Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Cartoonists on greeting cards
Miss Peach 1966 birthday card by Mell Lazarus.
1979 Hallmark birthday card by the great MAD cartoonist Paul Coker.
and the interior message:
This 1970-something Hallmark Valentine's Day card is by another MAD artists whose name is escaping me. Help?
And the interior message:
Finally here's a 1966 Christmas card from the Art Guild of Williamsburg with surprising good girl art and it's interior -
PR: TODD MCFARLANE TO ATTEND BALTIMORE COMIC-CON 2010
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New cartoonist in Post?
This Week: Comic Books’ Brad Meltzer on His Real Heroes
This Week: Comic Books' Brad Meltzer on His Real Heroes
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Ruffin on DC Comics Con
Welcome to 2010, Washington D.C. Comic Convention
DC Comic Books Examiner Mark Ruffin
May 3, 2010
Express review of Pride and Prejuidice and Zombies
Written by Express contributor Stephen M. Deusner
Express May 3, 2010
Comic Riffs on Frazetta's influence
By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog May 11, 2010
-and I must say I wasn't (and still am not) immune to the allure of Frazetta's art. I bought all those Bantam collections in the '70s and still pick up used books just because he did the covers.
Who will be our lucky 200,000 reader?
So some time today, someone becomes the 200,000 reader, at least by one count. I have no way of knowing who that is, but thank you, wherever you are.
Daria dvd collection reviewed in today's Express
Written by Express contributor Afton Lorraine Woodward
[Washington Post] Express (May 11): 28.
online at http://www.expressnightout.com/content/2010/05/daria-complete-series-dvd.php
Recent Dan Clowes interviews and articles, as requested
Braganza, Chantal. 2010.
Don’t confuse Daniel Clowes with an opinionated, middle-aged loner
Ghost World author is back with Wilson, his first full-length comic in five years. But he’s not the protagonist.
Toronto Star (May 6): http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/805305--don-t-confuse-daniel-clowes-with-an-opinionated-middle-aged-loner
Khosla, Abhay et al. 2010.
Savage Symposium: Wilson By Dan Clowes.
Savage Critics blog (May 10): http://www.savagecritic.com/roundtable/savage-symposium-wilson-by-dan-clowes/
Levack, Chandler. 2010.
Comic timing: After six years, Daniel Clowes is returning to the Toronto Comic Arts Festival with Wilson, his first original graphic novel with Drawn & Quarterly. The only problem? He's more afraid of success than ever.
Eye Weekly (May 5): http://www.eyeweekly.com/arts/article/91751--comic-timing
Del Signore, John. 2010.
Daniel Clowes, Cartoonist.
Gothamist (May 5): http://gothamist.com/2010/05/05/daniel_clowes_illustrator.php
Rudick, Nicole. 2010.
Daniel Clowes [Cartoonist].
Believer (May).
Partially online at http://www.believermag.com/issues/201005/?read=interview_clowes
Miliard, Mike. 2010.
Interview: Daniel Clowes: On going from Enid to Wilson.
Boston Phoenix (April 27): http://thephoenix.com/boston/arts/101313-interview-daniel-clowes/
Brooks, Allen. 2010.
DCist Interview: Daniel Clowes.
DCist (April 30): http://dcist.com/2010/04/dcist_interview_daniel_clowes.php
Kois, Dan. 2010.
Panel Discussion Daniel Clowes covers cartoon history in one graphic novel.
NYmag.com (May 2): http://nymag.com/arts/books/features/65724/
Deusner, Stephen M. 2010.
Stick Figure: Daniel Clowes, 'Wilson'.
Express (May 3): http://www.expressnightout.com/content/2010/05/daniel-clowes-wilson-politics-prose.php
Chute, Hillary. 2010.
Off-page with... Dan Clowes: With Wilson, the graphic novelist has more fun being bleak.
Time Out New York (761; April 29–May 5).
Online at http://newyork.timeout.com/articles/books/85200/off-page-with-daniel-clowes
Howard, Dave. 2010.
