Comics Forum

13-14 November 2025, Leeds Art Gallery and Central Library (UK)

When David Kunzle asserted in his 1973 magnum opus The Early Comic Strip, that it was by definition ‘a mass medium,’ he pointed to comics’ industrial and mechanical foundations, arguing that: ‘The comic strip is, and can only be, the product of the printing press’ (3). Although experimental comics challenge the idea that mechanical reproduction is a defining characteristic of comics, and the notion of the comic book industry as a coherent entity has been questioned, it is undeniable that comics have been greatly influenced by the industrial contexts in which they are created and circulate. These contexts include the companies that are well known for creating comics, such as publishers and retailers, but also less publicly visible but vitally important industries: printers, distributers, marketers, translators and more. Technology platforms and other media industries that connect to comics through branding, cross-promotion and trans- or multimedia forms also play important roles.

Comics Forum 2025 will explore the theme of industry, broadly conceived, in relation to any form of comics (i.e. including bande dessinée, manga etc.). Proposals are welcome from academics, and from industry participants (in any role). Topics may include:

• Historical and/or geographical comics industries
• The economics of comics and related industries
• Models for studying comics as industrial forms
• Anti- or non-industrial comics production
• Digitisation as an industrial shift 
• Representations of industries in comics narratives
• Agency, authorship and alienation within industrial contexts
• Industrial relations, labour movements, precarity, collectivisation 
• Disruption in comics’ industrial contexts
• The ethics of comics’ industrial practices
• Comics as part of a broader media ecosystem
• Future(s) for comics as industrially produced mass media
• Challenges facing comics industries in the 2020s and 30s

We recognise that artificial intelligence (AI) is a key point of concern across a range of fields, and proposals on this topic are welcome, but we encourage applicants to think broadly about technology and manufacturing.

Submissions will be considered in any of the following three formats:

• Paper: 20-minute paper on a focused topic
• Panel: 1-hour structured discussion between three or more participants
• Workshop: 1-hour interactive, collaborative session

Proposals of up to 250 words in length are now being accepted at this link: SUBMIT NOW. The deadline for submissions is the 31st of August and you will be notified of acceptance by or before the 12th of September. Please include a short (100 word) biography of your speaker(s) with your proposal. We look forward to welcoming you to Leeds!