Meet the PhD CollAB(E)Rators!
January 6, 2026
A central component of the PopCC‘s Arts-Based Research initiative is the PhD Collab project, Arts-Based Interventions in Graduate Research, recently funded through a two-year pilot program from Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies (G+PS). Meet the faculty and graduate students who make up the PhD Collab project.
‘Understanding Through Comics’ End-of-Term Workshop with Cartoonist Jeff Ellis
December 18, 2025
On 24 November 2025, the Understanding Through Comics: A Comics and Comics Studies Journal Club held an end-of-term comic making workshop in the IKBLC Peña Room with Cloudscape Comics president and local cartoonist Jeffrey Ellis. Jeff tells us that when Comics Studies members and UBC students completed the workshop with comics of their own, they too earned the title of cartoonist. Today we will be highlighting both the past workshop and the work produced therein, the art of a new generation of […]
Xwémalhkwu Hero Stories: Translation, Digitization, and New Teaching Resources Underway
December 12, 2025
Work is well underway on the next phase of Xwémalhkwu Hero Stories: A Graphic Novel (2024), with a focus on translation, digitization, and the creation of flexible educational materials for classroom use. This new initiative, which is led by ongoing Project Lead Tchadas Leo in collaboration with Drs. Bonny Norton and Liam Doherty in UBC’s Department […]
Field Trip Recap: Critical Play Lab Takes on asses.masses
November 23, 2025
On Sunday, November 16th, Critical Play Lab Director Biz Nijdam and two Critical Play Fellows set out on an epic, joy-filled adventure to Vancouver Island for Impulse Theatre’s production of asses.masses by Patrick Blenkarn and Milton Lim. After the panicked search of multiple inboxes for the e-tickets and a little too much caffeine, the team […]
Comics & Knowledge Mobilization in Migration Studies (Nov. 27 @ 12:30 PM)
November 20, 2025
Comics & Knowledge Mobilization in Migration Studies with María Cervantes-Macías & Sofi Donner Thursday, Nov. 27th @ 12:30 PM, Zoom Register here This session explores how comics can serve as a powerful tool for knowledge mobilization in migration studies. Featuring CMS Postdoctoral Research Fellow María Cervantes-Macías and visual facilitator Sofi Donner, the event highlights their […]
Call for Indigenous Cartoonists: Seabird Island Comics: Bringing the Stories of Sq’éwqel to Life
November 19, 2025
Call for Indigenous Cartoonists: Seabird Island Comics: Bringing the Stories of Sq’éwqel to Life Project Title: “Seabird Island Stories” Graphic Novel Project About the Project Sq’éwqel (Seabird Island) is home to stories that carry the spirit, history, and lived experiences of the Stó:lō people. In her final years, Elder Ts’ats’elexwot (Elizabeth Herrling), shared her memories […]
Icelandic Scholar Visit and The Day Iceland Stood Still
November 18, 2025
From October 22-25, 2025 we hosted three scholars from the University of Iceland at UBC for a range of activities including a guest lecture in a Nordic literature class, a public talk on Romani comics, relationship-building activities with faculty from Nordic Studies, and a public panel discussion following a screening of the 2024 documentary The Day Iceland Stood Still on the 50th anniversary of the Icelandic Women’s Strike on October 24, 1975. Panelists reflected on their own personal experiences related to the strike, its legacy, and the necessary work that carries forward in the strike’s wake.
