Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2015, German

This thesis's aim is to introduce the contemporary Austrian comic book author Nicolas Mahler and his work to an English-speaking readership. A background of the German comic book genre prefaces a discussion about Nicolas Mahler and his professional career. The central section of this study will be devoted to a close analysis of two of Nicolas Mahler's works, Der Weltverbesserer (2014) and Franz Kafkas nonstop Lachmaschine (2014). For my analysis of these works, I explore Linda Hutcheon's theory of adaptation, Roland Barthes's narratology and Brian McFarlane's notion of enunciation. These theories aid in unpacking Nicolas Mahler's style and examining how he adapts works of German literary classics into the comic book genre. My thesis places Nicolas Mahler and his comic books within the tradition of the German literary context as well as within the study of contemporary German-language comic books.

Committee: Christina Guenther Dr. (Advisor); Edgar Landgraf Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Germanic Literature