Contemporary Franchising of the Global Superhero: From Analogue Comics to Digital Animation

As part of a Sadler Seminar series on the topic of comics, sequential narratives and interdisciplinarity, Rayna Denison (University of Bristol) joins us at the University of Leeds on Wednesday 1 November to present "Contemporary Franchising of the Global Superhero: From Analogue Comics to Digital Animation".

Drawing from Denison’s unique expertise, this talk addresses the textual and production links between comics and animation, traversing the intellectual areas of comics analysis and transnational film and media studies. Superheroes are deeply intertwined with animation history the world over. This discussion investigates a range of superhero-style characters from around the world, focusing on the way comics aesthetics have been variously interpreted by animators. Through a deeper cross-cultural comparison of the treatment of the superhero in contemporary Japanese and US animation, this research argues for television animation as more than just a site of adaptation. Instead, superheroes from manga and comic origins alike find distinctive and sometimes iterative animated lives beyond their original pages.

Register your interest here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/rayna-denison-tickets-733811298347