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Sequential Scholars

@sequentialscholars.bsky.social
3.8K followers 4.5K following 3.8K posts

Academics reading and celebrating the style, substance, and sublimity of all kinds of comics. By scholars, for everyone. Led by @annapeppard.bsky.social & Dr. J. Andrew Deman.

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Reposted by Sequential Scholars
Anna F Peppard PhD @annapeppard.bsky.social · 14h
Our latest for @sequentialscholars.bsky.social discusses Himmel's funeral in Frieren. #ComicsStudies #Manga
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Sequential Scholars @sequentialscholars.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
To build the World of Archie Comics archive, resource managers at Alexander Street sourced comics from physical holdings at research libraries and ebay. The World of Archie Comics Archive [2 of 4] #comicsstudies #archiecomics
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Sequential Scholars @sequentialscholars.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
One of the more interesting structural elements in Frieren is the way that the text plays on hindsight to add progressive significance to a key moment from the opening chapter: Frieren’s emotional breakdown at Himmel’s funeral. #frieren 1/9
Frieren crying over the memory of Himmel.
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Anna F Peppard PhD @annapeppard.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Our latest for @sequentialscholars.bsky.social spotlights Frieren as transcultural text. #ComicsStudies #Manga
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Sequential Scholars @sequentialscholars.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
The World of Archie Comics archive includes thousands of digitized & indexed comic books published by Archie Comics, spanning 1943-2020. The World of Archie Comics Archive [1 of 4] #archiecomics #comicsstudies
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Sequential Scholars @sequentialscholars.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Through its combination of European settings, Western high fantasy, and Eastern manga storytelling techniques, Frieren offers a stalwart example of a modern transnational manga – one that bridges cultures and nationalities in a way that reflects the international scope of manga. #frieren 1/10
A cover of Frieren, depicting various characters standing or sitting on stairs with a stone archway in the centre.
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Sequential Scholars @sequentialscholars.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Operating within a robust high-fantasy tradition, death is a major theme in Frieren, a story that uses the relationship between the past and present to articulate a philosophy on how to truly live under the spectre of “passing through nature to eternity,” as Shakespeare puts it. #frieren 1/12
Frieren stands on a cobblestone path high above a village in the background, holding a suitcase and staring into the middle distance
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Sequential Scholars @sequentialscholars.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End was first published as Sōsō no Furīren, or “Frieren at the Funeral” in the Weekly Shonen Sunday in April of 2020. By 2021, the creative team of Kanehito Yamada and Tsukasa Abe won the prestigious “Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize” in the “New Creator” category. #frieren 1/7
Alt text: title spread of Frieren, with the four main characters sitting down in a place of ruins.
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Sequential Scholars @sequentialscholars.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
These new options create powerful new teaching opportunities that reconfigure the way comics are studied and, subsequently, the way comics are understood in the broader culture. Digital Archives and Comics Pedagogy [3 of 4] #archives #comicsstudies
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Reposted by Sequential Scholars
Anna F Peppard PhD @annapeppard.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Our next unit for @sequentialscholars.bsky.social will be tackling the ongoing manga Frieren. #ComicsStudies #Manga
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Sequential Scholars @sequentialscholars.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Introducing our next unit: Frieren! #frieren #cuteplushie
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Sequential Scholars @sequentialscholars.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Digital archives like Marvel Unlimited, DC Universe Infinite, and Shonen Jump, all provide access to vast catalogues of comics issues. Digital Archives and Comics Pedagogy [3 of 4] #archives #comicsstudies
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Sequential Scholars @sequentialscholars.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Our unit on Kelly Sue DeConnick and Valentine De Landro's "Bitch Planet" is over but not forgotten! As always, all our content is archived on our website. Here's a snapshot of what we covered! 1/7 An Introduction to Bitch Planet bsky.app/profile/sequ...
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Sequential Scholars @sequentialscholars.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
The cultural validation of being taught in a university or college course has its own currency as well. Digital Archives and Comics Pedagogy [2 of 4] #comicsstudies #archives
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Reposted by Sequential Scholars
Anna F Peppard PhD @annapeppard.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Our latest for @sequentialscholars.bsky.social talks screens as mirrors in Bitch Planet. #ComicsStudies
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Sequential Scholars @sequentialscholars.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
TBT: When critics & scholars talk about the representation of women in pop culture, they often talk about “agency.” Typically, if a female character has agency, she’s more fully realized & less generic. But what does it look like? The depiction of Persephone in #LoreOlympus offers some clues. 1/12
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Sequential Scholars @sequentialscholars.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
In “How Do Screens Function as Mirrors in Bitch Planet?” Francesca Lyn argues that the comic “presents a foreboding techno-future where screens are used as an ubiquitous method of patriarchal control” and proceeds to discuss the many ways screens signal surveillance & subversion. 1/11 #ComicsStudies
The character Kam crouches below a towering screen showing static in Bitch Planet.
