Tag: comics

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Fawaz Qashat

Comics and History Annotation Process

Written by Fawaz Qashat
SDSU Biology Major, 2021

HIST-157 will always hold its place as my favorite class that I have ever taken. Taught by Professor Elizabeth Pollard, the class focuses on comics and their roles and significance in history. In Fall 2020, we specifically focused on social justice in comics and read a variety of graphic novels and comics: from Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics, to Art Spiegelman’s Maus, to even Steve Englehart’s Avengers #128 (a comic that focused specifically on Scarlet Witch, so you know I have to include it!). One of my favorite assignments that we did for HIST-157 was annotation. At the end of each week, we selected a specific page from our favorite comic that week and annotated it using the comic vocabulary established by Scott McCloud in Understanding Comics. 

A walk through the steps of how to annotate a comics page shows just how much you can learn from a close analysis of how text and image work together. I liked to start my annotation process with a page that has a really captivating graphic weight, or something (an image, a color, an action) that draws your eye to it first. From there, I looked at the list of comic terms that Prof. Pollard helped us understand and I thought about how they apply to the page I’m looking at. The comic terms include: panel; frame; bleed; gutter; closure; icon; text; splash pages; time; motion; synaesthetics; word/image combinations; fore/mid/background; figures; color; and graphic weight. If you want to learn more about what these are, you can take HIST-157 or get started with skimming one of many discussions online about how-to-read-comics, like Alex Abad-Santos’s, “How to Read a Comic Book” in Vox (2015) or CBLDF’s Raising a Reader! (2015).

After thinking about how the comics terms apply to the page I’ve chosen, I would begin to mark the comic page using an annotation tool. Prof. Pollard invited Dr. Pam Lach (Digital Humanist librarian at SDSU Library) to our class to explain the variety of tools we could use to annotate directly on the page (from making a .png of a googleslide to using a more advanced tool like Adobe Illustrator). I chose to use Apple’s draw feature on a screenshot to apply text boxes and type in the annotations. I color-coded each term to ensure that each annotation stood out. After each annotation, I asked myself, “Why did the creator of this comic use this comic device and how does it apply to the message they wanted to convey?” Then I typed into the text box my explanation of the author’s process and thinking in using that specific comic term for that moment. Once I did this for all of my terms, it was only a matter of uploading the annotated page in the correct format to my assignments folder and pressing “submit”. 

Here are a few examples of comics pages I annotated for HIST-157 in Fall 2020. These span history and go as far back as Mesopotamian civilization and as recent as comics from the 1980s.  Across almost three thousand years, the same steps for annotating can help viewers “read” the story.

My annotation, from early in the semester, of a Neo-Assyrian relief from the first millennium BCE. Even though I can’t read the words on the relief, I could annotate the relief with comics terminology to analyze what might be going on in this sequential art.

From mid-way through the semester, my annotation of Maus, by Art Spiegleman. My understanding of how to apply the terms had come a long way; plus the graphic novel is in English so the combination of word and image is easier to analyze.

My annotation of Vision and the Scarlet Witch #4 (1983), by Steve Englehart, from the end of the semester. After fifteen weeks of practice, my annotations not only point out features but connect the story to a social justice theme (in this case, treatment of inter-racial relationships).

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Luke Heine

The Bayeux Tapestry – A Medieval Comic?

Written by Luke Heine
SDSU History Major / Weber Honors College, 2021

It might surprise you that some of the same techniques used in comics today were employed in centuries-old works. An example of this is the Bayeux Tapestry, a 70-meter long embroidered masterpiece telling the story of William of Normandy’s conquest of England in 1066. The tapestry was crafted in the 11th century (probably by women!). Despite the materials used and its medieval conception, it may very well be considered a comic. Let’s take a closer look. 

On a basic level, comics are a storytelling medium which use sequential art, often accompanied by text. While this definition is far from comprehensive, it provides a solid baseline for looking at the Bayeux Tapestry as a comic. Take, for example, this section here:


Image from Lindybeige, “The Bayeux Tapestry – all of it, from start to finish,” Timestamp 2:14; available on Youtube @ https://youtu.be/KnieUa2-22o  (Posted October 18, 2017); accessed May 27, 2021.

In this section alone, many elements of comics are present. To begin, throughout the tapestry, text is integrated as an explanation for what the images depict. This is common practice in comics; imagine, for example, that a text box encompasses the lettering:

Or word balloons:

Right out of a comic book page, isn’t it? Perhaps not quite, but the similarities are quite clear. However, there are even more parallels to be drawn between the Bayeux Tapestry and modern comics. Look to the tree at the edge of the image:

Trees such as these create breaks between scenes, and combined with the borders framing the scene they divide the tapestry into panels. Using this format, the tapestry tells a long and complex story with clear delineation between its parts, just as comics would. 

