Research Catalog

Why comics? : from underground to everywhere

Title
Why comics? : from underground to everywhere / Hillary Chute.
Author
Chute, Hillary L.
Publication
  • New York, NY : Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2017]
  • ©2017

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StatusFormatAccessCall NumberItem Location
TextUse in library JFE 18-9160Schwarzman Building - Main Reading Room 315

Details

Additional Authors
Panter, Gary
Description
449 pages : illustrations (chiefly color); 24 cm
Summary
"Over the past century, fans have elevated comics from the back pages of newspapers into one of our most celebrated forms of culture, from Fun Home, the Tony Award-winning musical based on Alison Bechdel's groundbreaking graphic memoir, to the dozens of superhero films that are annual blockbusters worldwide. What is the essence of comics' appeal? What does this art form do that others can't? Whether you've read every comic you can get your hands on or you're just starting your journey, [this book] has something for you. Author Hillary Chute chronicles comics culture, explaining underground comics (also known as "comix") and graphic novels, analyzing their evolution, and offering fascinating portraits of the creative men and women behind them. Chute reveals why these works--a blend of concise words and striking visuals--are an extraordinarily powerful form of expression that stimulates us intellectually and emotionally. Focusing on ten major themes--disaster, superheroes, sex, the suburbs, cities, punk, illness and disability, girls, war, and queerness--Chute explains how comics gets its messages across more effectively than any other form. "Why disaster?" explores how comics are uniquely suited to convey the scale and disorientation of calamity, from Art Spiegelman's representation of the Holocaust and 9/11 to Keiji Nakazawa's focus on Hiroshima. "Why the suburbs?" examines how the work of Chris Ware and Charles Burns illustrates the quiet joys and struggles of suburban existence; and "Why punk?" delves into how comics inspire and reflect the punk movement's DIY aesthetics--giving birth to a democratic medium increasingly embraced by some of today's most significant artists. Featuring full-color reproductions of more than one hundred essential pages and panels, including some famous but never-before-reprinted images from comics legends, Why Comics? is an indispensable guide that offers a deep understanding of this influential art form and its masters."--Jacket.
Subjects
Genre/Form
  • Graphic novels.
  • Criticism, interpretation, etc.
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographical references (pages 417-435) and index.
Language (note)
  • Text in English.
Contents
Foreword : one point of view / by Gary Panter -- Introduction : comics for grown-ups? -- Why disaster? -- Why superheroes? -- Why sex? -- Why the suburbs? -- Why cities? -- Why punk? -- Why illness & disability? -- Why girls? -- Why war? -- Why queer? -- Coda : why fans?
Call Number
JFE 18-9160
ISBN
  • 9780062476807
  • 0062476807
LCCN
2017020053
OCLC
984512298
Author
Chute, Hillary L., author.
Title
Why comics? : from underground to everywhere / Hillary Chute.
Publisher
New York, NY : Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2017]
Copyright Date
©2017
Edition
First edition.
Type of Content
text
still image
Type of Medium
unmediated
Type of Carrier
volume
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 417-435) and index.
Language
Text in English.
Added Author
Panter, Gary, writer of foreword.
Other Form:
Online version: Chute, Hillary L. Why comics? First edition. New York : Harper, 2017 9780062476814 (DLC) 2017020416 (OCoLC)984743380
Research Call Number
JFE 18-9160
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