Special Call for Artists: Youth Perspectives on Trauma-Informed Care
November 12, 2025
Special Call for Artists: Youth Perspectives on Trauma-Informed Care The Canadian Paediatric Society, BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, and the UBC Comics Studies Cluster invite applications from comics artists to collaborate on an exciting new research-to-comics initiative. This project will translate youth perspectives on trauma-informed care into accessible, engaging comics that highlight young people’s lived experiences and insights. About […]
Video Games and the Pornography of Death (Nov. 26 @ 12 PM + Lunch)
November 11, 2025
The Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Social Justice Noted Scholars Series and Critical Play Lab present: Video Games and the Pornography of Death with Dr. Amanda Phillips WHEN & WHERE Wednesday, November 26th, 12-1pm Buchanan Tower, Room 323 Please RSVP below in advance A light lunch will be served at 1:00 PM Amanda […]
League Play Book Launch Party (Nov. 19 @ 4 PM)
November 11, 2025
League Play Book Launch Party 📅 Wednesday 19 November 4-6 pm 📍 Audain Art Centre, 3rd floor lounge 6398 University Blvd., University of British Columbia Please join contributors to celebrate the launch of the League Play Book! League Play Book documents the recently completed League Nanaimo exhibition and the previous dozen years of the League project, and includes new short […]
Special Call for Indigenous Cartoonists: Visual Storytelling at the 2026 Arctic Winter Games
November 6, 2025
Call for Indigenous Cartoonists: Visual Storytelling at the 2026 Arctic Winter Games Project: Visual Storytelling in the Indigenous North in partnership with the Arctic Winter Games International Committee (AWGIC) Location: Whitehorse, Yukon Dates: March 8–15, 2026 (Games), with comics due September 2026 Compensation: $3,000 honorarium for a 12-page comic (or series of comics totalling 12 […]
Comics Workshop with Cartoonist Jeffrey Ellis
November 4, 2025
Join Understanding Through Comics: A Comics and Comics Studies Journal Club for our end-of-term social! We will be hosting a hands-on workshop with cartoonist Jeffrey Ellis. Learn about the art of comics and try your hand at making your own! This event will take place on Monday, November 24 from 11:00AM to 2:00PM in the IKBLC Peña Room, or on […]
Introducing the LLIMU Comics Project Artist Cohort
October 21, 2025
As part of Arts Multilingual Week, UBC is hosting it’s first Symposium on Linguaphobia, Linguistic Indifference, and the Monolingual University. This symposium is a day-long exploration that will include workshops, discussions, talks and lovely food from Salishan Catering. Often and inexplicably, there can be a bit of a muffledness in visual art, photography, and graphic […]
Comics Talk: Romani Literary History & the Role of Comics and Graphic Narratives
October 17, 2025
Thursday, October 23 12:30 – 2 PM BuTo 997, CENES Seminar Room & Online The talk will discuss graphic narrative production in the context of the historical developments of Romani literature, with examples from Eastern, Central, and Northern Europe. As with other forms of Romani literary production, various factors intersect in the creation of graphic […]
Comics Talks events with Dr. José Alaniz
October 17, 2025
José Alaniz, professor in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures and the Department of Cinema and Media Studies (adjunct) at the University of Washington, Seattle, has published the monographs Komiks: Comic Art in Russia (University Press of Mississippi, 2010); Death, Disability and the Superhero: The Silver Age and Beyond (UPM, 2014); Resurrection: Comics in Post-Soviet Russia (OSU Press, 2022); and Comics […]
Comics Talk Event with Czech illustrator and comics artist Štěpánka Jislová
October 17, 2025
We are hosting an online event with Czech illustrator and comics arts Štěpánka Jislová on Monday, Oct 20th at 11:30AM! Štěpánka Jislová’s graphic memoir “Heartcore” is an intimate autobiography about love, relationships and the toxic cycles we often find ourselves in. This type of “confessional” comics is a relatively new phenomenon in the Czech scene […]
Viking Games Night Recap
October 17, 2025
Viking Games Night was immensely successful! With over 30 attendees, last Wednesday we saw students and faculty from different disciplines across UBC gathered for a fun night of learning more about, and how to play ‘Viking Board Games.’ Games played were, Tablut or tafl and Merels, also known as Nine Men’s Morris. A special thank […]
Seeking Graphic Recorders for iSchool Community Learning Day 2025!
October 10, 2025
Calling all visual note takers, graphic facilitators, live illustrators, or sketch notes extraordinaries!
