Secret History of Comics courtesy of Warren Bernard UPDATED

Here's two pieces in three images from Warren's collection that deal with forgotten works by famous cartoonists.


Percy Crosby for the January 1924 Telephone News from the Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania

A Bill Mauldin booklet.

The Mauldin booklet should be reproduced in one of the new Fantagraphics books, courtesy of Warren.

Randy T finds more local creators and their websites

Randy T's found more local creators and their websites for us somehow (I have no idea how he did this) but cautions: Please note though that this was based on information available some time ago and creators do tend to lead a nomadic life, so some of these folks might not still be in the area!

Anthony Flamini (Writer for Marvel Comics)

Sara Grace McCandless (Writer for Dark Horse)

Marylanders:

Katie Bair (Writer/Penciller/Inker for Antarctic Press)

Pat Carlucci (Penciller for Angel, Entity Comics)
http://www.pencilx.com/
http://www.hotinks.com/pat.htm
http://www.comicspace.com/pencilx/
http://patcarlucci.deviantart.com/

Frank Cho (Writer/Penciller for Marvel, Image, Small Press Expo, Caliber, Insight Studios, Dark Horse, DC, AAA Pop Comics, America's Best Comics, Exhibit A Press, NBM, Dynamite Entertainment)

Brian Clopper (Writer/Penciller for Alternative Comics, Small Press Expo, Caliber, Fantagraphics, Amazing Heroes Publishing, Slave Labor)

Michael DeVito (Colorist for Arcana Studios)
http://www.th3rdworld.com/
http://www.myspace.com/madevito
http://www.comicspace.com/th3rdworld/

Scott Edelman (Writer/Penciller for Marvel, Charlton, DC)

Lurene Haines (Writer/Penciller for Marvel, Malibu, DC, Caliber, Fantagraphics, Literacy Voluteers of Chicago)

Mike Imboden (Writer for Digital Webbing Presents)
http://www.imboden.org/
http://imboden-org.blogspot.com/
http://www.comicspace.com/imboden/
http://www.ponentmon.com/

Alfred T. Kamajian (Penciller for DC)

Sunny Lee (Penciller for Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, AiT/Planet Lar)
http://www.geocities.com/sunnylee753/
http://www.sunnylee753.com/
http://mysite.verizon.net/~sunny615/

Jamie Noguchi (Colorist for Marvel)

Saul D. Orihuela (Colorist for Marvel, Image, DC, King Syndicates, Hasbro)

John Harris Staton (Writer/Penciller for Alternative Comics, Insight Studios Group, Fantaco)

Jim Warden (Writer for Marvel)

John Watkins-Chow (Writer/Penciller for Blink Comics, Lightning Comics)

Lawrence Watt-Evans (Writer for Marvel, Palliard Press, TeknoComix, DC)


Virginians:

Marty Baumann (Writer/Penciller for Day One Comics, Image, Cartoon Books)

David Bovey (Penciller for Labyrinth)

Jerry Carr (Penciller for NBM)

Steve Conley (Writer/Penciller for Image, IDW, Day One Comics, Bardic Press, Small Press Expo, Peregrine, Funk-o-Tron)
http://www.steveconley.com/
http://www.astoundingspacethrills.com/
(Boy, Astounding Space Thrills was a great comic - bring it back, Steve!)

Otis Frampton (Writer/Penciller for Viper Comics)
http://www.otisframpton.com/
http://otisframpton.typepad.com/otisframpton/

John Gallagher (Writer/Penciller/Inker for Dark Horse, Eternity (Malibu), Sky Dog Press, Small Press Expo, Peregrine)
http://www.buzzboy.com/
http://www.skydogcomics.com/

Khalid "Iszy" Iszard (Penciller for NBM)
http://www.iszard.com/
http://www.comicspace.com/iszyiszard/

Mal P. Jones (Writer/Inker for AiT/Planet Lar, Speakeasy)

Laurie J. Kronenberg (Colorist for Marvel, DC, CrossGen)

Jonathan Luna (Writer/Penciller for Marvel, Image, Desperado)
http://www.jonluna.com/
http://www.lunabrothers.com/

Josh Luna (Writer for Image)
http://www.joshualuna.com/
http://www.lunabrothers.com/

Nathan MacDicken (Penciller for Jitterbug Press, Small Press Expo)

Shawn Martinbrough (Writer/Penciller/Inker for Marvel, DC, Comico, Dark Horse)

Ken Meyer, Jr. (Writer/Penciller/Inker for Marvel, Entity Comics, Caliber, DC, Amazing Heroes Publishing, Avatar, Comic-Con Int'l, Megaton, Visual Anarchy (CFD), Fantagraphics, Image, Desperado)

Pop Mhan (Writer/Penciller/Inker for Marvel, Maximum Press, DC, Image, Dark Horse, TokyoPop)

David Napoliello (Writer/Penciller for Peregrine, Small Press Expo, Exiled Studio)

George T. Singley (Writer for Image, Speakeasy)

A Charlie Brown Christmas reflections in Times

See "An enduring Christmas gift," by J.T. Young, Washington Times November 27, 2007. The family's watching it right now, of course.

Futurama bits in today's papers

Both free papers ran articles on the direct to dvd return of Futurama. Scott Rosenberg wrote one for the Express - see "Back to the Drawing Board: 'Futurama'." The one in the Examiner was an AP story. The Express also ran a little feature on A Charlie Brown Christmas which is on in seven minutes.

Bruce Guthrie on Mid-Ohio Con

Hellboy, photo by Bruce Guthrie

Guest columnist Bruce Guthrie has written a report on Mid-Ohio Con:

I attended the Mid-Ohio-Con in Columbus, Ohio last weekend. I used to go to the show a decade or more ago when it was in Mansfield, Ohio and I hadn't been back since then but they still send me postcards.

If you've never done the Mid-Ohio-Con, it's a nice little show. It doesn't have that many special guests but it's low-key enough that you can actually talk to them.

This year, one of the guests of honor was to be Margot Kidder, who had played Lois Lane in the Superman movies, and that sounded pretty cool given what I had heard about her bi-polar issues. Other people I was looking forward to were Sergio Aragones (Groo, MAD Magazine), Tom Batiuk (Funky Winkerbean), Noel Neill (the original "Lois Lane"), Mark Goddard (from "Lost In Space"), Dave Dorman, Mark Evanier, and Steve Rude.
Tom Batiuk of Funky Winkerbean, photo by Bruce Guthrie

There was no appearance by local boy Jeff Smith ("Bone") but I did get lost in his neighborhood one night...

As far the convention itself was concerned, they thought their headliners were Doug Jones (who played Silver Surfer in the most recent Fantastic Four movie), Arthur Suydam, Rich Buckler, Gary Friedrich, Michael Golden, Arvell Jones, Tony Isabella, Keith Pollard, Roger Stern, Herb Trimpe, and Rob Wilson.

Well, long story short, Margot Kidder didn't make it. They said she was working that weekend up in Canada. Anyway...