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Sequential Scholars @sequentialscholars.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
The impact of digital archives on comics pedagogy is a history that’s still being written whilst raising a number of key questions about our understanding of comics in a modern college or university classroom. Digital Archives and Comics Pedagogy [1 of 4] #comicsstudies #archives
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Sequential Scholars @sequentialscholars.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Brown identifies radical potential in superhero marriage to create new storytelling opportunities that, while threatening to the status quo, can produce important questions about what the superhero is. Jeffrey Brown's Chapter on Superhero Weddings [3 of 3] #spiderman #superheroweddings
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Sequential Scholars @sequentialscholars.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
In a wide-ranging 2015 interview with Sarah Rose Sharp, Kelly Sue DeConnick discusses the process of creating “Bitch Planet” with artist Valentine De Landro, the comic’s fan community, and its relevance to current events. #ComicsStudies #BitchPlanet
hyperallergic.com
Women's Rage: A Conversation with the Creator of 'Bitch Planet'
A comic book industry veteran for the last decade, Kelly Sue DeConnick first earned her chops adapting manga to English.
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Reposted by Sequential Scholars
Citizen Michael @citizenmichael.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Sequential Scholars are by far one of the best groups in the comicbook space. They are thoughtful and challenging. I think more fans should know about them. Sequentialscholars.com is a good place to start or follow them on Bluesky. Comics very much deserve a thoughtful audience.
sequentialscholars.com
Sequential Scholars Homepage
Academics reading, researching, sharing, and celebrating the style, substance, and sublimity of all kinds of comics. By scholars, for everyone.
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Sequential Scholars @sequentialscholars.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
In many ways, Brown’s chapter can be read as an important and much-needed update to Eco’s original paper, which focused almost exclusively on Silver Age comics. Jeffrey Brown's Chapter on Superhero Weddings[2 of 3] #spiderman #superheroweddings
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Sequential Scholars @sequentialscholars.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
In a 2016 roundtable moderated by Kate Tanski for Women Write About Comics, educators/scholars Elizabeth Coody, Rachelle Cruz, Andrea Horbinski, Chandra Jenkins, Nancee Reeves & Ambria Taylor discuss the rewards & challenges of teaching "Bitch Planet" in various educational contexts. 1/10 #Comics
 An image of a hand holding a trade paperback of Bitch Planet.
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Sequential Scholars @sequentialscholars.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
TBT: Like a TV pilot, the first issue of a new comics series is a huge challenge & opportunity. It must create a narrative framework, tone & “hook” that will (hopefully) keep readers coming back. The opening scene of Gillen & McKelvie’s #YoungAvengers run accomplishes all three. 1/11
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Anna F Peppard PhD @annapeppard.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Our latest for @sequentialscholars.bsky.social talks Bitch Planet x activist paratexts. #ComicsStudies
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Sequential Scholars @sequentialscholars.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
American comic book fan communities are stereotypically male. “Stereotypically” because girls & women have always loved comics but are less represented, both culturally & in terms of marketing. “Bitch Planet” addresses this neglect, cultivating a woman-led, explicitly feminist fan community. 1/13
A fake advertising page from an issue of Bitch Planet.
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Sequential Scholars @sequentialscholars.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
In “Marriage, domesticity and superheroes (for better or worse)” Jeffrey A. Brown explores the unique and complicated friction that exists between superhero comics and the very concept of marriage. #spiderman Jeffrey Brown's Chapter on Superhero Weddings [1 of 3]
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Anna F Peppard PhD @annapeppard.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Our latest for @sequentialscholars.bsky.social talks Bitch Planet x politics of objectification. #ComicsStudies
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Sequential Scholars @sequentialscholars.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Kelly Sue DeConnick & Valentine de Landro’s “Bitch Planet” features considerable nudity (which we will have to censor here). It’s also indebted to exploitation aesthetics. Yet it consistently–and intersectionally–engages & challenges the politics of objectification. 1/15 #ComicsStudies #BitchPlanet
A title page splash from Bitch Planet featuring women prisoners arriving naked.
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Sequential Scholars @sequentialscholars.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
While this opening splash isn't overtly experimental, it includes many hallmarks of John Romita Jr.'s individualistic style. Spiderman Weddings Romita [4 of 4] #spiderman #peterparker #maryjane #superheroweddings
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Reposted by Sequential Scholars
Anna F Peppard PhD @annapeppard.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Our latest for @sequentialscholars.bsky.social talks Bitch Planet x women-in-prison films. #ComicsStudies #FilmStudies
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Sequential Scholars @sequentialscholars.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
In our last thread, we discussed some general contexts of exploitation films and their relevance to “Bitch Planet.” Now we’re going to zero in on the comic’s engagement with the complex politics of a specific subgenre of exploitation: the women-in-prison” film. 1/12 #ComicsStudies #BitchPlanet
The cover of Bitch Planet #6, featuring a woman on her knees in handcuffs and text that reads “Bound by law… down for justice.”
