CFP: The Canadian Alternative (edited collection / deadline extension to Aug 31)

CFP:

The Canadian Alternative

(edited collection)

Deadline extension: Now August 31, 2015

We have EXTENDED THE DEADLINE for a proposed edited and refereed volume on Canadian graphic novelists and cartoonists. Dominick Grace and Eric Hoffman, editors of Dave Sim: Conversations, Chester Brown: Conversations, and Seth: Conversations for the University Press of Mississippi, are editing a collection of essays provisionally titled The Canadian Alternative: Canadian Cartoonists, Comics, and Graphic Novels. We seek previously unpublished essays addressing Canadian cartoonists/comics. Our primary interest is in "alternative" cartoonists and cartooning, narrowly defined; that is, figures associated with the underground, independent, and/or ground-level comics movements. Figures of key interest might include but are not limited to

• Marc Bell
• David Boswell
• Chester Brown
• David Collier
• Julie Doucet
• Rand Holmes
• Jeff Lemire (especially his independent work)
• Bernie Mireault
• Bryan Lee O'Malley
• Dave Sim
• Seth

However, and as the inclusion of Lemire above indicates, we are also interested in papers dealing with the Canadian "alternative" more broadly-defined, whether represented by the visions of specific creators who have worked in mainstream comics (Byrne, Dan and Gene Day, Lemire, McFarlane, etc.) or by Canadian alternatives to mainstream US comics publishing (e.g. the Canadian "whites" of World War Two), the various attempts to create a Canadian market/national hero (perhaps best represented by Richard Comely and Comely Comics's Captain Canuck), and other distinctly Canadian takes on the graphic medium (e.g. Martin Vaughan-James's The Cages, or BP Nicholls's use of comics/cartooning).

Substantial essays (5,000-8,000 words) focusing on specific creators, comparing/contrasting the work of a few creators, or addressing Canadian movements in comics are welcome. Submit completed papers to Dominick Grace (dgrace2@uwo.ca) and/or Eric Hoffman (diamondjoecity@gmail.com). Inquiries/proposals are also welcome. NEW DEADLINE: AUGUST 31 2015

Though a publisher has yet to be determined, the University Press of Mississippi has expressed interest in publishing this collection.

CFP: The Canadian Alternative / essay collection (April 30)

Call for Papers

The Canadian Alternative

For a proposed edited and refereed volume on Canadian graphic novelists and cartoonists. Dominick Grace and Eric Hoffman, editors of Dave Sim: Conversations, Chester Brown: Conversations, and Seth: Conversations for the University Press of Mississippi, are editing a collection of essays provisionally titled The Canadian Alternative: Canadian Cartoonists, Comics, and Graphic Novels. We seek previously unpublished essays addressing Canadian cartoonists/comics. Our primary interest is in "alternative" cartoonists and cartooning, narrowly defined; that is, figures associated with the underground, independent, and/or ground-level comics movements.

Figures of key interest might include but are not limited to

• Marc Bell
• David Boswell
• Chester Brown
• David Collier
• Julie Doucet
• Rand Holmes
• Jeff Lemire (especially his independent work)
• Bernie Mireault
• Bryan Lee O'Malley
• Dave Sim
• Seth

However, and as the inclusion of Lemire above indicates, we are also interested in papers dealing with the Canadian "alternative" more broadly-defined, whether represented by the visions of specific creators who have worked in mainstream comics (Byrne, Dan and Gene Day, Lemire, McFarlane, etc.) or by Canadian alternatives to mainstream US comics publishing (e.g. the Canadian "whites" of World War Two), the various attempts to create a Canadian market/national hero (perhaps best represented by Richard Comely and Comely Comics's Captain Canuck), and other distinctly Canadian takes on the graphic medium (e.g. Martin Vaughan-James's The Cage, or BP Nicholls's use of comics/cartooning). Substantial essays (5,000-8,000 words) focusing on specific creators, comparing/contrasting the work of a few creators, or addressing Canadian movements in comics are welcome. Submit completed papers by April 30 2015 to Dominick Grace (dgrace2@uwo.ca) and/or Eric Hoffman (diamondjoecity@gmail.com). Inquiries/proposals are also welcome.

Though a publisher has yet to be determined, the University Press of Mississippi has expressed interest in publishing this collection.

