BUCH
Comic Art and Avant-Garde
Bill Watterson’s ‘Calvin and Hobbes’ and the Art of American Newspaper Comic Strips
American Studies – A Monograph Series, Bd. 295
2019
Zusätzliche Informationen
Bibliografische Daten
Abstract
This study explores the genre of newspaper comic strips through the lens of ‘Calvin and Hobbes’ by Bill Watterson. Published between 1985 and 1995, the Series was translated into over thirty languages and continues its road of success around the world. Watterson’s popularly acclaimed Series demonstrates his artistic intention for the genre of newspaper comics to go beyond light entertainment. In his short comic strips, he creates pieces of art which address universal concerns in a humorous way. The examination of Watterson’s comics is based on the historic evolution of newspaper comic strips and the general conventions of underlying artistic narrative and visual techniques in graphic representations. In ‘Calvin and Hobbes’, the comic strip artist makes use of these conventions but also transcends them to sketch a world in which postmodern ideas are reflected and parodied.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
| Zwischenüberschrift | Seite | Aktion | Preis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cover | Cover | ||
| Titel | 3 | ||
| Imprint | 4 | ||
| Table of Contents | 5 | ||
| ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS | 9 | ||
| 1 INTRODUCTION | 11 | ||
| 1.1 The Current State of Research | 14 | ||
| 1.2 “Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year”: Bill Watterson and Calvin and Hobbes | 18 | ||
| 1.3 Calvin and Hobbes: An Introduction to the Cast and the Series | 23 | ||
| 1.3.1 “I wouldn’t want Calvin in my house”: Calvin | 23 | ||
| 1.3.2 “Hobbes is more about the subjective nature of reality...”: Hobbes | 28 | ||
| 1.3.3 “... a 21st-century kid trapped in a 19th-century family”: Calvin’s Parents | 32 | ||
| 1.3.4 Susie, Moe, Rosalyn | 35 | ||
| 2 NEWSPAPER COMIC STRIPS – A DEFINITION | 37 | ||
| 2.1 “Comics”: Etymological Background | 37 | ||
| 2.2 “...both of these things at once and therefore neither”: Comics as a Hybrid Form | 38 | ||
| 2.3 A Formal Approach to Newspaper Comic Strips | 42 | ||
| 2.4 “The significance of any art lies in its ability to express truths”: The Function of Comic Strips | 45 | ||
| 3 THE HISTORY OF NEWSPAPER COMIC STRIPS | 47 | ||
| 3.1 “... comics can be vehicles for beautiful artwork and serious, intelligent expression”: The Evolution of the Comic Strip | 47 | ||
| 3.2 “Reading these strips, we see life through new eyes. . .”: The First Generation of Artists (1890s-1920s) | 51 | ||
| 3.2.1 “... the sense of fantasy and use of humor masked a sense of despair”: A Reflection of Social Topics | 52 | ||
| 3.2.2 Reflection of Art Movements and Political Movements | 58 | ||
| 3.3 Mid-Twenties and Thirties: The Formation and Reinforcement of Structures | 62 | ||
| 3.3.1 The Rise of Syndicates | 62 | ||
| 3.3.2 The Emerging of Comic Magazines and Comic Books | 63 | ||
| 3.3.3 The Reception of Comics in the Society of the Thirties | 66 | ||
| 3.4 The Fifties and Onwards: How Could It All Go Wrong? | 68 | ||
| 3.4.1 The Censorship of Comics in the Fifties | 69 | ||
| 3.4.2 The Impact of Pop Art | 72 | ||
| 3.5 The Seventies Through the Nineties: Bill Watterson in Context | 75 | ||
| 3.5.1 “...a syndicate decides which comic strips it thinks it can sell best...”: The State of the Syndicates in the Eighties | 77 | ||