Dan Clowes' new Graphic Novel, Wilson,
Torontoist (April 14): http://books.torontoist.com/2010/04/dan-clowes-new-graphic-novel-wilson/
Mercier, Jean-Pierre. 2009.
“ Je crois que je me suis toujours senti à part”: entretien avec Dan Clowes.
Ninth Art: http://neuviemeart.citebd.org/spip.php?article34
Rhode, Mike. 2010.
International Ink: Clowes, Kids, Crackers and Hellboy [reviews].
Washington City Paper Arts Desk blog (April 29): http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/books/2010/04/29/international-ink-clowes-kids-crackers-and-hellboy/
Rhode, Mike. 2010.
“Likable Characters Are for Weak-Minded Narcissists”: A Chat with Daniel Clowes.
Washington City Paper Arts Desk blog (May 3): http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/books/2010/05/03/likeable-characters-are-for-weak-minded-narcissists-a-chat-with-daniel-clowes/#more-23182
May 15: 'Trickster' launch signing
Monday, May 10, 2010
Back when Frank Frazetta came to DC cons
Caro on W the Whore
Our Man Thompson's new website
...although he's getting away from being OUR Man Thompson, sob.
...although apparently I'm driving him to HeroesCon on June 4th - not that we've talked about it lately.
Religious opinion on South Park and Mohammad cartoons in Saturday Post
At the blog I was able to find a few relevant articles, although not most of the ones quoted in the physical paper.
Sally Quinn. 2010.
Divine Impulses: Tariq Ramadan says Comedy Central is 'scared' of the Muslim reaction to South Park, Washington Post Divine Impulses blog (May)
Without freedom of expression, there is no democracy
Ex-Hindu monk, professor
Ramdas Lamb
On Faith blog May 6, 2010
Imposed or self-imposed censorship?
Professor, University of Mississippi School of Law
Ronald Rychlak
Washington Post On Faith blog May 7, 2010;
Post launches cartoon contest - updated
Our Man Thompson, who got paid for his Post Style cartoon appearances, is one of the judges, as is Garry "Greatest cartoonist of the 4th quarter of the 20th century" Trudeau, the Post's Gene Weingarten the latest person to break onto their comics page, and Tom "that darn" Toles as well as Stephan Pastis and Jerry Scott. Cavna's blog post on it is here and be sure to read the comments about legal concerns being raised.
I'm feeling slightly less cranky as I update this, so I will say it's a good opportunity for someone to break out of the syndication pack.
Iron Man 2 videogame reviewed in Examiner
Meet a Local Cartoonist: A Chat with Jeffrey Thompson
Comics on the Rack, Quick Picks for Comics Due 05-12-10
Sunday, May 09, 2010
Dan Clowes at Politics and Prose highlights
As requested by at least one reader, here's some notes from Clowes' appearance at Politics and Prose. Unfortunately the store's cd recorder failed so they're not offering the recording for sale - and this was one of the best cartoonist events I've seen.
Dan Kois of the Washington Post was the interviewer. The slide set was provided by Clowes and covered his career, which began with Wally Wood being his favorite cartoonist, discovering his story "Welcome to My World," and realizing that cartoonists were in fact real people. Although he wanted to work for MAD, his first published work was for Cracked. Fantagraphics and he agreed to do a comic book based on his character Lloyd Lewellyn - when he got bored with that, he began Eightball which let him run many of his graphic novels as serials. Eightball and Like A Velvet Glove Cast in Iron both came from lines in the odd movie Faster, Pussycat, Kill! Kill! when the criminal women are at the gas station.
Clowes feels like the strangest job he ever got was for Coca-Cola's "OK" Beverage where the advertising company gave him carte blanche to design the can and he ended up having to see this drawing he did of a man based on Charles Manson on billboards.
Wilson, his new book, arose when he was waiting at his father's deathbed and began writing comic strips to keep his mind occupied. He and Kois concurred that reading the whole book at once was a bit much and laughingly settled on a suggested 1 strip per hour. The book is intended to look like a 1950s cartoon book such as VIP's Big George, where a viewer can clearly tell that this is both a comic collection book and Big George is a jerk.
