Comic books, graphic novels and webcomics generally combine words and images to create narratives. Perhaps we can see them, therefore, as monstrous: beasts that combine the elements of verbal and visual, narrative and static communication forms. Like a monster composed of pieces of other animals, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This panel will examine a social understanding of comics forms and the kinds of literacies required to accept and interpret them. Abstracts of 300 words to lauere@sunysuffolk.edu; Deadline: September 30, 2012. Include: name, affiliation, anticipated a/v requirements.

Northeast Modern Language Association (NeMLA) 44th Annual Convention
http://nemla.org
March 21-24, 2013
Boston, Massachusetts
Host Institution: Tufts University