A global comic book industry conference by the British Academy is coming to the University of Chichester in May.
The international conference, The Commercial Business of Comics: Transforming Authorship, Distribution, Technology, Story and Aesthetics in the Global North and South, will bring together established and emerging comics scholars from the UK, Europe and North America.
Professor Hugo Frey, event co-organiser, said: “We were delighted to receive the British Academy Conference grant, and to be able to host this event here at the University of Chichester.”
Presenters will respond to two key questions: What are the global comics industries? And how do changing business patterns and practices lead to new authorship, distribution, technical manufacture, and the aesthetic production and reception of comics?
The conference will investigate the impact of new business practices on the social, economic, and political meanings of graphic narrative, encompassing print and digital comics, manga and bande dessinée.
The two-day event will delve into topics including: the economic context for making and manufacturing comics, post-colonialism and post-print comics-making; historical precedents as a model for current practice; the role of comics fandom in co-production; and the shifts in publishing sites between ‘Global North’ and ‘Global South’.
The conference is funded by the Department for Science Innovation and Technology in partnership with the British Academy. British Academy Conferences bring together scholars from around the world to present, discuss and consolidate new research in the humanities and social sciences.
The event is being held on 11-12 May 2024. For tickets, visit: The Commercial Business of Comics 2024-05-11 09:00:00 – University of Chichester.
Conference convenors:
Professor Hugo Frey, University of Chichester
Professor Simon Grennan, University of Chester
Speakers across the two-day conference include:
Dr Carly Bagelman, Liverpool Hope University
Professor Jacqueline Berndt, Stockholm University
Professor Monica Chiu, University of New Hampshire
Professor Simon Grennan, University of Chester
Dr Kathryn Hemmann, University of Pennsylvania
Dr Nicolle Lamerichs, HU University Utrecht
Dr Ilan Manouach, Metalab Harvard; Echo Chamber, Brussels
Dr Nina Mickwitz, University of the Arts London
Dr Pedro Moura, independent scholar
Dr Dibyadyuti Roy, University of Leeds
Dr Enrique Uribe-Jongbloed, University of Cardiff; Universidad Externado de Colombia
Associate Professor Lukas R A Wilde, Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim