Update

I just wanted to make a quick update here to say that progression on second solace is going slowly but surely. I'll be posting a few pages up in the following weeks as an example for what I want to tell.

Work

Since I have now finished all my Uni work (excluding the graphic novel) I thought I may as well post them online, perhaps if you come across them you may be compelled to try something similar, or maybe not.
 So here first is my research proposal in How Graphic Novels engage in Political Debates
Hope you enjoy.

Aims and Objectives

I propose to produce a comprehensive study into the graphic novel and to explore how they have engaged in political debates over the past three decades. I shall begin by examining graphic novels such as “V for Vendetta”, “Persepolis”, “Maus”, “Watchmen”, and “When the Wind Blows”, looking at how they engage in debates around topics such as sexism, racism, anarchy and oppression. My research for the study will involve reading journal articles and interviews with graphic novel writers such as Alan Moore, Art Spiegelman, Frank Millar, Neil Gaiman and Joe Sacco, in order to gain insight into the reasons why they told the stories in the manner they chose.

I will then discuss whether these graphic novels still hold the same relevance in society today as they did when they were published. In conjunction with this I shall also discuss whether we could take a retrospective look at these graphic novels and apply their values to modern society. With this, I hope to expose the debates amongst graphic novels to a greater audience, thus encouraging readers to view the graphic novel as a serious form of literature rather than as light-hearted literature for children. This should allow the graphic novel to be used more widely in education, at first as a more basic level for teaching English, but also as a method of teaching students about certain political and historical issues. For example, through the use of Art Spiegelman’s “Maus”, students are able to gain an insight into the Holocaust without being exposed to some of the more graphic photographs taken from that era.

Title of Project

The title I have chosen for my project is ‘How graphic novels engage in political debates.’

Description of Project that is accessible to a general audience

The graphic novel has been around in its current form for over seventy years. It has expanded exponentially across the globe in many forms. The incredibly popular Japanese “Manga”, differing mostly from western graphic novels by its distinct art style of round faces and wide eyes, has spread across the world, spawning Anime series from its comic books, and comic books from its Anime series, not to mention countless video games, toys, books, DVDs and more from its series. By 2009, Manga had amassed over 5 billion dollars in Japan alone.

            The graphic novel has a strong influence in modern day education, particularly for children and adults wishing to learn English. The visual aid of a blend of written word and graphic medium helps the student understand the language, as they force the reader to think, and become involved in the transition between panels. An article in the “Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics” written by Shari Sabeti had this to say on the subject:

            “There has been much press recently about the introduction of comics and graphic novels into higher education. They are now part of the undergraduate English course at Dundee University and Napier University is offering a course in the composition of graphic novels as part of their Creative Writing MA. The University of Creative Arts in South East England runs a BA in Graphic Storytelling and Comic Art.” (Sabeti. 138)

 In North America there are various colleges, which offer courses on creating comics and graphic novels, and there is a National Association of Comics Educators who support the teaching of comics alongside the more conventional literary texts.

            Thanks to the comic and graphic novel, the comic-book convention known as ‘Comic Con’ has now turned global with over twenty different Comic Cons held across the world, the largest accommodating over one hundred and twenty thousand people. ‘The Penny Arcade Expo’ (PAX) was started by the online comic series Penny Arcade and has now run for nine years, growing exponentially every year. Both PAX and Comic Con have developed so much that many film and television companies use them as an opportunity to announce new projects and show off unseen footage. Many actors and directors of recent superhero films take this as a chance to meet loyal fans of their work.

With the growth of comic book-inspired films in the past two decades, over seven billion dollars has been generated alone from just the top twenty, although the list spans more than one hundred and is growing every year. One of America’s biggest television shows “The Walking Dead” owes its success to the ongoing graphic novel series of the same name. Some of the biggest television shows and films such as the hugely popular “Game of Thrones” and “Star Wars” are venturing into the graphic novel to tell their stories in a new fashion. Some of the biggest video games of the last decade have come from popular graphic novels like “The Walking Dead”.

With the boom of the Internet over the past few decades, many graphic novelists have sought the benefits of self-publication on the Internet. They can use the power of the Internet for their comic and graphic novel series in the form of weekly updates on a continuing story, or crowd sourcing websites where members of the public are given the opportunity to donate money towards their projects.

However there still remains a stigma attached to the graphic novel that their stories consist of naught but superheroes born from a different era that must save the innocent. Many believe they are targeted towards children. An article in The Times in 2009 brought attention to the fact that the Edinburgh Napier University had chosen to include a course in graphic novels. It bore the headline:  

“Holy academia, Batman! Scots universities offer courses in comics”, (Maxwell) thus implying the stereotype to its readers that the idea is juvenile.

But that is simply not the case.  Graphic novels such as “Watchmen” and “V for Vendetta” convey stories ripe with important political arguments, and indeed the graphic medium has had a close relationship with politics through political cartoons since the early twentieth century.

Whilst there are other studies available that cover aspects of my proposed research study, I found most covered the topic quite superficially.  Therefore my intention is to provide a unique and comprehensive assessment of the relationship between the graphic novel and politics, exploring the relevance of past and present themes and values on society today and whether these are used to their full extent in education.

Research Context

Over the past forty years, the graphic novel has fought its way into the innermost circle of literature. No longer are they stories about superheroes saving the innocent read by children and comic book fans. These days, their stories cover a vast range of exciting and thought provoking topics that, thanks to their use of the graphic medium, express another dimension of storytelling in a way that other forms of literature cannot.

