About Summer Scholars Lunchtime Talks
Join us for two lunchtime talks:
Wags – The British Comic That Launched US Comic Book Superstars
Almost forgotten today and impossible to find, Wags was a ground-breaking British newsprint comic published from 1937–38 that became the training ground for many of the creators who would later define American comic books. As Michael Finn explains, within its pages were early works by future legends including Will Eisner – later hailed as the godfather of the graphic novel; Jack Kirby, the co-creator of Captain America, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, Black Panther, the Silver Surfer, and many of the Avengers; and Bob Kane, who would go on to create Batman. Wags also introduced one of comics’ most important milestones: the debut of Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, the first female jungle hero in comic books, appearing months before Wonder Woman.
How McDonald’s Took Off in the UK
Collaborative Doctoral student at the Library, Tom Willett, uses the life story oral history interview of David Walker from our collection to examine the expansion of McDonald’s into the UK in the 1970s. Walker was managing director of McDonald’s first UK meat supplier and his life story speaks to the transatlantic exchange of food processing technologies that has shaped the UK’s food system. This talk also explores criticism of McDonald’s practices through examining Walker’s role in the infamous 90s ‘McLibel’ case, in which he gave evidence in defence of McDonald’s food standards.
Michael Finn
Michael Finn is a comic book historian and writer who has authored multiple articles on the early history of comic books.
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He is the author of Becoming Frazetta, an acclaimed study of the early years of fantasy art master Frank Frazetta. Michael was profiled by The New York Times for assembling one of the world’s most extensive collections of 1940s American comic book artwork. He also writes The Liberty Brigade, a comic series set in the 1940s featuring classic public-domain superheroes and villains.
Tom Willett
Tom Willett is a PhD student with Keele University and the British Library.
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His project (Beyond the Burger) looks at food stories in the British Library's oral history and trade literature collections. Using these two areas, he is focusing on the interplay between the American food system and the UK's food system since 1945.
About the Summer Scholars Lunchtime Talks
The Summer Scholars season of lunchtime talks is hosted by the Eccles Institute for the Americas and Oceania at the Library and showcases the exciting and wide-ranging research into our Americas collections by the Institute’s Visiting Fellows and associates, as well as Library staff.
About the Eccles Institute
The Eccles Institute builds, curates and preserves the Americas and Oceania contemporary collection at the Library and champions knowledge and understanding of these regions through a rich programme of fellowships and awards, cultural events, research training, guides to the collections and initiatives for schools.
For more information about the Institute and our collections, visit our webpage or contact eccles-institute@bl.uk. To see more events relating to the Eccles Institute, visit our events page.
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