The UBC Comic Studies Cluster joined a rich community of Vancouver-based zine and comic folks on July 8th for the VPL International Zine Month and Comics Fair. In celebration of July as International Zine Month, a number of workshops, lightning talks, and community-based events focused on subjects connected to the inspiration, creativity, and production process that goes into creating these works!
The Comic Studies Cluster had a table that handed out custom PopCC stickers and featured our past and ongoing projects, including the “Exams Under Anaesthesia (EUA) Graphics: Equity and Neurodiversity in the Operating Room” series and the Remember Comics Project with the Homalco First Nation.
EUA Graphics is co-led by UBC Comics Studies Cluster Director, Dr. Elizabeth “Biz” Nijdam and community-based pediatrician Dr. Anamaria Richardson and focuses on the often challenging and complex interactions that neurodiverse children, including those with autism, intellectual impairments, and limited verbal capacity, face within medical settings. Specifically, it addresses their experiences with Exams Under Anaesthesia (EUA) at BC Children’s Hospital. These procedures, necessary for children with complex behavioral needs, can be traumatic for children, families, and clinicians alike. The EUA process involves using sedation to facilitate necessary medical interventions that might otherwise be extremely difficult.
The “Remember” Comics Project pairs Indigenous cartoonists with archival recordings from the “Remember” Podcast to develop three short comics about Elder’s stories of the Bute Inlet. Produced in collaboration between Education without Borders (EwB), the Homalco First Nation in Campbell River, and 100.7 The Raven, the “Remember” podcast plays clips of archival recordings of Elders from the Homalco First Nation. Each clip explores life in Bute Inlet in decades past, with elders recalling their childhood, the history of the Bute Inlet, traditional customs and storytelling traditions of the Homalco First Nation, and important people in the community. The podcast hosts then discuss the recordings, providing definitions and a modern perspective for listeners.
We gave away all of the comics for free, and we ran out of several comics before the evening ended. Scarlet Wings Kaili, one of the EUA artists who drew “Box”, even stopped by the table for a bit. Attendees also participated in the “Making a Community Zine in 30 Minutes or Less” workshop led by Melody Jane, which involved group collaboration to produce several, collage-style pages, which you can view by clicking on the cover page here:
