Reimagining and Recreating British Superhero Comics
- Submitting institution
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University of Dundee
- Unit of assessment
- 27 - English Language and Literature
- Output identifier
- 49260705
- Type
- T - Other
- DOI
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- Location
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- Brief description of type
- University of Dundee
- Open access status
- -
- Month
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- Year
- 2020
- URL
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- Supplementary information
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- Request cross-referral to
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- Output has been delayed by COVID-19
- No
- COVID-19 affected output statement
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- Forensic science
- No
- Criminology
- No
- Interdisciplinary
- Yes
- Number of additional authors
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0
- Research group(s)
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- Proposed double-weighted
- No
- Reserve for an output with double weighting
- No
- Additional information
- 'Reimagining and Recreating British Superhero Comics’ is a collaboration between Professor Christopher Murray and several comics artists. It investigates the narrative and visual techniques of British superhero comics. Murray’s monograph The British Superhero (2017) was the first critical study of these comics, but the practice-oriented research presented here explores different questions:
1/ What cultural and social influences shaped British superhero comics (1944-present)?
2/ How can a creative reimagining of these comics implicate readers in a critical re-evaluation of these comics?
3/ How can the techniques employed in these comics be reworked through contemporary creative practice?
Between 2015 and 2020 Murray wrote comics scripts, often accompanied by sketches, designs and layouts, then worked collaboratively with artists to discover, echo and extend the strategies employed by British superhero comics from the 1940s to the present. The project explores the uses of satire, parody, pastiche, intertextual allusion, appropriation, and ‘lifting’ (copying) often seen in these comics, connecting this to British Pop Art and other influences. Traditional and digital techniques were employed. Outputs include stories featuring Alpha, a character created by Murray, articles in comics form, an adaptation of Olaf Stapledon’s 1935 novel Odd John, game comic hybrids, a script book, various Pop Art inspired 'paste-ups’, webcomic/game comic hybrids, and a children’s book.
The main research insight was that the presentation of a fictionalised alternate British comics history and the recreation of these comics using contemporary techniques opened up a space to comment on and challenge misconceptions about British comics history, and by extension, reveal much about the politics embedded in these comics, and the diverse range of influences upon them, including British pop art and science fiction. The comics were distributed for free and online versions are available. Findings were disseminated throughout the country, and internationally, in New York, San Diego and Toronto.
- Author contribution statement
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- Non-English
- No
- English abstract
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