This volume seeks to analyze the emergence of new graphic maternal narratives that challenge the invisibility of mothers in the field in comics and graphic novels. Autographics, i.e. autobiographical accounts, have privileged the positions of sons and daughters, and since the mid-seventies women-authored underground comic magazines have featured transgressive portrayals of mothers. Still, it is only in recent years that conception, gestation, birth and mothering have acquired greater visibility in the ninth art, not only in North America but also in the rest of the world, in particular in countries such as France, Spain, Italy, Chile, and Argentina. This collection of essays aims to provide an in-depth analysis of the plurality of maternal experiences as they emerge in graphic narratives around the world in print and online media, paying particular attention to the verbal-visual styles employed to express the ambivalence, the desires, and the misadventures that accompany those who experience the various stages of reproduction, including in-vitro fertilization, gestation, post-partum depression, loss, birthing, lactation, mothering, etc.

Articles may examine (but are not limited to) the following topics:

Comics and graphic novels about gestation, infertility, migration, non-traditional mothering, lesbian mothering, trans-gender mothering, maternal desire, mothering and loss, miscarriage, post-partum depression, mothering and disability, maternal ambivalence, adoption, work-life balance, mothering and disability, mothering and aging, among others.

Submission Guidelines:

Send a 250-400 word abstract and bibliography as well as a 100-word bio to: Marina Bettaglio, bettagli@uvic.ca

Deadline for abstract submission: April 15th, 2021
Notification of acceptances of abstracts: May 30th, 2021
Completed manuscripts (15-18 pages double-spaced with references in MLA format) due: September 15th, 2021.
Please note, acceptance will depend on the strength and fit of the final piece.