Striking Back: Black Lightning and Reading Race (part two)

When Black Lightning rejects the Justice League he is rejecting white supremacy.

Striking Back: Black Lightning and Reading Race (part one)

The clumsy way superhero comic books of the post-Civil Rights 1970s explicitly address race can provide a site for imagining productive racial consciousness for black characters, while also highlighting the limits of that kind of resistant reading.

Alpha & Omega #1: Into the Unknown

The first installment in a new series of posts comparing the 1970s Omega the Unknown comic book and the 2000s re-imagining.

The (re)Collection Agency #4: A Conversation with Brian Cremins

The latest in our conversations with comics scholars: this time Dr. Brian Cremins talks comics and nostalgia as pitfall and strategy in (re)constructing personal and historical narratives.

Re-Reading Girl Comics

A 2010 series by women, but for who?

Imagining What Silence Looks Like: Prince & Queering the Popular Love Song

The dark sound and minimalist instrumentation on “If I Was Your Girlfriend” demonstrates Prince’s willingness to bend and distort expectations with a lyrical and sonic playfulness that challenges the listener to think beyond the obvious gender stereotypes inherent in most popular love songs.

The (re)Collection Agency #3: A Conversation with Leah Misemer

The third in our series of talks with comics scholars; this time we talk letters columns, graphic medicine, and keeping comics studies fun with Dr. Leah Misemer.

Brief Comics Reviews (3/15 to 3/29 – 2017)

Brief reviews of recent comics, including Booster Gold/The Flintstones Special #1, Sam Wilson: Captain America #20, and Hulk #4.

The Private “I”: Identity in the Post-Internet Age

The social nature of personal identity in Brian K. Vaughn and Marcos Martin’s The Private Eye.

Brief Reviews (2/8 to 2/22 – 2017)

Brief reviews of comics released February 8th, 15th and 22nd, including Occupy Avengers #4 and Hulk #3.

The Pleasure of the Serial Comic Book

Thinking about the bliss of the incomplete comic book serial.

The (re)Collection Agency #2: A Conversation with Qiana Whitted

The second in our on-going series of interviews with comics scholars.

Brief Comics Reviews (12/21/2016 to 1/11/2017)

Brief reviews of recent comics including Wonder Woman #14, U.S. Avengers #1, and The Flintstones #7.

“Nobody Speak” – Pulling Back the Curtain on Trumpist Politics

You wanna hear a good joke? Nobody speak, nobody get choked.

The Tangled Web of Racial and Gender Progress in Comics

Even comics that are not particularly “important” can tell us a lot about the attitudes acceptable in the editorial environments in which they were developed

2016: Nothing To Be Done (But Pay Writers)

Our annual Meta-Post, overcoming 2016’s malaise by doubling-down on what matters.

The (re)Collection Agency #1: Talking with Christopher Pizzino

The first in our on-going series of interviews with comics scholars.

Brief Reviews (11/16 to 11/30, 2016)

Brief reviews of recent comics released from November 16 to 30, including Wonder Woman #11, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur #13, and Monstress #8.

Girl, You’ll Be an Invisible Woman Soon: Defining Serial Characters

Thinking through how readers conceptualize a character and the degree to which such a characterization can be independent of how the character acts in the actual stories she appears in.