A. David Lewis | |
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Born | Aaron David Lewis 1977 (age 46–47) Boston, Massachusetts, United States |
Area(s) | Writer, Editor, Publisher |
Notable works | The Lone and Level Sands Kismet, Man of Fate The Prophet: A Graphic Novel Adaptation |
adavidlewis |
Aaron David Lewis (born 1977 in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American comic book and graphic novel writer. He is also a comics scholar focusing on literary theory, religious studies, and graphic medicine.
He is the founder of the Caption Box comic book imprint. [1] He has also served as an instructor at Georgetown University, Northeastern University, MCPHS, Bentley University, and Boston University (as a teaching fellow for Frank Korom, Stephen Prothero, and Steven T. Katz). Additionally, he has given lectures at conferences such as WizardWorld, [2] San Diego Comic-Con, and the New York Comic-Con, among others. He is an editorial board member for the International Journal of Comic Art under editor John Lent. [3] He was an executive board member for the Comics Studies Society. [4] He has also been involved in several podcasts. [5]
Lewis was raised in Framingham, Massachusetts. He graduated from Brandeis University with a B.A. in English and Psychology in 1999. [6] He earned his M.A. in English Literature from Georgetown University. [7] He earned his PhD in Religion and Literature from Boston University. [8] He has described himself as a liberal and progressive convert to Islam. [9]
Lewis's 2005 work, The Lone and Level Sands (written by Lewis, and illustrated by Marvin Mann and Jennifer Rodgers), won a Howard E. Day Prize and has been nominated for three Harvey Awards in 2007. [10] His 2002 creation, Mortal Coils, was named one of the winners of the 2003 Cinescape Literary Genre Competition, [11] and in 2004 it was given the Paper Screen Gem Award for Mystery/Suspense. [12] It was republished as a hardcover, color edition by Archaia Comics; Mann and Lewis collaborated again through Archaia with Some New Kind of Slaughter, or Lost in the Flood (and How We Found Home Again): Diluvian Myths from around the World in 2009.
In the late 2006, Lewis started a PhD program studying religion and literature at Boston University. [13] There he also helped organize the "Graven Images: Religion in Comic Books and Graphic Novels Conference" [14] and co-edit its later text Graven Images: Religion in Comic Books and Graphic Novels published in 2010. [15] He completed his PhD in 2012 and revamped his dissertation work into the book American Comics, Literary Theory, and Religion: The Superhero Afterlife published in 2014 by Palgrave Macmillan. [16]
In 2011, Lewis became co-editor of Muktatafaht: A Middle East Comics Anthology initially through the Harvard University Center of Middle East Studies' Outreach Center but, due to administrative circumstances, [17] shopped elsewhere. He is also the organizer of the Chain World Freeform Comics Experiment and its customized book The Tome, and, in 2014, a founding member of Sacred and Sequential, an organization of religion & comics scholars. [18]
In 2015, Lewis's co-edited volume with Christopher Moreman, entitled Digital Death: Mortality and Beyond in the Online Age, was a winner of the Ray at Pat Browne Award for "Best Edited Collection", [19] and his American Comics, Literary Theory, and Religion: The Superhero Afterlife was nominated for "Best Scholarly/Academic Work" in the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards. [20]
In 2017, Lewis edited and contributed to essays on Islamic representation and Muslim characters in superhero comic books and graphic novels. [21]
In a 2018 interview with Nicholas Yanes of Sequart Organization, Lewis stated that his next work would focus on an academic manuscript of the depictions of cancer battles in comics, to tentatively be called: Cancer in Comic Books. [22]
During the pandemic, Lewis launched the Graphic Medicine Review, the first journal dedicated to the field of graphic medicine. The open access, online publication originated at the MCPHS University Library and subsequently moved in 2023 to the Lamar Soutter Library at the UMass Chan Medical School under the co-editorship of Mary Piroun. [23]
In 2023, he was named as one of the six national judges for that year's Eisner Awards. [24] [25]
Lewis was the founder and president of Comics for Youth Refugees Incorporated Collective (CYRIC), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in Massachusetts dedicated to producing free comic books based in Syrian folklore for refugee children. By 2019, the organization had sent over 1000 copies of their Haawiyat anthologies overseas to camps and schools along the Turkish border in partnership with NuDay Syria (for which Lewis is also a board member). [26]
A graphic novel is a long-form work of sequential art. The term graphic novel is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics scholars and industry professionals. It is, at least in the United States, typically distinct from the term comic book, which is generally used for comics periodicals and trade paperbacks.
In comics studies, sequential art is a term proposed by comics artist Will Eisner to describe art forms that use images deployed in a specific order for the purpose of graphic storytelling or conveying information. The best-known example of sequential art is comics.
Comics are a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically takes the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate dialogue, narration, sound effects, or other information. There is no consensus among theorists and historians on a definition of comics; some emphasize the combination of images and text, some sequentiality or other image relations, and others historical aspects such as mass reproduction or the use of recurring characters. Cartooning and other forms of illustration are the most common means of image-making in comics. Photo comics is a form that uses photographic images. Common forms include comic strips, editorial and gag cartoons, and comic books. Since the late 20th century, bound volumes such as graphic novels, comic albums, and tankōbon have become increasingly common, along with webcomics as well as scientific/medical comics.
