Cartoonists Take Up Smoking exhibit photos

Here's some shots of the editorial cartoon exhibit in the National Museum of Health & Medicine. Curated by Alan Blum, this layout is by Steve Hill and Bill Discher. Bill did the big cutouts in particular. The exhibit's up for two more months.

Stephen King midnight madness at Big Planet Comics

Big Planet's running an ad in the City Paper saying their Bethesda store will be open at 12:01 AM on February 7th (ie Wednesday morning) for any wanker... I mean hardcore fan... who wants to buy the new Stephen King "Dark Tower" comic, the one that's written by Peter David, not King, that is. I think Marvel is working with one store per area* to have this promo. I have no idea who's getting stuck working the midnight shift either, although there should still be some bars open even if it is Tuesday night.


*read the comment in which Joel corrects me to say that anyone could open early, but he was the only one in the area wise enough to accept the challenge. He and Greg will be manning the register. Stay tuned for further breaking updates, as they break.

Checking out this week's City Paper

Quite a bit in the paper (February 2 issue) this week. The cover article is one of the illustrated types they've done a bit lately, with pictures by Greg Houston.

Comics Greeks by Trey Graham reviews the play Rough Magic by comic book writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, and gives them the marketing-pleasing quote, "If you see only one play during the six-month-long Shakespeare in Washington festival, see Rough Magic."

The exhibit Shojo Manga! Girl Power!: Girls' Comics From Japan is reviewed by Jason Powell.

Feb 17: Cartoonists Take Up Smoking lecture

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 26, 2007
Contact: Jennifer Heilman, 202-782-2671, jennifer.heilman@afip.osd.mil
Steven Solomon, 202-782-2672, steven.solomon@afip.osd.mil

“WHEN MORE DOCTORS SMOKED CAMELS:
A CENTURY OF HEALTH CLAIMS IN CIGARETTE ADVERTISING”

WASHINGTON – The National Museum of Health and Medicine will host “When More Doctors Smoked Camels: A Century of Health Claims in Cigarette Advertising,” a free illustrated lecture and gallery talk presented by Alan Blum, M.D., on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 1 p.m., highlighting the exhibit “Cartoonists Take Up Smoking,” on display through April 1, 2007.
Week in and week out from the 1920s through the 1950s, tobacco companies used images of physicians and their implied endorsements to help sell cigarettes. Such advertisements appeared not only in most issues of Life, Time, Newsweek, and U.S. News and World Report, but also in the Journal of the American Medical Association and the New England Journal of Medicine.
“Through the years, cigarette advertising depicted doctors almost as often as movie stars and sports heroes,” said Blum, curator of the exhibit, and whose lecture will feature many such ads and vintage television commercials.
Although cigarette advertisements were banned from TV in 1971, their print counterparts did not completely disappear from medical journals until the 1980s.
Blum also cites recent ads, such as the one in Time and People Magazine in 2001 for a brand by Liggett called Omni, which claimed to have “less carcinogens.”
“Such hokum isn’t much different than the same company’s advertisements that proclaimed ‘Stay safe, smoke Chesterfield’ and ‘L & M, just what the doctor ordered’ in the 1950s,” he said.
He describes the creation of the filter, low-tar brands and “light” cigarettes as marketing ploys to allay public anxiety about smoking.
“Cartoonists Take Up Smoking,” is an exhibition of original newspaper editorial cartoons retracing the 40-year battle over the use and promotion of cigarettes since the publication of the landmark Surgeon General's report on smoking and health in 1964. It also addresses complacency on the part of organized medicine, politicians, and the mass media in ending the tobacco pandemic.
The exhibit features 55 original cartoons by more than 50 nationally known American editorial cartoonists and is supplemented by smoking-related items, from the original newspaper headlines that inspired the cartoons to advertisements promoting the health benefits of lighting up.
In addition to the cartoons, several mini-exhibitions are on view, including the airline flight attendants’ battle to get Congress to pass the ban on smoking on commercial aircraft; a history of the Kent Micronite Filter, made from asbestos; the advertising of cigarettes in medical journals from the 1920s to the 1980s; and the selection of cigarette commercials and smoking scenes from TV and the movies.
Two preserved lungs from the museum’s anatomical collection—one showing the ill effects of smoking and the other a healthy lung—highlight the exhibit.
“Cartoonists Take Up Smoking” is curated from the collections of the University of
Alabama Center for the Study of Tobacco and Society that Blum founded and directs. It holds one of the largest sociocultural archives on tobacco, including more than 300 original editorial cartoon artworks on smoking-related themes.
“The wide ranging controversies surrounding tobacco are captured in the cartoons, from the misguided quest for a safe cigarette to the targeting of tobacco advertising to women and minority groups,” Blum said. “Cartoons on smoking have had an impact at both local and national levels. Editorial cartoons practically laughed Joe Camel out of town and helped pass countless clean indoor air laws.”
The exhibit will be on display at the museum, which is open every day except Dec. 25 from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The museum is located at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 6900 Georgia Avenue and Elder Street, NW, Washington, D.C. For more information call (202) 782-2200 or visit www.nmhm.washingtondc.museum. Admission and parking are free. For the online news release and to download images, please visit: http://www.nmhm.washingtondc.museum/news/pdf/Blum_Gallery_Release.pdf.

Disney on Ice contest entry

A couple of entries down, I mentioned the Examiner's contest. Well, I just sent in my entry with my name, address, email and phone number to contests@dcexaminer.com. Remember, winners will be chosen randomly and their entries will be printed in the February 6th paper.

So here it is - let the comments begin!

Lightly, the Princesses swirl on the ice;
Are there twelve? Or less?
No matter.
The Mouse will rule o'er all.