The two-day ticket to the show was all of $15. Columbus is pretty quiet over Thanksgiving so I got a Motel 6 room for about $35/night. I was willing to walk a couple of blocks for parking -- parking on Saturday cost me $2 and parking on Sunday was free. And gas at the local Costco was $2.78.9. Okay, so I'm cheap. Deal with it.

All right, so back to the show. It featured two program tracks -- 10 sessions on Friday and 8 on Saturday. Being photo-obsessive, I hopped around to most of the sessions. (Pictures from the weekend are on my web site at http://www.digitalphalanx.com/bguthrie ) [editor's note - 6 pages of them!]

Sergio Aragones, photo by Bruce Guthrie

Over a quarter of the sessions involved Mark Evanier. He handled a birthday interview with Noel Neill, a panel discussing reprinting all of the comic strips from Pogo (Carolyn Kelly -- Walt Kelly's daughter -- was there for that), a Groo panel (with Sergio Aragones), an interview with Steve Rude, and a roast for Maggie Thompson (editor of the Comics Buyer's Guide). He's working on a biography of Jack Kirby who Evanier had served as an assistant to. You check out his Wikipedia entry and he's written for a number of television series -- including the third Bob Newhart series "Bob" and a variety of, well, kind of crappy cartoons. He's got Emmy nominations for that but he's on strike now along with the other TV writers. This is one interesting guy! He's got a wonderful, dry sense of humor and an amazing memory.

I ended up chatting with quite a few of the people including Mark,Sergio Aragones, Steve Rude, Noel Neill, etc. If you've never met Sergio before, do so! He's got a sparkling personality. And he draws so quickly and with such detail -- truly a marvel to watch.

One conversation was with Craig Boldman who was manning a booth for the National Cartoonists Society (Great Lakes Chapter) and the OSU Cartoon Research Library. In that capacity, he had been involved with the 2007 Festival of Cartoon Arts which our own Mike Rhode had attended just last month. A friendly guy, Craig's someone who likes to know everyone's name and home city when he talks to you. I told him I was from Silver Spring and he said Kim DeMulder was from around there too (Bethesda). He also told me there was an artist at the show who was from around me. It turned out she was from Harpers Ferry. Well, no, not *that* near me...
Craig Boldman of NCS, photo by Bruce Guthrie

Some of the panels were better than others. The most popular ones -- "Horror you? Fine by me!", "Superhero Trivia Challenge", and "Who Wants to be a Superhero?" -- were the least appealing to me. Most of the remaining panels were half-filled at best. I think all of Mark's fit into this category. This isn't a criticism of Mark.
Realistically, he represents the old guard in comic-dom -- Wikipedia mentions he's "the documented administrator for the official Walt Kelly Pogo site" -- and at San Diego, he often chaired sessions for golden age comic book folks. I asked him if he liked newer comics and he said, except for the ones he writes, he doesn't read them at all anymore. I asked if that was because he was stuck on the comics he grew up on. He said that might be part of it but he said most of the comic books these days have lost their emphasis on storylines. He also says they're too hard for most people to pick up anymore since they're usually confined to specialty shops. I'm a little younger than he is but I agree with him -- all of his panels were of interest to me.

There was a panel with three science fiction-related performers -- Mark Goddard (Major Don West in "Lost In Space"), Sarah Douglas ("Ursa" in Superman II), and Scott L. Schwartz ("bad guy" in a variety of shows -- even his web site http://www.ultimatebadguy.com/ promotes him as the ultimate bad guy -- including Bruiser on the three Oceans Eleven films). Mark and Sarah commented a lot about why you should pay them for their autographs because they don't make residuals for
their shows. Well, sorry folks, but you're not making buckets of money in part because you're mostly doing bit parts, often in shows that weren't that great in the first place. Personally, I used to watch "Lost In Space" as a kid but, unlike "Andy Griffith", "Gunsmoke", and "Combat", I don't think the show holds up very well and I have zero interest in watching the episodes again.

Sarah Douglas talked about working with Marlon Brando and how he never remembered lines. They'd put his scripts within eye shot using teleprompters and text stuck on fence posts, foreheads, etc. She said for "Last Tango," his lines were written on the naked body of the actress he was making love to. I know George Clooney is similar -- doesn't remember lines -- and Noel mentioned that the Perry White actor usually had the lines written on the papers he was always shuffling on his desk.

Bruce with Sergio Aragones

Anyway, that's about it. I enjoyed the show. I don't know what the attendance was -- after San Diego, everything is small. There were a higher percentage of people in costume than I'm used to seeing at the Baltimore and San Diego cons. I can't say much about the dealer room since I don't shop for comic books anymore -- they looked pretty busy so I guess things were good in that department.

Comics Reporter reviews Cul de Sac

...one strip of it at least. Tom Spurgeon's got a good book of criticism in him waiting to get out.

Gobbledygook by Coulter

As part of the Secret History of Comics (SHoC), I present the book, Gobbledygook Has Got To Go, published by those wild humorists in the Bureau of Land Management, circa 1970. They credited the writer, John O'Hayre, but not the cartoonist who signed some of the following drawings as 'Coulter.' Anyone know who that is? There's a William Coulter (b. 1946) listed in one National Cartoonists Society album.

I didn't have access to a scanner today, so these are shot with a camera - the quality of the originals is much better.















I'm not quite sure why the Bureau of Land Management ends their booklet with a picture of an astronaut.

Cartoons Magazine from 1918 online

This is not the REAL SHoC (Secret History of Comics) promised yesterday, but it's a pretty good one. It's a scan on Google Books of Cartoons Magazine from 1918 - actually it's over 500 pages long so it must be most of the year's issues! Hoo-hah!

These are pretty well-known to hardcore collectors, but out of the price range of ordinary guys like me. Let's give a moment to appreciate the bequest of John Amory Lowell.

Now... to print or not to print...

Here's a 1920 Keeping Up with the Joneses from Pop Momand...

...Winsor McCay's Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend...

...Thomas Masson's 1922 Our American Humorists has a chapter on comics artists - with few kind words...

...and a microfiche version of The Good Things of Life, Sixth Series, which is early gag cartooning.

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 11-29-07

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 11-29-07
By John Judy, WGA-Wanabee

(NOTE: This week comics are shipping one day later than usual due to that thing with the turkeys and the people who buckled their hats. Look for ‘em Thursday, not Wednesday.)

ALL-STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN THE BOY WONDER #8 by Frank Miller and Jim Lee. Which iconic DC heroine will be rendered as an unstable slut this issue? The latest milestone in Frank Miller’s ongoing mental collapse! Ho-ho-ho!

AVENGERS INITIATIVE: BASIC TRAINING VOL. 1 PREMIERE HC by Dan Slott and Stefano Caselli. Collecting the first six issues of this smart, funny adventure series. Recommended.

BATMAN #671 by Grant Morrison and Tony Daniel. Bats versus Sensei versus Ras al Ghul. Could be a short resurrection for The Ras.

