Digital Comics: Gertrude Bell
RESEARCH.NCL.AC.UK/GERTRUDECOMICS/
Institute for
Creative Arts
Practice
Case Studies
This case study first appeared in the
Newcastle University Institute for Creative
Arts Activity Practice Report 2013-2015
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: +44 (0) 191 208 6559
Web: www.ncl.ac.uk/nicap
Twitter: @NCLcreativearts
Gertrude Bell: Archaeologist, Writer, Explorer uses digital
comics as entry points to archive materials and help
younger historians into primary sources.
Seven digital comics by cartoonist John Miers, working with Mark Jackson and
the Gertrude Bell Archive, present snapshots of Bell’s (1868-1926) extraordinary
life and work: her birth in Washington New Hall, travelling round the world twice,
investigating archaeological sites (Syrian Desert to Asia Minor), and becoming a
powerful force in Iraqi politics. Bell established the Iraq Museum in Baghdad, and
served as Honorary Director of Antiquities in Iraq.
Clicking the circular hotspots on the comic’s webpage shows photos, letters, and
other artefacts that inspired each comic. These original materials include digitised
artefacts in the Gertrude Bell Archive and other key sources. A printed preview
map has more detail on where in the world Gertrude lived and worked. Both digital
and printed versions use comics to make archive content accessible beyond
academic archives.
The project team is grateful to Newcastle Young Archaeologists’ Club for their
help in reading drafts of these comics and testing the hyperlinked comics. Their
feedback helped to decide what could be developed further as phase two of
this project. This will be led by colleagues in the School of History, Classics and
Archaeology, using these digital comics as a starting point for young historians’
further exploration of the Gertrude Bell Archive.
The project was managed by Applied Comics Etc in collaboration with Dr Mark
Jackson and Dr Jane Webster (School of History, Classics and Archaeology) and
Newcastle University Library. The website was designed by Britt Coxon.
IMAGES: Gertrude Bell standing outside her tent, Babylon, April 1909. Photo from Gertrude Bell Archive,
Newcastle University and extract from Gertrude Bell digital comic by cartoonist John Miers.