CFP Volume on Feminism and Comics and Graphic Novels (2/1/2019)

Volume on Feminism and Comics and Graphic Novels Seeks Chapter Proposals
http://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2018/10/25/volume-on-feminism-and-comics-and-graphic-novels-seeks-chapter-proposals

deadline for submissions: February 1, 2019

full name / name of organization: Missy Nieveen-Phegley, Sandra Cox, Susan Kendrick, Department of English at Southeast Missouri State University

contact email: scox@semo.edu



CALL FOR BOOK CHAPTER PROPOSALS

We’re seeking chapter-length contributions to an edited volume on feminism and comics and graphic novels. Though all proposals relevant to either theme are welcome, we’re especially interested in contributions that:

• amplify the voices/stories of female, femme and non-binary cartoonists
• provide a more balanced critical reception of underrepresented voices and perspectives in comics and graphic novel studies
• broaden the established canon of “literary” comics and graphic novels to be more inclusive of diverse perspectives
• using comics and graphic novels as a means to teach, explain or enact intersectional feminism
• apply conceptual and theoretical insights from feminist criticism to the medium of comics
• participate in discourse about feminist narratology of graphic novels
• extend theories of feminist interpretation from art, design, literature, historiography, or other relevant disciplines to an interdisciplinary analysis of comics and graphic novels

Routledge has expressed some interest publishing the volume, so we intend this project to speak to a variety of scholarly audiences: researchers across a range of disciplines (including faculty and graduate students), feminist critics, and a well-educated general reader. We particularly prize those contributions that are highly original and accessible, while remaining intellectually rigorous.

Such contributions may:

• posit feminist criticism of “mainstream” comics (e.g. the “big two,” feminist readings of superheroes/heroines)
• provide original critical readings of work by women, femme and nonbinary cartoonists, particularly cartoonists from historically underrepresented groups
• propose critical interventions in reading comics that represent gender, sex and sexuality
• suggest theories of interpretation specific to representations gender, sex and sexuality in comics and illustration
• consider how visual media determine/dictate rhetorical choices in comics and graphic novels

Some questions contributors might consider as they frame their chapters could include:

• How do graphic novels and comics imagine gender with regard to agency, authority, and power?
• In what specific ways might feminist cartoonists either enact a corrective or revisionist approach to androcentric messaging in mainstream comics or provide a counternarrative in their own indie, underground, and community-specific comics?
• In what ways do cartoonists’ imaginings of the present, past and future work to intervene in dominant constructions of the ways gender determines the reception or meaning of visual narratives?

Contributors are asked to send chapter title, abstract (+/- 250 words), and CV by February 1, 2019 to Dr. Sandra Cox at scox@semo.edu. Questions may be directed to the same address.

Last updated October 29, 2018

CFP ComiqueCon: Celebrating Women in Comics (7/31/2018; Dearborn 10/13/2018)

ComiqueCon: Celebrating Women in Comics
https://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2018/06/23/comiquecon-celebrating-women-in-comics

deadline for submissions: July 31, 2018

full name / name of organization: ComiqueCon

contact email: kinoclub313wsu@gmail.com



Call for Papers:

ComiqueCon (Dearborn, MI)


Deadline for submissions:

July 31, 2018


Conference location/date:

October 13, 2018; Arab American National Museum, Dearborn, Michigan



The goal of this conference:

ComiqueCon is a one-day celebration of the amazing work of female and non-binary comic creators. Join us in Metro Detroit for this one-of-a-kind event, and check out our featured guests, awesome sponsors, and talented exhibitors!

This year's ComiqueCon will include an academic track with paper presentations and workshops related to the general theme of women in comics. Papers should be accessible to a general audience; please be sure to define your terms and give context for any theoretical or discipline-specific arguments you reference.



