Asia
Japan
Culture
The Eguchi Hisashi Pop Art Exhibition: King of Pop, Kyoto Edition, starts on the 11th June and will run until the 4th September at the Kyoto International Manga Museum. Link (English, JBS)
Law and Politics
Manga and plastic artist Rokudesnashiko (Igarashi Megumi) has partly lost the obscenity case against her (“partly innocent” verdict), and has been fined 400,000 Japanese Yen for a 3D reproduction and digital file distribution of her vagina. She will appeal the verdict. Link (09/05/2016, English, JBS)
Research
An international symposium titled “New Directions in Manga Research” which emphasises diverse methodologies, instead of a fixed focus on the subject proper, will be held on the 18th June at the Kyoto International Manga Museum (All presentations in Japanese). Link (Japanese, JBS)
The program for the 16th yearly conference of the Japan Society for Studies in Cartoons and Comics has been published on the JSSCC website. The conference will take place from the 25th until the 26th June at the Tokyo Polytechnic University’s Nakano Campus. Link (Japanese, JBS)
Americas
USA
Culture
The exhibition, Aliens, Monsters, and Madmen: The Art of EC Comics, will take place at Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art (located on the campus of the University of Oregon), and is running until the 10th July. Link (English, WG)
Obituary
Consuela Francis, a professor of English and African-American studies at the College of Charleston, has passed away. Amongst a wide array of teaching and research interests, Francis specialised in race and superhero comic books. Link 1 (09/05/2016, English, WG), Link 2 (English, WG)
Research
Sequentials, a new venture which will publish scholarship drawn in comics form, has posted its first call for comics. It asks for submissions focusing upon postmodernism in all of its possible meanings and manifestations. The deadline is 1st January 2017. Link (05/05/2016, English, WG)
Pioneering Cartoonists of Color, by Tim Jackson, has been published through University of Mississippi Press. Link (English, WG)
On the 23rd May, SANE Journal’s Facebook page published an open call for interested professionals to serve as reviewers, as well as seeking potential contributors. Link (English, WG)
Europe
France
Obituary
Veteran cartoonist Siné (Maurice Sinet), who worked for L’Express, L’Enragé, Siné Mensuel and Charlie Hebdo, amongst others, has died aged 87. Link (05/05/2016, English, LTa)
Research
The AFEA conference in Toulouse hosted on May 26 a panel on the future of comics studies, titled ‘Whither Comics Studies?’. Link (26/05/2016, English, BC)
Germany
Culture
The exhibition on Héctor Germán Oesterheld’s El Eternauta that was previously shown in Stuttgart has now travelled on to Berlin, where it will be shown until the 10th July. Link (09/05/2016, German, MdlI)
Two talks on comics were given during “Tage des Exils 2016” in Hamburg on the 31st May and 1st June. Link (16/05/2016, German, MdlI)
The exhibition, “Hokusai x Manga – Japanese Popular Culture since 1860”, will be shown in Hamburg from the 10th June until the 11th September. Link (English, MdlI)
The exhibition of Belgian independent comics that was previously shown in Rostock now travels on to Cologne, where it will be shown from the 11th June until the 2nd July. Link (23/05/2016, German, MdlI)
An exhibition of “Pioneers of the Comic Strip” will be shown in Frankfurt from the 23rd June until the 18th September. Link (English, MdlI)
“Worlds Collide – Wenn Comics verfilmt werden”, an event on comic-to-film adaptations, will take place in Mannheim from the 17th until the 19th June. Link (30/05/2016, German, MdlI)
The Max-und-Moritz-Preis was awarded at Comic-Salon Erlangen on the 27th May. Link (German, MdlI)
Research
A comics panel and workshop will take place at the annual GfM Gesellschaft für Medienwissenschaft conference in Berlin from the 28th September until the 1st October. Link (05/05/2016, German, MdlI)
Hungary
Culture
The 12th International Comics Festival Budapest was held on the 8th May at Dürer Kert, Budapest. International guest artists and writers included Rutu Modan (Italy), Alessio Fortunato (Italy), Kivi Larmola and Pertti Jarla (Finland). Link (English, ES)
Portugal
Culture
Until the 12th June, the Historical centre of Beja is hosting the annual International Festival of Comics (XII Festival Internacional de Banda Desenhada de Beja). This festival is composed by some exhibitions, book/magazine launches, author events, workshops and concerts. Link (28/04/2016, Portuguese, RR)
On the 27th May, the authors Filipe Melo and Juan Cavia will launch their book Os Vampiros (The Vampires), a comic book inspired in the song with the same title by the popular Portuguese Singer Zeca Afonso. The book launch took place during the International Festival of Comics in Beja. Link (24/05/2016, Portuguese, RR)
