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About the AuthorTaylor Quimby graduated from Keene State College in 2010 with an individualized major in Aesthetic Studies. He currently works as a board operator and afternoon host for New Hampshire Public Radio. An avid reader of both comics and philosophy, Taylor also enjoys spending his time playing the ukulele, video games, and writing plays. Taylor lives in Hooksett, New Hampshire, with his family. Contents |
3. Literacy and content Literacy skills don’t usually leap to mind when one speaks of superpowers, but behind the countless origin stories is a truth largely overshadowed by muscles and bullets: literacy is often the direct source of a hero or villain’s power. Both Batman and Iron Man have no superhuman powers, only the powers of invention and persistence (Fig. 3). In a nutshell, they’re smart (though it ought to be pointed out, they’re also rich).
[Fig. 3, An excerpted image from Hush, a collection of issues from Batman, by Jeph Loeb] College roommates Dr. Reed Richards and Dr. Doom are super, yes, but primarily they’re scientists; they exemplify how literacy skills can be used, or abused. Also representing the dualities of scientific literacy is Bruce Banner and his other, greener half; comics’ metaphor for the Manhattan project. And speaking of literate dualities, let’s not forget alter egos and second jobs: Clark Kent is a reporter, Mathew Murdock, a lawyer, and Professor Xavier, an educator. Although critic Sterling North once demonized comics with the reductive descriptions (“Superman heroics, voluptuous females in scanty attire, blazing machine guns, hooded ‘justice’ and cheap political propaganda”), a closer look at comics even during the fifties would reveal that heroes and villains have, on the whole, been exceptionally well educated (qtd. in Lopes 32). In their book Popular Culture and Representations of Literacy, Williams and Zengar saw “literacy events throughout [films] as creating a kind of narrative about literacy that existed in addition to the primary narrative” (10). By studying this narrative, they argue, we might be able to understand the literacy values of those who create, and engage in popular culture. For our purposes the question is, what literacy values are represented in the pages of comic books? Although a study of this kind focusing entirely on one or two vastly popular superheroes would perhaps be the most interesting, it would also be the most difficult to conduct. Many have long complex histories written and drawn by contributors throughout the years. Some even have two or more storylines being released simultaneously. The more people involved creatively, and the greater the size of work that constitutes a single narrative, the harder it is to see exactly who or what is being reflected. As such, the implications of such a study would be difficult to analyze. Therefore I have chosen to study a few select texts created by smaller creative teams whose histories are more manageable, but are still popular enough within the comic community to be considered relevant. One way to study literacy in popular culture is to look for “literacy events.” Heath defines a literacy event as “any action sequence, involving one or more persons, in which the production and/or comprehension of print plays a role” (445). However, as Williams and Zengar elaborate, “literacy events are only the observable part of “literacy practices,” which go beyond observable units of behavior to include “values, attitudes, feelings and social relationships” (4). In other words, we look for identifiable literacy events, but our larger aim is to understand them in the context of literacy practices. |