Comics Studies: Communities & Events

A guide to comics studies resources at UNT for research, teaching, or creating comics.

Thoughts on comics

Cartoon image of the word "whack" in red letters, with a yellow spiked bubble around it "In the United States, the uneasy alliance between liberalism and democracy has consistently been threatened by the historical exclusion of those deemed outside the boundaries of legitimate humanity, including the disabled, the stateless, and those believed to lack the capacity for reason on the basis of their race, gender, or class. In its commitment to protecting the political interests of these alienated social groups, the superhero had the potential to redefine the meaning of political freedom in America by recognizing the rights of those excluded from the national community."--Ramzi Fawaz, The New Mutants: Superheroes and the Radical Imagination of American Comics, 2016

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Scholarly Communication Librarian

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John Martin
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Contact:
Willis Library, Room 080
1155 Union Circle #305190
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(940) 565-3980
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Comics Studies @UNT

Comics Studies at UNT Logo showing  a nonbinary superhero concentrating on a book of comics theory  Follow our Comics Studies @UNT Blog and our Comics Studies at UNT Facebook Page to see what's  happening in our local comics studies community!  

 

Comic Book Club logo features a white word bubble on a red background with the words "Comic Book Club" in large red painted letters

 The UNT Comic Book Club is a registered student organization devoted to creating and sharing original comics in print and digital form.

Check out a recent post on our blog for more information.

And visit their Instagram page for samples of their work and process.

 

Here are links to some current or past comics-related events at UNT:

"Into the Archieverse": A virtual conference, Digital Cultural Studies Cooperative (May 10-11, 2023)

Artist's Talk with Chris Sperandio, Rice University, Comic Arts Teaching & Study Workshop (Nov. 13, 2023)

Archie Comics Research Day (Nov. 8, 2023)

2023 Comics Studies Society Conference: "Comics on the Margins" (July 27-29, 2023)

Panels & Pixels: A Virtual Comics Exhibition (Nov. 9, 2021)

Flyover Comics Symposium (Sept. 24-25, 2020)

Drawn Together Screening (Oct. 24, 2019)

A Brief(ish) History of Comics Studies @UNT Libraries

Graphic Medicine: Ill-Conceived and Well-drawn! (Jan. 29-March 10, 2018)

  •  Perspectives on Graphic Medicine: A Panel Discussion (Feb. 8, 2018)
  •  A Conversation about Graphic Medicine with Dr. Patti Brennan (March 1, 2018)
  • The Spiral Cage Film Screening & Discussion (March 8, 2018)

Bam! Pow! Boom!: Comics in the Library Exhibit (April 10-Aug. 15, 2017)

  • Bam! Pow! Boom!: Comics in the Academy panel discussion (April 13, 2017)
  • Sommer Browning: Comics as Poetry webinar (June 7, 2017)
  • Wonder Women: The Untold Story of American Superheroines Film Screening (July 27, 2017)

Monstrous Women in Comics Conference (May 27, 2017)

UNT Comics Studies Conference (March 1, 2014)

Online Communities & Resources

  • Denton Comics Studies Conference--An ongoing Facebook page for the former Comics Studies Conference at the University of North Texas. Provides news and information about comic-related events and ideas.
     
  • CBR.com--A site for comic, movie, and t.v. news and current events.
     
  • The Center for Cartoon Studies--The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS) is dedicated to providing the highest quality of education to students interested in creating visual stories. CCS’s curriculum of art, graphic design, and literature reflect the wide array of skills needed to create comics and graphic novels. CCS emphasizes self-publishing and prepares its students to publish, market, and disseminate their work.
     
  • The Center for Comics Studies (Henderston State University)--The Center for Comics Studies at Henderson State University is dedicated to advancing the understanding and application of the comics art form through discovery, education and facilitation.
     
  • Center for Comics Studies (San Diego State University)--The Center for Comics Studies at SDSU serves as a collaborative and innovative nuclei of comics research, scholarship, and action.  The center evolved from the Comics Working Group, a group of cross-disciplinary faculty interested in teaching through comics, and later the Comics@SDSU initiative in 2019. 
     
  • Comic Con International--Comic-Con International: San Diego is a nonprofit educational corporation dedicated to creating awareness of, and appreciation for, comics and related popular artforms, primarily through the presentation of conventions and events that celebrate the historic and ongoing contribution of comics to art and culture.
     
  • Comic Book Legal Defense Fund--Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the First Amendment rights of the comics medium. In addition to sponsoring legal action on behalf of comics creators, sellers, libraries, and schools, the CBLDF also has excellent resources for educators and librarians, particularly on issues of censorship and first amendment rights.
     
  • The Comics Studies Society--The Comics Studies Society (CSS) is an interdisciplinary society open to all who share the goals of promoting the critical study of comics, improving comics teaching, and engaging in open and ongoing conversations about the comics world.
     
  • Comix Scholars Discussion List (University of Florida)--an academic forum which serves the interests of those involved in research, criticism and teaching related to comics art
     
  • Scottish Centre for Comic Studies--The Scottish Centre for Comics Studies (SCCS), based at the University of Dundee, exists to bring together researchers, teachers, students, archivists, artists and writers, and industry professionals to promote a greater understanding and appreciation of the medium and its history.
     
  • The University of Florida Comics Studies Program--one of the premier academic institutions for studying comics, animation and other forms of visual rhetoric in North America. 

Comics Studies Events

  • The Comics Arts Conference--The Comics Arts Conference is an academic conference that meets every year at WonderCon Anaheim and the San Diego Comic-Con International.  Our mission is to bring professionals and academics together with the public to discuss all aspects of the medium of sequential art.
     
  • Comics Forum--Comics Forum aims to increase the visibility and accessibility of comics scholarship through an academic conference that brings together scholars, artists and fans in a spirit of mutual cooperation and development.
     
  • Comics Studies Society Annual Conference--annual conference of the Comics Studies Society  an interdisciplinary society open to all who share the goals of promoting the critical study of comics, improving comics teaching, and engaging in open and ongoing conversations about the comics world
     
  • International Bande Dessinée Society Graphic Novel and Comics Conference--is a forum for scholarly exchange on all aspects of the bande dessinée, or French-language comic strip
     
  • The Lakes International Comic Art Festival--an annual festival devoted to comic arts and artists.
     
  • The International Association of Word and Image Studies Conference--seeks to foster the study of Word and Image relations in a general cultural context and especially in the arts in the broadest sense.
     
  • The International Comic Arts Forum--The International Comic Arts Forum is an annual academic conference dedicated to promoting the scholarly study and appreciation of comic art, including comic strips, comic books, comics albums and graphic novels, magazine and newspaper cartooning, caricature, and comics in electronic media. 
     
  • The Michigan State University Comics Forum--a multi-day event that brings together scholars, creators, and fans in order to explore celebrate the medium of comics, graphic storytelling, and sequential art.
     
  • The Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association--Conference: Includes a Comics and Comic Art subject area that invites papers or panel presentations on any aspect of comics scholarship.
     
  • The Toronto Comic Arts Festival--celebration of comics and graphic novels and their creators, which culminates in a two-day exhibition and vendor fair featuring hundreds of comics creators from around the world. Other Festival events include readings, interviews, panels, workshops, gallery shows, art installations, and much more.
     
  • The UF Conference on Comics and Graphic Novels is an annual conference that brings together both artists and scholars to discuss issues centered around what is a unique theme each year related to comics, graphic novels, animation, digital media, and visual culture.

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