Call for Papers and Presentations: Graphic Novels, Comics and Popular Culture 2013

Southwest/Texas Popular Culture and American Culture Association
http://www.swtxpca.org

Please make plans to attend our 34th Annual Conference

February 13-16, 2013, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel & Conference Center in
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Hyatt Regency Albuquerque

The area chair seeks papers/presentations on Graphic Novels and Comics and Popular Culture due on November 16, 2012.

The SW/TX PCA/ACA area chair invites papers on Comics, Graphic Novels and Popular Culture.

The Graphic Novels and Comics area has teamed up again with the Libraries and Popular Culture area to bring you another interesting roundtable session. This year the discussion will be the concept of the graphic novel and what that means. If you would like to be on the roundtable, please let me know.

Any aspect of Comics and Graphic Novels in Popular Culture will be considered.

Possible panel/discussion topics:

Comics podcasts. With so much comics-related news on websites, another form that has taken off in recent years includes the podcast/radio show. How well do these podcasts relate comic/graphic novels news? We have podcasts on the Golden Age of comics, superhero comics, and most recently The Comics Alternative, which goes beyond superheroes to discuss the independents. What impact do podcasts like this have?

The concept of the super-villain! There is much scholarly literature on the superhero but not nearly as much on the super-villain. Yet a superhero is usually only as good or interesting as their super-villain counterpart. Stan Lee said that coming up interesting super-villains is often difficult. Why? How have super-villains in comics changed over the years? What makes a super-villain like the Joker or Magneto so compelling? We would welcome full panels on super-villains.

There has been a recent rise in superhero movies, with four in the summer of 2011 and three in the summer of 2012. What is the future of the superhero-based movie? Will the superhero movie continue to be popular?

Pedagogical approaches to teaching graphic novel content. This has become an increasingly important part of comic studies, and the area chair seeks those scholars who would like to present on this topic.

Zombies and vampires in comics continue to rise in popularity. Why are these monsters ideally suited for the four-colored page?

Other topics:

* Sequential art and storytelling
* Manga, anime and the movies
* Comic conventions/fan culture
* Particular artists or writers (Bendis, Steranko, Kirby, Everett, Niles, etc.)
* The rise of the graphic novel
* What is a graphic novel?
* History of newspaper comics!
* Gay characters in comics
* Film and superheroes!
* Adapting graphic novels for the screen
* Racism and the X-Men
* Spider-Man as the Everyman
* Cartoon Network: Good or bad for comics?
* Comics and philosophy
* Graphic novels as outlets for social justice (e.g., World War III)
* Comics as political satire (e.g., Tom Tomorrow, Addicted To War)
* Horror comics
* “The Resurrection of Captain America” – Why NO comic character ever stays dead.
* DC, Marvel, and comic corporations
* Comics studies and film studies: How do the two intersect?
* The definition of the superhero
* Indies and their role
* Comics and graphic novels around the world (e.g., Tintin, Asterix)
* The scholarly study of graphic novels/comics in the academy
* Libraries and graphic novels

Please send a title and a 100- to 250-word abstract by November 16, 2012. Please submit your title, and 100- to 250-word abstract through our website database, which can be accessed at: http://conference2013.swtxpca.org

A video tutorial for submissions is available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSITP_57txc.

34th Annual Conference Southwest/Texas Popular/American Culture Association at the Hyatt Regency Hotel & Conference Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

February 13-16, 2013
Submission Deadline: 11/16/12
Priority Registration Deadline 12/31/13