Comix Influx Blog: ComICA!

Paul Gravett’s ComICA – London’s premier comics festival – returns to the ICA and associated venues this weekend. This is the 7th year of the festival and Paul’s lined up a really interesting, er, line-up.

It kicks off on 14th November, with a comics symposium at the V&A, devised by Gravett and Ian Rakoff. This synposium is a first for ComICA, and comes about through Ian Rakoff’s association with the V&A. Unfortunately, as it’s a Friday, I’ll be at work and unable to attend, but I hope it gets a good audience. Highlights include a talk on “Racial Stereotypes in Comics”, representations of women in 50s comics, depictions of minorities in US and UK comics, and women creators and characters today. There are speakers from the Comics Museum in Brussels, the Courtald Institute and of course the V&A, as well as comics professionals such as Posy Simmonds (talking about class), Pat Mills, and Lise Myhre (creator of Nemi). After the symposium there’s a talk with Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie. All in all, a strong start to the Festival!

Over the next week or so of the festival there are several other great events. Representing Francophone creators, Ted Benoit and Emmanuel Guibert, recently nominated for the Angoulême 2009 awards will be talking at L’institut Français on the 19th November.

There are three talks on the 16th, starting with Dave McKean talking with illustrator Andrzej Klimowski at 2pm. Oli East (of Trains Are… Mint) will be on a panel with Hannah Berry, Paul Duffield and Marcia Williams. And finally a discussion panel about adapting the classics of plays and prose into comics.

Ian Rankin, who has recently turned his hand to comics from his normal agraphic novels, talks on the evening of Monday 17th, and Daredevil artist Alex Maleev on the 18th.

The fine folks of London Underground Comics are holding a sale on Saturday 22nd, including too many luminaries of the UK minicomix scene to name here.

On Sunday 23rd there’s a discussion panel on Great British Comics, comparing the greats of previous eras with the newly launched DFC. The DFC will be represented by Comix Influx participant Sarah McIntyre, the excellent Gary Northfield, Adam Brockbank, and John and Patrice Aggs. This will be followed by talks on Erotic Comics and on Jack Kirby. Finally on Sunday there will be a panel of 60s Underground Comix greats Gilbert Shelton, Spain and Art Spiegelman.

And Spiegelman will be back on Monday evening in conversation with the ever-entrancing Posy Simmonds.

All this and screenings of two Anime films, Naruto and Twentieth Century Boy and also the exhibitions at the ICA. ComICA continues its tradition of showing experimental comics with an exhibition from 14th to the 26th November entitled Potential Comics. There will also be Incredibly Strange Comics, an exhibition of images culled from The Leather Nun by Paul Gravett and Peter Stanbury. As the ICA has now been able to lift its entry free, these exhibitions will be free for the first time in ComICA’s history.