During the questions, he recommended Tim Hensley's Wally Gropius several times. He said he was bored with 1990s animation until Persepolis came out and thought the best film in ten years was Fears of the Dark especially Richard Maguire's segment which he called on par with Hitchcock.
He's done with Eightball probably because comic books don't really make sense anymore when you have to sell them for $7-8. He's working on a screenplay - "I'm working on something I can't talk about."
He doesn't use computers except to color - "Every line in every book is drawn by hand." Coloring is done in an architect's program, Vector, which is a pain, but gives perfect precision every time.
Is Wilson's monologue internal? "I'm not sure." The good thing about comics is that it doesn't matter. In a film, he'd look insane talking to himself, but comics lets you play around with what's actually happening.
Eightball 23, The Death Ray, will be reprinted as a book at some point - he's just had too much to do and the comic needed to sell out first, but now he's got too much new product coming out. The New York Times strip Mr. Wonderful in an expanded version will be out from Pantheon next February.
Francois Mouley approached him about doing New Yorker covers. He had been doing spot illos for the magazine, but that's a different department. He'd been asked years ago to do them, but hadn't figured out how to approach them. Noting that they're supposed to be wry proto-cartoons, he reflected, "If you actually make someone laugh, you've failed." Now he's got it down and can immediately think how to design one.
Did he enjoy collaborating on movies? "I did enjoy it. You can get very stuck in your own head drawing comics every day... I wouldn't want to do that [ie moviemaking] full time at all."
Were the NY Times strips edited? "They were very good except for certain words. I needed the guy to go to "Jesus" for his word" - after a letter, the NYT told him he couldn't use it anymore. "They wouldn't let me use the word 'schmuck.' He quoted their own columnist William Safire on the widespread acceptance of the word now, but they still wouldn't let him use it. (Incidentally, it appeared in the Arts section just this past week).
That's all the notes I took - I'm really sorry the recording failed. Clowes has been doing tons of interviews besides in DC, and I'm compiling them for my next bibliography - if there's any interest I can post links here.
Frank Cho interview
Newsarama May 6 2010
Artist Frank Cho talks with Newsarama about New Ultimates, Liberty Meadows and Zombie King at C2E2 2010 in Chicago.
Bill Laroque interview
Zadzooks on Iron Man comics
Viking violence with Finn and Egil
By Joseph Szadkowski
Saturday, May 08, 2010
That darn Toles, now on MTV's Real World
Glen Weldon on zombies
I, Zombie: A Jug of Wine, A Lobe of Brain, and Thou
by Glen Weldon
May 5, 2010
Brad Meltzer in town this week
Bethesda, MD
Wednesday, May 12 — 7:00 pm
Barnes & Noble
4801 Bethesda Avenue
Fairfax, VA
Thursday, May 13 — 7:30 pm
Borders – Bailey’s Crossing
5871 Crossroads Center Way
Prickly City is too prickly says letter
Friday, May 07, 2010
Senator Franken uses Toles' cartoon as visual aid
And she gave this Youtube link to a film of his presentation as well.
Comics Riffs announces new cartoon project on Monday
Support the National Zoo by commissioning a comic book
Ryan Estrada will draw a custom comic book about your pet if you win this bid to raise money for the National Zoo. Bidding starts at $500, there are no bids yet, and the projected value is $1500. Think of how good you'll feel when you present your parakeet with the story of its life in comic form and bid early and often.
Actually, I was tempted but wiser heads (ie the wife) stepped in.
DCist reviews Iron Man 2
Cavna on Comedy Central Jesus cartoon
Post on Iron Man 2
'Man' of the hour [online title: Ann Hornaday on 'Iron Man 2' and 'Casino Jack and the United States of Money'], By Ann Hornaday, Washington Post Staff Writer, Friday, May 7, 2010; C01 should be the premier article, but a review of a totally unrelated type of movie is interwoven.
Movie review: 'Iron Man 2' loses its magnetism, By Ann Hornaday, Washington Post Staff Writer, Friday, May 7, 2010; WE37 should be the minor article, but is the one that actually makes more sense.
