Week 13: Re-inventing the Superhero

Characters from Watchman artist: Dave Gibbons

This week we will be discussing how the licensed characters from the large commercial publishers were reshaped by the collector's market, the emergence of the graphic novel and the appearance of a number of writers who embraced the traditional conceits and motifs of the comic book while adapting them to adult storytelling. We will focus especially on the work of Alan Moore who along with writers like Frank Miller, Grant Morrison, Neil Gaiman, and Warren Ellis among others, did much to keep mainstream genres like superheros relevant in the decades before the 21st century, and whose influence is reflected in the Superhero storyverses today.

Featured Selection: The syllabus contains a number of reading recommendations for this week but we will focus on the importance of Watchmen. Students who haven't read Watchmen are advised to read it.
  
Required Reading for This Week:  This week everyone is required to read the story, "The Killing Joke," which is a Batman story. After you read it, please reply to the following four questions on your blog:

1. What is your reaction to the text you just read?
2. What connections did you make with the story? Discuss what elements of the story with which you were able to connect?
3. What changes would you make to adapt this story into another medium? What medium would you choose; what changes would you make?
4. In what ways does this story differ from the typical expectations the reader might have for a superhero story?

Please write your responses in your blog and try to complete a paragraph for each question.

Among the readings for this week are recent examples of Black Panther which have inspired and been inspired by the recent film.  This is a title that has become one of the centers for African-American approaches to writing for the comics . There are many inventive aspects of the approach recent writers have taken to Black Panther and these recent issues are among the featured selections for this week.

Here is the link to the Activiy Page for this week.