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Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Ralph Steadman exhibit coming to American University

Ralph Steadman: A Retrospective Coming June 16 – August 12, 2018

https://www.american.edu/cas/museum/upcoming.cfm

A Retrospective: Ralph Steadman

Originally curated by Anita O'Brien at the Cartoon Museum, London, the Ralph Steadman Retrospective offers phenomenal insights into the genius of one of the world's most acclaimed artists. This exhibition takes the viewer on a journey through Steadman's prolific career of more than sixty years, from the sketches he created as a student in the 1950's to present day pictures.

The retrospective showcases Steadman's legendary collaborations with maverick Gonzo journalist, Hunter S. Thompson; his illustrated literary classics such as Alice in Wonderland, Treasure Island; and the inventive books he authored such as I Leonardo and The Big I Am. There are also illustrations from his children's books, which include No Room to Swing a Cat and That's My Dad, plus artworks from his travels with Oddbins Wine Merchants and his iconic packaging for Flying Dog Brewery.

The exhibition will amaze and inspire both the uninitiated and his most die-hard fans.

As Thompson advised in the Steadman illustrated Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, "buy a ticket, take the ride."

Learn more at http://www.ralphsteadman.com/

This exhibition will be on view June 16 through August 12, Tuesday - Sunday, 11 am - 4 pm at the American University Museum. Stay tuned for information about special events.

The Post on Black Panther premiere fashion

We all need to calm down about 'Black Panther.' But first, let's analyze the red carpet fashion [in print as 'Black Panther' actors slink onto purple carpet with regal style].


Washington Post January 31 2018, p. C1, 10
online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2018/01/30/we-all-need-to-calm-down-about-black-panther-but-first-lets-analyze-the-red-carpet-fashion/

March book exhibit at Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco

March: An Evening with Nate Powell



  • Friday, February 9 at 7 PM - 9 PM PST


  • Cartoon Art Museum
    781 Beach Street, San Francisco, California 94109

  • t
    Find Tickets

    Fantom Comics on Kojo Nnamdi today at 12:30

    Jan 31 2018 12:32 p.m. (ET)

    Book Clubs Are Cool Again

    https://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2018-01-31/book-clubs-are-cool-again

    A book club gathering at Fantom Comics.

    A book club gathering at Fantom Comics.

    Data released by Amazon.com and the National Endowment For The Arts suggest that Washingtonians love to read. Libraries, bookstores and civic organizations have taken note of this and book clubs with niche themes have grown locally, attracting readers with a wide variety of interests. There are reading groups that discuss everything from Superman and spirituality to queer identity. Kojo discusses the landscape of communal reading options and what reading together offers local book lovers.

    Guests

    • Jake Shapiro Manager, Fantom Comics
    • Andrea Lewis Program Officer, One Maryland One Book
    • Michael Redmond Assistant Principal, Truesdell Education Campus

    Tuesday, January 30, 2018

    Today: Ursula Vernon at Hooray for Books (on January 30)





    Humor & Heroics: Ursula Vernon, Matthew Swanson, and Robbi Behr
    Tuesday, January 30: 6:30pm
    We welcome award-winning author and illustrator, Ursula Vernon, as she presents her newest Hamster Princess book, Whiskerella. Joining Ursula, who also is noted for her Dragonbreath series and Castle Hangnail novel, are author Matthew Swanson and illustrator Robbi Behr, who return with their novel The Real McCoys. We love these books because they've got humor, heroics, and heart. There might even be a friendly draw-off! Costumes are most definitely encouraged!

    Recommended for children ages 8 and up.

    Hooray For Books! Independent Bookstore | 1555 King Street, Suite 101, Alexandria, VA 22314
    Unable to make it to this event? You still can get signed and personalized copies of the books! Give us a call at 703-548-4092 or email order@hooray4books.com by Thurs., Jan. 25.

    PR: Big Planet Comics Bethesda Hardcover SALE! LAST CHANCE!


    From: Big Planet Comics
    We're in the home stretch! Only four days left to purchase our remaining hardcover graphic novels at HALF-PRICE. Still plenty of wonderful books to choose from. Wednesday, Jan. 31, will be the final day of the sale. Stop by and check out our selection.