CFP: Canadian Society for the Study of Comics 2014 / conference, Toronto (Feb. 10; May 9-11)

Call for Papers:

Canadian Society for

the Study of Comics 2014

May 9-11, 2014

The annual conference of the Canadian Society for the Study of Comics invites proposals for papers on any and all aspects of comics, graphic narrative, picture books, and textual-visual arts. Special panels are also planned on comics and education and on comics by women. The conference will be held in collaboration with the Toronto Comics Arts Festival, a major international exhibition of independent comics artists and small publishers partnered with the Toronto Reference Library, May 9-11, 2014. Proposals from academics and independent scholars in all fields are welcome.

Please submit a proposed paper title and 200 word abstract, along with a brief 30-50 word biography and contact information, to gw12@queensu.ca by February 10, 2014.

Appel à communications :
Société canadienne pour

l’étude de la bande dessinée 2014

La conférence annuelle de la Société canadienne pour l’étude de la bande dessinée invite les candidats à soumettre des propositions qui portent sur n’importe quel aspect de la bande dessinée, du récit graphique, du livre d’images et des arts visuels textuels. Des panels spéciaux sont également prévus sur la bande dessinée et l’éducation ainsi que sur la BD au féminin. La conférence se tiendra en collaboration avec le Festival des arts de la bande dessinée de Toronto, une importante exposition internationale à laquelle participeront des artistes indépendants de la bande dessinée ainsi que de petits éditeurs en partenariat avec la Bibliothèque de référence de Toronto (Toronto Reference Library), du 9 au 11 mai 2014. Des propositions d’universitaires et de chercheurs indépendants dans tous les domaines sont les bienvenues.

Veuillez, s’il vous plaît, soumettre un titre proposé pour la communication et un résumé de 200 mots, accompagnés d’une courte biographie de 30 à 50 mots et vos coordonnées au plus tard le 10 février 2014, à l’adresse suivante : gw12@queensu.ca.

CFP: Comics and the Multimodal World [Comics Grid] (Douglas College, Canada) (Jan. 15; June 13-16)

Call For Papers:

Graphixia and Comics Grid
Spring Conference 2013:

Comics and the Multimodal World
13-16 June 2013, Douglas College
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Deadline for proposals: 15 January 2013

This conference is a collaborative, multidisciplinary exploration and celebration of sequential art, multimodal narrative, and comics. We welcome submissions on any of the following themes:
 

Comics and Internationalism

• How can comics overcome the limitations of language by promoting an international language of the image?

Comics and Digital Culture

• What are the linkages between comics scholarship and the digital humanities? 
• Why are these linkages so prevalent?

Multimodal narrative and First Nations/Aboriginal Cultures

• What is the relationship between image and story in First Nations culture, and how does that relationship connect with other modes of graphic storytelling?

Comics, Information Design, and Skill Development

• How can we use comics to teach document use, visual culture, and new literacies?

As the themes suggest, the conference aims to attract scholars from a diverse set of disciplines who are interested in further defining this burgeoning academic area and linking it to other fields.

The conference will be international in scope: we will attract scholars from as many places in the world as possible. To this end, we will put out a far-reaching call for papers and announce the conference is as many ways as possible.

The conference will encourage student participation by including student-oriented sessions, workshops and/or seminars and “teach-ins” with experts in the field. The conference steering committee will investigate ways of making it as easy and desirable as possible for students to attend.

In addition to being an academic event, the conference will also be a cultural and community event, featuring a festival of sequential art alongside its academic forums, encouraging the participation of emerging local artists, comics practitioners, and book sellers.

While the conference will be centred at the New Westminster campus of Douglas College, we would like to involve other local venues, the Quay for example, in the event. Local schools and libraries may also participate. The conference will be an opportunity for Douglas College to assert itself as a community and cultural hub.

New Westminster, known as the Royal City, is a part of Metropolitan Vancouver, the third most populous urban region in Canada. Vancouver is known for its livability and for its beautiful geography: it is on the Pacific Ocean and ringed by mountains. The city is also famous as a “foodie” city, hosting notable high-end restaurants as well as more casual fare.

Douglas College is connected to the downtown core of Vancouver by the Skytrain rapid transit system. The journey takes 25 minutes.

While the conference is in session, though not connected with it, the Vancouver Art Gallery will be hosting Art Spiegelman Co-Mix: A Retrospective of Comics, Graphics, and Scraps.