Facebook & Cross-Border Memory Work with Dr. Avishek Ray + Lunch (Oct 16 @ 12:30 PM)
October 10, 2025
Please join the CMS Narratives Group and the UBC Pop Culture Cluster for a hybrid event with Dr. Avishek Ray, who will be joining us via Zoom on Thursday, October 16th @ 12:30 PM. The event will take place in person in BuTo 1112 and online via Zoom, and a catered lunch from Delhi 6 […]
New Critical Play Lab Questions the Politics of Play
October 10, 2025
The Ubyssey recently interviewed Dr. Biz Nijdam about the UBC Pop Culture Cluster and its new Critical Play Lab, “an interdisciplinary forum and a constellation and collection of people from various disciplines across UBC and beyond” aimed at supporting critical play scholarship, game design, and practice.
Comics Talk with artist Léandre Ackermann
September 27, 2025
Léandre Ackermann is a Swiss comic artist and illustrator whose career bridges creativity, cultural policy, and community-building. From her published collaborations with La Boîte à bulles to co-founding the feminist fanzine La bûche—now gathering over 150 female artists—she has carved out a unique voice in the world of comics. Today, she also serves as co-president of the Swiss […]
A Critical Play Field Trip Recap: Mashing Up Art and Sport at League Nanaimo
September 26, 2025
On September 17, UBC visual art professors Germaine Koh and Damla Tamer boarded a ferry with 35 UBC students, including two fourth-year undergraduate visual art students and a few Critical Play fellows, and led the group on a field trip to Nanaimo Art Gallery to experience Koh’s exhibition League Nanaimo.
Understanding Through Comics – Comics for Equity Events at the UBC iSchool
September 15, 2025
Understanding Through Comics: A Comics and Comics Studies Journal Club A Strategic Equity & Anti-Racism (StEAR) Enhancement Fund-funded project that explores issues of equity and social justice through graphic narratives. From October 2025 to March 2026, Understanding Through Comics will host two start-of-term welcome luncheons, seven discussions, one colloquium, and two end-of-term socials. We invite […]
Call for Artists: Connecting Insects & Food Systems in a Changing Climate
September 11, 2025
Climate Talks: Connecting Insects and Food Systems in a Changing Climate October 2, 2025 | UBC Botanical Garden Climate change affects us all, and we all share the responsibility to address it. Climate Talks: Connecting Food, Health, and Biodiversity in a Changing Climate is a one-day interactive symposium designed to engage and activate citizens, students, […]
PopCC feature in The Source
September 6, 2025
“What matters is creating a framework for critical thinking and examining how media reflects as well as shapes social realities…Pop culture is far more than entertainment – it’s a catalyst for connection and change.” The UBC Pop Culture Cluster was featured in the cover story for the September 5, 2025 edition of The Source. The […]
Join us for Cinematic Roleplay for Climate Justice! (Sept. 5 @ 3PM)
August 27, 2025
This event marks the pilot of Fictional Narratives, Real Negotiations: Teaching Climate Justice with Cinematic Roleplay—an innovative, story-driven education project co-developed by a UBC alumnus and a current student, with support from the UBC Pop Culture Cluster. Over the course of three hours, participants will step into character roles, navigate fictional climate conflicts inspired by […]
Global Horror Film Festival: Call for Collaboration
August 26, 2025
Last year, the Pop Culture Cluster organized our inaugural Global Horror Film Festival with the UBC Film Society at the Norm. It featured a week of screenings of multilingual horror films from around the world, some of which were integrated into courses and student club programming. The UBC Global Horror Film Festival, scheduled for October […]
“Games for Decolonization” Receives Insight Development Grant!
