James Kochalka is a prolific cartoonist known largely for his autobiographical comic American Elf (1998-2012), which ran daily for almost eleven years before he called time on it last year. The early years of American Elf chronicle his transition from working as a waiter to becoming a full-time cartoonist, with candid portrayals of the trials this career choice brought with it. Kochalka has also written some short and pithy essays about his own philosophy of comics and cartooning in prose and comic form, which are collected in a short book called The Cute Manifesto (2005) and have titles such as ‘The Horrible Truth About Comics.’ He has a clear vision of what comics, art and cartooning should be, with an aversion to craft and technical skill.
Author Archives: Comics Forum
Why is it so hard to think about comics as labour? by Benjamin Woo
Last year, Image Comics ran an in-house advertising campaign featuring simple, candid photographs of comic book writers and artists in their working environments (see Khouri 2012). Emblazoned with inspiring quotations and the slogan, ‘Experience Creativity,’ the ads argued that—unlike competitors?—Image’s comics issue forth from the vision of exceptionally creative individuals.
But cultural work is always exceptional. It doesn’t follow the normal rules of labour under capitalism because of the exceptional character of cultural goods. In the age of mass production, cultural goods are pretty easy to make but still hard to create. As anyone who’s ever stared at a blank page or computer screen can tell you, creativity can’t be engineered. The creative act is contingent, specific and unique, but it can also be tough to tell whether it has produced something valuable or not. For all the efforts of executives at the big culture industry conglomerates and creativity gurus, cultural work remains mercurial.
News Review: November 2013
Americas
Canada
Research
Benjamin Woo, at the University in Calgary, is currently conducting a study of working conditions in comics. He is currently seeking those involved with comics creation to complete a survey. Link (English, WG)
The annual conference of the Canadian Society for the Study of Comics invites proposals for papers on any and all aspects of comics, graphic narrative, picture books, and textual-visual arts. The conference will be held in collaboration with the Toronto Comics Arts Festival, at the Toronto Reference Library, between the 9th and 11th May 2014. Abstracts are due by the 10th February 2014. Link (English, WG)
United States
Business
Walking Dead #115 (an anniversary issue featuring 10 covers), alongside Batman #24 (an oversized issue), and Infinity #4 took the in top three spots for Diamond Comic Distributors 100 best-selling comics for October 2013. Link (11/11/2013, English, MB & EG)
Diamond Comics also released their 100 top-selling graphic novels. Batman Volume 3: Death of the Family and its companion novel, The Joker: Death of the Family, held the first and third spots respectively, while Marvel’s Avengers: Endless Wartime was in the second spot. Link (11/11/2013, English, MB & EG)
Education
The Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon, administered by the Library of Congress, is accepting applications for its graduate fellowship, for the 2014-2015 academic year. The deadline for applications is the 14th February 2014. Link (English, WG)
The Comics Journal report on the opening of the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum at Ohio State University. Link (20/11/2013, English, WG)
Obituaries
Bill Schelly of The Comics Journal remembers Nick Candy who passed away at the age of 93. Candy practiced a classical approach in portraying his characters – both inside and on the cover of such comics as DC’s Aquaman, Batman, and Bat Lash. Link (06/11/2013, English, MB)
Research
The University of California, Santa Barbara, will be hosting a conference entitled “Composition: Making Meaning through Design”, an interdisciplinary study of material texts ranging from graphic novels to e-books. Proposals for the conference are due by the 15th January, for the conference that takes place on the 15th and 16th May 2014. Link (16/11/2013, English, MB & EG)
There is a call for papers for the fifth annual Comics & Medicine conference. The theme this year is “From Private Lives to Public Health.” The conference is scheduled to take place at the John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, between the 26th and the 28th June 2014. 300-word proposals are due by the 14th February 2014. Link (English, MB & EG)
