Person
Every book Hillary Chute recommended on podcasts
Hillary Chute appeared on The Book Review podcast to discuss the history, censorship, and evolution of comics and graphic novels. As evident from her appearance, Chute is a scholar deeply immersed in graphic narrative theory and history. She recommended David Hajdu's The Ten-Cent Plague for its chronicle of comics censorship, alongside Chris Ware's recent book Monograph and his innovative box-set graphic novel Building stories. Discussing the theoretical foundations and historical milestones of the medium, Chute referenced Scott McCloud's 1993 book Understanding Comics and Fredric Wertham's bestselling 1954 anti-comics book Seduction of the Innocent, which sparked major censorship shifts in the 1950s and 1960s. She also highlighted Will Eisner's seminal 1978 work A Contract with God, noting that it was the first book to explicitly feature the term graphic novel on its cover. Furthermore, Chute cited Justin Green's 1972 comic book Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary and Art Spiegelman's landmark 1986 work Maus I: A Survivor's Tale as foundational works of substance that helped shape the modern graphic novel landscape.
Books recommended by Hillary Chute
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Monograph by Chris Ware
Monograph by Chris Ware is an immersive, beautifully designed visual book that explores the intricate cartooning and artistic process of the renowned graphic novelist.
Recommended“I would highly recommend Chris wear's book monograph which just came out”
Where to get it
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The Ten-Cent Plague
The Ten-Cent Plague by David Hajdu is a comprehensive historical non-fiction book that explores the cultural panic surrounding comic books and the subsequent censorship movement in mid-century America.
Recommended“this was chronicled very beautifully by David hadu in his book 10cent plague from a number of years ago”
Where to get it
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A Contract With God
Discussed“the very first book that had the words a graphic novel on the cover was will eisner's book a contract with God which was published in 1978 and Eisner claims to have coined this term”
Where to get it
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Binky Brown Meets The Holy Virgin Mary
Discussed“but I actually think that the work called this is kind of a mouthful Binky Brown meets the holy Virgin Mary which is a 44 page comic book from 1972 might qualify in my mind if I'm thinking of substance”
Where to get it
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Building stories
Building Stories by Chris Ware is an innovative and terrain-shifting graphic novel published in 2012 that is famously packaged as a box set containing a variety of print formats.
Discussed“and and one of his more recent terrain shifting moments for Comics was the publication in 2012 of his book Building stories which is a book in a box”
Where to get it
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Maus I: A Survivor's Tale
Maus I: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman is a landmark graphic novel that portrays the horrors of the Holocaust through anthropomorphic animal symbolism.
Discussed“so Arts spelman's mouth the first volume came out in 1986”
Where to get it
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Seduction of the Innocent
Seduction of the Innocent by Fredric Wertham is a notorious 1954 psychological book that argued comic books negatively influenced children and contributed to juvenile delinquency.
Discussed“but I think the real shift started to happen in the 1950s and in the 1960s because the psychiatrist Frederick Wortham published um his bestselling book called seduction of the innocent in 1954”
Where to get it
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Understanding Comics
Discussed“so the cartoonist and Comics serus Scott McLoud in his 1993 book understanding Comics put forward that awkward syntax”
Where to get it
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Your Black Friend
Discussed“your black friend by Ben pasmore is about the the current state of race in America”
Where to get it
Books Hillary Chute wrote
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mary Beard on 'Women & Power' | The Book Review | 2024-07-18 | 8 |
| Drawing History | The Book Review | 2024-07-18 | 1 |
Other mentions (2: passing, ad reads, own books)
“there's the comic book which was really popularized in 1938 with the first issue of Action Comics which is the first appearance of a superhero”
“and Garfield”