iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Damian M @damiandamiani.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

#ChinaComx is going ComFor! Our PI and myself are headed to Gießen for the Annual Conference of the Comics Studies Society to present the most recent draft of our joint paper on what we call the #Maoverse: revolutionary heroes, Mao, and the shared universe of Chinese socialist lianhuanhua.

https://chinacomx.github.io/activities/2026-09-22-comfor26/

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Damian M @damiandamiani.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Tilen and I are travelling to Kraków for this year's EADH conference @eadh2026krakow.bsky.social to talk in detail about the ChinaComx Lianhuanhua Publication Dataset -- tomorrow, Wed 16.09, from 13:30 in al. Mickiewicza 9b at @jagiellonskiuni.bsky.social; see eadh2026.confer.uj.edu.pl/programme.

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Damian M @damiandamiani.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Tomorrow I'm speaking at the "Translating Comics" summer school (Uni Bergamo), invited by Martina Caschera: tinyurl.com/44z2f4t7 🙏 I'll cover academic collaborative translation of lianhuanhua as done at #ChinaComx (chinacomx.github.io/translations/) — we just passed 22 titles, more on that soon! 🤓

https://chinacomx.github.io/activities/2026-08-25-damianbergamo/

https://dllcs.unibg.it/it/studiare/opportunita-internazionali/winter-summer-e-international-schools/summer-school-translating

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Damian M @damiandamiani.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Onward to Venice for #EACS2026! Come to our panel on Thu 23.07 from 2pm with Mark Czellér, @amindarella.bsky.social, Zhang Man, @lanzafab.bsky.social, and Min Chen, where I will share new archival insights into public and internal lianhuanhua criticism. chinacomx.github.io/activities/2...

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Damian M @damiandamiani.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

RIP to the coauthor of, among dozens of other titles, “Comics Art in China,” still the best English-language introduction to all things manhua and lianhuanhua. John Lent was infinitely curious, and also passionate about connecting likeminded scholars. His presence in the field will be missed.

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Damian M @damiandamiani.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

In time for #MayThe4th: CfP for Chinese Star Wars: Vernacular Readings of a Global Multimedia Phenomenon, edited by @beckminster.bsky.social and me! It will cover a gap in Star Wars scholarship by collecting a variety of studies with a focus on China. Read on: chinacomx.github.io/update/CfPCh...

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Damian M @damiandamiani.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

Off to #AAS2026 in Vancouver — come say hi, and join our panel on “BAD” PEOPLE IN THE PRC: CRIMINALS & VILLAINS UNDER MAO! On Sat., 14 March 2026, at 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM in the VCC, Room 21, w/ @puckengman.bsky.social, Haiyan Lee, @amindarella.bsky.social, Wenqing Kang, and @yyvonwang.bsky.social

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Damian M @damiandamiani.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

In July 1981, the CCP turned 60. Coincidentally, the July issue of Lianhuanhua bao run a comic that contextualized three generations of party members and asked what it actually meant to be a Communist. Read it in original and in my new #ChinaComx translation here: chinacomx.github.io/translations...

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Damian M @damiandamiani.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

Why did Chinese scientists in 1975 embark on an expedition to discover mermaids? My new #ChinaComx translation offers answers! It is also a great example of how the Reform Era drive toward mass science popularization was realized on small scale. Read it here: chinacomx.github.io/translations...

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Damian M @damiandamiani.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

Some snapshots from my current quest to find many (and buy some) lianhuanhua and related historical materials in Shanghai for #ChinaComx. Bottom line: flea markets and second hand bookstores are alive and well!

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Damian M @damiandamiani.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

Added another 80 images over the last two days, bringing the total collection to 385 historical photographs of all kinds of reading acts in twentieth-century China: chinareading.wordpress.com

https://chinareading.wordpress.com/2025/10/29/coated-man-reading-the-national-assembly-attendance-board-shanghai-1947-1949/

https://chinareading.wordpress.com/2025/10/30/three-of-boys-reading-magazine-at-outdoor-reading-space-shaanxi-between-1934-1937/

https://chinareading.wordpress.com/2025/10/30/children-reading-comic-books-shanghai-between-1937-1941/

https://chinareading.wordpress.com/2025/10/30/grandfather-with-grandson-biting-into-a-little-red-book-china-1971/

