M. Thomas Inge ’59, the Randolph-Macon College Blackwell Professor of Humanities, is discussed frequently in a recently published history of the beginnings of the study of comics in the academy, The Secret Origins of Comics Scholarship, edited by Matthew J. Smith and Randy Duncan (Routledge, 2017). The authors note that “Inge has been a shaker and a mover in the field of comics scholarship for over 40 years.”

He had wanted to be a cartoonist, but Inge abandoned that goal for a love of literature and a desire to teach. When he had the chance to offer in 1968 at Michigan State University the first accredited course on American humor, he introduced comic strips to classroom study as an important source of cultural identity. He moved to Virginia Commonwealth University shortly after it was founded and continued to write about comic strips, comic books, and graphic novels, culminating in his groundbreaking critical study Comics as Culture, published in 1990. Over the years Inge has donated his research materials, books, and original comic art to the VCU Libraries, where a special collection has been established in his name.

The Secret Origins of Comics Scholarship also outlines Inge’s work as a primary pioneer in the now established field of popular culture and his creation of the award-winning reference work Handbook of American Popular Culture. He was one of the founders of the Popular Culture Association and co-founder of the American Humor Studies Association, which also provided outlets for his continued study of comics. He now maintains a steady influence on the field by serving as general editor of the “Great Comic Artists” and “Conversations with Comic Artists” series published by the University Press of Mississippi.

The body of work published in these series is identified in the present history as “the gold standard of Comics Studies within the university community.” The comics studies area of the PCA established the annual M. Thomas Inge Award for Comics Scholarship in 1996 to recognize works of distinction. Inge read a paper and participated in the 47th convention of the association in San Diego, California April 12-15, 2017.

Having taught at Randolph-Macon College for more than 30 years, Inge has brought this expertise to campus through several of his popular American Studies courses, such as American Humor, Graphic Narrative, Animation in American Culture, and Walt Disney’s America. Inge’s broader interests in literature, the image, and culture are demonstrated in three recent publications: “Mark Twain and Dan Beard in the Court of King Arthur,” Illustration Magazine, No. 55 (2017): 62-81; “William Faulkner, James Avati, and the Art of the Paperback Novel,” Illustration Magazine, No. 56 (2017): 56-69; and “Was Krazy Kat Black? The Racial Identity of George Herriman,” Drawing the Line: Comics Studies and Inks, 1994-1997, edited by Lucy Caswell and Jared Gardner (Ohio State University Press, 2017): 40-51. Inge is currently writing a study of Walt Disney and the art of collaboration for book publication.