MSU Comics Forum

08/15/2024

FYI -- Coming up this semester.

In a Q&A with Professors Blaire Morseau and Laura Yares, Emily Bowen Cohen, author of Two Tribes, will discuss the childhood memories that inspired her debut graphic novel. The talk will be accompanied by slides of original drawings and illustrations from her book. Emily…

06/24/2024

Check out this great presentation on AI !!

06/15/2024

A massive thank you to the Juneteenth Organizing Committee! More than 700 people showed up for this event. It was great to have the opportunity to share my thoughts on Afrofuturism and spotlight Tim Fielder's forthcoming adaptation of W.E.B. Du Bois's The Comet. My thanks to the Department of English at MSU for their support.

02/03/2024

Come on out to 2024 Michigan State University Comics Forum Artist Alley (FREE) today! Open until 5 pm inside the Main Library.

02/03/2024

Thanks to Hoplite Games and Biggby Coffee for keeping our artists energized today!

02/02/2024

Tonight's keynote with Keith Knight is on the 4th floor of the west side of the Main Library in the library green room.

02/02/2024

Heads up friends: if you are attending the keynote tonight, use the parking garage on Grand River. Ramp 2 on Auditorium Road isn't actually open to the public until 7 pm. Sorry for the inconvenience.

02/01/2024

Artist Alley roll call, part 6! (last one!) Come see all of our fantastic artists this Saturday at 2024 Michigan State University Comics Forum Artist Alley (FREE) !

Sean Dempsey – Sean Dempsey is a Chicago based sequential artist. His independent comics focus on curiosity and adventure through traveling or misfit characters. Whether in a comic, illustration, or cartoon, Sean’s stories embrace a balance of innocent and cynical protagonists. He hopes to create diverse, relatable characters that the audience can witness their inner growth, discovery, and individuality.

Suzanne Baumann – Back in a time and place when a student had no reference for what a comics-releated senior project should look like, I muddled my way through one and first comic book. Since then, cartooning has been a constant in my life: a way to share stories,make readers laugh and scratch their heads, experiment with art, develop craft, and continuously try to outdo myself. It’s been years since I’ve been to the Comics Forum, but I have great memories of the show and my interactions with the attendees there.

David Caldwell – I’ve been making comics seriously since 2016. I work in different genres including science fiction, horror and autobiography. I’m currently writing my next comic that could take the form of a graphic novel.

Lisa Naffziger is a graphic novelist and children’s book illustrator from the Midwest. In 2014, She graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design with a BFA in Sequential Art. Her previous comics work includes the 2018 self-published travel memoir I Don’t Wanna Puke in Tijuana and the 2019 YA crime thriller Minus (a Junior Library Guild selection).

01/31/2024

Artist Alley roll call, part 5! More of the amazing artists you can see this Saturday at the 2024 Michigan State University Comics Forum Artist Alley (FREE) !

Heidi Black – Artist in the Eisner-winning anthology “Puerto Rico Strong” (Lion Forge), colorist in the JLG gold medal “Agents of SLAM” (Oni Press). Continuing work on independent comic “Sons of Fire.”

Ro Salarian – Ro Salarian is a writer and artist who began making webcomics in the early 00s, and broke into print with I Was Kidnapped by Le***an Pirates from Outer Space and the recently completed Spectacle series. They were nominated for an Eisner Award for their short story Transplant, and have had work featured in various anthologies from publishers like Strawberry Comics and Iron Circus Comics, as well as their own self published works. When not making books, they are a burlesque performer, cheese expert, textile designer, and pretty decent cook. They live in Michigan with their partner and cats in a house with a secret room and a spooky pit in the basement. They can be contacted at [email protected]. They are represented by Desiree Wilson.

José Alaniz – Professor in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures and the Department of Comparative Literature (adjunct) at the University of Washington, Seattle, has published three scholarly monographs: Komiks: Comic Art in Russia (University Press of Mississippi, 2010), Death, Disability and the Superhero: The Silver Age and Beyond (UPM, 2014) and Resurrection: Comics in Post-Soviet Russia (Ohio State University Press, 2022). Long before that, though, he was drawing comics. He has published three comics/prose collections: The Phantom Zone & Other Stories (Amatl Comix, 2020), The Compleat Moscow Calling (Amatl, 2023) and Puro Pi**he True Fictions (FlowerSong Press, 2023). His work has also appeared in The Daily Texan, The Moscow Tribune, The Stranger, the Seattle anthology Dune, AltCom: How To Survive a Dictatorship (2018), Tales From La Vida: A Latinx Comics Anthology (2018), BorderX: A Crisis in Graphic Detail (2020) and SCARFFF.

BluRaven Houvener – My comics are autobiographical, tackling the topics of life, mental health, and poverty, but with a comedic lean to get the point across but not depress.

Steve Harrick – Steve Harrick is a writer living in the St. Louis area. His comics have been published by GreyHaven Comics and Ink & Drink Comics. His first self-published title, Pulp-Sized Comics, premiered in 2018. His most recent title, Dirt Sheet ½, premiered in 2023. He is currently at work on several comics projects. He has tabled at conventions in Ohio, Illinois, Missouri and Michigan (including the MSU Comics Forum 2017). He is currently working on several comics projects, as well as his illustration skills. His work may be seen on Instagram (stephenharrick) and DeviantArt (steveharrick).

