Category Archives: News Review

Asia

Japan

Culture

The Eguchi Hisashi Pop Art Exhibition: King of Pop, Kyoto Edition, starts on the 11th June and will run until the 4th September at the Kyoto International Manga Museum. Link  (English, JBS)

Law and Politics

Manga and plastic artist Rokudesnashiko (Igarashi Megumi) has partly lost the obscenity case against her (“partly innocent” verdict), and has been fined 400,000 Japanese Yen for a 3D reproduction and digital file distribution of her vagina. She will appeal the verdict. Link (09/05/2016, English, JBS)

Research

An international symposium titled “New Directions in Manga Research” which emphasises diverse methodologies, instead of a fixed focus on the subject proper, will be held on the 18th June at the Kyoto International Manga Museum (All presentations in Japanese). Link  (Japanese, JBS)

The program for the 16^th yearly conference of the Japan Society for Studies in Cartoons and Comics has been published on the JSSCC website. The conference will take place from the 25th until the 26th June at the Tokyo Polytechnic University’s Nakano Campus. Link (Japanese, JBS)

Americas

USA

Culture

The exhibition, Aliens, Monsters, and Madmen: The Art of EC Comics, will take place at Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art (located on the campus of the University of Oregon), and is running until the 10th July. Link (English, WG)

Obituary

Consuela Francis, a professor of English and African-American studies at the College of Charleston, has passed away. Amongst a wide array of teaching and research interests, Francis specialised in race and superhero comic books. Link 1 (09/05/2016, English, WG), Link 2 (English, WG)

Research

Sequentials, a new venture which will publish scholarship drawn in comics form, has posted its first call for comics. It asks for submissions focusing upon postmodernism in all of its possible meanings and manifestations. The deadline is 1st January 2017. Link (05/05/2016, English, WG)

Pioneering Cartoonists of Color, by Tim Jackson, has been published through University of Mississippi Press. Link (English, WG)

On the 23rd May, SANE Journal’s Facebook page published an open call for interested professionals to serve as reviewers, as well as seeking potential contributors. Link (English, WG)

Europe

France

Obituary

Veteran cartoonist Siné (Maurice Sinet), who worked for L’Express, L’Enragé, Siné Mensuel and Charlie Hebdo, amongst others, has died aged 87. Link (05/05/2016, English, LTa)

Research

The AFEA conference in Toulouse hosted on May 26 a panel on the future of comics studies, titled ‘Whither Comics Studies?’. Link (26/05/2016, English, BC)

Germany

Culture

The exhibition on Héctor Germán Oesterheld’s El Eternauta that was previously shown in Stuttgart has now travelled on to Berlin, where it will be shown until the 10th July. Link (09/05/2016, German, MdlI)

Two talks on comics were given during “Tage des Exils 2016” in Hamburg on the 31st May and 1st June. Link (16/05/2016, German, MdlI)

The exhibition, “Hokusai x Manga – Japanese Popular Culture since 1860”, will be shown in Hamburg from the 10th June until the 11th September. Link (English, MdlI)

The exhibition of Belgian independent comics that was previously shown in Rostock now travels on to Cologne, where it will be shown from the 11th June until the 2nd July. Link (23/05/2016, German, MdlI)

An exhibition of “Pioneers of the Comic Strip” will be shown in Frankfurt from the 23rd June until the 18th September. Link (English, MdlI)

“Worlds Collide – Wenn Comics verfilmt werden”, an event on comic-to-film adaptations, will take place in Mannheim from the 17th until the 19th June. Link (30/05/2016, German, MdlI)

The Max-und-Moritz-Preis was awarded at Comic-Salon Erlangen on the 27th May. Link (German, MdlI)

Research

A comics panel and workshop will take place at the annual GfM Gesellschaft für Medienwissenschaft conference in Berlin from the 28th September  until the 1st October. Link (05/05/2016, German, MdlI)

