More Details

Summary:

"For many, the idea of comic book art implies simplistic four-color renderings of stiff characters slugging it out. In fact, modern superhero comic books showcase a range of complex artistic styles, with diverse connotations. Leading comics scholar Jeffrey A. Brown assesses six distinctive approaches to superhero illustration--idealism, realism, cute, retro, grotesque, and noir--examining how each visually represents the superhero as a symbolic construct freighted with meaning. Whereas comic book studies tend to focus on text and narrative, Drawing Superheroes gives overdue credit to the artwork, which is not only a principal source of the appeal of comic books but also central to the values these works embody. Brown argues that superheroes are not to be taken as representations of people but as iconic types, and the art conveys this. Even the most realistic comic illustrations are designed to suggest not persons but ideas--ideas about bodies and societies. Thus the appearance of superheroes both directly and indirectly influences the story being told as well as the opinions readers form concerning justice, authority, gender, puberty, sexuality, ethnicity, violence, and other concepts central to political and cultural life"-- [Provided by publisher]

Table of Contents:

• Introduction : How to draw superheroes
• The superhero and the dessinateur
• Idealism and comic book heroes
• Retro art and nostalgia
• Realism in an unrealistic genre
• Super cute manga, kawaii and infantilization
• Grotesque bodies and monstrous heroes
• Comic noir, more than just black and white
• Drawing conclusions.

Author/Creator:

Brown, Jeffrey A., 1966- , author

Languages:

English

Language Notes:

Item content: English

Main Work:

Super bodies: comic book illustration, artistic styles, and narrative impact [by Brown, J.A.]

Other Related Resources:

Print version: Super bodies [by Brown, J.A.] (First edition; Austin : University of Texas Press, 2023 — ISBN 9781477327364; LCCN 2022034888)

Related Series:

World comics and graphic nonfiction series

Subjects:

Comic books, strips, etc. — Illustrations — History and criticism

Comic books, strips, etc. — Illustrations — Social aspects

Comic books, strips, etc. — Illustrations — Themes, motives

Superheroes — Comic books, strips, etc.

Superheroes — Social aspects

Comic books, strips, etc.

Social aspects

Themes, motives

Superheroes

Genres:

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Illustrated works

General Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.
Description based on: Online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on April 12, 2023).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (240 pages) : illustrations.

Digital Characteristics:

text file

Call Numbers:

PN6714 .B763 2023eb

ISBNs:

9781477327388 (electronic book)
147732738X (electronic book)
9781477327371 (electronic book)
1477327371 (electronic book)
9781477327364 (hardcover) [Invalid]

Library of Congress Control Numbers:

2022034889

OCLC Numbers:

1347048972