I took a graphic novels course this quarter and the syllabus included journalist Joe Sacco's Footnotes in Gaza, an illustrated account of two incidents of mass killings of Palestinians during the Suez War. To tell you that Sacco's work is already being integrated into academia is to say that comics journalism isn't new. But what is new is its intersection with digital opportunities. Case in point: Last week's launch of Symbolia, a new tablet magazine that is the first U.S. publication dedicated exclusively to comics journalism.
The digital magazine blends illustration, audio clips, and in-depth reporting to create a different type of news narrative. Erin Polgreen, the magazine's founder, describes it as "turning the news into art."
The first issue contains stories with topics ranging from Zambian psychedelic rock to life as a journalist in Iraqi Kurdistan and is available for free as a PDF or a download on your iPad.
Symbolia offers an engaging form of visual storytelling while also appealing to the technologically-driven. But it can be easy to dismiss new forms of media as passing fads. Do you think this innovative approach will last?
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