WRIT 3030 A (CRN #14910) Dr. Michael Pemberton

The Comic Book in American Culture Office: Forest Drive 1119D

TTh 9:30 – 10:45 871-1383

Office Hours: TBA michaelp@georgiasouthern.edu

Georgia Southern University

College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

WEBSITE: http://class.georgiasouthern.edu/writ3030/

Course Overview:

Comic books are considered one of only two original American art forms (jazz is the other), and American culture is thoroughly imbued with their influence and iconography. Comics drive a phenomenal amount of merchandising; they have been transformed into movies (Spawn, Ghost World, Men in Black, Bulletproof Monk), TV shows (Superman, Batman, Smallville, Lois & Clark, Wonder Woman), and novels (The Amazing Adventures of Cavalier and Clay, Nobody Gets the Girl, among others). Comic book characters appear on postage stamps, cereal boxes, T-Shirts, and toys; they show up in theme parks (“Marvel Super Hero Island” at Universal Studios, for example) and as balloons in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. Comic books have been heralded as a dynamic creative medium worthy of serious study, the subject of countless articles in the popular press and, more recently, in academic publications. They have also been called the corruptors of youth, agents of illiteracy, signs of moral and intellectual degeneration, and evidence for the decline of western civilization. In this course, we will explore many of these perspectives and investigate the ways in which comics have influenced American culture and, in turn, been influenced by it. We will read comics, read about comics, write about comics, and talk about comics. We will examine the comic book medium – its unique synthesis of text and image – and we will trace the history of its development, focusing on its origins, social and geopolitical influences, key figures, and emerging social trends that shaped the powerful creative industry it has become today.

Required Texts:

McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics. Tundra Publishing.

Moore, Alan and Dave Gibbons. Watchmen. DC Comics.

Waid, Mark and Alex Ross. Kingdom Come. DC Comics.

Wright, Bradford. Comic Book Nation: The Transformation of Youth Culture in America. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003

A packet of readings available at the university bookstore..

A graphic novel – your choice of title from an approved list or a different title with my okay.

Comic books – you will be expected to read at least one per week, your choice of issue.

Assignments and Grades:

You will be doing a good deal of reading in this course and also writing about what you’ve read. Most of these writing assignments will be relatively short – summaries and responses to weekly comic book reading, for example – but a few assignments will be somewhat longer. You’ll be writing a short paper (4-5 pages) about the graphic novel you opt to read for this course, and you will be required to write a longer research paper (8-10 pages) about a topic in comic book history/culture as well. There will be one midterm and a final exam, both of which will have essay and short answer questions.

The breakdown of assignments and relative weights looks something like this:

Weekly summary/response writing: 10%

Graphic novel paper: 15%

Midterm exam: 15% ea.

Research paper: 20%

Final exam: 20%

Quizzes, discussion, participation, etc. 5%

Weekly Journal Assignments:

In order to get a sense of comic books and culture (current or historical), you have to read comic books. Now I wouldn’t be at all surprised to discover that many of you read tens of comic books every week. If so, then the reading part of these assignments should be no sweat. But in order to ensure that you’re all reading comics – and doing so with a somewhat critical eye – I’m asking that you write me a one-page journal entry every week, on a single comic book issue of your own choosing, that does the following: (a) provides a brief, one-paragraph summary of the characters and plot, and (b) reflects on a theme or conflict or aspect of American culture that the issue addresses (1-2 paragraphs).

Some provisos:

A number of contemporary comics rely on big panels and relatively little text. Try to pick a comic with some textual “substance.”
Pick a variety of comics over the course of the semester – not all the same title, not all in the same genre (i.e., not all superhero comics), not all from the same publisher, etc.

These journal assignments are due every Tuesday at the beginning of class. Late journal entries will not be accepted for any reason.

You can find a huge backstock of comic books (most for about a buck apiece) and graphic novels at Galactic Comics and Games, 25 Siebald St. (downtown, off N. Main St., next to the BB&T bank. 489-3123

Attendance:

I’ll be taking attendance regularly – sometimes by calling roll, sometimes by passing around a sign-in sheet. If you come in more than 10 minutes late for class, you will be counted absent.

Miss 6-9 classes during the semester, and your final grade will drop by a full point.

(i.e., B à C)

Miss 10 classes or more during the semester, and you will receive an F for your final grade.

Late Assignments:

Don’t turn things in late. Here are the consequences:

1. You can’t make up missed in-class writings/quizzes or turn journal assignments in late.

2. Papers drop a full grade for every day they are late. Papers turned in one minute after the end of the class meeting they are due are considered one day late.

Plagiarism:

Don’t even be tempted to do it. Not even on the journal assignments. I know the magazines and online sites where comics reviews are published, and the consequences of getting caught are not worth the risk.

This page last updated 1/5/06