Category Archives: News Review

Americas

Canada

Research

A full programme for the annual conference of the Canadian Society for the Study of Comics (taking place on the 9th and 10th May) is now available online. Link (English, WG)

United States 

Business

Diamond Distributors has released statistics for March; with Marvel Comics, DC Comics and Image Comics taking the top three spots respectively for retail market share and unit market share. DC Comics, Marvel Comics and Image Comics took first through third for total titles shipped by publisher. Link (04/04/2014, English, MB)

Amazon has announced the acquisition of comiXology, the app and online store that offers digital versions of mainstream and independent comic books. CEO David Steinberger stated that comiXology will remain a wholly owned subsidiary and continue to offer Guided View and Submit, two of their popular app features. Link (11/04/2014, English, MB)

Culture

The 2014 Eisner Award nominations were announced this month, with the awards to be given out on the 25th July at the San Diego International Comic Con. The link provides the full list of nominees (including for Best Scholarly/Academic Work). Link (English, MB)

Obituaries

Longtime Mad Magazine editor Al Feldstein passed away at the age of 88. His first job was working in a shop with Will Eisner and Jerry Iger, while he mostly known for his work as a cartoonist. In 2003 he was inducted into the Will Eisner Hall of Fame. Link (30/04/2014, English, MB)

Research

Joseph J. Darowski’s X-Men and the Mutant Metaphor: Race and Gender in the Comic Books has been published through Rowman & Littlefield. Darowski analyses The Uncanny X-Men through the lens of historical, racial, and gender issues, grouping discussion into a series of distinct eras. Link (English, MB)

The Origins of Comics: From William Hogarth to Winsor McCay, by Thierry Smolderen, has been published through the University Press of Mississippi. Link (English, WG)

Asia

China

Culture

The Huang Yao Spring Catalogue was launched in March in Hong Kong. Huang Yao was a pioneer Chinese cartoonist from the 1930s and contemporaries with Feng Zikai and Liao Bingxiao. Huang spent some years in Hong Kong in the later 1940s before settling down in Malaysia. Link (English/Chinese, LCT)

Research

The international comic symposium, Modern Women and Their Comics: Changing Local Identities from the 1960s to the 2000s, was held at the Comix Home Base in March in Hong Kong. Link (English/Chinese, LCT)

Japan

Culture

18,000 original drawings by manga artist Tsuchida Seiki, as well as a number of tribute drawings by other manga artists, will be exhibited at the Kyoto International Manga Museum from the 31st May until the 31st August. There will be a related event on the 27th July. Link (Japanese, JBS)

The exhibition, Nakayoshi Festa – Magical Girls Are Forever, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the shojo manga magazine Nakayoshi, will be held by the Kyoto International Manga Museum from the 24th May until the 29th September. Related workshops will be held on weekends, holidays, and during the summer vacation. Link (Japanese, JBS)

The “Incident In Conan Exhibit” 20th Anniversary Exhibition (of the manga series Detective Conan), now exhibited in the Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse (until the 10th May), will move to Nagoya next. Link (Japanese, JBS)

Bumpodo Gallery, in Tokyo’s Chiyoda district, is hosting a “Genga’ (dash)” (high quality reproductions) exhibition with manga art by artists Fujii Chiaki, Hanamura Eiko, Chiba Tetsuya, and Takemiya Keiko. This exhibition ends on the 9th May. Link (Japanese, JBS)

The Kita Kyushu Manga Museum is holding the Takenaka Jun Exhibition, from the 26th April until the 22nd June. The exhibition features art by Takenaka as well as tributes by other renowned manga artists. There will be two more events related to this exhibition (on the 17th and 24th May). Link (Japanese, JBS)

Research

On May the 10th, the Kyushu group of the Japanese Society for Study in Cartoons and Comics will have a research meeting on “Manga and war memory”. The Speakers are professor Ogi Fusami, professor Karl Ian Cheng Chua, and professor Yoshida Kaori. Professor Nagaike Kazumi will act as facilitator. The meeting will be held at the Kita Kyushu Manga Museum. Link (Japanese, JBS)

Europe

Denmark

Culture

Copenhagen Comics, Denmark’s largest comic arts festival, will take place between the 1st and 2nd June. The program (in Danish) is available through Link 2. Link 1 (English, KBF), Link 2 (English, KBF)

The nominees for Denmark’s Pingprisen 2014 have been published, with winners to be announced on the 7th June. Link 1 (Danish, KBF), Link 2 (15/04/2014, Danish, KBF)

France

Research

There is a call for papers for a conference which will examine the role of sidekicks and underlings in English-language comics, and other popular sources. Entitled Sidekicks and Underlings, abstracts were due by the 30th April, for the conference which takes place on the 3rd and 4th October. Link (English/French, WG)

Germany

Culture

A Call for Participation has been published for a webcomics event as part of the festival Comic-Salon Erlangen. Link (07/04/2014, German, MdlI)

A Ralf König exhibition is taking place in Frankfurt from the 27th March to the 3rd August. Link (17/04/2014, German, MdlI)

An exhibition of Belgian independent comics will take place in Bremen from the 3rd May to the 8th June. Link (28/04/2014, German, MdlI)

Research

The proceedings of the 2012 ComFor conference have been published: Stephan Packard (Ed.), Comics & Politik, Berlin: Bachmann, ISBN 978-3-941030-29-9. Link (03/04/2014, German, MdlI)

Hans Ries is going to give a talk on Münchener Bilderbogen in Munich on the 4th November 2014. Link (14/04/2014, German, MdlI)

Comics scholar Daniel Stein is featured in the latest issue of forschung, the magazine of the German Research Foundation (DFG). Link (24/04/2014, German, MdlI)

Hungary

Culture

ComiXconnection multinational comics exhibition opened on the 4th April at Nick Art & Design Galéria, Pécs. The exhibition features works by Croatian, Serbian, Slovenian, Romanian and Hungarian artists. Link (01/04/2014, Hungarian, ES)

The 10th International Comics Festival Budapest is held on the 18th May at Dürer Kert, Budapest. International guest artists and writers include Boulet (France), Hélène Becquelin (Switzerland), Claudio Chiaverotti (Italy), Puiu Manu (Romania), Bartosz Sztybor and Piotr Nowacki (Poland), as well comics professionals Nicolas Grivel (France), Tomáš Prokůpek (Czech Rep.) and Dodo Nita (Romania). Link (05/05/2014, English, ES)

