UPDATED CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS (BOOK)
Revised deadline for abstracts: Friday, March 23, 2001
Comix with an X: Critical Responses to American Underground Comics
Edited by Charles Hatfield, Gene Kannenberg, Jr., and Joseph Witek
While acknowledged as a transformative period in the history of
American (and indeed world) comics, the underground "comix" era of
the late 1960s and early seventies figures but little in academic
studies. Though "comix" have been cited as important precursors
to the critical revaluation of comic art (see, e.g., Witek 1988 and
Sabin 1993), and offer a clear window onto the development of
alternative culture and the American small press, scholars have yet
to assess fully the challenge posed by the underground to
prevailing conceptions of comics, both literary-critical and
sociocultural. This essay collection, which aims to build on
recent academic interest in comic art (e.g., Gordon, Nyberg,
Rubenstein), will bring comix to the forefront of discussion by
engaging the underground on cultural, political, and aesthetic terms.
We welcome rigorous, theoretically grounded essays from a variety of
disciplines. Our goal is to concentrate primarily but not exclusively
on the peak period of comix, circa 1968 to 1975, with the years 1960
and 1980 as convenient outer boundaries. Given the historical and
formal ties between comix and various other types of comic art,
significant precursors and followers may be considered, but the
primary focus of attention should be on the underground and its
influence.
We aim for a focused collection that covers core topics and provides
a comprehensive introduction to the underground. Therefore we are
especially interested in essays on the following:
the influence of comix (both in the United States and abroad)
political/ideological argument in comix
gender in comix
race and racism in comix
the economics of comix: publishing, syndication, distribution, retail
political and legal challenges to (or suppression of) comix
links between comix and prior traditions: comic strips, comic books, animation, etc.
We plan to include at least eight full-length essays, a summative and
critical introduction, and a comprehensive bibliography and index. The
exact length of the essays will be determined in collaboration with the
publisher, but prospective contributors should anticipate a firm limit
of not more than 10,000 words. Proper form for notes and citations will be determined after the initial submissions are compiled and the book formally proposed.
INITIAL SUBMISSIONS SHOULD BE MADE IN THE FORM OF DETAILED ABSTRACTS,
not to exceed 750 words (or two double-spaced pages). Abstracts may be
submitted by post or electronically (see below). The deadline for
receipt of abstracts is Friday, March 23, 2001.
After the initial selection process, we will solicit paper and
electronic copies of those essays chosen for publication. Prospective
contributors should expect to hear from the editors by or before
May 15, 2001.
Send abstracts to Charles Hatfield, c/o
Department of English
University of Connecticut
Box U-25,
Storrs, CT 06269-1025 USA;
or email to (Hatfield@uconn.edu)
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