Hungary

Culture

The 12th International Comics Festival Budapest was held on the 8th May at Dürer Kert, Budapest. International guest artists and writers included Rutu Modan (Italy), Alessio Fortunato (Italy), Kivi Larmola and Pertti Jarla (Finland). Link (English, ES)

Portugal

Culture

Until the 12th June, the Historical centre of Beja is hosting the annual International Festival of Comics (XII Festival Internacional de Banda Desenhada de Beja). This festival is composed by some exhibitions, book/magazine launches, author events, workshops and concerts. Link (28/04/2016, Portuguese, RR)

On the 27th May, the authors Filipe Melo and Juan Cavia will launch their book Os Vampiros (The Vampires), a comic book inspired in the song with the same title by the popular Portuguese Singer Zeca Afonso. The book launch took place during the International Festival of Comics in Beja. Link  (24/05/2016, Portuguese, RR)

Until the 11th June, the Bedeteca of Amadora is hosting an exhibition titled “Banda Escrita: André Oliveira – uma exposição em torno do trabalho do argumentista” (Written Strip: André Oliveira – an exhibition about the writer´s work). Admission to the event is free. Link (11/05/2016, Portuguese, RR)

Until the 7th June, the Municipality of Alvalade is hosting an exhibition about Japanese inspired pop culture with. Link (Portuguese, RR)

Romania

Culture

Bucharest hosted the fourth edition of East European Comic Con from the 27th to the 29th May. The convention included independent cartoonists and animators from the United States and Europe, as well as workshops, exhibitions, gaming and cosplay competitions. Link (29/06/2016, English, MP)

Spain

Business

The Culture Association Tebeosfera has published its annual report about the Spanish comics industry. Link (05/05/2016, Spanish, EdRC)

Culture

The 34th edition of the Barcelona Comic Fair took place from the 5th to the 8th April with a historical record of attendance. Winners of the festival awards were announced, including Best National Work (El fantasma de Gaudí, by El Torres and Jesús Alonso) and Best Foreign Work (Spirou. Le Groom vert-de-gris, by Yann and Oliver Schwartz). Link (06/05/2016, English, EdRC)

In order to celebrate the biggest exhibition of works by Hieronymus Bosch, which can be visited until the 11th September, the Museo del Prado has published its first comic. Triptych of the Enchanted (a Boschian pantomime), by Max, is available in Spanish and English. Link (23/05/2016, Spanish, EdRC)

Law and Politics

Mayte Quílez, director of the satirical magazine El Jueves, has been attacked at the door of her house by a hooded person, resulting in minor injuries. The magazine had just published the day before a cover denouncing the rise of the extreme right in Europe. Link (12/05/2016, Spanish, EdRC)

Switzerland

Research

The IAWIS/AEI has released its call for papers, with several panels devoted to comics. Abstracts are due by the 31st August. Link (15/05/2016, English, BC)

Following a conference organised in Lausanne by the GrEBD, BD – US : les comics vus par l’ Europe, edited by Marc Atallah and Alain Boillat, has been published through Infolio. Link (19/05/2016, French, BC)

UK

Culture

Arvon are running a week-long residential graphic novel writing course with Kate Charlesworth and Leah Moore. It will take place between the 13th and 18th June. Link (English, WG)

Job

There is a job listing for a Lecturer in Illustration at Plymouth University. The advert specifies that the Faculty of Arts and Humanities are seeking a lecturer to lead and develop the curriculum in relation to comics and visual narrative. Applications are due by the 19th June. Link (English, WG)

Research

The Journal of African Cultural Studies 28.3 has recently published–a special issue on Afro-Superheroes. Link (WG, English)

Registration is now open for the 7th International Comics & Medicine Conference: Stages & Pages, which takes place at the University of Dundee between the 7th and 9th July 2016. Link (English, WG)

Registration is now open for the 7th International Conference of Graphic Novels and Comics – Graphic Gothic, which takes place at Manchester Metropolitan University between the 11th and 13th July. Link (English, WG)