 Organizational methods are not the only similarities that the Bayeux Tapestry holds to comics, however. There are also parallels to be drawn on an artistic level, in regards to the comics technique of graphic weight. Graphic weight refers to the quality of drawing the viewers’ eyes, commanding their attention towards a particular aspect of the work through various techniques. One of the primary ways that the tapestry creates this graphic weight is through color. Out of all the figures in this section, the figures who draw the most attention are the central characters, clad in vibrant orange and blue. These bright colors make the two stand out, and intentionally so; they are nobility and notable figures in the story the tapestry tells. This technique is one seen throughout modern comics, and is perhaps one of its hallmarks. Would Spider-Man, Superman, and the myriad other characters the medium is known for stand out quite as much without their vibrant costumes of bright reds, blues, and other colors? Because of this aspect of their design, they draw the eye to them, lending them graphic weight; the Bayeux Tapestry does the same. 

Whether one considers the Bayeux Tapestry a historic comic or not, it uses many of the techniques employed today in the graphic medium. Additionally, the terms for talking about modern comics help us see in the Bayeux Tapestry what we might otherwise miss. Through the integration of text and image to tell a story, the division of time through the usage of a panel-like structure, and the graphic weight attributed to important figures in the work, a strong case can be made to say that the tapestry is, in fact, a comic. If that’s so, it certainly goes to show how impactful the medium has been, how it stood the test of time, and how the formal vocabulary helps us to more fully read the work. 

Fully annotated panel from Bayeux Tapestry submitted for Prof. Pollard’s HIST 157 in Fall 2020
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Julia Wros

Televisual Assassination, Virtual Subjectivity, and Digital Alienation

Written by Julia Wros
SDSU History Master’s Student, 2021

In the information age, one of the biggest concerns that we all have is privacy. Exactly who is keeping an eye on our messages, phone calls, and internet browsing habits? And what exactly are they doing with that information? From Amazon and Google looking at your search history, to the US intelligence agencies that have sparked debate in the news in the past decade, threats to personal privacy have cropped up in recent years, often with explosive reveals in news media. In his special lecture “Televisual Assassination, Virtual Subjectivity, and Digital Alienation” (April 20, 2021), co-sponsored by Comics@SDSU, Professor William A Nericcio explored both how governmental intelligence agencies have caused controversies by violating the privacy of citizens and the storm that a newsstory about them can cause.

Nericcio talked about government surveillance, particularly drones and how they are used in intelligence and warfare. In the discussion he used a graphic novel, Verax: The True History of Whistleblowers, Drone Warfare, and Mass Surveillance (2017) by Pratap Chatterjee and Khalil, to highlight the way that drones and other military equipment are used to spy on people, as well as the death that they can cause. 

Nericcio described how the graphic novel opens with a drone doing a flyover of a village, where we see the perspective shift from the drone to the person behind the screen. The people playing are framed first by the screen and targeting, and then by the eye of the drone operator. Not surprising for someone whose Twitter handle is @eyegiene, Nericcio points out the multiple ways that eyes are used as a framing device in the graphic novel, from the screen, the physical eye, and things like the moon framing the sight of the drone in the air. 

Drones not only keep an eye on people, but commodify humans. Information can be gathered, categorized, and sold; all monitored and kept in records by the government. This collection of information by the government is another part of Verax. Verax is not only a discussion of drones and surveillance, but also a tool of investigative journalism. 


Verax: The True History of Whistleblowers, Drone Warfare, and Mass Surveillance: A graphic novel. By Pratap Chatterjee & Khalil. Metropolitan books. Oct 24, 2017.

Focusing on journalist Pratap Chatterjee, Verax contains the struggle to get information, and then to sell stories that contain the breaking news of government surveillance when the government does not want the stories to be released. Figures like Snowden and Assange populate the pages and the struggle to keep all of the information about information gathering secret promotes an interesting irony and strong story. 

Nericcio’s talk brought Verax into communication with another book, Drone Visions: a Brief Cyberpunk History of Killing Machines (2020) by Naief Yehya, and discussed how there is a voyeuristic element to the drones; no one being watched by drones or surveillance is aware that they are being watched even while their lives are being recorded… bringing us full circle to that village flyover in Verax with which the lecture began. Nericcio’s layered juxtapositioning of Verax and Drone Visions was a great lesson in how graphic media can tell a powerful story.

