Rebirth of the Gothic in the Metropolitan Legends

This article analyzes the reemergence of the eighteenth century gothic tradition in the graphic novels of the twentieth century and asserts that the Gothic appears at times of great social changes. Hence, early or later examples of this fiction can be seen as metaphors reflecting the emergence of capitalism and the paradigmatic evolution in man’s epistemological consciousness. The target of criticism being capitalism in the early works, the latest graphic novels, too, have the tendency of covertly lampooning the system and the materialist individual the system has created. Finally, the examples of this genre dwell on the spiritual, moral, and intellectual lacunae of the individual living in capitalist culture.