The man and the superhero – a Marvel look at John Paul II
PDF (Język Polski)

Keywords

John Paul II
comics
Marvel
superhero
visual rhetoric

How to Cite

Kowalczyk, M. (2023). The man and the superhero – a Marvel look at John Paul II. Images. The International Journal of European Film, Performing Arts and Audiovisual Communication, 35(44), 117–133. https://doi.org/10.14746/i.2023.35.44.7

Abstract

The subject of interest in the paper is the comic book biography The Life of Pope John Paul II. In the 1980s, John Paul II was not only treated as the head of the Catholic Church, but held a place in popular culture. The article points out that the Marvel comic book was one of the works that positioned the Pope within an axiological community of superheroes who, in the most general perspective, showed what a life full of heroism should look like. Thus, the paper analyses the elements of the superhero rhetorical model and features typical of the comic medium that highlight the uniqueness of John Paul II’s biography. Furthermore, to fully reveal the persuasiveness of the creative solutions employed in this work, situating the Pope between a man and a superhero, the author refers to the analytical propositions of Roland Barthes and Michał Rusinek concerning the rhetoric of visual representations.

https://doi.org/10.14746/i.2023.35.44.7
PDF (Język Polski)

References

Barthes R., Retoryka obrazu, przeł. Z. Kruszyński, [w:] Ut pictura poesis, red. M. Skwara, S. Wysłouch, Gdańsk 2006, s. 139–158

Batchelor B., Stan Lee, człowiek-Marvel, przeł. B. Czartoryski, Kraków 2018 Coogan P., Superhero. The Secret Origin of a Genre, Austin 2006

Dallas K., The Times they were a’Changin’, [w:] American Comic Book Chronicles. The 1980s, red. K. Dallas, Raleigh 2013, s. 4–5

Dalton R.W., Marvelous Myths. Marvel Superheroes and Everyday Faith, St. Louis, MO 2011

Davis P.F., Comics as Communication: A Functional Approach, Cham 2019 Episode 68: Saintly Superheroes, CNA Newsroom, 5.05.2020, https://soundcloud.com/cnanewsroom/ep-68-saintly-superheroes (dostęp: 20.01.2021)

Francis, Brother of the Universe, scenariusz M. Jo Duffy, R. Gasnic, rysunki J. Buscema, M. Severin, New York 1980

Gabillie J.-P., Of Comics and Men. A Cultural History of American Comic Books, przeł. B. Beaty, N. Nguyen, Jackson 2010 DOI: https://doi.org/10.14325/mississippi/9781604732672.001.0001

Garrett G., Holy Superheroes. Exploring the Sacred in Comics, Graphic Novels, and Film, Louisville – London 2008

Gąsowski P., Komiks i mit, Poznań 2021

Gąsowski P., Wprowadzenie do kognitywnej poetyki komiksu, Poznań 2016 Historia komiksu Marvela o Janie Pawle II, eKai, 5.05.2020, https://www.ekai.pl/historia-komiksu-marvela-o-janie-pawle-ii/ (dostęp: 11.10.2021)

Howe S., Niezwykła historia Marvel Comics, przeł. B. Czartoryski, Kraków 2013 Jan Paweł II. „Nie lękajcie się”, scenariusz Dobbs, rysunki F. Fiorentino, przeł. E. Kacperski, Poznań 2020

Jenkins H., What Else Can You Do with Them. Superheroes and the Civic Imagination, [w:] The Superhero Symbol. Media, Culture, and Politics, red. L. Burke,I. Gordon, A. Ndalianis, New Brunswick, NJ – Camden, NJ –Newark, NJ – London 2020, s. 25–46 DOI: https://doi.org/10.36019/9780813597201-002

Lawrence J.S., Jewett R., The Myth of the American Superhero, Grand Rapids, MI – Cambridge 2002

Maliński M., Droga do Watykanu, Londyn 1981

McCloud S., Zrozumieć komiks, przeł. M. Błażejczyk, Warszawa 2021

McKeown J., The next hundred years of St. John Paul II’s legacy, Catholic News Agency, 2.04.2021, https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/44502/the-next-hundred-years-of-st-john-paul-iis-legacy (dostęp: 8.10.2021)

Mother Teresa of Calcutta, scenariusz R. Gasnic, D. Michelinie, rysunki J. Tartaglione, J. Sinnott, New York 1984

O’Sullivan J., Prezydent, papież, premier. Oni zmienili świat, przeł. P. Amsterdamski, Warszawa 2007

Pawłowska-Jądrzyk B., Uczta pod Wiszącą Skałą. Metafizyczność i nieokreśloność w sztuce (nie tylko) literackiej, Warszawa 2011

Romagnoli A.S., Pagnucci G.S., Enter the Superheroes. American Values, Culture, and the Canon of Superhero Literature, Lanham – Toronto – Plymouth 2013

Rushkoff D., Foreword. Looking for God in the Gutter, [w:] Graven Images. Religion in Comic Books and Graphic Novels, red. A.D. Lewis, Ch. Hoff Kraemer, New York 2010, s. ix–xii

Rusinek M., Retoryka obrazu. Przyczynek do percepcyjnej teorii figur, Gdańsk 2012 Soares M.A., Superman v. Specialman: Rhetorical Border Crossings of Unlicensed Superheroes, „The Journal of Popular Culture” 2020, nr 53(3), s. 600–625 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jpcu.12922

Skwarczyńska S., Przemilczenie jako element strukturalny dzieła literackiego, [w:] S. Skwarczyńska, Z teorii literatury. Cztery rozprawy, Łódź 1947, s. 7–45

Spider-Man, scenariusz S. Lee, rysunki S. Ditko, „Amazing Fantasy” 1962, nr 15, przeł. D. Szcześniak, [w:] Marvel Origins. Spider-Man 1 (1962), Warszawa 2023

Spiegelman A., Art Spiegelman: golden age superheroes were shaped by the rise of fascism, The Guardian, 17.08.2019, https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/ aug/17/art-spiegelman-golden-age-superheroes-were-shaped-by-the-rise-of-fascism (dostęp: 6.05.2021)

The Foom interview. Marvel’s Man in Japan: Gene Pelc, „Foom” 1978, nr 22

The Life of Pope John Paul II, scenariusz S. Grant, rysunki J. Tartaglione, New York 1982

The Pope in America: It Was Woo-hoo-woo, „Time” 1979, nr 16(114)

Tołczyk D., Gułag w oczach Zachodu, Warszawa 2009

Tucker R., Mordobicie. Wojna superbohaterów: Marvel kontra DC, przeł. K. Kurek, Warszawa 2018

Weigel G., Świadek nadziei. Biografia papieża Jana Pawła II, przeł. M. Tarnowska et al., Kraków 2000

Wright D.W., Comic Book Nation: The Transformation of Youth Culture in America, Baltimore 2001

Żaglewski T., Superkultura. Geneza fenomenu superbohaterów, Kraków 2021