August 14, 2025
The Critical Play Lab is excited to announce the Games for Decolonization Project’s award of an Insight Development Grant! The Games for Decolonization Project seeks to cultivate a deeper understanding of the role of table-top gaming in decolonial education, arts-based research creation, and co-creative research mobilization. At the heart of this initiative, the project team […]
Comic Studies Cluster Participates in VPL International Zine Month and Comics Fair
July 24, 2025
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 […]
PopCC Director Biz Nijdam Invited to Speak at 2025 Comics Studies Society Conference
July 18, 2025
Pop Culture Cluster Director Dr. Biz Nijdam has been invited to speak at the Graduate Student Caucus’ 10 Year Anniversary Roundtable to be held during the upcoming Comics Studies Society Conference. Read below for more on the conference and the Call for Papers!
The Xwémalhkwu Hero Stories Project Featured in chek+ News Interview
July 11, 2025
Xwémalhkwu Hero Stories: A Graphic Novel, a collaboration with the Homalco First Nation, Education without Borders (EwB),and the UBC Comic Studies Cluster was recently featured on the chek+ platform in an episode of their Our Native Land series. You can watch the episode here! This graphic novel is the result of the UBC Comics Studies Cluster’s “Remember […]
Announcing the Comics-to-Research Graduate Award Spring 2025 Winners!
July 11, 2025
Please join us in congratulating Spring 2025 Comics-to-Research Graduate Award winners Laen Hershler (Language and Literacy Education) and Cynthia Liu (Creative Writing)! Laen’s project Memory in Motion: Dialoguing with Holocaust Survivor Voices through Research-based Theatre and Performative Inquiry explores Holocaust memory through the embodied practice of theatre and audience reflection. Cynthia is working on a […]
Meet the 2025-6 recipients of the Pop Pedagogies Award!
July 11, 2025
The Popular Media for Social Change Research Excellence Cluster is excited to announce the 2025-6 recipients of the Pop Pedagogies Award. Please join us in congratulating them! Each of these scholars is developing innovative lesson plans, modules, or units that meaningfully integrate popular media (imagined broadly) into teaching and learning. Over the coming year, you […]
Call for Artists: Linguaphobia, Linguistic Indifference, Linguistic Disobedience, & the Monolingual University
June 16, 2025
The Comics Studies Research Cluster at UBC is seeking applications from cartoonists to work on an exciting new graphic novel project on Linguaphobia, Linguistic Indifference, Linguistic Disobedience, & the Monolingual University.”
Turtle Island Cluster Wraps Up Filming for Documentary Short
June 3, 2025
On Monday, June 2nd, the UBC Turtle Island Cluster of the SSHRC Partnership Grant, Visual Storytelling and Graphic Art in Genocide and Human Rights Education, completed filming the short documentary film associated with the project with director Andy Rutter. “We Can Still Sing and Dance: Kokum Dorothy’s Story” is a 50-page graphic novel co-created by award-winning […]
Rain City Comic Con and Xwémalhkwu Hero Stories (2024) Featured on Global News
May 25, 2025
On May 24th, 2025, Vancouver’s newest comics event, Rain City Comic Con, was featured on Gobal News. Reporter Safeeya Pirani interviewed co-organizer John Anders of Soaring Penguin Press about supporting the local comics and cartooning community and Alina Pete (Cree), collaborator on the Comics Studies Cluster’s “Remember Comics” Project and artist in Xwémalhkwu Hero Stories […]
Rain City Comicon Starts Next Weekend!
May 18, 2025
Join the UBC Comics Studies Cluster next Saturday, May 24th from 10 AM-5 PM to celebrate local comics creators and art at Rain City Comic Con! Rain City Comic Con is Vancouver’s newest comics event dedicated to showcasing the work of comic artists in the Greater Vancouver Area. Started by a coalition of […]
Re-Cap: Games and Social Justice Public Lecture Series (Winter 2025)
May 4, 2025
By on This winter, UBC’s Pop Culture Cluster hosted the Games and Social Justice Public Lecture Series, a series of weekly talks and workshops that brought together scholars, game designers, artists, and community organizers to explore how games—from digital video games to analog tabletop systems and tarot—can both reinforce and challenge systems of power. Spanning ten sessions […]
UBC Pop Culture & Comics Studies Clusters Launch the Pop Pedagogies Program & Research-to-Comics Graduate Awards!
