2025 Schedule

ICAF 2025 Conference Schedule

All presentations and activities are free and open to the general public unless indicated.

Thursday, April 10, 2025

8:00 am: Registration Open
Digital Humanities Center, Main Room
Coffee, muffins and scones sponsored by SDSU College of Arts & Letters with generous support from Todd Butler, Dean of CAL

9:00 am: Welcome to ICAF 2025
Digital Humanities Center, Main Room
Introduction by Brittany Tullis, ICAF Chair
ICAF 2025 Site Liaisons Pamela Jackson and Elizabeth Pollard, Co-Directors of SDSU’s Center for Comics Studies

9:15 - 10:15 am: Academic Keynote: DR. JORGE SANTOS, Jr.
Digital Humanities Center, Main Room
“Visualizing the Vietnam War: Thi Bui Authors a Useable Present.”
Dr. Jorge Santos, Jr., College of the Holy Cross
Co-sponsored by the SDSU Center for War & Society

10:30-11:45 am: CONCURRENT PANEL SESSION 1
PANEL 1A: COMICS IN ACTION
Studio M, Digital Humanities Center
Moderator: Andrew Kunka, University of South Carolina Sumter

“Virginia Commonwealth University Qatar Comics Lab ‘Creating Comic Retreat’.” Leland Hill and Michael Wirtz, VCU Qatar
“Intersections of Heroism and Healing: Using Superhero Comics in STEM Education to Address Adverse Childhood Experiences.” Tonya C. Bates, Jade Gingue, Mike Nguyen, University of Kentucky

PANEL 1B: A TWO-DIMENSIONAL MEDIUM IN THREE DIMENSIONS
Library Addition 76
Moderator: Margaret Galvan, University of Florida

“The Museum Is the Medium.” Catherine Labio, University of Colorado Boulder
“Puerto Rican Independent Comics Mapping San Juan’s Urban Landscape.” Fernanda Diaz-Basteris, The Ohio State University
“Cities and Urban Life in Southeast Asian Comics.” Weihsin Gui, University of California - Riverside

12:00-1:30 pm: HOSTED LUNCH and ROUNDTABLE (Admission Fee Required)*
Digital Humanities Center, Main Room
“Comics and Social Justice at SDSU: Collections, Curriculum, and Community.”
Roundtable Participants: Elizabeth Pollard, Chair of History, Co-Director of the Center for Comics Studies; Pamela Jackson, Librarian, Co-Director of the Center for Comics Studies; Emily Schindler, Education Director, Comic-Con Museum.
Lunch sponsored by SDSU College of Arts & Letters with generous support from Todd Butler, Dean of CAL

1:30-2:45pm: CONCURRENT PANEL SESSION 2
PANEL 2A: COMICS IN/AND AMERICAN HISTORY Studio M, Digital Humanities Center
Moderator: Pamela Jackson, San Diego State University

“Faith and Fear: Comics and War in Cold War America.” Gregory Daddis, San Diego State University
“Orientalizing the Arab from Panel to Reel: Islamophobia and Islamophilia From Cold War Comics to the Trump Administration.” Ibrahim Al-Marashi, San Diego State University
“Jaakko Pallasvuo’s Avocado Ibuprofen: Digital Art Comics and/as Platform Critique.” Kenneth Oravetz, University of New Mexico

PANEL 2B: INTERSECTIONALITY AND GENDER IN GRAPHIC MEMOIR
Library Addition 76
Moderator: Brittany Tullis, St. Ambrose University

“Transmasculine “Girlhood” in Graphic Memoir.” Elric Paauw, University of Western Ontario
“Constructing Female Self-Images in Autobiographical Francophone Bandes Dessinées : An Intersectional Perspective.” Myriam Macé, Universität Bremen
“Interwoven Identities: Exploring Narrative Intersectionality in I Was Their American Dream by Malaka Garib.” Smita Dabi, Delhi Public School Surat

3:00-4:15pm: CONCURRENT PANEL SESSION 3
PANEL 3B: AFTER WITNESS, AFTER VIOLENCE Library Addition 76
Moderator: Sara Roldan, San Diego State University