    Our address is:




    PR: Meet Avengers No Surrender Writer Jim Zub Tomorrow at Third Eye Annapolis













     
    at THIRD EYE ANNAPOLIS
    Click here for the event info on FACEBOOK
    Signing from 11am-1pm

    Line for signing begins at our brand new back entrance! Park in our back lot & line up out back! :)
    Heya Third Eye Faithful!

    We've got so many great signings in 2018 for you, and we're really pumped to start things off with one of our personal favorites in the game: JIM ZUB! 
    Jim's been a part of Third Eye for a few years now, as one of our favorite guests, and a long-time friend of the store, and to see him literally at the center of the BIGGEST thing Marvel has going right now with AVENGERS: NO SURRENDER - it's pretty freakin' awesome!
    When we saw we had the chance to bring Jim to Third Eye to sign the entire NO SURRENDER story arc that's going to be running through AVENGERS this January, and effectively, setting the stage for an entirely new and exciting era for Earth's Mightiest Heroes - we just about broke our necks to jump at the chance!
    Whether you've met Jim before at our signings for WAYWARD and SKULLKICKERS, or it's your first time - we highly recommend you come out and see one of the fastest rising stars in comics today!

    What's the scoop on AVENGERS NO SURRENDER?

    It's the end of an Avengers Era as we know it! And in the team's final days, a change has come to the Marvel Universe in the form of a story that's filled with so much action and so much drama, Marvel had no choice but to make it a weekly epic!
    Beginning this January, Marvel will unleash the epic AVENGERS: NO SURRENDER with AVENGERS #675, a weekly saga that unites the casts and creative teams of three titles into an epic tale of heroic action, jaw-dropping cliffhangers, and drastic adventures! The AVENGERS, UNCANNY AVENGERS and U.S. AVENGERS come together in a powerhouse event unleashed in a story as spectacular and epic as the Marvel Universe itself.
    From Falcon to Black Panther to the mysterious Voyager, NO SURRENDER will see an appearance from every current Avenger - those we know and love and those we've never heard of. But what happens when the Lethal Legion and Black Order battle their way across the Earth? Most importantly, how will this new incarnation of Earth's Mightiest Heroes come together to fight one of the biggest threats the world has ever seen? This is just the beginning, but there's so much more to come.
    And best of all, we'll have all the issues out so far (675 - 677) of the series in stock and available for when Jim comes in the shop to sign on 1/28.

