From the CIA to Gotham: Meet The Real Life Spy Who's Now Writing "Batman"
Former CIA agent Tom King is mining his own experiences for the Dark Knight's war on crime.
Former CIA agent Tom King is mining his own experiences for the Dark Knight's war on crime.
Anne Atwood
Washington Post April 9 2016
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/we-wouldnt-trivialize-cancer-this-way/2016/04/08/63c9ba98-fcdc-11e5-813a-90ab563f0dde_story.htmlI'll be here on Facebook live around 1:30 today. I'l do some sketching, answer questions, and maybe even take a sketching suggestion, if it isn't too hard. See you then! Tom
Seven Questions Over Breakfast with Gareth Hinds
Julie Danielson (a.k.a. Jules)
Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast blog March 29th, 2016
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/bestofdc/goodsandservices/2016/best-comic-book-fans
A boy. A girl. Two families meeting for the first time. One dinner. One "normal" night. Secrets. Potions. True Love. What could possibly go wrong?
The Wakefield Players present The Addams Family, a musical comedy that will have you dying with laughter. Come see the show at 7:00 on April 29, 30, May 06 or 07. Tickets are $10 at the door. Wakefield High School. 1325 S. Dinwiddie St.
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NEWS from the LIBRARY of CONGRESS |
April 7, 2016
First in Series of Library Events to Mark World War I Centennial An exhibition showing how American artists galvanized public interest in World War I will open next month at the Library of Congress. "World War I: American Artists View the Great War" will open on Saturday, May 7 in the Graphic Arts Galleries on the ground floor of the Library's Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. S.E., Washington, D.C. The exhibition is free and open to the public Monday through Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It will remain open for a year, closing on May 6, 2017. The exhibition is made possible by the Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon, and is the first in a series of events the Library is planning in connection with the centennial of the United States' entry into World War I. An online version of the exhibition will be available on the opening date at www.loc.gov/exhibits. Drawn from the Library's Prints and Photographs Collections, the exhibition will feature 25 fine prints, drawings, cartoons, posters and photographs. An additional 70 photographs will be shown in a monitor slide show. The works on display reflect the focus of wartime art on patriotic and propaganda messages—by government-supported as well as independent and commercial artists. In the fall, an exhibition rotation will occur and 27 new items will be placed on display. A total of 40 artists will be represented. Many of the artists featured in the exhibition worked for the federal government's Division of Pictorial Publicity, a unit of the Committee on Public Information. Led by Charles Dana Gibson, a preeminent illustrator, the division focused on promoting recruitment, bond drives, home-front service, troop support and camp libraries. Many images advocated for American involvement in the war and others encouraged hatred of the German enemy. In less than two years, the division's 300 artists produced more than 1,400 designs, including some 700 posters. Heeding the call from Gibson to "Draw 'til it hurts," hundreds of leading American artists created works about the Great War (1914–1918). Although the United States participated as a direct combatant in World War I from 1917 to 1918, the riveting posters, cartoons, fine art prints and drawings on display chronicle this massive international conflict from its onset through its aftermath. Among those who heeded the call were James Montgomery Flagg (best known for his portrayal of Uncle Sam), Wladyslaw Benda, George Bellows, Joseph Pennell and William Allen Rogers. In contrast, such artists as Maurice Becker, Kerr Eby and Samuel J. Woolf drew on their personal experiences to depict military scenes on the front lines as well as the traumatic treatment of conscientious objectors. Finally, cartoonists offered both scathing criticism and gentle humor, as shown in Bud Fisher's comic strip "Mutt and Jeff." Photography also provided essential communication during the First World War. The selected images detail the service of soldiers, nurses, journalists and factory workers from the home front to the trenches. American Red Cross photographs by Lewis Hine and others employ artful documentation to capture the challenges of recovery and rebuilding in Europe after the devastation of war. Katherine Blood and Sara Duke from the Prints and Photographs Division at the Library of Congress led the division's curatorial team. Betsy Nahum-Miller from the Library's Interpretive Programs Office is the exhibition director. The Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division holds more than 15 million photographs, drawings and prints from the 15th century to the present day. International in scope, these visual collections represent a uniquely rich array of human experience, knowledge, creativity and achievement, touching on almost every realm of endeavor: science, art, invention, government and political struggle, and the recording of history. For more information, visit www.loc.gov/rr/print/. The Library of Congress, the largest library in the world, holds more than 162 million items in various languages, disciplines and formats. The Library serves the U.S. Congress and the nation both on-site in its reading rooms on Capitol Hill and through its website at www.loc.gov. With the most comprehensive collection of multi-format World War I holdings in the nation, the Library is a unique resource for primary source materials, education plans, public programs and on-site visitor experiences about The Great War, including exhibits, symposia and book talks. # # # PR16-65 |
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https://newrepublic.com/article/132355/conflicted-man-interview-ta-nehisi-coates-black-panther
A&A: The Adventures of Archer & Armstrong writer Rafer Roberts discusses Valiant Entertainment's series, the dynamics of characters, and art as therapy. Comic Culture is directed and crewed by students at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. I'm posting the video as producer/host and not as an official University publication.
