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International Comic Arts Forum
StatusActive
GenreComics studies
Frequency(mostly) Annual
CountryU.S.
Inaugurated1995; 29 years ago (1995) at Georgetown University
FounderTristan Fonlladosa
Guy Spielmann
Most recentApril 20–23, 2023
Filing statusNonprofit
PeopleJosé Alaniz, Frank Bramlett, Casey Brienza, Cecile Danehy, Charles Hatfield, Bill Kartalopoulos, Toph Marshall, Arturo Meijide Lapido, Jeff Miller, Mark Nevins, Elizabeth Nijdam, Osvaldo Oyola, Brittany Tullis, Qiana Whitted
Websitewww.internationalcomicartsforum.org

The International Comic Arts Forum (ICAF) is an academic conference and international comics convention. The mostly annual event has been described as one of the earliest academic initiatives in comics studies.[1]

Presenters at ICAF over the years have included such notable academics as Donald Ault, Paul Gravett, Thierry Groensteen, M. Thomas Inge, Bill Kartalopoulos, Fedwa Malti-Douglas, and Douglas Wolk.

Structure

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ICAF has been described as "primarily a scholarly conference where papers on various aspects of comics around the world are presented."[2] In addition to academics, practicing cartoonists are invited to present and discuss their work. Generally, the conference takes place on a Thursday through Saturday, with specialized academic presentations held on Thursdays and Fridays, with Saturdays featuring more festival-style programming aimed at a broader audience.

Since 2005, each ICAF has seen the presentation of the John A. Lent Award in Comics Studies to "...a current student who has authored, or is in the process of authoring, a substantial research-based writing project about comics."[3]

History

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Origins: French embassy and Georgetown University

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The International Comics and Animation Festival was founded in 1995[4] as a one-off event, conceived by Tristan Fonlladosa, a cultural attaché of the French Embassy, who proposed the idea to the Department of French at Georgetown University. Fonlladosa collaborated closely with Georgetown Professor Guy Spielmann, who played a pivotal role in organizing the conference by recruiting guests with academic backgrounds, thereby elevating the scholarly dimension of the event.[5]

The second event in 1996 was another collaboration between Georgetown and the French embassy/Alliance Française.[5] On a larger scale, this iteration of ICAF coincided with a traveling exhibition of European comics artists and the year's centennial celebration of American newspaper comic strips.[6]

Affiliation with SPX

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Fonlladosa left the U.S. after 1996, and Spielmann coordinated the 1997 show solo, while also organizing the creation of the ICAF Executive Committee to perpetuate the show.[5]

From 1997 to 2000, as well as 2002 and 2004, ICAF was held in conjunction with the local area Small Press Expo (SPX).[7][8] Typically, on Saturdays, ICAF programming centered on artist-centered activities, including discussions with and presentations by cartoonists from both Europe and America.[5]

In 1998, the fourth iteration of the event, The Comics Journal devoted a section of an issue to coverage of the event.[9]

From 1999 to 2002, the conference highlighted young alternative cartoonists, dubbed "New Voices."

Both ICAF and SPX were canceled in 2001 due to creators' travel difficulties related to the September 11, 2001 attacks.[10][11]

Library of Congress and name change

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From 2005 to 2007, ICAF was co-sponsored by the Library of Congress.[12] The 2005 event — the tenth iteration — included a symposium tribute to Will Eisner, who had died earlier in the year.[13]

During those years, an annual tradition included showcasing original cartoon artwork in the Library's Prints and Photographs Reading Room, with short-term exhibitions curated by Sara Duke and Martha Kennedy. Additionally, during this period, ICAF collaborated with George Washington University at their Gelman Library, organizing numerous artist presentations and a panel addressing the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy.[5]

In 2006 the event changed its name to the International Comic Arts Forum.[14]

New locations

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After 2007, ICAF began being held in various locations outside of the Washington, D.C. area. In 2008 and 2009, the conference was held at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. There were no ICAF conferences held in 2010, 2012, 2015, 2018, or 2022.

In 2011, ICAF was held at the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vermont; and in 2013, it was held at the University of Oregon, with programming taking place at the university's Portland location.

In 2014, ICAF moved to Ohio State University's Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum. The Comics Studies Society, the first U.S. association dedicated to supporting the study of graphic narrative and sequential art, was launched in 2014 at ICAF.[15]

In 2016, ICAF was held at the University of South Carolina; in 2017 at the University of Washington, in Seattle; and in 2019 at St. Ambrose University, in Davenport, Iowa. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 ICAF conference was held online on various dates from October 22, 2020, to April 1, 2021. All programming was dedicated to the memory of former ICAF Ex-Com Chair Dr. Cécile Danehy.[16]

In 2023, ICAF was held outside the U.S. for the first time, at the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver, Canada.

