The idea of “scholars who study comics” is exciting to Frank Bramlett, Ph.D. who learned to read by flipping through comic strips. He recalled that it wasn’t until recently that scholars recognized the value that comic books and graphic novels bring to academia. In his position with the UNO English department, Dr. Bramlett studies and teaches a wide variety of topics relevant to his interest in language studies. Those topics include linguistics, second language learning, discourse, identity, and, currently, comic books. At the time of our interview in February, he was working on multiple projects related to comic books and graphic novels.
The first of his projects was published this March in The Oxford Handbook of Comic Book Studies. The section, titled “Why There Is No ‘Language of Comics’,” expresses Dr. Bramlett’s position that comics should be seen as a semiotic system, rather than as a language. He asks that scholars “not say comics are a language” because “language is used for construction and maintenance of human relations.” Instead, looking at comics as a visual semiotic system frees them up to be interpreted and understood more broadly. Language falls under the umbrella of semiotic systems, but trying to apply the template of language only inhibits the ways that comics can be understood. For more on language studies, Dr. Bramlett teaches multiple courses delving into such topics as well as their application to comic books and graphic novels.
Another one of his projects involves a book length piece discussing “Super hero sexuality.” The idea is a product of the cooperative effort between Dr. Bramlett and Roy T. Cook, Ph.D., who is a professor of Philosophy at the University of Minnesota. They are looking to explore a variety of topics as they relate to male sexuality in super hero comics, including ability/disability, the construction of sexuality, and ethnicity/race. Beyond the study of comics, Dr. Bramlett’s work with expressions of sexuality extends to his involvement with UNO’s Safe Space Workshop and Gay and Lesbian Independent School Teachers Network (GLSEN). He was formerly the director of the Safe Space Workshop & Ally program before stepping down to focus on his other duties. He continues to work with GLSEN, an organization committed to championing LGBTQ issues in education, by speaking to K-12 teachers and administrators about inclusivity and safety for LGBTQ students.
The last of his projects is a submission for the book Keywords for Comics Studies by NYU Press. He was invited to submit and has been working on his piece “What It Means to Be a Comic Book Reader.” The piece appraises the label of comic book reader from multiple angles. One perspective involves the social context surrounding the identity of comic readers and how that informs their experience. Another line of inquiry examines linguistic methods of processing text. Regardless of the specific manner of analysis, Dr. Bramlett continues to devote his studies to comics because he sees “all texts as being primed for linguistic analysis.”
