Toward a Postmodern Understanding: An Analysis of Comic Book Culture

Jenny Northrup Mentored by Dr. Suzanne L. Maughan

Summer Student Research Program University of Nebraska - Kearney

August 19, 2007

Abstract

As comic books are pulled from the margins of society and pushed into the light of mass, postmodern pop-culture, their impact on society becomes increasingly important. This purpose of this research is to illustrate the similarities in cultural themes found within both facets of comic book culture: comic books and comic book conventions, and relate those to the focus of postmodernism on image as a means of gaining knowledge. A content analysis and interview were performed as well as attending a comic book convention to find these themes. As the themes were shown to be strikingly similar, it leads to the assumption that comic book culture may influence and be influenced by real world culture as readers may be using the images within comic books to learn or reinforce what they currently know about their culture.

Toward a Postmodern Understanding: An Analysis of Comic Book Culture

“Once upon a time, tomorrow never came. Safely projected into the reaches of distant times and faraway galaxies, the future was science fiction and belonged to another world. Now, it is here, breaking through the endless deferral of human horizons, short-circuiting history, downloading its images into today”.

(Plant 1996 as quoted by McGuigan 1999:85)

Introduction

Comic books are a lost and underestimated art. Throughout history, comic books

have aided in the development of millions of children. While the impact and purpose of

comic books have been researched, most of the research has forgotten to include the

culture of comic books. Culture itself is difficult to study as so much goes into the study

of any given culture. The culture of comic books is two-sided and involves both human

interaction and the experience of the book itself. This duality of human interaction and

textual experience proves to be even more important as society moves into a postmodern

condition. As the artwork found within comic books increasingly imitates, or discusses,

real world events and real world events seem more similar to the events in comic books,

one is led to assume that the culture within the comic books would influence and be

influenced by real world culture, and therefore, the two would seem similar. As this

research will show this to be increasingly true, it shows that comic book readers may be

learning, or reinforcing what they currently know about their culture, through the art of

comic books. Despite their increasing importance, comic books as a postmodern medium

have been ignored in peer-reviewed research. They have, however, been mentioned as

being postmodern in several instances in newspapers and online forums, but no research

is found within those sightings to support those claims. In order to research this thought,

one comic book entitled Transmetropolitan was analyzed for its cultural aspects. In

addition to the comic book analysis, a comic book convention in Philadelphia was

attended and an interview conducted with the co-creator of the comic book.

History of the Comic Book

The history of the comic book stretches as far back as most people’s minds can

follow. The history of sequential-type art stretches back even further. Sequential art has

been found in pictorial manuscripts from 1519 (McCloud 1993:10). The combination of

picture and text follows a history as far back as the origins of language itself, so the

likeness between comic books and mediums that are picture driven is quite common

(Wright 2001: 2).

Beginning in the 1890s, comic strips began to appear in newspapers and later in

magazines. As the trend in comics continued, society began to see the birth of the comic

book. Despite the focus of comic books as being more serious, the term “comic” stuck.

Despite having come after comic strips, comic books have much more in common with

pulp (cheap paper) magazines of the time (Wright 2001: 2). For this reason, this research

will largely ignore the input of comic strips. As comic books owe more of their existence

to other medium and have a separate focus, strips become less and less important to this

study. The difference between the two has also widened since the birth.

As the 1930s rounded near and the Stock Market began to crash, Americans

began to see what they now think of as comic books and comic heroes. This era ushered

in the comic book hero (Roberts 2004). As more people began to read the comic books

and relate to the heroes, many people began to question their worth and value to the

youth who were most targeted for the product. The most influential and outspoken of

these people was Dr. Fredric Wertheimer. Dr. Wertheimer came to the United States from

Germany to eventually hold the position of Senior Psychiatrist for the Department of

Hospitals in New York, New York. While in this position, he studied violent and vulgar

juvenile behavior. In his studies he began to notice the children exhibited great interest in

comic books. He began to take the seemingly unconnected dots of comic books and

delinquency and connect them in a way that placed blame upon comic books for the

behavior. He later published a book entitled, “Seduction of the Innocent” that served as a

means for his anti-comic tirade to be thrust upon mass society. The book also served as a

set of scare tactics with chapters such as, “I Want To Be a Sex Maniac,” referring to

sexuality in comic books (Bors 2004: 17).

