CFP More than Marvel: Representations of Norse Mythology in Contemporary Popular Culture (9/15/2018; ICoMS Kalamazoo 5/9-12/2019)

Please excuse the cross-posting:

I'm pleased to announce the call for our sponsored session for next year's International Congress on Medieval Studies. Do follow our Medieval Comics Project site (https://medieval-comics-project.blogspot.com/) for updates during the year.


More than Marvel: Representations of Norse Mythology in Contemporary Popular Culture
Sponsored by the Association for the Advancement of Scholarship and Teaching of the Medieval in Popular Culture
54th International Congress on Medieval Studies
Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan
9-12 May 2019
Proposals due by 15 September 2018

Myths and legends from the Middle Ages remain important links to the past, and there has been much interest in recasting this material into post-medieval contexts, forging a bridge between our forebears and our modern selves. Creators of our own time have been especially prolific in reviving these stories for new audiences. The tales told of the gods of the Norsemen are one such medieval legacy to find currency today, and they have appeared in a variety of media, including comics. For example, Marvel Comics’ representation of the Norse god Thor has been an important element of its shared world since his debut in 1962, and, in its incorporation of the character into the Marvel Universe, the publisher has done much in the service of Medieval Studies through its widespread dissemination across the globe of a relatable depiction of the Norse Gods and the intricate mythology associated with them. Marvel’s account of Thor and his compatriots has also featured in an array of media beyond the pages of its long-running comic book series, and the recent release of three feature films centered around the Asgardian as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, one of the world’s most popular and prosperous movie and television franchises, has provided additional texts to further knowledge of the Nine Worlds and its inhabitants. Nonetheless, while Marvel remains the most prominent creator of modern tales of the Norse gods, the company does not hold the exclusive rights to this material. Other writers, comics creators, filmmakers, television producers, and game designers have also appropriated the stories and legends of the gods of Asgard and further individuals within the cosmology of the Nine Worlds for their own purposes, yet their work remain relatively unknown when compared to the phenomenal success and reach of Marvel Comics and Marvel Studios.

It is the intent of this session to shed the spotlight on these other examples of Nordic-inspired medievalisms and to bring them into ongoing conversations and debates about the reception of the medieval in the post-medieval world. We are especially interested in the reach of Marvel’s versions beyond the United States and how other approaches to the material engage with, react to, or ignore Marvel’s work. In addition, we hope to include coverage of texts from non-Western media (like anime and manga) that have embraced the traditions of the Norse gods in innovative ways.

Potential Topics: (a good starting point is the “Norse mythology in popular culture” page on Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norse_mythology_in_popular_culture)

• The Almighty Johnsons
• American Gods
• Day of the Giants (Lester del Rey)
• Fafner in the Azure
• Doctor Who
• Everworld (K. A. Applegate)
• Gods of Asgard (Erik A. Evensen)
• Graphic Myths and Legends series
• Hammer of the Gods (Michael Avon Oeming and Mark Wheatley)
• Hercules: The Legendary Journeys / Xena: Warrior Princess
• The Incredible Hulk Returns
• Last Days of the Justice Society of America
• The Life Eaters (David Brin and Scott Hampton)
• Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard (Rick Riordan)
• The Mask
• The Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok
• Mythquest
• Norse Myths: A Viking Graphic Novel series
• Odyssey of the Amazons (DC Comics)
• Oh! My Goddess!
• Ragnarok (Myung Jin Lee) / Ragnarok Online
• Stargate
• Supernatural
• Valhalla (Peter Madsens)
• Witches of East End

Presentations will be limited to 15 or 20 minutes depending on final panel size.

Interested individuals should submit, no later than 15 September 2018, (1) paper proposal or abstract of approximately 500 words, (2) a 250 to 500-word academic biographical narrative, and (3) a completed Participant Information Form (accessible at https://wmich.edu/medievalcongress/submissions) to the organizers at Comics.Get.Medieval@gmail.com using “More than Marvel” as their subject heading.

In planning your proposal, please be aware of the policies of the Congress (available at https://wmich.edu/medievalcongress/policies). 

Further information about the Association for the Advancement of Scholarship and Teaching of the Medieval in Popular Culture and its outreach efforts can be accessed at The Medieval in Popular Culture (https://medievalinpopularculture.blogspot.com/).
Of especial interest, the Association hosts sites devoted to both medieval-themed films and comics. These can be accessed at Medieval Studies on Screen (http://medievalstudiesonscreen.blogspot.com/) and The Medieval Comics Project (https://medieval-comics-project.blogspot.com/), respectively.