Until the 11th June, the Bedeteca of Amadora is hosting an exhibition titled “Banda Escrita: André Oliveira – uma exposição em torno do trabalho do argumentista” (Written Strip: André Oliveira – an exhibition about the writer´s work). Admission to the event is free. Link (11/05/2016, Portuguese, RR)
Until the 7th June, the Municipality of Alvalade is hosting an exhibition about Japanese inspired pop culture with. Link (Portuguese, RR)
Romania
Culture
Bucharest hosted the fourth edition of East European Comic Con from the 27th to the 29th May. The convention included independent cartoonists and animators from the United States and Europe, as well as workshops, exhibitions, gaming and cosplay competitions. Link (29/06/2016, English, MP)
Spain
Business
The Culture Association Tebeosfera has published its annual report about the Spanish comics industry. Link (05/05/2016, Spanish, EdRC)
Culture
The 34th edition of the Barcelona Comic Fair took place from the 5th to the 8th April with a historical record of attendance. Winners of the festival awards were announced, including Best National Work (El fantasma de Gaudí, by El Torres and Jesús Alonso) and Best Foreign Work (Spirou. Le Groom vert-de-gris, by Yann and Oliver Schwartz). Link (06/05/2016, English, EdRC)
In order to celebrate the biggest exhibition of works by Hieronymus Bosch, which can be visited until the 11th September, the Museo del Prado has published its first comic. Triptych of the Enchanted (a Boschian pantomime), by Max, is available in Spanish and English. Link (23/05/2016, Spanish, EdRC)
Law and Politics
Mayte Quílez, director of the satirical magazine El Jueves, has been attacked at the door of her house by a hooded person, resulting in minor injuries. The magazine had just published the day before a cover denouncing the rise of the extreme right in Europe. Link (12/05/2016, Spanish, EdRC)
Switzerland
Research
The IAWIS/AEI has released its call for papers, with several panels devoted to comics. Abstracts are due by the 31st August. Link (15/05/2016, English, BC)
Following a conference organised in Lausanne by the GrEBD, BD – US : les comics vus par l’ Europe, edited by Marc Atallah and Alain Boillat, has been published through Infolio. Link (19/05/2016, French, BC)
UK
Culture
Arvon are running a week-long residential graphic novel writing course with Kate Charlesworth and Leah Moore. It will take place between the 13th and 18th June. Link (English, WG)
Job
There is a job listing for a Lecturer in Illustration at Plymouth University. The advert specifies that the Faculty of Arts and Humanities are seeking a lecturer to lead and develop the curriculum in relation to comics and visual narrative. Applications are due by the 19th June. Link (English, WG)
Research
The Journal of African Cultural Studies 28.3 has recently published–a special issue on Afro-Superheroes. Link (WG, English)
Registration is now open for the 7th International Comics & Medicine Conference: Stages & Pages, which takes place at the University of Dundee between the 7th and 9th July 2016. Link (English, WG)
Registration is now open for the 7th International Conference of Graphic Novels and Comics – Graphic Gothic, which takes place at Manchester Metropolitan University between the 11th and 13th July. Link (English, WG)
Abusing Power: The Visual Politics of Satire is a conference held at Brighton Museum and Pavilion between the 23rd and 24th September 2016. Link (English, WG)
There is a call for papers for the Animation and the Comic Book Symposium, which will take place on 30th September at Canterbury Christ Church University. The deadline for abstract submissions is the 19th July. Link (English, WG)
The Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics 7.2 has been published. Link (English, WG)
Comics Crossroads: Training for the Study of Comics, Cartoons and Drawn Images, is a symposium that takes place on the 26th June at the University of Kent. It will host a range of speakers talking about their research, including: Dr Anne Magnussen, Professor Roger Sabin, Dr Elizabeth El Refaie, Dr Ian Horton,Dr Paul Williams, Dr Aaron Meskin, and Professor Hugo Frey. Link (English, WG)
BCCS Comics Scholarship Symposium will take place 4 June at the University of Sussex. This one-day symposium will explore the possibilities of doing scholarship in graphic form. Link (English, WG
* * *
Correspondents: Jessica Bauwens-Sugimoto (JBS, Japan), Enrique del Rey Cabero (EdRC, Spain), Benoît Crucifix (BC, Belgium, France and Switzerland), William Grady (WG, United States and UK), Martin de la Iglesia (MdlI, Germany), Michaela Precup (MP, Romania), Renatta Rafaella (RR, Portugal), Eszter Szép (ES, Hungary) and Lise Tannahill (LTa, France).
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