Americas

Mexico

Culture

Augusto Mora was awarded the Memorial 68 prize in the comics category by the Centro Cultural Universitario de Tlatelolco for his new book En busca de una voz. In this book, Mora uses the graphics employed by the student movement to tell its story and talk about the violent repression it suffered in 1968. Link (Spanish, FGG)

After a 15-year hiatus, Kaliman, the best-selling superhero comics published between the 1960s and the early 2000s, are being relaunched with stories featuring present-day Mexican problems and situations. An exhibit featuring 70 Kaliman pieces opened at the Museo de la Ciudad in Querétaro, and will continue until mid-July. Link (23/04/2017, Spanish, FGG)

“El pelón“, a comic by Octavio Jiménez on an iconic and nomadic barrio character who is followed by stray dogs, competes with trash recyclers, and about whose origin nobody knows, was published in Marvin magazine. Link (24/04/2014, Spanish, FGG)

Augusto Mora, Chubasco, Rafael de Loera, and Rubén Lara illustrated regional legends live at the Serafín Hotel in Querétaro in an event organized by the Conque. Link (23/04/2017, Spanish, FGG)

Education

Cintia Bolio, Jimena Sanchez, Augusto Mora, Frik, Edu Molina, Juanele, and Luis Fernando lead a comics workshop at the Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City on the 16th April. Link (Spanish, FGG)

Karine Bernadou lead a workshop organized by the French Embassy in Mexico City. Link (French, FGG)

Obituaries

Ramon Valdiosera, former director of the comics magazine Pepín, died at age 98.His death was considered the closing event of the Golden Age of Mexican comics. Link (Spanish, FGG)

Research

The Literature Department at Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City hosted its First graphic narratives international conference: “Memory and oblivion in Comics, Manga and Roman Graphique,” on the 5th and 6th April. Keynote addresses were given by Drs. José Manuel de Amo, Laurence Grove, and Paul Gravett, and there were presentations by guest artists Luis Fernando, Axur Eneas, Alejandra Gámez, Alejandra Espino, and Augusto Mora, among others. Link (Spanish, FGG)

Lucha Castro, Josefina Larragoiti, and Adam Shapiro gave a talk on Front Line Defenders and the book La Lucha. La historia de Lucha Castro y los Derechos Humanos en México as part of the 1st Graphic Novel Colloquium at Universidad Iberoamericana. Link (Spanish, FGG)

Papers on diverse examples and aspects of Mexican comics, including analyses on political cartoons, Hermelinda Linda, feminine and feminist characters and comics, and on representations of drug trafficking and the war on drugs were presented at the Congreso Internacional de Historia de las Mujeres en Latinoamérica in Bogotá, Colombia and at the Latin American Studies Association congress in Lima, Perú. Link (Spanish, FGG).

United States

Research

There is a call for papers for Mechademia 2017: Science Fictions conference, which takes place at Minneapolis College of Art and Design between the 22nd and 24th September. Abstract submissions are due by the 1st September. Link (English, WG)

Osvaldo Oyola interviews comics scholar Dr Leah Misemer. Link (English, WG)

Reading Lessons in Seeing: Mirrors, Masks, and Mazes in the Autobiographical Graphic Novel, by Michael A. Chaney, has been published through the University Press of Mississippi. Link (English, WG)

Retcon Game: Retroactive Continuity and the Hyperlinking of America, by Andrew J. Friedenthal, has been published through the University Press of Mississippi. Link (English, WG)

The Lent Comic Art Classification System, by John A. Lent and Mike Rhode, has been published through Lulu Press. Link (English, WG)

The Secret Origins of Comics Studies, edited by Matthew Smith and Randy Duncan, has been published through Routledge. Link (English, WG)

The deadline for proposals for the Northeast Popular/American Culture Association Conference is the 1st June. The conference will take place at the University of Massachusetts on the 27th and 28th October. Link (English, WG)

There is a call for papers for the edited collection The Ages of the Flash. Abstracts between 100-500 words should be submitted by the 15th June. Link (13/04/2017, English, WG)

