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THE BLOG AT THE CROSSROADS
ACME Conference: States of Independence
Posted: December 1, 2011
This photo of me by Charles Hatfield from the ACME Conference on Independent Comics Worldwide in Liège, Belgium. Here’s the cool poster:
Others attending and presenting included Jimmy Beaulieu, Erwin Dejasse, Thierry Groensteen, Gert Meesters, Jean-Christophe Menu and Harry Morgan.
My paper on Thursday Nov 17th was called ‘States of Independence: The Shifting Landscape of British Independent Comics’:
The blurry term ‘independent’ covers a spectrum of business models, financing solutions and creative visions. How have they shaped the variant forms, formats and formulae of so-called ‘independent’ comics in Great Britain? What if anything constitutes an ‘independent’ comic, and when does one become no longer truly independent? This paper charts Britain’s ever-shifting publishing landscape, from photocopied zines to hardback graphic novels, by drawing on interviews and insights from participants and my personal participation. It will examine contrasting examples, from ArZak, Brainstorm, Near Myths and Viz in the 1970’s underground scene, through the Fast Fiction self-publishing explosion, pssst!, Escape, Warrior and Deadline, to Sturgeon White Moss, Nobrow, Blank Slate, Solipsistic Pop and Self-Made Hero and other 21st century innovators. As media have become more transnational, what aesthetic and commercial choices are being made and how much do these comics need to be specifically rooted in “Britishness”?
Read The Blog At The Crossroads here.