May 22: Windup Comic Fest in Baltimore
Saturday, May 22
2pm - 7pm
The Windup Space
12 West North Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21201-5904
More details here.
Richmond's Adhouse Books in Toronto
Examiner on Iron Man 2
'Iron Man 2' doesn't quite live up to its first installment
Sally Kline
Washington Examiner May 7, 2010
Thursday, May 06, 2010
Weldon on Wilson
by Glen Weldon
National Public Radio's Books We Like (April 30 2010)
DC Comic-Con Wrap-Up
That said, I found out about the show when I read on Convention Scene that they had sold out vendor space -- Marc hadn't bothered to mention that they were throwing a little Comic-Con in my back yard! I did ultimately help write the 2 quick PRs that went out, but that was the extent of my involvement in the show. I paid my $5 like everyone else (who wasn't a veteran or GMU student/faculty member).
So all that said, I think that everyone's experience probably came down to expectations, as it does with most things in life. Understanding that it was on GMU's campus, the small number of professional guests, and that it was the first show, I was expecting something very much akin to what the first Baltimore Comic-Con was 11 years ago, and I was not disappointed. The room was on the smallish side, the aisles could be a little cramped, and there were a good handful of dealers, but among them were largely the usual cast of characters for local shows (with one or two exceptions). Dealers had everything from golden age to modern age, statues and toys to original artwork, but you had to look around to find it -- just like at any other show.
The guests were distributed throughout the show -- the headliners, Herb Trimpe, Frank Cho, and JG Jones, had individual table space at the very front of the room on a raised stage and attendees waited in line to go up and talk to them, get signatures, or get sketches. The Hero Initiative guests were on the floor but right in front of the stage, and Jo Chen and John K. Snyder III looked to be busy all show long (Jo had a line before she finished setting up and was selling merch left and right!). Steve Conley was next to Jo, also facing the stage, and the Luna and Fillbach brother teams were set up right inside the doorway to the room at the Laughing Ogre Comics table. Both sets of brothers ended up busily sketching and signing the rest of the day, and Laughing Ogre sold all of the inventory they brought to the show within minutes, thanks to a bulk purchase, so I think the show ended up working out pretty well for them!
Parking was free. Let me say that again: parking was free. I think most shows in metropolitan areas with guests and dealers like were at this one usually have only pay-parking, and depending on what else is going on in proximity to the event, that fee can be hefty. I know that when the O's or Ravens are in town for a game during the Baltimore Comic-Con weekend, I'll be shelling out more than I'd prefer for the privilege. All that said, it was a pretty long walk from the parking lot with no significant signage on a 90-something degree day to get from where I left the car to where the show was. I followed the slow stream of what I assumed to be other attendees, and eventually figured out where I needed to be, as I assume most other people did as well.
People were enjoying themselves. They were happy to see the guests, they were happy to see the dealers, and they were happy to see other attendees too -- a handful in costumes, likely for the costume contest announced just before the weekend.
All in all, I felt the event was a success, and I believe the attendees and dealers did too, as did the organizers. I think there are some lessons learned from the experience, and I'm hoping Marc and Brett will apply them to what I'm sure will be a recurring and evolving comic event in the DC area.
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
May 7: Beyond Comics Iron Man Tickets special
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Another USO cartoonist tour passed through Walter Reed
Comics artists sought in Kensington
June 1: Swann Fellow lecture on Early Turkish Cartoons
Library of Congress
101 Independence Avenue SE
Washington DC 20540
May 5, 2010
Public contact: Martha Kennedy (202) 707-9115, mkenn@loc.gov
Cartoons of Early Turkish Republic
To Be Topic of Swann Fellow's Lecture on June 1
Swann Foundation Fellow Yasemin Gencer will explore the visual and textual rhetoric of cartoons from the early years of the Turkish Republic in a lecture June 1 at the Library of Congress.
Gencer will present "Cartooning Progress: Secularism and Nationalism in the Early Turkish Republic (1922-28)" at noon on Tuesday, June 1, in Dining Room A on the sixth floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C. The event is free and open to the public; no tickets or reservations are needed.
