Contemporary Comics conference in Copenhagen (May 21)

For more information, be sure to check out the programme at the conference website.

CONTEMPORARY COMICS

artists, current themes and contexts

A Symposium
University of Copenhagen
21 May 2010

 
This academic conference at the University of Copenhagen is presented in collaboration with Copenhagen's comics biennial, the international comics festival komiks.dk in Øksnehallen, Copenhagen, 22-23 May.

The conference presents papers from 12 international comics scholars on a diverse range of subjects in contemporaray comics, features a keynote from Canadian scholar Jacques Samson, and a special appearance by cartoonist Chris Ware (Jimmy Corrigan), in conversation with British expert on comics Paul Gravett
 
For the full programme and registration please go to:
http://contemporarycomics.ikk.ku.dk/

CFP: Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics (June 18)

Journal of

Graphic Novels and Comics

Call for Papers

The Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics is a peer reviewed journal covering all aspects of the graphic novel, comic strip and comic book, with the emphasis on comics in their cultural, institutional and creative contexts. Its scope is interdisciplinary and international, covering not only English language comics but also worldwide comic culture.  The journal reflects interdisciplinary research in comics and aims to establish a dialogue between academics, historians, theoreticians and practitioners of comics. It therefore examines comics production and consumption within the contexts of culture: art, cinema, television and new media technologies. The journal includes all forms of ‘sequential imagery’ including precursors of the comic but in the main emphasis will be on twentieth and twenty-first century examples, reflecting the increasing interest in the modern forms of the comic, its production and cultural consumption.

Contributions are invited on a wide range of comic related topics including, but not limited to: Genres (horror, romance, superheroes etc), underground/alternative comics, censorship, online comics, political and topical issues, fans and audiences (subcultures, gender, subcultural production), comics production and distribution systems.  We are also interested in the use of comics in teaching, therapy and public health.

Possible topics for future themed issues include: Gender issues (comics as male institutions,  creators, audiences, representations, women fans, women creators in small press comics), individual genres (horror, romance, superheroes, autobiography, etc), adaptations, convergence culture, key creators (Moore, Herge, Ware, Crumb, Eisner, McCay, Herriman etc) underground comix, small press and independent comics and national comic cultures (Manga, Latin America, Bande Dessinee etc).

Articles between 5000-7000 words with an abstract and biography emailed before Friday 18^th June.  Please note that copyright should be granted for any images used in the articles. Guidelines for articles can be found on the Routledge website www.tandf.co.uk/journals/rcom

If you wish to review a book then contact the Book review Editor, Rob Weiner (rob.weiner@ttu.edu).  We are interested in academic and theoretical books on comics and also certain graphic novels. If you wish to review a conference please contact the editors (see below) to discuss. 

Articles and proposals to be sent to David Huxley (D.Huxley@mmu.ac.uk) and Joan Ormrod (J.Ormrod@mmu.ac.uk) or posted to: Faculty of Art & Design, Manchester Metropolitan University, Chatham Building, Cavendish Street, Manchester, M15 6BR, UK.

Studies in Comics - Issue 1 Online

The complete contents of the first issue of Studies in Comics are now available online in PDF format. I'm not sure if this is a limited-time promotion or if the journal will always offer its content online - but in any case, hurry on over to read the inaugural issue now!

CFP - ImageTexT Special Issue: The Hernandez Brothers (11/19)

ImageTexT Special Issue:

The Hernandez Brothers

http://www.derekroyal.com/CFP-Hernandez.pdf

Guest Editors, Christopher Gonzalez and Derek Parker Royal

For nearly thirty years the Hernandez brothers (Gilbert, Jaime, and Mario) have created comics that have expanded beyond superhero and sci-fi, bringing so-called “alternative” comics to the fore. Their fictive worlds are as sprawling and complex as Faulkner’s Yoknapatawpha County, and more scholars are beginning to take a closer look at their comics, specifically Love and Rockets. In keeping with this interest, ImageTexT will devote a special issue to the works of the Hernandez Brothers. This volume will seek to explore a multitude of theoretical perspectives that may further illuminate the brothers’ oeuvre. Possible topics may include, but are not limited to:

• Their influence on other graphic novelists, alternative comics, or mainstream comics
• Representations of the Latino/a subject
• Depictions of violence and trauma in their work
• Issues of gender, the body, and the sexual subject
• The act of consuming (eating, addiction, pornography, etc.)
• The significance of the telenovela as a metaphor for reading their comics and as a possible stylistic influence
• Any aspect of the non-Love and Rockets stories, e.g., their work with larger publishers such as DC and Dark Horse
• Their uses, or deconstruction, of Magical Realism
• The growth or evolution of prominent characters (Luba, Fritzi, Hopey, Maggie, etc.)
• Their possible influences on text-only authors such as Junot Díaz
• Comics and the political subject
• Narrative theory, narration, and narrative techniques of the Hernandez Brothers
• The Hernandez Brothers’ place and/or legacy (either as individuals or collectively) in the comics medium

All essay submissions should not exceed 10,000 words, including notes. Contributors should format submissions based on the MLA Style Manual, 3rd edition, and use endnotes. Authors will be responsible for securing copyright permission for all images used.

Address all inquiries, and submit all completed manuscripts, to the guest editors at gonzalez.283@osu.edu. Please include the words “Hernandez Special Issue” in the subject heading.

Deadline for final manuscript submission is December 31, 2010.
Abstracts and queries submitted by November 19 are highly recommended.

ImageTexT is a peer-reviewed, open access journal dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of comics and related media published by the English Department at the University of Florida with support from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. For more information on ImageTexT, please visit http://www.english.ufl.edu/imagetext/.

My Haul from MoCCA 2010

I just got back from MoCCA Fest 2010, the annual comics festival from the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art in New York City. I'm too tired to write a full report right now, but I thought I'd at least post a shot of all the cool comics I picked up over the weekend. Extra-special thanks to Karen "Comics Adventures in Academia" Green for hospitality above and beyond the call, and to Dean "Man-Size" Haspiel for the ginchy Thing sketch (the money for which went to MoCCA). More soon!