3 New/Recent Books from McFarland

Comics as a Nexus of Cultures: Essays on the Interplay of Media, Disciplines and International Perspectives

Edited by Mark Berninger Jochen Ecke and Gideon Haberkorn
Series Editors Donald E. Palumbo and C.W. Sullivan III
ISBN 978-0-7864-3987-4
29 photos, notes, filmographies, bibliographies, index
308pp. softcover 2010
Price: $39.95


Description
These essays from various critical disciplines examine how comic books and graphic narratives move between various media, while merging youth and adult cultures and popular and high art. The articles feature international perspectives on comics and graphic novels published in the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, Portugal, Germany, Turkey, India, and Japan. Topics range from film adaptation, to journalism in comics, to the current manga boom.


Table of Contents

Introduction      1

INTERMEDIAL
1. Spatializing the Movie Screen: How Mainstream Cinema Is Catching Up on the Formal Potentialities of the Comic Book Page      7
Jochen Ecke
2. The Marvel Universe on Screen: A New Wave of Superhero Movies?      21
Andreas Rauscher
3. From Trauma Victim to Terrorist: Redefining Superheroes in Post–9/11 Hollywood      33
Dan A. Hassler-Forest
4. “Picture This”: Disease and Autobiographic Narration in the Graphic Novels of David B and Julie Doucet      45
Jonas Engelmann
5. Novel-Based Comics      60
Paul Ferstl
6. In the Art of the Beholder: Comics as Political Journalism      70
Dirk Vanderbeke

INTERNATIONAL
7. The Carrefour of Practice: Québec BD in Transition      85
Michel Hardy-Vallée
8. The Use of Allusion in Apitz and Kunkel’s Karl Comics      99
Sandra Martina Schwab
9. Cultural Specifics of a Scottish Comic: Oor Wullie      108
Anne Hoyer
10. Memento Mori: A Portuguese Style of Melancholy      116
Mario Gomes and Jan Peuckert
11. Otherness and the European as Villain and Antihero in American Comics      127
Georg Drennig
12. 2000AD: Understanding the “British Invasion” of American Comics      140
Ben Little
13. Whatever Happened to All the Heroes? British Perspectives on Superheroes      153
Karin Kukkonen and Anja Müller-Wood
14. A Cornerstone of Turkish Fantastic Films: From Flash Gordon to Baytekin      164
Meral Özç nar
15. From Capes to Snakes: The Indianization of the American Superhero      175
Suchitra Mathur
16. The Roving Eye Meets Traveling Pictures: The Field of Vision and the Global Rise of Adult Manga      187
Holger Briel
17. Kawaii vs. Rorikon: The Reinvention of the Term Lolita in Modern Japanese Manga      211
Dinah Zank
18. Mangascape Germany: Comics as Intercultural Neutral Ground      223
Paul M. Malone

INTERDISCIPLINARY
19. Workshop I: Toward a Toolbox of Comics Studies      237
Karin Kukkonen and Gideon Haberkorn
20. Workshop II: Comics in School      245
Mark Berninger
21. Workshop III: Teaching Comics and Literary Studies—Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess’ “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”      253
Mark Berninger
22. Workshop IV: Teaching Comics and Film Studies—Ang Lee’s The Hulk (USA 2003)      265
Andreas Rauscher
23. Comic Linguistics: Comics and Cartoons in Academic Teaching      274
Christina Sanchez

About the Contributors      283
Index      287


About the Authors
Mark Berninger is a lecturer on British Studies in the department of English and Linguistics at Johannes Gutenberg-Universitat in Mainz, Germany. He has published widely on contemporary drama. Research associate Jochen Ecke is an accomplished film critic and comic expert. Gideon Haberkorn is in the department of English and Linguistics British Studies at Johannes Gutenberg-Universitat in Mainz, Germany. Donald E. Palumbo is a professor of English at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. He lives in Greenville. C.W. Sullivan III is in the English department at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina.

Graphic Novels and Comics in Libraries and Archives: Essays on Readers, Research, History and Cataloging

Edited by Robert G. Weiner 

Forewords by Elizabeth Figa and Derek Parker Royal; Afterword by Stephen Weiner

ISBN 978-0-7864-4302-4 

12 illustrations, 16 charts, notes, bibliographies, index

288pp. softcover (7 x 10) 2010

Price: $45.00

Description

To say that graphic novels, comics, and other forms of sequential art have become a major part of popular culture and academia would be a vast understatement. Now an established component of library and archive collections across the globe, graphic novels are proving to be one of the last kinds of print publications actually gaining in popularity.

