Reading graphic novels : genre and narration / Achim Hescher.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Introduction ; 2. Beginnings, Periods, Movements, and Developments ; 2.1 Underground Roots ; 2.2 Alternative Comics and the First Hype of the Graphic Novel ; 2.3 The 1980s and 1990s: Significant Changes on the (Comic) Book Market.

2.4 From 2000 on: the Second Hype of the Graphic Novel 2.5 Graphic Novels and bandes dessinées ; 3. Graphic Novels and the Problem of Categorization ; 3.1 Academic Interest in Comics and Graphic Novels ; 3.2 General Categorization Criteria for Graphic Novels.

3.2.1 Lengthiness and Serialization 3.2.2 Seriousness and Authenticity ; 3.2.3 Cartoonicity ; 3.2.4 Complexity ; 3.3 From Prototypes to a Typology of Complexity ; 3.3.1 Format, Medium, Mode, and Genre ; 3.3.2 From Classical Categories to Family Resemblances.

3.3.3 Fuzzy Boundaries: From Family Resemblances to Prototypical Categories 3.3.4 From Prototypes to a Typology ; 3.3.4.1 Multilayered Plot and Narration ; 3.3.4.2 Multireferential Use of Color ; 3.3.4.3 Complex Text/Image Relation ; 3.3.4.4 Meaning-Enhancing Panel Design/Layout.

3.3.4.5 Structural Performativity 3.3.4.6 Multiplicity of References to Texts/Media ; 3.3.4.7 Self-Referential Narration and Metafictional Devices ; 3.3.5 A Short Parenthesis on Autobiography ; 3.4 Critical Approaches to Comics and Graphic Novels.

Distinguishing the graphic novel from other types of comic books has presented problems due to the fuzziness of category boundaries. Against the backdrop of prototype theory, the author establishes the graphic novel as a genre whose core feature is complexity, which again is defined by seven gradable subcategories: 1) multilayered plot and narration, 2) multireferential use of color, 3) complex text-image relation, 4) meaning-enhancing panel design and layout, 5) structural performativity, 6) references to texts/media, and 7) self-referential and metafictional devices. Regarding the subcategory of narration, the existence of a narrator as known from classical narratology can no longer be assumed. In addition, conventional focalization cannot account for two crucial parameters of the comics image: what is shown (point of view, including mise en scène) and what is seen (character perception). On the basis of François Jost's concepts of ocularization and focalization, this book presents an analytical framework for graphic novels beyond conventional narratology and finally discusses aspects of subjectivity, a focal paradigm in the latest research. It is intended for advanced students of literature, scholars, and comics experts.0.

Description based on online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on December 20, 2019).

English.

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