Meet a Richmond Comics Writer - A Chat with Gary Cohn

Mark Lindblom (l) and Gary Cohn

by Mike Rhode

Gary Cohn co-wrote two of my favorite 1980s DC Comics, Blue Devil and Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld. I recently got to meet him at Heroic Aleworks Brewery's minicon, and he answered my usual questions.

What type of comic work or cartooning do you do?

A: I’m a writer. I work with artists.

How do you do it? Thumbnails? Traditional pen and ink, computer or a combination?

A: I work in either of the standard comics writing styles. I can write full scripts when I don’t know or don’t trust the artist; I write plot/dialogue when I trust the artist and when we’re full collaborators. I’m happiest when I can give an artist an outline, and then the artist throws me some visual surprises that I need to integrate into my original conception of the story. In the early part of my career when I was writing stories and often didn’t know who would draw them, I did thumbnail sketches of pages to accompany my scripts. They were the crudest of cartooning, and I was disappointed when some artists chose to follow my thumbnail layouts completely instead of taking them for the suggestions they were meant to be. I assumed that an artist would have a better visual imagination than I have, and would be able to take my suggestions and run with them, not just follow them slavishly.

When (within a decade is fine) and where were you born?

A: I was born in NYC in 1952—I’m a child of the 50s and 60s, and all the pop culture of that era.

Why are you in Richmond now?  What neighborhood or area do you live in?

A: It took me twenty years to realize that I wasn’t going to make a living writing. So I became a NYC high school English/social studies teacher and did that for 14 years. When I retired I realized that a “short” pension was not going to keep me going in NYC, and after 30 years there I wanted a change of venue. I had an artist friend living in RVA (ie Richmond, VA), I’d visited her a number of times over the years, and when I was considering new places I narrowed it down to RVA and St. Petersburg, FL. I wanted someplace a lot cheaper than NYC, warmer, with some history and culture and a creative community. Since my 90-year-old mom still lives in NY, I decided on the place where I could get to NY more quickly and easily. Roads not taken… I still wonder about St. Pete. I live in the oldest neighborhood in RVA, Church Hill. It’s been a very good move.

What is your training and/or education in cartooning?

A: Choose-your-own-major BA degree from Michigan State (defunct residential Justin Morrill College allowed us to design our own major: mine was creative writing/science fiction and fantasy lit); MA from the Department of Popular Culture at Bowling Green State in Ohio; course work completed towards a doctorate in US History (US naval history, esp 1880-1900). Basic teaching certification courses from NYS.

Who are your influences?

courtesy of the Grand Comics Database

A: Nothing. Everything I come up with is sui generis and without compare. Joking, of course. My influences are six decades of reading, watching, consuming American popular culture, “serious” literature, academic history and the range of liberal arts subjects. I was a guy who thought he disliked school… so of course I’ve spent my entire life as a student and a teacher.

If you could, what in your career would you do-over or change? 

A: Amethyst would have been developed as a toy line by Kenner when they were planning to do it, BEFORE She-Ra came out, and I’d have made a fuck-ton (that’s a technical term) of money; and spent most of it on motorcycles, adventuring, and wild women. There’s been a fair amount of all three in my life, but I’ve never really been able to afford to fully indulge myself.

What work are you best-known for?

A: Amethyst and Blue Devil from DC in the early ‘80s. My standard line is that for a short while I was a little bit famous and successful in a relatively obscure pop sub-culture.

What work are you most proud of?

A: Demon Gun, published by Crusade about 20 years ago, which is the only piece of my published work that I actually own--well, co-own with artist Barry Orkin. I understand that there are comics writers who claim sole ownership over properties. I’ve always believed that anything I create in comics is co-created by the artist, because I can’t make comics without one. If I wanted sole ownership, I’d write prose exclusively.

What would you like to do or work on in the future?

courtesy of the Grand Comics Database

A: Blue Devil artist Paris Cullins and I have been slowly developing our own property, New Devil. It’s unrelated to DC’s BD, except that it’s a “devil,” but it has that spirit and bounce. With NY artist Ray Felix I’m getting ready to self-publish the first issue of “NYX, Daughter of Night.” I’ve got a zillion ideas, as always, and I hope to be able to get some of them out there before…well, you know.

What do you do when you're in a rut or have writer's block?

