THE BULLETIN • MONDAY, MARCH 15, 2021 A3
TODAY
LOCAL, STATE & REGION
THE SERIOUS
SIDE OF
COMICS
Terry Richard/The Oregonian file
A gray whale dives off Depoe Bay in this photo
taken during a past whale watching tour. The
pandemic has put a damper on Oregon’s whale
watching season this year.
Whale makes
rare appearance
in the Columbia
By The Oregonian and the (Eugene) Register-Guard
The Bulletin file
Southern Oregon University
class tackles the social
science of a very American
literary medium
medium, fond of Marvel’s X-Men and DC’s Le-
gion of Superheroes. He introduced Tveskov to
superhero comics with some classic X-Men ti-
tles, too. Later in life, Tveskov became a fan of
DC’s Young Justice and Blue Beetle, along with
Image Comics’ science fiction opus “Saga” and a
handful of web comics published online.
SOU also offers a comic book art class, which
Tveskov has taken.
BY RYAN PFEIL
Week to week, Palmer’s class will focus on a
particular topic, reading some comics and schol-
Mail Tribune (Medford)
here are panel discussions, and
arly articles on the subject, with class discussions
then there are panels discussions.
over Zoom and group chat.
Over the past several months,
“There’s a lot of good discussion between
Southern Oregon University as-
students in the Zoom chat,” Tveskov says. “Ev-
sociate professor and Communi-
eryone’s very opinionated about the different
cation Department chair Erik Palmer has been
things, and everybody brings a lot different per-
focused on the latter through his COMM 218
spectives to it, which I think is fun, too.”
class: “Comics: Culture & Politics.”
Some conversations among classmates can get
It’s a class that uses social science as a filter
pretty charged, Tveskov adds, but they have all
or framework for understanding comic books,
been constructive.
especially related to topics like equality, gender
Assignments include students making some
and race.
comics of their own, all re-
“This course examines comic
sponses to prompts.
“Do comics reflect
art relying on the theoretical
Key works the class analyzed
and methodological approaches underlying trends in society, included Marjane Satrapi’s
by which mass media have been
“Persepolis,” an autobiography
or do they set an agenda
formally studied in the 20th and
about growing up in Iran during
and shape and influence the 1970s, “March: Book Two,”
21st centuries, including media
effects, audience reception, cul-
also an autobiographical work,
trends in society? ... One
tural studies, feminism, ethnic
that is one of a multipart se-
of the things we can see
studies, political economy and
ries about John Lewis, the late
more,” the SOU 2020-21 course
in mainstream superhero U.S. congressman, and his work
catalog says of the class.
during the civil rights move-
comics is that questions of ment, and Frank Miller’s “The
The four-credit course fulfills
a social science requirement for
gender and identity have Dark Knight Returns,” a highly
students. Most comic studies
influential book, stylistically and
been explored through the content-wise, from the 1980s.
courses look at the art medium
from a literary or aesthetic per-
“I know that I’m a very vi-
filter of science fictional,
spective, Palmer said. His class,
sual learner, just in general, so
superheroic stuff for quite a I think that using comics as a
taught for the first time with the
intent of a return next year, has
long time, and increasingly.” medium for learning is a really
a different tack.
cool way to make some of these
— Erik Palmer, Communication topics more accessible to peo-
“My interest, which is much
Department chair at Southern
less common, was to think
ple who might otherwise not be
Oregon University
of comics as a phenomenon
able to engage with it,” Tveskov
within the domain of social sci-
said. “Visual learning can be re-
ence, which also aligns a little bit more closely to ally useful for a lot of people who struggle with
where I am as a scholar,” Palmer said.
heavy academic papers and things like that.
You can’t fully detach from the literature and art From that point of view, I think it’s really good.”
that goes with the comic book territory, Palmer
Recently, the class also got a taste of the medi-
said, but the class is more focused on thinking
um’s business side. Ted Adams, an SOU alumnus
about topics such as how the art medium func-
and co-founder of IDW Comics, which prints
tions and the commentaries it offers of society.
titles that include “Transformers” and popular
Art imitating life, basically. Or maybe it’s the
horror series such as “30 Days of Night” and
other way around.
“Locke & Key,” joined the class for a Zoom chat
“There’s always a debate, and this comes back
March 2. Adams also spoke about the longtime
to the social science of comics,” Palmer said. “Do relationship between comics and politics, using
comics reflect underlying trends in society, or
the example of a famous Captain America issue
do they set an agenda and shape and influence
cover that shows the Marvel hero punching Ad-
trends in society? It’s really hard to know the an- olf Hitler. The first book to ever feature the hero,
swer, but one of the things we can see in main-
it was published months before the U.S. entered
stream superhero comics is that questions of
World War II.
gender and identity have been explored through
“The idea that a comic book publisher would
the filter of science fictional, superheroic stuff
take this fairly strong political stance and have
for quite a long time, and increasingly.”
his character be launched by punching Hitler it’s
Palmer taught a similar course at Portland
not what we think of today as such a sure thing,”
State University around 2010 while he was an ad- Adams said. “Really, from the very beginning,
junct professor. It was a one-off that he wouldn’t
(comics and politics) have intersected.”
revisit until years after he first came to SOU in
He continued with additional early examples
2012. Former Medford resident Susan Kirtley has of other popular superheroes depicted in ads for
taught comics studies courses at PSU, too.
war bonds. Adams also touched on racist stereo-
Palmer first taught his class at the SOU’s Hon- types depicted in some early issues and the less-
ors College in 2019; a trial run, of sorts, he said.
er-known genre of comics that were explicitly
“It went pretty well, so that led me to conclude anti-war stories.
that we should have kind of a regular version of
“I can’t say enough good things about Ted and
the course for other students,” Palmer said. “And about alumni like Ted,” Palmer says. “His pre-
so this is the first time that this precise articula-
sentation had so much intricacy.”
tion of this course has been taught at SOU.”