For further information or clarifications, please e-mail Graphixia2013@gmail.com.
 
To submit a proposal, complete the proposal form and submit not later than 15 January 2013.

This message was originally published by Peter Wilkins on the Comics Grid (4 October 2012).
http://www.comicsgrid.com/2012/10/graphixia-comicsgrid-conference-2013/

CFP: 2013 Academic Conference on Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy [Toronto, Ontario] (Feb. 15; June 7-8)

Call for Papers

2013 Academic Conference on

Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy

Merril Collection of Science Fiction,

Speculation and Fantasy

Toronto, Ontario

June 7-8, 2013 

The 2013 Academic Conference on Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy will be held on Friday, June 7, and Saturday, June 8, 2013, in Toronto, Ontario, at the Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation and Fantasy, one of the world’s most important collections of fantastic literature.

We invite proposals for papers in any area of Canadian science fiction and fantasy, including:

• studies of individual works and authors;
• comparative studies;
• studies that place works in their literary and/or cultural contexts.

Papers may be about works in any medium: literature, film, graphic novels and comic books, and so on.  For studies of the audio-visual media, preference will be given to discussions of works produced in Canada or involving substantial Canadian creative contributions.

Papers should be no more than 20 minutes long, and geared toward a general as well as academic audience.  Please submit proposals (max. 500 words), preferably via email, to:

Dr. Allan Weiss

aweiss@yorku.ca

Department of English

York University

4700 Keele St.

Toronto, ON  M3J 1P3

Deadline: February 15, 2013

CFP: Vancouver Comics Studies Workshop at Fan Expo (Nov. 30; Apr. 19-20)

Call for Participation:

Vancouver Comic Studies Workshop
at Fan Expo

We are seeking participants for four roundtable discussions to be held at Fan Expo Vancouver on Saturday, April 20, 2013. These sessions are an opportunity to share expertise with interested members of the general public. Participation will involve brief remarks(5–10 minutes), followed by moderated discussion and questions from the audience. The selection process will prioritize a diverse set of perspectives and voices and demonstrated ability to present to lay audiences.

The Vancouver Comic Studies Workshop at Fan Expo is a new series of public engagement and knowledge mobilization events held around Fan Expo Vancouver. Contributing scholars will also be invited to participate in a one-day workshop on Friday, April 19 for the purposes of developing works-in-progress (not neccessarily related to roundtable topics) for publication with peers.

Roundtable session themes follow:

1. What's so Super About Comics?
   Comic conventions have become premiere events for studios and celebrities to generate buzz for upcoming blockbuster movies and TV shows, many of which started life on the comics page. Many have taken this as a sign of comics' growing cultural influence, but is a superhero movie necessarily a comic-book movie or have these characters taken on a life of their own? What is comics' niche in the evolving ecology of pop culture, and what are the consequences of the industry's increasing integration into Big Entertainment for comic readers and fans?
2. The Superman Exists, and He's Canadian
   Superman's Canadian origins have been attested to by a Historica Heritage Minute and a postage stamp, and co-creator Joe Schuster has lent his name to an annual award for Canadian comics. Since then, Calgary and Vancouver have doubled as Metropolis in film and TV adaptations, and notable Canadian creators such as John Byrne and Stuart Immonen have chronicled his struggle for truth, justice, and the Canadian American way. But what makes Superman – or any Canadian comic, for that matter – meaningfully “Canadian”?
3. Graphic Novels and Art's Work
   Art Spiegelman won his special Pulitzer Prize in 1992. Not only did Maus – and its Pulitzer – help promote the idea of serious stories being told in comics, but Spiegelman lent his weight to the effort to get “comics and graphic novels” adopted as a subject heading in the book industry. Although he hasn't produced a major new work sinceMaus, Spiegelman casts a long shadow over the last twenty years of comics history, and he is the subject of a major retrospective exhibition that will make its way to Vancouver in 2013. In reviewing his legacy, has the vision of the graphic novel as a legitimate art form been achieved, or is the term just a marketing strategy? What have comics gained or loss in this process?
4. The Meaning of Mainstream
   There used to be a clear distinction between mainstream and independent, alternative or undeground comics/comix. The former label embraced superhero stories produced by the Big Two publishers, and the latter set of terms described everything else. Today, creators move back and forth between work-for-hire and creator-owned projects, many “independent” publishers produce comics that are stylistically similar to those of Marvel and DC, and webcomics and graphic novels have carved out spaces that can't be easily captured by the mainstream/alternative binary. How useful are these terms now? Do they still describe meaningful differences in genre or production model? And where do concerns for creators' rights fit in the status quo of comic-book publishing?

