New Scholarship on Beowulf Comics

The first volume of D. S. Brewer's new Medievalism series includes two articles that discuss Beowulf comics. There is also some comments on comments in the editors' introduction. Details on the complete collection follows below.


Anglo-Saxon Culture and the Modern Imagination 
Edited by David Clark and Nicholas Perkins

Details
First Published: 21 Oct 2010
13 Digit ISBN: 9781843842514
Pages: 302
Size: 23.4 x 15.6
Binding: Hardback
Imprint: D.S.Brewer
Series: Medievalism
Subject: Medieval Literature
BIC Class: DSBB

Britain's pre-Conquest past and its culture continues to fascinate modern writers and artists. From Henry Sweet's Anglo-Saxon Reader to Seamus Heaney's Beowulf, and from high modernism to the musclebound heroes of comic book and Hollywood, Anglo-Saxon England has been a powerful and often unexpected source of inspiration, antagonism, and reflection. The essays here engage with the ways in which the Anglo-Saxons and their literature have been received, confronted, and re-envisioned in the modern imagination. They offer fresh insights on established figures, such as W.H. Auden, J.R.R. Tolkien, and David Jones, and on contemporary writers such as Geoffrey Hill, Peter Reading, P.D. James, and Heaney. They explore the interaction between text, image and landscape in medieval and modern books, the recasting of mythic figures such as Wayland Smith, and the metamorphosis of Beowulf into Grendel - as a novel and as grand opera. The early medieval emerges not simply as a site of nostalgia or anxiety in modern revisions, but instead provides a vital arena for creativity, pleasure, and artistic experiment.


Contents (from WorldCAT):

Introduction / Nicholas Perkins and David Clark --
From Heorot to Hollywood : Beowulf in its third millennium / Chris Jones --
Priming the poets : the making of Henry Sweet's Anglo-Saxon reader / Mark Atherton --
Owed to both sides : W.H. Auden's double debt to the literature of the North / Heather O'Donoghue --
Writing for an Anglo-Saxon audience in the twentieth century : J.R.R. Tolkien's Old English chronicles / Maria Artamonova --
Wounded men and wounded trees : David Jones and the Anglo-Saxon culture tangle / Anna Johnson --
Basil Bunting, Briggflatts, Lindisfarne, and Anglo-Saxon interlace / Clare A. Lees --
Boom : seeing Beowulf in pictures and print / Siân Echard -- [comments and images (in full color) from Gareth Hinds's Beowulf]
Window in the wall : looking for grand opera in John Gardner's Grendel / Allen J. Frantzen --
Re-placing masculinity : the DC Comics Beowulf series and its context, 1975-6 / Catherine A.M. Clarke --
P.D. James reads Beowulf / John Halbrooks --
Ban Welondes : Wayland Smith in popular culture / Maria Sachiko Cecire --
Overlord of the M5 : the superlative structure of sovereignty in Geoffrey Hill's Mercian Hymns / Hannah J. Crawforth --
The absent Anglo-Saxon past in Ted Hughes's Elmet / Joshua Davies --
Resurrecting Saxon things : Peter Reading, "species decline", and Old English poetry / Rebecca Anne Barr.

Thor: Myth to Marvel--Coming Soon from Continuum

Thor: Myth to Marvel
by Martin Arnold

Imprint: Continuum
Pub. date: 21 Jul 2011
ISBN: 9781441135421
256 Pages, paperback
World rights
Translation Rights Available
$29.95

An exploration of how the legend of Thor has been adopted, adapted and transformed through history.

Description

The myths of the Norse god Thor were preserved in the Icelandic Eddas, set down in the early Middle Ages. The bane of giants and trolls, Thor was worshipped as the last line of defence against all that threatened early Nordic society.

Thor’s significance persisted long after the Christian conversion and, in the mid-eighteenth century, Thor resumed a symbolic prominence among northern countries. Admired and adopted in Scandinavia and Germany, he became central to the rhetoric of national romanticism and to more belligerent assertions of nationalism.

