Finding comic books at your local library can sometimes be an effort in frustration, or worse, futility. If they are available at all, they are often lumped under a single label, hidden away on a shelf in the corner. Part of the issue, explained librarian Rotem Diamant in a CBC interview, is that the current…
The Harmful Pseudoarchaeology of Mythological Atlantis
Having made its recent debut, Lost City Explorers is a brand new comic series by Aftershock Comics. In this series, siblings Helen and Homer Coates find themselves reeling from the sudden death of their archaeologist father, Dr. Tom Coates, who they believe has died in an underground work accident. That is until they find out…
Con(ference) Diary: CSS19 Comics/Politics
The Comics Studies Society held its second annual conference at Toronto’s Ryerson University over the last weekend of July. Drawing on the theme, Comics/Politics, CSS19 attendees from around the world participated in a conference that foregrounded Canadian comics scholarship and practice in plenaries featuring Tara Audibert, Cole Pauls, Camille Callison, Jillian Tamaki, and Fiona Smyth.
Our Queer Older Siblings Will Guide Us: An Interview with the Queer Zine Archive Project
I am sick of articles and think pieces that tell us zines are back. The more I visit zine festivals, talk to zinesters, buy zines, and check out zine libraries, the more I realize that zines never left. Zines, and the people who make them, have grown, found new avenues to reach people, and continued…
Comics Academe: Calls for Action and CFP
It’s been a banner year in Comics Studies, with new series, edited collections, and conferences debuting. And with the growing opportunities come the Calls for Proposals, Calls for Papers, and Calls for Panels.
4 Colorism, or, the Ashiness of it All
A few Christmases ago my mom got me a couple comic books she’d found in a bargain bin. Her thought was: “These are beyond mortal comprehension…better give them to Zoe.” I sat there with two issues of Gold Key’s Brothers of the Spear in my hands and thought, gosh, mom, I don’t know where to…
Focus on Comics Scholarship: an interview with Frederik Byrn Køhlert
Routledge will be publishing a series of scholarly texts on “Gender, Sexuality and Comics Studies,” as part of its Focus Collection, which offers quick publication of peer-reviewed work, of a length generally associated with a too-long chapter, or too-short monograph: 20,000 to 50,000 words including notes and references. The editor for the Gender, Sexuality and…
“Don’t Get Eaten by a Tiger”: The Presentation and Safety of Othered Children in FF
Marvel Comics’ all-ages series FF (2012) is brought to us by team Matt Fraction and Mike, Lee, and Laura Allred and follows the adventures of the Future Foundation, a school for special youngsters, temporarily headed by Scott Lang, She-Hulk, Medusa, and pop singer Darla Deering a.k.a Miss Thing.
Project GraphicBio: Interview with Dr. Candida Rifkind
Professor Candida Rifkind has recently concluded a years-long project called Project GraphicBio at University of Winnipeg. Funded in part by a 2015-18 Insight Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, she studied biographies in graphic form, with various groups of students for several semesters. I first heard about the project through…
Looking at Suffering: A Review of Ethics in the Gutter
Ethics in the Gutter: Empathy and Historical Fiction in Comics Kate Polak The Ohio State University Press September 20, 2017 CONTENT WARNING: This book includes discussions of genocide, alcoholism, sexual assault, and racism, as well as images depicting blood, gun violence, animal cruelty, and lynching.
Monstress and the Problem of Women in Pain
Please note this post contains discussion of violence against women. Also, spoiler alert for Monstress. Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda’s Monstress has—justifiably—been on fire lately. It won heaps of accolades at the 2018 Eisner Awards and major love and respect from readers. Liu was the first woman to win the Best Writer award (about time),…
Comics Academe: The Evolution of Comics in Education Educators
To quote Jill Gerber, “In an increasingly image-driven culture, it is important that we purposefully incorporate visual literacy into our curriculum and equip our students, not only to be better consumers of information, but also for them to effectively communicate to a global community.” Gerber is an award-winning, published author and longtime educator. In this…
