Hello all,
I’m very pleased to announce that my book Comics and the Senses: A Multisensory Approach to Comics and Graphic Novels is now in print from Routledge. Here’s the blurb:
Attempts to define what comics are and explain how they work have not always been successful because they are premised upon the idea that comic strips, comic books and graphic novels are inherently and almost exclusively visual. This book challenges that premise, and asserts that comics is not just a visual medium. The book outlines the multisensory aspects of comics: the visual, audible, tactile, olfactory and gustatory elements of the medium. It rejects a synaesthetic approach (by which all the senses are engaged through visual stimuli) and instead argues for a truly multisensory model by which the direct stimulation of the reader’s physical senses can be understood. A wide range of examples demonstrates how multisensory communication systems work in both commercial and more experimental contexts. The book concludes with a case study that looks at the works of Alan Moore and indicates areas of interest that multisensory analysis can draw out, but which are overlooked by more conventional approaches.
I’ve been working on this for a long time, and many of the members of this list have offered very helpful feedback and advice, both in a peer review capacity and at conferences where I’ve presented bits and pieces from it. I’d like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you for that. I look forward to discussing the research further now that the book is out, either on or off list.
I have also launched my personal website, www.ianhague.com today, and you can get lots more information on the book (including chapter abstracts) there. I’ll also be adding downloadable teaching materials to supplement the book in due course (these will be available for free). I am now on Twitter as well, and would be keen to follow list members; my username is @drianhague.
Review Copies: If you would like to review Comics and the Senses you can request a review copy here: http://www.routledge.com/resources/review_copy_request/%209780415713979. If you review the book and let me know where your review is, I’ll add a link to my site.
Library Recommendations: If you would like to recommend Comics and the Senses to your librarian, you can do so via this link: http://www.routledge.com/resources/librarian_recommendation/9780415713979/
Best wishes and thanks again!
Ian
Dr Ian Hague
Director, Comics Forum