Ireland

Culture

Alan Nolan will provide a comic strip workshop at the 2014 Dublin Writers Festival on the 24th May. Link (15/04/2014, English, SC)

An art exhibition on Bunsen Bunnies artist Ann Louise Harrison will take place place in The Wicker Man, Belfast, throughout May. Link (30/04/2014, English, SC)

Education

The Centre for Media Research at the University of Ulster are currently accepting applications to pursue doctoral research, with space for comics studies. Link (English, SC)

Norway

Culture

The Oslo Comics Expo (OCX) will take place on the 13th and 14th June. Updates and information are available on the website and on Facebook. Link 1 (Norwegian, KBF), Link 2 (Norwegian, KBF)

Portugal

Culture

From the 31st May until the 15th June, the Casa da Cultura of Beja will be hosting the annual International Festival of Comics (X Festival Internacional de Banda Desenhada de Beja). This festival is usually composed by some exhibitions, book/magazine launches, author events, workshops, concerts, and much more. Link 1 (Portuguese, RR), Link 2 (Portuguese, RR)

Scandinavia

Research

The Scandinavian Journal of Comic Art (SJoCA) has announced a call for papers. The scope of the journal is interdisciplinary, encouraging a wide range of theoretical and methodological perspectives. The journal publishes articles, book reviews and newsfrom the field of comics studies. At the moment, the journal is calling for articles, reviews, and forum texts (brief scholarly essays, commentaries, and debate pieces). The language of the journal is English. Link (30/04/2014, English, KBF)

Sweden

Culture

Stockholms Internationella Seriefestival (Stockholm’s International Comics Festival) will take place on the 17th and 18th May. This year’s theme is Canadian comics. The event is free and open to the public. Link 1 (English, KBF), Link 2 (Swedish, KBF)

UK

Culture

The British Library have published a list of comics related events to correspond with the exhibition, Comics Unmasked: Art and Anarchy in the UK, taking place from the 2nd May to the 19th August. Link (English, WG)

The Comics Grid‘s blog is soliciting submissions of critical reception for the exhibition Comics Unmasked: Art and Anarchy in the UK, alongside its related events. Link (27/04/2014, English, WG)

Jobs

There are two advertised job roles for the University of Exeter, with potential room for a specialism in comics: Lecturer in American Literature (Link 1), and Lecturer in Twentieth Century Literature (Link 2). The closing date for applications is the 11th May and 13th May respectively. Link 1 (English, WG), Link 2 (English, WG)

Research

There is a call for papers for a special themed edition of Networking Knowledge entitled “Digital Comics.” Abstracts are due by the 11th July. Link (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), Shelley Culbertson (SC, Ireland), Kristy Beers Fägersten (KBF, Denmark, Norway, Sweden), William Grady (WG, UK), Martin de la Iglesia (MdlI, Germany), Renatta Rafaella (RR, Portugal), Eszter Szép (ES, Hungary), Lim Cheng Tju (LCT, China).

*Courtesy of Guillaume de Syon

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.

Africa

South Africa

Culture

Moray Rhoda, Ray Whitcher, Daniël Hugo and Chris Beukes did a presentation on the 28th February at the Design Indaba about South African comics (a review of the talk can be found in Link 3). Design Indaba is an event that brings the world’s best design to Cape Town every year. Link 1 (English, MR), Link 2 (20/02/2014, English, MR), Link 3 (26/03/2014, English, MR)

Americas

United States 

Business

Diamond Comic Distributors tallied total units sales for the month of February, with Batman #28 (DC Comics), Forever Evil #5 (DC Comics), and Wolverine #1 (Marvel) taking the top three spots respectively. It’s the second month of 2014 that Snyder’s series has taken the top spot. Link (English, MB)

According to Diamond Comic Distributor’s total unit sales statistics, Locke & Key Volume 6: Alpha and Omega (IDW), Fatale Volume 4: Pray for Rain (Image), and Adventure Time Volume 4 (Boom) were the top three selling graphic novels of February. Link (English, MB)

Culture

The exhibition, Marvels & Monsters: Unmasking Asian Images in U.S. Comics, 1942-1986, opened on the 12th March at the  Stony Brook University Libraries Charles B. Wang Center.  The exhibition draws from noted science fiction author and cultural studies scholar William F. Wu’s comic book collection–the largest archive of comic books featuring Asians and Asian Americans. Link (English, MB)

Jobs

The Department of Writing & Rhetoric at Colgate University seek to fill a one-year full time position at Assistant Professor level, beginning Fall 2014. The department seeks a replacement for Meg Worley, who holds comics as a research interest. A letter of application, CV, and three letters of recommendation must be submitted through the link provided. Link (English, WG)

There is a job listing for a Assistant Professor of Communications at Henderson State University. This is a nine month tenure track position, and the role commences in August 2014. The role may be of interest to the comics scholar community, as the successful applicant would be working alongside fellow comics scholar Randy Duncan. Link (English, WG)

Zenescope Entertainment is offering a Design and a Marketing Internship at their Horsham, Pennsylvania headquarters. Applicants must be attending an accredited institution and over the age of 18. Link (13/03/2014, English, MB)

The Seattle based independent comic book/graphic novel publisher Fantagraphics has an immediate opening for a Marketing & Design Intern as well as looking for editorial interns for the summer. Applications for the editorial internship are due by the 15th April. The positions are non-paid. Link (25/03/2014, English, MB)

Research

Stony Brook University Libraries exhibition, Marvels & Monsters: Unmasking Asian Images in U.S. Comics, 1942-1986, will also frame the symposium, Marvels & Monsters: A Symposium on Asian Images in Comics and Graphic Narratives, which takes place on the 23rd April. Link (English, MB)

Dan Mazur and Alexander Danner’s Comics: A Global History, 1968 to the Present has been announced for publication through Thames and Hudson. Link (English, WG)

inkt|art, the online comics journal for and by women, is seeking submissions for its Spring 2014 issue. Submissions can include comics columns, short stories, poetry, nonfiction, interviews, and critical writing. The deadline for submissions in the 4th April. Link (06/03/2014, English, WG)

Comic book historian Tim Hanley explores the history and contemporary portrayals of one of the most iconic female superheroes, Wonder Woman, in the recently published Wonder Woman Unbound: The Curious History of the World’s Most Famous Heroine. Link (English, MB)

