The Illustrated Animal
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AntennaeIssue 16– Spring 2011 ISSN 1756-9575 The Illustrated Animal Lisa Brown and Coleen Mondor– Animals in Space / Craig This – Ecofeminist Themes in The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch / Christine Marran – The Wolf-man Speaks / Marion Copeland – Pride of Baghdad / Sushmita Chatterjee – The Political Animal and the Politics of 9/11/ Andy Yang – Animal Stories, Natural Histories & Creaturely Wonders in Narrative Mini-Zines / Marion Copeland – Animal Centric Graphic Novels: An Annotated Bibliography Antennae The Journal of Nature in Visual Culture Editor in Chief Giovanni Aloi Academic Board Steve Baker Ron Broglio Matthew Brower Eric Brown Donna Haraway Linda Kalof Rosemarie McGoldrick Rachel Poliquin Annie Potts Ken Rinaldo Jessica Ullrich Carol Gigliotti Susan McHugh Advisory Board Bergit Arends Rod Bennison Claude d’Anthenaise Lisa Brown Rikke Hansen Petra Lange-Berndt Chris Hunter Karen Knorr Susan Nance Andrea Roe David Rothenberg Nigel Rothfels Angela Singer Mark Wilson & Bryndís Snaebjornsdottir Helen Bullard Global Contributors Sonja Britz Tim Chamberlain Lucy Davies Amy Fletcher Carolina Parra Zoe Peled Julien Salaud Paul Thomas Sabrina Tonutti Johanna Willenfelt Dina Popova Christine Marran Concepción Cortes Copy Editor Lisa Brown Junior Copy Editor Maia Wentrup Front Cover Image: Brian K. Vaughan & Niko Henrichon, Pride of Baghdad, DC2 Comics, 2006, front cover, 2006 © Brian K. Vaughan and Niko Henrichon EDITORIAL ANTENNAE ISSUE 16 ne of the least discussed forms of animal representation is that presented in the Graphic Novel. This issue of Antennae, guest edited by Lisa Brown, aims at setting the record straight providing O the most substantial look at this uncharted field thus far. Lisa has written about animals in popular culture for a number of publications, and most notably regularly publishes animal news through her blog, Animal Inventory (www.animalinventory.net). She was a co-producer of the web show Animal Inventory TV that presented stories of the human-animal bond. She is on the Advisory Board for Antennae, and is on the Board of Directors of the Nature in Legend and Story Society (Nilas). Her book review of the graphic novel Laika was published in Society & Animals: The Journal of Human-Animal Studies in 2008. Lisa’s perspective on animals was profiled in a 2007 Boston Globe article entitled, ‘Monkey in the Middle’. She has lectured at a number of venues, including Tufts University, Bentley College, and the annual conference of the Society for Literature, Science and the Arts (2007). In 2007, Lisa received her Master’s in Animals and Public Policy at Tufts University. Her degree focused on animals in society, including ethical, legal, cultural and political dimensions of human-animal relationships. Lisa’s long-lasting interest in comics and the representation of animals in visual culture has been pivotal to the making of this issue which she will introduce over the rest of this editorial. LISA BROWN – An Introduction to The Il lustrated Animal Until recently, comics and graphic novels [1] had the author thinks about animals. The author’s a reputation as a vehicle solely for children’s latent beliefs, opinions and assumptions are entertainment, which caused a general neglect exposed in his or her comics, just like with any art of academic interest in the medium. Not form. This provides fantastic insight into the surprisingly, the field of animal-studies has underlying beliefs of the author’s culture, as well. suffered a similar fate for similar reasons; until Murray Edelman, the noted political recently, cultural interest in animals (as opposed scientist, wrote about how art and pop culture to biological interest) was viewed as a childish provide insight into everyday life, in his book From indulgence. Therefore, examining the role of Art to Politics: How Artistic Creations Shape animals in comic books joins together two Political Conceptions (1995). Edelman says that undervalued topics that are ripe for further study. "part of the meaning of artistic talent is the ability Cultural beliefs about animals are revealed in to sense feelings, ideas, and beliefs that are comics, and these beliefs both reflect and widespread in society in some latent form, influence the value and significance that are perhaps as deep structures or perhaps as applied to animals, the environment, the natural unconscious feelings, and to objectify them in a world, and even other humans. compelling way (p 52)." Essentially, everything With rare exceptions real animals do that people see and hear is constructed and not use language, so the talking animals that influenced by imagery, so art and ideas are an abundantly populate the comic world are ever-entwining, mutually informing collaboration. necessarily the construction of human authors. In addition to personal interpretations of art, Studying the dialog and imagery of animals in cultures have a collective understanding of comics might not exactly reveal what a real images as well. This is what makes art an