On August 28, 2021, cartoonist Justin Hall and I chatted about why we need to recover queer comics history & how he’s done so over the past 15 years with his No Straight Lines projects. This event was part of San Francisco Zine Fest 2021 and took part on the first of nine days of programming!
Video: LGBTQ+ and Comics (MSU Comics Forum 2021)
On February 27, 2021, I had the pleasure of speaking alongside Justin Hall, Nic Gitau, and Mariko Tamaki on a panel moderated by andré m. carrington about LGBTQ+ issues in comics art, history, publishing, and events. Each of us briefly presented from our own perspectives in the comics world. This video is available as part of the MSU Comics Forum 2021.
Article: Around 1987: Don Melia and HIV/AIDS Comics
My essay, “Around 1987: Don Melia and HIV/AIDS Comics,” has been published in Comic Velocity: HIV & AIDS in Comics (2021), a catalog for a Visual AIDS exhibit curated by artist Paul Sammut.
Pedagogy: Synthesizing Your Archival Research
Resource: Open-Access Digitized Grassroots Media
I often teach archivally-focused undergraduate and graduate seminars where students research the visual culture of American progressive grassroots media (1960s-1990s), focusing in on feminist and LGBTQ periodicals. We examine cover graphics, comics, drawings, photographs, advertisements, typography, layout, and other elements of the periodicals’ visual aesthetics.
Resource: Ten Reasons to Study Comics at UF & in Gainesville
The University of Florida is known for being the first institution in the US to offer comics studies as a course of study, and it continues to be one of the premier places to study comics. The late Dr. Donald Ault was responsible for developing UF as an important hub of comics studies, but many faculty and students have further built that tradition in the decades since. The following list gives you a sense of the many and varied opportunities for engaging comics that move beyond the department and the university.
Article: Servants to What Cause: Illustrating Queer Movement Culture through Grassroots Periodicals
My essay, “Servants to What Cause: Illustrating Queer Movement Culture through Grassroots Periodicals,” has been published in the collection, The Comics of Alison Bechdel: From the Outside In (University Press of Mississippi, 2020). The University Press of Mississippi chose this chapter as the free excerpt to represent the book, so you can enjoy my chapter through the free PDF on the UPM website!
Everything is Everything #1 (2020)
UF English at MLA 2020
Below, you’ll find a list of UF English faculty and graduate students who will be at the upcoming MLA 2020 Conference in Seattle. If I’ve missed your name or if you’re a UF English alum presenting at MLA and wish to be added to the list, please be in contact with Margaret Galvan (margaretgalvan at ufl dot edu).