Friday, February 18, 2011

Hannah Means-Shannon's Seeing double: the transforming personalities of Alan Moore's Promethea and the Ulster Cycle's Cuchulain

The latest number of the Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics includes the following essay:

Means-Shannon, Hannah. “Seeing Double: The Transforming Personalities of Alan Moore's Promethea and the Ulster Cycle's Cuchulain.” Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics 1.2 (2010): 93-104.

Abstract
This article explores the physical and psychic transformation of Sophie-Promethea®, of Alan Moore's Promethea, and Cuchulain, of the Irish Ulster Cycle, into dual heroic identities, illustrating the psychological concerns present in the texts. This heroic process of establishing a dual identity dramatizes the creation of a balance between the conscious ego and the unconscious psyche, a pattern of individuation put forward by theorist Carl Jung and subsequently explored by Erich Neumann and James Hillman. The plot structure of the texts, as well as elements of visual/descriptive detail concerning transformation support this comparative examination and confirm a concern for an attempted resolution between conflicting psychological aspects of the heroic individual. This study highlights both the heroic failure of Cuchulain to attain this desired resolution and Moore's creation of a new paradigm for potential synthesis between the worlds of the ego and the psyche as illustrated through his character, Promethea®.

The article can be downloaded free of charge through the end of this month.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Listserv Updates (Cross-Posted)

It is with deep regret that I write to inform readers of the demise of the following listservs sponsored by the Society: The Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages Discussion List, The Medieval Studies at the Movies Discussion List and The Medieval Comics Project Discussion List. The three have been disbanded due to lack of interest by the members. Archives for these lists will remain online for the time being, but further items of interest on these topics can be found instead on the various blogs currently sponsored by the Society, including Studies of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages and The Medieval Comics Project Blog.

Michael A. Torregrossa
Blog and Listserv Editor
Co-Founder

PS. The Medieval Comics Project Discussion List was, unfortunately, never very active and should have probably been put down much sooner. I do hope that this blog will be a welcome addition to furthering the study of medieval-themed comics.