The Art of Comics

A Philosophical Approach

Meskin, Aaron / Cook, Roy T.

New Directions in Aesthetics

1. Edition February 2012
256 Pages, Hardcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd

ISBN: 978-1-4443-3464-7

John Wiley & Sons

Wiley Online Library Sample Chapter

Short Description

The Art of Comics is the first-ever collection of essays published in English devoted to the philosophical topics raised by comics and graphic novels. In an area of growing philosophical interest, this volume constitutes a great leap forward in the development of this fast expanding field, and makes a powerful contribution to the philosophy of art. Providing an extensive and thorough introduction to the field, it responds to the increasing philosophical interest in comic art. It includes a preface by the renowned comics author Warren Ellis, illustrations, and a stunning cover by the rising young comics star David Heatley.

Further versions

The Art of Comics is the first-ever collection of essays published in English devoted to the philosophical topics raised by comics and graphic novels. In an area of growing philosophical interest, this volume constitutes a great leap forward in the development of this fast expanding field, and makes a powerful contribution to the philosophy of art.
* The first-ever anthology to address the philosophical issues raised by the art of comics
* Provides an extensive and thorough introduction to the field, and to comics more generally
* Responds to the increasing philosophical interest in comic art
* Includes a preface by the renowned comics author Warren Ellis
* Many of the chapters are illustrated, and the book carries a stunning cover by the rising young comics star David Heatley

Editors' Acknowledgments vii

List of Figures viii

Notes on Contributors ix

Foreword xii
Warren Ellis

The Art and Philosophy of Comics: An Introduction xiv
Aaron Meskin and Roy T. Cook

Part One: The Nature and Kinds of Comics 1

1 Redefining Comics 3
John Holbo

2 The Ontology of Comics 31
Aaron Meskin

3 Comics and Collective Authorship 47
Christy Mag Uidhir

4 Comics and Genre 68
Catharine Abell

Part Two: Comics and Representation 85

5 Wordy Pictures: Theorizing the Relationship between Image and Text in Comics 87
Thomas E. Wartenberg

6 What's So Funny? Comic Content in Depiction 105
Patrick Maynard

7 The Language of Comics 125
Darren Hudson Hick

Part Three: Comics and the Other Arts 145

8 Making Comics into Film 147
Henry John Pratt

9 Why Comics Are Not Films: Metacomics and Medium

"Regardless, though, considered as a whole, The Art of Comicsis an excellent collection and one which is likely to provoke spirited debate and serve as a spur to further research within Anglo-American philosophy (and philosophy more generally) into this sadly neglected art form. I, for one, look forward to these future developments immensely. To quote one of the greats in the history of comics--excelsior!." (British Journal of Aesthetics, 1 October 2013)

"The Art of Comics would make a fine addition to any undergraduate reading list, introducing as it does several important notions in contemporary aesthetics." (The Journal of Aesthetics & Art Criticism, 1 November 2013)

Aaron Meskin is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Leeds. He is the author of numerous journal articles and book chapters on aesthetics and other philosophical subjects. His work on comics has been published in The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism and the British Journal of Aesthetics. He was the first aesthetics editor for the online journal Philosophy Compass, and he co-edited Aesthetics: A Comprehensive Anthology (Wiley-Blackwell, 2007). He is a former Trustee of the American Society for Aesthetics and is Treasurer of the British Society of Aesthetics.

Roy T. Cook is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, a Resident Fellow at the Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science, and an Associate Fellow of the Northern Institute of Philosophy at the University of Aberdeen. He has published numerous articles and book chapters on philosophical logic, mathematical logic, philosophy of mathematics, and more recently on the aesthetics of comics. He previously edited The Arché Papers on the Mathematics of Abstraction (2007), and is the author of A Dictionary of Philosophical Logic (2009).

A. Meskin, University of Leeds; R. T. Cook, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities