This is the official news and information site for the documentary, Comic Book City, Portland, Oregon USA. The film is an exploration of the connections between people and place, and, particularly of the qualities that make Portland a vital center for comics writers and artists. The film is edited with attention to the distinct, but overlapping, spatialities of comics and film. I play with the different units of meaning and communication in each medium, from shots and scenes to panels and pages.
Who I am:
I am Shaun Huston, professor in the department of geography and program in film studies at Western Oregon University (Monmouth, Oregon, USA). I am the producer, director, and editor of the film. This project is my first long form documentary. Among my previous works are "5 Cups of Coffee," a dramatic short that screened at the 2007 Mid-Valley Video Festival, and presentations on film and geographic research. I was previously a film and television staff writer for PopMatters, and wrote a monthly comics column there as well, Worlds in Panels.
You can review my scholarly and creative work via my faculty website. You can view "5 Cups of Coffee" and other film and video works on Vimeo. You can see a partial archive of my contributions to PopMatters at PM. I blogged generally, if sporadically, about my film and video work on Vox. (Vox was shuttered in September 2010). For my current reflections on filmmaking and other academic work, browse my Wordpress blog, A Weird Fish.
For more information on Portland's comics scene, check out the links in the left sidebar under "Portland Comics."
This project is supported by Major Research/Creative Projects grants from Western Oregon University.
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