Registration for Comics Forum 2012 is now open. The conference will take place at Leeds Central Library on the 15^th and 16^th of November, and is themed around ‘Multiculturalism and Representation’. We have a fantastic line up of speakers from around the world coming to speak on a huge range of topics (see below for a full list).

Tickets are priced as follows:

1 day pass (15^th or 16^th): £10

2 day pass (15^th and 16^th): £20

4 day pass (Comics Forum 2012 & a two day Thought Bubble convention pass): £30 (save £10 on the cost if bought separately)

To register, email comicsforum@hotmail.co.uk and let us know how many tickets you want. Payment will be taken in cash on the day. Booking early is strongly recommended. Ticket prices include light refreshments but not lunch.

The full list of speakers and titles is as follows (this list is subject to change):

Maaheen Ahmed: The mutability of the line and its tendency towards monstrosity: Otherness of and within comics Maria-Sabina Draga Alexandru: Narrative Exploration against Mentality Issues: Indirect Education for Multiculturalism in Tintin Anya Benson: A Door to Anywhere: The Multicultural Visions of Doraemon Jacob Birken: Set Pieces. Is eclectic imagery in Manga “Othering” or practised Polyculturalism?  Frank Bramlett: The role of culture in comics of the quotidian Michael A. Chaney: Graphic Adaptations of Black Style: Converting Zora Neal Hurston’s Narrational Dialect into Comics Corey K. Creekmur: Multiculturalism Meets the Counterculture: Racial Difference in Underground Comix Umar Ditta: Controversial representations of cultures and relations between cultures Harriet E. H. Earle: Multiculturalism Vs Melting Pot in 9/11 Charity Comics Elisabeth (Lisa) El Refaie: Shape-shifting as a metaphor for multiculturalism in Gene Luen Yang’s American Born Chinese Cameron Fletcher: Spiderman: Manhattan to Mumbai; Crossing more than timelines to make a Global Icon a Glocal Hero Michael Forbes: Truth, Baldwin, & American National Symbols William H. Foster III: The Changing Image of African American Women in Comics Lina Ghaibeh: Covering Wonder Woman’s nakedness: on the modification of comics imported to the Arab world Mel Gibson: ‘We don’t need no steenkin’ badgers!’ Talbot’s Grandville, anthropomorphism and multiculturalism Lily Glasner: Have you no manners? A Little Girl’s Gift to Her Majesty Simon Grennan: Empowerment requires power: absence, equilibrium and the capacity to influence in comics representations of cultural difference Brenna Clarke Gray & Peter Wilkins: An Innocent at Home: Scott Pilgrim and its Canadian Multicultural Context Sarah D. Harris: The Monster Within and Without: Spanish Comics, Monstrosity, Religion, and Alterity Paul Harrison: Land of Denial – Egypt in Comics Ian Horton: Colonialist Heroes and Monstrous Others: Stereotype and Narrative Form in British Adventure Comic Books Harriet Kennedy: The confused nationalisms of Bojoual: le huron-kébékois Alex Link: Negotiating Multicultural Transnationalism and Assimilative Globalization in Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis and Taiyo Matsumoto’s Tekkonkinkreet Anna Madill: Caucasian, Japanese, or What? Visual Representation of Race in Boys’ Love Manga Paul M. Malone: Multikulti Manga in Germany; or, Why Frau Merkel Should Read More Comics Andy Mason: The Presidential Penis and Other Scandalous South African Satires: Race, ethnicity and representation in South African comics and political cartooning, from the early 20^th century to the present Ana Merino: The Impact of the Latino Identities on the Alternative Landscape of Comics: Thirty Years of Love and Rockets Dana Mihăilescu: Oy, Gevalt, Meydele! The Lower East Side as Mishmash of Jewish Women’s Multicultural Images in Leela Corman’s Unterzakhn Joseph North: Volti nascosti: cultural diversity in the Italian fumetto Hannah O’Connor: Sapphic Supervillains and Dynamic Dykes: Lesbian Heroism and (In)Visibility in Mainstream Graphic Literature Pre- and Post-9/11 Emma Oki: Representations of Asian Americans in Selected Works by Adrian Tomine Mihaela Precup: The Image of the Foreigner in Communist Romanian Comics Ethan Rubin: Robots are People Too: Webcomics and the Social Standing of “Everyday AI” Rebecca Scherr: Framing Subjects: the politics of representation in Joe Sacco’s Footnotes in Gaza Staci Strobl & Mary L. Tabakow: Representations of Asian Guest Workers, Expatriates, and Male/Femaie Omani Nationals in Royal Omani Police Comic Strips John G. Swogger: Palauan Storyboard: Comics and narrative context in archaeological fieldwork Marina Cavalcante Vieira: Migration and city image in light of Chicago School Sociology theories: assimilation and melting pot cities in the earlier Batman and Superman Asta Vrečko: ‘No one thinks of winter when the grass is green’ Keina Yoshida: Graphic fiction, visual narratives and international criminal justice

Comics Forum 2012 is supported by Thought Bubble, Arts Council England, the University of Chichester, Dr Mel Gibson and Molakoe Graphic Design.