and
Sun. Apr. 17: Charles Ross' ONE MAN DARK KNIGHT: A BATMAN PARODY -7:30pm- $35.00
Why so serious? From the madmen behind One Man Star Wars and One Man Lord of the Rings comes an irreverent parody and homage to the Dark Knight Trilogy. Two-faced super-nerd, Charles Ross, lovingly tears Christopher Nolan's masterpiece a new one in his new One Man Dark Knight: A Batman Parody. No costumes, no sets, no Batmobiles, Ross takes you on a one-hour comedic joyride, from Batman's origins to his epic battles against Gotham's super-villains. Hold onto your utility belt!
Written and Performed by Charles Ross
Directed by TJ Dawe
David Gallaher and Steve Ellis, author and artist of The Only Living Boy, appear at Victory Comics on Sunday, April 3, 2016 from 1:00 – 4:00 PM! Steve will conduct a learn-to-draw workshop for all ages and both will be signing copies of their book.
Victory Comics
586 S Washington Street, Falls Church, VA 22046
(703) 241-9393
I recently self-published 2 issues of a comic and I'm now selling them online to raise money for diapers and baby wipes for Julia, who is due in 10 weeks or so! http://johnkinhart.storenvy.com/
Sunday, April 3 at 12 PM - 4 PM – Fantom KidsCon – Come one, come all to Fantom's inaugural KidsCon! Comics conventions are fun for all ages, but if your littlest nerds aren't ready for the hustle and bustle of bigger venues, bring them to Fantom for a day of fun and activities! We'll have tons of workshops, kid-friendly vendors, a costume parade, and lots of "super" special guests!
Monday, April 4 at 6:30 PM – Faith Erin Hicks signing – Meet Faith Erin Hicks, comics creator and author of "Adventures of Superhero Girl" and "Friends with Boys" as she signs your copy of her new graphic novel "The Nameless City."
A witty, intelligent cultural history from NPR book critic Glen Weldon explains Batman's rises and falls throughout the ages—and what his story tells us about ourselves.
Since his creation, Batman has been many things: a two-fisted detective; a planet-hopping gadabout; a campy Pop-art sensation; a pointy-eared master spy; and a grim and gritty ninja of the urban night. For more than three quarters of a century, he has cycled from a figure of darkness to one of lightness and back again; he's a bat-shaped Rorschach inkblot who takes on the various meanings our changing culture projects onto him. How we perceive Batman's character, whether he's delivering dire threats in a raspy Christian Bale growl or trading blithely homoerotic double-entendres with partner Robin on the comics page, speaks to who we are and how we wish to be seen by the world. It's this endlessly mutable quality that has made him so enduring.
And it's Batman's fundamental nerdiness—his gadgets, his obsession, his oath, even his lack of superpowers—that uniquely resonates with his fans who feel a fiercely protective love for the character. Today, fueled by the internet, that breed of passion for elements of popular culture is everywhere. Which is what makes Batman the perfect lens through which to understand geek culture, its current popularity, and social significance.
In The Caped Crusade, with humor and insight, Glen Weldon, book critic for NPR and author of Superman: The Unauthorized Biography, lays out Batman's seventy-eight-year cultural history and shows how he has helped make us who we are today and why his legacy remains so strong.
Glen Weldon will be in conversation with Linda Holmes, host and editor of NPR's Monkey See blog.
Arlington student Cole Goco has won a gold medal in the National Scholastic Art and Writing competition. His cartoon is on display at Central Library.
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'Batman v Superman' reviews are in, and it's 'scattered,' 'annoying' and 'joyless'
By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog March 23 2016
'Batman v Superman': This could be Superman's most heroically generous act yet
By David Betancourt
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog March 24 2016
A version of this review appears in print on March 24, 2016, on page C1 of the New York edition with the headline: One Action Hero, Molded by Time, Directors and Fans.
All Things Considered March 23, 2016
http://www.npr.org/2016/03/23/471603073/the-many-masks-of-batman-in-caped-crusadeJason Heller
Taped on location at the Small Press Expo! Producer/Host Ulysses E. Campbell talks with ComiXology co-founder John D. Roberts and vice president of marketing Chip Mosher about the services of the premier purveyor of digital comics! John and Chip share why SPX is important, comment on the rise of digital comics and the ComiXology Submit portal that allows cartoonists access to the larger marketplace.
On Tues March 22, I will be giving a lecture at George Washington University on Ferdowsi's epic Persian Poem, The Shahnameh and its use in popular culture and media.
Copies of the book, Shahnameh For Kids will also be available.
This is a free event, open to the everyone but seating is limited so please RSVP below
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog March 18 2016
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2016/03/18/the-simpsons-predicted-a-trump-presidency-16-years-ago-tomorrow-the-writer-explains-why/