In the 1980s; a sea change occurred in comics. Fueled by Art Spiegel- man and Franccedil;oise Moulys avant-garde anthology Raw and the launch of the Love Rockets series by Gilbert; Jaime; and Mario Hernandez; the decade saw a deluge of comics that were more autobiographical; emotionally realistic; and experimental than anything seen before. These alternative comics were not the scatological satires of the 1960s underground; nor were they brightly colored newspaper strips or superhero comic books. In Alternative Comics: An Emerging Literature; Charles Hatfield establishes the parameters of alternative comics by closely examining long-form comics; in particular the graphic novel. He argues that these are fundamentally a literary form and offers an extensive critical study of them both as a literary genre and as a cultural phenomenon. Combining sharp-eyed readings and illustrations from particular texts with a larger understanding of the comics as an art form; this book discusses the development of specific genres; such as autobiography and history. Alternative Comics analyzes such seminal works as Spiegelmans Maus; Gilbert Hernandezs Palomar: The Heartbreak Soup Stories; and Justin Greens Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary. Hatfield explores how issues outside of cartooning-the marketplace; production demands; work schedules-can affect the final work. Using Hernandezs Palomar as an example; he shows how serialization may determine the way a cartoonist structures a narrative. In a close look at Maus; Binky Brown; and Harvey Pekars American Splendor; Hatfield teases out the complications of creating biography and autobiography in a substantially visual medium; and shows how creators approach these issues in radically different ways. Charles Hatfield; Canyon Country; California; is an assistant professor of English at California State University; Northridge. His work has been published in ImageTexT; Inks: Cartoon and Comic Art Studies; Childrens Literature Association Quarterly; the Comics Journal; and other periodicals. See the authors Web site at www.csun.edu/~ch76854/.
#1585032 in eBooks 2004-11-01 2004-11-01File Name: B001QXCYBI
Review
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Good; but not terribly insitefulBy Stuart|AnneLiving in the Ravenna neighborhood; and having done extensive research in our houses history; I was very interested in this book when I heard of it. It contains about 125 pages; most with 1 or 2 photos per page; each with a short paragraph giving context to the images. About a quarter to a third are of individuals from various periods. Perhaps slightly less than another quarter are of the Childrens Home Society and its history; which is something I havent seen well documented before. I was a bit disappointed to find that there are a number of pictures of new buildings; including those only a year or two old. The highlights to me were the historical pictures of the PCC; and of the original Kidd Valley. I found that several of the other historical pictures were ones I was familiar with through MOHAI and UW collections (many of which can be found online).I had hoped there would be more pictures from the 1900-1920 era which Ive been researching; but its nice to see local history documented in any case.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. For the good times!By -RycoI purchased this book as a gift for my wife who grew up in the Ravenna neighborhood (NE 75th @ 17th NE). We both attended Roosevelt High School. She also attended Ravenna Elementary School (now a community center).This book is a nice light history of the area and is very well illustrated with plenty of photos. The text is easy going and the authors personality shows through as she grew up in this neighborhood. A good rainy afternoon book!0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. what makes Seattle SeattleBy mtskyvieweran interesting neighborhood with proud people