            Alan and Anarchy

Alan Moore’s “V for Vendetta” is set in a dystopian United Kingdom future in which a totalitarian government is brought down by an anarchist named “V”. It is a story that covers the political viewpoints of anarchism, fascism and xenophobia.

Alan Moore has become one of the biggest names in the graphic novel industry, having written classics such as “V for Vendetta” and “Watchmen”. He is often referred to as the greatest graphic novel writer in history and one of the most important British writers in the last fifty years. He identifies politically as an anarchist, and such views are greatly expressed in “V for Vendetta” in which the revolutionist “V” dons a Guy Fawkes mask as he reins anarchy on a totalitarian government. 

Alan Moore’s critically acclaimed “Watchmen” explores the outcome of placing superheroes into a real world setting. The story takes place in an alternate universe where America and Russia stand dangerously close to the brink of nuclear war. The graphic novel’s real superhero, Dr. Manhattan, a man transformed by nuclear radiation into a blue superhuman capable of many superhero feats, such as the ability to blow up an entire city using only his mind, represents America’s nuclear superpower. In the graphic novel, he single-handedly wins the war for America against Vietnam offering an alternate history:

“What would have happened in a world where the United States used its nuclear arsenal early and often?”(Stokes, par. 8)

“From Hell” is another graphic novel from the writer Alan Moore, this time delving into the theory that the Jack the Ripper murders were part of a conspiracy set up to hide the birth of a royal baby. Queen Victoria, ashamed by Prince Albert Victor’s marriage to Annie Crook and the child they conceive together, orders her royal physician Sir William Gull to destroy Annie’s sanity:

 “Queen Victoria is the picture of the stern monarch, intent upon keeping any scandal at bay. She prefers not to know the method, only the successful outcome, of the elimination of the potential embarrassment. She is England; stern, inflexible, and paranoid.” (Gafford, par. 12).

Many would say that this analogy of Britain holds true today, as can be seen in Raymond Brigg’s “When the Wind Blows”, which I will discuss in depth later. It appears that most people do not care for the details of the path taken, so long as the end result is one we find desirable. We are becoming a paranoid nation, thanks in the most part to the tabloids and news channels. Even though there are many places in the world that suffer devastation on a daily basis, we seem to continue to turn our heads until the moment the devastation hits home.

There is a quotation in the foreword for the graphic novel “V for Vendetta” from Alan Moore written in 1988 about the changes in England over the seven years it took him to create the book:

 “It’s 1988 now. Margaret Thatcher is entering her third term of office and talking confidently of an unbroken Conservative leadership well into the next century… the tabloid press are circulating the idea of concentration camps for persons with AIDS.” He then goes on to say, “The government has expressed a desire to eradicate homosexuality, even as an abstract concept, and one can only speculate as to which minority will be the next legislated against.” (Moore. 6)

The era Moore speaks of is now a quarter of a century ago, and whilst thankfully there no longer remains even the slightest whisper of talk over AIDS concentration camps, homosexuality is still hounded by homophobia in certain aspects of life. As of May 2013, there are only ten states in America that have legalised same-sex marriages. In 2008, a study showed that nearly one in seven of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community reported living in fear of homophobic violence.

In “V for Vendetta”, the idea of a world under constant surveillance was one that existed only in Alan Moore’s mind, but as of 2011, a study showed that the United Kingdom is watched by a network of nearly two million cameras.

Since the graphic novel’s release, the Guy Fawkes mask has been adopted as the symbol of many protesters such as the internet-based group ‘Anonymous’. During an interview with Entertainment Weekly following the protests against the Church of Scientology in 2008, Alan Moore stated that he was:

 “Quite heartened the other day when watching the news to see that there were demonstrations outside the Scientology headquarters over here, and that they suddenly flashed to a clip showing all these demonstrators wearing V for Vendetta Guy Fawkes masks. That pleased me.” (Gopalan, 5: par. 2)

In 2006, a film adaptation of “V for Vendetta” was release, co-written by the Wachowski Brothers and directed by James McTeigue. The context of the film was different to that of the graphic novel which had been released almost twenty years prior.  The film was:

 “An allegory for life in George W. Bush’s America, and an unwavering critique of his administration and its policies (both domestic and foreign) surrounding the war on terror.” (Miguel, 3).  Director James McTeigue stated in an interview that he:

 “Felt the [graphic] novel was very prescient to how the political climate is at the moment. It really showed what can happen when society is ruled by government, rather than the government being run as a voice of the people’’(Miguel, 3).

Miller, Terror and Occupy

            After the events of 9/11 in New York and the 7/7 bombings in London a few years later, the topic of terror was high in the public’s eye. Much like the infamous vigilante, Guy Fawkes, with whom he likens his appearance to by using a mask, the character ‘V’ in “V for Vendetta” plots the destruction of Parliament. In the eyes of the public, he would be branded a terrorist. During an interview, James McTeigue said:

 “I think rather than just come out and call him a terrorist, I think you have to look behind the veil and see what creates people like that. Then if you take that line, is it right to call Nelson Mandela a terrorist? Is it right to call Che Guevara a terrorist? There’s been a lot of historical figures that, at the time, depending on what regime they’re fighting against, are called a lot of different things. I think V falls in that milieu of lots of different people.” (Wikispaces, par. 4).

            During the Occupy Wall St in 2011, thousands of Americans rallied together to protest against the corporate influence on democracy and the lack of legal consequences for the people responsible for the increasing inequality in wealth. Like the protests against Scientology in 2008, many of the protestors took up the Guy Fawkes mask from Alan Moore’s “V for Vendetta” as they began their protests against Wall Street. Alan Moore, who asked for his name to be removed from any film adaptations of his work since “League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” claimed in an interview with The Beat on the topic of “V for Vendetta” that he doesn’t:

“Own the baby anymore. The baby is one I put a great deal of love into, a great deal of passion and then during a drunken night it turned out that I'd sold it to the gypsies and they had turned out my baby into a life of prostitution. Occasionally they would send me increasingly glossy and well-produced pictures of my child as she now was, and they would very, very kindly send me a cut of the earnings.” (Beat, par. 27).

