Category Archives: News Review

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)

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.

Americas

United States 

Business

DC’s premier issue of Forever Evil #1, Marvel’s Infinity #2 and Infinity #3 took the top three spots respectively according to Diamond News’ top 100 comics for September, 2013. Results are based on total unit sales of products invoiced for the month. Link (English, MB & EG)

East of West Volume 1: The Promise from Image was at the top of Diamond News top 100 graphic novel list with Justice League Volume 3: Throne of Atlantis (DC) and Star Wars Volume 1: In the Shadow of Yavin (Dark Horse) following up in the number 2 and 3 slots respectively. Results are based on total unit sales invoiced for the month of September, 2013. Link (English, MB & EG)

DC Comics confirmed they will move their editorial team to Burbank, California to join their digital and administrative departments which relocated in 2010 following the creation of DC Entertainment the prior year. The article includes the full text of DC Entertainment president Diane Nelson’s email to her DCE Team. Link (English, MB)

After completing his award-winning run on Daredevil next year, digital comics champion Mark Waid is taking his work with the character online in a new series entitled Daredevil: Road Warrior, marking the first time a high-profile writer and character have seamlessly transitioned from print to digital. Link (31/10/2013, English, EG)

Culture

The art of Lee Weeks is currently on display at Liberty University Art Gallery located in Lynchburg, Virginia. The exhibition, which will conclude on November 10th, includes many well-known comic book characters Weeks’ has worked on: Marvel’s Daredevil, Wolverine, Captain America, and DC Comic’s Batman. Link (English, MB)

City University of New York’s The Graduate Center announced a free lecture as part of the New Directions in African American and African Diasporic Literary and Cultural Studies series. Jonathan W. Gray, from John Jay College, will present Heroes in Black: Race, Image, Ideology and the Evolution of Comics Scholarship on Friday, November 15th at 2 PM in the English Student Lounge. Link (English, MB)

Education

Cartoonist Al Jafee, best known for his work for Mad Magazine, has donated a large body of his work to the library at Columbia University. Link (07/10/2013, English, WG)

The Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon is now accepting applications for its graduate fellowship in the 2014-2015 academic year. Applications are due by the 14th February 2014. Link (21/10/2013, English, EG)

Obituary

Comic book penciller George Olesen passed away on October 15th. He is best known for his work on the comic strip The Phantom for approximately 40 years. Link (English, MB)

Research

There has been an updated call for papers for the collection titled “Comics and the American Southwest and Borderlands.” 500 word abstracts are due by the 15th January, and final submissions are expected by the 28th March. Link (07/10/2013, English, EG & MB)

There is a call for papers for a collection that will explore disability in comics entitled, “Feats of Clay: Disability and Graphic Narrative.” The collection will be published by Palgrave Macmillan, and 500 word abstracts are due by the 15th December. Link (10/10/2013, English, EG)

Smashwords  has just released A Golden Thread – An Unofficial Critical History of Wonder Woman by Philip Sandifer. Schdifer traces Wonder Woman’s 70-year history in comics as well as television and film. Link (English, MB)

The American Comparative Literature Association (ACLA) is holding a seminar titled Frames in Literature and Across the Arts and are currently accepting abstracts through November 15, 2013 that explore the use of frames and their meaning. Submit at http://www.acla.org/submit but read more about the CFP at the link below. Link (English, MB)

The Comic Arts Conference – Wondercon is now accepting proposals for talks to be given at WonderCon 2014 in Anaheim (dates to be announced). The deadline for proposals is December 15 (see link for submission details). For more information contact Katherine McClancy at comicsartsconference@gmail.com. Link (English, EG)

The Michigan State University Comics Forum (no relation) has released a call for submissions for academic and artist panels for the 2014 conference. The conference will take place on 21-22 February 2014, and the keynote speaker will be Stan Sakai, creator of Usagi Yojimbo. 250 word abstracts for papers and panels are due by 1 December 2013. Link (English, IH)

