View, and the Ethics of Empathy

Polak MacDonald 1 Gutter Love Historio-Metagraphics, Point-of-View, and the Ethics of Empathy A dissertation submitted to the Graduate School at the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of English and Comparative Literatures of the College of Arts & Sciences by Kate Polak MacDonald July 10, 2013 B.A. American Literature—English Department, The Ohio State University (2005) M.A. Creative Writing—English and Comparative Literatures, University of Cincinnati (2007) Committee Chair: Jennifer Glaser, PhD Polak MacDonald 2 Abstract Gutter Love explores the connections between graphic narratives, the violence they depict, and the marginalized experiences of minorities and women. While comics and graphic novels, collectively referred to as “graphic narratives,” are seen as artifacts of “low” culture, they often deal with complicated issues. I introduce the terms “historiographic metafictional graphic narratives”, “historio-metagraphics” for short, which refer to graphic narratives that integrate historical realities in fictional settings. Their portrayals of atrocity, the ways in which they mobilize empathy and reader identification, and how navigate questions about the ethics of the gaze are essential to contemporary debates about the representation of violence. While non- fiction graphic novels that deal with violence such as Art Spiegelman’s Maus have received attention from scholars and are increasingly taught in college courses, historio-metagraphics have received significantly less attention. My project seeks to redress this gap in the literature, arguing that historio-metagraphics’ fictional, and sometimes fantastic, elements are central to the exploration of how experiences of extremity may be rendered in an ethical fashion. By investigating point-of-view and focalization in Deogratias, Watchmen, and Hellbalzer, I demonstrate how the genre is useful in regards to examinations of reader’s empathetic reaction to the content. The reader’s imaginative closure between two panels that takes place in the gutter creates a space in which the reader’s own attitudes must be examined, and furthermore, the gutter signifies a space of transition by which point-of-view is emphasized as a fundamental component of history and narrative. How the reader is positioned in terms of character point of view suggests that graphic narrative creators have ethical concerns about empathetic engagement. My project proposes an intervention strategy that emphasizes how formal elements of graphic narratives create a space for ethical interrogation of interactions with content. Polak MacDonald 3 Polak MacDonald 4 Acknowledgements This project would not have been possible without my loving, long-suffering parents, Bill and Ellen Polak. Persistence was their greatest lesson, and between the two of them, I know that I always have an unflinching editor, plenty of food, and ample reminders not to take myself too seriously. I could not have completed this project without my wonderful husband Ian, who challenges me, and has donated many valuable days to editing my writing, arguing with me about theory, and ranting with me about politics and culture. He has been an unfailing source of ideas, contradictions, and love. The support of my unbelievably dedicated committee is also gratefully acknowledged. My dissertation director, Jennifer Glaser, pushed me beyond my intellectual limits and has spent countless hours helping me improve my writing. Gary Weissman helped to set me down this path, as his “Literature of the Holocaust” course first raised some of the questions that this work explores. Beth Ash has been the most patient, devoted theory advisor I could hope for, and her ability to crystallize complex issues was invaluable. I would also like to thank several other professors from University of Cincinnati and beyond, for their investment in my development during this long process. At UC, I am particularly grateful to Laura Micciche, Jay Twomey, Jana Leigh, Tamar Heller, and Joyce Malek for their knowledge about teaching, writing, and research. Each was instrumental in helping me towards my degree. I would also like to thank David Frantz, my Shakespeare professor at OSU, who has been a source of emotional and intellectual support and rapport for many years. I owe the Taft Center for Research, the University Research Council, and the Graduate Summer Mentoring program a debt of gratitude for their financial and intellectual support during this process. The project could not have been completed without the scholars with whom they put me in contact. I would also like to thank the Holocaust Education Foundation for inviting me to participate in its Summer Fellowship, which deepened my understanding of the representation of genocide. Finally, thanks