której cieniu kryje się rezerwat plemienia Lakota w Pine Ridge. Analizując wybrane przykłady filmowe oraz komiksowe, autorka ukazuje różne aspekty symboliki i kulturowych kontekstów „rezu”. Z jednej strony – w filmach takich jak Skins Chrisa Eyre’a lub Za głosem serca Michaela Apteda oraz w komiksowej serii Skalp Jasona Aarona i R.M. Guéry – mamy do czynienia z wizją rezerwatu stanowiącego krajobraz nieomalże apokaliptyczny, utożsamiający ciemną stronę Ameryki; z drugiej – w realizacjach pokroju Sygnałów dymnych Eyre’a czy Piętna przodków Michaela Linna – rezerwat jawi się jako przestrzeń mityczna, obszar kontaktu ze wcześniejszymi pokoleniami.Rez territory. Symbols and cultural contexts of Indian reservation landscape in contemporary Northern American cinema and comic booksPoor houses, trailers scattered in wilderness, inhabited by degenerated people, dusty roads full of old cars – the landscape of Indian reservation in contemporary audiovisual culture is marked with symptoms of degradation. In the same time, places where social problems – especially alcoholism and unemployment – have been so vividly manifested, become a part of various discourses of marginalization, intolerance, alienation and social stigmatization. “Rez’s” landscape in film and comic books becomes a dark mirror for the official American culture symbolized by Mount Rushmore, in whose shadow lies the Lakota Pine Ridge reservation. In her analysis of selected films and comic books, theauthor shows different aspects of rez’s symbols and cultural contexts. In such films as Chris Eyre’s Skins or Michael Apted’s Thunderheart and Jason Aaron and R.M. Guéra’s comic book series Scalped, Indian reservation is shown almost as an apocalyptic territory and – in the same time – as a dark side of America. On the other hand, in Eyre’s Smoke Signals or Michael Linn’s Imprint, rez is a mythic place of cross-generation encounters.


2021 ◽  
pp. 137-161
Author(s):  
Anna Marta Marini

In his ongoing comic book series Sonambulo, versatile artist Rafael Navarro has been able to channel his Mexican American cultural heritage by creating a unique blend of narrative genres. In his work, Navarro exploits classic American film noir as a fundamental reference and hybridizes it with elements distinctive to a shared Chicanx heritage, such as lucha libre cinema, horror folktales, and border-crossing metaphors; the construction of an oneiric dimension helps bring the narrative together, marking it with a peculiar ambiance. Drawing heavily on a diverse range of film genres, as well as ethnocultural pivots, this comic book series carves out a definite space in the panorama of the Mexican American production of popular culture, adding a powerful voice to the expression of US ethnic minorities.


Author(s):  
Frederick Luis Aldama

Despite Latinxs being the largest growing demographic in the United States, their experiences and identities continue to be underrepresented and misrepresented in the mainstream pop cultural imaginary. However, for all the negative stereotypes and restrictive ways that the mainstream boxes in Latinxs, Latinx musicians, writers, artists, comic book creators, and performers actively metabolize all cultural phenomena to clear positive spaces of empowerment and to make new perception, thought, and feeling about Latinx identities and experiences. It is important to understand, though, that Latinxs today consume all variety of cultural phenomena. For corporate America, therefore, the Latinx demographic represents a huge buying demographic. Viewed through cynical and skeptical eyes, increased representation of Latinxs in mainstream comic books and film results from this push to capture the Latinx consumer market. Within mainstream comic books and films, Latinx subjects are rarely the protagonists. However, Latinx comic book and film creators are actively creating Latinx protagonists within richly rendered Latinx story worlds. Latinx comic book and film creators work in all the storytelling genres and modes (realism, sci-fi, romance, memoir, biography, among many others) to clear new spaces for the expression of Latinx subjectivities and experiences.


Author(s):  
Dale Jacobs

This chapter is a call for comics studies to become a fully interdisciplinary endeavor—an interdiscipline rather than an anti-discipline—and for that move toward interdisciplinarity to occur through reflective practice. The chapter proposes that one way this move might be accomplished is by incorporating methodologies and ways of thinking from the fields of book history and media studies into comics studies. Both book history and media studies demand that scholars be mindful of the commercial publishing contexts of comics, while additionally providing examples of hybrid methodologies that work toward interdisciplinarity in their own right. These questions of interdisciplinarity and methodology are approached through discussions of the 1976 Project, which involves examining a year of traditional output of the American comic book industry. The chapter details how book history and media studies might contribute to comics studies and addresses questions raised by and methodologies needed to examine seven comic books from August 1976.


2015 ◽  
Vol 71 (6) ◽  
pp. 1265-1288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary P. Radford ◽  
Marie L. Radford ◽  
Mark Alpert

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to use the work of philosopher Slavoj Žižek to gain insights into representations of the librarian and the library in contemporary popular culture. Design/methodology/approach – A psycho-analytic reading of the comic book series Rex Libris using Slavoj Žižek’s treatment of Jacques Lacan. Findings – Žižek’s approach can provide novel and previously unconsidered insights into the understanding of librarian stereotypes in particular and representations of the library in general. Research limitations/implications – This paper is limited to the representations of the librarian and the library in one comic book series. Its findings need to be generalized to representations in other forms of popular culture. Originality/value – As far as the authors know, this is the only paper that has applied the work of Žižek in the library and information science (LIS) literature. As such, not only are the insights into the representations of librarians and libraries important, this paper also acts as a valuable introduction to the work of Žižek for the LIS community of scholars.


Author(s):  
Terry R. Clark

American civil religion incorporates a nostalgic version of biblical Israel’s covenant with their patron deity, Yahweh, imagining the United States as a new Israel. This new myth reflects early Puritan hope for a new foray into a new wilderness of promise, while also promoting a romantic notion of the providential founding of the United States, national innocence, and national purpose, upholding an ideal of pure democracy and divine favor for establishing it universally. This form of Christian nationalism has a tendency toward a new form of imperialism in the modern era that is heavily supported (at least subconsciously) by a vast array of popular culture products. Yet some pop culture media (including comic books) occasionally call into question the concept of human beings living in a covenant relationship with a divine creator, as well as the validity of America’s status as a divinely chosen and divinely guided nation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 162-186
Author(s):  
Michał Wolski

This paper focuses on the issue of comic book lettering in mainstream American comics with an aim to introduce theoretical and methodological framework for further analysis of comic book typography. First, it addresses numerous aspects of relations between text and image in comics and presents the brief history of lettering in American comic book industry, as it grew apart from its European counterpart in the early years of development and became much more institutionalized, in no part because of the works of Will Eisner, Gaspar Saladino and especially Richard Starkins, who introduced an affordable means of using the digital typography in early 90s&#39; comic books. In its main part the paper presents the classification of usage of lettering in comics&#39; communicates, which distinguishes the diegetic (graphic, verbal and mental) and non-diegetic (meta- or paratextual and narrative) communicates. This analysis was based on the research sample of over 700 comic book issues, mostly from the Ultimate Marvel imprint (2000–2015) In the final paragraphs, the author critically examines functions of comic book typography and outlines three possible fields of further study.


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