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Fawaz Qashat

So Long, Darling

Written by Fawaz Qashat
SDSU Biology Major, 2021

The finale was a spectacular ending to an amazing show. Not only did it establish its own story and style, but it also drew heavily from the comics and gave us fans so many Easter eggs to enjoy. Starting with the scene where Wanda is in the town square and the citizens are all awakened and remember their past life. This is a reference to House of M (2005) by Brian Michael Bendis where the people who were trapped in Wanda’s new reality started remembering their past life.


House of M #2 (2005) by Brian Michael Bendis

Later on, when Vision and the twins were starting to fade because the Hex was being taken down, the use of building blocks as the particles that they are made of is a direct reference to the style of Wanda’s reality in House of M (2005) by Brian Michael Bendis.


House of M #7 (2005) by Brian Michael Bendis

When Wanda casts runes on the walls of the Hex, she tells Agatha, “Thanks for the lesson,” which is a reference to the comics since Agatha was Wanda’s mentor and helped her learn about her powers.


Image of Wanda and Agatha

When the Hex was disappearing around Wanda and Vision, Vision can be seen tearing up which is a nod to a famous line he says in the comics and something that he uses to validate his humanity. “Even an android can cry.”


Image of Vision

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Fawaz Qashat

The Scarlet Witch

Written by Fawaz Qashat
SDSU Biology Major, 2021

This episode was what you would call an amplified throwback Thursday. Wanda goes on a journey looking at her past in order for Agatha to determine how the Hex came to be. The comic references still persisted and did not disappoint this episode. When Agatha learns about Wanda’s childhood and the shell that landed in their apartment, she asks Wanda if she used a probability hex. This is a reference to what Wanda’s ability was in the comics as she first started off. She did not know she had any other powers at the time.

Later on, when Hayward is dismantling Vision and Wanda sees it all, this is a direct reference to West Coast Avengers: Vision Quest #43 (1985) by John Byrne when Wanda sees Vision dismantled on a table by a corporation that wanted to render him defective. Furthermore, when Vision is seen in the after credits as being completely white, this is also a reference to West Coast Avengers: Vision Quest #45 (1985) by John Byrne in which Hank Pym rebuilds Vision but he is now completely white and has lost all emotions.


West Coast Avengers: Vision Quest #43 (1985) by John Byrne


West Coast Avengers: Vision Quest #45 (1985) by John Byrne

Towards the end of the episode we see Agatha in her witchy suit floating in the middle of the street. This is a comic reference to her color scheme and outfit in the comics. She wears a dress and a shawl with her infamous brooch.


Marvel Studios WandaVision Image.


Avengers #128 (1963) by Stan Lee

Last but certainly not least, Wanda Maximoff is finally given her superhero name from the comics, the Scarlet Witch!


Image of Scarlet Witch

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Fawaz Qashat

It Was Agatha All Along!

Written by Fawaz Qashat
SDSU Biology Major, 2021

Everything is falling apart and Wanda can’t fix it. Episode 7 was one of the most chaotic yet entertaining episodes of the show. Despite this, comic references still managed to make their way onto the screen. Starting off with Monica’s transformation through the Hex into Photon. Her powers were officially revealed and they are a reference to the comic version in that both are blue. Not only that, but the outfit Monica can be seen wearing in Westview, the black and white S.W.O.R.D. outfit, is a nod to her superhero outfit in the comics as well!


Image of Monica Rambeau


Marvel Studios WandaVision Image

Later on, we see Vision trying to make sense of Westview and who he is. This is a reference to Vision in the comics who spends a majority of his life trying to figure out who or what he is. Especially in Avengers #57 (1963) by Roy Thomas in which Vision joins the Avengers, but not before questioning what his true nature is.


Avengers #57 (1963) by Roy Thomas

When Monica tries to warn Wanda of the true intentions of Hayward, Wanda attacks her. Monica tries to convince Wanda to stop the Hex so as to not become a villain. Wanda’s reply of, “Maybe I already am,” is a reference to the comics because after House of M (2005) by Brian Michael Bendis, Wanda is seen as a hero by some but also as a villain by others. 


House of M (2005) by Brian Michael Bendis

Finally, towards the very end, Agnes is revealed to be Agatha all along. See what I did there? Agatha’s pose when she is cradling the bunny is a reference to her most famous pose in her first appearance, Fantastic Four #94 (1970) by Stan Lee, where she can be seen cradling her cat, Ebony.


Fantastic Four #94 (1970) by Stan Lee

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Fawaz Qashat

Happy Halloweenie!

