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UNIVERSITY PRESS <
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CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture
CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture
humanities and social sciences, publishes new scholarship following tenets of the discipline of com
literature and the field of cultural studies designated as "comparative cultural studies." In addition to the
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ge Association of America, and Scopus (Elsevier).
raph series of Books in Comparative Cultural Studies. Contact: <
Volume 12 I
"
Authorship, Collaboration, and Art Geography
<
http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb/vol12/iss3/6
Contents of
CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture
<
http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb/vol12/iss3/
Abstract:
In his article "Authorship, Collaboration, and Art Geography" Martin de la Iglesia explores
the connection between geographical spaces and works of art, a connection often made, but hardly
theorized, by scholars in the field of art geography. He suggests t
object is established by the creator of the object. A feasible method is devised to determine the
creator's geographical identity, which in turn determines which space is assigned to the object.
Particularly, the implications
of multiple authorship for such a methodology are considered. The
procedure is exemplified by a geographical analysis of the comic book series Civil War, which was
produced by four main creators from the United Kingdom, Canada, and the USA. This spatial
analysis results in the conception of the work as a patchwork of geographical influences bestowed by
its creators. To successfully interpret the results of such an analysis, it is necessary to view them in
the context of the general geographical c
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>
CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture
ISSN 1481-4374 <
http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb
Purdue University Press
CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture
, the peer-reviewed, full-text, and open-
access learned journal in the
humanities and social sciences, publishes new scholarship following tenets of the discipline of com
literature and the field of cultural studies designated as "comparative cultural studies." In addition to the
publishes review articles of scholarly books and publishes research material in its
Publications in the journal are indexed
in the
Annual Bibliography of English Language and
Healey), the Arts and Humanities Citation Index (Thomson Reuters ISI), the Humanities
Index (Wilson), Humanities International Complete (EBSCO), the International Bibliography of the Modern L
ge Association of America, and Scopus (Elsevier).
The journal is affiliated with the Purdue University Press monog
raph series of Books in Comparative Cultural Studies. Contact: <
clcweb@purdue.edu>
Volume 12 I
ssue 3 (September 2010) Article 6
Martin de la Iglesia,
Authorship, Collaboration, and Art Geography
"
http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb/vol12/iss3/6
>
CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture
12.3 (2010)
http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb/vol12/iss3/
>
In his article "Authorship, Collaboration, and Art Geography" Martin de la Iglesia explores
the connection between geographical spaces and works of art, a connection often made, but hardly
theorized, by scholars in the field of art geography. He suggests t
hat the link between space and
object is established by the creator of the object. A feasible method is devised to determine the
creator's geographical identity, which in turn determines which space is assigned to the object.
of multiple authorship for such a methodology are considered. The
procedure is exemplified by a geographical analysis of the comic book series Civil War, which was
produced by four main creators from the United Kingdom, Canada, and the USA. This spatial
analysis results in the conception of the work as a patchwork of geographical influences bestowed by
its creators. To successfully interpret the results of such an analysis, it is necessary to view them in
the context of the general geographical c
ircumstances of the world of comics.
http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb
>
Purdue University Press
©Purdue University
access learned journal in the
humanities and social sciences, publishes new scholarship following tenets of the discipline of com
parative
literature and the field of cultural studies designated as "comparative cultural studies." In addition to the
publishes review articles of scholarly books and publishes research material in its
Annual Bibliography of English Language and
Healey), the Arts and Humanities Citation Index (Thomson Reuters ISI), the Humanities
Index (Wilson), Humanities International Complete (EBSCO), the International Bibliography of the Modern L
angua-
The journal is affiliated with the Purdue University Press monog
-
12.3 (2010)
In his article "Authorship, Collaboration, and Art Geography" Martin de la Iglesia explores
the connection between geographical spaces and works of art, a connection often made, but hardly
hat the link between space and
object is established by the creator of the object. A feasible method is devised to determine the
creator's geographical identity, which in turn determines which space is assigned to the object.
of multiple authorship for such a methodology are considered. The
procedure is exemplified by a geographical analysis of the comic book series Civil War, which was
produced by four main creators from the United Kingdom, Canada, and the USA. This spatial
-stylistic
analysis results in the conception of the work as a patchwork of geographical influences bestowed by
its creators. To successfully interpret the results of such an analysis, it is necessary to view them in
Martin de la Iglesia, "Authorship, Collaboration, and Art Geography"
CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture
Martin DE LA IGLESIA
Authorship, Collaboration, and Art Geography
When talking or writing about art, the use of geographical concepts seems almost essential. For
instance, if we look at any issue of the German art magazine
terms are found in almost every article. Hardly ever are artist
via geography. For example, we read about "Berlin
York" Dirk Skreber, "British artist Anthony McCall," and so on (all quotations
2 [2008]; un
less indicated otherwise, all translations are mine). Frequently
times in one particular art
issue
geographical terms used by the
art
expressionism") to nations ("German romanticism," "Danish design"), to sub
fresco art"), and supra-
national regions ("European pop art," "design becomes global"). On
— with what legitimation —
do these casually and naturally made attributions of geographical spaces
to works of art take place? One of my aims in this article is to show that the decisive link between art
and space is established by a certain tr
methodological consequences which result from the consideration of the concept of collaborative
authorship. The former of these two concerns targets a problem which is surprisingly dealt rarely with
in
art geographical literature. It is surprising because the connection between the work of art and the
space is the very subject of art geography. Before working with space
ask how they are formed.
There were only a few art geo
graphers who made statements about whether the place of origin of
an artist, or his/her place of residence at the time of the production of the work
production —
was decisive for the geographical assignment of the work. When reading Paul Pie
1936 book Kunstgeographie
, one has the impression that he is arguing for both. On the one hand, he
seems to favor the artist's place of origin as the crucial factor: "A master can teach his students
certain matters, certain composition schemata, cert
[Raumstil] cannot be taught –
either one has it or not" (96). On the other hand, he stresses the
importance of the place of production, when he writes: "One may assume that artists adapt fairly
quickly to the
local temperament" (96). However, according to Pieper, "there will always be artists
who maintain their inborn nature in a foreign environment. Works of such masters will yet, with
sufficient visual experience, be perceived as foreign. The others [i.e. ot
changing [Wandelnden
], must be attributed to the spatial style in which they integrated themselves
and in which their artistic work found its fulfilment" (96). Thus, Pieper's view on the problem is
somewhat ambiguous, but it is cle
between the work of art and the geographical space. Even nowadays, art geographers cannot or would
not agree on a method for determining the relevant spaces. Therefore, there are many diffe
methods to be found in scholarship for constructing an art geographical space, which are based either
on political borders (without saying how or why the works of art fit into these borders), or on the
ethnicity of the artists, the place of production
patrons, the place where an object was found, or on its place of destination (all of these examples are
from an issue on art geography of the journal
vied
). Two things are striking about this diversity: first, art historians who write about the ethnicity or
nationality of people do not tell us how these traits are connected to the works of art and second,
these considerations only play a role in theory:
and geographical spaces in the same texts, this is done casually, without any explanation or the use of
the previously elaborated theoretical groundwork.
There is probably more than just a single "right" met
makes all other methods look "wrong." Depending on the question, the many different approaches can
be sometimes more, sometimes less fertile. However, when it comes to the construction of art
landscapes, of spaces
in which the works of art assigned to them should have as many common
attributes as possible, it is the concern of this article to emphasize the role of the artist in this
assignment process. The central thesis of my argumentation is that the artist can "
Martin de la Iglesia, "Authorship, Collaboration, and Art Geography"
CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture
12.3 (2010):
<http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb/vol12/iss3/6>
Authorship, Collaboration, and Art Geography
When talking or writing about art, the use of geographical concepts seems almost essential. For
instance, if we look at any issue of the German art magazine
art: Das Kunstmagazin
terms are found in almost every article. Hardly ever are artist
s mentioned without being characterized
via geography. For example, we read about "Berlin
-
based John Bock," the "German artist living in New
York" Dirk Skreber, "British artist Anthony McCall," and so on (all quotations
are examples from issue
less indicated otherwise, all translations are mine). Frequently
—
no less than twenty
issue
—
art itself is tagged directly to geographical attributes. The
art
authors range from cities ("Leipzig School," "New York abstract
expressionism") to nations ("German romanticism," "Danish design"), to sub
-
national ("middle Italian
national regions ("European pop art," "design becomes global"). On
do these casually and naturally made attributions of geographical spaces
to works of art take place? One of my aims in this article is to show that the decisive link between art
and space is established by a certain tr
ait of the artist. My other aim is the exploration of
methodological consequences which result from the consideration of the concept of collaborative
authorship. The former of these two concerns targets a problem which is surprisingly dealt rarely with
art geographical literature. It is surprising because the connection between the work of art and the
space is the very subject of art geography. Before working with space
-
work relationships, one should
graphers who made statements about whether the place of origin of
an artist, or his/her place of residence at the time of the production of the work
was decisive for the geographical assignment of the work. When reading Paul Pie
, one has the impression that he is arguing for both. On the one hand, he
seems to favor the artist's place of origin as the crucial factor: "A master can teach his students
certain matters, certain composition schemata, cert
ain formal characteristics, but a spatial style
either one has it or not" (96). On the other hand, he stresses the
importance of the place of production, when he writes: "One may assume that artists adapt fairly
local temperament" (96). However, according to Pieper, "there will always be artists
who maintain their inborn nature in a foreign environment. Works of such masters will yet, with
sufficient visual experience, be perceived as foreign. The others [i.e. ot
her artists] though, the
], must be attributed to the spatial style in which they integrated themselves
and in which their artistic work found its fulfilment" (96). Thus, Pieper's view on the problem is
somewhat ambiguous, but it is cle
ar he suspected that the artist somehow established the connection
between the work of art and the geographical space. Even nowadays, art geographers cannot or would
not agree on a method for determining the relevant spaces. Therefore, there are many diffe
methods to be found in scholarship for constructing an art geographical space, which are based either
on political borders (without saying how or why the works of art fit into these borders), or on the
ethnicity of the artists, the place of production
of the works, the nationality of the commissioning
patrons, the place where an object was found, or on its place of destination (all of these examples are
from an issue on art geography of the journal
Ars: Časopis Ústavu dejín umenia Slovenskej akadémie
). Two things are striking about this diversity: first, art historians who write about the ethnicity or
nationality of people do not tell us how these traits are connected to the works of art and second,
these considerations only play a role in theory:
when these scholars make assignments between art
and geographical spaces in the same texts, this is done casually, without any explanation or the use of
the previously elaborated theoretical groundwork.
