I Am NOT the Beastmaster

Comics Scholar Denied Entry into USA

Ernesto Priego, a doctoral candidate at the School of Library, Archive and Information Studies, University College, London, and a scheduled presenter at this year's International Comic Arts Forum, has been denied entry into the United States of America.  The United States government declined to renew Mr. Priego's visa and has not given any explanation why he will not be allowed in the country.

Mr. Priego's exclusion is part of a recent and disturbing practice of denying entry to foreign scholars, and an infringement on academic freedom in the United States.

I have included Mr. Priego's paper abstract and biography below.

“The Tell-Tale Smell of Burning Paper: ‘Logic of Form’ and the Origin of Comics”

Inspired by Walter Benjamin's philosophy of history, this paper discusses the origin of comics through a study of the “logic of form” in comic artists from the 1870s to the 1930s: the departure point being the recognition of a series of formal aspects that could be agreed as essential or definitive of the comics language. Different technological and artistic factors were involved in its development, resulting from the convergence of industrial development in the form of a transformation of printing and distribution techniques, artistic trends, and significative codes employed at the time.

Ernesto Priego, a poet, essayist, translator, and PhD candidate at the School of Library, Archive and Information Studies, University College, London, has taught English literature and critical theory at major Mexican universities and published a translation of Jessica Abel's award-winning graphic novel, La Perdida (Astiberri Editores, Spain, 2007) and a first book of poetry, Not Even Dogs (Meritage Press, 2006).

Readers may judge for themselves what sort of security or immigration risk he poses to the American people.

Update:  Tom Spurgeon, Heidi MacDonald, Mike Rhode, Chris Mautner, and the Chronicle of Higher Education cover the story on their blogs.

ICAF 2006

Eleventh Annual International Comic Arts Festival (ICAF)
Thursday, October 12-Saturday, October 14
Mumford Room, Library of Congress Madison Building, Washington, DC

The International Comic Arts Festival, an annual conference devoted to the study of comics, returns to the Library of Congress this October for a three-day forum of panels, keynote speeches, artist talks, and exhibitions showcasing the cutting edge in work by comic artists and scholars.

This year ICAF is proud to present an evening with legendary cartoonist, comics artist, and author Jules Feiffer.  Feiffer will speak at 7:00 on the evening of Thursday, October 12.  That afternoon's programming will include a display of original Feiffer drawings and manuscript materials from the Library of Congress collection, from 3:00 to 3:45 in the Prints & Photographs Division Reading Room.

ICAF will also present a panel on the role of comics in documenting the Rwandan genocide at the George Washington University's Gelman Library at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, October 13.  The panel will feature Rwandan/Canadian cartoonist Rupert Bazambanza, whose graphic novel Sourire malgre tout presents a firsthand account of the genocide, and American conflict resolution expert Ellen Yamshon of the Comics Media in Conflict Resolution Project.  The panel will be moderated by George Washington University professor and Rwanda expert Steven Livingston.

Finally, ICAF will feature a symposium offering a rare behind-the-scenes look at American superhero comics.  Writer Stuart Moore and artist Jamal Igle (Firestorm) will appear in a panel detailing production methods, while comics legends Denny O'Neil (Batman, Green Lantern/Green Arrow, The Question) and Phil Jiminez (Otherworld, The Invisibles) will participate in a roundtable on the challenges of addressing political issues in mainstream US comics.  Both events will take place on the afternoon of Saturday, October 14.  ICAF will also host eighteen academic presentations by comic art scholars from around the world.

ICAF is pleased to work with the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division and the Caroline and Erwin Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon. Our sponsors include the Canadian Embassy, the Washington Post, Andrews McMeel Universal, Jean Schulz, Cartoon Books, and Jay & Silent Bob's Secret Stash.

ICAF is free and open to the public. For more information, including schedules and sponsors, please visit our official website or contact Marc Singer.

