Marking its 35th anniversary the Comic Art Working Group presents "Comments on the Top", a podcast produced by Geisa Fernandes, former head of the working group.
Explored over two seasons, the podcast delves into the study of comic art within mass communication scholarship, aligning with the group's dedicated mission since its 1984 inception.
Supported by IAMCR's Section and Working Group Project Fund, the podcast commemorates the working group's history and highlights its success in integrating comic art into academic discourse.
Tune in to 'Comments on the Top' on your preferred podcast platform.
The making of the podcast
In the second part of a two-part article, Geisa Fernandes, former chair of the Comic Art Working Group and producer and host of the podcast, tells about the making of the podcast.
Like the e-book, the idea of the podcast came as a way to celebrate the 35 years of the Comic Art Working Group, founded in 1984 by Professor John A. Lent. However, if the e-book had a team of collaborators, the production of the podcast was entirely my responsibility.
The name "Comments on the Top" refers both to the e-book (The Comic Art Working Group (first) Top 10) and to the podcast format. My intention for the first season was to hear the testimony of people who participated in the group over the 35 years, collecting “behind the scenes” stories and fun facts. The guest list was defined with Prof. Lent and the invitations were sent out.
The first season had 10 episodes, aired weekly and with a noticeable variation in their duration. Due to the unforeseen events and delays reported in the first part of this article, my concern was to produce the podcast episodes as quickly as possible.
The first season was aired between 8 September (the birthday of Professor Lent) and 10 November 2022.
With the conclusion of the first season and the publication of the e-book, the commitments listed in the funding agreement signed with IAMCR had officially ended. However, the possibility of a second season was already in my mind, since while sending out the invitations we realized that one category had been left out: the awardees of the Best Paper Award, an acknowledgement given by the group to the best work presented at each meeting.
The award consists of publishing the article in the International Journal of Comic Art, a prestigious periodical in the area of Comic Art research, created and edited by Professor Lent. I thought it would be interesting to know how the award had affected the research and the career of group members. Furthermore, some long-time collaborators had been not included in the first season. After talking to Professor Lent, we decided to develop a second season.
Season 2 had in total 10 episodes, with duration between seven and twenty minutes. Using the same format of weekly episodes, the second season was released on 8 September 2023. The last episode was aired on 11 November 2023.
There were some changes in the set-up of the episodes, such as the insertion of songs and sound effect6s. The episodes were divided by research topics, and, as it happened during the production of the first season, there was a deep concern about promoting gender equality.
Among the many interesting testimonials, I would like to highlight the words of Seval Erkul, 2019 awardee (Season 2, Episode 7). According to Seval, the night of interaction in Madrid had a positive impact on her career, due to the new contacts she could make. Seval also mentioned that such moments create for members a special bond with the Comic Art Working Group.
I consider the conclusion of the second season a victory of persistence, as the recordings took place in very adverse conditions, using semi-amateur equipment and carried out from my home.
Given the experience, it seems uncertain to me that there will be a third season, although the area of comic art research lacks productions of this genre. Who knows, perhaps our example will serve as an inspiration to other groups and we will be able to achieve some kind of collaboration or partnership?
Geisa Fernandes
Chair of Comic Art Working Group / 2016-2020