English

Sophia Lambert

ENGH 302

May 9, 2018

Killiany

Research Proposal

Watchmen was a series of comic issues written by Alan Moore, illustrated by Dave Gibbons, and colored by John Higgins, published from September 1986 to October 1987 by DC Comics. Before the creation of Watchmen, few publications had approached the criticism of comics as an art form like any other art. Simply by noting the dates during which scholarly publications focused on comic studies existed in Dr. Kannenberg’s Academic Resources page in his website, Comics Research, it can be easily extrapolated that comic studies as a discipline was minorly present at the time of Watchmen’s publication, and the discipline truly began growing in the 1990s, and since the turn of the century has had consistent publication of scholarly writing. Watchmen and its legacy have featured as the main focus or at least a point of discussion in a considerable number of texts on the themes and elements apparent in the writing and art of Watchmen . Within the field, Watchmen has even become a text to compare other comics to. However, most of these comparative writings on other Watchmen and other comics are focused on comparing comics published during the same era or written by the same author. There are times in literature when comics since Watchmen, written by different authors, are mentioned, but only a rare few times is it not in more than a cursory manner. Current scholarship lacks comparative analysis of a comic within the same genre as Watchmen published in the wake of Watchmen’s legacy for themes and elements that Watchmen approached. Comment by joekilliany: Should one of those watchmen be something else? Comment by joekilliany: Good clear statement of gap in scholarship

In response to this largely unexplored territory of comics studies, this proposal prompts a comparative analysis of the writing and art of one of DC Comic’s most notable publications and their one of their more recent and recognized published works. One such comic that gained some notable approval by critics is Superman: American Alien, written by Mark Landis in 2016, and it is this work and Watchmen that are the focus of this proposal, which aims to answer the question: how do themes of nationality and personal identity in Watchmen compare to similar themes in Superman: American Alien? In examining some of the strongest themes of Watchmen, and how they compare to the same themes in Superman: American Alien, the effects of Watchmen’s legacy and the passage of time on presentation of themes in comics can be observed. Comment by joekilliany: God question—one thing that could be clearer is why the superman comic as the point of comparison. You could have picked any comic—so what is it that is significant about the text you chose

Watchmen and its Legacy: Effects on the World of Comics

At this point in the history of comic studies, Moore, Gibbons, and Higgins’ 1986 work, Watchmen, is generally understood to be a seminal text within the field (Carney 100; Davis 114; Ecke 106; Francis 281; Keating 1266; Prince 815; Romero-Jódar 40; Pelliteri 82). The writer of Watchmen, Alan Moore, is also regarded as a significant writer of comics by many scholars, and this applies to both his writing for Watchmen, as well as other works of his (Ecke 106; Prince 815; Romero-Jódar 40). In particular, Prince writes that it was in writing Watchmen that Moore was established as an important writer of the comics medium (815). Indeed, as is stated Sean Carney’s article, “The Function of the Superhero at the Current Time,” among scholars of comics studies, it is a general assumption that the innovative qualities of Watchmen and its effects on superhero comics put it in the position of a monolith under which current comics all reside (100). Author Geoff Klock, like Sean Carney, writes in How to Read Superhero Comics and Why that comics since 1986 and Watchmen have been overshadowed by this powerful work, and in addition, that it was Watchmen, as well as Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns of the same year, that developed a new visionary approach to creating comics (qtd. in Francis 289; qtd. in Keating 1266).

Exactly how innovative Watchmen was, and how it was so, is up to some debate. Interestingly, when touching on Klock’s claim of Watchmen being revisionary, Erin Keating notes that even when many critics decide to focus on this quality of Watchmen, such a determination is in need of discussion, and she instead decides to emphasize where Watchmen does not break from the narrative trends within comics (1266). Francis notes this action and reaction within critical writing when he cites both Klock and Prince as writers with well-acknowledged claims regarding the impact of Watchmen, but then notes that authors since Prince have made counterpoints to this by claiming that Watchmen has had no significant deviation from graphic novels as a whole (289). Francis maintains, however, that within superhero comics specifically, the effects of Watchmen are still perceivable (289). Within this vein, Romero-Jódar claims that it was Moore’s writing that pushed the comic book genre into the realm of post-modernism in such a transformative way, while Blair Davis writes that it was the way that Watchmen addressed politics and morality that was so revolutionary for superhero comics (Davis 114; Romero-Jódar 40). Comment by joekilliany: What is her overall point in pointing out the similarities it bears to other works? What does she find/argue? Comment by joekilliany: These sound like somewhat detailed arguments and it may make sense to go into them a little more deeply

