Decadence in Graphic Novels: An Introduction

Abstract

Comics are an unlikely medium for decadence, as the industry in the West focused primarily on young people for most of its existence. Beginning in the late twentieth century, however, and expanding in the twenty-first, comics artists and writers in North America, Europe and Great Britain have pursued more mature topics, and with them have explored both the themes and the creators of decadent literature.  This article offers an introduction to the strange flowering of decadence in comics, shedding light on works hitherto ignored in studies of decadence in literature and the arts. It covers five topics:

• Adaptations of works by French decadent authors, and biographical works concerning those authors, including Baudelaire, Rimbaud and Jean Lorrain
• Notable adaptations of The Picture of Dorian Gray, focusing on the 2008 version by the Spanish artist Corominas
• The influence of symbolist art on comics artists, particularly on the American artist P. Craig Russell
• Decadent narrative and linguistic tropes in 1970s horror comics published by Skywald
• As a special case, the portrayal of Gabriele d’Annunzio in Italian fumetti, including both biographical works and those in which feature him as a secondary character

Decadent literature has not had much of an influence on the comics medium. However, through an exploration of these five topics, this article suggests different pathways for studying the reflection of decadent authors and styles in comics. Those reflections, though rare, are fascinating.