Pacification of Rebellious Comics by the Comic Code On the Example of Changes Introduced Into Reprints of Pre-1955 Comics

The article discusses the issue of changes introduced into reprints of pre-1955 American comics in order to adapt them to requirements of the Comic Code. Pre-1955 American comic books are characterized as “rebellious” — challenging norms and aesthetic rules of contemporary America – and the activities of Comic Code Administration as a form of their pacification. What follow next is a presentation of main strategies of adaptation of pre-1955 comics to the requirements of the Comic Code identified on the basis of analysis of fifty reprints. In the last part the author compares the original and reprinted versions of three comics books stories, shows how dramatically the plot of stories could change due to introduction of prescriptions of the Comic Code Administration.

The comics as an example of fan culture

In this article I analyze the chosen examples of fan comics. In the first part of the article I describe the history of comics, how and by whom they were created. Then I show the comic’s role as part of Transmedia Storytelling. In the second part I introduce the term fan fiction and I describe the circumstances of the creation of this specific form of fan art. Moreover I write about the most important fan fiction theories. In the last part of the article I analyze 3 selected authors of comics who publish their works on social media platform Deviant Art. Also I describe their style, inspirations and references to original works. Fan comics are a very specific phenomenon. However the many possibilities given by this art is not used by the fans. There are no experiments with a form contrary to the fan fiction literature. On the other hand the selected comics are an exception. Maybe the authors are not very innovative. But the interesting thing is that they use humor and autobiographical themes in an unusual way.

SHŌJO. GIRLS, CULTURE AND COMICS

This article analyzes shōjo culture and shōjo girls as a participants and creators of this culture. The first part of the article presents the history of girls' schools from the beginning of the 20th century and the ideal of a good wife and wise mother (ryōsai kenbo). The second part focuses on the issue of the "privileged body" of shōjo (girl), which is on the edge between the body of a child and a woman, a boy and a girl. Shōjo manga, as comics addressed to girls, have evolved since the 70s, when women began to create them. At the end I examine aesthetic traits and „the aesthetics of sameness” as tools to create emotional involvement of readers. Shōjo culture is the Japanese version of girl power.

Our gods don't wear spandex

The Comparison between the comic books’ superheroes and gods often appears in the scientific discourse. This phenomenon is linked to the human need for creating new idols. In their comic book titled The Wicked and the Divine, Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie are going one step further and decide to create a whole new pantheon, designed to fit our century. Creators did not design new gods, they used various pantheons and reincarnated them in new, different bodies. In this article, I will be considering the role of divinity and its place in the modern world. In order to achieve this, I will use comparative analysis between the main series of The Wicked and the Divine and two special one-shots — first set in the twenties of the twentieth century, second in the beginning of the nineteenth century — to highlight the differences in the role of gods and divinity in different period of time. The article will also concentrate on the form of the bodies that the gods gain due to the reincarnation, and the impact of this phenomenon on the place that they take in society.

Breakup of Yugoslavia Portrayed by Serbian Alternative Comics Scene - The Case of Aleksandar Zograf

The article presents phenomenon of emergence of Serbian alternative comics scene during the period of breakup of Yugoslavia. The analysis is focused on anthology of works “Regards from Serbia” by Aleksandar Zograf who is considered the founder of the new direction in comic art. The works drawn over the nineties were portraying everyday life in Yugoslavia during its breakup. This period has been considered a strong taboo since and is not being willingly taken up by scientist from former-Yugoslavia what makes it difficult to gain knowledge that would meet scientific standards. Zograf’s comics were being published both in his country and abroad, what made them source of knowledge on situation in the Balkans of the world. In the article comic art is also being treated as anthropological evidence that enables understanding of foreign culture and processes related to attempts of rejection of the old ideological, moral, and axiological order.

Komiks w służbie historii. Zagłada ucieleśniona na kartach komiksu Epizody z Auschwitz: Nosiciele tajemnicy

The article is an attempt to critically read the Polish comic book "Episodes from Auschwitz: The Carriers of a Mystery" by Michał Gałek and Michał Pyteraf. The author draws attention to the risks associated with the choice of the comic as a medium talking about the trauma of the Holocaust. Placing a comic book within publications that fit the current of historical politics, the author of the article pointed to the elements that testify to his polonocentrism. The image of the body was analyzed, with particular emphasis on differences in the presentation of prisoners of the camp, men selected to work in the Sonderkommando branches and its members. Attention was paid to the fetishization and eroticization of the Jewish body, which is dangerously close to the Nazi body.

"Why so much noise?": Polish music comics

This article is the result of research on the condition of Polish musical comics. The basis of considerations are the comics of Marcin Podolec: Smoke and Fugazi Music Club, two works of Krzysztof Owedyk: Blix and Żorżet and You will be frying in hell, as well as the worst comic of the year by Maciej Pałka and Only calmly Bartek Glazy. The text aims to show the relationships between Polish popular music and comics. Draws attention to the ways of presenting musical subcultures and individual portraits in comic culture. It also introduces the role of memory and nostalgia in the construction of illustrated musical stories in which the real order mixes with the imaginary. The article points to the common points of these works and takes into account the most important shortcomings of all six comics. It highlights the marginalization of the role of women, both in the creative process and the discussed cultural texts. Using the theories of Jacques Ranciere and Robin, James raises the question of male dominance in the Polish music comic, while shedding light on the Polish music scene.

Gates of (Un)Fulfilled Dreams – Polish Comic Magazines in the 1990-1992

This paper is an attempt to trace the existence of Polish comic magazines published from 1990 to 1992. The article focuses on the content of magazines and promotional functions of their publishers, shows how selected titles tried to find their own place on the Polish publishing market after 1989.

Type in pictures. Comic book lettering in contemporary American comics. An overview

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' comic books. In its main part the paper presents the classification of usage of lettering in comics' 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.

SUBJECTIVITY, CREATIVE ACT AND EROS OF WOMEN: "THE ESSENCE" COMIC AND SELECTED FEMINIST THEORIES

Starting from the modern interpretation of the theories: parler femme by Luce Irigaray (adopting a speaking position that will enable woman/women to articulate their own sexuality, speak with their own voice) and écriture feminine by Hélène Cixous (a text freed by writing a female desire that carries the potential of revolutionary transformations) I come to the theory of the nomadic subject by Rosi Braidotti (the central categories are movement, changeability and the endless process of shaping the subject). I ask questions about the possibilities and limitations of finding or building a female identity and subject through creativity, empowering women in the domain of images related to sexuality, and the right to talk about their desires as creating their own place in the space of culture. As an example of creative acts building subjectivity, I present an erotic comic "Being" which is the first collective work on Polish soil that is supposed to express erotic fantasies from the perspective of women.