Seite - 17 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Band 03/01

On the History and Hermeneutics of Comics | 17www.jrfm.eu 2017, 3/1, 17–44 Christian Wessely On the History and Hermeneutics of Comics ABstrACt What is a comic? the simple answer states that a comic is a drawn story that is pic- ture- rather than text-oriented and told serially. in other words, a comic is a type of illustration. Realism is not its goal; rather a narrative is developed through reduction according to specific stylistic means. I start this article with a definition of the term “comic”, and move on to highlight the complexity of the comic and to argue that insight into this complexity is neces- sary for its correct interpretation. Only then can we recognise that the comic is not only entertaining but also, in its own way, a vehicle for content that might be system confirming and propagandistic but can also be system critical. Doing so allows us to see the potential of the comic that is embedded in its particular affinity with nonlinear interactive audiovisual media. KeyWOrDs history of comics, hermeneutic of comics, illustrative language, dissident potential, propagandistic potential BiOGrAPhy Master Craftsman Diploma and engineer for Agriculture (hBLfA raumberg-Gumpen- stein, 1984/1991); Mag. theol. (1991, distinction); Dr. theol. (Fundamental Theology; thesis on Mythological structures in entertainment industry, frankfurt: Lang 1995, distinction). Habilitation in Fundamental Theology (2004; thesis: Gekommen, um zu dienen, regensburg: Pustet 2005). Director of the institute for fundamental theology at the Karl-franzens-University Graz, Austria, since 2014. My principal area of expertise, Catholic fundamental theology, is not exactly known for its affinity with comics. Until the 1970s, comics were generally ig- nored by scholars; subsequently they were either vilified as an inferior genre or, worse, interpreted eisegetically. Only a small number of researchers took com- ics as seriously as they deserved,1 and none of them worked from the specific perspective of fundamental theology. The discipline, however, cannot afford to 1 A good example of an early, high quality approach is Wermke 1976.