ARTH 399-001: Art of Comics Spring 2013

Tuesday/Thursday 10:30-11:45am Robinson Hall B-113 Professor Kerry Roeder [email protected] Office Hours: Tues. 11:45am-12:45pm & appt. Office: Robinson B-334

Course Description This course will track the aesthetic development of cartoons, caricatures, and comics, from the eighteenth century until the present. Comics have long been derided as an art form by the Academy; this course will interrogate the institutional and cultural reasons for this exclusion while highlighting the unique properties that distinguish comics from other forms of popular art. From the satirical prints of William Hogarth, to superhero comic books and the graphic novels of Marjane Satrapi, we will examine the formal development of the medium and its complex relationship to the culture at large. In recent years, comics have increasingly become the subject of academic scrutiny. However, comics are most typically studied as literature. This frame of inquiry privileges the verbal over the visual. This course seeks to redress this imbalance by studying comics from an art historical perspective, focusing on the works as visual objects with their own distinct aesthetic criteria. Students will read critical essays, historical overviews, and comics themselves as they investigate the intersection of text and image in sequential narratives.

Course Materials

Required Texts:

Duncan, Randy. The Power of Comics: History, Form and Culture, New York: Continuum Books, 2009.

Heer, Jeet (Editor), Kent Worcester (Editor). Comic Studies Reader, Jackson, MS: University of Mississippi Press, 2008.

McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics, New York: Harper Collins, 1993.

Recommended Texts:

Bechdel, Alison. Fun Home, Mariner Books, 2007.

Moore, Alan. Watchmen, DC Comics, (1987) 1995.

Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood. Pantheon Books, 2004.

All of these books will also be available on reserve at the library; all other readings will be made available on Blackboard [BB] or online.

Course Requirements Attendance and active participation in class discussion is expected. Assigned readings must

1 be completed before coming to class; they are central to successful participation in this course. All assignments must be turned in during class on the due date. There will be three exams in the course of the semester. The first will take the form of an open note quiz (10%), followed by a midterm (15%) and a take-home final exam (15%). Exams will place an emphasis on essay questions, along with a selection of slide identifications and terms. Review sheets will be provided for all exams. No make-up exams. Exceptions may be made in the event of a documented medical or family emergency, at the professor’s discretion. In addition to the exams there are three written assignments. The first assignment (10%) will require you to visit a comic book store in the area (there is one in walking distance of GMU). You will then write a 2-3 page field report based upon your observations. For the second assignment (15%) you will create your own comic strip, adapting a well-known fairy tale or fable as your source material. You will need to write a short essay accompanying the comic wherein you explain the choices you made in adapting the tale. The third assignment (20%) consists of a 4-6 page research paper and in-class presentation. The subject of the paper may focus on an individual artist or author, a title (i.e. Spider-man) or series, a graphic novel, or a publishing house (i.e. DC, Marvel, Fantagraphics.) You will present your research to the class at the end of the semester. No emailed assignments will be accepted. All late work will be docked half a letter grade (5 points) each day past deadline. No paper will be accepted after being five days late. Participation grades (15%) will be determined by your contributions to class discussions. In order to receive an A, you must contribute regularly and thoughtfully to in class discussion. If you attend regularly and participate fairly often you will receive B. Sporadic contributions to the class will result in a C; if you spend the entire class lost in your laptop you will receive a D. Poor attendance and/or a serial lack of engagement in class discussion will result in a failing class participation grade. Mason uses only Mason e-mail accounts to communicate with enrolled students. Students must activate their Mason e-mail account, use it to communicate with their department and other administrative units, and check it regularly for important university information including messages related to this class. No cellphones or electronic devices. Laptops maybe used for note-taking ONLY, no email, web-browsing, or facebook. Unexcused absences will adversely affect your class participation grade. If you are a student with a disability and you need academic accommodations, please see me and contact the Office of Disability Services at 703.993.2474 or ods.gmu.edu. All academic accommodations must be arranged through that office.

Papers must be free of grammatical mistakes and written in clear, standard English. The Writing Center can provide assistance with writing, please contact them well in advance of assignment deadlines: http://writingcenter.gmu.edu.

Academic honesty is expected in all tests and writing assignments. Plagiarism is a serious offense and violation of the George Mason University Honor Code and will be reported to the Honor Committee. Always, always cite your sources.

Contact me if you have any questions.

Grading

Participation 15% Field Report 10%

2 Quiz 10% Midterm Exam 15% Comic strip assignment 15% Final project 20% Final Exam 15%

Grade Scale

A = 100-93 A- = 92-90 B+ = 89-87 B = 86-83 B- = 82-80 C+ =79-77 C =76-73 C- =72-70 D+ = 69-67 D = 66-63 D- = 62-60 F = 59 & below

Important Dates First day of class January 22 Last day to add/drop without penalty: January 29 Last day to drop with 33% tuition penalty February 12 Quiz February 12 No class, conference: February 14 Final drop deadline (67% tuition penalty) February 22 Comic book store field report due: March 7 No class, Spring Break: March 12-14 Midterm: March 21 Comic strip assignment due: April 11 Last day of classes: May 2 Final Exam: May 14

Schedule

Tues. 1/22 1. Course Introduction and Overview

Thurs. 1/24 2. Formal properties of Comic Art READ: Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art, Ch. 1-3.

Tues. 1/29 3. Formal properties of Comic Art READ: Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art, Ch. 4-7.

Thurs. 1/31 4. Comic Beginnings: 18th century Europe TOPICS: William Hogarth READ: Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art, Ch. 8-9; The Power of Comics: 1-17; 20-22.