BLACK PANTHER #32 by Reginald Hudlin and Francis Portela. Fun and games on the Skrull Gangsta Planet. Also featuring a nefarious frog. Oddly recommended.

CRIME BIBLE: THE FIVE LESSONS OF BLOOD #2 of 5 by Greg Rucka and Jose Saiz. Featuring “The Lesson of Lust.” This Religion of Crime is sounding better and better…

DAN DARE #1 of 7 by Garth Ennis and Gary Erskine. A classic British science-hero as written by Garth Ennis. To be read with tongs and blast goggles. Thank-you, Virgin Comics.

DAREDEVIL #102 by Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark. Mister Fear is having way too much fun making DD’s life difficult. It’s good to be Mister Fear. Recommended.

ESSENTIAL X-MEN VOL.8 SC by Chris Claremont, Marc Silvestri, and Rick Leonardi. Collecting a buncha stuff from Claremont’s 100-year run on the Uncanny X-books. Issues #229-243, plus Annual #12 and some X-FACTOR to boot.

IT ATE BILLY ON CHRISTMAS HC by Roman Dirge and Steven Daily. From the creator of LENORE, a little seasonal fun in the vein of “Little Shop of Horrors meets all those Rankin-Bass Christmas specials of days gone by.” Gotta look!

MARVEL ZOMBIES 2 #2 of 5 by Robert Kirkman and Sean Phillips. Forty years after the zombie plague turned Earth’s mightiest heroes into glowing-eyed ghouls with no lips, strange alliances are forming. Recommended. Absolutely not for kids.

SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN #41 by J. Michael Straczynski and Joe Quesada. “One More Day” part 3 of 4, in which Aunt May takes her shot at the Lingering World’s Record. What is it with Aunt May? She’s had more heart attacks than Cheney, been shot by a sniper and pumped full of radioactive Spidey-blood, but she still won’t die! What is she, some kind of passive-aggressive Wolverine? Does her healing power only get her well enough to be a 1000-pound guilt-anchor on her nephew? Die or get off the pot, Aunt May! And get me some wheat cakes!

SHAZAM ACTION FIGURES featuring Cap, Billy, Junior, Mary, Sivana, Mr. Mind, and Hoppy the Marvel Bunny! You want these. Don’t pretend you don’t.

SUB-MARINER #6 of 6 by Matt Cherniss, Peter Johnson, and Phil Briones. Namor makes some cold, hard decisions and renews an old business relationship. Not bad.

SUPERMAN ANNUAL #13 by Kurt Busiek and Carlos Pacheco. The long-awaited conclusion to “Camelot Falls” in which Supes and Arion duke it out. Recommended.

WARREN ELLIS BLACK GAS SC by Internet Jesus and Max Fiumara. If the holidays make you want to eat people until civilization falls to ruin this is the book for you.

WORLD WAR HULK FRONT LINE #6 of 6 by Paul Jenkins and Ramon Bachs. Answering the musical question “After the Hulk and the Sentry turn New York into New Orleans what’s a drunk reporter to do?” Better than it sounds.

X-MEN #205 by Mike Carey and Chris Bachalo. “Mutant Killer Jesus-Baby” Part 5 of 13. Big fights.

X-MEN FIRST CLASS #6 by Jeff Parker and Roger Cruz. A story that appears to be about the early X-Men losing their powers because of something from space. The preview copy looked like a lot of pages were printed out of order. Maybe the X-books are all mangas now?

Plus, PREVIEWS from Diamond and Marvel!

www.johnjudy.net

Metalocalypse in Express, Homer Simpson in Post

An extended version of Christopher Porter's interview with animation writer Brendon Small "Brutally Hilarious: 'Metalocalypse' is a double-devil-horns delight on Adult Swim," Express (November 26): 20, is online as "Brutally Funny: 'Metalocalypse'"

Also, in yesterday's paper, Christopher Healy reviews YouTube parodies of Homer Simpson wrestling matches in "Taekwond'oh!," Washington Post Sunday, November 25, 2007; Page N04.

Danny Helman seems to have gotten a gig illustrating The Three Wise Guys column for the Post's Source section on Sunday - he's been in there for two consecutive weeks. The Post doesn't seem to have bought online repro rights though.

Comics arrive on Thursday this week

According to Joel Pollack of Big Planet Comics who notes these will be what arrives:

SPECIAL NOTE: Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, new comics will be delayed 24-hours, and will be on sale THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29th this week. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

New comics arriving this THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29TH

DC COMICS
52 AFTERMATH #4
ALL STAR BATMAN #8
AMERICAN VIRGIN #21
AUTHORITY: PRIME #2
BATMAN #671
BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS #2
BLUE BEETLE #21
COUNTDOWN: LORD HAVOK AND THE EXTREMISTS #2
COUNTDOWN TO ADVENTURE #4
COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS 22
CRIME BIBLE #2
CROSSING MIDNIGHT #13
DEATHBLOW #8
DEATH OF THE NEW GODS #3
FAKER #5
FREDDY VS. JASON VS. ASH #2
GEN13 ARMAGEDDON #1
GOTHAM UNDERGROUND #2
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #18
HAWKGIRL: HAWKMAN RETURNS TP
JACK OF FABLES #17
JLA CLASSIFIED #47
JSA CLASSIFIED #32
MIDNIGHTER VOL. 1: KILLING MACHINE TP
SHOWCASE PRESENTS: SUPERGIRL VOL. 1 TP
SUPERGIRL AND THE LSH #36
SUPERMAN ANNUAL #13
SUPERMAN BATMAN #43
UNCLE SAM AND THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS #3
TEEN TITANS #53
TEEN TITANS GO #49
TESTAMENT VOL 3 BABEL TP
TRIALS OF SHAZAM #10

MARVEL COMICS
BLACK PANTHER #32
CABLE DEADPOOL #47
DAREDEVIL #102
ESSENTIAL X-MEN VOL 8 TP
FOOLKILLER #2
MAGICIAN APPRENTICE #11
MARVEL ADVENTURES: IRON MAN #7
MARVEL ATLAS #1
MARVEL ZOMBIES 2 #2
MOON KNIGHT ANNUAL #1
SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN #41
SPIDER-MAN: FAIRY TALES TP
SUB-MARINER #6
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #116
WORLD WAR HULK: FRONT LINE #6
X-MEN #205
X-MEN: FIRST CLASS VOL. 2 #6
ZOMBIE: SIMON GARTH #1

SIGNIFICANT OTHERS
AGE OF BRONZE VOL. 3 TP
ARCHIE #580
ARCHIE DOUBLE DIGEST #184
CASANOVA #11
DAN DARE #1
DOC FRANKENSTEIN #6
FIRST BORN #3
FRANK FRAZETTA’S DEATH DEALER #5
FUTURAMA COMICS #34
GARGOYLES: BAD GUYS #1
IT ATE BILLY ON CHRISTMAS HC
MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS #5
PREVIEWS VOL XVII #12
SIMPSONS WINTER WINGDING #2
SPEAK O/T DEVIL #3
STAR WARS: KOTOR #23
TRANSFORMERS: DEVASTATION #3
USAGI YOJIMBO #107
WARREN ELLIS’ BLACK GAS TP

PLANET PICKS
AGE OF BRONZE VOL. 3 TP
ALL STAR BATMAN #8
BATMAN #671
DAN DARE #1
DAREDEVIL #102
DEATH OF THE NEW GODS #3
MARVEL ZOMBIES 2 #2
SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN #41
SIMPSONS WINTER WINGDING #2
SUPERMAN ANNUAL #13

Color Cul de Sac two-fer

The Post had two magazines this week, one a special for Thanksgiving, and they both had Richard Thompson's Cul de Sac in them. The Thanksgiving one, which can be seen on Richard's blog, probably wasn't syndicated so it's a Washington special. Except that it's on the web so everyone can enjoy it. Kind of takes the fun out, doesn't it?

