CFP UPDATE Comics Get Medieval 2023: New Work on the Comics Medium in Medieval Studies (virtual) (9/15/2023; ICSM 10/26-28/2023)

Comics Get Medieval 2023: New Work on the Comics Medium in Medieval Studies (virtual)

Call for Papers (UPDATED) - Please Submit Proposals by 15 September 2023

The Medieval in Cyberspace: 2023 International Conference for the Study of Medievalism

The UNICORN Castle (https://unicorn-castle.org/)

Online event: Thursday, 26 October, through Saturday, 28 October, 2023

Comics Get Medieval 2023: New Work on the Comics Medium in Medieval Studies (virtual)

Sponsoring Organization: Medieval Comics Project

Organizers: Michael A. Torregrossa, Richard Scott Nokes, and Carl Sell




The comics medium offers a wealth of material of relevance to medievalists from comic-like art and illustrations created during the Middle Ages to cartoons, comics, and related media designed in post-medieval times.

Comics from the medieval era present unique insights into the past and allow us to forge a connection with those that lived and worked then through a now-familiar artform.

Meanwhile, modern comics with medieval themes adapt, appropriate, and transform the medieval, allowing present-day creators to bring history, legends, literature, myths, and personages to life through disparate formats and genres presented for audiences across the globe.




In this session, we seek to celebrate and explore the variety and vitality of medieval comics (both those from the medieval past as well as more contemporary ones) and to share that material with our colleagues to promote further debate, discussion, and inquiry and to, hopefully, inspire future research and teaching.




Topics might include:

• Creating medieval or medieval-themed comics
• Sharing resources for accessing medieval or medieval-themed comics
• Study of a particular character across a series or variety of comics
• Study of a particular comic or series of comics
• Study of a particular creator (artist, writer, etc.) of comics
• Using medieval comics in the classroom or for research
• Using medieval-themed comics in the classroom or for research

We are especially seeking coverage on comics from outside the United States. We also welcome assistance through bibliographies, interviews, and/or resource guides that can be shared with our audience.




All proposals for the session must be submitted directly to the organizers, at Comics.Get.Medieval@gmail.com, by 15 September 2023.





Please check out our growing resources on medieval-themed comics at the Medieval Comics Project (https://medieval-comics-project.blogspot.com/) and the Arthurian Comics Project (https://arthur-of-the-comics-project.blogspot.com/) websites. We also maintain two listservs of relevance–both the Medieval Comics Discussion List (at https://groups.io/g/medieval-comixlist) and the Arthurian Comics Discussion List (at https://groups.io/g/arthurian-comixlist)--and welcome new members. :




Thank you for your interest in our session. Please address questions and/or concerns to the organizers at Comics.Get.Medieval@gmail.com.

CFP Comics Get Medieval 2023: New Work on the Comics Medium in Medieval Studies (virtual) (8/15/2023; ICSM 10/26-28/2023)

Comics Get Medieval 2023: New Work on the Comics Medium in Medieval Studies (virtual)

Call for Papers - Please Submit Proposals by 15 August 2023

The Medieval in Cyberspace: 2023 International Conference for the Study of Medievalism

The UNICORN Castle (https://unicorn-castle.org/)

Online event: Thursday, 26 October, through Saturday, 28 October, 2023

Comics Get Medieval 2023: New Work on the Comics Medium in Medieval Studies (virtual)

Sponsoring Organization: Medieval Comics Project

Organizers: Michael A. Torregrossa, Richard Scott Nokes, and Carl Sell


The comics medium offers a wealth of material of relevance to medievalists from comic-like art and illustrations from the Middle Ages to post-medieval cartoons, comics, and related media. Comics from the medieval era present unique insights into the past and allow us to forge a connection with those that lived then through a now-familiar artform. Meanwhile, modern comics with medieval themes adapt, appropriate, and transform the medieval bringing history, legends, literature, myths, and personages to life through disparate formats and genres presented for audiences across the globe.


