Comic book cartographies: a cartocentred reading of ​City of Glass​, the graphic novel

Giada Peterle
Università degli Studi di Padova, Italy

Abstract

This article responds to the call for a deeper theoretical and methodological exchange between the disciplines involved in
geohumanities research and proposes comic books as an environment for ​ inter​disciplinary, geo/cartographical and literary critical
research practice. The analysis considers the emerging field of ‘comic book geographies’ and suggests a further opening to ‘comic
book cartographies’. Hence, by referring to the ‘spatiocentred’ approaches emerging in literary theory and criticism, I propose a
‘geocritical’ and ‘cartocentred’ reading of comics to explore the ‘cartographies ​of ​the comic book’. I individuate the peculiar map-like
features of comics’ spatial grammar to interpret the comic book as both a cartographer and a map. Moreover, taking into account the
recent shift in cartographic theory towards an ‘emergent cartography’, I propose an ‘ontogenetic’ understanding of comics as maps.
Through both their representational and non- representational map-like features, comics are intended ‘as always mappings’, providing
the author/ reader with a truly mapping experience. The analysis of the exemplary case study of ​ City of Glass​, the graphic novel
transposition of Auster’s novel by Paul Karasik and David Mazzucchelli, counts as a first attempt to propose a ‘cartocentred’ reading of
the cartographies inserted ​within ​and emerging ​from a​ comic book. This article suggests that a ‘cartocritical’ reading of comics could
provide comic studies, cultural geography and literary theory with new insights, as well as cartographic theory with an unexplored
laboratory to keep on ‘rethinking maps’ from an ‘emergent’ perspective.

Keywords

comic book, geocriticism, graphic novel, literary cartography, literary geography, postmodern city, post-representational cartography,
emergent cartography

Introduction
Comics commonly appear to be very easy to understand and for this reason are often connected to popular culture and a broad
non-specialist audience. However, recent multidisciplinary

Corresponding author:
Giada Peterle, Dipartimento di Scienze Storiche, Geografiche e dell’Antichità (DiSSGeA) – Sezione di Geografia, Università degli Studi di Padova, via del Santo 26, 35123
Padova, Italy.

Email: giada.peterle@gmail.com