Abusing Power: The Visual Politics of Satire is a conference held at Brighton Museum and Pavilion between the 23rd and 24th September 2016. Link (English, WG)

There is a call for papers for the Animation and the Comic Book Symposium, which will take place on 30th September at Canterbury Christ Church University. The deadline for abstract submissions is the 19th July. Link (English, WG)

The Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics 7.2 has been published. Link (English, WG)

Comics Crossroads: Training for the Study of Comics, Cartoons and Drawn Images, is a symposium that takes place on the 26th June at the University of Kent. It will host a range of speakers talking about their research, including: Dr Anne Magnussen, Professor Roger Sabin, Dr Elizabeth El Refaie, Dr Ian Horton,Dr Paul Williams, Dr Aaron Meskin, and Professor Hugo Frey. Link (English, WG)

BCCS Comics Scholarship Symposium will take place 4 June at the University of Sussex. This one-day symposium will explore the possibilities of doing scholarship in graphic form. Link (English, WG

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Correspondents: Jessica Bauwens-Sugimoto (JBS, Japan), Enrique del Rey Cabero (EdRC, Spain), Benoît Crucifix (BC, Belgium, France and Switzerland), William Grady (WG, United States and UK), Martin de la Iglesia (MdlI, Germany), Michaela Precup (MP, Romania), Renatta Rafaella (RR, Portugal), Eszter Szép (ES, Hungary) and Lise Tannahill (LTa, France).

Click here for News Review correspondent biographies.

Click here to see the News Review archive.

 

 

Asia

Japan

Culture

Kyoto International Manga Museum is holding the TV anime series exhibition She and Her Cat – Everything Flows, from the 9th April  until the 19th June. Link (English, JBS)

The exhibition Est Naito, at Kyoto’s Trance Pop Cider 2 gallery, with art by manga artists Est Em and Yamada Naito, is running until the 17th April. Link (23/03/2016, Japnese, JBS)

Yonezawa Yoshihiro Memorial Library’s 71st event is a Talk Even with manga artists Kono Fumio and Ozawa Yuki, with ‘How to Enjoy Barefoot Gen’ as a theme. The event is held at Meiji University on the 16th of April 16th. Link (Japanese, JBS)

Americas

Canada

Research

The Canadian Review of Comparative Literature (43.1) has been published, a special issue entitled “Exploring Canadian Identities in Canadian Comics”. Link (English, WG)

United States

Research

Inks: The Journal of the Comics Studies Society, the new journal of the Comics Studies Society, to be published beginning in 2017, has published a call for submissions. Link (English, WG)

Abstracts for an edited collection entitled, The Comics Work of Neil Gaiman: In Darkness, In Light, and In Shadow, are due by the 15th May. Link (09/03/2016, English, WG)

Creating Comics as Journalism, Memoir and Nonfiction, by Randy Duncan, Michael Ray Taylor, and David Stoddard, has been published through Routledge. Link (English, WG)

Prof. Fujimoto Yukari of Meiji University will give a presentation titled ‘The Structure and Characteristics of the Japanese Manga Market’ at Columbia Business School (New York) on the 6th April (registration required). Link (English, JBS)

Europe

France

Culture

French comics artist Joann Sfar was decorated knight of the Legion of Honour. Link (27/03/2016, French, BC)

Research

A call for papers has been issued for the study day La bande dessinée: quelles recherches?, organized in Paris by Benoît Berthou and Jacques Dürrenmatt on the 10th June 2016. Abstracts (in French) are due by the 8th April. Link (29/02/2016, French, BC)

The comics research network La Brèche, assembling graduate students and early-career researchers, has launched its website. Link (09/03/2016, French, BC)

Germany

Culture

This year’s Göttinger Elch award for satire goes to Max Goldt. Link (German, MdlI)

A Rodolphe Töpffer exhibition is being shown in Wiedensahl until the 28th August. Link (07/03/2016, German, MdlI)