In this session, we seek to celebrate and explore the variety and vitality of medieval comics (both those from the medieval past as well as contemporary ones) and to share that material with our colleagues to promote further debate, discussion, and inquiry and to, hopefully, inspire future research and teaching.


Topics might include:

• Creating medieval or medieval-themed comics
• Sharing resources for accessing medieval or medieval-themed comics
• Study of a particular character across a series or variety of comics
• Study of a particular creator of comics
• Study of a particular series of comics
• Using medieval comics in the classroom or for research
• Using medieval-themed comics in the classroom or for research

.

We are especially seeking coverage on comics from outside the United States. We also welcome assistance through bibliographies, interviews, and/or resource guides that can be shared with our audience.


All proposals for the session must be submitted directly to the organizers, at Comics.Get.Medieval@gmail.com, by 15 August 2023.



Please check out our growing resources on medieval-themed comics at the Medieval Comics Project (https://medieval-comics-project.blogspot.com/) and the Arthurian Comics Project (https://arthur-of-the-comics-project.blogspot.com/) websites. We also maintain two listservs of relevance–both the Medieval Comics Discussion List (at https://groups.io/g/medieval-comixlist) and the Arthurian Comics Discussion List (at https://groups.io/g/arthurian-comixlist)--and welcome new members. :


Thank you for your interest in our session. Please address questions and/or concerns to the organizers at Comics.Get.Medieval@gmail.com.

CFP Saving the Day at Kalamazoo: Finding Comics for Medievalist Research and Teaching (A Workshop) (virtual) (9/15/2023; ICMS 5/9-11/2024)

Saving the Day at Kalamazoo: Finding Comics for Medievalist Research and Teaching (A Workshop) (virtual)

Call for Presenters - Please Submit Proposals by 15 September 2023

59th International Congress on Medieval Studies

Western Michigan University (Kalamazoo, Michigan)

Hybrid event: Thursday, 9 May, through Saturday, 11 May, 2024

Saving the Day at Kalamazoo: Finding Comics for Medievalist Research and Teaching (A Workshop) (virtual)

Sponsoring Organization: Medieval Comics Project

Organizers: Michael A. Torregrossa, Richard Scott Nokes, and Carl Sell


The comics medium has much to offer to the field of Medieval Studies, but medievalists are often unfamiliar with comics and how to go about locating them and incorporating them productively into their work.


The focus of this workshop will be to present resources for finding comics of relevance to medieval topics (and legitimate scholarship on them) and to allow participants to employ these tools under the guidance of experts in the field. In addition, we hope that this forum will serve as a safe space to ask questions and address concerns about comics and their value.


To support our endeavors, we are interested in contributions to the workshop towards helping participants access medieval-themed comics in general as well as approaches to more focused topics relevant to the field of Medieval Studies. We are especially seeking coverage on comics from outside the United States. We also welcome assistance through bibliographies, interviews, and/or resource guides that can be shared with our participants.


All proposals for the workshop must be submitted directly to the organizers, at Comics.Get.Medieval@gmail.com, by 15 September 2023.



Please check out our growing resources on medieval-themed comics at the Medieval Comics Project (https://medieval-comics-project.blogspot.com/) and the Arthurian Comics Project (https://arthur-of-the-comics-project.blogspot.com/) websites. We also maintain two listservs of relevance–both the Medieval Comics Discussion List (at https://groups.io/g/medieval-comixlist) and the Arthurian Comics Discussion List (at https://groups.io/g/arthurian-comixlist)--and welcome new members. :


Thank you for your interest in our session. Please address questions and/or concerns to the organizers at Comics.Get.Medieval@gmail.com.

Smith on Dante and Comics Theory

New scholarship update:

Smith, Philip. “Sandro Botticelli’s Visual Language in Illustrations of The Divine Comedy.” Inks: The Journal of the Comics Studies Society, vol. 7, issue 1, Spring 2023, 49-73. Project MUSE, https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/30/article/898386/.