ICAF 2005: This One Goes to Eleven

After the conference is over it's always hard to believe it actually happened.  A week ago I hadn't even left and now I'm sitting at the same desk, working on the same projects, and yet my memory tells me that over the past six days I returned home, saw some of my most valued colleagues, met one of my favorite comics artists, mounted three long days of programming, saw a display of archival treasures (including an original Little Nemo), paid warm tribute to Will Eisner, and got to talk about comics and Citizen Kane with the man who created the Joker.

SPX was missed, Bethesda's restaurant options even moreso--but what Capitol Hill lacks in dining it more than makes up for in sheer beauty.  (Once you learn to ignore all the antiterrorist barriers.)

Besides the aforementioned and jaw-dropping display of comics art, holding our tenth annual conference at the Library of Congress also did great things for our accessibility and visibility with the general public; ICAF 2005 was a watershed for attendance and press coverage.  We got not one but two pieces in the Washington Post, including a prominent feature in their free Express paper (couldn't find a link).  And then there was this article in the George Washington University student newspaper (the Hatchet--great name).  That's me brandishing a list of 57 known communists an anthology of early twentieth-century comics scholarship.  Paul Grist was so excited that giant word balloons and sound effects literally burst out of his skull.

I knew we'd made the big time when we got our first newspaper article in which a columnist grouses curmudgeonly about a conference on comics (exclamation points liberally added) being held at the Library of Congress.  The author of the Express piece demanded to know, "Has Congress been alerted?  Wasn't it just a few years ago that Congress held hearings to investigate the corrupting influence of comics on America's youth?  What's next, Marilyn Manson for House speaker?  No wonder this country is going to hell in a handbasket."  Ladies and gentlemen, our sneering mass-media coverage cherry has been popped.

In jest, I hope, and it did end up being a pretty positive article.  The important thing is, we got billed above Jethro Tull.

Seriously.  Above "Ian Anderson's mincing, Middle Earthian prog rock" to be precise.

(But I'm pretty sure he got the larger dressing room.)

As Long as They Spell Your Name Right

Well, this is cool.  A Washington Post Sunday Source article on international comics, mentioning ICAF (which runs this week, Thursday through Saturday) and featuring a quote from yours truly.  (Free registration may be required.)

Comics Come to the Library of Congress

COMICS COME TO THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

EDITORIAL CARTOONISTS, EISNER TRIBUTE HEADLINE CONFERENCE

Tenth Annual International Comic Arts Festival (ICAF)
West Dining Room, Madison Building, Library of Congress
Thursday, October 13 – Saturday, October 15, 2005

The International Comic Arts Festival, an annual conference devoted to the study of comics, comes to the Library of Congress this October for a three-day forum of panels, keynote speeches, artist talks, and exhibitions showcasing the cutting edge in work by comic artists and scholars alike.

This year ICAF celebrates its tenth anniversary with a symposium on editorial cartooning to be held on Thursday, October 13. Special events include a roundtable featuring cartoonists Tom Toles (the Washington Post), Ann Telnaes (the New York Times Syndicate), and Kevin "KAL" Kallaugher (the Baltimore Sun); a display of original cartoon art from the Library of Congress collection; a special presentation by Herblock Archives curator Harry Katz; and a keynote address by legendary cartoonist and historian Jerry Robinson. The Editorial Cartoonists' Roundtable begins at 1:30 p.m. and the symposium concludes with the Jerry Robinson talk from 7:00 to 9:00 Thursday evening.

ICAF is also proud to present a tribute to the late comics pioneer Will Eisner, creator of The Spirit and one of the inventors of the graphic novel, on Saturday, October 15. Special events include a talk by Eisner biographer Bob Andelman; a screening of the documentary Will Eisner: The Spirit of an Artistic Pioneer; a critical roundtable on Eisner's work; and a lecture by Benjamin Herzberg, who collaborated with Eisner on his final graphic novels, Fagin the Jew and The Plot. The Eisner tribute will take place from 1:00 to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 15.