But, just as when the Guy Fawkes mask was used in the protests against Scientology in 2008, he stated in an interview with the guardian that:

"I suppose when I was writing V for Vendetta I would in my secret heart of hearts have thought: wouldn't it be great if these ideas actually made an impact? So when you start to see that idle fantasy intrude on the regular world… It's peculiar. It feels like a character I created 30 years ago has somehow escaped the realm of fiction." (Lamont, par. 4).

Frank Miller, writer of “Sin City”, “300” and “Batman: Year One”, issued a statement on his personal website. He referred to the group “Occupy” as:

 “Nothing but a pack of louts, thieves, and rapists, an unruly mob, fed by Woodstock-era nostalgia and putrid false righteousness. These clowns can do nothing but harm America.” (Miller, par. 1)

He went on to state that their movement was:

 “Nothing short of a clumsy, poorly-expressed attempt at anarchy, to the extent that the “movement” – HAH! Some “movement”, except if the word “bowel” is attached - is anything more than an ugly fashion statement by a bunch of iPhone, iPad wielding spoiled brats who should stop getting in the way of working people and find jobs for themselves.” (Miller, par. 2)

Miller, who is perhaps best known for his graphic novel “300” in which the Spartan army fights for “freedom”, angered many with his attack on the “Occupy” group. One of those he angered was fellow graphic novelist, David Brin, who took to his blog in retaliation to Miller’s comments with a complex analysis of Miller’s graphic novel “300”, saying:

 “Uh, right.  Freedom. Sorry, but the word bears a heavy burden of irony when shouted by Spartans, who maintained one of the worst slave-states ever, treating the vast majority of their people as cattle, routinely quenching their swords in the bodies of poor, brutalized helots... who are never mentioned, even glimpsed, in the romanticized book or movie.”  (Brin, par. 9)

His attack at the “Occupy” movement came as quite a shock to those who are acquainted with his work. In his hugely successful “Batman: Year One”, Miller portrayed the Dark Knight visit Gotham City’s wealthiest citizens and tells them:

“You’ve eat Gotham’s wealth. It’s spirit. Your feast is nearly over. From this moment on, none of you are safe.” (Miller. 38)

Miller continues this ideology in his next graphic novel about the caped crusader, “The Dark Knight Returns”. Batman, having spent many years hiding away after a forced retirement from crime fighting, sees his world has grown out of control with street violence. Believing society has lost the ability to fix itself, Batman returns to take matters into his own hands. After assembling an army of vigilante youths, he takes the fight to the government so as to enforce his own law upon the streets of Gotham. The graphic novel’s President of the United States bears a remarkable resemblance to America’s President Ronald Reagan. Superman, who serves as this mock Reagan’s personal wrecking ball, is tasked by Reagan to end Batman, and his personal army’s uprising. As the two superheroes collide, the increasingly unstable Batman beats his opponent to within an inch of his life before faking his own death. Superman in this story, despite being a product of a far away planet, stands for America, and so his near defeat by Batman, a man who has always stood for the people of Gotham, is an allegory for the common man fighting back against the government.

The Middle East Debate

However, Frank Miller’s more recent work in “Holy Terror” is much more in tone with his attack on “Occupy”. Originally meant as another Batman story, “Holy Terror” sees “The Fixer” fighting against al-Qaida. Miller described the graphic novel as a piece of propaganda to remind people that America is still at war against terrorists. Spencer Ackerman from Wired magazine summed up Miller’s “Holy Terror” as:

“A screed against Islam, completely uninterested in any nuance or empathy toward 1.2 billion people he conflates with a few murderous conspiracy theorists. It’s no accident that it’s being released ten years after 9/11. This comic would be unthinkable during the unity that the U.S. felt after the attack. Instead, it’s a perfect cultural artifact of this dark period in American life, when the FBI teaches its agents that “mainstream” Islam is indistinguishable from terrorism and a community center near Ground Zero gets labeled a “victory mosque.” (Ackerman, par. 3).

Joe Sacco is perhaps less known as a graphic novelist and more as a comics journalist. His 1996 graphic novel “Palestine” tells of Sacco’s experiences in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip between a two-month period of December 1991 and January 1992. His portrayal of the Palestinian people is all based on genuine meetings he had during his time there, focusing on the small details of life as a Palestinian during a difficult time in history. His brutal honesty and attention to detail throughout the book earned him the role of the pre-photography war artist.

Marjane Satrapi is an Iranian-born French Graphic novelist. Her autobiographical graphic novel “Persepolis” tells her childhood story as a young woman in Iran during the Islamic revolution. The story does not shy away from the heavily sexist nature of Islam in the 80s, such as the obligation for girls to wear a veil and being segregated by sex in her school. She discusses her desire to learn of revolutions and socialism, referring to Fidel Castro and Che Guevara as inspiration. Her favourite comic book “Dialectic Materialism”, now going by the name of “Marx for Beginners”, further inspires her to protest, even at such a young age. She is sat down by her parents and taught about the horrors her grandfather went through when imprisoned for communism. Since the graphic novel’s release, Iran has remained a troubled country, and in 2009, Marjane Satrapi updated “Persepolis” to include further information on Iran and the presidential election. Her work in “Persepolis” speaks powerfully from first hand experiences. She is able to give insight to an audience who may not be willing to read extensively on the subject. Graphic novels such as this open up opportunities for readers to hear powerful humanitarian messages.

