Over the years, storytelling has expanded across multiple types of media. This idea of transmedia content has greatly affected the world of comic books and how we see our favorite characters. These days new superhero movies are coming out every year that bring a light to characters that were only before found in comics. When producing movies like The Avengers… Read more →
Even though the female audience in comic books and superheroes is becoming more acknowledged these days much of the genre is still geared towards males. Especially when it comes to the television shows and merchandise. This became apparent after the cancellation of Young Justice and Green Lantern: The Animated Series on Cartoon Network. Both shows had a dedicated fanbase… Read more →
There is another post on this blog about Miles Morales as Spiderman, and when I saw that, it made me smile. Not only am I a huge Miles Morales fan, but it also made me start to think of Kamala Khan’s Ms. Marvel series, which brought me to the greater thought of why it is so important to increase broader… Read more →
Copyright is key in creating a successful franchise, yet there are many comics that lack copyrights. However, just because a comic series did not have long lasting marketability does not mean that they are not incredibly enthralling or interesting to study. Comic books that are a part of the public domain are particularly interesting because of their availability to… Read more →
The first aspect of a comic that most people notice is the visual artwork. In polychromatic comics, color usage is a significant component in engaging the reader and effectively communicating key features of the story. One of the important functions of color is to identify characters and distinguish objects from each other. In comics, the fictional world exists in panels. By ‘assigning’ specific colors to each… Read more →
Since the very beginning comic books about superheroes have always been drastically tailored to fit their audience at that time. At the start of superhero comics, the end of the Great Depression, the desire was just for light hearted stories where good always won out over evil. It was very in-line with all of pop culture at the time.… Read more →
Watchmen isn’t the last word on the superhero genre. Neither is The Dark Knight Returns. Superhero comics aren’t just places for gritty “realism”, anti-heroes, and moral compasses damaged beyond repair. They can be full of wonder, optimism, and act as an escape from a world that is becoming full of darkness and evil without insulting readers’ intelligence. So if you’re tired of election ads or the 24 hour news cycle, here are some superhero comics that are… Read more →
A reason that superhero comics stories can be hard to get into are their long running nature. For example, if you’re a Superman fan and want to get into his comics, where do you start? Do you begin with Action Comics #1 from DC Comics’ recent New 52 reboot or Superman #1 or Superman Unchained from the same reboot? Or do you go further back and start with Grant Morrison and Frank… Read more →
Clearly, taking a graphics novel class would lead students to read more comics. It’s the only way to really understand what the professor’s trying to explain in each lecture. Everything from the style of the comics to the length of the story has an explanation of why the author created such a story. Readers don’t always get the message but… Read more →
Since the emergence of the superhero comic in American society, romantic relationships have played a pivotal role in the lives of almost every single protagonist. Male superheroes have been represented as celebrations of stereotypical masculinity, employing their great, brute strength in order to complete great acts of bravery and valor, and then after inevitably defeating their foes, they further prove… Read more →