The previously announced volume The Comics of Charles Schulz: The Good Grief of Modern Life has extended its call for papers deadline; abstracts are now due by the 31st December 2013. Link (23/10/2013, English, EG)

There is a call for papers for a forthcoming anthology that considers the social construction of childhood in comics. Submissions are due by the 1st January 2014. Link (01/10/2013, English, EG)

Asia

Japan

Culture

Kyoto International Manga Museum is hosting the “Ono Saseo Exhibition – The Modern Girl, The Southern Belle, and the Bicycle Girl”, until February the 11th, 2014. Link (English, JBS)

On November the 17th, Kyoto International Manga Museum welcomes Taiwanese manga artist AKRU will talk on her oeuvre, interviewed by Ikeda Mika. Link (English, JBS)

Singapore

Culture

The fourth 24 Hour Comics Day was held in Singapore on 5 October. So far, a different location has chosen every year. This time it was held at the Lasalle College of the Arts, which saw the participation of 100 of their students, making this the largest event ever (150 participants). Link (English, LCT)

Research

Although not held in Singapore, a panel on Singapore comics was presented at Transitions 4, which is part of the Comica Festival. Lim Cheng Tju, Dave Chua and Hu Jingxuan shared their works, with Paul Gravett responding. Link (English, LCT)

Europe 

Belgium

Business

The catalogue of the Belgian bande dessinée imprint Niffle has been bought by Dupuis, who will reissue several titles in 2014 as the 50/60 collection. Niffle notably published complete collections of series such as Blueberry and Largo Winch, as well as books of essays and interviews on the ‘golden age’ of Franco-Belgian comics. Link (18/10/2013, French, LTa)

A rare auction of thirty originals by François Schuiten raised 500,000 euros. Link (25/10/2013, French, LTa)

Casterman and Moulinsart have announced various releases to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Casterman’s publication of The Adventures of Tintin, but there will be no new Tintin album until 2052. Link (21/10/2013, French, LTa)

Croatia

Culture

The annual 16th comic book festival “Crtani romani šou” (Graphic Novel Show) was held in Zagreb from 25th to 27th October. The main guests were Stefano Biglia, Roberto Diso, Julio Radilović – Jules, R. M. Guera etc. Link (Croatian, LO)

Acclaimed Croatian illustrator Borivoj Dovniković Bordo (70) was a special guest of the international comic book conference “Međunarodni salon stripa” that held place in Belgrade. There was also an exhibition of Bordo`s works in Gallery SKC. Link (Croatian, LO)

France

Culture

The poster for next year’s Festival International de la Bande Dessinée in Angoulême has been unveiled. Link (01/10/2013, French, LTa) 

Obituary

Bande dessinée creator Jacques Arbeau, aka Jacarbo, has died at the age of 86. Arbeau’s work appeared in various magazines, including Tintin , Junior and Ames Vaillantes. He also worked on Brik and L’Espiègle Lili and several other series. Link (27/09/2013, French, LTa) 

Germany

Culture

The exhibition “Stichprobe” will show comics from Finland at the Finnland-Institut in Berlin from the 15th November 2013 to the 5th February 2014. Link (German, MdlI)

Reinhard Kleist’s comic Der Boxer wins the award Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis in the non-fiction category. Link (German, MdlI)

Sergeant Superpower rettet Amerika, a play unofficially based on Captain America, premiered at Theater Heidelberg. Link (German, MdlI)

A panel discussion on two comic biographies of Willy Brandt, with participation of the authors and scholar René Mounajed, took place in Berlin on the 31st October. Link (German, MdlI)

The exhibition “Graphzines 1975 – 2013: französische Underground-Künstlerpublikationen” is shown in Munich from the 11th October to the 22nd November. Link (German, MdlI)

 An exhibition on Kafka in Comics takes place in Stuttgart from the 8th November 2013 to the 7th February 2014. Link (German, MdlI)

Research

The AG Comicforschung within the German Society for Media Studies (Gesellschaft für Medienforschung, GfM) hosted its first panel at the GfM 2013 conference in Lüneburg on the 4th October. Link (German, MdlI)

