Indigenous Comics and Graphic Novels
Indigenous Comics and Graphic Novels
Studies in Genre
In recent years, studios like Marvel and DC have seen enormous success transforming comics into major motion pictures. At the same time, bookstores such as Barnes & Noble in the US and Indigo in Canada have made more room for comic books and graphic novels on their shelves. Yet despite the sustained popular appeal and the heightened availability of these media, Indigenous artists continue to find their work given little attention by mainstream publishers, booksellers, production houses, and academics. Nevertheless, Indigenous artists are increasingly turning to graphic narratives, with publishers like Native Realities LLC and Highwater Press carving out ever more space for Indigenous creators.
In Indigenous Comics and Graphic Novels: Studies in Genre, James J. Donahue aims to interrogate and unravel the disparities of representation in the fields of comics studies and comics publishing. Donahue documents and analyzes the works of several Indigenous artists, including Theo Tso, Todd Houseman, and Arigon Starr. Through topically arranged chapters, the author explores a wide array of content produced by Indigenous creators, from superhero and science fiction comics to graphic novels and experimental narratives. While noting the importance of examining how Indigenous works are analyzed, Donahue emphasizes that the creation of artistic and critical spaces for Indigenous comics and graphic novels should be an essential concern for the comics studies field.
Comics enthusiasts should take note.
In focusing attention on several largely unrecognized and underanalyzed Indigenous comics creators, Indigenous Comics and Graphic Novels shines a light on the vital work of these artists. This is a rigorous and robust collection.
James J. Donahue is professor and assistant chair of the Department of English & Communication at SUNY Potsdam. He is author of Contemporary Native Fiction: Toward a Narrative Poetics of Survivance and Failed Frontiersmen: White Men and Myth in the Post-Sixties American Historical Romance. He is also coeditor (with Jennifer Ann Ho and Shaun Morgan) of Narrative, Race, and Ethnicity in the United States and(with Derek C. Maus) of Post-Soul Satire: Black Identity after Civil Rights, the latter published by University Press of Mississippi.
