The Colonial Heritage of French Comics

“A scholarly genealogy that charts evolving attitudes to colonialism over time, fascinating in its range of burlesque narratives and visually arresting images, and thought-provoking in its counterpoising of each example alongside debates informing transnational historical contexts. . . . Mark McKinney has produced an informative and detailed mapping of the terrains of colonial expeditions and exhibitions in French comics, supplemented by annotated appendices. He has then drawn on the material brought together to build a compelling essay with relevance to historians, (graphic) artists and their commentators, and students, scholars, and researchers with an interest in understanding how France has constructed and projected its places in the world, and the questions it asks itself about this enterprise today.”

“An authority on French comics, McKinney does much in this book to remedy what he accurately perceives as shortcomings of comics scholarship: insufficient serious analysis of the ideology, sociology, and history of comics generally and of their depictions of colonialism, imperialism, and racism specifically. He points out that a number of French cartoonists were implicated in the colonial culture, most often as portraying the colonized in mocking and stereotyped ways. . . . An exemplar of excellent scholarship, this book benefits from McKinney’s exhaustive primary and secondary research, excerpts from the comics (in the original French and in English translation), full informational notes, and numerous illustrations (including 26 color plates). Perhaps its most lasting contribution is again bringing to the forefront the topic of colonialist imperialism in comics. . . . Essential.”