Call for Papers: Studies in Comics

By John Freeman on October 5, 2025 • ( 0 )

Papers are welcomed for Studies in Comics, a peer-reviewed interdisciplinary academic journal that aims to describe the nature of comics, to identify the medium as a distinct art form and to address its formal properties.

Here’s the details, the full call available to read here

We invite submissions exploring the formal properties of comics, advancing their own theory of comics or responding to an established theoretical model. We also welcome reviews of new comics, scholarship and criticism, conferences and exhibitions, as well as unpublished creative work. Proposals for guest-edited issues on a specific theme are also invited. To propose a special issue please email us with an expression of interest in the first instance.

We publish articles of 4000–8000 words from any discipline. These should have a strong critical focus and draw on close analysis of comics texts, communities, histories, and so forth. Possible areas include but are not limited to:

· Explorations of concepts such as gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, national identity, (dis)ability, and more.

· Visual language and the grammar of comics.

· Critical discussions of comics genres and communities such as graphic medicine, graphic justice, comics activism, performance, etc.

· Theoretical explorations from diverse perspectives such as architecture, cartography and ecology.

· Formalist approaches that explore elements such as relationships between panel, page and the multiframe; panel transitions; the treatment of time and space.

· Responses or development of published theories – or rebuttals and provocations to established approaches.

· Practice-based approaches to understanding comics and exploring the boundaries of form and medium.

We also welcome reviews of new publications and exhibits as well as short creative pieces of 1–10 pages in length. Creative work should be relevant to some aspect of comics, although there are no other thematic or stylistic restrictions. Metafictional submissions that deal with the processes and theories of comics creation are encouraged.

Article submissions

Please submit your completed article and a metadata document (see ‘Notes for Contributors’, available for download above) using the link on this page. Papers must be submitted in English. All submissions will be peer-reviewed.

Reviews of publications and conferences and exhibitions

Please send expressions of interest by email including the words REVIEW PUBLICATION or REVIEW CONFERENCE or REVIEW EXHIBITION in the subject heading. There is no set length for reviews, however we would expect them to be around 1000–3000 words and contain a clear summary of the content being reviewed alongside a discussion of its strengths and weaknesses. Completed reviews should be submitted using the link on this page.

Creative submissions

We welcome short comics (10 pages or fewer) and visual essays. Please submit via the link on this page. All submissions should be original work and must not be under consideration by other publications.

Special Issues

We regularly work with guest editors to publish special issues, which may be based on conference panels, complete proceedings, or any engaging and relevant theme. Please email us at studiesincomics@gmail.com in the first instance to express interest. You should include a one to two paragraph summary of your proposed theme and its appeal as well as a short bio for the proposed editor(s).

Studies in Comics is published twice yearly, however some issues may be guest-edited or themed. Where applicable, submissions will be carried over to the next issue.Submissions are welcomed from both scholars and enthusiasts. Contributors are encouraged to approach comics from any discipline and to turn their attention to comics from all countries and in all languages.

So, whether you’re a semiotician, philosopher, scientist, historian, enthusiast or cultural, literary or film critic, Studies in Comics welcomes you!

• The full call for papers is available to read here

About the Author
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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.