TY - JOUR
T1 - New Nordic comics—a question of promotion?
AU - Cortsen, Rikke Platz
AU - Kauranen, Ralf
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 R.P. Cortsen and R. Kauranen.
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - Throughout history, the cultures of the Nordic countries have at certain points been seen through a lense that stresses regional commonality, most recently with terms like "New Nordic Cooking" or "Nordic Noir." In this article, we examine the possibility of a common concept of "New Nordic Comics" by analyzing a number of Nordic comics anthologies. We discuss in what way Nordic comics might be said to be new and how they can be considered to be Nordic. We state that the comics in the collections are not identifiable as particularly Nordic based on their themes or the stylistic or visual repertoires. In these respects, Nordic comics are part of a broader transnational comics culture. The comics, however, occasionally bear witness to a Nordic background or heritage, for instance, in the formof words in Finnish or the Scandinavian languages, names of characters or the milieux in the comics. On the whole, Nordicness in comics is variable and diverse, and rather than a phenomenon based on inherent quality or aesthetic commonality, new Nordic comics are a result of promotional strategies, cultural policies, and transnational connections between Nordic actors in the comics field.
AB - Throughout history, the cultures of the Nordic countries have at certain points been seen through a lense that stresses regional commonality, most recently with terms like "New Nordic Cooking" or "Nordic Noir." In this article, we examine the possibility of a common concept of "New Nordic Comics" by analyzing a number of Nordic comics anthologies. We discuss in what way Nordic comics might be said to be new and how they can be considered to be Nordic. We state that the comics in the collections are not identifiable as particularly Nordic based on their themes or the stylistic or visual repertoires. In these respects, Nordic comics are part of a broader transnational comics culture. The comics, however, occasionally bear witness to a Nordic background or heritage, for instance, in the formof words in Finnish or the Scandinavian languages, names of characters or the milieux in the comics. On the whole, Nordicness in comics is variable and diverse, and rather than a phenomenon based on inherent quality or aesthetic commonality, new Nordic comics are a result of promotional strategies, cultural policies, and transnational connections between Nordic actors in the comics field.
KW - aesthetics, design and media
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84996508292&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3402/jac.v8.30253
DO - 10.3402/jac.v8.30253
M3 - Review article
SN - 2000-4214
VL - 8
JO - Journal of Aesthetics and Culture
JF - Journal of Aesthetics and Culture
ER -