Cat and Maus

Art Spiegelman’s “Maus” is a graphic novel depicting Spiegelman interviewing his father about his experiences as a holocaust survivor. The book depicts humans as various animals, with Germans as cats, Jewish people as mice and non-Jewish polish people as pigs.

“Traversing the breach between past and present, Father and Son, language and image, manifest and latent, Spiegelman's Maus bears witness to the process of bearing witness” (Leventhal, par. 14)

From their experiences of anti-Semitism to their captivity in Auschwitz, Spiegelman’s shocking interpretation on the Holocaust through a comic medium earned it a place amongst the New York Times bestseller list.

Briggs and Nuclear Culture

Raymond Briggs is a well-known English Graphic Novelist. His work achieved critical and popular success amongst adults and children with most of his work catering to the latter. Just four years after his hugely successful “The Snowman”, Briggs shocked audiences with his dark graphic novel “When The Wind Blows”. “When The Wind Blows” tells the story of retired couple, Jim and Hilda Bloggs who, after experiencing a nuclear attack by the Soviet Union, decide to hide out in a makeshift fallout shelter for two weeks. However, they briefly go outside for some fresh air and rainwater, thus exposing themselves to a massive amount of radioactive fallout. Throughout the story, Jim’s optimistic outlook and Hilda’s attempt to carry on as if nothing had happened mask the fact that the pair are suffering from radiation sickness before eventually dying in each other’s arms. The graphic novel parodies the typical British stiff upper lip sensibility to ignore the reality of the situation, and Jim’s unshakeable belief that the government knows best expresses our desire to live in a false sense of security that everything will be ok. Although this was written over twenty years ago, its message still holds true in the present day with our society suffering from a financial crisis, and the constant reassurance that the government is working on it, so everything will be ok.

Gaiman on belief

Neil Gaiman has become a well-known name amongst the graphic novel industry in many ways thanks to his reimagining of Vertigo’s “The Sandman”. During an interview with Politics and Prose, he spoke about The Sandman series’ exploration of different mythologies saying:

‘I think that one of the biggest problems that faces us is that people don't understand each other's belief systems -- political, religious, or even recreational. The extreme end of that is war, of course. And it's a lot harder to demonise people if you know what they think or believe or dream.’ (Dannenfelser, par. 3).

Collins and the Prohibition era

Max Allan Collins’ graphic novel “Road to Perdition” tells the story of Michael O’Sullivan, a ruthless enforcer for John Rooney, a close associate of Al Capone. Set in the early 1930s, “Road to Perdition” explores the life of crime from the viewpoint of a relatively unimportant member of the mob. Like many of the crime films and novels surrounding the same era, “Road to Perdition” continues the strange procedure of romanticizing gangsters and life on the opposite side of the law. The graphic novel looks at the aspects of mob life, from gaining wealth from supplying illegal alcohol during the Prohibition era, to bribing the local police, giving the reader an insight into the issues of 1930s America in regards to the mob.

Enki Bilal on fascism

“The Nikopol Trilogy” is a series of three science fiction graphic novels written by Enki Bilal, set in 2023 the story follows Alcide Nikopol’s return to dystopian Paris after spending the last thirty years orbiting the Earth under cryopreservation. The Paris he returns to is one governed by fascist dictator J.F. Choublanc and is teeming with aliens. Throughout the trilogy, some of the themes that Bilal explores shift quite fervently, and yet some remain remarkably similar throughout.

“In the first volume, Horus, the renegade Egyptian God, attempts to take control of Paris by possessing Nikopol Sr., and as Nikopol goes insane (as a result of being possessed by this overly ambitious God, as well as arriving to a completely different world after living in suspended animation in space for thirty years), he is replaced by his son, Nikopol Jr. simply because they look alike. In the final volume, Niko himself is mistaken for his father by Equatorial authorities and he is sent up to space (where it is hinted he will be staying for thirty years) and Nikopol, who has been taken for his son simply because of his appearance, starts a new life. In this sense, not only does Bilal use the same, postmodern approach to identity throughout his book, he also brings the trilogy “full circle”, as the end of the last graphic novel very closely and ironically resembles the end of the first.” (Berk, par. 7)

Research Methods

To be able to prove that the graphic novel can and should be taken seriously, and that they often engage in important political aspects of modern day life. I will read popular graphic novels such as Alan Moore’s “Watchmen” and “V for Vendetta”, Raymond Briggs’s “When the Wind Blows”, Marjane Satrapi’s “Persepolis”, Neil Gaiman’s “Sandman” and Art Spiegelman’s “Maus”. I will also look at some less popular graphic novels such as Joe Sacco’s “Palestine”, Sharon Rudahl’s “A Dangerous Woman: The Graphic Biography of Emma Goldman”, Emmanuel Guibert’s “The Photographer” and Brian Wright-McLeod’s “Red Power: A Graphic Novel”. Once I have studied these graphic novels I will begin to analyse the political debates that lay within.

In conjunction with this, I will also read journals and articles such as the Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, which relate to the subject of how graphic novels engage in political debates, which I will find from reputable sources on the Internet, and in archives.  I will read interviews with graphic novel writers such as Alan Moore, Frank Miller, Art Spiegelman, Neil Gaiman and Raymond Briggs to gain insight into their own political motives. If no such interview exists, I shall attempt to make contact myself and conduct the interview first hand.

