Illustrated stories and comics have a long history with the working class. This can be observed initially in the 19th century which saw the introduction of serialised fiction stories at the price of a penny. These publications, such as the penny dreadfuls had many controversies surrounding them, as they contained lurid content and were aimed predominantly at the working class. Much later the underground comix movement in the 20th century, which was again controversial and incited an anti-comics movement, to most recently the emergence of the newly respectable and literary graphic novels, with the gentrification of comics in the 21st century. This paper explores this relationship, focusing on the 19th century and the 21st century. It compares the changes that have occurred in this time and the parallels that can be seen between the two centuries. It looks how the working class have been viewed and treated and the relationship of this to illustrated stories.
PLEASE NOTE: You must be a member of the University of Lincoln to be able to view this dissertation. Please log in here.