to my friends. Megan Cash has reliably harassed me, sympathized with me, and listened to me. Julie Berthoud has been a wonderful interlocutor and a reliable commiseration partner. George Potter has always been an unfailing source of nuance and critique, as well as snark. My cousin Sarah Helgesen has been a wonderful source of general hilarity and more comic books. Thanks especially to the incoming class of Master’s and PhD students in the autumn of 2005. There are countless others that have contributed to this dissertation in ways both large and small, and I am eternally grateful. Polak MacDonald 5 Contents Introduction: History, Metafiction, and the Affective Power of Graphic Narratives 6 1. Being a Dog: Transformation, Focalization, and Memory in Deogratias 45 2. Just Like Sally: Rape and Reflexivity in Watchmen 95 3. Telling the Wound: Framing and Restricted Narration in Hellblazer 143 Conclusion 194 Bibliography 206 Polak MacDonald 6 Introduction History, Metafiction, and the Affective Power of the Graphic Narrative Graphic narratives are no longer at the margins of literary studies. The genre has gone through a renaissance; writers and artists have established sequential art as a legitimate form that is distinct from more traditional practices of composing. Recent interest has spawned a number of books and journals1 that deal specifically with sequential art as an object of analysis, and this scholarship has helped to establish a body of literature on what graphic narratives are, how they are distinct from other modes, and how theoretical interventions may take place.2 In terms of content, graphic narratives have been examined from a variety of theoretical perspectives, including critical race theory, feminist theory, Marxism, and have been subject to treatments that place them within the purview of postmodernism and post-structuralism. This scholarship has aimed at reading graphic narratives alongside of more traditional novels, short stories, and memoirs, showing that while the form differs, the thematic content is of similar quality. While legitimizing graphic narratives as an object of study, interestingly, this has highlighted the extent to which the genre remains preoccupied with violent histories. Comics have regularly been critiqued for their depictions of violence and perversity, a criticism that has been frequently invoked since Fredric Wertham’s 1954 publication of Seduction of the Innocent, which argued that the illustration of vice in comics encouraged delinquency in children. The ensuing hearings prompted publishers to self-censor in subsequent 1 ImageText, The Comics Journal, International Journal of Comic Art, European Comic Art, Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, Studies in Comics, Studies in Graphic Narratives, Comicalités, Scandinavian Journal of Comic Art, The Comics Grid, Duesche Comicforschung, SANE Journal, and many others that publish works related to studies in graphic narratives. 2 See Will Eisner’s Graphic Storytelling & Visual Narrative, Comics & Sequential Art, Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics, Reinventing Comics, Thierry Groensteen’s The System of Comics, Neil Cohn’s Early Writings on Visual Language, Charles Hatfield’s Alternative Comics, Jeet Heer’s A Comic Studies Reader, Randy Duncan’s The Power of Comics, and Matthew J. Smith’s Critical Approaches to Comics. Polak MacDonald 7 years, affecting the comic industry even today.3 However, graphic narratives have also been the site of some of the most daring depictions of violence in the contemporary age. Graphic novels gained credibility as a legitimate art form in part through the publication and popularity of Maus, Spiegelman’s graphic memoir about his father’s experiences during the Holocaust, inarguably one of the most extreme examples of violence in the 20th century. The rise of the graphic memoir has been fueled in part by a preoccupation with individual’s accounts of atrocity and revolution. Satrapi’s Persepolis documented the Iranian Revolution through the eyes of a young girl. Joe Sacco’s Palestine introduced the plight of Palestinians in the account of a self-critical journalist. Guy Delisle’s Pyongyang details the author’s experiences working in North Korea. David Small’s Stitches and David B.’s Epileptic recount families dealing with illness. Carol Taylor’s You’ll Never Know deals with her father’s service during WWII. This partial list of popular titles reflects a broader spectrum of autographics devoted to rendering lives at the margins of history. The graphic memoir (also referred to as the “autographic”4) is a cultural juggernaut, and this is at least partly due to creators’ ability to render their experiences simultaneously visually

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