Comics and the World Wars

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With the centenary of 1914-18 approaching, followed by commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the end of World War 2, these epic events will receive a high public profile worldwide. This timely project therefore asks the question: what is the contribution of the comic form to the cultural heritage of these global experiences & what different kinds of historical meaning emerge? The project research & the two major exhibitions that go with it - one on World War One comics at the Belgian Comic Strip Museum, & one on Second World War comics at London's Cartoon Museum- will emphasise to the heritage industry the potential of comics as a cultural artefact.Many people have childhood memories of comic strips and of following war stories with familiar characters on a regular basis. The comic format has now expanded from strips and magazines aimed at children, to books aimed at adults, spawning a new 'genre' of factually based stories. In France, where comics are referred to as the '9th art', a sub-genre of historical comics was sparked off by the publication of a 5 volume series depicting the journeys of an 18th century slave girl from the stormy coasts of Europe to Africa and then to the New World, all impeccably documented. It was followed by 'Paroles d'Etoiles'-the words of the star-a series of radio interviews with verbatim personal testimonials that were printed first in book form, followed by a comic book, as memories of hidden Jewish children who had fled the Holocaust & were forced to assume false identities to survive. In the UK world war stories faded into decline from the mid 1980s, whereas Francophone and Asian comics are still being produced today. So, a transnational comparative approach to WW1 & WW2 strips may reveal different aspects of each country's experience as either undefeated, or occupied lands and peoples. Comics can be for children's educative purposes, or have a political message focused upon adult audiences, or contain covert propaganda 'hidden' in children's comics, such as German 'rats' taking over Belgium in Chlorophylle (1979), originally printed in the 1950s, and a golden fascist smurf ranting Mussolini style in Schtroumpfissime (1978). Researchers are examining the kind of views that comics offer in specific aspects of world war history that usually receive less attention, such as the endangered heritage of The Great War that has become overshadowed by the popular emphasis on World War 2. Is there a unique form of insight into the harsh realities of trench warfare or in comic depictions of heroes, enemy and victims? The 'Red Baron' & 'I Flew with Braddock' are good examples of heroes whereas 'Charley's War' and 'C'était la Guerre des Tranches' depict the brutal war machine. Researchers are also investigating the relationship between creators, publisher & reader & the mutual influence upon each other, demonstrated by the long term survival of certain popular characters & formats. In addition, the project looks at ethnic issues through depictions of the Asian theatre of war as well as American black heroes, featured in the newspaper personae of 'Sergeant Joe' (1943), modelled on the boxer Joe Louis, and of 'Speedo Jaxon'. The role of women either as caring mothers or uniformed workers is being scrutinised; researchers will look at the way eye witness accounts & personal testimony interact with elements of illustrative fantasy in order to represent events that are 'un-representable' such as the Holocaust and Hiroshima. Thus this project will open up a new area of debate, drawing attention publically to the need to revisit old comics. The message is that these cultural artefacts can offer a popular record of attitudes, feelings & character types. Findings are likely to suggest that the range of cultural archives used by historians as sources should be widened to include some factualcomics & that future 'public history' (now determined by popular film & TV) should also include them.