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Rob MacDougall

Two-Fisted Historian

Posts in Category ‘Comics’

Article

Sex Magic Rocket Science

  • Rob MacDougall,
  • September 1, 2008
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A biography of Jack Parsons, occultist and rocketeer, in comic book form.

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  • Filed under: Asides, Comics, Cranks
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Article

Speak In A Raspy Growl and Carry a Batarang

  • Rob MacDougall,
  • July 28, 2008
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Scott Kaufman reports (without, alas, documentation) that Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale based their Batman on Teddy Roosevelt.

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  • Filed under: Asides, Comics, Gilded Age
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Article

The Art of the Impossible

  • Rob MacDougall,
  • July 21, 2008
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Jim Henley dismantles a lame Newsday piece on the politics of various superheroes. “He’s a Jewish New Yorker who has never written for Commentary. You have to assume he’s a Democrat until proven otherwise.”

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  • Filed under: Asides, Comics
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Article

My Name Is Charles Guiteau

  • Rob MacDougall,
  • June 12, 2008
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Garfield without words was inspired. Garfield without Garfield was, I thought, kinda gilding that lily. But Garfield plus Garfield is the winner.

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  • Filed under: Asides, Comics
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Article

Men In Tights

  • Rob MacDougall,
  • April 4, 2008
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It’s been well linked (Barista assumed it was taking the piss but I think he underestimates Chabon’s geeky earnestness) but it’s worth it: Michael Chabon on the superhero unitard. PS How good is All-Star Superman, am I right?

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  • Filed under: Asides, Comics
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About Me

Ahoy-hoy! I am an associate professor at the University of Western Ontario, in London, Ontario, Canada, where I teach United States history and study the history of information and communication. My current research involves the history of pseudoscience and crank invention. I'm using computational methods like text mining and adaptive filtering to trace the circulation of "wrong, bad, or weird" science in 19th-century America. The goal is to draw lessons for our own time about the ways communication networks shape the ideas we have and share.

I am the author of The People’s Network: The Political Economy of the Telephone in the Gilded Age (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2014) and several book chapters and articles. I also co-designed and directed Tecumseh Lies Here, an augmented reality game that commemorates and critiques the history of the War of 1812. And I co-host a bi-weekly podcast that explores the history and culture of the 1970s and 80s through the lens of the classic sitcom, WKRP in Cincinnati. I received a Ph.D. in History from Harvard University in 2004.

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