A: I’ll tell you when I’ve solved that problem. While I was a teacher I wrote very little. Since I’ve been on my own I’ve been struggling to find the old mojo. A deadline and a paycheck were always good incentive. Right now I have neither from writing.

What do you think will be the future of your field?

A: No idea.

What local cons do you attend? The Small Press Expo, Intervention, or others? Any comments about attending them?

A: Until I have something to peddle, some new wares to spread out on a table, I’m staying close to home. Any Con in Richmond that will let me in for free, I’m there. Beyond that, I went to the Baltimore Con last fall and liked it, I stopped in at Tidewater this year to see Paris and a few other folks and because it made a nice motorcycle run, I’ll probably head down to some other Cons in VA and NC in the next year, and if one of Mike Carbonaro’s NYC cons is going on when I’m visiting, or Eternal Con on Long Island, I try to stop in to schmooze with old industry buddies.

What's your favorite thing about Richmond?

A: Hard to say. It’s a very nice small city. I’ve met a lot of great people, I’ve connected with the thriving comics community here, found the perfect motorcycle shop and car repair place, discovered terrific restaurants… I’m thinking the answer is, my apartment and neighborhood. It’s a great space in a great location.

Least favorite?

A: The wannabe Confederates. I’m a carpetbagger Yankee.

What monument or museum do you like to take visitors to?

A: The VMFA (Virginia Museum of Fine Arts) is a very good small-city art museum; then there’s Monument Ave (or as we carpetbaggers like to call it, “Losers’ Lane”) with all the ridiculous Confederate statues and one very badly designed but well-intentioned Arthur Ashe statue.

How about a favorite local restaurant?

A: This town is full of very good restaurants; but Lemaire in the Jefferson Hotel is an amazing experience and a world-class dinner. I let a visiting stockbroker friend pay for it.

Do you have a website or blog?

A: Nope.

ComicsDC "interviews" Stan Lee for Awesome Con

by Mike Rhode

Stan Lee will be making an appearance at Awesome Con soon from June 16-18th, and yesterday local media got to send in questions and sit in on a phone conference while Mr. Lee answered some of them. I don't know who else was on the call, and don't want to step on their articles, but here are my two q&a's.

Q1 - In your most optimistic moment, either writing the comics during the 1960s, or pitching them after moving to California, could you ever have imagined the overwhelming success that the Marvel movie universe has had?

Stan Lee: No, I never in a million years thought it would turn out the way it did. I used to lecture around the country, around the world actually -- I went to Italy, to Germany, all over, and I'd speak at colleges and places telling them that comics were really a good way to tell a story. You're seeing the action and you're reading the dialogue. It's not much different from going to the theater and seeing a Shakespeare play. You're hearing the words and you're seeing the action. The differences is that in comics, the characters don't move, but it's the same thing; you hear the words while seeing the action. There's nothing wrong with the comic form. Actually, it's a great form -- it's just how well you do it.

One thing I'm going to mention parenthetically - the word 'comic book' should never be written as two words, because if it's written as two words, it means a comic book, a funny book. It should be one word - comicbook - that makes it a unique type of literature.

Q2 - Which Marvel character, that you created or worked on, do you think is under-rated and under-appreciated and is due for a revival, either in comics or on film?

Stan Lee: I think the Silver Surfer has been underrated. I think he's a great character. The thing I like about him - I was always able to get [in] a lot of bits of philosophy that he would utter. They don't use him as much as I wish they would. He's one of my favorite characters.

courtesy of Wikipedia

Here's more information on his appearances:

Stan Lee Premium Package

Presented by Stan Lee Collectibles, the Stan Lee Premium Package will be available for $350 and includes: 1 autograph from Stan Lee, a photo op, an autographed lithograph, a comic book from the Stan Lee Collectibles collection, a collectible Stan Lee Awesome Con badge and lanyard, and a $25 gift certificate for the Stan Lee Collectibles booth at Awesome Con. Admission to Awesome Con is not included with the Stan Lee Premium Package and must be purchased separately at www.awesomecon.com; this package will be available for purchase at 10am EST on Saturday, May 6.

