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Comics and Graphic Novels

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lightbulbAbout this topic
Comics and graphic novels are sequential art forms that combine illustrations and text to convey narratives. They utilize a series of panels to depict stories, often employing visual styles and techniques unique to the medium, and are studied for their cultural, artistic, and literary significance.
lightbulbAbout this topic
Comics and graphic novels are sequential art forms that combine illustrations and text to convey narratives. They utilize a series of panels to depict stories, often employing visual styles and techniques unique to the medium, and are studied for their cultural, artistic, and literary significance.

Key research themes

1. How do comics and graphic novels function as complex multimodal research tools across disciplines?

This research theme explores the methodological affordances and unique contributions of comics and graphic novels as modes for conducting research across diverse academic disciplines. It analyzes how the multimodality of comics, combining images and text sequentially and simultaneously, affords nuanced inquiry, creator voice expression, and new ways of knowledge production. This is significant because it positions comics beyond mere objects of study to active instruments in scholarly practice, shaping qualitative inquiry, pedagogy, and interdisciplinary knowledge dissemination.

Key finding: This paper identifies core affordances of comics that facilitate innovative research practices, including multimodality, the blending of sequential and simultaneous communication, and foregrounding creator voice. It traces... Read more
Key finding: Using hermeneutical phenomenology and qualitative interviews, this study reveals that comics reading among young adults is a sophisticated, reflexive practice that contributes to identity construction and social... Read more
Key finding: This paper critically examines how library and information science literature marginalizes comics and graphic novel readers despite growing collection recognition, stressing the educational potential of the form, particularly... Read more

2. What roles do identity negotiation, sociopolitical context, and cultural narratives play in contemporary comics and graphic novels?

This theme investigates how comics and graphic novels act as platforms for exploring complex identity processes and sociopolitical themes including race, ethnicity, immigration, body image, and political ideologies. The use of graphic storytelling facilitates multimodal representation of liminality, marginalization, and activism, reflecting societal dynamics and contributing to critical discourse and education. It emphasizes comics as powerful modes for identity articulation and social commentary within multicultural and political contexts.

by Chen Su and 
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Key finding: Through critical content analysis informed by Identity Negotiation Theory and Multimodality, this study demonstrates that characters in intercultural graphic novels experience a dynamic liminal identity negotiation involving... Read more
Key finding: Analyzing a graphic memoir through the lens of graphic medicine, this paper elucidates how fatness transitions from historical luxury to current social stigma within intersecting axes of class, sexism, and disability. The... Read more

3. How do comics and graphic novels engage with cultural history, folklore, and political symbolism through transmedial storytelling?

This research area focuses on the narrative and visual techniques through which comics and graphic novels adapt and reinterpret historical events, folklore, and political ideologies across media. It examines how these narratives utilize symbolism and aesthetics—ranging from animal archetypes in folklore to fascist visual culture and historical city mythologies—to construct meaning and provoke reflection. This thematic inquiry highlights the educational and activist potential of graphic storytelling and its ability to mobilize cultural memory and political critique transmedially.

Key finding: Through a transmedial analysis of comics and animated adaptations, this study explicates how Le Collège Noir integrates folkloric animal archetypes, blending mystery, wisdom, and detective fiction. The narrative repositions... Read more
Key finding: This article develops a historical and theoretical framework situating fascist visual culture as public pedagogy, focusing on American fascist print media’s incorporation of superhero aesthetics from the 1950s to 1990s. It... Read more
Key finding: By surveying representations of Babylon across diverse comic genres and audiences, this article elucidates how comics reproduce the city’s mythic duality as an idealized yet sinful metropolis. It highlights common historical... Read more
Key finding: This essay offers a historical account of Prafulla Chandra Lahiri, Bengal’s first editorial cartoonist, emphasizing his pioneering role in elevating cartoon art to serious political commentary and commercial advertisement in... Read more

