Anthropocene Anxiety in Graphic Narratives (An Edited Volume)
Editors: Arpan Mitra (Ph.D. Research Scholar, St. Xavier’s University) and Dr. Bidisha Kantha (Assistant Professor of English, Xavier Law School, St. Xavier’s University, Kolkata)
Publisher: DeGruyter Brill has expressed initial interest in this collection
We inhabit an era defined by the Anthropocene—a geological epoch marked by humanity’s irreversible planetary impact. This reality has precipitated a distinct psychological condition: "Anthropocene Anxiety" (Albrecht, "Solastalgia" 95; Lertzman 42). Unlike conventional eco-concern, this anxiety embodies an existential crisis rooted in temporal dissonance: the collision between human experiential timescales and the vast, often imperceptible, geological timescales of environmental consequence (Nixon 2; Morton 1–5). It manifests as paralyzing awareness of crossed ecological thresholds, the dual identity of victim/perpetrator, and the tension between individual helplessness and systemic urgency.
Graphic narratives (comics, graphic novels, manga, bandes dessinées) have emerged as uniquely potent media for exploring this condition. Their visual-textual hybridity enables simultaneous depiction of microscopic damage (e.g., microplastics) and macroscopic shifts (e.g., glacial melt), creating an "aesthetic of scale" (Demos 17) that mirrors the cognitive challenge of grasping planetary crisis. The sequential architecture—panels, gutters, and layout—formally embodies the intersection of "slow violence" (Nixon 2–10) and sudden catastrophe. Crucially, the participatory "closure" required in reading comics—where readers actively construct narrative continuity between panels—mirrors the cognitive and ethical work needed to process fragmented environmental realities and envision pathways forward (Chute 12–15; Postema 45–68). Comics thus function not merely as representations but as training grounds for Anthropocene thought and action.
This edited collection on representation of “Anthropocene Anxiety”incomics and other graphic narratives, seeks to establish comics as indispensable sites for analysing contemporary environmental consciousness. It aims to bridge Comics Studies, Environmental Humanities, Climate Psychology, and Environmental Justice scholarship, offering innovative frameworks for academics and actionable insights for educators, therapists, artists, and activists.
Building on foundational comics theory (Scott McCloud; Hillary L. Chute; Barbara Postema) and ecocriticism (Lawrence Buell; Rob Nixon), this collection advances scholarship through interdisciplinary synthesis:
- Affective Ecocriticism & Climate Psychology: Integrating emotion in environmental narrative (Alexa Weik von Mossner; Glenn Albrecht, Earth Emotions) with research on eco-grief, solastalgia, and climate anxiety (Renee Lertzman; Caroline Hickman et al.; American Psychological Association).
- Multispecies Studies & Extinction Studies: Exploring more-than-human entanglement, loss, and agency (Thom van Dooren; Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing; Robin Wall Kimmerer).
- Visual Culture & Anthropocene Critique: Engaging counter-hegemonic strategies for visualizing hyperobjects (Timothy Morton) and systemic crisis (T.J. Demos; Nicholas Mirzoeff).
- Environmental Justice & Decolonial Ecologies: Centring frontline, Indigenous, and Global South perspectives challenging Western Anthropocene narratives (Kyle Powys Whyte; Leanne Betasamosake Simpson; Andreas Malm; Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang).
We invite chapters that move beyond thematic analysis to leverage medium-specific affordances:
- How do panel transitions/gutters model environmental temporalities (slow/fast catastrophe)?
- How do layout, colour, and visual metaphor make the invisible (CO₂, extinction, toxicity) visceral?
- How does reader "closure" become ethical engagement with crisis?
While eco-comics scholarship exists, no volume systematically analyses comics’ formal capacity to mediate Anthropocene Anxiety through their unique structure. We seek chapters (7,000–8,000 words) offering original, theoretically grounded analyses. Contributions should engage with 1–2 primary texts and cite recent scholarship (post-2015).
To advance this inquiry, we propose five interconnected thematic frameworks exploring how comics formalize ecological crisis through their visual grammar. Contributors are invited to anchor their analyses in one of the following dimensions:
Section I: Theoretical Foundations of Eco-Visuality
- How do comics formalize Anthropocene Anxiety (temporal dissonance, solastalgia, pre-traumatic stress) via sequence, scale, and reader engagement?
- Comics as sites of "environmental testimony" (extending Hillary L. Chute): Visualizing the invisible (toxins, extinction) and ethical witness.
- Integrating affective ecocriticism (Alexa Weik von Mossner) and multispecies frameworks (Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing; Thom van Dooren).
Section II: Manifestations: Formalizing Crisis
- Catastrophe & Apocalypse: Visualizing collapse (rising seas, ruins). Formal techniques: fragmented panels, overwhelming splash pages, toxic colour palettes. Balancing slow violence (Rob Nixon) with sudden disaster.
- Extinction & Absence: Visualizing the Sixth Mass Extinction, "shifting baselines" (Daniel Pauly), and ecological grief. Strategies for depicting loss/haunting.
- Toxicity & Alienation: Visualizing "toxic discourse" (Lawrence Buell) in landscapes (sacrifice zones, industrial decay). Environmental illness, injustice, and psychological alienation.