Mandatory weekly Richard Thompson message

A small drawing by RT snuck into the Post's local sections, Arlington/Alexandria in my case. It's an ad for the Corcoran College of Art and Design's Aspiring Artists program. Unfortunately, the pic isn't online.

Thursday's papers - the cartoon bits UPDATED

Uncensored image from Seattle P-I, photo by Todd Vanderlin.

Finally saw the Post, and the Aqua Teen Hunger Force bomb scare marketing debacle played on the front page, above the fold as they say, with the middle finger salute pre-fuzzed out before the Post got the picture, obviating the need for those hard decisions. See
Marketing Gimmick Goes Bad in Boston; Light Devices Cause Bomb Scare by Michael Powell, Washington Post Staff Writer, .Thursday, February 1, 2007; Page A03 for an account of the ridiculousness.

There's a positive review of the Japanese Cultural Information Center's Shojo Manga exhibit in today's Express, and a short version of AP's article on the Aqua Teen Hunger Force bomb scare in Boston in the Examiner. On the odder side, Kohl's has an ad on p. 7 of the Examiner for Sandra Boynton books, cds and toys as well as an ad for Disney on Ice celebrating "100 Years of Magic." I assume that's 100 years since Disney's birth because I'm pretty sure there wasn't any Disney on Ice in 1907. The ad asks for a poem of 100 words or less, sent to contests@dcexaminer.com on "Is the Disney Magic a part of your life?" to win tickets for 4 to the show. Oddly enough they say, "Winners will be randomly selected" so I wouldn't worry about the quality of the poetry.

Finally, the Express has a picture of Greg Bennett of Big Planet Comics on page E25, in his role in the band Jet Age. I believe this is the 3rd time they have run this pic.

Mister Ron's Basement blog

A bit off the beaten path, but long-time comics journalist (and Springfield resident, iirc) Ron Evry has been doing a podcast for several years. He reads out of copyright stories. It looks suspiciously like Ron's got 624 downloadable readings up as of this date.

At Michigan State University's Comic Art Collection website, librarian Randy Scott lists quite a few publications in The Comics Journal and Hogan's Alley.

#4 in local Comics DC bloggers profiles.

Speaking of comics chats on the Post website...

Suzanne Tobin used to host these "Meet the Artist" chats fairly regularly, but not lately. I recently linked to the Galifianakis one. However, there's a score or so in their archive, unfortunately not labeled by cartoonist. Don't miss the little "more news" link on the bottom which will take you to one more.

Post censors comic strips, again - Get Fuzzy this time

MetaDC and Ben Towle picked up that some papers, including the Post, were censoring marijuana jokes in Get Fuzzy last week. Ben's got the story, and the some of the strips in two posts - here and here. Fortunately Darby Conley's syndicate wasn't as worried as the Post and all the strips can be seen on the Comics.com website for a few weeks.

As is par for the course, the Post never mentioned this. You'd think the paper would have a bit more spine, and at least confess to their censorship.

Anyone like to try to recall other instances of the Post censoring, or "editing," (their preferred term) the comics? There have been several. In Sept 2005, a Dilbert strip showing assault by a porpoise was cut (Dave Astor had the story); in July 2005, they pulled a Boondocks strip and Suzanne Tobin defended their actions in a chat with Paul Gilligan of Pooch Cafe. (Hit refresh and the link will work - twofer!)

They had pulled Boondocks in 2004 and their ombudsman at the time Michael Getler noted, One year after refusing to publish a week's worth of the "Boondocks" comic strip drawn by Aaron McGruder, The Post did it again last week, only this time it didn't tell readers. The Post says that comics are edited just like any other feature of the paper and denies that this is censorship. Editors say last week's offering was racially offensive and used negative stereotypes of African Americans to lampoon TV reality shows. Last year The Post was the only paper, among 250 that buy "Boondocks," to drop it. This time seven other papers dropped it, including the Boston Globe. I disagreed last time, and this time, too. I think McGruder, who is African American, is a brilliant artist who has created young, black characters speaking with razor-sharp, satirical candor who say things that make us uncomfortable but also make us think. In January of 2004, Mike Peters of the Dallas Morning News noted that the Post dropped a BC strip, admittedly lame, The strip offered to newspapers today mocks the notion that two Asians could have flown the first airplane. The punchline: "Two Wongs don't make a Wright?" They've dropped other B.C. strips for religious sensitivity reasons too.

The aforementioned Boondocks was dropped in October 2003, the Boston Globe reported, "In an unprecedented move that angered readers and generated industry criticism, The Washington Post recently killed an entire week of "The Boondocks" comic strip with a story line suggesting the world might be a safer place if national security adviser Condoleezza Rice had a more active love life." As in the later event, the ombudsman Michael Gertler disagreed, noting on October 19, 2003 "I may need a refresher course in sensitivity training, but I also found the sequence of strips within the bounds of allowable satire. I don't know a thing about Rice's personal life, nor do the characters in the strip, and I think readers understand that. The "Boondocks" characters, and their creator, were being mischievous and irreverent, in their mind's view of the world, about a high-profile public figure, and that seems okay to me." A month earlier, a Doonesbury strip about masturbation was dropped. Boondocks also was skipped twice in January and October of 2002. There's a few more BC examples and Ted Rall's strip was dropped online in March of 2002 after his 9-11 Widows strip. Anyone else got any more?

Shojo manga show opens; lecture on January 30th

The exhibition "Girl Power! Girls' Comics From Japan" opened today at the Japan Information and Culture Center. Tomorrow at 6:30, the curator Masami Toku will present a free lecture on the history of shojo manga, or girls' comics Reservations are required. Reply to jiccrsvpwinter07@embjapan.org or (202-238-6949). This is the only night the exhibit will be open; normal hours are 9-5, Monday through Friday.