Wertheimer feared comic books insinuated delinquency and anti-social behavior

in youth, stating, “I think Hitler was a beginner compared to the comic book industry”

(Bors 2004: 18). This fear would eventually lead to the adoption of a comic review

process in 1948. This comic code was far too weak and quickly fell to shambles. As

concern elevated, demand for a more concrete and encompassing review process erupted.

With this, the Comics Magazine Association of America and the Comics Code of 1954

were created.

The Comics Code was highly influential, as anyone wanting to publish a

legitimate comic book was forced to adhere to a set of stringent guidelines.i The

guidelines, in extreme summary, outlined the prohibition of depicting police and

government in a negative light, no profanity or use of the words “terror” or “horror” in

title, and the victory of good over evil in every instance (Wright 2001: 172).

As more comic book creators began to feel inhibited by the rigid and inflexible

guidelines of the 1954 code, demands for revisions rose, and eventually led to Comic

Code revisions in 1971 and 1989. The 1971 revision of the Comic Code differed very

little from the 1954 code, eliminating or loosening only a few of the guidelines, leaving a

near identical code (CMAA 1971). However, the 1989 Comic Code revisions were far

less strict and far vaguer than the specific instructions outlined in both 1954 and 1971.

While the revised code still suggests governmental and political institutions be portrayed

positively, and for violence to be depicted negatively, it takes on more liberal concerns as

well, such as the portrayal of “ethnic advancement agencies…and social groups

identifiable by lifestyle, such as homosexuals, the economically disadvantaged, the

economically privileged, the homeless, senior citizens, minors, etc…” in a positive light.

The 1989 Comic Code also takes great concern in making sure the comics accurately

represent current socially accepted attitudes and perspectives, by stating, “socially

responsible attitudes will be favorably depicted and reinforced…” and going on to say

“heroes should be role models and should reflect the prevailing social attitudes.” It is

made very clear that the target audience for comic books is children as they state

“publisher members of the CMAA (Comics Magazine Association of America) remain

committed to providing decent and wholesome comic books for children,” and “the

language in a comic book will be appropriate for a mass audience that includes children”

(CMAA 1989).

Comic Books as a Disrespected Art Form

“In short, the comics are deficient in subtlety, delicacy, sophistication. As art,

many of the comics are crude. As literature, they are extremely elementary. They deal

with ideas and sentiments in the simplest terms” (Gruenberg 1944: 205). The never-

ending demands for revisions and restrictions (even since 1989) have given birth to a

strong disrespect for comic book art in American society. Since its origins, comic book

publishers, artists, and writers have created books aimed at adult and alternative

audiences. These books often focus more on adult and real world issues, such as politics,

war, social issues, culture, etc. Despite their focus being on a more sophisticated

narrative, the readers (who are more often than not, older and more educated) are still

seen as childish and unintelligent (Pustz 1999: xii; McCloud 1993:139). Both the readers

and the critics were taught to use text and pictures interchangeably. This process of using

both text and pictures is both accepted and encouraged as children. The act is not seen as

troublesome unless the child does not grow out of it and continues to use text and pictures

interchangeably into adulthood. Therefore, when comic books force readers to use words

and illustrations together it is inevitably seen as both childish and as a harbor to natural

progression into greater texts, despite its ease in childhood (McCloud 1993:139).

Today’s comic book artists feel the burn of disrespect in their field. Darick

Robertson, co-creator and artist of the comic book series Transmetropolitan, stated “If I

told you there was a story that Pablo Picasso read of Shakespeare and loved it so much

that he illustrated panel by panel for a whole comic book, I think you’d want to read

that…” (Robertson 2007). The comic book industry and its creators feel the sting of the

lack of appreciation by fans and critics alike. They see how their field is the biggest

breeding ground for film, yet people don’t know their names. The fans will learn the

name of the producer and director, but the names of the artists and writers of the original

book are largely unknown. They also feel the hesitation by the literary community to

accept them. Darick Robertson recounts the time when Maus, a comic book about the

Holocaust, won the Pulitzer Prize. A comic book winning this enormous and prestigious

award “was such an embarrassment they no longer will consider comic books as eligible

for the Pulitzer Prize . . . even though his comic book was good enough to win

it…”(Robertson 2007). Mr. Robertson spoke in great detail about the pain and

bewilderment both he and the comic book community felt over this by stating,” Isn’t that

heartbreaking? Why put those kinds of limits on that artwork? Just because you don’t like

the genre or worse you don’t understand the genre...” (Robertson 2007).

