This is the research proposal for my dissertation, that I submitted in April 2010;
The Changes and Representation in western Comic Book/Graphic Novel Design from the 1960’s Onward.
Synopsis
Comics can usually be split into three separate genres and they are ‘Comic Strips’, ‘Comic Books’ and ‘Graphic Novels’. Comic strips are normally one to five panel cartoons containing crude drawings a joke and its punch line. Throughout my research proposal and dissertation I will be discussing the other two genres.
This research proposal will cover the representations and design changes of western comic books and graphic novels that have been made between 1960 and 2010. There will be a small amount covering the earlier origins of comic book design to set foundations for the topics covered in the dissertation.
Groundbreaking design work in comic books and graphic novels will be discussed within the dissertation. All graphic novels and comic books that are discussed will be referenced and some images will be used within the dissertation to further show the design elements and layout of said graphic novel or comic book. Design and artwork has been revolutionary for comic books so much so it has helped them change from propaganda to multimillion dollar Hollywood movies.
The comic book industry has inspired multiple different fields of work, from movies to fashion to video games and even art, it has only grown in strength over the past 50 years whether the comic was aimed a small child, a teenager or an adult. The style of comic books and graphic novels have changed in many different ways over the years to appeal to its audience, but what is the reason for this when the majority of its audience have continued to read them since they were children?
The answer lies in keeping the major elements more believable and easy to follow and that is something that cannot always be done within writing within the world of comics and graphic novels as they often deal with implausible subject matter. Within a lot of super-hero based titles character can perform super natural abilities be drawn in unrealistic or impossible forms however the reader can suspend belief to cope with this but through using the layout and actual design of the comic the creator can make this easier to follow, understand and in some cases emphasis with the story or characters.
Comic books and especially graphic novels have shown that they are not afraid to use subject matter that people may find upsetting in order to tell their stories. In December 2001 Marvel Comics produced a ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ comic book cover that showed Spider-Man holding his head in anguish at Ground Zero in New York City after the terrorist attack that happened on September the 11th, this was done in order to show its support to a nation in mourning. Throughout my dissertation I will fully research and explain the reasons behind and why the design of comic books and graphic novels are essential to how they are depicted by their readers and how the representation is tenement to holding their interest.
Biosketch
From a very young age I have had a great interest in drawing and hand drawn artwork. I had a particular interest in comic books, originally within British comic books aimed at young boys like ‘The Beano’ and ‘Dandy’ to which I would copy the drawings.
As I matured I moved onto super-hero comics from companies such as Marvel and DC. I would then try to adapt my drawing styles to match that of American comic book artists. I found that the quality and style of the drawings would sway my decision for which comics I would buy more so than that of the actual writing.
As I grew older and my reading skills developed further, I moved onto graphic novels. They were from various different companies and the style of the design and the writing combined would help me to decide on what I read. I continued to draw inspiration from the comic books and graphic novels and used them to improve my drawing skills.
I have always held an interest in western comic books and graphic novels because of the shear amount of genres available, however that does not mean that I would not chose to read any Japanese ‘Manga’ or anime comics or graphic novels as I have already stated the design and artwork can help to sway my decision toward what to read.
To this day I still read graphic novels and I still draw almost every day.
Introduction/Problem Statement/Research Context
The reason behind this dissertation topic is that the subject of comic books and graphic novels is rarely discussed in a formal manner. This opens up a series of questions into why this hasn’t been addressed in the past as the comic book industry has been alive for 100 years and is still growing in popularity.
The first documented graphic novel was published in 1978, it was called ‘A Contract With God and Other Tenement Stories’ by Will Eisner. Although according to Danny Fingeroth author of ‘The Rough Guide to Graphic Novels’ he has stated;
“Fans quibble over whether Will Eisner’s A contract with God is really the first graphic novel. But it was certainly among the first, and more importantly it was the one that gained notice, and acclaim.”
(Danny Fingeroth, 2008, pp102-103, The Rough Guide to Graphic Novels)
What was it about this comic book that re-defined it as a graphic novel? Why was it so different and did it lie in its design?
“A graphic novel is a comic book that you need a bookmark for.”
