31 Grant Morrison: Flex Mentallo
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Oliver Moisich
Abstract
A prolific and controversial writer of comics, Grant Morrison employs a multitude of postmodernist narrative devices in his stories. Readers of his comic books are often left with no transparent understanding of the narrative’s plot and themes - Morrison obscures plot with occult symbolism, multi-layered realities, and a notable lack of explanation. This article looks at Grant Morrison’s four-issue miniseries Flex Mentallo (1996) to distil these devices into an overview of how Morrison structures his works. In particular, the article examines ontological metalepses between diegetic spaces without clearly defined boundaries, and whether narratology holds any model to survey these storytelling practices. The article also examines aspects of historiographic metafiction, comics history, and autobiography in Flex Mentallo and in which way these aspects lead into a deliberate confusion of ontological hierarchies.
Abstract
A prolific and controversial writer of comics, Grant Morrison employs a multitude of postmodernist narrative devices in his stories. Readers of his comic books are often left with no transparent understanding of the narrative’s plot and themes - Morrison obscures plot with occult symbolism, multi-layered realities, and a notable lack of explanation. This article looks at Grant Morrison’s four-issue miniseries Flex Mentallo (1996) to distil these devices into an overview of how Morrison structures his works. In particular, the article examines ontological metalepses between diegetic spaces without clearly defined boundaries, and whether narratology holds any model to survey these storytelling practices. The article also examines aspects of historiographic metafiction, comics history, and autobiography in Flex Mentallo and in which way these aspects lead into a deliberate confusion of ontological hierarchies.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter i
- Editors’ Preface v
- Contents vii
- Comics Studies: Survey of the Field 1
-
Part I: Systematic Aspects
- 1 Comics Terminology and Definitions 11
- 2 History, Formats, Genres 35
- 3 Text-Image Relations 81
- 4 Comics Narratology 99
- 5 Seriality 121
- 6 Adaptation 141
-
Part II: Contexts and Themes
- 7 Politics 167
- 8 World-Building 181
- 9 Life Writing 201
- 10 Gender 219
- 11 Queerness 231
- 12 Science Comics 247
- 13 Postcolonial Perspectives 265
- 14 DocuComics in the Classroom 289
-
15 Superheroes
- 15.1 Historical Overview 311
- The Golden Age: Batman 317
- 15.3 The Silver Age: Nick Fury 331
- 15.4 The Dark Age: Superheroes in the 1980s 343
-
Part III: Close Readings
- 16 Richard F. Outcault: The Yellow Kid 361
- 17 George Herriman: Krazy Kat 379
- 18 Winsor McCay: Little Nemo in Slumberland 387
- 19 Dave Sim: Cerebus 405
- 20 Will Eisner: A Contract with God 431
- 21 Raymond Briggs: When the Wind Blows 451
- 22 Art Spiegelman: Maus 467
- 23 Robert Crumb 481
- 24 Alan Moore: From Hell 499
- 25 Neil Gaiman: The Sandman 513
- 26 Alison Bechdel: Dykes to Watch Out For 529
- 27 Chris Ware: Jimmy Corrigan – The Smartest Kid on Earth 545
- 28 Daniel Clowes: Ghost World 561
- 29 Martin Rowson: The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman 573
- 30 Marjane Satrapi: Persepolis 589
- 31 Grant Morrison: Flex Mentallo 601
- Index of Subjects 619
- Index of Names 629
- List of Contributors 635
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter i
- Editors’ Preface v
- Contents vii
- Comics Studies: Survey of the Field 1
-
Part I: Systematic Aspects
- 1 Comics Terminology and Definitions 11
- 2 History, Formats, Genres 35
- 3 Text-Image Relations 81
- 4 Comics Narratology 99
- 5 Seriality 121
- 6 Adaptation 141
-
Part II: Contexts and Themes
- 7 Politics 167
- 8 World-Building 181
- 9 Life Writing 201
- 10 Gender 219
- 11 Queerness 231
- 12 Science Comics 247
- 13 Postcolonial Perspectives 265
- 14 DocuComics in the Classroom 289
-
15 Superheroes
- 15.1 Historical Overview 311
- The Golden Age: Batman 317
- 15.3 The Silver Age: Nick Fury 331
- 15.4 The Dark Age: Superheroes in the 1980s 343
-
Part III: Close Readings
- 16 Richard F. Outcault: The Yellow Kid 361
- 17 George Herriman: Krazy Kat 379
- 18 Winsor McCay: Little Nemo in Slumberland 387
- 19 Dave Sim: Cerebus 405
- 20 Will Eisner: A Contract with God 431
- 21 Raymond Briggs: When the Wind Blows 451
- 22 Art Spiegelman: Maus 467
- 23 Robert Crumb 481
- 24 Alan Moore: From Hell 499
- 25 Neil Gaiman: The Sandman 513
- 26 Alison Bechdel: Dykes to Watch Out For 529
- 27 Chris Ware: Jimmy Corrigan – The Smartest Kid on Earth 545
- 28 Daniel Clowes: Ghost World 561
- 29 Martin Rowson: The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman 573
- 30 Marjane Satrapi: Persepolis 589
- 31 Grant Morrison: Flex Mentallo 601
- Index of Subjects 619
- Index of Names 629
- List of Contributors 635