Literary Forms: Graphic Novel Welles 219-B Spring 2012 Office Hours: TR 11:45-12:45 Ken Cooper (5267) W 9:00-10:00, ABA “There is no emoticon for what I am feeling.” Suppose we take these words of Comic Book Guy to heart and grapple with the slippages across mediums of expression—including, conversely, the ways in which graphic representation can evoke emotions just beyond our ability to explain them. This course on long-form comics (aka graphic novels) will draw upon literary, visual arts, and cultural studies theory to develop our vocabulary for describing this complex amalgamation of words and images. Although we will at least briefly touch upon superhero comics and their fandoms, the majority of our readings will come from other regions of the genre. TEXTS McCloud, Understanding Comics Moore/Gibbons, Watchmen Ware, Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth Bechdel, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic Satrapi, Persepolis Spiegelman, Maus I & II Burns, Black Hole Medley, Castle Waiting Hernandez, Heartbreak Soup Shaw, Bottomless Belly Button Selected readings on myCourses EVALUATION This course presumes a great degree of intellectual autonomy, creativity, and initiative. It depends upon active and considerate participation in group discussions, whether of assigned readings or the writing of other participants. Your final grade will be determined as follows: —An 7-8 pp. essay (guidelines explained below) 30% —Ten short response papers 20 —A graphic micronarrative and self-critique 20 —Class discussion & peer reviews 15 —An open book & notes final exam 15 SYLLABUS 1/17 Introduction: Comics and Transgression 1/19 Bushmiller, Nancy; Newgarden/Karasik, “How to Read Nancy” 1/24* McCloud, Understanding Comics 1/26 McCloud, Understanding Comics 1/31* Barks, “The Second-Richest Duck”; Brooks, “Reading for the Plot” 2/2 Barks, “The Money Champ”; Arnheim, “Balance” 2/7* Moore/Gibbons, Watchmen 2/9 Moore/Gibbons, Watchmen 2/14 Taylor, “Investigating the Engendered Superhero Body”; Paper #1 2/16 No class meeting 2/21* Ware, Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth 2/23 Ware, Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth

2/28* Bechdel, Fun Home 3/1 Bechdel, Fun Home; Abstracts 3/6* Satrapi, Persepolis 3/8 Satrapi, Persepolis Spring Break 3/20* Spiegelman, Maus I 3/22 Spiegelman, Maus II 3/27* Burns, Black Hole 3/29 Burns, Black Hole 4/3* Medley, Castle Waiting 4/5 Medley, Castle Waiting 4/10* Hernandez, Heartbreak Soup 4/12 Hernandez, Heartbreak Soup; Paper #2 4/17 G.R.E.A.T. Day—no class meeting 4/19 Shaw, Bottomless Belly Button 4/24 Shaw, Bottemless Belly Button 4/26 McCloud, The Right Number 5/1 Sutu, Nawlz 5/7 Final exam (8:00-11:00) RESPONSE PAPERS One of our two weekly class meetings will emphasize free-ranging discussion about the assigned readings. In order to prepare yourself to be a dynamic participant, I would like for you to write a short response paper upon some aspect of the assigned text that seems particularly important & interesting—in-depth development more than coverage or plot summary. For the sake of brevity and my own self-preservation, these response papers should be no longer than a single sheet of paper. They will be assigned a grade (+, √, –) according to their analytical grasp of the assigned material, orginality, succinctness, and quality of writing. Your response papers are due on any class meeting date marked with an asterisk. From these 10 submissions, I will assign an overall letter grade at semester’s end. PAPER#1: GRAPHIC MICRONARRATIVE This assignment is a hybrid project that will introduce you to the process of adapting texts to graphic form and then writing critically about that experience. Choose as your source material one of the following (available on myCourses), each of which poses a distinctive set of challenges and possibilities: —Vogtman, “A Story I’ll Tell You When You’re Big” —1xXxToxicxXx, “gross SCHOOL lunches” —Hoff, “Whitesburg Drive-In Theater” —Alvarez, “Snow” —Heimbuch, “The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is Bigger Than the Continental U.S.” Your final project should consist of two parts. The first is a short work of graphic narrative, no longer than 8 pp. Its first page should be presented in as fully finished a form as you are able to accomplish; the subsequent pages may be “sketched” out in slightly rougher, albeit legible form. The second part of your project is a brief 2-3 pp. reflective essay upon the experience. You’ll be evaluated upon the effectiveness of your adaptation—both in terms of conception & execution—and the sophistication with which you utilize this work as the platform for interesting things to say about comics in general. This assignment is due on February 14.

PAPER #2: “RESEARCH” PAPER The word “research” appears in quotation marks because I emphatically do not want you turning in a conventional research paper: performed half-heartedly, in response to draconian guidelines; bibliographies of works you haven’t read; little room for creative prose forms or original thought. I do want you to undertake a topic that’s meaningful and then grow into it, utilizing research so as to minimize unsubstantiated spouting and to break through the tyranny of what you already know. I don’t see research and creativity as antithetical. A few guidelines as to the overall process, which should result in an essay of approximately 7-8 pages: 1. Abstract—by March 1 please submit a 1-2 pp. abstract describing, to the extent you’re able, the focus and projected

materials for your endeavor. I’ll respond to you by March 20. 2. Research—to meet the academic expectations of this assignment, you’ll need to undertake significant original

research (not simply internet or secondary sources, although use of the latter is encouraged). This may involve comics assigned (or not) for our course, critical theory, adaptations or source materials in other media, and the recovery of primary documents relevant to your project. The final paper should have a “fairly impressive bibliography” (interpret that how you will). I encourage you to embark upon your inquiry without a predetermined thesis and instead remain alert to the uncanny aspects of your various texts—it will produce a more innovative piece of writing.

3. Works-in-progress—attempting to write your entire essay a day or two before the due date probably will result in lame product. Rather than waiting for the entire argument to coalesce in your head, why not begin writing now about some aspect of your project that’s ready to go? That process almost certainly will clarify and sharpen your thinking; perhaps it will help you to realize there are 7-8 pages worth of interesting things to say about a more narrowly focused topic! Although you’re always encouraged to drop by during office hours to discuss provisional ideas or to have me read works-in-progress, I’ll schedule additional office hours the week of March 26-30 devoted to this purpose.

4. Due Date—final drafts of your paper are due in class on April 12. LEARNING OUTCOMES After completing this course students will demonstrate: 1. The ability to discuss comics as a medium distinct from its constituent words and pictures, along with some of its characteristc features. 2. The ability to make meaningful comparisons between texts in the medium, particularly at the level of visual design and authorial “style.” 3. The ability to write about comics analytically, not simply recapitulating their plot.