Despite the world falling into chaos, a pandemic raging, social movements on the march, an election swirling, and all the hectic busy-ness of a most unusual semester, the Comics Studies community at UNT managed to squeeze in some welcome comics-related activities that kept us all somewhat grounded, connected, and nourished by our shared love of graphic narrative.<\/p>\n
The biggest event of the Fall was our participation in the virtual Flyover Comics Symposium<\/a>, Sept. 24-25, 2020, a collaborative event sponsored by comics studies groups at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Michigan State University, and the University of North Texas, and hosted by the Digital Frontiers<\/a> organization.\u00a0 The event featured fourteen scholarly panel sessions, two author-talks, a special plenary panel of women comics creators, a self-care with comics workshop, and even a cosplay happy hour (with two Dr. Dooms)! All of the sessions were well-attended, with an average of 20-25 participants each, and featured a wide range of work from academic scholars, librarians, creators, students, and independent scholars, including a number of folks from UNT. The event showed that we could have a lively, engaging, and serious scholarly event in a virtual space that was also a lot of fun. It also provided an outlet for the work of many scholars whose other planned conferences and events were canceled due to the pandemic.\u00a0<\/p>\n Later in the Fall, several of us at UNT participated in Michigan State University\u2019s \u00a0Graphic Possibilities Virtual WikiData Edit-a-thon<\/a>, Oct. 8-9, 2020, which gave us an opportunity to contribute to an ongoing “Comics as Data” project which makes available the metadata of MSU\u2019s vast collections of comics and comics-related materials. We helped add some of this metadata to the larger online WikiData collection of openly-available data from all over the world. This will allow researchers to do cutting-edge data mining, analysis, visualization, and digital storytelling projects on comics publishers and creators dating back to the Golden Age. The MSU group hopes to hold another similar event in the Spring, and we’ll share details on this blog.<\/p>\n The UNT Comics Studies Reading Group also remained active through the Summer and Fall, though with fewer meetings than in previous semesters. All our meetings since March were conducted virtually, and the dates and readings were shared via our email listserv (see contact info below, if you\u2019d like to be added).\u00a0 Among the works we read and discussed were Infidel<\/a> <\/em>by Pornsak Pichetshote & Aaron Campbell, American Born Chinese<\/a><\/em> by Gene Luen Yang, and My Brother\u2019s Husband<\/a><\/em> by Gengoroh Tagami. We also read an article by Carol L. Tilley & Robert G. Weiner, Teaching and Learning with Comics<\/a>.\u00a0 Each of these readings offered something new and valuable to our conversations about comics, culture, race, religion, sexuality, the manga form, and the pedagogy of comics. Some of them have already been integrated into course reading lists by our faculty members, and others have been used in ongoing research projects.\u00a0 We hope to continue these conversations with some new titles and formats in the Spring.\u00a0<\/p>\n Also in the Spring, we hope to host at least one or two more virtual events that will be of interest to the UNT community and beyond.\u00a0 Keep an eye on this blog for details of an upcoming Star Wars conference, Realizing Resistance, Episode II<\/em>, coming in May.\u00a0 And feel free to share any ideas you have for other events in the comments below.<\/p>\n If you\u2019d like to be added to our Comics Studies Reading Group email list, please contact john.martin@unt.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Despite the world falling into chaos, a pandemic raging, social movements on the march, an election swirling, and all the hectic busy-ness of a most unusual semester, the Comics Studies community at UNT managed to squeeze in some welcome comics-related activities that kept us all somewhat grounded, connected, and nourished by our shared love of… Read more »<\/a>","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":478,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[50,9,36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-comics-events","category-libraries","category-comics-reading-group"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2020\/12\/My_Brothers_Husband_v1_cover.jpg?fit=281%2C400&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9noXX-7D","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":740,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/2023\/08\/21\/a-successful-comics-studies-society-conference\/","url_meta":{"origin":473,"position":0},"title":"A Successful Comics Studies Society Conference!","author":"John","date":"August 21, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 At the end of July 2023, UNT hosted the annual Comics Studies Society Conference at the UNT Gateway Center. The conference included over 150 registered attendees, online and in-person, plus over a dozen artists, publishers, and libraries represented in the Artist\u2019s Alley, which was open to the public. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Comics Events"","block_context":{"text":"Comics Events","link":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/category\/comics-events\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sticker that says \"The Comics Studies Society\"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2023\/08\/css2023_sticker-e1777402880939.jpg?fit=800%2C420&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2023\/08\/css2023_sticker-e1777402880939.jpg?fit=800%2C420&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2023\/08\/css2023_sticker-e1777402880939.jpg?fit=800%2C420&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2023\/08\/css2023_sticker-e1777402880939.jpg?fit=800%2C420&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":453,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/2020\/06\/09\/get-ready-for-the-2020-flyover-comics-symposium\/","url_meta":{"origin":473,"position":1},"title":"Get ready for the 2020 Flyover Comics Symposium!","author":"John","date":"June 9, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Comics Studies@UNT\u00a0is excited to announce that we are partnering with comics studies groups at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and Michigan State