The exhibition, Redrawing Stories from the Past, has moved on from Berlin to Chemnitz, where it is being shown until the 15th April. Link (14/03/2016, German, MdlI)

The Dōjinshi [amateur work] Of The Year 2015 award goes to Nana Yaa Kyere for her comic, MCS*. Link (16/03/2016, German, MdlI)

The 39th DONALD meeting took place in Cologne. Link (19/03/2016, German, MdlI)

The exhibition, Drawing the Line: Dissenting Voices in Contemporary Comics, will be shown in Berlin from the 8th to the 30th April. Link (24/03/2016, German, MdlI)

A Marc-Antoine Mathieu exhibition is taking place in Trebel from the 2nd to the 17th April. Link (31/03/2016, German, MdlI)

Research

The Closure conference on Beginnings and Renewals in Comics is going to take place in Kiel from the 9th – 11th September 2016; the deadline for abstracts is the 30th April. Link (German, MdlI)

A conference on The Empirical Study of Comics is going to take place in Bremen from the 7th to the 9th February 2017; the deadline for abstracts is the 31st May. Link (English, MdlI)

A one-day symposium on narrative structures and visual storytelling in comics is going to take place in Stuttgart on the 27th April 2016. Link (06/03/2016, English, MdlI)

A conference on myth and history in comics will take place in Leipzig from the 27th to the 30th April. Link (24/03/2016, German, MdlI)

Portugal

Culture

Until the end of April, the gallery Mundo Fantasma in Oporto, is hosting the exhibition Elipse of Sofia Neto. The exhibition is composed of some original comics works that were published in her book titled Eco [Echo]. Link (15/03/2016, Portuguese, RR)

On the 19th March the Libreria Tusitala in Badajoz, Spain opened an exhibition featuring the work of Portuguese comic authors, João Sequeira and Sónia Oliveira. The exhibition can be visited until the 9th April. Link (Spanish and Portuguese, RR)

Until the 16th April an exhibition dedicated to the Portuguese author José Garcês is being hosted in the Portuguese National Library (Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal) in Lisbon. Link (Portuguese, RR)

Spain 

Culture

La Casa, by Paco Roca, has been been awarded Best National Comic 2015 by the Confederación Española de Gremios y Asociaciones de Libreros (CEGAL). Link (09/03/2016, Spanish, EdRC)

Spanish humorist Forges has announced that he will donate all his works to the National Library of Spain. Link (07/03/2016, Spanish, EdRC)

Universo DC Cómics, an exhibition about DC Universe on the occasion of the new, can be visited in many different parts of Madrid from the 4th March to the 21st April. Link (08/03/2016, Spanish, EdRC)

El arte en el cómic, an exhibition about the relationship between famous works of art and comics, can be visited at Fundación Telefónica, Madrid, from the 18th February to the 15th May. Link (08/03/2015, Spanish, EdRC)

Superhéroes con ñ, an exhibition about the work of the numerous Spanish comic authors working for Marvel and DC, can be visited at Museo ABC, Madrid, from the 11th March to the 12th June. Link (11/03/2016, Spanish, EdRC)

Research

Acción Cultural Española, with the collaboration of the Institut Français in Spain, is offering a four month stay at the Maison des Auteurs in Angoûleme for a Spanish graphic novel author. The deadline for applications finishes on the 8th May. Link (12/03/2016, Spanish, EdRC)

Switzerland

Culture

The Fumetto festival in Lucerne is going to take place from the 16th until the 24th April; guests include Joe Sacco and Joost Swarte. Link (21/03/2016, German, MdlI)

UK

Culture

The exhibition Comix Creatrix: 100 Women Making Comics will be on at the House of Illustration, London, until the 15th May. Link (English, WG)

Research

There is a call for papers for a special issue of Comics Grid titled, Find David Bowie: Alternative Approaches to Bowie and Comics. The submission deadline for full papers is the 1st September. Link (14/03/2016, English, WG)

