Grant Tabler
Final Paper for AHSS*2030 (Thursday)
for Dr. Greg Kelley, Media Studies, 4th Floor
Dec. 9th, 2010
Virgin Ankles
Comics have the ability to portray many aspects of a story in a short set of pictures and narration. It is through this brevity coupled with the approachability of comics that makes them a great medium for the dissemination of folk lore and legends. Many classic legends have been exemplified via comics in The Big Book of Urban Legends. This paper will analyse one of the legends illustrated there, “The Slasher Under the Car”, examining an interpreted meaning, and looking at how various comic elements work to amplify meaning.
This comic seems to set the story in the 1950s, the women are dressed conservatively, and in a style mimicking this period, the hairstyles and fashion mimic that of 1950’s America as well. The “gang members” are not the stereotyped gangs of today comprised of minorities in baggy clothing. Instead, they are represented as 1950’s greasers. They are all white, with slicked hair styles and leather jackets. This makes some sense, since this legend is documented by folklorist Jan Brunvand to have first appeared in this time period.(Brunvand 134-138) The comic illustrates dramatic tension in a very clear way. Throughout most this comic we only see the main characters from the knees up, we are lead to assume that these women could be the next targets—as indeed one is.