Comic Book Culture

“It’s official—you can’t escape comic book culture” (Rowe 2007). As comic

books gain importance in today’s media-focused society, it is increasingly hard to deny or

avoid the culture it has produced. Despite being a disrespected art form, comic book

culture is very intense. Comic book culture is unique to other cultures formed around a

type of media as it is more widespread. It requires a dualistic, text plus interaction,

approach and experience. In other words, comic book fans do more than read. In addition

to experiencing the text, they are true participants in human interaction with other readers

by attending comic book conventions, discussing books at the local comic book shop,

going on forums, or any other location for interaction (Pustz 1999: xiii). Comic book

readers do not merely consume; they consume and participate-- consume and produce.

The culture of comic books is highly distinguished by commodity and

consumption. This focus, in combination with its need for interaction, makes the culture

more vulnerable and fragile than others. One cannot merely interact, as buying and

consuming the texts are pinpoints of the culture (Pustz 1999:18). This is where part of the

culture splits. While texts are crucial to the culture, there are some people who simply

buy the comics as a collection. They may not open the comics, buying them to simply

collect. Then there are others who buy the comics to truly digest them. The culture has

several other groups of people who do not fit into either category, but these are the two

most noticeable (Pustz 1999:19).

The human interaction involved in comic book culture is very complex. As the

readers consume the texts, they begin to identify strongly with the characters. The

identification eventually leads to some being involved in role playing. This can be seen

most recognizably at comic book conventions. These role playing adventures “merely

emphasized aspects of the players’ true selves; they could see themselves as teenagers

worrying about how they could turn their passions into meaningful lives” (Pustz 1999:

151). They are learning how to do these things from the texts they are reading.

In addition to the role playing games, comic book conventions are a strong

showcase of comic book culture. Comic book conventions may have started small, but

have definitely grown into giant arenas for the consumption of pop, or popular, culture.

Pop culture is defined as “cultural patterns that are widespread among a society’s

population” (Macionis 2004:46). Pop culture is often times seen in reference to things

such as mass media, fashion, and all the components of the entertainment industry

(Johnson and Newitz 2007). The largest comic book convention, Comic-Con

International, is held in San Diego, California while other conventions take place in

several of the larger cities in the United States. The estimates for fan attendance at these

larger conventions reach, and even exceed, 100,000. In addition to 100,000 attendees,

anywhere from 7,700 to 9,000 exhibitors set up shop within the gathering (Russell 2006;

McLean 2006).

At nearly every comic book convention one can rest assured they will experience

certain things: “dealers selling comics and related materials, socializing among comics

fans and professionals, screenings of films, panel discussions devoted to comics, and

costume contests” (Pustz 1999:159). Not every convention will hold all of these

traditions, but most will have the majority. Most conventions also hold question and

answer periods with high-profile people in either the comic book industry or actors who

have performed in comic book movies. Visually, comic book conventions are the holy

grail of entertainment.

All of these components combined really illustrate the culture held within comic

book conventions. According to Matthew J. Pustz, author of one of the most renowned

books on comic book culture, “Comic Book Culture: Fan Boys and True Believers,”

states, “In some ways, comic book conventions are all about commerce” (1999:161).

Like comic book culture, the culture of comic book conventions follows the directions of

commodity and consumption. Goods and services provided by exhibitors are consumed

by fans at amazing speeds. Identity within the convention is highlighted and created by

how much one has bought and consumed. People spend hundreds of dollars on figurines,

comic books, books on comic books, original art from comic book artists, and clothing

displaying their favorite comic book characters.

