The University of Lancaster in the U.K. is now offering a doctorate in comic book studies under the guidance of Tintin expert Dr. Benoît Peeters. The Tab reports: Dr. Peeters, a French comic book writer, novelist, and critic has been appointed by Lancaster University as the UK’s first ever visiting professor of graphic fiction and comic art. In his three-year post, commencing next summer, he will be lecturing and supervising post-graduate students, and taking creative workshops, announced a university spokesman. Simon Guy, the dean of Lancaster’s faculty of arts, explained the philosophy behind the new comic art course. He said: “Not to spend time with students just reading manga comics. Instead, it’s about how comic fiction is bringing together a range of social, cultural, economic [and] technological innovations.” He also added: “It’s important we move beyond the traditional canonical idea of arts and culture. It’s important we understand the cultural and economic significance of the comic industry, which is worth millions … billions if you look at the films.” Dr. Peeters said the work will be “about comics and about writing comics”, exploring the creative work of Rodolphe Töpffer, a comic book writer from the early 19th century, as well as more modern works such as the [...]