The Post ran a brief piece on it on Friday - "Comics That Draw a Feminine Crowd" by Lavanya Ramanathan (Friday, January 26, 2007; Page C11)

Post reviews Aguirre-Sacasa's comic book-influenced Shakespear

Unfortunately, in "Prospero's New Island: Manhattan - Rorschach's 'Rough Magic' Offers The Bard -- Comic Book Version," Nelson Pressley gives it a rather lukewarm review. He starts off promisingly, noting A number of the inside jokes are delicious, as when Melanie calls on the controllable Coriolanus to lend a hand. "Dumb as a stick, and a total mama's boy," Olivera's quick-thinking Melanie reasons. But overall, Pressley feels that great gobs of the script seem more suited to comic books than the stage, especially the ultra-dense plotting and ka-POW action sequences and concludes that it lack(s) a certain hoped-for magic.

I'll let you know what I think when I see the show.

See the article in The Washington Post, Monday, January 29, 2007; Page C02.

Good article on Chinese cartoonist in Post

About every five years, the Post runs an article on something to do with comics and China. Today it was Suicide Rabbit by Liu Gang, a vehicle for criticizing the establishment, if not the party. It's a good article by Edward Cody.

Jan 28 - Animation Show 3 at GWU

Both the GW Hatchet and the Express have articles today reporting that the Animation Show 3, a collection of shorts, will be shown at the Lisner Auditorium at 730 21st St, NW at 7 pm on Sunday for $11.

"Rough Magic" is also discussed on page E9 of the Express.

"The Adventures of Carrie Giver" comic book distributed to Congress

The Examiner's political gossip column by Jeff Dufour and Patrick Gavin reports today that the comic book "The Adventures of Carrie Giver" was distributed on Capitol Hill recently. The comic book deals with the cost to people, mainly women, who become primary care givers to disabled family members. And it has a cover by Neal Adams! You can buy a copy through that link, by the way.

The columnists talked to the group, and reported, "So which politicians like their proposals in comic book form? Social Agenda’s Theresa Funicello tells us the best responses she’s received from Capitol Hill came from the offices of Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio. In addition, Funicello says the real women’s division of the Department of Labor enjoyed the comic and asked for several copies. “Staffers were very amused and kind of stunned when we came around with these,” said Funicello. “They don’t usually get serious issues in comic book form.”"

Roll Call had the story too, but doesn't provide a free online version. The print version is "Adventures in Lobbying: Comic Books Help Put Caregiver Issues in the Spotlight" By Tom Gottlieb, Roll Call Staff, January 23, 2007.

The Onion peels for DC

DC is going to get the satirical parody newspaper, The Onion judging from an ad in today's Express. The ad is for an account manager and says "The Onion is coming to Washington...." blah, blah, blah, and will be published in partnership with the Express and the Washington Post(!). Of interest to us is the fact that the paper runs serious reviews of comics. I think it also runs some harder-to-find comic strips as well. And it's funny.

Nick Galifianakis, Washington Post illustrator

I'm working on a listing of cartoonists who regularly appear in the DC papers, and one of them whose work I especially like is Nick Galifianakis. His work appears bi-weekly or so in the Post, illustrating is ex-wife Carolyn Hax's advice column, "Tell Me About It." The picture here is from the January 12, 2007 column, but he's been doing them for years. He's a local guy, and this 2004 Suzanne Tobin chat is the only biographical bit that I know of. He was supposed to have a book out, but I don't know if that ever happened. I think he's got a very nice line, and hope he eventually does more than just advice column gag cartoons.

Hoopla! - new Arlington VA comic book review blog

Paul Weissburg has restarted his comic book review column as Hoopla! An online comic-book review column. I don't know Paul, and am just passing along the notice I got from the owner of Big Planet Comics.

Zippy around DC

I completely missed this one, but Zippy was at Arlington's Bob and Edith's diner right after Christmas. Cartoonist Brian Biggs has eaten there with me as well. Zippy's also popped into Rock Creek Cemetery in DC; Barry's Magic Shop in Wheaton (on Georgia Avenue, near the shopping mall); Ben's Chili Bowl in DC; the newly-reopened National Portrait Gallery; and the Lincoln Memorial. He's even made it out to Catonsville, MD.

Jan 27-Feb 25 Shakespeare in Washington

I can hear you all wondering, but there's a comics link here that my friend Liz pointed out. Rough Magic, a reworking of The Tempest, is written by Marvel Comics writer, and former area resident (and Big Planet Comics customer) Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. I'm going to try to catch this.

Jan 27 - Alternative comics fest at Dr. Dremo's

Today's Post reported today that Dr. Dremo's Taproom in Arlington will host DC Counter Culture Festival next Saturday that will include alt cartoonists selling their comix. Specifically listed in the Post were Jason Rodriguez, Little Foot and Angry Dog Press. It goes from 4 pm - midnight, and the bar's address is 2100 Clarendon Blvd.

"Chicago 10" animated film in today's Post

Saturday's that is. Here's the article.

March 2-3 - Academic panels on comic books in Baltimore

Vanessa Raney reports two academic panels will be at the 2007 Northeast Modern Language Association (MLA) Convention at the The Sheraton Baltimore City Center Hotel, Baltimore, MD, March 1-4, 2007.

