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Live/Work: Portland, Oregon as a Place for Comics Creation
- Author(s):
- Shaun Huston (see profile)
- Date:
- 2014
- Group(s):
- Comics Scholarship/Comics Studies, Cultural Studies, Place Studies
- Subject(s):
- Comic books, strips, etc., Cultural geography, Economics
- Item Type:
- Book chapter
- Tag(s):
- comics creators, comics publishers, documentary films, portland, Artistic practice, Comics
- Permanent URL:
- http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/M6GJ34
- Abstract:
- In the documentary, Comic Book City, Portland, Oregon USA, I construct a representation of the city as a place for comics creation. In this paper, I distill key insights from my interviews with writers, artists, and publishers regarding the decision to live and work in Portland. My documentary research suggests that creators are attracted by certain structural and infrastructural characteristics, including relatively affordable rents and housing and the presence of established publishers, such as Dark Horse and Oni Press, but also that the ongoing movement of writers and artists to the city has contributed to a growing sense of Portland as “the place to be” if you want to make comics. These qualities of place include a sense of community that crosses levels of professionalism and industry participation, acceptance of comics as a “legitimate” art by those outside of that community, including in local government, and a broad commitment from city residents in support of small scale and local creative endeavors. Some individuals express a deep and broad connection between where they are and the work they do, while others see Portland more as a comfortable or attractive setting in which to work and less as a source for their creativity.
- Metadata:
- xml
- Published as:
- Book chapter
- Status:
- Published
- Last Updated:
- 6 years ago
- License:
- Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
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