Obrazy wojny w powieści graficznej

Abstract

This article is devoted to discussing the meaning and function of the depiction of war in graphic novels and its place in the creation of collective memory and historical truth. This proposed perspective is complementary to the study of armed conflict as conducted by political, security and legal sciences. The paper’s main theme is the history of the siege of Sarajevo and the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as portrayed in Joe Kubert’s graphic novel Fax from Sarajevo. The study has been conducted in light of the war image theory, proposed by Susan Sontag in Regarding the Pain of Others. In some instances an additional graphic novel was invoked - Joe Sacco’s Safe Area Goražde: The War in Eastern Bosnia 1992-1995 - to indicate significant correlations in narrative structure. Lastly, the article underlines the place and role of the reporter in visual discourse related to armed conflict.