A Postmodern Condition

The idea of buying one’s identity is not limited to comic book conventions and

comic book fans. In fact, buying an identity is one of the thoughts behind postmodernism.

Postmodernism has been studied in relation to art, literature, society, etc. In terms of the

research for this study, most of the focus will be kept on postmodernism in relation to

society. Postmodern social theory looks at society as being in a period of great transition

from an era of industrialism to one of post-industrialism and hyper-reality. Upon living in

a condition of hyper-reality (a highly technological condition where fantasy and reality

blur and are harder to distinguish), the structure of the social is altered. People no longer

learn the same things or in the same ways. Instead of using text as a primary medium for

learning, people gain their knowledge more by image. ii Because image is highly

subjective, people who learn more by it will inherently gain different knowledges. As

image becomes increasingly more important in terms of knowledge, comic books become

an important postmodern medium (Ritzer and Goodman 2004; DoCarmo 2007). As a

postmodern medium comic books provide a pallet for learning about one’s culture,

amongst other things.

Methodology

For this research project, one comic book series, entitled Transmetropolitan, was

analyzed for its cultural themes by means of content analysis. To find these themes, 10

trade paperback books containing all 60 issues were read and analyzed. This comic book

series was studied by analyzing both the text and the illustrations. Though the text and

images work in a synergistic manner, they produce two different sets of themes. Several

themes were looked for both in the text and the artwork on each page. Textual themes

included politics, religion, human-hyper-machine interaction, and culture. Artistic themes

included advertisements, politics, religion, family, human-hyper-machine interaction,

books, violence, sex, and culture (specifically instances of poverty and artistic

commentary on the environment). These specific themes were chosen based upon themes

found in postmodernism (decline of the traditional family, increase in human-hyper-

machine interaction, decrease in importance of religion, and the questioning of

rationality) and those themes typically found within comic books and hold value in

society (sex, violence, and politics). Example of what exactly constituted an artistic

depiction of the various themes, such as sex and violence, will be described under their

respective subheadings.

For each page, a tally was taken on a sheet of paper for each instance in which

one of the artistic themes occurred. For artistic themes in particular, the artwork was

looked at without taking the text into account, meaning artwork was not influenced by

text on the page. The illustrations were looked at without the aid of the words on the page

unless the words were drawn into the illustration, such as a billboard. Instances of themes

in text were not counted page by page but rather quotes were taken and a general set of

themes was established from that. Due to image being a better tool for gaining knowledge

in postmodernism, more emphasis was placed on the artwork. Page numbers for artwork

and quotes from the text were taken along with each tally. The following table, 1a, was

then erected showing the number of times each artistic theme was represented in the

comic book.

Artistic Theme Number of Times Theme was Shown Advertisements 153 Politics 81 Religion 67 Family 26 Human-Hyper-Machine Interaction 289 Books 47 Violence 359 Sex 124 Poverty 35 Environment 8

Table 1a

After using content analysis to examine the culture within the book, a comic

book convention was attended and its culture analyzed. The analyses of the comic book

series and the convention were then combined to look for similarities in theme to both

each other and the research done on comic book and convention culture. In addition to

the analyses, an interview was conducted with the co-creator and artist of

Transmetropolitan to better understand the aim of the cultural themes within the series.

While a distinguished section will not be given to the interview it will be and has been

used throughout the research project to emphasize, highlight, and bring light to both the

artist’s point of view and the comic book analysis. The purpose of this study is to

compare themes found within comic books to those found in a comic book convention. If

the themes are similar, it would illustrate that people may be learning, or reinforcing what

they already know about their culture, by the images of culture within the comic books,

as is seen in postmodernism.

Comic Book Description

Transmetropolitan is, roughly, a 60 issue, 1300 page comic book series that

follows the fight to gain truth in media by an outlaw journalist named Spider Jerusalem.

His fight to unveil the truth in society uncovers vast political and governmental

corruption in addition to exposing the disregard for human experience by authority

figures. The book proves to be remarkably relatable to today’s situation despite its having

no intention to (Robertson 2007).

