INKS Comics Journal

Ad: Man with dark skin points at viewer. Written below is "Remember - Crime doesn't pay, kids." Man stands in front of a torn background, as if he's just broken through it.

ALL-NEGRO COMICS and the Birth of Lion Man, the First African American Superhero

Learn about the pioneering Black superhero: Lion Man.
muse.jhu.edu/pub/30/artic...

@projectmuse.bsky.social #BlackHistoryMonth #BlackSuperhero #LionMan #ComicHistory #BlackPanther #PopularCulture #comics #BlackCulture

3-panel comic: In front of the panels is T'Challa's kneeling silhouette with a red splatter on his head. Each panel shows someone looking down at him, disappointed, including his father.

"The Body of the Nation": Ta-Nehisi Coates' Black Panther and the Black Literary Tradition

This article follows the work of Ta-Nehisi Coates, especially his portrayal of Marvel's Black Panther. muse.jhu.edu/pub/30/artic...

@projectmuse.bsky.social #Marvel #BlackPanther #comics #BlackSuperhero

Comic book cover: Spawn flies in the center of the page with a glowing green hand, billowing red cape, and chains around his waist and collar, with bats in the foreground.

Check out Jake Zawlacki’s neat article on the controversial racial identity of Spawn, a comic superhero!
“Unintended Consequences: Spawn as “Superman Black”
muse.jhu.edu/pub/30/artic...

@projectmuse.bsky.social #Spawn #BlackHistoryMonth #comics #ImageComics #superhero #BlackSuperhero #Superman

Comic illustration: Swamp Thing stands tall in a spiky new form. In the background are a couple of cloudy looking people and a red and yellow sky.

Who is Swamp Thing?

Costello examines Swamp Thing’s portrayal in “Strange Daddy: Uprooting the Environmentalist Family Romance in Nancy A. Collins' Swamp Thing.”
muse.jhu.edu/article/855072

@projectmuse.bsky.social #DC #SwampThing #comics #ecology #politics #queer #family #QueerEcology #horror

Figure 1. Composite image from Baldo, by Hector D. Cantú and Carlos Castellanos

Check out the introduction to our latest special issue 9.3 on Latinx Comics
muse.jhu.edu/pub/30/artic... @projectmuse.bsky.social @ohiostatepress.bsky.social

Figure 1. Composite image from Baldo, by Hector D. Cantú and Carlos Castellanos

Check out the introduction to our latest special issue 9.3 on Latinx Comics
muse.jhu.edu/pub/30/artic... @projectmuse.bsky.social @ohiostatepress.bsky.social

Photo: 8 comic covers with Spanish text, including “Kaliman” and DC’s “Los 4 Fantásticos.”

Notable Latinx/e Comics Collections in the United States

Jenny E. Robb and John Edward Martin curate a list of notable Latinx/e comics collections in the U.S.
muse.jhu.edu/pub/30/artic...

@projectmuse.bsky.social #comics #ComicStudies #libraries #FindingAids #research #ComicCollection #Latinx #fyp

Photo: 8 comic covers with Spanish text, including “Kaliman” and DC’s “Los 4 Fantásticos.”

Notable Latinx/e Comics Collections in the United States

Jenny E. Robb and John Edward Martin curate a list of notable Latinx/e comics collections in the U.S.
muse.jhu.edu/pub/30/artic...

@projectmuse.bsky.social #comics #ComicStudies #libraries #FindingAids #research #ComicCollection #Latinx #fyp

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Comic: A teenager sits on a grassy hill beside a translucent person. A bunch of translucent figures dressed in historical clothing stand watching.

Class and National Imaginaries in CALL ME IGGY: Searching for a Place in US Culture

Héctor Fernández L'Hoeste examines immigrant experience and identity in a graphic novel about a Colombian American teen in Ohio.
muse.jhu.edu/pub/30/artic...