“Cripping” the Comic Con, a conference now in its second year, has released a call for papers for its April 2014 gathering at Syracuse University, New York. The conference aims to be accessible for individuals regardless of their academic credentials. Submissions which discuss the representations of disability across popular culture mediums and genres are due by the 13th January 2014. Link (12/11/2013, English, MB & EG)
Comic-Con International has announced that WonderCon Anaheim 2014 will be held between the 18th and 20th April. Proposals for papers and panels are being accepted until the 15th December. Link (English, WG)
Salem Press has released a call for contributors for its collection of essays entitled “Critical Insights: The American Comic Book.” Each of the essays should be between 4,000 and 5,000 words in length, and each should be written for the general reader. Link (20/11/2013, English, EG)
Case Western University has announced a call for papers for its July 2014 conference entitled “Evil Incarnate: Manifestations of Villains and Villainy.” Although this conference is not specific to comic books, relevant discussions of the medium are welcome. Link (26/11/2013, English, EG)
Undead in the West II: They Just Keep Coming, edited by Cynthia Miller and A. Bowdoin Van Riper, has recently been published through Scarecrow Press. The collection examines undead Westerns in comics and graphic novels, amongst other things. Link 1 (English, WG), Link 2 (English, WG)
Following on from their work in the Undead in the West collections, editors Cynthia Miller and A. Bowdoin Van Riper seek submissions for the proposed collection, “The Horrors of War: The Living, the Undead, and the Battlefield.” The collection will focus on ghosts, zombies, vampires, etc. in fictional war narratives across media (including comics), and abstracts are due by the 20th December. Link (22/11/2013, English, WG)
Renee Krusemark of Creighton University is currently studying leadership in The Walking Dead, and is looking for readers of the comic book to participate in an online survey. Link (English, WG)
Asia
Japan
Culture
Yoshihiro Yonezawa Memorial Library will hold a talk on the 7th December. Yukari Shiina and Masato Hara will discuss the Gaiman Awards (gai from gaikoku [foreign] and man from manga), an award for foreign works that are available in Japanese translation. Link (Japanese, JBS)
The Institut Francais in Kansai is holding its fifth bande dessinée lecture on the 7th December. The theme this time is the depiction of sexuality, with Xavier Gillard as a lecturer. Link (Japanese, JBS)
Education
Professor Keiko Takemiya, a renowned manga artist and member of the group of revolutionary 1970s shojo manga artists called “The Magnificent 49’ers”, was elected as the new President of Kyoto Seika University. This is a post she will assume at the start of the new academic year, April 2014. Link (21/11/2013, English, JBS)
Research
The symposium, Anime Studies Now, will be held on the 20th December at Kyoto International Manga Museum. Scholars from Japan, Malaysia, Turkey, and the U.S. will be presenting their research, and two experts, prof. Nobuyuki Tsugata from Kyoto Seika University, and Mr. Yasunori Oya from Kyoto International Manga Museum will comment. Link (Japanese, JBS)
Singapore
Culture
The e-book of the Lianhe Zaobao cartoon exhibition has just been released (news of the exhibition was reported in August). Link (English, LCT)
Europe
Austria
Culture
Scott McCloud was one of the speakers at the literature festival “Erich Fried Tage” in Vienna on the 9th November. Link (01/11/2013, German, MdlI)
A Nicolas Mahler exhibition takes place at Karikaturmuseum Krems from the 29th November to the 23rd March 2014. Link (11/11/2013, German, MdlI)
France
Business
The satirical magazine Siné Mensuel has encountered financial difficulties and has launched an appeal to make up for the shortfall. Link 1 (07/11/2013, French, LTa), Link 2 (French, LTa)
The director of a planned Blake & Mortimer film adaptation is no longer working on the project, due to lack of funds. Link (19/11/2013, French, LTa)
Culture
Frederik Peeters’ Blue Pills is being adapted for the Franco-German TV channel ARTE. Link (01/11/2013, French, LTa)
A Smurfs album has been published in Breton. Link (30/10/2013, French, LTa)
Germany
Culture