    OTHER PROJECTS BY JIM ZUB

    1smallskullkickersJim Zub first caught our attention with his hilarious gamer-centric series,SKULLKICKERS, and folks, if you game, this is a book you have to have in your library.
    Haven't read SKULLKICKERS? This series is an incredible piece of work; a must for both comics fans and gamers, as it blends the kind of bloody humor you'd see in ARMY OF DARKNESS or EVIL DEAD with the fantasy genre settings of A GAME OF THRONES, THE HOBBIT or WORLD OF WARCRAFT.
    Ever wanted a Dungeons & Dragons-style comic that kicked ass on all fronts? Story, art, and more? SKULLKICKERS is that book.
    Picture the best of buddie comedies like THE HANGOVER  and cross it with the world of DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS, and that sums up SKULLKICKERS perfectly.
    We've got the trade paperbacks in stock now, and you can give it a shot with volume 1 for only $9.99! The rest of the series is also available in trade paperback, and we'll have plenty in stock to get you up to speed for the signing!
    Jim Zub first caught our attention with his hilarious gamer-centric series,SKULLKICKERS, and folks, if you game, this is a book you have to have in your library.
    Haven't read SKULLKICKERS? This series is an incredible piece of work; a must for both comics fans and gamers, as it blends the kind of bloody humor you'd see in ARMY OF DARKNESS or EVIL DEAD with the fantasy genre settings of A GAME OF THRONES, THE HOBBIT or WORLD OF WARCRAFT.
    Ever wanted a Dungeons & Dragons-style comic that kicked ass on all fronts? Story, art, and more? SKULLKICKERS is that book.
    Picture the best of buddie comedies like THE HANGOVER  and cross it with the world of DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS, and that sums up SKULLKICKERS perfectly.
    We've got the trade paperbacks in stock now, and you can give it a shot with volume 1 for only $9.99! The rest of the series is also available in trade paperback, and we'll have plenty in stock to get you up to speed for the signing!
    This incredible new ongoing series that will appeal to fans of comics like SAGA, television like Joss Whedon's BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, and more, is a must-read take on the modern fantasy genre.
    It's like Buffy the Vampire Slayer.. for a new generation.
    Rori Lane is trying to start a new life when she reunites with her mother in Japan, but ancient creatures lurking in the shadows of Tokyo sense something hidden deep within her, threatening everything she holds dear.
    Can Rori unlock the secrets of her power before it's too late? Jim Zub (Skullkickers, Samurai Jack, Pathfinder, Figment), Steve Cummings, and John Rauch team up to create an all-new, ongoing Image supernatural spectacle that combines the camaraderie and emotion of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER with the action, mystery, and occult awesomeness of HELLBOY.
    For the last few years, Zub has also been taking the incredible worlds of Paizo's fantastic PATHFINDER gaming system and bringing them to life in comic book format with his PATHFINDER comic series.
    We'll have all of Zub's PATHFINDER graphic novels on hand for you to scoop and get signed at the event, including the very first volume, DARK WATERS RISING, which tells the tale of the warrior Valeros and his band of adventurers.
    Goblins, monsters, treasure - these comics have everything you love about PATHFINDER and then some!
     

    Be One Of The First 25 In Line & Get A FREE Gift Limited to This Event!

    We know you guys and gals love lining up early, and having fun waiting to meet your favorite creators, and we like encouraging the totally fun and totally rad community vibe it brings.

    We're so stoked to have Jim back at the shop this week, Third Eye Faithful, and we know he's personally super amped to meet and see all of you! Come on out, line up early, and have fun with us this weekend!


    Click here for the event info on FACEBOOK!

    Third Eye Comics, 2027A WEST ST., Annapolis, MD 21401






    Endangered Kingdom exhibit at Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery


    Tonight is the opening night for my exhibit, Endangered Kingdom, at the Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery, in Washington, DC. Over the course of a year I focused on drawing the face of one endangered animal species a week, and now folks can come and see them in person, at this wonderful art space. The opening reception runs from 7-9pm, and wine will be served. the show will run through May 3rd, 2018. Hope you can make it out! 
                                                                                                                -Steve

    Thursday, January 25, 2018

    Ann Telnaes Q&A at Politics and Prose


    IMG_20180124_190746_672After she read Trump's ABC, her new book of caricatures about the administration, Ann Telnaes took questions from the audience for about thirty minutes. With her permission, I've transcribed them.

    I’ll tell you a little about his book came about. I did not plan to do an ABC book. I had done a lot of sketches in 2016, especially during the primaries and debates, and I originally tried to get a book published of those sketches. My book agent went around, still during the primaries when most people thought Hillary was going to win the presidency (myself included), and couldn’t get any interest. People were already tired of it, and thought Hillary was going to win, so the feedback from publishers was, “We’d like to see a Hillary book.” I thought, “Ok, I can try that – this will be interesting - first female president” – but for some reason, I had this nagging feeling and I just couldn’t come up with something. Of course then the election happened and most of us were surprised, and I thought everybody would be interested in a Trump book. But you’d be amazed at how many publishers didn’t want to do a Trump book – at least an editorial cartooning book.

    I put it aside and I happened to take a road trip down to Savannah during the holidays. I had a nine hour drive down and a nine hour drive back. I was driving, because my dog doesn’t, and I didn’t have my hands free to do any sketches. I was thinking about a suggestion a friend had given me, which was to do a political ABC book. Since my hands weren’t free, I put my phone on, and started to recite, “A is for blah, B is for blah...” and I kept doing that all the way down to Savannah and all the way back up. By the time I got back to D.C. I had a book.

