Comics Beyond Text and Image by Benjamin Fraser

Comics Beyond Text and Image by Benjamin Fraser

Comics Beyond Text and Image conceptualizes comics as “bodies,” exploring the substance and the many movements and expressions of comics first and foremost in terms of corporeality.

The book centers on the metaphor of the comics body as a way of opening up our understandings of what comics do. It begins from the position that narrative in comics is corporeal, expressed in and through the visual bodies into which the page can be divided analytically, and from the interaction of the human body with the comics body. Drawing on the philosophy of Baruch Spinoza, the author argues for the primary role of visual narration over textual narration, develops a theory of the comics text as a cohesive and variegated cartography, and shows how thought is expressed in the extensive space of the comics page. This theory is then applied in snapshots of individual comics works that each in their own way continue the philosophical discussions of embodiment.

This book moves beyond traditional modes of narration or narrative and will appeal to students and scholars of comics studies, as well as to those thinking about visual narrative more broadly, and to scholars of Spinoza and Deleuze.

“This book uses philosophical and formalist approaches in new ways, to create detailed close readings that are sensitive to the affects and social significances of the comics under analysisA beautiful, worthwhile approach that can serve as a model for any comics scholar.”

-- Dr. Barbara Postema, University of Groningen, The Netherlands

“Who would have thought a 17th-century European philosopher would have so much to say about modern comics? Benjamin Fraser applies insights from Spinoza and other thinkers for a holistic re-envisioning of what graphic narrative is and what it does, all brought to life by meticulous commentaries on pages drawn from comics works spanning the globe. This book does it all! Fraser’s marvelously learned text shows us that comics can indeed be and do anything. I will certainly never look at them the same way again.”

-- José Alaniz, University of Washington, USA

“In Comics Beyond Text and Image, Benjamin Fraser employs an expansive array of new and classic texts to encourage readers to re-think and re-see the way bodies shape and define narrative in comics. A fascinating and rewarding read for fans and scholars alike.”

-- Professor Jessica Baldanzi, Goshen College, USA

Benjamin Fraser is a professor at the University of Arizona, USA, where his research centers on comics studies, urban studies, and disability studies. He has written a number of books, and his writing on graphic novels and comics has appeared in journals worldwide. He currently serves on the editorial board of Studies in Comics.