Resurrected in the latter part of the twentieth century in Marvel Magazine, Thor was further transformed into an articulation both of an anxious male sexuality and of a parallel nervousness regarding American foreign policy.

Martin Arnold explores the extraordinary regard in which Thor has been held since medieval times and considers why and how his myth has been adopted, adapted and transformed.
Table of Contents

Introduction:Reverberations throughout History \ 1. The Giant Killer: Thor in Old Norse Mythology \ 2. Damnation and Resurrection: Thor from the Christian Conversion to the Enlightenment \ 3. The Romancing of Thor \ 4. Distant Thunder: Thor and the Nationalists \ 5. The God of War: Thor and the Fascists \ 6. Marvellous Thor \ Appendix \ Bibliography \ Index

Author(s)

Martin Arnold is Professor of Scandinavian Literature at Hull University. He is the author of The Vikings (Continuum, 2006).

Thor Movie Trailer

Marvel has recently released the official trailer for the Thor feature film:

Vikings Comics on Film Coming Soon from McFarland

The Vikings on Film: Essays on Depictions of the Nordic Middle Ages 
Edited by Kevin J. Harty
ISBN 978-0-7864-6044-1
illustrations, filmography, bibliography, index
softcover (7 x 10) 2011
Price: $38.00

Not Yet Published, Available Spring/Summer 2011

Description
Factual and fanciful tales of the Nordic warriors known as Vikings have proven irresistible to filmmakers for nearly a century. Diverse, prominent actors from Kirk Douglas, Richard Widmark and Sidney Poitier to Tim Robbins and John Cleese, and noted directors, including Richard Fleischer, Clive Donner and Terry Jones, have all lent their talents to Viking-related films. These fourteen essays on films dealing with the Viking era discuss American, British and European productions. Analyzed in detail are such films as The Vikings (1958), The Long Ships (1964), Alfred the Great (1969), Erik the Viking (1989) and Outlander (2008), as well as a pair of comic-strip adaptations, the live-action Prince Valiant (1997) and the animated Asterix and the Vikings (2006). A comprehensive filmography is also included.

About the Author
Kevin J. Harty is professor and chair of English at La Salle University in Philadelphia and associate editor of Arthuriana, the official journal of the North American Branch of the International Arthurian Society, of which he is the vice president. He is the author or editor of eleven books on film and medieval studies.

Hagar the Horrible Reprint Continue

Titan Books has recently released the second volume of The Epic Chronicles of Hagar the Horrible. The first volume (9781848562332), published last year, reprinted the daily strips from 1973 to 1974, and volume two (9781848562349) concludes the strips for 1974 and moves into 1975. As with the earlier volume, volume two features a number of supplementary texts, including a foreword by cartoonist Sergio Aragones and an introduction by cartoonist Brian Walker.

New Beowulf Graphic Novel

Barron's Educational Books has recently published a new graphic novelized retelling of Beowulf, adapted by writer Jacqueline Morley and illustrator Li Sidong, as part of its Graphic Classics series. With a complete adaption of the story in full-color art plus supplementary material for contextualizing the story (including a discussion of film adaptations), the book is available in both paperback (9780764144493) and hardcover (9780764163012) editions and can be ordered directly from the publisher.

Thor Gifts at The Official Marvel Shop

It's "Hammer Time" at The Official Marvel Shop, which now has a dedicated page for Thor, where you can purchase a variety of Thor-related items, including t-shirts, models, and Halloween costumes. Unfortunately, Mjöllnir is not available at this time, but can be purchased from other online venders.

THOR Movie Filming from ET

An on-set interview and look at the filming of Thor from ET:

THOR Feature Film Update from Comicon

A belated posting, here is the Thor feature film session from Comicon in July as well as an additional video. Additional details on the film can be found at Wikipedia. The official site is active as well but no content has been posted as of yet.

