Neale Barnholden
@nealebarnholden.bsky.social
PhD in comics, book historian, author of From Gum Wrappers to Richie Rich: The Materiality of Cheap Comics from UPress of Mississippi, summer 2024.
Hey it's me talking about The Greatest Show ever filmed here!
Consider This: The U of A’s surprising SCTV cameo
Exploring the legacy of a Canadian comedy classic, which cemented its place in campus history when it filmed a ‘70s commercial spoof on North Campus.
www.ualberta.ca
November 27, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Hey it's me talking about The Greatest Show ever filmed here!
Part of my secret origins as a comics scholar was a paper I wrote in late grad school about medievalism in this abortive Swamp Thing arc, so it's pretty neat to find out that it will be published. Very sad that Michael Zulli didn't live to see it.
After 36 Years, DC Comics To Publish Rick Veitch's Final Swamp Thing
After 36 years, DC Comics has confirmed that they will publish Rick Veitch's final four issues of Swamp Thing in 2026
bleedingcool.com
October 9, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Part of my secret origins as a comics scholar was a paper I wrote in late grad school about medievalism in this abortive Swamp Thing arc, so it's pretty neat to find out that it will be published. Very sad that Michael Zulli didn't live to see it.
Reposted by Neale Barnholden
ive been on-and-off trying to write a story about AI for a couple of years, and I think i finally cracked it with WIRE MOTHER, which is out in @clarkesworldmagazine.com (tw in the post below).
also hey, this issue is stacked??
clarkesworldmagazine.com/kim_10_25/
also hey, this issue is stacked??
clarkesworldmagazine.com/kim_10_25/
Wire Mother by Isabel J. Kim
Clarkesworld Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine and Podcast.
clarkesworldmagazine.com
October 1, 2025 at 5:22 PM
ive been on-and-off trying to write a story about AI for a couple of years, and I think i finally cracked it with WIRE MOTHER, which is out in @clarkesworldmagazine.com (tw in the post below).
also hey, this issue is stacked??
clarkesworldmagazine.com/kim_10_25/
also hey, this issue is stacked??
clarkesworldmagazine.com/kim_10_25/
My forthcoming television course (Broadcasting to Screen Cultures) got a lovely write-up in the university newsletter!
www.ualberta.ca/en/folio/202...
www.ualberta.ca/en/folio/202...
Six unconventional courses for curious minds
From K-pop and comedy to climate change policy and cancer-fighting nutrition, these six cool courses at the U of A offer something for everyone.
www.ualberta.ca
August 29, 2025 at 7:29 PM
My forthcoming television course (Broadcasting to Screen Cultures) got a lovely write-up in the university newsletter!
www.ualberta.ca/en/folio/202...
www.ualberta.ca/en/folio/202...
I wish I'd had this when I wrote my book—transcript of a Korean War-era Soviet news article. It's very sensationalistic but they do have a point about the weirdly violent chewing gum cards (later to culminate in, of course, MARS ATTACKS).
August 26, 2025 at 5:28 PM
I wish I'd had this when I wrote my book—transcript of a Korean War-era Soviet news article. It's very sensationalistic but they do have a point about the weirdly violent chewing gum cards (later to culminate in, of course, MARS ATTACKS).
I didn't win but the nomination was an honour and it was lovely to attend the Eisners in San Diego! Where else am I gonna hear Eddie Campbell read my name?!
July 28, 2025 at 5:33 PM
I didn't win but the nomination was an honour and it was lovely to attend the Eisners in San Diego! Where else am I gonna hear Eddie Campbell read my name?!
got a new bookstand for convenient perusal of key texts
July 7, 2025 at 9:09 PM
got a new bookstand for convenient perusal of key texts
I am (accurately) named as a Canadian finalist for an Eisner! Great company on this list as this nomination continues to blow my mind.
Jeff Lemire, Mariko Tamaki and Sarah Leavitt among Canadian finalists for 2025 Eisner Awards | CBC Books
The U.S.-based awards celebrate comic book and graphic novel creators worldwide.
www.cbc.ca
May 23, 2025 at 4:12 PM
I am (accurately) named as a Canadian finalist for an Eisner! Great company on this list as this nomination continues to blow my mind.
