Ashleigh Prosser

The Umbrella Academy (2008–2024) is an Eisner-award-winning science-fiction comic-book series created and written by Gerard Way, illustrated by Gabriel Bá, colored by Dave Stewart, and published by Dark Horse Comics. The story follows a dysfunctional family of seven uncanny superheroes who began their lives as the famous inexplicably superpowered children instantaneously born at the same time in random spontaneous pregnancies around the world. They were then adopted by wealthy scientist Sir Reginald Hargreeves to form The Umbrella Academy, spending their childhood fighting supervillains and training to save the world. Having disbanded after the death of one sibling and the disappearance of another when they were teenagers, their father’s mysterious death causes them to reunite as adults as they attempt to prevent the impending apocalypse. Executive-produced by Way and Bá, and created by showrunners Steve Blackman and Jeremy Slater, Netflix has released three ten-episode series and a fourth final six-episode series adaptation of The Umbrella Academy (in 2019, 2020, 2022, and 2024 respectively), to widespread popular critical acclaim. The first two series loosely adapt the first two collected volumes of the comics (Apocalypse Suite and Dallas), while the third series moved beyond the third collected volume of the comics (Hotel Oblivion) into new territory under the guidance of Way, seemingly drawing on the as-yet-unpublished fourth collection of the comics, The Sparrow Academy. The fourth and final six-episode series released on Netflix in 2024 likewise remained under Way’s production but has not been connected to any further comics as of yet. This chapter will explore The Umbrella Academy’s textually hybrid transmedial form through analysis of the re-imagining of the uncanny superhero family drama from its comic-book universe to that of Netflix’s digital media world. It will examine how cross-media textual play with the comic-book superheroes and their narrative arcs functions to subversively domesticate the story for adaptation to the home streaming small screen. For, in Lorna Piatti-Farnell’s words, “once superheroes are transported from comic books into another medium, they become autonomous figures, whose representations, actions, and meanings are constructed within the newly established platform that gave them renewed life” (2021, 5).

This panel presents an exploration of how learners (both staff and students alike) were empowered to teach in Murdoch University’s new technology-enhanced teaching and learning building, Boola Katitjin, awarded the world’s best academic building (2023 World Architecture Festival).

Officially opened at the start of 2023, Boola Katitjin, a Whadjuk Noongar name meaning ‘lots of learning’, is designed with students at its heart, with Australian-first technology throughout the building’s 21 large teaching and learning spaces, including a mixed reality digital immersive lab.

The panellists will each present how they led a specific area of capability development for the building, for staff and students to be able to use the technology-enhanced environments in pedagogically innovative ways with students’ learning experiences at the forefront.

Prosser will introduce the professional learning project for staff transition into Boola Katitjin. She will outline the pedagogical model created for the building, and how it shaped the suite of support designed for staff to empower their preparedness to teach in these new learning environments.

Hill will then delve into the Collaborative and Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) spaces which feature tracking, room, document and whiteboard cameras along with webcams, microphones, wireless screen sharing and dual screens at every TEL desk. He will explain how students are empowered to collaborate and actively share their learning with others using the learning spaces’ technological features. Software integrations (including Microsoft Teams, Echo360 and Moodle) further afford seamless hybrid learning through simple, one-button collaboration and conferencing for all classes.

Finally, Davine will share how students were empowered to be at the forefront of the hands-on support provided in the building using a ‘students as partners’ approach. She will explore how students worked with other support teams to help staff and students use the building, while building their own professional capabilities and preparing for their future careers.

This panel presentation aims to provide the audience with a holistic understanding of how Murdoch University embraced a timely whole-of-university approach to empowering technological transition in a rapidly changing contemporary higher education landscape.

The concept of mutation has transcended its scientific origins to become a powerful metaphor in media and popular culture for transformation, adaptation, and fear of the unknown. From the genetic mutations of Marvel’s X-Men superheroes to the biological horror of the infected in The Last of Us, representations of mutation in popular culture often serve as a means to challenge our understanding of the boundaries of the human condition and what it means to be ‘human’...

Popular culture studies provide a unique perspective on the intricate intersections of sociopolitical, economic, and artistic contexts that shape our identities and experiences, as reflected in the media and cultural landscape. The Australasian Journal of Popular Culture Studies (AJPC) aims to understand the diverse forms and narratives of popular culture that influence our identities over time. This issue features six articles that offer a scholarly examination of contemporary popular culture studies, with topics including the cultural history of aviation at Australia’s most famous beach, theatrical reimaginings of Shakespeare via Western Australia’s ‘Bogan’ culture, and critical analyses of character and genre in television, film and true crime. The issue concludes with two book reviews of recent scholarly monographs and one film review of the recently released remake of Nosferatu (2024). Collectively, this issue underscores the importance of context in popular culture studies, with contributions spanning across the globe, highlighting the field’s broad scope and interdisciplinary nature.

This chapter discusses the depiction of the vampire in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand’s literature, film, and popular culture. It examines the unique cultural and historical context that the Antipodean Gothic provides for the postcolonial development of the vampire tradition in these regions. The chapter offers an overview of some key examples of the vampire figure in contemporary texts by Australians and New Zealanders from the page to the screen. It pays particular attention to highlight works created by Māori and Aboriginal authors, screenwriters, and filmmakers, who use the vampire narrative as a medium through which the historical horrors and ongoing traumas of European colonization can be explored. The chapter begins with an introduction to the Antipodean Gothic context and the figure of the vampire, and is then geographically divided into two sections, Vampires in Australia and Vampires in Aotearoa New Zealand, that each provides an overview of the monster in recent literature, film, and television in their respective regions. The chapter is then brought to its end by way of some concluding remarks regarding the similarities between the two nations’ depictions of the immortal undead monster.

In this editorial, the editors introduce the 12.2 volume of The Australasian Journal of Popular Culture. The dynamic and interdisciplinary nature of the field is discussed with reference to the collection of articles within the volume, highlighting the malleability of popular culture in all its transdisciplinary forms. The editors provide a summary of the seven articles included in the volume, which collectively represent diverse critical discussions of the field across sociopolitical, socioeconomic and sociocultural artistic realms. The articles examine the evolving realms of the monstrous, the mythic, the heroic and the historical through various mediums like television, film, characters and historical moments. The editors then conclude by offering a summary of the three book reviews included in the volume.

This chapter discusses the depiction of the vampire in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand’s literature, film, and popular culture. It examines the unique cultural and historical context that the Antipodean Gothic provides for the postcolonial development of the vampire tradition in these regions. The chapter offers an overview of some key examples of the vampire figure in contemporary texts by Australians and New Zealanders from the page to the screen. It pays particular attention to highlight works created by Māori and Aboriginal authors, screenwriters, and filmmakers, who use the vampire narrative as a medium through which the historical horrors and ongoing traumas of European colonization can be explored. The chapter begins with an introduction to the Antipodean Gothic context and the figure of the vampire, and is then geographically divided into two sections, Vampires in Australia and Vampires in Aotearoa New Zealand, that each provides an overview of the monster in recent literature, film, and television in their respective regions. The chapter is then brought to its end by way of some concluding remarks regarding the similarities between the two nations’ depictions of the immortal undead monster.