Description
Book SynopsisAndrew J. Kunka is Professor of English at University of South Carolina Sumter, USA. He is co-editor of
May Sinclair: Moving Towards the Modern (2006).
Trade ReviewBloomsbury has launched a Comics Studies Series that has kicked off with Andrew Kunka's
Autobiographical Comics ... It's an excellent resource, combining a brief history of this sub-genre with critical questions, key texts and a glossary. Kunka shows us that you can learn a lot about comics by how cartoonists organize their lives on the page. * Times Literary Supplement *
Kunka offers a useful overview of the subject, with an inclusive approach that includes everything from "proto-autobiographical comics" (such as Winsor McCay's inclusion of a cartoonist character in his early strips) to the latest web comics, and scrupulously cites his sources, making it easy to locate relevant literature on any of the topics he discusses … [The book] offer[s] insightful and specific analysis that can be comprehended without requiring total immersion in the latest and trendiest academic jargon. * PopMatters *
Autobiographical Comics is a well-informed, highly readable, and perceptive overview that will be extremely useful for students and teachers looking for introductory material and bibliographic references for further study … Kunka balances depth and brevity with skill … The endnotes, glossary, and extensive bibliography highlight the author’s deep knowledge of the field and are indispensable tools for further scholarship. As a studying and teaching tool,
Autobiographical Comics is a superb introduction to the field that achieves accessibility without diminishing scholarly rigor …
Autobiographical Comics is the best study guide available, and Kunka’s generosity of scholarship and tone provides a robust platform for teaching and researching graphic life narratives. * Biography *
As an introduction to a genre, a reference guide, and a critical study, Andrew J. Kunka’s
Autobiographical Comics represents a necessary foray into the particulars of autobiographical graphic narratives. His book contributes to the Bloomsbury Comics Studies series, upholding its commitment to expansive and accessible introductions to comics and Comics Studies. Kunka deftly juggles concepts new and familiar to Comics Studies, as his thorough survey of this genre takes up questions of reliability, authenticity, and objectivity … A tremendous resource for anyone crafting a syllabus and hoping to include popular or lesser known works. Kunka’s introduction guides and helps us interrogate the genre of autobiographical comics. His careful survey and his attention to texts and critical questions both popular and lesser known make this book a clear and compelling resource for readers of comics who might wonder about the narrative, stylistic, or thematic questions behind comics that represent, in so many different ways, autobiographical experiences. * Studies in Twentieth & Twenty-First Century Literature *
Table of ContentsList of Figures Acknowledgements 1. Introduction: What Are Autobiographical Comics? 2. The History of Autobiographical Comics 3. Critical Questions 4. Social and Cultural Impact Trauma Adolescence The Quotidian and the Confessional Gender and Sexuality Race and Ethnicity Graphic Medicine Censorship and Controversy Self-Publishing and Web Comics 5. Key Texts Justin Green,
Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary Robert Crumb and Aline Kominsky-Crumb Harvey Pekar, et al,
American Splendor Keiji Nakazawa,
Barefoot Gen: A Cartoon Story of Hiroshima Art Spiegelman,
Maus and
In the Shadow of No Towers Phoebe Gloeckner,
A Child’s Life and
The Diary of a Teenage Girl Joe Matt, Chester Brown, and Seth Lynda Barry,
One Hundred Demons Craig Thompson,
Blankets Marjane Satrapi,
Persepolis Alison Bechdel,
Fun Home 6. Appendix Appendix 1: Autobiographical Comics Panel Appendix 2: Interview with Jennifer Hayden Appendix 3: David Chelsea Appendix 4: Ryan Claytor 7. Glossary 8. Resources Primary Texts Critical Bibliography 9. Index
