Episode 23: Comic Studies-301: Course Syllabus

When everyone knows that you are a comics geek, it turns out people ask you quite often “so what should I be reading?” When your job is literally “be a comics geek” or moreover “teach other people to be a comics geek” then you get this question pretty much constantly. Since Wayne and Mav are both currently teaching college level comics classes (that are quite different from each other) we thought it would be neat to design a comics course for the show. But, so many of our listeners are already comic that it doesn’t make sense to just do a comics “Intro” class… so why not make a more advanced course? On this super-sized show, we are joined by a Who’s Who of the Official Guide to the Comics Educators (Deluxe Edition) from around the country including, Chris Gavaler, Joseph Darowski, A. David Lewis, and a returning Nicole Freim as we debate the books that you should be reading to further your well-rounded comics education.

Which have you read? Do you agree with our picks? Why or why not? Let us know. And let us know if you end up picking up one of these on our recommendation and what you think.

Citations and Links:

• This episode’s Call for Comments
• Course Prerequisites (Comics Studies-201):
  • Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
  • Maus by Art Spiegelman
  • Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
  • Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
  • Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud
• Required Texts (Comic Studies-301):
  • One! Hundred! Demons! by Lynda Barry
  • Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware
  • American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
  • Blankets by Craig Thompson
  • Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli
  • Death: The High Cost of Living by Neil Gaiman and Chris Bachlo
  • Ms. Marvel vol. 1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson, Adrian Alphona, and Sara Pichelli
  • Batman: Arkham Asylum by Grant Morrison and Dave McKean
  • Black Hole by Charles Burns
  • Amelia Rules: The Whole World’s Crazy by Jimmy Gownley
  • The Vision: Little Worse Than a Man, Little Better Than a Beast by Tom King and Gabriel Hernandez Walta
  • (yes, your professors realize that’s eleven, not ten as we said in the episode… we teach literature, not math, and we made a mistake)
• Extra Credit Reading/Independent Study Projects:
  • Kingdom Come by Mark Waid and Alex Ross
  • This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki
  • Blue is the Warmest Color by Julie Maroh
  • Bone: The Complete Cartoon Epic by Jeff Smith
  • The Arrival by Shaun Tan
  • Superman: Red Son by Mark Millar and Dave Johnson
  • A Contract With God and Other Tenement Stories by Will Eisner
  • Love and Rockets vol. 2: The Girl from HOPPERS by Jaime Hernandez
  • The Sculptor by Scott McCloud
  • Mouse Guard vol 1. Fall 1152 by David Petersen
  • March by John Lewis
  • Here by Richard McGuire
• Secondary Comics Theory Readings
  • Comic Book Nation by Bradford W. Wright
  • Ten-Cent Plague by David Hajdu
  • Seal of Approval by Amy Kiste Nyberg
  • The Greatest Comic Book of All Time by Bart Beaty and Benjamin Woo
  • Comics as History, Comics as Literature  edited by Annessa Ann Babic
  • Twelve-Cent Archie by Bart Beaty
  • Why Comics?: From Underground to Everywhere by Hilary Chute
• By Your Professors:
  • American Comics, Literary Theory, and Religion: The Superhero Afterlife by A. David Lewis
  • X-Men and the Mutant Metaphor: Race and Gender in the Comic Books by Joe Darowski
  • Ages of Superheroes series edited by Joe Darowski
  • Superhero Comics by Chris Gavaler
  • On the Origin of Superheroes: From the Big Bang to Action No. 1 by Chris Gavaler

• Thank you to Maximilian’s thoughtForm Music for our theme
• Listen to Joe Darowski on The Protagonist Podcast
• Follow Nicole Freim on Twitter: @NFreim
• Follow Chris Gavaler on Twitter: @chrisgavaler
• Follow Joe Darowski on Twitter: @jdarowski
• Follow A. David Lewis on Twitter: @adlewis
• Follow Mav on Twitter: @chrismaverick
• Follow Mav’s Personal Blog: http://chrismaverick.com
• Follow Wayne’s Personal Blog: http://wayne-wise.com
• Follow us on Twitter: @voxpopcast
• Follow us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/voxpopcast
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