Abstract

“This paper seeks to offer a close reading of Botticelli’s illustrations for The Divine Comedy using Neil Cohn and Thierry Groensteen’s tools of comics analysis. Botticelli uses a visual language, I argue, which is distinct from that of modern comics (what Neil Cohn calls American Visual Language), most notably in its flexible reading paths. Unlike modern comics creators, who use panel ordering as a primary means to convey sequence, Botticelli is not tethered to a specific horizontal reading direction; the vertical book positioning facilitates a narrative path which is not dependent upon a fixed start and end point to a given page but tracks a passage down the page. In the absence of a standard reading path, Botticelli uses a rising perspective and a distinctive color palette for recurring icons to guide his readers through a narrative.”

Don Quijote in Comics New and Recent Scholarship

Just came across the first reference in the recent number of International Journal of Comic Art and found the second reference in the bibliography.


McGowan, Mackenzi. “Quixotic ‘Adaptations’: 21st Century Illustrations and Written Tributes of Don Quijote.:” International Journal of Comic Art, vol. 24, no. 2, Fall/Winter 2022, pp. 337-55.

Warrier, Karuna. “A Recreation of Don Quixote: From Comics to Popular Culture.” Ph.D. dissertation. McGill University, 2018. eScholarship@McGill, https://escholarship.mcgill.ca/concern/theses/37720g31g. 

New Book: Beowulf in Comic Books and Graphic Novels

Cross-posted from Beowulf Transformed: Adaptations and Appropriations of the Beowulf Story.

Just released this week. Congratulations to Scott Nokes:

Beowulf in Comic Books and Graphic Novels

Richard Scott Nokes

(Full details and ordering information from the publisher are available from this link.)

Bibliographic Details

Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 209
Bibliographic Info: 25 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2023
pISBN: 978-1-4766-8778-0 ($49.95)
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4842-2
Imprint: McFarland

About the Book

The legendary story of Beowulf comes to us in only one medieval manuscript with no illustrations. Modern comic book and graphic novel artists have created visual interpretations of Beowulf for decades, both illustrating and altering the classic story to pull out new themes.
This book examines the growing canon of Beowulf comic books and graphic novels since the 1940s, and shows the remarkable emergence of new traditions—from re-envisioning the medieval look, to creating new plotlines, and even to transforming his identity. While placing Beowulf in a fantastical medieval setting, a techno-dystopia of the future, or modern-day America, artists have appropriated the tale to comment on social issues such as war, environmental issues, masculinity, and consumerism. Whether Beowulf is fighting new monsters or allying with popular comic book superheroes, these artists are creating a new canon of illustration that redefines Beowulf’s place in our culture.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vi
Timeline of Beowulf Comic Books and Graphic Novels ix
Note on Citations xi
Preface 1
Introduction 5
1. The Artist as Manuscript Illustrator 13
2. The Further Adventures of Beowulf 74
3. Beowulf as Storyteller 96
4. Beowulf Transformed 107
5. Beowulf for Younger Readers 129
Conclusion 172
Chapter Notes 177
Bibliography 189
Index 193

About the Author(s)

Richard Scott Nokes is a professor of medieval literature at Troy University in Troy, Alabama. His previous published research has focused on popular medievalism and manuscript culture.

Medieval Comics Papers at NeMLA 2023

Please support Casey and Rachael if you are attending this year's meeting of NeMLA.

Northeast Modern Language Association 54th Annual Convention
Niagara Falls Convention Center (Niagara Falls, NY)
23-26 March 2023
(full schedule at this link)

• Friday, 3/24: Track 7 (10:00-11:30 AM): 7.15 King Arthur's Coconuts: Towards an Understanding of Animals and the Medieval Mind (Olmstead / NCC) - Karen (Casey) Casebier (University of Tennessee-Chattanooga) presents 1st on "Men and Monsters in the Old French Werewolf Lays and Merlin, the Graphic Novel". 

• Sunday, 3/26: Track 21 (10:30 AM -12:15 PM): 21.18 Discrimination in Comic Books (Part 2) (Whitney / NCC) - Rachael Warmington (Seton Hall University) presents 3rd on "Oppressive Isms in Comic and Graphic Novel Adaptations of Arthurian Legend".