I first saw Jacob Mazer of Animal Kingdom Publishing discuss his work and the anthology of comics, prose, poetry and criticism he edits. It’s still a young publication, but I definitely think there’s room in the world for more things like this, allowing comics to reach audiences they may not otherwise. Not everything in the second issue is to my tastes, but there is some thought-provoking work in it.

Then I saw Gareth Hinds, whose adaptation of Romeo and Juliet came out last year. He talked about always loving to draw as a child and comics ended up coming naturally to him. He worked in video games for a long time before quitting to create graphic novels full-time. He broke down his process for each book and I was interested to hear he changes techniques and styles for each specific book. He also spoke about the challenges of adapting classic literature.

After that, it was my turn. I talked about comics by women (what else?) and I think it went well for it being such a big topic. My concept was not to give history but offer up titles that people can buy right now. I had a good discussion with the attendees too.

You can download my PowerPoint presentation or a PDF of it, but I’ve also created a list of the creators and titles I discussed below (with links to their websites where appropriate).

I have reviewed some of these books and written more about some of these creators. You should be able to find what you need through the tags.

History/background

• Trina Robbins: Pretty In Ink

 Mainstream: Superheroes

• Kelly Sue DeConnick: Captain Marvel
• G. Willow Wilson: Ms. Marvel
• Gail Simone: Birds of Prey, Batgirl, Red Sonja

Mainstream: Sci-fi/Fantasy

• Kelly Sue DeConnick and Emma Rios: Pretty Deadly
• Grace Ellis, Noelle Stevenson, Brooke A. Allen: Lumberjanes
• Carla Speed McNeil: Finder
• Fiona Staples: Saga

Children and Young Adult Comics

• Raina Telgemeier: Smile, Drama, Sisters
• Faith Erin Hicks: The War at Ellsmere, Friends With Boys, The Adventures of Superhero Girl
• Hope Larson: Chiggers, A Wrinkle in Time
• Jennifer Holm: Babymouse

Autobiographical

• Alison Bechdel: Fun Home and Are You My Mother?
• Marjane Satrapi: Persepolis
• Mari Naomi: Kiss and Tell, Dragon’s Breath
• Ellen Forney: Marbles
• Ulli Lust: Today is the Last Day of the Rest of Your Life
• Nicole J. Georges: Calling Dr. Laura

Manga

• Kyoko Okazaki: Pink, Helter Skelter
• Moto Hagio: A Drunken Dream, The Heart of Thomas
• Takako Shimura: Wandering Son
• Moyoco Anno: In Clothes Called Fat, Insufficient Direction

UK, Europe and Around the World

• Mary Talbot: The Dotter of Her Father’s Eyes, Sally Heathcoate: Suffragette
• Isabel Greenberg: Encyclopedia of Early Earth
• Julie Maroh: Blue is the Warmest Color
• Marguerite Abouet: Aya series
• Rutu Modan: Exit Wounds, The Property

Online comics

• Molly Ostertag: Strong Female Protagonist
• Allie Brosh: Hyperbole and a Half
• Meredith Gran: Octopus Pie
• Kate Beaton: Hark! A Vagrant
• Danielle Corsetto: Girls with Slingshots
• Kate Leth: Kate or Die!

Minicomics & cutting-edge creators

• Seo Kim
• Corinne Mucha
• L. Nichols
• Yumi Sakugawa
• Andrea Tsurumi
• Whit Taylor
• Jen Vaughn
• Jenn Woodall

Publishers, groups and events

• Koyama Press
• Team Girl Comic
• Dirty Diamonds
• Laydeez Do Comics
• Drink & Draw Like a Lady

Top Picks of Comics by Women for 2014

• Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast
• How to Be Happy by Eleanor Davis
• Operation Margarine by Katie Skelly
• Over Easy by Mimi Pond
• This One Summer by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki
• Through the Woods by Emily Carroll

I would always happily point out that one of the top-selling graphic novels in recent years is an autobiographical tale about a girl’s experiences with dental trauma.

I am, of course, talking about Raina Telgemeier’s Smile.

And after mentioning that, people do begin to realize just how huge the topic of comics dealing with health, illness and medicine can be.

In so many ways, comics are uniquely suited to communicating about health, whether it’s personal stories or instructive information. After all, comics marries visual elements with words and it becomes more effective than either one could be alone.

I attended Comics & Medicine as a guest of Small Press Expo (we were one of the sponsors) and while I was only able to attend on Saturday, I was so thrilled I got to go.

To be clear: This was, at its core, an academic conference. While many comic creators were involved, the focus was on presenting papers and sharing knowledge. This was absolutely reflected in the sessions I attended.

The first featured Nicola Streeten discussing a project she was involved in where she told a story from the perspectives of both the doctor and the patient. Army Capt. Joshua M. Leone presented his paper about how comics can help servicemembers heal from trauma through the closure they can provide. MJ Jacob shared personal insights into how creating comics — or being unable to — helped her deal with her depression in unexpected ways. (Henny Beaumont was scheduled but unable to attend.) All three presenters were discussing personal stories — whether they were their own stories or someone else’s — and how comics could provide different perspectives and connection to the world in an intimate and powerful way.

I then attended most of the Health Education and Accessibility presentations, which brought up topics I hadn’t thought much about. Two from Research Triangle Institute International discussed their process of creating two comics in partnership with Naval Health Research Center and Headquarters Marine Corps to help servicemembers with psychological stresses. Dana Marlowe then discussed accessibility issues when it comes to online comics.

The outreach to military servicemembers — both in terms of creating comics for them and helping them create their own comics — seemed to be a small focus of the conference. I was unable to attend it, but James Sturm did discuss some of the work he’s done with a VA medical center in Vermont. Overall, the therapeutic aspects of comics is one most people there seemed very excited about exploring further.

Ellen Forney was the final keynote speaker for Saturday. She presented in abbreviated form the first two chapters of Marbles, her honest, emotional and informative account of learning she had bipolar disorder and then learning to cope with it. It was book I’ve read and loved (it’s a tough read in places but also fun and often funny) but I didn’t quite realize until Saturday just how educational it was. She outlines not only her personal experiences with bipolar disorder but also offers a great deal of factual information about it and its treatment.

And I think that was really the best part of this experience — I certainly felt like I knew about the connection between comics and issues of health, illness and medicine, but I began to realize just how much comics had taught me about these subjects. Reading Marbles, I didn’t realize how much about mental illness I was actually learning. And I know that Smile often gets passed between young friends when they first get their braces. I also think about the delightful work people like Cathy Leamy (who it was great to see briefly!) when it comes to issues of women’s health (Mindful Drinking was one of my favorite comics from last year, period!).

I think more so than anything else, comics offer an easy point of connection. Maybe you don’t want to watch a graphic video of a surgery; maybe a medical text is too dry; but a comic can find the right balance of personal, informative and entertaining.

As someone who is not in the field of health or medicine, or even someone who really creates comics, it was incredibly inspiring to see what wonderful work all these people are doing. I know I left wanting to know more and how I can contribute to this field somehow.

(Special thanks to conference organizer Lydia Gregg and John Hopkins University for hosting.)