CFP: The Comics of Karen Berger: Portrait of the Editor as an Artist

Publication
Critical Approaches to Comics Artists
University Press of Mississippi
Stichtag: 2020 02 28

This volume, which is under contract with the University Press of Mississippi and its series Critical Approaches to Comics Artists, will offer the first extended study of the creative editorial practices of Karen Berger, founder of DC Comics’ revolutionary Vertigo imprint and one of the most lauded names in contemporary comics publishing. Collecting original essays on subjects spanning Berger’s career—as an editor at DC, founder and editor of Vertigo, co-editor of DC’s Minx imprint, a freelance editor with publishers such as Image Comics, and editor of the titular Berger Books imprint at Dark Horse Comics—this volume seeks to forge concrete links between Berger’s editorial praxis and the comics she publishes.

We actively seek contributors employing diverse approaches and methodologies, including comics studies, print and material studies, book history, fan studies, art history, literary studies, history, journalism, media and communication studies, folklore and ethnography, and women and gender studies. This collection will also embrace and encourage a robust conceptualization of scholarship that includes original research and primary materials—archival reproductions, ethnographic research, focused interviews—as well as scholarship in the form of comics.

We are particularly interested in chapters that can demonstrate how Berger’s

• presence on letter and editorial pages
• acquisition and talent scouting practices
• relationship with specific creators
• relationship with other editors and publisher personnel
• aesthetic tastes and socio-cultural motivations
• background in English and art historical study
• cultural capital and fan reception
• role in branding and publicity

shapes the construction and reception of the comics she publishes.

In the form of a single Word file or PDF, please send a 500-750 word abstract, brief biography, and contact information to Colin Beineke at colin.beineke@gmail.com by February 28th, 2020. Notification of acceptance will occur on March 31st, 2020 and full essays will be due on November 15th, 2020. Inquiries are highly welcome.

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