On Monday, April 13, 2015, I presented at the event, Comics, Underground & Above: The Story of Kitchen Sink Press, held at Columbia University. The panel of speakers included James Danky, Denis Kitchen, Howard Cruse, David Hajdu, and myself. The event marked the opening of the records of underground publisher, Kitchen Sink Press, and this archival collection is one in a series of exciting comics acquisitions spearheaded by librarian Karen Green for Columbia’s Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
In my brief presentation, I focused on networks of women in underground comics through an analysis of Kitchen Sink Press’s correspondence with female cartoonists (e.g. Trina Robbins, Lee Marrs, Sharon Rudahl). I then reflected on the importance of archival research to comics scholarship, particularly in how it foregrounds the collaborative nature of the field. Enjoy below a video recording of the event as captured by Lawrence Brenner, who does research in economies of cosplay and fandom.