My book FROM GUM WRAPPERS TO RICHIE RICH has been nominated for an Eisner Award! What an honour!
The 2025 Eisner Awards Nominations Have Been Announced
The 2025 Eisner Awards Nominations Have Been Announced...
bleedingcool.com
May 15, 2025 at 7:04 PM
My book FROM GUM WRAPPERS TO RICHIE RICH has been nominated for an Eisner Award! What an honour!
I just noticed that the DC Universe Infinite app version of MAD Magazine #122 uses the "RFK" version of the cover—the one that was never circulated due to Kennedy's murder. I believe the original cover was only recovered later. This couldn't possibly be by accident. But... why?
May 13, 2025 at 7:34 PM
I just noticed that the DC Universe Infinite app version of MAD Magazine #122 uses the "RFK" version of the cover—the one that was never circulated due to Kennedy's murder. I believe the original cover was only recovered later. This couldn't possibly be by accident. But... why?
I've always had a soft spot for this song, from the megaflop West End Robin Hood musical TWANG!!—both because it's way better than Long John Baldry's biggest hit "Let The Heartaches Begin" but also because at the end he does a laugh which foreshadows his performance as Dr Robotnik in the 90s.
April 11, 2025 at 4:19 PM
I've always had a soft spot for this song, from the megaflop West End Robin Hood musical TWANG!!—both because it's way better than Long John Baldry's biggest hit "Let The Heartaches Begin" but also because at the end he does a laugh which foreshadows his performance as Dr Robotnik in the 90s.
Today at 7 PM GMT, I'm guesting on the excellent Centuries of Sound radio/podcast, talking with the great James Errington about the music, popular and otherwise, of 1942!
Cambridge Radio - Radioplayer
Radioplayer web player
consoles.radioplayer.cloud
February 23, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Today at 7 PM GMT, I'm guesting on the excellent Centuries of Sound radio/podcast, talking with the great James Errington about the music, popular and otherwise, of 1942!
ICMYI! I returned to Hannah and Marcelle's podcast to talk memes, comics, and Richie Rich!
www.ohwitchplease.ca/all-episodes...
www.ohwitchplease.ca/all-episodes...
Comics & Memes x Culture Text with Neale Barnholden — Witch, Please
www.ohwitchplease.ca
February 4, 2025 at 8:44 PM
ICMYI! I returned to Hannah and Marcelle's podcast to talk memes, comics, and Richie Rich!
www.ohwitchplease.ca/all-episodes...
www.ohwitchplease.ca/all-episodes...
There's a scene in the live-action 1964 Tintin movie TINTIN ET LES ORANGES BLEUES where Captain Haddock is sitting in front of a portrait of Sir Francis Haddock, and it's painted to look like an Hergé drawing—I wonder if this inspired the caricature gag at the beginning of Spielberg's TINTIN.
January 30, 2025 at 3:27 PM
There's a scene in the live-action 1964 Tintin movie TINTIN ET LES ORANGES BLEUES where Captain Haddock is sitting in front of a portrait of Sir Francis Haddock, and it's painted to look like an Hergé drawing—I wonder if this inspired the caricature gag at the beginning of Spielberg's TINTIN.
I finally got to see Y2K (2024)—I quite like Kyle Mooney’s work but this felt like a huge misfire. The big picture problem is that the premise (Y2K… uh, happens) is so goofy that the movie’s attempts to be serious don’t even reach I.e. The World’s End. Much preferred the silly, stupid, gory moments.
January 25, 2025 at 7:56 PM
I finally got to see Y2K (2024)—I quite like Kyle Mooney’s work but this felt like a huge misfire. The big picture problem is that the premise (Y2K… uh, happens) is so goofy that the movie’s attempts to be serious don’t even reach I.e. The World’s End. Much preferred the silly, stupid, gory moments.
