World TB Cup: Comic Book Competition

Posted on behalf of Vittorio Cammarota of the World Health Organization:

The Stop TB Partnership is producing a 16-page educational comic book that will provide key information about tuberculosis. The comic book will feature Mr. Figo as the main character and will target an audience of children and young adults. The objective is to reach these audiences through a reputable and appealing voice.

The educational comic book will be available in the six official UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish) plus Portuguese for distribution around the world. Plans are that famous writers or other personalities will write the adaptations in these languages. The educational comic book will be distributed in collaboration with other United Nations organizations and partners.

The Stop TB Partnership — with the support of [international] Partners [listed at the website] — is conducting an international competition to design images for the educational comic book on tuberculosis featuring Luis Figo.

Interested artists should visit this website for the competition's official rules and scripts in all seven languages. This looks like a worthy cause, and a great use of comics.

SPLAT! A Graphic Novel Symposium (NYC, Saturday, March 15, 2008)

I just received this press release from the organizers of SPLAT! This looks to be a wide-ranging and informative event. Perhaps I'll see some of you there...

SPLAT! A Graphic Novel Symposium will take place on Saturday, March 15 at the New York Center of Independent Publishing (NYCIP) in Manhattan, with keynote speaker Scott McCloud. The NYCIP is a non-profit educational program (part of the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen) dedicated to promoting and supporting independent publishers across the United States.

We welcome writers, artists, publishers, agents, new readers and long-standing comics fans alike to learn more about the fastest growing movement in publishing and meet some of the best creators working in the medium today!

The SPLAT! Symposium will also supply prospective creators with a unique opportunity to learn what it takes to be a graphic novelist. There will be three different tracks of panels, seminars, and workshops, followed by the SPLAT! Reception with Scott McCloud.

The panels will be led by a number of key writers, editors and artists from the graphic novel world including: Jim Killen, buyer Barnes & Noble; David Saylor, Editor Scholastic; Raina Telgemeier, artist, The Baby-Sitters Club; Ted Rall, creator, Attitude: The New Subversive Political Cartoonists; CB Cebulski, writer/editor, Marvel Comics; Bob Mecoy, Founder, Bob Mecoy Literary Agency; R. Sikoryak, creator, The Seduction of Mike; Brian Wood, creator, Demo, DMZ and Local; Nick Bertozzi, creator, The Salon; and Charles Brownstein, executive director, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.

Please visit www.nycip.org/graphicnovelsymposium to register for this unique event.

Happy Valentine's Comics Day!

We've taken the opportunity this St. Valentine's Day to rectify a gross oversight on our part. Our genres section hasn't included romance comics! So we've begun that section today, sharing the love about:

• Benson, John. 2007. Confessions, Romances, Secrets and Temptations: Archer St. John and the St. John Romance Comics. Seattle: Fantagraphics. 96pp. ISBN-10: 1560977914; ISBN-13: 978-1560977919
• Nolan, Michelle. 2008. Love on the Racks: A History of American Romance Comics. McFarland & Company. ISBN-10: 0786435194; ISBN-13: 978-0786435197 (hardcover).
• Robbins, Trina. 1999. From Girls to Grrrlz: A History of Women's Comics From Teens to Zines. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. ISBN 0811821994 (paper).
  

As always, please contact us with suggestions.

Image: Considered the first American romance comic book, Young Romance #1 (September-October 1947) was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby (the team who also created, amongst myriad other titles, Captain America). The Grand Comics Database has information on the original comic as well as DC Comics' reprint from 2000.

"The Incredible Mr. Poe: Edgar Allan Poe in the Comics" at The Edgar Allan Poe Museum

Posted on behalf of my good friend M. Thomas Inge, an expert not only on American Literature-based comics but also on too many other topics to recount here... [Feb. 19 Update: Note the updated information on the opening reception, below.]

In 1941, Russian immigrant Albert Lewis Kanter tried to introduce young people in the United States to fine literature by incorporating the classics into something they were already reading—comic books. In 1944, "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" appeared in Kanter’s Classic Comics series, and ever since adaptations of both Poe and his works have been regular features in comic books and graphic novels, many of which will be on display April 25 to October 31 at the Edgar Allan Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia. Poe has even appeared as a comics hero himself alongside Batman and Scooby Doo.

M. Thomas Inge, Blackwell Professor of Humanities at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia, and Poe Foundation trustee, has studied comic art for over forty years and published several books on the subject. His collection of comic books from childhood will form the core of the upcoming exhibition which is curated by Richmond artist Chris Semtner.