Transmetropolitan is a Vertigo publication of DC Comics. As Vertigo is generally

aimed at an adult audience, the book is rated R with an intended audience of 17 of older

(Robertson 2007). It is important to understand that despite the intended audience being

adults, children do have access to the book and do read it. iii

This comic book series was studied using content analysis to illustrate the cultural

themes found within the text and artwork of the comic book series.

Textual Analysis and Themes

Despite the focus of postmodernity on image, text is still important. The text in

Transmetropolitan is highly specific and to the point. The primary themes contained

within the text are politics, religion, and the degradation of society.

Politics

“Politics is all gibberish and horseshit” (Ellis et al 2003b: 18). The text of this

series spoke greatly of themes relating to politics. In speaking of politics a lot of the book

focused on political and governmental corruption. Within the series a presidential

election takes place and a great amount of text surrounding that event dealt heavily with

the utter disregard for morality in the electoral campaigns. “The whole god-damned

campaign is games and disguises” (Ellis et al 1999:67). Campaigns are seen more as

festivals of personal gain and public destruction than sites for legitimate political

progress. Politicians are clearly seen as being less than sacred to the survival of a society.

The text goes as far as suggesting that politicians are grown on bastard farms (Ellis et al

1999).

“Tell us of your hate for the American people, Mr. President” (Ellis et al 2004:

89). The president is, by far, the most hated character in this book. Within the series the

president of the United States is a character that does drugs, uses the services of sex

workers, and carries an utter disregard for all of human kind, amongst other things. As

the leader of the country, the president’s heinous acts run off and drip down onto lower

society to wreak havoc on the lives of every day people. Despite the effects on the rest of

society, the president refuses to change; as is stated on page 112, “If the president does it,

it’s not a crime” (Ellis et al 2004). As politics becomes even more corrupt, societal

hierarchies become painfully obvious. This type of political fraudulence serves as a

colossal theme in the series.

Religion

Religion is also seen as highly faulted within the text of this series. As the society

rests within a hyper-reality condition, religion becomes increasingly less important.

Christianity is nearly mocked within the text. The main character, Spider Jerusalem,

dresses as a drunken angel and wears Air Jesus tennis shoes that allow him to walk on

water. A main interaction in the series is between Spider and Fred Christ, a type of

transient-cult leader who cares very little about the ages of his many sexual partners.

There is also commentary on sexual abuse by clergy outside of the transient community

run by Fred Christ.

Human-Hyper-Machine Interaction

This text is also distinguished by its emphasis on the importance of human-hyper-

machine interaction. The society in Transmetropolitan is fully reliant on technological

machines. Spider Jerusalem himself uses a laptop computer religiously while watching a

wall-sized, voice activated television. Citizens of the city also make use of a machine

called a “maker.” In short, makers are machines that house a type of hologram human

who takes your orders and makes what you need, whether it be clothing, food, or drugs.

They also make use of sidewalk entertainment – televisions in sidewalk panels, the

middle of flowers, etc. It is seemingly impossible for people to escape the insanity of

technology.

Societal Degradation and Technology

“These are the new streets of this city, where the new scum try to live. You and

me. And here in these streets are the things that we want: sex and birth, roles and traits,

money and guilt, TV and teddy bears. But all we’ve actually got is each other” (Ellis et al

2000: 90). The text allows the reader to experience the strong culture within the series.

By reading the text one is able to sense the social decline of this hyper-reality situation.

There are several references to the state of the environment within the comics. The

quality of the air is criticized on many occasions. The text points out that oxygen is at

times, lacking, and “the airs starting to stink of perfume and deodorant” (Ellis et al 1998:

9). The text goes on to describe being able to taste the air and has poster ads with bands

called “Dirty Rain.”

The text of Transmetropolitan held very specific themes including politics,

religion, human-hyper-machine interaction, and the degradation of a technologically

advanced society. Several aspects pointed to these themes including faulty elections, the

mocking of clergy, sidewalk televisions, and flavored air in a city in a state of decline.