“‘My Grandfather was One of Them’: Complicating Holocaust Perpetrator Testimony in Regina Hofer and Leopold Maurer’s Insekten.” Brett E. Sterling, University of Arkansas
“Graphic Healing: Exploring The Therapeutic Aspects Of Logotherapy In Brigitte Findakly's Poppies Of Iraq." Sai Parvathy I. R, St. Teresa’s College, (Autonomous) Ernakulam

4:45-6:00pm: ARTIST TALK: MARY FLEENER
Digital Humanities Center, Main Room
“Autobio Comics and the Unflinching Gaze”
Mary Fleener in conversation with Mark Habegger
Co-Sponsored by SDSU Weber Honors College and SDSU Department of History

Friday, April 11, 2025

8:00 am: Registration Open
Digital Humanities Center, Main Room
Coffee, cinnamon swirl coffee cake, and raspberry swirl coffee cake sponsored by SDSU College of Arts & Letters with generous support from Todd Butler, Dean of CAL

9:00-10:15am: John A. Lent Scholarship in Comics Studies Award Lecture
Digital Humanities Center, Main Room
“From Chalk Talking to Seriality: On Sidney Smith’s Early Comic Strips”
Dr. Mathieu Li-Goyette, Université de Montréal

10:30-11:45am: CONCURRENT PANEL SESSION 4
PANEL 4A: ECO GRAPHICS: COMICS AND ENVIRONMENTAL PLACE
Studio M, Digital Humanities Center
Moderator: Jennifer Caroccio Maldonado, Baruch College, CUNY

“Econarratology and Open-Ended Seriality in Swamp Thing Comics.” Brannon Costello, Louisiana State University
“Writing Against Apocalypse in Nocenti and Aja’s The Seeds.” Aidan Diamond, University of Southern California
“Rewild or Rewhite? Constructing Oppressed (Ecofascist?) Whiteness in Devin Grayson’s Rewild.” Frida Heitland, University of Oregon

PANEL 4B: CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AND REPRESENTATION IN GRAPHIC NARRATIVES
Library Addition 76
Moderator: Maite Urcaregui, San José State University

“Making It On Their Own: Latina Protagonists' Self- Representations in the Comics of Gabby Rivera.” Katlin Marisol Sweeney-Romero, University of California Davis
“Shifting Boundaries: Trickster and Liminal Spaces in Edel Rodriguez’s Worm.” Omar Figueras, Miami Dade College
“‘It’s on every single page’: Reading for Character Development in Queer Latinx Comics for Youth.” Nicole Ann Amato, Cal State Channel Islands

12:00-1:30pm: LUNCH BREAK

1:30-2:45pm: CONCURRENT PANEL SESSION 5
PANEL 5A: THE COMICS AND THE BODY
Studio M, Digital Humanities Center
Moderator: William Nericcio, San Diego State University

“The Body as an Archive: Reclaiming Space, Desire, and Identity in Aline Zouvi's Pigmento.” Viviane Martini, Loyola University Chicago
“Body Horror and Gender Representation in The Low, Low Woods by Carmen Maria Machado.” Tania Perez Cano, UMass Dartmouth
“Adoption, AI Technologies, and Embodiment: Jeremy Holt’s Made in Korea.” Stella Oh, Loyola Marymount

PANEL 5B: COMICS AND OTHER ARTS
Library Addition 76
Moderator: Elizabeth Pollard, San Diego State University

“Did I Tell You I’m A Witch? Comics as Crossovers from the Mundane to the Magical.” Benedicte O'Leary-Rutherford, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT)
“Aesthetics and Politics: Comics at the Intersection of Abstractionism and the Countervisual.” Jeanette Roan, California College of the Arts
“Hokusai as Ishinomori, Ishinomori as Hokusai: The Great Artist Re-Imagined in Manga.” Jon Holt, Portland State University

3:00-4:15pm: CONCURRENT PANEL SESSION 6
PANEL 6A: NEW COMICS AESTHETICS
Studio M, Digital Humanities Center
Moderator: Joshua Abraham Kopin, Haverford College and Villanova

“Expanding Frames: A Study of Double-Page Spreads in Berserk and Vinland Saga.” Aravind Prakash, University of Hyderabad
“The narrative characteristics of the inked black line in comics: From Töpffers use of autography to the allure of risography.” Gunnar Krantz, Malmö University
“Understanding ‘Expanded Comics’: The Case of Ceramics in/and Comics.” Jennifer Nagtegaal, University of British Columbia

