Epic Disasters: Revisiting Marvel & DC’s 1980s Famine Relief Comics
How well do Marvel and DC’s 1985 comics meant to raise aid for famine relief in Africa tackle the tragic events they are addressing? Short answer? Not well.
Brief Comics Reviews (June 12 through July 3, 2019)
Brief reviews of comics released between June 12 and July 3, 2019, including Monstress #23, Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur #44, and Wonder Twins #5
WAUGH and On and On #1: Neither Fish Nor Fowl
A return to Howard the Duck after a nearly three-year hiatus from the If It WAUGHs Like a Duck series. . .
The (re)Collection Agency #11: A Conversation with Marc Singer
In the 11th installment of our series of talks with comics scholars and teachers, we talk with Dr. Marc Singer about his new book Breaking the Frames, the state of comics studies, and which is worse, recommending someone watch Aquaman or read Kingdom Come.
Where Everybody Knows You’re Men: NBC’s Cheers & White American Masculinity
When manhood and nation are synonymous women just become a way for men measure patriotism.
Brief Comic Book Reviews (Dec 19, 2018 to Jan 16, 2019)
Brief review of comics released between (mostly) December 19, 2018 to January 16 – including Runaways #16, Bitter Root #3, and Fantastic Four #5.
“I AM (not) FROM BEYOND!” – Situating Scholarship & the Writing “I”
Our 2018 Year-End Meta Post considers the role of the personal – both identificatory perception and the labor of writing itself – in scholarship.
Guess Who’s Coming Home for the Holidays: Intergenerational Conflict in Bitch Planet
Everyone’s Grandma is a Little Bit Feminist” from Bitch Planet: Triple Feature #5 asks us to imagine what makes an older relative inappropriate in a dystopic society.
The (re)Collection Agency #10: A Conversation with Margaret Galvan
In the 10th installment of our series of talks with comics scholars and teachers, we talk to Dr. Margaret Galvan about comics archives, keeping a spreadsheet of a comics collection, and the importance of research into grassroots periodicals in the study of queer comics.
YA = Young Avengers: Asserting Maturity on the Threshold of Adulthood
Young Avengers provides a fun and thoughtful exploration of the contradictions inherent to the transformation from adolescence to adulthood.
Brief Comic Book Reviews (August 22 to Sept 5, 2018)
Brief reviews of recent comics released August 22 to September 5, 2018; including Border Town #1, Black Hammer: Age of Doom #4, and Paper Girls #24.
Alpha & Omega #11: An Evolutionary Dead-End
The final installment of our reading series examining both version of Omega the Unknown, this time examining The Defenders #76 and #77, in which the original series was wrapped up after being cancelled.
Mind the Gaps 2018! The First Annual CSS Conference
An overview of Mind the Gaps 2018 – the first annual conference of the Comics Studies Society.
The (re)Collection Agency #9: A Conversation with Michael Sharp
In the 9th installment of our series of talks with comics scholars and teachers, we talk to Dr. Michael Sharp about what crossword puzzles and comic strips have in common, being a late comer to Marvel Comics, and the 1980s through the prism of Bloom County.
Brief Reviews of Comics (July 4 to 25, 2018)
Brief review of comics released in July 2018, including Astonisher #9, Captain America #1, The Quantum Age #1 and Paper Girls #22.
Alpha & Omega #10: Omega Without End
The not-so-final installment on the final installments of both versions of Omega the Unknown.
Digging Up Ghosts: Teen Titans’ Mal Duncan & His Token Power
Using Teen Titans #41 to think through token characters and slavery as a narrative trope.
Brief Comics Reviews (6/13 to 6/27, 2018)
Brief Reviews of Comics released between June 13th and 27th, 2018, including Runaways #10, Exiles #4, and Black Hammer: Age of Doom #3.
Alpha & Omega #9: Poetic License to Kill
The ninth installment of reading both versions of Omega the Unknown (from 1976 and 2007 respectively) against each other.
The (re)Collection Agency #8: A Conversation with Francesca Lyn
In the 8th installment of our series of talks with comics scholars, we talk to doctoral student Francesca Lyn about collecting, autobiographical comics, and stand-up comedy.
“Am I Black Enough For You?” The Respectability of CW’s Black Lightning
The CW’s Black Lighting represents the split between Black respectability and radical politics in a singular figure.
