Haskell students will soon get the opportunity to meet acclaimed Native American graphic novelists, Arigon Starr, and Dale Deforest. Starr is the author of ‘Super Indian,’ a story that follows the adventures of a man who gains superpowers after eating commodity cheese that has been tainted with the experimental element Rezium. Deforest’s ‘Hero Twins’ is an epic tale inspired by the Dine creation story. Both titles are available for checkout at the Haskell Library (Tomanney Hall).
When asked about the process of booking accomplished Native American artists and guest speakers, Library Director Carrie Cornelius said, “When I was a student at Haskell, I saw our writers and political warriors as rock stars. I enjoy trying to meet our artists and find personalities that would inspire our students…Our students now are all experts in something. Each has a unique voice and story that needs to be told. I hope our guests to Haskell may mentor our students on how to become published”.
In the past year, the films ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ and ‘Aquaman’, both based on graphic novels, each earned over a billion dollars at the box office. Inspired by the cultural phenomenon surrounding the recent boom of comic/graphic novel inspired media, Professor Joseph Rodriguez’s aptly named “Comics and Graphic Novels” class focuses on the origins of the superhero genre as well as the lesser known forms of the medium including autobiographical, non-fiction and westerns. Students of Professor Rodriguez’s class may already be familiar with Starr’s ‘Super Indian’ as it is required reading.
Dale Deforest will speak Friday, March 1st at Tomanney Hall from 3:00pm to 4:00pm, followed by an interactive workshop from 7:00pm to 9:00pm.Arigon Starr will speak Tuesday, April 4th from 2:30pm to 3:35pm. She will then conduct an interactive workshop on Wednesday, April 5th from 3:00pm to 5:00pm.
Professor Rodriguez hosts a Marvel Movie night at Ross Hall every wednesday at 6:00pm.