Artistic Analysis and Themes

The art in this series plays a gigantic role in understanding the books. The artistic

themes covered a much more specific area. The themes found within the artwork were,

primarily, sex, violence, human-hyper-machine interaction, commodity, and

consumption, with other, moderately seen, themes found of politics and books. Religion,

family, poverty and the environment were also looked at, but did not yield significant

results. The following two covers are examples of the majority of the themes being

discussed:

Transmetropolitan Vol. 6: Gouge Away Transmetropolitan Vol. 8: Dirge

On the first cover, Spider Jerusalem sits atop a car on a lap top (human-hyper-machine

interaction) with a knife in his mouth (violence). In the background a grenade flies on the

right (violence) while the many buildings and stores line each side of the cover

(commodity and consumption). On the second cover, Spider Jerusalem is pictured

wearing a technological device (human-hyper-machine interaction) while standing in

front of an electoral advertisement (politics) and a sex sign (sex).

Sex and Violence

Sex and violence were major themes in each book of the series. In terms of what

was looked for regarding sex and violence, there were several indicators. For viewing of

sex related imagery, nudity, the words sex, porn, XXX and other words referring to acts

of sex, prostitutes, and pornography were counted as being references to sex. In reference

to violence, imagery showing excessive blood, fighting, explosions, murder, knives and

other objects used as weapons, and guns were some of the indicators. In terms of guns

themselves, every instance where one or more was shown was taken as an image of

violence. This research used the viewing of a gun as violence due to the current societal

trend within the United States against guns and the negative stigma that surrounds guns.

Due to the negative stigmas encasing both sex and violence, the co-creator of the

comic book series, Darick Robertson, was asked why such an emphasis was placed on

these two themes in particular. Mr. Robertson explained that he and Warren Ellis, the co-

creator of Transmetropolitan, saw sex and violence as being natural, innate

characteristics of humans and felt it would be wrong to deny such natural proceedings in

the human experience. In this series, the creators aimed to illustrate the importance of

truth in government and big media (Robertson 2007).

Sex was a huge background factor for Transmetropolitan. While walking through

the city in the comic book, Spider and his colleagues pass numerous sex shops and

topless bars. Bare breasts on lit up signs and billboards were extremely common in the

city. Sex was not seen as being distinguished by a high or low class, but rather as a

common, natural act and commodity.

Violence was a natural, every day occurrence in this series set in a hyper-reality,

postmodern situation. Images of violence were one of the most abundant in comparison

to all other themes found within the series. Several instances in the comic book showed

random people on the streets holding guns and/or harming people. The main characters

carried various forms of guns during most of the story.

Human-Hyper-Machine Interaction

Human-hyper-machine interaction was a major theme in both the artwork and the

text of Transmetropolitan. The series contained numerous instances of humans

interacting with technologically advanced machines such as computers, wall-sized, voice

activated televisions, sidewalk televisions, and various other worn technology pieces;

instances of these items prompted a counting tally for this theme. The Transmetropolitan

society was highly reliant on these technologies. This dependency points to a possible

link to postmodernism within the comic book as the society within the series is set more

in a hyper-reality situation than an industrialist situation.

Commodity and Consumption

Commodity and consumption were huge themes found in both the text and the art

work. The illustrations of the city point to the near obsessive need for stores and

entertainment at all times. Stores and advertisements selling everything from

pornography to wild, disgusting food products were seen lining the streets. Within the

text, the human experience was bought and sold. Citizens of the city could purchase

“traits.” In layman’s terms, traits are anything and everything that creates and withstands

humanity. For example, the general public bought traits such as hunger traits (to cure

their hunger for a period of time), phone traits (to transform their body into a giant

mobile device), and medical traits (for protection from the dilapidated environment).

Identity was even bought as transients (multi-specie humans) bought their way into their

subculture. The entire idea of a human experience could be bought and consumed on a

regular basis by anyone who could afford it and the illustrated advertisements

demonstrated this.

Other Themes Found In Artwork

While the artwork carried major, frequently occurring themes, other themes were

found to occur on a moderately frequent basis. These themes included politics and books.

Politics were extremely important to this book, but because no text was taken into

account for the understanding of a page when looking at artistic themes, it was seen far

less often than it was used within the series. Things such as flags or election posters were

seen most frequently as identifiers of politics.

