Annual Academic Conference
Thursday, June 4 ⋅ Friday, June 5
9AM - 5PM
Toronto Metropolitan University
Rebirth / Reframe / Reboot
In celebration of the Society’s renewed relationship with TCAF, the theme this year is Rebirth / Reframe / Reboot. We are excited to host papers and talks on this theme and related to comics, including comic strips, comic books, comics albums, adaptations of comics, sequential art and/or imagetexts, comics publishing, or anything else related to comics. Papers on comics from Canada are welcome, as are papers on comics in any language, including English and French, and originating in any cultural space, very much including Indigenous spaces. We also encourage papers on non-Canadian comics as well as global, international, or transnational comics.
The Canadian Society for the Study of Comics / Société canadienne pour l’étude de la BD (CSSC/SCEBD) Annual Conference returns to TCAF for the first time in 8 years!
Join us for CSSC/SCEBD Annual Conference, hosted by the Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF), to be held at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) on June 4th & 5th, 2026.
The Society’s annual conference was held at TCAF from 2016 to 2018. The Society then spent several years with the Federation of Humanities and Social Science (FHSS) and participated as part of Congress. However, in 2025, the Society membership voted to return to TCAF as part of their commitment to studying comics in their cultural context. We are very happy to be back.
Time/Date
Thurs June 4 from 9am to 5pm and Friday June 5 from 9am to 5pm
Location
Toronto Metropolitian University (TMU)
Thursday, June 4: Archives & Special Collections (350 Victoria Street)
Friday, June 5: International Living/Learning Centre (133 Mutual Street)
Who can attend?
Anyone who wants to hear academics and public scholars talk about how comics work, what they mean, and how they function within the larger media ecosystem. Our presenters have, in the past, been experts on history, architecture, literature, feminism, media theory, and of course, the humble superhero.
Please join us for the CSSC/SCEBD’s return to TCAF!
9:00-10:30
1A
Reboots & Rebirths
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"Cycles of Graphic Rebirth: The Covers of Action Comics and the Visual Legacy of Superman," Bruno Porto (Tilburg University)
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"Rebooting the Now: Narrative Accessibility and Industrial Strategy in Long-Running Comics," Professor Fernando Garcia
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"Secret Origins," Reginald Wiebe (Concordia University of Edmonton) & Neale Barnholden (University of Alberta)
1B
Round table: "Dramatic Niagara Falls Cartoon Rescue Mission: Quite A Stunt!"
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Arden Phair
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Dr. Jaleen Grove, Associate Professor, Illustration, RISD
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Yiwei (Vivian) Cai ---- Graduate Student of RISD Illustration Department, Research Assistance of Arden Phair Cartoon Collection on JSTOR
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Rita (Wanxin) Li; Graduate Student of RISD Illustration Department and Research Assistant of Arden Phair Cartoon Collection
Conference Programme
Day One: Archives & Special Collections
10:45-12:15
2A
Round table: "Heavy Lines - Fatness and Comics in the Age of Ozempic"
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Mollie Cronin
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May Friedman, Toronto Metropolitan University
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Ramanpreet A. Bahra, PhD candidate
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Rosena Fung
2B
Superheroes
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"The AI World in the Mirror of Judge Dredd: Orwell Meets Huxley," Fred Petrossian
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"Respawning Spawn: Image Comics’ Influence on German Independent Superheroes," Paul M. Malone, Associate Professor of German (University of Waterloo)
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"Unlocking the Hall of Records: Institutional Memory in the Comics World," Kalervo Sinervo
LUNCH (12:15 - 1:45)
1:45-3:15
3A
Industry
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"Not-Quite-Indie: An Overview of the Media Ecosystem of North American Comics," Keith Friedlander (Olds College of Agriculture and Technology)
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"Archiving the Festival: the Small Press Expo Collection at the Library of Congress," Megan Halsband (Library of Congress)
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"Ethical Citational Practice in Chester Brown’s 'Louis Riel: A Comic-Strip Biography'," Carissa Faria (University of Western Ontario; Theory & Criticism)
3B
Round table: "Filipino-Canadian Comics"
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Lucas Tromly
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Emmanuelle Châteauneuf (Queen Street)
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Motzie Dapul (The Pinoy Monster Lover Anthology, Aswang at Berdugo)
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Keet Geniza (Picking Bones)
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Allan Matudio (Kasama)
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Jackie Reynolds (Marble Hornets, The Divide & I)
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J. Torres (Stealing Home, Lola: A Ghost Story, Teen Titans Go!)
