Call for contributors: Contemporary Comics in the Philippines

Herb Fondevilla Announcement
Location
Japan
Subject Fields
Popular Culture Studies, Southeast Asian History / Studies, Humanities, Art, Art History & Visual Studies, Asian History / Studies

Proposal Instructions: Please submit inquiries, 300-word abstracts, and brief CVs to coeditors Herb Fondevilla (hlfondevilla@gmail.com) and/or Jose Santos Ardivilla (jpardivilla@up.edu.ph) by January 15, 2022, with the word COMICS on the subject line. Authors will be informed of the acceptance of their abstracts by March 4, 2022.

We are developing a proposal for an edited volume that will center on contemporary comics from the Philippines (1990s to the present) that aims to explore its aesthetics, histories, and practices, including manga, graphic novels, and other forms of sequential art. Broadly, we are seeking papers that discuss meaning, memory, politics, identity, as well as the production and distribution of Philippine comics that focus on local knowledge and practices as well as its repercussions on fans, readers, and visual culture.

Philippine comics are experiencing a renaissance, as TRESE by Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo was adapted into animation by Netflix, as well as Zsa Zsa Zaturrnah by Carlo Vergara being greenlighted as an animated film supported by Locarno in Switzerland. Other Filipino creatives have found homes in online spaces such as Penlab, while some gained support and following through social media such as Facebook and Instagram. Platforms such as Kickstarter and Patreon have also allowed independent comic artists to flourish by receiving financial support from backers to publish in print or online.

We aim to create a volume that gives voice to Filipino scholars and creatives that will discuss Philippine comics from a local perspective while critically examining texts, artists, collaborations, audiences, and means of production. We also welcome original creative contributions such as comics and visual/comics form essays. As an edited volume, it intends to provide a timely contribution to the study of contemporary Philippine comics from local, international, and critical perspectives. Themes could revolve around, but are not limited to, any of the following:

  • Artistic reactions to social and political crises
  • Adaptation of myths and legends for contemporary audiences
  • Gender and LGBTQIA+ representation
  • Identity and meaning of Philippine comics in a globalized future
  • Decolonization practices of comics artists and writers
  • Contemporary processes in comic creation and distribution
  • Revisionist history and hybrid narratives

We look forward to your submissions. Thank you.

Contact Information

Herb Fondevilla
Visiting Researcher
The Institute of Island Studies
Meiji University
Japan
 

Contact Email
hlfondevilla@gmail.com