Books were looked at in this series as an indicator of postmodernism. As the main

character of the book, Spider Jerusalem, was a journalist, the presence of books around

him was traced throughout the series to see if he increasingly adapted to the technology

dependence of the city. Before Spider entered the city, books were shown on a much

more frequent basis than when he entered. As his time spent in the city grew, the

appearance of books dwindled and reached less than a handful of pages in many of the

later books. Only on the last book, when Spider left the city, did the appearance of the

books increase.

Due to the small number of pages on which books were seen, the presence of

books was not considered a primary theme. Even though it was not considered a primary

theme, the importance of books should not be downplayed as it points to Spider’s

possible adaptation to high technology as well as his new-found ability to learn more by

image via computers and television.

Artistic commentary on religion, family, poverty and the environment were the

remaining themes looked at in the comic book series. Items such as religious symbols,

families with children, and posters alluding to the state of the environment were looked

at. Unfortunately, these themes did not yield significant results and were not shown on

many pages.

While both the text and the artwork of Transmetropolitan gave insight into the

culture within the series, they produced different themes. While the text illustrated

politics, religion, and the degradation of a technologically advanced society, the artwork

highlighted themes such as sex, violence, human-hyper-machine interaction, commodity,

consumption, politics, and books. Despite the difference in themes, both the text and

artwork must be seen as interchangeable in the understanding of the comic book series.

Comic Book Convention Analysis

In order to view how the culture within comic books influences and is influenced

by real world culture, a comic book and pop culture convention was attended. Wizard

World was held in Philadelphia, PA in June of 2007. Attendees and exhibitors were

viewed to gain an understanding of the culture created by fans within the convention.

Upon entering a convention one is bombarded with giant posters hanging from the

ceiling, big flat screen TVs flashing the latest and greatest in pop culture, hundreds of

tables surrounded by eager fans, and handfuls of fans dressed up as Storm Troopers and

Wonder Women taking pictures with fellow attendees. As one slowly makes their way

past a few aisles of the best of the best in the comic book world they are immediately

faced with hundreds, maybe thousands, of booths selling comic books, comic book

novelty items and clothing, and seemingly endless rows of figurines from comic book

movies, such as Star Wars or Spiderman. Within these booths hungry comic book fans

paw their way through thousands of comics to find that one book they are missing and the

exhibitors offer amazing free-shipping and discount deals to keep the attendees coming.

The outside edges of the convention typically house the areas for gaming (role

playing games) and more interactive participant booths – such as areas for fans in Storm

Troopers costumes to “fight,” celebrity signing and picture areas, and rows of stand up

consoles to play the latest video games. Basically housing those things more closely

related to fan on fan interaction.

The convention itself held very similar themes to those found within

Transmetropolitan. Within the convention one can easily find criticisms of political

corruption, religion, sex, violence, and in enormous quantities, commodity and

consumption. In terms of both government and religion, these themes can be found in

multiple featured comic books, posters hung by artists, and original artwork for sale by

artists.

Sex was a common theme found within role-playing costumes. Numerous women

dressed up as a scantily-clad Wonder Woman, Princess Leia, or cheerleader (imitating the

cheerleader from the comic book influenced NBC show, Heroes). The comic book art for

sale and posters also frequently pictured nearly to fully naked women in seemingly

compromising positions.

Violence was even more obvious at the conventions. More so than naked women,

posters and artwork showed graphic battles and characters expelling enormous amounts

of blood. Violence was also far more real than sex in the convention culture. Attendees

dressed in role-playing costumes of Storm Troopers were given access to a lot of sand

where they could break out their light-sabers and partake in intense, galactic battles with

one another. In addition to the pseudo-fighting ring, real weapons were sold at booths

within the convention center. Samurai swords and knives were sold in great quantities in

a booth devoted almost entirely to weaponry.

More than anything else in the convention, commodity and consumption were

painfully emphasized. The entire center of the convention center was dedicated to every

type of novelty item related to comics one could imagine. Some exhibitors hired their

own disc jockeys to lure in attendees. In addition to the obvious items for sale, identity

seemed to be bought and sold at these booths. Those individuals who carried away

multiple sacks of memorabilia and comic books were looked at in higher esteem by other

convention attendees. Some of these people brought and bought several comic books to

be signed by artists and writers in attendance. With an entry fee of $25 - $50 dollars, the

entire experience of attending a comic book convention was made into a commodity and

consumed by upwards of 100,000 people.