To apply, please indicate which panel you would like to be considered for and submit a brief summary of your position/argument (250 words or less) and current CV to Dr. Benjamin Woo (bmw@benjaminwoo.net) by November 30, 2012.

CFP: Canadian Graphic Life Narratives (essay collection; October 15)

Call For Papers

Canadian Graphic Life Narratives

A collection of essays edited by

Candida Rifkind and Linda Warley

Canadian comics authors have been at the forefront of the international boom in book-length comics, particularly the forms of life writing increasingly known as "autographics" (a term coined by Gillian Whitlock and Anna Poletti). From biography to autobiography (real and fictionalized), memoir, family portrait, oral history, diary, confession, travel writing, and the sketch, over the past two decades a diverse group of Canadian cartoonists has experimented with visual and verbal forms to tell all kinds of personal life stories in sequential comics.

This volume of essays will be the first definitive collection in Canadian life writing studies that considers some of the following questions: why are Canadian cartoonists producing so many works that could be analyzed as life writing? What is the relationship between visual representation and verbal narrative? What relations are there between Canadian graphic life narratives and international texts that have garnered more popular and academic attention (eg. Spiegelman’s Maus, Satrapi’s Persepolis, Bechdel’s Fun Home)? What can studies of Canadian life writing comics tell us about larger questions, such as identity, history, nation, memory? How do life narratives intersect with or depart from other discursive constructions of Canadian "selves"? Where is the line between "real" and "fictionalized" lives?

We invite contributions on any aspect of life writing in Canadian comics. Topics may include, but are not limited to:

• authority and authenticity
• intergenerational narratives
• history, memory, inheritance
• the Bildungsroman and Kunstlerroman
• international influences and border-crossings
• Aboriginal and Métis graphic life writing
• gender, sexuality, bodies
• ethnicity, race, nationality
• space and place
• celebrity, fame, infamy
• community, collective, collaborative life narratives
• magical realism, anti-realism, surrealism, fantasy
• life writing comics and youth cultures
• visual experiments and innovations
• Canadian comics publishing and print culture

Cartoonists may include, but are not limited to: Seth, Joe Matt, Chester Brown, Julie Doucet, David Collier, Guy Delisle, Michel Rabagliati, Bernice Eisenstein, Ann-Marie Fleming, Ho Che Anderson, Diane Obomsawin, Jeff Lemire, Pascal Girard, Scott Chantler, Jillian Tamaki, Michael Cho, Line Gamache, Dave Lapp, and Philippe Gerard.

Please send a 500-word proposal and a short biographical note as a Word attachment to both editors by October 15, 2012.

Completed essays of 6,000-8,000 words (MLA style) will be due on March 1, 2013.

Dr. Candida Rifkind,  University of Winnipeg, c.rifkind@uwinnipeg.ca
Dr. Linda Warley, University of Waterloo, lwarley@uwaterloo.ca

CFP - 3rd annual New Narrative conference: Narrative arts and visual media (March 31; May 6-7)

3rd annual New Narrative conference:
Narrative arts and visual media
An interdisciplinary conference
at the University of Toronto
6-7 May 2010

In keeping with the spirit of sequels, we are again soliciting papers on a wide range of graphic novels, comic art, and related visual media. Comics, whether in the form of novelistic illustrations, newspaper serials, animated films, film adaptations, graphic novels, or sequential art narratives, have been with us since the rise of literature itself, yet until recently such media have never been considered "serious" - or at least, serious enough to be considered novels that might be on university syllabi. But are illustrated novels and live action films really about the pictures and not the narrative? How can the history of the form be reconciled with consumer culture and the ill-defined categories of "high" and "low" culture?

