Broken Frontier

A. David Lewis, in charge of the Ever-Ending Battle project, sent out the following email today:

Dear EEB mailing list subscribers,

Greetings, and happy late January to one and all. First, let me thank you for signing up for this list and taking an interest in the research that Ever-Ending Battle (EEB) hopes to conduct over the next year. While some have pledged time to help volunteer and so forth in the months ahead, simply being involved by subscribing to this list as well as spreading word about the research at comic shops, on campuses, at work, on message boards, and with publishers is already a major contribution. So, thank you!

Shortly, the excellent people at the International Comic Arts Association

-- who already aided EEB by designing our logo -- will be putting out both a message to all of their members and a press release to various news sites announcing that the first EEB online poll is live and available at their website: http://www.comicarts.org/study_eeb.php

While this questionaire will be provided at select comic book conventions throughout the summer, this online version (as well as downloadable .PDF file version) is an invaluable method by which to collect thanatological data from readers all across the country. Therefore, I wanted to invite the subscribers of this list to have first crack at the 5-minute questionaire; your honest responses would be greatly appreciated!

Again, official news about the questionaire will be going out shortly to various sites and news sources, but feel free to spread the word on your own! And don't forget to take 5 minutes and come fill it out yourself -- your input is invaluable: http://www.comicarts.org/study_eeb.php

Please feel free to respond with any questions, concerns, or interesting notes concerning the questionaire and upcoming plans for EEB.

My thanks,

A. David Lewis

EEB, Project Leader

Updated with the official press release by the ICAA:

ICAA HELPS LAUNCH GROUNDBREAKING COMIC RESEARCH STUDY

With the assistance of The International Comic Arts Association (ICAA),  comic book writerand scholar A. David Lewis has launched a new research study focused on superheroes and mortality. Entitled The Ever-Ending Battle, this unique project will explore "the relationship between mortality and the superhero comic book genre," as is stated in the mission statement on the website established for the project - www.EverEndingBattle.com .

This potentially groundbreaking study aims to combine a hybrid of literary criticism and thanatology -- the field of psychology that deals with a culture's perception and reaction to death and dying. In all, the goal of the project is four-fold: 1) to discern whether any particular, qualitative conventions exist in the treatment of death in superhero comic books that are unique to the genre; 2) to explore both how those conventions may have arisen and how they are perpetuated; 3) seperately, to analyse how those conventions may continue to affect characterization and storytelling; and 4) to study what impact these conventions have on their audience, and vice versa.

Industry trade organization, The International Comic Arts Association (ICAA) is supporting the project by hosting the initial online questionaire to collect data from comic book fans and professionals. The questionaire can now be found online at www.comicarts.org/study_eeb.php or if preferred a print-ready.pdf file of the questionaire may be downloaded to send by mail. Additionally, the organization assisted with the design and creation of the project's logo and printed materials and will continue to assist in data collection and the promotion of the study. Lewis will be making a presentation about the project and discuss the initial results of the data collection at this year's Popular/American Culture Association conference being held this March in San Diego.

ICAA Executive Director, Erik Enervold, had this to say about the project. "We are very pleased to beinvolved with the Ever-Ending Battle project, which could very well prove to be a groundbreaking study. This ambitious project should provide an interesting look into the role that death and mortality play in some of our favorite comic book stories and the impact that this has on comic readers. I would like to encourage all ICAA members - and comic book pros and fans in general- to participate in the study by completing the online questionnaire. A. David Lewis should be commended on taking this bold step to move comic book scholarship into new, uncharted territories."

Project leader and writer A. David Lewis holds a B.A. in English and Psychology from Brandeis University and an M.A. in English Literature from Georgetown University. As a lecturer and teacher of comic book classes at Georgetown University, Lewis now works both as an Academic Administrator on the Georgetown campus and as a member of The International Journal of Comic Art's Editorial Board. He has participated as a presenter for scholarly organizations such as the Popular Culture Association, the International Comic Arts Festival, and the Comic Arts Conference. Additionally, Lewis acts as editor for a number of independent comic book titles, self-publishes his own critically-acclaimed comic book title - Mortal Coils and is a contributor for a number of print and online comic news magazines.

"No other storytelling genre besides Passion plays and, to a lesser degree, vampire tales - deal with death and resurrection as such prominent narrative conventions," says Lewis. As a comic book creator and fan himself,Lewis notes that "now is an incredibly fertile time to study these phenomena. Whereas this could just as easily have been done in 1992 with 'The Death of Superman' storyline or, in 1986, with DC's Crisis on Infinite Earths and The Dark Knight Returns -- the current deluge of character deaths and returns really begs to be examined -- Hawkeye,Colossus, Sue Dibney, Jack Drake, Asgard, Retro Girl, Magneto, Phoenix, Prowler -- all within the last year."

For more information or to subscribe to the projects mailing list or live feed visit: www.EverEndingBattle.com. To participate in the study, please visit the online questionaire page at the ICAA's website: www.comicarts.org/study–eeb.php. All participants in the survey remain anonymous.