The University of Oregon website reports on the feature of comics scholar Ben Saunders in the History Channel’s documentary, Superheroes Decoded. Link (English, WG)

Europe

France

Business

Égo Comme X, the independent BD publisher best known for their autobiographical publications, is closing for financial reasons. Link (10/04/2017, French, LT)

Culture

The title of the next Astérix album has been revealed: Asterix and the Race Through Italy. Link (12/04/2017, English, LT)

Germany

Culture

The festival, 1. Erfurter Comic und Mangapark, is taking place on the 6th and 7th May; guests include Martina Peters and Inga Steinmetz. Link (22/04/2017, German, MdlI)

The exhibition on Héctor Germán Oesterheld’s El Eternauta is now being shown in Munich until the 14th July. Link (26/04/2017, German, MdlI)

The exhibition of the latest Max-und-Moritz-Preis winners is travelling on to Schwarzenbach where it will be shown from the 13th May until the 22nd October. Link (30/04/2017, German, MdlI)

Research

The annual conference of D.O.N.A.L.D. took place in Hamburg. Link (03/04/2014, German, MdlI)

Macht der Musik by Christian Bachmann, a book on music in comics, has been published. Link (05/04/2017, German, MdlI)

This year’s conference of the German Society for Comics Studies (ComFor) is going to take place in Bonn from the 1st until the 3rd December. Link (06/04/2017, German, MdlI)

The proceedings of the symposium, Science Meets Comics (Berlin 2015), have been published. Link (24/04/2017, German/English, MdlI)

Portugal

Culture

On the 6th May the Clube Português de Banda Desenhada will host the second half of a lecture by Domingos Isabelinho about Raúl Correia’s book, A Lei da Selva [The Jungle Law]. The first half of the Lecture took place on the 22nd April. Entrance is free. Link (07/04/2017, Portuguese, RR)

Spain

Culture

An exhibition  of La ciudad en viñetas, by Roberto Massó, can be seen at Centro Centro (Madrid) until the 2nd July. Link (07/04/2017, Spanish, EdRC)

The prizes of the 35th edition of the Barcelona International Comic Fair have been announced. Best Spanish work: Jamás tendré 20 años (Jaime Martín). Best foreign work: The Vision (Gabriel Hernández Walta and Tom King). Great Prize: Josep María Martín Saurí. Link (01/04/2016, Spanish, EdRC)

Industry

Tebeosfera has published its annual report about the Spanish comics industry. Link (01/04/2017, Spanish, EdRC)

Penguin Random House has bought Spanish comics publishing house Ediciones B. Link (06/04/2017, Spanish, EdRC)

Research

The exhibition, ¿Qué es una biblioteca para ti? (What is a library for you?), the vision of 20 graphic humourists about libraries, may be visited until the 28th May at the National Library in Madrid. Link (17/04/2017, Spanish, EdRC)

Switzerland

Culture

A Hannes Nüsseler exhibition is shown in Basel until the 20th May. Link (06/04/2017, German, MdlI)

UK

Culture

The Inking Woman, the new exhibition at the Cartoon Museum (London), will run from the 26th April until the 23rd July. Link (English, WG)

Bradford Literature Festival Comic Con will take place at the University of Bradford. Link (English, WG)

Research

The Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures in Norwich is hosting a workshop discussing legal issues related to international manga consumption on the 19th May. Attendance is free but booking is essential. Link (29/04/2017, English, ST)

Obituary

The BBC reports that comics artist Leo Baxendale has passed away. Link (27/04/2017, English, WG)

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News Editor: Simon Turner (comicsforumnews@hotmail.co.uk)

Correspondents: Enrique del Rey Cabero (EdRC, Spain), Felipe Gomez Gutierrez (FGG, Mexico), William Grady (WG, UK and United States), Martin de la Iglesia (MdlI, Germany and Switzerland), Renatta Rafella (RR, Portugal), Lise Tannahill (LT, France) and Simon Turner (ST, UK)

Click here for News Review correspondent biographies.

Click here to see the News Review archive.

Suggestions for articles to be included in the News Review can be sent to Simon Turner at the email address above.