The Texas Comic Arts and Cultures Conference in San Antonio, Texas, is seeking proposals for papers, presentations, and panels that take a critical and/or historical approach to comics as part of the Texas Comic-Con held between the 20th and 22nd June. Proposals are due by the 15th April. Link (English, MB)

Asia

Japan

Culture

Kyoto International Manga Museum is hosting the 7th “Cooking Papa” talk show, where Tochi Ueyama, author of the manga by the same title, will cook three dishes from the manga. Kazuma Yoshimura, Dean of the Faculty of Manga at Kyoto Seika University will join him on stage. Link (English, JBS)

The Takarazuka Theatre is celebrating its 100th Anniversary and showing many of its most popular musicals, including “The Rose of Versailles”, based on Riyoko Ikeda’s manga by the same title. Link (Japanese, JBS)

Research

The Call for Papers for Manga Futures – the 6th International Scholarly Symposium, held by the University of Wollongong and Kyoto Seika University International Manga Research Center, is now accepting submissions. Link (English, JBS)

Europe 

Austria

Culture

This year’s Nextcomic festival took take place in Linz, Wels and Steyr from the the 20th to the 28th March; guests included Daniel Lieske and M. S. Bastian. Link (06/03/2014, German, MdlI)

France

Business

The licensing division of French broadcaster TF1 has acquired the rights to early French comic character Bécassine, and plans to launch a range of related merchandise. Link (10/03/2014, French, LTa)

Culture

A large exhibition on the work of veteran bande dessinée creator Marcel Gotlib is taking place from the 12th March until the 20th July at the Musée d’art et d’histoire de Judaisme in Paris. Link (05/03/2014, French, LTa)

Germany

Culture

The 3rd “Graphic Novel Tage” are held in Hamburg from the 31st March until the 3rd April; guests include Baru and Lorenzo Mattotti. Link (10/03/2014, German, MdlI)

This year’s Comic Invasion Berlin festival takes place on the 26th April. Link (17/03/2014, German, MdlI)

The comic Didi & Stulle by Fil is adapted into an opera, premiering on the 12th June in Berlin. Link (24/03/2014, German, MdlI)

Research

Neil Cohn is going to hold a workshop on “The Visual Language of Comics” on the 23rd June and will give a lecture on “The narrative grammar of comics, film, and discourse” on the 25th June. Both will take place at the University of Bremen. Link (13/03/2014, German, MdlI)

A new journal for German-language comics scholarship, Closure: Kieler e-Journal für Comicforschung, is going to launch on the 15th October; the deadline for the first Call for Papers is the 16th May. Link (24/03/2014, German, MdlI)

Portugal

Culture

The Casa da Cultura in Sátão is hosting a comics exhibition about the life and work of the Portuguese writer Eça de Queiroz. The exhibition can be visited until the 12th April.Link (20/03/2014, Portuguese, RR)

El Pep Store & Gallery in Lisbon is hosting the individual exhibition on the comics and illustration of João Chambel. It can be visited until the 12th April. Link (13/03/2014, Portuguese, RR)

Scandinavia

Research

The Scandinavian Journal of Comic Art (SJoCA) has announced a call for papers. The scope of the journal is interdisciplinary, encouraging a wide range of theoretical and methodological perspectives. The journal publishes articles, book reviews and news from the field of comics studies. At the moment, the journal is calling for articles, reviews, and forum texts (brief scholarly essays, commentaries, and debate pieces). The language of the journal is English. Link (English, KBF)

Sweden

Culture

Stockholms Internationella Seriefestival (Stockholm’s International Comics Festival) will take place between the 17th and 18th May. This year’s theme is Canadian comics. Market tables can now be reserved, but the event is free and open to the public. Link 1 (28/03/2014, English, KBF), Link 2 (28/03/2014, Swedish, KBF)

Research

A call for research papers and artist participants for a Scandinavian Comics Workshop has been announced. The event will take place on the 5th May at Stockholm University. The workshop focus is linguistic scholarship in comics studies, but scholars from any discipline working on Scandinavian comics are welcome, as are Scandinavian comics artists. Abstracts (200 words) and biographical statements (100 words) should be sent by the 7th April to both kristy.beers.fagersten@sh.se and frank.bramlett@english.su.se. Link (28/03/2014, English, KBF)

Switzerland

Culture

On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the comic magazine Strapazin, a short documentary video has been published. Link (02/03/2014, German, MdlI)

This year’s Fumetto festival in Lucerne is going to take place from the 5th to the 13th April, with main guest Gabriella Giandelli. Link (20/03/2014, German, MdlI)

UK

Culture

Dee Con 2014, a free anime, comics, games and animation convention, takes place at the Students Union at the University of Dundee on the 5th April. Link (English, WG)

Downthetubes reports on Issue One, a symposium on the future of the comics industry in Scotland, which took place at Glasgow’s Centre for Contemporary Arts on the 17th March. Link (18/03/2014, English, WG)

The list of guests for the Lakes Comic Art Festival (17th to the 19th October) has been updated. Link (English, WG)

Obituary

Comics writer Steve Moore, who was said to have taught Alan Moore how to write comics scripts, has passed away. Link (English, WG)

Research

The Comics Grid are looking to crowdsource a directory of feeds from blogs or sites that cover comics,  particularly comics criticism, history and scholarship. Link (27/03/2014, English, WG)

The Comics Grid have published their open call for submissions to the journal. The editorial deadline this time around was the 31st March. Link (English, WG)

A Facebook group has been created for the Fifth International Conference of Graphic Novels and Comics, taking place at the British Library, London, in July. Link (English, WG)

Oceania

Australia

Culture

Comics Can Do Anything is a series of interviews featuring Pat Grant, Simon Hanselmann, Nicki Greenburg, Tim Molloy, Mandy Ord, and special guest Alison Bechdel. These took place at the Adelaide Festival Centre on the 2nd March. Link (English, ALM)

Jake Bresanello and Jake Holmes debuted their sci-fi installation comic Bear Knuckles: A Celebration of the Renaissance of Illustration at the Adelaide City Council’s Art Pod exhibition space. The exhibition runs from the 26th March to the 8th May. Link (English, ALM

Josh Santosporito has a comic art exhibition running at the Sawtooth Artist Run Initiative Gallery at Launceston. Sleuth: The Delegation will be exhibited from the 4th until the 26th April. Link (English, ALM)

Research

The University of Adelaide will be hosting Inkers and Thinkers: The Evolution of Comics on the 4th April.  This interdisciplinary symposium features speakers from around Australia, and after the presentation there will be a screening of Bernard Caleo and Daniel Hayward’s documentary Graphic Novels! Melbourne! Link (English, ALM)

 

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News Editor: Will Grady (comicsforumnews@hotmail.co.uk)

Correspondents: Jessica Bauwens-Sugimoto (JBS, Japan), Michele Brittany (MB, North America), Kristy Beers Fägersten (KBF, Sweden), William Grady (WG, UK), Martin de la Iglesia (MdlI, Austria, Germany, Switzerland), Amy Louise Maynard (ALM, Australia), Renatta Rafaella (RR, Portugal), Moray Rhoda (MR, South Africa), Lise Tannahill (LTa, France).

