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.
Tezuka’s Princess Knight [1 of 3]
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.
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.
January 12, 2026 at 11:48 PM
Tezuka’s Princess Knight [1 of 3]
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.
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.
For comics scholars, Gotham Central offers rewarding opportunities to discuss dynamics of revisionism, the ethics of violence in superhero stories, issues of representation, and the art of perspective in comics. In the weeks ahead, we’ll discuss all of that and more. Stay tuned! 7/7
January 12, 2026 at 5:06 PM
For comics scholars, Gotham Central offers rewarding opportunities to discuss dynamics of revisionism, the ethics of violence in superhero stories, issues of representation, and the art of perspective in comics. In the weeks ahead, we’ll discuss all of that and more. Stay tuned! 7/7
And in the wake of "Half a Life," Renee Montoya became one of mainstream superhero comics’ most prominent LGBTQ+ characters. In comics, she became The Question and would appear in numerous adaptations, including the TV series “Gotham” and “Batwoman” (2019-22) and the film “Birds of Prey” (2020). 6/7
January 12, 2026 at 5:06 PM
And in the wake of "Half a Life," Renee Montoya became one of mainstream superhero comics’ most prominent LGBTQ+ characters. In comics, she became The Question and would appear in numerous adaptations, including the TV series “Gotham” and “Batwoman” (2019-22) and the film “Birds of Prey” (2020). 6/7
Gotham Central has also been remarkably influential. While there hasn’t been a direct televisual adaptation of the series, the Fox TV series “Gotham” (2014-19) and MAX’s “The Penguin” (2024), which are similarly crime fictions set in Batman’s world sans Batman, undoubtedly owe it a debt. 5/7
January 12, 2026 at 5:06 PM
Gotham Central has also been remarkably influential. While there hasn’t been a direct televisual adaptation of the series, the Fox TV series “Gotham” (2014-19) and MAX’s “The Penguin” (2024), which are similarly crime fictions set in Batman’s world sans Batman, undoubtedly owe it a debt. 5/7
During its initial 40-issue run, Gotham Central didn’t sell particularly well. But it was critically praised, helping secure writing awards for Brubaker & Rucka. The “Half a Life” arc also received a 2004 Eisner Award for Best Serialized Story and a Harvey Award for Best Single Issue. 4/7
January 12, 2026 at 5:06 PM
During its initial 40-issue run, Gotham Central didn’t sell particularly well. But it was critically praised, helping secure writing awards for Brubaker & Rucka. The “Half a Life” arc also received a 2004 Eisner Award for Best Serialized Story and a Harvey Award for Best Single Issue. 4/7
The GCPD is also rife with internal divisions, corruption, and prejudice, which are on full display in one of the series’ most well-remembered stories, the arc “Half a Life” from issues #6-10, in which lesbian Detective Renee Montoya is outed by her colleagues (with a little help from Two-Face).3/7
January 12, 2026 at 5:06 PM
The GCPD is also rife with internal divisions, corruption, and prejudice, which are on full display in one of the series’ most well-remembered stories, the arc “Half a Life” from issues #6-10, in which lesbian Detective Renee Montoya is outed by her colleagues (with a little help from Two-Face).3/7
The series stars the members of the Gotham City Police Department, who sometimes perform heroic feats. But the members of the GCPD are not superheroes. More often than not, these merely human figures contend with their own impotence amid a world of superpowered heroes & villains. 2/7
January 12, 2026 at 5:06 PM
The series stars the members of the Gotham City Police Department, who sometimes perform heroic feats. But the members of the GCPD are not superheroes. More often than not, these merely human figures contend with their own impotence amid a world of superpowered heroes & villains. 2/7
“Gotham Central” (2002-06) by Ed Brubaker & Greg Rucka with art by Michael Lark was a police procedural set in Batman’s Gotham City. It was an innovative and influential revisionist story, underscoring and reframing the human costs of the superheroism. 1/7 #GothamCentral #Batman #ComicsStudies
January 12, 2026 at 5:06 PM
“Gotham Central” (2002-06) by Ed Brubaker & Greg Rucka with art by Michael Lark was a police procedural set in Batman’s Gotham City. It was an innovative and influential revisionist story, underscoring and reframing the human costs of the superheroism. 1/7 #GothamCentral #Batman #ComicsStudies
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!
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).
The Monstrous Feminine in Junji Ito’s “Frankenstein” [2 of 3]
Jack Halberstam argues that in Shelley’s novel, the female Creature is especially threatening because she represents "[...] a monstrosity linked to femininity, female sexuality, and female powers of reproduction….”
Jack Halberstam argues that in Shelley’s novel, the female Creature is especially threatening because she represents "[...] a monstrosity linked to femininity, female sexuality, and female powers of reproduction….”
December 10, 2025 at 1:09 PM
The Monstrous Feminine in Junji Ito’s “Frankenstein” [2 of 3]
Jack Halberstam argues that in Shelley’s novel, the female Creature is especially threatening because she represents "[...] a monstrosity linked to femininity, female sexuality, and female powers of reproduction….”
Jack Halberstam argues that in Shelley’s novel, the female Creature is especially threatening because she represents "[...] a monstrosity linked to femininity, female sexuality, and female powers of reproduction….”