Back to Black

FABRICE LEROY is a professor of Francophone studies at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He is the author of Sfar So Far: Identity, History, Fantasy, and Mimesis in Joann Sfar’s Graphic Novels and coeditor of the collections Intermediality in French-Language Comics and Graphic Novels and The Cambridge Companion to the American Graphic Novel.

• Introduction: Back to BlackChapter One: From Oedipus to Hollywood: Trauma and Simulacrum in Kill My MotherChapter Two: Cousin Joseph: A Noir Take on the American DreamChapter Three: Revenge, Repetition, and Reflexivity in The Ghost ScriptConclusion: Homage, Experimentation, and Irony in the TrilogyAcknowledgmentsNotesBibliographyIndexIntroduction: Back to Black 11 Kill My Mother:From Oedipal Trauma to HollywoodSimulacrum 132 Cousin Joseph: A Noir Take on the American Dream 653 The Ghost Script: Revenge, Repetition, and Reflexivity 123Conclusion: Homage, Experimentation, and Ironyin the Trilogy 175Acknowledgments181Notes 183References 197Index 000

"Leroy has written a book that is vital in finally giving Jules Feiffer the place he deserves in American comics. His in-depth readings disclose the larger historical, social, and political context of an exceptional trilogy, shedding new light on questions of masculinity in recent Jewish American culture." - Jan Baetens (author of Rebuilding Story Worlds: "The Obscure Cities" by Schuiten and Peeters) "A fresh interpretation of how Feiffer deftly manipulates the affordances of the graphic novel to dazzling effect. Leroy analyzes the complexities of Feiffer's rhetorical page layouts, appreciating the distinctive qualities of his fluid drawing style and demonstrating the subtlety and relevance of his masterworks. Leroy's vast knowledge of the cultural context and engaging style make Back to Black an indispensable addition to the scholarly conversation on Feiffer's work.” - Martha Kuhlman (coeditor of The Comics of Chris Ware: Drawing Is a Way of Thinking) "In this meticulously detailed study, Leroy brings the scholarly detective's critical eye to Jules Feiffer's late-career crime fiction masterpiece. An important examination of the stylistic importance of one of our greatest cartoonists, Back to Black discovers what is all too human in the dark heart of the American comics tradition." - Bart Beaty (author of Twelve-Cent Archie)