Dr. Stanford W. Carpenter

Dr. Stanford W. Carpenter is the academic liaison for Comicpalooza and founder of Comicpalooza University (CPU). He is a cultural anthropologist, sometime comic creator, and former archaeologist. Whether it’s through the lens of Ancient Worlds, Afrofuturism, or the EthnoGothic, he conducts archival and ethnographic research among comic creators with an archeological sensibility that teases out the relationships between people, places, time, and things. Dr. Carpenter recently received the Billy Ireland Museum Lucy Shelton Caswell Award which he will use to research contemporary notions of afrofuturism, the ethnogothic/conjure culture, colonial counter narratives, and heroism as they relate to Black Press comic strips; Black comic creators; and Black creative communities from the Civil Rights and Pre Civil Rights Eras. This project builds on a forthcoming book on Black comics, creators, and characters for Fantagraphics as well as a podcast, created with the support of the Houston Museum of African American Culture, exploring the life and work of Ezra Clyde Jackson, a Black cartoonist who inspired his daughter Texas congresswoman Shiela Jackson Lee’s efforts to gain reparations. Dr. Carpenter sits on the advisory board of Abrams ComicArts Megascope imprint and is a co-founder and former chairman of the Black & Brown Comix Arts Festival (BCAF).