Event history

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Dates Primary Venue Featured Guest(s)
1995 Georgetown University
Washington, D.C.
Sept. 26-29, 1996[17] Georgetown University[18] and Alliance Française
Washington, D.C.		Claire Bretécher (guest of honor), Pierre Christin[6][19]
Sept. 18–20, 1997 Georgetown University and Small Press Expo (SPX)[20]
Washington, D.C. and Silver Spring, Maryland		Florence Cestac, Farid Boudjellal, Lucien Czuga and Roger Leiner, Gerrit de Jager, Michèle Laframboise, Patrick McDonnell, Tome, Jean-Marc Rochette, Karoline Schreiber, Frank Cho (special guest)[21]
Sept. 24–25, 1998 SPX, Holiday Inn Select
Bethesda, Maryland		Slim, Strip Core (Igor Prassel & Jacob Klemencic),[22] AMOK (Yvan Alagbé & Olivier Marboeuf),[23][24] Dylan Horrocks, Will Eisner, Frank Miller,[25] Actus Tragicus (Rutu Modan, Yirmi Pinkus, Mira Friedmann, Batia Kolton, & Itzik Rennert)
Sept. 16–18, 1999[26] SPX, Holiday Inn Select
Bethesda, Maryland		Jis & Trino, Jeff Smith, Charles Burns, Eddie Campbell, Ellen Forney, Jessica Abel, Brian Biggs, Jordan Crane, Jason Lutes, Matt Madden, Steven Weissman[27]
Sept. 14–16, 2000 SPX, Holiday Inn Select
Bethesda, Maryland		Alice Chang, Christian Gasser, Anke Feuchtenberger, Martin tom Dieck, Philippe Dupuy & Charles Berberian, Bill Griffith, Kim Deitch, Will Eisner, Jeff Smith, Henriette Valium, Simon Bossé, Eric Braun, Renée French, Dean Haspiel, Jason Little, Brian Ralph, Craig Thompson[28]
Sept. 5–7, 2002 SPX, Bethesda Holiday Inn
Bethesda, Maryland		Willem, Los Bros Hernandez, Sabine Witkowski, Art Spiegelman, David Lasky, Johana Rojola, Nick Bertozzi, Greg Cook, Kevin Huizenga, John Kerschbaum[29]
Sept. 4–6, 2003 Georgetown University
Washington, D.C.		Francesca Ghermandi, Stefano Ricci, Lalo Alcaraz[30]
Oct. 1–3, 2004[31] SPX, Holiday Inn Select
Bethesda, Maryland		John Benson, Steve Brodner, Tobias Schalken & Stefan Van Dinther, Lily Lau Lee Lee, Miguelanxo Prado, Paul Karasik, R. Sikoryak, Frank Cammuso, Keith Knight, Ted Rall, Mikhaela Blake Reid, Jen Sorensen[32]
Oct. 13–15, 2005[33] Library of Congress
Washington, D.C.[34]		Kevin Kallaugher, Ann Telnaes, Tom Toles, Jerry Robinson, Paul Grist, Benjamin Herzberg[35][36][37]
Oct. 12–14, 2006 Library of Congress[38]
Washington, D.C.		Jules Feiffer, Rupert Bazambanza & Ellen Yamshon, Phil Jimenez, Dennis O'Neil, Stuart Moore, Jamal Igle[39]
Oct. 18–20, 2007 Library of Congress
Washington, D.C.		Ian Gordon, Lat, Kyle Baker[40]
Oct. 9–10, 2008 School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois		Jorge Opazo Ellicker AKA Jorge Quien, Nicolas Mahler, Damian Duffy[41]
Oct. 15–17, 2009 School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois		Guy Davis, Max, Pere Joan, John Miers, Sara Varon[42]
Sept. 29–Oct. 2, 2011 Center for Cartoon Studies, Colodny Building
White River Junction, Vermont		Frémok, Pavel Kořínek & Tomáš Prokůpek, Robert Sikoryak, Stephen R. Bissette, Jason Lutes, James Sturm[43]
May 23–25, 2013 University of Oregon, White Stag Building
Portland, Oregon		Gabriel Bá & Fábio Moon, Dmitry Yakovlev, Ville Hänninen & Tommi Musturi, Brian Michael Bendis, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Matt Fraction, Megan Kelso, Greg Rucka, T. Edward Bak[44][2][45]
Nov. 13–15, 2014 Ohio State University,
Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum
Columbus, Ohio		John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, Nate Powell, Phoebe Gloeckner, Hanneriina Moisseinen, Jeff Smith, Justin Green, Carol Tyler, Dash Shaw, Tom Spurgeon[4][46][47]
Apr. 14-16, 2016 University of South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina		Cece Bell, Michael Chaney, Howard Cruse, Dominique Goblet, Sanford Green, Gary Jackson, Keith Knight[48]
