MICE 2020

Call it autobio, memoir, or autofiction, personal narratives have become one of the most important genres in comics and graphic novels. The creators on this panel have published three of the most powerful, probing and honest entries in this genre during the past year, demonstrating the range of the form in these examples alone.  How do creators shape lived experience – including trauma, illness and other important passages – into involving graphic narratives? What personal and creative issues have they dealt with in the process?  

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Co-presented by The Boston Book Festival

We’ve almost made it! As the Month of MICE takes place, the infamous year 2020 is entering its final phase. This panel takes a look at how the tumult of 2020 has been processed by three comics creators, very much in the thick of the year’s controversies and conflicts: the pandemic, Black Lives Matter protests, and the national politics overhanging it all. How have the crises been reflected in their work? What is the relationship between creativity, career, and political engagement?  What role can comics play in such crucial public debates and movements?

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Panel sponsored by Lesley Art + Design

Have you wanted to draw a comic, but don't know where to start? Have you drawn comics before, but want a couple tips and tricks to take your comics to the next level?! Do you want to hang out and draw some dragons and hotdogs with other cartoonists?!? If the answer is "yes" to any of that then bring a piece of paper, a pencil, and your imagination to this all-ages comics workshop with cartoonist Jon Chad. Comics are for everyone, and anyone can make them!

Suggested Material List:

• Blank Scrap Paper (any color)
• Pencil
• Eraser

Download: Bonus Cartooning Primer

Workshop sponsored by The Eliot School

Cartoonists can to spend months or even years on a comic while neglecting to put similar effort into a cover image. Join Sophie Goldstein to learn about the often overlooked craft of cover design! Learn about quality design technique while using eye-grabbing materials to draw people to your exhibitor table at shows. Make your comics even more visually enticing!

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Panel sponsored by Lesley Art + Design

Panel sponsored by Kickstarter

Our roles and responsibilities as citizens have never been more fraught than they are today, complicated by the perpetual tsunami of information and interpretation provided by the various media: truths, falsehoods, and the murky grey areas in between. Luckily, there are comics! This panel is a discussion with creators who have used the form to explore, explain and illustrate histories and processes that are vital to the understanding of our institutions, and the performance of our civic duties.

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Panel sponsored by The Center for Cartoon Studies

Making comics requires dedication, time, and skill of course, but a cartoonist has to eat! How can you sustain a comics career with major publishers, by self-publishing, or through crowdfunding? Join some of the hardest working cartoonists in the business for a frank discussion about money and making a living in the comics industry.

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Program sponsored by The Graphic Artist Guild of New England

Make your own squirrel comic with Mika Song! Learn about designing and drawing characters from inspiration to final art as you create your own original squirrel. Then draw your character into a 3 panel comic strip starring your squirrel using writing prompts. Perfect for ages 5 and up.

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Workshop sponsored by Comicopia

Cartoonist Summer Pierre guides you through The Hero's Journey in 8 Panels. Build your own short comic using a series of timed exercises while breaking story action down into steps. Create a short original comic that will deepen your understanding about the communication of information and narrative within the comics medium. Suggested ages 8+.

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