ART 217 at Books with Pictures Con
Posted by karah.kemmerly
On Saturday, June 7, students from ART 217: Comics Art and Literature concluded the term by attending and tabling at Books with Pictures Con (BwPCon) in Portland, Oregon. The event made their coursework more tangible and provided real-world engagement with the wider comics community.
During the Spring term, students in ART 217 focused on graphic adaptations, examining how existing narratives, histories, and biographies are reinterpreted through the medium of comics. They closely studied Eileen Gray: A House Under the Sun, Days of Sand, and Kusama: The Graphic Novel, using these texts to inspire their own visual storytelling efforts. Each week, the class also produced physical, handmade micro-comics in the form of one-sheet folded zines. In preparation for BwPCon, the 20-person cohort revised and printed their comics to share with the public, which gave them a chance to talk about the value and accessibility of this medium.
The day of the convention, ART 217 students took turns tabling in two-hour shifts. Not only did they distribute more than 400 comics, but they also chatted with curious attendees and taught some folks the fold-and-cut zine technique.
“I couldn’t be more proud of how our students showed up—both professionally and creatively. As an instructor, witnessing this level of engagement was moving. This wasn’t just an academic exercise; it was a real-world entry point into a larger dialogue about comics as a serious and vibrant cultural form,” said instructor Jay Olinger.
To see more student work from ART 217, check out this webpage.