Reading Facsimile Reproductions of Original Artwork: The Comics Fan as Connoisseur
Résumé
By focusing on the recent French and American phenomenon of “classic” comics reprinted in actual-size facsimile reproductions of original artwork instead of the traditional reduced four-color format, this paper addresses the diversity of practices among “comics readers,” from the most casual to the most sophisticated. Unlike individual relationships to the medium emphasizing bibliophily, academic interpretation, or sketchhunting, the appreciation of volumes of original comic art exemplifies a connoisseurship combining archaeological and esthetic aspirations. Its agenda is to experience a reading that enables one to get as close as possible to the past actuality and, ideally, the authenticity of the cartoonist’s creative process before it was altered by the cultural industry.