PR: Awesome Con Kickstarter campaign update

Friend on Facebook Follow on Twitter Forward to a Friend Important Info: April 19-20, 2014 Saturday 10-7 Sunday 10-5 Washington Convention Center Washington, DC 20001 Mt. Vernon Square Metro station (Green/Yellow lines) Text/call (240)346-0399 for more info Only 4 more days! Read this, it's important!  The Kickstarter Campaign is almost over, and we only need about $6,000 more! We added a few more bonuses for all backers, as well a few more reward tiers. If you decide you want one of the new rewards, you still have time to change your reward tier. On top of that, if you want to add one of our existing exclusive comics (Regular Show #1, Fionna & Cake #1, Adventure Time #15, TMNT #1) to your reward, just add $15 per comic and send us a note about which one you want.  Here's the big news: As long as the campaign is funded, we're going to add a PREVIEW NIGHTto Awesome Con on Friday, April 18. All backers of at least the $25 reward will get access to Preview Night at no extra cost!! We've also added a cool reward tier that features some original art! For Awesome Con 2013, we had an exclusive variant cover of Regular Show #1. On the back of this comic book is a blank page for artwork. Well, we had a number of artists do some, and more artists have volunteered to do some, so everyone who pledges at this level gets the Regular Show #1 with ORIGINAL ARTWORK, along with everything in the SUPERHERO ASSIST + T-SHIRT tier. What we'll do is give everyone a choice of which artist they want, starting with the first backer at this reward level. Here's a list of artists we will have artwork from: Robert Ullman, Matt Slay, Jerry "Franchize" Gaylord, Pennie Gaylord, Bryan Turner, Mark Mariano, Dan Nokes, Drew Blank, Louie LaDalombara from Geek Boy Press, Keir Lyles, John "Waki" Wycough, Chris Flick, Scott Markley, Dawn Griffin, Bryan G. Brown, and MORE! If you've already signed up for a reward and you don't want to change it, you can add $50 to your reward tier and get a Regular Show #1 with ORIGINAL ARTWORK on it!! Just make sure you send us a note to let us know that's what you want.    The other big thing we're doing for all of our backers, we will send out the link to our room block at the Renaissance Hotel to backers at least one week before we publish the link on our website. Our rate is $139 + tax, that's the best rate I've ever seen at that hotel. Maybe they're trying to build a relationship with us because there's a new hotel opening up next year next to the Convention Center. I don't know, but $139 per night at a downtown DC four-star hotel is amazing, and it's within walking distance to the con (it's just across the square). I know it's not a huge perk, but if you're planning to travel to the con it can save you a few hundred dollars.    These two added benefits will ONLY happen if the Kickstarter campaign is funded. The con will still happen if we aren't funded, but we may have to scale back a few things that we want to do if we have to look somewhere else for funding. It will be Awesome regardless.    Don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions! I've already spoken to a few people who were on the fence about the Sidekick/Vigilante/Superhero levels and they decided to go for it after having a few things clarified. If you're concerned about the guests we'll have at Awesome Con 2014, take a look at the guest lists from Emerald City Comicon, Megacon, and Wizard World. We're talking to agents for a lot of the same people.    THANK YOU!!!!   http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1611556041/awesome-con-dc

Tracking Truitt at USA Today

Neil Gaiman returns to 'The Sandman' in October: New 'Overture' miniseries features an untold story illustrated by J.H. Williams III.
Brian Truitt, USA TODAY July 1, 2013
http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2013/07/01/neil-gaiman-the-sandman-overture-comic-book-series/2480171/

'Miami Vice,' 'Knight Rider' return as digital comics: Three other retro shows from the 1980s and '90s are also getting the treatment this year.
Brian Truitt, USA TODAY uly 2, 2013
http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2013/07/02/miami-vice-knight-rider-1980s-retro-tv-comic-books/2481811/

Author Jeff Lindsay takes a stab at 'Dexter' comic book: Just as the Showtime series is ending, the vigilante serial killer comes alive in comic-book form.
Brian Truitt, USA TODAY  July 2, 2013
http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2013/07/02/dexter-comic-book-series/2483309/

Game On! Comics July 4th sale

Our Weekly Video Magazine!

Game On! Comics Video Magazine about Comics of the Week

 

Fourth of July SALE!! 