I feel that these methods of research are the best for the task as there is no better way to understand the political complexities of the graphic novel than to experience it first hand. The use of interviews with graphic novel writers will prove especially useful as once I know the political agendas of the writer, I will be able to apply that knowledge to their graphic novels and discover the meanings that are either obvious or sometimes hidden within their pages.

My role in the project will be lead researcher; I will be responsible for gathering the information and analysing it myself. I do not intend to employ the expertise of fellow researchers unless the situation demands an extra participant or I am unable to take the lead in the matter at hand, or if I feel that another viewpoint may be of use to me.

Plans for Dissemination

Upon completion of the project by the end of the year, the research results will be disseminated through the following ways:

·      A presentation of the research results at Salford University which will be open to members of staff and fellow students of the university

·      A publication of the research results in the Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics

·      A presentation of the research results at any relevant festivals or conventions

·      After publicising amongst several social media websites, I shall perform a video presentation to be uploaded to the Internet.

·      I shall accompany this by uploading the research to my own personal website which shall be linked to the video presentation.

·      I shall contact local businesses that sell graphic novels and comic books with the intention of advertising my research.

·      This could lead to the opportunity to present my research to the public in certain stores that sell graphic novels.

Impact and Public Engagement

The graphic novel as a form of literature has already begun to be viewed seriously thanks to works from the likes of Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Art Spiegelman and Frank Millar, and with the help of this project, I hope the graphic novel will further its claim to be taken as a serious form of literature. The stigma that is attached to the graphic novel that they consist of only superhero stories for comic book fans and children, and thus should not be taken seriously is very damaging to the graphic novel industry. The main goal for this project is to help change opinions and open up the graphic novel to the mainstream market by showing to the public that the graphic novel has as much to say about serious political agendas as prose or poetry.

One of the most important outcomes for the destruction of the stigma that surrounds the graphic novel will hopefully be to enhance its inclusion in education. Already, there are some schools that use the graphic novel as a way of teaching English to children and adults. These appear to have recognised the benefits of using the combination of the written word and the use of the graphic medium to help the student to understand the context in which a word is used. This is particularly valuable in a world that theoretically recognises that we all have different learning styles.

The graphic novel can also be used in schools to bring students together. In Shari Sabeti’s “The irony of ‘cool club’: the place of the comic book reading in schools”, she discusses how she noticed several students in the library reading graphic novels together. The librarian subtly mocked the students for their reading preferences, so Shari decided to form a graphic novel reading club. After a while, the students that attended named it the ‘cool club’, and during her time at the school, Shari noted how the bond these students had formed over their fondness for the graphic novel had made them all close friends. The librarian at the school had looked down on these students for their interest in what she thought to be juvenile literature. Had it not been for Shari Sabeti and her desire to bring these students together with the graphic novel ‘cool club’, then it is likely these students would have never formed their close bonds of friendship and may never have nurtured their interest in reading. With the help of this project, and the increasing number of intelligent graphic novels, my hope is for more schools to realise their potential and form their own graphic novel clubs.

As the graphic novel shifts into a more serious status in society, there stands the potential that more people will look past the stigmatism into the genre as a source of education as well as entertainment, and will encourage other writers to experiment with this as a mode of propagating their own work.

Works Cited

Moore, Alan. V for Vendetta, New York, DC Comics, 1988. 6. Print.

Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis, New York, Pantheon Books, 2003. Print.

Spiegelman, Art. Maus, New York, Pantheon Books, 1991. Print.

Moore, Alan. Watchmen, New York, DC Comics, 1987. Print.

Briggs, Raymond. When the Wind Blows, Middlesex, Penguin Books Ltd, 1982. Print.

Sabeti, Shari. “The irony of ‘cool club’: the place of the comic book reading in schools”. Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics 2.2. 138. (2011)

Kirkman, Robert. The Walking Dead, California, Skybound Entertainment, 2003. Print.

Abraham, Daniel. Game of Thrones, New Jersey, Dynamite Entertainment, 2011. Print.

Warner, Chris. Star Wars Infinities, Oregon, Dark Horse Comics, 2002. Print.

Maxwell, Tom. Holy academia, Batman! Scots universities offer courses in comics. Web. 11.04.2013.

<http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/scotland/article2632579.ece>

Stokes. The Political Message of Watchmen. Web. 14.04.2013.

<http://www.overthinkingit.com/2009/03/07/the-political-message-of-watchmen/>

Moore, Alan. From Hell, London, Knockabout Comics, 1999. Print.

Gafford, Sam. Casebook: Jack the Ripper – From Hell: A Discussion of the Moore/Campbell Series. Web. 01.04.2013.

<http://www.casebook.org/dissertations/dst-fromhell.html>

Lewis, Paul. You’re being watched: there’s one CCTV camera for every 32 people in UK. Web. 25.03.2013

<http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/mar/02/cctv-cameras-watching-surveillance>

Gopalan, Nisha. Alan Moore Still Knows the Score! Web. 08.04.2013.

<http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20213004_5,00.html>

San Miguel, Ane. “Graphic Novels and Films as Cultural and Political Values Driven Tools”. (2012) Web. 25.04.2013

<http://www.academia.edu/2619379/GRAPHIC_NOVELS_AND_FILMS_AS_CULTURAL_AND_POLITICAL_VALUES_DRIVEN_TOOLS>

James McTeigue Interview. Web. 08.04.2013

<http://v-for-vendetta.wikispaces.com/1.1+James+McTeigue+interview>

Moore, Alan. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, New York, DC Comics, 1999. Print.