Rejected (Again) by Kalamazoo

It is with much sadness that I report that the organizers of the International Congress on Medieval Studies have rejected another of our proposals to educate and inform the Medieval Studies community of the value, variety, and availability of comics for medievalist teaching and research.

Details of the now deceased session can be found at https://medieval-comics-project.blogspot.com/2018/06/notice-of-comics-get-medieval-at.html.

If you have any suggestions for other venues, please contact me at Comics.Get.Medieval@gmail.com.

Michael Torregrossa,
Association for the Advancement of Scholarship and Teaching of the Medieval in Popular Culture

Coming Soon: Shakespeare and Superheroes

I applaud the effort, but wish the price was more reasonable. We need more affordable scholarship on comics with medieval and Renaissance themes.

Shakespeare and Superheroes
https://arc-humanities.org/products/s-83104-101115-27-8023/
Jeffrey Kahan

Price In US $	$79.00
Price In Sterling	£55.00
Imprint	Arc Humanities Press
Series	Recreational Shakespeare
ISBN	9781942401773
Publication Date	July 2018
Format	Hardback
Dimensions (HxW)	234 x 156 mm
Page Count	110
Illustrations	Illustrations, colour 6

 

Description 

 

This short book offers a series of thought experiments and invites Shakespeareans to rediscover the wonders and pleasures of fandom. Shakespeare Studies conferences and Comic-Cons are celebrations, unless, of course, the participants involved forget the nature of play. And that, in the instance of formal literary study, is arguably what has happened.

Shakespeare and Superheroes does not argue that comic books can or should replace Shakespeare. The goal is to explore both, to think of comics as allusively Shakespearean, telling similar stories, expressing similar concerns, exploring similar values.

Readers of Shakespeare and Superman alike may need to re-evaluate their assumptions and hierarchies; Shakespeare and Superheroes encourages all readers to engage in and to respond to literary arguments using their own personal tastes, interests, and experiences. The author argues that the more readers trust themselves, the more they bring of themselves to the text or texts, the greater the rewards.

 

Contents

Introduction

“I have shot mine arrow o’er the house, / And hurt my brother”: Death and Redemption in Hamlet and Arrow

Of Guise and Gals: Wonder Woman and Shakespearean Cross-Dressing

Tonight at the Improv: Comedians Slay!—Two Drink Minimum

Postscript

Author Bio(s)

Jeffrey Kahan is the author of several books on Shakespeare and has been a featured speaker on BBC TV and NPR. He is a Professor of English at the University of La Verne and comic book nerd.

Notice of Comics Get Medieval at Kalamazoo 2019

Here are the details of a set of sessions we are proposing for the 2019 International Congress on Medieval Studies. Wish us luck.

The Comics Get Medieval at Kalamazoo I: Medieval-themed Comics and Medieval Studies (Roundtable)

The Comics Get Medieval at Kalamazoo II: Accessing Medieval-themed Comics in the Twentieth-First Century (Workshop)

Most medievalists have come to accept popular manifestations of the Middle Ages and are willing to talk about fiction, film, and television programs in their classrooms, and some are even writing about these items in their scholarship; however, few have as readily embraced the material produced in the comics medium. This fault is not due to a lack of interest. As our sessions over the past two decades attest, many medievalists are curious about how the comics have adapted medieval figures, events, and stories, but a much smaller group knows how to access this corpus and use it profitably for research and teaching. Thus, the goal of these sessions, sponsored by The Medieval Comics Project, is twofold. First, we intend, through a roundtable, to present some overviews, by an assortment of medieval-comics scholars, of how the comics have appropriated some of the most well-known material from the Middle Ages (such as Beowulf, the Crusades, Dante’s Commedia, the Matter of Britain, Norse mythology, and the Robin Hood legend) to provide insight into what has been done so far in terms of comics and comics scholarship with regards to these topics and what kind of work might be done in the future. Equally importantly, we also seek, through a workshop session, to instruct participants in how to use various online tools (such as comics companies’ websites, comics sellers’ store sites, databases of comics, fan wikias, and repositories) to successfully find and access comics of use to them. This last objective is especially vital, as resources like the Grand Comics Database and its various search options, can be invaluable when looking for resources (especially when paired with repositories of comics, like Comic Book + and comiXology). Furthermore, instruction on the various forms of the comiXology platform (both website and app) is of great importance as it stands to revolutionize access to and distribution of comics in the twenty-first century by providing affordable digital editions of books from all eras of the medium’s history. Finally, fans of the comics have produced important resources essential in any quest to track and understand the larger contexts involved in how comics have used medieval motifs; these include various wikis devoted to specific publishers (like the DC Database and the Marvel Database) and sites like The Appendix to the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe. Unfortunately, all of these new resources appear foreign to most medieval. We hope that this session will change that.