Marc Singer is an associate professor of English at Howard University. He is the author of Grant Morrison: Combining the Worlds of Contemporary Comics and the coeditor of Detective Fiction in a Postcolonial and Transnational World.

• AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Pow! Zap! Comics Aren’t Just for Cultural Studies Professors Anymore1.The Myth of Eco: Comics, Continuity, and Cultural Populism2.The Abuses of History: Postmodernism and Contemporary Superhero Comics3.Properties of the Imagination: Copyright and Empire in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen4.The Limits of Realism: Alternative Comics and the Workshop Aesthetic5.Comics Studies in Miniature: The Canonization of Persepolis6.Shadows of the Past: Fictions of History in Nat TurnerAfterword: Never Apologize, Never DefendNotesBibliographyIndex

For anyone who has ever been frustrated by the insularity, boosterism, and self-congratulatory enthusiasm of comics and comics studies, Marc Singer's new book is a relief and a joy. (The Comics Journal) I have greatly enjoyed grappling with Marc's rigorous and unrelenting work...I both thoroughly enjoyed reading and enjoyed discussing [Breaking the Frames] with others. (The Middle Spaces) A well-researched, no-holds-barred, groundbreaking critique of the trends and problems of comics scholarship, Breaking the Frames, if taken seriously, will elevate study of the field to a higher perch. (CHOICE) In Breaking the Frames, Marc Singer delineates with aplomb a war of cultures and approaches within comics scholarship that will inspire any comics scholar to rededicate themselves to a new type of engagement and scholarship. (Inks: The Journal of the Comics Studies Society) Breaking the Frames boldly enters the critical conversation about comics scholarship as the author advocates for more rigorous critical methods without renouncing to the rich and diverse critical methodologies that compose this multidisciplinary field…Breaking the Frames makes an interesting contribution to the field by problematizing some methodological procedures. (Journal of American Studies in Italy) Throughout the book, Singer's fastidious attention to textual, historical, and material detail opens up new avenues of meaning and criticism for the texts, authors, periods, and trends he analyzes...Breaking the Frames is an important contribution to Comics Studies. Singer is unafraid to confront previous practices and scholarship and find them wanting. It is only through such clear-eyed and meticulous criticism that we can all take the necessary steps to do better. (ImageTexT) Singer is concerned with the humanity, the human-ness, of both the populist and academic patrons of comic books. And his warning, that the mutual exclusion that often happens is something akin to mutually assured destruction, could just as easily describe English, History, Film, and Philosophy departments across the country. Polarity is a broad problem. Singer’s work is an excellent step towards repairing the divide. (Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics)

Marc Singer is an associate professor of English at Howard University. He is the author of Grant Morrison: Combining the Worlds of Contemporary Comics and the coeditor of Detective Fiction in a Postcolonial and Transnational World.

• AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Pow! Zap! Comics Aren’t Just for Cultural Studies Professors Anymore1.The Myth of Eco: Comics, Continuity, and Cultural Populism2.The Abuses of History: Postmodernism and Contemporary Superhero Comics3.Properties of the Imagination: Copyright and Empire in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen4.The Limits of Realism: Alternative Comics and the Workshop Aesthetic5.Comics Studies in Miniature: The Canonization of Persepolis6.Shadows of the Past: Fictions of History in Nat TurnerAfterword: Never Apologize, Never DefendNotesBibliographyIndex