| 3.5.2 “It’s an exceedingly rare privilege to have your work read by people every day, year after year “: Bill Watterson’s Stance on Newspaper Comic Strips | 80 | ||
| 3.6 “I’m guessing that comic strips will lose most of their cultural impact”: Developments after Bill Watterson | 87 | ||
| 4 PARAMETERS FOR AN ANALYSIS OF NEWSPAPER COMIC STRIPS | 91 | ||
| 4.1 Graphic Features | 94 | ||
| 4.1.1 Layout: The Panel Frame | 94 | ||
| 4.1.2 Panel Composition | 100 | ||
| 4.1.3 Character Design Incl. Facial Expressions/Gesture | 102 | ||
| 4.1.4 Background/Props | 110 | ||
| 4.1.5 Lettering | 112 | ||
| 4.1.6 Conclusion | 116 | ||
| 4.2 Narration | 117 | ||
| 4.2.1 Narrative Techniques | 118 | ||
| 4.2.2 Plot | 120 | ||
| 4.2.3 Character | 125 | ||
| 4.2.4 Structure | 129 | ||
| 4.2.5 Setting | 132 | ||
| 4.2.6 Theme | 133 | ||
| 4.2.7 Conclusion | 134 | ||
| 4.3 “Comic strips were the sort of language I grew up speaking”: Calvin and Hobbes and the Language of Comics | 135 | ||
| 4.3.1 “... strong characters that come alive and ‘write themselves’ ...”: The Character Design | 136 | ||
| 4.3.2 Visual Narrative Layout Elements | 142 | ||
| 4.3.3 Visual Rendering of the Setting | 148 | ||
| 4.4 Humor | 151 | ||
| 4.4.1 Humor in Newspaper Comic Strips | 151 | ||
| 4.4.2 Incongruity of Characters | 155 | ||
| 4.4.3 Literal Meaning of Words | 158 | ||
| 4.4.4 Unexpected Reference/Anachronism | 159 | ||
| 4.4.5 Unexpected Places | 161 | ||
| 4.4.6 Unexpected Reaction of Objects | 162 | ||
| 4.4.7 Conclusion | 163 | ||
| 4.5 ”... keep the reader on his toes, ...”: Humor in Calvin and Hobbes | 167 | ||
| 4.5.1 The Pairing of Characters | 167 | ||
| 4.5.2 The Fantasies | 170 | ||
| 5 CALVIN AND HOBBES – ANALYSIS | 175 | ||
| 5.1 Analysis of The Content | 175 | ||
| 5.2 Philosophy and Theology in „Calvin and Hobbes“ | 177 | ||
| 5.2.1 “Do you think there’s a God?”: Notion of God | 179 | ||
| 5.2.2 “People will do ANYthing if the price is right!” Calvin’s Notion of Man | 193 | ||
| 5.2.3 “... life’s a lot more fun when you’re not responsible for your actions”: Predestination vs. Free Will | 208 | ||
| 5.2.4 “What a stupid world”: Human Suffering | 213 | ||
| 5.2.5 Summary | 217 | ||
| 5.3 “I’m a suburban post-modernist”: Art | 219 | ||
| 5.3.1 Modern and Postmodern Art: An Introduction | 220 | ||
| 5.3.2 “A mental playfulness”: Watterson’s Understanding of Craft, Authorship, Creativity | 227 | ||
| 5.3.3 “I don’t think you have enough to do”: Calvin and the Postmodern Art World | 230 | ||
| 5.4 Ecology | 248 | ||
| 5.4.1 Ecology and the Eighties | 248 | ||
| 5.4.2 Concept of Nature | 248 | ||
| 5.4.3 “Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us”: Man and Nature | 254 | ||
| 5.5 Mass Media | 260 | ||
| 5.5.1 “... the mind is like a car battery – it recharges by running”: Mass Media and the Eighties | 260 | ||
| 5.5.2 “This is sensationalism! ... Fortunately, that’s all I have the patience for”: The Impact of the Media on Calvin | 261 | ||
| 5.5.3 “Life overall should be more glamorous, thrill-packed, and filled with applause, don’t you think?”: Calvin’s Attraction to Media | 263 | ||
| 5.5.4 “Now that I’m on television, ... I’m famous! Important!”: The Impact of Mass Media on Calvin | 268 | ||
| 6 CONCLUSION | 273 | ||
| BIBLIOGRAPHY | 277 | ||
| LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS | 297 | ||
| Backcover | 299 |
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