Comics have great potential to depict an almost infinite range of themes, questions and lives. But what about their ability to express and interpret philosophical concepts? How can we differentiate between the representation of theoretical concepts in and of themselves, and the impact of comics techniques on the legacy of philosophers, their lives and their thought?
This book explores the historical and artistic value of representing lives through the medium of bande dessinée (BD), French-language comics. The text analyses three biographical BDs dedicated to the lives of Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and Albert Camus as well as a selection of print and online comics that extend the legacy of these philosophers and their historical movement. The work is the first to analyse biographical BD through the lens of Existentialism, offering a new theory of reading biographical comics. The research not only contributes a novel approach to comics but also an enhanced understanding of Existentialism and the Existentialists, including their enduring contemporary relevance.
Table of Contents:
Contents: Applying Existentialism to Bande Dessinée – Sartre: Une existence, des libertés – Beauvoir: Une jeune fille qui derange – Camus: Entre justice et mère – Comics Legacies – Sketch for a Theory of (Biographical) Comics.
About the Author :
Elizabeth Benjamin is Lecturer in French and Associate of the Centre for Arts, Memory and Culture, at Coventry University, UK. She previously worked at the University of Birmingham, UK, and the Université de Lorraine, France. Her research is in French and Francophone memory studies, with particular interest in the ways in which memoryscapes are constructed and mediated through cultural artefacts such as monuments and literature, as well as education. Her work on bande dessinée focuses on the ways in which lives are transposed and interpreted, and how legacies are influenced, by artistic and philosophical interactions. Her other interests include Francophone postcolonial theory, French politics and neuroscience.
Review :
«This book makes a valuable contribution to the field of BD studies, and more specifically to theories of biographical BDs. The author proves that the three BD biographies of Sartre, Beauvoir and Camus, far from offering «dumbed down» introductions to prominent intellectuals, have succeeded in creating an entirely new biographical form. It is immaculately researched, with well-selected quotations from Existentialists and their critics meticulously melded together with equally pertinent references to comic strip scholars.»
(Dr Matthew Screech, Senior Lecturer in French, Manchester Metropolitan University)
