Diana Schutz, April 4th, 2023

The 358th meeting of the NY Comics & Picture-story Symposium, Tuesday, April 4, 2023.

Diana Schutz on Independent Comics: The Intersection of Politics and Aesthetics

Following the underground comix years, in the early days of independent comics the primary division between publishing houses was political, based on the then-revolutionary idea of creators’ rights and IP ownership. Only later would that division become an aesthetic one, thanks to comics that straddled the line, like Harvey Pekar’s American Splendor. Join longtime comics editor Diana Schutz for a look at the legacy of the 1980s and what that decade brought to the contemporary scene.

Diana Schutz has worked in the comics industry for over 40 years, as an award-winning editor, writer, educator, and now translator. Best known for editing Sin City, Usagi Yojimbo, and American Splendor, among many others, Schutz has also taught Comics Studies courses in the Portland area for the last 20 years.