@projectmuse.bsky.social #comics #identity #immigrants

4-panel comic: A boy and a jaguar eye each other. The panels between them show the boy's family reflected in the jaguar's eye and the jaguar's family reflected in the boy's eye.

Crossing Borders, Shifting Narratives: Speculative Agency in Julio Anta's Migration Graphic Novels

Mauricio Espinoza discusses precarious migrant agency in Julio Anta’s HOME and FRONTERA.
muse.jhu.edu/pub/30/artic...

@projectmuse.bsky.social #comics #ComicStudies #migration #SpeculativeFiction

Black-and-white comic: Two children with braided hair and big eyes appear worried. An upside-down crown is in a thought bubble above them.

Latinx Identity Uprooted: Tracing Destierro in the Comic Biography WHO IS ANA MENDIETA?

Jennifer Caroccio Maldonado comments on a comic commemoration of Cuban American artist Ana Mendieta.
muse.jhu.edu/pub/30/artic...

@projectmuse.bsky.social #comics #ComicStudies #AnaMendieta #LatinArt #destierro

Comic: Dozens of people of different ages, skin colors, and styles walk in a curved line toward a table of comics. Most already hold comics. A speech bubble comes from the person behind the table.

Latinx Comics: Past, Present, and Future

Frederick Luis Aldama and Miguel Ángel Hernández share a unique, word-drawn essay on the persistence of Latinx creators.
muse.jhu.edu/pub/30/artic...

@projectmuse.bsky.social #comics #ComicStudies #representation #stereotypes #decolonization #LatinxCreators

Black-and-white photo: Someone’s hands shape clay on a pottery wheel.

Drawn from Clay: Mexican Cerámica, Material Culture, and Bilingual Visual Modernism in Gus Arriola's GORDO

Nhora Lucía Serrano examines a comic strip through the lens of Mexican cerámica.
muse.jhu.edu/pub/30/artic...

@projectmuse.bsky.social #cerámica #ceramics #comics #MexicanAmerican #narrative

Comic sketch: Indistinct face with speech bubble, "Resist them little artist! Fight!!" Sketched on lined filler paper.

As fall comes to an end, check out this 2023 fall article, "Monstrous Beauty: The Alternative Aesthetic of Difference in Emil Ferris' My Favorite Thing Is Monsters."
muse.jhu.edu/pub/30/artic...

@projectmuse.bsky.social #ComicStudies #comics #MonsterTheory #formalism #LiteraryStudies #Chicago

muse.jhu.edu/pub/30/artic...

Comics are Subversive medium! Check out this article by Margaret Galavan @projectmuse.bsky.social @ohiostatepress.bsky.social

Comic: A gray-haired person's mouth is open in fear. An indistinct text bubble is beside them.

Since DC's wedding anniversary between the Flash and Iris West was on Monday, check out Sean Guynes’s article on the DC multiverse, which originated in a Flash arc.
muse.jhu.edu/pub/30/artic...
@projectmuse.bsky.social @guynes.bsky.social #DetectiveComics #comics #CrisisOnInfiniteEarths #DCComics

Good afternoon! Check out this article: “Are Superhero Comics Copaganda?” By Shea Hennum

muse.jhu.edu/pub/30/artic...

Photo: 5 people stand with their arms around each other and their backs to the camera, looking at the fall forest scenery.

For University Press Week, check out this article that connects academic writing and comic publishing to our personal lives.

“The 1976 Project: On Comics and Grief, or How Our Lives Intersect with What We Study”
muse.jhu.edu/pub/30/artic...

@projectmuse.bsky.social @tigerpride.bsky.social #TeamUp

Book Cover: Gold ring with two lines crossing through it that mimic the symbols for male and female. One line has an arrow at one end, and the other line has a plus at one end and “x” on the other end.

Book Review!

Charlotte J. Fabricius comments on nuances in J. Andrew Deman’s The Claremont Run: Subverting Gender in the X-Men.
muse.jhu.edu/pub/30/artic...

