Tag Archives: Superman

Graphic Insights into Racism

Since George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis last May, public outcries have re-focused attention on the injustices that a few years ago triggered today’s Black Lives Matter movement.  For readers tween and up, that movement’s emotional center and origins are embodied … Continue reading

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Asian – American Heroes, Hopes, and Hurts

This is an important time to look at graphic works depicting Asian-American heroes, hopes, and hurts. The Covid-19 pandemic has spread some virulent ideas along with its deadly virus. Once-common stereotypes and fears about Asian–Americans, in particular Chinese-Americans, have flared … Continue reading

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Trending–Heroes and Icons

“Popularity” changes and is rarely “one-size-fits-all.”  We could see such trending last month in back-to-school clothing sales and, more significantly, the toppling of Confederate monuments that lionized slavery’s defenders.  Heroism is time and culture-sensitive.  This is equally true of the … Continue reading

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Cracking Codes and Making History: Then and Now

What connects award-winning graphic author/illustrator Gene Luen Yang and film luminary Orson Welles?   Both have cracked codes—figuratively, and in Yang’s case literally, too—and made history.  Welles did this back in the 1930s and 40s, when kids sometimes thought that access … Continue reading

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Resolutions: A New Year for New Superheroes

New Year’s resolutions—many of us make them, but fewer manage to keep them!  It’s not surprising, then, that comics fans and media outlets   have poked fun at this tradition itself or at current events by imagining the New Year’s resolutions of … Continue reading

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No Joking Matter: Comic Book Creators and Manga Makers

It’s April Fool’s Day, but—funny papers aside—comic books have often been no joking matter. Today, I am going to introduce biographies and autobiographies revealing the serious matters that motivated some comic book creators and manga makers. Some of their works … Continue reading

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Captaining America: Tales of Two Icons

What could Captain America and Helen Keller possibly have in common?  Read on . . . . As Independence Day approaches, movie theaters try to lure customers with patriotic blockbusters, or at least action-packed adventures, echoing the fight for freedom … Continue reading

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