The Graphic Lives of Fathers

Chapter 1 Introduction: Comics, Fatherhood, and Autobiographical Representation

Chapter 2 “A good and decent man”: Fatherhood, Trauma, and Post-War Masculinity in Carol Tyler’s Soldier’s Heart

Chapter 3 “He was there to catch me when I leapt”: Paternal Absence and Artistic Emancipation in Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home

Chapter 4 “As long as he was there, I felt safe”: Fatherhood, Deception, and Detective Work in Laurie Sandell’s The Impostor’s Daughter

Chapter 5 “To dream of birds”: The Father as Potential Perpetrator in Nina Bunjevac’s “August, 1977” and Fatherland

Chapter 6 “A doting fool”: The Limits of Fatherhood in R. Crumb’s Sophie Stories

Chapter 7 “Emasculated by the diaper bag”: Aging, Masculinity, and Fatherhood in Joe Ollmann’s Mid-Life

Chapter 8 “When the monsters come jello them”: Fatherhood, Vulnerability, and the Magic of the Mundane in James Kochalka’s American Elf

Chapter 9 “You tell your father he did a good job”: Sons, Fathers, and Intergenerational Dynamics in Jeffrey Brown’s A Matter of Life