Informed Images

Informed Images: The Origins and Aesthetics of Comics Reporting

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This event will be held in English.

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The last twenty years have seen an explosion of nonfiction comics in France, the United States, and Canada, and especially, of comics journalism, or illustrated reporting on current events. Surpassing the political or editorial cartoon in both space and scope, la bande dessinée de reportage is rooted in long-form narrative, oral interviews, and embedded research—all communicated via the full arsenal of tools available in the comics medium. Unlike traditional journalists, comics reporters embrace their first-person perspective, self-consciously challenging the supposed objectivity of modern mass media. They understand laborious, hand-drawn art as a method for witnessing contemporary crises as they unfold and cover the breadth of topics that affect modern life: from on-going wars and conflicts to mass migration and the immigrant experience, to environmental disasters, trials, and the prison industrial-complex. This talk will sketch out the origins of comics reporting, before considering some key artists, and most importantly, what this new genre has to offer.

Aubrey Gabel is a specialist in French and Francophone literature and visual culture, especially cinema and comics and graphic albums. She has published widely in both academic journals and popular venues. Her first book, The Politics of Play: Oulipo and the Legacy of French Literary Ludics, is forthcoming with Northwestern University Press (Oct. 2025). She is the founder of the Comics and Graphic Albums University Seminar at Columbia.

The Rendez-Vous de l’Institut Series is generously supported by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.

This event will be recorded and may be broadcast as part of our SNF Rendez-vous de l'Institut podcast series. By participating and asking questions, you consent to the use of your voice in this context.