Thematic Elements of Ideology and Identity in Watchmen

Some scholars have connected themes within Watchmen, as well as other works by Moore, to broader movements and ideologies, and have compared Watchmen to other texts to do so. For example, Pelliteri discusses in his essay how Watchmen highlights the bourgeoisie ideologies common within superhero narratives by using a complex superhero narrative that incites analytical thinking (82). Romero-Jódar, on the other hand, connects the aspect of simultaneity in the complex and layered writing and art of Watchmen to similar themes of simultaneity in works made in the avant-garde movement (42). Romero-Jódar also highlights the narrative of individual versus society when he discusses the relationship between those with the superhero identity and their greater society by drawing parallels between Watchmen and other films and advertisements (48). Comment by joekilliany: If any specific works are noted, might be helpful to mention them; readers like specifics Comment by joekilliany: Another good place for an example

As Davis writes, these broader topics of ideology within Watchmen are more significantly visible when addressing concepts of politics (114). There are a considerable number of critical essays regarding Watchmen and politics. In one essay, DuBose centers on connecting the concepts of a political vigilante and heroic identity within American politics and popular culture of the 1980s to how such identities are portrayed in Watchmen, with a focus on the context of Reagan and certain contemporary events and attitudes in the United States. Also, within this sphere is an article by Price, wherein he discusses the political facets of Watchmen and how the narrative presents differing political and ideological identities. Specifically, Price notes that in the narrative of the comic, highly individual vigilante identities work for the cause of the greater collective due to the influence of their national identities (818). Price also analyzes, in detail, the artistic and writing choices made for each character when portraying their various political identities. Price also notes that the nuances of American national identity are strong, considering that the writer and illustrator of Watchmen are both British (816). Themes concerning political identities also arise in other articles. Francis wrote one essay, wherein he discusses how the context of transnational works like Watchmen can compare to singularly national works like The Dark Knight Returns in their approach to the portrayal of the American superhero.  The context of nationality is also approached by Piatti-Farnell when she addresses, delineating the symbolism of patriotic characters in Watchmen to how the text both exposes and repeats the notions of a nation as a woman and a man as the nation’s protector, as well as the conflicted narrative of patriotism within Watchmen (250, 246). Evidently politics and the American identity are highly prevalent topics within critical writing on Watchmen.

Comparing Watchmen, and Where Developments are Possible

Watchmen, given its somewhat against-the-grain approach to superhero comics and strong thematic elements, has been a deep well for literature comparing comics. For example, as mentioned earlier, Francis has written an analysis of the transnational context of the creation Watchmen compares to the singularly national context of the creation of The Dark Knight Returns. In fact, it is usually The Dark Knight Returns that is most often put side-by-side with Watchmen, as they have some noticeable similarities in their portrayal of superheroes, as well as their mutual standing as comics published by DC Comics in 1986. This connection is put at the forefront in DuBose’s article, wherein he directly compares and contrasts the approaches to vigilantism in The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen. In another article, written by Isaac Cates, the main focus is on the thematic elements of the superhero identity surrounding Superman and Batman, but even here, these comics are, for a short period within the writing, compared to previous publications, most notably, Moore’s Watchmen (840). This article, however, simply uses a singular aspect of Watchmen to further the discussion of the topic, without having Watchmen be the topic. Although this literature perhaps comes closest to what this proposal is prompting, there is still a distinct lack of scholarly writing that directly compares and contrasts Watchmen to works of similar genre that have been created within the shadow of Watchmen’s legacy in order to examine this legacy and the works.