In her illustrated talk, Gencer will discuss how cartoons had the power to create, shape and project a new Turkish national identity based on European models. She will look at cartoons that highlight reforms initiated during the early years of the Turkish Republic. In one cartoon, for example, an automobile made of Latin letters speeds past a camel composed of Arabic letters, demonstrating how the cartoonist combines text with visual metaphor to underscore the benefits of changing the official alphabet. Such cartoons from 1922-28 illustrate many reforms aimed at secularizing the nation.
The Turkish Republic of today was established in 1922, following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in the wake of World War I. Under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal (1881-1938), known as Kemal Atatürk, the new republic put forth a reform program intended to distance the state socially and politically from its Ottoman and Islamic past, while simultaneously drawing itself closer to the secular and more technologically developed nations in the West.
As the first president of the Turkish Republic, Kemal is credited with modernizing his nation's legal and educational systems and encouraging the adoption of aspects of European daily life. The transition from Turkish written in Arabic to Turkish written in the Latin alphabet can be seen as part of the modernization that unfolded during this period.
In her lecture, Gencer will draw on the materials that she has studied in the collections of the African and Middle Eastern Division and the Prints and Photographs Division.
Gencer completed a master's degree in 2008, with a focus on Turkish studies, in the Department of Central Eurasian Studies at Indiana University. Currently a doctoral student in the Department of the History of Art at Indiana University, she is studying Islamic arts with a specialization in Ottoman and Turkish Republican print culture. Her dissertation focuses on cartoon arts and satirical journals of the early Turkish Republican period.
The lecture, sponsored by the Swann Foundation, the Prints and Photographs Division and the African and Middle Eastern Division, is part of the foundation's continuing activities to support the study, interpretation, preservation and appreciation of original works of humorous and satiric art by graphic artists from around the world.
The Swann Foundation's advisory board is comprised of scholars, collectors, cartoonists and Library of Congress staff members. The foundation strives to award fellowships annually to assist scholarly research and writing projects in the field of caricature and cartoon. Applications for the 2011-2012 academic year are due Feb. 15, 2011. More information about the fellowship is available through the Swann Foundation's website www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/swannhome or by e-mailing swann@loc.gov.
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PR10-103
5/5/10
ISSN: 0731-3527
Library of Congress, 101 Independence Ave SE, Washington, DC 20540-1610 United States
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
Shawn Martinbrough profiled
Drawing Noir with Shawn Martinbrough
by Alex Dueben
Mon, May 3rd, 2010
Washington Blade returns while Times fades
Meanwhile, the Washington Times has confirmed that it is for sale. The Times dropped all of its comics months ago.
Dan Clowes at Politics and Prose pictures
I forgot my notes for this at work today - perhaps tomorrow I can put up some of the highlights. In the meantime, here are my pictures. I'd especially like to note that Daniel stayed from 7 - 10:40 pm - he made sure everyone on line got a sketch in a book.
And apparently everyone in DC interviewed him too - I like my interview best of course, but here's another -
DCist Interview: Daniel Clowes
Written by DCist Contributor Allen Brooks
April 30 2010
and another by the Post freelancer who did an excellent job interviewing him at P&P -
Panel Discussion: Daniel Clowes covers cartoon history in one graphic novel, By Dan Kois, published May 2, 2010.
There was a somewhat atypical crowd this time - I saw Martha Kennedy of the Library of Congress' cartoon collection, Larry Rodman the former Comics Journal reporter, Michael Wenthe an American University professor, Hank Stuever the Washington Post's Style reporter, Randy Tischler this blog's co-writer and publicity man for the Baltimore Comic-Con, book collector and Herblock specialist Warren Bernard and a cartoonist for the Times of India whom I didn't get to meet.
Baltimore's Jose Villarubia featured on Canadian site
Monday, May 03, 2010
May 4: Richard Kelly at American Art (repost)
7:00 PM
McEvoy Auditorium, Lower Level
American Art Museum
Collecting for the Long Haul
Tuesday, May 4, 7:00 p.m.