Bagels & Coffee with Stan – Saturday, June 17, 8:00 am  SOLD OUT

150 guests will have the chance to join Stan Lee for an exclusive breakfast session with the pop culture icon the morning of Saturday, June 17. For $295, guests can participate in a Q&A session with Stan Lee while enjoying a light breakfast buffet. Attendees will also receive a signed photo of Stan Lee and the chance to snap a selfie with him. Admission to Awesome Con is not included in Bagels & Coffee with Stan and must be purchased separately atwww.awesomecon.com; this package will be available for purchase at 10am EST on Saturday, May 6. SOLD OUT

Stan Lee Museum Pop-Up

This year, Awesome Con is bringing together highlight items and collectibles from Stan Lee's expansive career together for the Stan Lee Museum Pop-Up. Check out 18 larger-than-life Marvel statues modeled after Stan Lee's most well-known characters, including the Hulkbuster, as well as more than 50 pieces of Stan Lee memorabilia spanning seven decades of his career. Awesome Con ticket holders have full access to the Stan Lee Museum Pop-Up during exhibit hall hours.

Stan Lee Q&A – Sunday, June 18, 10:30 am

Stan Lee will host a panel on Awesome Con's main stage on Sunday, June 18, answering questions from attendees about his career and his work over the years. Entry to the Stan Lee Q&A is included with Awesome Con tickets.

SPX Oral History - Christian Panas (UPDATED with a response by Greg McElhatton)

by Mike Rhode
(recorded in March 2017)

It's been on my mind for several years that the Small Press Expo could really use an oral history especially as it approaches its twenty-fifth anniversary, and the online history is pretty skimpy.

Christian Panas recently stopped back in the area for a few weeks, prior to moving to Japan. I was able to have one interview session with him while he was in town. This is edited by me for clarity, but has not been edited by Panas. Greg McElhatton has written to me with a response which is appended at the end, while being asterisked in the text at the places he indicated; since I was not involved in the show and have not deeply studied the history of it, I am only presenting what people say, and not attempting to determine any 'truth.'

Mike Rhode: When did you work on SPX?

Christian Panas: I would say 1997-2000.

MR: What was your role there?

CP: I started as a volunteer. I ended up working with the steering committee and I guess I was technically executive director for two years.*

MR: How did you start volunteering?

CP: I had moved back from Chicago to the area in '97 and wandered in to Big Planet Comics in Vienna. That's how I met Greg Bennett, and how I got interested in comics again. I had stopped reading them. I read comics from 4 years old through high school, and then just lost interest. It wasn't until I rolled into Big Planet and saw a lot of alternative press comics that was coming out that I got interested again. I found out about SPX and decided to volunteer and I had a blast, meeting those creators and seeing what was coming out. I just got really enthused about it. It was a real pleasure.

MR: Who were you reading at the time that sucked you back in?

CP: There was that whole movement with the Fort Thunder guys. Kurt Wolfgang. There was plenty of Fantagraphics that I had missed. I hadn't realized that Ivan Brunetti was putting out comics. He did a student comic strip at the University of Chicago when I was there.

MR: You liked the more "primitive" type of look then?

CP: Yeah, that's what got me back in. I always loved European and South American albums too, that were more polished, but still raw and powerful. This was lots of what Fantagraphics was putting out. At the time I discovered Munoz and Sampayo. Munoz blew my mind, and I got to meet him when I went to Angouleme in '99 with Greg.  There were also guys like Top Shelf, Jeff Mason's Alternative Press… between finding foreign stuff that I had missed and all the American indy stuff that I had no clue about, it really opened my eyes.

MR: So how did your role from volunteer to executive director evolve?

CP: It happened really suddenly. I was working at the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum at the time, and I was doing a lot of cultural work in the anthropology department. We were working with other institutions so I went to Japan and Thailand, and I had experience working with artists in Trinidad & Tobago, and other things. I'll be very honest. I think part of it had to do with not being sure who wanted to be executive director at the time and part of it was that I was good at having rapport with people. I was good with schmoozing. We'd have those wonderful parties. At one of the SPX's when I was executive director we had in a Swiss cartoonist, and between folks like him and Joe Sacco, and Bob Sikoryak... I just had a good affinity and inclination to putting those people at ease, and drawing them out… making them feel welcome. To be honest, if I had anything to contribute, I think it was that. I think a lot of other people were involved in the real work of the show.

MR: Who else was involved with you at this time?

