Today’s show: The danger of Romance

November 27, 2011 — Genre in comics

Tonight on Resonance FM…

Panel Borders: The danger of Romance

covers of Young Romance #12 (Aug 1949, art by Jack Kirby, Joe Simon and Bill Draut) / First Romance #17 (Sep 1952, artist unknown), pages from The Story of Lee by Sean Michael Wilson and Chie Kutsuwada / Yakuza Moon by Shoko Tendo, Sean Michael Wilson and Michiru Morikawa

Concluding our month of shows about genre in comics, Alex Fitch talks to writer and manga translator Sean Michael Wilson and lecturer and author Ian Rakoff about romance comics. Sean is the editor of AX vol.1: A collection of Alternative Manga and author of The Story of Lee and adaptor of Yakuza Moon, two manga novels with varying degrees of biography about the fortunes of young women encountering different cultures across Asia.
Ian is about to give his latest lecture about comics (30/11) at the Victoria and Albert museum, and this month is discussing the subject of romance comics, with a focus on how they were an antidote to McCarthyism in 1950s America.

8pm, Sunday 27th November, Resonance 104.4 FM (London) / streamed at www.resonancefm.com / extended podcast after broadcast at www.panelborders.wordpress.com

Links: Info about Ian Rakoff‘s talk on Romance Comics on his blog
Event listing on the Victoria and Albert Museum’s website
Alex’s previous interviews with Ian about Social Realism, Westerns and cultural stereotypes in comics

Sean Michael Wilson‘s blog, including info on the books discussed in this interview
Read various manga by Wilson at www.webcomicsnation.com including an earlier adaptation of The Story of Lee illustrated by Yishan Li
Interview with Wilson at www.scotsman.com

Recommended events:

Julien Neel interview

Paul Gravett will be interviewing the truly brilliant French cartoonist Julien Neel and translator Ros Schwartz.
Where: Institut Francais, 17 Queensberry Place SW7 2DT
When: November 27, 2011 – From 3pm

More info at: www.comicafestival.com

Blame it on Romance: What Frightened Senator Joe McCarthy

LUNCHTIME LECTURE: Join Ian Rakoff, screenwriter, editor and author, to look at the significance of politics and gender in relation to popular romance comic books.

Romance comic books selling over 30 million monthly issues and featuring influential heroines dominated the market from 1949 to 1954. At the same time, real women continued to experience gender discrimination and disempowerment. Ian Rakoff draws new connections between the content of romance comic books and 1950s anti-communist McCarthy witch-hunts.

Wed 30 November 2011, 1pm, Victoria and Albert Museum, Hochhauser Auditorium, Sackler Centre, Kensington Gore, London SW7 2RL
More info: www.vam.ac.uk/whatson