Professor of English Tracey Sedinger, Ph.D., developed a new course called Introduction to Comics and Graphic Novels and included input from UNC alumnus Colin McGuire 鈥�20. 

Throughout the course, students explore many comic books and graphic novels old and new.

鈥淭he students have really latched onto it. They鈥檙e talking and making really cool observations that I never would have come up with,鈥� says McGuire.

鈥淥ur students have such interesting things to say, so we just want to give them a vocabulary to be able to talk more about that鈥嗏�斺�唗o think about why artists make certain choices,鈥� Sedinger says.    

Sedinger and McGuire hope to illustrate the academic value of comic books and graphic novels. They believe the popularity of comics in the modern day makes them an especially important and relevant medium to study.   

鈥淧eople read less and less but comics and graphic novels remain hugely popular. They鈥檙e incredibly influential and it just seemed like a logical thing to include in the English department鈥檚 offerings,鈥� Sedinger says.   

McGuire explains that readership for print media in 2020 was down鈥嗏�斺�唀xcept for comics, which were up. 鈥淚 think it emphasizes that comics are not just something that鈥檚 happening over on the side. It鈥檚 an important medium that a lot of people are paying attention to.鈥�   

Sedinger says 鈥淭he Department of Truth鈥� is a good example of comics addressing current topics. 鈥淚t鈥檚 this really dark fantasy exploration of the fake news pandemic that we have going on and the danger that that poses to our democracy,鈥�   

They also see comics as a valuable medium for giving a voice to groups who are often marginalized in the mainstream media.   

鈥淚 think comics and graphic novels have provided opportunities for people who are continuously underrepresented to be able to express and articulate their hopes, their dreams, what鈥檚 going wrong鈥嗏�斺�唗heir tragedies,鈥� Sedinger says.   

McGuire explains that exploring and studying various mediums allows students to ask what sort of things are overrepresented or underrepresented in a particular medium, or a story and what things get glossed over. 鈥淚t鈥檚 always important to be critical of the media you consume,鈥� says McGuire. 鈥淵ou get messages from any sort of show or movie you watch, about what is right and what is wrong, and it鈥檚 important to think about what it鈥檚 saying and what it鈥檚 trying to tell you.鈥