English-Language Graphic Narratives in Canada

Drawing on the Margins of History: English-Language Graphic Narratives in Canada by Kevin Ziegler A thesis presented to the University of Waterloo in fulfilment of the thesis requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 2013 © Kevin Ziegler 2013 Author’s Declaration I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public. ii Abstract This study analyzes the techniques that Canadian comics life writers develop to construct personal histories. I examine a broad selection of texts including graphic autobiography, biography, memoir, and diary in order to argue that writers and readers can, through these graphic narratives, engage with an eclectic and eccentric understanding of Canadian historical subjects. Contemporary Canadian comics are important for Canadian literature and life writing because they acknowledge the importance of contemporary urban and marginal subcultures and function as representations of people who occasionally experience economic scarcity. I focus on stories of “ordinary” people because their stories have often been excluded from accounts of Canadian public life and cultural history. Following the example of Barbara Godard, Heather Murray, and Roxanne Rimstead, I re- evaluate Canadian literatures by considering the importance of marginal literary products. Canadian comics authors rarely construct narratives about representative figures standing in place of and speaking for a broad community; instead, they create what Murray calls “history with a human face . the face of the daily, the ordinary” (“Literary History as Microhistory” 411). My research finds that contemporary Canadian graphic narratives create mundane personal histories using a medium that is inherently attuned to exaggeration and fragmentation. My reading of graphic narrative is based on “autographics,” a recent field of scholarship that analyzes the interactions between visual and verbal forms of communication in works of life writing. I draw on visual rhetorical studies and communication design in order to describe “the distinctive technology and aesthetics of life narrative that emerges in comics” (Whitlock 965). The medium of comics playfully manipulates the discourses of documentary evidence and testimonial authority. At the same time, it gives Canadian authors tools for depicting the experiences of ordinary individuals through a rich collection of emotional, sensorial, and perceptual information. Focusing on the work of such authors as Chester iii Brown, David Collier, Julie Doucet, Sarah Leavitt, and Seth, I suggest that Canadian comics authors exploit the unique formal properties of the medium of comics in order to interrogate dominant nationalist discourses. They also develop an alternative method for analyzing narratives about the past. iv Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to thank Ken and Muriel Ziegler. They are the most kind and generous people I know and simply amazing parents. They taught me to love literature by reading to me from an early age and gave me the freedom and confidence to follow my own interests in university. I could not have completed this study without them. I would like to thank Professor Linda Warley, who was an ideal supervisor – the model of intellectual integrity and professionalism. She was a patient editor, who encouraged me with precise advice. I benefited enormously from her wisdom. Thank you for introducing me to the study of life writing, for which I am immensely grateful. I would like to thank the other two members of my dissertation committee Professor Shelley Hulan and Professor Andrew McMurry. I took classes from them during my first year studying at the University of Waterloo, and they both shaped my study significantly in those early years. I am grateful to all of my academic mentors for their thoughtful guidance. Professor Glenn Willmott first suggested to me that I research Canadian graphic narratives while I was studying at Queen’s. Professor Victoria Lamont, Professor Ken Hirschkop, and Professor Randy Harris each kept me on track while acting as Graduate Chair in the English department. Professor Paul Malone and Professor Julie Rak offered their extensive expertise as my study’s external examiners. I would also like to acknowledge the generous financial assistance of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program. I consider myself lucky to have met such a wonderful group of graduate students at the University of Waterloo, including Jessica Antonio Lomanowska, David Shakespeare, Danila Sokolov, Dani Stock, Ryan Tully, Morgan Tunzelmann and Steve Wilcox. Thank you all for your friendship. Thanks to Ann Thompson and Alan Thompson