CFP: From an Intercultural Crossover to a Transcultural Phenomenon (Cologne, Germany; deadline August 31)

Sorry for the late notice, but I only just learned of this conference...

From an Intercultural Crossover
to a Transcultural Phenomenon:
Manga, Comic, Graphic Novel
September 30 – October 2, 2010
International Conference at the Cultural Institute of Japan, Cologne
(Japanisches Kulturinstitut Köln, The Japan Foundation)
in cooperation with CITS
(Center for Inter- & Transcultural Studies, University of Cologne)

Manga, comics and graphic novels are shaped by different cultural codes and shifting visual and narrative conventions. This conference focuses on the historical development and theoretical aspects of comics and manga by stressing their mutual influences. Whereas European and North American art and popular culture exert a great impact on Japanese manga, such as the Franco-Belgian tradition of “ligne claire” on Ōtomo Katsuhiro and Taniguchi Jirō, Walt Disney’s animated films on Tezuka Ōsamu and Christian and Antique ideas on Miyazaki Hayao, Japanese manga influence the concept and visual conventions of modern European and American comics as well, as can be seen in the work by Frédéric Boilet, Moebius, and Frank Miller, among others. Moreover, the intercultural exchange between the Japanese manga tradition and equivalent forms of sequential art in other Asian countries (i.e. China, India, and Korea) largely contributes to the dissemination of new hybrid art forms in the realm of comics and manga.

The purpose of this conference is to bring together scholars and other experts of different countries and different fields, i.e. literary studies, picture theory, cultural studies, linguistics, narratology, film studies, and semiotics, who pursue different areas of investigation in this field. In order to adhere to a general outline for this conference, the papers might deal with one or several of the following topics:

• Intermedial, intercultural and narrative perspectives for the interpretation of the graphic novel and other genres of sequential art prominent in both comics and manga
• Comparative analysis of the construction of time and setting in comics and manga
• The functions of color in comics and manga
• Similarities and differences between Japanese and other Asian manga and European and North American comics
• Impact of wordless comics and manga
• Historical development of the mutual influence of comics and manga
• Change of the conventional verbal signs (such as speech balloons, sound effects, typography)
• Influence of films and cinematic style on the production of comics and manga
• Influence of visual codes derived from art history and popular culture in order to create an individual artistic style

Contributions from academics and experts interested in any of these areas and in international perspectives are particularly welcome. There are plans to publishing the proceedings of the conference afterwards in book form.

The deadline for proposals is: 31 August 2009.

Please email a 300 word abstract (for a thirty minute paper, followed by 15 minutes for discussion) and a short biography as an attached word document to Bettina Kümmerling-Meibauer at: bettina.kuemmerling@t-online.de and Franziska Ehmcke at: amm07@uni-koeln.de

Notification of the acceptance of proposals will be made by 30 September 2009.

The conference fee will be 120 Euro, including catering, technical equipment, conference folders and various arrangements.

The conference venue is located in the Cultural Institute of Japan, not far from the University of Cologne. For details, go to www.jki.de (text in German and Japanese).

Image Credit: Cultural Institute of Japan website.

CANCELLED: "Secret Origins of the Graphic Novel" at East Line Books, Clifton Park NY

Due to circumstances beyond my or East Line Books' control, this event has been cancelled. We hope to re-schedule it for sometime in late July or August. As soon as we find a new date, I'll be sure to post it here.

"Secret Origins of the Graphic Novel" at East Line Books, Clifton Park NY

NOTE:
Due to circumstances beyond my or East Line Books' control,
this event has been CANCELLED. See above for more information.

For those of you who might find yourself in or around New York's Capital Region next week and are looking for something to do, might I suggest this presentation? Big, big "Thank You!" to Robyn Ringler of East Line Books for the invitation!

"Secret Origins of the Graphic Novel"
A presentation by Gene Kannenberg, Jr.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009 at 6:30pm
East Line Books, Clifton Park, New York

Graphic novels are everywhere, from libraries to bookstores to the New York Times Book Review, and with good reason. There's something for everyone's taste, including history, memoir, humor, politics, science fiction & fantasy, and yes, superheroes. But how did we get from Superman to Maus, from Little Lulu to Persepolis, from Crime Does Not Pay to Road to Perdition?

Gene Kannenberg, Jr. traces the path from pulp to Pulitzer in this heavily illustrated talk. With stops in the U.S. Senate in the 1950s, Berkeley in the 1960s, New York in the 1980s, and more, "Secret origins of the Graphic Novel" opens the world of drawn books to readers of all ages.

A respected comics historian, Gene Kannenberg, Jr. is the director of ComicsResearch.org and the author of 500 Essential Graphic Novels (Collins Design, 2008). He has lectured and written widely about comic art, with essays appearing in publications including The Comics Journal, Studies in American Humor, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and Hogan's Alley. He lives in Albany, New York.

East Line Books is located in Old Village Plaza, 1714 Route 9, Clifton Park, NY 12065 (one block north of Rt. 146 on Rt. 9 across from Snyder's Restaurant, between Clifton Park Pizza and Captain's Treasures). For further information, call Robyn Ringler at East Line Books: 518 371-4151.