3:30-5:00
KEYNOTE
Jamie Michaels: "Comics and Violence: Illustrating the Spectrum Between Nationalism and Human Rights."
6:00 - 9:00
RECEPTION at Storm Crow Manor (580 Church Street)
Day Two: International Living/Learning Centre
9:00-10:30
4A ⋅ Room ILC100
Formalism
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"De l’abstrait au concret : comment faire exister la peinture dans l’adaptation d’œuvres littéraires en bande dessinée," Janine Gallant (Université de Moncton)
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"Visual and textual (re)framing of language and translation in comics," Julie McDonough Dolmaya, Associate Professor, Professional Translation program (York University)
4B ⋅ Room ILC102
Indigeneity and Colonialism
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"Reframing settler colonial histories of Canada and stretching conventions of the comics form with Indigenous-centred textile comics," Brandon Hollingshead (York University and Toronto Metropolitan University)
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"Rebooting Francophonie: Algerian Comics and the Visual Reconstruction of Postcolonial Identity," Elke Defever (Binghamton University)
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"Etat des lieux de la bande dessinée autochtone francophone canadienne," Pierre Dairon (Kenyon College)
10:35-12:15
5A ⋅ Room ILC100
Trauma and Healing
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"“A Little-Boy-Shaped Hole in the Universe”: Caregiver Grief and the Catharsis of Re-Imagining in Rick Louis’ Ronan and the Endless Sea of Stars," Anastazia Csegeny (Western University)
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"Alchemy in the Gutters: Aspect-to-Aspect Transitions and Complex Internal Turmoil in Something, Not Nothing and Shoplifter," Avery Blundell (McMaster University)
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"Transing the Narrative: The graphic novel as a dialectical intervention of care against transphobic culture and politics," Cyril W. Chen (PhD Student, McMaster University, Faculty of Humanities: Communications, New Media and Cultural Studies)
5B ⋅ Room ILC102
Round table: "Montreal's Alt Comix"
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Jean Sébastien
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Izabeau Legendre
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Marc Tessier
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Andy Brown
LUNCH (12:15 - 1:45)
1:45-3:15
Annual General Meeting
3:30-5:00
6A ⋅ Room ILC100
Round table: "Reinventing Indian Graphic Narratives"
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Anu Sugathan, PhD Candidate, University of Oregon
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Suhaan Mehta, Associate Professor, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs
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Shreya Sangai, PhD Candidate, Department of Humanities (York University)
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Dr. Rudrani Gangopadhyay
6B ⋅ Room ILC102
(Re)Imagining
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"Scheherazade Reborn: Feminist World-Making in the Digital Comic, 1001," Safiyya Hosein (Toronto Metropolitan University)
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""Is my music all that?": Speculation and Subjectivity in Mademoiselle Mozart and Mozart in Paris," Postdoctoral Associate Kristin Franseen (Western University)
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"In the Era of Double Nostalgia," Andrew Furman (Toronto Metropolitan University)
About the CSSC/SCEBD:
The Canadian Society for the Study of Comics / Société canadienne pour l’étude de la Bandes Dessinées (CSSC/SCEBD) is a national, bilingual scholarly association that promotes the academic study of comics. Founded in 2010, the CSSC/SCEBD is a venue for Canadian and international scholars to discuss all aspects of comics as an art form and cultural phenomenon. The The Canadian Society for the Study of Comics / Société canadienne pour l’étude de la Bandes Dessinées’ mission is to encourage research on comics the medium and enable researchers and the public to share their insights and analyses on works from all periods.
In particular, the CSSC/SCEBD organizes, among other things, an annual conference where participants can discuss comic strips, comic books, manga, manhua, manhwa, historietas, fumetti, etc. (depending on the culture). It is also a place to discuss emerging forms, such as digital comics and webtoons, as well as discuss issues of the sociology of creative work, and of publishing comics scholarship, and and fan studies. Learn more https://comicsscholars.ca/