Rising Up: Depictions of Social Protest in Comics

In doing research for this exhibit, I found numerous depictions of social protest in comics that merited inclusion. Sadly, curators are often limited by what will fit in our physical exhibit cases! Below is a cover art photo gallery of all the comics in which I located depictions of social protest, followed by a text-based bibliography. 

Rising Up: Depictions of Social Protest in Comics
Selected Bibliography
Pamela Jackson
Last updated in December 2024
* = on display in exhibit; others may be represented in banners and collages

 

* 1/6 #1 (One six Comics, 2023) by Alan Jenkins and Gan Golan (writers) and Will Rosado (artist). On Display: Cover

1/6 #2 (One Six Comics, 2024) by Alan Jenkins and Gan Golan (writers) and Will Rosado, Karl Moline, and Donny Hadiwidjaja (artists)

* The 500 Years of Indigenous Resistance Comic Book (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2010) by Gord Hill (writer) On display: “#NoDAPL: Resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline”

A for Anonymous: How a Mysterious Hacker Collective Transformed the World (Bold Type Books, 2020) by David Kushner (writer), Koren Shadmi (artist)

A People's History of the American Empire: A Graphic Adaptation (Metropolitan Books, 2008) by Howard Zinn, Mike Konopacki & Paul Buhle (creators)

Action Activists #1 (NYC Department of Education, 2019) by Fred Van Lente (writer) and Ryan Dunlavey (artist)

* Action Activists #2: Activism in New York! (NYC Department of Education, 2021) by Fred Van Lente (writer) and Ryan Dunlavey (artist). On Display: pages 22-23

Action Comics Vol. 2 #3 (DC Comics, 2012) IN: Superman: Action Comics Vol. 1: Superman and the Men of Steel by Grant Morrison (writer) and Rags Morales, Gene Ha, & Rick Bryant (artists)

Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 #68 (DC Comics, 1968)

* Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists : a Graphic History of Women’s Fight for Their Rights (Ten Speed Press, 2019) by Mikki Kendall (writer) and A. D'Amico (artist). On Display: Pages 144-145

American Politics: A Graphic History (Icon, 2018) by Laura Locker (writer) and Jules Scheele (artist)

* The Antifa Super-Soldier Cookbook (Silver Sprocket, 2021) by Mattie Lubchansky (creator). On Display: Pages 28-29

* APB : Artists Against Police Brutality (Rosarium Publishing, 2015) by Damian Duffy, P. Djèlí Clarkn & Sofia Samatar (writers) and Bill Campbell, Jason Rodriguez & John Jennings (editors). On Display: “The Walker” by Melanie Stevens

* Archie #635 (Archie Comics, 2012) by Alex Segura (writer) and Gisele Legace (artist). On Display: Pages unnumbered

Barbalien: Red Planet #1 (Dark Horse Comics, 2020) by Tate Brombal (writer) and Gabriel Hernandez Walta (artist)

* Becoming RGB: Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Journey to Justice (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2019) by Debbie Levy (writer) and Whitney Gardner (artist). On Display: Pages 148-149

* The Beginning Of The American Fall: A Comics Journalist Inside The Occupy Wall Street Movement (Seven Stories Press, 2012) by Stephanie McMillan (creator). On Display: Pages 54-55

* Big Black Stand at Attica (Archaia, a division of Boom Entertainment, 2020) by Frank "Big Black" Smith & Jared Reinmuth (writers) and Ameziane (artist). On Display: Pages 66-67

Billionaires : The Lives of the Rich and Powerful (Drawn and Quarterly, 2021) by Darryl Cunningham (creator)

* Bitch Planet Triple Feature! #2 (Image Comics, 2017) by Danielle Henderson (writers) and Ro Stein Ted Brandt (artists) featuring Clayton Cowles (letterer). On Display: Pages unnumbered

The Black Panther Party: A Graphic History (Ten Speed Graphic, 2021) by David F. Walker (writer) and Marcus Kwame Anderson (artist)

* Colin Kaepernick: Change the Game (Graphix, 2023) by Colin Kaepernick & Eve L. Ewing (writers) and Orlando Caicedo (artist). On Display: Page 133

* Comics for Choice : Illustrated Abortion Stories, History, and Politics (Alternative Comics, 2017) by Hazel Newlevant and Whit Taylor (editors). On Display: Cover

Drawing the Vote: An Illustrated Guide to Voting in America (Abrams ComicArts, 2020) by Tommy Jenkins (writer) and Kati Lacker (artist)