* Fri. (Mar. 2), 10:00a-11:30a *

2.08 Douglas Room
God and the Graphic Novel
Chair: Kelly S. Meyer, The College of Saint Rose

"Jesus Christ, Drawn and Quartered: The 'Reformed' Stations of the Cross in Fundamentalist Tracts"
Scott Maisano, University of Massachusetts-Boston

"Jesus Christ, Drawn and Quartered: The 'Reformed' Stations of the Cross in Fundamentalist Tracts"
T. Anne Metivier, Indiana University

"This Last Thing Ya Gotta Do Alone: Preacher and Masculinity"
Gordon Sullivan, North Carolina State University

"Alan Moore's Promethea: Comics as Primer and Missionary Tool for Alternative Religion"
Christine Hoff Kraemer, Boston University


* Saturday (Mar. 3), 11:45a-1:00p *

9.07 Pratt A
Picture Books and Children's Comics: Semiotics of Illustration
Chair: Vanessa Raney, Hood College

"Semiotics of the Visual: An Introduction"
Vanessa Raney, Hood College

"Puzzle Panels: The Semiotic Riddles of George Carlson's Comic Art and Children's Media"
Daniel F. Yezbick, Peninsula College WA

"Higglety Pigglety Pop! Or, There Must be a Picture Book for Adults"
Ofra Amihay, Tel Aviv University

Ann Telnaes cartoon chosen as "Cartoon of the Month"

Dave Astor says that Capitol Hill resident and Pulitzer Prize winner Ann Telnaes has a cartoon that's been picked as "Editorial Cartoon of the Month" in Editor&Publisher's upcoming February print issue. He describes the cartoon as "...an anti-"surge" cartoon last week showing George W. Bush at a podium attached to a treadmill. As the fitness-obsessed President ran in place, one could clearly see that the treadmill's treads were flag-draped coffins of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq." Astor then goes onto discuss the current state of editorial cartooning, although he doesn't note that shamefully enough, Telnaes is self-syndicated without a home newspaper.

Cartoon-based videogames reviewed in Friday's Post

The Weekend section had reviews of videogames based on Peanuts and Family Guy. These are syndicated though, and not unique to the Post.

Spider-Man giveway in today's Washington Examiner

The Electro story from 1964 continues, but there's an interesting new cover by Kolins, dated 2006 so it's definitely new. The computerized coloring of the cover contrasts oddly with the flat colors of the original though. Remember - liberate your neighbors' copy! Capitol Hill by Eastern Market is a particularly rich stalking ground, as many people there don't want the paper and actively post signs saying so, but get it delivered anyway. Unlike my less-prosperous South Arlington neighborhood. Personally, I find it a perfectly respectable, although right-wing, free read.

Washington Post editor on language in comics

I'm pretty sure that Dave Astor is no where near DC, but he scooped me again with this one - Syndicate Editor Supports Candid Language in Comics - in which he notes that Washington Post Writers Group comic strip editor Amy Lago has posted a defense of adult language in comics. What's next - sex? Whoops, she defends that too. Seriously, it's about time - far more kids are hearing these terms on tv than reading them.

Tobacco cartoon show extended at Medical Museum

Ok, now this is embarrassing. I work in this place and didn't know the show was extended a month until reading Dave Astor about it. Anyway, the editorial cartoon exhibit, Cartoonists Take Up Smoking has been extended for another month through March 31st. The exhibit is a traveling show and not curated by us (ie me) so I can say that it's a good one with some really good cartoonists included.

If you're on the museum site, you might want to check out my recently-updated finding aid Cartoons and Comics in the National Museum of Health and Medicine, although it's already out of date again. Last week, a researcher came across a Dear Mabel World War 1 knock-off. I'll post more on that when I examine it more closely.

Oct 12 - SPX in Rockville with Jeff Smith

Everyone but me seems to have picked this up earlier today, but the Small Press Expo is returning to Rockville (North Bethesda - hah!) in October and Jeff Smith will be returning after a hiatus of years. Ben Towle has the most details (and an absolutely excellent review of a Peanuts exhibit appearing in the next issue of the International Journal of Comic Art. Buy his comics too.)

Feb 15 - Deadline for Library of Congress Swann Fellowships

I saw the talk by one of this year's Fellows - Katherine Roeder on Winsor McCay earlier this week. She gave a good talk about McCay's influences in circus posters, amusement parks (especially Coney Island) and department store windows (less convincing to my mind). So here's the announcement for next year's award.

Applications for the Swann Foundation Fellowship for the 2007-2008 academic year are due Feb. 15, 2007. Annual award of $15,000 is one of the few that supports scholarly graduate research in caricature and cartoon. Applicants must be enrolled in an accredited M.A. or Ph.D program in a university in the U.S., Canada, or Mexico. Current guidelines and application at:

http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/swann-fellow.html

Contact Martha Kennedy with questions by email at swann@loc.gov or call 202/707-9115.

My apologies for cross listing. Thanks very much for the opportunity to send this.

Martha H. Kennedy
Curatorial Assistant for Caricature and Cartoon
Prints and Photographs Division
Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave. SE
Washington, DC 20540-4730
Ph.: 202/707-9115 Fax: 202/707-6647

"New Comic Book Releases" column no more

A week ago I wondered if Brian Truitt's "New Comic Book Releases" column was gone for good from the Wednesday Washington Examiner. Apparently so - I've been informed by a reliable source that he's left the paper. I enjoyed his column, and even bought books just based on his review once in a while, but let's wish him well.

ICAF - THE JOHN A. LENT SCHOLARSHIP

And for poor students reading this blog (are there any of you?) here's a generous chance at a FREE ALL EXPENSE PAID TRIP TO GLAMOROUS WASHINGTON, DC. Yes, you can win a paid accomodation...

... obviously I kind of miss the 1970s gameshows once in a while. Anywhere here's the real gen, a scholarship named after my buddy John.

