Overview

Following Art Spiegelman's declaration that 'the future of comics is in the past,' this book considers comics memory in the contemporary North American graphic novel. Cartoonists such as Chris Ware, Seth, Charles Burns, Daniel Clowes, and others have not only produced some of the most important graphic novels, they have also turned to the history of comics as a common visual heritage to pass on to new readers. This book is a full-length study of contemporary cartoonists when they are at work as historians: it offers a detailed description of how they draw from the archives of comics history, examining the different gestures of collecting, curating, reprinting, forging, swiping, and undrawing that give shape to their engagement with the past. In recognizing these different acts of transmission, this book argues for a material and vernacular history of how comics are remembered, shared, and recirculated over time.

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9781009250931

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Reviews

'Crucifix ... argues that the top notch of comic art today, perhaps some lower notches as well, has become a history machine at large. The case for comic masters as simultaneous comic historians aka archivists of the apparently obscure pulp past, is a strong one.' Paul Buhle, Comics Grinder 'Crucifix's work more than fulfills the objective he sets himself ... It is a very well planned, executed and organized work.' Enrique del Rey Cabero, Cuadernos de Comic 'It is a compliment to [this book] that it highlights such profound issues at such a timely moment in the history of comics, I struggle to think of a book that has made me think about my drawing practice as much as it has made me think about comics history. I would therefore recommend this book as essential and deserving of the widest possible readership.' Gareth Brookes, Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics

Author Information

Benoît Crucifix is Assistant Professor Cultural Studies at KU Leuven and researcher at the Royal Library of Belgium (KBR), working on the FED-tWIN 'Pop Heritage' project. He coedited Comics Memory: Archives and Styles (2018) and Abstraction and Comics (2019). He is a member of ACME and a coeditor for the journal Comicalités.

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