Call for papers “Beyond the Two Solitudes: Transmediation in the Worlds of Comics and Graphic Novels in Canada” (Summer 2027)
Call for papers “Beyond the Two Solitudes: Transmediation in the Worlds
of Comics and Graphic Novels in Canada” (Summer 2027)
Chris Reyns-Chikuma and Jean Sébastien (dir.)
Comics, even though they originated as largely handcrafted works, developed within an industrial context: that of mass-market publications. Comics and animation differ fundamentally in many aspects (for example, voices, Foley and sound effects, …) but the central role of drawing in both mediums has often created bridges. The development of these media in Japan is the archetype. Indeed, contrarily to productions in Canada, the transmediality of a manga is often conceived from the outset by the author or from the moment of its publication. With this issue of Transcr(é)ation , the research group
“Beyond the Two Solitudes in Comics” (https://beyondthe2solitudes.wordpress.com/) explores the role of transmediality in the world of comics and graphic novels in Canada. The questions we raise in this special issue revolve around the concept of transmediality and its practice. This question is all the more important as it implies another: the question of survival, or at least the “decent living conditions,” for those working in the comics world. As numerous studies show, comic book artists generally struggle to make a living from their work (Aquatias (2023) for France, and Harper (2015) in the case of Canada).
Indeed, to improve their lives, and perhaps even to survive, beyond selling their creative products and various forms of public funding, these artists sometimes resort to adaptation, either as a necessity for survival or as a passion. In this respect, the more adaptable their comic is, the greater its chances of being adapted. A highly media-friendly comic is less likely to be adapted than an adaptogenic one, and even less so than one already conceived with adaptability in mind. The concept of adaptogeny was developed by the Canadian André Gaudreault in collaboration with the Belgian Philippe Marion. In short, it characterizes stories that can easily migrate from one media to another (Gaudreault and Marion 2018). It contrasts with that of mediagenesis, which highlights the specificities of a medium by playing with what tends to characterize it, such as variations in framing, onomatopoeia, speech bubbles (Groensteen 1999), but also, as Baetens shows, the varying degrees and types of fidelity (2020).
In this special issue, we seek to identify which Canadian comics have been adapted into other media, particularly film, both animated and live-action, and video games, or vice versa. On the one hand, through interviews with key figures in the comics world, including authors and publishers, we seek to understand whether these works were indeed conceived as adaptable, and on the other hand, how the adaptation took place and with what results, through analysis of the opinions of various audiences (critics, fans) and formal analysis of the adapted work.
The following topics are not exhaustive:
- Live-action adaptations of comics (such as Paul à Québec [2002-2016], Le petit astronaute [2022-2026], and Essex County [2012-2016]);
- Animated adaptations of the comic book Red Ketchup ;
- Animated adaptations of the Indigenous superhero Kagagi for an Indigenous television channel;
- Animated adaptations of children’s comics by Radio-Canada-CBC (for example, L’Agent Jean! );
- Transitions between podcasts and comics / comic book adaptations into podcasts (for example Red Panda and Les Pires Moments de l’histoire);
- Adaptations of novels in graphic form (for example Marguerite Atwood’s novel The Handmaid's Tale by Renée Nault);
- Indigenous graphic novels adapted from oral history (for example, Betty: The Helen Betty Osborne Story and Guides w8banakiak de chasse et pêche : fragments de mémoire );
- Unfinished adaptation projects such as Magasin general ;
- Graphic adaptations within the culture built around memes, virality, and algorithms;
- Modifications to reception contexts (digital, transnational, designed for specific interfaces) and their reformatting;
- How can transcreation be defined using a few Canadian examples?
- Are Quebec comics less adaptogenic compared to other “traditions,” such as Anglo-Canadian, American, or French comics?
Timeline
- Deadline for submitting your proposal (including title, 250-300 word summary,
email address, affiliation and author’s biobibliography (approx. 150 words)):
October 1st, 2026 to: reynschi@ualberta.ca and jsebastien@cmaisonneuve.qc.ca
(All submissions will be evaluated before the end of November)
- Deadline for submitting accepted articles (6,000 – 8,000 words) following the journal’s guidelines: March 1st, 2027 (peer-reviewing process could last until the beginning of May)
- Publication of the volume planned for September 2027
Presentation
Transcr(é)ation is a specialty journal dedicated to intermediality and the dialogues between texts and films, without prioritizing either. We welcome any theoretical or analytical works, interviews, and thematic dossiers on the questions of intermediality, transposition between media, dialogue between and through the arts, or any other foray into related subjects. Languages: English or French