THE JOHN A. LENT SCHOLARSHIP

The ICAF Executive Committee is pleased to announce its third annual John A. Lent Scholarship competition, to be held in preparation for ICAF 2007. The Lent Scholarship, named for pioneering teacher and researcher Dr. John A. Lent, is offered to encourage student research into comic art. ICAF awards the Lent Scholarship each year to a current student who has authored, or is in the process of authoring, a substantial research-based writing project about comics. (Preference is given to master's theses and doctoral dissertations, but all students of comics are encouraged to apply.)

The Scholarship for 2007 is subject to the condition that the recipient present a half-hour talk, based on their research, during ICAF 2007. The award will consist of hotel accommodations for the duration of ICAF 2007 (that is, three nights' hotel) at ICAF's expense. A commemorative letter and plaque will also be awarded.

Applicants must be students, or must show acceptance into an academic program, at the time of application. For example, applicants for ICAF 2007 must show proof of student status for the academic year 2006-2007, or proof that they have been accepted into an academic program for the academic year 2007-2008.

The Scholarship competition will be adjudicated by a three-person committee chosen from among the members of ICAF's Executive Committee. Applications should consist of:

* A self-contained excerpt from the project in question, not to exceed twenty (20) double-spaced pages of typescript.
* A brief cover letter, introducing the applicant and explaining the nature of the project.
* The applicant's professional resume.
* A letter of reference, on school letterhead, from a teacher or academic advisor (preferably thesis director), establishing the applicant's student status and speaking to her/his qualifications as a researcher and presenter.

Please note that applications for the Lent Scholarship are handled entirely separately from ICAF's general Call for Papers. Students who submit abstracts for the CFP are invited to apply separately for the Lent Award.

Please send applications by March 15, 2007 to

Marc Singer
Department of English
Howard University
Washington, DC 20059

Applicants should expect to be notified of the committee's decision in June 2006, at which point ICAF will begin working with the recipient to arrange her/his itinerary and accommodations.

Richard Thompson's Cut & Play Shakespeare Festival online

Kahn! Kahn!!! Kaaaaahhhhhnnnnn!
Finally the Post has put up Richard Thompson's Cut & Play Shakespeare Festival. I'm making mine now - that Michael Kahn was tough to cut out, but it's tempting to photocopy dozens of them and turn them loose on the world. Or perhaps just stick them in the Globe models in the National Building Museum exhibit.

CFP: International Comic Arts Forum (3/15/07; 10/18/07-10/20/07)

That's Call For Papers for the non-academic readers among us. BTW, anyone can submit a paper to ICAF - you don't have to be affiliated with a college. I've done a couple that don't seem to have harmed anyone. This is one of my favorite events in Comics DC. And look! There's that new name that I had suspicions of.


The Twelfth Annual INTERNATIONAL COMIC ARTS FORUM (ICAF)

October 18-20, 2007
The Library of Congress, James Madison Building, Washington, D.C.

The International Comic Arts Forum (formerly the International Comic Arts Festival) invites scholarly paper presentations for its twelfth annual meeting, to be held at the Madison Building of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., from Thursday, October 18, through Saturday, October 20, 2007. We welcome original proposals from a variety of disciplines and theoretical perspectives on any aspect of comics including comic strips, comic books, albums, manga, graphic novels, political cartoons, other panel cartoons, caricature, or comics in electronic media), with a special interest in international comics. Proposals will be refereed via blind review.

PROPOSAL GUIDELINES

For its scholarly presentations, ICAF prefers argumentative, thesis-driven papers, clearly linked to larger critical, artistic, or cultural issues; we strive to avoid presentations that are merely summative or survey-like in character. We can only accept original papers that have not been presented or accepted for publication elsewhere. Presenters should assume an audience versed in comics and the fundamentals of comics studies. Where possible, papers should be illustrated by relevant images. In all cases, presentations should be timed to finish within the strict limit of TWENTY (20) MINUTES (roughly eight to nine typed, double-spaced pages).

Proposals should not exceed 300 WORDS. At the bottom of the proposal, the author should precisely state her/his audiovisual equipment needs.

AUDIOVISUAL EQUIPMENT: Our preferred format for the display of images is MS PowerPoint. Regretfully we cannot accommodate non-digital media such as transparencies, slides, or VHS tapes. Presenters should bring their PowerPoint or other electronic files on a CD or a USB key, not just on the hard drive of a portable computer. We cannot guarantee the compatibility of our equipment with presenters' individual laptops.

REVIEW PROCESS: All proposals will be subject to blind review by the ICAF Executive Committee, with preference given to proposals that observe the above standards. The final number of papers accepted will depend on the needs of the conference program. Due to increasing interest in the conference, in recent years ICAF has typically accepted only one third toone half of the proposals it has received.

SEND ABSTRACTS (with COMPLETE contact information) by March 15, 2007, to Prof. Cécile Danehy, ICAF Academic Coordinator, via email at .

Receipt of proposals is acknowledged immediately; if you do not receive acknowledgement within a few days of sending your proposal, please resubmit.

Applicants should expect to receive confirmation of acceptance or rejection by May 15, 2007.


(Comics scholars, please note the conference's change of name. Our currentwebsite can be found at http://go.to/icaf, though that may be changing in the next few weeks as well.)

Jan 29 - Shojo Manga exhibit at JICC

This post is cleaned up a bit and the links work now. Note that an RSVP is required for the opening lecture on January 30th - click on the JICC link at the bottom to do so. This exhibit will be in a non-descript building on 21st St, NW at about M St, but it should be a nice exhibit. The JICC does a lot of interesting stuff. I plan on attending the opening and have RSVP'd. Anyone else?


