We've Got Issues
By Sarah Stevens
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We've Got IssuesApr 13, 2019
Rat Queens Vol 1: Sass and Sorcery
In this month’s episode Esther, Sarah and Jess finally let their hair down. Role-playing, squid gods and sexy dwarves are where it’s at, as they sit down to talk about Rat Queens Volume One: Sass and Sorcery, written by Kurtis J. Wiebe and illustrated by Roc Upchurch.
Episode 8 - Dotter of My Father’s Eye
In episode eight Esther, Sarah and Jess revisit the work of husband and wife team Bryan and Mary Talbot. Their graphic novel Dotter of My Father’s Eye brings to life the experiences of two women with very different, but difficult, father/daughter relationships. Expect discussions regarding daddy issues, mental health and our inability to understand great literary works.
28:41 – James Joyce: A Biography by Gordon Bowker
It is also worth giving the following an article a read if you want to know a little more about Lucia Joyce and some of the issues with modern retellings of ‘lost’ stories:
“A Fire in the Brain: The difficulties of being James Joyce’s daughter” by Author Unknown in The New Yorker (available online)
Episode 5 - In Real Life
This month Esther and Sarah are joined by artist and Leicester University alumni Rachel Quinney to discuss the delightful In Real Life by Jen Wang and Cory Doctorow. Sadly, due to some technical issues, the audio quality on this episode isn’t the best so we also have a transcribed version of the episode for your reading pleasure.
Episode 4 - Ghost World
In episode 4, Esther, Sarah and Jess tackle one of the most famous comics of the nineties, Daniel Clowes’ Ghostworld. Expect disagreements, reminiscing and queer head canons.
Episode 3 - Sally Heathcoate: Suffragette
In this month’s episode of We’ve Got Issues, Esther and Sarah welcome Jess back into the fold as they discuss Sally Heathcoate: Suffragette, a graphic novel written by husband and wife team Bryan and Mary Talbot and illustrated by Kate Charlesworth. Join the gang as they delve deep into the novel and the history books to find out more about this well-known movement.
References
17:10 “The Violence of the Suffragettes with Fern Riddell” on Dan Snow's History Hit podcast
Dan Snow and historian Fern Riddell explore the history of Suffragette militancy as well as discussing Riddell’s book Death in Ten Seconds: The Forgotten Life of Radical Suffragette Kitty Marion.
Alice Hawkins and the Suffragette Movement in Edwardian Leicester by Dr Richard Whitmore.
This book offers and insight into the Suffragette movement in Leicester with a particular focus on the activities of Alice Hawkins, one of the most prominent suffragettes in the city whose statue can now be seen in Leicester’s market square.
20:26 Suffragette (2015)
This film follows the story of working class woman Maud Watts as she becomes involved with the WSPU. The film is particularly good at exploring the reasons why working class women in particular needed the vote.
26:47 “Suffragettes in Prison, Hunger Strikes and Force Feeding” on the Suffragette City podcast
The Suffragette City podcast covers a wide range of topics relating to the women's suffrage movement in the UK, however, this particular episode is the one Sarah is referring to here.
1:07:49 Horrible Histories “Suffragette Song” and “Bad Romance: Women’s Suffrage” by Soomo Publishing
Episode 2 - Nat Turner
In the second episode of We’ve Got Issues, Esther and Sarah are joined by Dr Leighan Renaud, Library Supervisor and former PhD student at the University of Leicester. Together they take a closer look at Nat Turner, Kyle Baker’s moving depiction of a real-life slave rebellion. Touching on topics including slavery, terrorism, religion and activism, this episode promises to stir up some interesting conversations.
1:34 – “Decolonising our Curriculum with AKALA” public event hosted by University of Leicester Student’s Union (on 26 February 2018) – but there’s a video of what he talks about here: https://www.truetube.co.uk/film/akala-black-history-month
5:19 - Michael A. Chainy “Slave Memory without Words in Kyle Baker’s Nat Turner” in Callaloo: A Journal of African Diaspora Arts and Letters 36:2 (2013)
8:07 – The Confessions of Nat Turner: The Leader of the Late Insurrection in Southampton, Virginia
This pamphlet was purported to have been dictated to lawyer Thomas R. Gray by Nat Turner himself, shortly before his execution. The Confessions detail the events leading up to the rebellion and the reasons why he decided to take action. The Confessions are also used by Kyle Baker to narrate the graphic novel Nat Turner.
16:37 - The Book of Night Women by Marlon James
Marlon James’s novel follows Lilith, a girl born in slavery, as she navigates the dangerous world around her and encounters those who would change the status quo by any means necessary.
25:22 – Tim Bruno “Nat Turner after 9/11: Kyle Baker’s Nat Turner” in Journal of American Studies 50:4 (2016)
28:02 – M. Chainy as per the article above, the exact quote here is “dignity so strong that it would prefer death to slavery”
32:48 - Truth: Red, White and Black written by Robert Morales and illustrated by Kyle Baker
Inspired by the Tuskagee Syphilis experiments, this seven issue comic book series expanded on the story of the super serum that created Marvel favourite Captain America. In the series a regiment of black soldiers is forcefully experimented on in order to make sure the serum is safe for white consumption. The experiments go horribly wrong and only one soldier is left alive, Isiah Bradley, also known as Truth.
34:21 - Birth of a Nation written by Aaron McGruder and Reginald Hudlin, illustrated by Kyle Baker
This political satire in graphic novel form explores what happens when the predominantly black city of East St. Louis secedes from the Union and becomes a new country following a voting scandal.
39:28 – Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo” by Zora Neale Hurston
This non-fiction book is based on Zora Neale Hurston’s interviews with Oluale Kossola, the last living survivor of the Middle Passage. She was unable to find a publisher at the time of writing in 1931 and the book was published in full for the first time earlier this year.
46:38 - Beloved written by Toni Morrison
Episode 1 - Blankets
In the very first episode Esther, Sarah and Jess jump right in and discuss September’s graphic novel recommendation, Blankets by Craig Thompson. We delve into some of the key themes in the novel and reminisce about our own experiences of awkward teenage romance.
For more information about the David Wilson Library’s monthly graphic novel recommendation please see the University of Leicester website.
Episode 7 - March One
Pending
Episode 6 - As The Crow Flies
In this month's episode, Esther, Sarah and returning guest Dr Leighan Renaud take a hike into the wilderness with Melanie Gillman and her graphic novel As the Crow Flies. Featuring stunning artwork and exploring themes of race, sexuality and religion, it’s bound to be another thought provoking chat.