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Comics Studies at UNT

Comics Studies Reading Group-Fall 2021

Posted by & filed under Comics Reading Group.

Cover of Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass by Mariko Tamaki & Steve Pugh. Show's Harley in skater-punk gear leaping in the air with a baseball bat.

For our first Comics Studies Reading Group meeting this Fall, we’ll be reading Mariko Tamaki & Steve Pugh’s multiple Eisner Award-winning graphic novel, Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass (2019). For fans of Harley, Birds of Prey, or the recent Suicide Squad films, this book offers a unique take on the coming-of-age story and on a character that’s broken through a lot of barriers in her history.

The reading group is open to UNT faculty, students, staff, or community members who want to read and discuss comics, graphic novels, manga, anime, film, grapnic narrative, or comic art for the purposes of research, teaching, creating comics, or just enjoying as fans and collectors. We ask that all participants be respectful, thoughtful, and open to the ideas, feelings, and experiences of others in the group. 

We’ll be meeting via Zoom on Saturday, October 2, 2021, at 1 p.m. If you’re interested in joining us, please contact john.martin@unt.edu to receive the Zoom link. 

These Conservation Superheroes Are a Hoot

Posted by & filed under Comics in the library.

Earth and the Whobuddies


Today is Earth Day, and in keeping with that theme we present this story about a team of six cartoon owl superheroes—the Whobuddies—whose job is to save the Earth from environmental disasters and encourage humans to become heroes themselves by conserving and protecting our precious natural resources.
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Researching Comics at UNT Libraries

Posted by & filed under Comics in the library, Scholarship.

Shelves of graphic novels on the 3rd floor of UNT's Willis Library

 

For those doing research at the UNT Libraries, there are several ways to access all of our Comics Studies materials.  Some of these, like our electronic databases, ebooks, and e-journals, are restricted to UNT students, faculty, and staff.  Others, like our physical collections, digital libraries, and online guides, can be used by anyone. And you can always consult with one of our subject specialist librarians to help with all your research questions. Read more

Comics Studies Happenings Fall 2020

Posted by & filed under Comics Events, Comics in the library, Comics Reading Group.

Cover of My Brother's Husband, volume one, showing two men and a young Japanese girl standing between them.

Despite the world falling into chaos, a pandemic raging, social movements on the march, an election swirling, and all the hectic busy-ness of a most unusual semester, the Comics Studies community at UNT managed to squeeze in some welcome comics-related activities that kept us all somewhat grounded, connected, and nourished by our shared love of graphic narrative. Read more

UNT Pod: Diversity & Inclusion in Comics

Posted by & filed under Diversity, Interviews.

Logo of UNT Pod site, features white letters on green background, with the "O" in Pod containing an old-fashioned radio microphone

A member of our Comics Studies @UNT community, Dr. Joanna Davis-McElligatt, recently did a podcast for UNT Pod about diversity & inclusion in comics. She talks about the importance of recent efforts by comics creators to bring more diverse perspectives, characters, and stories into the mainstream comics industry, popular culture, and the classroom. See more details and listen to the complete podcast below. Read more

Get ready for the 2020 Flyover Comics Symposium!

Posted by & filed under Comics Events.

Poster for Flyover Comics Symposium 2020

 

Comics Studies@UNT is excited to announce that we are partnering with comics studies groups at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and Michigan State University, and with Digital Frontiers, to host the first virtual Flyover Comics Symposium, September 24-25, 2020.

This event was designed to fill the gap left by the cancellation of several comics studies conferences this year due to COVID-19. Papers already accepted to one of those conferences will be automatically accepted for the symposium.

New proposals for 20-minute papers, 60-minute panels, or conference posters will also be considered (submission deadline: August 2). 

All are welcome to attend the event via Zoom, and registration is “Pay What You Will”, starting June 15, 2020. 

You’ll have the opportunity to learn about a wide range of comics scholarship, creative projects, and comics-related pedagogy during each session, and participate in Q & A sessions with the presenters.  

More details are available at the link above. Hope to see some of you there!

 

Comics in the Time of COVID

Posted by & filed under Comics in the library, Comics Reading Group.

Cover image of BTTM FDRS (bottom feeders) by Ezra Clayton Daniels

 

At our recent Comics Studies Reading Group virtual meeting, we asked the question, “What comics are getting you through the pandemic and why?”. Some of the group’s responses are shared below, and reflect a range of genres and tastes, but more interestingly, a range of different needs and reasons for looking to comics during this time.

We’d love to hear from some of you in the comments about what you’re reading these days and why it’s important to you, especially now. Whether its for escapism, contemplation, comfort, provocation, or intellectual gratification, tell us how comics or graphic novels might be meaningful or valuable for you in the time of COVID. Read more

Comics Studies Happenings, Fall 2019

Posted by & filed under Comics Reading Group, Scholarship.

Cover of Monstrous Women in Comics Edited by Samantha Langsdale & Elizabeth Rae Coody

This Fall has been a busy one for many of our Comics Studies Reading Group members, who have been reading, teaching, reviewing, and writing about comics and graphic novels, among other things. So I thought this would be a great time to share some of the interesting work they’re doing or plan to do in the coming year.  This group includes folks at UNT and TCU who have been meeting together or sharing ideas and events over the last year or so.  They come from a range of disciplines and professional roles, so it’s especially valuable to see how comics intersect with all of these different perspectives and approaches to reading, writing, and thinking about the issues they study. If you’re interested in joining the reading group email list, or have updates of your own to share, contact john.martin@unt.edu Read more

Give Your Outreach Superpowers with Government Comics: The Story of a Conference Poster

Posted by & filed under Comics in the library.

Introduction

The US federal government has been producing comics directly or indirectly ever since 1918, when the short-lived Bureau of Cartoons was used to encourage American cartoonists to create propaganda during the First World War. Still, few people seem to be aware of this unique and fascinating resource.

Government comics were the topic of a poster I presented at the 2019 Federal Depository Library Conference in Arlington, Virginia on October 22 of this year. It turned out that not only are nearly all non-document librarians unaware that government comics exist, even many document librarians have either never heard of government comics, or are unaware of just how many government comics there are in their collections.

Government comics are truly a hidden collection in most libraries, and my goal in creating this poster was to raise awareness of government comics and to suggest methods for a library to enhance its local collection and encourage patrons to use them.

Government Comics Poster Presentation

Click poster to see full size.

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Comics Studies Reading Group, Fall 2019

Posted by & filed under Comics Reading Group.

Cover image of Diary of a Teenage Girl by Phoebe Gloeckner

After an interval this summer and a couple of postponements due to scheduling conflicts, the Comics Studies Reading Group started back up in November with a discussion of Diary of a Teenage Girl by Phoebe Gloeckner.Our conversation was pretty wide-ranging, but touched on issues of teenage sexuality, sexual abuse, diaries & confessional writing, the interplay between text and image, memory and authorial voice, teaching difficult subject matter, and creating comics.  

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