ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the relationship between graphic narratives and cultural sustainability. In appealing to a large readership graphic narratives have gained considerable cultural momentum and serve as a sounding board for contemporary anxieties. When graphic narratives deal with radioactivity and nuclear weapons, they give a voice to environmental concern. To substantiate our claim that graphic narratives have the potential to impact the so-called inner dimensions of sustainability, we take Lauren Redniss’ innovative intermedial work Radioactive – Marie & Pierre Curie. A Tale of Love and Fallout as an illustration of the cultural aspects of sustainability. After having explored the cultural dimensions and patterns of ecological sustainability, we analyse the ways in which Redniss’ images and word-image-configurations feed into the social and ecological imaginary and how they function as narrative ethics.