The exhibition “Mucha Manga Mystery” explores Alphonse Mucha’s influence on subsequent graphic design, including manga. It will be shown from the 5th December to the 2nd March 2014 at the Bröhan Museum in Berlin. Link (25/11/2013, German, MdlI)
Research
New issues of the yearbooks Deutsche Comicforschung and Comic-Jahrbuch have been published. Link (18/11/2013, German, MdlI)
Ireland
Research
There is a call for papers for the conference The First World War in European Children’s Literature: 1970-2014. The event is concerned with the subject of the First World War in late-twentieth and twenty-first century literature for children and young adults. The event will take place in Dublin on the 27th June 2014, with abstracts due by the 31st January. Link (20/11/2013, English, WG)
Spain
Culture
A selection of works by underground artist Miguel Angel Martin is exhibited as part of the Independent Film Festival in Madrid 2013 (22nd – 30th November). Link (Spanish, EC)
GRAF took place in Madrid on the 29th and 30th November. This encounter between artists, readers and publishers focused on independent creation, self-publishing, crowd-funding and the relation between comics and other arts. There was a very dynamic, vibrant and inspiring atmosphere, with round tables, discussions and exhibitions. Link (Spanish, EC)
6th Comic Week took place at Tarragona between the 17th and the 24th November. Exhibitions and conferences were moderated by celebrated Spanish artists and critics. Link (14/11/2013, Spanish, EC)
UK
Culture
There is a call for entries into Myriad Editions’ First Graphic Novel Competition. The biennial competition seeks to publish a graphic novel-in-progress, and is open to all cartoonists, writers and artists who have not previously published a full-length graphic work. The deadline for entries is the 3rd March 2014. Link (English, WG)
The winners of the British Comic Awards were announced at this year’s Thought Bubble festival. Link (23/11/2013, English, WG)
Forbidden Planet review Thought Bubble, Leeds 2013. Link (29/11/2013, English, WG)
Downthetubes report on Dundee Comics Day, which took place at the University of Dundee on the 26th and 27th October. Link (02/11/2013, English, WG)
Education
There are a number of funded places on offer at the University of Glasgow to pursue a PhD in the French department. Research proposals that consider bande dessinée are welcome. Link (English, WG)
Obituary
Downthetubes offer an obituary of Bob Bartholomew, editor of Eagle between 1962 and 1969, who died on the 9th October at the age of 90. Link (07/11/2013, English, WG)
Research
There is a call for papers for the conference, “Heroes and Monsters: Extra-ordinary Tales of Learning and Teaching in the Arts and Humanities.” The conference is concerned with how monsters can unnerve and innervate those working in arts and humanities higher education. The conference will take place at The Lowry, Manchester, between the 2nd and 4th June 2014. Link (English, WG)
A review of the conference Transitions 4, which took place on the 26th October at Birkbeck, London, has been published online by the conference organisers. Link (13/11/2013, English, WG)
Oceania
Australia
Culture
The winner of the Lord Mayor’s Creative Writing Award in the category of Graphic Short Story was David Blumenstein, for “The Bolt Report.” Creators shortlisted for the award include Scarlette Baccini, Timothy Newport, Chris Rodgers and Edwin Tan. The awards were created to encourage creativity and promote Melbourne’s status as a UNESCO City of Literature. Link (English, AM)
Research
The University of Adelaide has released a call for papers for its upcoming symposium, Inkers and Thinkers: The Evolution of Comics, to be held on the 4th April 2014. Abstracts of 300-500 words will be accepted until the 20th December. There is no conference booking fee. Link (English, AM)
Technology
Kickstarter has launched in Australia. The popular crowd-funding site now accepts Australian-based projects, providing creators with a new platform in which to fund, produce and market their comics. Link (English, AM)
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News Editor: Will Grady (comicsforumnews@hotmail.co.uk)
Correspondents: Jessica Bauwens-Sugimoto (JBS, Japan), Michele Brittany (MB, North America), Esther Claudio (EC, Spain), Eric Garneau (EG, North America), William Grady (WG, UK), Martin de la Iglesia (MdlI, Austria & Germany), Amy Maynard (AM, Australia), Lise Tannahill (LTa, France), Lim Cheng Tju (LCT, Singapore).
