Comic Book Studies 101

The Artist in American History presents a series of lectures and documentaries which explore how comic books have reflected and informed the societies that made them. Comic books are not always seen as the most obvious candidate for academic study or attention, but in this series I hope to give you some insight into their value. The lectures, documentaries, and interviews will examine how gender, race, class, and collective ideologies have been explored in a range of different titles, from Captain America and Superman to V for Vendetta and Frank Miller’s Holy Terror. You can download the individual lectures from the links below. Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast feed in iTunes to make sure you download every new episode in the series.

Download the Lectures (Right Click and Save a link to download a lecture)

5 – Why Comic Books Matter: V for Vendetta and the Occupy Movement

4 – Race in Classic Comics

3 – Captain America’s Racist Sidekick: Race, White Superiority, and Early Superhero Comics

2- The Man Who Laughs: A Brief History of the Joker

1- Up, Up and Away: Superman, from the Great Depression (1938) to the Depressing Recession (2012)

Download the Lectures from iTunes

5 – Why Comic Books Matter: V for Vendetta and the Occupy Movement

4 – Race in Classic Comics

3 – Captain America’s Racist Sidekick: Race, White Supremacy, and Early Superhero Comics

2- The Man Who Laughs: A Brief History of The Joker

1- Up, Up and Away: Superman, from the Great Depression (1938) to the Depressing Recession (2012)