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.

Americas

Canada

Education

There is a PhD scholarship available at the University of Calgary to pursue a doctoral study in comics in the Department of English. The proposed study will be supervised under Bart Beaty. Link (10/02/2014, English, WG)

Research

There is a call for papers for a proposed panel on Comics and Memory, to take place at the next Modern Language Association (MLA) convention, to be held in Vancouver in January 2015. Abstracts are due by the 10th March. Link (18/02/2014, English, WG)

There is a call for papers for a proposed panel on Comics and Immigration, to take place at the the next MLA convention (Vancouver, January 2015). Abstracts are due by the 8th March. Link (19/02/2014, English, WG)

There is a call for papers for a proposed panel on Global Comics and Nationalism, to take place at the next MLA convention. Abstracts are due by the 12th March. Link (21/02/2014, English, WG)

United States 

Business

DC Comics holds the top two spots for the top selling comics in January 2014, according to Diamond Comic Distributors. Scott Synder’s Batman #27, the over sized Detective Comics #27, and Avengers World #1 (Marvel) rounded out the top three spots. Link (English, MB)

Saga Volume 1 (Image), The Walking Dead Volume 1: Days Gone Bye (Image), and All-New X-Men Volume 1: Yesterday’s X-Men (Marvel) took the top three positions on the Top 100 Graphic Novels as reported by Diamond Comic Distributors. The numbers are based on total unit sales invoiced during the month of January 2014. Link (English, MB)

Culture

WonderCon 2014 is returning to Anaheim, California, between the 18th and 20th April. This year badges will only be sold online at their website. The Comics Arts Conference also returns to the convention to host a series of seminars about comics, and the schedule has been published online. Link (26/02/2014, English, MB)

There is a crowd funding campaign for the documentary, She Makes Comics, by Sequart Research & Literacy Organization. Link (English, WG)

Scholars behind the Comics Art Council have put together a crowd funding campaign to produce a documentary about Bill Finger. The documentary aims to shed light on Finger in lieu of his family’s upcoming bid to get the writer officially recognised as co-creator of Batman. Link (English, WG)

Education

The family of Dick Tracy creator, Chester Gould, have donated his comics work to Ohio State University’s Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum. Link (04/02/2014, English, WG)

Obituaries

Artist, illustrator, teacher, and cartoonist, Bhob Stewart, passed away in late February. Known as the person who coined the phrase “Underground Comix”, Stewart worked with DC Comics and Topps’ Wacky Packages. Link (26/02/2014, English, MB)

Research

The Northeast Popular/American Culture Association has put out a call out for proposals which focus upon mainstream/independent comics, web/strip comics, and/or graphic novels. Papers are expected to analyse their sources with a theoretical framework that results in discussions about the role of comics in a broader cultural and critical context. The deadline to submit proposals is the 19th May, for the conference to be held in late October at Providence College, Rhode Island. Link (English, MB)

The works of Golden Age artist and classic illustrator, George Carlson, has been released by independent comics publisher Fantagraphics and edited by Daniel Yezbick titled Perfect Nonsense: The Chaotic Comics and Goofy Games of George Carlson. The book includes a career retrospective, critical analysis, biographical timeline, and many illustrations, some rare and not published before. Link (English, MB)

Southeast Asian Cartoon Art: History, Trends and Problems has recently been published by McFarland Publishing. Edited by John A. Lent, the anthology includes essays examining overarching themes of historical/contemporary overviews and socio-cultural/political issues. Link (English, MB)

There is a call for papers for the Rocky Mountain Conference on Comics and Graphic Novels 2014 (13th-15th June), which is now attached to the Denver Comic Con. The deadline for proposals is the 15th March. Link (02/02/2014, English, WG)

There is a call for papers for a collection to be published through McFarland entitled The Punk Aesthetic in Comics. Abstracts are due by the 2nd June. Link (20/02/2014, English, WG)

The collection, It Happens at Comic-Con: Ethnographic Essays on a Pop Culture Phenomenon, edited by Ben Bolling and Matthew J. Smith, has been published through McFarland. The collection  covers a range of topics associated with Comic-Con International, from issues of identity, gender, and communicative performance. Link (English, WG)

Asia

Japan

Culture

Kyoto International Manga Museum is hosting the third edition of the Kyoto MaGiC Exhibition, featuring fashion from manga titles. The exhibition runs from the 23rd March to the 8th June. This year the fashion designs are based on the manga titles, Mairunovitch, by Zakuri Sato, and Kimi ni todoke, by Karuho Shiina. Link (English, JBS)

There will be an exhibition on the Nouvelle Bande Dessinée at Kyoto International Manga Museum, from the 15th March until the 25th May. The exhibiting artists are A-li-ce, Fumio Obata, Freddy Nadolny Poustochkine, Gaëlle Duhazé, 
Jérôme Boulbès, and José Parrondo. Link (English, JBS)

On the 29th March, at Yonezawa Yoshihiro Memorial Library (Meiji University), Hosei Iwashita and Kentaro Miwa, with Go Ito as a facilitator, will hold a talk on “expressive structure in shojo manga” and “manga and film”. Link (Japanese, JBS)

Research

The 14th annual convention of the Japanese Society for Studies in Cartoon and Comics (JSSCC) will be held between the 28th and 29th June, at Kyoto Seika University and Kyoto International Manga Museum. The call for presentations is open until the 1st April. Link (Japanese, JBS)

Europe 

Belgium

Research

Pascal Lefèvre has set up a webpage “Tools for analyzing Graphic Narratives and Case Studies”, which summarises his last 20 years of work on the formal aspects of comics. The site can serve as a quick theoretical and practical introduction (for both students and fans) in ways to analyse comics. Link (English, WG)

