Americas
United States
Business
Rocket Raccoon #1 (Marvel) shot to the number one slot in Diamond Comic News Top 100 Comics in July. Batman #33 (DC) and Amazing Spider-Man #4 (Marvel) followed in the second and third spots respectively. Link (English, MB)
Diamond Comic News reported their Top 100 Graphic Novels for July, based on total unit sales of products invoiced. The top three spots went to Walking Dead Volume 21: All Out War Part 2 (Image), Avatar: The Last Airbender Volume 8: Rift Part 2 (Dark Horse), and Deadly Class Volume 1: Reagan Youth (Image). Link (English, MB)
The Summer 2014 Diamond Retail Best Practices Awards were held at the San Diego Comic Con on the 25th July. The link lists the categories, all those nominated, and the winning stores. Link (English, MB)
Research
The Popular Culture Association and American Culture Association has put a call for papers out for several areas including Comics and Comic Art. The conference will be held between the 1st and 5th April 2015 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The deadline for abstracts is the 1st November 2014. Link (English, MB)
The Southwest Popular/American Culture Association has a call out for presentation proposals for the annual conference held in Albuquerque, New Mexico between the 11th and 14th February 2015. The proposal submission deadline is the 1st November 2014. Link (English, MB)
Whit Taylor reports for The Comics Journal on the conference, Comics & Medicine: From Private Lives to Public Health, which took place between the 26th and 28th June at the Johns Hopkins Medical Campus, Baltimore. Link (01/08/2014, English, WG)
Sequart Organization has announced the release of New Life and New Civilizations: Exploring Star Trek Comics, edited by Joseph F. Berenato. Link (English, WG)
Asia
Japan
Culture
On the 13th September, Kyoto International Manga Museum will hold a talk show with manga artists Est Em and Aono Shunju, and manga magazine IKKI editor Egami Hideki (with Kyoto Seika University Faculty of Manga Dean Yoshimura Kazuma as a facilitator) on the topic “Can we still talk about ‘The Dawn’ of comics?” Link (Japanese, JBS)
On the 20th September, the symposium Kansai International Tourism Year 2014, “Let’s think about the impact of manga and anime on tourism” will take place at Kyoto International Manga Museum, with four experts from the field of manga research and production: Yoshimura Kazuma, Inoue Shinichiro, Kondo Hikaru, and Sakurai Takamasa (this event will be held in Japanese). Link (Japanese, JBS)
From the 6th September until the 23rd, Kita Kyushu Manga Museum is hosting the exhibition “Manga and Media cross-overs”, including not just manga, but animation and mixed media, as well as creative environments that include both professional and amateur creators. The Museum is closed on Wednesdays. The exhibition includes art by Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure artist Araki Hirohiko. Link (29/08/2014, Japanese, JBS)
The Museum of Kyoto is hosting the “Let’s go to space, brother!” Exhibition (until September the 23rd), featuring 200 pieces of original art by “Space Brothers (Uchu Kyodai)” manga artist Koyama Chuya, as well as material from the animated series and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Link (30/07/2014, English, JBS)
Director Miyazaki Hayao is to receive a Honorary Award from the Academy of Motion Pictures Art. Link (29/08/2014, English, JBS)
To commemorate the 80th anniversary of Doraemon creator, Fujiko F. Fujio, Osaka Gran Front is hosting the Fujiko F. Fujio Exhibition (until the 5th October). Link (Japanese, JBS)
Research
The Copyright Subcommittee of the JSSCC (Japanese Society for Studies in Cartoons and Comics) will hold its 1st lecture meeting on the 10th September (at Japan Patent Attorneys Association Hall, B1 conference room A). Komori Ikuya will hold a lecture on the revision history of Japanese copyright law in 2014; this event will be held in Japanese. Link (Japanese, JBS)
The Philippines
Research
There is a call for papers for the 15th Annual International Conference on Japanese Studies &
the 6th Women’s Manga Conference: A Joint International Conference. The conference theme is, Manga and the Manga-esque: New Perspectives to a Global Culture, and will take place between the 22nd and 25th January 2015 at Ateneo de Manila University. Link (27/06/2014, English, WG)
Europe
Denmark
Culture
The next Copenhagen Comics festival will take place between the 6th and 7th June 2015. The special theme of the 2015 festival is Children and Youth. A general meeting will be held on 3rd September, where opportunities to participate in the festival as a volunteer will be presented. Register as a volunteer or learn more about volunteering at Copenhagen Comics 2015 via the link provided. There is also information and an opportunity to register for the general meeting on their Facebook page. Link 1 (Danish, KBF), Link 2 (English, KBF)
France
Culture
Manu Larcenet’s bande dessinée series Le Combat Ordinaire (2003-2008) is being adapted for cinema. The film will be directed by Laurent Tuel (Inside Ring, Tour de Force). Link 1 (29/08/2014, French, LTa), Link 2 (24/07/2014, English, LTa)
Research
There is a call for contributors for, Pratiques de la bande dessinée au féminin: Expériences, formes, discours, a volume focusing on post-2000 francophone bande dessinée created by women. The deadline for abstracts of 300 words is the 31st October. Link (French, LTa)
Germany
Culture
An exhibition on the educational comic Tagebuch 14/18 took place at Bilderbuchmuseum Troisdorf from the 3rd August to the 3rd September. Link (04/08/2014, German, MdlI)
Cöln Comic Haus announces two events in Cologne: a 24 hour comic day on the 4th October, and a comic fair on the 8th November. Link (11/08/2014, German, MdlI)