There is probably more than just a single "right" met
hod for the placement of works of art that
makes all other methods look "wrong." Depending on the question, the many different approaches can
be sometimes more, sometimes less fertile. However, when it comes to the construction of art
in which the works of art assigned to them should have as many common
attributes as possible, it is the concern of this article to emphasize the role of the artist in this
assignment process. The central thesis of my argumentation is that the artist can "
charge" the places
page 2 of 11
<http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb/vol12/iss3/6>
When talking or writing about art, the use of geographical concepts seems almost essential. For
art: Das Kunstmagazin
, geographical
s mentioned without being characterized
based John Bock," the "German artist living in New
are examples from issue
no less than twenty
-one
art itself is tagged directly to geographical attributes. The
authors range from cities ("Leipzig School," "New York abstract
national ("middle Italian
national regions ("European pop art," "design becomes global"). On
what basis
do these casually and naturally made attributions of geographical spaces
to works of art take place? One of my aims in this article is to show that the decisive link between art
ait of the artist. My other aim is the exploration of
methodological consequences which result from the consideration of the concept of collaborative
authorship. The former of these two concerns targets a problem which is surprisingly dealt rarely with
art geographical literature. It is surprising because the connection between the work of art and the
work relationships, one should
graphers who made statements about whether the place of origin of
an artist, or his/her place of residence at the time of the production of the work
— the place of
was decisive for the geographical assignment of the work. When reading Paul Pie
per's
, one has the impression that he is arguing for both. On the one hand, he
seems to favor the artist's place of origin as the crucial factor: "A master can teach his students
ain formal characteristics, but a spatial style
either one has it or not" (96). On the other hand, he stresses the
importance of the place of production, when he writes: "One may assume that artists adapt fairly
local temperament" (96). However, according to Pieper, "there will always be artists
who maintain their inborn nature in a foreign environment. Works of such masters will yet, with
her artists] though, the
], must be attributed to the spatial style in which they integrated themselves
and in which their artistic work found its fulfilment" (96). Thus, Pieper's view on the problem is
ar he suspected that the artist somehow established the connection
between the work of art and the geographical space. Even nowadays, art geographers cannot or would
not agree on a method for determining the relevant spaces. Therefore, there are many diffe
rent
methods to be found in scholarship for constructing an art geographical space, which are based either
on political borders (without saying how or why the works of art fit into these borders), or on the
of the works, the nationality of the commissioning
patrons, the place where an object was found, or on its place of destination (all of these examples are
Ars: Časopis Ústavu dejín umenia Slovenskej akadémie
). Two things are striking about this diversity: first, art historians who write about the ethnicity or
nationality of people do not tell us how these traits are connected to the works of art and second,
when these scholars make assignments between art
and geographical spaces in the same texts, this is done casually, without any explanation or the use of
hod for the placement of works of art that
makes all other methods look "wrong." Depending on the question, the many different approaches can
be sometimes more, sometimes less fertile. However, when it comes to the construction of art
in which the works of art assigned to them should have as many common
attributes as possible, it is the concern of this article to emphasize the role of the artist in this
charge" the places
Martin de la Iglesia, "Authorship, Collaboration, and Art Geography"
CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture
connected to the work (location, place of production) with meaning for the art geographical
assignment by "channelling" the spatial style into the object. Yet, these places may prove meaningless
if the artist is a newly arrived incomer,
shapes the work. Similarly, I do not deal with the perspective of an art geographical approach that
focuses on reception, for which the place where an object is located at the moment of percep
highest importance (see de la Iglesia 332). Thus, in my opinion, the spatial style
purpose of this article as a set of common attributes dependent on a common space
the connection between space and object. But
into the object he or she makes, get into the artist in the first place? First of all, it should be stressed
that the term "spatial style" does not imply any degree in which characteristics in form o
actually present in a work of art. This would be a second step. The first step is to find artists with a
common "geographical trait" who can possibly
characteristics on their works. I claim that these com
"geographical trait" of the artists. This is what is meant in this text by "spatial style." I believe that the
geographical space most likely to determine the spatial style of an artist is the same space with which
the artist generally has the most intensive relationship. In other words, from an art geographer's point
of view, the most interesting space is that with which the artist most strongly identifies him/herself.
Whether the artist's place of origin or the cur
question of identity.
Many different types or concepts of identity are mentioned in scholarly literature from various
relevant disciplines. Which identity is the one responsible for an artist's spatial s
national identity
may play a role, but this concept may not be comprehensive enough if we consider
the identification of artists with sub
identity"
is not precise enough either if
different city districts. Widely used in scholarly literature is ethnic identity,
problem either, because an artist can identify with a space even if he/she does n
the people primarily settling there. The concept of cultural identity
not imply any connection to geographical space (although it was recently used in an art geographical
article; see Łabno 186-88
). A more fitting social psychological category would be spatial identity, but
its scope is also too wide, because this category also includes "place identities" with spaces that can
be beyond the grasp of a geographical scale (Howard 382
defined spaces, which is too specific in this context (see Kaplan and Herb). A rarely used term, but the
most apt one here, is geographical identity, which can refer to all sorts of geographical spaces.
Therefore, I suggest t
he geographical identity of the artist as being the primary criterion for the
construction of the space-
work relationship. When speaking about identity, it is necessary to mention
the theory of multiple identities in one and the same individual, sometimes
(this problem is also dealt with by Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann, who is generally more reserved
towards the whole concept of identity in art geography than this text [111
theory it is unlikely, if not impossi
ble, to determine only a single geographical space of identity for an
artist. Instead, it has to be assumed that an artist identifies with several spaces. To account for this in
the art geographical operationalization of geographical identity, several poss
First, an artist could be assigned all geographical identities that can be concluded from various clues.
Many artists would then have not only one geographical identity, but two or three or even more.
Second, one could try to d
etermine the degree of an artist's identification with different spaces, from
which different shares of the artist's geographical identity could be derived. For instance, if we find
that an artist identifies equally with three spaces, then for each space a
geographical identity would result. The third and most easily applicable possibility would be to select
from all the spaces an artist identifies with the one which has the strongest impact on his or her
geographical identity. Thus
the multiple identity is again reduced to a single, and all spaces apart from
the most significant are ignored. This seems to be the most feasible way for dealing with the problem
of multiple identities, especially for models with several artists. Therefor
the example that follows later in this text.
The geographical identity is an artist's trait that is purely mental, not a physical trait that can
be perceived and measured from the outside. But how is it possible for external
Martin de la Iglesia, "Authorship, Collaboration, and Art Geography"
CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture
12.3 (2010):
<http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb/vol12/iss3/6>
connected to the work (location, place of production) with meaning for the art geographical
assignment by "channelling" the spatial style into the object. Yet, these places may prove meaningless
if the artist is a newly arrived incomer,
so that his/her place of origin becomes the decisive place that
shapes the work. Similarly, I do not deal with the perspective of an art geographical approach that
focuses on reception, for which the place where an object is located at the moment of percep
highest importance (see de la Iglesia 332). Thus, in my opinion, the spatial style
purpose of this article as a set of common attributes dependent on a common space
the connection between space and object. But
how does the spatial style, which flows from the artists
into the object he or she makes, get into the artist in the first place? First of all, it should be stressed
that the term "spatial style" does not imply any degree in which characteristics in form o
actually present in a work of art. This would be a second step. The first step is to find artists with a
common "geographical trait" who can possibly
— but not necessarily —
characteristics on their works. I claim that these com
mon characteristics depend on the common
"geographical trait" of the artists. This is what is meant in this text by "spatial style." I believe that the
geographical space most likely to determine the spatial style of an artist is the same space with which
the artist generally has the most intensive relationship. In other words, from an art geographer's point
of view, the most interesting space is that with which the artist most strongly identifies him/herself.
Whether the artist's place of origin or the cur
rent place of residence is decisive is, therefore, a
Many different types or concepts of identity are mentioned in scholarly literature from various
relevant disciplines. Which identity is the one responsible for an artist's spatial s
may play a role, but this concept may not be comprehensive enough if we consider
the identification of artists with sub
- or supra-
national regions. The less common term "regional
is not precise enough either if
we consider spaces on a sub-
regional, i.e., local, level, e.g.,
different city districts. Widely used in scholarly literature is ethnic identity,
but it is not useful for our
problem either, because an artist can identify with a space even if he/she does n
ot belong ethnically to
the people primarily settling there. The concept of cultural identity
is too wide, because this term does
not imply any connection to geographical space (although it was recently used in an art geographical
). A more fitting social psychological category would be spatial identity, but
its scope is also too wide, because this category also includes "place identities" with spaces that can
be beyond the grasp of a geographical scale (Howard 382
-83). Territorial
identity refers to politically
defined spaces, which is too specific in this context (see Kaplan and Herb). A rarely used term, but the
most apt one here, is geographical identity, which can refer to all sorts of geographical spaces.
he geographical identity of the artist as being the primary criterion for the
work relationship. When speaking about identity, it is necessary to mention
the theory of multiple identities in one and the same individual, sometimes
called "patchwork identity"
(this problem is also dealt with by Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann, who is generally more reserved
towards the whole concept of identity in art geography than this text [111
-
12]). According to this
ble, to determine only a single geographical space of identity for an
artist. Instead, it has to be assumed that an artist identifies with several spaces. To account for this in
the art geographical operationalization of geographical identity, several poss
ibilities can be thought of.
First, an artist could be assigned all geographical identities that can be concluded from various clues.
Many artists would then have not only one geographical identity, but two or three or even more.
etermine the degree of an artist's identification with different spaces, from
which different shares of the artist's geographical identity could be derived. For instance, if we find
that an artist identifies equally with three spaces, then for each space a
share of a third of the
geographical identity would result. The third and most easily applicable possibility would be to select
from all the spaces an artist identifies with the one which has the strongest impact on his or her
the multiple identity is again reduced to a single, and all spaces apart from
the most significant are ignored. This seems to be the most feasible way for dealing with the problem
of multiple identities, especially for models with several artists. Therefor
e, this option is selected for
the example that follows later in this text.
The geographical identity is an artist's trait that is purely mental, not a physical trait that can
be perceived and measured from the outside. But how is it possible for external
observers to make
page 3 of 11
<http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb/vol12/iss3/6>
connected to the work (location, place of production) with meaning for the art geographical
assignment by "channelling" the spatial style into the object. Yet, these places may prove meaningless
so that his/her place of origin becomes the decisive place that
shapes the work. Similarly, I do not deal with the perspective of an art geographical approach that
focuses on reception, for which the place where an object is located at the moment of percep
tion is of
highest importance (see de la Iglesia 332). Thus, in my opinion, the spatial style
— defined for the
purpose of this article as a set of common attributes dependent on a common space
— is crucial for
how does the spatial style, which flows from the artists
into the object he or she makes, get into the artist in the first place? First of all, it should be stressed
that the term "spatial style" does not imply any degree in which characteristics in form o
r content are
actually present in a work of art. This would be a second step. The first step is to find artists with a
bestow common
mon characteristics depend on the common
"geographical trait" of the artists. This is what is meant in this text by "spatial style." I believe that the
geographical space most likely to determine the spatial style of an artist is the same space with which
the artist generally has the most intensive relationship. In other words, from an art geographer's point
of view, the most interesting space is that with which the artist most strongly identifies him/herself.
rent place of residence is decisive is, therefore, a
Many different types or concepts of identity are mentioned in scholarly literature from various
relevant disciplines. Which identity is the one responsible for an artist's spatial s
tyle? Certainly,
may play a role, but this concept may not be comprehensive enough if we consider
national regions. The less common term "regional
regional, i.e., local, level, e.g.,
but it is not useful for our
ot belong ethnically to
is too wide, because this term does
not imply any connection to geographical space (although it was recently used in an art geographical
). A more fitting social psychological category would be spatial identity, but
its scope is also too wide, because this category also includes "place identities" with spaces that can
identity refers to politically
defined spaces, which is too specific in this context (see Kaplan and Herb). A rarely used term, but the
most apt one here, is geographical identity, which can refer to all sorts of geographical spaces.
he geographical identity of the artist as being the primary criterion for the
work relationship. When speaking about identity, it is necessary to mention
called "patchwork identity"
(this problem is also dealt with by Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann, who is generally more reserved
12]). According to this
ble, to determine only a single geographical space of identity for an
artist. Instead, it has to be assumed that an artist identifies with several spaces. To account for this in
ibilities can be thought of.