    Which was amazing, because the hardest thing for me is to let go and let that new thing happen. When you get something in your head – I had a different type of book in my head – but once I let go of it, and I went with what I was thinking, it just came. That was a surprise, a nice surprise. I took a few hours and did some sketching. By chance I was giving a talk at the Center for Cartoon Studies in Vermont, and I was talking to James Sturm the co-founder of the college. He looked at my sketches and said, “I’ll put you in touch with Fantagraphics.” I had an email exchange with publisher Gary Groth and it was great. He said, “Yeah, let’s do it” and that’s how the book came to be.

    The rhymes were done by the beginning of 2017, and the artwork was finished by May, and I was a little concerned that it wouldn’t hold up. There are some things that obviously aren’t in here, but I’m pretty pleased with it. I’m happy I did it.


    Q: How has your image of Trump changed as he’s gone from being the joke candidate to being the actual president? How has your portrayal changed? I know the tie has gotten longer.
    IMG_20180124_191508_027
    Yes, the tie is wonderful. The tie is the prop that keeps on giving. I’m still playing with that tie.
    You know, I didn’t really think of him too much as a joke in the beginning. I had done a couple of Trump cartoons before when he ran earlier that were more joke-like, but when he announced this time, I actually did a cartoon where he was saying, “Me, me, me” all the time, because his run for president was all about him. I think in terms of how he looks physically – to me caricatures are more about who the person is. The more that I listen to him, and the more that I realize that this is all about him, that has developed my caricature.

    A difference in the last couple of years is that I’ve gone back to doing colors by hand instead of on the computer. Watercolor is a wonderful medium for accidents. I don’t even know how to use watercolor, but it doesn’t matter.

    Q: On your road trip where you composed the book, did you have any ideas that were too angry or obscene to include, and if so, will you share them now?

    Probably, but I don’t remember them. Actually, it’s amazing. Except for a couple of letters, I pretty much kept to it. The only one I remember going back and forth on was the “K is for Killing without a new plan,” about Obamacare. At that time, they were just in the middle of trying to kill it and I wasn’t sure if I should say they killed it, or didn’t, so I decided that they’d try to kill it, but they still haven’t killed it yet.

    Q: Would you consider doing sequels for other years if he lasts that long? Every day there’s some new crazy story…

    Oh god. You’re right. The only thing I find wanting in this book is that there’s other things I want to address. Maybe I can do a counting book.

    Obviously I had to make a decision what I was going to do for each letter, and there were certain things I wanted to make sure I got in there, like the separation of powers, and I had to include something about his appearance and his hair, even though that’s kind of silly. People would notice if that wasn’t in there. I wanted to hit specific things. Using “pussy” was deliberate on my part – this is something new. I work for the Washington Post, and I had to ask if I could use that word. I can tell you that they wouldn’t have allowed me to use it in any other situation, but once the President says it, I’m allowed to use it. And now I use it.

    Yes, now for another book I could use “shithole countries.”

    Q: Since Trump is famously thin-skinned, do you know to what extent he has objected to your cartoons?

    Let’s broaden that and say, “Has he reacted to any editorial cartoonists?” Not that I know.  I honestly think it’s because the man doesn’t read. He gets his information from television. We’re not on television and I think that’s the reason he has noticed us. There’s been plenty of work out there that has been hard-hitting against him.

    Q: Did Fantagraphics come up with the board book format, or was that something you came into the deal with?

    No, actually that was something they had to sell me on. I draw very large, and I tend to want my work printed large. At first I thought it would be a bigger book, but I had a really great designer, Jacob Covey, and he and Gary Groth were both telling me that we needed to do this as a board book. I said, “I don’t know, that’s kind of small,” but when I saw it and held it my hand, I thought, “Yeah, this will work!” I’m really pleased that they convinced me to do it this way because I think it’s perfect.

    I draw large. The reason I draw large is because I have an art background. We were encouraged in art school during life drawing classes to draw from the shoulder and not from the wrist. So I’m always doing this [as she makes a big sweeping motion with her arm]. I always feel I draw better larger. It takes more time, but I feel I get a better end product.

