Announcing our next unit: Calvin and Hobbes!

Critiquing Super-Violence in Gotham Central [1 of 3] Critics of various political stripes have accused superhero stories of promoting violence through glossy spectacles and the central conceit of super-strong vigilantes who typically solve problems with their fists. #GothamCentral

Our series on Naoki Urasawa’s “Monster is over but not forgotten! Here’s a snapshot of what we covered, starting with: An Introduction to “Monster” bsky.app/profile/sequ...

In Monster, Urasawa uses medical ethics not as a setting but as an anchor to the story. Deep interrogations into triage, neuroscience and institutional ethics are woven throughout this psychological thriller, exploring what happens when medicine becomes entangled with the production of harm. 1/11

Our latest for @sequentialscholars.bsky.social explores the significance of names in Naoki Urasawa's "Monster." #ComicsStudies #Manga

Happy to present our first online workshop on how other scholars can setup their social media to share their own work. We'd love to see more scholars taking this on and hopefully this can help get the ball rolling for some! #comicsstudies youtu.be/OD70PWiIFWY

Queering the Batman Universe (starring Renee Montoya) [3 of 4] Renee also powerfully rejects the manipulations of Two-Face, who kidnaps her off a prison transport vehicle and brings her to an underground bunker, where he attempts to seduce her.

Even before it came out, the concept of The Last Ronin struck a chord with generations of TMNT readers, and how that resonance was traded upon by the creative team of the story can be effectively approached through the concept of the palimpsest. 1/9

What in a name? Appellation is one of the more intriguing symbols in Naoki Urasawa’s “Monster,” a story that actively explores the lengths that human beings will go to build, protect, absorb, or erase a name and, with it, their place in a society. #monster #urasawa 1/12

Queering the Batman Universe (starring Renee Montoya) [2 of 4] After Renee is outed, her coworkers immediately subject her to homophobic teasing and slurs.

Queering the Batman Universe (starring Renee Montoya) [1 of 4] In an article for Autostaddle, May Rude calls Gotham Central “one of the defining books for queer women in comics.” This legacy begins with the award-winning story “Half a Life” starring Renee Montoya.

In a recent paper for the Journal of Aesthetics & Culture, scholar Simon Linblom argues that the true villain of the story is neither Johan, nor Kinderheim 511, but an existential viewpoint that “reduces the world to a single controllable narrative” #monster #urasawa 1/9

Wolfgang Grimmer is one of the most G.O.A.T.ed ever characters in fiction to me. I love that we never actually get to see him as the Magnificent Steiner...it remains a great example of how to do a grounded take on the Hulk...showing only the AFTERMATH of his violent transformation into a beast.

Been re-reading Monster lately and this is a great thread on what makes the series so powerful

Our latest for @sequentialscholars.bsky.social talks plural protagonists in "Monster." #Manga #ComicsStudies

While writers have many different reasons for shifting the perspective of their story, the use of plural protagonists in “Monster” is particularly noteworthy for its capacity to reinforce the themes of community that define its take on good vs evil. #monster #urasawa #manga 1/10

TBT: In the beginning, Golden Age superheroes fought corrupt capitalists & gangsters. But it soon became clear this new type of hero needed a new type of foe—the supervillain. The Joker, introduced in Batman #1 (1940), is emblematic of this new character type. 1/12

Book Spotlight: On Comics and Grief by Dale Jacobs

One way to read the Tenma/Johan relationship is through Carl Jung’s concept of the “shadow self,” the aspects of the self that are most distant from the person that an individual wants to be. In literary theory, the shadow self represents a villain who is a dark mirror of the hero. #monster 1/11

Hey guess what? @sequentialscholars.bsky.social has started a new unit of threads focusing on Naoki Urasawa's "Monster"! #Manga #Monster #ComicsStudies

Book Spotlight: Artful Breakdowns: The Comics of Art Spiegelman, edited by Georgiana Banita and Lee Konstantinou

Monster, written by and illustrated by Naoki Urasawa is a psychological thriller manga, serialized in Shogakukan’s Big Comic Original from 1994 to 2001. The long form nature of it allows Urasawa to explore themes about morality, evil and what it takes to make someone a “Monster”. #Monster 1/7

Book Spotlight: Latin American Comics in the Twenty-First Century: Transgressing the Frame by James Scorer

Announcing our next unit: Monster!

