Schedule

Join us for a discussion of the books, TV shows, movies, comics, and computer games that have become classics and ask why they have stayed with us. Panelists will discuss everything from the content through to the context, the contemporary market, and the modern memory.

For superheroes to feel heroic, we want them to fight evil while remaining above the moral fray. But in many comics and comic book films, superheroes cross moral lines. How do we ethically evaluate heroes who act immorally, like Batman torturing villains, Wanda holding an entire town hostage, or Wonder Woman sexually assaulting a mind-controlled bystander? How can we talk about these stories in a way that holds heroes accountable for their immoral actions?

Superheroes can mean something very different to members of marginalized communities than they do to members of a dominant culture. How do the dynamics of a superpower fantasy change when the hero is a member of an oppressed group?

Characters have come back from the dead so often in superhero comics that it’s become a running joke, sometimes cheapening the impact of the death in the story. Creators have come up with a wide variety of tricks to resurrect or otherwise return “dead” characters to life. Is it just lazy storytelling, editorial decisions driven by commercial reasons, or is it something inherent to the storytelling form and round-robin method of collaborative authorship of comics?

The tools of graphic novels allow writers to take strikingly different approaches to plot, tone and world-building than those using strictly prose. Our panel will explore key features of this form of storytelling, the process of working with an artist, common questions about the medium, and highlight a number of pivotal texts for newcomers.