Sequential Scholars
@sequentialscholars.bsky.social
Academics reading and celebrating the style, substance, and sublimity of all kinds of comics. By scholars, for everyone. Led by @annapeppard.bsky.social & Dr. J. Andrew Deman.
Announcing our next unit: Gotham Central
January 10, 2026 at 11:41 PM
Announcing our next unit: Gotham Central
We're on a holiday break! Returning December 27. Have a safe and happy holiday!
December 23, 2025 at 5:58 PM
We're on a holiday break! Returning December 27. Have a safe and happy holiday!
Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed the series 💚
December 19, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed the series 💚
Last Gender is a series of short stories revolving around the lives of multiple queer characters of varying identities and sexualities. The characters converge and congregate in a single place, known as Bar California, and as such, this space becomes a queer space. 1/13 #lastgender #manga
December 19, 2025 at 1:08 PM
The wildly popular manga “My Hero Academia” features an interesting portrayal of a trans-feminine character. Magne is a B-rank villain whose life, and death, gives the series a mouthpiece to discuss some key trans issues. #mha 1/8
December 19, 2025 at 1:08 PM
The introduction of Alluka Zoldyck in Hunter x Hunter gives one of manga’s most beloved franchises a vessel through which to explore the concept familial support (or lack thereof) for trans family members. #HunterHunter 1/12
December 19, 2025 at 1:08 PM
As most things in manga owe a debt to Tezuka Sensei (Osamu Tezuka), it is not surprising that scholars have isolated Tezuka’s 1953 series “Princess Knight” as a deeply important touchstone for the evolution of trans representation in manga as a whole. #princessknight #tezuka 1/11
December 19, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Our collection of thread on trans representation in manga is over but not forgotten! Here's a snapshot of what we covered, starting with:
An Introduction to Trans Representation in Manga #Manga #ComicsStudies #QueerComics 1/7
bsky.app/profile/sequ...
An Introduction to Trans Representation in Manga #Manga #ComicsStudies #QueerComics 1/7
bsky.app/profile/sequ...
Where trans representation in North American comics has struggled to find firm footing at times, trans representation in manga has been there since very nearly the beginning and encompasses a variety of iconic characters, creators, and titles. #manga #transgender 1/7
December 19, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Our collection of thread on trans representation in manga is over but not forgotten! Here's a snapshot of what we covered, starting with:
An Introduction to Trans Representation in Manga #Manga #ComicsStudies #QueerComics 1/7
bsky.app/profile/sequ...
An Introduction to Trans Representation in Manga #Manga #ComicsStudies #QueerComics 1/7
bsky.app/profile/sequ...
This thread was composed by Sequential Scholars’ Undergraduate Research Assistant, Lillian Gardner.
December 17, 2025 at 4:28 PM
This thread was composed by Sequential Scholars’ Undergraduate Research Assistant, Lillian Gardner.
As Last Gender is a series of short stories revolving around queer characters, the primary space inhabited by these characters becomes a queer space, and through their interactions, we can see how their behaviour reflects the safety Bar California provides them. 13/13
December 17, 2025 at 4:28 PM
As Last Gender is a series of short stories revolving around queer characters, the primary space inhabited by these characters becomes a queer space, and through their interactions, we can see how their behaviour reflects the safety Bar California provides them. 13/13
This frame can be seen especially in the way that the bar reconstructs itself (with the help of the patrons) for a wedding. As a space for queer people, Bar California has the dexterity and control to accommodate its patrons in ways which make them more than just comfortable. 12/13
December 17, 2025 at 4:28 PM
This frame can be seen especially in the way that the bar reconstructs itself (with the help of the patrons) for a wedding. As a space for queer people, Bar California has the dexterity and control to accommodate its patrons in ways which make them more than just comfortable. 12/13
While control, as a frame, was viewed as the ability to construct and maintain clear boundaries (both social and physical) within the given space, it can also be viewed as the ability to manipulate and change a space to suit the comforts and desires of those within it. 11/13
December 17, 2025 at 4:28 PM
While control, as a frame, was viewed as the ability to construct and maintain clear boundaries (both social and physical) within the given space, it can also be viewed as the ability to manipulate and change a space to suit the comforts and desires of those within it. 11/13
In this manner, the story itself creates a space for each protagonist to explore or establish their identity disjointedly from the other characters, even though the events take place in the same physical location. 10/13
December 17, 2025 at 4:28 PM
In this manner, the story itself creates a space for each protagonist to explore or establish their identity disjointedly from the other characters, even though the events take place in the same physical location. 10/13
Separation for distinct identities is more visible throughout the narrative structure of Last Gender than it is in the bar itself. Each story in Last Gender is centred around a character’s sexual and gender identities, and the complexities emerging from social interactions. 9/13
December 17, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Separation for distinct identities is more visible throughout the narrative structure of Last Gender than it is in the bar itself. Each story in Last Gender is centred around a character’s sexual and gender identities, and the complexities emerging from social interactions. 9/13
