All of our panels will be held on Sunday, August 18th, 2024. They will be presented in a hybrid in-person/remote format. If you’d like to attend in-person, the panels will be held from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in Auditorium 150. The panels will also be streamed live on this page, on the front page of autoptic.org and on the Autoptic YouTube page.

11:00 a.m. Central
Resource Sharing and Community Building as a Small Press or Collective

A discussion about the different ways small press organizations and art collectives can support their communities, share resources and how they can make an impact.
Moderator: Jacob Yeates
Panelists: Late Night Copies Press, Back of Beyond, Laneha House

12:00 p.m. Central
Publishing Match: Traditional vs Indie vs Self

A discussion on publishing and the differences between small press, self publishing and larger publishers. The conversation will included comparisons of different types of publishing, the benefits and drawbacks of each avenue, and how they can impact the artist and their work.
Moderator: Jenny Mott of POMEpress
Panelists: Trung Le Nguyen, Beth Hetland, Anders Nilsen

1:00 p.m. Central
The Emotional Storytelling Approach to Autobiographical Comics

A discussion exploring the power of personal narratives in comics. Hear how artists translate life experiences into compelling visual stories that resonate with readers on an emotional level.
Moderator: J. Marshall Smith
Panelists: Chad Bilyeu, Craig Thompson, Bianca Xunise

2:00 p.m. Central
Using Genre

A discussion of how different artists approach genre in comics. Hear how contemporary cartoonists are incorporating and reimagining mythology, folklore, fairytales, and horror within their stories and comics.
Moderator: Zak Sally
Panelists: Kameron White, Madeline McGrane, rin ascher

3:00 p.m. Central
Queer Identity in Comics

A discussion diving into the representation and expression of LGBTQ+ identities in comics. Discover how artists are pushing boundaries and creating authentic queer narratives within the medium.
Moderator: Blue Delliquanti
Panelists: Sarah Evenson, Frannie Love, Xiomar Luna