The Clear Line in Comics and Cinema

The “clear line”, a term coined in 1977 by Dutch essayist and artist Joost Swarte, has become shorthand in the field of comics studies for the style originally developed by Hergé and the École de Bruxelles. It refers to certain storytelling strategies that generate a deceptively simple, lucid, and hygienic narration: in Philippe Marion’s words, it is a style “made out of light, fluidity and limpid clarity”. By cataloguing and critically analysing clear line comics from historical and theoretical perspectives, this book offers a new outlook on the development of the style in the 20th and 21st centuries, especially focused on the context of the European bande dessinée. In addition, it pioneeringly expands the concept of “clear line” to other artistic domains by introducing and defending its transmedial use, which is particularly relevant for the understanding of the oeuvres of certain filmmakers of the 20th century working in the postwar period, such as Yasujirô Ozu in Japan, Jacques Tati in France and Frank Tashlin in the United States. The Clear Line in Comics and Cinema is therefore a key theoretical work for both bande dessinée enthusiasts and comics scholars, as well as a fundamental contribution to present-day film studies and transmedial narratology.

Reseña de "Keywords for Comics Studies" de Ramzi Fawaz, Shelley Streeby y Deborah Elizabeth Whaley (eds.)

Reseña de "Keywords for Comics Studies" de Ramzi Fawaz, Shelley Streeby y Deborah Elizabeth Whaley (eds.)

Research of Comics in Modern Humanities

The growing popularity of comics in Ukraine and worldwide increases scientific attention to this type of information product. The article is devoted to generalising the leading tendencies in the Comics Study and researching comics in modern humanities. Based on the study devoted to comics professional publications, profile resources of world comics research centres and the current state of understanding the phenomenon of comics magazines and Internet resources, application of review-analytical, historical-chronological, dialectical, socio-communication, and content analysis methods has been detected that the syncretic nature of comics made them a research subject in various sciences and programme subject areas: literary studies, linguistics, cultural study, art history, history, political science, and others. Leading research centres of Comics Study are the International Comic Art Forum, the British Consortium of Comic Researchers, the Comics Research Hub of the University of the Arts, the Canadian Society for the Study of Comics, the Society for Comics Researchers (USA). The educational direction of Comics Studies has been represented by bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral (doctor of philosophy) educational programs in higher education institutions of different countries: the University of Florida, University of Toronto, University of California Santa Cruz, University of Portland, West University, University Dundee, Teesside University, Lancaster University (UK), Kyoto Seika University (Japan). The growth of scientific knowledge in Comics Study, on the one hand, and on the other hand - the predominance of interdisciplinary approach in the studies necessitated the establishment of special scientific journals dedicated to comics, such as the Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, Studies in Comics, European Comic Art. In Ukraine, the study of comics at the dissertation level took place in the dimension of pedagogy and philology. However, some scientific research on comics is available in journalism, press studies, publishing, political science, literature, journalism, and social communications. It has been found that as a multifunctional and unique information product and object of library activity, comics have not yet become the subject of study for bibliologists and librarians. The prospects of separating the corresponding research direction in bibliology and library science are substantiated.

Let Me Out of Here: A Story of Using Comics to Heal During the Pandemic

This autobiographical graphic essay details my experience with the hardships I facedduring Covid as a comics studies scholar who moved across the country to starttheir Ph.D. in history. It highlights the importance of comic-making incombating present-day isolation and hardship and in aiding in trauma recovery. Covid and quarantine continued to bring with them and compound new, tragedy-specific traumas that left me desperately seeking ways to cope. During the first year ofmy Ph.D. I experienced a miscarriage, my step-grandfather passed away due to Covid, and, at the start of my second semester, I was sexually assaulted,resulting in a physical injury that has yet to heal. The emotional and physicaltrauma resulting from these incidents put me behind in my coursework. To cope, I engaged in art therapy and started a trauma recovery program. Often, myrecovery has been aided in and expressed through comics I create, which aredigital in format and usually, but not always, take the form of a poetry comic. Creating thesecomics aided in an emotional release by enabling me to create spaces of ‘escape’outside the walls of my one-bedroom apartment. The creative process also helpedme find freedom from the confines of my anguished mind. For instance, shadingthe skin of my attacker and myself allowed me to own the narrative of myassault and regain ownership of my body. Further juxtaposing these images withwords provides a method for me to express the pain and deep isolation that thevarious traumatic incidents incited. By expressing the weight of thesetraumatic incidents both visually and through written text, I am able to properly acknowledge their significance and consequently I have found somerelief and self-consolation in this act. I have also sharedmy experience with the outside world through social media. This act lessened myfeelings of isolation and gave me the support network I so desperately cravedand needed, especially with the comics and comics studies communities.  In sharing myexperience, I hope to impart why comics are so important now by showing how thecreative helped me process trauma created and exacerbated by the pandemic.Intro:In January of this year, I was assaulted twice withina four-day period. These two incidents resulted in physical and mental trauma andextreme change in how I view myself, my life, and those around me. These two incidentsweren’t the only traumatic ones had experienced in recent time. I had also experienceda miscarriage, which was made worse by the circumstances of isolation (due tothe pandemic) and abandonment. My step-grandfather passed away from Covid. However,what occurred in January was a sort of catalyst to a personal breakdown. I lostmyself.Being a woman is difficult enough. I always feel as ifI am battling with my femininity. There is always some distinct, un-femininestandard by which I must define myself but can never quite reach in order tohave a voice in this patriarchal society. It is hard to love something aboutyourself that can so easily be used against you. And the man who assaulted meused it against me in the worst way. What resulted was an immense sense ofself-hatred and dissociation. It was hard to see the point of it all. But Ihave worked hard to regain a sense of purpose. Recovery is a choice, and it is not an easy one tomake. It’s a confusing process with no roadmap. It’s easy to get lost and I donot judge anyone who gives up or takes detours along the way. I often feel thatI am surrounded by walls. I cannot go around them and I cannot climb them. Icannot break them down. I am trapped. However, with my art I started seeingthrough these walls, and I feel in making these comics they have become rathertransparent. I can see more clearly what has happened to me and how and why Ihave reacted the ways that I have. I may not have a found a map that can takeme through my recovery process, but I have can see my next steps.  Making this comic, and the art that came before it,has allowed me to make sense of and establish some sort of order concerning myvery recent past. What has emerged from this process is a sense of calm. Iwouldn’t say I found happiness (and I’m not much interested in the pursuit of thatemotion), but I do, at times, feel good. I have found a voice. There is a pleasure,or a sense of relief, in sharing my voice with you through the images and wordscontained in this comic. References:Chivington, L., 2021. Signifying Silence: The EmptySpeech Balloon. Image Text 12. https://imagetextjournal.com/signifying-silence-the-empty-speech-balloon/

Reseña de "Comics Studies: A Guidebook" de Charles Hatfield y Bart Beaty (eds.)

Reseña de "Comics Studies: A Guidebook" de Charles Hatfield y Bart Beaty (eds.)