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Damian M @damiandamiani.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

Just added 50 new photos to my visual repository of reading acts in China, chinareading.wordpress.com -- too many great images to repost here, but these are the four that stood out for me. Go visit the website and browse the 300+ historical photographs of people reading in China!

https://chinareading.wordpress.com/2025/10/27/happy-children-at-a-comic-book-reading-stall-chengdu-1959/

https://chinareading.wordpress.com/2025/10/27/reclining-man-reading-book-lanzhou-1959/

https://chinareading.wordpress.com/2025/10/27/four-men-reading-notices-about-death-sentences-and-public-executions-prior-to-posting-them-to-the-wall-luoyang-1984/

https://chinareading.wordpress.com/2025/10/27/readers-engaged-in-reading-of-books-comics-and-magazines-at-a-street-book-stall-wanxian-1986/

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Michael Höckelmann @medievalchina.bsky.social · 15/09/2025

#DOTD: Feng Zikai 豐子愷 (1898–1975), pioneer Chinese cartoonist #漫畫

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Damian M @damiandamiani.bsky.social · 02/09/2025

Traveling to the UK today for the @chinesestudies.bsky.social annual conference #BACS2025. Together with @beckminster.bsky.social, I co-organize a two-parted panel on all things lianhuanhua: P1 “Politics” and P2 “Aesthetics”, back-to-back on Thu 4.9 in Room SBB 1.02 from 13:00-16:15. Join us then!

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Mike Dickison @adzebill.bsky.social · 01/09/2025

Wikipedia editors trying to fend off the onslaught of AI crap have crowdsourced some telltale signs of LLM-generated writing; it might be handy for editors and proofreaders generally. Thanks to @ellenrykers.com for pointing me to it. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikiped...

en.wikipedia.org

Wikipedia:Signs of AI writing - Wikipedia

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Xueting C. Ni 倪雪婷 (she, they) @xuetingni.bsky.social · 31/08/2025

Today, Xueting's Sunday Culture takes a look at the Chinese artist known as 海豹王XX, or Wang XX, whose comics feature a loveable aquatic alter ego and their tiny octopus friend, exploring the trials and tribulations of everyday life in contemporary China (brace yourselves for those bad puns). 1/

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Pádraic Fogarty @whittledaway.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

I saw today the dramatic effects of global heating up close. This is the Bonhus glacier in SW Norway, the photo on the left is from 1890. Like all glaciers in Norway it is shrinking rapidly.

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Damian M @damiandamiani.bsky.social · 25/08/2025

I had the great pleasure of reading and reviewing Daisy Yan Du’s fascinating explorations in the (pre)history of Chinese animation. A wide ranging study covering puppet animation in the 1930s, ink painting attempts of the 1960s, and their various global afterlives in the 1970s, highly recommended!

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Society for Animation Studies (SAS) @sasanistudies.bsky.social · 21/08/2025

In his review of Animated Encounters: Transnational Movements of Chinese Animation by Daisy Yan Du, @damiandamiani.bsky.social examines Du’s claim that Chinese animation was "international before it became national." Read his post at bit.ly/4fBkaM3.

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Damian M @damiandamiani.bsky.social · 20/07/2025

Another exciting week at #ChinaComx! On Tuesday, July 22, we host a workshop with the “Caricature as a Sphere of Communication in the Ottoman Context” project (caricatures.hypotheses.org/499) — and welcome a new visiting scholar, Ivan Gomes, for a keynote on Brazilian caricatures of post-Mao China 🎭

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Damian M @damiandamiani.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

Ahoj from Prague where I am participating in the “Transformations of Cultural Life from Mao to Xi” conference at @charlesuni.cuni.cz. In my paper, I advance the argument that lianhuanhua were both very loud and affective, making it a perfect intermedial medium. ksi.ff.cuni.cz/en/research/...

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Damian M @damiandamiani.bsky.social · 16/06/2025

Celebrations and marches welcoming the Chinese delegation to Dresden in June 1951, notice the crowds holding Mao portraits next to Wilhelm Pieck (GDR president); a still heavily destroyed Theaterplatz visible in the background. Photos by Erich Höhne und Erich Pohl, via Deutsche Fotothek.