PANEL 6B: COMICS MAKING, SUBJECT MAKING
Library Addition 76
Moderator: Margaret Galvan, University of Florida

“Auto-Crossovers and Narrative Remediation: Exploring Power through Comics and Play.” Jamey Keeton, University of Rochester
“Autographics: Comics-making as pedagogical encounter of care for the queer subject.” Martha Newbigging, Seneca Polytechnic
“‘Where I’m Coming From’ and Where I’m Going Next: The Evolution of Barbara Brandon-Croft.” Susan Kirtley, Portland State University

4:30-5:45pm: CONCURRENT PANEL SESSION 7
PANEL 7A: COMICS AND POLITICAL ACTION
Studio M, Digital Humanities Center
Moderator: Mary Stout, San Diego State University

“Worlds Collide: Superheroes, Shared Universes, and Social Justice.” Sean Casey, Minneapolis Public Schools
“Graphic Activism Across Borders: Social Justice and DUKEScomics.” Brianna Anderson, University of Texas at El Paso
“Graphic Justice: Teaching Franco-Era LGTBQ+ Persecution and Power Dynamics through El Violeta.” Enrique Muñoz-Mantas, University of North Dakota

PANEL 7B: INDUSTRY FUTURES
Library Addition 76
Moderator: Noah Arceneaux, San Diego State University

“What If Comics Weren’t Dying? Imagining a Sustainable Future for the Direct Market.” Aaron Kashtan, UNC Charlotte
“The Knight in Panther's Skin and 21st-Century Georgian Comics.” José Alaniz, University of Washington

6:00 - 7:30 PM: CONFERENCE RECEPTION (For ICAF Presenters & Special Guests Only)*
Parma Payne Alumni Center Lobby
Embracing our conference theme, San Diego State University sits at the intersection of two countries. We invite you to join us for a Oaxacan-inspired menu of tacos, tamals, and sides!
Buffet will be served by SDSU Catering.
Sponsored by the SDSU Library with generous support from Scott Walter, Dean of Library

7:30 - 9:00 PM: ARTIST TALK: TRINO
Parma Payne Alumni Center Ballroom
“Creating Comedy in Tough Times”
Trino, introduced by William Nericcio, San Diego State University
Co-Sponsored by SDSU Amatl Press and MALAS

Saturday, April 12, 2025

8:00 am: Registration Open
Digital Humanities Center, Main Room
Coffee and assorted breakfast breads sponsored by SDSU College of Arts & Letters with generous support from Todd Butler, Dean of CAL

9:00-10:15 am: CONCURRENT PANEL SESSION 8
PANEL 8A: CROSSROADS OF CONFLICT IN COMICS
Studio M, Digital Humanities Center
Moderator: Van Tarpley, San Diego State University

“Deconstructing conflict: Irreconcilable realities in Footnotes in Gaza.” Soham Pradhan, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
“Retrofuturism in Wartime China: Aesthetic, Technological, and Cultural Crossroads in 1930s and 1940s Comic Art.” Felicity Yin, UC San Diego
“Power of Place: Environmental Justice Comics of India.” Jeremy Stoll, Columbus College of Art & Design

10:30-11:45 am: PANEL SESSION 9
PANEL 9B: MEMORIES AND MEMOIRS
Studio M, Digital Humanities Center
Moderator: Brittany Tullis, St. Ambrose University

“From individual memory to collective memory, sharing a ‘Mate Dulce.’” Denisse Torena, University of Granada
“Garzón: El duelo imposible: Justice, Memory, and Necroeconomy in Colombia's Civil Conflict.” Héctor Fernández L’Hoeste, Georgia State University

“In the Zone: Intersections of Time, Space, and Memory in Julie Doucet’s Time Zone J.” Frederik Byrn Køhlert, Edinburgh Napier University

Noon - 1:30 pm: LUNCH BREAK

1:30-2:45 pm: ARTIST TALK: BREENA NUÑEZ
Digital Humanities Center, Main Room
“Drawing and Writing Connections to Central America and the Ideas of Home”
Co-Sponsored by SDSU Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

3:00-4:15 pm: ARTIST WORKSHOP: BREENA NUÑEZ (Registration Required)*
Digital Humanities Center, Main Room
“Drawing Migration Stories” with Breena Nuñez
Capped at 25- 30 participants