Papers which examine and interpret these narratives in interdisciplinary forms are most welcome. Essays on novelistic illustrations, newspaper serials, animated films, film adaptations, graphic novels, or sequential art narratives may consider the following (incomplete) list:

• graphic novels and auto/biography
• illustrated and multi-media works
• web design and on-line comix
• film adaptations of comics
• series; engravings and caricatures
• the Comics Code Authority
• the "invention" of manga
• geopolitics/war and the graphic novel
• bande desinée & European comix
• early comics & comic history
• illustrations in (literary) novels
• woodcut and "silent" artists

Proposals should be 400-500 words and must clearly indicate significance, the line of argument, principal texts considered, and relation to existing scholarship (or originality). One email copy of the proposal, and a 50 word bio note must be included, as an attachment in MS Word.

Deadline for proposals is 31 March 2010 (responses by 08 April 2010)

Jeff Parker, Assistant Professor, and/or Dr Andrew Lesk
Department of English, University of Toronto
E-mail: andrew.lesk@utoronto.ca

See also http://andrewlesk.com/conferences.html

This Conference will take place just before the Toronto Comics Arts Festival on May 8 and 9. (See Torontocomics.com)

CFP: Popular Print Culture (University of Alberta, 27-30 August 2008)

Doesn't mention comics, but definitely of interest. Also, see the website for "Wanted: Local Comics Book Artists!"

Call for Papers and Presentations
Continuities and Innovations:
Popular Print Cultures -- Past and Present, Local and Global
University of Alberta Edmonton
Alberta, Canada 27-30 August 2008

Papers and presentations are invited for any aspect of the conference theme. Proposals should be 200 to 300 words in length and clearly state the central theme or argument, the kind of popular print or related media to be considered, and its social and cultural location in time and place.

Please indicate any equipment requirements (data projector; conference computer; overhead projector; video or dvd player; audio player, etc). A brief resumé should accompany each proposal, stating the proposer’s name, address, contact information, and relevant academic, professional, or personal background and knowledge of form of popular print culture discussed.

Send proposals and resumés by email as pasted-in documents or attachments in an up-to-date format to: popprint [at] ualberta.ca. Or mail hard copies to:

Popprint
Kirsten MacLeod
Department of English and Film Studies
University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada T6G 2E5

Questions to either address.

Deadline for proposals is 30 May 2008. But space on the program is limited, and proposals will be considered on a first-come, first-accommodated basis.

This conference and popular arts festival consider what most people read, here and elsewhere, now and in the past. Popular print characteristically includes both words and images, and is intertwined with music and performance. In these forms it has been and continues to be one of the most powerful cultural forces in history, morphing into new media and new technologies, from the phonograph record through radio, film, and television to video games and the internet.

Popular print culture is now a global phenomenon, with striking similarities in what most people read, anywhere. Yet there are also striking local differences, inflections, and variations in what most people read, here or elsewhere. "“Continuities and Innovations"” will bring together all those interested in popular print culture--readers and writers, publishers and fans, librarians and collectors, teachers and students, and of course researchers in many academic disciplines.

Proposals are invited from all of these groups, directly addressing the conference theme, or taking up any aspect of “"Popular Print Cultures, Past and Present, Local and Global."” Topics can include relations between popular print and other media, between popular and “"high”" literatures, between words and images, between words and music, between past and present forms, and so on. Presentations may be from writers, readers, publishers, teachers, students, distributors, sellers, librarians, illustrators, opponents, promoters, adapters to other media, fans, collectors, et al. Papers and presentations can be on any relevant topic— -- reading popular print and creating it, writing it and illustrating it, publishing it and selling it, counteracting it or transforming it, adapting it and influencing it, censoring it and living it, and more. Participants may consider popular print and politics, religion, sexuality, class, ethnicity, “"race,"” nationality, or any
other theme.

Google "“Edmonton Alberta"” and "“University of Alberta”" for information on the venue. Program and other information, including travel and accommodation details, regularly updated, will be available on the conference website: www.arts.ualberta.ca/popprint

CFP: Popular Print Cultures Past and Present, Local and Global (U of Alberta, Aug 26-31, 2008)

Posted on behalf of conference organizer Kirsten MacLeod. Please direct any questions to her.

Call for Papers and Presentations
Continuities and Innovations:
Popular Print Cultures Past and Present, Local and Global
University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
26 to 31 August 2008
Papers and presentations are invited for any aspect of the conference theme. Proposals should be 200 to 300 words in length and clearly state the central theme or argument, the kind of popular print or related media to be considered, and its social and cultural location in time and place. Please indicate any equipment requirements (data projector; conference computer; overhead projector; video or dvd player; audio player, etc). A brief résumé should accompany each proposal, stating the proposer s name, address, contact information, and relevant academic, professional, or personal background and knowledge of form of popular print culture discussed.

