Reporter as Revolutionary: Narratives of Graphic Journalism

The classic conflict of objectivity versus subjectivity, of simply reporting facts versus shaping them rhetorically, has been the subject of a wide range of recent graphic novels that employ either the perspectives of contemporary investigative journalism applied to real events or the figure of the investigative journalist as the protagonist in fictional narratives. We’ll examine the aesthetic of the graphic novel as a tool of journalistic writing, consider what elements of graphic storytelling particularly complement the aims of non-fiction subgenres like the biography and the travelogue, research the history and implications of the journalist as agent of change, and discuss the techniques that make this particular kind of visual narration most effective.