Making Comics Medieval: Comics Reading and Mini Discussion

Saturday, 5/2/26
3:15 - 4:15
Comics Reading + Mini Discussion • McGinty Room

Join Eli Estrella Pérez and Audrey Avril for debut comic readings from their Newberry Medieval Minicomic Prize works, followed by a conversation with the winners, Medieval scholar, Chris Fletcher, and cartoonist, Marnie Galloway. Join us for a lively discussion expanding on how comics create opportunities for contemporary audiences to understand the art, ideas, and culture of the Middle Ages. Discover how working collaboratively across disciplines enriches and enlivens the world we live in as scholarship and cartooning collide!

Eli Estrella Pérez (she/they) is a Cuban-American illustrator. She received the 2024 Cupcake Award for her self-published roller derby memoir, Go Chica Go. Eli is also a 2025 Comics Advocacy Group grant recipient, and is currently pitching her debut graphic novel that nabbed first place at the Kids Comics Unite 2023 Pitchfest. Follow Eli: newsletter

Audrey Avril (she/her) is an artist from Winnetka, Illinois. She finds inspiration in the far-flung corners of history and nature, often traversing the borders between creepy and cute, serious and silly, magical and mundane. She works across traditional and digital mediums, though she has a soft spot for watercolor and her trusty Hunt 102 Nib pen. Follow Audrey: @aavrilart on Instagram and Bluesky, audreyavril.com

Marnie Galloway (pronouns if shared) is an Eisner nominated cartoonist who makes poetic comics about identity, motherhood, love, and rage. She is best known for her Xeric Award winning wordless graphic novel, In the Sounds and Seas, as well as the comics Burrow, Particle/Wave, Really In It and Abortion Pill Zine. Marnie lives in Chicago and teaches comics at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Follow Marnie: @marniegalloway_comics on Instagram, @marniegalloway on Bluesky, marnie-galloway.com

Christopher Fletcher (he/him) is the Assistant Director of the Center for Renaissance Studies at the Newberry Library. His new book, Public Engagement in the European Middle Ages: Medieval Solutions for a Modern Crisis, uses the Middle Ages to teach scholars how to engage audiences better. In 2025, he helped Kristen Haas Curtis bring comics to the Newberry with Cartooning the Medieval, a transdisciplinary symposium. Follow the Newberry @newberrylibrary on Instagram, Twitter, and Bluesky and see more of Chris on CRS’s YouTube channel.