Comics Studies Here and Now Frederick Luis Aldama 9781138498976

Comics Studies Here and Now marks the arrival of comics studies scholarship that no longer feels the need to justify itself within or against other fields of study. The essays herein move us forward, some in their re-diggings into comics history and others by analyzing comics-and all its transmedial and fan-fictional offshoots-on its own terms. Comics Studies stakes the flag of our arrival-the arrival of comics studies as a full-fledged discipline that today and tomorrow excavates, examines, discusses, and analyzes all aspects that make up the resplendent planetary republic of comics. This collection of scholarly essays is a testament to the fact that comic book studies have come into their own as an academic discipline; simply and powerfully moving comic studies forward with their critical excavations and theoretical formulas based on the common sense understanding that comics add to the world as unique, transformative cultural phenomena.

Frederick Luis Aldama is the author, co-author, and editor of over 30 books, including recently Latinx Superheroes in Mainstream Comics. He is Arts & Humanities Distinguished Professor, University Distinguished Scholar, and Director of the award-winning LASER (Latinx Space for Enrichment & Research) at The Ohio State University.

'Frederick Luis Aldama has put together this finely curated collection featuring the writing talents of some of the leading scholars in Comics Studies. They take us on a journey of rediscovery through often-neglected and seldom-written-about aspects of sequential art. This book brings into focus the diverse nature of Comics Studies, where we have been, where we should be, where the future is going, and obviously where the study of sequential art is right now. A joy to read!' --Robert G. Weiner, Texas Tech University, USA