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ABSTRACT
The Situationist International (1957–1972) was one of the most radical intellectual groups of the second half of the 20th century. One of the distinguishing, albeit overlooked, features of the Situationist International was the importance it placed on the medium of comics. The Situationist International was perhaps the first philosophical movement in the history of Western thought to place a value on the production, consumption and overall worth of comics as a medium. Moreover, it was one of the first intellectual movements to propagate its philosophy through comics. This article examines the historical reasons as well as how form and content of comics predisposed the Situationist International towards affinity for the medium. In particular, the popularity of comics in France during the period the Situationist International was active is explored as well as how the form and content of comics at the time lent themselves to the situationist concepts of constructed situation, détournement and the spectacle.
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank Sonja Pretis for translating the situationist comic Les aventures de Superman-le-Situatuonniste. I would also like to thank Sophie Barr MA for her insightful comments on this article. To David Graham and the anonymous reviewers, I owe similar thanks. This article is much improved because of their comments. In addition, I would like to thank R. C. Harvey, who can be found at rcharvey.com, for helping me to identify George Wunder as the artist of the Terry and the Pirates panels used by the situationists.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1. A popular girls comic in France at the time.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
A.J. Paylor
Adrian Paylor’s current research interest centres on the relationship between philosophy and the medium of comics.