This barely qualifies as Secret History of Comics except when Fantagraphics tries to put together the complete CdS in 2072...

...tune in tomorrow for a REAL SHoC (hmmm, not a half-bad acronym).

Zadzooks comic book reviews

Joseph Szadkowski reviews a few comic book titles this week in "Silly space adventures with alien odd couple," Washington Times November 24, 2007

Matt Dembicki and Mr. Big profiled in today's Examiner

Chris Klimek has an article on northern Virginia's Matt Dembicki and his comic book, Mr. Big. It's not online, but it's "Serious Talk with Local Comics' 'Mr. Big'" Washington Examiner (November 24-25, 2007). Steal a copy off your neighbor's lawn, or look for the red boxes.

DC's homegrown real superheroes

The Post had this bit about people that dress up as superheroes to distribute food. In the end, I'm still not quite sure what the costumes add to the experience on either side, but more power to them. See "Public Service With a Side of Spandex," by Delphine Schrank, Washington Post Staff Writer, Friday, November 23, 2007; B03.

OT: Posy Simmonds interview in the new Comics Journal

Posy Simmonds is one of my favorite cartoonists who should be better known in the States (along with Raymond Briggs). My friend Paul Gravett has an excellent interview with her in the new Comics Journal.

Buy it today, and then order Gemma Bovary and preorder Tamara Drewe.

Blake Gopnik on Beowulf

I can't really decide if motion capture computer animation is really animation or not, so I'm not really posting about it or tracking it for the Comics Research Bibliography (link found to the right). However, in this article 'Beowulf' Movie Magic Can't Conjure The Poem's Bare-Bones Enchantment" by Blake Gopnik, Washington Post Staff Writer, Thursday, November 22, 2007; C01, Gopnik, one of the Post's best art critics also confesses his love for the Spider-Man movies and X-Men III. So I'll put the link up here and you can make up your own mind.

Animation leads Bomani Armah to fame and infamy

This article, "His Punch Line Smarts: Hip-Hop Parodist Bomani Armah Juggles Sense of Humor and Identity," by Kevin Merida, Washington Post Staff Writer, Thursday, November 22, 2007; C01, is about a DC man who wrote Read a Book, a satirical hip-hop song, but when it was animated and put out in the big world via BET, he got a lot of grief. It's an interesting article - it reads here like some of the choices made by the animators compounded the mixing of his message.

Post on Enchanted

In a move not seen in quite a while - Roger Rabbit, I'd guess, and before that the currently-supressed Song of the South - Disney's mixed live-action with animation, to generally excellent reviews. For the Post's take, see "Princess Power: In Charming 'Enchanted,' Once Upon A Time Is Right Now" By Ann Hornaday, Washington Post Staff Writer, Wednesday, November 21, 2007; Page C01

Marc Singer on Moore's Black Dossier

Marc's one of the keener observers of superhero comics, so his post on Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neil's League of Extraordinary Gentleman: Black Dossier is worth reading.

A couple of sites for local creators

Randy T sent these in and will hopefully return to give more framing info:

Pop Mhan's website

Jo Chen's blog

Von Allan to be published by webcomics site Girlamatic.com

off-topic, but VA was one of our first readers - and look at those pseudonymous intials! Congratulations Von!

Von Allan to be published by webcomics site Girlamatic.com

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (November 19, 2007) – Webcomics have, over the past ten years, become a phenomenon and are read by people of all ages. This popularity has greatly increased both the diversity and sheer amount of high quality comics that might not have been able to find an audience in a traditional print format. Coinciding with this growth has been the development of a number of webcomic publishing sites that collect similarly themed webcomics under one roof. One of the most notable is GirlAMatic.com, primarily due to its focus on comics that would appeal to female readers both young and old. Canadian graphic novelist Von Allan’s original graphic novel the road to god knows… has recently been accepted into GirlAMatic.com and will launch as a webcomic on December 3rd, 2007. The story will update four times per week (Monday through Thursday).

“Comics are a wonderful and diverse medium that can showcase stories from any particular genre. This is often forgotten due to the overwhelming market presence of both Marvel and DC’s superhero comics in print format. As a result of this, comics have traditionally been considered a ‘boys club’,” says Allan. “Most comics, especially in North America, tended to exclude women and girls by creating characters and stories that few female readers would ever identify with. Which, of course, is an odd thing to say but it can still occur even in this day and age. GirlAMatic has tried very hard to change this by creating a home for stories that, while running the gamut in terms of genre, can all be considered female friendly. Webcomics have managed to become a great leveler when it comes to genre and it’s fascinating to see how many readers of webcomics are female. When one combines that with the phenomenal growth of manga, driven primarily by female readers, comics of all forms are seeing a remarkable equalization in readership that they’ve never experienced before. And I’m pleased as punch to be a part of that.”

The road to god knows... is the story of Marie, a young teenage girl coming to grips with her Mom’s schizophrenia. As a result, she’s struggling to grow up fast; wrestling with poverty, loneliness, and her Mom’s illness every step of the way. Betty, Marie’s Mom, can’t help; she’s living with an illness that’s slowly getting worse and increasingly frightening. With her Mom absorbed in her own problems,
Marie is essentially alone while she learns to deal with the chaos in her young life.

The road to god knows… is expected to be printed in 2008 and has an ISBN of 978-0-9781237-0-3.

About Von Allan: Von Allan was born red-headed and freckled in Arnprior, Ontario, just in time for Star Wars: A New Hope. The single child of two loving but troubled parents, Von split most of his childhood between their two homes and, consequently, spent a lot of time in the worlds of comics and wrestling. He managed Perfect Books, an independent bookstore in Ottawa, for many years while working on story ideas in his spare time; eventually, he decided to make the leap to a creative life, and
the road to god knows… was the result. Additional information about the graphic novel can be found at www.vonallan.com.

About GirlAMatic: Launched on March 31st 2003, GirlAMatic.com has become the home for a variety of female-friendly webcomics. Perhaps more importantly, the site has been the home for multiple award winning comics creators, including Leigh Dragoon and Raina Telgemeier (Kim Yale Award Winner for Best New Female Talent 2006 and 2003 respectively), Hope Larson (Ignatz Award Winner 2006), and Donna Barr (Xeric Winner 2002).