* Fight Fascism (World War 3 Illustrated, 2017) by Peter Kuper, Seth Tobocman, Susan Simensky Bietila, Jordan Worley, & Isabella Bannerman (editors). On Display: “Rex 'R' Us” by Stephanie J. Kim & Ricky Tucker

* Fight the Power!: A Visual History of Protest Among the English Speaking Peoples (Seven Stories Press, 2013) by Sean Michael Wilson & Benjamin Dickson (writers) and Hunt Emerson, John Spelling, & Adam Pasion (artists). On Display: Pages 82-83

Fists Raised: 10 Stories of Sports Star Activists (NBM Publishing, 2022) by Karim Nedjari (writer) and Chloe Celerien (artist)

* Flic: The True Story of the Journalist Who Infiltrated the Police (Scribe US, 2023) by Valentin Gendrot (writer), Thierry Chavant (artist), and Frank Wynne (translator). On Display: Pages unnumbered

* Free Speech Handbook (First Second, 2021) by Ian Rosenberg (writer) and Mike Cavallaro (artist). On Display: Pages 92 and 151

Good Girls Don’t Make History (Wide Eyed Editions, 2021) by Elizabeth Kiehner, Kara Coyle, & Keith Olwell (creators)

The Green Girls (Graphic Universe, 2023) by Loïc Nicoloff (writer) and Antoine Losty, Roberta Pierpaoli, & Alberto Zanon (artists)

* Heavy Metal Presents Moebius (HM Communications, Inc., 1981) by Moebius (creator). On Display: “Wounded Knee”

* History Comics: The Stonewall Riots, Making a Stand for LGBTQ Rights (First Second, 2022) by Archie Bongiovanni (writer) and A. Andrews (artist). On Display: Pages 92-93

* Incredible Rocky vs. The Power of the People!: Featuring America's richest family! (North American Congress on Latin America, 1974) by Joel Andreas (creator). On Display: Pages 6-7

The Insubordinate (Maamoul Press, 2022) by Rawand Issa (creator)

* I Am Alfonso Jones (Tu Books, 2017) by Tony Medina (writer) and Stacey Robinson & John Jennings (artists). On Display: Pages 46-47

Joe Worker and the Story of Labor (National Labor Service and published by Commercial Comics, 1946) by Nat Schachner (writer) and Jack Alderman (artist)

* Justice League of America #28. (DC, 1964) by Gardner Fox (writer) and Mike Sekowsky & Murphy Andersen (artists). On Display: Cover

* Kent State : Four Dead in Ohio (Abrams ComicArts, 2020) by Derf Backderf (creator). On Display: Pages 186-187

King: A Comics Biography of Martin Luther King, Jr. (Fantagraphics, 2016) by Ho Che Anderson (creator)

* LaGuardia : a Very Modern Story of Immigration. (Berger Books, an imprint of Dark Horse Comics, 2019) by Nnedi Okorafor (writer) and Tana Ford (artist). On Display: Cover

* Little Rock Nine (Aladdin, 2008) by Marshall Poe (creator). On Display: Pages 46-47

* Love is Love (IDW Publishing, 2017) by Marc Andreyko, Sarah Gaydos, Jamie S. Rich (editors). On Display: Cover

* March Book One (Top Shelf Productions, 2013) by John Lewis & Andrew Aydin (writers) and Nate Powell (artist). On Display: Pages 84-85

* March Book Two (Top Shelf Productions, 2015) by John Lewis & Andrew Aydin (writers) and Nate Powell (artist).

March Book Three (Top Shelf Productions, 2016) by John Lewis & Andrew Aydin (writers) and Nate Powell (artist) On Display: Pages 134-135

Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story (Reprint; original Fellowship of Reconciliation, 1957) by Alfred Hassler (writer) and Sy Barry (artist)

* Mine! : a Celebration of Freedom & Liberty for All Benefiting Planned Parenthood (ComicMix, 2017) by Joe Corallo and Molly Jackson (editors). On Display: “Gloria Richardson” by Mark Waid (writer) and John Broglia (artist)

The Moratorium (self-published, 1992) by Paul Tucker https://www.cbc.ca/nl/features/whoarewenow/comic/

* Movements & Moments (Drawn & Quarterly, 2022) by Sonja Eismann, Maya Schöningh, Ingo Schöningh (editors). On Display: “Let the River Flow Free: Women Defenders of the Cordillera” by Gantala Press (writer) and Nina Martinez (artist)

* My Body, Our Rights (World War 3 Illustrated, 2023) by Paula Hewitt Amram, Sabrina Jones, & Rebecca Migdal (editors). On Display: Pages 182-183

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood (Pantheon, 2004) by Marjane Satrapi (creator)

* Picket Line: A Graphic Novel (Easel Ain't Easy, 2011) by Breena Wiederhoeft (creator). On Display: Pages 44-45.

