Comics Scholars ASSEMBLE!

Sorry for the lack of chatter here over the last week- Clare and I are in the midst of the start of a new semester and Jon just got a new job- but to make up for it, we have a lot of stuff coming up this week, including something really exciting that Jon is going to post in the next couple of days. The Long and Shortbox of It has hit the big time.

In the meantime, though, I have some exciting news to announce:

Sunday

1:30-2:30

COMICS STUDIES CONFERENCE SESSION #8: Art—Frank Verano (University of Westminster) weaves capitalism, culture, and contemporary art theory into an analysis of Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Strikes Again, a work that takes on and subverts its function as both pre-sold commodity and work of art. Josh Kopin (Bard College) examines the way shared art duties on Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction’s The Immortal Iron Fist furthers the series’ narrative, while also exploring the structure of comics and the way we consume sequential art. Alexa Laura Siegfried (University of California, Riverside) questions whether there is a difference between fine art and illustration in a study of the relationship between contemporary artists like James Jean and Dave McKean and the fine art canon.

That's right, folks- I'm giving a presentation at NYCC in a few weeks! This one's a good one, too- it introduces something I'm calling the Comics Consumption Problem, which is something that we've done some work with here. I hope some of y'all will come check it out- it's going to be a blast. You should be able to find the full CSC schedule up at the NYCC website soon and if you do stop by, be sure to say hi.

"Sometimes, they're in a basement and they get kind of dungeon-y..."

That's David Petersen, author of Mouse Guard, explaining how some cons are better than others and, in the process, giving his stamp of approval to C2E2. He was just one of the several creators I got to meet and speak to over the course of my first con experience (which, incidentally, Petersen congratulated me on) and one of the people who made my convention great.

Before I get to the bulk of the convention, though, let's get the most important things out of the way first: I want to thank Peter Coogan, ICS and, most importantly, my co-panelist Mervi Miettinen (whose presentation on superheroes and the state of exception was, quite honestly, out of this world), for making my first experience at a comic studies conference great. I look forward to working with Peter again in the future, I hope to begin trading ideas with some of the other comics academics I met over the course of the weekend and I eagerly await seeing more bits of Mervi's dissertation. The conference itself was fantastic and, despite the small audience, it was clear that the people who were presenting were passionate about what they do and were willing to defend their work and, as an aspiring comics academic, it was heartening to see.


As for the rest of the convention, well, it occurs to me that replicating my whole con experience would be a little tedious and boring for the rest of you, and perhaps a bit ejaculatory for me- so I'm just going to give you a summary:

Creators Met: Brian Azzarello (who had been given a badge with the incorrect name and, apparently, had some trouble getting into con), Danielle Corsetto, Evan Dahm, Jeph Jacques, Lucy Knisley, David Mack, David Maliki!, Gordon McAlpin, Randy Milholland, David Petersen, Fred Van Lente, and, as mentioned the other day, Erika Moen.

Things Purchased: Two buttons (one Iron Fist, one Captain America, in addition to all the free ones DC was giving out), a whole bunch of comic books (including some just bizarre and awesome looking stuff), Lucy Knisley's French Milk, the first two volumes of Evan Dahm's Order of Tales, Comic Book Comics #4 (signed by Van Lente), Joe Kubert and Brian Azzarello's Sgt. Rock: Between Hell and A Hard Place (from the CBLDF, signed by Kubert and then I got Azzarello to sign it too) and a Captain America hoodie (which, although I won't share the story, was the most complicated clothing purchase I have ever made).

Free Stuff: Lots, including two posters for Clare. Archaia was giving away everything but the kitchen sink, it seemed like.

For my first con experience, it was pretty great- I hope to do it again, although I think spending two days there may have been too much.

See you next year, C2E2.