ABSTRACT

Comic books are deceivingly complex cultural artifacts. The artform combines narrative and visual art to construct vivid – though often fantastical – realms. At worst, they offer readers a whimsical escape from reality; at best, they reflect that reality. This essay contextualizes the publication of one comic in particular, to demonstrate the utility of comics as historical sources and as vehicles to broaden social justice discourse. Days of Future Past, published in 1981 as a double issue in Marvel Comic’s Uncanny X-Men, attempts to make sense of the American social landscape at the dawn of the Reagan era. This dystopian narrative uses historical analysis (in the form of time travel) to explore the roots of oppressive structures that mirror concurrent real-world developments, such as the rise of the carceral state. In historical context, the comic reads as an allegory of social transformation in New York City under the Reagan Administration as well as a commentary on the role of radicalism in the pursuit of justice.

抽象的

漫画书看似是复杂的文化文物。该艺术形式将叙事艺术和视觉艺术相结合，以构建生动的（尽管通常是梦幻般的）境界。在最坏的情况下，它们会使读者异想天开地脱离现实。充其量，它们反映了这一现实。本文特别结合一本漫画的出版情况，以证明漫画作为历史资料和扩大社会正义话语的工具的效用。《未来的日子》（Days of Future Past），于1981年在《漫威漫画》的《超人X战警》中作为双期出版试图在里根时代的曙光中了解美国的社会格局。这种反乌托邦式的叙事使用历史分析（以时间旅行的形式）来探索压迫性结构的根源，这些结构反映了并发的现实世界的发展，例如患癌状态的发展。在历史背景下，这部漫画被解读为里根政府领导下纽约市社会转型的寓言，同时也评论了激进主义在追求正义中的作用。