First, an artist could be assigned all geographical identities that can be concluded from various clues.
Many artists would then have not only one geographical identity, but two or three or even more.
etermine the degree of an artist's identification with different spaces, from
which different shares of the artist's geographical identity could be derived. For instance, if we find
share of a third of the
geographical identity would result. The third and most easily applicable possibility would be to select
from all the spaces an artist identifies with the one which has the strongest impact on his or her
the multiple identity is again reduced to a single, and all spaces apart from
the most significant are ignored. This seems to be the most feasible way for dealing with the problem
e, this option is selected for
The geographical identity is an artist's trait that is purely mental, not a physical trait that can
observers to make
Martin de la Iglesia, "Authorship, Collaboration, and Art Geography"
CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture
statements about an artist's geographical identity? We could look for external evidence through which
the geographical identity shows, for instance written statements by the artist about his/her attitude
towards specific geographical spa
ces. However, it is more effective to look for clues which are not the
result, but the cause of geographical identity. Following the aforementioned thesis of Paul Pieper,
according to which an artist adapts to his environment in the course of only a few ye
place of residence seems to be an adequate clue. In order to devise a simple, manageable
operationalization, one could define a chronological threshold stating how long an artist has to live in
one place before it can be said he or she has
deduct an artist's geographical identity, or a geographical identity for a certain period in the artist's
life, from his/her biography. This method thus enables us to place works of art geographicall
know enough about their respective creator. However, it should be kept in mind that many works are
not created by a single artist, but by several. This is especially the case in genres beyond the
traditional ones like sculpture, painting, etc. Fil
collaborative authorship than not
—
both are attributed large shares in the creative effort. Likewise in pop music: here it is primaril
roles of composer and lyricist that are often executed by different artists. In literature too more people
are often involved in the production of a text than the names printed on the book cover may make us
believe, as Jack Stillinger has expounded w
To take on the problem of making statements on the geography of works by several creators, I
now draw on an example of a single work produced in multiple authorship. It is a work from a genre
appropriate for
this purpose, in which division of labor with exactly defined roles is the norm, and for
which there is a sufficient amount of accessible information on the creators involved. It is the genre of
comics, superhero comics to be precise, like the ones produc
and DC. In this genre, in most cases the role allocation in the production of a comic book looks like
this: a writer devises the plot for an issue of approximately 20 pages length, writes the dialogue and
caption te
xt, and determines in written directions the basics of the visual design of the pages, such as
the approximate size and distribution of the panels. According to these specifications, the penciller,
who is often not in personal contact with the writer, prod
issue. These preparatory drawings are then redrawn by another artist, the inker. Next, color is added
to the drawings by the colorist, nowadays usually done using a computer. Further persons involved in
the creatio
n of a comic book are the letterer, who places the writer's texts into the drawings (also
usually done digitally), several editors (series editor, editor
persons involved in the printing and physical design. With t
intervene at all stages of the production process, the order in which these tasks are carried out
matches the creative effort and prestige attributed to them by the recipients (and also by the creators'
employers, which
shows in salary differences). Thus, usually only writers and pencillers may become
real celebrities in the comics scene, with the writer being awarded slightly more prestige than the
penciller. In conversations and texts, comics are mentioned far more oft
writer than with only their penciller (or both). A similar difference between esteem and assumed
creative merit exists between penciller and inker (even if in rare cases the fame of an inker may
overshadow that of his/her pencil
aforementioned involved persons are usually not even mentioned on the comic book cover, but only in
small print in the imprint. Therefore, in the following text I limit the scope to the four
assuming that they are carried out by different single individuals.
In the art geographical context of my article, the most interesting objects are the ones whose four
creators have plainly different geographic identities and this was the
the example object in this article, which is one of the most successful superhero comics of the last few
years: Civil War, published by Marvel Comics. It is a series of seven comic books, 22 to 33 pages each
in length, publi
shed monthly between July 2006 and January 2007. In 2007 this miniseries was
collected in a trade paperback, a copy of which I used for my analysis. It should be noted that these
seven comic books form the core of a crossover storyline of the same name, i.
was taken up, continued, and explored more deeply
authors in simultaneously published issues from other Marvel comic book series. The English Wikipedia
Martin de la Iglesia, "Authorship, Collaboration, and Art Geography"
CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture
12.3 (2010):
<http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb/vol12/iss3/6>
statements about an artist's geographical identity? We could look for external evidence through which
the geographical identity shows, for instance written statements by the artist about his/her attitude
ces. However, it is more effective to look for clues which are not the
result, but the cause of geographical identity. Following the aforementioned thesis of Paul Pieper,
according to which an artist adapts to his environment in the course of only a few ye
place of residence seems to be an adequate clue. In order to devise a simple, manageable
operationalization, one could define a chronological threshold stating how long an artist has to live in
one place before it can be said he or she has
acquired a new geographical identity. This allows us to
deduct an artist's geographical identity, or a geographical identity for a certain period in the artist's
life, from his/her biography. This method thus enables us to place works of art geographicall
know enough about their respective creator. However, it should be kept in mind that many works are
not created by a single artist, but by several. This is especially the case in genres beyond the
traditional ones like sculpture, painting, etc. Fil
m making, for example, is more often carried out in
—
usually, the director and the screenwriter are different people, but
both are attributed large shares in the creative effort. Likewise in pop music: here it is primaril
roles of composer and lyricist that are often executed by different artists. In literature too more people
are often involved in the production of a text than the names printed on the book cover may make us
believe, as Jack Stillinger has expounded w
ith his theory of the "myth of solitary genius
To take on the problem of making statements on the geography of works by several creators, I
now draw on an example of a single work produced in multiple authorship. It is a work from a genre
this purpose, in which division of labor with exactly defined roles is the norm, and for
which there is a sufficient amount of accessible information on the creators involved. It is the genre of
comics, superhero comics to be precise, like the ones produc
ed by the two big U.S. publishers Marvel
and DC. In this genre, in most cases the role allocation in the production of a comic book looks like
this: a writer devises the plot for an issue of approximately 20 pages length, writes the dialogue and
xt, and determines in written directions the basics of the visual design of the pages, such as
the approximate size and distribution of the panels. According to these specifications, the penciller,
who is often not in personal contact with the writer, prod
uces the drawings in pencil for the whole
issue. These preparatory drawings are then redrawn by another artist, the inker. Next, color is added
to the drawings by the colorist, nowadays usually done using a computer. Further persons involved in
n of a comic book are the letterer, who places the writer's texts into the drawings (also
usually done digitally), several editors (series editor, editor
-in-
chief), and last but not least various
persons involved in the printing and physical design. With t
he exception of the editors, who can
intervene at all stages of the production process, the order in which these tasks are carried out
matches the creative effort and prestige attributed to them by the recipients (and also by the creators'
shows in salary differences). Thus, usually only writers and pencillers may become
real celebrities in the comics scene, with the writer being awarded slightly more prestige than the
penciller. In conversations and texts, comics are mentioned far more oft
en together with only their
writer than with only their penciller (or both). A similar difference between esteem and assumed
creative merit exists between penciller and inker (even if in rare cases the fame of an inker may
overshadow that of his/her pencil
ler), and likewise between inker and colorist. Finally, the other
aforementioned involved persons are usually not even mentioned on the comic book cover, but only in
small print in the imprint. Therefore, in the following text I limit the scope to the four
assuming that they are carried out by different single individuals.
In the art geographical context of my article, the most interesting objects are the ones whose four
creators have plainly different geographic identities and this was the
main criterion for my choice of
the example object in this article, which is one of the most successful superhero comics of the last few
years: Civil War, published by Marvel Comics. It is a series of seven comic books, 22 to 33 pages each
shed monthly between July 2006 and January 2007. In 2007 this miniseries was
collected in a trade paperback, a copy of which I used for my analysis. It should be noted that these
seven comic books form the core of a crossover storyline of the same name, i.
e., the plot of this series
was taken up, continued, and explored more deeply
—
coordinated by a few editors
authors in simultaneously published issues from other Marvel comic book series. The English Wikipedia
page 4 of 11
<http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb/vol12/iss3/6>
statements about an artist's geographical identity? We could look for external evidence through which
the geographical identity shows, for instance written statements by the artist about his/her attitude
ces. However, it is more effective to look for clues which are not the
result, but the cause of geographical identity. Following the aforementioned thesis of Paul Pieper,
according to which an artist adapts to his environment in the course of only a few ye
ars, an artist's
place of residence seems to be an adequate clue. In order to devise a simple, manageable
operationalization, one could define a chronological threshold stating how long an artist has to live in
acquired a new geographical identity. This allows us to
deduct an artist's geographical identity, or a geographical identity for a certain period in the artist's
life, from his/her biography. This method thus enables us to place works of art geographicall
y, if we
know enough about their respective creator. However, it should be kept in mind that many works are
not created by a single artist, but by several. This is especially the case in genres beyond the
m making, for example, is more often carried out in
usually, the director and the screenwriter are different people, but
both are attributed large shares in the creative effort. Likewise in pop music: here it is primaril
y the
roles of composer and lyricist that are often executed by different artists. In literature too more people
are often involved in the production of a text than the names printed on the book cover may make us
ith his theory of the "myth of solitary genius
."
