Of Time, Renewal, and Scholarship: Volume 11 (2021) Wrapped

This editorial discusses the articles published and the activities undertaken by The Comics Grid: Journal of Comics Scholarship during 2021, and calls for research system-wide cultural changes and wider contextual awareness in order to make scholarly communication fairer and up to the challenges of our time.

Short Science Comics for a Broad Audience - An Interview with Jessica Burton and Serge Haan from LUX:plorations

The University of Luxembourg launched a series of science comics called “LUX:plorations”. This collection of eight stories about science and research in Luxembourg is available in four different languages. Produced in collaboration between local scientists and artists, this science communication project serves as a proof of concept for multi-lingual and collaborative comic productions. The comic is available for free in the form of hard copies as well as in several digital formats online under a Creative Commons licence. This article introduces the concept behind LUX:plorations via an interview with two members of the organization team, namely Serge Haan and Jessica Burton. It gives insights into the production and translation process as well as the distribution of the comic.

Graphic Communities: Comics as Visual and Virtual Resources for Self- and Collective Care

Note: this commentary is intended for the special issue, "Comics in and of The Moment." Abstract: This essay discusses the ways in which print and web comics are used to represent the lived experiences of mental illness. Beginning with a brief overview of mental health-focused comic strips and graphic memoirs and turning to a discussion of the mental illness comics of Instagram, the article outlines how comics are being used as platforms for self- and collective care. Instead of prioritizing a visual/discourse analysis of each web comic, this piece focuses on the comment threads of each Instagram post and examines the conversations which develop amongst users. By doing so, this essay begins a critical discussion of the ways in which comics may be used as mental health resources. While grounded in a discussion of Covid-19-related increases to mental illness symptoms, this piece is also interested in how comics may be used as therapeutic supports in a post-pandemic world.

The intersection of dwarfism and gender in Alisa’s tale: Raising awareness through graphic narratives.

This note explores how experiences of people with dwarfism are explored in the graphic narrative Alisa’s Tale (A short story) by Al Davison. The purpose of Alisa’s tale is for young people to emphasise the lived experiences of people with dwarfism. This demonstrates how the graphic narrative uses imagery to convey the everyday social and spatial encounters experienced by people with dwarfism and subsequently Alisa’s experiences of psycho-emotional disablism. Unlike conventional forms of awareness raising, the graphic narrative forces the reader to stare at the dwarf body and witness the common reactions towards it through multimodal forms of representations. Graphic narratives provide expressive possibilities for vivid meaning-making through multimodal forms of representations (Garland-Thomson, 2016). Unlike conventional stories, the use of graphics within Alisa’s tale aids in situating the reader within Alisa’s perspective. This helps to demonstrate the world seen through the gaze of a young woman with dwarfism and position the average sized person as problematic. In the narrative, the average sized people who react negatively towards Alisa are depicted as monsters. According to Garland-Thomson (2016), the most distinct representational opportunity comics offer is hyperbole. Presenting average sized people as monsters helps to situate them as villains. How the narrative uses imagery to construct other people, who react negatively to Alisa’s presence, as monsters do two things. Firstly, as a reader with dwarfism, I can relate to the story. For average sized readers, it helps them to question their ableist beliefs and reactions towards people with dwarfism. According to Foss, Gray and Whalen (2016), graphic narratives offer the unique potential for transforming our understanding of disability in truly profound ways. This note will demonstrate how graphic narratives are beneficial in raising awareness about dwarfism. 