Active Anime posted this press release from the Japan Information and Culture Center -

Girl Power! Girls’ Comics from Japan - An Exhibit
Posted on Monday, January 15, 2007 - 01:04 PM
Japan Information and Culture Center, Washington D.C presents Girls' Comics from Japan - An Exhibit. The exhibit will run from January 29 - March 16, 2007


This international touring exhibit features historic Japanese manga, with a special emphasis on shojo manga—comic books for girls. The exhibit features 23 renowned shojo manga creators and more than 200 works from World War II to the present.The pieces in this exhibit come together for the first and only time in Washington D.C.

The medium reflects the evolution of the social roles of Japanese girls and women during this period. The exhibition also documents how the visual composition of manga mirrors the developments in Japanese aesthetics.

Curated by Dr. Masami Toku, Associate Professor of Art and Art History at California State University Chico, “Girl Power!” has toured throughout North and South America Details at: http://www.csuchico.edu/~mtoku/vc .

Opening lecture: Tuesday, January 30, 2007 in the JICC Auditorium,from 6:30 p.m. RSVP to jiccrsvpwinter07@embjapan.org

Join us for a special opening talk by Masami Toku, curator and general director of the Shojo Manga Project. Dr. Toku will provide an opening lecture for this exhibition, offering insights into the featured works as well as the artists themselves. Refreshments will be served and exhibition catalogue will be available.

Co-Sponsored by: Japan Information and Culture Center; The Japan-America Society of Washington, Inc.; The Japan Foundation, New York; and California State University, Chico.

Shojo Manga Project: http://www.csuchico.edu/~mtoku/vc

Visit the Japan Information and Culture Center - Embassy of Japan - Washington D.C. at http://www.us.emb-japan.go.jp/jicc/index.htm

Jan 16 - Winsor McCay lecture at LOC REPOST

Martha Kennedy reports Swann Foundation Fellow Katherine Roeder will present a lecture titled "Wide Awake in Slumberland: Fantasy and Mass Culture in the work of Winsor McCay," at noon on Tuesday January 16, 2007, in the Library of Congress's Dining Room A on the sixth floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, DC. Roeder's illustrated presentation is based on a research project, which has been supported by her fellowship from the Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon, which is administered by the Library. The lecture, sponsored by the foundation and the Library's Prints and Photographs Division, is free and open to the public; no reservations are required.

Jan 13 Cut & Play Shakespeare Festival in Post

Richard Thompson's Richard's Poor Almanack (note that new spelling) has another set of cutouts today, and there's six of them! DC's staging an area-wide Shakespeare festival this spring (including an adaptation by comic book writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa). This set of cutouts has the greats - Richard III, Lady MacBeth and director Michael Kahn! I'll be making these. Unfortunately, it's not online yet so you'll have to buy, beg or borrow the Post's Style section for p. C3.

Richard Thompson has not paid for mentions in this blog.

Spiegelman, Katchor to speak in spring

Nextbook is advertising Art Spiegelman on February 20th at 7:30 and Ben Katchor on April 17th at 7:30 at the Washington DC Jewish Cultural Center on 16th St. Tickets are $8.00 each apparently. Novelist Myla Goldberg is speaking on February 5th; for our purposes, her husband is cartoonist Jason Little, but she's done a couple of good novels.

Cartoon America - the missing pictures

The Library put up an online version of the exhibit, but had to leave out some of the images. For those who were wondering what they were missing, we present this gallery. The description and numbering are from the checklist, which has links to all the other images.


Edmund Duffy. From Ever Darkening Clouds, ca. 1944
Probably published in the Baltimore Sun
Crayon, ink brush, and opaque white over graphite underdrawing
LC-DIG-ppmsca-07517 (4)








John Jensen. "Ah'm makin' way fer Bobby K," ca. 1968
Watercolor and ink brush over graphite underdrawing
LC-DIG-ppmsca-07182 (9)







William Gropper. Fat man with telescope standing on a mound of skulls
Possibly published in New Masses
Ink, crayon, and opaque white with spatter over blue pencil, between 1920 and 1940
LC-DIG-ppmsca-03602 (12)



Pat Oliphant. Waiting for Reagan, 1982
Published by Universal Press Syndicate, August 11, 1982
Ink with opaque white out graphite underdrawing
LC-DIG-ppmsca-10609 (23)

Ollie Harrington. Bootsie. "Brother Bootsie we really appreciate you droppin' in to wish us Merry Chris'mus but we got a few things to do right now, so drop by some other time -- aroun' the first of April for instance!" December 30, 1961
Drawn for the Pittsburgh Courier
Crayon and ink over blue pencil underdrawing
LC-DIG-ppmsca-03492 (33)


Clare Briggs. When a Feller Needs a Friend. When You Meet Her Daddy and Somehow You Feel So Inadequate, 1923
Published by New York Tribune, Inc., November 5, 1923
Ink over graphite underdrawing with paste-on
LC-DIG-ppmsca-03607 (34)


David Pascal. "Couldn't we meet in a more secluded place, dear?" between 1965 and 1974
Published in 1000 Jokes
Ink wash, ink, opaque white, and charcoal over graphite underdrawing
LC-DIG-ppmsca-09122 (41)





Chester Gould. Dick Tracy. The Ultimatum. "What did you find out, Tracy?" 1931
Published by News Syndicate Co., Inc., December 18, 1931
Ink with scraping out over graphite underdrawing with paste-on
LC-DIG-ppmsca-07736 (58)


Elzie Segar. Popeye. "I'll bet poor Wimpy has desert madness -- probably raving around saying poetry," 1935
Published by King Features Syndicate, Inc., May 12, 1935
Ink over graphite underdrawing with paste-ons
LC-DIG-ppmsca-03468 (68)



George Herriman. "Krazy Kat." Panel shows Ignatz taking a bow below the trapeze, 1942
Published by King Features Syndicate, April 19, 1942
Ink with scraping out over graphite underdrawing with paste-on
LC-DIG-ppmsca-03340 (72)







