Multiculturalism, and its representation, has long presented challenges for the medium of comics. Ian Hague discusses ways in which comics have dealt with the diversity of creators and characters and the (lack of) visibility for characters who don’t conform to particular cultural stereotypes. Dr Ian Hague is a Senior Lecturer and Year 3 Coordinator in Contextual and Theoretical Studies at London College of Communication (UAL), where he is based in the Interaction Design and Visual Communication Programme. His research looks at comics and graphic novels, and how they engage with questions of materiality and experience. Ian is the author of Comics and the Senses: A Multisensory Approach to Comics and Graphic Novels (Routledge 2014) and the co-editor of Representing Multiculturalism in Comics and Graphic Novels (Routledge 2015), Contexts of Violence in Comics and Graphic Novels, and Representing Acts of Violence in Comics and Graphic Novels (both Routledge 2019) as well as numerous shorter pieces.
Image courtesy of interviewee
