CFP: The Comics World (essay collection) / Dec. 15

The Comics World:

Comics, Graphic Novels, and Their Publics

Call for Chapters

Benjamin Woo and Jeremy Stoll, eds.

In Comics versus Art, Bart Beaty introduces the notion of the comics world to describe the field of cultural production that is oriented to comics and comic art. Beaty is drawing on institutional approaches in the sociology of art that take all the actors involved in producing a work – not only the “artists” themselves but also curators, agents, dealers, critics, technical support staff, makers of specialized equipment or supplies, and various audiences – as their object of analysis. In this volume, we understand the comics world, by extension, as a set of interacting communities that condition the production, mediation, and consumption of comics and graphic novels. All these publics – in their differentiated but shared orientation to comics – make the comics world go round.

The comics world is a social space, and it needs to be approached in those terms. With this volume, we seek to provide an accessible introduction to social-scientific approaches to comics and graphic novels while simultaneously filling in the social, cultural, and institutional contexts of comics’ production and circulation with respect to particular communities of people engaged in comics-oriented practices.

We welcome contributions from a range of disciplinary perspectives and methodologies seeking to make sense of the people and practices oriented to comics. Proposals may include, but are not limited to, the following topics:

• Creator communities (defined in terms of occupational role, publishing sector, gender, race/ethnicity, nationality, etc.)
• Business, production and other support staff
• Teachers and students
• Distributors, retailers, critics, and other cultural intermediaries
• Conventions, their organizers and participants
• Audiences and fandoms
• Relations of affiliation or conflict between any of these communities

The editors have received an expression of interest from a university press with a well- established list in comics studies.

Please submit an abstract of 500–800 words to Benjamin Woo (benjamin.woo@carleton.ca) by December 15, 2014. Abstracts should clearly outline the scope of the argument and describe the nature of the research undergirding this analysis. Final chapters will be between 7,000 and 8,000 words. Submitters will be notified of acceptance by January 15.

CFP: Comic Continuations and Adaptations / collection (Sept. 1)

As posted on H-Net

Call for Papers:

Comic Continuations

and Adaptations

Although multi-media tie-ins to television series are not a new phenomenon, there has recently been an upswing in the number of continuations and adaptations in comic book form of science-fiction and fantasy television shows. Joss Whedon, for example, has authored and authorized graphic novels continuing Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly. The Sci-Fi channel’s Farscape has a series continuation beginning just after the end of the mini-series The Peacekeeper Wars. The CW’s Smallville has similarly moved to comic books, picking up where the series ended. Patricia Briggs’ popular urban fantasy novel series featuring Mercy Thompson is augmented by the graphic novel Mercy Thompson: Homecoming (2009).

We invite submissions on comic-book and graphic-novel continuations and adaptations of works in other genres, particularly television, film, and novel, for a multi-contributor essay collection.

The following categories suggest possibilities but are by no means exhaustive:

• Fandom and/or Reception
• Transformation and/or Adaptation
• Visual media
• Televisual vs. Print Media
• Gender
• Race
• Sexuality
• Romance
• Desire
• Domesticity
• Power
• Monstrosity
• Hybridity
• Heroism
• Villainy
• Memory

What to Send:

300 - 500 word abstracts (or complete articles, if available) and CVs should be submitted by September 1, 2013. If an abstract is accepted for the collection, a full draft of the essay (5000 – 8000 words) will be required by March 1, 2013. Please include "Comic Continuations: Submission" in the subject line.

Abstracts and final articles should be submitted to:
Margo Collins: m.bond-collins@snhu.edu
Nadine Farghaly: nadine.farghaly@gmx.net

CFP: Science Fiction Media (Oct. 5; Apr. 10-14)

Note the explicit suggestion of "SF Comics and Manga"...

Call for Papers

April 10-14, 2013

Riverside, CA

Science Fiction Media

This conference—cosponsored by the Eaton Collection of Science Fiction and Fantasy (UC Riverside) and the Science Fiction Research Association—will examine science fiction in multiple media. The past several decades have witnessed an explosion in SF texts across the media landscape, from film and TV to comics and digital games. We are interested in papers that explore SF as a multimedia phenomenon, whether focusing on popular mass media, such as Hollywood blockbusters, or on niche and subcultural forms of expression, such as MUDs and vidding. We invite paper and panel proposals that focus on all forms of SF, including prose fiction, and that address (but are not limited to) the following topics:

• Mainstream Hollywood vs. Global SF Cinema
• SF Comics and Manga
• SF Anime and Animation
• SF on the Internet and the World Wide Web
• Multimedia “dispersed” SF narratives
• Fandom, Cosplay, Mashups, and Remixing
• Broadcast and Cable SF Television
• SF Videogames
• World’s Fairs, Theme Parks, and other “Material” SF Media
• Short-form SF film
• Afrofuturism
• SF and/in Music
• SF Idiom and Imagery in Advertising
• Webisodes and TV Games
• SF Art and Illustration

Abstracts of 500 words (for papers of 20-minutes in length) should be submitted by October 5, 2012. We also welcome panel proposals gathering three papers on a cohesive topic. 