* Puerto Rico Strong (Oni Press, 2018) by Hazel Newlevant (creator). On Display: “La Operación” by Ally Shwed.

Queer: A Graphic History (Icon Books, 2016) by Dr. Meg-John Barker (writer) and Jules Scheele (artist)

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists : A Graphic Novel (SelfMadeHero, 2021) by Scarlett & Sophie Rickard (creators)

* Rain (Dark Horse Comics, 2019) by Mary M Talbot (writer) and Bryan Talbot (artist). On Display: Pages 116-117.

* Resist! Grab Back Vol. 2 (Raw Books, 2017) by Françoise Mouly (editor). On Display: “What Democracy Looks Like” by Roz Chast.

Rest in Peace Rashawn (Creative Medicine: Healing Through Words, 2017) by Ronnie Sidney, II, LCSW (writer) and Traci Van Wagoner (artist)

Run (Harry N. Abrams, 2021) by John Lewis & Andrew Aydin (writers) and L. Fury & Nate Powell (artists)

Run Home If You Don't Want to Be Killed: The Detroit Uprising of 1943 (The University of North Carolina Press, 2021) by Rachel Marie-Crane Williams (creator).

* Sally Heathcote: Suffragette (Dark Horse Books, 2014) by Mary M. Talbot (writer) and Kate Charlesworth (artist). On Display: Pages 94-95

* Save it for Later: Promises, Protest, and Parenthood (Harry N. Abrams, 2021) by Nate Powell (creator). On Display: Pages 34-35

* Shade, the Changing Woman/Wonder Woman Special (Milk Wars) (DC, 2018) by Cecil Castellucci (writer) and Frank Quitely (cover artist). On Display: Pages unnumbered

* The Silence of Our Friends (Square Fish, 2018) by Mark Long & Jim Demonakos (writers) and Nate Powell (artists). On Display: Pages 126-127

* Six days in Cincinnati : a graphic account of the riots that shook the nation a decade before Black Lives Matter (Microcosm Publishing, 2017) by Dan Méndez Moore (creator). On Display: Pages 24-25

Sports is Hell (Silver Sprocket, 2020) by Ben Passmore (creator)

* Students for a Democratic Society: A Graphic History (Hill and Wang, 2008) by Harvey Pekar (writer), Paul Buhle (editor) and Gary Dumm (artist). O Display: Pages 132-133

* Static Season One (DC Comics, 2022) by Vita Ayala & Reginald Hudlin (writers) and Nikolas Draper-ivey, Chriscross, & Denys Cowan (artists). On Display: “The Big Bang.”

* Stuck Rubber Baby (Paradox Press, 1995) by Howard Cruse (creator). On Display: Pages 114-115

Superman Action Comics 8: Truth (DC, 2016) by Greg Pak & Aaron Kuder (writer) and Howard Porter, Scott Kolins, & Georges Jeanty (artist)

Superman For Earth (DC Comics, 1991) by Roger Stern (writer), Kerry Gammill and Dennis Janke (artists), Jerry Ordway (cover artist)

* Superman: Son of Kal-El #7 (DC Comics, 2022) by Tom Taylor (writer) and Cian Tormey (artist). On Display: Cover

Tiananmen 1989: Our Shattered Hopes (IDW Publishing, 2020) by Lun Zhang & Adrien Gombeaud (writers) and Ameziane (artist)

They Shoot Black People Don’t They? : 20 Years of Police Brutality Cartoons (Keith Knight Press, 2015) by Keith Knight (creator)

Tits and Clits #3 (Nanny Goat, 1976) by Lyn Chevli and Joyce Farmer (creators)

* Victory. Stand! : Raising My Fist for Justice (Norton Young Readers, 2022) by Tommie Smith & Derrick Barnes & Dawud Anyabwile (writers). On Display: Pages 176-177

Watchmen (DC Comics, 1986) by Alan Moore (writer) and Dave Gibbons (artist).

* Wendel All Together (Olmstead Press, 2001) by Howard Cruse (creator). On Display: Pages 148-149

Where the Water Flows Strong (Save California Salmon, 2023) by Chag Lowry (creator).

* Wildfire: A Graphic Novel (Little Brown Ink, 2023) by Breena Bard (creator). On Display: Pages 212-213

* Wobblies!: A Graphic History of the Industrial Workers of the World (Verso, 2005) by Paul Buhle and Nicole Schulman (editors). On Display: “Mother Jones” by Trina Robbins

* Won't Back Down (Last Gasp, 2023) by Trina Robbins (editor). On Display: Cover