01/30/2024

Artist Alley roll call, part 4! Here are more of the artists you see this Saturday, 11 am - 5 pm at 2024 Michigan State University Comics Forum Artist Alley (FREE)

Mark Dudley – Worked in TTRPGs for 25 years. Put out comics as Drunkenstyle Studios in the 90s. Currently putting out print and webcomics as Imaginos Workshop.

Jiba Anderson – Jiba Molei Anderson is an artist, writer, designer, and educator. He is the publisher for Griot Enterprises and creator of its flagship title, The Horsemen, and is also the curator of the 4 Pages 16 Bars: A Visual Mixtape anthology series.

Bill Campbell – I’m the owner of Rosarium Publishing, which specializes in comics and science fiction focusing mainly on marginalized voices. Entering into our 10th year, we have published the charity anthology, APB: ARTISTS AGAINST POLICE BRUTALITY, as well as the works of John Jennings, Damian Duffy, Stacey Robinson, Whit Taylor, Ajuan Mance, and David Brame. I have personally written three graphic novels: BAAAAD MUTHAZ, THE DAY THE KLAN CAME TO TOWN, and REFUGE. In 2016, I won the Glyph Pioneer/Lifetime Achievement Award.

Adam Talley – In 2024, Adam celebrates 30 years in self publishing With his various works in all genres of storytelling. His new ongoing series, PLEASANT LIFE launched in 2023 and he continues to do nsfw storytelling comics on his Patreon. His past credits include work for Marvel, DC, Topps Cards (Star Wars, Walking Dead, Mars Attacks) Antactic Press and Dynamite Comics (KISS, Bettie Page, Red Sonja and Vampirella).

Mary Mitchell – I started making comics in college for my Comic Art and Graphic Narrative Minor. Since then I’ve primarily done webcomics and mini zines. I was also president of Graphic Novels Club during my Junior & Senior year at MSU which was a great experience where I was able to teach other students about making comics

01/29/2024

Another comic event this Saturday!

Calling all comics lovers! This Saturday, 2/3, at 6 p.m., we’re hosting cartoonist/author José Alaniz as he discusses his most recent book, Puro Pi**he True Fictions. This hybrid book collects short stories and comics, mostly set in the Rio Grande Valley along the Texas/Mexico border. The stories reflect his upbringing in this region as a second-generation Mexican American, at times fusing folk beliefs with Bradbury-style science fiction.

Alaniz is also the author of The Phantom Zone and Other Stories (2020) and The Compleat Moscow Calling (2023), both from Amatl Comix. His comics have also appeared in The Stranger, the Seattle anthology Dune, Tales From La Vida: A Latinx Comics Anthology (2018), BorderX: A Crisis in Graphic Detail (2020) and SCARFFF. He is a professor at the University of Washington and has published three academic monographs, including Death, Disability and the Superhero: The Silver Age and Beyond (UPM, 2014) and Resurrection: Comics in Post-Soviet Russia (Ohio State University Press, 2022).

Joining us for the evening will be our special guest and good pal Zack Kruse (), a comics scholar and creator, who will facilitate a conversation with Alaniz about comics as art and narrative. Kruse is the author of the Eisner-nominated book Mysterious Travelers: Steve Ditko and the Search for a New Liberal Identity (University of Mississippi Press, 2021), and is currently at work writing a revival of Steve Ditko’s Static with artist Mike Norton.

We’re running this event adjacent to the fantastic annual shindig that is the MSU Comics Forum (). The forum runs from 2/2-2/3 at the MSU Library, and will feature two keynote addresses from award-winning comics artists and scholars; two days’ worth of academic panels; an artist’s alley (coordinated by A Novel Concept regular ); and an exhibition of comic art. Head over to the page for more information!

01/29/2024

Artist Alley roll call, part 3! More of the amazing artists you can see this Saturday at 2024 Michigan State University Comics Forum Artist Alley (FREE).

Corinne Roberts – Corinne Roberts is an illustrator working in comics with books such as “Bug Bites” and the “Out and About” silent sequence series (3 books so far in series).

Meggie Ramm – A non-binary cartoonist and comic educator.

They graduated from California College of the Arts with an MFA in Comics in 2017. They’ve done work for the New Yorker, Everyday Feminism and Silver Sprocket, and have comics in the Advanced Death Saves and Votes 4 Women anthologies. They are the sole creator of Stick World, and their anti-anxiety pocketbook You Will Be Okay was published through Silver Sprocket in 2019. They spent the last five years teaching comics to kids across the East Bay. while creating Littlest Dungeon Guard comic strips for Sunday HaHa.

Their first comic Batcat came out with Abrams in 2023, and the sequel is expected to come out in 2024.

Bill Pulkovski – Bill Pulkovski’s work can be found in comic books, trading cards, prints, magazines and film. Pulkovski has worked on many official projects for popular properties such as Star Wars, Marvel, DC, Paramount Pictures, as well as a number of small press and original creations. He is a co-founder of studio/ publisher Rocket Ink Studios and an educator at Macomb Community College.

Rory and Amanda Webb – Legends of Aukera was inspired by the many Dungeon and Dragons campaigns Rory and Amanda played. They decided to create their own world, called Aukera, with Rory as the mastermind behind all of the stories, and Amanda as the illustrator. The first of many planned series, The Ascendants tells the story of Felosial, an elven mage living in the port city of Dagruum, who finds herself caught up in an adventure she hadn’t intended on having. Four graphic novels have been published, making it a complete series.