Limitations

There are two main limitations of this study. The first limitation is in regards to

the comic book analysis. As only one comic book series was analyzed, generalization to

all comic book themes may be seen as more difficult. The second limitation refers to the

comic book convention. Only one convention was attended and analyzed. The themes of

this convention may differ from those found in the conventions of different cities. To

help alleviate this limitation, the experience of comic book conventions by Matthew J.

Pustz was taken into account; therefore, the themes discussed regarding to conventions

came both from the experience of the primary researcher and a secondary source.

Future Studies

By studying the influences on and of pop culture and comic books, the

possibilities for future research are endless. As pop culture engulfs so much of a society,

it would near impossible to study all of its aspects. Due to the increasing pull of comic

books from the margins of society and into the spotlight, more research can and should be

done their impact on society.

Discussion and Conclusion

As society enters a postmodern era, how we learn and gain knowledge becomes

increasingly important. Culture is a collection of “values, beliefs, behavior, and material

objects that together form a people’s way of life” (Macionis 2004:35). As a shared

collection, it is important to understand that culture must be learned. Upon comparing

the analysis of a comic book series, Transmetropolitan, and the analysis of a comic book

convention it has been found that the two carry very similar cultural themes. Because the

themes are so similar, it can be assumed that the readers of comic books may be molding

their real world culture into an imitation of the culture within comic books. With such

similar themes, it can also be assumed that comic books do influence and are influenced

by real world culture.

In the end, all of the themes, human-hyper-machine interaction, sex, etc…, melt

down to commodity and consumption. Identity and experience are bought and sold in

terms of sex, technology, and politics within the comic book series. Within a comic book

convention identity is bought and sold in terms of purchasing items from exhibitors and

dressing in costumes. As both identity and experience are bought and sold within comic

books and in greater pop-culture, it can be assumed that one is influenced by the other. In

postmodern society knowledge is gained far more by image than by text. If the themes in

pop culture situations, such as the comic book convention, resemble so closely the

themes found within comic books, it could be that the readers of comic books learn how

to create and act within their real-world cultures by experiencing the illustrations of

cultures within comic books themselves. Therefore, comic books are an aid in the

creation of culture and “take part in the construction of ideology, that is, in the creation of

a representational system that allows the individual to encounter and interpret his or her

social surroundings” (Smoodin 1992:132).

“In a postmodern view it is inevitable that we live in stories” (Natoli 2001:60).

Comic books have a way of capturing greater cultural themes and educating their readers

about them. For example, very little was found within the text or art of Transmetropolitan

dealing with family. In fact, in nearly every instance that family was shown, it was a

single mother and she was almost always poor. The idea of a modern, non-traditional

family can be applied to Spider Jerusalem and his cache assistants, but they were never

described out-right as a family. This can point to the current decline of the traditional

family in American society (Cherlin 2005).

Society is changing. We are no longer learning in the same way or by the same

mediums and tools. Comic books are no longer resting on the margins of society. As they

gain ground in society their importance as a tool of knowledge increases greatly. It is now

more important than ever to give them the respect they deserve by recognizing their

potential to our society and culture. As a postmodern medium, there is far more to learn

from comic books than what is on the surface.

i In 1970, Stan Lee, Chairman Emeritus of Marvel Comics, was asked by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to create an anti-drug storyline in a comic book. Lee incorporated the requested anti-drug message into Spider-Man, but because the book mentioned drugs, it was rejected by the Comic Code. Lee was certain the book gave a clear anti-drug message so he issued the book anyway. Despite the book not having a seal of approval, many copies were sold (Wright 2001). ii Comic books are now being encouraged as aids of instruction in schools and as ways to encourage children to read (Associated Press 2007). The potential of comic books as teaching aids has been documented since the 1950’s (Vacca 1959). iii The co-creator and artist of Transmetropolitan, Darick Robertson, has been approached and interviewed by young high-school students, and if the convention is any indication of ages, it can be assumed that some toddlers are being read comics as bed time stories.

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