cfp.english.upenn.edu

Panel Title: “The Crime Comics of Frank Miller”

Deadline for submissions: December 10, 2012

Often cited as a creator responsible for bringing a gritty aesthetic to superhero comics, Frank Miller is also a creator responsible for bringing crime comics back to the forefront of the comics industry. With Sin City (and others), Miller reinstated many conventional (and politically incorrect) aspects of the crime genre while pushing the artistic boundaries of comics at the same time.

Possible topics include (but are not limited to) the following:
--Miller’s implementation of the tropes of pulp fiction, film noir, and classic crime comics into his narrative and visual style
--Miller’s synthesis of the superhero and crime genres in Daredevil and Batman, science fiction and crime genres in Hard Boiled and Martha Washington
--Miller’s vigilante hero as a social critique
--Miller’s masculine aesthetics in its narrative and visual representations, his depiction (and sometimes objectification) of powerful, sexual women
--Miller’s development throughout his career in terms of his scripting, illustration, aesthetic philosophy, and political activism

Please submit a 300-word proposal to Terrence Wandtke at twandtke@judsonu.edu. You may include the proposal within the body of the e-mail or attach as a Word document. Your e-mail must be received by December 10, 2012. Please include your affiliation, contact information, and a short bio.

Dr. Terrence Wandtke
Literature and Media
Judson University