Comics

For the past few years, the popularity of comics have surged. Statistically, in 2015 comics and graphic novels sales topped $1 billion, including print and digital. Why is this? The rise of cinematic universes such as the MCU and DCU is one obvious answer however, looking deeper, there are other reasons. First off, has accessibility contributed? With different apps providing libraries of comics for a subscription-like price becoming increasingly popular, is print dying down? Then there is services like Netflix showcasing original series like all the marvel ones or Riverdale, each having comics as source material. Will these new forms of accessing comics hold the popularity rate? Or will it die down again only to be re-birthed in many years?

Recently, X-Men Gold #1 was criticized for how it had hidden religious, political meanings in the art. The artist responsible was fired because of it. This article would examine other comic book artists who faced a similar situation and the consequences of their actions.

With the Wonder Woman live action film on its way, many people might be excited to see one of the west's greatest superheroines come to life…but let's take a second to compare and contrast Diana Prince to another superhero from the east: Usagi Tsukino.

It would be enticing to examine graphic novels that explore very powerful themes. "V for Vendetta" is a story that explores totalitarianism. These books could have important meanings that could potentially apply to the real world. These powerful themes can be based of off real-world problems such as government corruption. Whoever writes this can choose any graphic novel or comic book series they feel is relevant to today's world.

Analyze the juxtaposition of nature, magic, and technology in Tom Siddell's long-running (12 years so far) webcomic, Gunnerkrigg Court. How does Siddell allow these three to coexist, and how does he allow them to clash? Does Siddell favor any of the three? How are these elements connected to the two main characters/settings (Antimony and Kat, The Court and the Forest) and their respective flaws?
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A superhero is defined as a "benevolent fictional character with superhuman powers." Batman essentially has no super powers. He can't fly, run abnormally fast, or anything spectacular. There is clearly a very distinct line between Batman and what is defined as a superhero. On the other hand, he can perform better than an average human. Batman is a great character because people can look up to him and realize that its possible to be like him. It gives hope to the readers of the comics. He inspires the audience to believe that they can have a great impact on the world, even if they don't have any super powers. Regardless of his impact on his fans, Is he really a superhero or not?

This is more so a piece regarding what comics happened last year and what comics are rolling into this year. Say "Paper Girls" and how the storyline is going to go from the ending of the series. What comics were good that are hopefully (or already are) better than last year. It's not a year in review, as much as it's a year in review and how it's going to bleed into 2017.

This one is self-explanatory if you have read the comics, but it made me think of this article as a reference: (link) The political standpoint of where we are now, or where we have been in the past and how Southern Bastards connects to that. You can talk about how certain characters are treated in the comics and compare it to the real world and how things are going currently. There are so many standpoints you can make politically within this comic even certain storylines as well. I would love to see an analysis piece about this and how comics are closely based on real life at times.