Wednesday, June 22
6:30pm - 9:30pm
Film, noir literature, and comics combine for a screening & author event at The Drexel Theatre. A screening of the 2015 Todd Haynes film Carol will begin at 6:30 p.m. followed by a discussion with graphic novel author Grace Ellis (Lumberjanes, Batwoman, Moonstruck).
Patricia Highsmith was a problematic literary figure with a complicated legacy. Highsmith's positive impact on LGBTQ+ literature, and American literature in general, is unquestionable with novels like The Price of Salt (later retitled Carol), The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Strangers on a Train. On the other side, Highsmith was just as well known for her bigotry, holding harmful beliefs that were racist, anti-Semitic, and misogynistic. Grace Ellis's most recent graphic novel, Flung Out of Space: Inspired by the Indecent Adventures of Patricia Highsmith, critically examines Highsmith's struggles and prejudices while tracking her journey from anonymous comics author through her creative streak to literary icon. From the book's preface, "If you read this book and end up conflicted about Highsmith and her legacy: good."
Grace Ellis will be in conversation with Caitlin McGurk, Associate Curator for Outreach at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, discussing writing in the graphic novel form, Patricia Highsmith's influence on literature, comics, and film, and accurately portraying such a charismatic and problematic figure in Flung Out of Space.
Registration for this event is REQUIRED.
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Grace Ellis has made a name for herself in the industry by creating unforgettable, lovable, and funny characters. She burst onto the comics scene with LUMBERJANES, which she co-created and co-wrote. It was a New York Times bestselling, Eisner and GLAAD Media Award–winning comics series that broke the mold of both YA and superhero comics. She is also the author and creator of the Image Comics series MOONSTRUCK and writer of LOIS LANE AND THE FRIENDSHIP CHALLENGE and Batwoman: Truth and Justice for DC Comics.
FLUNG OUT OF SPACE, Grace’s first foray into adult comics, is a based-on-a-true-story graphic novel about noir suspense writer Patricia Highsmith. It has been called, “a critical, caring, funny, and heartbreaking story,” by Women Write About Comics. FLUNG is out now!
Grace was a 2022 Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award winner for her play “Holding it Together.” She currently lives in Columbus, Ohio.
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Caitlin McGurk is the Curator of Comics and Cartoon Art and Associate Professor at The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum in Columbus, Ohio – the largest collection of comics and cartoon art in the world. She leads the comics history and education outreach efforts at the library, manages publicity and community events, and curates exhibitions. Caitlin has also worked for and interned at The Center for Cartoon Studies’ Schulz Library, the Bulliet Comics Collection of Columbia University, and Marvel Comics. She has written for Diamond Comics Bookshelf magazine for educators and librarians, published her own comics, and serves on the council for Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC) and as a juror for the CMA/CCAD Columbus Comics Residency Program. McGurk’s research and scholarship is on women in comics, alternative and underground comics, and early comic strips. One of her most recent articles was published in the Journal of Lesbian Studies on queer characters in early American newspaper comics. She is currently working on a book about early New Yorker magazine cartoonist Barbara Shermund for Rutgers University Press.
Original source can be found here.
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