France

Culture

Art Ludique in Paris will host a major Marvel Comics exhibition from the 22nd March until the 31st August. Link 1 (21/02/2014, French, LTa), Link 2 (English, LTa)

Bill Watterson, author of Calvin and Hobbes, has been awarded the Grand Prix at the 2014 Angoulême festival. Link 1 (02/02/2014, French, LTa), Link 2 (03/02/2014, English, LTa)

Obituary

François Cavanna, one of the founders of satirical bande dessinée publications Hara-Kiri and Charlie Hebdo, has died aged 91. Link (30/01/2014, French, LTa)

Germany

Culture

Comics Atlas Finnland has just been published by Reprodukt (2014). This publication is a German-language collection of Finish comics, including the work of Roope Eronen, Matti Hagelberg, Jarno Latva-Nikkola, Mika Lietzén, and Hanneriina Moisseinen (amongst many others). The volume reflects complementary themes of this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair, which has Finland as its theme; and the Helsinki Comics Festival, for which Germany is the theme country. Link 1 (24/02/2014, German, KBF), Link 2 (21/11/2013, English, KBF), Link 3 (English, KBF)

Journalist Andreas Platthaus has put together a collection of recent German-language comics that are going to be shown at book fairs around the world. Link (04/02/2014, German, MdlI)

An exhibition of comic artist Peter Eickmeyer is shown in Melle until the 24th February, and in Osnabrück from the 27th April. Link (06/02/2014, German, MdlI)

Comic magazine Reddition turns 30 this year; there is going to be an anniversary exhibition at Comic-Salon Erlangen in June. Link (10/02/2014, German, MdlI)

The convention Comic-Salon Erlangen is going to take place from the 19th – 22nd June this year. Link (12/02/2014, German, MdlI)

The convention, Comiciade, is going to take place in Aachen on the 4th and 5th April; guests include Roger Langridge and Hermann. Link (20/02/2014, German, MdlI)

A talk on web comics given by comic artist Sarah Burrini at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf in January has been made available online. Link (24/02/2014, German, MdlI)

Research

A workshop on “comic studies and media studies” is going to take place at Ruhr-Universität Bochum on the 25th and 26th April. Link (12/02/2014, German, MdlI)

Greece

Culture

There is a crowd funding campaign, organised by scholar Lida Tsene (amongst others), for a short story by French author, Marguerite Yourcenar, to be adapted into a Greek language graphic novel. Link (English/French, LTs)

Ireland

Business

There is a new online comic shop set up in Ireland. Link (English, SC)

Culture

Shelley Culbertson interviews Uproar Comics Danny McLaughlin. Link (English, SC)

There has been an updated list published for guests attending Dublin Comic Con, which takes place between the 9th and 10th August. Link (English, SC)

Portugal

Culture

The municipality of Setúbal is organising an exhibition titled “Fernão Mendes Pinto e a sua Peregrinação” (Fernão Mendes Pinto and his peregrination). The exhibition focuses on the work of the Portuguese Comic author, José Ruy, published in the magazine, Cavaleiro Andante, from December 1957 until June 1959. The exhibition will run until the 11th March in Casa da Cultura de Setúbal. Link (03/02/2014, Portuguese, RR)

The Art Center of São João da Madeira is organising a course on comics. It will take place from March until May in the Oliva Creative Factory. Link (26/02/2014, Portuguese, RR)

Sweden

Culture

The Stockholm International Comics Festival has confirmed its first guest, Olivier Martin, co-creator (with Sylvain Runberg) of Den Mörka Sidan (The Dark Side). Link (22/01/2014, Swedish, KBF)

UK

Business

Downthetubes has updated its figures for UK comic sales, which list sales up until December 2013. Link (English, WG)

Culture

As part of the forthcoming Eisner Week, there will be a  Round Table Symposium on the 5th March, at the Gilchrist Club, University of Glasgow. Academic staff and postgraduate students, alongside members of the comics industry will present good graphic novels that they have recently discovered. Link (English, WG)

Scott McCloud has been announced as a guest for the 2014 Lakes International Comic Art Festival, which takes place in Kendal between the 17th and 19th October. Link (07/02/2014, English, WG)

Education

Bournemouth University’s Media School is now inviting applications for the MA courses in Adaptation, and also Literary Media. Taught in part by Dr Julia Round, these courses will include the study of comics. There is also funding available (see Link 2). Link 1 (English, WG), Link 2 (English, WG)

Research

European Comic Art Volume 6, Issue 2, has recently been published. Link (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), Shelley Culbertson (SC, Ireland), Kristy Beers Fägersten (KBF, Germany, Sweden), William Grady (WG, UK), Martin de la Iglesia (MdlI, Germany), Renatta Rafaella (RR, Portugal) Lida Tsene (LTs, Greece), Lise Tannahill (LTa, France).

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.

Americas

Argentina

Research

The call for papers for the Third International Biennial Comics Conference Viñetas Serias has been announced. The registration form for the event will be enabled from the 1st March (via the link) for the event which takes place between the 8th and 10th September. Link (English, WG)

Canada

Research

MediaCommons’ The New Everyday announces the publication of a cluster of articles on “The Multimodality of Comics in Everyday Life.” Link (English, WG)

United States 

Business

Marvel’s Origins II #1 and Avengers #24, alongside DC Comic’s Batman #26 took the top three spots in December, based on total unit sales of products invoiced, according to Diamond News. Link (English, MB)

Diamond News tallied the total unit sales of products invoiced for graphic novels for the month of December. DC’s Fables Volume 19: Snow White took the top spot, followed by Boom! Studios’ Adventure Time Volume 2: Pixel Princess, and IDW’s Richard Stark’s Parker Slayground. Link (English, MB)

Image dominated the top six spots of Diamond News’ Top 500 Graphic Novels list for 2013. Based on the total unit sales invoiced for the calendar year, Saga Volume 1, Walking Dead Volume 1 Days Gone By and Saga Volume 2 came out on top. Link (English, MB)

Diamond News also compiled the total comics sales invoiced for the calendar year. Walking Dead #115 (Image), Justice League of America #1 (DC Comics), and Superman Unchained #1 (DC Comics) ranked first through to third respectively. Link (English, MB)

Marvel Comics came in at the top of the dollar share and unit share for 2013, as reported by Diamond News. DC Comics was second and Image Comics was third. Marvel and DC Comics each took approximately a third of the dollar and unit shares. Link (08/01/2014, English, MB)