Send electronic submissions to conference co-chair Melissa Conway at <Melissa.Conway@ucr.edu<mailto:Conway@Melissa.Conway@ucr.edu>> with the subject heading: EATON/SFRA CONFERENCE PROPOSAL. Please include a brief bio with your abstract and indicate whether your presentation would require A/V.

To insure that your proposal will receive consideration, please follow these instructions carefully:

1. Send your proposal in a separate WORD file. Proposals pasted into e-mail windows will be returned to the sender for resubmission. The file should be saved  as follows: Last name, first initial. 2013  (e.g, Doe, J. 2013).
2. Include your name and e-mail in the top left-hand corner of your WORD file.  The organizers need this information to correspond with you.
3. Send your 100-word biographical statemen as a separate WORD file.  Save the file as" Doe, J. BIO."
4. Use the subject line: Eaton/SFRA Conference Proposal. This helps the organizers to sort and search for proposals. Files without this subject line may be overlooked inadvertently.

For more information on the conference, including travel and accommodations, see http://eatonconference.ucr.edu/ 

CFP: Appropriating, Interpreting, and Transforming Comic Books

FYI.

Transformative Works and Cultures (TWC) will publish a special issue devoted to comics and comic fandom in 2013. TWC seeks theoretically informed essays that explore how dedicated fans as well as the broader public have appropriated, interpreted, re-invented and transformed comic books and comic book characters to define visions of themselves, their groups, and their relation to broader society, both national and global. The deadline for submission is 1 April 2012.

Transformative Works and Cultures (TWC) is a Gold Open Access international peer-reviewed journal published by the Organization for Transformative Works that publishes articles about popular media, fan communities, and transformative works, broadly conceived. TWC's aim is twofold: to provide a publishing outlet that welcomes fan-related topics, and to promote dialogue between the academic community and the fan community.

For the full CFP, visit the website at
http://journal.transformativeworks.org/index.php/twc/announcement/view/20

CFP - For Love of the Fandom (June 1; Nov. 11-14)

Note the imminent deadline.

Call for Papers

“For Love of the Fans:

Fandom, Comics and Film Adaptations”

2010 Film & History Conference:

Representations of Love in Film and Television

November 11-14, 2010

Hyatt Regency Milwaukee

www.uwosh.edu/filmandhistory

Final Deadline: June 1, 2010

AREA: For Love of the Fans: Fandom, Comics and Adaptations

Since comic books began featuring letters to the editor in each issue, fan culture has been a pivotal and clear presence in comics.  This presence and investment became even more potent as fandom culture began to reside in physical settings such as comic book shops and conventions.  Fandom culture has become more present and powerful in the Internet age and while they were once solely the butt-end of jokes, they now garner the attention of producers, directors, and writers.  Their love and investment in comics are now considered important by creators in generating promotion and excitement for films.  Unlike the previous 50 years of comic adaptations, the last 20 years have seen significant efforts by producers to tie into fan expectations from as far back as the X-Men and Batman cartoon series of the 1990s up through the latest superhero-blockbuster. 

This area welcomes multiple papers and panels that consider the following questions about comic fandom and television/film adaptation as well as additional topics in this vein:

• How have studios used the fanbase to encourage or promote comic adaptations such as Watchmen?
• In what ways have studios and directors relied on the fanbase to determine the direction of sequels or future seasons with regards to plot, villains, and character development in such franchises as X-Men, Spider-Man, Batman, Superman (including Smallville), Fantastic Four and the like?
• What roles have the fans played in comic-film reboots such as Batman, Superman, the Incredible Hulk, the Punisher, and the supposedly forthcoming reboot of Fantastic Four franchise?
• Does the role of same-universe strategies being explored by Marvel Comics with its release of Iron Man and the reboot of Incredible Hulk operate as a means to attracting fans?
• In what ways have comic forums, such as Wizard Magazine or Comic Book Resources played in influencing the casting of particular actors and actresses for certain roles?
• What’s to be made of the increasing and dominant presence of film studios at “comic events” such as San Diego’s ComicCon?
• What role do famous fans (Kevin Smith, Nicholas Cage, et al) have in the construction of or success of comic book adaptations? 
• How do films target “in-crowd” moments for fans such as Stan Lee cameos in Marvel films or self-reflective comments about comics and superheroes by superhero films?
• How has film and television represented comic fandom from the Simpsons’ Comic Book Guy to movies such as Fanboys, Comic Book Villains, and Chasing Amy or Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back?