Ireland

Culture

The Irish Comic Awards have been announced. Voting for the winners ended at midnight on the 1st of November and the winners will be announced shortly. Link (English, SC)

Irish Comic News asks: ‘Women in comics: What are you going to do about it?’ Link (English, SC)

Portugal

Culture

From 25th October until 10th November the Fórum Luís de Camões in Amadora is hosting the 24º Festival Internacional de Banda Desenhada 2013 (24th International Festival of Comics). Link (Portuguese, RR)

Romania

Culture

UK   

Business

Humanoids, Inc. have announced they will start publishing books directly in the UK for the first time. Link (English, IH)

Culture

The first Lakes International Comic Art festival ran in Kendal, Cumbria, from 17-19 October. Link (English, IH)

Edinburgh International Book Festival, which took place in August 2013, continues to upload extensive video content featuring various comics and creators to their YouTube channel. Link (English, IH)

The annual Dundee Comics Day took place at the University of Dundee on 26-27 October. Link (English, IH)

Research

Registration is open for the 2013 Comics Forum conference, which is entitled ‘Small Press and Undergrounds: A Conference on Comics’ and will run at Leeds Central Library on the 21st and 22nd of November. The keynote event is Paul Gravett in conversation with Roger Sabin. Link (English, IH)

The fourth Transitions conference took place at Birkbeck, University of London, on the 26th of October. Link (English, IH)

Issue 4.2 of Studies in Comics is now available in print and online. Link (English, IH)

Submissions are invited for a new research collection entitled Bad Signals: Collected Essays on the Work of Warren Ellis, to be published by Gylphi. 300 word abstracts for 6,000-8,000 word articles are due with editors Hallvard Haug and Tony Venezia by 13 December 2013. Link (English, IH)

The call for papers for the Fifth International Graphic Novels and Comics conference has been released. The conference will take place at the British Library from 17-19 July 2014 and will concentrate on two sets of themes: production and institution, and sedition and anarchy. 300 word abstracts are due on 24 January 2014. Link (English, IH)

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This month’s Comics Forum News Review was edited by Ian Hague as Will Grady is away.

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

Correspondents: Jessica Bauwens-Sugimoto (JBS, Japan), Michele Brittany (MB, North America), Shelley Culbertson (SC, Ireland), Eric Garneau (EG, North America), William Grady (WG, UK), Ian Hague (IH, UK), Martin de la Iglesia (MdlI, Germany), Luka Ostojic (LO, Croatia), Mihaela Precup (MP, Romania), Renatta Rafaela (RR, Portugal), 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.

Africa

South Africa

Culture

Open Book Comics Fest happened over 4 days. The 7th and the 8th September saw the marketplace and panel talks at The Homecoming Centre in District 6, Cape Town, followed by two days of workshops at the Central Library in Cape Town. Link 1 (11/09/2013, English, MR), Link 2 (10/09/2013, English, MR), Link 3 (English, MR)

Americas

Canada

Research

The Canadian Society for the Study of Comics/la Société Canadienne pour l-étude de la band desinée (CSSC/SCEBD), has been dormant for a while, but is now accepting new members. Link (English, WG)

United States 

Business

Digital comics distributor Comixology has named former HBO GO founder and executive Jeff DiBartolomeo as the Chief Technology Officer, with an eye toward making digital comics truly mass-market. Link (09/09/2013, English, EG)

The top 100 comic books based on total unit sales of products invoiced for August 2013 has been reported by Diamond News. The new Marvel miniseries, Infinity #1, moved into the top spot with Superman Unchained #3 and Batman #23 slipping down into second and third respectively from last month. Link (English, MB & EG)

Diamond News has compiled a list of the 100 top selling graphic novels of August 2013. Robert Kirkman’s Walking Dead continues its domination in a list heavy with independent titles. Chew Vol 7: Bad Apples, and Rocket Raccoon Tales From Half World, follow in the list. Link (English, MB & EG)

