On Saturday, October 14, we’ll be hosting It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s a Cultural Icon: A Superman Conference, an all-day academic conference, as part of Superman’s Cleveland: Lineage and Legacy, at Cleveland Public Library’s Louis Stokes Wing, 525 Superior Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44114.
The conference will feature lectures and panel presentations by scholars from a variety of disciplines examining Superman and the medium of comics from diverse perspectives.
Attendance is FREE. Registration is not required but encouraged. Click here for the registration link. (You can even just show up the day of the conference if you want to attend! If you want to listen to one specific panel, that’s okay, too!)
Conference attendees will be admitted to the library at 9:00 am for networking and a welcoming reception.
Conference Schedule
**Click here for full titles and descriptions of presentations and panels**
9:00 am Welcoming Reception (Louis Stokes Wing, 2nd Floor, Commons Area)
9:15 am Opening Remarks from Conference Hosts (Louis Stokes Wing, 2nd Floor, Commons Area)
9:30 — 10:30 am Opening Lecture: Peter Coogan (Louis Stokes Wing, 2nd Floor, Commons Area)
10:30 –11:00 am Break
11 am — 12:00 pm Presentation by Siegel and Shuster Society (Louis Stokes Wing, 2nd Floor, Commons Area)
- Presentation Title: Secrets of the Siegel and Shuster Society
12:00 — 1:00 pm Lunch (on your own, click here for a map of downtown restaurants)
1:15 — 3:00 pm Panels 1 and 2 (concurrently, Louis Stokes Wing, 2nd Floor) (Click for descriptions)
- Panel 1: It’s Complicated: Superman’s Legacy & Lineage from Diverse Perspectives (Conference Room B)
- Moderator: Jack Phoenix
- Presenters: Vince Guerreri, Alan Jozwiak, Chris Roman, Jaromir Stoll
- Panel 2: Bringing Superman Down To Earth (Commons Area)
- Moderator: Valentino Zullo
- Presenters: Wayne Wise, Marcel Walker, Chris Maverick, Trevor Smith
3:00 — 3:15 pm Break
3:15 — 4:30 pm Panels 3 and 4 (concurrently, Louis Stokes Wing, 2nd Floor) (Click for descriptions)
- Panel 3: History Intersects with Comics (Commons Area)
- Moderator: Jack Phoenix
- Presenters: Andrew Fogel, Tom Ue, Daniel Neff
- Panel 4: Pop Culture and Pedagogy (Conference Room B)
- Moderator: Timothy Levine
- Presenters: Jenny Swartz-Levine, Chuck Coletta, Mark Martell
4:30 — 5:00 pm Break
5:00 — 6:30 pm Mark Waid in conversation with Brad Ricca (Louis Stokes Wing Auditorium, Lower Level)
- NOTE: The Mark Waid and Brad Ricca conversation is open to the public as well as being the keynote event of the conference.
During the day of the conference, there will also be a hands-on creative space in the Lower Level of the Louis Stokes Wing with Superman button-making and Zygote Press hosting a hands-on printmaking activity. There will also be a youth comics-making workshop taking place in the Youth Services department. Conference attendees are also highly encouraged to visit the second floor of Main Library to view the Superman Exhibit on display.