Why one shouldn't look up one's fandoms in scholarly databases

[elspethdixon]

I just read an irritating article on the Literature Online database wherein the author argued that Alan Moore's "Watchman" and Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns" marked the beginning of the inclusion of real-world social problems and government authority (and dark, deep stuff in general) in comics.

[Citation, for those who wish to be likewise annoyed: Hughes, Jamie A.: 'Who watches the watchmen?': ideology and 'real world' superheroes.
Journal of Popular Culture (Popular Culture Center, Bowling Green State Univ., OH) (39:4) [Aug 2006] , p.546-557.]

The fact that I felt instantly filled with the desire to email said random literary critic scans from Miller's Daredevil run and, oh, say, that 1960s Iron Man storyline where a Congressional investigation is trying to confiscate the Iron Man armor, probably indicates that I have lost all pretense of objectivity when it comes to the whole DC vs. Marvel thing.

And I quote:
"By placing these characters on pedestals as champions of justice and perfection, their creators also positioned them outside of the realm of ideology,"

and, in the following paragraph:
"Repressive State Apparatuses also hold no sway over these characters."

He goes on to argue that the absence of real-world/societal consequences for superheroes is what draws fans to read comics, and then follows this deduction with a statement that, "It should be noted, however, that this aspect of the comic world is changing. With each passing year, superheroes are becoming more involved in "real world" scenarios that mirror the current political and social problems. What this reveals about those who write and read comics is another article entirely.

What is clear, however, is that the change began in the mid 1980s with the publication of three new works in the realm of comic books-Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, Art Spiegelman's Maus, and Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen. "

*headdesks* Comics dealt with "real world political and social problems" before 1986. Seriously, Mr. Hughes, have you ever read a single Marvel comic in your entire life? (look at the mood icon. See, Matt is irritated that you've forgotten he exists)

Comments

[caia-comica.livejournal.com]

Uh. As a DC fan, can I send him Green Lantern/Green Arrow? I mean, Marvel was definitely earlier with the Real World stuff, but even in DC land it did *not* start in the eighties.

[elspethdixon.livejournal.com]

He briefly referenced the existance of Ollie and his liberal politics, but then went blithely on with his discussion of how nobody ever dealt with Real World stuff before Alan Moore (and Frank Miller, who apparently never wrote anything prior to 1986. Daredevil? What's that?).

[harmonyangel.livejournal.com]

It's really a losing battle, trying to convince people that superhero comics in general have relevance. We just read Maus for a class, and though I personally love it (I have a long-standing interest in the Holocaust, so that + comics = instant fascination, for me), the discussion was completely frustrating, because all people could talk about was how new and different it was for someone to be addressing something serious in a comic book! (Or, as they tended to say, "comic strip." aksjdlkgakls)

[elspethdixon.livejournal.com]

Or, as they tended to say, "comic strip." aksjdlkgakls

*facepalms* In what conceivable way is a two-volume trade paperback (or one-volume bound hardback) a comic strip?

I feel your pain, though. We read Maus as one of several books on the Holocaust in one of my undergraduate WWII classes, and I, too, had to sit through my classmates debating whether comics were a legitimate form in which to take on serious issues.

It was almost as painful as listening to my advanced creative writing class discuss whether science-fiction/fantasy should be held to the same standards of quality as mainstream fiction. Becuase apparently, characterization and plot are less important in space.

[vampychick.livejournal.com]

*delurks*

Oh, ew. I got into a verbal slugging match with one of my professors because he said Zamyatin's We isn't science fiction. If you haven't read We, it's set in a post-apocalyptic future in which humans live off petroleum byproducts and the main character is building a spaceship.

[blukitten.livejournal.com]

Yeah that happened in my class too, people considered comics "low brow literature"

But also you are a dork, why are you looking up comics in academic citations? :p

[elspethdixon.livejournal.com]

Because I was at the engineering library reference desk and had nothing else to do.

[vampychick.livejournal.com]

Why in the name of God is someone with so little understanding of comic books writing academic papers on them?