Phil Davis and Lee Falk. Mandrake the Magician. Reaching the Road Block, Mandrake Gestures Hypnotically at the Plane Robbers --, 1961
Published by King Features Syndicate February 5, 1961
India ink over graphite underdrawing with blue pencil and paste-ons
LC-DIG-ppmsca-09492 (73)


Johnny Hart. B.C. "Do you believe in destiny?" 1969
Published by Field Enterprises, February 5, 1969
India ink over graphite underdrawing with porous point pen
LC-DIG-ppmsca-09129 (76)


Joseph Barbera. Jerry of Tom and Jerry, ca. 1940
Graphite and blue pencil
LC-DIG-ppmsca-06459 (81)



Joseph Barbera. Tom of Tom and Jerry, between 1940 and 1957
Graphite and blue pencil
LC-DIG-ppmsca-06460 (85)



Saul Steinberg. Self Portrait, 1954
Close variant version published in the New Yorker, July 10, 1954
Ink
LC-DIG-ppmsca-05870 (89)








Fleischer Studios. Popeye fighting his way out of a jellyfish, ca. 1940
Preparatory drawing for Females is Fickle, directed by Dave Fleischer and animated by David Tendlar and William Sturm, and released by Fleischer Studios on March 8, 1940
Graphite and colored pencil
LC-DIG-ppmsca-12917 (97)



Raymond Allen Jackson. "I can't stand any more of this, I think I'll go out and face the unions," 1969, Probably published in the London Evening Standard, April 15, 1969
Ink brush, crayon, opaque white, and watercolor wash over graphite underdrawing
LC-DIG-ppmsca-03297 (101)

and some special bonuses--



Fred Flinstone model sheets from Art Wood now in American Treasures exhibit.













Snoopy cel from Art Wood now in American Treasures exhibit.













Original Eisner art now in American Treasures exhibit.

Spider-Man returns to Washington Examiner

Today's Washington Examiner is carrying the Spider-Man Collectible Series comic book again - #19 reprints Amazing Spider-Man #9 introducing Electro. Yay! Steal your neighbor's copy today.

On the negative side, Brian Truitt's New Comics Releases column hasn't been in the paper for the past three weeks. Is it coming back? I actually buy comics based on his recs.

Library of Congress imprint of approval for Cathy

Scooped again! E&P Online's Dave Astor reported that the Library of Congress is using a Cathy strip on preserving photographs on their website. And I'm an archivist! I've even got this strip hanging up in my office, even though it is Cathy!

Remember folks, always back up your data. And anything you can view with eyeballs instead of machinery works best.

W-DC mentions in Best Comics Scholarship 2006

"Best Comics Scholarship 2006" by Beth Davies-Stofka, at Broken Frontier (January 8, 2007) mentions a few bits related to Comics in DC. Of the International Journal of Comic Art of which I'm pleased to be the exhibitions and media reviews editor, she says, "IJOCA remained the best bargain in 2006, charging only $30.00 for an individual subscription." She also singles out former Big Planet Comics employee Dan Nadel’s book Art Out of Time and The Library of Congress' exhibit and book Cartoon America as deserving notice.

Actually, I've seen just about everything on her list, and concur with her recommendations and conclusions, and hopes for 2007.

Washington comics blogger Marc Singer

My friend Prof Marc Singer recently returned to DC to take a post in the English Dept. at Howard University. Marc's been writing a blog for years at I am NOT the Beastmaster. (I never thought he was, having no idea what movie he's referencing). Marc's one of the organizers of the annual International Comic Arts Festival -- an annual event that I enjoy immensely and which I believe just changed its name again.

Marc's got a very literate blog, as one would expect from an English Professor, and this post on Eric Reynold's anthologyMome was singled out today by Tom Spurgeon's Comic Reporter for good reason I think (although I reserve my opinion of Mome, because Eric's a friend too, and I only have one issue that I haven't read yet. Mea culpa.) Marc's also done some excellent posts on Grant Morrison which are worth tracking down.

Beyond our focus, his post on Casino Royale is excellent too - perhaps because he's seems sympathetic to the first Timothy Dalton movie, which I enjoyed as it returned Bond to being a stone-cold killer -- the rationale behind the 'double 0'.

3rd in a series of posts on DC comics-types.

Catching up on the weekend Post - Richard's Poor Almanack

Scoop! Richard Thompson changed the way he spells his strip!

Ok, that's not much of a scoop, but the strip "Comic Strip Previews for 2007" is a really good one.

Boy, everybody hates Anthony, don't they?

So, anybody besides me actually cut out and make the fingerpuppets that he draws? I made Sorry Santa today, during a dull moment (rare! I promise!) at work. Unfortunately, it looks as though the Post only links to the most recent panel so you'll have to dig through the two-week old recycling to make yours.

Catching up on the weekend Post - Dilbert on torture

One of the oddest editorials in recent memory appeared in the Sunday's Post Outlook section -
"I'm Tortured by Doubt" by Scott Adams, Sunday, January 7, 2007; Page B01. Fortunately, he doesn't make us wait, but puts his conclusion in the first paragraph: "Lately I've moved from "pretty certain" to "doubtful" about the effectiveness of torture." Whew, that's a relief from the suspense.

He's also got some fun free wallpapers on his site, and that's where the illo for this post came from.

Keith R.A. DeCandido on Pierce Askegren

Yesterday's Post obituary on Askegren led to Tom Spurgeon posting a link to Keith R.A. DeCandido's blog entry on the local superhero writer. DeCandido edited the line of stories for Marvel that Askegren was writing.