Written by Fawaz Qashat
SDSU Biology Major, 2021

This episode of WandaVision was as close to the comics as it gets. This is due to the incredible costumes that were made which are taken directly from the pages of the comics. Wanda is wearing her classic Scarlet Witch outfit even with the iconic wimple! Yes, the official name for her headpiece is wimple and you can quote me on that. Vision is dressed up in all the classic colors of the comic version of himself with the accurate collared cape. Billy is wearing his comic accurate costume with the red cape and headband as well as “Pietro” who is rocking the accurate hair-do of the comic book Pietro. The only character not dressed in comic accurate clothing that is true to his character is Tommy. He is dressed up as his uncle because it is a way to foreshadow their connected powers of super speed.


Image of Wanda and Vision


Image of Pietro and Tommy Maximoff


Image of Billy Maximoff

The commercial in this episode is of a boy being told by a shark that Yo-Magic is what the shark has been feeding off of which is a reference to the plot later down the line. We see that Agatha is the shark who is feeding off of Wanda’s magic as Wanda disintegrates slowly in the last episode.

The twins’ abilities in the show are a reference to their comic counterparts. Billy has abilities that are similar to his mother’s yet they are blue which is true to his comic version. Tommy has super speed as he does in the comics. This is also a larger reference to Young Avengers coming in the future which is the line-up of the Avengers’ kids who take on their parents’ mantles and defend the world.


Young Avengers Presents #3(2008) by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa

Last but not least, Agatha can be seen wearing a witch’s outfit which is a reference to her being a witch later on in the show but also in the comics. The gray hair is a nice touch as well because that is what her hair color is in the comics.


Image of Agatha Harkness

Not only did this episode offer a great plot and some hilarious jokes, it was also a love letter to comic fans because of how true to the comics and accurate the outfits were. Not only that, but they allowed this to take place through Halloween which in and of itself is another reference to the comics because the first ever comic of Wanda and Vision going off and living together in Vision and the Scarlet Witch #1 (1982) by Bill Mantlo. In this comic, it took place during Halloween and Wanda and Vision went out trick or treating in their costumes.

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Fawaz Qashat

Let’s Just Take It From The Top

Written by Fawaz Qashat
SDSU Biology Major, 2021

Episode 5 of WandaVision gave so much content to fans that contains a mixture of references to the comics, the reveal of the deeper plot, and some exciting new characters. Diving straight to the first few minutes of the opening, when Agatha comes in and tries to carry the babies, she looks at Wanda and asks her if she can carry the babies outside the script of the show. Wanda can be seen nudging Agatha with her arm as if to tell her to go back to character.


Marvel Studios WandaVision Image

Later on, we see S.W.O.R.D. debriefing Wanda’s past and talking about her journey throughout the movies. This entire scene is a reference to Avengers Disassembled #503 (1998) by Brian Michael Bendis when Doctor Strange shows up and tells the Avengers about Wanda’s tragic and painful past. He explains to them how Wanda’s dark past drove her to the extremes and made her lose control of her powers.


Avengers Disassembled #503 (1998) by Brian Michael Bendis

In the scene where we meet the Visions’ new dog, Wanda gives him the name Sparky which is a nod to the comic series The Vision (2015) by Tom King in which Vision builds his family a robotic dog and names him Sparky. In that comic Sparky is green, but his size and breed is spot on in the show.


The Vision #8 (2015) by Tom King

When Vision is upset about Wanda using her powers in front of Agatha, Billy interrupts Vision and asks him if they can keep the dog. This was a way for Wanda to distract Vision by using her kids to change the subject. In Avengers Disassembled, Wanda can be seen doing this several times throughout the story where her children’s dialogue reflects her thoughts and feelings.


Avengers Disassembled #503 (1998) by Brian Michael Bendis

The commercial for this episode was for a paper towel brand called Lagos. This is referring to Wanda’s incident in Lagos, Nigeria in Captain America: Civil War where she accidentally blew up a building while trying to stop Crossbones from detonating himself.

After Vision comes home from work and he and Wanda get into a fight, they begin yelling at each other in a side view shot which is a direct reference to a specific comic panel in The Vision #7 where we see Wanda and Vision having a loud argument about her kids not being real.