PS: You can download a PDF of the flyer pictured above by making the clicky here.

Image credit: Abdazign.

CFP: History of Books for Children and Young Adults, Bedford UK: April 17; June 16

Note the specific mention of comics and graphic novels.

The History of Books
for Children and Young Adults
University of Bedfordshire, Polhill Campus, Bedford UK
16th June 2009

The University of Bedfordshire is hosting a forthcoming one-day conference on the history of books for children and young adults to be held on the 16th June 2009 at the Polhill Campus, Bedford. The Hockliffe archive comprises works of fiction and non-fiction for children from the eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. These include a wide range of literary genres, from fables and fairy tales, through periodicals and instruction books, to poetry and fiction, as well as books on games and pastimes, natural science, history, mathematics, geography and travel (amongst others).

We do not, however, wish to restrict papers to work on books actually in the collection, although papers on these are of course very welcome, but instead we wish to use the conference as an occasion to celebrate the long and vibrant history of publications aimed at children and young adults, and the increasingly multi-disciplinary areas of research with which this has been associated. We therefore welcome contributions that centre on the following very broad topics and themes:

• Academic approaches to children’s, young adult (YA) and crossover literature.
• The history of children's book illustration, including work on picture books, comics and graphic novels.
• The representation of children and childhood in fiction and non-fiction.
• Multi-disciplinary work in the fields of childhood and youth studies.
• The history of instruction books for children, from bible stories and hymns, through books on history, geography and travel, to natural science and mathematics.
• Children's oral culture, including folklore, myths and legends.
• Pedagogic theory and practice, from ABC books, to postgraduate courses on children’s literature and culture and creative writing for young and YA readers.
• The history of children's play and leisure, including research on toys, games, and sports.
• Multi-media childhoods, including work on the history of children's television, film and computer games.

Please note that proposed papers from postgraduate students are welcome.

The day's proceedings will end with readings by one or more contemporary children's writers (please check the conference website for updates on this).

Other related topics and themes will be considered for inclusion in the conference programme. Please submit a 250 word abstract, accompanied by contact details and a brief biography, to be received by 17th April 2009, to the following address:

The Hockliffe Conference
c/o Dr Clare Walsh
Division of Performing Arts & English
University of Bedfordshire
Polhill Avenue
Bedford
MK41 9EA
Or by email to: hockliffe [at] beds.ac.uk

CFP: Graphica in Education (Fordham University; Jan 31, 2009; Proposals Due Dec. 1)

Graphica in Education:

Bringing the Discussion of Graphic Novels
Out from Under the Desk
January 31, 2009
Fordham University
Lincoln Center Campus, New York, NY

Hosted by the Graduate School of Education at Fordham University

General Information
The inaugural Graphica in Education conference is designed to open a discussion among educators about the place of graphica in the field of education. It will serve teachers, instructional designers, administrators, librarians, and other interested individuals who would like to explore the use of graphic novels and other graphica in the classroom. Participants in the conference will have the opportunity to hear from authors, teachers, and researchers about the nature of writing, reading, and teaching graphic novels.

The conference will offer a full day of workshops to complement a keynote address and panel discussion. The conference will also include sponsor presentations and exhibits. Lunch will be included with conference registration.

Invitation to Respond to the Call for Proposals
The Graphica in Education Conference planning committee seeks interactive and engaging proposals for presentations in the breakout workshops of the conference. Workshops will be approximately 60 minutes in length. Paper presentations may be combined into panel discussions. Proposals from practicing teachers about pedagogical methodologies and from researchers about application of graphica in the classroom are encouraged.

Proposals should include:

• The type of presentation (e.g., paper presentation, teaching demonstration, panel discussion)
• A brief description (50 words or less) of the presentation or workshop
• A summary (500 words or less) of the workshop, including rationale/theoretical grounding, practical application, and participant involvement (the benefit to participants)
• The name(s), contact information, and affiliation of presenter(s)

Proposal submission deadline: December 1, 2008

Proposals should be submitted electronically to krturner [at] fordham.edu.

Conference Registration
Presenters for accepted proposals will receive free registration to the conference.

For More Information
For more information on the proposal submission process or the conference in general contact Kristen Turner at krturner [at] fordham.edu.

New Publication: 500 Essential Graphic Novels

I'm proud to announce the publication of my first book, 500 Essential Graphic Novels. Well, by "my" I mean that it has my name on the cover, and that I did a lot of the work on it. However, I can't help but acknowledge the contributions of many other writers (see the book for the full list, in addition to some unacknowledged but highly appreciated work by über-pals Mike Rhode and Charles Hatfield), and of my editor Tim Seelig of ILEX Press.

Here's the description from Collins Design, the book's US publisher:

500 Essential Graphic Novels is an all-in-one guide to this exciting form of visual literature.

Including more than 350 authors and 400 artists, this lush volume contains an essential mix of some of the finest visually-stunning stories of our time. From politically-charged non-fiction sagas to imaginative fantasy tales, this ultimate guide has something to satisfy everyone's taste.