All papers in Comics and Graphic Novels

Language is not necessary to narrate even quite complex tales; indeed, stories can be narrated completely visually. This paper analyses Marc-Antoine Mathieu's entirely wordless →also known as Senspublished in 2014, to demonstrate that... more
C. C. Tsai's Mencius: A Cure for Chaos (trans. Brian Bruya, Princeton University Press 2025) adapts the ancient Chinese classic Mencius in the form of a comic book. This review places Mencius's thought in its broader intellectual context... more
Volume II of ‘Italian Comics in the New Millennium’ offers an in-depth exploration of the dynamic transformations in the Italian comics industry, focusing on the intersections of innovation, tradition, and contemporary socio-political... more
Cita: Gabriela Tavella y Nicolas Dino Ferme (2013). Movilidad y acceso a derechos. El caso del barrio informal 21-24.
Cita: Gabriela Tavella y Nicolas Dino Ferme (2013). Movilidad y acceso a derechos. El caso del barrio informal 21-24.
Resumo O capítulo propõe a zoologia cultural como ponte pedagógica entre Ciência e sociedade para enfrentar o crescimento do negacionismo científico e tornar o ensino de Ciências/Biologia mais atraente. Defende a integração de... more
Sus principales intereses de investigación se sitúan en la didáctica del español para italianos, y cuestiones lingüísticas relacionadas con el español atlántico en su variante argentina. Sus publicaciones se centran en torno a estas dos... more
Valdeilson dos Santos Alves 3 Resumo A Igreja Adventista do Sétimo Dia preza pela conservação da sua identidade, e os escritos de Ellen G. White, ocupam um lugar importante na formação dessa identidade. Há uma carência de estudos sobre o... more
declaração do cartunista Art Spiegelman, autor do célebre Maus, promove um duplo movimento -se por um lado, aborda uma desconfiança que perturba os sistemas de crença da visualidade da notícia (em especial na relação entre tecnologias de... more
This article examines their narrative relationship through phenomenological and intertextual analysis, arguing that their opposition is not merely a battle between good and evil but a unity in which both characters define and sustain each... more
Gabi Rudinger: Personenschifffahrt auf der Donau – historisch betrachtet unter dem Aspekt der donauschwäbischen Auswanderung; János Kalmár: Wiener Besiedlungspläne für das frühere osmanische Besatzungsgebiet Ungarns und Serbiens vom 17.... more
Nel quadro del PRIN 2022 – “Folklore and Oral Traditions in Greek Culture (20222NFMAH)”, due giornate di studio sul potenziale semantico di oggetti, strutture e paesaggi antropici che restituiscono immagini mentali ed esperienze... more
La pandemia che non risparmia i lutti: quando la letteratura circoscrive e interpreta il caos del reale Fra i tanti volumi commemorativi della ricorrenza dantesca pubblicati nel 2021, Quando incontrai Dante. Racconti a tema per la... more
Autora, entre outros livros, de Cientificismo e sensibilidade romântica: em busca de um sentido explicativo para o Brasil no século XIX. Brasília: Editora da UnB,
The politics of narrative visibility remain central to how disability and neurodivergence are represented, mediated, and made legible across literary and graphic forms. unSEEN/unHEARD: Disability and Neurodivergence, a comics anthology... more
In this interview, Gunther Kress proposes how English needs to expand beyond its traditional linguistic frame into a semiotic frame which recognizes not only the visual but other modes. He argues also for a shift to forms of production in... more
La mayoría de las contribuciones sobre estudios culturales del turismo, al centrarse en las consecuencias discursivas, identitarias, políticas y culturales del sector turístico, tienden a pasar por alto el metabolismo masivo de esta... more
s. Moretti, e în celula 7", mormăie gardianul în timp ce intru în închisoarea slab luminată și umedă a închisorii orașului. Aerul este plin de disperare și de parfum metalic al fricii. "Mulțumesc", răspund, vocea mea se rezolvă în ciuda... more
´Este volumen pretende indagar los imaginarios del cómic de ciencia ficción publicado en España y en Hispanoamérica durante el siglo XXI con el propósito de establecer un marco exploratorio actualizado que responda a dos problemáticas: en... more
El cómic, etiquetado tradicionalmente como noveno arte, es un medio plenamente interdisciplinar desde sus orígenes y en las últimas décadas está aprovechando de manera más intensa su hibridismo y su lugar privilegiado en la encrucijada de... more
Publicado en “Revista de las Justicias Provinciales y la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires”, nº 2, La Ley, 2025, pp. 92-104. El artículo propone un decálogo de principios para repensar la formación judicial a partir de experiencias... more