Beat, The. A for Alan, Pt. 1: The Alan Moore Interview. Web. 25.04.2013

<http://web.archive.org/web/20060505034142/http://www.comicon.com/thebeat/2006/03/a_for_alan_pt_1_the_alan_moore.html>

Lamont, Tom. Alan Moore – meet the man behind the protest mask. Web. 25.04.2013

<http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/nov/27/alan-moore-v-vendetta-mask-protest>

Miller Frank. Sin City, Oregon, Dark Horse Comics, 1991. Print.

Miller, Frank. 300, Oregon, Dark Horse Comics, 1998. Print.

Miller, Frank. Batman: Year One, New York, DC Comics, 1986. 38. Print.

Miller, Frank. Anarchy. Web. 24.04.13

<http://frankmillerink.com/2011/11/anarchy>

Brin, David. Roll over, Frank Miller: or why the Occupy Wall Street Kids are Better than the #$%! Spartans. Web. 24.04.13

<http://davidbrin.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/move-over-frank-miller-or-why-occupy.html>

Miller, Frank. The Dark Knight Returns, New York, DC Comics, 1986. Print.

Miller, Frank. Holy Terror, California, Legendary Comics, 2011. Print.

Ackerman, Spencer. Frank Miller’s Holy Terror Is Fodder for Anti-Islam Set. Web. 24.04.2013

<http://www.wired.com/underwire/2011/09/holy-terror-frank-miller/>

Sacco, Joe. Palestine, Washington, Fantagraphics, 1996. Print.

Del Rio, Eduardo. Marx for Beginners, New York, Pantheon Books, 1976. Print.

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5730 Words

Arrested Development

So I finished watching the new season of Arrested Development on Netflix. Regardless what other people have said, it is good. I think the problem people have had with it is that most people have expected more of the same from the previous seasons, but it was never going to be the same. For one thing, the characters have all moved on with their lives, and whilst the decision to tell 7 years worth of stories from 9 different characters does make the narrative a little overwhelming, it still is a story of the Bluths. They're all still hilarious, just they don't all do it in the same room.
I've got to say, I understand that they couldn't get all the actors in the same place to film, but I would have preferred that they made episodes into smaller groups of characters. For example (Spoilers if you haven't watched the series yet) when Lindsey, Tobias and Maeby all end up going to India, I would rather they made those three into one episode, instead of telling the same events over 3 episodes from slightly different viewpoints. It would have at least reduced the amount of catch-up flashbacks from previous episodes that we had already seen.
I think people are upset because they have overhyped it over the years, and the fact that you can easily binge watch the season in one day can't help. I chose to watch a couple of episodes every day, which helped me to remember previous shenanigans but also not be overwhelmed by the amount of content that they crammed into every episode.
The season ends on several massive cliffhangers (more spoilers) with Buster arrested for murder, Gob fleeing from the Mongolians, Michael being punched by his son, George Michael because they are after the same woman, Lucille and George Sr getting a divorce, and many more. I read somewhere that Netflix would be interested in making another season, which I would much prefer to a film, and hopefully another season would convince the actors to devote more time to the show, therefore allowing them all to interact with each other more. The only downside to this season was the lack of interaction between the main characters.
Actually I did have one more quip, Ron Howard. In the third season, he appears briefly right at the end after three seasons of narrating. This season however, he appears quite a bit interacting with Michael. It does seem very strange that there are a few scenes where Ron the narrator is recapping events whilst Ron the actor is talking about the same thing on screen. It feels a little bit uncomfortable.
I feel like I've talked a lot of shit about the season. Personally I really loved it, I overhyped it a lot in my mind, I spent the last few weeks before season 4's release rewatching the previous seasons, and even though I knew this season would be quite different, I still went in with very high expectations. And honestly, they hit my expectations bang on.
We even get a bit of Bob Loblaw and his Law Bomb.
So go watch it on Netflix, it might help persuade them to make another season, and regardless of whether you enjoy it or not, you won't be able to just leave the series hanging.

Xbox One

If you are a gamer with access to the internet/have friends who are, then you've probably heard that the next generation Xbox was announced yesterday.
The Xbox One.
I'm going to start off by saying that whilst the name does make discussing the 3 generations of Xbox confusing, I kind of like the fact that they chose the name to imply that it is an all-in-one entertainment machine. Still, I wish it was called Infinity.
 Right, now I'm going to be lazy and steal a list of facts so that I don't have to re-type it all. It's all taken from CVG.com. Click HERE to read it all from a far more reputable site than mine.