Tues. 2/5 5. Comic Beginnings: 19th century Europe TOPICS: Rodolphe Töpffer, Gustave Doré READ: Comic Studies Reader: Kunzle, “Rodolphe Töpffer’s Aesthetic Revolution,” 17-24. BROWSE: http://www.lambiek.net/artists/t/topffer.htm

Thurs. 2/7 6. The Rise of Newspaper Comics TOPICS: Thomas Nast, Richard Outcault READ: The Power of Comics: 26-28; The Power of Comics: 24-26; Baird Jarman, “The Graphic Art of Thomas Nast, American Periodicals (2010), 156-189.[BB]

3 BROWSE: http://library.duke.edu/exhibits/earlycomicstrips/01/

Tues. 2/12 7. **QUIZ** Open note quiz

Thurs. 2/14 NO CLASS- PROFESSOR AT CONFERENCE Use this opportunity to visit the comic book store this week.

Tues. 2/19 8. Early Innovators TOPICS: Winsor McCay READ: Kerry Roeder, “Winsor McCay,” A New Literary History of America. (Harvard University Press, 2009), 493-498. [BB] BROWSE: Little Nemo in Slumberland, 1905-1914 [BB]

Thurs. 2/21 9. Early Innovators TOPICS: Lyonel Feininger, George Herriman READ: David Carrier, “Comics and the art of moving pictures: Piero della Francesca, Hergé and George Herriman,” Word & Image 13.4 (1997) [BB] BROWSE: http://www.old-coconino.com/sites_auteurs/herriman/mng_herriman.htm

Tues. 2/26 10. The Origin of Comic books TOPICS: Action Comics, Detective Comics, Famous Funnies READ: The Power of Comics: 28-36; Action Comic #1 http://supermanthrutheages.com/tales2/action1/?page=-1 BROWSE: Look at Action Comics and Famous Funnies covers: http://www.dcindexes.com/index.php?site

Thurs. 2/28 11. Franco-Belgian comics TOPICS: Hergé READ: The Power of Comics: 297-300; Hergé, Tintin in Tibet, 1-62 [BB]

Tues. 3/5 12. Mid-century Newspaper comics TOPICS:Frank King, Charles Schulz READ: Comic Studies Reader: Inge, “Two boys from the twin cities,”94-100; R.C. Harvey, “Growing Old in Gasoline Alley: Ninety-four Years And Counting” http://www.tcj.com/growing-old-in-gasoline-alley-ninety-four-years- and-counting/ BROWSE: Charles M. Schulz Museum Original Peanuts Comic Strip Collection http://schulzmuseum.org/collections/#/peanuts-cartoon-strip-collection

Thurs. 3/7 13. The comic backlash TOPICS: E.C. Comics, Harvey Kurtzman READ: Comic Studies Reader: Wertham, excerpt from “The Seduction of the Innocent,” 53-57; The Power of Comics: 36-44. BROWSE: http://library.duke.edu/exhibits/comicbookcultures/1950s/index.html

**COMIC BOOK STORE FIELD REPORT DUE**

Tues. 3/12 SPRING BREAK

Thurs. 3/14 SPRING BREAK

4 Tues. 3/19 14. The return of the superhero TOPICS: DC revival, Marvel Comics, Steve Ditko READ: Comic Studies Reader: Coogan, “The Definition of the Superhero,” 77- 93; The Power of Comics: 44-48, 221-238. BROWSE: http://marvel.com/digital_comics?nav=1, preview Steve Ditko’s Amazing Spider-Man comics from the 1960s

Thurs. 3/21 **MIDTERM EXAM**

Tues. 3/26 15. Underground comix TOPICS: R.Crumb, Harvey Pekar, Zap Comix READ: The Power of Comics: 63-67; Tony Venezia, “Harvey Pekar’s Anti- epiphanic Everyday” http://www.comicsgrid.com/2011/06/harvey-pekar-everyday/

Thurs. 3/28 16. Deconstructing the superhero TOPICS: Alan Moore READ: Alan Moore, Watchmen, Ch. 1-6

Tues. 4/2 17. Deconstructing the superhero TOPICS: Alan Moore READ: Alan Moore, Watchmen, Ch. 7-12

Thurs. 4/4 18. Alternative & Independent comics TOPICS: Art Spiegelman, Drawn & Quarterly, Fantagraphics READ: Comic Studies Reader: Chute, “History and Graphic Representation in Maus,” 340-362.

Tues. 4/9 19.Manga TOPICS: Osamu Tezuka READ: The Power of Comics: 294-297; Jason Thompson, “How Manga Conquered America,” Wired, Nov. 2007, pp. 233-222. [BB]

Thurs. 4/11 20. Graphic Novels TOPICS: Marjane Satrapi READ: Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis

**COMIC STRIP ASSIGNMENT DUE**

Tues. 4/16 21. Graphic Novels TOPICS: Alison Bechdel, Chris Ware READ: Alison Bechdel, Fun Home

Thurs. 4/18 22. Web comics, the decline of print and the future of comics TOPICS: Kate Beaton, Matthew Inman BROWSE: http://harkavagrant.com/index.php; http://theoatmeal.com/comics

Tues. 4/23 Class Presentations

Thurs. 4/25 Class Presentations

5 Tues. 4/30 Class Presentations

Thurs.. 5/2 Last Day of Class: Class Presentations FINAL PROJECTS DUE

Sat. 5/4 Free Comic Book Day – visit a comic book store and pick up some titles http://www.freecomicbookday.com

Tues. 5/14 **FINAL EXAM** (10:30am-1:15pm) FINAL TAKE-HOME EXAM DUE

**Course schedule is subject to change.

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