Reflecting on my Extended Essay

Having finished my extended essay, I am now beginning to reflect on whether I felt it to be a successful academic text. I was rather happy with the results, as I picked a topic that I found really engaging, particularly the post 9/11 theory. On his note however, I feel that given a greater word count, I could have elaborated on some of the pre-9/11 issues. My essay was rather sparse regarding the history of the comic book. Although I discussed the idea of left-wing and right-wing storytelling and the emergence of graphic novels, I could have discussed pivotal moments in the progression of comic book narratives, for example Marvel's choice to publish an issue with the Comics Code Authority seal of approval:

This was so that Marvel could tell a cautionary tale on drug use, drugs being a topic off-limits in accordance to the CCA. This paved the way for more convention breaking narratives that discuss harsh real world issues, instead of presenting us with fantastic worlds where good triumphs over evil.

Also, I could have discussed more major conflicts and how they dictated narrative:

By looking more in-depth at the Cold War in particular, I could have made more parallels between 1980s graphic novels, and post 9/11 media, and how they reflect western ideology in times of conflict.

Overall, my essay was very heavily weighted towards post 9/11 theory, and could have discussed the evolution of the comic book more thuroughly.