Germany’s first manga café opened in Düsseldorf. Link (20/08/2014, German, MdlI)
The exhibition “Holocaust im Comic” opens again in Bochum on the 23rd October. Link (25/08/2014, German, MdlI)
The fourth “Graphic Novel Day” is going to take place as part of “14. internationales literaturfestival berlin” on the 14th September; guests include Reinhard Kleist. Link (28/08/2014, German, MdlI)
Research
The latest issue of the magazine Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte focuses on comics; contributors include several comics scholars. Link (German, MdlI)
The programme of the conference “Übersetzungen und Adaptionen von Comics / The Translation and Adaptation of Comics” in Hildesheim from the 31st October to the 2nd November is now online. Link (German and English, MdlI)
Greece
Culture
In connection with Comicdom Press, a comic book library has opened in Athens, Greece. Link (Greek, WG)
Norway
Culture
The Raptus 2014 festival takes place between the 19th and 21st September in Bergen. The festival homepage, including a list of guest artists, can be accessed via the link. Further information is available on the Rasmus 2014 Facebook page. Link 1 (Norwegian, KBF), Link 2 (Norwegian, KBF)
Portugal
Culture
Some of the walls, buildings, and prominent spaces in the city of Amadora are being painted with posters from the previous editions of its international annual comics festival, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Link (09/08/2014, Portuguese, RR)
Spain
Culture
The exhibition “Mar interior”, which displays an anthology of the work of Miguelanxo Prado (a prominent Spanish author), is being shown at the Museo des Peregrinacións (Santiago de Compostela), from the 1st August until the 31st December. Link (01/08/2014, Spanish, EdRC)
The exhibition “El TBO: un comic para tiempos difíciles”, which covers the history of Spain’s longest and most iconic comics magazine is being shown at Segorbe (Comunidad Valenciana), from the 25th July until the 7th September. Link (25/07/2014, Spanish, EdRC)
The first edition of Ñam, a new international comics and graphic novels festival, will take place in Palencia from the 30th September to the 5th October. The festival will host national and international personalities such as Scott McCloud, Matt Madden, Chloé Cruchaudet, David Aja, David Rubín and Alfonso Zapico. The program includes many workshops and conferences. Link (Spanish, EdRC)
The 17th edition of the festival, Viñetas do Atlántico, was celebrated in La Coruña between the 4th and 10th August, with the presence of, among others, Zidrou, Marcos Martín and Charlie Adlard. Link (04/08/2014, Spanish, EdRC)
Research
The book, Narraciones gráficas. Del códice medieval al comic, by Roberto Bartual has been published thanks to a crowdfunding project. The book focuses upon the history and pre-history of comics and graphic narration. Link (Spanish, EdRC)
The book was also presented on the 29th of July in café Molar, Madrid. Link (27/07/2014, Spanish, EdRC)
Sweden
Culture
The dates for the AltCom 2014 festival have been announced. The festival, which features the Apocalypse as its theme, will take place in Malmö, between the 4th and 9th November. Information in both Swedish and English can be found on the festival’s home page. Link (Swedish, KBF)
Research
The Scandinavian Journal of Comic Art is planning a special issue on Nordic history and cultural memory in comics, and invites articles about these and related matters. The deadline for abstracts is 1st October 2014; full articles are due on 1st January 2015. Link (English, KBF)
UK
Culture
The Dundee Literary Festival has released details of this years Dundee Comics Day, which takes place on the 26th October. Link (29/08/2014, English, WG)
DeeCAP: Autobiographical Comics Special will take place at the University of Dundee on the 15th September. The event sees artists and writers bring their strips to life with live interaction alongside a visual slideshow. Link (English, WG)
Education
The Scottish Book Trust, in partnership with the University of Dundee and Literary Dundee, have announced the launch of the Comics Lab 2014. This short course will offer sessions on creating comics, advice on developing your work, and pitching to publishers. The application deadline is the 12th September, and runs on the 25th and 26th October. Link (English, WG)
Research
There is a call for contributions to a special themed issue of the journal, New Readings, focused upon Comics and Translation. Submissions should be sent before the 10th November. Link (English, WG)
Graphic Details: Jewish Women’s Confessional Comics in Essays and Interviews, edited by Sarah Lightman, has recently been published through McFarland. Link (English, WG)
Paul Williams at the University of Exeter has been awarded funding for the project, “Reframing the Graphic Novel: Long-Form Adult Comic Narratives in North America and the UK 1973-82”. Further information on the project can be found through the link. Link (07/08/2014, English, WG)
Oceania
Australia
Research
There is a call for papers for Inkers and Thinkers Interdisciplinary Symposium 2015: Alternative Forms, Alternative Voices. Abstracts are due by the 15th October for the event which takes place on the 15th and 16th May 2015. Link (19/08/2014, English, WG)
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News Editor: Will Grady (comicsforumnews@hotmail.co.uk)
Correspondents: Jessica Bauwens-Sugimoto (JBS, Japan), Michele Brittany (MB, North America), Enrique del Rey Cabero (EdRC, Spain), Kristy Beers Fägersten (KBF, Denmark, Norway, Sweden), William Grady (WG, UK), Martin de la Iglesia (MdlI, Germany), Renatta Rafaella (RR, Portugal), Lise Tannahill (LTa, France).
Click here for News Review correspondent biographies.
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