Contact:

Von Allan
P.O. Box 20520, 390 Rideau Street,
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. K1N 1A3
Email: von@vonallan.com
Phone: 613-236-9957

Girlamatic.com
Editor-in-Chief: Lisa R. Jonté
Email: gam.editor@gmail.com

NEXT Sun, Dec 2 - CapiCons.com Comic & Pop Culture Show

Randy T. forwarded this Con announcement.

This show features a special guest appearance by John K. Snyder, III, courtesy of www.HeroInitiative.org. John K. Snyder, III, is a writer/illustrator whose work has been published by D.C. Comics (The Green Lantern, Dr. Mid-nite and an upcoming Batman mini-series) and many independent comic book publishers (The Duckberg Times).

- If you receive a postcard in the mail before the show, PLEASE BRING POSTCARD TO THE SHOW.

*******************************************************************
Our next Tysons Corner Monthly Comic & Pop Culture Show will be on Sun, December 2, 2007 at the Dunn Loring Volunteer Fire Department. The show is open to the public from 10 am - 3 pm.

Buy, sell and trade: gold, silver age and new comics; Magic and other gaming cards; non sport cards; videos and DVDs; anime; Horror; Sci-Fi; figures, toys; Star Wars and Star Trek memorabilia; original artwork, posters, T-shirts and various other comic related items.

Vendors confirmed for this show include:
All-American Comics
Cards Comics & Collectibles
Doug Cheshire
Michael Creager
Everyday Comics
FANDATA
Jerry Flynn
Gold Coast Collectibles
HeroInitiative.org
Damion Hill
Koop's Comics
Jim Montgomery
Outpost Station
Silver Fox Comics
TNT Comics
Tomorrow's Treasures
Steven Wagner
Brian Weinshenker
Welcome Back Comics
Zeno's Books
and more!

The Dunn Loring Volunteer Fire Department (directions - please see below) has a 70-space parking lot. Plus, there is a school behind the fire department with hundreds of parking spaces that are rarely used on the weekends.

To get to the Dunn Loring Volunteer Fire Department (located about 20 minutes west of Washington, D.C.). Take I-495 (DC/Capital Beltway) to Exit 47A (Rt 7 West). Go 1/2 mile, Take a Left on Gallows Rd and proceed 1 mile to 2148 Gallows Rd.

Or visit our website for detailed directions and Mapquest directions:
http://www.capicons.com/directions_dlvfd.htm

Venue Address:
Dunn Loring Volunteer Fire Department
2148 Gallows Road
Dunn Loring, VA 22027

We no longer require the Door Prize winner to be present to claim their prize. The door prize winner will be drawn after the show and the prize will be sent to the winner and announced in the next show's email.

Also, if you receive a postcard reminder for the event, PLEASE BRING THE POSTCARD TO THE SHOW. This will allow you to enter the door prize drawing without taking the time to fill out a new form.

If you do not receive a postcard before the show and would like this reminder, please visit our website and sign up for our mailing list:
http://www.capicons.com/contact_customer.htm

Or print out the following form, complete it and bring it to the next show:
http://www.capicons.com/door_prize_entry_form.htm

If you have any other questions, please visit our website:
http://www.CapiCons.com

Or send us an e-mail at:
info@capicons.com

Hope to see you soon.
Jeff
http://www.CapiCons.com
info@capicons.com

===================
*Capital Associates does not guarantee the arrival, arrival time or
departure time of the artist(s)/writer(s)/other guest(s) attending our
shows or attending on behalf of another group.
===================

Nov 28: Shrek the Halls?

During the Peanuts' Thanksgiving show, we just saw an ad for what appears to be a made-for-tv movie, Shrek the Halls. I'm sure this has potential - remember the Star Wars Ewok holiday special?

Nate Beeler congratulated by Examinerr

The Examiner ran this thingie (I'm sure it has a technical name) congratulating Nate for getting syndicated today.

Dec 12-13: South African artist William Kentridge

South African artist William Kentridge's animated "9 Drawings for Projection" at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater, 202-467-4600, with original music by Philip Miller. 7:30 pm for $38.

Nov 20: Peanuts cartoons on tv

Peanuts cartoons are on tv at 8 pm. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving is followed by He's A Bully, Charlie Brown. Writer's strike? What writer's strike?

Nov 21: Ben 10 movie on Cartoon Network

AT 8 pm, Cartoon Network's Ben 10 animated series converts to a live action movie in Ben 10: Race Against Time.

Zapp! Comic Books and the Arts exhibit, Jerry Robinson and Lee Marrs photos

Jerry Robinson and me; photo by Bruce Guthrie

Bruce Guthrie was up at the VisArts at Rockville building this weekend and took some shots of the Zapp! Comic Books and the Arts exhibit that was closing on November 18th, as well as pictures of Jerry Robinson and Lee Marrs in the convention space. Ms. Marrs gave a talk on webcomics and Bruce got pictures of that as well. I did too, and I'll try to post mine soon.

Zadzooks mostly on Dr. Who, but also Spider-Man hi-def dvds

See Joseph Szadkowski's "Doctor Who treats fans to more sci-fi humor," Washington Times November 17, 2007

Dove McHargue of SCAD's class in Arlington

On Friday night, my daughter and I got over to the Arlington Art Center about an hour after Dove McHargue started his class, Black and White Sequential Art -- The placement of compositional blacks. I had just planned to introduce myself and leave, but the class was well underway with about 10 students, including one dad who was there with his son. Dove was under the weather with a cold, but struggling through it as he showed several powerpoints on using inking to accent art. A lot of examples came from DC's Batman: Black and White books so I picked up volume 2 at a con yesterday. I think I had v.1 already. Dove gave the kids, who were all in high school, (and two dads) four pages from a Disney coloring book and suggested highlighting an element of each of the artwork. This was a very simple exercise to give out, but one that really made the kids (and me) think. There were a bunch of different solutions and Dove pointed out what worked and what didn't, talked about lighting, and was really very instructive. I personally found this absolutely fascinating and I have no desire at all to be a cartoonist. His explanation of how things work on the page was just really interesting. As the kids were working on their pages, he showed one of his black and white comic strips projected, and then how to color it with Photoshop - light dawned for me. If you have a chance, sit in on one of his sessions.

IJOCA's editorial

Some changes need to be made in IJOCA's distribution thanks to the Post Office's new rates for magazines. Here's what editor-in-chief Lent had to say. Write to him at john.lent at gmail.com if you have an opinion, especially on the overseas issues. Click on the page to make them larger and legible.

Nov 18: Alan Moore, Art Spiegelman and Dan Clowes on Simpsons

I'm not usually a Simpsons viewer (oddly enough - I could never get past a dislike for Life in Hell), but some of the greatest cartoonists will be on it tonight. Alan Moore discusses his appearance here.