To take on the problem of making statements on the geography of works by several creators, I
now draw on an example of a single work produced in multiple authorship. It is a work from a genre
this purpose, in which division of labor with exactly defined roles is the norm, and for
which there is a sufficient amount of accessible information on the creators involved. It is the genre of
ed by the two big U.S. publishers Marvel
and DC. In this genre, in most cases the role allocation in the production of a comic book looks like
this: a writer devises the plot for an issue of approximately 20 pages length, writes the dialogue and
xt, and determines in written directions the basics of the visual design of the pages, such as
the approximate size and distribution of the panels. According to these specifications, the penciller,
uces the drawings in pencil for the whole
issue. These preparatory drawings are then redrawn by another artist, the inker. Next, color is added
to the drawings by the colorist, nowadays usually done using a computer. Further persons involved in
n of a comic book are the letterer, who places the writer's texts into the drawings (also
chief), and last but not least various
he exception of the editors, who can
intervene at all stages of the production process, the order in which these tasks are carried out
matches the creative effort and prestige attributed to them by the recipients (and also by the creators'
shows in salary differences). Thus, usually only writers and pencillers may become
real celebrities in the comics scene, with the writer being awarded slightly more prestige than the
en together with only their
writer than with only their penciller (or both). A similar difference between esteem and assumed
creative merit exists between penciller and inker (even if in rare cases the fame of an inker may
ler), and likewise between inker and colorist. Finally, the other
aforementioned involved persons are usually not even mentioned on the comic book cover, but only in
small print in the imprint. Therefore, in the following text I limit the scope to the four
"leading roles"
In the art geographical context of my article, the most interesting objects are the ones whose four
main criterion for my choice of
the example object in this article, which is one of the most successful superhero comics of the last few
years: Civil War, published by Marvel Comics. It is a series of seven comic books, 22 to 33 pages each
shed monthly between July 2006 and January 2007. In 2007 this miniseries was
collected in a trade paperback, a copy of which I used for my analysis. It should be noted that these
e., the plot of this series
coordinated by a few editors
— by other
authors in simultaneously published issues from other Marvel comic book series. The English Wikipedia
Martin de la Iglesia, "Authorship, Collaboration, and Art Geography"
CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture
thus lists over a hundred comic bo
series. However, in this article, only the seven issues of the Civil War core series are examined.
Already on the cover of the Civil War trade paperback (and also on each cover of the sev
book issues) we encounter the four names I am interested in, and which are again listed on the
interior cover with their respective role: Mark Millar is the writer of Civil War, Steve McNiven the
penciller, Dexter Vines the inker, and Morry Hollow
that four authors are listed on the cover
honor. Through these four individuals I locate the comic Civil War art geographically, as described
ab
ove. In order to do so, I start with assigning a geographical identity to each of the four mentioned
main authors
. In the process I follow the (necessarily simplifying) procedure explained above by
considering the available biographical data of the artists
on his homepage: "Millar was born in Coatbridge, Scotland, on December 24th, 1969" and further,
"He has no plans on leaving Scotland ever, though he does like
(millarworld.tv <
http://www.millarworld.tv/bio.html
called Scottish or British. McNiven's official website offers less information, but several other sites call
him a Canadian, and
in an internet forum he writes: "I live in Halifax Nova Scotia, have been here
most of my life. I love living in Canada!"
(<
http://www.606studios.com/bendisboard/
Canadian identity to McNiven. About Dexter Vines we learn on a website of an event he attended,
"Atlanta native and 13-
year comics vet Dexter has inked them all and at most c
Dex is part of that other Atlanta Studio, Studio Revolver" (
<
http://www.dragoncon.org/dc_guest_detail.php?id=1325
possibilit
y that, in the meantime, Dexter Vines has moved from Atlanta and works in a different place
for Studio Revolver, there is no indication that he is living in another country, so that we can safely
assign to him a US-
American identity. Finally, we gather fro
homepage: "Hometown: Eagle River, AK",
<
http://web.mac.com/mocolors/Mocolors/About.html
Hollowell left Alaska and how long he has been living in Florida, since
interested in the national level, his geographical identity can be determined without further
information as US-American too.
By now I have determ
ined the creators of Civil War as a Briton, a Canadian, and two US
Americans. Again, one must bear in mind that ultimately the individuals' real geographical identity
cannot be definitely grasped, because it is a psychological condition which can only (if
to the concerned persons themselves, and that is revealed only indirectly through physical phenomena
such as the choice of the place of residence. The simplifying assignment of authors and countries,
which I have just undertaken, yet allow
War.
Again, there are now several ways to deal with the geographical heterogeneity of the creators.
Firstly, from the three spaces eligible for the geographical placement of the comic (USA,
the United Kingdom) the one with the strongest impact could be picked. To follow the methodology
developed so far —
the assignment of spaces to works via the assignment of identities to authors
we could select from the four artists the one wh
space of his geographical identity to the comic. This could prove difficult, and in any case, the
complexity of the interplay of different geographical influences in this work would be ignored.
Second
ly, we could circumvent the problem by trying to unite the three nation
single other geographical space. In this case, even a continental region like North America wouldn't
suffice –
to include the United Kingdom too, an appropriate spa
area, to which all three countries (mostly) belong, or the "Western world." The use of the latter would
shift the level to Kulturkreise
("culture areas"), which have been discussed for a long time, and that
lately, in th
e shape of Samuel Huntington's concept of "civilizations" attracted renewed interest in
many cultural geographers (see Ehlers). This approach would lead to less precision in the art
geographical assignment, because if there are only a few large spaces to c
would have to be assigned to the same spaces. To maintain a certain degree of significance of the
spatial assignments, it seems to be advisable to remain
level of spaces not exceeding
nation
Martin de la Iglesia, "Authorship, Collaboration, and Art Geography"
CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture
12.3 (2010):
<http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb/vol12/iss3/6>
thus lists over a hundred comic bo
oks from different series whose plots are connected to the Civil War
series. However, in this article, only the seven issues of the Civil War core series are examined.
Already on the cover of the Civil War trade paperback (and also on each cover of the sev
book issues) we encounter the four names I am interested in, and which are again listed on the
interior cover with their respective role: Mark Millar is the writer of Civil War, Steve McNiven the
penciller, Dexter Vines the inker, and Morry Hollow
ell the colorist. It should not be taken for granted
that four authors are listed on the cover
—
often only the writer and the penciller are granted this
honor. Through these four individuals I locate the comic Civil War art geographically, as described
ove. In order to do so, I start with assigning a geographical identity to each of the four mentioned
. In the process I follow the (necessarily simplifying) procedure explained above by
considering the available biographical data of the artists
. From the internet we learn about Mark Millar
on his homepage: "Millar was born in Coatbridge, Scotland, on December 24th, 1969" and further,
"He has no plans on leaving Scotland ever, though he does like
to travel and top
http://www.millarworld.tv/bio.html
>
). Thereby, his geographical identity can be
called Scottish or British. McNiven's official website offers less information, but several other sites call
in an internet forum he writes: "I live in Halifax Nova Scotia, have been here
most of my life. I love living in Canada!"
http://www.606studios.com/bendisboard/
showthread.php?t=59625>
). Hence we can assign a
Canadian identity to McNiven. About Dexter Vines we learn on a website of an event he attended,
year comics vet Dexter has inked them all and at most c
ompanies in the biz.
Dex is part of that other Atlanta Studio, Studio Revolver" (
http://www.dragoncon.org/dc_guest_detail.php?id=1325
>
). Even if we cannot exclude the
y that, in the meantime, Dexter Vines has moved from Atlanta and works in a different place
for Studio Revolver, there is no indication that he is living in another country, so that we can safely
American identity. Finally, we gather fro
m Morry Hollowell's profile on his official
homepage: "Hometown: Eagle River, AK",
and "Location: Tampa, FL" (
http://web.mac.com/mocolors/Mocolors/About.html
>
). Although we do not know
Hollowell left Alaska and how long he has been living in Florida, since
in this context I am only
interested in the national level, his geographical identity can be determined without further
ined the creators of Civil War as a Briton, a Canadian, and two US
Americans. Again, one must bear in mind that ultimately the individuals' real geographical identity
cannot be definitely grasped, because it is a psychological condition which can only (if
to the concerned persons themselves, and that is revealed only indirectly through physical phenomena
such as the choice of the place of residence. The simplifying assignment of authors and countries,
which I have just undertaken, yet allow
s us to also assign art geographical spaces to the comic Civil
Again, there are now several ways to deal with the geographical heterogeneity of the creators.
Firstly, from the three spaces eligible for the geographical placement of the comic (USA,
the United Kingdom) the one with the strongest impact could be picked. To follow the methodology
the assignment of spaces to works via the assignment of identities to authors
we could select from the four artists the one wh
ose influence on Civil War is strongest, and assign the
space of his geographical identity to the comic. This could prove difficult, and in any case, the
complexity of the interplay of different geographical influences in this work would be ignored.
ly, we could circumvent the problem by trying to unite the three nation
-
state spaces into a
single other geographical space. In this case, even a continental region like North America wouldn't
to include the United Kingdom too, an appropriate spa
ce would be the Anglophone language
area, to which all three countries (mostly) belong, or the "Western world." The use of the latter would
("culture areas"), which have been discussed for a long time, and that
e shape of Samuel Huntington's concept of "civilizations" attracted renewed interest in
many cultural geographers (see Ehlers). This approach would lead to less precision in the art
geographical assignment, because if there are only a few large spaces to c
hoose from, many works
would have to be assigned to the same spaces. To maintain a certain degree of significance of the
spatial assignments, it seems to be advisable to remain
—
at least in the context of this article
nation
-state size.
page 5 of 11
<http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb/vol12/iss3/6>
oks from different series whose plots are connected to the Civil War
series. However, in this article, only the seven issues of the Civil War core series are examined.
Already on the cover of the Civil War trade paperback (and also on each cover of the sev
en comic
book issues) we encounter the four names I am interested in, and which are again listed on the
interior cover with their respective role: Mark Millar is the writer of Civil War, Steve McNiven the
ell the colorist. It should not be taken for granted
often only the writer and the penciller are granted this
honor. Through these four individuals I locate the comic Civil War art geographically, as described
ove. In order to do so, I start with assigning a geographical identity to each of the four mentioned
. In the process I follow the (necessarily simplifying) procedure explained above by
. From the internet we learn about Mark Millar
on his homepage: "Millar was born in Coatbridge, Scotland, on December 24th, 1969" and further,
to travel and top
-up his tan"
). Thereby, his geographical identity can be
called Scottish or British. McNiven's official website offers less information, but several other sites call
in an internet forum he writes: "I live in Halifax Nova Scotia, have been here
most of my life. I love living in Canada!"
). Hence we can assign a
Canadian identity to McNiven. About Dexter Vines we learn on a website of an event he attended,
ompanies in the biz.
Dex is part of that other Atlanta Studio, Studio Revolver" (
dragon*con
). Even if we cannot exclude the
y that, in the meantime, Dexter Vines has moved from Atlanta and works in a different place
for Studio Revolver, there is no indication that he is living in another country, so that we can safely
m Morry Hollowell's profile on his official
and "Location: Tampa, FL" (
mocolors
). Although we do not know
when Morry
in this context I am only
interested in the national level, his geographical identity can be determined without further
ined the creators of Civil War as a Briton, a Canadian, and two US
-
Americans. Again, one must bear in mind that ultimately the individuals' real geographical identity
cannot be definitely grasped, because it is a psychological condition which can only (if
at all) be known
to the concerned persons themselves, and that is revealed only indirectly through physical phenomena
such as the choice of the place of residence. The simplifying assignment of authors and countries,
s us to also assign art geographical spaces to the comic Civil
Again, there are now several ways to deal with the geographical heterogeneity of the creators.
Firstly, from the three spaces eligible for the geographical placement of the comic (USA,
Canada, and
the United Kingdom) the one with the strongest impact could be picked. To follow the methodology
the assignment of spaces to works via the assignment of identities to authors
—
ose influence on Civil War is strongest, and assign the
space of his geographical identity to the comic. This could prove difficult, and in any case, the
complexity of the interplay of different geographical influences in this work would be ignored.
state spaces into a
single other geographical space. In this case, even a continental region like North America wouldn't
ce would be the Anglophone language
area, to which all three countries (mostly) belong, or the "Western world." The use of the latter would
("culture areas"), which have been discussed for a long time, and that
e shape of Samuel Huntington's concept of "civilizations" attracted renewed interest in
many cultural geographers (see Ehlers). This approach would lead to less precision in the art
hoose from, many works
would have to be assigned to the same spaces. To maintain a certain degree of significance of the
at least in the context of this article
— on a
Martin de la Iglesia, "Authorship, Collaboration, and Art Geography"
CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture
A third approach appears to be the most advantageous: since only the four most important
authors are considered here, and since only one single space of geographical identity is assigned to
each of them, the geographical space of the com
simplicity's sake, that all four creators have the same share in the production of Civil War, and that all
four geographical identities have the same impact on the comic, we may conclude that the work mu
be regarded as being a quarter British, a quarter Canadian, and half US
American-British-
Canadian space into which Civil War is thus categorized is nothing but an artificial
construct. Now it must be tested if this assignment is
inherent characteristics of the comic, and if it is even possible to recognize conversely in some way
these geographical spaces in the content and the form of the comic. I start with the question of the
"
Americanness" of the contribution of the two US
Hollowell's colouring is not untypical of U.S. superhero comics: for instance, considering the second
panel of the first page after the title page (see Figur
minutely modulated.
Figure 1: Civil War, book 1, page 1, panel 2.
Thus, Hollowell creates highlights on the characters' clothing and skin, and on objects like the TV
camera. Also sophisticated
is the colour treatment of the plants, which is a blend of different green
and brown tones, and the wooden house wall, which changes between grey and brown. Hollowell does
not content himself with filling in the areas defined by the penciller and inker. In
their line structures with his own means, for example the bark pattern of the trees, the blades of grass
on the lawn, or the drapery of the clothing. Thus, the coloring is very elaborate, which is certainly not
the case in all comics publ
ished by Marvel, but, as I have indicated, in many. In comparison with
international comics, however, we find that, although in some countries like Japan the coloring of
comics is generally unusual, the coloring of many European comics from the last years
elaborate modulation and structures. Therefore, Hollowell's contribution to Civil War cannot be
unambiguously characterised as "American." The situation is similar with the work of Vines, whose
task as inker it is to translate the pencil line
between the two very different media, pencil and ink, exactly one
interpretative work is expected from the inker. Vines chooses clear, broad outlines and discreet
interior
structures in much finer lines, as can be well observed in the aforementioned second panel,
e.g., in the cameraman's arm with its thick left boundary line and its thinly drawn hairs. Shadings are
carried out by Vines rather cautious and with simple parall
clothing of the character Night Thrasher, second from left). This clear, calm style sets Vines somewhat
apart from many of his inker colleagues who prefer more expressive, dynamic lines and darker shaded
areas. When
we compare Civil War to comics from other countries regarding the inking, we find a
clear contrast to Japanese manga, which usually feature finer outlines and more shades of grey.
European comics, however, often show similarly clear, reduced inking designs
might even say, Vines's style is closer to that of European comics than to US
the US-
American identity that I attributed previously to Vines does not show clearly in his contribution
to the comic either.
McNiven'
s work is even more complex, because as a penciller he enjoys a relatively large degree
of creative freedom —
depending on how detailed or vague Mark Millar's script turns out. So we
Martin de la Iglesia, "Authorship, Collaboration, and Art Geography"
CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture
12.3 (2010):
<http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb/vol12/iss3/6>
A third approach appears to be the most advantageous: since only the four most important
authors are considered here, and since only one single space of geographical identity is assigned to
each of them, the geographical space of the com
ic can be determined fractionally. If we assume, for
simplicity's sake, that all four creators have the same share in the production of Civil War, and that all
four geographical identities have the same impact on the comic, we may conclude that the work mu
be regarded as being a quarter British, a quarter Canadian, and half US
-
American. At first, this
Canadian space into which Civil War is thus categorized is nothing but an artificial
construct. Now it must be tested if this assignment is
justified, i.e., if it has anything to do with the
inherent characteristics of the comic, and if it is even possible to recognize conversely in some way
these geographical spaces in the content and the form of the comic. I start with the question of the
Americanness" of the contribution of the two US
-
Americans, Morry Hollowell and Dexter Vines.
Hollowell's colouring is not untypical of U.S. superhero comics: for instance, considering the second
panel of the first page after the title page (see Figur
e 1), almost every colour area can be seen to be
Figure 1: Civil War, book 1, page 1, panel 2.
Thus, Hollowell creates highlights on the characters' clothing and skin, and on objects like the TV
is the colour treatment of the plants, which is a blend of different green
and brown tones, and the wooden house wall, which changes between grey and brown. Hollowell does
not content himself with filling in the areas defined by the penciller and inker. In
stead, he extends
their line structures with his own means, for example the bark pattern of the trees, the blades of grass
on the lawn, or the drapery of the clothing. Thus, the coloring is very elaborate, which is certainly not
ished by Marvel, but, as I have indicated, in many. In comparison with
international comics, however, we find that, although in some countries like Japan the coloring of
comics is generally unusual, the coloring of many European comics from the last years
elaborate modulation and structures. Therefore, Hollowell's contribution to Civil War cannot be
unambiguously characterised as "American." The situation is similar with the work of Vines, whose
task as inker it is to translate the pencil line
s by McNiven into ink. Since it is not possible to translate
between the two very different media, pencil and ink, exactly one
-to-
one, a great deal of
interpretative work is expected from the inker. Vines chooses clear, broad outlines and discreet
structures in much finer lines, as can be well observed in the aforementioned second panel,
e.g., in the cameraman's arm with its thick left boundary line and its thinly drawn hairs. Shadings are
carried out by Vines rather cautious and with simple parall
el hatching of a few lines (like on the
clothing of the character Night Thrasher, second from left). This clear, calm style sets Vines somewhat
apart from many of his inker colleagues who prefer more expressive, dynamic lines and darker shaded
we compare Civil War to comics from other countries regarding the inking, we find a
clear contrast to Japanese manga, which usually feature finer outlines and more shades of grey.
European comics, however, often show similarly clear, reduced inking designs
like Civil War. One
might even say, Vines's style is closer to that of European comics than to US
-
American. In any case,
American identity that I attributed previously to Vines does not show clearly in his contribution
s work is even more complex, because as a penciller he enjoys a relatively large degree
depending on how detailed or vague Mark Millar's script turns out. So we
page 6 of 11
<http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb/vol12/iss3/6>
A third approach appears to be the most advantageous: since only the four most important
authors are considered here, and since only one single space of geographical identity is assigned to
ic can be determined fractionally. If we assume, for
simplicity's sake, that all four creators have the same share in the production of Civil War, and that all
four geographical identities have the same impact on the comic, we may conclude that the work mu
st
American. At first, this
Canadian space into which Civil War is thus categorized is nothing but an artificial
justified, i.e., if it has anything to do with the
inherent characteristics of the comic, and if it is even possible to recognize conversely in some way
these geographical spaces in the content and the form of the comic. I start with the question of the
Americans, Morry Hollowell and Dexter Vines.
Morry
Hollowell's colouring is not untypical of U.S. superhero comics: for instance, considering the second
e 1), almost every colour area can be seen to be
Thus, Hollowell creates highlights on the characters' clothing and skin, and on objects like the TV
is the colour treatment of the plants, which is a blend of different green
and brown tones, and the wooden house wall, which changes between grey and brown. Hollowell does
stead, he extends
their line structures with his own means, for example the bark pattern of the trees, the blades of grass
on the lawn, or the drapery of the clothing. Thus, the coloring is very elaborate, which is certainly not
ished by Marvel, but, as I have indicated, in many. In comparison with
international comics, however, we find that, although in some countries like Japan the coloring of
comics is generally unusual, the coloring of many European comics from the last years
show likewise
elaborate modulation and structures. Therefore, Hollowell's contribution to Civil War cannot be
unambiguously characterised as "American." The situation is similar with the work of Vines, whose
s by McNiven into ink. Since it is not possible to translate
one, a great deal of
interpretative work is expected from the inker. Vines chooses clear, broad outlines and discreet
structures in much finer lines, as can be well observed in the aforementioned second panel,
e.g., in the cameraman's arm with its thick left boundary line and its thinly drawn hairs. Shadings are
el hatching of a few lines (like on the
clothing of the character Night Thrasher, second from left). This clear, calm style sets Vines somewhat
apart from many of his inker colleagues who prefer more expressive, dynamic lines and darker shaded
we compare Civil War to comics from other countries regarding the inking, we find a
clear contrast to Japanese manga, which usually feature finer outlines and more shades of grey.
like Civil War. One
American. In any case,
American identity that I attributed previously to Vines does not show clearly in his contribution
s work is even more complex, because as a penciller he enjoys a relatively large degree
depending on how detailed or vague Mark Millar's script turns out. So we
Martin de la Iglesia, "Authorship, Collaboration, and Art Geography"
CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture
cannot be sure with all elements of Civil War whether they were invented
Therefore, I turn to how the pictorial elements are executed, since only McNiven is responsible for
this. Drawing styles can be best recognized from human figures and so I focus on them. The five
figures on the previously mentioned
approach. The anatomies of the characters could also occur in the real world. They certainly represent
extremes: Microbe (second from right) is extremely obese, whereas Speedball (centre) and
(on the left border) are extremely slim. These figures are also representatives of the three body types
that dominate McNivens drawings: young attractive women, young attractive men, and unsightly but
strong male figures (who mostly appear as anta
predominantly male readership of superhero comics with erotic signals by depicting female figures
mostly as extraordinarily attractive and often in tight and/or sparse clothing in (content
unmotivated) sedu
ctive poses, or suggestive panel framing (for instance She
on the fourth page of the second book, see Figure 2). This tendency towards latent eroticism is typical
of US-
American superhero comics. McNiven's drawing style, therefore,
though he himself is Canadian. Traces of a Canadian spatial style (however it would look like) are not
found in this comic. McNiven's background settings appear US
panels in which the action is s
aforementioned wooden house (see Figure 2), a yellow school bus, the skyscrapers of New York,
firemen and policemen in correctly observed uniforms, and several more. In contrast, the few settin
outside of the U.S. show hardly any local colour: in the fictitious African country Wakanda (book 3,
pages 2 and 3), possibly only the high grass reminds us of an African landscape, and the likewise
fictitious underwater realm Atlantis (book 6, pages 6
13), and the fictitious parallel world Negative
Figure 2: Civil War, book 2, page 4.
Zone (book 5, page 20) hardly show
also a single panel in which the action temporarily shifts to McNiven's native Canada (see Figure 3).
Martin de la Iglesia, "Authorship, Collaboration, and Art Geography"
CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture
12.3 (2010):
<http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb/vol12/iss3/6>
cannot be sure with all elements of Civil War whether they were invented
by Millar or by McNiven.
Therefore, I turn to how the pictorial elements are executed, since only McNiven is responsible for
this. Drawing styles can be best recognized from human figures and so I focus on them. The five
figures on the previously mentioned
second panel already show McNiven's comparatively naturalistic
approach. The anatomies of the characters could also occur in the real world. They certainly represent
extremes: Microbe (second from right) is extremely obese, whereas Speedball (centre) and
(on the left border) are extremely slim. These figures are also representatives of the three body types
that dominate McNivens drawings: young attractive women, young attractive men, and unsightly but
strong male figures (who mostly appear as anta
gonists). McNiven caters permanently for the
predominantly male readership of superhero comics with erotic signals by depicting female figures
mostly as extraordinarily attractive and often in tight and/or sparse clothing in (content
ctive poses, or suggestive panel framing (for instance She
-
Hulk in the four panels
on the fourth page of the second book, see Figure 2). This tendency towards latent eroticism is typical
American superhero comics. McNiven's drawing style, therefore,
seems US
though he himself is Canadian. Traces of a Canadian spatial style (however it would look like) are not
found in this comic. McNiven's background settings appear US
-
American too: the backgrounds of the
panels in which the action is s
et in the U.S. often contain country-
specific details like the
aforementioned wooden house (see Figure 2), a yellow school bus, the skyscrapers of New York,
firemen and policemen in correctly observed uniforms, and several more. In contrast, the few settin
outside of the U.S. show hardly any local colour: in the fictitious African country Wakanda (book 3,
pages 2 and 3), possibly only the high grass reminds us of an African landscape, and the likewise
fictitious underwater realm Atlantis (book 6, pages 6
and 7), the North pole (book 6, pages 12 and
13), and the fictitious parallel world Negative
Figure 2: Civil War, book 2, page 4.
Zone (book 5, page 20) hardly show
any connection to real-
world geography either. Finally, there is
also a single panel in which the action temporarily shifts to McNiven's native Canada (see Figure 3).
page 7 of 11
<http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb/vol12/iss3/6>
by Millar or by McNiven.
Therefore, I turn to how the pictorial elements are executed, since only McNiven is responsible for
this. Drawing styles can be best recognized from human figures and so I focus on them. The five
second panel already show McNiven's comparatively naturalistic
approach. The anatomies of the characters could also occur in the real world. They certainly represent
extremes: Microbe (second from right) is extremely obese, whereas Speedball (centre) and
Namorita
(on the left border) are extremely slim. These figures are also representatives of the three body types
that dominate McNivens drawings: young attractive women, young attractive men, and unsightly but
gonists). McNiven caters permanently for the
predominantly male readership of superhero comics with erotic signals by depicting female figures
mostly as extraordinarily attractive and often in tight and/or sparse clothing in (content
-wise
Hulk in the four panels
on the fourth page of the second book, see Figure 2). This tendency towards latent eroticism is typical
seems US
-American, even
though he himself is Canadian. Traces of a Canadian spatial style (however it would look like) are not
American too: the backgrounds of the
specific details like the
aforementioned wooden house (see Figure 2), a yellow school bus, the skyscrapers of New York,
firemen and policemen in correctly observed uniforms, and several more. In contrast, the few settin
gs
outside of the U.S. show hardly any local colour: in the fictitious African country Wakanda (book 3,
pages 2 and 3), possibly only the high grass reminds us of an African landscape, and the likewise
and 7), the North pole (book 6, pages 12 and
world geography either. Finally, there is
also a single panel in which the action temporarily shifts to McNiven's native Canada (see Figure 3).
Martin de la Iglesia, "Authorship, Collaboration, and Art Geography"
CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture
Figure 3: Civil War, book 7, page 24, panel 2.
But instead of using his knowle
dge to characterize the setting as Canadian, McNiven depicts it as
neutrally as possible. From above we see four figures standing on a floor apparently made of stone, on
which red letters read "OMEGA FLIGHT," the name of a Canadian group of superheroes fea
many previous Marvel publications. Altogether, McNiven's style seems more US
Canadian.
Finally I turn to Mark Millar's contribution to the comic, the writing. Although more than one
person is involved in the design of a storyline of
as Civil War (in this case, a significant contributor to the plot idea was Brian Michael Bendis; see
Singh), the exact definition of the plot, the rough layout of pages and panels, and all texts, were
in the hands of only, or at least primarily, Mark Millar. As I have mentioned before, Millar sets the
action mostly in the United States. His British home country is neither a setting, nor is it mentioned in
the text, and neither are there British cha
even more by placing numerous national symbols into the comic (which, however, might theoretically
also have been devised by McNiven, but in the following I assume they were invented by Millar). A
from the US-
American flag on a school building (book 1, page 6) and on a stage at a press conference
without apparent involvement of the U.S. government (book 2, page 22), there are two particularly
striking uses of the stars-and-
stripes. On the one h
of a flagpole, lies in a debris landscape in the splash panel on the double page 8/9 in the first book
(see Figure 4).
Figure 4: Civil War, book 1, page 9.
Martin de la Iglesia, "Authorship, Collaboration, and Art Geography"
CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture
12.3 (2010):
<http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb/vol12/iss3/6>
Figure 3: Civil War, book 7, page 24, panel 2.
dge to characterize the setting as Canadian, McNiven depicts it as
neutrally as possible. From above we see four figures standing on a floor apparently made of stone, on
which red letters read "OMEGA FLIGHT," the name of a Canadian group of superheroes fea
many previous Marvel publications. Altogether, McNiven's style seems more US
Finally I turn to Mark Millar's contribution to the comic, the writing. Although more than one
person is involved in the design of a storyline of
a comic that is of such an importance to the publisher
as Civil War (in this case, a significant contributor to the plot idea was Brian Michael Bendis; see
Singh), the exact definition of the plot, the rough layout of pages and panels, and all texts, were
in the hands of only, or at least primarily, Mark Millar. As I have mentioned before, Millar sets the
action mostly in the United States. His British home country is neither a setting, nor is it mentioned in
the text, and neither are there British cha
racters. Instead, Millar emphasises the US
even more by placing numerous national symbols into the comic (which, however, might theoretically
also have been devised by McNiven, but in the following I assume they were invented by Millar). A
American flag on a school building (book 1, page 6) and on a stage at a press conference
without apparent involvement of the U.S. government (book 2, page 22), there are two particularly
stripes. On the one h
and, a mostly burned flag, fixed onto the remains
of a flagpole, lies in a debris landscape in the splash panel on the double page 8/9 in the first book
Figure 4: Civil War, book 1, page 9.
page 8 of 11
<http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb/vol12/iss3/6>
dge to characterize the setting as Canadian, McNiven depicts it as
neutrally as possible. From above we see four figures standing on a floor apparently made of stone, on
which red letters read "OMEGA FLIGHT," the name of a Canadian group of superheroes fea
tured in
many previous Marvel publications. Altogether, McNiven's style seems more US
-American than
Finally I turn to Mark Millar's contribution to the comic, the writing. Although more than one
a comic that is of such an importance to the publisher
as Civil War (in this case, a significant contributor to the plot idea was Brian Michael Bendis; see
Singh), the exact definition of the plot, the rough layout of pages and panels, and all texts, were
laid
in the hands of only, or at least primarily, Mark Millar. As I have mentioned before, Millar sets the
action mostly in the United States. His British home country is neither a setting, nor is it mentioned in
racters. Instead, Millar emphasises the US
-American setting
even more by placing numerous national symbols into the comic (which, however, might theoretically
also have been devised by McNiven, but in the following I assume they were invented by Millar). A
part
American flag on a school building (book 1, page 6) and on a stage at a press conference
without apparent involvement of the U.S. government (book 2, page 22), there are two particularly
and, a mostly burned flag, fixed onto the remains
of a flagpole, lies in a debris landscape in the splash panel on the double page 8/9 in the first book
Martin de la Iglesia, "Authorship, Collaboration, and Art Geography"
CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture
The debris is from the ruins of the residential area destroyed on the previous page, in which also the
school was located, so that it could be the same flag (although it appears to be larger on page 6). In
any case, this flag seems to have fallen from one
seemingly by accident, at the feet of Captain America, one of the main characters in the comic. The
flag already hints at the national scale of the (at first only local) disaster, as will be explained later. On
the other hand, the star-
spangled banner suddenly appears in the background of a panel in which the
superhero Iron Man, the other main character in Civil War, stands on the top of a high
communicating via radio with another superhero (book 6
smaller panel on the next page).
Fig. 5: Civil War, book 6, page 3, panel 4.
Here the appearance of the flag could be also explained as pure chance, since there are flags attached
to many buildings
in the USA. But it could be also interpreted as a hint that Iron Man has close links to
the government, in contrast to other superheroes in this story. It should be noted that the flag behind
Iron Man has also been noticed by an anonymous weblog author, w
Millar wanted to redefine the previously neutral, hedonistic character of Iron Man as a patriot ("Comic
Reviews January 2007"). Further national symbols used by Millar are: the White House (book 1, page
28), US president Ge
orge W. Bush and several members of his government (whose names are not
mentioned, but whose appearance unambiguously resembles the respective real politicians; also in
book 1, page 28), and an interior view of the Oval Office (book 7, page 25). Thus, the
government is often present in Civil War, and although it is depicted neither as positive nor as
negative (which is in line with the intention of Mark Millar to keep Civil War a politically and
ideologically neutral comic, see Singh), its presence add
Also interesting from the geographical angle of this article is the plot of the comic: an avoidable
fight between superheroes and supervillains causes an explosion that destroys a whole residential area
in a town in New England. This causes a public outcry
Registration Act," a law regulating the crime fighting activities of superheroes. According to this law,
the (mostly masked) superheroes have to reveal their secret identities, and require permission from
the go
vernment to continue using their superpowers. Some superheroes do not yield to this law and
are prosecuted by the government, which is supported in this task by other superheroes loyal to the
government. Although the plot revolves around fictitious charact
resemblance to the real world events cannot be denied. Five years before the publication of Civil War,
there already was a sudden catastrophe of unimagined scale in US history, leading to an overreaction
of the public and gove
rnment, causing innocents to be deprived of their freedom and feeling bullied
and kept under surveillance: the attacks of 11 September 2001 led to the "Patriot Act" and other anti
terror measures which restricted the rights of U.S. citizens, and many Musli
were exposed to the open hostility of the rest of the population. This resemblance has been noted
before in many reviews of the comic. As examples I would like to point out two reviews with a
decidedly political angle: the ones by T
after the considered Civil War issues. Neither did the allusions to 9/11 escape the notice of foreign
media (Borcholte). Apart from the mere allusions in Civil War, the resemblance of the fictitious
Martin de la Iglesia, "Authorship, Collaboration, and Art Geography"
CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture
12.3 (2010):
<http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb/vol12/iss3/6>
The debris is from the ruins of the residential area destroyed on the previous page, in which also the
school was located, so that it could be the same flag (although it appears to be larger on page 6). In
any case, this flag seems to have fallen from one
of the destroyed buildings, and now it lies,
seemingly by accident, at the feet of Captain America, one of the main characters in the comic. The
flag already hints at the national scale of the (at first only local) disaster, as will be explained later. On
spangled banner suddenly appears in the background of a panel in which the
superhero Iron Man, the other main character in Civil War, stands on the top of a high
communicating via radio with another superhero (book 6
, page 3; see Figure 5, and once again in a
Fig. 5: Civil War, book 6, page 3, panel 4.
