iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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

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

061

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.

1224

Reposted by Sequential Scholars

Anna F Peppard PhD @annapeppard.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Our latest for @sequentialscholars.bsky.social spotlights Frieren as transcultural text. #ComicsStudies #Manga

1113

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

071

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.

1154

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

1101

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.

1175

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

0153

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

072

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

080

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...

184

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

050

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

074

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

261

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.

1123

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

070

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

190

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.

070

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.

162

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

040

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.

1123

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

28015

Reposted by Sequential Scholars

Anna F Peppard PhD @annapeppard.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Our latest for @sequentialscholars.bsky.social talks Bitch Planet x activist paratexts. #ComicsStudies

093

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.

1191

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]

050

Reposted by Sequential Scholars

Anna F Peppard PhD @annapeppard.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Our latest for @sequentialscholars.bsky.social talks Bitch Planet x politics of objectification. #ComicsStudies

0103

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.

13610

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

0122

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

053

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.”

2226

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

092

Reposted by Sequential Scholars

Anna F Peppard PhD @annapeppard.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Our latest for @sequentialscholars.bsky.social talks Bitch Planet x exploitation films! #ComicsStudies #FilmStudies

062

Reposted by Sequential Scholars

Kelly Sue DeConnick @kellysue.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

🧵🪡

04713

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

1112

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!”

1278

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]

060

Reposted by Sequential Scholars

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

0215

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.

37923

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

170

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

1132

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

191

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

0101

Reposted by Sequential Scholars

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

052

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

1134

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]

1214

Reposted by Sequential Scholars

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.

0105

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]

030