Culture

The William King Museum Center for Art and Cultural Heritage has announced a new exhibit titled, Heroes Aren’t Hard to Find: The Comic Art Collection of Shelton Drum, which will take place between the 24th January through to the 29th June. The free exhibit, in Abingdon, Virginia, will feature original art by Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby, Frank Frazetta, and several others. Link (English, MB)

Education

Enrollment is now open for the free online course, Social Issues Through Comic Books. Run by Christina Blanch, the course examines current social issues through comic books, and will run from the 10th March until the 18th August. Link (English, WG)

Obituary

Wee-Pals cartoonist, Morrie Turner, has passed away at the age of 90. Link (27/01/2014, English, WG)

San Francisco Comic Book Company owner, Gary Arlington, passed away on the 17th January. Arlington is considered to have opened the first comic book store in the U.S. with several thousands comic books, and was a huge supporter of local comics and arts. Link (17/01/2014, English, MB)

Research

Biographical Sketches of Cartoonists & Illustrators in the Swann Collection of the Library of Congress, by Sara Duck, has just been released. The book provides biographical sketches ranging from the years 1780 to 1970 that were compiled by Erwin Swann. Link (English, MB)

The Comics Arts Conference is now accepting proposals for its 2014 conference which takes place at the San Diego Comic Con. Submissions are due by the 1st March. Link (English, WG)

PS: Political Science and Politics has just published a symposium on “The Politics of Superheroes,” edited by Matthew Costello and Kent Worcester. Link (English, WG)

Mark McKinney’s The Colonial Heritage of French Comics (Liverpool University Press) has now been published in a paperback edition. Link (English, WG), US LInk (English, WG)

The Society for Cinema and Media Studies conference, which takes place in Seattle between the 19th and 23rd March, has published the conference schedule which holds a number of comics panels. Link (English, WG)

There is a call for papers for the panel, German Comics: An Unturned Stone, which will take place at the 38th Annual Conference of the German Studies Association Kansas City, Missouri, between the 18th and 21st September. Abstracts are due by 9th February. Link (10/01/2014, English, WG)

The International Comic Arts Forum (ICAF) has put out a call for proposals for their 17th annual meeting to be held at the Bill Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum in Columbus, OH, between the 13th and 15th November. Abstracts are being accepted through to the 14th March, and will be blind reviewed. Link (English, MB)

ImageTexT Volume 7, Issue 2, has recently been published. Link (English, WG)

Asia

Japan

Culture

Kyoto International Manga Museum is hosting the yearly graduation exhibit of the students of Kyoto Seika University Faculty of Manga, between the 19th and 23rd February. This exhibition is during the same period as the Anime Week, and during this period admission to the Kyoto International Manga Museum is free. Link (Japanese, JBS)

The 16th Niigata Manga Awards Festival will be held on the weekend of the 8th and 9th February. Link (Japanese, JBS)

Obituary

Ichiro Nagai, the voice of many popular TV anime series’ characters, like Namihei from Sazae san and Happosai from Ranma 1/2, passed away on the 27th January. Link (29/01/2014, English, JBS)

Research

The 14th annual convention of the Japanese Society for Studies in Cartoon and Comics will be held on the 28th and 29th June, at Kyoto Seika University and Kyoto International Manga Museum. The call for presentations is open until the 1st April. Link (Japanese, JBS)

Europe 

Croatia

Culture

Croatian and Dutch artist Helena Klakočar talked about her new comic book project Moisture, Frost & Salt. The talk was held on the 28th January in the book club Booksa as a part of the comic book program ‘Strip-tease’. It was moderated by Matko Vladanović. Link (28/01/2014, Croatian, LO)

Publisher Vlado Šagadin (from the publishing house 2×2) and artist Ivana Pipal talked about the Croatian comic book scene, and presented Pipal’s new comic book Priča o teti Mandi (A story of aunt Manda). The presentation was held on the 27th January at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Link (26/01/2014, Croatian, LO)

Czech Republic

Research

There is a call for papers for the panel, The Sequential Art: Comics as a Cultural Nexus, part of the Second Global Forum of Critical Studies, taking place in Prague between the 21st and 22nd February. Link (English, WG)

Denmark

Culture

Serieland.dk is currently running a crowd-funding project for the print publication of the anthology That Time My Father Beat My Best Friend to Death – and Other True Stories (Dengang min far slog min bedste ven ihjel – og andre sandfærdige beretninger), featuring autobiographical contributions from eight Danish comic strip creators. Link (21/01/2014, Danish, KBF)

Education

The comics creators Eric Knipper, and Folkeuniversitet i Aarhus have announced a series of five lectures to be held in April and May 2014. The lectures include: What are comic strips? by Carsten Fogh Nielsen; How do comic strips work? by Rikke Platz Cortsen; Comic strips and graphic novels, by Marianne Eskebaek; Autobiographical comic strips, by Sabrina Vitting-Seerup; and The new wave, by Thomas Thorhauge. Link (08/01/2014, Danish, KBF)

France

Business

France’s national union of bande dessinée creators (Groupement des Auteurs de Bande Dessinée-SNAC) have used the 2014 Angoulême festival to distribute a document calling attention to various issues including tax rises affecting creators, concerns over digital distribution agreements, and new copyright difficulties. The document argues that these issues are threatening creators’ livelihoods. Link 1 (29/01/2014, French, LTa), Link 2 (29/01/2014, French, LTa)

Culture

The founder of bande dessinée publishers, Delcourt, has announced his intention to open a bande dessinée school in Paris, partly to challenge the dominance of Angoulême as France’s centre of bande dessinée creation. Link (29/01/2014, French, LTa)

Obituary

Bande dessinée author and children’s illustrator, Stéphane Bein (Anna Sponge, Les Trentenaires), has died at the age of 41. Link (19/01/2014, French, LTa)

Germany

Culture

The exhibition, “Tout le monde kaputt“ – Der Erste Weltkrieg im Comic, on World War I in comics, opened at the LMU Munich University Library on the 15th January and runs until the 11th April. Link (06/01/2014, German, MdlI)

A manga exhibition, Manga-dô – Der Weg des Manga, opened in Munich on the 23rd January and runs until the 9th February. Link (12/01/2014, German, MdlI)

A Jacques Tardi exhibition opening on the 15th January, and an introductory talk by Iris Praefke on the 21st and 22nd January accompany the screening of the documentary film Tardi – Schwarz auf Weiß in Berlin. Link (13/01/2014, German, MdlI)