Culture

American public broadcasting network PBS has dubbed the 15th October “superheroes night,” and will premiere a three-hour documentary from filmmaker Michael Kantor entitled Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle that will examine the beginnings of both superheroes and comics. Link (05/09/2013, English, EG)

The University of California – Berkeley’s Bancroft Library is hosting an exhibit entitled “Comics, Cartoons, and Funny Papers: The Rube Goldberg, Phil Frank, and Gus Arriola Archives at Bancroft,” which will also feature work from cartoonists Dan O’Neill and Lou Grant. The exhibit is open from 10 AM to 4 PM every weekday until the 28th February 2014. Link (26/09/2013, English, EG)

Obituary

Mike Dimayuga, the artist on Colt Noble And The Megalords and Hero House, passed away on the 16th September, at 39 years old. Link (17/09/2013, English, WG)

Dr Sol Davidson, whose PhD thesis was one of the first scholarly works on comic strips as an important part of American culture, passed away aged 88 on the 19th September. Link (22/09/2013, English, WG)

Research

There is a call for proposals on the topic of Comics and Comic Art for the annual PCA/ACA National conference that takes place between the 16th and 19th April 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. The deadline for abstracts is the 1st November 2013. Link (English, MB)

The International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts has released a call for papers for its 35th meeting between the 19th and 23rd March next year in Orlando, Florida. The specific theme of the conference is “fantastic empires,” and paper proposals are being accepted until the 31st October. Link (02/09/2013, English, EG)

There is a call for papers for a collection entitled “Engaging the Woman Fantastic in Contemporary American Media Culture.” Abstracts for submissions that includes consideration of comic works are due by the 1st November. Link (21/08/2013, English, WG)

Dale Jacob’s monograph Graphic Encounters: Comics and the Sponsorship of Multimodal Literacy has recently been published by Bloomsbury. Link (English, WG)

Kevin Thurman and Julian Darius’ monograph Voyage in Noise: Warren Ellis and the Demise of Western Civilization has recently been published by SEQUART. Link (English, WG)

Patrick Meaney and Kevin Thurman’s book Warren Ellis: The Captured Ghosts Interviews has recently been published by SEQUART. Link (English, WG)

Jeet Heer’s book about Françoise Mouly’s comic work, entitled In Love with Art: Françoise Mouly’s Adventures in Comics with Art Spiegelman, has recently been published by Coach House Books. Link (English, WG)

There is a call for papers for a special issue of the journal Partial Answers entitled “Comics and the Canon.” Submissions between 5,000 and 10,000 words are due by the 30th April 2014. Link (English, WG)

The University of Cincinnati’s Composition Studies journal has solicited a call for papers for their Spring 2015 issue, the topic of which is “Comics, Multimodality, and Composition.” Submissions are due by 1st August 2014. Link (22/09/2013, English, EG)

The MLA Discussion Group on Comics and Graphic Narratives announced they have four scholarly panels focused on the study of comics during the 129th Annual MLA Convention, which takes place between the 9th and 12th January 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. There are session details published on their blog. Link (22/09/2013, English, MB & EG)

Washington State University professor Dr. James Bucky Carter has released a call for papers for an edited collection of essays entitled “The Conversations Project: Interdisciplinary Conversations About Comics, Literacy, and Scholarship.” Examples of potential topics are listed in the CFP, and the deadline for submissions is the 1st March 2014. Link (17/09/2013, English, MB & EG)

There is a call for papers for the conference “Can Comics Be Poetry?” to be held at Dartmouth College between the 28th February and the 2nd March. Abstracts of 250 words are due by the 15th November. Link (26/09/2013, English, WG)

Fantagraphics has available a new book for pre-order by comics scholar Trina Robbins entitled “Pretty in Ink: North American Women Cartoonists 1896-2013.” This monograph documents the history of women cartoonists, and the book will ship in November. Link (English, MB)