Also featured will be original artwork by such comic artists and illustrators as Rick Geary, Richard Corben, Gahan Wilson, Gris Grimly, Bill Griffith, and Patrick McDonnell, as well as proof sheets and original pages for some of the Classics Illustrated and other comic book versions loaned by collector Jim Vacca of Boulder, Colorado. An illustrated book and catalog will be available for purchase from the Museum Gift Shop with proceeds going to the Museum.

This will be the first exhibition ever devoted to the comic books and graphic narratives that have helped keep Poe’s name and works in the public eye for over sixty years. An opening reception will be held Friday evening April 25, 7:00 to 10:00 p.m., and there will also be an introductory lecture Thursday evening April 24, 7:00 to 10:00 p.m., with an Unhappy Hour, food, and music, free and open to the public. All events are open to the public. The Edgar Allan Poe Museum is located at 1914 East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia 23223, phone 804 648-5523. For more information contact Rebecca Jones at becca [at] poemuseum.org or call toll free (888) 21EAPOE.

Image from the brilliant Michael Kupperman's equally brilliant book "Snake 'n' Bacon's Cartoon Cabaret".

Study SF & Fantasy Writing with Neil Gaiman

Clarion is accepting applications for this year's Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers' Workshop, to be held June 29 - August 9, 2008 at University of California, San Diego. The instructors for 2008 include Kelly Link, James Patrick Kelly, Mary Anne Mohanraj, Nalo Hopkinson, Geoff Ryman, and Neil Gaiman. From the website:

The Clarion Workshop is an intensive six-week summer program focused on fundamentals particular to the writing of science fiction and fantasy. It is considered a premier proving and training ground for aspiring writers of science fiction, fantasy and horror. Now in its fortieth year, the Clarion Workshop boasts national and international visibility. Instructors are among the most respected writers and editors working in the field today. Over one third of our graduates have been published and many have gone on to critical acclaim.

Applications are due by March 1st. For more information on applying, click here.

Latest Additions and Updates

Here are the bibliography entries that we've either added or revised since our last update. As always, if you have suggestions or would like to contribute reviews, please let us know.

Batman Unauthorized: Vigilantes, Jokers, and Heroes in Gotham City. 2008. Ed. Dennis O'Neil. Dallas, TX: Benbella Books.

Danny Fingeroth. 2004. Superman on the Couch: What Superheroes Really Tell Us about Ourselves and Our Society. New York & London: Continuum.

Danny Fingeroth. 2007. Disguised as Clark Kent: Jews, Comics, and the Creation of the Superhero. Foreword by Stan Lee. Popular Culture and Television series. New York & London: Continuum.

Nancy Goldstein. 2008. Jackie Ormes: The First African American Woman Cartoonist. University of Michigan Press.

Graphic Opinions: Editorial Cartoonists and Their Art. 1998. Ed. Jack Colldeweih and Kalman Goldstein. Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State University Popular Press.

Roz Kaveney. 2008. Superheroes!: Capes and Crusaders in Comics and Films. London and New York: I.B. Tauris.

The Psychology of Superheroes: An Unauthorized Exploration. 2008. Ed. Robin Rosenberg. Psychology of Popular Culture series. Dallas, TX: Benbella Books.

Tom Roberts. 2008. Alex Raymond: His Life and Art. Foreword by George Lucas; Introduction by James Bama. Silver Spring, MD: Adventure House.

Kerry D. Soper. 2008 [forthcoming]. Garry Trudeau: Doonesbury and the Aesthetics of Satire. Great Comics Artists Series. University Press of Mississippi.

Simcha Weinstein. 2006. Up, Up, and Oy Vey!: How Jewish History, Culture, and Values Shaped the Comic Book Superhero. Leviathan Press.

CFP: Reading Between the Panels (Scan Journal; due Mar. 31, 2008)

Scan is a project of the Media Department @ Macquarie University, Sydney. This CFP is also available at Scan Journal's website.

