Updates August 2013

Effective August 2013, the Alliance for the Promotion of Research on the Matter of Britain has resumed ownership of The Arthur of the Comics Project and its associated listserv. The new group will function for the remainder of 2013 as an affiliate of The Virtual Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages and be based at the King Arthur Forever website at KingArthurForever.org. This site will be maintained as time permits.

Further details can be found on King Arthur Forever at http://kingarthurforever.blogspot.com/2013/08/king-arhur-forever-reborn.html.

Michael A. Torregrossa
Co-Founder, The Virtual Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages
Founder, The Alliance for the Promotion of Research on the Matter of Britain

Kalamazoo Sessions

I just posted the details of our Kalamazoo sessions at the main blog. Our comics related session is as follows:


Saturday, 12 May: 10:00 AM
Session 394 (Bernhard 204)

The Comics Get Medieval at Kalamazoo: New Perspectives for Incorporating Comics into Medieval Studies Teaching and Research (A Roundtable)
Sponsor: Virtual Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages
Organizer: Michael A. Torregrossa, Virtual Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages

Presider: Mikee Delony, Abilene Christian Univ.

Grotesque in Comics
Fabio Mourilhe, Univ. Federal do Rio de Janeiro

Caliber (2008), or Arthur’s Mystical Six-Shooter and the Gunslingers of the O.K. Corral
Karen Casebier, St. Mary’s College of Maryland

Arthurian Themes in DC Comic’s Demon Knights (2011–)
Jason Tondro, Univ. of California–Riverside

Comics Get Medieval 2013 First CFP

The Virtual Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages is pleased to announce the following call for papers:

First call for papers

The Comics Get Medieval 2013:

A continuing Celebration of Medieval-themed Comics

PCA Washington, DC 3/27-30/13

Special Sessions of the Comic Art & Comics Area

Organized By Michael A. Torregrossa and Jason Tondro

Proposals Due to Organizers by 1 September 2012

Celebrating our seventh year in 2013, proposals are now being considered for inclusion at “The Comics Get Medieval 2013,” a series of panels and roundtables sponsored by The Virtual Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages and to be hosted by the Comic Art & Comics Area of the Popular Culture Association (PCA) for the 2013 Joint Conference of the National Popular Culture and American Culture Associations to be held from 27 to 30 March 2013 in Washington, DC. 

The goal of these sessions is to foster communication between medievalists, comics scholars, and specialists in popular culture studies in general. The organizers define “medieval comics” as any aspect of the comics medium (panel cartoons, comic strips, comics books, comics albums, band dessinée, graphic novels, manga, webcomics, comics to film/film to comics, etc.) that feature medieval themes either in stories set during the Middle Ages or in stories presenting some element of the medieval in anachronistic settings (pre-medieval or post-medieval eras or medieval-inspired secondary worlds). We are also interested in papers looking at medieval-themed comics from a pedagogical perspective.

Completed papers should be delivered in 15-20 minutes (depending on the number of presenters). All proposals will also be considered for inclusion in an essay collection to be edited by the panel organizers during the early part of 2013. (Individuals only interested in submitting for the collection should also send proposals by 1 September 2012 and indicate their preference in the email.)

In addition, a select list of potential topics and a bibliographic guide to medieval comics will appear as part of The Medieval Comics Project web site available at <http://MedievalComicsProject.org> and The Arthur of the Comics Project web site available at <http://Arthur-of-the-Comics.org/>, both organized by The Virtual Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages. 

No later than 1 September 2012, interested individuals (who must be members of PCA or ACA or join for 2013) should submit full contact information (name, address, phone/cell, and email), titles, abstracts of 300-500 words, and a brief resume to the session’s organizers, who will then forward them to the area chair. Address all inquiries and proposals to the organizers at the following address: <Medieval.Comics.Project@gmail.com> and include “Comics Get Medieval 2013” in the subject line. 

PCA Update

Our all-Arthurian session of the Comics Get Medieval runs next week at PCA. Details at The Medieval Comics Project.

RIP arthurian_comixlist

It is with deep regret that I write that The Virtual Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages has closed The Arthurian Comics Discussion List effective today. The listserv, which was active from July 2000 to September 2011, was our first and, I believe, most active list during the height of its lifetime. The archives of the list will remain accessible until further notice, but all future updates will only be featured on the blog.

Michael Torregrossa
Listserv Moderator, Blog Editor, and Co-Founder, The Virtual Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages

CFP Comics Get Medieval at Kalamazoo

The call for papers for our roundtable on The Comics Get Medieval at Kalamazoo: New Perspectives for Incorporating Comics into Medieval Studies Teaching and Research has been posted to the Medieval Comics Project Blog.

