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Saturday, May 26, 2012
Big Planet Comics Orbit Newsletter - May 25, 2012
Jerry Gaylord, artist on the new Boom! series Fanboys vs. Zombies, will be appearing at our College Park store tomorrow, Saturday, May 26, from 1 to 3. Fanboys vs. Zombies is a good character-based story about friends and former friends trying to put their differences aside and survive a zombie outbreak at San Diego comicon! Plus, the first issue is only $1 so it's a great way to try out this new series.
Russ Kick, editor of the anthology The Graphic Canon, will be appearing at our Bethesda store for a signing on Saturday, June 2. Publisher's Weekly called The Graphic Canon "the graphic publishing literary event of the year". It is a collection of classic literature interpreted as comics by such greats as R. Crumb, Will Eisner, Molly Crabapple, and lots more, over 130 in total! 
Friday, May 25, 2012
David Hagen at ArtOMatic interview
ArtOMatic 2012 Interview #6: David Hagen
Women, Art, Life blog May 25th, 2012 by Tammy Vitale
http://tammyvitale.com/artomatic-2012-interview-6-david-hagen/
Women, Art, Life blog May 25th, 2012 by Tammy Vitale
http://tammyvitale.com/artomatic-2012-interview-6-david-hagen/
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Stephanie McMillan at the RFK awards tonight
This totally slipped my mind tonight, and I'm sorry to have missed it. Apparently I appeared in a clip in a documentary about the awards too! (sigh) However, Steve Artley got a photograph of Stephanie McMillan the cartoon winner that he's allowed me to post:
Cartoon Winner
Stephanie McMillan self-syndicates the editorial cartoon "Code
Green," which focuses exclusively on topics related to the environmental
crisis. Her comics journalism piece about the Occupy protests, "The
Beginning of the American Fall" was originally commissioned by the
Cartoon Movement, and will be expanded into a book to be published this
fall by Seven Stories Press. She has been active around social justice
and environmental issues for most of her life.
I got this shot of Stephanie holding her trophy at the RFK awards ceremony at the U.S. Institute of Peace tonight.
Cartoon Winner
"The Beginning of the American Fall and Code Green" by Stephanie McMillan
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Stephanie McMillan self-syndicates the editorial cartoon "Code
Green," which focuses exclusively on topics related to the environmental
crisis. Her comics journalism piece about the Occupy protests, "The
Beginning of the American Fall" was originally commissioned by the
Cartoon Movement, and will be expanded into a book to be published this
fall by Seven Stories Press. She has been active around social justice
and environmental issues for most of her life.New Arrivals this week at Game On!
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Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Damn! Cartoons - editorial cartoon con in DC this fall
From: Matt Wuerker
More details about the program schedule and other special guests will be coming in the next month but in an effort to get people to pencil in the dates (Sept 14-15) it would be great to direct people to the site.......
http://damncartoons.org/
_________________________________________________________________________
Matt Wuerker
POLITICO Cartoonist
http://www.politico.com/wuerker
More details about the program schedule and other special guests will be coming in the next month but in an effort to get people to pencil in the dates (Sept 14-15) it would be great to direct people to the site.......
http://damncartoons.org/
_________________________________________________________________________
Matt Wuerker
POLITICO Cartoonist
http://www.politico.com/wuerker
Team Cul de Sac editorial in Pennsylvania paper
Drawing on humor to combat disease
Observer-Reporter May 23 2012
http://www.observer-reporter.com/or/story11/05-23-2012-Drawing--Editorial
Observer-Reporter May 23 2012
http://www.observer-reporter.com/or/story11/05-23-2012-Drawing--Editorial
Fantom Comics newsletter
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Magic Bullet #5 Kickstarter Campaign
From: andrew cohen
I just wanted to let you know that the DC Conspiracy is planning it's fifth issue of MAGIC BULLET, and is running a Kickstarter campaign to help raise funds for it. As you know, MAGIC BULLET is the group's free comic newspaper, featuring a wide array of artists and comic bookers. This issue has a special "end of times" theme, for the end of 2012, to be interpreted however the artists wish. The campaign features rewards of comics, t-shirts, original art and commission sketches, and it wraps up on June 21. It can be accessed at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2104849681/magic-bullet-5
5/23 Politics and Prose bookgroup meeting
From: Adam Waterreus
Just wanted to send out a reminder that we will be meeting tomorrow evening, 5/23, at 7:30, to discuss ARE YOU MY MOTHER?, by Alison Bechdel.