In addition, ICAF will host international comics artists Paul Grist (England) and Fang Cheng (China) and eighteen academic presentations by comic art scholars from around the world.  Paul Grist and Benjamin Herzberg will also speak at the George Washington University's Gelman Library at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, October 14.

ICAF is pleased to work in collaboration with the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division and the Caroline and Erwin Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon. Other sponsors include the Herblock Foundation, Andrews McMeel Universal, Jean Schulz, Dark Horse Comics, Image Comics, Cartoon Books, and Jay & Silent Bob's Secret Stash.

ICAF is free and open to the public. For more information, including schedules, sponsors, and guest biographies, please visit our official website or contact Marc Singer.

ICAF and Library of Congress Join Forces in 2005

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The International Comic Arts Festival (ICAF) is proud to announce it will hold its tenth anniversary conference at the Library of Congress in 2005.

ICAF is an international summit for scholars, creators, and enthusiasts of comics and cartoon art. The three-day event includes academic papers, chalk talks by distinguished cartoonists, and lectures by scholars from around the globe. While ICAF has been held in the Washington, D.C. area since its inception in 1995, ICAF 2005 marks the first time ICAF has joined with the Library of Congress.

ICAF 2005 will take place from Thursday, October 13 through Saturday, October 15, at the James Madison Building of the Library of Congress, with the generous support of the Library’s Prints and Photographs Division and the Caroline and Erwin Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon. The Swann Foundation, administered by the Library of Congress, supports the study, interpretation, preservation and appreciation of cartoon art from around the world, and has frequently sponsored lectures and exhibits related to comics.

“We’re very excited about holding ICAF at the Library of Congress, and grateful for the support of the Library and the Swann Foundation,” says ICAF Chair Charles Hatfield. “Working with the Library gives us a rare opportunity to encourage the serious study of comics and cartooning. The Swann Foundation is a perfect partner, and the Library the perfect place to bring together scholars and the general public – a historic venue known for its great collections and its support of important research, not to mention its beauty and its great location.”

Dr. Jeremy Adamson, chief of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, notes, “Few people realize that the Library is home to one of the world’s great collections of original cartoon art, encompassing virtually the entire history and scope of comics. Recognizing the scholarly significance of cartoons as potent vehicles of social and political commentary, and spontaneous expressions of contemporary fashion, values, and attitudes, we are pleased to support ICAF 2005.”

ICAF is currently in the process of soliciting paper proposals and inviting distinguished guests for 2005.

ABOUT THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CARTOON COLLECTIONS
The Library of Congress houses the Caroline and Erwin Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon, the Swann Gallery, and one of the world’s most extensive and diverse collections of comic strips, comic books, and cartoon drawings. Learn more about the Library’s cartoon-related collections at their official Web site.

ABOUT ICAF
The International Comic Arts Festival is an annual conference dedicated to promoting the scholarly study and public appreciation of comics from around the world. ICAF aims to foster the recognition of comic art, to encourage collaboration between academics, independent scholars, comics professionals and the wider public, and to provide an accessible, public showcase for innovative comic art and comics scholarship.

In addition to presentations by renowned comics storytellers, ICAF offers many shorter academic presentations. These panels form the backbone of ICAF, giving scholars from many countries a forum to present their work to a diverse audience, and allowing the general public to sample the rich and varied work currently being done in the academic study of comics. Learn more about ICAF at their official Web site.

Contact:  Marc Singer (ICAF Executive Committee)

"No, Mr. Singer, I expect you to die"

Back, exhausted and elated from last week's ICAF and SPX. Since this was the first time I've attended the Small Press Expo while earning a real salary, I brought back quite a few great comics...

