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Xcommunicada: Comics and Graphic Novels as Social Critique

Wine Recital Hall

Dr. Lizbette Ocasio-Russe, professor of creative writing at Southern New Hampshire University, discusses the power of comics and graphic novels and their role of problematizing canonic literature. Her webcomic "Xcommunicada" uses fictional storylines set in nonfictional places to critique heteropatriarchal hegemony that shaped political, economic, and social forces by colonizing and eradicating indigenous natives and their beliefs. "Xcommunicada" celebrates humanity and embraces diverse beliefs, as demonstrated by the protagonist who must get in touch with her ancestors’ native beliefs in order to defeat the evil plaguing her home.