The exhibition, Streich auf Streich – 150 Jahre deutschsprachige Comics seit Max und Moritz, on German comics, opens at Museum Wilhelm Busch – Deutsches Museum für Karikatur und Zeichenkunst in Hanover on the 16th February, and runs until the 27th April. Link (16/01/2014, German, MdlI)

Two exhibitions on comics and Jewish identities take place in Dresden: Wurzellose Kosmopoliten – Comics zu jüdischen Identitäten in Europa, USA und Israel from the 21st January to the 4th May, and Luftmenschen – Zwischen Algier und Odessa unterwegs in den Bildwelten des französischen Comic-Zeichners Joann Sfar from the 21st January to the 28th March. Link (27/01/2014, German, MdlI)

An exhibition of finalists of the comic competition Animate Europe opens in Potsdam on the 20th February. Link (30/01/2014, German, MdlI)

Research

A call for papers has been published for a conference on translations and adaptations of comics in Hildesheim from the 31st October to the 2nd November 2014; deadline for submissions is the 28th February. Link (28/01/2014, German, MdlI)

There is a call for papers for the symposium Adaptation: Animation, Comics and Literature, which is a part of the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film /Literaturhaus Stuttgart, The event takes place on the 24th April, and submissions are due by the 21st February. Link (English, WG)

Norway

Culture

The dates for this year’s Raptus Comics Festival have been announced. Raptus 2014 will be held in Bergen between the 19th and the 21st September. Link (30/01/2014, Norwegian, KBF)

Portugal

Culture

The municipality of Odemira is organising the 8th edition of BDTECA, that consists of activities related to comics. These include two exhibitions, a fair and a contest. The event began on the 7th January with the launch of the annual comics contest, and will end on the 29th March with the close of the exhibition which features comics produced by the contestants. Link (Portuguese, RR)

From the 25th January until the 25th March, the Espaço Tintim in Lisbon is hosting an exhibition that aims to show the new adventures of Tintin in the 21st century, created by Portuguese authors (Novas aventuras de Tintim no século XXI criadas por autores portugueses). Link (25/01/2014, Portuguese, RR)

Sweden

Culture

Seriefrämjandet and Svenska institutet, with support from Kulturrådet, are representing Sweden at the Festival International de la Bande Dessinée in Angoulême, France, which takes place between the 30th January until the 2nd February. Link (30/01/2014, Swedish, KBF)

UK

Culture

The exhibition entitled, Comics Unmasked: Art and Anarchy in the UK, is being staged by the British Library between the 2nd May and the 19th August. The show will explore the library’s British comics collection, presenting work that has challenged the status quo, and signals to issues around gender, violence, sexuality, drug-taking and politics. It is co-curated by Paul Gravett and John Harris Dunning, and is being designed by Dave McKean. Link 1 (English, WG), Link 2 (22/01/2014, English, WG), Link 3 (22/01/2014, English, WG)

As part of the Sussex Centre for Folklore, Fairy Tales & Fantasy illustrated lecture series, Robin Furth, who plotted the Marvel Comics version of Stephen King’s Dark Tower, will be giving a talk on the 13th March at the University of Chichester. Link (English, WG)

Research

Routledge has just published a new book titled, Comics and the Senses: A Multisensory Approach to Comics and Graphic Novels, as part of their Routledge Research in Cultural and Media Studies. Author Ian Hague incorporates the multisensory model to challenge the thought that comics are strictly a visual experience, and includes a case study of Alan Moore’s work. Link (English, MB)

The Sterling Maxwell Seminar Series at the University of Glasgow has published their schedule, which includes a couple of talks relevant to comics studies. Link (English, WG)

The Comics Grid: Journal of Comics Scholarship is currently taking submissions, due by the 31st March. Submissions may include research, reviews, and interviews, and once peer-review is completed, the article is published immediately. Link (English, MB)

There is a call for presentations for the 3rd Global Conference: The Graphic Novel, taking place at Mansfield College, Oxford, between the 3rd and 5th September. Abstracts are due by the 4th April. Link (08/01/2014, 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, UK), Kristy Beers Fägersten (KBF, Denmark, Norway, Sweden), William Grady (WG, UK), Martin de la Iglesia (MdlI, Germany), Luka Ostojic (LO, Croatia), Renatta Rafaella (RR, Portugal) Lise Tannahill (LTa, France).

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.

Americas

United States 

Business

DC Comics and Marvel take top spots of total unit sales of products invoiced during the month of November according to Diamond News. Batman #25, Harley Quinn #0 and Amazing X-Men #1 took first, second and third position respectively. Link (English, MB)

Diamond News reported on the top 100 graphic novels for the month of November, based on total unit sales of products invoiced throughout the month. Image’s Walking Dead: March to War Vol 19 was in the top spot, while Viz Media’s Yu-Gi-Oh! 5DS Vol 5, and DC Comics’ Fairest In All The Land were second and third respectively. Link (English, MB)

Culture

The Comics Journal reviews Small Press Fest 2013, which took place in Seattle, Washington between the 29th and 30th November. Link (06/12/2013, English, WG)

Former North American correspondent for the Comics Forum News Review, Hannah Means-Shannon, has recently been announced as the editor-in-chief over at Bleeding Cool. Link (10/12/2013, English, WG)

Education

The Columbia University Libraries’ Rare Book & Manuscript Library has acquired the archives of Dennis Kitchen’s Kitchen Sink Press, which published underground comics from 1969 to 1999. The collection not only includes comics from notable pioneers – Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, Robert Crumb, and Art Spiegelman – but chronicles the industry’s cultural history via correspondence, original art, mock-ups, and editorial files. Link (18/12/2013, English, MB)

Professor Benjamin Saunders, of the University of Oregon, was interviewed by The Comics Reporter regarding the $200,000 donated towards his Comics & Cartoon Studies program. Link (09/12/2013, English, WG)

Research

The Ages of Wonder Woman: Essay on the Amazon Princess in Changing Times, edited by Joseph J. Darowski, was released by McFarland Publishers in December. The essays contextualise Wonder Woman during pivotal periods, from her inception in the 1940s during World War II, to reconciling her identity along nationalistic lines. Link (English, MB)

Naomi Grossman has been announced as the keynote speaker for the 2014 “Cripping” the Comic Con, which takes place at Syracuse University in April. Link (English, WG)

