SSStttooonnnyyy BBBrrrooooookkk UUUnnniiivvveeerrrsssiiitttyyy The official electronic file of this thesis or dissertation is maintained by the University Libraries on behalf of The Graduate School at Stony Brook University. ©©© AAAllllll RRRiiiggghhhtttsss RRReeessseeerrrvvveeeddd bbbyyy AAAuuuttthhhooorrr... The Graphic Memoir and the Cartoonist’s Memory A Dissertation Presented by Alice Claire Burrows to The Graduate School in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Comparative Literature Stony Brook University August 2016 Stony Brook University The Graduate School Alice Claire Burrows We, the dissertation committee for the above candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy degree, hereby recommend acceptance of this dissertation. _________________________________________________________ Raiford Guins, Professor, Chairperson of Defense _________________________________________________________ Robert Harvey, Distinguished Professor, Cultural Analysis & Theory, Dissertation Advisor _________________________________________________________ Krin Gabbard, Professor Emeritus, Cultural Analysis & Theory _________________________________________________________ Sandy Petrey, Professor Emeritus, Cultural Analysis & Theory _________________________________________________________ David Hajdu, Associate Professor, Columbia University, Graduate School of Journalism This dissertation is accepted by the Graduate School ___________________________ Charles Taber Dean of the Graduate School ii Abstract of the Dissertation The Graphic Memoir and the Cartoonist’s Memory by Alice Claire Burrows Doctor of Philosophy in Comparative Literature Stony Brook University 2016 Graphic memoirs embrace the vibrancy and rich social and artistic history of comics, and the intimacy and imagination of autobiographies. Spanning from Justin Green’s 1972 Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary to Riad Sattouf’s 2014 The Arab of the Future, autobiographical comics capture the fragmented, subjective, and visual nature of memory. Reacting against the Comics Code, underground comics introduced the concept of portraying oneself in comics, a practice that achieved mainstream validation in 1992 when Art Spiegelman won the Pulitzer Prize for Maus. Drawing from classic comic strips like Richard Outcault’s The Yellow Kid and comic books like the salacious EC Comics, cartoonists integrate and reimagine comics techniques, evoking nostalgia but also disrupting expectations. The potential for image and text to be both collaborative and conflicting is conducive to narratives of trauma, illness, and isolation because there is an expanded opportunity for representation. Marianne Hirsch and Gillian Whitlock both argue that there is an ethical imperative for verbal-visual storytelling, especially in light of contemporary censorship, war, and family trauma. My dissertation explores the ways in which graphic memoirs have been utilized to tell significant and overlooked stories, iii and ways in which the reader is responsible for engaging with the cartoonist and protagonist through the graphic memoir. Specifically, I examine the ways in which the self-portrait, utilization of panels and gutters, depiction of silence, and inclusion of photographs communicate the personal narrative, and consider how these elements have evolved over the history of Western comics. Stories of personal trauma depicted through comics allow for a particular subjectivity and engagement, inspired by a contemporary medium that promises to challenge the limits of storytelling and autobiography. iv Table of Contents List of Figures.................................................................................................................................vi Acknowledgments..........................................................................................................................ix Introduction......................................................................................................................................1 I. Chapter 1: Intersection of Comics and Autobiography..............................................................14 II. Chapter 2: In the Cracked Looking Glass: The Cartoonist’s Self Portrait................................55 III. Chapter 3: Panels, Frames, Windows……............................................................................109 IV. Chapter 4: The Desperate Artist: Narrative Devices and Silence..........................................147 V. Chapter 5: Photographs in Graphic Memoirs: Intertextuality of Media.................................188 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………...231 Bibliography................................................................................................................................238 v Figures Introduction i.1 Art Spiegelman, Breakdowns,7. Chapter 1 1.1 Riad Sattouf, The Arab of the Future, 11. 