Introduction -- PART I: FOUNDATIONAL QUESTIONS -- 1. What are Comics? -- Truth, Justice, and Comics -- Arguing about Comics -- Theories, Virtues, and Comics -- Defining Comics, Dodging Counterexamples -- What Good are Definitions? -- Conclusions -- Discussion Questions -- Case Study Questions -- Recommended Readings -- 2 -- Are Comics Literature or Junk? -- The Nature and Value of Literature -- The Nature and Value of Junk Fiction -- Neither? Both? -- Conclusions -- Discussion Questions -- Case Study Questions -- Recommended Readings -- PART II: METAPHYSICAL QUESTIONS -- 3. Where are Comics? -- Types, Tokens, Issues -- Comics and Counterparts -- Conclusions -- Discussion Questions -- Case Study Questions -- Recommended Readings -- 4. What is Comics Canon? -- Truth and Authorship in Comics -- Truth in Fiction -- Interpretation -- Canonicity -- Ret-Conning -- Conclusions -- Discussion Questions -- Case Study Questions -- Recommended Readings -- 5. What are Comics Characters? -- Creation Myths -- Discovering Darkseid -- The Destruction Problem -- Will the Real Robin Please Stand Up? -- Conclusions -- Discussion Questions -- Case Study Questions -- Recommended Readings -- 6. What are Adaptations? -- Comics, Films, and Comics on Film -- Comics and Adaptations -- Medium-Specificity? -- The Metaphysics of Stories -- Evaluating Adaptations -- Conclusions -- Discussion Questions -- Case Study Questions -- Recommended Readings -- PART III: QUESTIONS OF GENRE, EVALUATION, AND ETHICS -- 7. What are Genres? -- A Case Study in Horror -- The Role of Genre in Comics -- Horror and its Comic History -- Monsters and Mystery -- Censorship and Moral Decay -- Conclusions -- Discussion Questions -- Case Study Questions -- Recommended Readings -- 8. Superheroes: Right or Wrong? -- Superhero Comics -- Representation -- Defying Expectations: The Superhero Genre -- Bruce, Clark, Barry: The White Male Superhero -- T'Challa and Kamala: Diversifying Genre -- Conclusions -- Discussion Questions.

Case Study Questions -- Recommended Readings -- 9. What are The Limits of Comics? -- Obscenity and Pornography -- Pornography and Comics: A Brief History -- Fun Home vs. Duke Freshman: A Protest -- Identifying the Obscene -- Art vs. Pornography -- Conclusions -- Discussion Questions -- Case Study Questions -- Recommended Readings -- Glossary -- Index.

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"What exactly is a comic? What is the difference between a comic and an illustrated novel? Could a comic be rightly counted as a work of literature? Thinking about comics raises a host of philosophical questions. Philosophy of Comics is an introduction to these questions and more. Exploring some of the peculiar features of comics, cartoons, and graphic novels, Sam Cowling and Wesley Cray chart a path through the field of the philosophy of comics. Using examples from a diverse range of comic genres and informed by case studies of classics such as Watchmen and The Flash , they tackle a variety of ethical, metaphysical, and aesthetic puzzles, including: - What does it takes to create-or destroy-a fictional character like Black Panther ? - Can all comics be adapted into films, or do some resist such treatment? - Is there really a genre of "superhero comics"? At a time of rapidly growing interest in graphic storytelling, this is an ideal introduction to the philosophy of comics and some of its most familiar and important questions"-- Provided by publisher.

Also published in print.

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