Richard Kelly, The Kelly Collection of American Illustration
Express website also interviewed Clowes
Clowes was a really interesting interview and a nice guy - if you're later on the book tour, go see this. If you missed him in DC, call Politics and Prose and order the recording of the talk.
Pictures coming soon.
Barbarian Comics profiled in today's Post
As Friend of ComicsDC Robert Montgomery noted when tipping me to this article, "The reporter breathlessly mentions that one of the owners has a "30 year old Batman." Probably worth $0.50-$1.00. Or less."
Indeed. Parents, don't let your kids grow up to be comic store owners.
Clowes interview up at City Paper - he's at Politics and Prose tonight
Monday, May 3rd, 2010 is short email interview that he did with me - he's very funny. Go read it now, and then see him tonight at Politics and Prose at 7 pm.
Here's the PR from his publisher:
Dan Clowes On Tour! WILSON in stores!
All of our North American distributors have shipped the most anticipated book of the year to stores -- WILSON by Daniel Clowes, the cartoonist of David Boring, Ghost World and Ice Haven and the legendary Eightball comic book series. Today, WILSON is available everywhere in North America, at a finer store near you. In the next year, foreign language editions will also come out in the UK, Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Netherlands and Denmark.
Dan Clowes embarks on his tour next week in support of his first ever original graphic novel. In each city, Dan will be talking with a special guest moderator complete with slide show. (and it's a great slide show) And in Boston you get to see Ghost World after the event, with an introduction by Dan himself.
05/03/10 | 7 PM Washington DC POLITICS & PROSE With Dan Kois
05/04/10 | 6 PM Cambridge BRATTLE THEATER & HARVARD BOOKSTORE With Hillary Chute
05/05/10 | 7 PM NYC THE STRAND With David Hajdu
05/07/10 | 7 PM Toronto TCAF & TPL With Mark Medley
05/08/10-05/09/10 Toronto TCAF & TPL
05/13/10 | 7:30 PM San Francisco THE BOOKSMITH With Glen David Gold
05/14/10 | 7:30 PM Los Angeles SKYLIGHT BOOKS With Dana Gould
05/16/10 | 7:30 PM Portland POWELLS With Greg Netzer, Director of Wordstock
06/03/10 | 7 PM Oakland DIESEL With Eli Horowitz
06/12/10 | 7 PM Chicago QUIMBY'S (signing only)
06/13/10 | TBA Chicago PRINTERS ROW With Ray Pride
ABOUT WILSON: Meet Wilson, an opinionated middle-aged loner who loves his dog and quite possibly no one else. In an ongoing quest to find human connection, he badgers friend and stranger alike into a series of one-sided conversations, punctuating his own lofty discursions with a brutally honest, self-negating sense of humor. After his father dies, Wilson, now irrevocably alone, sets out to find his ex-wife with the hope of rekindling their long-dead relationship, and discovers he has a teenage daughter, born after the marriage ended and given up for adoption. Wilson eventually forces all three to reconnect as a family - a doomed mission that will surely, inevitably backfire.
Full Color, 80 pages, 8 1/4 by 11 1/2 inches ISBN: 9781770460072 $21.95 US / $22.95 CDN
For more information visit www.drawnandquarterly.com/blog
Ann Telnaes and other editorial cartoonists condemn threats against South Park
Comics on the Rack, Quick Picks for Comics Due 05-05-10
TODAY: Kal on Kojo on NPR, May 8th in Baltimore
On Monday May 3 I will be a guest Washington's NPR showcase station , WAMU (www.wamu.org, 88.5 FM), on the Kojo Nnamdi show. I will be on the 1-2PM slot as part of a discussion on Satire and Culture.
I will be the guest speaker at the annual benefit fundraiser for "At Jacob's Well" (http://atjacobswell.org) a very worthy charity dedicated to aiding the homeless community in Baltimore. Here are the details:
When: Saturday, May 8, 2PM
Where: Church of the Redeemer, 5603 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD
Details: $20. Admission includes Wine and Hors d'oeuvres. Silent auction to benefit the charity
If you cannot attend but want to help this very worthy group, please visit their website: http://atjacobswell.org/
Also,
Best
Kal