June 30, 2018

Drawing by Marek Bennett

The schedule is now available for the 2018 Comics and Medicine Conference, August 17 and 18, being hosted at The Center for Cartoon Studies in Vermont with support from Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College! With 75 sessions and 3 keynote speakers, you are sure to fill your inspiration bucket. Here are some highlights:

• “Comics? Like Superman?” Introducing a Hospital Community to Graphic Medicine through the Works of MK Czerwiec (Leah Eisenberg)
  We’ve all been there. Like Superman? Like Peanuts? Like Scooby Doo? Leah Eisenberg, JD, MA, is concerned about the number of people signing consent forms without understanding them. Communication is key! Utilizing simple, plain language, she drafted a significant portion of the patient materials, used at several biobanks at Mayo Clinic by more than 10,000 patients so far. MK Czerwiec, RN, MA, (Comics Nurse, 2006; Taking Turns: Stories from HIV/AIDS Care Unite 371, Penn State University Press, 2017) uses comics to discuss the complexities of illness and caregiving.
• Graphic Medicine for Graphic Artists: An Approach to Developing Self Care Comics for Creative Communities (Kriota Willberg)
  Kriota Willberg combines her passion for art and her skills as a massage therapist to explore body/science narratives. She recently released her first graphic novel, Draw Stronger: Self Care for Cartoonists and Visual Artists (Uncivilized Books, 2018).
• Sharing Stories from the White River Junction VA: A Veterans Comics Roundtable (J. D. Lunt ’16)
  As one of the editors and designers of When I Returned (with Kelly Swann ’16), Lunt will discuss the ongoing project of creating a comic book featuring stories by local White River Junction veterans and drawn by CCS students and alumni.
  Drawing by The Center for Cartoon Studies alum Kane Lynch
• El viaje mas caro / The Most Costly Journey: Cartooning as a Means to Mitigate Isolation and Despair among Latin American Migrant Workers on Vermont Dairy Farms (Julie Doucet)
  The Mostly Costly Journey is a collaboration between the Open Door Clinic, Vermont Folklife Center, UVM Extension Bridges to Health, UVM Anthropology, and Marek Bennett’s Comics Workshop. This ethnographic comics project employs collaborative storytelling between migrant farm workers, translators, ethnographers, and cartoonists.

Don’t forget to join the Carousel Comics with R. Sikoyrak on Thursday evening!

For information on the conference, keynote announcements, travel, partner hotels, and to register: cartoonstudies.org/comicsandmedicine

To view the schedule: comicsandmedicine.sched.com

Many thanks to our sponsors!

With support from: