In this episode of the Graphic Possibilities Podcast, we return to our audio commentary on comics. We turned to Dr. Christina Knopf for this commentary to learn about comics and politics. Dr. Knopf specializes in political communication. She is a rhetorician and sociologist studying the rhetoric of the popular arts - comics, cartoons, letters, films, animations, and shows - for what and how it communicates about our social-political reality. Her work particularly focuses on depictions of war and the military and of politics and campaigns, with an interest in concerns of gender, race, health, community, and civic engagement. Her book, Politics in the Gutters: American Politicians and Elections in Comic Book Media, was published in 2021 by the University Press of Mississippi. Politics in the Gutter make clear the assertion that politic intersecting with comics is a recent occurrence is wrong. Instead, she demonstrates how politics and comics have been and continue to be in dialogue. The audio commentary provides an important overview for those looking to learn more about this important subfield of comic studies. You can find more bibliographies by visiting the Graphic Possibilities Comic Research Guide available through the MSU Library.