There is a call for presentations for, The Superhero: 2nd Global Meeting, which will take place between the 9th and 11th September at Mansfield College, Oxford. 300 word abstracts, proposals and other forms of contribution should be submitted by the 15th April. Link (English, WG)

The Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics 7.1 has been published. Link (English, WG)

*                    *                    *

Correspondents: Jessica Bauwens-Sugimoto (JBS, Japan and America), Enrique del Rey Cabero (EdRC, Spain), Benoît Crucifix (BC, France), William Grady (WG, United States, Canada and UK), Martin de la Iglesia (MdlI, Germany and Switzerland), and Renatta Rafaella (RR, Portugal).

Click here for News Review correspondent biographies.

Click here to see the News Review archive.

 

Americas

Canada

Research

The online journal Alternative francophone has published a special issue on French women’s comics, edited by Sophie Milquet and Chris Reyns-Chikuma. Link (22/02/2016, French, BC)

United States

Education

Meiji University professor Fujimoto Yukari will give a talk on ‘The Nuclear Disaster, Tsunami and Manga’ at Columbia University on the 11th March. Link (English, JBS)

Research

The Comics Studies Society, a new professional association for comics researchers and teachers, has launched its membership drive. Link (15/02/2016, English, WG)

There is a call for proposals for a collection of essays titled How to Analyse and Review Comics. Abstracts are due by the 15th March. Link (07/02/2016, English, WG)

The table of contents for the International Journal of Comic Art 17.2 has been published online. Link (16/02/2016, English, WG)

The Modern Language Association’s Forum on Comics and Graphic Narratives is currently accepting proposals to its three panels on Adaptation, Temporality, and Alien Lines for the 2017 meeting. Abstracts are due by the 15th March for proposals relating to Adaptation and Alien Lines, and the 4th March for Temporality. Link (English, WG)

There is a call for papers for a special roundtable session, Invisible Made Visible: Comics and Mental Illness, for the MLA conference 2017. The deadline for abstracts is the 15th March 2016. Link (12/02/2016, English, WG)

Issue 8.3 of ImageTexT has been published. Link (English, WG)

The deadline for applications for this year’s The Experience at Comic-Con, which engages students as participant-observers of Comic-Con International, is the 1st April. Link (English, WG)

Asia

Japan

Culture

Hagio Moto’s seventies girls’ manga series, Poe no ichizoku [The Poe Family] will be adapted for TV as a suspense drama in spring. It will be aired by TV Asahi and one of the main characters will be played by SMAP member Katori Shingo. Link (Japanese, JBS)

On the 19th March, Meiji University’s Yonezawa Yoshihiro Memorial Library will hold a talk event with manga artist and Kyoto Seika University professor Sugaya Mitsuru and Kyoto International Manga Museum researcher Ito Yu. Link (Japanese, JBS)

The nominees for the 20^th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize have been selected. A full list of all seven works can be found at the link. The awards ceremony will take place on the 29th May. Link (Japanese, JBS)

The exhibition, Doboku and Manga, exploring manga from the perspective of civil engineering, will be held at Kyoto International Manga Museum from the 3rd March until the 20th May. Link (English, JBS)

Europe

Austria

Research

A Call for Papers for an issue of the Journal for Religion, Film and Media (JRFM) on Comics and Animated Cartoons has been published; the deadline for submissions is the 31st August. Link (English, MdlI)

France

Culture

Two authors’ groups have called for a boycott of the 2017 Angoulême Festival in light of this year’s troubled edition. Link (24/02/2016, French, LTa)

Four female BD creators -TanXXX, Julie Maroh, Aurélie Neyret and Chloé Cruchaudet- have refused membership of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres as offered by the French Ministry of Culture. Link (02/02/2016, French, LTa)

A bande dessinée-cented theme park has been proposed in Angoulême. Link (12/02/2016, French, LTa)