Send proposals and résumés by email as pasted-in documents or attachments in an up-to-date format to: popprint [@] ualberta.ca. Or mail hard copies to: Popprint, Kirsten MacLeod, Department of English and Film Studies, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2E5. Questions to either address. Deadline for proposals is 30 May 2008. But space on the program is limited, and proposals will be considered on a first-come, first-accommodated basis.

This conference and creative arts program consider what most people read, here and elsewhere, now and in the past. Popular print characteristically includes both words and images, and is intertwined with music and performance. In these forms it has been and continues to be one of the most powerful cultural forces in history, morphing into new media and new technologies, from the phonograph record through radio, film, and television to video games and the internet. Popular print culture is now a global phenomenon, with striking similarities in what most people read, anywhere. Yet there are also striking local differences, inflections, and variations in what most people read, here or elsewhere.

Continuities and Innovations will bring together all those interested in popular print culture--readers and writers, publishers and fans, librarians and collectors, teachers and students, and of course researchers in many academic disciplines. Proposals are invited from all of these groups, directly addressing the conference theme, or taking up any aspect of "Popular Print Cultures, Past and Present, Local and Global." Topics can include relations between popular print and other media, between popular and high literatures, between words and images, between words and music, between past and present forms, and so on. Presentations may be from writers, readers, publishers, teachers, students, distributors, sellers, librarians, illustrators, opponents, promoters, adapters to other media, fans, collectors, et al. Papers and presentations can be on any relevant topic reading popular print and creating it, writing it and illustrating it, publishing it and selling it, counteracting it or transforming it, adapting it and influencing it, censoring it and living it, and more. Participants may consider popular print and politics, religion, sexuality, class, ethnicity, race, nationality, or any other theme.

Google "Edmonton Alberta" and "University of Alberta" for information on the venue. Program and other information, including travel and accommodation details, regularly updated, will be available on the conference website: www.ualberta.ca/popprint

Canada's "Conceptual Comics" & "Comic Craze"

The Canadian city Banff, in Alberta, sounds like a must-see destination for comics connoisseurs this summer - specifically, the exhibits and programming at the Banff Center's Walter Phillips Gallery.

First up: Conceptual Comics (April 27 - August 3), "a survey of over 50 books drawn from the inventory of Printed Matter, Inc., the artists' bookstore located in New York City." Consisting of artist's books that employ comics conventions, this one should be of interest to anyone interested in the formal aspects of comic art, particularly OuBaPo fans (en français ), as well as to book arts aficionados. Curator's tour Thursday, May 4, 7:00 p.m.

The other exhibit, "Comic Craze" (May 4 - September 3) focuses on French- and English-language comics from across Canada. Cartoonists include, among others, Marc Bell, Rupert Bottenberg, Shary Boyle, Chester Brown, Geneviève Castrée, David Collier, Rebecca Dart, Jeff Lemire, Billy Mavreas, Marc Ngui, Joe Ollman, Michel Rabagliati, Seth, Rick Trembles, and Maurice Vellekoop. This one appears to be pretty large, and conducive to reading, not just looking at, some great work:

For this exhibition, the Gallery is being transformed into a reading space. A black and white woodland forest, filled with luminous snails and hundreds of comic books, 'zines, and mini-comics accessible for on-site reading, is the stage for a unique experience in appreciating the visual and literary pleasure of reading comics.

Curator'’s Tour May 8, 6:00 p.m.; Opening Reception May 20, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.; Exhibition Tour July 7, 7:30 p.m.

In conjunction with this exhibit, the Banff Centre will host the Comic Craze Symposium from May 4 - May 6. The list of featured speakers includes artists, scholars, curators, publishers, and fans, so it promises to offer wide-ranging appeal. One particularly interesting feature, given the recents (and welcome!) spate of comics gallery exhibits, is a session on "Curating Comics," designed to "provide an opportunity to discuss and debate the strategies that are currently used to represent this field of visual culture."

Unless someone has some airfare to spare, we'd appreciate any and all visitor's reports on these events.

Above: "Between Gentlemen" (excerpt), Rupert Bottenberg, 2003. Extra-special mega-thanks to The Queen of Everything for letting me know about these shows!