CFP: The Return of King Arthur in the Post-Medieval World (12/1/11; Plymouth, NH 4/20-21/12)

The Society is pleased to announce its sponsorship of "Once and Future Kings? The Return of King Arthur in the Post-medieval World," which 33rd Annual Medieval and Renaissance Forum to convene at Plymouth State University (Plymouth, NH) from 20-21 April 2011. The full CFP can be accessed at King Arthur Forever. The comics have made much use of this motif, and I would hope to receive many proposals.

Comics Get Medieval 2012 Call for Papers

Re-posted from The Medieval Comics Project Blog:

THE COMICS GET MEDIEVAL 2012:
A CELEBRATION OF MEDIEVAL-THEMED COMICS IN
COMMEMORATION OF THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF PRINCE VALIANT
CALL FOR PAPERS (PCA: BOSTON, MA 4/4-7/12)
SPECIAL SESSIONS OF THE COMICS & COMIC ART AREA
ORGANIZED BY MICHAEL A. TORREGROSSA AND JASON TONDRO
PROPOSALS DUE TO ORGANIZERS BY 1 DECEMBER 2011

Celebrating our sixth year in 2012, proposals are now being considered for inclusion at “The Comics Get Medieval 2012,” a series of panels and roundtables sponsored by The Virtual Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages and to be hosted by the Comics & Comic Art Area of the Popular Culture Association (PCA) for the 2012 Joint Conference of the National Popular Culture and American Culture Associations to be held from 4-7 April 2012 in Boston, Massachusetts.

The goal of these sessions is to foster communication between medievalists, comics scholars, and specialists in popular culture studies in general. The organizers define “medieval comics” as any aspect of the comics medium (panel cartoons, comic strips, comics books, comics albums, band dessinée, graphic novels, manga, webcomics, comics to film/film to comics, etc.) that feature medieval themes either in stories set during the Middle Ages or in stories presenting some element of the medieval in the post-medieval era. We are also interested in papers looking at medieval comics from a pedagogical perspective.


Completed papers should be delivered in 15-20 minutes (depending on the number of presenters).

All proposals will also be considered for inclusion in an essay collection to be edited by the panel organizers beginning in late 2011/early 2012. (Individuals only interested in submitting for the collection should also send proposals by 1 December 2011 deadline and indicate their preference in the email.)

In addition, a select list of potential topics and a bibliographic guide to medieval comics will appear as part of THE MEDIEVAL COMICS PROJECT web site available at http://MedievalComicsProject.org and THE ARTHUR OF THE COMICS website available at http://Arthur-of-the-Comics.org, both organized by the Virtual Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages.


No later that 1 December 2011, interested individuals (who must be members of PCA or ACA or join for 2012) should submit full contact information (name, address, phone/cell, and email), titles, and abstracts of 300-500 words to the sessions’ organizers, who will then forward them to area chair.

Address all inquiries and proposals to the organizers at the following address:

Medieval.Comics.Project@gmail.com and include “Comics Get Medieval 2012” in the subject line.

Advance Notice Kalamazoo 2012

The Virtual Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages has proposed the following sessions for the 47th International Congress on Medieval Studies to be held from 10-13 May 2012. Further details on each session can be found by clicking the respective links.

Are You From Camelot? Recent Arthurian Film, Television, and Electronic Games as Innovators of the Arthurian Tradition and Their Impact (Roundtable)


The Comics Get Medieval at Kalamazoo: New Perspectives for Incorporating Comics into Medieval Studies Teaching and Research (Roundtable)

Listserv Updates (Cross-Posted)

It is with deep regret that I write to inform readers of the demise of the following listservs sponsored by the Society: The Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages Discussion List, The Medieval Studies at the Movies Discussion List and The Medieval Comics Project Discussion List. The three have been disbanded due to lack of interest by the members. Archives for these lists will remain online for the time being, but further items of interest on these topics can be found instead on the various blogs currently sponsored by the Society, including Studies of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages and The Medieval Comics Project Blog.

Michael A. Torregrossa
Blog and Listserv Editor
Co-Founder

Comics Get Medieval 2011 Update

A belated update on the status of The Comics Get Medieval 2011 sessions for the upcoming Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association's annual meeting this spring:

The session has been cancelled due to lack of interest.

Please consider submitting a proposal for The Comics Get Medieval 2012 sessions to convene at PCA/ACA in Boston and (pending approval) at Kalamazoo. 2012 is the 75th anniversary of Prince Valiant, and it would be great to make ourselves visible as we commemorate this landmark event.

Michael Torregrossa

Blog and Listserv Editor
Co-Founder

King Arthur Forever Returns

The Society is pleased to announce the relaunch of KingArthurForever.org as a blog dedicated to study and debate of the representations of the Matter of Britain in post-medieval popular culture produced from the close of the Middle Ages through tomorrow.