FRONT AND CENTER:
Travis Langley

Club activities are definitely going to get a lot more animated this year, courtesy of the Henderson Comic Arts Club. Under the supervision of Dr. Randy Duncan and Dr. Travis Langley, the Comic Arts Club – or Comics Club, as it’s more commonly known – is proving that fans have evolved far past the stereotypes of 5-year-old boys and basement-dwelling “Comic Book Guys.”

One of the club’s most fascinating accomplishments is the ERIICA project. ERIICA – which stands for Empirical Research on the Interpretation and Influence of the Comic Arts – studies the mental and emotional states of comic book fans. The project was originally conceived by Langley during a 2007 trip to the San Diego Comic-Con. “We wanted to know why these people want to go to these conventions and stand in line for hours to see a panel they’ve already been told they won’t be able to see,” says Langley. “We want to see if these people feel more accepted here in an environment that appreciates the interests they have and who they are.” (continued)

Doctor Travis Langley, a psychology professor at Henderson State University in Arkansas, says that people enjoy comics mainly for the escapist storylines and the opportunity for exposure to new characters and adventures. The more access people have to comics, in terms of how many comic book stores are in their residential or working community or how many comics are sold in their local grocery store, will determine how much a person will involve themselves in the hobby.

“A lot of people, especially younger people, when they watch these cartoons and movies, they start to see traits in these characters that they like, that they want in themselves that they really don’t have,” says Thomas Seepe, one of Langley’s students who is also helping him with the study. “Like superpowers, for example. You’ll start to see when people work towards an obsession. They want to become these characters. They love these characters. They take that character on as another persona. Why do we go to watch movies? We go to watch to act like we’re there, like we’re Indiana Jones.” (continued)

Go to full article by Syed Ali.