CP: There was Karen Flage, Greg McElhatton, Greg Bennett, Craig Thomas…  I also helped edit the 1999 and 2000 anthologies with Chris Oarr and Tom Devlin. We got nominated for the Eisner which was a lot of fun.

MR:  So did people undertake the job they could fulfill the best, or did you have to assign work to people?

CP: No, I was technically executive director, but literally it was the group meeting and functioning in an anarchistic sense – the good sense, not the chaotic one – self-actualized. Towards the end as I was having certain difficulties in my life, people ended up having to take up my slack.

MR: Where was SPX actually being held when you were working on it?

CP: In Bethesda.

MR: Were you involved with the Silver Spring interregnum?

CP: No, no.

MR: Chris Oarr was still director of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) at the time, and you were working with Chris?

CP: I don't think he'd been doing it that long at that point, and in some way I was taking over executive directorship of the show from him.

MR: These were the days when it was still largely seat of its pants. Were you there when the parallel track with ICAF was going on?

CP: Yes. I have heard about difficulties and after I was involved, there was a split, but when I was involved, it seemed to be really great synergy. The artists that they brought were phenomenal. It felt really perfect to me. It was one of the many reasons I loved that show so much. The programming that they brought added such richness and depth, although I have to tell you I've been to one or two conventions in my life, including Angouleme, so I don't have much to compare to.

MR: SPX didn't really have any programming before that point, except for a few small press business things and a retailer thing on Sundays.

CP: Yes, exactly. And the softball game. We did have that retailers meeting and that was pretty much the program.

MR: It was in Bethesda in that little hotel with the two levels and it was outgrowing it rapidly at that point, I would imagine…

CP: It was really packed by the end. I remember it was an issue we were talking about constantly and trying to figure it out. A lot of people complained that getting tables was tough. As a show, my understanding is that is when it really took off in terms of filling up with crowds. It became a real indy (as opposed to local) show. At every stage, I remember how many of the creators who came spoke of it with real wonder and love, and spoke of it as a show that was feeding them.

MR: People make money every year, and some have been coming since the beginning… What were some of your successes?

CP: To me personally, it was just being involved with a lot of good people and being able to help provide that venue and that excitement and support to those creators. That felt really great. I can't remember how well it did in terms of sales, or publicity, and I wasn't the architect of new policies, but it felt incredibly fulfilling just making it happen.

MR: At the time, it was purely a fundraiser for the CBLDF, and that very well might still be the case, but I think it makes more money for the artists than it used to, and that's a concern for people who want to come since there are so many competing conventions. There's essentially a convention every weekend in America now, and people have to make an active choice to come to SPX now. Back then, there were only two relevant cons – SPX and APE.

CP: There's so much less distinction in terms of pop culture and knowledge. People know these creators and books more than they used to. It did feel seat-of-the-pants in a positive way, but those people on the committee … and Steve Conley was also a big part of it… worked extremely hard and did a great job. I guess one of my successes … working on the anthologies I really loved.

MR: Did the anthologies already exist when you started volunteering?

CP: Yes.

MR: And they kept getting thicker and thicker every year…

CP: In 1998, or 1999, the one that got nominated for an Eisner – there was controversy with people who felt that some of it was too experimental.

(courtesy of mycomicshop.com)

MR: How did material get chosen for those?

CP: My vague recollection is that Chris and Tom and myself got submissions, and we met with Adhouse Book's Chris Pitzer who was the fourth in that group. I had my roommate Greg McEllhatton and Karen Flage look at the comics too, to get their input and to create a shortlist. Then Chris Pitzer, Chris Oarr, Tom Devlin and I holed up and went through and hammered out which ones we wanted in and and what order to put them in.

MR: So Pitzer's been running his own

publishing house for over two decades, and Devlin joined Drawn & Quarterly and is now the co-publisher, so I guess the experience was good for them too. Is there anything you can recall as a particular failure?

CP: I don't remember anything in particular.

MR: What were some of the more memorable events?

