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Showing posts with the label John Donovan

Free Comic Book Day- A View From the West

Professor John Donovan did me the great favor of checking out comic book shops in his area on Free Comic Book Day. Professor Donovan writes about the anti-communist message in comic for Ages of Heroes, Era of Men , yet he recently shared some new research at the Imagined Power Symposium at Rollins exploring depictions of President Obama in comics . John's take on FCBD is in sharp contrast to my own. As he explains: “ I had the opportunity to enjoy FCBD by visiting the Boulder area (one hour north of my home in Colorado Springs). From experience, I knew that the best way to celebrate the day would be to visit Time Warp Comics, Cards and Collectibles in Boulder. I was not disappointed. The owner, Wayne Winsett, goes all-out every FCBD. He puts out balloons for the kids, has artists on hand to talk with fans, and has people in costume to entertain the customers. This year he had a batmobile in front of the store (on loan from a private collector), with a Batgirl to pose by ...

Ages of Heroes, Eras of Men--The Pop Culture Question

Does popular media shape your belief or does belief shape media? It is a good question, and of course, comic books are one way to consider the problem. Think about it, comic books have for many decades, offered their readers a self-contained world with detailed character histories and evolving circumstances. If you read Superman in the 1940s his dress, ideas, language, and surrounding reflect that time. Today, they reflect contemporary life incorporating radically different social, political, and economic circumstances. The writers update the characters and their world so that readers feel a connection to the story. Thus, we can make the argument strongly that comics reflect culture incorporate new ideas as they come. On the other hand, when comics introduce readers to concepts such as challenging political corruption in the 1930s, attacking the fascism in the 1940s, or challenging racism in the 1960s they do so ahead of mainstream opinion. Therefore, those comics help to shape the ...