I thank Pauliina Raento for her expert editing, three reviewers for excellent feedback, and also Marvel Comics for permission to reprint images. This research was funded through a grant from the British Academy.
1931-0846/asset/olbannerleft.gif?v=1&s=1e89a03db7ce66eb6917aa1849808560b945e7a2)
CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND THE NARRATION OF NATION†
Article first published online: 28 DEC 2010
DOI: 10.1111/j.1931-0846.2011.00073.x
© 2011 by the American Geographical Society of New York
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How to Cite
DITTMER, J. (2011), CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND THE NARRATION OF NATION. Geographical Review, 101: 71–87. doi: 10.1111/j.1931-0846.2011.00073.x
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Publication History
- Issue published online: 28 DEC 2010
- Article first published online: 28 DEC 2010
- Abstract
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Keywords:
- comic books;
- identity;
- narrative;
- popular geopolitics;
- United Kingdom
Abstract.
Captain Britain Weekly (1976–1977) was the first comic book specially created for the British market by New York-based Marvel Comics. The title character was created as an analogue to Captain America, the legendary American nationalist hero of the so-named comic book, but with key differences meant to resonate in the British context. I utilize visual and textual discourse analysis to study the narrative and imagery used to introduce this character to British comics fans, and I discuss readers' letters to the editor to evaluate audience response to the character and story lines. Attention is drawn to the hero's origin, which fuses science and magic to construct a paradoxically primordial, yet modern, British identity. Villains in these story lines provide hints about “un-British” behavior and provide lessons for young readers, with direct moral connections to, and contrasts with, the narratives found in Captain America.