The iconic imagery of the comic book will forever be associated with pugilistic exploits of the likes of Captain America, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man and a slew of other American superheroes, but the fact that the historiography and periodization of the entire medium of the graphic novel, et al has been tied to those same heroes and their US-centric cultural context presents a special problem for reading the history of the medium. The current periodization schema has failed to keep up with global trends in production and consumption, changes in cultural influences, and has never adequately described shifting in moral standards and social norms.

It may be impossible to fully extricate the history of the graphic narrative from the US hegemonic cultural milieu and its association with, as we like to call it, ‘punching nazis,’ however, this round table seeks to start a conversation, an opportunity to bring together scholars from disparate world historical fields together to discuss ways of nuancing, re-shaping, or even breaking this long historiographic dependency. World cultural changes post 9/11, shifting points of view on and in response to fascism, globalized perspectives on non-hegemonic and counter-hegemonic centers of production, inclusion of early-modern or antiquated graphic narratives, and the numerous other ways to look at what can be a ‘comic’ all inform this round table discussion. We especially invite scholars both familiar and unfamiliar with the topic with an interest in the field to join us. It is our hope that this session becomes the first step in the development and production of a more truly global historiographic text.