for welcoming me to Ontario. Thanks to Christine v Horton for reading and commenting on sections of Chapter Two. Her insight helped me navigate many difficult passages of literary theory. Thanks to Jesse Hutchison for coming to my dungeon office to discuss Canadian literature. Thanks to all the members of the Comic Book Reading Group, but particularly Josh Chong, Michael Hancock, and Scott Stevens. Our conversations were immensely rewarding and informed my interest in this study. I would like to thank those close to me outside of school for offering their encouragement, including all of my family in Saskatchewan. Thanks to Carolyn Ziegler, Gary Ziegler, and Ryan Ziegler, each for their constant support and for giving me a place to stay while I was writing my dissertation. To Kent Klemmer for rewarding and challenging conversations on every imaginable topic. He has, despite the great distance between us, remained one of my closest friends. To Stefan Sereda for saving me from my academic hermitage. The final years of my degree were greatly improved by his consistent friendship. To Deni Eckensweiler for being a lovely host. To Kymberley Feltham, Galen Fogarty, and Meaghan Johnson for Saturdays at the market. To Joel Fonstad for conversations on his balcony while smoking cigarettes. To Graham Cook for teaching me to think creatively. To Michael Olson, Nahanni Olson, and Lua Gibb for making me feel like a member of their family. Finally, a special thanks to Amie Shirkie. I would have been lost without her. She advised me on every chapter and brightened my mood with her cheerfulness. The only thing that surpasses her intelligence is her generosity and good humour. To her I owe an immeasurable debt of gratitude. vi Dedication To Dean Ziegler, my twin brother and best friend. Thank you for bringing laughter and joy into my life. vii Table of Contents Author’s Declaration ……………………………………………………………………….. ii Abstract ……………………………………………………………………………………. iii Acknowledgements ………………………………………………………………………… v Dedication …………………………………………………………………………………. vii Table of Contents …………………………………………………………………………. viii List of Figures …………………………………………………………………………….....ix Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………... 1 Chapter 1 …………………………………………………………………………………... 47 Chapter 2 …………………………………………………………………………………... 96 Chapter 3 …………………………………………………………………………………... 152 Chapter 4 …………………………………………………………………………………... 197 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………… 247 Works Cited ………………………………………………………………………………... 266 viii List of Figures Fig. 1. Seth, It’s a Good Life, If You Don’t Weaken 1 Fig. 2. Seth, It’s a Good Life, If You Don’t Weaken 114-15 Fig. 3. Seth, It’s a Good Life, If You Don’t Weaken 124. Fig. 4. Seth, A.V. Club. Fig. 5. Seth, “The Sweet Vanished Past.” Fig. 6. Seth, Wimbledon Green 66. Fig. 7. Doucet, My New York Diary. Fig. 8. Doucet, “My New York Diary” 5. Fig. 9. Doucet. juliedoucet.net. Fig. 10. Doucet, “My New York Diary” 23. Fig. 11. Doucet, “My New York Diary” 30. Fig. 12. Doucet, 365 Days 08.12.02. Fig. 13. Doucet 365 Days. Fig. 14. Doucet, “My New York Diary” 53. Fig. 15. Brown, Yummy Fur vol. 16 and 19. Fig. 16. Brown, “Helder” 4. Fig. 17. Brown, “Helder” 10. Fig. 18. Brown, “Showing ‘Helder’” 100-1. Fig. 19. Brown, Yummy Fur vol. 20. Fig. 20. Waters N. pag. Fig. 21. Leavitt 119. Fig. 22. Leavitt 21. Fig. 23. Delisle, Jerusalem. ix Fig. 24. Collier, The Frank Ritza Papers “Los Angeles 1994.” Fig. 25. Collier, Hamilton Sketchbook “Hamilton.” Fig. 26. Collier, The Frank Ritza Papers “Los Angeles 1994.” Fig. 27. Collier, Hamilton Sketchbook “The David Collier Story.” Fig. 28. Collier, The Frank Ritza Papers and Hamilton Sketchbook. Fig. 29. Farrell 84. Collier, Hamilton Sketchbook “Hamilton.” Fig. 30. Collier, The Frank Ritza Papers “Saskatoon 1998.” Fig. 31. Collier, Hamilton Sketchbook “Hamilton.” Fig. 32. Mayerovitch, New Frontier. x Introduction I am amazed by the unpredictability of contemporary graphic narratives. They can be outlandish, absurd, and unruly. They often contain crude drawings that distort the physical appearance of the human form to exaggerated proportions.1 Although there are many fine examples of graphic narratives that manipulate the conventions of the medium with sophistication, they occasionally lack the kind of formal consistency and narrative complexity found in other works of Canadian literature and life writing. Some of the primary texts from my study fail to match some of the standards that I, as a literary scholar, have been taught to value. Despite these limitations, many contemporary Canadian comics authors articulate insightful accounts of their experiences

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