Articles from and news about the premier academic journal devoted to all aspects of cartooning and comics -- the International Journal of Comic Art (ISSN 1531-6793) published and edited by John Lent.

Friday, December 11, 2015

Library of Congress' Swann Foundation is accepting fellowship applications


The Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon, administered by the Library of Congress is accepting applications for its graduate fellowship, one of the few in the field, for the 2016-2017 academic year. Deadline for applications is February 15, 2016. For criteria, guidelines, and application forms, please see:

http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/swann-fellow.html

 

Please email swann@loc.gov or call (202) 707-9115 if you have questions.

 



Tuesday, September 8, 2015

CFP: Comics of Roberto Fontanarrosa

(posted at the request of the editors)


Call for book chapter proposals: Todo Fontanarrosa: la obra de un completo humorista / All Fontanarrosa: The Work of a Complete Humourist

Editors: Dr Celina Bortolotto (Massey University, New Zealand) and Dr Annick Pellegrin (University of Mauritius)

Contact email: fontanarrosaproject@gmail.com

 

When the Argentine Roberto Fontanarrosa passed away in 2007, a national day of mourning was declared and his funeral was attended by thousands. Although Fontanarrosa was much loved and both the man and his works have received public recognition time and again, there are very few published academic works on his œuvre to this day. This proposed anthology seeks to fill this gap by paying attention to Fontanarrosa's work as a whole.

 

We therefore invite papers in English, Spanish or Portuguese that consider any aspect of Fontanarrosa's œuvre, including but not limited to:

 

-          short stories and novels

-          comics

-          cinema and theatre

-          interviews and public addresses (such as his famous speech on "Las malas palabras")

 

Abstracts of 1000 words and a short CV should be sent to fontanarrosaproject@gmail.com by 31 December 2015 for consideration. Please write your family name(s) and "Fontanarrosa project" in the subject line. If accepted, full papers will be due on 31 May 2016.

 

 

 

 

Llamado a propuestas de contribuciones para edición académica: Todo Fontanarrosa: la obra de un completo humorista / All Fontanarrosa: The Work of a Complete Humourist

Editores: Dra. Celina Bortolotto (Massey University, Nueva Zelanda) y Dra. Annick Pellegrin (Universidad de Mauricio)

Contacto: fontanarrosaproject@gmail.com

 

Cuando el argentino Roberto Fontanarrosa falleció en el año 2007, el país declaró duelo nacional y miles de admiradores asistieron a su funeral. Si bien este humorista es muy querido y recordado y su trabajo ha recibido múltiples reconocimientos, a la fecha existen muy pocas publicaciones académicas sobre su obra. La propuesta de esta antología es suplir esta falta al considerar en profundidad la producción de Fontanarrosa en su conjunto.

 

Por ello invitamos artículos académicos en español, inglés o portugués que consideren cualquier aspecto de la obra de Fontanarrosa, incluyendo pero no limitándose a:

 

-          narrativa (cuentos y novelas)

-          historietas

-          cine y teatro

-          entrevistas y presentaciones (como la tan conocida sobre "Las malas palabras")

 

Las propuestas de hasta 1.000 palabras deberán enviarse a: fontanarrosaproject@gmail.com antes del 31 de diciembre de 2015, incluyendo una breve biografía del/a autor/a. Favor de escribir su(s) apellido(s) y "Proyecto Fontanarrosa" en el asunto de su correo electrónico. De ser aceptados, los capítulos deberán presentarse en versión final antes del 31 de mayo de 2016.

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

ICAF CFP and Lent Scholarship




CALL FOR PAPERS:

ICAF: International Comic Arts Forum, 14-16 April 2016

<http://www.internationalcomicartsforum.org>

 

14-16 April 2016

University of South Carolina, Columbia

ICAF, the International Comic Arts Forum, invites proposals for scholarly papers for its eighteenth annual meeting, to be held at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, from Thursday, April 14, through Saturday, April 16, 2016. Confirmed guests include comics artists Howard Cruse, Keith Knight, Cece Bell, and Prof. Michael Chaney of Dartmouth College.

The deadline to submit proposals is November 6, 2015.

ICAF welcomes original proposals from diverse disciplines and theoretical perspectives on any aspect of comics or cartooning, particularly studies that reflect an international perspective. Studies of aesthetics, production, distribution, reception, and social, ideological, and historical significance are equally welcome, as are studies that address larger theoretical issues linked to comics or cartooning, for example in image/text studies or new media theory.

Among the thematic panels we hope to offer are Comics and the American South, Digital and Online Comics, and Superheroes; proposals are especially welcome in these areas.