- Intergenerational Trauma & Future Dread: Depicting burden on future generations; techniques for uncertainty, despair/hope tension, inherited crisis.
Section III: Global Perspectives: Justice, Knowledge, Resistance
- Global South & Climate Justice: Comics from frontline regions (Bangladesh, Pacific Islands, Amazon, Africa). Visualizing environmental racism, neo-colonial extraction, resistance, and the psychological toll of disproportionate impact.
- Indigenous Temporalities & Knowledges: Works by Indigenous artists. Visualizing cyclical/deep time, Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), resistance, ecological grief/healing. Challenging Western narratives.
- Postcolonial Ecologies: Visualizing colonial legacies in environmental degradation; resource extraction; decolonial futures.
Section IV: Genre Engagements: Narrative Strategies
- Superheroes: Limits of individual heroism vs. systemic collapse; environmental powers/corruption; wish fulfilment vs. critique.
- Memoir/Autobiography: Personalizing the planetary; visualizing eco-consciousness, illness, activism; trauma/testimony balance.
- Science Fiction/Speculative: World-building environmental futures (dystopian/utopian/adaptive); socio-ecological transformation; justice.
- Comics Journalism/Documentary: Visualizing data/testimony; ethics of crisis representation; advocacy strategies.
Section V: Applications: Pedagogy, Therapy, Agency
- Pedagogy: Using comics in environmental education (K–12 to adult); balancing honesty with psychological safety; fostering agency/critical hope.
- Young Adult Narratives: How YA climate comics help adolescents process anxiety, build identity, and visualize action.
- Therapeutic Frameworks: Comics as bibliotherapy for climate anxiety/eco-grief; facilitating processing; building resilience/community.
Submission Guidelines
Contributors should submit chapter proposals of 500-700 words addressing four key components. First, proposals must articulate a central argument and theoretical framework, drawing from relevant fields including ecocriticism, climate psychology, comics formalism, or decolonial studies. Second, authors should identify their primary graphic narrative(s) for analysis with appropriate rationale. Third, proposals must demonstrate contribution to one of five thematic sections. Fourth, engagement with recent scholarship from 2015 onwards is required.
Proposals must emphasize medium-specific analysis examining elements such as panel transitions, visual metaphor, and reader closure. Authors should address how comics uniquely mediate Anthropocene Anxiety through their formal properties. A 150-word biographical note must accompany each proposal.
Submissions should be sent to framingclimatecrisis@gmail.com by September 14th, 2025. Contributors will receive notification of acceptance by September 25, 2025. Full chapters are due February 15, 2026, followed by peer review and final revisions. Direct queries to mitra.arpan2023@gmail.com.
"The struggle is to make the crisis visible" (Nixon 17). Graphic narratives offer unparalleled tools for this struggle. We welcome your innovative scholarship.
Works Cited
Albrecht, Glenn. Earth Emotions: New Words for a New World. Cornell UP, 2019.
---. "Solastalgia: A New Concept in Human Health and Identity." PAN: Philosophy Activism Nature, no. 3, 2005, pp. 41–55.
American Psychological Association. Mental Health and Our Changing Climate. APA, 2017.
Buell, Lawrence. Writing for an Endangered World. Harvard UP, 2001.
Chute, Hillary L. Disaster Drawn: Visual Witness, Comics, and Documentary Form. Harvard UP, 2016.
Demos, T.J. Against the Anthropocene: Visual Culture and Environment Today. Sternberg Press, 2017.
Hickman, Caroline, et al. "Climate Anxiety in Children and Young People..." The Lancet Planetary Health, vol. 5, no. 12, 2021, pp. e863–e873.
Kimmerer, Robin Wall. Braiding Sweetgrass. Milkweed Editions, 2013.
Lertzman, Renee. Environmental Melancholia. Routledge, 2015.
Malm, Andreas. Fossil Capital. Verso, 2016.
McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics. HarperPerennial, 1994.
Mirzoeff, Nicholas. "It’s Not the Anthropocene..." After Extinction, U of Minnesota P, 2018.
Morton, Timothy. Hyperobjects. U of Minnesota P, 2013.
Nixon, Rob. Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor. Harvard UP, 2011.
Pauly, Daniel. "Anecdotes and the Shifting Baseline..." Trends in Ecology & Evolution, vol. 10, no. 10, 1995, p. 430.
Postema, Barbara. Narrative Structure in Comics. RIT Press, 2013.
Simpson, Leanne Betasamosake. As We Have Always Done. U of Minnesota P, 2017.
Tsing, Anna Lowenhaupt. The Mushroom at the End of the World. Princeton UP, 2015.
Tuck, Eve, and K. Wayne Yang. "Decolonization is Not a Metaphor." Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society, vol. 1, no. 1, 2012, pp. 1–40.
van Dooren, Thom. Flight Ways. Columbia UP, 2014.
Weik von Mossner, Alexa. Affective Ecologies. Ohio State UP, 2017.
Whyte, Kyle Powys. "Indigenous Climate Change Studies..." English Language Notes, vol. 55, 2017, pp. 153–62.
Last updated July 17, 2025