• Microsoft describes the console as "the ultimate, all in one home entertainment system"
• The console is shaped in the 16:9 aspect ratio and supports horizontal orientation optimised for its Blu-ray disc player
• Xbox will host 8GB of RAM and be based on 64bit architecture
• Xbox One will transfer data through USB 3.0 and operates silently
• Xbox One co-habits three operating systems in one: one features "deep and instant access to hardware"; second is a Windows operating system; and the third is custom made for multi-tasking
• Xbox One engineers "did not target the highest-end graphics" when designing the console, which is targeted more as "a broad entertainment play"
• Xbox One will launch around the world "later this year"
• All Xbox One games will require mandatory installation and will be tied to Xbox Live accounts
• There is a fee to install games on a second user's console, with players who activate a pre-owned disc required to pay the same price as the original buyer in order to access its content
• After installation, games can be played without a disc being in the tray
• Microsoft is designing Xbox One to enable customers to trade in and resell games. It will share more details on this process at a later date
• There is no mandatory always-online requirement for Xbox One games. Developers can choose to implement it themselves.
• Xbox One does not always have to be connected, but does require a connection to the Internet, possibly once every day
• Xbox One will not play Xbox 360 titles
• Microsoft will "continue to support [Xbox 360] with a pipeline of new games and new apps well into the future"
• An improved 1080p Kinect sensor will ship with every Xbox One, it is "now an essential and integrated part of the platform"
• Next-gen Kinect will be released for PC
• Kinect can be used to navigate live television using voice and gestures
• "Snap" feature allows applications to be overlaid on your TV for multitasking
• Kinect has been redesigned to be more responsive and "conversational" with users
• Kinect "understands the slightest rotation of wrist, shift balance, transfer of motion, and when you're exercising it can read your heartbeat"
• Xbox One turns on with the voice command "Xbox on"
• "Live switching" via voice commands instantly jumps between games, the internet, movies, music and other entertainment
• Skype on Xbox One will enable group video calls on your TV in HD
• TV shows on Xbox One can be found using voice and motion controls, through a personal favourites area, or via a trending section
• Xbox One's new controller is "designed by gamers, for gamers, for the next generation" and features over 40 design innovations
• The controller's form factor is similar to the Xbox 360 pad
• The controller features two buttons where the home button used to be, which are used primarily for UI functions
• The controller has a redesigned D-pad
• The controller's triggers are referred to as "Impulse Triggers" and developers will be able to "program feedback directly into the triggers"
• The controller has an "integrated battery compartment" and will communicate with the console via a fast Wi-Fi connection.

Whilst I could spend hours going over every bit of this, there are a few points here that I want to make my own point on. Mostly the second hand business.

Right, I get why they have decided to make disks connected to one singular console, and I get its because they want more money to go to the publishers instead of them getting one sale and a game store getting countless from resales. I respect the decision to give the publishers more money, otherwise some people spend hundreds of hours slaving away at a game just to have sales under-perform because most people bought it used. What I don't like is, for one, when you buy the game you have to install it, they tried it with the PS3 and it was infuriating. (One particularly sour memory springs to mind watching Old Snake smoking whilst Metal Gear Solid 4 installed). Plus for those gamers (and I count myself as one of these) who buy a lot of games, thats gonna seriously diminish their storage space. So what happens then if they delete a few games of the hard drive but keep the copy of the game they bought, then at a later date decide to replay the game? Do they have to pay this "fee"? 

Also, what about the people who buy a game, then decide to play split-screen with a friend? Does the friend have to buy the game as well even if they only have one Xbox? If that's true then Microsoft can kindly go fuck themselves.

I don't want to sound like some sort of douchey Xbox-hater, I love the 360 and I'm very excited for the X1 (that's what I'm calling it, it sounds cooler than calling it the One), but as I mentioned in my previous post, many of my greatest moments in 360 gaming came from split screen playing. My friends and I are not rich, so if Microsoft try and stick a second full-price charge for us to play a game on the same Xbox, then I doubt I'll have half the entertainment I've had with the 360.

I know people are complaining about the "always online" thing, and firstly, it's not a requirement for all games, but secondly I don't think it's a problem. I get some people can't be always connected, and if that is the case, then I don't see the point in people buying it. You wouldn't buy a boat if you didn't live near the sea. I didn't get the 360 or PS3 for quite some time after they came out, and I didn't have a problem with that. Microsoft have said they will be continuing the 360 for quite some time after the X1's release, and there's nothing wrong with the 360.

I'm still not on board with the Kinect. I have one for my 360 and it causes more harm than good. Countless times has it popped up trying to pause a film because it mistakes my motionless body for a flailing limb. To this day I don't know how to make it pause via Kinect when I want to pause. The demo they showed at the announcement was obviously staged, not because it won't work as well as they showed, but because no one in their right mind would let something that important get left to chance. The voice recognition was cool, but if Microsoft decide that multiple accounts on one X1 must pay multiple times for one game, then when my friends of girlfriend decide they want to play something, I'll have to make sure that my account is the only one on it. Also, if they do push forward with full voice commands, then they damn well better make sure they tune it to the British accent. My Kinect picks up more from videos watched on my computer than it does from commands I shout at it.

I guess I'm just not 100% sure about the X1. I don't doubt I'll buy it, probably day one, but I can't deny there are a couple of doubts I have about it. I can't let it get to me though, the X1 was announced a day ago in a 1 hour announcement. In a few weeks we will have E3 for them to show of a plethora of amazing games, whilst also hopefully clarifying several of the points they left unsure. At least they showed what it looked like.

I've got nothing wrong with the PS4, and in fact some of the things they showed at their conference made me more excited than the X1's. (I really didn't care for all the sports crap Microsoft pilled into theirs).

Now that that is all said and done, I just wanted to say that work on Second Solace will start next week. I can't wait to start as I've had so many exciting ideas for what to do.

But until then, I'm going to get drunk, play video games, and watch Frasier.

Farewell Internet

The Xbox 360: A Retrospective

With the announcement of the next generation Xbox within our reach, and the recent announcement of the Playstation 4, I wanted to take a look back at the Xbox 360. At first, I wanted to write a top 5 list of my favourite moments of the 360, but as I scrolled through my list of games played, I realized, I can’t simply pull out my top 5. The Xbox 360 for me has been my pinnacle in gaming, partially because it arrived at a point in my life where I could still get away with spending days on end gaming, but partially because what it has given me by playing it.

I remember the very first game I saw running on the 360: Elder Scrolls IV, Oblivion. I remember vividly the moment your character steps out of the sewers, revealing the unparalleled beauty on Cyrodiil. It came at a time in my life before I had my head buried in gaming news, and I had not seen any footage beforehand. For me, that will forever be a moment of pure amazement, even now that the technically superior Skyrim is amongst us, Oblivion will always be the premiere moment of gaming beauty for me.