integral animal thinks, but it does reveal a lot about what part of political behavior, attitudes, virtues, vices, 3 Joann Sfar The Rabbi's Cat, Pantheon Books, 2005, Page 7, © Dargaud and Joann Sfar problems, solutions, hopes and fears. different types of people – an athlete is drawn Edelman says, “Works of art generate with a muscular body and confident posture; a ideas about leadership, bravery, cowardice, “wimp” is depicted wearing a bowtie and glasses altruism, dangers, authority, and fantasies... (p. and an insecure facial expression; a thief is 2)” Will Eisner, one of the most famous comic rendered wearing dark clothes, a hat and artists of the 20th century, reflects on the graphic sunglasses, with his shoulders hunched presentation of similar characteristics in what he secretively. Everything from clothing to calls “standards of reference.” Both authors are landscape to mundane objects have the referring to stereotypic imagery -- a coded potential to communicate an entire story, pictorial that enables an artist to quickly providing that the artist is familiar with his communicate certain emotions, feelings readership's standards of reference, and attributes, traits or personality types to his assuming he can use this knowledge skillfully. audience. Stereotyping is traditionally known as a Like all other stereotypes, images of way to establish and reiterate prejudiced animals are culturally coded and take on certain attitudes, but it is actually a tool that can be used prescribed characteristics – especially in comics: constructively, as well. In his book Graphic the proud lion, the mischievous cat, the sly fox, Storytelling, Eisner demonstrates how to use the wise owl, the dumb bear, the untrustworthy stereotypes to succinctly invoke certain snake. By using subtle animal imagery in professions, personalities and traits, by drawing drawings of humans, comic artists can infuse 4 Will Eisner Graphic Storytelling and Visual Narrative, Poorhouse Press, Page 20, 1996 © Will Eisne their characters with deeper meaning without of its stereotypical role as “the ever having their characters say a word. This is a represented”, the objectified kind of reverse anthropomorphism, in which other, fixed and distanced by people take on the characteristics of animals. the controlling look of the These characteristics are rarely based on real empowered human, and animal behaviour, so studying this reversal in instead exploiting the flexibility of comics is a useful way to discover how a the narrative space to turn that particular culture views animals. look back upon the humans, Outside of the human-animal studies rendering them other, community, it is a common belief that dismantling their secure sense of representations of animals tell the audience very a superior identity (Baker, 158). little about animals, and that the animals are only used to clarify human relations, human With several notable exceptions, conflict and human issues (Baker, 2001). In other contemporary theory written about comics words, why would someone depict an animal, largely ignores a human-animal studies unless to say something about humans? perspective on the serious question of the animal However, animals in art have a great deal to tell in the theoretical and artistic dialog. When us. Steve Baker, author of Picturing the Beast: theorists do speak specifically about the role of Animals, Identity and Representation, explains animals in modern comics, they almost always that in part, an animal representation potentially, discuss Maus, by Art Spiegelman. While Maus is a seminal work that changed the landscape of [s]hows the animal slipping out comics, it is only one limited example of how 5 animals are depicted in the medium. There are grievances, and provide humans an arena to many other comics that have a lot to say about hear what they might say. animals. Some of the many comics and graphic Notes novels that have definitive perspectives on animals are discussed in this issue of Antennae, [1] There is an unresolved debate within the comic academic community about whether the terms comics and graphic novels mean the same thing, or which may be the only volume of it’s kind – a refer to different uses of the art form. However, for the purposes of clarity, collection of essays and interviews that discuss the terms comics and graphic novels are used here interchangeably. the role of animals in contemporary comics and graphic novels. The first piece, an interview with Nick Abadzis (Laika) and James Vining (First in References Space), examines the way that the artists chose to tell two distinctive nonfiction stories about Baker, S. (2001). Picturing the Beast: Animals, Identity, and Representation. animals sent into space during the Urbana: University of Illinois Press. American/Soviet space race. Chris This’ ‘Ecofeminist Themes in The Facts in the Case of Berger, J. (1992) About Looking. New York: Vintage Books. the Departure of Miss Finch’ takes a close look at Edelman, M. J. (1995). From Art to Politics: How Artistic Creations Shape the role of ecofeminism in Neil Gaiman’s Miss Political Conceptions.