Those looking for a unique way to think about history and culture might want to check out a lecture series coming soon to the Eugene Public Library. Comics College will be presented by local scholar Dr. Andréa Gilroy.
Gilroy owns Books With Pictures Eugene and is excited to present four talks at the downtown library over the next four months. The lectures are free, and look into various aspects of the format…with lots of illustrations, of course.
“I think the history of comics is a story of art history. It's a story of world history,” Gilroy said. “There are ways in which comic books are a particularly American medium. So, it also tells us a little bit about ourselves. And it really is this kind of form that touches on a lot of huge, broad movements.”
She said anyone is welcome to attend the hour-long talks and discussions, but parents should keep attention span in mind.
Gilroy, a PhD comics scholar, said even people who think comics aren’t their thing may be surprised. For example, Gilroy said, the discussion of comics censorship in the 1950s mirrors the questions about censorship that we have today.
“It is both frustrating but also sort of comforting to know that the times aren't unprecedented. They're hard and they're complicated, but they're not unprecedented,” she told KLCC. “People say, ‘I don't want politics in my comics,’ and they said that in 1942. They’ve been saying that for a long time.”
Gilroy said Books With Pictures Eugene, on the second floor of the 5th Street Public Market, was originally intended to be an event-driven business. But it opened in 2020, just 10 days before the pandemic shutdown, and that delayed the in-person programming.
“In the last year or so,” Gilroy said, “people have been more willing and more interested in coming out and making connections, particularly local connections and community connections that are ways to make friends, but also, I think, just ways to get in touch with the people around you.”
The lecture series at the library will be on Saturdays at 3 p.m. The dates and topics are:
Feb. 28: What Makes Comics Great
March 28: BC Stands for Before Comics: From Cave Paintings to Modern Comics
April 25: PANIC! at the Bookstore: A History of Comics Censorship
May 23: Comics Around the World