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Noelle Cook @noellecook.com · 11/06/2025

This is a map of Los Angeles. The arrow points to a red dot. That red dot (roughly) represents the protest area seen on TV. To me, the gross mischaracterization of what’s happening in Los Angeles looks like an excuse to deploy the military—to protect government assets like ICE.

A map of Los Angeles is posted to illustrate just how large the city is. Near the area labeled “downtown” on the map, is a tiny red dot. That represents the area where protests are happening and that are being shown on TV. The dot is so small it would not be seen if I had not drawn an arrow towards it.

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Damian M @damiandamiani.bsky.social · 08/06/2025

Mao Zedong in 1956: "Er [i.e., Mao] fragt nach der Sozialdemokratischen Partei (SPD) und bemerkt, dass man sie unterstützen müsse, er hielte ihren Sieg für richtig." (im Gespräch mit G. Weisenborn) hasp.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/journals/cha...

hasp.ub.uni-heidelberg.de

Mao wünschte Wahlsieg der SPD und freie Einreisemöglichkeit für westdeutsche Intellektuelle: Gespräch mit dem westdeutschen Schriftsteller Günther Weisenborn (11. November 1956) | China aktu...

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Isabella M. Weber @isabellamweber.bsky.social · 27/05/2025

Polanyi on the rise of fascism: "the victory of fascism was made practically unavoidable by the liberals' obstruction of any reform involving planning, regulation, or control."

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Damian M @damiandamiani.bsky.social · 26/05/2025

Many thanks again to Laura de Giorgi and Dayton Lekner for organizing and including me in their workshop! I’ve learned a lot about the sound(s), noise(s) & silence(s) of history and how to extract them, and the venue was—most probably—among the most stunning conference location I’ll ever witness.

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Star Wars Holocron @swholocron.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK was released on this day 45 years ago

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Damian M @damiandamiani.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

On my way to Venice for the “Sonic Histories of East Asia: Thinking History Through Sound” conference at Ca’ Foscari — I will humbly join a splendid line up of speakers to present on the various sounds of collective reading activities in the PRC. Come say hello if you’re around!

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Javier Altayó @altayo.eurosky.social · 29/04/2025

La envidia que me ha provocado saber del taller de #連環畫 lianhuanhua que el doctor @damiandamiani.bsky.social del Centro de Estudios Asiáticos y Transculturales de la Universidad de Heidelberg llevó a cabo la semana pasada me ha hecho bajar al trastero de casa de mis padres a rescatar este tesoro.

Un cuadernillo ilustrado lianlianhua con la historia de Liang Shanbo y Zhu Yingtai, conocidos como los amantes mariposa. La ilustración en color de la cubierta, en formato apaisado (10 cm × 13 cm) muestra a los protagonistas en pose afectuosa rodeados de flores y con un arcoíris al fondo.

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Damian M @damiandamiani.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

The first #ChinaComx workshop last week was a great success! Engaged discussions, provocative questions, fun talks, and overall a greatly inspiring two-and-half days of engaging with lianhuanhua and other Chinese comics. Thanks to all participants for taking their time!

Full room at Barbara Mittler’s opening keynote!

Stephan Packard delivered the second keynote

We ended the workshop with a hands-on session to browse the CATS Seifert Chinese Comics Collection

ChinaComx PhD candidates Jiu Song and Aijia Zhang in conversation with Stephan Packard

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Damian M @damiandamiani.bsky.social · 15/04/2025

In just over a week, we invite all scholars and students of Chinese comics to Heidelberg for our first #ChinaComx workshop! Revolving around the theme "Lianhuanhua as Method", expect lively discussions and fascinating case studies. For the program and details, go to: tinyurl.com/LianhuanhuaA... 🌟

Poster for the conference "Lianhuanhua as Method" Heidelberg Univeristy 24-26 April 2025

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Damian M @damiandamiani.bsky.social · 11/04/2025

New! 💥 We just added a first version of THE CHINACOMX LIANHUANHUA BIBLIOGRAPHY! 📚 Collecting over 250 items in Chinese, English, Japanese and more, it is an invitation to explore Chinese comics' scholarship. Your comprehensive guide to all things #lianhuanhua is here: chinacomx.github.io/resources/

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Damian M @damiandamiani.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

Our research project #ChinaComx had the opportunity to once again spend a few fruitful days browsing the largely untapped lianhuanhua collection at the Berlin State Library. New gems discovered, including a multi-volume series of weiqi (go) manuals in comics form. Thanks @stabiberlin.bsky.social!