Asia

China

Research

There is a call for papers for the Women’s Manga Research Project & Hong Kong Arts Center Joint International Symposium entitled “Modern Women and Their Comics: Changing Local Identities from the 1960s to the 2000s.” Abstracts for 20 minute talks are due by the 15th October, for the event taking place at Comix Home Base, in Hong Kong, between the 22nd and 24th March 2014. Enquiries about the event can be made to Katrien Jacobs (kjacobs@cuhk.edu.hk), Kazumi Nagaike (nagaike@cc.oita-u.ac.jp) or Fusami Ogi (fogi@chikushi-u.ac.jp). (WG)

Japan

Culture

Yoshihiro Yonezawa Memorial Library (Meiji University) is holding a talk show related to the “Gaiman Award” (Foreign manga award) on the 13th October. Link (Japanese, JBS)

Malaysia

Culture

Singapore

Culture

The 2013 edition of the Singapore Toy Game and Comic Convention took place on the 31st August and the 1st September. Run by Reed Exhibitions, it is more of a toys and games con these days, with a heavy focus on Iron Man toys this year. Link (English, LCT)

Europe 

Belgium

Business

Bande dessinée publisher Dupuis has announced plans for a theme park dedicated to several famous characters including Spirou, Gaston Lagaffe and Marsupilami. The park is expected to open in 2015. Link (18/09/2013, French, LTa)

Culture

Raoul Cauvin, renowned author of various bande dessinée series, including Cédric and Pierre Tombal, has announced his retirement at the age of 74. In 2006 it was estimated he had sold around 45 million albums. Link (27/09/2013, French, LTa)

Finland

Culture

Allan Haverholm reports on the 2013 Helsinki Comics Festival for the The Comics Grid blog. Link (24/09/2013, English, WG)

France

Culture

The celebrated bande dessinée series Quai d’Orsay has been adapted for cinema. The film, to be released in November 2013, is directed by Bertrand Tavernier and stars Thierry L’Hermitte. Link (28/09/2013, French, LTa)

A bronze bust of René Goscinny, creator of Astérix and Le Petit Nicolas, has been unveiled in Warsaw (video). Link (25/09/2013, French, LTa)

The Museum of Immigration in Paris has announced a large exhibition on bande dessinée and immigration. It will take place from the 16th October until the 27th April 2014. Link (24/09/2013, French, LTa)

Germany

Business

German comic authors have released a manifesto demanding public funding. Link (02/09/2013, German, MdlI)

Culture

An exhibition on Berlin in comics, Comics aus Berlin. Bilder einer Stadt, was held in Berlin from the 4th to the 15th September. Link (02/09/2013, German, MdlI)

Comicfestival Hamburg will take place between the 3rd and the 6th October; guests include Rutu Modan. Link (09/09/2013, German)

Several comic authors, including Gabriel Bá and Fabio Moon, will be present at the Frankfurt Book Fair from the 9th to the 13th October. Link (12/09/2013, German, MdlI)

The first Manga-Comic-Convention (MCC), formerly part of Leipzig Book Fair, has been announced for the 13th to the 16th March 2014. Link (19/09/2013, German, MdlI)

The exhibition Steffen Kverneland/Munch – Lars Fiske/Merz – Comic-Künstler aus Oslo takes place at the Edvard-Munch-Haus in Warnemünde from the 28th September to the 3rd November. Link (26/09/2013, German, MdlI)

Education

Helene-Lange-Gymnasium, a secondary school in Dortmund, won the reading education award of Stiftung Lesen for a teaching concept based on comics. Link (21/09/2013, German, MdlI)

Research

There is a call for papers for the conference Transmedial Worlds in Convergent Media Culture, which will take place at the Winter School at the Graduate Academy of the University of Tuebingen, Germany, between the 24th and 28th of February 2014. Talks can consider comics-based transmedial worlds, and abstracts of 300 words are due by the 31st October. Link (English, WG)

The programme for the 8th ComFor conference in Erlangen, which takes place between the 15th and the 17th November, is now online. Link (29/09/2013, German, MdlI)

Ireland

Culture

The Irish Comic News website discuss the imapct of the event DICE 2013. Link (English, SC)

