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Document Type
Text
Broad Creation Date
2024
Language
English
Location
Portland
Abstract
The study of Latinx graphic novels is a form of continual resistance is an area of popular culture that, for a long time, evaded proper examination and analysis due to the lack of an effective philosophical approach in addressing the phenomenological complexity of shapeshifting and marginalized identities. Presently, however, scholars and contemporary Latinx artists-writers have actively reimagined the field of graphic novels and the figure of the classic superhero as an infallible figure and disrupted the hegemonic principles that have constrained storytelling within a heteronormative structure. The emergence of contemporary artworks has aided in shattering the hegemonic representation of the classic superhero, as well, focused renewed interest in the relevance of representing superheroes as divergent forms and their impact on popular culture, particularly in the way that Latinx, LGBTQ+ and BIPOC (black, indigenous, people of color) voices are represented and amplified within the unfolding process of alternative storytelling. Furthermore, this analysis explores how artists’ reiterations of classic comic book characters in alternative visual-verbal forms expose their vulnerabilities that move them beyond the realm of patriotic symbols of propaganda. This dissertation therefore examines the disruption of mainstream interpretation of the field of comics and their insertion into popular culture as forms of continual resistance that decenter authoritative narratives and reflect expressions of desire and sexualities that are still being invented. Latinx graphic novels create a space that allows the reader-viewer to imagine and invent possible futures that are not tethered to identitarianism or sameness in embracing different cultural perspectives without labels. Through the work of contemporary Latinx artists borrowing from the imagery of early comic characters, a radical, rhizomatic, reinvention of classic superheroes emerges to disrupt, expose, and reimagine one’s views of what a superhero represents in mainstream culture while expanding the field of Latinx futurism that reveals while not concealing other marginalized voices.
Disciplines
Art Practice | Arts and Humanities | Latin American Languages and Societies | Latina/o Studies | Queer Studies
Publisher
Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts
City
Portland ME
Recommended Citation
Garza, Héctor Rolando, "Queer Shapeshifting: Latinx Graphic Novels as Forms of Continual Resistance" (2024). Academic Research and Dissertations. 61.
https://digitalmaine.com/academic/61
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