@projectmuse.bsky.social #XMen #GenderStudies #UncannyXMen #comics #ComicStudies #BookReview #Research #superhero #FeministStudies #comic

Book cover: The title in front of a cloud background. Below are thin colorful lines that resemble comic art.

Book Review!

Siobhán Jolley analyzes the unique details of Christianity and Comics: Stories We Tell About Heaven and Hell by Blair Davis
muse.jhu.edu/pub/30/artic...

@projectmuse.bsky.social #ChristianStudies #ComicStudies #comics #BibleStudies #storytelling #scholar #ScholarlyPublishing

Book cover: Indistinct fist punches with brass knuckles. A different-looking hand holds up something gray. The title is written in comic lettering between the two hands.

Book review!

Harriet E. H. Earle comments on the significance of violence in “BOOM! SPLAT! Comics and Violence” ed. by Jim Coby and Joanna Davis-McElligatt

muse.jhu.edu/pub/30/artic...

@projectmuse.bsky.social #comics #ComicStudies #censorship #PoliticalViolence #Politics #censor #scholarship

Photo: Strip of storefronts. One has a large sign saying “Texas,” and above it is a plaque in Texas’s shape.

How Do Your Students Feel About That? A Reflection on the Use of Graphic Narratives in History Surveys in the State of Texas

Gabrielle Lyle argues for teaching history holistically through comics.
muse.jhu.edu/pub/30/artic...

@projectmuse.bsky.social #history #education #ComicStudies #TexasHistory

Cave drawing: Below a peace symbol, 4 human silhouettes face each other while carrying spears or long branches. One prepares to throw his spear.

It's 2025

Patrick S. Lawrence discusses the resurgence in comic and book censorship.
muse.jhu.edu/pub/30/artic...

@projectmuse.bsky.social #politics #ComicStudies #comics #censorship #history #activism #solidarity #UniversityPress #2025 #freedom #ComicBooks #BannedBooks #CensorshipSucks

Illustration: 7 people in business casual sit on a couch and chairs or stand nearby. 3 text boxes suggest conversation among them. One person shrugs with a question mark above their head.

Comics Studies Conferences in a Time of Crisis

Andrew J. Kunka considers the fallout of the presidential administration’s recent actions.
muse.jhu.edu/pub/30/artic...

@projectmuse.bsky.social #politics #AmericanPolitics #ComicStudies #comics #DEI #activism #comic #students #education #presidents

Good morning! Our latest issue 9.2 is live. Ft. articles like “Are Superhero Comics Copaganda?” By Shea Hennum

muse.jhu.edu/issue/55554

8-panel comic: Each panel has a speech bubble with a different shape, color, and background. Some look like storm clouds.

Comics Are a Subversive Medium

Margaret Galvan pulls from historical and current events to connect the LGBTQ+ identity to comics.
muse.jhu.edu/pub/30/artic...

@projectmuse.bsky.social #LGBTQ+ #queer #WomensRights #ComicStudies #politics #LGBTQRights #subversion #comics #history #research #comic

Illustration: Orange compass rose over teal background. Compass is labeled with the letters for north, south, east, and west.

True North

Bart Beaty comments on the misrepresentation of Canadians in an American comic series.
muse.jhu.edu/pub/30/artic...

@projectmuse.bsky.social #politics #Canada #CanadianPolitics #ComicStudies #comic #academia #students #InternationalRelations #media #representation #commentary #future

Cover of Marvel comic: The Hulk’s green fist punches The Thing’s rock jaw so hard that teeth and rocks fly out. The title is “Hulk & Thing: Hard Knocks.”

Thing Beats Hulk

Peter Nagy examines normative and subversive masculinity in The Hulk versus The Thing saga.
muse.jhu.edu/pub/30/artic...

@projectmuse.bsky.social #Marvel #superhero #SuperheroComics #comic #ComicStudies #MarvelComics #Hulk #TheThing #FantasticFour #Avengers #comics #GenderStudies