    Q: The rhyming flows well – was that hard to do?

    I’m not a writer. Maybe because I was in the car… I had a lot of time. I said a lot of things over and over, but I’m not a writer. I think because I was raised on Dr. Seuss books that might have helped me a little bit. It’s not perfect, but it worked.

    Q: As a journalist, how do you process all the ongoing controversies? Do you ever tune it out?

    I have to be honest with you – ever since Trump became President, I just feel the need to draw. I’ve been drawing editorial cartoons for 25 years, and even though I did a lot of cartoons criticizing the Bush administration, and I didn’t agree with their policies, this is a completely different situation for me. It’s a dangerous time. I wake up every morning just wanting to draw. I have to decide what to draw and that is one thing that I’ve made a conscious effort about. There’s a lot of silliness, and with social media, that tends to spiral out of control sometimes, so I try to make sure I’m criticizing actions and policy decisions and not just stupid things he says. Things that have consequences are what I try to do; I don’t know if I’m always successful at that. Personally, I’m having trouble sleeping lately because I’m thinking about it. That is one thing I do. I don’t watch the evening news after the PBS Newshour. I stop, because then my mind is racing for the rest of the evening. But that’s the only personal struggle that I have.

    Q: I’ll put you on the spot - where do you see this all ending up?

    I think it’s going to go on for a while. I really do. There was a short time right after he became president where I thought “Maybe this is going to be over quickly.” The problem is, and this is what I do my most critical cartoons on, the Republican leadership is the enablers. They are the reason we are still at this point. They have decided that they are going to keep this man in office as long as he is useful to them. And unfortunately, I think that the way Trump operates, and what he responds to, and what he wants out of this… it’s going to be a back-and-forth situation. We’re just going to have to roll along with it. Unfortunately, I think it’s going to take a while.

    Q: For a cartoonist, it must be very tempting to hop on the hot-button stuff, the craziness and the complete nuttiness and not the more complicated stuff about the state of the Environmental Protection Agency and political contributions. How do you find a way to make the more complex issues visual?

    I take a lot of notes. It’s really a question of what am I going to address today. And make sure I keep the ones that I may go back to later. It is more difficult to do an editorial cartoon about a complicated thing. The EPA is a great example – they’re gutting it. They are gutting it. And people don’t realize the extent of it until they turn their faucets on and they have dirty water. I try to address those things, but when TV is talking about the recent silliness, then that’s what people are paying attention to.

    Q: Are there other members of the administration that are iconically recognizable that you can build a cartoon around?

    Oh, I love drawing Pence. Pence is one of those examples where I think my cartoon doesn’t really look like him, but it is him. I’ve done Sarah Huckabee – she’s interesting. There’s a lot of good characters in this administration. I drew them in G – grabbing pusy. The KKK guy [in the background] was the last thing I put in the book, because it was right as Charlottesville was happening. The [G-H] spread kept getting more and more people in it and I was so thankful when Scaramucci dropped out. I was like, “Where am I going to put him?” and I just didn’t have to. I stuck Comey in here, because it was the time when he got fired, and everyone said he’s a hero, but they failed to remember that he’s the one that decided to announce that he was reopening an investigation into Hillary. So that’s why I stuck half of him in there.
    IMG_20180124_190545_189Q: I wanted to thank you for ending the book on a positive note.

    It wasn’t intentional [laughing]. I showed it to a close friend when I first got it, and she said, “You ended it on a positive note. That’s not you.” Z is hard. Zebra or Zen?

    Q: Do you now see Trump as wrong, or as evil? If the latter, will that affect your drawing? You draw him as funny-stupid person versus an evil person.

    I draw the Republican leadership as evil. I think he’s an opportunist deep down. I think he’s got a lot of faults and he’s an opportunist in the worst sense. He’ll say anything to get what he wants, and he’s got a lot of people around him that are enabling him to do that. And let’s face it – he’s a 71-year-old man. That’s him.

    Q: To what extent do you get requests from the editorial board of The Post, or readers, or is it just what you want to do? Do they ever make requests?

