About this Event
If, up until a few years ago, graphic novels had to be purchased, for the most part, either online or in specialized shops, they now seem to be easily accessible everywhere. Their newfound availability has also been accompanied by increased production and by the creation of specialized publishing series, such as Feltrinelli Comics. In the words of Nicoletta Mandolini, “the graphic novel […] now represents a trend among readers and in the publishing industry” (2021: 940).
In particular, the subcategory of LGBTQIA+ graphic novels has swiftly moved from the margins to a more mainstream status. BAO Publishing, Laterza, Oblomov, and Panini Comics, among others, have expanded their catalogues to include more LGBTQIA+ narratives. This flourishing has been accompanied by other forms of celebration of works that engage with queer and transfeminist themes, such as Bande De Femmes, a comics and illustration festival organized by Libreria Tuba in Rome. Additionally, many authors have now resorted to self-publishing or to finding alternative ways to promote their works (Quaianni Manuzzato 2022). Scholarly analyses investigating queer Italian graphic novels have focused on the work by Fumettibrutti (Mandolini 2022), Nicoz Balboa (Mandolini 2024), Percy Bertolini (Parrinello 2025), and others (Mandolini andCampofreda 2024; Petocz 2023), joining a flourishing field of inquiry into Italian comics (see ig. Aletta 2025; Busi Rizzi and Simone 2024; Dal Canto 2023; Di Franco 2024; Di Martino 2024; Simone and Cerulo 2024; Somigli 2011; Vari 2025).
In the wake of Derek Duncan’s Reading and Writing Italian Homosexuality (2006), the proposed one-day symposium seeks to explore LGBTQIA+ graphic novels and comics created by Italian authors, focusing on their newfound mainstream status, their engagement with contemporary socio-political issues, as well as specific studies on individual authors and their work.
Keynote Speaker: Nicoletta Mandolini (Universidade do Minho)
Artistic Practitioner: Nicoz Balboa
Speakers: Alessio Aletta (University College Cork)
Claudia Cerulo (Università di Napoli Federico II)
Marzia D’Amico (Universidade de Lisboa)
Anna Finozzi (University of Stockholm)
Dalila Forni (Università degli Studi dell’Aquila)
Alessandra Pizzileo (Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro)
Anna Saracino (Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro)
Silvia Vari (University of Warwick)
The event is sponsored by TICS (Toronto Italian Comics Studies), which is supported by the Italian, Spanish, Portuguese & Latin American Studies / Emilio Goggio Chair in Italian Studies.
Image credit: Nicoz Balboa
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Zoom, Online event, Toronto, Canada
CAD 0.00