And his League of Extraordinary Gentleman's Black Dossier came out this week. This is the real thing, not that Hollywood abomination.

Vip, Bok, Ware and Fish N Chips

A few new acquisitions can also make points about the Secret History of Comics.

The first is a set of three in-house books by CACI, a defense contractor. While these types of companies aren't usually known for their sense of humor, CACI's had the good sense to have their books initially illustrated by 'Vip' aka Virgil Partch. He was followed by gag and Playboy cartoonist John Dempsey and then most recently by editorial cartoonist Chip Bok.

Front cover to one of the three books with art by Vip.

Vip interior art.

John Dempsey cartoon.

Chip Bok cartoon.

Back cover of boxed set with art by Bok.

All three of these are major cartoonists, but I don't think their work here would be easily found.

The next item is the interior cover page of Chris Ware's Quimby the Mouse.

This is actually what a book signed by Chris Ware looks like - it's so subtle it's not something you'd really notice if you were in a hurry. Chris signed this for me at PENFaulkner, so I guarantee this is what you should be looking for.

Finally, at the Small Press Expo, I picked up Fish N Chips by Steve Hamaker. This book's apparently available now since I bought it two months ago, so one could ask 'what's it doing in a secret history post?' Steve's book, nominally from Vigil Press, is apparently self-published and there's no info in the book on how to order it. These days, Google tosses up his website with more information on the book, but parts of it appear to be last updated in 2005 and there's no guarantee that he'll keep the site up and a library or collector of the future might be confused by the lack of information in the book. Buy a copy from him to help comic scholars of the future and because he's a nice guy who did a fun fish sketch for me. BTW, he's coloring Bone for Jeff Smith.

KISS and Superman in Post

For Gene Simmons' take on Superman, see Sridhar Pappu's interview "I was immediately drawn to the idea of the cape and fancy outfit."; Kiss Man Gene Simmons Comes Out of the Phone Booth, Washington Post Sunday, November 18, 2007; M02.

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 11-21-07

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 11-21-07
By John Judy
(Support striking writers! Buy ‘em turkey AND comics, especially “Scalped” from Vertigo!)

52 VOL. 4 SC by Johns, Morrison, Rucka, Waid, and Friends. Concluding the epic weekly series in trade format. If you’ve forgotten how impressive this was try reading COUNTDOWN. On second thought, don’t.

ANGEL AFTER THE FALL #1 by Brian Lynch, and Franco Urru. Angel Season Six anyone? Ya gotta look! Whedon-approved and recommended!

ACTION COMICS #859 by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank. Supes and the Legion in a time-twisting adventure that promises lots of non-suckiness!

BOYS #12 by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. Something about sending The Boys into the mob-ruled kleptocracy of modern Russia just feels… right. Recommended. Absolutely NOT for kids.

BRAVE AND BOLD #8 by Mark Waid and George Perez. The Doom Patrol and the Flash. Between this and the creative team, who could ask for more?

CAPTAIN AMERICA #32 by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting. Picking up where there are so many hangers one can hardly see the cliff. Recommended.

CAPTAIN AMERICA VOL. 1 DEATH OF CAPTAIN AMERICA PREMIERE HC by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting. Collecting issues 25-30 of the story so well told it’s hard to remember it’s the cheapest ploy in the super-hero comics bag-o-tricks. “Death.” Feh…

DETECTIVE COMICS #838 by Paul Dini and Ryan Benjamin. Batman and…. I-Ching. He’s a guy named… “I-Ching”… Look it’s a long story, it goes back to the 70s when everyone was doing a lot of… Hey, it’s part of the Ras al-Ghul story, okay?!

EX MACHINA #32 by Brian K. Vaughan and Tony Harris. The super-hero Mayor of New York meets the Pope. No rabbis, dogs, or bars involved. And they don’t go golfing. Honest.

GOON: CHINATOWN AND THE MYSTERY OF MR. WICKER HC written and drawn by Eric Powell. Powell’s first original graphic novel providing 128 uninterrupted pages of the Goon’s formative years. A must-have for all fans.

GRENDEL: BEHOLD THE DEVIL #1 of 8 written and drawn by Matt Wagner. An untold tale of novelist/assassin Hunter Rose in his prime. You need this.

HELLBLAZER #238 by Andy Diggle and Danijel Zezelj. Imagine a London where every urban legend is real and (GASP!) smoking is outlawed in pubs!!! It cannot be emphasized enough how much this title doesn’t suck anymore. Highly recommended.

JACK KIRBY’S FOURTH WORLD OMNIBUS VOL.3 HC by “The King.” Third of four volumes, kids! Featuring more re-drawn faces than Carmine Infantino ever thought we’d notice.

MAD ARCHIVES VOL.2 HC by Harvey Kurtzman and Artists Whose Names I Am Unworthy to Type. Collecting issues #7-12. You must own this or be forever diminished as a human being. Highly recommended.

SHE-HULK #23 by Peter David and Shawn Moll. Shulkie takes on Titania (the Marvel one) and the Absorbing Man, despite being at least partly…dead?

SPIRIT #11 written and drawn by Darwyn Cooke. Featuring Denny Colt’s continuing battle with “El Morte!” Awesome cover by Cooke. Highly recommended.

UMBRELLA ACADEMY APOCALYPSE SUITE #3 of 6 by Gerard Way Gabriel Ba. Featuring robot crime-sprees, dead musicians, and the apocalypse! Big fun from that guy in My Chemical Romance!

WALKING DEAD #44 by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard. The Governor is just gonna kill all kinds of people now. The most suspenseful title on the market today. Never for kids. Always recommended.

PS – Buy SCALPED by Jason Aaron and R.M. Guera every month or you’ll go blind and sterile. It’s noir on an Indian reservation and that’s just for starters. Not for kids or the delicate of spleen. It even comes with this money-back guarantee from the creators:

Guéra and I really want you to read SCALPED. We want you to have no excuse for not trying SCALPED. To that end, we're now offering a money-back guarantee on the first trade paperback collection, "Indian Country." If you buy a copy and don't like it, just mail it back to us and we'll refund the price, plus the cost of your shipping. It's as easy as that. Here are the details:

http://www.scalped.info/

Tell your friends.

Listen to Garth Ennis: The best new series in years. Spread the word. Tell your friends. Talk about it. Blog about it.

Listen to Ed Brubaker: Read SCALPED and love it, or your money back! Jason Aaron is going a different route to try to get more readers for his excellent Vertigo book - SCALPED. This is one of my very favorite comics right now, and I highly recommend you all take him up on his offer. Please give a great book a chance. Drop some superhero book (not one of mine, of course) that you've been buying out of habit and not enjoying and try something new.

www.johnjudy.net

ICAF and OSU's Festival - another blog

My buddy Charles Hatfield stayed with me for ICAF and then we drove to Ohio for OSU's event. If you click those preceeding sentence's links, you'll see he's put up blog entries on the two with many more links than I ever bother with. He did note that OSU's put up highlight photos so I'll steal that link from him.