Full of practical advice and innovative ideas for librarians, educators, and archivists, this book provides a wide-reaching look at how graphic novels and comics can be used to their full advantage in educational settings. Topics include the historically tenuous relationship between comics and librarians; the aesthetic value of sequential art; the use of graphic novels in library outreach services; collection evaluations for both American and Canadian libraries; cataloging tips and tricks; and the swiftly growing realm of webcomics.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments      vii
Foreword by Elizabeth Figa      1
Foreword by Derek Parker Royal      3
Introduction (Robert G. Weiner)      5

Part One: History
1. A Librarian’s Guide to the History of Graphic Novels
ALICIA HOLSTON      9
2. Manga in Japanese Libraries: A Historical Overview
DAVID HOPKINS      17
3. How Librarians Learned to Love the Graphic Novel
AMY KISTE NYBERG      26

Part Two: School Libraries
4. The Development of a School Library Graphic Novel Collection
HEIDI K. HAMMOND      41
5. Balancing Popular High-Circulation Works with Works of Merit in Elementary School Library Collections
DIANA P. MALISZEWSKI      47

Part Three: Public Libraries
6. Creative Shelving: Placement in Library Collections
AMY HARTMAN      52
7. Graphic Novels at Los Angeles Public
RACHEL KITZMANN      63
8. Teen-Led Revamp
ERICA SEGRAVES      68

Part Four: Academic Libraries
9. Selection and Popular Culture in Large Academic Libraries: Taking the Temperature of Your Research Community
CHARLOTTE CUBBAGE      72
10. Maus Goes to College: Graphic Novels on Reserve at an Academic Library
ANNE-MARIE DAVIS      81
11. The Library After Dark: The Promotion of Collections and Services
GWEN EVANS      87
12. So Many Options, So Little Money: Building a Selective Collection for the Academic Library
LIORAH ANNE GOLOMB      101
13. The Spinner Rack in the Big Red and Ivory Tower: Establishing a Comics and Graphic Novels Collection at the University of
Nebraska–Lincoln
RICHARD GRAHAM      111
14. Comic Art Collection at the Michigan State University Libraries
RANDALL W. SCOTT      123
15. Interview with Randall W. Scott
NICHOLAS YANES AND ROBERT G. WEINER      127

Part Five: State Libraries/Archives
16. The Perils of Doctor Strange: Preserving Pennsylvania-Centered Comics at the State Library of Pennsylvania
WILLIAM T. FEE      131

Part Six: Audiences
17. Graphic Novels and the Untapped Audience
RUTH BOYER      141
18. Comic Relief in Libraries: Motivating Male Adolescent Readers
KAREN GAVIGAN      145
19. “Forty-one-year-old female academics aren’t supposed to like comics!” The Value of Comic Books to Adult Readers
SARAH ZIOLKOWSKA AND VIVIAN HOWARD      154
20. Graphics Let Teens OWN the Library
CHRISTIAN ZABRISKIE      167

Part Seven: Nomenclature and Aesthetics
21. The Only Thing Graphic Is Your Mind: Reconstructing the Reference Librarian’s View of the Genre
AMANDA STEGALL-ARMOUR      177
22. What’s in a Name: Nomenclature and Libraries
FRANCISCA GOLDSMITH      185
23. The Ontology of Art and What Libraries Should Buy
RUTH TALLMAN AND JASON SOUTHWORTH      192

Part Eight: Meta-Comics/Webcomics
24. Meta-Comics and Libraries: Should Libraries Buy Them?
ADAM J. NOBLE      202
25. Webcomics and Libraries
AMY THORNE      209

Part Nine: Cataloging
26. Cataloging and Problems with Dewey: Creativity, Collaboration and Compromise
LAUREL TARULLI      213
27. An Example of an In-House Cataloging System
ROBERT G. WEINER      222

Part Ten: Evaluation of Collections
28. Drawing Comics into Canadian Libraries
RACHEL COLLINS      226
29. Graphic Novel Holdings in Academic Libraries
ERIC WERTHMANN      242

Afterword by Stephen Weiner      260
About the Contributors      263
Index      267

About the Author

Robert G. Weiner is humanities librarian at Texas Tech University. His works have been published in the Journal of Popular Culture, Public Library Quarterly, Journal of American Culture, International Journal of Comic Art and Popular Music and Society. He lives in Lubbock, Texas.



Watchmen as Literature: A Critical Study of the Graphic Novel

Sara J. Van Ness
ISBN 978-0-7864-4475-5
15 illustrations, notes, bibliography, index
219pp. softcover 2010
Price: $35.00

Description
Watchmen has been hailed as the quintessential graphic novel and has spawned a body of literary criticism since its 1986 initial appearance in installments. This work explores the graphic novel’s reception in both popular and scholarly arenas and how the conceptual relationship between images and words affects the reading experience. Other topics include heroism as a stereotype, the hero’s journey, the role of the narrator, and the way in which the graphic layout manipulates the reader’s perception of time and space.


Table of Contents

Acknowledgments      v
Preface      1

1. Invading the Ivory Tower      5
2. I^^@ge$ & Wo(r)d$      23
3. A Language All Its Own      46
4. The Watchmen      61
5. Parallel Histories      77
6. Hooded Honor      101
7. Not So Black and White      120
8. Faceless Heroes      145
9. Measuring Up: Zack Snyder’s Watchmen      171

Closing Remarks      190
Chapter Notes      191
Works Cited      197
Selected Annotated Bibliography of Watchmen Scholarship and Related Resources      203
Index      209

About the Author
Sara J. Van Ness is a graduate student at Monmouth University in New Jersey.