About the Book
Profound analysis of French comics through a postcolonial lens
Postcolonialism and migration are major themes in contemporary French comics and have roots in the Algerian War (1954–62), antiracist struggle, and mass migration to France. This volume studies comics from the end of the formal dismantling of French colonial empire in 1962 up to the present. French cartoonists of ethnic-minority and immigrant heritage are a major focus, including Zeina Abirached (Lebanon), Yvan Alagbé (Benin), Baru (Italy), Enki Bilal (former Yugoslavia), Farid Boudjellal (Algeria and Armenia), José Jover (Spain), Larbi Mechkour (Algeria), and Roland Monpierre (Guadeloupe). The author analyzes comics representing a gamut of perspectives on immigration and postcolonial ethnic minorities, ranging from staunch defense to violent rejection. Individual chapters are dedicated to specific artists, artistic collectives, comics, or themes, including avant-gardism, undocumented migrants in comics, and racism in far-right comics.
This publication is GPRC-labeled (Guaranteed Peer-Reviewed Content).
Listen to an interview with Mark McKinney at New Books Network: https://newbooksnetwork.com/postcolonialism-and-migration-in-french-comics
Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments Note on translations and terminology 1. Introduction: three postcolonial turning points in French comics 2. Postcolonialism and migration in comics after “Cauchemar blanc” 3. Farid Boudjellal’s realist comics 4. The voyage in through Baru’s pastiches 5. “Citadel culture” in French comics 6. Comics from the far right through the 1990s 7. Comics from the far right from the 2000s to the present 8. Avant-gardism, migration and postcolonialism in Alagbé’s comics 9. Across the affrontier with Abirached 10. Sans-papiers in comics 11. Coda: postcolonialism and beyond Works cited Index
About the Author :
Mark McKinney is Professor of French at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, USA. He has written 'The Colonial Heritage of French Comics' (Liverpool University Press, 2011) and 'Redrawing French Empire in Comics' (2013). He coedited 'Post-Colonial Cultures in France' (Routledge, 1997) with Alec G. Hargreaves. He edited 'History and Politics in French-Language Comics and Graphic Novels' (University Press of Mississippi, 2008). He cofounded and coedited the journal 'European Comic Art' with Laurence Grove and Ann Miller.
Review :
Extremely well researched and well explained,
alternating explanation of concepts and application
of these concepts to many diverse examples, the
volume mixes some well-known authors with
others much less famous (and actually many out of print) and still others simply unknown (at least new to
me). This is the best book one can write about comics. [...] The cherry on the French cake [or if you don’t like cakes, the dressing on the fresh mixed salad]: as usual,
this publisher (Leuven U.P.) provides high quality paper and binding, and beautiful reproductions of
pictures, some in color, and in this case also a full precise index of 20p. and an extraordinary rich and
diverse bibliography of 35p. What else can a humanist fan scholar could wish for? Again, this is the type of
books that we see once a decade.Christian Reyns-Chikuma, IMAGE [&] NARRATIVE Vol. 22, No.3 (2021)
Along with McKinney’s previous publications, the present monograph is the fruit of nearly three
decades of research. As such, 'Postcolonialism and Migration in French Comics' makes several
noteworthy contributions to the field. Among its many positive aspects, this study refers to wellknown and previously un(der)studied works; identifies areas of further inquiry such as the
developing role of female artists; provides a well-documented historical context that draws
important parallels between French (post)colonial history and the evolution of French comics;
and establishes a constructive dialogue between the author’s own research and that of recognized
experts and emerging scholars. Not only does McKinney trace the history of postcolonial themes
in French comics, but he also provides a summative overview of past and current scholarship,
which will undoubtedly serve undergraduates, graduates, and academics in future years.Jennifer Howell, H-France Review, vol. 21, no. 168, September 2021
Bandes dessinées and graphic novels are essential texts in university French courses, and McKinney’s insightful study is a welcome addition to the critical literature on these works. His book traces the shifting portrayals of migration and transculturation in postcolonial France. [...] This expansive and erudite study of BD shows how the genre creates new spaces for representation and dialogue on postcolonial migration in France.Patricia Geesey,The French Review, vol. 96 no. 1, 2022, p. 202-202, doi:10.1353/tfr.2022.0182
Dans une analyse nuancée, McKinney démontre comment les artistes « ont redessiné l’histoire et la culture impériale pour représenter la France postcoloniale », et ce « de nombreuses manières, et parfois contradictoires » . Il génère des pistes d’analyse pertinentes, en adaptant des concepts formels à une analyse socio-littéraire autour du postcolonial et de la migration. Sa conclusion invite, par ailleurs, à réfléchir au paradigme du postcolonial, et à la possibilité de l’étendre à de nouvelles formes néocoloniales (continuation de l’exploitation impérialiste, tourisme occidental en Afrique, soutien de régimes autoritaires, migrations climatiques…). [...] Cet ouvrage prouve, néanmoins, l’immensité d’un champ de recherche qui permet de mieux comprendre les représentations d’une société postcoloniale interculturelle, et l’urgence de l’étudier.Alicia Lambert, French Studies in Southern Africa No. 52 (2022): 194-250
McKinney has made an important contribution to several fields and makes a persuasive argument for value of comics to the study of contemporary French history. - Michael G. Vann, The Journal of Modern History, Volume 96, Number 1, March 2024, https://doi.org/10.1086/728546
Generously illustrated with colour images and complemented by a glossary, McKinney’s latest book is essential for scholars working on postcolonialism, race, and/or comics, within and beyond francophone cultures. Also suitable for classroom use through its accessible, sensitive, and rich analyses, this is an exemplary work of comics scholarship. - Maaheen Ahmed, French Studies, Volume 78, Issue 3, July 2024, Page 548, https://doi.org/10.1093/fs/knae048