Let Me Out of Here: A Story of Using Comics to Heal During the Pandemic

This autobiographical graphic essay details my experience with the hardships I facedduring Covid as a comics studies scholar who moved across the country to starttheir Ph.D. in history. It highlights the importance of comic-making incombating present-day isolation and hardship and in aiding in trauma recovery. Covid and quarantine continued to bring with them and compound new, tragedy-specific traumas that left me desperately seeking ways to cope. During the first year ofmy Ph.D. I experienced a miscarriage, my step-grandfather passed away due to Covid, and, at the start of my second semester, I was sexually assaulted,resulting in a physical injury that has yet to heal. The emotional and physicaltrauma resulting from these incidents put me behind in my coursework. To cope, I engaged in art therapy and started a trauma recovery program. Often, myrecovery has been aided in and expressed through comics I create, which aredigital in format and usually, but not always, take the form of a poetry comic. Creating thesecomics aided in an emotional release by enabling me to create spaces of ‘escape’outside the walls of my one-bedroom apartment. The creative process also helpedme find freedom from the confines of my anguished mind. For instance, shadingthe skin of my attacker and myself allowed me to own the narrative of myassault and regain ownership of my body. Further juxtaposing these images withwords provides a method for me to express the pain and deep isolation that thevarious traumatic incidents incited. By expressing the weight of thesetraumatic incidents both visually and through written text, I am able to properly acknowledge their significance and consequently I have found somerelief and self-consolation in this act. I have also sharedmy experience with the outside world through social media. This act lessened myfeelings of isolation and gave me the support network I so desperately cravedand needed, especially with the comics and comics studies communities.  In sharing myexperience, I hope to impart why comics are so important now by showing how thecreative helped me process trauma created and exacerbated by the pandemic.Intro:In January of this year, I was assaulted twice withina four-day period. These two incidents resulted in physical and mental trauma andextreme change in how I view myself, my life, and those around me. These two incidentsweren’t the only traumatic ones had experienced in recent time. I had also experienceda miscarriage, which was made worse by the circumstances of isolation (due tothe pandemic) and abandonment. My step-grandfather passed away from Covid. However,what occurred in January was a sort of catalyst to a personal breakdown. I lostmyself.Being a woman is difficult enough. I always feel as ifI am battling with my femininity. There is always some distinct, un-femininestandard by which I must define myself but can never quite reach in order tohave a voice in this patriarchal society. It is hard to love something aboutyourself that can so easily be used against you. And the man who assaulted meused it against me in the worst way. What resulted was an immense sense ofself-hatred and dissociation. It was hard to see the point of it all. But Ihave worked hard to regain a sense of purpose. Recovery is a choice, and it is not an easy one tomake. It’s a confusing process with no roadmap. It’s easy to get lost and I donot judge anyone who gives up or takes detours along the way. I often feel thatI am surrounded by walls. I cannot go around them and I cannot climb them. Icannot break them down. I am trapped. However, with my art I started seeingthrough these walls, and I feel in making these comics they have become rathertransparent. I can see more clearly what has happened to me and how and why Ihave reacted the ways that I have. I may not have a found a map that can takeme through my recovery process, but I have can see my next steps.  Making this comic, and the art that came before it,has allowed me to make sense of and establish some sort of order concerning myvery recent past. What has emerged from this process is a sense of calm. Iwouldn’t say I found happiness (and I’m not much interested in the pursuit of thatemotion), but I do, at times, feel good. I have found a voice. There is a pleasure,or a sense of relief, in sharing my voice with you through the images and wordscontained in this comic. References:Chivington, L., 2021. Signifying Silence: The EmptySpeech Balloon. Image Text 12. https://imagetextjournal.com/signifying-silence-the-empty-speech-balloon/

“Earth Girl Won’t Stand For It!”: Representations of Environmental (In)Justice in Mayah’s Lot

As the global climate crisis escalates, environmental disaster and extreme weather will play a defining role in the lives of many of today’s children, particularly those from impoverished communities and communities of color. However, environmental children’s literature has overwhelmingly failed to educate readers about environmental injustice or equip them with the tools to combat these pressing issues. Rebecca Bratspies and Charlie La Greca’s Mayah’s Lot counters this troubling silence by empowering children to pursue environmental justice. The comic centers on Mayah, a young Black girl who discovers that a corporation plans to transform a vacant lot in her urban neighborhood into a toxic waste storage facility. Mayah joins forces with her neighbors to halt the development, participating in protests, community meetings, and legal action. The comic concludes with the community defeating the corporation and collaborating to turn the lot into public green space. By highlighting the intersections between environmental and racial inequalities, along with showcasing a range of viable community activist strategies, I argue that Mayah’s Lot demonstrates how environmentally-justice oriented comics can empower young readers to participate in environmental advocacy and develop resilience in the face of environmental disruption.

