It’s Comics Artists Week at Sequart!

For no other reason than it needs to be done, all this week Sequart will be publishing content spotlighting comics artists.

Comics artist John Severin.

Comics criticism tends to focus on writers as the dominant visionaries of comics production. And we all know that comics artists don’t get nearly enough critical attention beyond “This art is awesome!” or “This art stinks!” If a work, by necessity, has to be filed under one creator, it’s usually the writer that’s chosen. People sometimes refer to comics as coming from “the mind of” the writer, ignoring that an artist labored over pages, day after day, bringing a comic’s characters, ideas, and stories to life.

There are lots of reasons for this bias. One is the influence of Stan Lee, Chris Claremont, and the writers of the 1980s “British Invasion”. Another reason is the convenience of discussing collaborative works of art as if they were the product of an auteur, parallel to how movies are thought to be predominantly the expression of their directors. Also, most comics critics come from literary or social criticism, aren’t trained in art history, and / or feel uncomfortable discussing artwork beyond a superficial level.

And we are as guilty as anyone, so Comics Artists Week is an attempt to begin correcting this imbalance at Sequart. Unlike our past themed weeks, Comics Artists Week isn’t occasioned by anything — other than a desire to give more attention to comics artists and their importance in comics history.

Sequart uses themed weeks as a way of celebrating popular subjects, filling holes in comics and pop-culture criticism, and serializing in-depth criticism over a single week instead of many weeks (or even months). You can think of them as miniature conventions or conferences. (And it is our hope that this particular theme takes hold, expands, and is covered by Sequart in perpetuity.)

Comics Artists Week is Sequart’s 10th themed week. Past themed weeks include:

# Name Date Began Type Posts
9 Transformers Week Mon, 23 June 2014 character 23
8 X-Men Week Mon, 19 May 2014 character 18
7 Spider-Man Week Mon, 28 April 2014 character 7
6 Will Eisner Week Mon, 3 March 2014 creator 11
5 Manga Week Mon, 24 November 2013 theme 16
4 Thor Week Mon, 4 November 2013 character 9
3 Superman Week Mon, 10 June 2013 character 10
2 Sci-Fi Week Mon, 20 May 2013 theme 19
1 Star Trek Week Mon, 13 May 2013 character 10
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

In 1996, while still an undergraduate, Dr. Julian Darius founded what would become Sequart Organization. After graduating magna cum laude from Lawrence University (Appleton, Wisconsin), he obtained his M.A. in English, authoring a thesis on John Milton and utopianism. In 2002, he moved to Waikiki, teaching college while obtaining an M.A. in French (high honors) and a Ph.D. in English. In 2011, he founded Martian Lit, which publishes creative work, including his comic book Martian Comics. He currently lives in Illinois.

See more, including free online content, on .

Also by Julian Darius:

This Lightning, This Madness: Understanding Alan Moore\'s Miracleman, Book One

author

Stories out of Time and Space, Vol. 1

co-author

The Citybot\'s Library: Essays on the Transformers

author

Because We are Compelled: How Watchmen Interrogates the Comics Tradition

author

Judging Dredd: Examining the World of Judge Dredd

contributor

Somewhere Beyond the Heavens: Exploring Battlestar Galactica

contributor

The Cyberpunk Nexus: Exploring the Blade Runner Universe

contributor

producer

A Long Time Ago: Exploring the Star Wars Cinematic Universe

contributor

Classics on Infinite Earths: The Justice League and DC Crossover Canon

author

executive producer

New Life and New Civilizations: Exploring Star Trek Comics

contributor

producer

executive producer

When Manga Came to America: Super-Hero Revisionism in Mai, the Psychic Girl

author

a short documentary on Chris Claremont's historic run and its influence

executive producer

Warren Ellis: The Captured Ghosts Interviews

introduction

Voyage in Noise: Warren Ellis and the Demise of Western Civilization

co-author

Shot in the Face: A Savage Journey to the Heart of Transmetropolitan

contributor

The Weirdest Sci-Fi Comic Ever Made: Understanding Jack Kirby\'s 2001: A Space Odyssey

author

The Devil is in the Details: Examining Matt Murdock and Daredevil

contributor

Everything and a Mini-Series for the Kitchen Sink: Understanding Infinite Crisis

author

Revisionism, Radical Experimentation, and Dystopia in Keith Giffen\'s Legion of Super-Heroes

author

And the Universe so Big: Understanding Batman: The Killing Joke

author

a feature-length documentary film on celebrated comics writer Warren Ellis

executive producer

Keeping the World Strange: A Planetary Guide

contributor

Minutes to Midnight: Twelve Essays on Watchmen

contributor

a documentary on the life and work of celebrated comics writer Grant Morrison

executive producer

Teenagers from the Future: Essays on the Legion of Super-Heroes

contributor

Improving the Foundations: Batman Begins from Comics to Screen

author

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