Since the 1930s, comic books have been taking on issues ranging from political, historical and interpersonal, writing about them in a way that is relatable to readers.
A sociology class titled Comic Books and American Culture was available for students to enroll during the start of spring semester, but because of low enrollment, the class was cancelled. However, Craig This, an instructor in the Sociology department, said he has been teaching the class since 2010 and it is a fun alternative for students.
“I think courses like comic books, music, science fiction and literature give us a different way to view our world than the usual courses,” he said in an email interview. “The comic book course enables us to examine and review our culture through a different lens and see the world differently.”
This said comic books have had a lasting effect on American culture because of how the characters and stories relate to interpersonal issues.
“Like any piece of fiction, comic books give us characters and situations that while we are detached from them, [we] also see ourselves in them,” he said. “I think another way that we can view comic books is through Sociologist Erving Goffman’s dramaturgical analysis and his hypothesis that we each have a public persona and a private persona.”
He also said comics are able to tap into a historical perspective of America, in the sense that we are all immigrants wanting to search for a better world.
“From the early days of comic strips in newspapers, started by William Randolph Hearst, the colored panels with action and little words were a way to sell newspapers to non-English speaking immigrants,” he said. “Superman and Wonder Woman are both immigrants to this country, who gave up their identities to become ‘American.’”
He added that characters in comic books want to fit in to the world around them, which is another reason they have stood the test of time — because of the strong relation between the reader and his or her own experiences.
“Characters in comic books just want to fit in — they want to hide their superheroes, their differences, so they can fit in — just like immigrants,” he said. “However, it is their differences that are their strengths and what this country needs, and what makes us better because of it.”
This has published three essays regarding comic books. The first titled, “Cap Lives and So Do the Nazi’s,” in Nazisploitation: The Nazi Image in Low-Brow Cinema and Culture, was about the role of the superhero after the attacks on Sept. 11. The second, titled “The Iconic History of the Incredible Hulk,” in Icons of American Comic Books was about the history of the Incredible Hulk in American culture and how he can be seen as a metaphor for the Cold War, the evils of nuclear power, bipolar personalities and alcoholism. The third, “Containing Wonder Woman: Frederic Wertham’s Struggle against the Amazon Princess” in Ages of Wonder Woman, showed the struggle of women in the post-World War II America.
“Comic books have come a long way since the 1930s when comic books were nothing more than a collection of previous Sunday comic strips collectively printed in a booklet,” he said. “Comic books these days tackle all kinds of social and political issues.”