Let’s Get Squeaky
It’s time again for MICE — the Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo, held at University Hall of Lesley University in Cambridge, MA — and that means there’s gonna be indie/webcomickers in attendance. Let’s see what’s up.
First of all, there some really cool programming to see. On Saturday, you’ve got:
- Braden Lamb teaching a workshop on comic making, from 11:00am to noon (Lesley Room)
- Cathy Leamy talking about comics and medicine, also from 11:00am to noon (amphitheater)
- Dirk Tiede talking character and pacing, from 12:30pm to 1:30 pm (Lesley Room)
- The Iron Cartoonist competition will feature contestants like Abby Howard and judges like Mark Siegel, also from 12:30pm to 1:30pm (amphitheater)
- Kazu Kibuishi running a workshop on comic creation, from 2:30pm to 3:30pm (Lunder Arts Center)
- Evan Dahm moderates a discussion on worldbuilding, from 5:00pm to 6:00pm (amphitheater)
And then on Sunday, you’ve got:
- Melanie Gillman, Blue Dellaquanti, and others discussing, from 11:30amm to noon:30pm (amphitheater)
- Jason Shiga talking about interactive comics, from noon to 1:00pm (Eliot Room)
- Whit Taylor will be among those discussing the intersection of the personal and political in comics, from 1:00pm to 2:00pm (amphitheater)
- Sophie Yanow will be talking about autobio comics, from 1:30pm to 2:30pm (Eliot Room)
Bonus: every session will have ASL interpretation available!
In addition to the folks already mentioned, creators present¹ will include Alexander Danner, Alison Wilgus, Kori Michele, Luke Howard (B), Luke Howard (J), Maki Naro, Matt Lubchansky, Penina Gal, Rosemary Vallero-O’Connell, and Zack Giallongo. And, since it’s in her neighborhood and all, I imagine my good friend Brigid Alverson will be wandering the floor and committing acts of journalism. Tell her I said hi!
Best of all, MICE falls squarely into the expo/festival model of show, and all events are free and open to the public; doors are open 10:00am to 6:00pm on Saturday, and 11:00am to 5:00pm on Sunday. Cambridge is well-served by public transit, with the Porter Square MTA stop maybe 100 meters up Massachusetts Avenue.
They’ve also got one of the most well thought-out anti-harassment codes I’ve ever seen, with staff members trained in Bystander Intervention. I hope that it’s not needed, but it’s great to see a staff that knows not just what they’re supposed to do, but how to do so in a manner that doesn’t make the initial offense worse. Bravo.
Spam of the day:
I am Asma al-Assad, the wife of Bashar Hafez al-Assad of Syria
Yeah, no.
_______________
¹ And, speaking purely from a selfish POV, many thanks to the MICE organizers for placing the exhibitors in a simple alphabetical list, with pictures, names, affiliations, and clickable links to their websites on a simple HTML page. No pop-ups, no pages you have to click through to in order to verify who you’re talking about, just plain info in plain sight. Thank you.
The above comments are owned by whoever posted them. The staff of Fleen are not responsible for them in any way.