Nov 16-17: Jerry Robinson, Lee Marrs in Rockville

Late-breaking news - Jerry Robinson's in town. Saturday Lee Marrs speaks at 4 pm. No time to link but here's Marrs' website - http://www.leemarrs.com/ I'm going to try to make it up there for Marrs talk.

This is their event description:

Comic-con
Come see our new building, and this Comic Book exhibition and convention, and our inaugural exhibit, Zapp! Comic Books and the Arts. Fun for the whole family begins with a free talk Friday night from 7 to 8 by authority Jerry Robinson, who wikipedia notes began work on Batman and Joker beginning in 1939! Activities continue through the weekend with guest artists, special costume events, prizes, commemorative t-shirts, dealers and collectors. Saturday, 10 to 5, and Sunday 11 to 4. For more information, call 301-315-8200.
Nov. 16-18 - VisArts at Rockville, 155 Gibbs St., Rockville, Md. 20850

Bush Leaguers editorial cartoon exhibit review

Here's the review I wrote for the exhibit, from the new issue of IJOCA.

Nov 16: Fantom Comics grand opening ad

Scanned from the paper, since they don't send me press releases.

Latest Marvel comic for the military

I was able to pick up a copy of this at work. I find these all mawkish, rather than inspiring. And silly. The plot to this makes no sense at all. AIM devotes millions of dollars to keeping a brother and sister in the military from communicating with each other?

new International Journal of Comic Art's Table of Contents

We're still having website problems, but here's scans of the table of contents for the new issue. You can order a copy by clicking on the link in the column on the right and sending a check to John Lent at the address on the website. Note there's articles on Spiegelman's 9-11 comic book, Egyptian comics, Art Gallery comics, Brazilian comics, French prints, World War I cartoons... and all for $15!

Paul Hornschemeier has a band? Who knew?

Scott Rosenberg had an article on the cartoonist's band in November 12th's Express: "Paradox Rocks: Arks."

Washington Post on Marvel's digital comics subscription

See "Superheroes on Demand: Marvel Goes After New Fans With Subscription Site," by Mike Musgrove, Washington Post Staff Writer, Wednesday, November 14, 2007; Page D01.

Most of this article comes out of Marvel's press release from yesterday, but author Mike Musgrove did get a comment from Joel Pollack - "Some of my fellow retailers are kind of upset, but I think you can't turn back the hands of time and it's inevitable," he said. "If it hurts the sale of Marvel Comics, it's more self-destructive of Marvel . . . than anything else. . . . I don't know if it's going to have any impact on my business or not."

This isn't going to hurt anyone because Marvel is charging $10 a month for six-month-old comics that you can't download and take with you, but only read on their website. Why would anyone pay them for this? Nobody else has been able to make this model work - not the New York Times, nobody. And most publishers don't have scanners making the material available almost immediately (which I'm not condoning, just noting. I prefer my comics as paper). And none of their comics are hard to find - certainly not the ones they listed as being available online - unless you live in Nepal maybe, and then you're going to have internet connectivity issues anyway.

Also note that Fantom Comics is opening in Union Station - I wish them the best, but I think that's a high-risk move unless they're getting a super deal in rent.

new International Journal of Comic Art is out!

Details to follow, but it's 643 pages for $15.00 - click on the right for more information.

Nov 16: SCAD program on doing comics at Arlington Arts Center

Jeffry Cudlin of the Arlington Arts Center wrote in to tell us about a program on Friday night. I'm not sure if I can make it, but it sounds like it'll be interesting.

TWO FREE WORKSHOPS AT AAC!
By faculty members of the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD)

Sculpture Body Casting
Thursday, November 15 from 5 to 7 pm

Black and White Sequential Art —The placement of compositional black
Friday, November 16 from 5 to 7 pm

For mature high school students and adults.
Registration required: call 703.248.6800

Susan Krause, chair of sculpture at SCAD-Atlanta, will direct a hands-on workshop called Sculpture Body Casting on Thursday, November 15 from 5 to 7 pm. Participants will pair up to create casts of each other.

Have you ever wanted to try your hand at designing your own comic strip? Then sign up for Black and White Sequential Art—The placement of compositional blacks on Friday, November 16 from 5 to 7 pm. Taught by Dove McHargue, professor of Sequential Art and Animation at SCAD, this workshop will include a discussion about the sequential art major offered at SCAD and careers available in this field.

All levels of experience are welcome at both workshops, but class size is limited, so registration is required. To register click here, www.arlingtonartscenter.org/classes/FALL%202007%20REGISTRATION%20FORM.pdf for a print out of our registration form, or call 703.248.6800.

ABOUT SCAD
Savannah College of Art and Design was recently named one of Kaplan’s “25 cutting-edge schools with an eye toward the future.” It prepares talented students for professional careers, emphasizing learning through individual attention in a positively oriented university environment. The goal of the college is to nurture and cultivate the unique qualities of each student through an interesting curriculum, in an inspiring environment, under the leadership of involved professors. SCAD features locations in Atlanta and Savannah GA and in Lacoste, France, and also offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs online through SCAD-eLearning. http://www.scad.edu/admission/yourarea/index.cfm

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP TEACHERS
Originally from Canada, Susan Krause has been with SCAD since 2000 and is chair of sculpture at SCAD-Atlanta. She received her MFA from Yale University in 1989 and has exhibited nationally and internationally for 15 years. Her work is in the form of installation art relating to aspects of the human condition, authenticity and commonality. Dove McHargue teaches sequential art and animation at SCAD. He earned his MFA in Sequential Art from SCAD in 2005 and joined the faculty shortly thereafter.

Founded in 1974, the AAC is dedicated to presenting and supporting new work of contemporary artists in the Mid-Atlantic States. Located in the historic Maury School building, it holds exhibitions, rents studio spaces, and conducts educational programs for all ages. Normal public hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 11 am to 5 pm. For more information, call 703.248.6800 or visit www.arlingtonartscenter.org. The AAC is located at 3550 Wilson Boulevard in Arlington VA, just one block off the Virginia Square-GMU Metro stop on the Orange Line.

Arlington Arts Center programs are made possible through the generous support of the Virginia Commission for the Arts/NEA, the Arlington Commission for the Arts, Arlington County Division of Cultural Affairs, the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation, Strategic Analysis, BB&T Bank, the Arlington Community Foundation, Arlington Catering, and our members.

Arlington Arts Center
3550 Wilson Blvd Arlington VA 22201
Metro: Orange Line: Virginia Square
703.248.6800
www.arlingtonartscenter.org

It's done!

And this isn't the cover! Although the photo by Gary Dumm may end up being the cover - that's the idea at the moment. But I sent the manuscript of Harvey Pekar: Conversations in to the University Press of Mississippi today and sometime in about a year (slightly longer than human gestation apparently) a book should pop out.

The Conversations books are collections of interviews over the career of cartoonists. You've got a couple of days left to get other books in the Conversations series in this website sale.