    No. I come up with the idea and run it by them. They’ve always let me decide what I want to cartoon on. They’ve nixed a few things. Around the time of the Charlottesville protests and killing, I came up with an idea they wouldn’t allow me to do because I think they were concerned about the tenor of the country. I think if I had offered that idea at any other time, it probably would have gone through. Sometimes they have to think about that.

    Q: Does The Post have right of first refusal? Or are they your syndicate?

    No, I’m not syndicated. I’m exclusive to The Post. I do other work, for The Nib occasionally, but they have the first rights. I did that cartoon for The Nib; they ran it.

    Q: Have you been threatened?

    By people? Oh yes. All cartoonists get threatened at some point or another. After 9/11 was a difficult time. I did a cartoon about Senator Cruz and I got a lot of threats for that. I think when everyone’s emotions are running high are when you get the most. But mostly we get emails telling us how stupid we are.

    Q: Could you talk about becoming a political cartoonist, and then if you have the desire to move out and do other forms of illustration?

    Sometimes. [laughs] It depends. I actually started in school for animation. I went to California Institute of the Arts, and studied character animation in the traditional Disney style and I worked for a few years in the animation industry. I had no interest in politics whatsoever. I didn’t read newspapers. I lived in LA – why do you need to read newspapers? One night I was doing a freelance project and I had the television on, and the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989 happened right in front of my eyes and I think that woke me up. I became more and more interested in political events, and watching C-SPAN a lot, and I just started doing my own editorial cartoons. Then what finally caused me to decide that I wanted to be an editorial cartoonist was watching the Anita Hill / Clarence Thomas hearings in 1991.

    I was a young woman, in my late twenties, and I had dealt with sexual harassment myself and I knew perfectly well it was a problem. To watch a bunch of senators up there, both conservative and liberals, and say that it couldn’t possibly have happened and they didn’t believe Anita Hill made me decide I needed to become an editorial cartoonist. So you can thank those senators; they’re the reason I’m an editorial cartoonist.

    Q: What’s your sense of how the #MeToo movement is going to affect the 2018 elections?

    Let’s hope it does. Women are mad. I speak to my friends who are my age, and they’re mad, really mad. I hope so because I think it’s about time. It’s funny to hear people to talk about sexual harassment and sexual discrimination. There’s all forms. I’ve dealt with it my entire career. I laugh when I hear people express doubt about it. Every woman has gone through it one way or another. It’s not all rape, but it’s a lot of forms of assault.

    I’m going to give a personal example that I’ve never told anywhere. I’m in my fifties. When I had just turned fifty, I was walking down the streets of Washington, D.C. in broad daylight and I had a guy come up from behind and grab me like Trump grabs people. In broad daylight. I’m not a young woman. I was floored. To deal with the police after that? Two female policeman took down everything and did nothing. I was furious. That’s just unacceptable. It was some thirty-something year old guy just thinking he could do it. It’s a problem. And it’s not just for young women, it’s for older women too. There – now I’m really mad.

    Q: Is Fantagraphics sending you on a book tour for this?

    Yes, I’m going west. I’m going to first start in LA, then to Oakland, then Pixar (where a lot of my old colleagues from CalArts work), and then finish up at Fantagraphics in Seattle in February.

    More pictures from the evening can be seen at Bruce Guthrie's site. If you want to see how large her drawings are, original cartoons by Ann can be seen at the Library of Congress in the Drawn to Purpose exhibit or in the Hay-Adams Hotel's Off the Record bar.  An article about the bar and the cartoonists (that I wrote and interviewed Ann for) will be in the upcoming issue of White House History magazine. Ann's previous book, Dick, about Vice President Cheney can be bought online and is highly recommended. Three styles of t-shirts with Ann's cartoons on them can be bought at Amazon.

    KAL interviews Egypt's "John Stewart"

    Why we should laugh at leaders | The Economist

    Bassem Youssef has been called "the Jon Stewart of the Middle East". On the seventh anniversary of Egypt's Arab Spring he talks to The Economist's award-winning cartoonist, KAL, about political satire and what it means for democracy.