Please send your 200-word proposal by e-mail to the area chair:

Lance Eaton, Area Chair

Emerson College

Institute for Liberal Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies

120 Boylston St.

Boston, MA  02116

Email: Lance_Eaton@emerson.edu (email submissions preferred)

Panel proposals for up to four presenters are also welcome, but each presenter must submit his or her own paper proposal. For updates and registration information about the upcoming meeting, see the Film & History website (www.uwosh.edu/filmandhistory).

CFP: For Love of the Fans: Fandom, Comics and Film Adaptations (Nov. 1; Nov. 11-14, 2010)

Call for Papers
For Love of the Fans:
Fandom, Comics and Film Adaptations
2010 Film & History Conference:
Representations of Love in Film and Television
November 11-14, 2010
Hyatt Regency Milwaukee
www.uwosh.edu/filmandhistory
Second Round Deadline: November 1, 2009

AREA: For Love of the Fans: Fandom, Comics and Adaptations

Since comic books began featuring letters to the editor in each issue, fan culture has been a pivotal and clear presence in comics. This presence and investment became even more potent as fandom culture began to reside in physical settings such as comic book shops and conventions. Fandom culture has become more present and powerful in the Internet age and while they were once solely the butt-end of jokes, they now garner the attention of producers, directors, and writers. Their love and investment in comics are now considered important by creators in generating promotion and excitement for films. Unlike the previous 50 years of comic adaptations, the last 20 years have seen significant efforts by producers to tie into fan expectations from as far back as the X-Men and Batman cartoon series of the 1990s up through the latest superhero-blockbuster.

This area welcomes multiple papers and panels that consider the following questions about comic fandom and television/film adaptation as well as additional topics in this vein:

• How have studios used the fanbase to encourage or promote comic adaptations such as Watchmen?
• In what ways have studios and directors relied on the fanbase to determine the direction of sequels or future seasons with regards to plot, villains, and character development in such franchises as X-Men, Spider-Man, Batman, Superman (including Smallville), Fantastic Four and the like?
• What roles have the fans played in comic-film reboots such as Batman, Superman, the Incredible Hulk, the Punisher, and the supposedly forthcoming reboot of Fantastic Four franchise?
• Does the role of same-universe strategies being explored by Marvel Comics with its release of Iron Man and the reboot of Incredible Hulk operate as a means to attracting fans?
• In what ways have comic forums, such as Wizard Magazine or Comic Book Resources played in influencing the casting of particular actors and actresses for certain roles?
• What’s to be made of the increasing and dominant presence of film studios at “comic events” such as San Diego’s ComicCon?
• What role do famous fans (Kevin Smith, Nicholas Cage, et al) have in the construction of or success of comic book adaptations?
• How do films target “in-crowd” moments for fans such as Stan Lee cameos in Marvel films or self-reflective comments about comics and superheroes by superhero films?
• How has film and television represented comic fandom from the Simpsons’ Comic Book Guy to movies such as Fanboys, Comic Book Villains, and Chasing Amy or Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back?

Please send your 200-word proposal via e-mail by November 1 to the area chair:

Lance Eaton, Area Chair
Emerson College
Institute for Liberal Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies
120 Boylston St.
Boston, MA 02116
Email: Lance_Eaton@emerson.edu (email submissions preferred)

Panel proposals for up to four presenters are also welcome, but each presenter must submit his or her own paper proposal. For updates and registration information about the upcoming meeting, see the Film & History website: www.uwosh.edu/filmandhistory

CFP: Desiring the Text, Touching the Past: Towards An Erotics of Reception (Bristoll UK: Nov. 30; July 10)

Note that this CFP specifically addresses those working on visual texts and those working on fan culture. I think papers on comics would fit in well here...