CP: We had Frank Miller and Neil Gaiman in. They were big names. For us, they were huge names. Honestly, my interest was a lot more to the people ICAF brought over. I remember sitting and having a drink with Will Eisner one night at the bar. I just remember how awesome that was -- the two of us randomly having a drink. Joe Sacco was a person I really loved talking to. I think we had the American debut of the Comix 2000 silent comics compilation and some of the L'Association guys. That was incredible. But having the likes of Miller and Gaiman show up for the CBLDF was a really big deal and it drew people. It gave support to the CBLDF and was great for us. After 300, talking Greek history at the after party with Frank Miller was fun. I made the mistake of framing a question I asked along the lines of 'how does it feel to come back to comics,' and he took offense at that, but I didn't mean it. [laughs]

MR: At some point there was an ill-advised attempt to rebrand SPX as 'The Expo.' Was that in your time?

(courtesy Grand Comics Database)

CP: I do remember that, but I can't tell you much more other than I expressed my opposition to the idea. I don't remember details other than I felt it was totally unnecessary.

CP: I don't know that it needs to be recorded, but one personal hurt I had was, after going out of my way to involve the committee in the anthology and giving them a first look, after we put out the anthology, I got a lot of shit and shit was talked that we somehow did a bad job, picking gratuitously weird stuff. But that's just human. That's really the only negative thing I can even remember from time. My time was limited and in the second year I was executive director, I had to bail. Greg Bennett and some other people saved me, because I was having personal issues at the time. They stepped in and picked up the slack, and took it over. 99%+ of my experience and feelings were great.

MR: Favorite parts? Least favorite parts?

CP: I loved the party afterwards! I have to say, and I helped throw it, but I had a facility for that aspect and enjoying it.

MR: The Ignatz awards?

CP: I was not involved with them. There were issues with getting the finished bricks, and I'm sure there were other, more substantive issues, but I wasn't aware of any other problems.

MR: The CBLDF used to hold an auction on the floor. Did you ever buy anything?

CP: I was never a great collector. I got stuff growing up that I liked, but I never had the collector mentality.

(Small Press Expo, September 2009. Crowd including Jeff Alexander.)

MR: Who took over after you left? Was that Jeff Alexander?**

CP: Yeah. Jeff had been involved before me. I met Jeff at Big Planet too, through Greg. Greg used to have to people over to his house. I think that's how a lot of us got involved with the show, and that's how I met Jeff. In the summers, Greg would have Hong Kong film festival parties and put a screen up in his back yard and have a barbecue. Jeff would bring whatever anime or HK films that he had. I think he was predominantly involved with the Ignatz at the time, and that was his main responsibility. Greg McElhatton, Karon Flage, Jeff and Steve Conley and I used to get together on occasional Friday evenings for drink and dinner after work.

The steering committee and the volunteers were a bunch of overall really enthused people who were self-motivated. The committee as a whole seemed to work well, figuring out who would do what, with people stepping in to fill in when needed in places. For me, in that period of the time, it was largely an incredibly pleasant blur.
 

*Greg McElhatton has written in, stating, "Christian Panas was not executive director for two years, but just a matter of months. He briefly took over in that position in the fall of 2000, after the 2000 show had ended (and the last of the three years that Michael Zarlenga was executive director). By the spring of 2001, Christian was no longer executive director or in fact on the Board or the Steering Committee. At that point, Greg Bennett and I took over as co-executive directors in an attempt to make sure the show would even happen. (As it turned out, the show was scheduled for September 14-16, 2001 and ended up cancelled for events out of our control. But it was on track to occur and we'd even gotten the front page of the Washington Post Weekend section.)"

**McElhatton states, "I ended up serving as executive director for 2002-2003, with a tremendous amount of assistance (and as assistant executive director) from Greg Bennett, without whom I couldn't have achieved a lot. Steve Conley was the director for the 2004-2006 shows, Karon Flage for 2007-2009, and then Jeff Alexander was in 2010. Warren Bernard took over in 2011 and has continued to run the show since then."

"(And before then, Lou Danoff and Jon Cohen founded the show in 1994; Chris Oarr ran the show in 1995-1997, and then Michael Zarlenga was executive director in 1998-2000.)"

Meet a Local Cartoonist: A Chat with Vanessa Bettencourt

by Mike Rhode

Last weekend, I briefly stopped in the Hooray for Books bookstore in Alexandria on Saturday to meet Portuguese cartoonist Vanessa Bettencourt who was doing a drawing workshop for children, and I enjoyed seeing her interact with the kids in the audience. She agreed to answer our usual questions about her journey from Europe to northern Virginia.

