Category: graphic novels

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Intimacy and Human Connection in Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ “Watchmen”: Part III

Over the past few posts, I’ve been examining how Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen explores our need for intimacy and human connections. With the specter of nuclear holocaust hanging over the world, we see individuals connect, showing the wide range of interactions from love and intimacy to disagreement. We see Malcolm and Gloria go through their arguments around Maclolm’s work which hurts their intimacy. We see … Read More Intimacy and Human Connection in Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ “Watchmen”: Part III

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Intimacy and Human Connection in Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ “Watchmen”: Part I

When I chose to add Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen to my “Who Watches Superheroes?” course, I hadn’t read it for a few years. So, while I knew many of the overall plot points and themes, I always thought about the graphic novel as a work that solely deals with the height fears during the Cold War of mass nuclear destruction and with the commentary … Read More Intimacy and Human Connection in Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ “Watchmen”: Part I

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“Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” The Role of the Divine in “Watchmen”

A few overarching themes appear in Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen, each involving our connections with the divine and with others who inhabit the world with us. Recently, I wrote some about this, specifically with Dr. Manhattan’s thoughts about the divine and humanity. Today, I want to continue examining these themes, notably through the use of Genesis 18: 25 at the end of Chapter III … Read More “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” The Role of the Divine in “Watchmen”

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Keum Suk Gendry-Kim’s “Grass” and The Power of Comics

Last fall, I picked up Keum Suk Gendry-Kim’s Waiting, a graphic novel, loosely based on Gendry-Kim’s mother, as sisters, separated from one another during the Korean War, reunite during one of the family reunions between North and South Korea. Gendry-Kim’s writing and illustrations powerfully depict the emotions of the sisters, and her use of the graphic medium, through black and white illustrations, conveys the pain and suffering of … Read More Keum Suk Gendry-Kim’s “Grass” and The Power of Comics

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Jim Crow and the Holocaust in Comics CFP

In the midst of Russia invading Ukraine, I planned a study travel trip to Poland focused on the intersections between Jim Crow and the Holocaust. The trip, for various reasons, didn’t materialize because we did not have enough students sign up. We started seeking students before the invasion, and we had trouble getting students interested. Part of this, I think, came from the heaviness of the … Read More Jim Crow and the Holocaust in Comics CFP