(Art Spiegelman, Creator of ‘Maus’)
This quote from Art Spiegelman has been referred to as a simple or an elegant formula for graphic novels however many would argue that graphic novels are not that easy to define, in fact Danny Fingeroth used five pages of his book ‘The Rough Guide to Graphic Novels’ to define the question; ‘What is a Graphic Novel?’. I intend to give a well researched definition to this question within my dissertation along with answer the various other questions that I have raised within this research proposal.
Research Aim and Question(s)
The main questions that I will be discussing in the dissertation are based around the initial proposed question of ‘The changes and representation in western comic book/graphic novel design from the 1960’s onward.’ are; ‘What is a Comic Book?’, ‘What is a Graphic Novel?’ ‘What defines a Graphic Novel from a Comic Book?’, ‘Why is the design and layout important to comic books and graphic novels?’, ‘What are the main differences in the design changes over the five decades?’, ‘Why have the design changes happened?’, ‘In what way is the representation of design important within comic books and graphic novels?’ and ‘Why is the timeframe of the dissertation only between 1960 and 2010?’.
Critical Bibliography
For the purpose of research I will be using various comic books and graphic novels from my own collection from mixed genres and publishing companies to obtain an equally varied view for the thesis. I will also use a series of reference books and journals on the subject of comic book and graphic novel design.
The graphic novels that I have chosen to use as research so far are Hellboy, Watchmen, Kick-Ass, Ashbringer, John Constantine: Hellblazer and V for Vendetta. The comic book titles that I will be researching are Spider-man, X-Men, Iron Man, Batman, Superman and The Incredible Hulk. These combined selected titles span from five different publishers who are ‘Dark Horse’, ‘Marvel’, ‘DC’, ‘Vertigo’ and ‘Wildstorm’.
For the reference books and journals I will be using books such as ‘The Rough Guide to Graphic Novels’ by Danny Fingeroth, ‘Comic Book Nation; The Transformation of Youth Culture in America’ by Bradford W. Wright and ‘Batman and Philosophy; The Dark Knight of The Soul’ by Mark D. White, Robert Arp and William Irwin from ‘The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture’ series.
Theory and Methodology
The method in which I have chosen to research this topic is through study of information gained from the afore mentioned reference books and journals along with the comic books and graphic novels. I also plan to research deeply into biographical and auto-biographical information taken from the comic book and graphic novel designers themselves. I plan to do this through studying the various books, quotes, journals, blogs and comics written or contribute to by Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby, Art Spiegelman, Daniel Clowes, John Romita, John Romita Jr, Dave Gibbons, Alan Moore, Mike Mignola, Mark Millar, Richard A. Knaak Tom Defalco and Will Eisner.
I have selected these individuals because they help to span a large area of knowledge, genre and talent with the industry of comic books and graphic novels. Each of the people I have chosen to research have all done revolutionary work within the comic book and graphic novel industry, their works are also very various as are their talents and nationalities. Within the group are publishers, CEO’s, artists, inkers, writers and theorists, through studying their work I will be able to gain as much knowledge as possible on my chosen topic thus allowing to answer my question to the best of my ability.
Glossary
Title – Another word for Comic Book/Graphic Novel
Layout – How it is presented
Cover – The outside front page of a Comic Book/Graphic Novel.
Ground Zero – The area of New York City where the 911 terrorist attacks took place.
Key References
Danny Fingeroth, The Rough Guide to Graphic Novels, 2008
Bradford W. Wright, Comic Book Nation; The Transformation of Youth Culture in America, 2001
Mark D. White, Robert Arp and William Irwin, Batman and Philosophy; The Dark Knight of The Soul, 2008
Tom Defalco, Spider-Man: The Ultimate Guide, 2001
Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, Watchmen, 1986
Mike Mignola, Hellboy, 1993
Mark Millar and John Romita Jr, Kick-Ass, 2008
Will Eisner, A Contract With God and Other Tenement Stories, 1978
Micky Neilsen, Ludo Lullabi and Tony Washington, World of Warcraft: Ashbringer, 2009
Peter Milligan, John Constantine: Hellblazer, 1998
Alan Moore and David Lloyd , V for Vendetta, 1982
Also various Spider-Man, X-Men, Batman, Superman, Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk comic books written by various different writers
The entire contents of this post was written, created, re-designed and owned by Steve Paul Myers © Monkey Socks Design ™ Powered by Monkey Chops