Speaking of Skyrim, as many of you have probably experienced for yourselves, Skyrim is amazing! By the time I finally put down my controller I had hit at least 150 hours in one single play through, and for the most part, a lot of that was self-made adventuring. I loved the campaign, but in all honesty, I can't remember that much of it almost two years since its release. What really stood out for me were the adventures I had outside the main campaign. Let me tell you the beautiful story that unfolded without the help of the fantastic writers at Bethesda. 

As those who have already played it, one of the first followers you can acquire is a lady named Lydia. To be fair, she was quite terrible at her job, there were many other followers in the game that far surpassed her talent, but she was the first. For hours and hours I dealt with her getting stuck on doors and being generally useless. But she was my Lydia, she was my companion through the torturous would of Skyrim. The adventures we shared together were immense, and as we progressed, I grew fonder of her company. 

And then it happened, I cannot remember the details of the mission, but I know someone betrayed me, and I headed in rage to the cave the traitor fled to. Alas, the threat was too great, so I utilized my stealth skill. Whilst I was adept, I was no match for the occupants of the cave. I needed to reach the caves end, and it is here the story takes a sour turn. Lydia ran ahead straight into the head of the battle. Against three foes, Lydia laid down her life to further my victory. I snuck past and achieved my goal, thinking my companion could only suffer temporary defeat. Alas as I fled the cave, I noted Lydia was no by my side. I returned to the cave but found no body.

For days I hoped she would appear somewhere, but my hopes were in vein. 

As the days went by, I found a sarcastic Mage to accompany me, but no matter how quick his wit or how devastating his spell, he was no Lydia.

As my fame spread across Skyrim, I bought a house, and found myself an enchantment table. The blade that had slain the mighty dragon, Alduin, was renamed Lydia and hung upon my wall.

My final sight in the world of Skyrim was of that blade, sitting proudly above my fireplace.

A constant memory to a beloved friend.

I feel it would be wrong of me to not acknowledge co-op as one of the 360’s shining achievements. Sure, it had been done before, but not better. Whilst it wasn’t a favorite game in the eyes of most, one of my best memories of co-op gameplay came from Resident Evil 5. Resi 5 was the first of the series to draw me in. I had watched a friend play most of 4 some years before, and I had enjoyed it, so when 5 came along, I grabbed it. It was at that time, that my first Xbox 360 was malfunctioning, so I bought a new one which came with a second copy of Resi 5. I gave one copy to a friend, and kept the other for myself. For the next few months, I played through several games of Resi 5 simultaneously with two friends. Whenever I would pick the game up, I wouldn’t know what guns I would have, or where we would be, but I never grew bored. I remember one particularly grueling night spent playing through the game on the hardest setting, and being stuck on the fight with Wesker and Jill for at least four hours. We were so close to giving up, but we knew we never would until we beat the game. But it was a fantastic night.

Just a shame Resident Evil 6 sucked a massive bag of monkey dicks.

Fallout 3 - there are few games on the Xbox that I have attained all the achievements for. In fact, of the 177 games I have played, only 17 sit in the list of games completed. One of those is Fallout 3. That includes all the downloadable content. I must have out about 70 hours into that game before I decided to collect the final few achievements, some were tedious collect x number of pointless items, but the final achievement I had to get was the data collection achievement on the space ship. 

I had already played through the DLC, so when I returned to it, I wasn't really interested in murdering the aliens. I don't know if that affected the outcome, but as I made my way through the ship, I started to run out of health, ammo and any item even remotely useful. 

As I collected the second to last data entry, I ran out of everything. I checked the map and saw the last data entry was just down the corridor in the next room, but between me and victory stood a thousand aliens all armed to the teeth. A quick save and a small talk of confidence to myself and I was ready to make my suicide dash. I sprung from the room, and everything slowed to matrix bullet time. I dodged right and left all the laser bullets that shredded the room around me. My eyes focused on my goal, I knew the route, but the aliens were trained on my tattered body.

I could see the data entry, I dived over a table and into the room, aliens tearing my body apart with bullets, I tapped x madly as I grew closer but then.

My body was drained of life.

As the screen started to fade to black, the beautiful bleep bloop of my final achievement popped up. My character had sacrificed himself for my goal, his body sure to become an alien's probe toy, but I stood triumphant in my 1550/1550 gamerscore!

Farewell Daniel, you brave bastard!

I said at the beginning that I couldn’t name my top 5 moments, and that’s true. I remember panicking like a child playing through the first Dead Space, a game I had been talked into buying and then playing on the hardest setting. I remember playing Hitman Blood Money and challenging friends to be stealthier that I, and they never could. I remember XCOM: Enemy Unknown, watching my favourite soldiers Gavin “Pancakes” Stone and Gustavo “Old Spice” Burrito die bravely on the battlefield. I remember the emotional gut-splitting decisions I struggled to make in Telltale’s The Walking Dead series. I remember playing my old school favourite game Monkey Island in classic mode for nostalgia’s sake. I remember wandering Middle Earth as a Lego hobbit and loving how hilarious it was seeing Lego Minas Tirith from Isengard in Lego Lord of the Rings. I remember moving into a flat with my friend and the two of us playing Driver San Francisco listening to Downtown by Petulia Clark. I remember watching my friend play Zuma all day whilst I sat on the couch with the flu. I remember 177 games each with 100 stories of their own that I could recall for you now. The Xbox 360 will forever hold a place in my heart as THE gaming console, no matter how brilliant the next one is.

If I manage to have as much fun with the next generation as I had with this, then I am in for a fantastic decade of gaming ahead of me.

But my heart will forever be with the Xbox 360.