Oh, and here's an older interview, 2007, about Fun Home and her strip, Dykes to Watch Out For. Thought it might be interesting:
http://www.tcj.com/the-alison-bechdel-interview/
See you tomorrow!
Adam
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Meet a Local Cartoonist: Dechanique
Deanna Echanique, who cartoons as Dechanique, embarrassingly enough came to my attention through this Canadian interview done for the Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF) of all places. Her webcomic La Macchina Bellica is the gay-friendly story of elves versus humans in a world where magic and technology are both used in war,. Chapters 1-5 have been collected in a trade paperback and #6 is available as a comic book. She has recently started illustrating a new webcomic Kindling. She was kind enough to answer my usual questions.Mike Rhode: What type of comic work or cartooning do you do?
Dechanique: I draw primarily long-form graphic novels. I work all steps of the process myself (thumbnailing, penciling, inking, and occasionally coloring). While I am primarily a comic artist, I also have illustrated children’s books and enjoy oil painting, book-binding, and sculpting.
How do you do it? Traditional pen and ink, computer or a combination?
It depends on the project. For La Macchina Bellica, I pencil the pages print-sized on printer paper, scan them, and ink/tone them digitally in Manga Studio. I transfer the image to Photoshop for text placement and coloring (for the first half of Ch 7). Kindling is done mostly traditionally. Pages are penciled and inked on 11 x 17 Blue Line Pro comic boards. I used watercolors and a combination of Copic and Prismacolor markers to color the pages. The upcoming chapters will be in black and white, penciled and inked in the same method, and toned digitally in Manga Studio.For inking, I generally use a Pentel pocket brush pen, the Tachikawa school g nib fountain pen, and Microns of varying sizes!
When (within a decade is fine) and where were you born?
April 3, 1984 in Wilmington, North Carolina. TEXTBOOK ARIES
Why are you in Washington now? What neighborhood or area do you live in?
I moved to DC after graduating from college in July 2009. I lived in by Navy Yard for a while, but relocated to Columbia Heights October 2010.
What is your training and/or education in cartooning?
I graduated from Salisbury University with a BFA in Drawing. I never took any specific sequential art or cartooning courses- in that aspect I am self-taught. I did, however, take a plethora of traditional drawing and painting classes, focusing on the figure. The best training in creating comics I got was “on the job” - drawing lots and lots and lots of comic pages. Trial, error, practice, working outside your comfort zone!
Who are your influences?
My biggest influence has been growing up exposed to anime/manga. When I first started drawing comics, I was 11 and my classmate Chloe would loan me the French editions of Sailor Moon (Naoko Takeuchi) and Ranma ½ (Rumiko Takahashi). At the same time, anime started playing in the US more widely- Sailor Moon and G-Force (Gatchaman), Speed Racer, Tekkaman Blade. I was totally hooked! My art was pretty “generic” manga in my teenage years, but in my early 20’s began changing as I started taking traditional art classes in college (I’ve become enamored with drawing lips and noses!) and exposed to a wider range of classical art. Art Nouveau (and the Victorian era dressings/ Steampunk aesthetic became coming into my work.
My painting instructor at Salisbury University, Mr. Jin Chul Kim, has also been influential in my career. He was more or less my mentor during my years there.
More recently, my exposure to social media and broader range of indie and webcomics, and manga like Blade of the Immortal (Hiroaki Samura) and One Piece(Eiichiro Oda), all of which I feel has lead to my evolution in page layout and story-telling, and in creating a broader range of characters. Particularly Eiichiro Oda. I admire him greatly for his story-telling ability and character development, and he has no doubt influenced what I do today.