Here the appearance of the flag could be also explained as pure chance, since there are flags attached
in the USA. But it could be also interpreted as a hint that Iron Man has close links to
the government, in contrast to other superheroes in this story. It should be noted that the flag behind
Iron Man has also been noticed by an anonymous weblog author, w
ho sees it as evidence that Mark
Millar wanted to redefine the previously neutral, hedonistic character of Iron Man as a patriot ("Comic
Reviews January 2007"). Further national symbols used by Millar are: the White House (book 1, page
orge W. Bush and several members of his government (whose names are not
mentioned, but whose appearance unambiguously resembles the respective real politicians; also in
book 1, page 28), and an interior view of the Oval Office (book 7, page 25). Thus, the
government is often present in Civil War, and although it is depicted neither as positive nor as
negative (which is in line with the intention of Mark Millar to keep Civil War a politically and
ideologically neutral comic, see Singh), its presence add
s to the US-
American feel of the writing.
Also interesting from the geographical angle of this article is the plot of the comic: an avoidable
fight between superheroes and supervillains causes an explosion that destroys a whole residential area
in a town in New England. This causes a public outcry
, leading to Congress passing the "Superhero
Registration Act," a law regulating the crime fighting activities of superheroes. According to this law,
the (mostly masked) superheroes have to reveal their secret identities, and require permission from
vernment to continue using their superpowers. Some superheroes do not yield to this law and
are prosecuted by the government, which is supported in this task by other superheroes loyal to the
government. Although the plot revolves around fictitious charact
ers with superhuman powers, a
resemblance to the real world events cannot be denied. Five years before the publication of Civil War,
there already was a sudden catastrophe of unimagined scale in US history, leading to an overreaction
rnment, causing innocents to be deprived of their freedom and feeling bullied
and kept under surveillance: the attacks of 11 September 2001 led to the "Patriot Act" and other anti
terror measures which restricted the rights of U.S. citizens, and many Musli
ms and Arabs in the USA
were exposed to the open hostility of the rest of the population. This resemblance has been noted
before in many reviews of the comic. As examples I would like to point out two reviews with a
decidedly political angle: the ones by T
ama Leaver and Jeremy Adam Smith, both published shortly
after the considered Civil War issues. Neither did the allusions to 9/11 escape the notice of foreign
media (Borcholte). Apart from the mere allusions in Civil War, the resemblance of the fictitious
page 9 of 11
<http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb/vol12/iss3/6>
The debris is from the ruins of the residential area destroyed on the previous page, in which also the
school was located, so that it could be the same flag (although it appears to be larger on page 6). In
of the destroyed buildings, and now it lies,
seemingly by accident, at the feet of Captain America, one of the main characters in the comic. The
flag already hints at the national scale of the (at first only local) disaster, as will be explained later. On
spangled banner suddenly appears in the background of a panel in which the
superhero Iron Man, the other main character in Civil War, stands on the top of a high
-rise building,
, page 3; see Figure 5, and once again in a
Here the appearance of the flag could be also explained as pure chance, since there are flags attached
in the USA. But it could be also interpreted as a hint that Iron Man has close links to
the government, in contrast to other superheroes in this story. It should be noted that the flag behind
ho sees it as evidence that Mark
Millar wanted to redefine the previously neutral, hedonistic character of Iron Man as a patriot ("Comic
Reviews January 2007"). Further national symbols used by Millar are: the White House (book 1, page
orge W. Bush and several members of his government (whose names are not
mentioned, but whose appearance unambiguously resembles the respective real politicians; also in
book 1, page 28), and an interior view of the Oval Office (book 7, page 25). Thus, the
U.S.
government is often present in Civil War, and although it is depicted neither as positive nor as
negative (which is in line with the intention of Mark Millar to keep Civil War a politically and
American feel of the writing.
Also interesting from the geographical angle of this article is the plot of the comic: an avoidable
fight between superheroes and supervillains causes an explosion that destroys a whole residential area
, leading to Congress passing the "Superhero
Registration Act," a law regulating the crime fighting activities of superheroes. According to this law,
the (mostly masked) superheroes have to reveal their secret identities, and require permission from
vernment to continue using their superpowers. Some superheroes do not yield to this law and
are prosecuted by the government, which is supported in this task by other superheroes loyal to the
ers with superhuman powers, a
resemblance to the real world events cannot be denied. Five years before the publication of Civil War,
there already was a sudden catastrophe of unimagined scale in US history, leading to an overreaction
rnment, causing innocents to be deprived of their freedom and feeling bullied
and kept under surveillance: the attacks of 11 September 2001 led to the "Patriot Act" and other anti
-
ms and Arabs in the USA
were exposed to the open hostility of the rest of the population. This resemblance has been noted
before in many reviews of the comic. As examples I would like to point out two reviews with a
ama Leaver and Jeremy Adam Smith, both published shortly
after the considered Civil War issues. Neither did the allusions to 9/11 escape the notice of foreign
media (Borcholte). Apart from the mere allusions in Civil War, the resemblance of the fictitious
events
Martin de la Iglesia, "Authorship, Collaboration, and Art Geography"
CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture
to 9/11 is expressed directly in a spin
simultaneously and created by different authors, in which a caption text reads: "This was put into
motion the day some angry extremists decided to
Manhattan. We jumped into fighting mode then, and we were ready to do it again now" (Civil War:
Front Line book 1, page 5). Millar also exploits iconographically the well
attacks:
in the first Civil War issue, on the pages following the destruction of the town of Stamford, we
see not only superheroes, but also numerous firemen, who amidst the debris and ruins are occupied
with the recovery and care of the victims. Firefighters, toge
declared heroes of 9/11 by the media, and these three occupations are prominently represented
together in a panel in the seventh Civil War book on page 18 (see Figure 6).
Figure 6: Civil War, book 7, page
18, panel 2.
Seven rescue workers keep Captain America from knocking out Iron Man in a fight. Among them
are an African-
American Man, an Asian looking man, and an African
panel, not only September 11 is invoked, but also the
nation. Altogether, the whole plot of the comic is strongly focussed on the U.S. Of course, writers from
countries other than the United States also write stories set there, but there is no sign in Civil War
that Millar approaches his US-
American topic from a non
conclude about Millar's writing that it, too, seems US
Thus,
I have assessed the respective contributions of colourist Morry Holl
Vines as not unambiguously US-
American, but those of penciller Steve McNiven and writer Mark Millar
as US-
American, although the former are US
geographically classifying Civil War fai
understanding of the geographical character of the world of comics in general. Apart from the U.S.,
two other regions with a long and mostly independent history of comics I mention here: Europe
b
y Europe I mean primarily France, the most important European comics producing country
Japan. Often, comics from either of the three countries (the U.S., France, and Japan), are so distinct
that they can be told apart from those from the other two co
comics that are influenced by French, and US
These three countries shape the whole genre of comics. Other comic
influenced by one of
these three, or even stylistically dependent. Connected to the French comics
culture in the first instance are Belgian (e.g., Hergé, Edgar Pierre Jacobs) and Swiss (e.g., Derib,
Cosey) artists. With Japanese manga, the resemblance of Korean manhwa and Chin
obvious. And finally there are two countries in which comics production is closely linked to the U.S.,
namely Canada and the United Kingdom (see also Sabin 14
home countries of McNiven and Millar
British-
Canadian coproduction Civil War gives a mostly US
circumstances, does it make sense at all to call this comic not only US
C
anadian? The answer is definitely yes, because the influence of U.S. comics has in fact become a
fundamental component of the British as well as the Canadian culture of comics. British and Canadian
Martin de la Iglesia, "Authorship, Collaboration, and Art Geography"
CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture
12.3 (2010):
<http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb/vol12/iss3/6>
to 9/11 is expressed directly in a spin
-
off comic book series called Civil War: Front Line, published
simultaneously and created by different authors, in which a caption text reads: "This was put into
motion the day some angry extremists decided to
fly a couple of planes into some tall buildings in
Manhattan. We jumped into fighting mode then, and we were ready to do it again now" (Civil War:
Front Line book 1, page 5). Millar also exploits iconographically the well
-
known images of the 9/11
in the first Civil War issue, on the pages following the destruction of the town of Stamford, we
see not only superheroes, but also numerous firemen, who amidst the debris and ruins are occupied
with the recovery and care of the victims. Firefighters, toge
ther with policemen and medics, were
declared heroes of 9/11 by the media, and these three occupations are prominently represented
together in a panel in the seventh Civil War book on page 18 (see Figure 6).
18, panel 2.
Seven rescue workers keep Captain America from knocking out Iron Man in a fight. Among them
American Man, an Asian looking man, and an African
-
American woman. Thus, in this
panel, not only September 11 is invoked, but also the
widespread image of the U.S. as a multicultural
nation. Altogether, the whole plot of the comic is strongly focussed on the U.S. Of course, writers from
countries other than the United States also write stories set there, but there is no sign in Civil War
American topic from a non
-US-
American angle. Therefore we have to
conclude about Millar's writing that it, too, seems US
-American rather than British.
I have assessed the respective contributions of colourist Morry Holl
owell and inker Dexter
American, but those of penciller Steve McNiven and writer Mark Millar
American, although the former are US
-
Americans and the latter not. So did my method of
geographically classifying Civil War fai
l? To answer this question, it is necessary to have an
understanding of the geographical character of the world of comics in general. Apart from the U.S.,
two other regions with a long and mostly independent history of comics I mention here: Europe
y Europe I mean primarily France, the most important European comics producing country
Japan. Often, comics from either of the three countries (the U.S., France, and Japan), are so distinct
that they can be told apart from those from the other two co
untries, even if there are US
comics that are influenced by French, and US
-
American and French that imitate Japanese manga, etc.
