On the campus of California State University, Northridge
Los Angeles, CA
February 27, 2016
Submission deadline: February 1, 2016 (deadline extended)
As part of a yearlong celebration of comics and graphic novels, CSU Northridge is hosting a conference devoted to student research in comics studies and related fields. The explosion of interest in the academic study of sequential art, including comics, graphic novels, and manga, follows hard on the heels of similar exponential growth in the availability of these formats, not only in comic shops but also in mainstream bookstores and online. At the same time, manga has expanded globally beyond Japan, so that what was once a very specialized interest in the west has similarly become ubiquitous – in print form and via adaptions on television, in theaters, and across media. Concurrently, the genre of ”the comic book movie,” especially via the Walt Disney Company and its ownership of Marvel Comics and Time Warner and its ownership of DC Comics, has dramatically changed the feature film industry. The synergy among film, television, the internet, novels, graphic novels, and comic books is virtually complete. In this light, our conference seeks papers that attempt to understand comics, and the interaction of comics and visual culture generally, from diverse perspectives.
Topics may include, but are not limited to:
- Close readings of individual works, including comic strips, comic books, graphic novels, manga, anime, and film or television programs
- The aesthetics and craft of comic art
- The cultural impact of comics and graphic novels
- Fandom
- Comic books, children, and education
- Film, game, and other media adaptations of comic strips, comic books, graphic novels, or manga
- Industry studies, including studies of individual companies
- The history of sequential art forms
- Studies of particular artists/authors/creators
Send completed papers (about 7-8 double-spaced pages) by February 1 to Prof. Frances Gateward, CSU Northridge, via email: fgateward@csun.edu
Include institutional affiliation, academic standing, and postal address. No submissions will be accepted after February 1.