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3 - From Justin Green and Art Spiegelman to Alison Bechdel

Writing the Self in the Graphic Novel

from Part I - History and Genre

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2024

By
Jan Baetens
Edited by
Jan Baetens ,
Hugo Frey  and
Fabrice Leroy
Jan Baetens
Affiliation:
KU Leuven, Belgium
Hugo Frey
Affiliation:
University of Chichester
Fabrice Leroy
Affiliation:
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
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Summary

This chapter studies the developments of autobiography as a literary genre in the graphic novel production since the 1960s. It analyzes the formal connections between author, narrator, and character, paying attention to the pragmatic aspects of the contract between author and reader, whose commitment to authenticity distinguishes autobiography from autofiction or semi-autobiography. The chapter starts with a historical overview of the genre, absent in comics for a long time, then rapidly coming to prominence in the graphic novel. It emphasizes the role of underground comix and engages in a close reading of two works: Justin Green’s Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin (1972) and Craig Thompson’s Blankets (2001). Although both share a similar (critical) concern with the role of religion, their stylistic and narrative features and context are widely divergent. Green’s work is a clear example of countercultural transgression, whereas Blankets exemplifies the growing overlap between the graphic novel and young adult literature.

Keywords

autobiographytraumaself-portraitcountercultureyoung adultreligionCraig ThompsonJustin Green
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Companion to the American Graphic Novel , pp. 57 - 71
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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