In this seminar, we will explore the contemporary comic, considering literary and cultural works across a range of platforms and markets. Comics are still frequently (and historically) associated with popular culture, and linked to children's literature and mass media, even as they loom large through big and small screen adaptations with global reach. However, the combination of image and text has a powerful role in literary practice. As we survey works by influential artists and authors including Ta-Nehisi Coates, Gilbert Hernandez, Jason, Nnedi Okorafor, Noelle Stevenson, and Gene Luen Yang, we will consider the influence of changing technologies and distribution mechanisms on our understanding of "comics" and imagetext more broadly. Forms under examination include:
- Newspaper one-panel and "daily" strips
- Experimental graphic novels
- Comic as memoir / Autobiographical comics
- Literary influences on mainstream superhero comics
- Representation and cultural reception of comics
- Experimental webcomics and zines
- Motion comics and interactive work
Assignments include weekly discussions with shared close readings; comic annotation; and an iterative conference-length research paper.
- Develop an understanding of comics as a form, including the terminology and theoretical frameworks necessary to discuss image-texts broadly
- Explore the influence of comics on culture through both popular icons and independent, literary works
- Analyze comics and graphic novels through an intersectional lens, situating them as a site of cultural conflict and identity discourse
- Situate arguments in the history of comic studies, and draw parallels to other literary forms and theories
- Critique emerging and experimental works in the context of changing platforms and technologies impacting creation, distribution, and reception of image-text
While students are welcome to purchase the individual books, all primary texts will be available through Comixology Unlimited, a service with a free one-month trial ($6 monthly after) that is significantly cheaper than the purchase price of the course texts. Secondary texts will be available as PDFs or on library e-reserve (marked with an asterisk).
- Coates, Ta-Nehisi, et al. Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet, Vol. 1.. Marvel, 2016.
- Davis, Eleanor. How To Be Happy. Illustrated edition, Fantagraphics, 2014.
- DeConnick, Kelly Sue, and Valentine De Landro. Bitch Planet, Vol. 1: Extraordinary Machine. Illustrated edition, Image Comics, 2015.
- Hernandez, Gilbert, and Brian Evenson. Julio’s Day. Fantagraphics, 2013.
- Jason. Tell Me Something. Fantagraphics, 2004.
- Karasik, Paul, et al. How to Read Nancy: The Elements of Comics in Three Easy Panels. Illustrated edition, Fantagraphics, 2017.
- Okorafor, Nnedi, and Leonardo Romero. Shuri: The Search for Black Panther. Illustrated edition, Marvel, 2019.
- Snyder, Scott and Jeff Lemire. A.D. After Death, Vol 1. Image Comics, 2016.
- Stevenson, Noelle, et al. Lumberjanes, Vol. 1. BOOM! - BOOM! Box, 2015.
- Una. Becoming Unbecoming. Illustrated edition, Arsenal Pulp Press, 2016.*
- Wilson, G. Willow, et al. Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal. Marvel, 2014.
- Yang, Gene Luen. New Super-Man, Vol. 1: Made In China. Illustrated edition, DC Comics, 2017.
Additional recommended readings are included in each module to guide work towards the final research paper. Not all texts need to be read in their completion (guidance and suggestions will be offered in the modules), but as graphic novels are generally short, we will typically look at one book a week with supplemental secondary readings.
| Points | Assignment | Due Date |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Activity Verification - Complete the brief survey posted on Webcourses as soon as possible to confirm your enrollment in the course. | Friday, May 21st |
| 30 | Discussions - Weekly discussions will consist of sharing preliminary readings and arguments, as well as progress towards the final paper. | Weekly |
| 10 | Comics Annotation - Using the methodology of How to Read Nancy, annotate a section of the work chosen for final analysis. | Sunday, June 13, 2021 |
| 10 | Literature Review - Gather at least five additional scholarly sources, and two journalistic or fan sources, to complete a literature review for the final analysis paper. | Sunday, June 27, 2021 |
| 15 | Paper Draft - An approximately 5,000 word draft of a final paper targeting a single graphic novel or comic, chosen in consulation with the professor, and building from the annotation and literature review. | Sunday, July 11, 2021 |
| 10 | Peer Review Feedback - Paired critique and detailed, constructive, response to an assigned draft. | Sunday, July 18, 2021 |
| 20 | Final Paper - A complete 6,000 - 7,000 word draft of the final paper, targeted towards one of the suggested venues, and prepared with future submission in mind. | Sunday, August 1, 2021 |
- How to Read Nancy: Strip, Script
- Stevenson, Noelle, et al. Lumberjanes, Vol. 1. BOOM! - BOOM! Box, 2015.