Pierce Askegren obituary in today's Post

The local writer of prose superhero stories for Marvel got a larger obituary today - A Technical Writer's Alter Ego: Engaging Comic Book Novelist By Louie Estrada, Washington Post Staff Writer, Sunday, January 7, 2007; C06. The print version has a nice picture.

Jan 10 12 noon - Eisner talk at Library of Congress

Bob Andelman scoooped me on this in his Spirited Life newsletter (you'll be hearing from me, Martha):

Gallery Talk on Will Eisner at Library of Congress, Jan. 10
Did you know that the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., has original art by Will Eisner?

Martha Kennedy of the Prints and Photographs Division will discuss the work of graphic novelist Will Eisner on Wednesday, January 10 at noon in the “American Treasures” exhibition at the Library of Congress’ Jefferson Building, the Southwest Gallery of the Great Hall, which is on the second floor.

“We were able to acquire a group of drawings of his from a short story in City People Notebook,” Kennedy tells the Eisner eNewsletter. “We were interested in acquiring examples and we had limited funds, so Will gave us the original drawings for the story ‘Collision.’ During the gallery talk, I’m going to talk about five of the eight drawings and give a brief biography of Will Eisner. The talks are informal and are given by curators. I’ll talk about the three stories within the story in this piece and talk about his enormous significance in the field of comic art.”

If you decide to go, don’t be late; the talk will only last about 20 minutes, with time for questions afterward.

“Its not a footnoted academic paper,” Kennedy says. “But it’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a while. I wanted to convey a sense of Eisner’s importance. The gallery talks are a nice, informal way of letting the public and the Library of Congress staff itself know more about these wonderful treasures we’re able to add to the collection.”

And yes, Kennedy is an Eisner fan.

“We were able to bring him in twice to talk,” she says. “The first time as a part of a panel and the second to talk about the graphic novel. It was such a pleasure to work with him.”

For more information, please call: 202-707-9203.

Jan 7 - Animation festival - Norman McLaren restored REPOST

Norman McLaren Restored
Premiere of new 35 mm prints
January 7 at 4:30 p.m., National Gallery of Art

Brilliant Scottish-born Canadian animator Norman McLaren (1914–1987) perfected many of the techniques that became the standard of animation art. Often imitated, McLaren's work during the 1930s and 1940s for the National Film Board of Canada and Britain's GPO film unit was legendary. Eleven of his classic short films — including Begone Dull Care (1949), Neighbours (1952), A Chairy Tale (1957), Pas de deux (1968), Synchromy (1971), Blinkity Blank (1955), and Hen Hop (1942) — have now been restored by the National Film Board of Canada to their original 35 mm format. Viewed in these spectacular new prints, McLaren's films demonstrate cinema's close affinity with painting and music — a concept that was one of this artist's main preoccupations. (total running time 85 mins.)

Jan 6: Animation festival in Frederick

Ninety minutes of classic Looney Tunes will be shown at the Cartoon Festival at the Weinberg Center for the Arts in Frederick, MD the Frederick Herald-Mail is reporting, along with these details:

WHAT: Cartoon Festival

WHEN: 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 6.

WHERE: Weinberg Center for the Arts, 20 N. Patrick St., Frederick, Md.

COST: $6 for adults; $4 for children.

MORE: Tickets are available at the box office and at the door. Go to www.weinbergcenter.org for box office hours and for more information.

Tom Toles profile online

Tom Spurgeon of The Comics Reporter picked this one up today -
"Post's Toles Skewers Bush for Breakfast" By Harry Jaffe

Washington Examiner's political gossip column notices Marvel's Civil War

In their Yeas and Nays column, Jeff Dufour and Patrick Gavin of the Washington Examiner for January 3, 2007 have "Spider-Man lassos White House in his web."In their opinion, Marvel's current Civil War storyline draws obvious links to the current actual war in Iraq.

Emily Flake covers Washington City Paper

The December 29th issue of the City Paper has a cover and interior illustrations by Emily Flake. I think she's Baltimore based. The paper carries her strip, Lulu Eightball.

The Year According to Toles

The Post did run the annual compilation page in the Dec. 31 Outlook section. Unfortunately, I can't find it online so if you're reading this and aren't local, you'd better call a friend in the area before recycling day.

Judge Parker artist changes

Alan Gardner checked into the changing artists on the Judge Parker strip. Eduardo Baretto had taken over the strip in the spring, but lately different artists have been appearing. This isn't a strip I read reguarly, although I like Baretto's art - an Ecuadoran, he's worked on the Shadow for DC .A similar situation was happening with Prickly City, but Scott Stantis was known to have scheduled surgery and replacement cartoonists. Alan's story about Baretto can be read here - Chaos ensues, order restored in Judge Parker serial (UPDATED), Daily Cartoonist, Dec 29, 2006

Big Planet Comics New Year's Sale

The 3 stores have 20% off everything today, from noon to 5 pm.

Washington Post adds Pooch Cafe to replace Foxtrot

So I think Paul Gilligan has done a very rare thing - he's in 3 papers in one city. He appears to be running in the Washington Examiner again as of this week. Perhaps writing into ComicsDC is a luck generator (see his comment in my earlier post on the Examiner dropping comics).

NOTE TO COMICS READERS
Washington Post
Monday, January 1, 2007; Page C10


"Pooch Cafe" by Paul Gilligan debuts today on the comics pages, because Bill Amend, the creator of "FoxTrot," has chosen to discontinue daily publication of his strip. The Post will continue to publish "FoxTrot" each Sunday. Today, "Out of the Gene Pool" is not running today to allow room for this note, but it will be back tomorrow in its usual spot.

As always, we appreciate reader feedback. You can call our comics hotline at 202-334-4775, e-mail http://comics@washpost.com or write Comics Feedback, The Washington Post, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, DC 20071.