Call for Papers

Desiring the Text, Touching the Past:
Towards An Erotics of Reception

A one-day conference co-organized by
the Bristol Institute of Greece, Rome and the Classical Tradition
& the Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Toronto

University of Bristol, 10 July 2010

Keynote Speaker:
Professor Carolyn Dinshaw, NYU

In reading Cicero’s letters I felt charmed and offended in equal measure. Indeed, beside myself, in a fit of anger I wrote to him as if he were a friend and contemporary of mine, forgetting, as it were, the gap of time, with a familiarity appropriate to my intimate acquaintance with his thought; and I pointed out those things he had written that had offended me.
(Petrarch, Rerum Familiarum Liber I.1.42)

Love, desire, fannish obsession and emotional identification as modes of engaging with texts, characters and authors are often framed as illegitimate and transgressive: excessive, subjective, lacking in scholarly rigour. Yet such modes of relating to texts and pasts persist, across widely different historical periods and cultural contexts. Many classical and medieval authors recount embodied and highly emotional encounters with religious, fictional or historical characters, while modern and postmodern practices of reception and reading – from high art to the subcultural practices of media fandom – are characterized by desire in all its ambivalent complexity. Theories of readership and reception, however, sometimes seem unable to move beyond an antagonistic model: cultural studies sees resistant audiences struggling to gain control of or to overwrite an ideologically loaded text, while literary models of reception have young poets fighting to assert their poetic autonomy vis-à-vis the paternal authority of their literary ancestors.

This conference aims, by contrast, to begin to elaborate a theory of the erotics of reception. It will bring together scholars working in and across various disciplines to share research into reading, writing and viewing practices characterized by love, identification, and desire: we hope that it will lead to the establishment of an international research network and the formulation of some long-term research projects. In order to facilitate discussion at the conference, we will ask participants to circulate full papers (around 5,000 words) in May 2010.

We now invite abstracts of 300 words, to be submitted by email by 30 November 2009. Abstracts will be assessed on the basis of their theoretical and interdisciplinary interest. We particularly welcome contributions from scholars working on literary, visual and performance texts in the fields of: history, reception studies, mediaeval studies, fan studies, cultural studies, theology, and literary/critical theory.

Some ideas which might be addressed include, but are not limited to:

• Writing oneself into the text: self-insertion and empathetic identification
• Historical desire: does the historian desire the past?
• Hermeneutics and erotics
• Pleasures of the text, pleasures of the body: (how) are embodied responses to the text gendered?
• Anachronistic reading: does desire disturb chronology?
• Erotics and/or eristics: love-hate relationships with texts

This conference is part of the ‘Thinking Reciprocity’ series and will follow directly from the conference ‘Reception and the Gift of Beauty’ (Bristol, 8-9 July 2010). Reduced fees will be offered to people attending both conferences.

If you have any queries, or to submit an abstract, please contact one of the conference organizers:
Dr Ika Willis (Ika.Willis@bristol.ac.uk);
Anna Wilson (anna.wilson@utoronto.ca).

New Journal: Transformative Works and Cultures

The first issue of the new (peer-reviewed!) fan studies journal Transformative Works and Cultures was launched yesterday. From the press release:

This open-access online multimedia fan studies journal publishes scholarly essays, personal essays, and book reviews. TWC is published under the umbrella of the nonprofit fan advocacy group Organization for Transformative Works, and although its audience will primarily be acafans (academic fans), its scope ranges widely with the aim of providing a forum for fannish voices, academic or not.

"One important aspect of the journal is its open-access nature," Karen Hellekson, coeditor of TWC, commented. "It will be available for anyone to read, without any subscription restrictions. Plus it's online, so the articles can use hotlinks and embed videos. It's really time to move beyond the print model, so it's exciting that we're able to do that." She points to Francesca Coppa's essay, "Women, Star Trek, and the Early Development of Fannish Vidding," as an example of an essay that uses embedded media. "It's got screen caps from fan vids, plus embedded links to video, all to support her argument. It really explores the range of what multimedia has to offer." The issue also contains an audio feature, presented by Bob Rehak, with two downloadable recordings of a discussion held at the 2008 Console-ing Passions academic conference.

While the journal isn't focused solely or even primarily on comics, the first issue contains Madeline Ashby's "Ownership, Authority, and the Body: Does Antifanfic Sentiment Reflect Posthuman Anxiety?" It's an article that references manga while "examin[ing] three Japanese anime texts - Ghost in the Shell, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Serial Experiments: Lain - in order to discover metaphors for female fan practices online."

They're already soliciting content for issue No. 2, to be released March 15, 2009, focused on "Games as Transformative Works." Complete information - and, of course, the journal itself - may be found at its website: http://journal.transformativeworks.org/index.php/twc/

TWC promises to be a journal that comics scholars should keep their eye on, both for information and for publishing opportunities.