Topics might include the following:

• Comics, graphic novels, sequential art, manga and feminist theory
• Women in the comics industry – writers, artists, editors, shop owners, etc.
• Intersectional identities in comics and graphic novels
• The comics industry and #MeToo, #Comicsgate, and sexual harassment culture
• Representation of women in comics and related texts – superhero films, action figures, merchandise, promotional materials, etc.
• Queer representations of women in comics
• Representation of motherhood and maternity in comics
• Genre-specific representations of women (in romance comics as compared to action comics, for example)

Paper Proposals: Paper proposals must include an abstract of 300-500 words and an author biography of 100 words or less. Pre-constituted panels of three to four presenters are also welcome, and should include, in addition to individual paper abstracts and biographies, a 150-200 word panel proposal that details the way the papers connect together and how the panel will engage with the conference theme.

Workshops: Workshops may have up to three facilitators. Workshop proposals must include a brief explanation of topic (250-500 words), a list of facilitators, and a biography of 100 words or less for each facilitator. Workshop proposals should be skill-focused and can be: creative (making comics, zines, fan art, etc.) or pedagogy-oriented (how to teach with comics, etc.).



Due Date:

July 31, 2018


Presenters will be notified of acceptance into the conference via email by August 17, 2018.


All inquiries and proposals should be sent to kinoclub313wsu@gmail.com.

CFP Images of Blackness in Graphic Novels, Past and Future (1/1/2018)

Call for Papers: Images of Blackness in Graphic Novels, Past and Future
Discussion published by Brian Yates on Friday, November 17, 2017
https://networks.h-net.org/node/12834/discussions/864327/call-papers-images-blackness-graphic-novels-past-and-future
 

This edited volume will offer an opportunity for authors to investigate the ways in which blackness is reimagined in both mainstream and independent comics. Specifically, I propose responding to the following questions: What are the ways in which heroism is redefined by black characters? How are black futures reimagined? What gendered arguments are made through this medium? What are the challenges in presenting to black audiences in this largely white genre? How do the creators depict the continent of Africa and/or communities in the African Diaspora? How are black bodies presented in graphic comics and novels? Finally, how are themes of social justice specific to black communities presented in this type of medium?

This volume would address the above questions in addition to the themes indicated below.

• Black Futurism
• Black Femininity
• Black Masculinity
• Imagery of Blackness
• Conceptions of Africa and/or Diaspora
• Black Bodies in Comics
• The Use of Comics for Social Change
• Narratives of publishing Black-themed Graphic Novels and Comics

All submissions should include a 200-word abstract. Finalized contributions should be sent as Microsoft Word and/ or JPEG attachment by January 1, 2018. Articles will be in English. Please send an email to byates@sju.edu for instructions to submit via Dropbox. In terms of submission requirements, utilize FIRE!!!’s style guide located at http://fire-jbs.org/ under the author’s tab.

CFP Of Superpowers and Privilege: Diversity in Superhero Narratives (Roundtab;e) (9/30/2017; NeMLA 2018)

NeMLA 2018 Roundtable CFP - Of Superpowers and Privilege: Diversity in Superhero Narratives
https://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2017/09/03/nemla-2018-roundtable-cfp-of-superpowers-and-privilege-diversity-in-superhero

deadline for submissions: September 30, 2017

full name / name of organization: Mary Ellen Iatropoulos / Northeast Modern Language Association

contact email: maryiatrop@gmail.com


The word “diversity” has been thrown around a lot lately in the world of superhero narratives. The last two years have featured an increased diversity in Marvel Comics’ set of characters and creative staff, with Ta-Nehisi Coates’s work on Black Panther, G. Willow Wilson’s co-creation of Ms. Marvel, the character Jane Foster being deemed worthy of Mjolnir and with it the name Thor, and Riri Williams taking over the role of Iron Man from Tony Stark. At the same time, Marvel has faced criticism for whitewashing of films such as Doctor Strange, and a refusal to increase diversity in casting with its main character taking on the white savior narrative in Iron Fist. While creators and editors at Marvel have taken steps to increase diversity, the company’s vice president of sales, David Gabriel, recently blamed “diversity” for slumping sales. Fans’ backlash to such failure to increase diversity, even to blame diversity, demonstrates that, for all the repetition of the word “diversity,” its ideals are far from its implementation.