I've got almost all of the comics and cartoon books listed on the site.

Nov 14-17 manga play in Georgetown

Phil Troutman sends in a reminder of this:

"Trees and Ghosts," Adapted and Directed by Natsu Onoda, from the Graphic Novels of Osamu Tezuka.

WORLD PREMIERE! Nov. 14 - 17 (remaining performances) at 8 pm, Gonda Theatre, Davis Performing Arts Center, Georgetown University.

Advance tickets required, $7 student - $15 general admission: phone 202-687-6933 or http://performingarts.georgetown.edu/THEATER/2007-2008/2007-2008Season.html

From their website: "A new multimedia production adapted from three short graphic novels by a Japanese cartoonist Osamu Tezuka, who is considered the inventor of manga (contemporary Japanese comics). Spirits, elements of nature and memories of World War II haunt each of the stories that make up this highly visual production which employs interactive video, live on-stage drawing, and live taiko drums."

Reviewed in The Washington Post, Tu 13 Nov, page C2.

Which would be here -
"Trees and Ghosts': Manga's Magical Touch" by Nelson Pressley, Washington Post, Tuesday, November 13, 2007; Page C02

Simpson's mag in stores

In the new acquisitions pile is this Simpson's cover for E, the Environmental Magazine (November / December 2007), that I picked up at Busboys and Poets before the PEN/Faulkner event. Interestingly, although 'signed' by Matt Groening, the art is credited inside to Julius Preite. (The fish, blinded by the flash, has three eyes, by the way).

CFP: GRAVEN IMAGES: RELIGION IN COMIC BOOKS & GRAPHIC NOVELS

Posted for former DC-area comics type A. David Lewis...

GRAVEN IMAGES: RELIGION IN COMIC BOOKS & GRAPHIC NOVELS
April 11-13, 2008

Presented by the Luce Program in Scripture and Literary Arts
and the New England-Maritimes American Academy of Religion
Boston University Department of Religion

Keynote Speaker:
James Sturm
The Golem’s Mighty Swing
and James Sturm’s America: God, Gold, and Golems

THE GOLEM'S MIGHTY SWING Cover“Graven Images” will explore the roles of religion in comic books and graphic novels. This conference is open to all interpretations of “religious comics”; in fact, we welcome debate as to what that term might mean. >From the performance of religion in comics, to religious or mythic traditions among the elements of various works, to the use of comics by religious practitioners themselves, the relationship between comics and religion is dynamic and evolving. Given the increasing seriousness with which the public has come to view comics as an art form as well as Americans’ fraught but passionate relationship with religion, “Graven Images” provides an opportunity for discussion of cutting-edge artistic and social issues.

Examples of religion in comics abound. Preacher is the tale of a lapsed Texan clergyman armed with the literal Word of God in order to track down the Creator Himself. The Golem’s Mighty Swing features a group of Jewish ballplayers in the 1920s who invoke a biblical force amidst competition and prejudice. Cerebus, the world’s first and only 6,000-page graphic novel, resolves around the creation of a new religion, its sacred text, the author’s own account of Genesis, and a final accounting with God. Kingdom Come presents a “twilight of the superheroes,” set against the backdrops of both Nordic Ragnarok and Christian Revelation and seen through the eyes of a faith-weary minister and a divine Spirit of Vengeance. Although there is no shortage of religious material in comic books and graphic novels, there is a dearth of formal, academic discussion on the topic. “Graven Images” aims to begin a conversation that will rectify this lack.

The focus will be primarily English-language works produced over the last 60 years for the American market, though special exceptions will be made for particularly strong abstracts. We are particularly interested in the following works and topics, though others will be considered:

Age of Bronze, Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary, Blankets, Buddha, Castle Waiting, Cairo, Contract with God, From Hell, Finder, Hellboy, Hey Mister: The Trouble with Jesus, Invisibles, Jew of New York, King David, Lucifer, Marked!, MAUS, Megillat Esther, Persepolis, Promethea, Sandman, Testament, and the Virgin Comics line.

· Pagan Missionaries: the works of Moore, Gaiman, and Morrison as mouthpieces for New Religious MovementsGraven Images icon
· Christian Comic Books and the Evangelicals
· The Market for Religious Comics
· Daniel: Prophet of Dreams, Samson: Judge of Israel, The Lone and Level Sands, Marked!, and other depictions of the Hebrew Bible or New Testament
· Using Comics to Teach Religion
· Non-Western Religious Traditions in Western Comic Books
· Ritual Wednesdays at the Comic Shop: Comic Book Culture and its Elements of Faith
· What does a Messiah look like? Chosen, Battle Pope, and The New Adventures of Jesus
· Binky Brown and other Irreverent Portraits of Religion: The Role of Humor

500-word abstracts should be sent to the attention of A. David Lewis either through e-mail at ADL@bu.edu or by mail to
“Graven Images” Conference, Department of Religion, Boston University, 145 Bay State Road, Boston MA 02215.

ABSTRACTS MUST BE RECEIVED BY JANUARY 31, 2008.

Charlotteville's Sorenson in top 10

Daryl Cagle reported on the top ten cartoonists on his syndicate's site, and Jen Sorenson was on the list:

MORE INTERESTING STATS

We have a great new system that allows our readers to subscribe to any cartoonist on the site and receive an e-mail with that cartoonist's most recent cartoon, whenever we post a new cartoon from each cartoonist. It has been running for about three months now. Take a look, it is pretty cool. Subscribe to as many as you want, it is FREE.

I just got stats on the individual artist newsletters for the first time and I was a bit surprised to see who the most popular cartoonists are with our reader/subscribers. Here is the top ten list, with the most popular first (I blush, but my name is plastered on everything so I don't know that my being on the list means much):

1. Daryl Cagle
2. Pat Bagley
3. Eric Allie
4. Monte Wolverton
5. Matt Bors
6. Andy Singer
7. Brian Fairrington
8. Shannon Wheeler
9. Clay Bennett
10. Jen Sorensen

Mark Wheatley's new webcomic project again

Here's an interview: "INSIGHT & NASCAR'S MIGHTY-MOTOR SAPIENS" by Jennifer M. Contino,
Comicon's The Pulse 11-09-2007. Mark lives somewhere between DC and Baltimore, I think.

Bush Leaguers redux

Actually, I knew this, because I bought a copy at OSU, but forgot to mention it. Luckily Dave Astor caught it. "New Catalog of Cartoons From 'Bush Leaguers' Exhibit", E&P Online November 12, 2007. This was the show at American University this summer - it was excellent. My review appears in the new issue of the International J of Comic Art which is wending its way through the postal system now.

Post squishes SpongeBob

See "'SquarePantis': Squeezing The Life Out of SpongeBob" by Tom Shales, Washington Post Staff Writer, Monday, November 12, 2007; Page C01.

And just to put an aposite image in your head, yesterday I missed this Persepolis review: "Artful Women" by Nora Krug, Washington Post Book World Sunday, November 11, 2007; Page BW11