What type of comic work or cartooning do you do?

My comics have a lot of humor and fantasy and a mix of manga and Disney styles together. When I'm not working on commissions for business, websites or people who want their portraits as comic characters, I work diligently on my personal projects.

I work daily on my free webcomic series, Notfrombrazil.com.

It started as an effective way to communicate with Jon, my fiancé in a long-distance relationship, and became a way to share my life with those who stayed behind at home after I moved from Portugal to the USA. Now I share my daily adventures as a freelance artist in the USA.

In 2015 I set a goal of a year to write, illustrate and completely finish a graphic novel on my own. I accomplished the goal. Polly and the Black Ink is 520 full-color pages that I divided into five paperbacks. The first three volumes are already available.

Sometimes I take commissions to do political cartoons (as happened with the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence), but between social and political I favor social issues.

How do you do it? Traditional pen and ink, computer or a combination?

For Polly and the Black Ink, I drew and wrote it all in paper for a few months first, then I scanned it and edited before the digital process of inking, coloring and adding the text. I write the text as I draw the scenes, instead of having a script. This way I have a better sense of space and where the text will fit in each panel.

This is my first graphic novel and I learned a lot, especially about writing short but meaningful sentences when sometimes I feel the character has so much more to say. For notfrombrazil.com I only work digitally. I have my format and I stick to it. Commissions can be digital or traditional. I use Photoshop and I recently upgraded from an Intuos3 to a Cintiq 13HD.

When (within a decade is fine) and where were you born?

I was born in December, 1979 in Lisbon, Portugal.

Why are you in Washington now? What neighborhood or area do you live in?

I moved to the USA in 2015. I met my fiancé in 2012 when he hired me to draw all the covers for his epic fantasy series Heir of Scars, including chapter illustrations and maps. A few years later we started the K1 Visa (fiancée process), which I describe with a lot of humor in notfrombrazil.com. He was currently working in DC so we decided to stay. I'm a freelance artist so it's easier to adapt. We live in Alexandria near the Potomac river. As a Portuguese soul, I miss the ocean a lot, so the river is nice to have nearby.

What is your training and/or education in cartooning?

I have a degree in Portuguese and English literature. I became a teacher and worked for publishers as a fantasy illustrator Then, I returned to college for Fine Arts while I worked. I'm self-taught when it comes to comic books and cartoons. I started drawing this style for fun. A simple away to share my day with Jon then it became more serious. I intend to continue to learn, share and create more stories and worlds.

Who are your influences?

For fantasy illustration: William Bouguereau, Larry Elmore (and all D&D art), Luis Royo, Donato Giancola, Prince Valiant by Hal Foster…


For comics and cartooning: Calvin and Hobbes’ Bill Waterson, Bones by Jeff Smith, Asterix, Turma da Monica by Mauricio de Sousa, Hagar the Horrible by Chris Browne, W.I.T.C.H fantasy series, Naoko Takeuchi (Sailor Moon), Akihiro Yamada (Junni Kokki - The Twelve Kingdoms artist), all Disney, many manga, anime and fantasy books.

And for the surreal humor with a lot of nonsense: Mortadelo & Filemon by Francisco Ibanez Talavera, Guillermo Mordillo, Janguru wa Itsumo Hare Nochi Guu manga.

If you could, what in your career would you do-over or change?

Sometimes I want to go back and retouch finished work. In the beginning, I wished I had more time to finish a cover or a project, but to get the commission we have to go with the publisher's schedule.

What work are you best-known for?

Notfrombrazil, because for the past two years I’ve been uploading thrice a week online, on the usual social media and in platforms such as tapastic and LINE Webtoon.

What work are you most proud of?

Polly and the Black Ink. I am really happy that I was able to create a compelling world, story and characters with a lot of adventure, action, mystery and fantasy parallel worlds that children, teens and adults feel compelled to read and discover. Also, the new art for the Heir of Scars book series.

What would you like to do or work on in the future?

Continue to get as many commissions as possible so I can make my dreams come true. HaHa!
I will focus on finishing my epic novels so there’s not a gap between publishing Polly’s 5th volume and my next project. I will continue to work on the next covers for the Heir of Scars book also. My husband and I decided to agglomerate our projects under the same name, Violet West Entertainment, as we build our brand together.