Thor Comics Interview with Writer Matt Fraction

Apparently, Matt Fraction is the new writer on Thor and gave a brief interview for Marvel.com as follows:

Thor featured on AVENGERS: EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES!

Marvel Comics' Thor and his fellow gods of Asgard are featured on Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes!, the upcoming animated series for Disney XD. Episodes premiere on 20 October, but a trailer and webepisodes have been released prior to the launch of the series proper, which is designed to introduce the masses to the concept of the Avengers and its heroes in preparation for Marvel's Avengers-related feature films Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, and The Avengers due out in 2011 and 2012.

Help with Hellboy

I am seeking the assistance of someone who would be willing to read and provide a summary of 2 essays in Spanish devoted to the Hellboy comic. The summaries will be included the bibliographic guide to medieval comics scholarship designed to accompany The Medieval Comics Project/The Arthur of the Comics Project. 

The two articles can be accessed at the following links:

Hernández, Santiago Cortés. "de Roberto el Diablo narrativa de un héroe de la Edad Media al cómic"

http://rlp.culturaspopulares.org/textos/16/07-Cortes.pdf

López, Jose Luis Cardero. "Hellboy y las Presencias de Otros Mundos.(El Chico del Infierno frente a los Dioses Primordiales)"

http://serbal.pntic.mec.es/AParteRei/cardero61.pdf

CFP: Comics Get Medieval 2011 (12/1/10; PCA 4/20-23/11 San Antonio)

THE COMICS GET MEDIEVAL 2011: 
A CELEBRATION IN ANTICIPATION OF THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF PRINCE VALIANT
CALL FOR PAPERS (PCA: SAN ANTONIO, TX 4/20-23/11)
SPECIAL SESSIONS OF THE COMICS & COMIC ART AREA
ORGANIZED BY MICHAEL A. TORREGROSSA AND JASON TONDRO 
PROPOSALS DUE TO ORGANIZERS BY 1 DECEMBER 2010

Celebrating our sixth year in 2011, proposals are now being considered for inclusion at “The Comics Get Medieval 2011,” a series of panels and roundtables sponsored by the Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages and to be hosted by the Comics & Comic Art Area of the Popular Culture Association (PCA) for the 2011 Joint Conference of the National Popular Culture and American Culture Associations to be held from 20-23 April 2011 at the San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter & Riverwalk Hotels, 101 Bowie Street , San Antonio,TX 78205.

The goal of these sessions is to foster communication between medievalists, comics scholars, and specialists in popular culture studies in general.  The organizers define “medieval comics” as any aspect of the comics medium (panel cartoons, comic strips, comics books, comics albums, band dessinée, graphic novels, manga, webcomics, comics to film/film to comics, etc.) that feature medieval themes either in stories set during the Middle Ages or in stories presenting some element of the medieval in the post-medieval era.  We are also interested in papers looking at medieval comics from a pedagogical perspective.


Completed papers should be delivered in 15-20 minutes (depending on the number of presenters). All proposals will also be considered for inclusion in an essay collection to be edited by the panel organizers beginning in late 2011.  (Individuals only interested in submitting for the collection should also send proposals by 1 December 2010 deadline and indicate their preference in the email.)

In addition, a select list of potential topics and a bibliographic guide to medieval comics will appear as part of THE MEDIEVAL COMICS PROJECT web site available at <http://MedievalComicsProject.org> and THE ARTHUR OF THE COMICS website available at <http://Arthur-of-the-Comics.org/>, both organized by the Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages.


No later that 1 December 2010, interested individuals (who must be members of PCA or ACA or join for 2011) should submit full contact information (name, address, phone/cell, and email), titles, and abstracts of 300-500 words to the sessions’ organizers, who will then forward them to area chair. Address all inquiries and proposals to the organizers at the following address: <Medieval.Comics.Project@gmail.com> and include “Comics Get Medieval 2011” in the subject line.