The ChinaComx team and Stabi Berlin China Librarian, Duncan Peterson, browsing Chinese comics.

Inside spread of a 1950s comic journal, Lianhuanhua bao.

Late-1980s manuals for playing and strategy enhancement of go, in comics form!

Brutalist interior courtyard design at the library.

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Damian M @damiandamiani.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

Small two-sided cartoon from a comics pictorial from 1952 China during the Three Anti, Five Anti campaign to combat corruption and wasteful bureaucracy: “Before the cadre gets trapped: Enticement / After the cadre gets trapped: Threat” — turn your phone upside down!

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Damian M @damiandamiani.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

Lianhuanhua interpretations of four Chinese emperors by Lu Yanguang 卢延光 from the November 1987 issue of China Picture-story (中国连环画): Gouojian of Yue (520?-465 BCE), Guangwu of Han (5 BCE-57 CE), Cao Cao (155-220 CE) the so-called Emperor Wu of Wei, and Wu Zetian of Zhou (690-705 CE).

Cao Cao (155-220 CE) the so-called Emperor Wu of Wei

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Damian M @damiandamiani.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

The Gang of Four, quite literally bringing capitalism back from the dead to reign supreme over China once again. Caricature titled "Ganging up for restoration" 结帮为了复辟 by Ge Qinglun and Sun Xiaofei, ca. 1977.

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Damian M @damiandamiani.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

Don’t judge a book by its cover, they say. Insanely beautifully designed book covers, they do.

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Damian M @damiandamiani.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

Short thread on the very first official Chinese Star Wars comic ⤵️ #ChineseStarWars #StarWars #lianhuanhua

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Damian M @damiandamiani.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

In 1981, the Chinese science-fiction monthly 奥秘 (Aomi) featured Russ Manning’s first run of Star Wars comic strips. Collected and re-arranged to fit a fullpage format, the comics remained virtually identical to their American original—if not for one key difference. Let’s look at one exemplary strip.

Two first pages from a 1981 Chinese version of Russ Manning's Star Wars comic strip from 1979.

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Isabella M. Weber @isabellamweber.bsky.social · 02/03/2025

For the first time since WWII, an extreme right party came 2nd in German national elections. Their rise was fueled by austerity and free market economics. To defeat the far right, we must adopt an anti-fascist economic policy that provides an alternative to the status quo.

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a-yin @sugaryin.eurosky.social · 21/02/2025

C’est le premier livre sur le sujet!

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Yilin (she/they) @ check out The Lantern and the Night Moths @yilinwriter.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

Look at this new work of art I made yesterday. 😂 One thing that often happens is people get very confused about what is wuxia, xianxia, and xuanhuan due to lack of understanding about the terms. So I made this venn diagram to help. 😂

A venn diagram with info about what is wuxia, xuanhuan, and xianxia

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Dr. Or M. Bialik |📚|🔬|🌊|⚒️ @obialik.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

So you know that asteroid Bennu? The one that might hit Earth in 2182 CE. Someone went ahead at simulated what that's going to do to climate and ecology. Want to guess what the outcomes were? (hint: it will help lower surface temperatures) 🧪⚒️ www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Simulated changes in terrestrial and marine net primary productivity (NPP) after a Bennu-type impact under four dust scenarios.
Time series of global percentage changes in (A) land NPP, (B) marine NPP, and (C) zooplankton biomass relative to the control run over 48 months. Dust injections of 100, 200, 300, and 400 Tg in January are shown as dotted, dash-dotted, dashed, and solid lines, respectively. The light black dashed lines represent zero values. Spatial patterns of (D) land NPP anomalies averaged from 1 to 19 months and (E) marine NPP anomalies averaged from 1 to 5 months after the impact in the 400 Tg of dust simulation.

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Roland Meyer @bildoperationen.bsky.social · 02/02/2025

«With rapidity that has stunned even longtime political observers, forces loyal to Musk’s junta have established him as the all-but undisputed unelected head of government in just a matter of days, unwinding the longtime democracy’s constitutional system ...» www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/musk-s-jun...

doomsdayscenario.co

Musk's Junta Establishes Him as Head of Government

Imagining how we'd cover overseas what's happening to the U.S. right now

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