Call for Papers:
Reading between the panels

Edited by:
Can Yalcinkaya – canyalcinkaya@yahoo.com
Dr Steve Collins – scollins@scmp.mq.edu.au

Comic books have been often treated deridingly as a hybrid of art and literature, but ultimately a product of low culture. Works by artists, writers and scholars including Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore, Art Spiegelman, Frank Miller, Scott McCloud, Will Brooker and Danny Fingeroth have forced a reappraisal of the space occupied by comic books. Over the last two decades comic book stories have diverged from hero-centric mythologies to more broadly explore areas such as the full gamut of the human psyche, sexuality, and politics. Beyond the stories themselves, the comic industry and economy has expanded to encompass underground, adult and alternative productions as well lucrative movie adaptations. This issue of Scan Journal invites submission on areas dealing with comic books and graphic novels that include, but are not restricted to:

• Studies of narrative
• Visual aesthetic
• Analysis of specific titles or characters
• Comics and adaptations/derivatives
• Fan fiction
• Comic book histories
• Economics of the comic book industry
• Comics and new media, Web comics, micropayment systems such as Bitpass, digital comics on DVD
• Comic books and intellectual property, for example copyright assignments, the pirate trade in scanned comics

Abstracts should be emailed to the editors by no later than 31st March 2008.

Full articles will adhere to the submission guidelines for Scan Journal and be emailed as a Word document attachment to the editors by Friday, 16th May 2008.

Submission guidelines can be found here.

Fellowship Opportunity: Fisher Center Predoctoral Fellow (due March 1, 2008)

Note the broader interest in comics and graphic novels in addition to animation...

Feeling Animated? Not Sure If Your Project Fits?
Email Betty Bayer and Ask Her about this Pre-Doctoral Fellowship at BAYER@HWS.EDU

The Fisher Center for the Study of Women and Men at Hobart and William Smith Colleges is seeking a Predoctoral Fellow for the academic year 2008-2009 whose area of expertise falls within our theme of Animation (Making Life Graphic) and Gender.

By animation, we are interested in a broad spectrum of work, from film, comics and graphic novels through to ways performance and studio arts, science and technology and other disciplines (and interdisciplines) make life move and change. We seek dissertation scholars whose work critically engages the terms of our theme and are especially interested in candidates who would contribute to the diversity of the campus. The fellowship offers an opportunity to gain experience teaching in private liberal arts institutions while completing dissertation work, and carries a stipend of $30,000.00. Fellows will teach one course per semester, attend Fisher Center lectures and meetings, and present one colloquium.

Doctoral candidates nearing completion of dissertation must submit a one-page description of scholarship, a short statement on teaching interests, curriculum vitae, arrange to have three letters of reference, and a writing sample (e.g., chapter of dissertation). Completed applications are due by March 1, 2008 to:

Betty M. Bayer, Director
The Fisher Center for the Study of Women and Men at Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Geneva NY 14456

Information on the Center and the series can be found on our web site.

Latest Additions and Updates

Here are the bibliography entries that we've either added or revised since our last update. As always, if you have suggestions or would like to contribute reviews, please let us know.

Manuel Auad, ed. 1995. Alex Toth. Kitchen Sink Press.

Bart Beaty. 2007. Unpopular Culture: Transforming the European Comic Book in the 1990s. Studies in Book and Print Culture. University of Toronto Press.

Michael Eury. 2007. Comics Gone Ape! The Missing Link to Primates in Comics. TwoMorrows Publishing.

Fred Patten. 2004. Watching Anime, Reading Manga: 25 Years of Essays and Reviews. Foreword by Carl Macek. 2004. Stone Bridge Press.

Paul Gravett and Peter Stanbury. 2006. Great British Comics: Celebrating a Century of Ripping Yarns and Wizard Wheezes. Aurum Press.

Keijo Karjalainen. 2006. Politiikkaa Asterixin maailmassa. Helsingissä: [Gummerus]: Ajatus.

Keijo Karjalainen. 2007. Politix. Asterix und Politik. Köln Saxa-Verl.

Peter Kessler, Peter. 1995. The Complete Guide to Asterix. Foreword by Albert Uderzo. Hodder Children's Books.

Graham Kibble-White. 2005. The Ultimate Book of British Comics. Allison & Busby.

Chris Lamb. 2004. Drawn to Extremes: The Use and Abuse of Editorial Cartoons in the United States. New York: Columbia University Press.

Jeff McLaughlin, ed. 2005. Comics as Philosophy. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.

Hans Sidén. 1972. Sadomasochism in Comics: A History of Sex and Violence in Comic Books. San Diego, Calif.: Greenleaf Classics.

Joseph Witek, ed. 2007. Art Spiegelman: Conversations. Conversations with Comic Artists. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.