WonderCon Anaheim 2014

What happens in people's minds and brains when they read and create comics? Neil Cohn (University of California, San Diego) will present an overview of his new book, The Visual Language of Comics: An Introduction to the Structure and Cognition of Comics, which provides an extensive introduction to the cognitive science of comics comprehension. This discussion will cover the systematic components that make up unique and different panels, the grammar of sequential images and page layouts, cross-cultural differences in structure, and the newest neuroscience research on what the brain is doing while comprehending comics.

Barbara Gordon ranks among the world's most famous superheroines, first as Batgirl (1967-1988) until rendered paraplegic in The Killing Joke, and then as Oracle, supreme computer hacker and Birds of Prey leader (1989-2011) until DC Comics's New 52 relaunch made her ambulatory and Batgirl once again. Renowned Birds of Prey/Batgirl writer and WonderCon Anaheim special guest Gail Simone discusses this character's real-world popularity and fictional trauma recovery with psychologists Dr. Andrea Letamendi (Under the Mask Online), the model for Barbara Gordon's therapist, and Dr. Travis Langley (Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight).

Captain America isn't just a symbol of the United States; he's a symbol of the United States's relationship with war and the military. Nicole Rehnberg analyzes issues of Captain America comics that reference the Vietnam War to discuss how the actions and words of Captain America show America's changing relationship toward the Vietnam War from wartime to present-day. Kathleen McClancy (Texas State University) argues that the conflict between Iron Man and Captain America in Marvel Civil War replicates the battle over nostalgic framing narratives for the War on Terror.