Comics as Culture
Comics as Culture by M. Thomas Inge, published by University Press of Mississippi in February 1990, explores the complex role of comics and cartoons in American life. This reprint edition, comprising 192 pages, delves into the dichotomy of public perception surrounding comic books, which are often viewed with skepticism by various societal groups, including parents and educators, despite their widespread popularity and significant sales figures.
Inge presents a critical examination of why comics provoke both amusement and controversy, highlighting their ability to reflect societal norms and standards through well-known strips like Blondie and Archie. The book investigates the dramatic conventions employed in comics, drawing parallels to both theater and film, and offers insights into the cultural significance of this often-misunderstood medium. Readers will find a thoughtful analysis that addresses the tension between admiration and disdain for comics, making it a relevant exploration of popular culture.
Official synopsis Publisher
Comics and cartoons are ingrained in American life.
One critic has called comic books “crude, unimaginative, banal, vulgar, ultimately corrupting.” They have been regarded with considerable suspicion by parents, educators, psychiatrists, and moral reformers. They have been investigated by governmental committees and subjected to severe censorship.
Yet more than 200 million copies are sold annually. Upon even casual examination Blondie, Archie, Mary Worth, The Wizard of ID, and Shoe―among the many comic strips―will be found to support some commonly accepted notion or standard of society.
Why do comics both amuse and arouse controversy? Here is an attempt at an answer in a sharp-eyed comic-book lover’s probing look at this stepchild genre. He finds comics both loved and hated, relished and sneered at. In their relying on dramatic conventions of character, dialogue, scene, gesture, compressed time, and stage devices, he finds the comics close to the drama but probably closer kin to the movies.
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