• Will Elder: The Mad Playboy of Art, a Fantagraphics coffee-table retrospective of the great MAD artist and Kurtzman collaborator

• The two most recent issues of The Comics Journal, mostly for the Kurtzman/Elder "Goodman Goes Playboy," the Brubaker interview, and the Dirk Deppey two-parter on Marvel's advance and retreat

• Subatomic and The Supernaturalists by Patrick Neighly and Jorge Heufemann, published by Mad Yak Press (the authors of the indispensible Disinformation Guide to the Invisibles)

• A Louis minicomic from Metaphrog

• Balthazar no. 1 by Tobias Tycho Schalken and Eiland no. 4 by Schalken and Stefan van Dinther. These are true gems; Schalken and van Dinther produce formally innovative, eerily resonant, and meticulously designed comics. The Balthazar book resembles an exhibition catalogue, with a number of art-historical mock-ups (medieval illuminated manuscript, 1930s comic, performance art video installation) and a set of annotations that imply some mysterious medieval religious eugenics movement. Schalken, an ICAF guest, mentioned Vladimir Nabokov's Pale Fire as an influence, and that alone would have been enough to sell me. He was the second artist that day to cite Nabokov, after the incredibly learned John of Metaphrog, which I take as a good sign for the comics medium. The Eiland artists also earn bonus points because "Tobias Tycho Schalken" sounds, to American ears, like the sort of name that goes along with an undersea headquarters and a plot to blow up the moon.

If I'd had a lick of sense I would also have picked up a couple of Miguelanxo Prado volumes, most likely Streak of Chalk, as I had plenty of opportunities to get them signed. Unfortunately, I had to moderate a long (but rewarding!) R. Sikoryak/Paul Karasik double-bill immediately after the Prado session, and by the time I got around to looking for his comics the NBM booth was sold out and Big Planet was closed. I'll just have to pick them up online and hope I have another chance to meet Prado - he's an entertaining speaker and dinner guest as well as a tremendously talented artist.

I also got the latest issue of the International Journal of Comic Art and a couple of comics that I haven’t been able to find in Nashville, Eddie Campbell’s Batman: Order of the Beasts Elseworlds and Daniel Clowes’s Eightball no. 22, "Ice Haven." And then I left them at the in-laws', so it'll have to be a few months before I join the chorus of bloggers who have already proclaimed "Ice Haven" the single greatest achievement in the history of representational art. (And the accolades aren't stopping there! Look out, Pollack!)

Between ICAF and the Small Press Expo (not to mention time catching up with family and old friends) it was a pretty hectic weekend, but an intensely satisfying one. This year's ICAF had one of the most consistently excellent slates of guest artists and speakers that I can remember (for which all credit goes to my colleagues; I had nothing to do with it), and there's nothing quite like spending a weekend in the company of people who share my interest in the intersection of comics and academics. Where else could I sit around a crowded dinner table with renowned artists and brilliant scholars and talk about the finer points of the Beyonder?

The International Comic Arts Festival

NINTH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL COMIC ARTS FESTIVAL (ICAF)

Holiday Inn Select, Bethesda, MD

Thursday, September 30 – Saturday, October 2, 2004

Following a season in which comic books and graphic novels have received unprecedented interest and acclaim from major media outlets, the International Comic Arts Festival is proud to announce its ninth annual conference dedicated to the study of comics. Working in conjunction with the Small Press Expo, North America's premier alternative comic book festival, ICAF presents three days of panels, keynote speeches and chalk-talks showcasing the cutting edge in work by comic artists and scholars alike.

This year, ICAF hosts an array of international cartoonists including:

• Steve Brodner (USA)
• Paul Karasik (USA)
• Lily Lau Lee Lee (Hong Kong)
• Miguelanxo Prado (Spain)
• Tobias Schalken (Netherlands)
• R. Sikoryak (USA)
• Stefan van Dinther (Netherlands)

In addition, ICAF will host noted scholars John Benson and John A. Lent and fifteen peer-juried academic presentations by comic art scholars from around the world.

ICAF is dedicated to promoting recognition of comic art as an important international phenomenon, and to encouraging discussion of the art form among academics, independent scholars, comic art professionals, and the general public.

ICAF is free and open to the public. (Attendees on Friday afternoon and Saturday will have to pay admission for the Small Press Expo, but admission grants access to both events.) For more information, including schedules, sponsors, and guest biographies, please visit the official ICAF website.