Rapid Response: Comics in and of the moment. A Graphic Submission

The Political cartoon, by its nature, provides comment as events unfold and part of its power can be simply understood by 'the satisfaction the successful cartoon gives us simply by its neat summing up, "a momentary focus." (Gombrich 1994) Described by Punch magazine as an index of time, political cartoons can serve as important historic documents, 'Cartoons can be useful illustrations that catch the eye of the reader, but they are far more valuable as evidence of an important set of dynamic social and political relationships.' (Howells and Matson 2009). Baudelaire saw the cartoon as an art form that could find 'the fantastic in the real and conversely' depict 'the reality of the fantastic in contemporary life.' (Hannoosh 1992) In short, cartoons and caricature became an art that represented real life for real people, took the banal and made it interesting, the ugly and made it beautiful and turned the transitory and ephemeral into eternal truths.In late 2019 the political cartoonist Martin Rowson began a #draw challenge on twitter. Many cartoonists (and others) picked up the gauntlet and a large body of rapid response artworks have been created. this graphic submission includes my own work that was created in particular response to the #DrawTheCoronaVirus in collaboration with The Cartoon Museum. Also, as yet unpublished, a modernised Aesop fable strip in response to the #DrawBorisJohnson challenge; 'The Toad and the Scorpion' follows the news events unfolding in the UK during the first lockdown beginning in March 23rd 2020.In late@font-face{font-family:Cambria;panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;mso-font-charset:0;mso-generic-font-family:auto;mso-font-pitch:variable;mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face{font-family:font491;panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;mso-font-alt:Cambria;mso-font-charset:0;mso-generic-font-family:auto;mso-font-format:other;mso-font-pitch:auto;mso-font-signature:99592203 597701894 0 0 524289 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal{mso-style-parent:"";margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination:widow-orphan;font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}p.MsoFootnoteText, li.MsoFootnoteText, div.MsoFootnoteText{mso-style-noshow:yes;mso-style-link:"Footnote Text Char";margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination:widow-orphan;font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}span.MsoFootnoteReference{mso-style-noshow:yes;vertical-align:super;}a:link, span.MsoHyperlink{mso-style-noshow:yes;color:blue;text-decoration:underline;text-underline:single;}a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed{mso-style-noshow:yes;color:purple;text-decoration:underline;text-underline:single;}span.FootnoteTextChar{mso-style-name:"Footnote Text Char";mso-style-noshow:yes;mso-style-locked:yes;mso-style-link:"Footnote Text";mso-ansi-language:EN-GB;}div.Section1{page:Section1;}

Comics in and of the Moment. The COVID19 pandemic: a graphic narrative.

ABSTRACT FOR GRAPHIC SUBMISSION TO:“COMICS IN AND OF THE MOMENT”. THE COMICS GRIDMónica LalandaBack in March 2020, when it became obvious that we were heading a big global disaster, I created a folder called Coronavirus Graphic Medicine. Since it was a unprecedented health care crisis, I expected a huge amount of art material related directly to the illness, the symptoms, the medical care, tests, treatments…I saw it as a great oportunity to confirm the use of such fabulous communication tool. Everytime I came accross a comic, infographic or cartoon in social media (mostly twitter and Instagram), I’d save it in my folder. I concentrated on work created in spanish but also foreign ones without any text.Within weeks, I was already surprised that the amount of graphic outpour was huge but there was little in terms of “proper” graphic medicine. As I continued to look into it in more detail, analysing all these amazing pieces, I could see that the illness itself was not the main character of the story, the protagonists of the covid-19 crisis were not the patients or the disease. It was clear that there was little contact with the patients, either locked in ther own rooms or in hospitals with no visitors. Covid-19 victims were surprisingly not the real issue. This in itself is very meaningful. .The illustrators also drew a lot about death but little about the dead ones, creamated without witnesses and buried almost in solitute . As the vignettes continued to enter my folder, I could see that somehow they were able to give an amazing narrative of the pandemia, there was hardly any graphic medicine but more of a story about a whole society going through a unique and damaging common experience. A kind of social graphic medicine of some sort. The suffering of a whole society rather than the illness of the individuals.They fitted into various themes that were obviouly catching the artists’ imagination. In my on-going analysis I ended up creating subfolders that allowed me to clasify and study them in a more logical way. These were the issues that gave way to more pieces:- Health care providers as heroes- Health care providers as victims of the system- Coping with the confinement.- The virus itself (anthopromorphism)- Death- “The curve”- Face masks- Timely themes (schools, Halloween, christmas…)- Information for people to avoid illness- vaccinesNow that things have settled, there is a new and different creation with a kind of retrospective eye. Yet again graphic medicine as such is missing. I’ve recently being invited to write the introduction of an anthology of comics about the pandemia where some of the best spanish comic creators have produced their own pieces about covid19. I notice a tendency to search for answers, to look into our society and our communities with some queries, to measure the effect of social inequalities or the importance of belonging, there is a concern about the psicological effect of those deaths that we were not allowed to mourn, the oportunity to value small things that we never noticed before. I almost sense a call to forget the ugly and to rebuild a new society upon the old ashes. It’s surprising the change in tone. Deep pesimism mixed with cheerful expectations.I’d like to create a comic reflecting on the analysis of all those hundreds of cartoons and comics that I’ve been looking at for over a year.My own work during the pandemia has been mostly graphic medicine as such and here is a link to some of it:https://monicalalanda.com/