PROPOSAL GUIDELINES: ICAF prefers argumentative, thesis-driven papers that are clearly linked to larger critical, artistic, or cultural issues; we avoid presentations that are summative or survey-like in character. We only accept original 20-minute papers that have not been presented or accepted for publication elsewhere. Presenters should assume an audience versed in comics and the fundamentals of comics studies. Where possible, papers should be illustrated by relevant images on PowerPoint. Proposals should not exceed 300 words.

REVIEW PROCESS: All proposals will be subject to blind review. Due to high interest in the conference, in recent years ICAF has typically been able to accept only about half of the proposals received.

SEND ABSTRACTS (with contact information, including state, province, or country of residence in the body of the email) by 6 November 2015, to C.W. Marshall, ICAF Academic Program Director, via email at <toph.marshall@ubc.ca>.

Receipt of all proposals will be acknowledged. Applicants should expect to receive confirmation of acceptance or rejection by December 14, 2015.

ICAF also sponsors the John A. Lent Scholarship in Comics Studies. This scholarship is awarded to a current student who has authored, or is in the process of authoring, a substantial research-based writing project about comics. Applications for this scholarship are due by 8 January 2016. For more information and details of the application process, please visit our website. 


Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Michigan State University's Comic Book Collection featured on podcast


Michigan State University's Comic Book Collection.

Comic Time (August 14 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLGUVf2_e-0&feature=youtu.be


A 75-minute look at the collection headed by Randy Scott.

Friday, July 17, 2015

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF COMIC ART 17:1 (Spring 2015) Table of Contents

The new 675-page issue is out now. Available for order at http://www.ijoca.com

Visual Language: Neil Cohn and Kent Worcester in Conversation
Neil Cohn and Kent Worcester
1
From lcono-Iinguistic Unity to Semiotic Continuity: An Alternative Description of Semiotic Repertoire of Comics
Hubert Kowalewski
24
Origins and Definitions: Arguments for a Non-Essentialist Approach
Hannah Miodrag
45
Comic Composition; or When Kierkegaard and Cartoon Art Took to the Streets
Louise C. Larsen
57
The Archive as Comic: Aleksandar Zograf's "Polovni svet" and Post-Yugoslav Serbia
Paul Morton
74
Terry Hirst: The Renowned Trailblazer Editorial Cartoonist and Comics Author in Kenya
Msanii Kimani wa Wanjiru
90
The Waking Life of Winsor McCay: Social Commentary in A Pilgrim 's Progress by Mr. Bunion
Kirsten A. McKinney
117
An Australian Comic Breakthrough:Craig San Roque's The Long Weekend in Alice Springs. Adapted and drawn by Joshua Santospirito
Richard Scully and Joshua Santospirito
131
The 19th Oddity of Yunnan: Propaganda and Memory in Li Kunwu and Philippe Otie's Graphic Novel A Chinese Life
Nick Stember
149
Into the Present, by Way of a Non-Existent Past: Breccia, Trillo, and Alvar Mayor
Hector Fernandez L'Hoeste
181
Daumier's Deadline: Expedited Expressiveness and Franco-Belgian Cartooning
David Allan Duncan
197
Avant-Garde Abirached
Mark McKinney
210
The Self-named "Fool-in-chief": Cameroon's Hard-hitting Cartoonist, Nyemb Popoli
John A. Lent
246
Landscapes of Trauma in Grenier and Austini's Rwanda 1994
Jennifer Anderson Bliss
257
Against a "Tradition of the New": Architectural Criticism in Chip Kidd and Dave Taylor's Batman: Death by Design (2012)
Gorana Tolja
272
Bob Staake: "I don't Like the term cartoonist at all ... "
Michael Rhode
287
Leading British Politicians in The Times' and The Guardian's Cartoons 2010-2013
Monika Nowicka and Janusz Kazmierczak
299
Crossing the Line: Offensive and Controversial Cartoons in the 21st-Century -- "The View from Australia"
Richard Scully
336
UNMAD and Bangladeshi Cartooning: A Socio-Cultural Journey with a Bitter Sense of Humor
Mehedi Haque
358
The Mediated Appeal of Kawaii "Cute" Mascot Characters in Japanese Consumer Culture: A Case of Kumamon
Michael L. Maynard
367
Malay Pendekar: Silat Warrior in the Malaysia Graphic Novel
Muhamad Azhar Abdullah
395
Pioneers in Comic Art Scholarship
Oscar Steimberg and the Origins of Comics Studies in Argentina
John A. Lent and Pablo Turnes
405
German Comics after Unification: The Politics of Anke Feuchtenberger's Feminist Aesthetics
Elizabeth Nijdam
417
Comics Exhibitions in Contemporary France: Diversity and Symbolic Ambivalence
Jean-Matthieu Meon
446
The Gradual Nationalization of Comic Strips in Brazilian Newspapers
Paulo Ramos
465
Matt Wuerker on the Cartoonists Rights Network International
Michael Rhode
478
From Corporate to Collaborative Comics in India
Jeremy Stoll
483
Comics and Journalism: Witnessing the World with Pen and Paper
Joost Pollmann
500
Bandas Orientales: Una Experiencia de Historieta Historica Digital en el Marco Del Plan Ceibal
Maria Victoria Saibene Lopez
505
Comicvoice: Theory and Application
John Baird
517
Considering the Perception of Time and Sequential Images in Digital Comics
Davey Sams
540
Teaching Graphic Novels and Manga at the University
Marc Wolterbeek
557
Measuring the Impact of Free Comic Book Day in Singapore
Philip Smith
569
The Motif of the Wound in Attack on Titan
Asuka Yamazaki
583
Personal Remembrances: Interviews with Seven Recently-Deceased Giants in Cartooning and Animation
John A. Lent
598
Vins: Chronicler of Life and Times
Mrinal Chatterjee and Triambak Sharma
631
The Printed Word
John A. Lent
634
Book Reviews
Kirsten M0llegaard
Philip Smith
Andrew Lesk
John A. Lent
639
Exhibition and Media Reviews
Edited by Michael Rhode
David Robertson
Nick Nguyen
Michael Hill
649

