Comics College four-part lecture series launches at Eugene Public Library

Dr. Andréa Gilroy will present Comics College, a free, four-part illustrated lecture series at the Eugene Public Library downtown, with monthly sessions on Saturdays at 3 p.m. The program begins Feb. 28 and runs through May 23, offering community members regular in-person humanities programming at the library.

The series schedule lists specific topics and dates: Feb. 28 - "What Makes Comics Great"; March 28 - "BC Stands for Before Comics: From Cave Paintings to Modern Comics"; April 25 - "PANIC! at the Bookstore: A History of Comics Censorship"; and May 23 - "Comics Around the World." Organizers describe the talks as illustrated and occurring once a month across four months, with free admission for attendees.

Gilroy is identified as a local comics scholar and owner of Books With Pictures Eugene, located on the second floor of the 5th Street Public Market. KLCC notes the shop opened in 2020 "just 10 days before the pandemic shutdown" and was intended as an event-driven business; in-person programming was delayed by the pandemic until community gatherings began returning last year.

Gilroy framed the series as part of that return to in-person connection, saying, "In the last year or so, people have been more willing and more interested in coming out and making connections, particularly local connections and community connections that are ways to make friends, but also, I think, just ways to get in touch with the people around you." She also placed current debates over politics in comics in a longer history, telling KLCC, "It is both frustrating but also sort of comforting to know that the times aren't unprecedented. They're hard and they're complicated, but they're not unprecedented. People say, 'I don't want politics in my comics,' and they said that in 1942. They've been saying that for a long time."

Promotional material from Books With Pictures Eugene noted "Starting Feb. 28: Comics College at the Downtown Library!" and described the sessions as free illustrated talks by Gilroy. KLCC characterized the program as "locally produced and community-facing." The announcement was covered by KLCC on Feb. 17.

The downtown Eugene Public Library will host the illustrated lectures at 3 p.m. on the listed Saturdays; the announcement provides time, date and topic details but does not specify an indoor room name or whether pre-registration is required. Attendees seeking those specifics should contact the Eugene Public Library for room location and any attendance rules before the Feb. 28 opening event.