{"product_id":"drawing-france-joel-e-vessels-9781617033230","title":"Drawing France: French Comics and the Republic","description":"In France, Belgium, and other Francophone countries, comic strips--called bande dessinee or \"BD\" in French--have long been considered a major art form capable of addressing a host of contemporary issues. Among French-speaking intelligentsia, graphic narratives were deemed worthy of canonization and critical study decades before the academy and the press in the United States embraced comics. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The place that BD holds today, however, belies the contentious political route the art form has traveled. In \u003ci\u003eDrawing France: French Comics and the Republic\u003c\/i\u003e, author Joel E. Vessels examines the trek of BD from it being considered a fomenter of rebellion, to a medium suitable only for semi-literates, to an impediment to education, and most recently to an art capable of addressing social concerns in mainstream culture. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In the mid-1800s, alarmists feared political caricatures might incite the ire of an illiterate working class. To counter this notion, proponents yoked the art to a particular articulation of \"Frenchness\" based on literacy and reason. With the post-World War II economic upswing, French consumers saw BD as a way to navigate the changes brought by modernization. After bande dessinee came to be understood as a compass for the masses, the government, especially Francois Mitterand's administration, brought comics increasingly into \"official\" culture. Vessels argues that BD are central to the formation of France's self-image and a self-awareness of what it means to be French.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Joel E. Vessels\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1617033235\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781617033230\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University Press of Mississippi\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/09\/2012\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 305\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.98lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.67d","brand":"Joel E. Vessels","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44716454248703,"sku":"9781617033230","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_bc2c26e1-af1b-4567-b5e8-d53d964091b3.jpg?v=1705682412","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/drawing-france-joel-e-vessels-9781617033230","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}