Snakes and Things: A Comics Exploration of Species through the COVID-19 Crisis

While extensive research has been done by animal rights activists, philosophers, and interdisciplinary academics on the animal body in moments of crisis, there is little analysis and exploration of this topic in the comics form. Through engaging in the comics form (both as a maker and scholar), I argue that comics offer a unique perspective to consider body and space, especially regarding human-animal relationships in our current moment in time. The comics form offers the ability for scholarship and theory to unfold and layer beyond textual analysis; with the use of both text and image, comics not only explore topics, but reposition them to cultivate new meanings. For this project I aim to not only unpack human-animal relationships through themes of body and space, but to also demonstrate why the comics form is especially useful when understanding these topics. In employing the comics form, I aim to explore questions like: How does the comics form allow the reader to engage with theory? Why is the comics form pertinent to understanding human-animal relationships today? How are animal bodies and identities considered as living beings during the COVID-19 crisis? How are their bodies constructed and dismantled in spaces that have been created and defined by the COVID-19 crisis? My source material consists of interdisciplinary modern, spatial, and animal theory, as well as comic analysis and theory. In using the comics form and theoretical approaches to explore body and space, this project aims to add a new intervention into the comics realm, demonstrates how the comics form must be a considered approach in animal rights and spatial academia, and offers a new lens in understanding how we can use comics as a method to approach body, space, and the COVID-19 crisis.

Mourning the Mamalith

Mourning the Mamalith: A Graphic Response to GriefOn February 17, 2021, my mother, Ingrid Margarethe Phyllis Gertrud von Reitzenstein Claussner, falls and breaks her neck while doing what she loves most: going to church. "Jesus is the most important person in my life," she once told me. Always subordinate to her divine love affair, my mortal relationship with her was complicated. At key moments throughout my life, starting in infancy when I needed her care and protection most, she was absent. Due to my mother's early childhood trauma, she was unable to get too close to anyone, even to me, her only child. Jesus was her answer to every question, no matter what the question. This level of devotion to an invisible entity was incomprehensible to me, but I loved my mother with every ounce of my being. On February 18, 2021, Gracie is born on a ranch in Nebraska. Her mother dies shortly after giving birth—not from complications of having puppies, but from eating part of a towel. On February 19, 2021, my mother dies in the hospital in Tucson, Arizona.On May 1, 2021, my wife and I drive to Nebraska to pick up Gracie the boxer puppy. She is ten weeks old but still just a teeny five-pound runt. She grows very quickly and continues to thrive. Nevertheless, I have recurring panic attacks at night in response to dreams and spontaneous mental images of Gracie's tiny, vulnerable body. I can't shake the feeling that something might happen to her, and that I may not be able to protect her.In early June, the morning after another night of anxiety and insomnia, I tearfully call my wise therapist friend, Leslie. She tells me that when one's mother dies, part of the grieving process requires that one re-experience every fraught moment and emotion: "You are healing not just your own relationship with your mother, but you are healing your entire maternal lineage. You must relive everything on a deeper level now, even if you've already worked through these feelings before." I realize that my nightly anxiety attacks aren't really about Gracie, but about my own vulnerability when I was an infant. I am re-experiencing those early moments through my visceral connection with this tiny mammal who depends on me. This short comic looks at the mysterious connection between processing childhood vulnerability and trauma, more-than-human and human interdependence, and psychosomatic healing. As I've done in some of my previous work, by materializing thoughts as drawn and written sequential vignettes, I hope to gain and share insight about the mysterious dynamics of embodied cognition.