Memories of a medium: Comics, materiality, object elicitation and reading autobiographies

In researching the history of comics and childhood, I have interviewed a number of adults who were childhood readers of the medium. What is evident from the interviews is that people remember comics as objects, not simply the narratives and artwork they contain. This article looks at the use of interviews, particularly those using images and objects to elicit responses, in investigating reading practices and engagement with texts. Additionally, it indicates how all interviews about comics, even those without object elicitation, touch on comics as material objects and stimuli for reflections on the place and time of reading. It also looks at an example of how object elicitation and interview might be used to open intergenerational dialogue about reading and identity.