Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Holy Heroes! Catholic Comics In Special Collections, Henry M. Handley, Stephanie Shreffler, Jillian M. Ewalt

Roesch Library Faculty Publications

This chapter considers the importance of Catholic comics in special collections and emphasizes their potential as multi-disciplinary research and teaching tools. The legacy of comics as Catholic educational literature, subjects of censorship, and political bellwethers in the United States make these visual texts rich in content for both special collections instruction and student scholarship. This article provides an overview of Catholic comics in special collections at the University of Dayton, a brief survey of the history of Catholic comics in the United States, and illustrates examples of active learning and research in special collections through two case studies. The authors …