There are no pre-requisites for this module to be added

Film and comics have a long and intertwined relationship that begins with the appearance of both artforms as mass media in the late nineteenth century. Rather than being a simple one-way relationship of adaptation, the two media have continued to influence and borrow from each other, in terms of both form and content. In this module, you will investigate the relationship between comics and film in a broad context that will include historical perspectives as well as theoretical considerations. You will read and watch a wide range of comics and films (and sometimes other related forms) from several different global contexts, an approach that will allow you to examine the relationship in ways that consider the essential features of each medium while also being attuned to the specifics of diverse national traditions. The module’s many different primary texts will largely go beyond the common association with superhero adaptations, and you will also read secondary literature from film studies, comics studies, media studies, and adaptation studies, among other fields. These will enrich your understanding of how such issues as ideology, gender, adaptation, franchising, and transmedia production have been central to—and continue to influence—the always developing relationship between film and comics.

Upon completion of this module you will be able to

LO1: Examine the historical and formal relationship between film and comics, from the late nineteenth century to the present

LO2: Critically reflect on the similarities and differences between the two media

LO3: Compare film and comics from a broad range of global contexts, including specific formal or other features associated with different national traditions

LO4: Analyse the relationship between film and comics in ways informed by current scholarship

LO5: Appraise key moments and assess major trends in the relationship between comics and film, across time and national contexts