Our latest for @sequentialscholars.bsky.social spotlights Dale Jacobs' book "On Comics and Grief." #ComicsStudies

TBT: Jeff Smith’s #Bone remains at the vanguard of a cultural renaissance in children’s literature (both graphic narrative and simply books in general). While the happenings of that genre are often short-sightedly diminished, the impact on readers/cultures is monumental. 1/10

Our latest for @sequentialscholars.bsky.social spotlights @lkonstan.bsky.social and Georgiana Banita's anthology "Artful Breakdowns: The Comics of Art Spiegelman," published by @upmississippi.bsky.social! #ComicsStudies

Dale Jacobs’ book “On Comics and Grief” was selected as an Outstanding Academic Title by Choice, a publishing unit of the Association of College and Research Libraries. Jacobs offers an innovative, emotionally affecting approach to comics scholarship that's accessible to both fans & scholars. 1/8

Book spotlight: From Gum Wrappers to Richie Rich: The Materiality of Cheap Comics by Neale Barnholden

“Artful Breakdowns: The Comics of Art Spiegelman” edited by Georgiana Banita and Lee Konstantinou won the edited book prize from the Comics Studies Society. It’s the first anthology to consider the breadth of Spiegelman’s multifaceted career as a cartoonist, historian, editor, and educator. 1/10

Book Spotlight: Singular Sensations: A Cultural History of One-Panel Comics in the United States by Michelle Ann Abate

Our latest for @sequentialscholars.bsky.social spotlights James Scorer's boon "Latin American Comics in the Twenty-First Century, published by @utexaspress.bsky.social! #ComicsStudies

Book Spotlight: Searching for Feminist Superheroes: Gender, Sexuality, and Race in Marvel Comics by Samantha Langsdale

James Scorer’s “Latin American Comics in the Twenty-First Century: Transgressing the Frame” received an Honorable Mention for the Charles Hatfield Book Prize from the Comics Studies Society. Scorer marks the post-2005 period as the dawn of a significant era of growth & transformation. 1/7

Sequential Scholars with a lovely write-up on my book! Great pictures too!

Our latest for @sequentialscholars.bsky.social spotlights @nealebarnholden.bsky.social's book "From Gum Wrappers to Richie Rich: The Materiality of Cheap Comics," published by @upmississippi.bsky.social! #ComicsStudies

Many histories of comics privilege male characters & connotatively masculine genres. But comics have always responded to changing gender norms, including various waves of feminism. The popular genre of “working girl” comic strips offers many illustrative examples. 1/13

Neale Barnholden’s “From Gum Wrappers to Richie Rich: The Materiality of Cheap Comics” was nominated for an Eisner for Best Scholarly/Academic Work. Defying the common compulsion to “elevate” comics by transforming them into high art, Barnholden celebrates comics’ supposedly trashy materiality. 1/9

Book Spotlight: Petrochemical Fantasies: The Art and Energy of American Comics by Daniel Worden

Our latest for @sequentialscholars.bsky.social spotlights Michelle Ann Abate's book "Singular Sensations: A Cultural History of One-Panel Comics in the United States," published by @rutgersupress.bsky.social! #ComicsStudies #ComicStrips #Comics #Funnies

“Singular Sensations: A Cultural History of One-Panel Comics in the United States” by Michelle Ann Abate was shortlisted for an Eisner for Best Academic/Scholarly Work. Abate contests comics scholars’ historical neglect of one-panel comics, which she presents as exemplars of the comics form. 1/8

Book spotlight: BOOM! SPLAT! Comics and Violence, edited by Jim Coby and Joanna Davis-McElligatt

One i didn’t know of but will add to books for class! bsky.app/profile/sequ...

Our latest spotlights @samlangsdale.bsky.social's book "Searching for Feminist Superheroes" published by @utexaspress.bsky.social! #ComicsStudies

Mitsuba as a Post-Gender Character [3 of 3] From there, because not even death can stop them, Mitsuba and Kou become a compelling love story that generates a ton of pathos amongst the fan base, launching fan-fic by the thousands and a variety of other affinity markers online.

Sam Langsdale’s book “Searching for Feminist Superheroes: Gender, Sexuality, and Race in Marvel Comics” won the Charles Hatfield Book Prize from the Comics Studies Society. While many books about representation catalog problematic elements, Langsdale searches for progressive alternatives. 1/8

TBT: Before Carol Danvers was Captain Marvel, another woman held the title—Monica Rambeau. While Rambeau stopped using the codename many years prior, the second story starring Danvers as Captain Marvel attempts to honor Rambeau’s important legacy. 1/12 #TheMarvels #CaptainMarvel

Our latest for @sequentialscholars.bsky.social spotlights "Petrochemical Fantasies: The Art and Energy of American Comics" by Daniel Worden, published by @ohiostatepress.bsky.social!

Daniel Worden’s “Petrochemical Fantasies: The Art and Energy of American Comics” was shortlisted for The Charles Hatfield Book Prize from the Comics Studies Society & nominated for an Eisner for Best Academic/Scholarly Work. Worden’s book ties the history comics to the history of fossil fuels. 1/8

Mitsuba as a Post-Gender Character [2 of 3] Mitsuba uses male pronouns and has even expressed distaste for being identified as a girl. At the same time, however, Mitsuba’s character design is highly femme-coded and Mitsuba exists as ½ of a darkly tragic romantic pairing with Kou.