Comics Studies x Gender Studies

The comics medium is hybrid, i.e., it combines text and images and uses them to develop complex narratives. At the same time, comics function through repetition: bodies must be drawn repeatedlyfrom different perspectives, in different environments. This focus on bodies makes comics particularly suitable for discussing identity categories such as gender and (related) societal norms, power relations, and discrimination structures. The research project Visualities of Gender in German-Language Comics, funded by the FWF, systematically analyzes the engagement of comics with gender using a database and offers an overview of current topics and research approaches that combine Comics Studies and Gender Studies in the publication Comics Studies x Gender Studies. This integration opens new perspectives, initiates productive discussions about gender, identity, and visual representation, and addresses intersectional questions, i.e., questions about intertwined structural/discrimination categories (including gender, race, and class). The following critical questions run through the volume: How is gender narrated in comics? What visual concepts and regimes of gazing are negotiated? Which intersectional connections become apparent? Which theoretical concepts prove particularly fruitful in dealing with comics? What recent interdisciplinary approaches exist in Comics Studies and Gender Studies, and how can they be applied for mutual analysis? The chapters cover comics-specific basics, narratological and didactic questions, intermediality, superheroes, art, humor, autographics, and feminist activism, and address intersectional topics such as gender, race, class, age, and illness/disability. Within the chapters, the volume offers a compilation of scientific and didactic-pedagogical analyses, complemented by artistic approaches/comics and essayistic/student perspectives. This results in a comprehensive and multi-perspective examination of the topics covered. Edited by Marina Rauchenbacher, Katharina Serles, and Naomi Lobnig in collaboration with Susanne Hochreiter, the volume thus also follows the close interweaving of scientific and artistic practice in Comics Studies and develops an innovative handbook concept that enables the dissemination of research results beyond Comics Studies.