As each case shows, what it means for a story, comic, or film to be “diverse” and “have diversity” can change from context to context. While diversity as an idea seems to be everywhere, at least in conversation, this session determines to investigate diversity in actual representation. This roundtable session seeks papers investigating how “diversity” has manifested in twenty-first century superhero narratives, and to what ends. How has “diversity” manifested in 21st-century superhero narratives, and to what ends? To what degree are recent conversations regarding diversity in superhero narratives indicative of social progress being made (or not)? How do corporate experiments with diversity subvert or reinforce institutional oppression of marginalized groups? What’s the interplay between attempts at diversity on screen and “diversity” in real life?

To submit an abstract to this roundtable CFP. you must first create an account and log-in for the NeMLA online abstract submissions system. All abstracts must be submitted via each presenter's own user account. Abstracts submitted by email will not be considered.

For more info and to create an account, please visit www.nemla.org.

Last updated September 7, 2017

Thoughts on Wonder Woman: Earth One

Grant Morrison's Wonder Woman: Earth One (2016) offers an interesting new take on the origin of the popular character. The Earth One series is sort of modern version of the Elseworlds imprint and presents contemporary reinterpretations of DCs various heroes.

Wonder Woman: Earth One is a new origin for Wonder Woman best received by mature readers. It pays much homage to past representations of the character of Princess Diana if Themyscria and her legend while also largely updating the figure for today by focusing on the need for the Amazons to concern themselves with Man's World once more. However, there are some issues to be aware of.

First up, purists might take offense that Steve Trevor is now an African American soldier sent specifically in search of Paradise Island by the U. S. military. In Morrison's defense, he is still a good character, and the changes are not much of big deal in an era of race-free casting. Plus, Morrison makes his background a central part of his willingness to help Diana.

Second, and most disturbing, the book relishes in images of violence and (especially) bondage. Morrison seems to include these aspects to link back to Marston's original concepts for the character, but they are very unsettling and push the book into more adult territory.

Finally,  the book also rewrites the myth of Diana's creation, a now frequent occurrence, and (spoiler warning) makes her a mythological test tube baby formed from combining one of Hippolyta's egg with sperm taken from Hercules, the Amazon's oppressor millennia ago.

Further information on the book at http://www.dccomics.com/graphic-novels/wonder-woman-earth-one-2016/wonder-woman-earth-one-vol-1.

CFP Comic Book Women (Spec. Issue of J of Fandom Studies) (3/1/14)

Another expired CFP (sorry): 

Call For Papers: Comic Book Women, Journal of Fandom Studies special issue
Thematic Issue: Comic Book Women

This special issue of the Journal of Fandom Studies responds to the increasing interest in representations of women in comic books and the general explosion of Comic Studies over the last decade.
Historically, the best known comic book heroes have been men, reflecting a general dismissal of, and bias against, women within the genre. However, fan communities throughout the world have rebelled against this tradition.

Wonder Woman has never gone out of style, with fans such as Gloria Steinem from the early years of the comic as well as later fans introduced to the heroine through the Lynda Carter television show or her most recent comic book appearances. Some of Wonder Woman’s peers from the 1940s, such as Miss Fury and Nelvana of the Northern Lights, have recently reemerged in print due to crowdfunding efforts. Interest in such female comic book characters is not purely nostalgic, instead speaking to the ways in which fans have reinterpreted their cultural relevancy. In addition, new fan communities are responsible for the revival of Ms. Marvel, who will now appear as a Muslim teenager. She will be the first comic book character to represent contemporary intersections of gender, ethnicity, and religion.
In spite of these exciting cultural trends, there remains little scholarly research about fan responses to comic book women.
Existing research tends to focus upon gender stereotypes within texts and has not addressed what these heroines have represented to actual fans, both past and present.
We welcome papers representing a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches. Topics may include, but are not limited to:

• the history, development, and significance of the fan communities of comic book women
• the role of new media in creating, sustaining, or reimagining these fan communities
• fan activities and cultural practices
• fan discourses
• the commodification and/or cultural production/destruction of fan communities
• fan reactions or fan community formations related to issues of class, race, gender, or sexual orientation

Deadline for submission of abstracts: 1 March 2014.
Please submit an Abstract (250 words maximum) and a short biography (50 words maximum)

Deadline for submission of full papers: 15 September 2014.
Please submit a full paper (6,000-9,000 words, including references and tables).

