Critical Approaches to Comics : Theories and Methods, Hardcover by Smith, Matthew J. (EDT); Duncan, Randy (EDT), ISBN 041588554X, ISBN-13 9780415885546, Brand New, Free P&P in the UKThis collection is intended to serve as a widely representative, but not exhaustive, introduction to the different ways in which comics are studied across academic disciplines. The 21 chapters presented by Smith (communication, Wittenberg U.) and Duncan (Henderson State U.) address "the formal techniques of comics storytelling, the content of their messages, the industrial practices that produce them, the social contexts that inform their meanings, and the ways audiences receive, interpret, and respond to them." In addition to describing methodologies, the contributions also demonstrate their application to specific subjects, with the chapter on the political economy of production approach, just to cite one example, discussing the manipulation of consumer demand in relation to "The Death of Superman." Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR ()