Representations of National Identity in Canadian Comic Books
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
RED AND WHITE TIGHTS: REPRESENTATIONS OF NATIONAL IDENTITY IN CANADIAN COMIC BOOKS Benjamin Woo B.A.H., Queen's University, 2004 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS In the School of Communication O Benjamin Woo 2006 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Fall 2006 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. NAME: Benjamin Woo DEGREE: TITLE: Red and White Tights: Representations of National Identity in Canadian Comic Books EXAMINING COMMITTEE: CHAIR: Peter Anderson Associate Professor, School of Communication Dr. Gary McCarron Senior Supervisor Assistant Professor, School of Communication Dr. Zoe Druick Supervisor Assistant Professor, School of Communication Dr. Colin Browne Examiner Professor, School of Contemporary Arts Date: 24 October 2006 i i SIMON FRASER UNIWERSINlibrary DECLARATION OF PARTIAL COPYRIGHT LICENCE The author, whose copyright is declared on the title page of this work, has granted to Simon Fraser University the right to lend this thesis, project or extended essay to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. The author has further granted permission to Simon Fraser University to keep or make a digital copy for use in its circulating collection (currently available to the public at the "Institutional Repository" link of the SFU Library website <www.lib.sfu.ca> at: ~http:llir.lib.sfu.calhandle118921112~)and, without changing the content, to translate the thesislproject or extended essays, if technically possible, to any medium or format for the purpose of preservation of the digital work. The author has further agreed that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by either the author or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without the author's written permission. Permission for public performance, or limited permission for private scholarly use, of any multimedia materials forming part of this work, may have been granted by the author. This information may be found on the separately catalogued multimedia material and in the signed Partial Copyright Licence. The original Partial Copyright Licence attesting to these terms, and signed by this author, may be found in the original bound copy of this work, retained in the Simon Fraser University Archive. Simon Fraser University Library Burnaby, BC, Canada Revised: Fall 2006 ABSTRACT Though produced in the shadow of the American comic-book industry, Canadian comics both explicitly and implicitly engage themes of national identity This thesis extends historical fan scholarship into an examination of some of these nationalist themes in the context of Canadian art and culture. Canadian adventure comics developed in the 1940s to fill a wartime vacuum; generic conventions of American superhero comics were reworked for the new context, incorporating elements of the 'Northwoods' genre of Mountie film and pulp literature. This is accompanied by the exoticization of the wilderness and its incorporation into national identity as a marker of exotic difference. Keywords: comic books; nationalist; superhero; Canadian identity Subject terms: Comic books, strips, etc., Canadian -- History; Comic books, strips, etc. -- Social aspects; Comic books, strips, etc. -- History and criticism iii DEDICATION For Canadian cartoonists. To those without whom this thesis would not have been possible: my supervisors Gary McCarron and Zoe Druick; Bart Beaty of the University of Calgary's Faculty of Communication and Culture; and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, for its generous and vital support of my research through the Canada Graduate Scholarship programme. To those without whom it would not have been probable: my friends and colleagues at the School of Communication; Blaine Allan of the Department of Film Studies at Queen's University; Joseph Bergin Ill, Robin Bougie, Ed Brisson, Brian Fukushima, Jason Turner, the rest of the Crown Commission, and all our imaginary friends. To those without whom it would not have been worthwhile: Laurena Nash and my parents, Daniel and Ruth Woo. Approval .............................................................................................................. ii ... Abstract .............................................................................................................. 111 Dedication ..........................................................................................................iv Acknowledgements ............................................................................................v Table of Contents............................................................................................... vi Canada's Fighting-Mad Superheroes: An Introduction................................... 1 Nationalism. Comics. and Nationalist Comics ........................................14 A Proud Part of Our Heritage........................................................................... 14 International Examples ....................................................................................18 France and Belgium: Bandes Dessinees as Public Art ................................19 The Middle East: An Oppositional Pop Culture ........................................24 Mexico: The Comics Mediator ......................................................................27 Bringing It All Back Home ................................................................................29 From Red Serge to Spandex: The Canadian Superhero ............................... 34 Amazing Fantasies: The Superhero Genre .....................................................37 Under the Hood: Revisiting the Alter Ego .....................................................46 Your Friendly Neighbourhood Superhero ..................................................... 50 This Looks Like a Job for Legitimate Civil Authority .....................................52 Take Off. Eh? The Superhero goes North ....................................................... 58 Men of the Mounted .....................................................................................59 North-Westerns ............................................................................................64 Superheroes That Always Get Their Man ....................................................67 The True North Super-strong and Free: 'Borealism' and ldentity in Canadian Comic Books .................................................................................... 73 Standing on Guard: The Superheroes of the North .........................................74 Nordicity and National Identity .........................................................................77 The Logic of Borealism................................................................................. 77 Ideas of North ...............................................................................................81 Nelvana of the Northern Lights .....................................................................84 Conclusion? ......................................................................................................90 Reference List ...................................................................................................94 CANADA'S FIGHTING-MAD SUPERHEROES: An Introduction I started reading Canadian literature when I was young, though I didn't know it was that; in fact I wasn't aware that I lived in a country with any distinct existence of its own. At school we were being taught to sing "Rule, Britannia" and to draw the Union Jack; after hours we read stacks of Captain Marvel, Plastic Man and Batman comic books, an activity delightfully enhanced by the disapproval of our elders. Margaret Atwood, Sun~ival(Atwood 1972:29) One of the most prized objects in my meagre collection of monthly comic book pamphlets is a copy of Uncanny X-Men 121 (Claremont and Byrne 1979). It is not in particularly good shape - fine condition would probably be a tad generous - and, as far as I know, is not worth very much money on the speculators' market. However, the economies of the market are not always the dominant values when it comes to the collector's evaluation of his or her collection. I am not much of a fan of the X-Men, but this particular comic book has a great deal of sentimental value for me because issue 121 of The Uncanny X-Men is the first appearance of the Canadian superhero team with the rather awkward and uninspiring name, Alpha Flight. Alpha Flight, created by the superstar artist - and Canadian expatriate - John Byrne for the American publisher Marvel Comics, was a team of super- powered agents working for a rather shady Canadian government with orders to retrieve the beloved and curmudgeonly X-Man known as Wolverine, himself an AWOL Canadian agentlexperimental subject. I acquired this issue at a small comic book convention in a generic hotel ballroom somewhere in suburban California, the type that is less a gathering of a community so much as a funnybook flea market. I was in high school at the time, perhaps fifteen or sixteen years old; like Byrne, I was an expat. Though the text always labels them 'heroes,' Alpha Flight spends this