The first of its kind, this book focuses on each graphic novel separately, honing in on art technique, style and prose, plus an age rating system so parents will know what is suitable for their children. Chapters are divided by genre, complete with individual plot synopses and star-scaled reviews for each book, providing the reader with a concise and balanced understanding of today's best graphic novels.

You can visit our bibliography entry for 500 Essential Graphic Novels to see a list of the book's contents and other information. I hope to have some "web extras" to go along with the book soon.

(On that page you'll also find our customary Amazon.com ordering link. If you can't find the book at your local shop, please consider using this link to buy the book - or any other book listed and linked to at ComicsResearch.org, for that matter. I receive a small [very!] chunk of change from your purchases, money that helps offset the costs of running this website. End of commercial.)

Special thanks go to my pal Tim Pilcher for nominating me for the gig in the first place; you might recall that I assisted Tim on his book Erotic Comics: A Graphic History from Tijuana Bibles to Zap Comix. He also runs the blog Sex, Drugs & Comic Books. Also, here's a shout-out to über-friends Brad & Liz Brooks for introducing me to Tim in the first place; Brad's the co-author with Tim of The Essential Guide to World Comics, and Brad & Liz run Sequential Design. Finally, massive thanks and love to K. A. Laity, who had to endure not just me but also a house even more covered in books than is our crazy norm.

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.

CFP: The Jewish Graphic Novel

Just received this interesting call for papers for a proposed scholarly essay collection:

The Jewish Graphic Novel

Essays sought for an interdisciplinary collection co-edited by an art historian and literary scholar. The growing subgenre of Jewish literary and graphic culture contains a number of significantly innovative aesthetic works that are increasingly recognized by literary critics as an exciting form of alternative narrative that may also represent the inception of a new visual literacy that has significant implications for the future of Jewish literary and artistic expression. As the catalogue of a recent art exhibit devoted to this cultural phenomenon states,

Jewish graphic novels represent an important genre in artistic expression and assert the intensity of word and image in conveying narratives that speak eloquently to the contemporary viewer. [They] offer intense visual elucidation of Jewish historic and literary events by combining intense illustration with searing social issues.

Works to be addressed may include graphic novels by Will Eisner (A Contract With God: and Other Tenement Stories, Fagin the Jew, The Plot: The Secret Story of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion); Czech writer Vittorio Giardino's trilogy of volumes about Jewish life under the shadow of totalitarianism (A Jew in Communist Prague: Loss of Innocence, A Jew in Communist Prague: Adolescence, and A Jew in Communist Prague: Rebellion); Ben Katchor's The Jew of New York; Miriam Katin's memoir of WWII survival, We Are On Our Own; Neil Kleid's portrayal of mobsters in Brownsville; Etgar Keret's surreal tales, Jetlag: Five Graphic Novellas; Joe Kubert's stunning account of the Warsaw ghetto uprising in Yossel: April 14, 1943; Joann Sfar's whimsically philosophical The Rabbi's Cat; James Sturm's disturbing parable of American racism, The Golem's Mighty Swing; and J.T. Waldman's recent bold retelling of the essential Jewish myth of power and powerlessness in Megillat Esther. The editors also hope to include an essay or two on the impact of Art Spiegelman's seminal works of Holocaust oral history in Maus: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History and Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began, which crystallized the acceptance of the graphic novel as a legitimate literary form.

This collection aspires to fill an important gap in existing scholarship by offering the first collection of critical discussions to solely address the way that Jewish graphic novels grapple with Jewish history, cultural politics, antisemitism, portrayals of Ashkenazi and Sephardic identities, the role of the Holocaust in the artist's cultural and moral imagination, political controversy, literature, sacred texts, and myth through these captivating works that render image and text in hitherto unimagined forms. Other essays might consider the important role of autobiography in the graphic novel and the role of the graphic novel in the Jewish Studies classroom. This list is by no means exhaustive; other relevant theoretical, pedagogical, or cultural approaches will be considered. Authors are encouraged to use images whenever appropriate but they are individually responsible for all necessary permissions. Papers from all disciplines, or interdisciplinary submissions (whether focused on single works or comparative discussions), are welcomed.

Send brief bios along with abstracts (300 words) or complete essays that follow the current edition of the MLA Style Manual to both Ranen Omer-Sherman rosherman@miami.edu and Samantha Baskind s.baskind@csuohio.edu by 11/30/06.

Can't Wait for this New "Graphic Novel"

In general, I really dislike the term "graphic novel" -- it's an empty concept, one I'll ramble on about soon. But one upcoming book really seems like it actually will be a "graphic novel" that does justice to the term: Umberto Eco's The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana, due out in June. I heard about it from the friendly Harcourt rep at last December's Modern Language Association convention, and I immediately knew I had to have this book. Besides being, well, a novel by Eco (I re-read Foucault's Pendulum nearly every year while I was in my twenties), it also apparently contains a visual orgy of images -- a concept which the cover gets across pretty clearly. Anyone got a review copy to spare?