I want to be proud of my projects, control the outcome as much as possible and be sure it's something memorable. I might return to Polly and the Black Ink for a second arc too later.

What do you do when you're in a rut or have writer's block?

Because I work in so many different projects and styles I got used to having an escape, but there are times that I can't work at all and I need to watch animation, movies, read, learn a new technique, go to a museum or a park, do something completely different from my daily routine and refill my batteries.

What do you think will be the future of your field? 

Things change so quickly now. Everything has an up and down side. The system or the rules change without notice, and we're forced to go with the flow or stay behind. Artists and authors will always create and try to reach their audience.

The Internet allows us to publish our books, to see people engage daily with our process and become part of the process. What we do is starting to be seen more as a job. We are professionals.

Also, the audience is starting to learn how to give back. It balances all the free entertainment or work they've been having access to. That's why it's important to support artists. Kickstarter and Patreon are good examples of making it possible for an artist to work full time on their craft and support themselves.


What local cons do you attend? The Small Press Expo, Intervention, or others? Any comments about attending them?

I attended Katsucon last February as an artist with Polly and the Black Ink debut. I got a table and it was a great experience. The audience reacted very well to the books. We'll be attending Awesome Con DC again in June with Polly and the Black Ink and the Heir of Scars books and art. I will have book III available at our table.

Next event will be Small Press Expo. We've attended it as visitors before, but this time in September we will be managing a table with our books, including Polly and the Black Ink volume IV. The downside of having a table is to be stuck behind it and miss the panels, the contests, etc.

I also attend local events as much as possible, from bookstores to street art festivals when schedule allows. I had a great opportunity to publish one comic page on the Magic Bullet #14 and I intend to keep going.

I also have an invitation from Alexandria's Duncan Branch Library, where I taught a comic book workshop last year. I will be drawing people's portrait in my cartoonish style on the street and raise money for the library during the Del Ray Street Art Festival next September 7th, 2017.

Polly and I are available to attend schools, libraries and other events to share my experience as an independent author, but also to share my process and give some tips (ages 5 up). You can reach me on my official website www.vanessabettencourtart.com or contact me at vanessabettencourtart@gmail.com.

What's your favorite thing about DC?

I love the free museums and the food diversity.

Least favorite?

The business, political stiffness and mood of the city.

What monument or museum do you like to take visitors to?

The Lincoln Memorial. The size of the sculpture helps, but the entire area has soul. There are many good museums. The National Museum of Natural History is my favorite to visit over and over. I get so much inspiration from it to draw and come up with new storylines. And I have to visit the Zoo. I haven't had the chance.

How about a favorite local restaurant?

I love food. It's hard to pick. Each day is a different mood. From Asian to Americana. There are good seafood places in Old Town, but being Portuguese, I also miss some of the fresh and diverse seafood that we don’t have here.

Do you have a website or blog?

I keep two websites. One as an artist and another for the free webcomic series notfrombrazil.
My website www.vanessabettencourtart.com has a blog where I share news of my creative process, tutorials, articles with events and book releases.

People are free to subscribe to get news of the next events or book releases.

For those who wish to get a weekly reminder of notfrombrazil.com subscribe to the website www.notfrombrazil.com. I add new episodes every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

You can also find the following pages on Facebook: @pollyandtheblackink, @notfrombrazil, @vanessabettencourtart and @heirofscars up to date.

On Instagram: @vanessabettencourtart where I host giveaways.

Kathleen Brenowitz - An Artomatic update interview

 by Mike Rhode


A few years back we interviewed Kathleen Brenowitz about her cartooning. She's currently exhibiting her work at Artomatic, and we checked back in with her.

How did you decide to exhibit at Artomatic?

Oddly enough, through LARPing! (Live Action Role Playing). Wyrd Armories (https://wyrdarmouries.com) - the duo who make up the rest of the room I'm displaying in - are friends of mine I met while LARPing with my significant other. When talking shop, Cynthia mentioned Artomatic, and that we all should try to get a room together - and once I'd seen some pictures of previous shows, I was hooked!


As a sequential artist, how did you decide what to include in the show?