May 4, 2025
The UBC Pop Culture & Comics Studies Clusters are excited to announce the launch of two new funding opportunities for UBC graduate students, contingent faculty, and junior scholars.
CSC Member V. Rahbar Receives Frederick Luis Aldama Emerging BIPOC Comics Studies Leadership Award & Strategic Equity & Anti-Racism (StEAR) Enhancement Funding!
May 4, 2025
The article also mentions her upcoming project, “Understanding Through Comics: A Comics and Comics Studies Journal Club”, which received funding from the Strategic Equity & Anti-Racism (StEAR) Enhancement Fund. The project is a year-long series inviting faculty, staff, and students to learn about antiracism and equity through comics.
Dr. Nijdam Receives AMS UBC OER Champion Award
May 3, 2025
This year’s awards recognize faculty who champion equitable, inclusive, and innovative education, including those advancing affordable access through Open Educational Resources (OERs) and fostering inclusive learning through Universal…
Join us at Comics Conference: Beyond the Two Solitudes (May 8th @ SFU Harbour Centre)
April 24, 2025
Join the UBC Comics Studies Cluster for an exciting opportunity to learn about comics and comics studies from a distinctly Canadian perspective! For more information, see the conference website.
Project Recap: Tarot for Decolonization Event (March 20, 2025)
April 1, 2025
On March 20, 2025, the Tarot for Decolonization Project hosted a pilot workshop at UBC, co-led by Dr. Biz Nijdam (UBC) and Christopher Marmolejo (Indigenous Two-Spirit tarot practitioner and author of Red Tarot). This event was the first opportunity to test the project’s methods for teaching tarot as a means of decolonial education. The workshop […]
Dr. Nijdam featured in Pancouver Article on Comics and Memory during Vancouver’s LunarFest 2025
February 17, 2025
Elizabeth “Biz” Nijdam, Director of the Comic Studies Cluster in the Public Humanities Hub, was recently featured in Pancouver for her presentation at LunarFest 2025. On February 12 at Green College UBC, Nijdam spoke alongside Taiwanese…
Games & Social Justice Lecture Series Launches with Roundtable of Local Developers
January 17, 2025
The Games and Social Justice Lecture Series (2025) is an ongoing series of speaker events that examine the intersections between digital and analog gaming cultures and the work of social justice. Speakers will explore various approaches to video games…
Explore a Comics Exhibition — Mediating Archives: Exploring History Through Comics
January 16, 2025
From January 14th to February 15th, come by the main floor of Koerner Library to explore the exhibition “Mediating Archives: Exploring History Through Comics,” a partnership between Koerner Library, Rare Books and Special Collections, and the Department of Central, Eastern and Northern European Studies (CENES).
Celebrating Indigenous Storytelling Through Comics: The Xwémalhkwu Hero Stories Project
December 12, 2024
The UBC Comics Studies Cluster is excited to announce the completion of Xwémalhkwu Hero Stories: A Graphic Novel, a collaboration with the Homalco First Nation and Education without Borders (EwB).
Donate to the International Comic Arts Forum TODAY!
December 3, 2024
On this Giving Tuesday, please consider supporting comics scholarship by donating to the International Comic Arts Forum!
EUA Graphics Project Featured on Holland Bloorview Hospital Blog!
November 7, 2024
The EUA Graphics Project has been featured on Bloom, the blog for the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital.
Pop Culture Cluster launchs inaugural Multilingual Horror Film Festival at UBC!
October 25, 2024
Celebrate multilingualism this Halloween season at UBC’s inaugural Multilingual Horror Film Festival at The Norm Theatre from October 27-31!
Dr. Elizabeth “Biz” Nijdam receives Public Engagement Award
July 15, 2024
These awards are given to individuals who have exhibited outstanding public humanities engagement in the past two years and whose work has contributed to the expansion of the range of voices in public discourse.
