For most people living outside of the Gulf, Hurricane Katrina was a tragedy represented by tens of thousands of nameless faces. People waved frantically from rooftops or crowded into the Superdome, returning home only to find their houses and possessions destroyed. However, for fans of the award-winning graphic novel “A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge,” by Josh Neufeld, there are very specific names and faces attached to Katrina. Those people aren't just characters in a book either – they are real people. Five years after the hurricane, we follow up with two of them to see where their lives – and their city – are today.

This weekend marks five years since Hurricane Katrina swept through and ravaged New Orleans. Earlier in the week, we spoke about recovery efforts with the mayor of Biloxi, Mississippi, and Grammy award winning Jazz musician Terence Blanchard explained how the rich musical community in New Orleans has evolved since. Many Katrina victims are still very much in the recovery process. Five years after Hurricane Katrina there are 12,000 homeless people New Orleans. That’s double what it was before the storm.

I was checking in on a number of promos and announcements of upcoming “Katrina 5 years after” specials on networks and in print while I was away. In a sense, the destruction and horror of those days in the Gulf can’t be recreated in mere pictures. The frustration of outraged reporters screaming about FEMA inaction, the images of people stranded on roofs, the armed troops enforcing martial law, seem like disembodied moments that don’t connect. They are horrible reminders certainly, but to me, who experienced Katrina far from the disaster, they are like dots in an emptiness of memory. People who actually lived through Katrina’s devastation can probably recall their own desperate experiences more readily than I can recall those days of late August 2005. But vivid feelings do rush back.

It will be five years to the day, this Sunday, that Hurricane Katrina swept in and ravaged the Gulf Coast. All this week we'll be looking at how communities and local culture has changed since the hurricane. Mississippi recieved less attention than New Orleans, but the state was devastated when the hurricane hit. Mississippi saw over 200 dead in Katrina's wake, with over 5,000 homes destroyed and $125 billion in estimated damage.

If a picture paints a thousand words, what story is told by photographs of dilapidated buildings and abandoned factories? Photos of city ruins have been around for centuries, but they have not always been referred to as "ruin porn."  That's a phrase some criticsuse to describe recent photo journalism in Detroit. But does the term apply to art, as well as journalism?

Two disasters, two presidents, one city. Even though the Gulf oil spill hasn't directly hit New Orleans, it's hard not to think of the disaster in the context of the Hurricane that hit the same region five years ago. Historian Douglas Brinkley says its residents are in a state of "permanent stress." But, he says, he's more angry now because this disaster was man made. New Orleans is Brinkley's adopted home town and he assesses President Obama's response so far.

Hurricane season begins next week and the government’s top weather agency is predicting it may be the most intense since 2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast.

This week, thousands of book industry retailers, agents, authors, and hangers-on have been gathering in New York for the annual BookExpo America conference.

Patrik Henry Bass, senior editor of Essence magazine, is among those attending the show. And what he’s noticed is that the enormous popularity of graphic novels is continuing to grow even bigger.

He explains why graphic novels are so huge right now, and walks us through some of his favorite titles from the past year.

On Wednesday, a federal judge in New Orleans awarded approximately $750,000 to three plaintiffs who sued the Army Corps of Engineers for damages they suffered as a result of Hurricane Katrina. The ruling addresses only flooding that occurred as a result of poor maintenance of a shipping channel called the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet. And while $750,000 doesn’t sound like much money in the context of Hurricane Katrina, the legal consequences of this decision could be enormous: It paves the way for many thousands of residents to sue the government over Katrina, a move that may cost the U.S. government billions. We hear from Joseph Bruno, whose firm is also heading a series of suits involving many thousands of plaintiffs suing over levee breaches and insurance payments in the wake of Katrina. We also talk to Ann Parfaite, a resident of the lower 9th Ward, who lost her house in the hurricane, and is one of thousands of plaintiffs who’ve signed up with Mr. Bruno.