Please send abstracts and full papers to: Dr. Caryn E. Neumann (neumance@miamioh.edu) and Dr. Sharon Zechowski (zechows@miamioh.edu)

For any further queries, please write to:
Dr. Caryn E. Neumann (neumance@miamioh.edu), Lecturer, Dept of Integrative Studies and Affiliate, Dept of History, Miami University of Ohio

OR

Dr. Sharon Zechowski (zechows@miamioh.edu), Visiting Assistant Professor, Dept of Communication, Miami University of Ohio

CFP Female Superheroes Collection (6/1/13)

Seems I'm forever catching up. I first saw this CFP in early March.

Female Superheroes Collection of Essays
Publication Date: 2013-06-01 (in 16 days)
Date Submitted: 2013-02-07
Announcement ID: 201167

From “A” like Aquagirl to “Z” like Zatana. More than 200 female superheroes have been around for the last 70 years. It all started with Fletcher Hanks's minor character Fantomah in the 1940s Fiction House’s Jungle Comics #2 and from that moment on the seal was broken. Female superhero after superhero made their appearances on paper as well as on screen. These female superheroes were simultaneously shaping and mirroring society; with the rise of second wave feminism some of these female characters changed as well. Suddenly, they could be more self-assured and more forceful; Marvel Girl transformed from an average superhero to the very powerful Phoenix. Later on, the years 2010/2011 witnessed a huge transformation in the graphic novels realms. Marvel, DC, and other publishers reinvented their superhero franchises; new alliances and relationships were formed, former friends became enemies and lovers who had been an item for decades were suddenly reassigned to other love interests. This new development in the graphic novel universes desperately calls for a close investigation.

Times have changed since the first comics became a mass medium in the 1920s. And while fans' opinions differ greatly about the advantages and disadvantages of these reboots, it must be acknowledged that this will not only be a very exciting, but also eye-opening time for laymen and scholars alike. What kind of changes will their beloved characters have to endure? How will these new superheroes be presented? Are they still going to mimic society or are they trying to push society to the next level? How should these reinterpretations be assessed? What is gained and what is lost, not only for these superheroes, but also for popular culture?

While DC started its revamp in September 2011, Marvel started his in spring 2012. This volume would focus on the reinvention of the female superheroes, and therefore, it will be the first of its kind.

This publication aims to examine these heroines in literature, art, and other media to question issues concerning sexuality, gender, identity, social change and feminism. It will provide an interdisciplinary stage for the development of innovative and creative research and examine this vital and complex female protagonist in all her various manifestations and cultural meanings.

What to Send:

300 - 500 word abstracts (or complete articles, if available) and CVs should be submitted by June 1, 2013. If an abstract is accepted for the collection, a full draft of the essay (5000 – 8000 words) will be required by December 1, 2013.

Abstracts and final articles should be submitted to: Nadine.Farghaly@gmx.net receipt of the abstracts will be send within one week. In case you do not receive an email, please resend your proposal.

Nadine Farghaly
Nadine.Farghaly@gmx.net
Email: nadine.farghaly@gmx.net

Comics Scholarship in JPC for December 2012

Catching up:

The Journal of Popular Culture

Vol. 45.6, December 2012

“Failure to Launch: Not-So-Superheroes in Gravity’s Rainbow and Superfolks” by Megan Condis

“The Accidental Supermom: Superheroines and Maternal Performativity, 1963-1980” by Laura Mattoon D’Amore

“The Female Link: Citation and Continuity in Watchmen” by Erin M. Keating

BOOK REVIEWS
Hatfield, Charles. Hand of Fire: The Comics Art of Jack Kirby. Jackson: University of Mississippi Press, 2012. Reviewed by Matthew Costello.