If you could, what in your career would you do-over or change?
I would say my biggest “what if” scenario is how my career would have turned out if I had put together a portfolio and applied to art schools straight out of high school. I desperately wanted to go to SVA or SCAD, but when I graduated from high school, I had a full ride at a local university, so I opted to go there because I hadn’t prepared a decent portfolio, and was daunted by the cost. I got a BA in Psychology at Florida International University.
I ended up going back to a state school for art later but due to the fact I already had a degree, I didn’t qualify for any scholarships or grants (most specify it has to be your first degree). I racked up a crapton of student loans going back to school. Going to art school straight out of high school I would have spent about the same amount, and maybe would have been in a different place (technically/skill wise) now.
With all that said, however, I wouldn’t actually change what has happened to me and my decisions given the opportunity. I did learn a great deal from being mostly self-taught as far as sequentials are concerned, I made many friends while in college, and while I might be further along in my career had I started younger, I don’t think I would be drawing the same stories or made the professional connections I have. I think I would be a different person than I am now.
What work are you best-known for?My webcomic, La Macchina Bellica. :3
What work are you most proud of?
The work I’m producing for Kindling. Technically, it’s the best work I’ve put out and I’m definitely very proud of it! Having a talented writer turning my creative gears and pushing my boundaries has been super helpful. I have high hopes for this series after designing the characters and thumbnailing the first book. It’s got me really excited!
What would you like to do or work on in the future?
I desperately want to learn to animate! It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, but wasn’t able to find a teacher (or figure out how to do it on my own). I dabbled with animated GIFs for a while, but I just can’t make the transitions nice enough.
What do you do when you're in a rut or have writer's block?
Whenever I get stuck, I bust out some erotica! That usually helps break my art-block, though to be honest, I don’t find I get art blocks often. More likely, I’m just burnt out from deadlines and want to play video games and be lazy for a couple hours.
What do you think will be the future of your field?
Hahah, I’m not really sure! But my outlook is positive!
What's your favorite thing about DC?
Ease of getting around without a car. DC is super walkable/bike-friendly. I rarely ever use my car (except to go out of town or to conventions).
Least favorite?
The lack of parking. It’s a never-ending battle. There aren’t enough parallel spaces, we have to move our cars constantly for street cleaning, and I get ticketed for stupid things like, a $50 ticket because my registration sticker wasn’t properly affixed to my windshield (the glue is shoddy, it was hanging by one corner). I wish I didn’t need a car.
What monument or museum do like to take visitors to?
The Smithsonian Natural History Museum! It’s my favorite. I could wander around in there all day, staring at dinosaurs and stuffed creatures. Pandas – smaller than advertised. Lions – HOLY CRAP HUGE.
How about a favorite local restaurant?
Chix, on 13th and U St NW! Their food is fantastic – and they have a $10 wine bottle happy hour that is just faboo.
Do you have a website or blog?
La Macchina Bellica –http://www.macchinacomic.com
Kindling – http://www.kindlingcomic.com
Aug 3: Rafer Roberts' exhibit in Rockville
| Exhibition date | Friday, August 3rd to Saturday, September 8th, 2012 |
| Exhibition Cost | Free |
| Location | Common Ground Gallery |
| Opening Reception | Friday, August 3rd - 7:00 to 9:00 PM |
Presenting Rafer Roberts' comic book art, mostly drawn with india ink on bristol, with homages to early comic pioneers and an emphasis on the creepy and unsettling.
Comic Riffs on gay cartoon characters
MARVEL ANNOUNCES 'X-MEN's' GAY WEDDING: Does this mean mainstream comics are 'evolving'?
By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog May 22 2012
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/marvel-announces-x-mens-gay-wedding-does-this-mean-mainstream-comics-are-evolving/2012/05/22/gIQAjePNiU_blog.html#pagebreak
By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog May 22 2012
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/marvel-announces-x-mens-gay-wedding-does-this-mean-mainstream-comics-are-evolving/2012/05/22/gIQAjePNiU_blog.html#pagebreak
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