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Tuesday, February 05, 2013
Feb 9: Whodunit - Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!
Congressman's autobiographical 'graphic novel' to be out soon
Rep. John Lewis To Visit BEA, San Diego Comic-Con To Promote 'March'
By Calvin Reid
Feb 04, 2013
Saturday, February 02, 2013
Friday, February 01, 2013
Weldon on superhero's civilian names
They Call Me ... Bruce? When Characters Outlive Their Names
by Glen Weldon
February 01, 2013
Comic Riffs on live cartooning events
AN OPEN REQUEST: As convention season kicks off, bring on more live cartoon performance
By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog February 1 2013
There's a link to watch the hour-long literary death match of which Cavna says, "The Cartoon Death Match pitted such political cartoonists as [Mike Peters,] Mark Fiore, Jen Sorensen and Keith Knight in spontaneous drills at the drawing board — with comics/publishing figures Dean Haspiel, The Beat's Heidi MacDonald and The Post's Gene Weingarten serving as judges. The scene played like a mix of great anecdote-sharing and quick wits between bouts between world-class Pictionary artists." I was there, and enjoyed it a lot.
Big Planet Comics Orbit Newsletter - 1 February 2013
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Mar 27-30: Popular Culture Association meeting in DC
Popular Culture Association meeting is in DC on March 27-30 - this is an academic conference that has a section on comics. The schedule isn't online yet.
Feb 3: Clandestine Comics con in Laurel
Details are here for the Sunday February 3 Clandestine Comics con in Laurel - http://clandestinecomics.com/
The Post and The Examiner on Oscar's animated shorts
Cartoons, stop motion, puppetry will take viewers back in time
By Michael O'Sullivan
Washington Post February 1, 2013
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Oscar shorts offer up plenty of variety
Kelly Jane Torrance
Washington Examiner February 1 2013, p. 25.
The Express on Oscar's animated shorts
Quick Connections
By Kristen Page-Kirby
[Washington Post] Express February 01, 2013, p. 25
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These Will End in Tears
[Washington Post] Express January 31, 2013
http://www.readexpress.com/2013/01/these-will-end-in-tears/
Thursday, January 31, 2013
The Post reviews 'Zorro' play
Constellation's 'Zorro': Gavigan gets to show his duel personality [online title: At Constellation Theatre, a dashing 'Zorro'].
By Peter Marks,
Washington Post
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Feb 8-10: Fairfax High School production of “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown”
Fairfax High School production of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown"
Friday, Feb. 8, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 9, at 11 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, Feb. 10, at 2 p.m.
Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for children at http://www.fxplayers.org or, at the door, $15 for adults and $10 for children. Children ages 5 and under are free with adult purchase.
More information about the play and cast can be found in this article:
'Peanuts' Comic Strip Comes Alive
Fairfax High presents, "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown."
By Bonnie Hobbs
Fairfax Connection January 30, 2013
http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/news/2013/jan/30/peanuts-comic-strip-comes-alive/
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Exhibiting the gold in the Golden Age at the Jewish Museum of MD
This past weekend I was able to attend the members' preview for the exhibit "ZAP! POW! BAM! The Superhero: The Golden Age of Comic Books, 1938-1950." The exhibit has arrived at the Jewish Museum of Maryland in downtown Baltimore and it's well-worth visiting.Curated by the late Jerry Robinson, this exhibit was put together in 2004 by the William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum in Atlanta, which published a catalogue of the same name.Robinson had multiple careers in cartooning including writing a history of comics, being an editorial cartoonist, and starting a syndicate, but he began as a young man in comic books. As a seventeen-year old he began working on Batman as a letterer and inker in 1939. Eventually he became a penciller for the character, and as an employee of what became DC Comics, he met a lot of artists. And thankfully he saved examples of their work, at a time when that behavior wasn't very common.
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| Simon & Kirby cover to Adventure Comics #78 |
And many of the writers and artists were Jewish. As comics historian Arnold Blumberg noted in his remarks at the preview, "...it's a joy to see the exhibit come to a facility like this and to take a look at it from our unique perspective of what our culture, what our heritage, has given not just to itself, but to the world. The world owns Superman and Batman and all these characters now. Many of them may not have a clue where they came from, who were the kind of people who sat down and created them, but they are now owned by the entire world. They're heroes for everybody and they came from us."
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| Siegel & Shuster drawing dedicated to Robinson |
This version of the exhibit does have a tricky dichotomy to it. The uncolored, unfinished single pages of comic book artwork will appeal to a mature (elderly, if they bought the titles originally) viewer, while the idea of a superhero largely is aimed at male teens and younger children. This version of the exhibit caters to the very youngest viewers, with a set of tables, chairs and supplies for making cartoons, a replica of Superman's telephone booth with costumes set alongside it, a Batmobile kiddy ride, a newsstand with comics to read on it, and a piece of "Kryptonite"with a recording that warns one not to get to close.
I was fortunate to be able to visit the exhibit with local cartoonists. Barbara Dale (of Baltimore), known for her humorous cartoons, fixated on the original Spirit page by Will Eisner and the Frank Frazetta that was next to it, and thought those two pieces made the entire exhibit worthwhile.
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| The Eisner Spirit page that impressed Barbara Dale... |
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| ...and the Frazetta cover that Dale also admired. |
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| Note Wrightson's debt to Lou Fine. |
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| Bob Fujitane uses Japanese iconography. |
I had seen a previous version of this exhibit in New York at the Jewish Museum there, but it was reworked as an addition to the massive "Masters of American Comics" show. Any fan of comic book history should take the opportunity to see this version of the show at the Jewish Museum of Maryland. The catalogue can be bought in the gift shop, along with Superman toothbrushes, Batman lunchboxes and hand-painted superhero yarmelkes. The Museum has produced two curriculum guides for schools and plans lectures throughout the exhibit which runs from January 27 - August 28, 2013, and costs $8 or less. More of my pictures can be seen here.
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