Katrina Stories Get Graphic in A.D.: New Orleans after the Deluge

This chapter describes a popular culture text based on Katrina survivors’ narratives: the non-fiction graphic novel A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge, by Josh Neufeld. In the print version and an earlier webcomic of A.D., the rhetorical and artistic choices of the author reinforce stereotypes, especially of African Americans. In the comments feature of the webcomic, survivors are able to negotiate the terms of their stories’ production; because the webcomic is serial and public, audiences are privy to this dialogue, meaning narrators’ negotiations are built into the circulation and reception of the text. However, the print version does not include the web commentary. This chapter raises similar questions as those posed by Charles Briggs: “Why do some narratives become authoritative? Why are statements that challenge them erased from public discourse?” (2005:272). In A.D., Katrina survivors’ challenging statements are erased from the eventual print publication of the text.