The joint committees of the International Graphic Novels and Comics Conference (IGNCC) and the International Bande Dessinée Society (IBDS) is inviting submissions for a conference discussing to consider the “desirable future” – «Futurs désirables» – of comics.
The conference will be held in person at the Conservatoire national des Arts et Métiers, (CNAM) in Paris from Monday 28th June to Friday 2nd July 2027. There will also be an online conference on the same theme on 8th and 9th September 2027.
Here’s the full brief, sourced here (some links links to books or series mentioned are AmazonUK Affiliates). The Submission Deadline is 31st January 2027
It can sometimes be difficult to envisage a non-pessimistic future given the seemingly converging crises of climate change, conflict politics, post-truth and late-capitalist consumerism. Indeed, science fiction, the genre of speculation, seems duty bound to estrange and catastrophise the zeitgeist it was constructed in. But what is a desirable future for comics?
Is it simply the presentation of more sanguine viewpoints about recognisable societal difficulties such as the optimistic science fiction of Owen. D. Pomery’s The Hard Switch (2023). Is it the romanticised reimaging of modernist architecture and philosophies such as those found in the “continent” building of François Schuiten and Benoît Peeters in Les Cités obscures (1983-2023)?
Is it in the culmination of collective action in comics form such as the 24 hour responsive science comic envisaging sustainable futures in Dark Clouds Bright Skies (2024) by Daniel Locke, Chris Sandom and Jo Lindsay Walton? Or perhaps it is through more considered long-term cultural shifts, such as found in the Afrofuturist utopia of Marvel Comics’ Wakanda or the African Futurist utopias of Nnedi Okorofor?
And, tangentially, what of a desirable future for the comics industry itself? What are the optimistic challenges to the oligopoly of the big companies? How are the small press and webcomics allowing marginalised voices to flourish? What are the hopeful signs for the artform?
We call for papers, panels and workshops on all things comics, graphic novels, Bande Dessinée and manga that deal with the idea or present us with desirable futures. We look forward to seeing you in Paris.
There are two separate submission points for the in-person and the online conferences. Please make sure you are submitting your proposal to the correct version. Transfer between online and in person conferences will not be possible after acceptance.
To submit to the in-person conference (20 minute paper, panel, 60 minute roundtable, 60 minute workshops) please click here.
Or copy paste this URL: https://forms.gle/CThoVA4865nAf9K9A
To submit to the online only conference (20 minute curated video presentations only) please click here.
Or copy paste this URL: https://forms.gle/VMPgSxDyQdSXPdGz7
• International Graphic Novels and Comics Conference
• International Bande Dessinée Society
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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.
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