After years away, I return to the world of Marcelle and Hannah podcasting as a guest! *mumble mumble* current events, surprisingly, come up but the episode is mostly about my book chapter on Richie Rich and What It All Means!
pod.link/979059619/ep...
pod.link/979059619/ep...
Material Girls
A scholarly podcast about pop culture hosted by Hannah McGregor and Marcelle Kosman, produced by Witch, Please Productions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
pod.link
January 21, 2025 at 6:11 PM
After years away, I return to the world of Marcelle and Hannah podcasting as a guest! *mumble mumble* current events, surprisingly, come up but the episode is mostly about my book chapter on Richie Rich and What It All Means!
pod.link/979059619/ep...
pod.link/979059619/ep...
This term's assigned reading!
January 6, 2025 at 9:50 PM
This term's assigned reading!
Looking through some boxes and forgot I had a copy of this pivotal issue (#66, November 1994); this is the first "advanced computer modelling" cover of Nintendo's in-house magazine. From this point on, they're going to sideline the idea of visualizing games using other techniques such as cartooning.
November 30, 2024 at 4:10 AM
Looking through some boxes and forgot I had a copy of this pivotal issue (#66, November 1994); this is the first "advanced computer modelling" cover of Nintendo's in-house magazine. From this point on, they're going to sideline the idea of visualizing games using other techniques such as cartooning.
My book's first legitimate review! Very exciting and flattering!
Book Review: From Gum Wrappers to Richie Rich: The Materiality of Cheap Comics
reviewed by Brian Flota, Humanities Librarian and Associate Professor, James Madison University Libraries Neale Barnholden. From Gum Wrap...
ijoca.blogspot.com
November 27, 2024 at 4:48 PM
My book's first legitimate review! Very exciting and flattering!
My book about materiality and comics has... materialized! Wonderful to hold this in my hands at last. And the graph looks pretty snazzy too!
July 16, 2024 at 2:01 PM
My book about materiality and comics has... materialized! Wonderful to hold this in my hands at last. And the graph looks pretty snazzy too!
My forthcoming book is on a sale! A good deal in my opinion, and still hundreds of times more than the gum on the cover! www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/F/From...
From Gum Wrappers to Richie Rich
Between the 1930s and the invention of the internet, American comics reached readers in a few distinct physical forms: the familiar monthly stapled pamphlet, the newspaper comics section, bubblegum wr...
www.upress.state.ms.us
June 11, 2024 at 11:30 AM
My forthcoming book is on a sale! A good deal in my opinion, and still hundreds of times more than the gum on the cover! www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/F/From...
It's really happening! My book about cheap comics is coming this summer.
April 29, 2024 at 5:58 PM
It's really happening! My book about cheap comics is coming this summer.
Spending all week indexing my book. it's tough work but there's a lot of fun juxtapositions. For example "Iron Man" directly follows "Iran-Contra"
January 16, 2024 at 5:16 PM
Spending all week indexing my book. it's tough work but there's a lot of fun juxtapositions. For example "Iron Man" directly follows "Iran-Contra"
Great moment in my last substantive Comics class of the term (and year)—we flipped through the September Scholastic catalogue and considered what if any of these are the most successful comics of our time. Making undergrads feel old by showing them Dog Man, that's my pedagogy right there.
December 6, 2023 at 6:33 PM
Great moment in my last substantive Comics class of the term (and year)—we flipped through the September Scholastic catalogue and considered what if any of these are the most successful comics of our time. Making undergrads feel old by showing them Dog Man, that's my pedagogy right there.
After years of students telling me it was the main comic they'd read, I finally got around to Kazu Kibuishi's AMULET today (...uh, because I'm teaching it tomorrow morning). I liked it a lot and I wish it hadn't come out when I was in my mid-twenties! My Scholastic comic was those 3-pack Garfields.
December 4, 2023 at 3:17 AM
After years of students telling me it was the main comic they'd read, I finally got around to Kazu Kibuishi's AMULET today (...uh, because I'm teaching it tomorrow morning). I liked it a lot and I wish it hadn't come out when I was in my mid-twenties! My Scholastic comic was those 3-pack Garfields.