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Latest International Journal of Comic Art out

675 pages! Subscribe at http:// www.ijoca.com

Table of contents will be posted here tomorrow.

Friday, April 17, 2015

Future in Comics CFP (UPDATED)

SECOND CALL FOR PAPER (BY POPULAR DEMAND!)

 

Organizers: The research group on comics at the English Department, Stockholm University

 

Where and When: Stockholm, 3rd-5th September

Call for papers, deadline/ Notification of acceptance: 10th of May, 2015/15th of May, 2015

 

Website: https://futureincomics.wordpress.com

 

E-mail for submissions: Submissions will be handled via easychair:

https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=fic1

 

This conference aims to investigate ways in which comics explore the idea of "future." Its goal is to gather scholars from the field of comic studies and related fields, such as linguistics, philosophy, literary studies, cultural studies, sociology, anthropology, film studies as well as others that can discover a conceptual connection to the rigorous study of comics. Given our broad and yet specific purpose, we aim to discuss work on comics originating from all major traditions: French bande desineé, American and British comics, Italian fumetti, Japanese manga, and so on. In pursuing this cross-cultural approach, we wish to discuss not only how different conceptions of the future in comics can be compared and analysed, but also how comics offer unorthodox modes of representation that allow for creative, intellectual freedom that may be different from literature and cinema. In particular, we are interested in, but not limited to, discussing these themes:

 

·         The cross-roads between utopia and dystopia (e.g. Gundam's Universal Century);

·         Transmetropolitan's representation of life in "the city", Harlock's 30th century, the world of Rogue Trooper);

·         Apocalypses and new beginnings (e.g. Nausicaä's tragic millennium, Authority's new world, X-Men's days of future past, El eternauta's alien invasion);

·         The cities of the future (e.g. Dredd's Mega city one, Akira's neo-Tokyo, RanXeroX's Rome);

·         The humans of the future: mutants, augmented humans and cyborgs (e.g. Major Kusanagi in Ghost in the Shell, Tony Stark in Iron Man; 2000 A.D.'s ABC Warriors);

·         The politics of the future (e.g. Bilal's Nicopol Trilogy, Oshi's Patlabor trilogy, Marvel's Civil War);

·         Time and history (e.g. Watchmen, Planetary, Neon Genesis Evangelion);

·         Nostalgia for future pasts (e.g. Nadia, Arzach, Tom Strong, Satellite Sam);

·         Elaborations and revisitations of futures in comics (Pluto, Time2, Le Transperceneige);

·         Futures set in stone, and how to avoid or reach them (X-Men's days of future past, AppleSeed, The Invisibles).

 

We hope to create a conference that not only discusses these topics and uncovers how they have been addressed in comics about the future, but also to lay the foundations of future research on these topics and develop new tools for advanced comics studies. We welcome abstracts between 400 and 500 words, excluding references and title. At the moment, we are aiming at securing publishing rights for selected papers from this conference, aiming at publication in December 2016.

 

For further information, please contact us at:
francesco.ursini@english.su.se
or
adnan.mahmutovic@english.su.se

Electronic registration will start by the 16th of May.