Commons Comics is back!

iconic floating cape image of Ms. Marvel
From comicbook.com

If you’re new to Commons Comics, welcome!


This is a bi-weekly review blog focusing on new comics, especially by diverse voices. I began as a comics fangirl, then began teaching a class on comics and graphic novels in 2008, and blogging about them in 2013. Comics have been working their way into my scholarly interests since then, and I am now co-editing an essay collection about Kamala Khan, the new Ms. Marvel, with comics and religion scholar Hussein Rashid. Look for it on the University Press of Mississippi in the coming year. (Working title: Ms. Marvel in America.)

If you were reading Commons Comics before it took a break, welcome back! New comics reviews will be coming soon, thanks to the continuing support of Better World Books in Goshen, Indiana. In the meantime, I’ll start uploading the Commons Comics archive, so you can browse old posts from Elkhart Truth Community Blogs, and even older posts from Goshen Commons. Uploading is a gradual process, so let me know if you’re missing a particular post, and I’ll put it at the top of the queue.

If you’re not familiar with Kamala Khan, featured in the picture above as well as in my bio picture, she’s been part of a recent zeitgeist
of more diverse voices in comics among creators and fans. This Seth Meyers interview of one of her creators, Marvel editor Sana Amanat, will give you an idea of Ms. Marvel’s character, creation, and why she’s important enough to merit a book of scholarly essays. Enjoy, and more soon!

Superheroes of the Civil Rights Movement: “March: Book Two” by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell

I was planning on posting my Elkhart Truth archives in a more orderly fashion, starting with the most recent, but in the wake of the news in Charlottesville this morning, this review clearly needs to be prioritized. Stay tuned for a review of March: Book Three.

Thanks to Better World Books, 215 S. Main St. in Goshen, for providing me with books to review. You can find all of these books at the store.

Scan of March: Book Two, cover

Continue reading “Superheroes of the Civil Rights Movement: “March: Book Two” by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell”

Building an Imaginary History: ‘The Encyclopedia of Early Earth,’ by Isabel Greenberg

Originally published on GoshenCommons.org May 15, 2014

greenberg-cover-from-npr

greenberg-author-photo-from-npr

Images from npr.org.

“Readers! This book is not a real encyclopedia!” warns the back cover of Isabel Greenberg’s “Encyclopedia of Early Earth.” The back of the book does contain appendices and myths from an already made -up world:

greenberg-appendix-from-boing-boing

Image from boingboing.net. Continue reading “Building an Imaginary History: ‘The Encyclopedia of Early Earth,’ by Isabel Greenberg”