This presentation discusses the evolution of the video game from the 1960s through the late 1990s, with a focus on Atari and Nintendo.
1986 was a pivotal year for comic books when DC Comics published Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, along with Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller. Never before had mainstream superhero comic books taken a novelistic approach to the genre. Both reinvented the superhero comic book for a more mature audience–and reinvented…
This talk reveals the origins of comic books and how they have translated into film and TV over the decades. It showcases everything from the 1940s movie serials to the current blockbuster movies out today and how both media have helped change one another. Featured are the classic Adventures of Superman TV show, Batman with…
In 1954, Batman and Robin were “outed” by psychiatrist Fredric Wertham as closet homosexuals, an accusation that caused the comic’s creators to skirt sexuality in the Batman comics. This presentation parallels Batman and Robin’s plight against the backdrop of gay rights (The Lavender Scare) and women’s lib, from the late 1930s through the 1970s. Subjects covered include the communist witch hunt, the Batman TV show, pop art and camp, the sexually chaotic Batwoman of the Eisenhower era and the liberated Batgirl of the 1960s.
More than any single living cartoonist, Dean Haspiel has presented slivers and full looks at both his life and others through his work. The master of the “semi-autobio” comic, Dean has presented his life directly in Opposable Thumbs, partially in Street Code, and through the lens of a fictitious avatar in his successful comic book and digital strip Billy Dogma. Dean’s work has also graced the biographies of authors Harvey Pekar (American Splendor), Jonathan Ames (The Quitter), and Inverna Lockpez (Cuba). This presentation chronicles the cartoonist from his early days as an assistant in the industry to his current position as a digital comics pioneer.
Irving performs a reading of his book with Seth Kushner, accompanied with a slideshow of comic book creator portraits that starts with Captain America co-creator Joe Simon and ending with emerging comics talent. Irving conveys verbal snippets of the history of the American comic book, straight from the mouths of the creators themselves. Subjects include Stan Lee (Marvel Comics, Spider-Man), Frank Miller (Batman: The Dark Knight Returns), Art Spiegelman (Maus), Chris Ware (Building Stories), Harvey Pekar (American Splendor), and Dennis O’Neil (Batman).