Research

There is a call for papers for the conference, A Friend in the Furrows: Exploring “Folk Horror” in Literature, Film, and Music, which takes place at Queen’s University Belfast in October 2014. Abstracts, inclusive of considerations of folk horror in comics, are due by the 1st June 2014. Link (English, SC)

Portugal

Culture

Until the 4th November the Galeria Mundo Fantasma in Oporto is hosting an exposition of comics and illustration titled Crise Ibérica (Iberian Crisis). As the title suggests, it offers representations of Portuguese and Spanish crisis by authors living in both contexts. Link (13/09/2013, Portuguese, RR)

Spain

Business

There is a new comics publisher: Yermo Ediciones. The aim of this publisher is to go back to the roots of comics as a popular medium to tell stories. It will publish works both by Spanish artists and by international ones. Link (Spanish, EC)

Culture

There is a new online journal devoted to the analysis of comics. Some of the top Spanish critics are already featured in the first issue. Link (Spanish, EC)

Switzerland

Culture

An exhibition on Hergé and ligne claire comics, Die Abenteuer der Ligne claire. Der Fall Hergé & Co., will open at Cartoonmuseum Basel on the 26th October 2013, and run until the 9th March 2014. Link (09/09/2013, German, MdlI)

Law & Politics

Swiss politician, Toni Bortoluzzi, criticises the publicly funded comic Hotnights, which is used for sex education in Swiss schools. Link (***Adult Content, 21/09/2013, German, MdlI)

UK   

Culture

The line up for this year’s Dundee Comics Day has been confirmed. The event will take place on the 26th and 27th October. Link (25/09/2013, English, WG)

The British Comics Awards committee has released its shortlist of nominees up for awards. Link (25/09/2013, English, WG)

Education

Sarah Lightman is currently offering a number of short courses in creating comics at the Jewish Community Centre London. The next course, Jews, Visual Memoirs, takes place on the 9th October. Link (English, WG)

Research

Professor Ronan Deazley will be giving a lecture entitled “Writing About Comics and Copyright” on the 10th October, at the University of Glasgow. Link (English, WG)

There is less than a month left to submit to our themed month on Comics and Cultural Work, guest edited by Casey Brienza. 1000-1500 word articles are due by the 31st October. Link (08/08/2013, English, WG)

The programme for Transitions 4 Comica Symposium has been published online. The event will take place at Birkbeck, University of London, on the 26th October. Link (24/09/2013, English, WG)

There is a call for papers for the panel, “Diversity in Speculative Fiction: Digital Comics Panel,” that will take place at Loncon 3, 72nd World Science Fiction Convention, between the 14th and 18th August 2014 in London. The deadline for submissions is the 31st December. Link (17/09/2013, 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), Esther Claudio (EC, Spain), Shelley Culbertson (SC, Ireland), Eric Ganeau (EG, North America), William Grady (WG, UK), Martin de la Iglesia (MdlI, Germany), Renatta Rafaela (RR, Portugal), Moray Rhoda (MR, South Africa), Lim Cheng Tju (LCT, Singapore).

Click here for News Review correspondent biographies.

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

Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc., announced their top-selling comics for July 2013. Superman Unchained #2, Batman #22 and Guardians of Galaxy #5 took the top spots. Link (09/08/2013, English, MB & EG)

Diamond Comics also released their best-selling graphic novels for July 2013, with the second volume of Matt Fraction and David Aja’s Hawkeye, alongside Avatar Last Airbender, and Saga in the top spots. Link (09/08/2013, English, MB & EG)

Culture

The Comic Arts Brooklyn Festival (taking place on the 9th November) has confirmed the first of its curated panels, which will feature Paul Auster, Paul Karasik, David Mazzucchelli, and Art Spiegelman speaking about the adaptation of Auster’s City of Glass graphic novel to commemorate its 20th anniversary. Link (29/08/2013, English, EG)

The Columbus College of Art & Design will be hosting their second annual Celebration of Comics between the 27th and 28th September. Bone creator Jeff Smith will be the keynote speaker, and his work from RASL will be on exhibition. Link (English, MB)

