Romantic Monsters

The second chapter elaborates on the history of Romantic monsters and their connections to comics monsters as well as the medium of comics. It describes the context of the burgeoning romantic visual culture, including the perpetuation of imaginative prints by William Blake and Francesco de Goya as well as the increase in freak shows and other forms of entertainment based on visual illusions. This underscores the close ties between entertainment, 'spectacularity' (which combines theatricality and the spectacle while also alluding to specters) and monsters, while also showing how more rebellious, anti-Enlightenment strains crept in through the interest in the abnormal and the increasing space offered for unbridled emotionality at the ends of both production and reception. The inclinations towards ambiguity and even human-like renditions discernible in the literary monsters created by Mary Shelley and Victor Hugo are discussed. Three monsters with strong romantic inclinations—Frankenstein’s monster, Baudelairian ennui, and the trickster (included for his playful ambiguity and love for the spectacle)—are introduced which personify the different potentialities of the medium while having commonalities with comics monsters.

Hellboy

This chapter on Mike Mignola'sHellboy examines Hellboy's unwitting submergence into a supernatural dimension in terms of a romantic quest to reconcile his demonic essence and his human upbringing. It also elaborates on the romantic inclinations manifested through the series' nostalgia for disappeared (fantastic) worlds. It focuses, first, on Hellboy’s combination of storyworlds that overwhelm human reality and reflect nostalgia for forgotten and fantastic worlds and second, Hellboy’s doomed quest. Another element related to the spectacle and recurring throughout the Hellboycomics is the tense relationship between animation and control. The chapter then broaches the relevance of the spectacle itself—the theatrical nature of which is emphasized by the supernatural creatures who watch and comment on Hellboy’s struggles from another world.

Comics Monsters

This concluding chapter traces the forms of rebelliousness discernible in comics monsters by highlighting the rebellious romantic heritage ensconced in the comics medium itself. It summarizes the shared and distinct romantic features embodied by the monstrous protagonists in the previous chapters. This is followed by a brief close reading of Emil Ferris’ My Favorite Thing is Monsters to show how many of the romantic features brought out through the other comics reappear in this graphic novel. Drawing links between the prominence of the spectacular and the spectacle in the analyzed stories as well as the medium, the chapter then elaborates on the embedding of romantic features and monstrous inclinations in comics, especially on spectacularity as an inevitable accompaniment to rebelliousness. The chapter ends with a brief coda on the presence of Romanticism through monsters in contemporary culture.

The Crow

This chapter shows how both the content and the structure of The Crow illustrate the notion that the monster is an embodiment of affect and representative of ruptures with logic and chaos. The Crow reflects the disruption that is part of both monstrosity and Romanticism. The chapter begins by unpacking the fragmented structure of the comic, which incorporates literary and visual references to Romanticism as well as diverse, mostly romantic, poems and post-punk, gothic rock lyrics in those fragments. Being fragments, these elements are also gothic in their intertextual cravings. The role of emotions in the story is then examined followed by a concluding section on the theatrical aspects of intense emotionality and its central role in the protagonist's quest. Spectacularity is complemented by the Crow's self-stylization as a painted figure with a permanent smile, immortal on one hand, but still deeply traumatized, for although he quickly heals from the shots directed at him, he still bleeds. The final section also discusses the coexisting ghostliness and spectactularity of the Crow’s revenge while also elaborating on the unfulfilled nature of his vengeful quest.

Monstre

This chapter begins by drawing out the similarities between Baudelairian Romanticism—especially the Baudelairian monster, ennui—and the protagonists and aesthetics of Enki Bilal’s Monstretetralogy. The ambiguity of the monster is likened to the relativization of good and evil discernible in Baudelaire's works. In addition to discussing the problematization of memory, the chapter also highlights connections between monstrous spaces and its monstrous inhabitants. A discussion of the amorphousness of monstrosity is followed by an examination of the roles of specularity and rebelliousness. The chapter ends with a brief reflection on how Monstreand fluid monsters reflect on modern and contemporary history. Comparisons are also made between Baudelaire's modern ennui and Bilal's postmodern monster, both of which reflect upon a broader cultural change and experience of everyday life.