These three countries shape the whole genre of comics. Other comic
-
producing regions are usually
these three, or even stylistically dependent. Connected to the French comics
culture in the first instance are Belgian (e.g., Hergé, Edgar Pierre Jacobs) and Swiss (e.g., Derib,
Cosey) artists. With Japanese manga, the resemblance of Korean manhwa and Chin
obvious. And finally there are two countries in which comics production is closely linked to the U.S.,
namely Canada and the United Kingdom (see also Sabin 14
-
21 and de la Iglesia 336), the respective
home countries of McNiven and Millar
. So
it is not unusual, but rather typical, that the US
Canadian coproduction Civil War gives a mostly US
-
American impression. Under these
circumstances, does it make sense at all to call this comic not only US
-
American, but also British and
anadian? The answer is definitely yes, because the influence of U.S. comics has in fact become a
fundamental component of the British as well as the Canadian culture of comics. British and Canadian
page 10 of 11
<http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb/vol12/iss3/6>
off comic book series called Civil War: Front Line, published
simultaneously and created by different authors, in which a caption text reads: "This was put into
fly a couple of planes into some tall buildings in
Manhattan. We jumped into fighting mode then, and we were ready to do it again now" (Civil War:
known images of the 9/11
in the first Civil War issue, on the pages following the destruction of the town of Stamford, we
see not only superheroes, but also numerous firemen, who amidst the debris and ruins are occupied
ther with policemen and medics, were
declared heroes of 9/11 by the media, and these three occupations are prominently represented
Seven rescue workers keep Captain America from knocking out Iron Man in a fight. Among them
American woman. Thus, in this
widespread image of the U.S. as a multicultural
nation. Altogether, the whole plot of the comic is strongly focussed on the U.S. Of course, writers from
countries other than the United States also write stories set there, but there is no sign in Civil War
American angle. Therefore we have to
owell and inker Dexter
American, but those of penciller Steve McNiven and writer Mark Millar
Americans and the latter not. So did my method of
l? To answer this question, it is necessary to have an
understanding of the geographical character of the world of comics in general. Apart from the U.S.,
two other regions with a long and mostly independent history of comics I mention here: Europe
— and
y Europe I mean primarily France, the most important European comics producing country
— and
Japan. Often, comics from either of the three countries (the U.S., France, and Japan), are so distinct
untries, even if there are US
-American
American and French that imitate Japanese manga, etc.
producing regions are usually
these three, or even stylistically dependent. Connected to the French comics
culture in the first instance are Belgian (e.g., Hergé, Edgar Pierre Jacobs) and Swiss (e.g., Derib,
Cosey) artists. With Japanese manga, the resemblance of Korean manhwa and Chin
ese manhua is
obvious. And finally there are two countries in which comics production is closely linked to the U.S.,
21 and de la Iglesia 336), the respective
it is not unusual, but rather typical, that the US
-American-
American impression. Under these
American, but also British and
anadian? The answer is definitely yes, because the influence of U.S. comics has in fact become a
fundamental component of the British as well as the Canadian culture of comics. British and Canadian
Martin de la Iglesia, "Authorship, Collaboration, and Art Geography"
CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture
comics styles resembling the US-
American does not mean the
a set of common traits. Conversely, we could also say that British and Canadian influences actually
made the US-
American comic what it is today.
In conclusion, let me return to my previous question: how feasible is the methodology I develop to
view works of art as patchworks of geographical influences bestowed by their creators if it does not
always, as in the case of Civil War, lead to unambiguous
analysis of a single object may not be enough to support or reject this method. Thus, for as long as no
other, more appropriate procedure is devised, further application of the ideas introduced here to
diverse wor
ks of art, as well as the theoretical engagement with these ideas, might be of interest for
art geographical research.
Works Cited
Borcholte, Andreas. "Captain America. Patriot bis in den Tod."
<
http://www.spiegel.de/kultur/literatur/0,1518,470609,00.html
"Civil War (comics)."
<
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Civil_War_(comics)&oldid=271976488
"Comic Reviews January 2007 –
<
http://morb.wordpress.com/2007/01/16/comic
DaCosta Kaufmann, Thomas.
Toward a Geography of Art
Dragon*Con. (2008): <
http://www.dragoncon.org
De la Iglesia, Martin. "Geographical Classific
39.
Ehlers, Eckart. "Kulturkreise –
Kulturerdteile
Kulturgeographie."
Geographische Rundschau
Howard, J
udith A. "Social Psychology of Identities."
Kaplan, David H., and Guntram H. Herb. "Introduction: A Question of Identity."
Territory, and Scale
. Ed. David H. Kaplan and Guntram H
Łabno, Jeannie J. "Shifting Borders, Conceptual Identities and Cultural Boundaries: Child Commemoration in
Renaissance Poland."
Ars: Časopis Ústavu dejín umenia Slovenskej akadémie vied
Leaver, Tama. "Marvel Comics 'Civil War' and the 'War on Terror'."
<
http://ponderance.blogspot.com/2006/07/marvel
McNiven, Steve. Jinxworld Forums
(2008):
Millar, Mark. millarworld.tv (2008): <
http://www.millarworld.tv
mocolors (2008): <
http://web.mac.com/mocolors/Mocolors/About.html
Pieper, Paul.
Kunstgeographie. Versuch einer Grundlegung
Sabin, Roger.
"Comics. Eurocomics: '9th Art' or Misfit Lit?"
Cobley. Harlow: Longman, 2002. 14
Singh, Arune. "Marvel's 'Civil War' Press Conference with Mark Millar."
<
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=6807
Smith, Jeremy Adam
. "Marvel's
<
http://www.strangehorizons.com/reviews/2006/08/marvels_.shtml
Stillinger, Jack. Multiple Authorship
and the Myth of Solitary Genius
Author's profile: Martin de la Iglesia is working as librarian at the German National Library of Economics (
Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften)
reception history, and art historical methodology. His recent publications include "Geographical Classification in
Comics,"
International Journal of Comic Art
Martin de la Iglesia, "Authorship, Collaboration, and Art Geography"
CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture
12.3 (2010):
<http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb/vol12/iss3/6>
American does not mean the
y cannot be thought of as categories, as
a set of common traits. Conversely, we could also say that British and Canadian influences actually
American comic what it is today.
In conclusion, let me return to my previous question: how feasible is the methodology I develop to
view works of art as patchworks of geographical influences bestowed by their creators if it does not
always, as in the case of Civil War, lead to unambiguous
results in empirical tests? Arguably, the
analysis of a single object may not be enough to support or reject this method. Thus, for as long as no
other, more appropriate procedure is devised, further application of the ideas introduced here to
ks of art, as well as the theoretical engagement with these ideas, might be of interest for
Borcholte, Andreas. "Captain America. Patriot bis in den Tod."
Spiegel Online
http://www.spiegel.de/kultur/literatur/0,1518,470609,00.html
>.
Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Civil_War_(comics)&oldid=271976488
>.
Civil War #6 (Marvel Comics)." Morbius glass
(16 January 2007):
http://morb.wordpress.com/2007/01/16/comic
-reviews-january-2007-civil-war-6-marvel
-
Toward a Geography of Art
. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 2004.
http://www.dragoncon.org
>.
De la Iglesia, Martin. "Geographical Classific
ation in Comics."
International Journal of Comic Art
Kulturerdteile
–
Clash of Civilizations. Plädoyer für eine gegenwartsbezogene
Geographische Rundschau
48.6 (2006): 338-44.
udith A. "Social Psychology of Identities."
Annual Review of Sociology
26 (2000): 367
Kaplan, David H., and Guntram H. Herb. "Introduction: A Question of Identity."
Nested Identities. Nationalism,
. Ed. David H. Kaplan and Guntram H
. Herb. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 1999. 1
Łabno, Jeannie J. "Shifting Borders, Conceptual Identities and Cultural Boundaries: Child Commemoration in
Ars: Časopis Ústavu dejín umenia Slovenskej akadémie vied
40.2 (2007): 185
Leaver, Tama. "Marvel Comics 'Civil War' and the 'War on Terror'."
Ponderance
http://ponderance.blogspot.com/2006/07/marvel
-comics-civil-war-and-war-on.html>.
(2008):
<
http://www.606studios.com/bendisboard/showthread.php?t=596
http://www.millarworld.tv
>.
http://web.mac.com/mocolors/Mocolors/About.html
>.
Kunstgeographie. Versuch einer Grundlegung
. Berlin: Junker und Dünnhaupt, 1936.
"Comics. Eurocomics: '9th Art' or Misfit Lit?"
The Media: An Introduction
. Ed. Adam Briggs and Paul
Cobley. Harlow: Longman, 2002. 14
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Singh, Arune. "Marvel's 'Civil War' Press Conference with Mark Millar."
Comic Book Resources
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=6807
>.
. "Marvel's
Civil War, issues #1-3." Strange Horizons
(21 August 2006):
http://www.strangehorizons.com/reviews/2006/08/marvels_.shtml
>.
and the Myth of Solitary Genius
. New York: Oxford UP, 1991.
Author's profile: Martin de la Iglesia is working as librarian at the German National Library of Economics (
Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften)
. His fields of interest in research include comics, art geography,
reception history, and art historical methodology. His recent publications include "Geographical Classification in
International Journal of Comic Art
(2007). E-mail: <
martin.delaiglesia@googlemail.com
page 11 of 11
<http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb/vol12/iss3/6>
y cannot be thought of as categories, as
a set of common traits. Conversely, we could also say that British and Canadian influences actually
In conclusion, let me return to my previous question: how feasible is the methodology I develop to
view works of art as patchworks of geographical influences bestowed by their creators if it does not
results in empirical tests? Arguably, the
analysis of a single object may not be enough to support or reject this method. Thus, for as long as no
other, more appropriate procedure is devised, further application of the ideas introduced here to
ks of art, as well as the theoretical engagement with these ideas, might be of interest for
(8 March 2007):
Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia
(2009):
(16 January 2007):
-
comics/>.
International Journal of Comic Art
9.2 (2007): 330-
Clash of Civilizations. Plädoyer für eine gegenwartsbezogene
-93.
Nested Identities. Nationalism,
. Herb. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 1999. 1
-6.
Łabno, Jeannie J. "Shifting Borders, Conceptual Identities and Cultural Boundaries: Child Commemoration in
40.2 (2007): 185
-93.
Ponderance
(2006):
http://www.606studios.com/bendisboard/showthread.php?t=596
25>.
. Berlin: Junker und Dünnhaupt, 1936.
. Ed. Adam Briggs and Paul
Comic Book Resources
(7 April 2006):
(21 August 2006):
. New York: Oxford UP, 1991.
Author's profile: Martin de la Iglesia is working as librarian at the German National Library of Economics (
Deutsche
. His fields of interest in research include comics, art geography,
reception history, and art historical methodology. His recent publications include "Geographical Classification in
martin.delaiglesia@googlemail.com
>
