HAND OF FIRE

About a year ago, in October 2012, the Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD) launched Mix, its annual series of symposia about comics. I hope it lasts forever. Under the leadership of CCAD’s Robert Loss, Mix is rapidly shaping up to be a key event in the comics studies calendar—and that first Mix, 2012, was a delight. I had the privilege of attending Mix then, and fondly recall working and hanging out with Robert, Douglas Wolk, my good friend, fellow scholar, and co-author Craig Fischer, local comics creators such as Ken Eppstein and Michael Neno, and a host of other fine folk.

Ach, would that I could attend Mix THIS time, but sadly I cannot. I still want to tell you about it! This coming weekend, Friday and Saturday, Sept. 27-28, CCAD will put on the second annual Mix, i.e. Mix 2013, featuring keynote guest Jeff Smith, plus Carol Tyler, Tom Spurgeon, documentary filmmaker Dr. Jonathan Gayles, and a screening of Gayles’s White Scripts and Black Supermen, plus Jared Gardner, John Jennings, Mark C. Rogers, and many other comics scholars, both veteran and new. PLUS an exhibition of art from Smith’s RASL, and, talk about an embarrassment of riches, an exhibition of work by Gary Panter (visiting CCAD almost as I type this!). It sounds fantastic, and I wish Robert and everyone a stimulating, collegial, and fun event!

I had the pleasure of giving a talk at Mix last year, on Oct. 5, 2012, titled “Kirby Goes for Broke.” Thanks to Robert and his collaborators, video of that lecture, as well as other events from Mix 2012, has just gone online!

(Check out CCAD’s YouTube channel, CCADedu, for more!)

Giving that talk was a blast, especially the post-talk Q&A, which I thought was rich and interesting. It gave me a chance to think about Kirby “on my feet” before a very sharp and attuned audience, something I’ll always be grateful for. It’s all captured on this video!

Go to Mix 2013 if you possibly can.