Education

The University of Colorado is offering a free seven-week online course entitled “Comic Books and Graphic Novels” starting on the 23rd September. Professor William Kuskin will lead the session that will explore the comic book as literary art. A draft course syllabus has been published. Link (English, MB)

Karen Green was interviewed about her course Comic Books and Graphic Novels as Literature. Link (English, WG)

Obituary

Rick O’Shay creator Stan Lynde passed away on the 6th August, in Helena, Montana, aged 81. Emerging in 1958, the western comic strip gained Lynde a following over the next 20 years of 15 million daily readers. Link 1 (07/08/2013, English, MB), Link 2 (14/08/2013, English, WG)

Research

The Midwest Popular Culture Association / American Culture Association (MPCA/ACA) has announce the launch of a new journal: The Popular Culture Studies Journal. The journal accepts submissions on comics, cartoons, and graphic novels, amongst other things. Link (English, WG)

Narrative Structure in Comics: Making Sense of Fragments by Barbara Postema has been published through RIT Press. Link 1 (25/07/2013, English, WG), Link 2 (English, WG)

The Daniel Clowes Reader: A Critical Edition of Ghost World and Other Stories, With Essays, Interviews, and Annotations has been published through Fantagraphics. Amongst other things, the collection includes a number of essays about Clowes’ work by scholars and critics. Link (English, WG)

Shot in the Face: A Savage Journey to the Heart of Transmetropolitan is an anthology that explores Warren Ellis’ Transmetropolitan series. The collection is edited by Chad Nevett and has been published through SEQUART. Link (English, WG)

The University of Toledo’s Matt Yockey has released a call for papers for a collection focusing on the shaping of Marvel Comics as a transmedia brand. Link (02/08/2013, English, EG)

The Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association has opened up presentation submissions for their 2014 conference in Chicago. Link (05/08/2013, English, EG)

The 42nd Annual Louisville Conference on Literature & Culture has announced a call for papers, with particular emphasis on panels focusing on the intersection of comics and literature. Link (06/08/2013, English, EG)

Asia

China

Culture

Comix Homebase, a centre for Hong Kong comics and animation, finally opened in July. It is run by the Hong Kong Arts Centre, and the first exhibition which was held in August, focused upon Ma Wing Shing. Link (Chinese, LCT)

Japan

Culture

Yonezawa Yoshihiro Memorial Library (Meiji University) is hosting the SciFi and Images of the Future Exhibition, between the 1st and 29th September. Link (Japanese, JBS)

Eshi 100 Part 2 – Contemporary Japanese Illustration in Kyoto Exhibition will be hosted by the Kyoto International Manga Museum from the 28th September to the 1st December. Link (English, JBS)

On the 14th September, the Yonezawa Yoshihiro Memorial Library will be holding a talk event with Tani Koshu, author of Japan Sinks, Part 2. Link (Japanese, JBS)

Education

Kyoto International Manga Museum is hosting four presentations under the title, “Pikadon – Expressions of the atomic bomb in Japanese animation,” on the 30th September. There will also be a screening of Pikadon. Link (Japanese, JBS)

Law & Politics

The Matsue City (Shimane Prefecture) Board of Education rescinded its decision to limit access to the manga series Barefoot Gen. Link (26/08/2013, English, JBS)

Research

The Gender and Sexuality Research Group of the Japanese Society for Studies in Cartoons and Comics (JSSCC) will hold its 28th research meeting on the 22nd September. Link (Japanese, JBS)

Singapore

Culture

The main Chinese newspaper in Singapore, Lianhe Zaobao, celebrated its 90th anniversary by holding a cartoon exhibition at the National Library of Singapore. It was co-organised with the Singapore Memory Project. Link (English and Chinese, LCT)

Europe 

Belgium

Culture

FACTS 2013, the biggest comics, sci-fi, and anime festival in the Benelux, will be held on the 19th and 20th October, at Flanders Expo, Ghent. Link (English, JBS)

Croatia

Culture

Croatian illustrator and writer Igor Kordej has been knighted by the French Ministry of Culture for his contributions to art and literature. Kordej is currently working for the French publisher Goncourt. Link (11/08/2013, English, LO)

