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Hailed as the creator of war reportage comics, Joe Sacco uses darkly funny short-form comics to recount conflicts, including his latest book The Great War, an illustrated panorama of the first day of the Battle of the Somme. Gene Luen Yang, the author of the acclaimed graphic novel American Born Chinese, brings clear-eyed storytelling and magical realism to tell parallel stories of two young people caught up on opposite sides of China’s violent Boxer Rebellion in his new work, Boxers and Saints. Join these two daring writers for a conversation on how the graphic novel and graphic non-fiction —rising from the frontlines of popular culture—can serve our understanding of history.
Joe Sacco's acclaimed books include Palestine, which was serialized as a comic book from 1993 to 1995, the first collection of which won an American Book Award in 1996 Safe Area Gorazde, and Footnotes in Gaza, as well as a best-selling collaboration with Chris Hedges, Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt.
Gene Luen Yang began drawing comic books in the fifth grade. He was an established figure in the indie comics scene when he published his first book with graphic novel publisher First Second, American Born Chinese, which is now in print in over ten languages. Yang won the Printz Award and was a finalist for the National Book Award. His latest book is the graphic novel diptych Boxers & Saints.
Charles Hatfield, Professor of English at California State University, Northridge, teaches comics, children's literature, media, and cultural studies. He is the author of Hand of Fire: The Comics Art of Jack Kirby and Alternative Comics: An Emerging Literature and co-editor of the newly released The Superhero Reader.
