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By Hannah Stewart (Comm’19)

As a kid, Joel Thurman decided that while he didn’t have the wit or wealth of Batman, he could still train and shoot a bow like the Green Arrow.��

Now, as a comic book scholar, Thurman is more interested in the character’s role as a foster father.

As a long-time Arrow fan—and a high school history teacher of 10 years—Thurman thought he’d research history through comics for his PhD program in media studies. But that focus shifted when he and his wife became foster parents.

“I was walking with my wife when I had an epiphany: study foster care and superheroes, find those connections and do a history of both,” he said. “I absolutely adore the Green Arrow, which since the early 2000s really depicts him as a foster father. I have a completely different appreciation for Green Arrow now than I did, say, five years ago.”

Through his research, Thurman found that the success of superheroes—especially orphaned ones—reflect the myth that no matter how bad one’s situation is, it’s possible to overcome it. In reality, the myth is just that: Orphans are the least likely to graduate high school and maintain full-time jobs.��

“I want to raise awareness of kids in foster care, and superheroes are a way to break the ice and have those difficult conversations with people who largely don’t know what the system is like,” he said.

Students in the media studies department at CMCI learn that pop culture is a place where people both tell their own stories while considering and challenging the expectations for how society is supposed to work.

Given how current events and societal shifts—not to mention changing perspectives, as new writers shape the voices of iconic characters—influence comic book writing, the medium itself becomes a unique way to examine the attitudes and norms of a given era.

“We train our students to think about other people and to consider positions of power, networks and social structure. Any of our students should be able to tell the stories of others,” said Rick Stevens, associate professor of media studies and Thurman’s mentor.��

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Stevens said that together, they focused Thurman’s interest in how foster children are represented in comics on how those stories can help people learn about their world.

“He has passion around some of the characters and stories in this space, but I’m really glad to see his interests expand beyond just what his desires and likes are,” said Stevens, who also is associate dean of undergraduate education. “And that’s the sign of a good media studies scholar.”

That growing interest now encompasses family dynamics and, even more broadly, industry trends such as readership changes, creator rights and consumer tastes.

“My research is so unique that, at the moment, I’m the only one who can write that particular narrative,” he said.

These other branches of research have taken him to conferences beyond 91������, which he said were incredible opportunities—not only to present his work at places like Venice and San Diego Comic-Con, but to meet writers and actors who’ve worked on series such as Batman, Spiderman, Daredevil and, yes, Green Arrow.��

His favorite interview, though, was with actor Jon Cryer, who played Lex Luthor in��the CW television series Supergirl. Not only did Thurman discover that Cryer is a massive comic book fan himself—he has a collection of original Marvel comic art that he showed Thurman during their interview—the pair also bonded over being foster dads.

“I didn’t realize we would connect the way that we did, and it was just absolutely fantastic,” he said. “I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunities the university has allowed.”

One such opportunity was meeting CMCI advisory board member (and “legend,” in Thurman’s words) Steven T. Seagle, partner at Man of Action Entertainment. Over dinner, he learned Seagle (Advert’88) got his start from writing comic books while in college.

“I was like, ‘That’s a dream of mine.’ And he said, ‘If you really want to do it, do what I did: Hire an artist and get it done,’” Thurman said.

He now has independently published a horror comic,��Disinter, and is working on a sci-fi comic set to come out in April.

“I’m having so much fun writing comics, but I’ll probably dabble in both academia and comic writing, because I love teaching and fostering students’ ideas,” he said. “The comic book writing is for me—it’s a story I wanted to tell. The academic work is to make a difference.”

Whether in the panels of a comic book or the classroom, Thurman hopes to challenge creators and the community to reconsider how they think about children portrayed in and beyond comic book stories.

“Foster care is completely not discussed in comics, and I think that should change,” he said.

If Thurman is able to change that conversation, it will be at least in part due to his CMCI experiences. Stevens said when it comes to being a voice for the vulnerable, he wants his students “to be allies where we can, and to research more than just who we are and what we directly know.”

“Joel is really good at thinking outside himself, asking good questions, and interacting with people who create pop culture and their thought processes,” he said. “But he’s also really good at stepping back and looking at the effects, the structure, the consequences.”