The International Comic Arts Forum has announced its first conference outside of North America, titled Transnational Dialogues: Past, Present and Future, taking place at Edinburgh Napier University in Edinburgh, Scotland, over 26th – 28th May 2027. The Forum is inviting proposals from creators, fans, artists, activists, makers and scholars for scholarly presentations for its twenty-second meeting, which will be held online and in person.
This academic event plans to cover multiple themes, but of particular note might be its planned strand devoted to Scottish and Transnational Scottish Comics, evaluating the comic art and impact of artists such as Frank Quitely, Grant Morrison, Tanya Roberts, Maria Stoian, Gill Hatcher, and Eddie Campbell, and/or comics scenes inside or connecting to Scotland.
“ICAF welcomes original virtual and in-person presentation proposals from diverse disciplines and theoretical perspectives on any aspect of comics or cartooning,” they note, “particularly studies that reflect international perspectives. Studies of aesthetics, production, distribution, reception, and social, ideological, and historical significance are equally welcome, as are studies that address larger theoretical issues linked to comics or cartooning, for example in image/text studies or new media theory.”
“ICAF prefers argumentative, thesis driven presentations that are clearly linked to larger critical, artistic, or cultural issues; we avoid those that are survey-like in character. We accept original 20-minute presentations that have not been presented or accepted for publication elsewhere and prefer those accompanied by images that illustrate the arguments made. Presenters can assume an audience versed in comics and comics studies. Proposals should not exceed 300 words.”
Virtual & In-Person Conferences: ICAF’s virtual programming will take place on Friday 14th May 14, 2027. ICAF’s in-person programming will take place from Wednesday, 26th – 28th 2027 on site at Edinburgh Napier University.
The International Comic Arts Forum is an academic conference dedicated to promoting the scholarly study and appreciation of comic art, including comic strips, comic books, comics albums and graphic novels, magazine and newspaper cartooning, caricature, and comics in electronic media.
• Head to the ICAF 2027 Page on the ICAF website for full details and how to submit applications
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Full Call For Papers
CALL FOR PROPOSALS: INTERNATIONAL COMIC ARTS FORUM
VIRTUAL: MAY 14, 2024
IN PERSON: MAY 26-28, 2027
TRANSNATIONAL DIALOGUES: PAST, PRESENT, & FUTURE
form/content, creators/fans, artists/activists, makers/scholars
ICAF is excited to announce its first conference outside of North America and invites proposals for scholarly presentations for its twenty-second meeting, to be held online and in person at Edinburgh Napier University in Edinburgh, Scotland.
ICAF welcomes original virtual and in-person presentation proposals from diverse disciplines and theoretical perspectives on any aspect of comics or cartooning, particularly studies that reflect international perspectives. Studies of aesthetics, production, distribution, reception, and social, ideological, and historical significance are equally welcome, as are studies that address larger theoretical issues linked to comics or cartooning for example in image/text studies or new media theory.
Virtual & In-Person Conferences: ICAF’s virtual programming will take place on Friday, May 14, 2027. ICAF’s in-person programming will take place from Wednesday, May 26 – Friday, May 28, 2027 on site at Edinburgh Napier University.
PROPOSAL GUIDELINES: ICAF prefers argumentative, thesis driven presentations that are clearly linked to larger critical, artistic, or cultural issues; we avoid those that are survey-like in character. We accept original 20-minute presentations that have not been presented or accepted for publication elsewhere and prefer those accompanied by images that illustrate the arguments made. Presenters can assume an audience versed in comics and comics studies.
Proposals should not exceed 300 words.
SEND ABSTRACTS by Wednesday, September 30th 2026, to Biz Nijdam, ICAF Academic Director, via this Google Form. Abstracts should be anonymised, as all proposals will be subject to anonymous review.
Participants must select their presentation modality when submitting their abstract either in-person OR virtual. There will be no option to move between virtual presentations and the in-person presentations once proposals have been accepted.
The deadline to submit proposals is Wednesday, September 30th 2026.
In addition to the general call for papers, we hope to offer panels and programming on the conference’s theme, “Transnational Dialogues: Past, Present, and Future.” We welcome diverse interpretations of the theme including but not limited to the following areas:
Formal Dialogues Across Media: Investigating how the content and medium-specific qualities of comics (i.e., sequentiality, juxtaposition, the gutter, page architecture enter into dialogue with other artistic and narrative forms, from film and prose to performance, digital media, and games, across transnational contexts.
Language Revitalisation and Multilingual Expression: Examining how comics activate multilingualism, translation, code-switching, and typographic design to support language revitalisation, diasporic identity, and the politics of Indigenous and marginalised linguistic sovereignty.
Scottish and Transnational Scottish Comics: Evaluating the comic art and impact of artists, such as Frank Quitely, Grant Morrison, Tanya Roberts, Maria Stoian, Gill Hatcher, and Eddie Campbell, and/or comics scenes inside or connecting to Scotland.
Transnational Circulation and Exchange: Exploring how comics travel across borders through translation, adaptation, collaboration, and global circulation, generating new aesthetic hybrids, publishing models, and intercultural conversations.
Temporal Dialogues: Past, Present, Future: Analysing how the formal structures of comics mediate time, staging dynamic dialogue between historical memory, contemporary realities, and speculative or imagined futures.
Comics and Memory Culture: Evaluating how comics function as sites of cultural memory, counter-memory, and nostalgia, shaping historical consciousness through the interplay of visual and verbal form.
Genre Dialogues: Comics Formal Migration and Transformation: Tracing how comics forms migrate across regions, traditions, and audiences (ie., manga’s influence on global YA publishing to produce new genres, readerships, and aesthetic conventions.
Formal Modes of Meaning-Making: Investigating how the material and formal architecture of comics (i.e., layout, scale, line, color, pacing, and the gutter) actively generates narrative meaning rather than merely containing it. Alternatively, examining how aesthetic and structural choices in comics amplify, complicate, or destabilize thematic concerns such as migration, decolonization, futurity, and identity.
Comics & Movements for Social Justice: Discussing comics’ intersections with various movements for social justice across temporal and national contexts, including but not limited to racial and gender justice, migration, climate activism, and disability rights.
SEND ABSTRACTS by Wednesday, September 30th 2026, to Biz Nijdam, ICAF Academic Director, via this Google Form. Abstracts should be anonymised, as all proposals will be subject to anonymous review.
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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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