Acclaimed comics researcher, editor, and publisher Hope Nicholson will deliver a public talk, Disposable Nonsense or Cultural Artifacts? The Importance of Comics Preservation in Canada on Wednesday, February 10 at 12:30 pm in room 5C02 (entrance through the Library).
“Hope Nicholson is doing groundbreaking work in opening up the history of comics in Canada,” said Dr. Candida Rifkind, Associate Professor and Honours Program Chair, Department of English. “She is tracking down lost and forgotten Canadian cartoonists and bringing their work back into print so that this important form of pop culture can once again be enjoyed, discussed, collected, and analyzed by everyone who loves a good story, great art, and wants to keep Canadian history alive.”
Nicholson’s recent and forthcoming projects include: Secret Loves of Geek Girls, a mixed medium anthology of true stories from women in fandom on love, sex, and dating; Wing, Nitro, & Polka-Dot Pirate, a reprint of 1940s Canadian superhero comics originally published by Bell Features; abdm Fashion in Action, a reprint of 1980s action-adventure comic series by John K Snyder III featuring an all-female team of bodyguards for hire.
Her past projects include: Brok Windsor, a reprint of 1940s Canadian comic featuring Brok Windsor, a Winnipeg doctor who discovers a magical forgotten island in cottage country; Moonshot, a collection of Inuit, Metis, and First Nations comic book stories based in the past, present, and future; Lost Heroes, a documentary film on the history of Canadian superheroes; and, Nelvana of the Northern Lights, a reprint of 1940s Canadian comic book featuring Nelvana, an Inuit demigoddess.
Nicholson is an editor and publisher of archival and new comic collections who brings forgotten Canadian comics, as well as new Indigenous and female voices, into print. She is a passionate fangirl who loves comics. Her aim in life is to help create space for stories to be told. CBC interviewed her about her newest project and posted it online at http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/q-a-winnipeg-comic-book-publisher-pushes-back-against-female-stereotypes-1.3421758
This event is co-sponsored the Department of English, the Centre for Research in Young People’s Texts and Cultures, the Department of History, the MA in Cultural Studies, and the University Archives.
