Comics can be just as much a medium of historical culture as monuments, exhibitions or films. This applies in particular to the trend of graphic novels, which repeatedly thematise experiences of exclusion, persecution and violence. Art Spiegelman's Maus is probably the most prominent example of this specific form of "history comics". Just like Joe Sacco with his committed, contemporary historical comic reportages on Palestine or Bosnia and Marjane Satrapi (Persepolis) with her autobiographical treatment of the Iranian revolution and living conditions, Art Spiegelman has liberated the comic from its marginalised existence in the bourgeois cultural discourse. In the German context, too, the publications mentioned above encouraged many illustrators, comic authors and publishers to deal with contemporary historical themes and questions of remembrance. What special content potential do such comics harbour? What trends are remembrance in comics subject to? Do comics develop their own dynamics of historical-cultural narration? And to what extent do they attempt to reflect the peculiarities of this medium and processes of remembrance themselves?

Students at the University of Oldenburg addressed these questions in a project seminar held in the winter semester of 2012/13. From a historiographical perspective, they fundamentally question the selectivity of memory or historical consciousness in words and images. They shed light on the concept of the graphic novel and the special features of comic reportages. They also provide insights into the transnational history of comics.

In reviews, you will discuss selected comics and graphic novels. Essays are dedicated to specific aspects, such as the use of comics in history lessons or the subjectivity of comic storytelling.