School of Information Sciences

Tilley to share expertise at New York Comic Con

Carol Tilley
Carol Tilley, Associate Professor

Associate Professor Carol Tilley will make two appearances at New York Comic Con (NYCC), an annual New York City fan convention dedicated to comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, toys, movies, and television. Known as the largest pop culture event on the East Coast, NYCC will be held on October 9 - 12 at the Javits Center.

Tilley, one of the nation's leading experts and a popular speaker on the history and censorship of comics, will present a talk and participate on a panel as follows:

"Comics: What We've Lost, What's Ahead"
Thursday, October 9, 2:15 - 3:00 p.m., Room A101

In the US in the mid-twentieth century, comic books were more popular among children and teens than video games are for this group today. Learn more about young people's comics readership, how they used comics as a basis for developing participatory cultures through ventures such as fanzines and social action, and why librarians and teachers had such a profound dislike for comics. Carol Tilley, an LIS professor and comic book crusader, will bring the history to life and offer insights for how we might use comics to enhance services and resources we provide young people in today's libraries.

"Banned Horror Comics: Walking Back from the Dead"
Thursday, October 9, 4:15 - 5:00 p.m., Room A105

A fearful look at 1950s HORROR COMICS criticized by Dr. Fredric Wertham, reviled in Senate investigations, destroyed in public book burnings! These Pre-Code comics like dead zombies are again walking to get you! Craig "Haunted Horror/IDW/Yoe Books" Yoe, Greg "IDW President" Goldstein, Mike "Dark Horse" Richardson, Mike "The 'Worst' of Eerie Publications" Howlett, and Carol "Wertham Debunker" Tilley explore EC and other publishers, the censoring Comics Code, the Golden Age of Horror Reprints, and the TV/movies inspired by these scary comics!

"It's been a pleasure to give an increasing number of talks at comics conventions (cons) the past couple of years," said Tilley. "At cons, I'm as likely to engage with professional librarians and comics fans as I am with comics scholars, creators, and publishers. It leads to rich conversations, new ideas for my research, meaningful engagement with the profession, and scores of great anecdotes and examples for teaching."

Tilley also made several presentations at Comic-Con International, which is considered the premier comics and entertainment event in the world. More recently, she presented several invited talks contributing to discussions during Banned Books Week (September 21-27): "When Comics Almost Died: Readers, Censors, and Innovation" at Brookline (Massachusetts) Public Library on September 22 and at the 2014 Carol Spaziani Intellectual Freedom Festival at the Iowa City (Iowa) Public Library on September 24, the latter of which included a special screening of "Diagram for Delinquents," a documentary in which she appears; and "The Secret History of Comics Censorship" at the Urbana Free Library on September 27.

Tilley's research in comics and comics history has garnered recent press coverage through interviews in Comic Book Creator #5, DiamondBookshelf, Baltimore City Paper, and in the documentary Diagram for Delinquents. Last year, the Big Ten Network produced the documentary, "Carol Tilley, Comic Book Crusader," which examined the comic book industry, its truths, and its myths and which was featured in the Iowa Independent Film Festival.

At GSLIS, Tilley teaches courses in comics reader's advisory, media literacy, and youth services librarianship. Part of her scholarship focuses on the intersection of young people, comics, and libraries, particularly in the United States during the mid-twentieth century. Her research has been published in several academic journals, including the Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology (JASIST), Information & Culture: A Journal of History, and Children's Literature in Education. Her research on anti-comics advocate Fredric Wertham was featured in The New York Times and other media outlets.

 
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