Arab Autographics: Cultural memory, historical documentation, and acts of resistance in contemporary Arab auto/biographical comics

This essay traces the emergence of Arab auto/biographical comics as an important narrative form that is expanding the traditions of literary self-representation in contemporary Arab culture and argues that it needs to be critically situated as part of a larger corpus of Arab life writing. Relying on Gillian Whitlock’s concept of “autographics”, it surveys a range of non-fictional comics by Arab artists, from the region and in the diaspora, to investigate the ways in which comics enable creative projects of documentation, remembrance, and resistance while highlighting the intersection of personal experiences with collective histories and memory. This essay aims to foster critical discussions on the creative interplay of visuals and text in shaping new and unique forms of auto/biographical expression in contemporary Arab culture.