The Vision #7 (2015) by Tom King

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Fawaz Qashat

We Interrupt This Program

Written by Fawaz Qashat
SDSU Biology Major, 2021

Episode 4 of WandaVision came as a surprise to everyone when we saw that it was not a sitcom style episode, but rather a short MCU movie style episode to explain to fans what everything means so far in the Westview anomaly. This, however, did not deplete the references and Easter eggs marvel placed for readers of the comics. To start off, S.W.O.R.D. in the MCU stands for Sentient Weapon Observation and Response Division. In the comics, it stood for Sentient World Observation and Response Department. Although only two words differ, this changes the focus of the entire group. Whereas in the comics they dealt with different planets and universes, the MCU adaptation shifted the focus to weapons of all kinds. From the infinity gauntlet to Stark’s array of armors and gadgets to even the Vision!


The Peak, headquarters of S.W.O.R.D.
Art by Steve Sanders.

Later on, as Monica Rambeau is going back to work at S.W.O.R.D., we can see a plaque with her mother’s image on it that reads, “Maria ‘Photon’ Rambeau.” This is a reference to Monica in the comics who goes by Photon as her superhero name. This could be a way to allow Monica to adopt the name which represented her mother in the future when she joins the Avengers.


Image of Monica Rambeau from the Marvel Database

The location of Westview being in the state of New Jersey is a direct reference to the comic series Vision and the Scarlet Witch (1985) by Steve Englehart. In that comic series, Wanda and Vision live in a town called Leonia which is also in New Jersey. Even though the name of the town differs, having its state be the same was a nice way to give a little Easter egg for the fans of the comics.


Vision and the Scarlet Witch #1 (1985) by Steve Englehart

In the scene where Jimmy Woo and Dr. Darcy Lewis are announcing the names of the townsfolk who have been cast as actors by Wanda, Abilash Tanden is said to play Norm, Vision’s friend at work. The name Norm is a nod to that same comic series, Vision and the Scarlet Witch. In that series, Norm is the name of the person who sells Wanda and Vision their new home in Leonia but also stirs up trouble later on by being in an affair with Pietro’s wife, Crystal. One can compare the fact that in the comics, Norm stirs up trouble for Wanda and Vision as he does in the show in the next episode by being the first to be awakened from his role in the show and exposing Wanda, but that’s for next week.


Vision and the Scarlet Witch #1 (1985) by Steve Englehart

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Luke Heine

Comics in the CSUs: Cooperation and Collaboration to Come!

Written by Luke Heine
SDSU History Major / Weber Honors College, 2021

One of the most exciting developments in recent years for comics enthusiasts is the growing acceptance of, and acclaim for, graphic works in academia. Institutions of higher learning have begun to recognize the significance and potential of the medium, which is at last poised to take its place among the fine arts and literature. On Monday, April 19th, in my role as Comics@SDSU student researcher in Spring 2021, I had the pleasure of attending a gathering of faculty from across the CSUs, assembled to discuss the role of comics at their campuses and to collaborate on new ways to advance the role of these works in education. As the minute-taker for this event, I can happily affirm that this gathering marks a bright future to come for Comics in the CSUs, and I am excited to convey some of the meeting’s take-aways from my perspective as a CSU student and comics fan.

The meeting kicked off with introductions and an overview of what the CSUs have been doing with comics to date. In attendance were representatives from ten CSUs — Chico, Dominguez Hills, Fresno, Los Angeles, Northridge, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Marcos, and San José – quite the gathering!  From the presentations by these passionate faculty, it was clear to see that comics are already taking center stage on these campuses, from CSULA’s Eagle-Con, SFSU’s Interdisciplinary Comics Studies Minor, Comics @ CSUN, and of course our own Comics@SDSU initiative. Indeed, the achievements of these universities are too exhaustive to list in full here, but they include initiatives such as a faculty person taking students to Japan to study manga, comic arts exhibitions, curriculum development, academic conferences (for faculty and students), comic creation by students, and research about comic-book reading. 

All in all, it’s clear that Comics in the CSUs is off to a great start on the individual campuses, but the meeting’s goal was cultivating collaboration across campuses, as well. To that end, following introductions the enthusiastic representatives began brainstorming how they might work together to take the initiatives they have started at their individual universities to the next step together. Exciting ideas for future collaborations included a touring exhibition, sharing of comics collections, CSU-wide internships and research, and ways to connect with each other in the future. By the meeting’s conclusion, it was clear to see that the future for a collaborative comics community across the CSUs is bright; the initiative is off to a promising start, and I for one can’t wait to see what the coming years will bring for comics-loving students like myself! 

Jamboard showing post-it notes with brainstorm ideas for future collaboration within the CSUs
Having listened to 5-minute introductions of what’s happening with comics at each of the campuses, Comics in the CSUs participants brainstormed opportunities for future collaborations