The International Journal of Communication and Linguistic Studies

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access
Open Access Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Restricted Access Subscription Access

A Comic Book Culture: Comics and Identity Formation


Affiliations
1 Kingston University, Kingston, United Kingdom
     

   Subscribe/Renew Journal


The study of popular culture within the framework of the humanities has gained increased scholarly attention. However, one area of interest that has not been fully addressed in the social sciences is the role comic books play in shaping identity. The comic book presents a multilayered structure of narration that lends itself to reader participation while relating mythic narratives. In this paper I highlight the way the structure of the comic book works together with the mythic narratives communicated in the comic book to create a site that could potentially foster identity formation.

Keywords

Comic Books, Culture, Identity, Myth.
Subscription Login to verify subscription
User
Notifications
Font Size


  • Atchison, Christine. 2012. "From Gods to Superheroes: An Interpretive Reading of Comic Books and Religious Pluralism." Master's Research Paper, Kingston, Queen's University.

  • Barthes, Roland. 1967. "The Death of the Author." In Image, Music, Text. Translated by Stephen Heath, 142-148. New York: Hill and Wang, 1977.

  • Brooker, Will. 2001. Batman Unmasked: Analyzing a Cultural Icon. London, U.K.: Continuum.

  • Brooker, Will. 2012. Hunting The Dark Knight: Batman in Twenty-first Century Popular Culture. London, U.K.: I.B. Tauris.

  • Foucault, Michel. 1970. "What is an Author?" In Language, Counter-Memory, Practice. Translated by Donald F. Bouchard and Sherry Simon, 124-127. Ithaca, New York: Cornel University Press, 1977.

  • Garrett, Greg. 2008. Holy Superheroes!: Exploring the Sacred in Comics, Graphic Novels, and Film. Westminster: John Knox Press.

  • Lawson, E. Thomas. 2008. "Cognition." In Guide to the Study of Religion, Edited by Willi Braun and Russell T. McCutcheon, 75-84. London: Continuum.

  • Martin, Luther H. 2005. "Religion and Cognition." In The Routledge Companion to The Study of Religion, Edited by John Hinnells, 473-488. London and New York: Routledge.

  • McCloud, Scott. 1993. Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. New York: Harper Perennial.

  • Rifas, Leonard. 2010. "Race and Comix." In Multicultural Comics: From Zap to Blue Beetle, edited by Frederick Luis Aldama, 27-38. Austin, TX: University of Texas.

  • Royal, Derek Parker. 2010. "Foreword: Reading Within the Gutter" In Multicultural Comics: From Zap to Blue Beetle, edited by Frederick Luis Aldama. ix-xi. Austin, TX: University of Texas.

  • Wright, Bradford W. 2001. Comic Book Nation: The Transformation of Youth Culture in America. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.


Abstract Views: 274

PDF Views: 0




  • A Comic Book Culture: Comics and Identity Formation

Abstract Views: 274  |  PDF Views: 0

Authors

Christine Atchison
Kingston University, Kingston, United Kingdom

Abstract


The study of popular culture within the framework of the humanities has gained increased scholarly attention. However, one area of interest that has not been fully addressed in the social sciences is the role comic books play in shaping identity. The comic book presents a multilayered structure of narration that lends itself to reader participation while relating mythic narratives. In this paper I highlight the way the structure of the comic book works together with the mythic narratives communicated in the comic book to create a site that could potentially foster identity formation.

Keywords


Comic Books, Culture, Identity, Myth.

References