Writing an Argument Paper on Comics - Need Sources
 

I'm enrolled in a summer course on argumentative writing, and have been given the go-ahead to write my final paper on comics. Specifically, I'll be defending the claim that the superhero genre of comics is preventing the medium as a whole from becoming a more widely-accepted storytelling format. In order to do this, however, I need sources, and my efforts thus far have come up mostly empty. I now ask the readers of this thread - would any of you happen to know of a few good articles or books on this topic? Blogs and the like would be helpful as well, but physically-published works are preferred. Thanks in advance to any and all contributors.

Aren't you supposed to be doing it on your own?

He's using all of the resources at his dispense to find sources.

I think its genius.

:D

Well, is your professor an idiot? 'Cause making up wikipedia pages is the hip new thing. If he or she is dumb enough to accept wiki pages as sources, then he or she will more likely than not be dumb enough to accept made up wiki pages as sources.

Other than that, good luck. The effect of superhero comics on the public image of sequential art isn't exactly a center of inquiry in the academic world.

as a rule they dont accept wikipedia, probably in part due to the fact wikipedia says not to use it as a sited source

Actually that's less than true. My former anthropology professor wrote a few published works on comic books and their effect on society. Look for any published works by a Dr. J Manthei. You'll find them somewhere underneath all the other work she's published on Central American prostitutes and medical issues affecting third world nations.

I normally want to drop the hammer on motherfuckers using this forum to do their homework for them, but it usually results in interesting questions like this that make for actually quite good topics for threads! So ultimately I tend to let it slide.

I would suggest to Boostmetal that he look on Comic Book Resources Dot Com where in their archives they should have a number of columns written by Warren Ellis, a comic books writer of note, under the title "Come In Alone", many of said columns pertaining to the subject in which you indicate your interest. If you care to look up Ellis' blog, I'm sure he makes a number of related comments there as well.

Generally speaking Boostmetal, you are indeed not the first to come to the conclusion that the quirk of history which tied the American comics industry to that particular science-fiction subgenre known as the "superhero" is indeed an impediment to the widespread social acceptability of the medium as a whole.

I'm not sure if it'll be useful but I can give you sources on the development of genres and the outcome of that in wider literature. Not really focused on comics but could be useful if you want to draw parallels between the comic book industry and other mediums.

I like what you're doing, but I don't know if I can help. Maybe search for interviews with Neil Gaiman and Grant Morrison, they talk about these things sometimes.

Or look up comic book stores; see how much superhero comics they sell, if they would like to sell anything else, and their opinion on why they don't.

I can't stress enough just how bad of an idea this is. But you probably know that, else you would be out there doing that instead of ask for proper sources.

Interviews with writers are a good idea; I'd probably check for interviews with Alan Moore, who I'm sure has many things to say about the comic industry (though I don't know about superhero comics as such).

See if your library has access to the Journal of Popular Culture. I'm not too familiar with it, but it seems like they'd be the ones to have articles about comics. While you're there, ask a librarian about your topic. Looking for and recommending sources like this is what we get paid for.