1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910798168503321

Autore

Hescher Achim <1964->

Titolo

Reading graphic novels : genre and narration / / Achim Hescher

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Berlin ; ; Boston : , : De Gruyter, , [2016]

©2016

ISBN

3-11-044539-5

3-11-044594-8

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (228 pages) : illustrations

Collana

Narratologia. Contributions to narrative theory ; ; Band 50

Disciplina

741.5/9

Soggetti

Graphic novels - History and criticism

Graphic novels - Authorship

Narration (Rhetoric)

Literary form

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Beginnings, Periods, Movements, and Developments -- 3. Graphic Novels and the Problem of Categorization -- 4. Verbal and Pictorial Narration in Graphic Novels -- 5. Taking Stock: The Graphic Novel as a Narrating Genre -- 6. Works Cited -- 7. Index of Primary Works

Sommario/riassunto

Distinguishing the graphic novel from other types of comic books has presented problems due to the fuzziness of category boundaries. Against the backdrop of prototype theory, the author establishes the graphic novel as a genre whose core feature is complexity, which again is defined by seven gradable subcategories: 1) multilayered plot and narration, 2) multireferential use of color, 3) complex text-image relation, 4) meaning-enhancing panel design and layout, 5) structural performativity, 6) references to texts/media, and 7) self-referential and metafictional devices. Regarding the subcategory of narration, the existence of a narrator as known from classical narratology can no longer be assumed. In addition, conventional focalization cannot account for two crucial parameters of the comics image: what is shown (point of view, including mise en scène) and what is seen (character perception). On the basis of François Jost's concepts of ocularization



and focalization, this book presents an analytical framework for graphic novels beyond conventional narratology and finally discusses aspects of subjectivity, a focal paradigm in the latest research. It is intended for advanced students of literature, scholars, and comics experts.