The Sequart Organization Under Study
THE SEQUART Organization is devoted to the study of popular culture and the promotion of comic books as a legitimate art form. They have published over twenty books, five films, and thousands of online articles and have more recently started branching out publishing their own comics.
Over the next few days we’re going to be outlining the contents of some of the wares they have to offer, then leaving it to you to check out if you feel you want to be further educated and illuminated on the subjects matters they offer…
MARTIAN COMICS
This has been described as a “trippy sci-fi comic book that harkens back to early Vertigo in its blend of genre fiction and literary intelligence”.
Retro sci-fi tropes are appropriated, recasting them in humanistic narratives that interrogate issues of otherness. This alien invasion of the soul is written by Sequart's founder, Dr. Julian Darius, who has spent his career promoting comics as a legitimate form of art and considers this the next step. The comic is published by Sequart's sister company, Martian Lit, and receives no corporate support. It began as two standard issues, and was continuing as a 52 page special with seven stories illustrated by three different artists, featuring cover art by Darick Robertson. DIAGRAM FOR DELINQUENTS
A documentary on Fredric Wertham, scourge of the American comic book industry, directed by Robert A. Emmons, Jr available on DVD and as a download.
In 1954, psychiatrist Dr. Fredric Wertham wrote a scathing indictment of comics called Seduction of the Innocent. Its central premise: Comic books were the leading contributing factor to juvenile delinquency. That same year, Dr. Wertham testified at special hearings on comic books at the Senate Subcommittee to Investigate Juvenile Delinquency in the United States. Comic books were on trial.
Diagram for Delinquents captures the zeitgeist of those turbulent times in the USA, investigating how the funny books found themselves under fire. Using expert and comic book insider interviews, never before seen historical photographs and films, and animation, the DVD is said to explore and try to understand the controversial character that was Fredric Wertham.
THE IMAGE REVOLUTION
In 1992, a group of top-tier artists left Marvel Comics to create their own company, one that continues to influence mainstream comics and culture to this day. Image Comics was more than just a publisher, some say it was a response to years of creator mistreatment, and it changed comics forever.
The Image Revolution DVD tells the story of Image Comics, from its founders’ work at Marvel, through Image’s early days, the ups and downs of the ’90s, and the publisher’s new generation of properties like The Walking Dead.
GRANT MORRISON: TALKING WITH GODS
Proclaimed the master of comics psychedelia, Grant Morrison is one of the medium’s most popular writers, and one of the most controversial. Equal parts philosopher, rock star, and chaos magician, he has used his comics to change both himself and his audience. He is a man living on the border between fiction and reality, and this is his story, or what we know of it, related as a DVD.
THE ANATOMY OF ZUR-EN-ARRH: UNDERSTANDING GRANT MORRISON’S BATMAN
From Arkham Asylum and JLA to his recent seven-year run on the Batman titles, there are many who declared Morrison has redefined and reworked the caped crusader from the ground up. He’s also introduced new characters (such as Damian Wayne) and new concepts (such as Batman, Inc.).
The Anatomy of Zur-en-Arrh analyses Grant Morrison’s Batman and how he reinterprets Batman’s long history, while also featuring an interview with him.
Written by Cody Walker, Sequart has published three other Morrison related books as well as the aforementioned DVD
WARREN ELLIS: CAPTURED GHOSTS
An 80 minute documentary focussing on the career and worldview of Warren Ellis, featuring interviews with many of his artistic collaborators. The company also has a book on the writer, transcribed from countless hours of interview time spent with him.
MOVING PANELS: TRANSLATING COMICS TO FILM
Are comics just movie storyboards that are too expensive to ever actually commit to celluloid? Are movies just comics with added motion? These two media have become more closely tied in recent years (thanks to a bevy of comics adaptations), and they seem naturally related. Both are comprised of visual storytelling techniques that would seem readily compatible, but are they really that similar?
In this 144 page book Logan Ludwig analyzes, through careful examination of aesthetics, just how linked and distinct the two media are. By looking at the film and comics versions Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Persepolis, Watchmen, and Sin City, Ludwig dissects just how the two media interact, their respective strengths and weaknesses, and how similar they really are.
SHE MAKES COMICS
Sequart Organization and Respect! Films collaborated on the DVD release of the documentary She Makes Comics, a film spanning the history of women in comics as creators, fans, and everything in between.
Directed by Marisa Stotter and produced by Patrick Meaney and Jordan Rennert of Respect! Films. It is executive produced by Sequart’s Julian Darius and Mike Phillips and Columbia University comics librarian Karen Green.
She Makes Comics tells the little-known story of women in comics, highlighting the contributions they have made to the medium since the turn of the 20th century. It features interviews with such prominent figures as historian Trina Robbins, Captain Marvel writer Kelly Sue DeConnick, underground comics artist Joyce Farmer, former DC Comics publisher Jenette Kahn, Wendi Pini, Colleen Doran, Karen Berger, and dozens of others.
For more information on The Sequart Organization click here.