The Comics Get Medieval Archive List

The Comics Get Medieval Panels Archive

The Comics Get Medieval Inaugural Session (2002)

14 March 2002: The ‘Knewts’ of the Round Table? Arthuriana & the Comics. Panel and roundtable discussion included under the Arthurian Legends Area of the Popular Culture Association. 32nd Annual Meeting of the Popular Culture Association, Sheraton Centre (Toronto, Canada). 

Organizer: Michael A. Torregrossa (University of Connecticut (Storrs))

Moderator: Katherine Charbeneau (Lawrence Technological University)

“The Future King: Camelot 3000”

Dominick Grace (Algoma University College)

“The Four-Color King Is Dead: Arthurian Comics Beyond the Superhero”

Jason Tondro (University of California, Riverside)

Roundtable on Arthurian comic books

Presider: Michael A. Torregrossa

Panelists: Dominick Grace, Jason Tondro, and Michael A. Torregrossa

The Comics Get Medieval Year 2 (2004)

8 April 2004: The Comics Get Medieval: Adaptations of Medieval Texts and Legends in the Comics Medium. Panel and roundtable included under the Arthurian Legends Area of the Popular Culture Association. Sponsored by the Arthurian Legends Area, the Comics Area, and the Medieval Popular Culture Area of the Popular Culture Association. 34th Annual Meeting of the Popular Culture Association / American Culture Association, San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter (San Antonio, TX).

Organizer: Michael A. Torregrossa (University of Connecticut (Storrs))

Presider/moderator: Michael A. Torregrossa

“Contains Adult Content, Suggested For Mature Readers: Childhood Fairytales and Exploitation in DC Vertigo's The Children's Crusade”

Robert A. Emmons Jr. (The Art Institute of Philadelphia)

“Dracula Sucks, But Vlad Does Not: A Romanian Response to American Popular Representations of Vlad Ţepeş”

Daniela Şovea (University of Connecticut (Storrs))

“Why the Middle Ages? A Roundtable Discussion on Medieval Comics"

9 May 2004:  Medieval Classics Illustrated: Using the Comics to Teach Medieval Legends and Texts (A Roundtable), sponsored by the Arthurian Comics Discussion List. 39th International Congress of Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University (Kalamazoo, MI).

Organizer: Michael A. Torregrossa (University of Connecticut (Storrs))

Presider: Charlotte Wulf (Villa Julie College)

“The Comics Get Medieval: Defining the Corpus”

Michael A. Torregrossa

“Beowulf Stands Alone: Medieval Heroism in Four Colors”

Jeff Massey (Emory University)

The Comics Get Medieval Year 3 (2005)

24 March 2005: The Comics Get Medieval. Panel and roundtable discussion included under the Arthurian Legends Area of the Popular Culture Association. Sponsored by the Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages and the Arthurian Legends, Comics & Comic Art, and Medieval Popular Culture Areas of the Popular Culture Association.  35th Annual Meeting of the Popular Culture Association, San Diego Marriott Hotel and Marina (San Diego, CA).

Organized by Michael A. Torregrossa (University of Connecticut (Storrs)) and Jason Tondro (University of California, Riverside)

Chair:  Christina Francis (Arizona State University)

“Understanding Dante: Comics in the Commedia”

Jason Tondro

“Bran's Head and Other Things You Never Thought You'd See In Comics: Celtic Mythology in Comics”

Nicole Freim (Cardinal Stritch University)

“Holy Grail, Batman!  The Dark Knight Detective in King Arthur's Court--DC Comics' Batman and the Arthurian Legend”

Michael A. Torregrossa

The Comics Get Medieval Year 4 (2007)

6 April 2007: The Comics Get Medieval I:  Modern Comics & Their Medieval Sources and The Comics Get Medieval II:  Comics and Medieval Studies. Sponsored by the Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages and the Arthurian Legends, Comics & Comic Art, and Medieval Popular Culture Area of the Popular Culture Association.  2007 Joint Conference of the National Popular Culture and American Culture Associations, Boston Marriott Copley Place (Boston, MA). 

