Visiting Artists & Scholars: Cartoon Crossroads Columbus Queer Banned Book Roundtable

Panel 7–9 p.m., reception 9–10 p.m.,

This panel is free and open to the public.

With Maia Kobabe, Trung Le Nguyen, and MariNaomi
Moderated by Rachel Miller, PhD

Over the past year, an unprecedented number of books—nearly 1,145 in all—have been the target of bans from schools, libraries, and bookshops across the U.S. And with their ability to tells stories through text and image, comics are right at the center, with bans against graphic memoirs such as Art Spiegelman’s Maus and Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer making national headlines. Often, books that tell stories about queerness, race, gender, and history are the target of bans, as is the case for Trung Le Nguyen’s The Magic Fish and MariNaomi’s Life on Earth series. As Kobabe has pointed out, book banning often hurts the very groups who are the subject of these works. As e wrote in The Washington Post, “Removing or restricting queer books in libraries and schools is like cutting a lifeline for queer youth.” 

In this essential panel, part of the citywide Cartoon Crossroads Columbus festival happening Oct. 5–9, 2022, Kobabe, Nguyen, and MariNaomi will examine the impact of book banning and why comics are at the center of the discussion. Together, they’ll address cultivating creativity and community through comics during this divisive moment in history. Comics scholar Dr. Rachel Miller will moderate the conversation.

Please note: Cartoon Crossroads Columbus requires that masks be worn during this and other CXC 2022 events. Learn more about what’s planned for this year’s CXC, including other special guests, exhibitors, and more, at cartooncrossroadscolumbus.org.