1.2 David B., Epileptic, 121. 1.3 Antonio Altarriba, The Art of Flying, 20. 1.4 Yoshiro Tatsumi, A Drifting Life, 102. 1.5 David Heatley, My Brain is Hanging Upside Down, cover. Chapter 2 2.1. Sattouf, 1. 2.2 Ariel Schrag, Definition, 1. 2.3 Philippe Vuillemin, cover. 2.4 Allison Bechdel, Fun Home, 3. 2.5 Bechdel, 232. 2.6 Bechdel, 34. 2.7 Art Spiegelman, Breakdowns. 2.8 Spiegelman. 2.9 Spiegelman. 2.10 David B., Epileptic, 1. 2.11 David B., 2. 2.12 David B., 121. vi 2.13 David B., 289. 2.14 David B., 362. 2.15 Harvey Pekar, The New American Splendor Anthology, “Pa-ayper-reggs!!” (Ill. R. Crumb) 2.16 Pekar, “The Grand Finale.” (Ill. William Fogg) 2.17 Pekar, “How This Foreword Got Written.” (Ill. Chester Brown) 2.18 Pekar, “Toby Saves the Day.” (Ill. Ed Wesolowski) 2.19 Schrag, 6. 2.20 Schrag, Likewise, 82. Chapter 3 3.1 David Heatley, My Brain is Hanging Upside Down, “Kin.” 3.2 Craig Thompson, Blankets, 167. 3.3 Heatley, “Sex History.” 3.4 Nina Bunjevac, Fatherland, “Plan B.” 3.5 Bunjevac, “Childhood.” 3.6 Thompson, 392. 3.7 Thompson, 52. 3.8 Thompson, 228. 3.9 Belle Yang, Forget Sorrow, 14. Chapter 4 4.1 Julie Doucet, My New York Diary, 54. 4.2 Doucet, 23. 4.3 Nina Bunjavec, Fatherland, “Childhood.” 4.4 Bunjavec, “Exile.” vii 4.5 Bunjavec 4.6 Bunjavec 4.7 Bunjavec 4.8 David B., Epileptic, 343. 4.9 David B., 276. 4.10 David Small, Stitches, 180. 4.11 Small, 190 4.12 Small, 47 Chapter 5 5.1 Didier Lefèvre, The Photographer, 4. 5.2 Lefèvre, 3. 5.3 Lefèvre, 3. 5.4 Lefèvre, 260. 5.5 Lefèvre, 131. 5.6 Miriam Katin, We are on Our Own, Afterword. 5.7 Aline Kominsky Crumb, Need More Love, 199. 5.8 Art Spiegelman, Maus II: And Here My Troubles Began, 134. 5.9 Martin Lemelman, Two Cents Plain, 21. 5.10 Lemelman, 10. 5.11 Alissa Torres, American Widow, 197. 5.12 Allison Bechdel, Fun Home, 100. viii Acknowledgements I would like to thank my entire committee for taking the time to bring this project to fruition, and for sticking with me through the years and across the country. The depth of knowledge and experience is extensive, and I am grateful for the unique influence every member has contributed. A profound thank you to my outside reader David Hajdu for bringing his expertise, insight, and genuine interest to my project. My heartfelt gratitude to Sandy Petrey, who constantly inspired me as a teacher, first believed in me and this project, sends me Times articles about new comics and Harper Lee, and understands being a southerner in NYC. A raised glass to Krin Gabbard, with whom I first learned how to teach at the university through Classical Mythology, is a model of xenia (with Paula), and plays one hell of a trumpet solo. I would like to thank Raiford Guins for taking on the crucial chair role, critically and aptly challenging my claims since day one, and being an example of what academia can achieve now and for many years to come. Finally, I would like to thank my dissertation chair Robert Harvey for reaching out, and making this possible. His fastidious editing, critical feedback, and strict deadlines made this a better project, and his encouragement, patience, and kindness have made me a better scholar. The inquiring email on August 28, 2015 made all the difference, and I simply cannot express fully what this means to me. These acknowledgements would not be complete without thanking Mary Moran-Luba for her support, and for the Patricia Brennan Award. I am honored to have received this award in honor of your sister. Everyone knows that there would be no Comparative Literature graduates without Mary’s support, and this is a verifiable fact in my case. From the generous award to reminder emails to a calm and consistent presence, Stony Brook is lucky to have you. Thank you to everyone in the Comparative Literature department, including my small yet mighty cohort: Ma, Mike, and Jayson. All the love to Hans and Atticus. ix Introduction An evolving aesthetic has emerged around self-representation: the graphic memoir. Reimagining comics techniques, like the panel, speech balloon, and gutter, for the purpose of autobiographical storytelling creates an openness and engagement with readers that allows for narratives of trauma, illness, and isolation to emerge amidst the idiosyncrasies of memory. I am particularly interested in the depiction of personal trauma in comics, those narratives that rely almost completely on memory, oral storytelling, and family histories. Boldly pushing the boundaries of this relatively new medium, autobiographical cartoonists have and continue to repurpose innovations from fiction and film and literary autobiographies, and manipulate them into something new entirely