Scott McCloud is an American cartoonist and comics theorist. His non-fiction books about comics, Understanding Comics (1993), Reinventing Comics (2000), and Making Comics (2006), are made in comic form.
Nelson Alexander Ross is an American comic book writer and artist known primarily for his painted interiors, covers, and design work. He first became known with the 1994 miniseries Marvels, on which he collaborated with writer Kurt Busiek for Marvel Comics. He has since done a variety of projects for both Marvel and DC Comics, such as the 1996 miniseries Kingdom Come, which he also cowrote. Since then he has done covers and character designs for Busiek's series Astro City, and various projects for Dynamite Entertainment. His feature film work includes concept and narrative art for Spider-Man (2002) and Spider-Man 2 (2004), and DVD packaging art for the M. Night Shyamalan film Unbreakable (2000). He has done covers for TV Guide, promotional artwork for the Academy Awards, posters and packaging design for video games, and his renditions of superheroes have been merchandised as action figures.
Craig Matthew Thompson is an American graphic novelist best known for his books Good-bye, Chunky Rice (1999), Blankets (2003), Carnet de Voyage (2004), Habibi (2011), and Space Dumplins (2015). Thompson has received four Harvey Awards, three Eisner Awards, and two Ignatz Awards. In 2007, his cover design for the Menomena album Friend and Foe received a Grammy nomination for Best Recording Package.
A Contract with God and Other Tenement Stories is a graphic novel by American cartoonist Will Eisner published in 1978. The book's short story cycle revolves around poor Jewish characters who live in a tenement in New York City. Eisner produced two sequels set in the same tenement: A Life Force in 1988, and Dropsie Avenue in 1995. Though the term "graphic novel" did not originate with Eisner, the book is credited with popularizing its use.
King Mob is a fictional character, a revolutionary created by Grant Morrison for The Invisibles.
Wonder Man is a fictional superhero created by American cartoonist Will Eisner, whose only appearance was in the comic book Wonder Comics #1. The character is of some historical significance due to a lawsuit that resulted from his only appearance.
Simon Weinstein, known by his Hebrew name Simcha Weinstein, is an English author and a rabbi. In 2006, his first book, Up Up and Oy Vey: How Jewish History, Culture and Values Shaped the Comic Book Superhero, was published. In 2008, his second book, Shtick Shift: Jewish Humor in the 21st Century, was published.
Ethnic stereotypes in comics have evolved over time, reflecting the changing political climate.
James Andrew McCann, II is an American writer of comic books, theater and television programs. McCann has worked on several films and music videos before entering the ABC Daytime Writer Development Program, during which time he wrote for the ABC daytime drama One Life to Live. Upon moving to New York City in 2004 from Nashville, McCann found a position at Marvel Comics handling publicity and PR for publishing while managing press and panels at conventions. Subsequently, he returned to writing for Marvel comics, creator-owned graphic novels, and other projects.
Kevin Colden is an American comic book writer and artist, as well as a webcomic artist. His work has been published in print by Zuda Comics, IDW Publishing, Image Comics, Alternative Comics, and Top Shelf Productions.
Comics has developed specialized terminology. Several attempts have been made to formalize and define the terminology of comics by authors such as Will Eisner, Scott McCloud, R. C. Harvey and Dylan Horrocks. Much of the terminology in English is under dispute, so this page will list and describe the most common terms used in comics.
Tonči Zonjić is a Croatian comic book artist, writer and illustrator living in Toronto, Canada. He is best known for his work on Mike Mignola's Lobster Johnson series, and the Eisner Award-nominated Jake Ellis series. He designed the Praetorian Guards in Star Wars: The Last Jedi .
Paul Morrissey is an American graphic novel editor and writer who has edited and developed several comic books, graphic novels, and manga. His career started at Tokyopop, where he oversaw the production of a multitude of manga properties, including Fruits Basket.
Sequart Organization is an online magazine that focuses on the study of popular culture and the promotion of comic books as an art form. Sequart also publishes books and produces documentary films. It was founded in 1996 by Julian Darius. Sequart's editor-in-chief is Mike Phillips.
Stephen Christy is an American film and television producer, entertainment executive, and former graphic novel editor. He is the President of Development at graphic novel publisher Boom! Studios, where he oversees Boom!'s first look deals with Disney/20th Century Studios and Netflix. He was formerly editor-in-chief at Archaia Entertainment, where he won two Eisner Awards, as the editor of Jim Henson's Tale of Sand and Return of the Dapper Men.
Kismet, Man of Fate is a superhero published by Elliot Publishing Company in the Golden Age of Comic Books. The series features adventures of an Algerian superhero who was thought lost by the Allies at the end of World War II. The character originally appeared in Bomber Comics #1 (1944), making him the first identified Muslim superhero.
Ben Saunders is a British-born academic and in 2011, founder of the first ever in the world Undergraduate Minor in Comics Studies at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. He holds a PhD in English Literature from Duke University, a Masters in Philosophy in English Renaissance Literature from University of Cambridge and a Bachelor of the Arts degree with First Class Honors from the University of East Anglia.