Deze versie heeft voetnoten i.p.v. eindnoten, is tevens overvloedig geïllustreerd, met ook enkele correcties. De aanvulling bestaat uit een kritische verwerking van de artikelenreeks van Patrick Vranken: De voorzichtige Vandersteen.... more
This past school year we (a high school English teacher, a teacher educator, and two teacher candidates in English education) worked with tenth-grade students at a high school in rural, eastern Kentucky whom we might call... more
Le 16 septembre 1948, les lecteurs de Tintin découvrent à la fois un jeune auteur, Jacques Martin, qui travaillait jusqu'ici dans l'ombre d'Hergé, un nouveau héros, l'intrépide Alix, Gaulois blond bientôt vêtu de son éternelle tunique... more
El texto analiza la producción de Fernando de Felipe en el ámbito audiovisual, tanto en el aspecto industrial como a través de su faceta académica. Aunque el autor resulta especialmente conocido por su trabajo en el territorio del Noveno... more
No está permitida la reproducción total o parcial de este libro, ni su incorporación a un sistema informático, ni su transmisión en cualquier forma o por cualquier medio, sea este electrónico, mecánico, por fotocopia, por grabación u... more
¿Qué es la violencia? ¿Cómo podemos intentar comprenderla? ¿Qué papel juegan la literatura y el arte a la hora de permitirnos acercarnos a los traumas que genera la violencia? ¿Cómo pueden los artistas plásticos y los escritores ayudarnos... more
Liminal spaces, which is internet aesthetic of a disturbing emptiness This article presents a subject of liminal spaces, that is the popular internet aestetic of empty and unnerving locations. Besides describing a short history of this... more
Abstraksi - Penelitian ini berangkat dari kepopuleran game online yang sekarang ini digandrungi oleh berbagai kalangan usia termasuk anak-anak. Selain sebagai sarana hiburan, ternyata game yang merupakan bagian dari media baru mengandung... more
This article aims to analyse the graphic production of Lelia Bicocca, a political activist who was kidnapped and disappeared in 1977 during the last Argentine military dictatorship. The pages with cartoons produced by Bicocca during her... more
Folklore has been an emblem of culture, tradition, customs and societal values of the community to which they adhere since the ages. The folklore surrounding supernatural beings, phenomena, and events termed supernatural folklore which... more
Silvana Blasbalg, artista argentina que vive y trabaja en Buenos Aires, desde 1978 realiza muestras individuales y colectivas en la Argentina, y tambien en Uruguay, Chile, Brasil, Colombia, Mejico, Cuba, U.S.A., Canada, Polonia, Italia,... more
En El héroe, de David Rubín, los arquetipos heroicos se deconstruyen en contra de los valores trascendentes tradicionales, a favor de lo democrático y lo material. En esta línea, la obra representa la lucha entreun paradigma clásico y uno... more
Análisis de la serie de cómics "Velvet", ambientada en el mundo del espionaje.
l fumetto racconta le avventure di Ducezio, condottiero siculo, la cui figura appare avvolta dal mistero. Probabilmente nato a Mineo, o forse a Noto, nel V secolo a.C. sollecitò i Siculi a prendere coscienza della propria identità e a... more
The chapter ‘Urban Life on the Water. Concepts, Models and Prototypes for Marine Habitats in Japan 1958-2025’ tackles the historical and urban conditions behind a series of cutting-edge architectural projects and city planning innovations... more
In seiner gezeichneten Erzählung erzählt Davide Toffolo, wie sich ein junger Friulaner (Toffolo selbst), ausgestattet mit einer Filmkamera und einem Stativ, zu einer Reihe von Treffen mit Herrn Pasolini begibt. Das Interview (eine von... more
Metaphors for memory is understood here the different conceptions of our recent researchers face more a issue of long tradition more issue of tradition. Do not enter, then, in classic positions masterfully exposed by the masters Greek,... more
In the 21st century, cancer remains shrouded in complex ways, imbued with sociocultural meanings that extend far beyond its clinical and biological aspects. The fear and anxiety surrounding cancer often prompt family and friends to... more
Which language teaching methodology brings the most benefits to learners in terms of communicative and linguistic competences? This is a question linguists, educational researchers, and teachers continuously ask without reaching a... more
Eva Kant, protagonist of sisters Angela and Luciana Giussani's Diabolik, represents a unique female figure in the Italian cultural landscape: suspended between pop, cinematic, and fashion imagery. Equal companion to the famous masked... more
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