Graphic Novels as Philosophy

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Contributions by Eric Bain-Selbo, Jeremy Barris, Maria Botero, Manuel "Mandel" Cabrera Jr., David J. Leichter, Ian MacRae, Alfonso Munoz-Corcuera, Corry Shores, and Jarkko S. Tuusvuori In a follow-up to Comics as Philosophy, international contributors address two questions: Which philosophical insights, concepts, and tools can shed light on the graphic novel? And how can the graphic novel cast light on the concerns of philosophy? Each contributor ponders a well-known graphic novel to illuminate ways in which philosophy can untangle particular combinations of image and written word for deeper understanding. Jeff McLaughlin collects a range of essays to examine notable graphic novels within the framework posited by these two questions. One essay discusses how a philosopher discovered that the panels in Jeff Lemire's Essex County do not just replicate a philosophical argument, but they actually give evidence to an argument that could not have existed otherwise. Another essay reveals how Chris Ware's manipulation of the medium demonstrates an important sense of time and experience. Still another describes why Maus tends to be more profound than later works that address the Holocaust because of, not in spite of, the fact that the characters are cartoon animals rather than human. Other works contemplated include Will Eisner's A Contract with God, Alan Moore and David Lloyd's V for Vendetta, Alison Bechdel's Fun Home, and Joe Sacco's Footnotes in Gaza. Mainly, each essay, contributor, graphic novelist, and artist are all doing the same thing: trying to tell us how the world is--at least from their point of view. Cover GRAPHIC NOVELS as PHILOSOPHY Title Copyright Dedication Contents Introduction: What Is It like to Be a Graphic Novel? Philosophy in the Bargain: A Contract with God (1978) by Will Eisner Jimmy Corrigan and the Time of Crisis Autonomy in Children: Accessing the Inaccessible Space in Essex County Vol. 1: Tales from the Farm Love and Liberty: The Social Contract and V for Vendetta Asterix, Carnival, and the Wonder of Everyday Life Queering Epistemology and the Odyssey of Identity in Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home The Minor Machinery of Animal Packs: Becoming as Survival in Spiegelman’s Maus Entangled Memories and Received Histories: Reading Sacco’s Footnotes in Gaza Living in a Fictional World: Reading and Identification in Lost Girls Contributors Index