Picture + Panel: Seeing Japan

This month, Picture + Panel explores Japan through an outsider's eyes with Abby Denson and Matthew Loux. Join us for a conversation about travel, fandom, and curiosity. Omega Au, Convention Chair of Anime Boston 2026, will moderate. All BCAF events are free to attend. If you wish to pay it forward, a $5 suggested donation helps sustain BCAF's comics advocacy and educational programming in the Greater Boston area. Picture + Panel is a monthly conversation series that brings fantastic graphic novel creators to the Greater Boston area. Discover terrific authors and fascinating stories that combine text and art through conversational confabulation. Produced in partnership by the Boston Comic Arts Foundation, Porter Square Books, and the Boston Figurative Arts Center, Picture + Panel provides thought-provoking discussions for adults about this unique form of expression. Book sales are provided at the event by Porter Square Books. Abby Denson is the author of Uniquely Japan; the Kitty Sweet Tooth books, illustrated by Utomaru; Cool Tokyo Guide; Cool Japan Guide; Dolltopia; and Tough Love. She has written for comics series such as The PowerpuffGirls, The Simpsons, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and The Amazing Spider-Man Family. Her work has garnered the International Manga Award, Moonbeam Children's Book Award, and the IPPY Award. Abby has taught and lectured at various venues, including the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art, The New School, and Sophia University in Tokyo. Abby goes to Japan whenever she gets the chance. Matthew Loux is author and artist of the graphic novels The Time Museum Vol. 1, published by First Second Books, Sidescrollers, and the five volume series Salt Water Taffy originally published by Oni Press. Matthew has also illustrated the graphic novels F-Stop and Good Night Gabbaland and has contributed cover artwork for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Matthew resides in New York.