Methodology

To answer how themes of nationality and identity in Watchmen compare to similar themes in Superman: American Alien, comparative analysis of both works would require multiple lenses of focus when approaching the works. These lenses would manifest through adaptive forms, adapted to better suit the multi-media work of comics, of literary analysis, contextual analysis, and formal analysis of both comics. In the adaptive literary analysis, the writing of both comics would be analyzed: the narrative structure, the writing style, the literary devices and thematic elements observable within both works would be analyzed. In the adaptive contextual analysis, the circumstances surrounding the real-world events, the time period and the societal, economic, and political states of the places where both comics, and their creators, were developed would be analyzed for how they had, or hadn’t, affected the development of both works. In the adaptive formal analysis, the artistic choices, and the recognizable patterns and implications that can be derived from those choices, would be analyzed. From these three analyses, particular elements in both Watchmen and Superman: American Alien that are applicable to themes of nationality and identity would be examined and discussed, while similar connections as well as areas of difference would be pointed out and analyzed as well. By the end, the full analysis would give a rundown of how the themes of nationality and identity are recognizable in different aspects of the works, and how those themes and their presentation compare and contrast to each other.

Works Cited

“Academic Resources.” Comics Research, Dr. Gene Kannenberg, Jr., 15 Feb. 2015, comicsresearch.org/academic.html.

Carney, Sean. "The Function of the Superhero at the Present Time." Iowa Journal of Cultural Studies 6 (2005): 100-117. ProQuest, doi: 10.17077/2168-569X.1127

Davis, Blair. "Beyond Watchmen." Cinema Journal, vol. 56, no. 2, Winter2017, pp. 114-119. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1353/cj.2017.0005.

DuBose, Mike S. "Holding Out for a Hero: Reaganism, Comic Book Vigilantes, and Captain America." Journal of Popular Culture, vol. 40, no. 6, 2007, pp. 915-935. ProQuest, https://search.proquest.com/docview/53378016?accountid=14541, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5931.2007.00478.x.

Ecke, Jochen. "'Solve and Coagula': Alan Moore and the Classical Comic Book's Spatial and Temporal Systems." Studies in Comics, vol. 2, no. 1, May 2011, pp. 105-119. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1386/stic.2.1.105_1.

Francis, Fred. "‘Footnotes to Miller and Moore’: Monomyth and Transnationality in the 1986 Superhero Comics." Comparative American Studies, vol. 14, no. 3/4, Sep-Dec2016, pp. 289-301. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/14775700.2016.1267347.

Keating, Erin M. "The Female Link: Citation and Continuity in Watchmen." Journal of Popular Culture, vol. 45, no. 6, 2012, pp. 1266-1288. ProQuest, https://search.proquest.com/docview/1321788375?accountid=14541, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5931.2011.00808.x.

Landis, Max, et al. Superman: American Alien. Burbank, CA: DC Comics, 2016.

Moore, Alan, et al. Watchmen. New York, NY: DC Comics, 1987.

Miller, Frank, et al. The Dark Knight Returns. New York, NY: DC Comics, 1986.

Romero-Jódar, Andrés. "A Hammer to Shape Reality: Alan Moore's Graphic Novels and the Avant-Gardes." Studies in Comics, vol. 2, no. 1, May 2011, pp. 39-56. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1386/stic.2.1.39_1.

Pellitteri, Marco. "Alan Moore, Watchmen and some Notes on the Ideology of Superhero Comics." Studies in Comics, vol. 2, no. 1, May 2011, pp. 81-91. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1386/stic.2.1.81_1.

Piatti-Farnell, Lorna. “‘For God’s Sake, Cover Yourself’: Sexual Violence, Disrupted Histories, and the Gendered Politics of Patriotism in Watchmen.” Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, vol. 8, no. 3, 11 Apr. 2017, pp. 238–251. Taylor & Francis Online, doi:10.1080/21504857.2017.1307869.

Prince, Michael J. "Alan Moore's America: The Liberal Individual and American Identities in Watchmen." Journal of Popular Culture, vol. 44, no. 4, 2011, pp. 815-830. ProQuest, https://search.proquest.com/docview/907088606?accountid=14541, doi: 10.1111/j.1540- 5931.2011.00864