In this teaser episode, Special Topics in Media host Garret Castleberry introduces listeners to the new topic and recurring cohost joining the lecturecast for season six. In season six, two key shifts provide an opportunity to examine media from alternate angles. First, Special Topics season six shifts mass mediums away from film to focus on the literary medium of comic books. Specifically, season six focuses exclusively on the best-selling (yet also polarizing) superhero "event" storyline from Marvel Comics released from 2006 to 2007,  writer Mark Millar and artist Steve McNiven's Civil War. Comics scholar Kyle Hammonds joins Garret in this episodic-yet-analytically serialized season. A credentialed academic in communication studies with emphases in qualitative methods and critical media studies, as well as an all-around comic book aficionado and fan culture researcher, Kyle returns to the mic to provide his unique philosophical and rhetorical observations. Together, they will swap close readings as they seek to untangle the politically charged superhero-on-superhero graphic novel, Marvel's Civil War.

Hosts: Garret Castleberry, Kyle Hammonds

Producers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)

Recommended readings paired with Season Six "Marvel's Civil War":
Mark Millar & Steve McNiven. Civil War. Marvel Comics, 2006.

Chris Gavaler. Superhero Comics. Bloomsbury Academic Press, 2017.

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Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/.