Germany

Culture

The third Graphic Novel Day is announced as part of internationales literaturfestival berlin (ilb) to take place at Haus der Berliner Festspiele on the 8th September; guests include Atak and Flix. Link (19/08/2013, German, MdlI)

The festival, Comicgarten Leipzig, will take place on the 6th and 7th September; guests include Naomi Fearn and Haggi. Link (27/08/2013, German, MdlI)

Obituaries

Cartoonist Christian Moser (Monster des Alltags) died at the age of 47. Link (15/08/2013, German, MdlI)

Research

A conference on historically based comics, Sketching the Past – Vermittlung von Gewaltgeschichte im Comic, will take place at Europa-Universität Viadrina, Frankfurt (Oder), between the 26th and 28th September. Link (02/08/2013, German, MdlI)

A conference on comic adaptations of literary works, Graphisches Erzählen – Comic-Adaptionen literarischer Texte, will take place at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf between the 5th and 7th March 2014. The call for papers deadline is the 31st October 2013. Link (08/08/2013, German, MdlI)

Portugal

Culture

From the 9th August until the 22nd September the city of Viseu is hosting the XVIII Salão Internacional de Banda Desenhada de Viseu. The main subject is Comics Fanzines in Portugal. Link (Portuguese, RR)

Research

The Second International Conference on Illustration & Animation (CONFIA) has extended their call for papers until the 12th September. Comics and Graphic Novels is one of the recommended topics for paper submissions. Link (21/08/2013, English & Portuguese, RR)

The 3CBDPT (3rd Comics Conference in Portugal)  will be held in Universidade de Lisboa on the 18th September. Link (Portuguese, RR)

Serbia

Culture

A comic book conference took place in Kragujevac between the 30th August and the 1st September. Key speakers included the Italian illustrators Paolo Bisi and Alessandro Bignamini. Link (28/08/2013, Serbian, LO)

UK   

Culture

The Comics Grid‘s blog currently houses a series of reports from Damon Herd, and Hattie Kennedy, on talks by Rutu Modan, Leanne Shapton, Joe Sacco, and Chris Ware, at the Edinburgh Book Festival. Link (English, WG)

The Stripped Book Fest website has a host of videos and reviews from the event. Link (English, WG)

Education

The Guardian have announced the master class How To Write A Graphic Novel. The class takes place on the 7th September, and is run by Paul Gravett, and Pat Mills, amongst others. Link (English, WG)

Research

The symposium, Japanese Body Cultures and The Human Condition (which is inclusive of  manga), will take place at Birkbeck College on the 9th September. Link (English, WG)

The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) have posted a film that details the research currently being undertook by Professor Jane Chapman (et al.) at the University of Lincoln. The project looks to examine the depiction of World War I in comics from 1914-1918. Link (English, WG)

Abstracts are now being accepted for the symposium, The Adventures of Tintin, at University College London on the 10th January 2014. 400 word abstracts are due by the 31st October. Link (12/08/2013, English, WG)

The deadline has been extended for submissions for the collection, Neo-Victorian Villains: Neo-Victorian Fiction, Adaptation and Performance, which will examine the depiction of Victorian villains in comics (amongst other things). 250 word abstracts are due by the 15th September. The old call for papers (without the updated submission date) can be accessed through the link. Link (18/08/2013, English, WG)

The International Bande Dessinée Society website currently houses photographs and reportage from the Joint International Graphic Novel and IBDS Conference which took place in Glasgow and Dundee between the 24^th and 28^th June. Conference reports are courtesy of Alex Valente, Stephen O’Donnell, and William Grady. 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), Eric Ganeau (EG, North America), William Grady (WG, UK), Martin de la Iglesia (MdlI, Germany), Luka Ostojic (LO, Croatia), Renatta Rafaela (RR, Portugal), Lim Cheng Tju (LCT, Singapore).

Click here for News Review correspondent biographies.

Suggestions for articles to be included in the News Review can be sent to Will Grady at the email address above.