UBC Comics Studies Cluster and EUA Graphics featured in UBC Faculty of Arts Editorial
June 14, 2024
Last month, the UBC Comics Studies Cluster was featured in a Faculty of Arts editorial piece on comics in educational contexts. Entitled “Education through comics: Exploring the pedagogical value of comic art,” the article was based on interviews with CSC Director Biz Nijdam and other UBC scholars working on and with comics and graphic narrative.
Recap: Grand Rounds Exhibition of EUA Graphics by Setareh Setayesh
May 30, 2024
On Friday, May 17th, BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute (BCCHR) hosted an exhibition of graphic artwork illustrating the experiences of neurodivergent children and their families as they face challenges in accessing medical services. The artwork is part of a collaborative project between Paediatrician Dr. Anamaria Richardson and UBC Comics Studies Cluster Director Dr. Biz Nijdam. The comics were displayed in the Chieng Family Atrium of BCCHR during the weekly Grand Rounds, along with presentations from Dr. Richardson and Dr. Nijdam, Setareh Setayesh, an undergraduate student working on the project, and Rebecca “Bex” Burgess, a freelance comic artist and illustrator.
EUA Graphics Online Comics Exhibition: Now Live!
May 14, 2024
The innovative project “Exams Under Anaesthesia (EUA) Graphics: Equity and Neurodiversity in the Operating Room” has officially launched its online exhibition. Hosted by the UBC Comics Studies Cluster, this exhibition is available for viewing at comics.arts.ubc.ca/eua-graphics.
News Media Spotlight on the CSC’s “Remember” Project
January 28, 2024
The “Remember” Comics Project is a collaboration between the UBC Comics Studies Cluster, Indigenous media personality and award-winning podcaster Tchadas Leo, and the nonprofit Education without Borders that combines the rich oral histories of the Homalco First Nation with the vibrant visuality of the comics medium.
Call for Artists: Immigration Detention in Canada – Law and Lived Experience
January 18, 2024
The Comics Studies Research Cluster at UBC is seeking applications from cartoonists to work on an exciting new graphic novel project. The project seeks to capture the lived experience of Canadian immigration detention through comics. The project will involve working with 2-3 individuals who arrived in Canada as refugees and were subject to immigration detention. The content of the graphic novels will then explore each individual’s story, based on interviews with the individuals and media produced in collaboration with them.
The “Remember Comics” Project’s Site Visit to Bute Inlet with the Homalco First Nation
January 14, 2024
In November 2023, the UBC Comics Studies Cluster (CSC) and the non-profit Education without Borders (EwB) joined the Homalco First Nation on a site visit to Bute Inlet. The visit took place as part of the CSC’s “Remember” Comics project, a partnership that is led by Homalco media personality Tchadas Leo and cofounded by EwB.
Work-In-Progress: Exams Under Anesthesia (EUA) Graphics
December 13, 2023
“Exams Under Anaesthesia (EUA) Graphics: Equity and Neurodiversity in the Operating Room” is a project undertaken by Dr. Anamaria Richardson and the UBC Comic Studies Cluster that sought nine cartoonists to create nine short (8–12 page) comics based on interviews with the parents of neurodiverse children on their experience in the BC healthcare system.
Call for Artists: Exams Under Anesthesia (EUA) Graphics
July 7, 2023
This project seeks nine cartoonists to create nine short (8-12 page) comics based on interviews with the parents of neurodiverse children on their experience in the BC healthcare system. These interviews aimed to understand the process and experience of EUA (Exams Under Anesthesia) at BC Children’s Hospital for children and youth with complex behavioural needs.
Call for Artists: Remember Comics Project with the Homalco First Nation
July 7, 2023
We invite the application of Indigenous cartoonists from across Turtle Island, with preference given to Indigenous cartoonists from British Columbia, to submit applications for three positions.