Nov. 2–4, 2017 University of Washington
Seattle, Washington		Jesús Cossio, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Ramzi Fawaz, Emil Ferris, Gary Groth, Moto Hagio, Nick Sousanis, Jim Woodring[49]
April 4–6, 2019 St. Ambrose University
Davenport, Iowa		Marnie Galloway, Rob Guillory, Jaime Hernandez,[50] Fernando "KOHELL" Iglesias, Alberto Ledesma, Ana Merino[51]
October 22, 2020,
to April 1, 2021
(various dates) 		Held online[52]
April 20–22, 2023 University of British Columbia
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada		Ebony Flowers, Priscilla Layne, Meghan Parker, Birgit Weyhe, Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas[53]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Smith, Matthew; Duncan, Randy (19 September 2017). The Secret Origins of Comics Studies. Taylor & Francis. p. 316. ISBN 978-1-317-50578-5.
  2. ^ a b MacDonald, Heidi (May 23, 2013). "Today: The International Comic Arts Forum in Portland, OR kicks off". The Beat.
  3. ^ "John A. Lent Scholarship in Comics Studies". The International Comic Arts Forum. Retrieved Mar 22, 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Forum draws attention to global comics, animation". The Lantern. 2014-11-13. Retrieved 2020-09-02.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Our Mission: A Narrative History of ICAF". The International Comic Arts Forum. Retrieved Mar 23, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Ahrens, Frank (Sep 30, 1996). "A HIGH-CLASS STRIP SHOW: Festival Draws a Bead on French Comics". The Washington Post. pp. C1, C6. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on Aug 28, 2017. Retrieved 2020-09-02.
  7. ^ Nevins, Mark D. (2000). "An Introduction to ICAF: the International Comic Arts Festival". Expo 2000. Bethesda, Maryland: The Expo. pp. 253–254.
  8. ^ Dean, Michael (Mar 2003). "SPX Suffers Identity Crisis: Venue Uncertainty, Communications Problems Precipitate Resignations". Newswatch. The Comics Journal. No. 251. pp. 11–16. — about the Small Press Expo and its relationships with ICAF and the Baltimore Comic-Con.
  9. ^ Rodman, Larry (Nov 1998). "The Fourth International Comics and Animation Festival: A Ground-Level Report". News Watch. The Comics Journal. No. 208. pp. 28–36.
  10. ^ "SPX/ICAF Cancelled in Wake of Terrorist Attacks on New York and Washington DC". Newswatch. The Comics Journal. No. 238. Oct 2001. p. 100.
  11. ^ "Bay Area: Left Coast Expo Defines Community in Time of Crisis". The Comics Journal. No. 238. Oct 2001. p. 102.
  12. ^ "ICAF Moves to Library of Congress". Newswatch: Journal Datebook. The Comics Journal. No. 267. Apr–May 2005. p. 41.
  13. ^ "2005 ICAF Conference Schedule". The International Comics Art Forum. Retrieved Mar 22, 2024.
  14. ^ "About ICAF". THE INTERNATIONAL COMIC ARTS FORUM. Retrieved 2020-09-02.
  15. ^ "Comics Studies Society goes public on Feb. 14, 2016, launches its founding membership drive". SciFi Pulse. 2016-02-15.
  16. ^ "Cécile Danehy in Memorium". The International Comics Art Forum. Retrieved Mar 22, 2024.
  17. ^ Farrell, Alan. "Dimitri: a Pilgrim in the Gulag". International Comics and Animation Festival.
  18. ^ "Georgetown Set to Host International Festival". Newswatch. The Comics Journal. No. 188. July 1996. p. 15.
  19. ^ Rodman, Larry (Nov 1996). "Social Studies: European Comics and the International Comics and Animation Festival". The Comics Journal. No. 191. pp. 29–34.
  20. ^ Rodman, Larry (Oct 1997). "The Third Annual International Comics and Animation Festival". News Watch. The Comics Journal. No. 199. pp. 25–31.
  21. ^ "1997 ICAF Conference Schedule". The International Comics Forum. Retrieved Mar 22, 2024.
  22. ^ "Strip Core (Slovenia): Guest Artists". News Watch. The Comics Journal. No. 208. Nov 1998. pp. 32–33.
