NJCL 2008

Just Because A Guy Reads (or Makes) Comic Books…

Posted by Brian at 07:45 pm on Monday, February 18, 2008

Greetings everyone!  It’s been a while since I’ve posted, but recently there’s not been much on my end to discuss.  Today, though, I’ve been working on a couple of things that I thought people would actually like to read about, things that hopefully you’ll notice at Convention (if everything works, by lady Fortune...).

For one, I’ve been working on getting speakers and other support from all the university Classics departments around Ohio.  So far, we’ve gotten a few responses of schools that would like to send speakers of some other kind of material for us to distribute at Convention.  We have a couple of great professors from Miami already committed to present, but we’ve got a few from other colleges as well.  This may not seem like much, but for Steve and I, it’s a big part of our plans, something that we’ve spent quite some time discussing.  For one thing, this will make it a truly Ohio convention, with participation from all over the state.  Since only one other university in Ohio has hosted a Convention besides Miami (Ohio University,and that was waaay back in 1970), it’s easy to forget that we have a lot of wonderful schools all over the state, urban and rural, large and small.  And that’s the other thing- this is a chance for us to sell JCL’ers on Ohio.  Many of you are contemplating college, and the rest of you aren’t far away from it.  As for the SCL’ers out there, if you’re looking for schools to do graduate or doctoral work, Ohio schools offer great programs in Classics and other fields, many of them highly rated.  The University of Cincinnati, for example, has been a part of archaeological research in Troy and Greece for many, many years, and still does active work there today, sometimes with student assistants.  If you’re not going on to study Classics, however, UC also offers top programs in Engineering and various fields of Design and Art, it has a widely recognized program for musical performance through its College Conservatory of Music, and it has excellent schools of Medicine and Law (University Hospital is one of the best research hospitals in the nation, especially in cardiovascular studies).  Likewise, Miami has a great Classics department but is equally gifted in its School of Business and its Communications department.  We’re also home to lesser known gems such as Case Western Reserve (another great Engineering school), Wright State, and the universities of Akron, Toledo, and Dayton, as well as major schools for academics and athletics such as Ohio University and its Journalism school (Matt Lauer of the Today Show is an alum), TheOhio State University (we’re contractually obligated to add the emphasized “the” to the name, and to say it’s pronounced “thee") with a great program in Veterinary Medicine, and Xavier University (the “X” is pronounced like a “Z,” despite how badly national sports broadcasters butcher it).  And, of course, many of them have great Classics programs, too.  So, just like there’s more than corn in Indiana, there’s more than Cornfield U. in Ohio .

The other thing that I can talk about is something I’ve been really excited about for a long time, but I’ve been reluctant to talk about it for fear it wouldn’t happen.  Now, barring any unforeseen issues, it looks like it’s going to happen.  I’m a huge fan of comic books, as I’m sure many of you out there are.  I’m also a Classicist, and while I like Latin, my first love in the field was mythology.  So, I’ve been really into an ongoing series from Image Comics called Age of Bronze by Eric Shanower.  The goal of the series is to tell the entire story of the Trojan War as a combination of myth and history, much in the style of Troy but with vastly more adherence to the source material.  And I do mean “vastly more;” Mr. Shanower has done extensive research on both the archaeological and literary tradition of Troy, and he incorporates all of this into his comic.  His Helen and other female characters are based on images of women found at Troy, while his Agamemnon is based in part on the famous mask of Agamemnon.  His depictions of clothing, arms and armor, ships, and buildings all come from what has been learned about Mycenaean and Trojan culture via digs at various sites.  As for dialog, an extensive amount of the language of his characters comes from literary sources, both classical and post-classical.  Therefore, the things they say and do can be authenticated against one source or another.  When its done, it will be one of the most extensive literary and graphic projects dealing with the Trojan War, and all of it (art and writing) being done by one person.  So far, his story takes us through the last peaceful embassy to the Trojans before the war begins, so he has a way to go. 

Now, why have I told you all of this?  Because, as of now, Mr. Shanower is going to be a special guest speaker at the 2008 NJCL Convention!  Fresh off an appearance at the San Diego Comic-Con, Mr. Shanower will be doing two sessions with us; one for sure will be on his own, and I hope the other one will be in conjunction with the Institute for Mediterranean Studies, an organization in Cincinnati with which he has long-standing connections.  He may also be selling some of his books through the Teachers’ Book Display.  I’ve heard him speak before, and he is a very interesting speaker; it’s fascinating to see and hear how much and what kind of work he’s put into creating this magnum opus, and any aspiring artists will have a chance to talk directly with someone working in the field.

That’s all for now.  Talk at you later! 

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