There is a call for papers for an edited collection entitled “Graphic Treatment: Zombies, Medicine, and Comics,” which will examine zombies in comics and graphic novels through the lens of medical discourse. Abstracts are due by the 10th February. Link (20/12/2013, English, WG)

There is a call for papers for an edited collection entitled “Post-9/11 Literature and Media.” The editor seeks submissions that look beyond more obvious 9/11 texts, with studies into comics welcome. Abstracts are due by the 31st January. Link (21/12/2013, English, WG)

The Visual Language of Comics: Introduction to the Structure and Cognition of Sequential Images by Neil Cohn has now been published in the UK and Europe through Bloomsbury, and will be published in North America in late January. Link (English, WG)

ImageTexT Volume 7, Issue 1, a special issue entitled “The Worlds of the Hernandez Brothers,” has recently been published. Link (English, WG)

There is a call for papers for a special issue of ImageTexT entitled, “A Comic of Her Own: Women Writing, Reading, and Embodying in Comics.” Submissions are due by the 15th February. Link (04/12/2013, English, WG)

The open access journal, Synæsthesia, invites submissions for a special upcoming themed edition of the journal (Vol. 2, No. 3) specifically focused on comic book superheroes. Link (10/12/2013, English, WG)

The MLA Discussion Group on Comics and Graphic Narratives have published complete descriptions, with abstracts, of the three panels that will be hosted at the Modern Language Association’s Annual Convention. The panels Transnational Comics (Link 1), Comics and Fine Art (Link 2), and Collaboration in Comics (Link 3), will take place at the event in Chicago between the 9th and 12th January. Link 1 (02/01/2014, English, WG), Link 2 (02/01/2014, English, WG), Link 3 (02/01/2014, English, WG)

Asia

Taiwan

Culture

A comic exhibition, A Parallel Tale: Taipei in 80s x Hong Kong in 90s, organised by the Hong Kong Arts Centre, opened in Taipei. It showcases five artists from Taiwan and five artists from Hong Kong, and is there until the 9th February. Link (English, LCT)

Europe 

Belgium

Business

The Belgian National Football Association (URBSFA) is considering filing a complaint against publisher TJ Editions for copyright infringement. TJ Editions have published an album, Rêve Bresilien, featuring the Belgian national football team. However, URBSFA have signed an exclusive deal with another publisher, Joker Editions, to issue albums featuring the national team. Link (23/12/2013, French, LTa)

France

Law & Politics

A French court has dismissed the case brought by Sylvie Uderzo, daughter of Astérix creator Albert, for “abuse of weakness” by her father’s entourage. The case is part of a long-running dispute between father and daughter which stems from Albert’s 2008 sale of his 40% stake in Editions Albert-René (publishers of the Astérix series) to Hachette. Sylvie Uderzo is appealing the decision. Link 1 (11/12/2013, French, LTa), Link 2 (11/12/2013, French, LTa)

Germany

Culture

The group exhibition, „comicleben_comiclife“, of six German-language individuals working in comics (including Marko Djurdjevic, Ulli Lust and Dietrich Grünewald) takes place at MKG Hamburg from the 20th December 2013 to the 4th May 2014. Link (12/12/2013, German, MdlI)

A comic festival takes place at Kassel from the 15th to the 19th January. Guests include Kai Pfeiffer, Ulli Lust and Peer Meter. Link (23/12/2013, German, MdlI)

A Nick Knatterton exhibition takes place in Bremen until the 22nd March. Link (30/12/2013, German, MdlI)

Research

The call for papers for the 9th conference of the German Society for Comics Studies – Drawing Borders, Crossing Boundaries (Grenzen ziehen, Grenzen überschreiten) – is now online. The deadline for proposals is the 31st March, and the conference will take place in Berlin from the 25th to the 28th September. Link (31/12/2013, English, MdlI)

Poland

Research

There is a call for papers for the conference, Word & Image Crossovers: An International and Interdisciplinary Conference, which will take place between the 29th and 30th September at the Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz, Poland. Link (English, WG)

Portugal

Education

During January, three courses/workshops on comics will take place in Lisbon. “How to Read Comics”, “How to read Illustration” and “Experimental Comics” are the titles of the courses that will be taught by Pedro Moura. They are being organised by the LEBD (Laboratory of Comics Studies) and Oficina do Cego. Link (Portuguese, RR)

From the 24th February until the 26th May, the CIEBA (Fine Arts Research Center of the Faculdade de Belas-Artes da Universidade de Lisboa) will host the Laboratory on Illustration and Comics. It aims to promote methodologies of research, conception and concretisation, focusing on the similarities between illustration and comics. Registration is open until the 18th February. Link (Portuguese, RR)

Romania

Culture

The third edition of the European Comic Con took place in Bucharest between the 7th November, and the 5th December. It featured the work of comic book artists from France, Belgium, Germany, The Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Romania. Link (Romanian, MP)

The traveling collaborative exhibition project “comiXconnection” arrived in Romania on the 13th December. It features the work of independent comic book artists from Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Hungary, and Romania; and will run until the 30th January. Link (English, MP)

Switzerland

Business

Genevan publisher Atrabile is facing significant financial difficulties. An association, Friends of Atrabile, has been created. Link (19/12/2013, French, LTa)

UK

Culture

The Comics Journal reviews Thought Bubble, Leeds 2013. Link (05/12/2013, English, WG)

Education

There are a number of AHRC funded PhD studentships available at the University of Dundee. Applications and research proposals relating to Comics Studies are welcome, and the deadline is the 20th January. Link (English, WG)

Research

There is a call for papers for the symposium Communities of Experience? A Symposium on Autobiographical Comics by Jewish Women. Abstracts are due by 15th May for the event which takes place in London on the 12th November. Link (23/12/2013, English, WG)

Oceania

Australia

Culture

Nominations for the 2013 Ledger Awards have been announced. The Ledger Awards, named after the reputed cartoonist Peter Ledger, were created to recognise excellence in the Australian comic book industry. More information about the judging process and nominees can be found in the following link. Link (English, ALM)

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News Editor: Will Grady (comicsforumnews@hotmail.co.uk)

Correspondents: Michele Brittany (MB, North America), William Grady (WG, UK), Martin de la Iglesia (MdlI, Germany), Amy Louise Maynard (ALM, Australia), Mihaela Precup (MP, Romania), Renatta Rafaella (RR, Portugal) Lise Tannahill (LTa, Belgium, France, Switzerland), Lim Cheng Tju (LCT, Taiwan).

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.