For anyone who has ever been frustrated by the insularity, boosterism, and self-congratulatory enthusiasm of comics and comics studies, Marc Singer's new book is a relief and a joy. (The Comics Journal) I have greatly enjoyed grappling with Marc's rigorous and unrelenting work...I both thoroughly enjoyed reading and enjoyed discussing [Breaking the Frames] with others. (The Middle Spaces) A well-researched, no-holds-barred, groundbreaking critique of the trends and problems of comics scholarship, Breaking the Frames, if taken seriously, will elevate study of the field to a higher perch. (CHOICE) In Breaking the Frames, Marc Singer delineates with aplomb a war of cultures and approaches within comics scholarship that will inspire any comics scholar to rededicate themselves to a new type of engagement and scholarship. (Inks: The Journal of the Comics Studies Society) Breaking the Frames boldly enters the critical conversation about comics scholarship as the author advocates for more rigorous critical methods without renouncing to the rich and diverse critical methodologies that compose this multidisciplinary field…Breaking the Frames makes an interesting contribution to the field by problematizing some methodological procedures. (Journal of American Studies in Italy) Throughout the book, Singer's fastidious attention to textual, historical, and material detail opens up new avenues of meaning and criticism for the texts, authors, periods, and trends he analyzes...Breaking the Frames is an important contribution to Comics Studies. Singer is unafraid to confront previous practices and scholarship and find them wanting. It is only through such clear-eyed and meticulous criticism that we can all take the necessary steps to do better. (ImageTexT) Singer is concerned with the humanity, the human-ness, of both the populist and academic patrons of comic books. And his warning, that the mutual exclusion that often happens is something akin to mutually assured destruction, could just as easily describe English, History, Film, and Philosophy departments across the country. Polarity is a broad problem. Singer’s work is an excellent step towards repairing the divide. (Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics)

Marc Singer is an associate professor of English at Howard University. He is the author of Grant Morrison: Combining the Worlds of Contemporary Comics and the coeditor of Detective Fiction in a Postcolonial and Transnational World.

• AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Pow! Zap! Comics Aren’t Just for Cultural Studies Professors Anymore1.The Myth of Eco: Comics, Continuity, and Cultural Populism2.The Abuses of History: Postmodernism and Contemporary Superhero Comics3.Properties of the Imagination: Copyright and Empire in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen4.The Limits of Realism: Alternative Comics and the Workshop Aesthetic5.Comics Studies in Miniature: The Canonization of Persepolis6.Shadows of the Past: Fictions of History in Nat TurnerAfterword: Never Apologize, Never DefendNotesBibliographyIndex

For anyone who has ever been frustrated by the insularity, boosterism, and self-congratulatory enthusiasm of comics and comics studies, Marc Singer's new book is a relief and a joy. (The Comics Journal) I have greatly enjoyed grappling with Marc's rigorous and unrelenting work...I both thoroughly enjoyed reading and enjoyed discussing [Breaking the Frames] with others. (The Middle Spaces) A well-researched, no-holds-barred, groundbreaking critique of the trends and problems of comics scholarship, Breaking the Frames, if taken seriously, will elevate study of the field to a higher perch. (CHOICE) In Breaking the Frames, Marc Singer delineates with aplomb a war of cultures and approaches within comics scholarship that will inspire any comics scholar to rededicate themselves to a new type of engagement and scholarship. (Inks: The Journal of the Comics Studies Society) Breaking the Frames boldly enters the critical conversation about comics scholarship as the author advocates for more rigorous critical methods without renouncing to the rich and diverse critical methodologies that compose this multidisciplinary field…Breaking the Frames makes an interesting contribution to the field by problematizing some methodological procedures. (Journal of American Studies in Italy) Throughout the book, Singer's fastidious attention to textual, historical, and material detail opens up new avenues of meaning and criticism for the texts, authors, periods, and trends he analyzes...Breaking the Frames is an important contribution to Comics Studies. Singer is unafraid to confront previous practices and scholarship and find them wanting. It is only through such clear-eyed and meticulous criticism that we can all take the necessary steps to do better. (ImageTexT) Singer is concerned with the humanity, the human-ness, of both the populist and academic patrons of comic books. And his warning, that the mutual exclusion that often happens is something akin to mutually assured destruction, could just as easily describe English, History, Film, and Philosophy departments across the country. Polarity is a broad problem. Singer’s work is an excellent step towards repairing the divide. (Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics)