Authorship in Comics Journalism

'What is Comics Journalism,' and 'Why is the author not dead at all?' Because literature and journalism deal differently with 'authorship' and 'author,' this work renegotiates these concepts. It analyzes the author's importance in comics journalism, especially concerning the verification and authentication of the production process. This study gives a broad and extensive overview of the various forms of contemporary comics journalism, and argues that authorship in comics journalism can only be adequately understood by considering the author both on the textual and extratextual level. By combining comics analyses with cultural, sociological, and literary studies approaches, this study introduces the 'comics journalistic pact,' which is an invisible agreement between author and reader, addressing issues of narration ('voice'), testimony ('face'), and journalistic engagement ('hands'). It categorizes comics journalism as a borderline genre between literature, culture, art, and journalism due to its interdisciplinary nature.

Laura Schlichting holds a Bachelor's Degree in English, Russian, and economics and a Master's Degree in English Literary and Cultural Studies at the University of Giessen, Germany. She was a member of the International Ph.D. Program and graduated from the International Graduate Centre for the Study of Culture (GCSC) in Giessen. Her research interests include, among others, narratology, politics and literature, as well as intermediality, transmedia, and journalism studies. She received her doctorate from the University of Giessen in 2020 with this study. Laura Schlichting hat einen Bachelor-Abschluss in Englisch, Russisch und Betriebswirtschaftslehre und einen Master-Abschluss in Englischer Literatur- und Kulturwissenschaft an der Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen, Deutschland. Sie war Mitglied des Internationalen Promotionsprogramms am International Graduate Centre for the Study of Culture (GCSC) in Gießen. Ihre Forschungsinteressen umfassen u.a. Narratologie, Politik und Literatur sowie Intermedialitäts-, Transmedialitäts- und Journalismusforschung. Mit dieser Studie wurde sie 2020 an der Universität Gießen promoviert.