September 30, 2014: Talking Comics with Carol Tilley
by Brooke Heskett
It was a great event! With 20 people in attendance, Carol Tilley took us through the history and evolution of comic books. For those who are not familiar with Carol’s work, she is an Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and she is the author of “Seducing the Innocent: Fredric Wertham and the Falsifications that Helped Condemn Comics,” (Information & Culture, 2012) among other titles.
Setting the tone at the start, Carol encouraged everyone to engage in an informal discussion, and the chat box was alive with comments and questions. She discussed book burning and censorship, as well as the magnitude of readership comic books inspired in youth during its heyday—30 comic books sold per person per year in the United States alone, and not everyone was reading comics! The hour flew by.
If you want to check out the recording of the event, access it here. If you would like to learn more about Carol, you can also visit her website here.
Informative and inspiring for comic book aficionados, history buffs, and proponents of intellectual freedom, Carol Tilley Talks Comics was a treat for all.
Reference:
Tilley, C. (2012). Seducing the innocent: Fredric Wertham and the falsifications that helped condemn comics. Information & Culture, 47(4).
Brooke Heskett is this year’s treasurer for San JoséState University’s American Library Association Student Chapter (ALASC).
