Comic books aren鈥檛 just for kids; they are an area ready for academic inquiry.
Several English Department graduate students presented papers at the 2015 Denver Comic Con and Literary Conference held May 22-25.
Denver Comic Con and Literary Conference is a three-day, family-friendly, pop culture fan convention with a scholarly twist. The event features the best in comics along with popular sci-fi and fantasy TV shows, movies, Japanese animation, cosplay (fan-created costumes and costumed skits), toys, gaming and panel presentations.
CU-Boulder students Logan Blizzard, Randall Fullington, Chris Haynes, Caleb Tardio, Allison Shelton and Jillian Gilmer presented papers at educational sessions for Page 23 LitCon, special programming at Comic Con that focuses primarily on scholarly perspectives and explorations of comic books and graphic novels.听
CU-Boulder's involvement with Comic Con goes back to 2012, the first iteration of ROMOCOCO (the Rocky Mountain Conference on Comics and Graphic Novels), later renamed Page 23.
鈥淐U faculty and graduate students have contributed to the growth of Page 23 as a serious part of DCC鈥檚 programming across 2014 and 2015,鈥� said Haynes. 鈥淚 am proud to be a part of a CU community invested in sound scholarship and genuine enthusiasm for the comics medium.鈥�
More English graduate students jumped onboard for this year's event. CU-Boulder's representation at the conference grew, especially through The Gutter,听a graduate-student comics and graphic novels reading group that began in January 2015.
Associate Vice Provost for Education Innovation William Kuskin, who teaches a comic book and graphic novels course for the English Department, attended and participated in many Comic Con events in the past. Kuskin pioneered many efforts to bring a scholarly spotlight on the comic books genre. He was pleased to see so many graduate students participate this year.
鈥淐omics criticism is at a delicate balance,鈥� said Kuskin, who participated in a roundtable discussion about comics in the classroom at this year鈥檚 Page 23. 鈥淥n the one hand there is tremendous energy in the field, and on the other, that energy is having a very hard time committing to serious analysis in favor of fan-based enthusiasm.鈥�
With the initiation of the graduate student group, The Gutter, there is more targeted interest in and enthusiasm for comic book scholarship. During The Gutter鈥檚 first semester, 10 听participants read a variety of comics and graphic novels. The group met once a month for rigorous, engaging discussions about comics, in which they examined larger thematics, individual panels and pages, the relationship between comics, quality and the role of comics in the classroom.
鈥淪eeing smart people come together to talk about comics really demonstrates to me the capacity of this medium to draw out great ideas and incisive close readings," said Haynes. "This is a really exciting time to read comics."
For photos and more information about the event, visit the听.