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 Will Grady at the email address above.
Comics and Cultural Work: Introduction by Casey Brienza
‘All artistic work, like all human activity, involves the joint activity of a number, often a large number, of people. Through their cooperation, the art work we eventually see or hear comes to be and continues to be. The work always shows signs of that cooperation,’ wrote sociologist Howard Becker (1982, 1) in his seminal monograph on cultural production Art Worlds. Comic art is no exception to Becker’s basic insight. Writers, illustrators, graphic designers, letterers, editors, printers, typesetters, publicists, publishers, distributors, retailers, and countless others are both directly and indirectly involved in the creative production of what is commonly thought of as the comic book.
Comics Forum 2013: Thank You and Announcements
Comics Forum 2013 took place at Leeds Central Library last week. A huge thank you to our speakers, who travelled from around the world to present a set of excellent papers and who made the event a resounding success. We would also like to extend a vote of thanks to the following people, who were all very helpful in running various aspects of the conference: Clark Burscough, Hugo Frey, Ben Gaskell, Mel Gibson, Nabil Homsi and the staff of Travelling Man, Roger Sabin, Dawn Stanley-Donaghy and the whole team at Leeds Central Library, Hannah Wadle and Lisa Wood Thanks also to our supporters, who made the event possible: Thought Bubble, the University of Chichester, Routledge, Travelling Man, Dr Mel Gibson and Molakoe.
The Comics Forum 2013 page on the website has now been moved into the Comics Forum Archives, where you can also download the full text of the conference programme (including abstracts and speaker biographies) and other relevant documentation. We’ll also be adding a selection of photos taken by conference photographer Craig Brogden shortly. Keep an eye on the site for details of Comics Forum 2014 as they are confirmed!
At Comics Forum 2013, Comics Forum Director Ian Hague announced eleven developments for Comics Forum, which will feed into the website and other areas over the next twelve months. Here’s the full list of announcements:
1. Comics Forum is shifting to become an unincorporated association.
Although we will still be running as part of the Thought Bubble festival, Comics Forum is establishing itself as a separate entity, called an unincorporated association, which will allow it to operate more autonomously. This means we’ve developed a constitution and set up a committee from the people who are involved in running the organisation. Full details of the constitution and the committee will be announced on the Comics Forum website in the next few months as this process is completed.
2. @ComicsForum is two years old.
The Comics Forum Twitter feed, run by Hattie Kennedy, launched at Comics Forum 2011 and has been providing regular updates on Comics Forum, and comics scholarship more generally, ever since. Why not follow @ComicsForum and keep up to date with all the latest as it happens?
3. Comics Forum’s Facebook page is eighteen months old.
Comics Forum’s Facebook page, run by Paul Fisher Davies, was launched in June 2012. Since then it’s offered all the latest and most interesting articles on comics from around the web. Like us on Facebook to receive updates!
4. The Comics Forum News Review is one year old.
The Comics Forum News Review, edited by Will Grady and contributed to by many correspondents, has now been running for a little over a year. If you would like to join our team and expand our coverage, contact Will at comicsforumnews@hotmail.co.uk. A huge thank you to all our correspondents for your great work so far!
5. Comics Forum will launch a reviews column in March 2014.
Hattie Kennedy has been appointed as Comics Forum’s reviews editor, and will launch a column covering book, conference and exhibition reviews to run monthly from March 2014. We are now recruiting reviewers; if you would like to join the team please contact Hattie at comicsforumreviews@outlook.com.
6. Comics Forum presents ‘Comics and Cultural Work’ in December 2013.
Guest edited by Casey Brienza, the Comics Forum website will be running a series of articles on Comics and Cultural Work in December 2013. The full line up of articles is as follows:
‘Comics and Cultural Work (Introduction)’, by Casey Brienza
‘Why Is It So Hard to Think about Comics as Labour?’ by Benjamin Woo
‘Comics and the Day Job: Cartooning and Work in Jeffrey Brown and James Kochalka’s Conversation #2’, by Paddy Johnston
‘My Brief Adventure in Comic Book Retail’, by Tom Miller
‘Comics and Cultural Work (Conclusion)’, by Casey Brienza
7. Research from the University of Lincoln’s ‘Comics and the World Wars’ research project will be available on the Comics Forum website from January 2014.
