Graphic Justice ─ Intersections of Comics and Law

"Establishing the medium of graphic fiction as a critical resource for interdisciplinary legal studies, this collection is the first to address the intersection of comics and law. Graphic fiction has gained enormous cultural capital and academic interestover recent years. Comics-inspired films fill our cinemas and superhero merchandise fills the shelves of supermarkets. In short, our culture is suffused with a comic book aesthetic: as, for example, the Occupy movement appropriates the mask of V, from the comic work V for Vendetta; and, tragically, as James Holmess murderous rampage through a Colorado movie theatre, seemingly sees him styling himself after Batmans arch nemesis, the Joker. From mass entertainment and consumerism to political activism and violence, we are surrounded by emanations of graphic storytelling. Meanwhile, the rise of academic disciplines such as comics studies demonstrates that the medium contains much more depth than the common assumption of its simplicity and juvenility might suggest. Against this background, comics offer an important resource for making sense of the contemporary place and role of law"--

Thomas Giddens is Lecturer in Law and Co-Director of the Centre for Law and Culture at St Mary’s University. He researches in cultural legal studies, focusing on the use of comics and graphic fiction in legal studies, as well as criminal justice and legal philosophy.