The London Graphic Novel Network presents
S.M.A.S.H.
Comic, Graphic and Novel Discussions
Getting philosophical about the art of comics. Three subjects. Three panels.
Informal chat – followed by audience Q&A.
Featuring:
Claire North (84K) David Hine (Sonata) Joe Stone (Leftovers) Dan Watters (Lucifer) Lucy Sullivan (Barking) Frazer Irving (Annihilator) Jennie Gyllblad (Skal) Zara Dinnen (The Digital Banal) Sarah Lippett (A Puff of Smoke) Rob Davis (The Motherless Oven) Charlie Allbright (Regent’s University London) Leila Abu El Hawa (Post-Apocalyptic Book Club)
Hosted by Joel Janiurek (Barbican Comic Forum)
Panel one: Reality
What is Reality in comic books? Do comics help to create a materialist worldview? Should comics be about serious real-life things or crazy leaps of imagination? How does reading comics help us to see and understand the world? What makes something realistic or not? Do non-realistic comics have a duty to make sense?
Panel two: Dystopias
What makes something a Dystopia? Are comics too obsessed with worlds where everything is bad? Does reading about dystopias encourage a negative mindset? Maybe we should have more comics about utopias? Should comics be less despairing and more hopeful? How can we tell the difference between our world and dystopias?
Panel three: Censorship
Are there certain subjects that comics shouldn’t touch? Does reading about bad things encourage people to be bad? Do publishers have a moral responsibility to try to make the world a better place? Are there certain comics where are bad for society? Where should censors draw the line or should there be no line at all? What would happen in a world where anyone could make a comic about whatever they wanted?
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Admission free but spaces limited.
London Graphic Novel Network 