Comic books and graphic novels have long served as models for the production of alternate modes of thought. Often featuring elements of both the superhuman and the extra-terrestrial, these narratives have allowed us to explore new ways of thinking about how to act in the various worlds in which we live. In earlier generations of comic books, these stories generally provided readers with positive, albeit unrealistic, narratives of social change and resistance. Even if readers could not fight like Batman or fly like Superman, these hypo-realities still provided readers with templates for positive living. In recent years, however, this situation seems to have been dramatically inverted. Whereas comic narratives once served as positive models for everyday life, they have become increasingly hyper-real in their incorporation of the more dystopian aspects of everyday life. This paper seeks to interrogate, both epistemologically and ontologically, some of the consequences of this shift in perspective. For example, what, exactly, are these new models conveying? And what affects and effects does this have on readers’ consciousnesses? Through an analysis of several recent comic book narratives, this paper explores how these stories can function in the context of our everyday lives.
About the presenterJZ Long
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