Research

Bande dessinée et numérique, edited by Pascal Robert, has been published through CNRS éditions and offers essays investigating digital comics. Link (25/02/2016, French, BC)

In the framework of the États Généraux de la Bande Dessinée association, which seeks to defend the rights of comics artists, Thierry Groensteen has written a historical study of cartoonists’ rights associations. Link (22/02/2016, French, BC)

Germany

Business

Novelist Hanna Heitmeyer, a.k.a. Hannah Ben, was found to have plagiarised Boys next Door by Kaori Yuki; Heitmeyer’s publisher terminated her contract. Link (10/02/2016, English, MdlI)

Culture

The 1st Comic and Manga Convention Hamburg is going to take place on the 12th May. Link (05/02/2016, German, MdlI)

An exhibition of Finnish comic artists is taking place in Berlin until the 3rd March. Link (15/02/2016, German, MdlI)

An exhibition on myth and history in comics is going to be shown in Leipzig from the 11th March until the 7th October. Link (19/02/2016, German, MdlI)

Research

A Call For Papers for this year’s ComFor conference, which is going to take place at University of Duisburg-Essen from the 16th until the 19th November, has been published; the topic of the conference is Comics in School – School in Comics and the deadline for abstracts is the 1st April. Link (04/02/2016, German, MdlI)

The book, Comic – Film – Gender, Véronique Sina’s PhD thesis, has been published by Transcript in February. Link (German, MdlI)

The books, Reading Graphic Novels: Genre and Narration by Achim Hescher, Metamedialität und Materialität im Comic: Zeitungscomic – Comicheft – Comicbuch by Christian Bachmann, Comic-Pioniere: Die deutschen Comic-Künstler der 1950er Jahre by Reginald Rosenfeldt, and Comiczeichnen: Figurationen einer ästhetischen Praxis by Lino Wirag, have been published in February. Link (29/02/2016, German, MdlI)

Portugal

Culture

From the 3rd March until the 6th March, the Coimbra BD will take place at the Casa da Cultura in Coimbra. Link (Portuguese, RR)

Spain

Culture

Termicómic 2016, a graphic novels and self-publishing festival, will take place from the 10th to the 12th March at La Térmica, Málaga.Link (22/02/2016, Spanish, EdRC)

Naúfragos, by Laura Pérez, has been awarded the 9th edition of FNAC-Salamandra International Graphic Novel Prize. Link (16/01/2016, English, EdRC)

Spanish cartoonist Jaume Capdevilla, a.k.a. Kap, has been awarded the Press Cartoon Europe 2016 with a cartoon about the refugee crisis. Link (22/01/2016, English, EdRC)

The 7th edition of GRAF, an event dealing with independent comic publishing, will take place in Barcelona from the 4th to the 6th March. Link (24/02/2016, Spanish, EdRC)

UK

Culture

Dr Simon Grennan and Dr Julian Waite of the University of Chester, and Professor Roger Sabin of Central Saint Martins, will give a talk on the work of the nineteenth-century cartoonist, Marie Duval, at the House of Illustration (London) on the 18th March. Link (English, WG)

The Dundee Comics Creative Space, partnered with the University of Dundee, is launching an after school club. Link (English, WG)

Research

The Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics have tweeted about an open call for submissions for a special collection focusing upon Comics and Film. Link (English, WG)

European Comic Art 8.2 has been published, with a special issue focused upon the First World War in comics and cartoons. Link (English, WG)

*                    *                    *

Correspondents: Jessica Bauwens-Sugimoto (JBS, Japan and America), Enrique del Rey Cabero (EdRC, Spain), Benoît Crucifix (BC, Canada and France), William Grady (WG, United States and UK), Martin de la Iglesia (MdlI, Austria and Germany), Renatta Rafaella (RR, Portugal), and Lise Tannahill (LTa, France).

Click here for News Review correspondent biographies.

Click here to see the News Review archive.