2027

The Comics and Graphic Narratives Forum invites papers addressing the intersection between comics and sports, athletics, or competitive games. Between the 2026 World Cup and the upcoming 2028 Summer Olympics, Los Angeles finds itself in the spotlight as an international sports hub. As such, we are interested in arguments that explore comics and sport alongside various critical themes, including but not limited to embodiment, class, disability, gender, sexuality, nationalism, race, religious identity, or exploitation. Among other questions, panel participants might ask: How might the medium of comics specifically tell stories of sports or athleticism? What are the representative or formal challenges of depicting sports inRead More →

A collaboration between the Comics and Graphic Narratives Form and the Children’s and Young Adult Literature Forum, this panel examines migration in comics and graphic narratives for children and young adults. Images of children are frequently mobilized to solicit empathy for the plight of migrants and to call attention to the inhumane treatment they face on behalf of hostile borders and nation states. In the circulation of these sometimes sensational images, the narratives and perspectives of children themselves are often hidden from view. This panel seeks papers that explore complex representations of migrant youth in children’s and YA comics and graphic narratives. We are especiallyRead More →

We invite participants for a roundtable where each person will perform a sustained close reading of a single page from the comics of Gilbert Hernandez and Jaime Hernandez—collectively known as Los Bros Hernandez. For more than four decades, the Hernandez Brothers have shaped the landscape of alternative comics through Love and Rockets and related projects, crafting formally inventive, politically astute, and emotionally resonant stories grounded in the textures of everyday life. From Gilbert’s magical-realist Palomar cycle to Jaime’s long-running “Locas” narratives set amid the punk and working-class subcultures of Los Angeles to their various independent projects, their work has redefined what comics can do asRead More →