Instructor: Hennessey
MWF 10:10 AM – 11:05 AM
In Understanding Comics, Scott McCloud argues that “Comics offers tremendous resources to all writers and artists: faithfulness, control, a chance to be heard far and wide without fear of compromise. It offers range and versatility with all the potential imagery of film and painting plus the intimacy of the written word. All that’s needed is the desire to be heard, the will to learn, and the ability to see.” We will use McCloud’s text as a jumping-off point for examining comics and graphic novels as a medium, focusing on the history of the form, the current state of the industry, and the future of graphic storytelling. Texts will include classics and newer disruptions to the form, with a specific eye to the ways in which comics and graphic novels offer both opportunities and barriers to marginalized groups. Whether you grew up in the comic book shop or have never even seen a superhero film, comics and graphic novels have permeated the narrative culture around the world, and this class will attempt to synthesize a perspective on what this means for us as readers (and perhaps as storytellers ourselves).