Tag Archives: massachusetts independent comics expo

The Boston Comic Arts Foundation Announces the 2026 Underground Visionary Award Winner

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BCAF Underground Visionary Award

The Boston Comic Arts Foundation has announced the annual Underground Visionary Award, given each year to honor the work of an individual, publisher, or community-builder whose dedication has brought opportunity, attention, and change to the comics medium. With this award, the Boston Comic Arts Foundation aims to inspire creators and enthusiasts to actively engage with the comics format, fostering creativity and community in the world of comics.

The 2025 award recognizes comics author and educator Cathy G. Johnson, and was presented at the annual Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo (MICE). 

This is an honor, thank you. I dedicate this award to my collaborators and community: the Authors Against Book Bans Rhode Island chapter, alongside whom I worked to help pass the Freedom to Read Act in Rhode Island; my studiomates at Binch Press / Queer.Archive.Work in Providence, where we build community and create together; and especially the many colleagues, librarians, and students who make my comics classes through Comic Art Ed! possible. Comic books can be lonely, but this award reminds me that I get to be a part of an extraordinary community. For me, this award not only recognizes the work that I’ve done, but the people I’ve been fortunate enough to work alongside, and our shared commitment to keeping art accessible to everyone.

-Cathy G. Johnson

The Underground Visionary Award recognizes an individual who has contributed to the independent comics community in New England, often in ways that are not immediately visible. I’m grateful we can honor someone in this way during MICE, a vibrant event that celebrates indie comics artists at all stages of their careers. Cathy G. Johnson is an extraordinary educator, artist, and community advocate, and I’m delighted they were chosen as this year’s recipient.

-MICE Co-Director Sadie Saunders 

While there were a number of impressive and talented individuals that the committee considered, Cathy stood out not only for the remarkable variety in her art (from Jeremiah to The Breakaways!) but also for how much she gives back in terms of activism and education. She is producing amazing work even as she ensures there are rising generations to do likewise.

-BCAF Grants and Awards Coordinator A. David Lewis.

The Boston Comic Arts Foundation Announces the Underground Visionary Award

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Underground Visionary Award

The Boston Comic Arts Foundation has announced the annual Underground Visionary Award, given each year at the Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo to honor the work of an individual, publisher, or community-builder whose dedication has brought opportunity, attention, and change to the comics medium. With this award, the Boston Comic Arts Foundation recognizes people and organizations for their active engagement with the comics format, fostering creativity and community in the world of comics.

The first annual award recognizes long-time comics publisher, agent, and champion Denis Kitchen, and was presented at MICE December 8th, 2024. 

The Boston Comic Arts Foundation champions the comics art form, increasing excitement about and engagement with the comics medium to create opportunities for more comics, more comics readers, and more support for comics creators. BCAF celebrates comics, graphic novels, and independent creators through art festivals, artist grants, and educational programming. Partnering with local libraries, schools, and organizations, BCAF increases access to comics by providing high-quality events and educational opportunities, which are free and open to all. BCAF supports the work of local comics creators, and is committed to fostering equity in a community of authors and readers that includes all voices. 

MICE, the Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo is back and in person!

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MICE 2022

The Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo, MICE, the annual community celebration of comics creativity and expression, returns to the Boston area! The show will return on October 22 – 23, 2022 to a new venue: Boston University’s Fuller Building. MICE will host over 200 independent comics creators from Boston and beyond. They’ll bring an enormous range of comics, from hand-crafted zines to published graphic novels. Admission is free and open to all ages.

Not to be missed is MICE’s free-to-all extensive programming which includes hands-on workshops, where beginners can get an introduction to the medium of comics, and even experienced creators can explore the craft from scripting to inking to Risograph printing. Panel discussions explore themes and issues in independent comics today such as a celebration of challenged LGBTQIA+ graphic novels and a spotlight on the Puerto Rican comics scene.

MICE will welcome an extraordinary line up of Special Guests this year. Including:

  • Gale Galligan – The Baby-Sitters Club, Freestyle
  • Maia Kobabe – Gender Queer: A Memoir
  • Sara Alfageeh – Squire
  • Malaka Gharib – I Was Their American Dream, It Won’t Always Be Like This
  • Steenz – Heart of the City
  • Molly Mendoza – Stray, Skip
  • Jarrett J. Krosoczka – Hey, Kiddo (Thursday programming only)
  • Aatmaja Pandya –  Slip
  • Marika McCoola – Slip
  • Dave Ortega – Días de Consuelo
  • Joel Christian Gill – Fights, Tales of the Talented Tenth
  • Alex Graudins – Improve: How I Discovered Improv and Conquered Social Anxiety​

MICE will be held on Saturday, October 22 from 11am – 6pm, and Sunday, October 23 from 11am – 5pm, at the Fuller Building of Boston University, 808 Commonwealth Avenue in Brookline.
Admission is free and open to all ages.
Masks are required!

Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo Has Renamed the Crumb Room

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Since its founding in 2010, the Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo (MICE) has featured exhibitor spaces with the names Bechdel Room, Crumb Room, Doucet Hall, and Eisner Level. These names were a way to pay tribute in a fun and fitting way to some of the most influential comic creators in the history of independent comics and graphic novels.

The convention has announced that as of this year, they will be retiring the name of the Crumb Room.

In the announcement they said:

This was a decision that we did not come to easily. It reflects a difficult and complicated set of issues facing the world of independent comics and the arts in general.

We are very sensitive to, and opposed to, any form of censorship. We do not want this re-naming of the Crumb Room to be seen as an attempt to erase Robert Crumb from the history or current reality of independent comics. We recognize Crumb’s singular importance to the development of independent and alternative comics, the influence that he has had on many of our most respected cartoonists, and the quality and brilliance of much of his work.

However we also recognize the negative impact carried by some of the imagery and narratives that Crumb has produced, impact felt most acutely by those whose voices have not been historically respected or accommodated during the period in which Crumb has so effectively challenged and shattered many cultural taboos. The great value of Crumb’s radical and inventive freedom of expression is, we acknowledge, seriously problematic because of the pain and harm caused by perpetuating images of racial stereotypes and sexual violence. The simple appellation, “Crumb Room,” without context or opportunity for dialogue, can function more as an insult to those we want to feel welcome and respected, than as a fitting homage to an artist.

MICE was founded in 2010 to create a showcase space for artists and writers working in the field of comics in the greater-Boston area. The event is produced by the Boston Comic Arts Foundation and hosted by Lesley University College of Art and Design. The convention has a focus on the art of making comics and connects local creators with the local audience including workshops for adults and children, panel discussions on the craft and relevance of comics, and special guests.

This year’s convention is being held October 20-21 in Cambridge, MA and free to the public.