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Web Nuggets: New BC Column: Prof. Ethan Watrell's History of the Modern Comic Book

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    As a big comics history buff I wanted to get in a brief plug for something starting at Bleeding Cool today -- a Michigan State University professor will be doing a weekly column on modern comic book history (largely mid-80s to present) which parallels the course he teaches on the subject:

    We’re looking at the evolution of the comic book medium; looking at specific books, series, and creators – but we’re also exploring some topics that you might not expect to see in a class about comic books. For instance, we’re spending a lot of our time looking at the evolution of the industry itself – exploring topics like the emergence of creator owned work & independent publishers, the shift to the direct market, and the growing importance of intellectual property within the industry. We’re also looking at the evolution of fandom – covering things such as the culture of the LCS, the convention, and fan/creator communication (the online fan community, the letters column, and the creator site) We’re also going to be delving into future of the comic book – with topics such as digital comics, comics piracy, and the future of distribution & the direct market
    • CommentAuthorsteevo
    • CommentTimeSep 14th 2009
     (6787.2)
    Man...wish I had that class when I was in school.
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      CommentAuthorBen
    • CommentTimeSep 14th 2009
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    I am so reading the shit out of this.
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      CommentAuthorJess
    • CommentTimeSep 14th 2009 edited
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    Bleeding Cool continues to impress me. I hope the columnist shares how he teaches his class.

    EDIT: Because I'm incredibly vague when I'm rushing out the door and I always regret it later, I hope that he shares the pedagogy and not just the content of the classes...!
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      CommentAuthorBen
    • CommentTimeSep 14th 2009
     (6787.5)
    For those who want the full experience, I’m also recording all of my lectures and making them available online (for anyone who wants to listen). I’ll also be making my lecture slides available online. The column will run a couple weeks behind the class (so that I don’t go completely insane trying to keep both running at the same time).


    I'm quite excited about this part.
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      CommentAuthorJess
    • CommentTimeSep 14th 2009 edited
     (6787.6)
    Ben, yeah, I think that part is amazing. I wish more historians did this kind of public outreach. I actually shot the guy a message because I'm curious about the teaching history part. I'd like to know how the students respond to comic books as a source, the goals of the course, any unusual obstacles because of the medium (or rather the (mis)conceptions of comics people bring to the table), etc. -- basically, what's the thought process behind the scenes. I'm not necessarily sure this kind of stuff will make it into the column as I imagine that Bleeding Cool's audience is probably more interested in the content of the class than the mechanics, but I passed the link on to some historians of various fields who would be interested in this because of the teaching aspect.
    • CommentAuthorsteevo
    • CommentTimeSep 30th 2009 edited
     (6787.7)
    First lecture is up, also slides to go with it. Listening to it now, lot of boiled down McCloud stuff so far. Good to hear classroom dialogue about comics.

    Edited to link: Lecture

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