Being a queer bar, Bar California is by construction a very inclusive space, with many accommodations for queer people who can’t live as freely outside the bar. The bar is not exclusively a queer space, however, and as such this inclusion extends to non-queer patrons as well. 8/13
December 17, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Being a queer bar, Bar California is by construction a very inclusive space, with many accommodations for queer people who can’t live as freely outside the bar. The bar is not exclusively a queer space, however, and as such this inclusion extends to non-queer patrons as well. 8/13
Hartal further states “this frame of safe space is based on the right to privacy, and is related to affects like fear (of stigma) and shame. These affects, unlike the fear of violence, do not call for fortification but instead require the creation of obscurity and a space of invisibility.” 7/13
December 17, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Hartal further states “this frame of safe space is based on the right to privacy, and is related to affects like fear (of stigma) and shame. These affects, unlike the fear of violence, do not call for fortification but instead require the creation of obscurity and a space of invisibility.” 7/13
Privacy can be seen reflected in the rules of Bar California: Recording devices of any kind are prohibited. This frame does form some contradiction with the prior one, but the purpose of Hartal’s analysis is to allow for the simultaneous discussion of multiple perspectives, regardless. 6/13
December 17, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Privacy can be seen reflected in the rules of Bar California: Recording devices of any kind are prohibited. This frame does form some contradiction with the prior one, but the purpose of Hartal’s analysis is to allow for the simultaneous discussion of multiple perspectives, regardless. 6/13
Hartal states that “ Even though the public space of Jerusalem is perceived as unsafe for LGBT individuals, the guarded organizational space of the JOH produces a duality, in that what is safe for some might inadvertently induce unsafety for others.” 5/13
December 17, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Hartal states that “ Even though the public space of Jerusalem is perceived as unsafe for LGBT individuals, the guarded organizational space of the JOH produces a duality, in that what is safe for some might inadvertently induce unsafety for others.” 5/13
The first of these five, fortification, discusses the use of physical power as a means of defence. Hartal notes that such an implementation does not necessarily make a space safer, and that fortification emerges more out of a response to violence than anything else. 4/13
December 17, 2025 at 4:28 PM
The first of these five, fortification, discusses the use of physical power as a means of defence. Hartal notes that such an implementation does not necessarily make a space safer, and that fortification emerges more out of a response to violence than anything else. 4/13
These frames don’t exist cohesively with each other, and are more so categorizations of emergent behaviour. It should be expected that some frames are more visible than others. In Last Gender, the main frames are anonymity, inclusivity, and space for distinct identities. 3/13
December 17, 2025 at 4:28 PM
These frames don’t exist cohesively with each other, and are more so categorizations of emergent behaviour. It should be expected that some frames are more visible than others. In Last Gender, the main frames are anonymity, inclusivity, and space for distinct identities. 3/13
Hartal describes 5 perspectives, called “Frames” on the necessities required to construct queer safe spaces. These frames can be viewed as a model for the safety of a given queer space. 2/13
December 17, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Hartal describes 5 perspectives, called “Frames” on the necessities required to construct queer safe spaces. These frames can be viewed as a model for the safety of a given queer space. 2/13
Last Gender is a series of short stories revolving around the lives of multiple queer characters of varying identities and sexualities. The characters converge and congregate in a single place, known as Bar California, and as such, this space becomes a queer space. 1/13 #lastgender #manga
December 17, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Last Gender is a series of short stories revolving around the lives of multiple queer characters of varying identities and sexualities. The characters converge and congregate in a single place, known as Bar California, and as such, this space becomes a queer space. 1/13 #lastgender #manga
The Monstrous Feminine in Junji Ito’s “Frankenstein” [3 of 3]
In Ito’s version, it is the male Creature who is most dramatically fearful of & disgusted by the female Creature. Initially, the male Creature weathers the female Creature’s rejection (a manifestation of her own existential horror).
In Ito’s version, it is the male Creature who is most dramatically fearful of & disgusted by the female Creature. Initially, the male Creature weathers the female Creature’s rejection (a manifestation of her own existential horror).
December 11, 2025 at 5:53 PM
The Monstrous Feminine in Junji Ito’s “Frankenstein” [3 of 3]
In Ito’s version, it is the male Creature who is most dramatically fearful of & disgusted by the female Creature. Initially, the male Creature weathers the female Creature’s rejection (a manifestation of her own existential horror).
In Ito’s version, it is the male Creature who is most dramatically fearful of & disgusted by the female Creature. Initially, the male Creature weathers the female Creature’s rejection (a manifestation of her own existential horror).