Palmer says the class is coming back. He
Student Bart Tveskov is a longtime fan of
thinks the eventual opportunity to do it in per-
comic books and has considered going into the
son will make it even better.
industry as an artist. “I was stoked about this op-
“It’s been a great experience for me,” Palmer
tion, the idea of it,” Tveskov said.
says. “And hopefully a bright spot in (students’)
Tveskov’s father is also a longtime fan of the
year of COVID.”
T
A whale where? A California gray whale
was videotaped last week in the lower Co-
lumbia River between Ridgefield, Washing-
ton, and Willow Bar.
While a rare occurrence that far upriver,
biologists say it’s not unheard of, since young
grays are year-round residents offshore and
March is migration month from Alaska to
Mexico. When last seen, this one was headed
back downriver.
Whale watching season kicks off in late
March, but Oregon Parks and Recreation will
not hold its usual activities during this year’s
Whale Watch Week due to the COVID-19
pandemic.
The week is traditionally held during
spring break, but because of COVID-19, vol-
unteers will not be stationed at watching sites
this year. The whale watch center in Depoe
Bay also is closed, but visitors are encouraged
to still enjoy whale watching on their own
while staying socially distanced from others
and following state COVID-19 guidelines.
“We urge visitors to explore parks close to
their homes and to respect the communities
they visit,” Oregon Parks Director Lisa Sump-
tion said in a news release.
The spring whale migration starts in late
March and lasts into June, and most viewing
sites managed by the state are open, with re-
duced services in some locations. A map of
whale watching sites is available at Oregon
State Parks official whale watching webpage,
http://bit.ly/2OJLDTA.
Today is Monday, March 15, the 74th day of 2021.
There are 291 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On March 15, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson,
addressing a joint session of Congress, called for new
legislation to guarantee every American’s right to
vote. The result was passage of the Voting Rights Act
of 1965.
In 44 B.C., Roman dictator Julius Caesar was assassi-
nated by a group of nobles.
In 1493, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus ar-
rived back in the Spanish harbor of Palos de la Fron-
tera, two months after concluding his first voyage to
the Western Hemisphere.
In 1964, actor Elizabeth Taylor married actor Richard
Burton in Montreal; it was her fifth marriage, his sec-
ond. (They divorced in 1974, remarried in 1975, then
divorced again in 1976.)
In 1972, “The Godfather,” Francis Ford Coppola’s epic
gangster movie based on the Mario Puzo novel and
starring Marlon Brando and Al Pacino, premiered in
New York.
In 1975, Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis
died near Paris at age 69.
In 1985, the first internet domain name,
symbolics.com, was registered by the Symbolics
Computer Corp. of Massachusetts.
In 1998, Dr. Benjamin Spock, whose child care guid-
ance spanned half a century, died in San Diego at 94.
In 2019, a gunman killed 51 people at two mosques
in Christchurch, New Zealand, streaming the massa-
cre live on Facebook. (Brenton Tarrant, an Australian
white supremacist, was sentenced to life in prison
without parole after pleading guilty to 51 counts of
murder and other charges.)
Ten years ago: The Syrian civil war had its begin-
nings with Arab Spring protests across the region
that turned into an armed insurgency and eventually
became a full-blown conflict.
Five years ago: In a major reversal, the Obama ad-
ministration barred offshore drilling off the Atlantic
Coast. Dallas Seavey won his third straight Iditarod
Trail Sled Dog Race in a record time of 8 days, 11
hours, 20 minutes, 16 seconds.
One year ago: The Federal Reserve took massive
emergency action to help the economy withstand the
coronavirus by slashing its benchmark interest rate
to near zero and saying it would buy $700 billion in
treasury and mortgage bonds. The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention recommended that gather-
ings of at least 50 people be canceled or postponed
for the next eight weeks. President Donald Trump
called on Americans to stop hoarding groceries.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor Judd Hirsch is 86. Jazz
musician Charles Lloyd is 83. Rock musician Phil Lesh is
81. Singer Mike Love (The Beach Boys) is 80. Rock sing-
er-musician Sly Stone is 78. Rock singer-musician How-
ard Scott (War; Lowrider Band) is 75. Actor Frances
Conroy is 68. Rock singer Dee Snider (Twisted Sister) is
66. Model Fabio is 60. Rock singer Bret Michaels (Poi-
son) is 58. R&B singer Rockwell is 57. Actor Chris Bruno
is 55. Rock singer Mark McGrath (Sugar Ray) is 53. Rock
musician Mark Hoppus is 49. Actor Eva Longoria is 46.
Rapper-musician will.i.am is 46. Rock DJ Joseph Hahn
(Linkin Park) is 44. Rapper Young Buck is 40.
— Associated Press