2021 MSU Comics Forum

2021 MSU Comics Forum

Please join us for the 14th annual MSU Comics Forum. This is a multi-day, annual event for scholars, creators and fans of the comics medium.  Events include keynote addresses from an award-winning creator and scholar in the field, an artist alley, academic panel discussions, comic book discussion groups and more.  MSU is also home of the Comic Art and Graphic Novel Minor, the MSU Comic Art and Graphic Novel Podcast, and the largest public collection of comic books in the world which is housed in our Special Collections Library.

This event is free and open to the public and this year all of the events will be hosted online.

Artist Alley open February 26 – March 5, 2021
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26 & SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2021
Panel Discussions & Keynote Lectures Schedule:
MSU Comics Forum YouTube Channel
Schedule on MSU Comics Forum Panel Discussions Page

        Friday, February 26, 2021        

8:30 am (EST) Welcome Remarks

9:00 am (EST) Roundtable 1: Comics as Data North America (CaDNA)
Participants:

  • Julian Chambliss, Professor of English, Michigan State University, (Moderator)
  • Justin Wigard, Michigan State University
  • Kate Topham, Digital Humanities Archivist, Michigan State University

10:00 am (EST) Break

10:15 am (EST) Roundtable 2: Graphic Narratives Network
Participants:

  • Valentina Denzel, Associate Professor of French Literature, Michigan State University
  • David Humphrey, Assistant Professor of Japanese and Global Studies, Michigan State University
  • Sadam Issa, Assistant Professor of Arabic Studies, Michigan State University
  • Catherine Ryu, Associate Professor of Japanese Studies, Michigan State University, (Moderator)
  • Lynn Wolff, Associate Professor of German Studies, Michigan State University

11:15 am (EST) Lighting Round #1
Participants:

  • Brianna Anderson, “What Will the World Be Like When I Grow Up?”: Picturing Children’s Eco-Activism in World War 3 Illustrated #46″
  • Samantha Cutrara, “Not all graphic histories are created equal”
  • Jason Lapidus, “Creator communities in the time of quarantine”

12:15 pm – 2:00 pm (EST) Lunch Break

2:00 pm (EST) Roundtable 3:Behind the Scenes in Graphic Novel Publishing
Participants:

  • Gina Gagliano, Publishing Director, Random House Graphic
  • Whitney Leopard, RHG Senior Editor, Random House Graphic
  • Patrick Crotty, RHG Senior Designer, Random House Graphic
  • Gwen Tarbox, Western Michigan University, (Moderator)

3:00 pm – 3:15 pm(EST) Break

3:15 pm (EST) Roundtable 4: Comics as / in / of / History
Participants:

  • Maryanne Rhett, Monmouth University (Moderator)
  • Kaleb Knoblauch, UC Davis
  • Lawrence Abrams, UC Davis
  • Elizabeth Pollard, San Diego State University

4:15 pm – 4:30 pm (EST) Break

4:30 pm (EST) Lightning Round #2

  • Chris Sanagan, “Primary Sources: Inspiration for Storytelling”
  • Sean Carleton, “”Getting Graphic with Activist Histories”
  • Scott Chantler, “BIX: Visualizing Rhythm”
5:30 pm – 7:00 pm (EST) Break

7:00 pm – 8:30 pm (EST) Creator Keynote

Kevin Huizenga’s graphic novels include CursesThe Wild Kingdom, Gloriana, and the recently released The River at Night.  His work has been translated into six languages, garnered five Ignatz awards, as well as nominations for Harvey and Eisner awards.  In 2020, The Guardian named The River at Night one of the best comics of the past decade.  Huizenga lives in Minneapolis where he taught in the Comic Art program at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design from 2015-2019.

       Saturday, February 27, 2021      

9:00 am (EST) Roundtable 5: Graphic Medicine
Participants

  • A. David Lewis, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Science
  • Candida Rifkind, The University of Winnipeg
  • Teresa Wong, Author and Artist
  • Sam Hester, Author and Artist

10:00am – 10:15 am (EST) Break

10:15 am (EST) Roundtable 6: LGBTQ+ and Comics
Participants:

  • Andre M. Carrington (Moderator), University of California, Riverside
  • Margaret Galvan, University of Florida
  • Justin Hall, Writer
  • Nic Gitau, Librarian & President of Geeks OUT
  • Mariko Tamaki, Artist

11:15 am – 12:00 pm (EST) Break

12:00 pm (EST) Scholar Keynote
Deborah E. Whaley, University of Iowa
Black Women in Sequence: Rethinking and Reinking Black Women in Comics

This talk will explore graphic novel production and comic book fandom, focusing in particular on women of African descent as deployed in television, film, animation, and print representations of comic strip, comic book, and graphic novel characters. Whaley will also discuss Black women artists and writers of sequential art, and how Japanese comics, music, and politics shapes their comic art.

1:00 pm – 1:15 pm (EST) Break

1:15pm (EST) Roundtable 7: Fashion, Bodies, and Sex
Participants:

  • Joan Ormrod, Manchester Metropolitan University,
  • Trina Robbins, Independent scholar and comics creator
  • Sydney Heifler, Ohio State University, (Moderator)

2:15 pm – 2:30 pm (EST) Break

2:30 pm (EST)
Roundtable 8: Representation and Comics
Participants:

  • Julian Chambliss, Michigan State University (Moderator)
  • John Jennings, University of California, Riverside
  • Andy Kunka, University of South Carolina, Sumter
  • Beth LePensee, Michigan State University

3:30 pm – 3:45 pm (EST) Break

3:45 pm (EST) Roundtable 9: Pedagogy and Comics
Participants:

  • Leah Misemer, Georgia Tech
  • Susan Kirtley, Portland State University
  • Jonathan Flowers, Worcester State
  • Zack Kruse, Michigan State University (Moderator)

4:45 pm (EST) Closing Remarks

These events are made possible thanks to support from The MSU College of Arts and Letters, The Department of English, The Journal of Popular Culture, The Department of Art, Art History and Design, Gary Hoppenstand, MSU Muslim Studies, Capital Area District Libraries, The Residential College in the Arts and Humanities, The MSU Libraries Special Collections, The MSU Main Library, MATRIX: The Center for the Humane Arts, Letters, and Social Sciences Online, and BRD Printing.