New Books in Comics and Graphic Novels

Episodios disponibles

5 de 119

James Scorer, "Latin American Comics in the Twenty-First Century: Transgressing the Frame" (U Texas Press, 2024)
How do comics cross boarders? In Latin American Comics in the Twenty-First Century: Transgressing the Frame James Scorer, a Professor of Latin American Studies at the University of Manchester, considers the rise of a distinctively Latin American comics culture, capturing the interconnections and differences as comics production have evolved in the region. The book covers a range of genres and comic forms, including physical and digital media, across Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay, showing the importance of comics as a way of intervening in social and political struggles, as well as the joy and pleasure that they offer a diverse, and increasingly global readership. Listeners can also learn more about a broader project of studying Comics and race in Latin America as well as the previously published open access collection Comics Beyond the Page in Latin America Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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41:10
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41:10
Amber A'Lee Frost et. al, "Year Zero #1: A Chapo Trap House Anthology" (Bad Egg, 2025)
I had so much fun chatting with Chris Wade and Will Menaker of the podcast Chapo Trap House about Year Zero #1, published by Bad Egg in 2025 which is billed as “5 scintillating tales of madness” which promise to cross “time, genres, and good taste”. This comic anthology blends historical research, social commentary, and flights of fancy from several genres, all in keeping with their Dirtbag Left sensibility. The book features stories from Amber A'Lee Frost, Chris Wade, Will Menaker, Felix Beiderman, and Matt Christman, with art from comics superstars Simon Roy, Justin Greenwood, David Cousens, Ken Knudtsen, and Dean Kotz. Year Zero #1 is the first of three oversized books. Chris Wade is a podcast producer for Chapo Trap House, Hell on Earth and Hell of Presidents, And Introducing, and Infinite Cast. He's also produced and directed short films, music festivals, and many years ago written for Slate.com. He co-hosted both Hell on Earth (a series on the 30 Years War) and Hell of Presidents (a series on POTUSes) with Matt Christman. Check the New Books back catalog for our conversation about Hell on Earth, one of the three times I had the honor of interviewing the great Matt Christman. Will Menaker is Host Number One of Chapo Trap House, a political commentary and comedy podcast which debuted in March 2016. Along with his fellow Chapos he wrote The Chapo Guide to Revolution, which I talked to Matt Christman amount in a past episode here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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1:17:02
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1:17:02
John R. Davis, "Keep Your Ear to the Ground: A History of Punk Fanzines in Washington, DC" (Georgetown UP, 2025)
John R. Davis's Keep Your Ear to the Ground (Georgetown University Press, 2025) is the first history of the fanzines that emerged from Washington, DC's highly influential punk community DIY culture has always been at the heart of DC's thriving punk community. As Washington, DC's punk scene emerged in the mid-1970s, so did the periodicals--"fanzines"--that celebrated it. Before the rise of the internet, fanzines were a potent way for fans to communicate and to revel in the joy of fandom. These zines were more than just publications; they were a distillation of punk's allure, connecting the city to the broader punk community. Fanzines remain a meaningful, tactile, creative medium for punk fans to connect with like-minded people outside the corporate-controlled world. In Keep Your Ear to the Ground, the archivist and musician John R. Davis unveils the development of punk fanzines and their role in supporting DC's hardcore and punk scene from the 1970s into the twenty-first century. He sheds new light on DC's scene and highlights some of its key personalities, including many who are often left out of punk history, with high-quality images of rare zines and insights from numerous interviews with zine creators and musicians. This book vividly weaves together the origin of zines and their importance in underground communities. For punk enthusiasts, zine creators, American studies scholars, and anyone who has ever felt like an outsider, Keep Your Ear to the Ground traces how the unique environment of Washington, DC, helped zines thrive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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56:00
Dominic Davies and Candida Rifkind, "Graphic Refuge: Visuality and Mobility in Refugee Comics" (Wilfrid Laurier UP, 2025)
Graphic Refuge: Visuality and Mobility in Refugee Comics (Wilfred Laurier University Press, 2025) by Dr. Dominic Davies & Dr. Candida Rifkind is the first in-depth study of comics about refugees, asylum seekers, migrants, and detainees by artists from the Global North and South. Co-written by two leading scholars of nonfiction comics, the book explores graphic narratives about a range of refugee experiences, from war, displacement, and perilous sea crossings to detention camps, resettlement schemes, and second-generation diasporas. Through close readings of work by diverse artists including Joe Sacco, Sarah Glidden, Don Brown, Olivier Kugler, Jasper Rietman, Hamid Sulaiman, Leila Abdelrazzaq, Thi Bui, and Matt Huynh, Graphic Refuge shows how comics challenge dominant representations of the displaced to bring a radical politics of refugee agency and refusal into view. Beyond simply affirming the “humanity” of the refugee, these comics demand that we apprehend the historical construction of categories such as “citizen” and “refugee” through systems of empire, settler colonialism, and racial capitalism. The comics medium allows readers not only to visualize the lives of refugees but also refocuses the lens on citizen non-refugees—“we who can sleep under warm cover at night”, as Vinh Nguyen writes in his foreword—and interrogates their perceptions, aspirations, and beliefs. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda’s interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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57:48
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57:48
Andrew Fialka, "Hope Never to See It: A Graphic History of Guerrilla Violence during the American Civil War" (U Georgia Press, 2025)
Hope Never to See It: A Graphic History of Guerrilla Violence during the American Civil War (U Georgia Press, 2025) by Dr. Andrew Fialka illustrates two exceptional incidents of occupational and guerrilla violence in Missouri during the American Civil War. The first is a Union spy's two-week-long murder spree targeting civilians, and the second is a pro-Confederate guerrillas' mutilation of almost 150 U.S. troops.The men leading the atrocities (Jacob Terman, alias Harry Truman, and “Bloody" Bill Anderson) weren't so different. Both the Union spy and the infamous Confederate guerrilla claimed to be avenging the deaths of their families, operated under orders from military officials, and were hard drinkers. Their acts outline the terror inflicted on both sides of the struggle.This book's use of sequential art, illustrated by Anderson Carman, displays these grisly realities to mute the war's glorification and to help prompt a modern, meaningful reconciliation with the war. The moral ambiguities contained within this story call into question our understanding of the laws of war and the ways in which wars end. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda’s interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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56:18
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56:18