In association with the University of Lincoln, the Comics Forum website will be running materials from the AHRC funded research project ‘Comics and the World Wars’. Launching in January 2014, this exciting collaboration will see Comics Forum publish ‘Comics and the World Wars: A Cultural Record’ by Anna Hoyles. The site’s digital text archive will also be hosting ‘Representation of female war-time bravery in Australia’s Wanda the War Girl’ by Jane Chapman and ‘Multi-panel comic narratives in Australian First World War trench publications as citizen journalism’ by Jane Chapman and Dan Ellin, with more titles to be announced around mid-2014.
8. Comics Forum will host a bi-annual International Bande Dessinée Society column from January 2014.
From January 2014 Comics Forum will be hosting an ongoing bi-annual column from the International Bande Dessinée Society. Format and contributors are currently to be confirmed but we’re very pleased to be able to provide an ongoing presence for the study of BD on the site.
9. News and content from Germany’s Gesellschaft für Comicforschung will be translated in a bi-monthly column on Comics Forum launching in February 2014.
Starting in February, Paul Meyer, Stephan Packard and Lukas Wilde will be writing a bi-monthly column translating major articles and news from Germany’s pre-eminent Comics Studies association Gesellschaft für Comicforschung. We already host extensive archive material from the ComFor conference series in our affiliated conferences archive, and we’re delighted to be able to extend our collaboration and present more work from the highly productive German language comics scholarship field in translation.
10. A new monthly column on Manga Studies will launch on Comics Forum in April 2014.
From April 2014, Comics Forum will be running a monthly column on Manga Studies. The column’s editorial board comprises five experts in the field: Jessica Bauwens-Sugimoto (also our Japan correspondent for the News Review), Jaqueline Berndt, Ronald Stewart, CJ Suzuki and Nicholas Theisen. The column will include discussions of major manga critics, their works, impacts, and problems; themes and methodologies in manga studies; comparative approaches and current issues and longer term ideas. The column’s focus is not limited to Japanese manga will also cover related forms such as manhua and manhwa, and global manga. We’re very excited to be able to present work by this wonderful team, and we’re looking forward to seeing what they have up their sleeves!
11. Routledge will publish Representing Multiculturalism in Comics and Graphic Novels, a new book spinning out of Comics Forum 2012, in Winter 2014.
Following 2012’s very successful ‘Multiculturalism and Representation: A Conference on Comics’ we’re pleased to announce that Routledge will publish a book based on the conference. Edited by Carolene Ayaka and Ian Hague, the book will feature seventeen fantastic writers, including: Jacob Birken, Corey K. Creekmur, Brenna Clarke Gray & Peter Wilkins, Maria-Sabina Draga Alexandru, William H. Foster III, Mel Gibson, Lily Glasner, Simon Grennan, Sarah D. Harris, Ian Horton, Alex Link, Paul M. Malone, Andy Mason, Ana Merino, Dana Mihăilescu, Emma Oki and Mihaela Precup. Keep an eye on the site for more information on the book as we move through the production process.
2013 has been a very exciting year for Comics Forum, and it looks like 2014 will be bigger still. The Comics Forum team would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to everyone who has supported and contributed to the work we’ve been doing so far. If you have any suggestions for other things we can do to help develop comics scholarship, or you’d like to get involved, please let us know! You can contact us via Twitter or Facebook, or by email at comicsforum@hotmail.co.uk. Finally, don’t forget that you can sign up to receive every post from the Comics Forum website direct to your inbox by filling in the Email Subscription box on the right hand side of this page!
Carolene Ayaka, Paul Fisher Davies, Will Grady, Ian Hague, Hattie Kennedy and Rebecca Macklin
Comics Forum 