While I'm most known for my comics, I'm also known for my prints - most of them being of characters or worlds I plan to develop as part of my stories. Also I'd been working on stand-alone pieces for a pal's choose your own adventure - the finished "From Out of a Dream" and the current "Back Alive or Maybe Dead".  So all the pieces may have been more illustrative than my usual, there is a theme and a story up on the Artomatic wall.

Has exhibiting at an art show been different than a comic con?

It has been wonderful to get out from behind the table, hands down. At the last meet the artist night, it was a delight to wander from small group to small group, answer questions, and generally move around. Cons have you standing in one place for hours, and it's hard to not get ansty. I also felt like less of a carnival barker - I waved to some people who passed by the room, but I never felt the need to shout to slow down a hurried seeker. At a con, you end up with people walking past a row of  booths simply because it's more of a market - and you're not the booth they're trying to find; as a seller, you need to catch attention, usually with a loud greeting. I may have nearly lost my voice at the artist night, but it was from chatting, not hailing.

The crowd is also a little different - most of my experience of larger cons has been one of younger crowds and a great deal of shopping. Artomatic has the shopping element (in fact, my pieces are available for sale!) but with the motion of going in and out of each little room, there's a urge to linger that comes from passing a threshold. The Artomatic crowd is also very diverse in terms of ages - teenagers stopped by due to the free admission and curiosity, young couples on date nights, middle-aged artists who wanted to see what new stuff had been made, older folks who had great commentary on ink lines. In depends on the con, but I'm used to seeing fewer families and the age range as tilting towards younger - it was nice to have it flip for a change!



Has it been successful for you in reaching an audience?

Well, half of the art scene in DC knows my day job (art store minion) now, and I ran out of business cards. Time will tell if this brings in more sales/views/general eyeballs-on-my-work overall, but it's been a nice stretch of my boundaries. I'd love to do more long-term shows like this!

Nishith "Nish" Pandya - An Artomatic Interview

by Mike Rhode


Nishith "Nish" Pandya's illustration style, as on display at Artomatic, is somewhat cartoony, but his use of the web-handle "cartoonish" led us to decide to reach out to him. (all images from his websites, as my photos from Artomatic did not come out well).

What type of comic work or cartooning do you do?

Lately, my drawing style has been combining my characters and my love for nature and hiking.

How do you do it? Traditional pen and ink, computer or a combination?

I mainly work in pencil, charcoal, or pen-n-ink. I think these mediums tend to enhance the mood I try to create in the drawings.

When (within a decade is fine) and where were you born?

I was born in 1970 in Baroda, India.


Why are you in Washington now? What neighborhood or area do you live in?

I moved up to DC for a software job and I have been living in Capitol Hill.

What is your training and/or education in cartooning?

Aside from watching cartoons on tv...none.


Who are your influences?

I think Bugs Bunny did this to me! I would religiously watch Loony Toons on Saturday mornings.

But somewhat-recent animation programs that I love include Invader Zim and Ed, Edd, and Eddy.

If you could, what in your career would you do-over or change?

My day job is software and sometimes I wish I had focused more on my art.

What work are you best-known for?

Lately, I think I am known for my nature-inspired drawings.

What work are you most proud of?

I have few personal favorites. One of them is on display at Artomatic. It's an illustration of a girl reading a book by a tree.

What would you like to do or work on in the future?

I am currently learning oil painting. I have tons of sketches that I would like paint...and finally work with color.

In addition, I keep saying I would like to write and illustrate a children's book.

What do you do when you're in a rut or have writer's block?

I get drawing blocks and many times I'll go on nature walks to get ideas and inspiration.

What local cons do you attend? The Small Press Expo, Awesome Con, Intervention, or others? Any comments about attending them?

I have not attended any cons. I think I need to attend some!

What's your favorite thing about DC?

I think DC is a great walkable city and I definitely do a lot of walking.

What monument or museum do you like to take visitors to? 

Neither a monument nor a museum, but I like to take visitors to Great Falls if they have never seen it before.

Which side?

I like both sides.

I prefer the hiking on the MD side for myself.

But if my parents come visit me, I ll take them to the VA side since its easier for them to walk around.

Least favorite?

Easy answer...the summers. it gets too hot here.

How about a favorite local restaurant?

It's a chain but I like Matchbox.

Do you have a website or blog?

I am on Instagram. My username is cartoonish2.

I also have a few drawings on www.coroflot.com/cartoonish