“The Comics Get Medieval I:  Modern Comics & Their Medieval Sources”

Organized by Michael A. Torregrossa (Smithfield, Rhode Island) and Jason Tondro (University of California, Riverside)

Chair:  Michael A. Torregrossa

“An Arthur for All Ages, Appearing Now in the Web Comic Arthur, King of Time and Space”

Christina Francis (Bloomsburg University)

“ ‘Thor Disassembled’ Dissected:  The Medieval Sources of Ragnarok (2004)”

Kate D’Ettore (CMS University of Toronto)

“From the Middle Ages to the Middle Market:  Beowulf and the Comic”

María José Gómez-Calderón (Universidad de Sevilla)

“Comic, But Not Funny:  The Concept of Gravitas in Gareth Hinds’ Graphic Adaptation of Beowulf (1999-2000)”

Nathan A. Breen (DePaul University)

 “The Comics Get Medieval II:  Comics and Medieval Studies”

Organized by Michael A. Torregrossa (Smithfield, Rhode Island) and Jason W. Tondro (University of California, Riverside)

Chair:  Michael A. Torregrossa

“Professor A and the X-Men:  Augustine of Hippo’s Non-Systematic Demonology in Marvel Comics’ X-Men”

Matthew S. McConnel (Western Michigan University)

“Vikings across a Millennium:  Comics in the Twelfth and Twentieth Centuries”

Rod McDonald (University of Sydney)

Roundtable on Medieval Studies and the Comics Medium

Moderator:  Michael Torregrossa

The Comics Get Medieval Year 5 (2008)

21 March 2008: The Comics Get Medieval 2008: From Comics of the Middle Ages to Modern Medieval-Themed Comics (listed in the program as “Comics from the Middle Ages to the Modern”). Included under the Medieval Popular Culture Area of the National Popular Culture Association. Sponsored by the Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages and the Arthurian Legends, Comics & Comic Art, and Medieval Popular Culture Areas of the Popular Culture Association.  2008 Joint Conference of National Popular Culture and American Culture Associations, San Francisco Marriott (San Francisco, CA).  

Organizer: Michael A. Torregrossa (The Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages)

Presider: K. A. Laity (College of Saint Rose)

“The Cycle of the Life and Passion of Christ in the Bible of Ávila: A Spanish Medieval Proto-Comic”

Monica A. Walker Vadillo (Universidad Complutense de Madrid)

“Jean d’Arras’ and Couldrette’s Mélusine depicted in Mélusine, fée serpente by Sophie Balland and Didier Quella-Guyot”

Julia A. Nephew (Dominican University)

“Four Colored Medievalism: DC Comics’ Beowulf, Dragon Slayer”

Peter Lee (California State University, Northridge)

  

10 May 2008: The Comics Get Medieval at Kalamazoo: A Workshop on the Comics Medium in the Medieval Studies Classroom and Medievalist Research.  Sponsored by The Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages.  43rd International Congress on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University (Kalamazoo, MI). 

Organizer: Michael A. Torregrossa (The Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages)

Presider: Dominick Grace (Brecia University College)

“Introducing the Medium”

Michael A. Torregrossa

“The Medieval Comics Project: Defining the Corpus (Again)”

Michael A. Torregrossa

“Using Comics in Your Teaching and Research” 

Michael A. Torregrossa

Introduction and History

Welcome to the The Medieval Comics Project Blog. The Medieval Comics Project (MCP) was first launched in August 2003 as a resource for scholars, educators, and enthusiasts of the Middle Ages. The website will be relaunched in the future, but, in the meantime, this blog, alongside The Arthur of the Comics Project Blog (associated with our sibling project The Arthur of the Comics Project) has been conceived as a way to catch up on new and forthcoming comics as well as commentary on previous comics and scholarship on medieval-themed comics. We also hope that the blog(s) can serve as a forum to generate new scholarship on this much-neglected form of popular medievalism.

Michael A Torregrossa,
Founder, The Medieval Comics Project
Founder, The Arthur of the Comics Project