  23. ^ "Actus Tragicus (Israel): Guest Artists". News Watch. The Comics Journal. No. 208. Nov 1998. pp. 35–36.
  24. ^ "Amok (France): Guest Artists". News Watch. The Comics Journal. No. 208. Nov 1998. p. 34.
  25. ^ "1998 ICAF Conference Schedule". The International Comics Art Forum. Retrieved Mar 22, 2024.
  26. ^ Rodman, Larry; Rhode, Michael (Nov 1999). "International Comic Arts Festival, 1999". News Watch. The Comics Journal. No. 217. pp. 24–26.
  27. ^ "1999 ICAF Conference Schedule". The International Comics Art Forum. Retrieved Mar 22, 2024.
  28. ^ Rhode, Michael (Nov 2000). "Voices from ICAF: an Art Form on the Horizon". Newswatch. The Comics Journal. No. 228. pp. 25–29.
  29. ^ Rodman, Larry; Rhode, Michael (Nov 2002). "ICAF 2002: Subjective Impressions from a Jam-Packed Weekend". Newswatch. The Comics Journal. No. 248. pp. 18–20.
  30. ^ Rhode, Michael (Oct 2003). "The Eighth International Comic Arts Festival (ICAF) 2003". News Watch. The Comics Journal. No. 256. pp. 17–19.
  31. ^ Rodman, Larry (Nov–Dec 2004). "SPX Realigned with ICAF and Extra-Politicized in 2004". Newswatch: Journal Datebook. The Comics Journal. No. 264. p. 42.
  32. ^ Fischer, Craig (Nov–Dec 2004). "International Comic Arts Festival Draws International Creators, Theorists". Newswatch: Journal Datebook. The Comics Journal. No. 264. pp. 41–42.
  33. ^ Massey, Bob (October 13–16, 2005). "Superheroes to the Rescue". The Express. pp. E1, E5.
  34. ^ "Team Messenger & Online Collaboration Platform – Flock". August 29, 2005. Archived from the original on 2005-08-29.
  35. ^ "ICAF Marches On". Newswatch: Journal Datebook. The Comics Journal. No. 272. Nov 2005. pp. 38–40.
  36. ^ "ICAF Guests Include Toles, Telnaes, Robinson". Newswatch: Journal Datebook. The Comics Journal. No. 272. Nov 2005. pp. 38–39.
  37. ^ Kashtan, Aaron (Spring–Summer 2006). "International Comic Art Festival". Exhibition Reviews. International Journal of Comic Art. Vol. 8, no. 1. pp. 586–587.
  38. ^ "ICAF Seeks Papers". The Comics Journal. No. 274. Feb 2006. p. 48.
  39. ^ "2006 ICAF Conference Schedule". The International Comics Art Forum. Retrieved Mar 22, 2024.
  40. ^ "2007 ICAF Conference Schedule". The International Comics Art Forum. Retrieved Mar 22, 2024.
  41. ^ "2008 ICAF Conference Schedule". The International Comics Art Forum. Retrieved Mar 22, 2024.
  42. ^ "2009 ICAF Conference Schedule". The International Comics Art Forum. Retrieved Mar 22, 2024.
  43. ^ "2011 ICAF Conference Schedule". The International Comics Art Forum. Retrieved Mar 22, 2024.
  44. ^ "2013 ICAF Conference Schedule". The International Comics Art Forum. Retrieved Mar 22, 2024.
  45. ^ White, Matthew (May 20, 2013). "Upcoming Comics Events: 5/20/2013". Publishers Weekly.
  46. ^ Spurgeon, Tom (November 23, 2014). "Collective Memory: International Comic Arts Forum (ICAF) 2014". The Comics Reporter.
  47. ^ Ricca, Brad (Nov 14, 2014). "Unassuming Barber Shop: The 1st American Comics Scholar was a Superman Artist". The Beat.
  48. ^ Oyola, Osvaldo (26 April 2016). "The International Comics Art Forum 2016". The Middle Spaces.
  49. ^ Oyola, Osvaldo (21 November 2017). "The International Comics Art Forum 2017". The Middle Spaces.
  50. ^ Cline, Rob (Apr 2, 2019). "Jaime Hernandez reflects on 38 years of his influential 'Love & Rockets' comics series". Little Village.
  51. ^ "ICAF 2019 in Review". The International Comics Art Forum. Retrieved Mar 22, 2024.
  52. ^ "ICAF 2020 Virtual Conference Program". The International Comics Art Forum. Retrieved Mar 22, 2024.
  53. ^ "ICAF 2023 in Review". The International Comics Art Forum. Retrieved Mar 22, 2024.
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