University, and with Digital Frontiers, to host the first virtual\u00a0Flyover Comics Symposium, September 24-25, 2020. This event was designed to fill the gap left by the cancellation\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Comics Events"","block_context":{"text":"Comics Events","link":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/category\/comics-events\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Poster for Flyover Comics Symposium 2020","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2020\/06\/flyover-1.jpg?fit=1180%2C435&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2020\/06\/flyover-1.jpg?fit=1180%2C435&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2020\/06\/flyover-1.jpg?fit=1180%2C435&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2020\/06\/flyover-1.jpg?fit=1180%2C435&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2020\/06\/flyover-1.jpg?fit=1180%2C435&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":76,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/2017\/12\/11\/a-briefish-history-of-comics-studies-unt-libraries\/","url_meta":{"origin":473,"position":2},"title":"A Brief(ish) History of Comics Studies @UNT Libraries","author":"John","date":"December 11, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Comics studies at UNT dates back to at least 2011 when Dr. Shaun Treat, a Communications Studies faculty member, organized the first UNT Comic Studies Conference.\u00a0 \u00a0This was a\u00a0scholarly and pedagogical conference devoted to, \u201cbroadly surveying the diverse disciplinary approaches to studying or using comics as a resource for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Comics in the library"","block_context":{"text":"Comics in the library","link":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/category\/libraries\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"UNT Comics Studies Conference Facebook Page","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2017\/12\/unt-comics-studies-conference.jpg?fit=916%2C528&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2017\/12\/unt-comics-studies-conference.jpg?fit=916%2C528&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2017\/12\/unt-comics-studies-conference.jpg?fit=916%2C528&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2017\/12\/unt-comics-studies-conference.jpg?fit=916%2C528&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":827,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/2024\/08\/15\/whats-happening-with-comics-studies-at-unt\/","url_meta":{"origin":473,"position":3},"title":"What’s happening with Comics Studies at UNT?","author":"John","date":"August 15, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Welcome back, everyone, to the Fall 2024 semester and a new year of school, work, and Comics Studies at UNT! We've got lots of updates on our Comics Studies initiative and other comics-related events and activities happening at UNT. Over the last two years, our Comics Studies community has grown\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Comics Events"","block_context":{"text":"Comics Events","link":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/category\/comics-events\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/08\/Comic-Studies-Blog_F17_Event-Banner.png?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/08\/Comic-Studies-Blog_F17_Event-Banner.png?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/08\/Comic-Studies-Blog_F17_Event-Banner.png?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/08\/Comic-Studies-Blog_F17_Event-Banner.png?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":860,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/2025\/05\/22\/johns-spring-comics-studiesrecap\/","url_meta":{"origin":473,"position":4},"title":"John’s Spring Comics Studies Recap","author":"John","date":"May 22, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Well, the Spring of 2025 has been a hectic semester of library work, scholarship, writing, service, travel, political happenings, life events, and general work-life imbalance, but I did manage to squeeze in some comics-related activities and events, both here at UNT and elsewhere in our comics community. So here's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Comics Events"","block_context":{"text":"Comics Events","link":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/category\/comics-events\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2025\/05\/blog-image_gold-bug_sacramento-bee-scaled-e1777402447790.jpg?fit=1200%2C343&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2025\/05\/blog-image_gold-bug_sacramento-bee-scaled-e1777402447790.jpg?fit=1200%2C343&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2025\/05\/blog-image_gold-bug_sacramento-bee-scaled-e1777402447790.jpg?fit=1200%2C343&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2025\/05\/blog-image_gold-bug_sacramento-bee-scaled-e1777402447790.jpg?fit=1200%2C343&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2025\/05\/blog-image_gold-bug_sacramento-bee-scaled-e1777402447790.jpg?fit=1200%2C343&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":688,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/2023\/01\/11\/comics-on-the-margins-2023-comics-studies-society-conference-coming-to-unt\/","url_meta":{"origin":473,"position":5},"title":"“Comics on the Margins”: 2023 Comics Studies Society Conference coming to UNT","author":"John","date":"January 11, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"We're excited to share the news that the 2023 Comics Studies Society Annual Conference, \"Comics on the Margins\", is coming to the University of North Texas, July 27-29, 2023! \"The Comics Studies Society (CSS) is an interdisciplinary society open to all who share the goals of promoting the critical study\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Comics Events"","block_context":{"text":"Comics Events","link":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/category\/comics-events\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Comics Studies Society, \"Comics on the Margins\" poster","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2023\/01\/Comics-Studies-Society-Poster-225x300.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=473"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":511,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473\/revisions\/511"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}