John A. Lent, in memoriam (1936-2026)

ICAF mourns the monumental loss of pioneering comics teacher and researcher John A. Lent. Lent is one of the leading proponents of the international study of comics. Over his storied career, he has authored hundreds of articles and nearly one hundred books, including the Eisner-nominated Comics Art in Korea (2025) and the forthcoming Comics Art in the Caribbean (2026).

In recognition of Lent's outsized presence and mentorship in the field, ICAF has offered a scholarship in his name since 2005 and has honored over a dozen early-career scholars in that time. As a tribute, ICAF has collected together memorials from past recipients about the scholarship and Lent’s legacy. 


Barbara Postema, ‘06
Dr. John A. Lent was in the audience during my first ever academic conference presentation, at ICAF in Georgetown in 2003. After the panel, he complimented my presentation and said that the International Journal of Comic Arts had never published anything on the Canadian cartoonist Seth before. He would welcome it if I sent him an article based on the presentation. This was unprecedented encouragement of my scholarship at a time when I was figuring out how I fit into my graduate program at MSU, and what the possibilities were going to be for my dissertation research. I did indeed submit my manuscript, with some careful questions about including images in the article: should I contact Seth’s publisher for permission? John waved away any worries, saying that IJOCA held with the principles of fair use, and permissions would not be needed. Within months, I received the printed copy of IJOCA (Vol.6, Iss. 2), with my article in it, and additional images I hadn’t even submitted. I was so proud of this, my first academic publication, and thrilled to have the article “teased” on the cover, with an image by Seth included there as well. This type of support for beginning scholars, welcoming them into the field of comics studies and making them feel that they belonged there, was typical of John Lent, I learned over the years that followed. Consequently, it felt entirely fitting that the board of ICAF should create a graduate scholarship in John Lent’s name in 2005, and it was my great honor to be chosen as the second recipient of the John A. Lent Scholarship in Comics Studies at the Library of Congress in 2006. My identity as a comics scholar had been indelably shaped by John Lent.

Marco Pellitteri, ‘09
I have been invited to write a few words in memory of Prof. John A. Lent as the 2009 “John A. Lent Fellowship in Comics Studies” awardee. That year I was invited to ICAF (taking place in Chicago). As life would have it, Prof. Lent could not attend that edition of ICAF, so I missed the opportunity to meet him in person. However, I was in active communication with him, having already published two articles in the IJOCA in 2006 and 2007 (a third, based on my ICAF talk, would appear in 2010). Alas, a new chance to see him in person never arose. Prof. Lent, though, seemed to make no distinction between people he had met face to face and all the rest: he was as kind, humane, and generous with me as he could have been with his closer colleagues and juniors. He provided several reference letters for me, and you know what that means: he penned them and drafted honest thoughts that were deeply customised to his real thinking about the person he was writing for. I was delighted and amazed by his intellectual depth and selfless generosity. That was such bright evidence of a beautiful soul in the body of an outstanding academic (it does not happen often). I could not have formed a better opinion of a senior colleague than I did of Prof. Lent. This, notwithstanding the obvious recognition of his volcanic and pioneering work on world comics and animation scholarship. I never had the privilege of calling him “John”, and I certainly will not do so now, out of the great admiration I have for the man. Rest in peace, Prof. Lent.

Benjamin Woo, ‘13
Like many comics scholars, I owe my first scholarly publication to John Lent. In 2007, I attended ICAF for the first time at the tail end of my master’s studies, and John came up after my panel and asked if I would be interested in publishing my paper in The International Journal of Comic Art. I remember being deeply flattered but also full of neophyte anxiety about the whole publishing process. A few years later, finishing up my doctorate, I applied for the Lent Award. It is, again, very flattering to receive a prize (presented by John at ICAF 2013 in Portland), but the opportunity to deliver a keynote is a rare honour for an emerging scholar. In this sense, the Lent Award is not just named for someone who made outsized contributions to building the field but, by elevating the work of a graduate student, is also designed to embody his ethos—as if John was tapping you on the shoulder to ask whether you have plans for that paper. 

Jennifer Anderson Bliss, ‘14
I'm sorry to hear of John Lent's passing. He was a pioneering figure in the world of comics studies, lending legitimacy to a discipline long before its larger academic acceptance. But perhaps more importantly, he was an incredibly kind person, and extremely patient with me as a junior scholar. I'm sure his legacy will continue through ICAF and the Lent Award.

Eike Exner, ‘16 
I received the John A. Lent Scholarship in 2016 for research on the translation of American comic strips in early twentieth-century Japan, and John’s International Journal of Comic Art (IJOCA) published my first article on comics/manga, a summary of the award lecture I gave at the International Comic Arts Forum (ICAF) that year. At the time I was working for a university in Tokyo that made it mandatory to get permission from the administration to go overseas, and I was denied permission to attend ICAF. I went anyways, though word got out and I was forced to write a statement of contrition for violating university policy. But the award was the first time that my research had been recognized and it was an enormous motivation, so I did not want to miss the conference and opportunity to share said research with others. Unfortunately John couldn't attend ICAF that year, so I never got to meet him in person. We stayed in touch though and I last communicated with him about a month ago when I finally purchased a subscription to IJOCA. John was always enthusiastic about the study of comics and very supportive of my research and that of many others over the years, and I'm sad that he is no longer with us. His legacy will continue both in the precious archive that is IJOCA and his richly illustrated books on cartoon art from a variety of places, often bringing attention to neglected works.

Colin Beineke, ‘17 
I am saddened to hear of the passing of John A. Lent. My first scholarly writing appeared in IJOCA when I was a wee masters student, kindly shepherded by John. That started me on a path that led to humbly accepting the John A. Lent Scholarship in Comics Studies in 2017. John will be remembered not only for his vital work institutionalizing the field, but for his mentorship
and encouragement of young scholars.

Cassia Hayward-Fitch, ‘23
Although I never met John in person, I was privileged to be awarded the John A. Lent Scholarship in Comics Studies in 2023. Attending that year's ICAF conference in Vancouver was the first time I participated in an international comics conference, and what a welcoming environment it was. As part of the award, the IJOCA published my paper—my first ever publication! I was absolutely amazed when John emailed me personally to help get it up to publication standards. His mentorship made my first publication experience incredibly personable and relaxed which built my confidence and made me feel welcomed to comics studies. His generosity will be sorely missed by both those who knew him and those who never got the chance, but I hope his legacy will live on in the many people he and his work influenced over his expansive career.

Mathieu Li-Goyette, ‘25
I first met John at ICAF in 2019. I knew of IJOCA before, as anyone trying to get a grip on the ever-expanding field of comics studies, and knew enough to understand that so much of this diversification, so much of how different traditions of comics histories and cultures could finally intertwine, came from John’s efforts to make it happen and to create a space for scholars from all over. So, he came to me after I presented my paper on a Québécois comic I really liked, introduced himself and invited me to submit this work to IJOCA. As a non-native speaker, this would be my first English contribution to the field, made with the help of his always thoughtful advice – it meant the world, and it still does: that door he opened for me and for so many others. Fast forward 6 years and a pandemic later, and I’m back at ICAF to receive the scholarship awarded in his name, working on a totally new subject, but now conscious of the world I’m evolving in. That was John’s biggest eye-opener for me: get out in the field, stop sticking to what has already been done and go seek where comics studies have not been before. This is not the end; it can only grow from here.

Other memorials: 

Bart Beaty, “Remembering comics scholar John A. Lent, 1936-2026,” The Comics Journal, May 26, 2026.
Mike Rhode has collected an ongoing series of memorials at The International Journal of Comic Art. Part one.