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Sequential Scholars @sequentialscholars.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Back in the 1980s, Romita Jr. made his mark pencilling the ongoing series The Uncanny X-Men (with Chris Claremont as writer) and Daredevil (with Ann Nocenti as writer). Spiderman Weddings Romita [3 of 4] #spiderman #peterparker #maryjane #superheroweddings
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Anna F Peppard PhD @annapeppard.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Our latest for @sequentialscholars.bsky.social talks Bitch Planet x exploitation films! #ComicsStudies #FilmStudies
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Kelly Sue DeConnick @kellysue.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
🧵🪡
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Sequential Scholars @sequentialscholars.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
TBT: In “It Gets Fatter: Graphic Fatness & Resilient Eating in Mariko & Jillian Tamaki’s ‘Skim,’” scholar Marty Fink argues the comic’s representations of food & “fatness” (used here in a reclaimed context) intersect with queerness & disability to show emancipatory embodiment. 1/9
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Sequential Scholars @sequentialscholars.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
DeConnick & De Landro’s “Bitch Planet” is overtly inspired by the form & content of exploitation films. Some folks might wonder: why would a self-consciously feminist comic want to engage with an historically problematic form of representation? Lots of reasons! Let’s talk thru some of them. 1/12
 A cover of BitchPlanet with a hand giving the middle finger gesture and text that reads “girl gangs… caged and enraged!”
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Sequential Scholars @sequentialscholars.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
John Romita Sr.’s memorable contributions to the look and legacy of Spider-Man’s world–both of which are directly relevant to the character’s marriage. Spiderman Weddings Romita [2 of 4]
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Anna F Peppard PhD @annapeppard.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Our latest for @sequentialscholars.bsky.social offers an intro to DeConnick & De Landro's "Bitch Planet." #ComicsStudies
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Sequential Scholars @sequentialscholars.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
The dystopian sci-fi series “Bitch Planet” (2014-17) is written by Kelly Sue DeConnick with primary art by Valentine De Landro. It offers a feminist twist on exploitation films while showcasing the power of comics to speak back to power, reframing languages of objectification. 1/8 #ComicsStudies
The cover of Bitch Planet #1 showing a silhouette of a feminine form raising two middle fingers in front of the background of a prison setting.
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Sequential Scholars @sequentialscholars.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Announcing Our Next Unit: Bitch Planet! #bitchplanet #comics
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Sequential Scholars @sequentialscholars.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
The wedding storyline is also self-consciously domestic, organized around family dynamics that are connotatively feminine. Web-Slinging Romance Tropes [3 of 3] #spiderman #comicsstudies
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Sequential Scholars @sequentialscholars.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
TBT: Absolute Wonder Woman and AU Storytelling. Absolute Wonder Woman offers the potential to reflect on the longstanding, increasingly financially relevant concept of alternate universe storytelling in the comics medium. #wonderwoman 1/11
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Sequential Scholars @sequentialscholars.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Our unit on the Dungeon Crawler Carl graphic novel is over but not forgotten! As always, our threads are archived on our website. Here's a snapshot of what we covered, starting with "An Introduction to Dungeon Crawler Carl." 1/5 #ComicsStudies #DungeonCrawlerCarl sequentialscholars.com?page_id=6110
sequentialscholars.com
An Introduction to Dungeon Crawler Carl - Sequential Scholars
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Sequential Scholars @sequentialscholars.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
The rise of Marvel in the early 1960s invited a broader inclusion of romantic tropes, undoubtedly influenced by the company's recent output. Web-Slinging Romance Tropes [2 of 3] #spiderman #comicsstudies
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Anna F Peppard PhD @annapeppard.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Our latest for @sequentialscholars.bsky.social talks Dungeon Crawler Carl as LitRPG. #ComicsStudies #RPG #DungeonCrawlerCarl
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Sequential Scholars @sequentialscholars.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
The Dungeon Crawler Carl is, perhaps inarguably, the biggest success story in the LitRPG genre, an emerging genre that integrates the modern cultural zeitgeist in compelling ways, some of which show interesting overlaps with comics history. #dungeoncrawlercarl 1/9
Assorted LitRPG covers
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Sequential Scholars @sequentialscholars.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
There is a pervasive, enduring assumption that superhero stories are exclusively masculine preserves. The wedding of Spider-Man showcases the indelible influence of a connotatively feminine genre–romance. #spiderman #comicsstudies Web-Slinging Romance Tropes [1 of 3]
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Dan Hartland @danhartland.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
I’ve been finding the series of tweets from @sequentialscholars.bsky.social on the graphic adaptation of Dungeon Crawler Carl interesting. This thread may be the most productive so far.
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Sequential Scholars @sequentialscholars.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Sexuality is, of course, not the only important element of representation in the book. Representation in The Tea Dragon Society [4 of 4]
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