2014 MSU Comics Forum Unveiled

It is my pleasure to formally unveil the 2014 Michigan State University Comics Forum poster along with the schedule of events for this year’s Forum.  Stan Sakai, this year’s Keynote Speaker, has water-colored a custom Michigan State University themed Usagi Yojimbo poster for our event.

Stan’s keynote address will place on February 21 from 7-8:30 in the Residential College of Arts & Humanities Theater.

Feel free to repost this electronic image to help us promote the many events surrounding this year?s MSU Comics Forum.  If you are a business owner or manager and would like to receive a few posters to hang in your place of business, please contact me (Ryan Claytor, MSU Comics Forum Director at rclaytor@msu.edu) by Friday, Jan. 17th, 2014 to be added to our mailing list.

Help Stan Sakai With Donation to Leonardo Capone-Langan Parent Fund

Stan Sakai, our 2014 Keynote Speaker, and his family have undergone some rough times recently. In the midst of helping his wife, Sharon, recover from a debilitating illness, his 20-month-old grandson, Leo, passed away in his sleep on Dec. 28th, 2013. There is a fund set-up to help Leo’s parents, Stan’s daughter and son-in-law, through this unimaginably difficult time.

https://fundly.com/leonardo-capone-langan-parent-fund

I hope you’ll take a moment to share this information and donate to this newly established fund.

2014 Comics Forum Dates & Keynote Speaker

The 2014 MSU Comics Forum will take place on Feb. 21st and 22nd. The keynote address will occur on the first evening, Friday, Feb. 21st, 2014, while the panel discussions and artist alley will happen the following day, Saturday, Feb 22nd, 2014. The location will be in Snyder/Phillips Hall on the campus of Michigan State University (the same locations as the past few years).

This year the MSU Comics Forum is proud to announce that award-winning comics creator, Stan Sakai, will be our guest of honor and keynote speaker on Friday, Feb 21st, 2014. Sakai is most known for his long-running anthropomorphic animal series, Usagi Yojimbo, which explores the culture and traditions of 17th century feudal Japan and has been published in 12 languages.  Recently, Sakai completed an ambitious historical mini-series, 47 Ronin, a comics adaptation of Japan’s best known tale with publisher and writer, Mike Richardson.  Sakai’s work has garnered him numerous Eisner Awards and in 2011 the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, CA presented a retrospective of his 30-year career.

2014 Call for Artist Alley Submissions

This year’s MSU Comics Forum Artists Alley will be taking place on Saturday, Feb. 22nd, 2014. It will be in the Lookout! Gallery and surrounding classrooms located on the 2nd floor of the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities in Michigan State University?s Snyder/Phillips Hall in East Lansing, MI. There is no cost to request table space for the MSU Comics Forum.

To request table space download this PDF form, complete the requested information, save the PDF and e-mail it as an attachment to jay@comicsobscura.com. Applications must be submitted by Sunday, December 1st, 2013.

Due to limited space the Artist Alley is juried and not all requests will be met. Once the application is received it will be reviewed and you will be notified via e-mail by Sunday, December 15th, 2013 as to whether or not we are able to meet your request.

Final Schedule Posted

The complete list of artists featured at the MSU Comics Forum, in addition to the schedule and descriptions for the Scholar and Creator Panels are live.  You can find the list of artists with accompanying biography on the Artist Alley page of this website while the Scholar and Creator Panels and descriptions can be found on the Schedule page under the subheading, March 2nd, 2013.

See you in a few weeks,
Ryan Claytor
MSU Comics Forum ? Director
Email: rclaytor[at]msu[dot]edu

2013 MSU Comics Forum Poster Unveiled

It is my pleasure to formally announce the artist for our 2013 Michigan State University Comics Forum poster.  Nick Bertozzi, this year’s Keynote Speaker, has graciously designed a custom poster for the Forum.

Feel free to repost this image to help us promote the many events surrounding this year’s MSU Comics Forum.  If you are a business owner or manager and would like to receive a few posters to hang in your place of business, please contact Ryan Claytor, MSU Comics Forum Director (rclaytor@msu.edu) by Jan. 25th, 2013 to be added to our mailing list.

2013 MSU Comics Forum Dates & Keynote Speaker

The 2013 MSU Comics Forum will take place on the first weekend of March. As usual, the keynote address will occur on the first evening, Friday, March 1st, 2013, while the panel discussions and artist alley will happen the following day, Saturday, March 2nd, 2013. The location will be in Snyder/Phillips Hall on the campus of Michigan State University (the same locations as the past few years).

Now for the exciting news!  This year the MSU Comics Forum is proud to announce that Nick Bertozzi, award-winning comics creator and professor will be our guest of honor and keynote speaker on Friday, March 1st, 2013. Bertozzi received a Xeric Grant and multiple Harvey Awards and Ignatz Awards for his cartooning. He is the writer and artist of the graphic novel Lewis & Clark (First/Second).  He collaborated with Jason Lutes on the graphic novel Houdini: The Handcuff King (Hyperion/CCS) and drew Glenn (The Colbert Report/Daria) Eichler’s STUFFED! (First/Second).  Bertozzi is author of The Salon (St. Martin’s Griffin) a graphic novel about Picasso, the discovery of Cubism, and magical absinthe. He is hard at work on a cartoon biography of Lenny Bruce for Houghton-Mifflin, written by Harvey Pekar and you can read his ongoing sci-fi/fantasy cartoon, Persimmon Cup, for free every week at ACT-I-VATE (http://activatecomix.com). For the past several years Bertozzi has been teaching cartooning at NYC’s School of Visual Arts, as well as teaching stints at Rhode Island School of Design and at The Center for Cartoon Studies in Vermont. For more information, visit his website: http://NickBertozzi.com/

2013 Call for Artist Alley Submissions

This year’s MSU Comics Forum Artists Alley will be taking place on Saturday, March 2nd, 2013. It will be in the Lookout! Gallery located on the 2nd floor of the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities in Michigan State University’s Snyder/Phillips Hall in East Lansing, MI. There is no cost to request table space for the MSU Comics Forum.

To request table space just download this PDF form, complete the requested information, save the PDF and e-mail it as an attachment to jay@comicsobscura.com. Applications must be submitted by Friday, January 4th, 2013.

Due to limited space the Artist Alley is juried and not all requests will be met. Once the application is received it will be reviewed and you will be notified via e-mail by Friday, January 18th, 2013 as to whether or not we are able to meet your request.