- Hatfield, Charles. “Comic Art, Children’s Literature, and the New Comic Studies.” The Lion and the Unicorn, vol. 30, no. 3, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006, pp. 360–82. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/uni.2006.0031.
- Due: Activity Verification (Friday May 21st)
- How to Read Nancy: Cast Jason. Tell Me Something. Fantagraphics, 2004.
- Nikolajeva, Maria, and Carole Scott. “The Dynamics of Picturebook Communication.” Children’s Literature in Education, vol. 31, no. 4, 2000, pp. 225–39. DOI.org (Crossref), doi:10.1023/A:1026426902123.
- How to Read Nancy: Props, Costumes
- Snyder, Scott and Jeff Lemire. A.D. After Death, Vol 1. Image Comics, 2016.
- Witek, Joseph. “Imagetext, or, Why Art Spiegelman Doesn’t Draw Comics.” ImageText Vol 1:1, 2004.
- How to Read Nancy: Production, Staging
- Jason. Tell Me Something. Fantagraphics, 2004.
- Souza, Marcelo Mendes de. “Comic-Chronotope in Julio’s Day: Gilbert Hernandez’s Explorations of the Form-Shaping Ideologies of the Medium.” Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, vol. 8, no. 4, Routledge, July 2017, pp. 359–75. Taylor and Francis+NEJM, doi:10.1080/21504857.2017.1299021.
- How to Read Nancy: Performance
- Brosh, Allie. "The God of Cake." Hyperbole and a Half. 2010.
- Quesenberry, Krista. “Intersectional and Non-Human Self-Representation in Women’s Autobiographical Comics.” Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, vol. 8, no. 5, Routledge, Sept. 2017, pp. 417–32. Taylor and Francis+NEJM, doi:10.1080/21504857.2017.1355831.
- How to Read Nancy: Eye, Hand
- Una. Becoming Unbecoming. Illustrated edition, Arsenal Pulp Press, 2016.*
- Chute, Hillary. “Feminist Graphic Art.” Feminist Studies, vol. 44, no. 1, Feminist Studies, Inc., 2018, pp. 153–70. JSTOR, doi:10.15767/feministstudies.44.1.0153.
- How to Read Nancy: Details, Reader, The Strip (Again)
- Davis, Eleanor. How To Be Happy. Illustrated edition, Fantagraphics, 2014. -Brown, Hillary. “Taking Inventory: The Comics Of Eleanor Davis |.” The Comics Journal, 16 June 2020.
- DeConnick, Kelly Sue, and Valentine De Landro. Bitch Planet, Vol. 1: Extraordinary Machine. Illustrated edition, Image Comics, 2015.
- Gray, Brenna Clarke, and David N. Wright. “Decentering the Sexual Aggressor: Sexual Violence, Trigger Warnings and Bitch Planet.” Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, vol. 8, no. 3, Routledge, May 2017, pp. 264–76. Taylor and Francis+NEJM, doi:10.1080/21504857.2017.1307240.
- Whitted, Qiana. “Caged and Enraged: Bitch Planet Comics Studies Round Table (Part One).” The Middle Spaces, 6 Mar. 2018.
- Wilson, G. Willow, et al. Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal. Marvel, 2014.
- Yang, Gene Luen. New Super-Man, Vol. 1: Made In China. Illustrated edition, DC Comics, 2017.
- Kent, Miriam. “Unveiling Marvels: Ms. Marvel and the Reception of the New Muslim Superheroine.” Feminist Media Studies, vol. 15, no. 3, Routledge, May 2015, pp. 522–27. Taylor and Francis+NEJM, doi:10.1080/14680777.2015.1031964.
- Coates, Ta-Nehisi, et al. Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet, Vol. 1.. Marvel, 2016.
- Okorafor, Nnedi, and Leonardo Romero. Shuri: The Search for Black Panther. Illustrated edition, Marvel, 2019.
- carrington, andré. “Desiring Blackness: A Queer Orientation to Marvel’s Black Panther, 1998–2016.” American Literature, vol. 90, no. 2, June 2018, pp. 221–50. Silverchair, doi:10.1215/00029831-4564286.
- Chambliss, Julian C. “The Evolution of the Idea.” Science Fiction Film and Television, vol. 12, no. 3, Liverpool University Press, 2019, pp. 373–80.
- Carroll, Emily. The Worthington. 2018.
- Gillman, Melanie. As the Crow Flies. 2012-2021.
- Resha, Adrienne. “The Blue Age of Comic Books.” Inks: The Journal of the Comics Studies Society, vol. 4, no. 1, The Ohio State University Press, 2020, pp. 66–81. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/ink.2020.0003.
- No readings: complete and submit final paper
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