Come in this Thursday from 11am to 8pm for our 4th of July Sale!

25%-50% OFF Almost Everything in the Store!

50% OFF all Back Issues

25% OFF all Games*

25% OFF all Heroclix 

25% OFF all Action Figures

25% OFF all Graphic Novels

Additional 25% OFF Sale items!

*excludes Magic the Gathering

Art Hondros' Song of Sandy Hook part 7

Comic Riffs on Entertainment Weekly's Top 10 graphic novel list

OF 'MAUS' AND MAN: Are these really the top-10 graphic novels ever?

 By Michael Cavna

Washington Post Comic Riffs July 2 2013

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/of-mausand-man-are-these-really-the-top-10-graphic-novels-ever/2013/07/02/8b93217c-e2c7-11e2-80eb-3145e2994a55_blog.html

Art Hondros' Song of Sandy Hook part 6

International Ink extra: Gettysburg: The Graphic History

The Battle of Gettysburg, a turning point in the Civil War, took place 150 years ago today. Gettysburg: The Graphic History by Wayne Vansant (Zenith Press, 2013, $20) is a graphic history of the story of the battle. Robert E. Lee of the Confederate Army had led his troops north to Pennsylvania, hoping to both shock the North and reprovision his armies with food and clothing captured from Union states. The Union, or Federal troops, under the newly appointed Major General George Meade, intercepted them near the small town of Gettysburg in southern Pennsylvania. Although Lee did not want to fight a pitched engagement, his cavalry scouts under JEB Stuart had wandered south towards Washington and didn't warn him away from the Union (or Federal) troops. Once some of his troops were committed, Lee decided to fight, hoping to punch a whole in the Union line of defenders. For three days, the two sides fought with thousands of men until the Union broke a last chance charge by General George Pickett. On July 4th, the Confederates retreated, and Meade didn't follow them in spite of President Lincoln's urgings.

The story is so big and complex that it doesn't fit well into 96 pages. Vansant does a competent job of explaining the preparations before the battle, the three days of the battle and the aftermath, including the full text of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address which dedicated the Union cemetery. He's obviously used reference photographs, and his artwork makes the famous people recognizable, if a bit stiff. He approaches the story chronologically, and one can get an idea of how the battle unfolded, but the book remains rather dry. Given his young adult audience, Vansant draws a minimum of bloodshed. When he writes, "Down below, General Hood's left arm was shattered by a shell burst," he draws Hood and his horse blinded and pushed to one side by the explosion and only colors them with a golden wash. I do not think most readers would actually want any more graphic detail than that, but Vansant's decision does sap some of the essence out of the story. His need to jump from one small segment of the battle to the next, unavoidable as it may be, has the same effect.

The story appears to be factually correct, although some items such as drawing Confederate General Lewis Armistead advancing with his hat speared on his sword aren't explained. Perhaps he thought sharpshooters would aim for his hat? A final round of proof-reading would have avoided mistakes such as "Choked with emotion because he did not want to make this attack, Longstreet nearly nodded." (p. 81) Presumably 'merely' is meant, not 'nearly' since a near nod is not much of a military command.

In conclusion, this book is most likely to appeal to a boy who already has an interest in the Civil War or military history, and is a perfectly reasonable starting place for someone looking at the vast amount of Gettysburg literature.

Still coming next - Tommysaurus Rex.

Nick Galifianakis joins Go Comics

Nick Galifianakis joins Go Comics today with reprints of his Washington Post work for Carolyn Hax's column. The first panel is here.

Big Planet Comics' July 4th sale

PR: Swann Foundation Announces Awards for 2013-2014

Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave. SE
Washington DC   20540

July 1, 2013

Public contact: Martha Kennedy (202) 707-9115, mkenn@loc.gov

Swann Foundation Announces Awards for 2013‑2014

The Caroline and Erwin Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon, administered by the Library of Congress, has awarded fellowships to five applicants for the academic year 2013-2014.  Recipients attend the University of North Carolina and Brandeis, Fordham and George Mason universities.

Alexandra Boni, a doctoral candidate in history at George Mason University, was awarded a Swann Fellowship to support research for her dissertation, “Editorializing the Cold War: Cartoons and Commentary on Nuclear Fear and Anxiety, 1945-1989.” Boni aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of cartoons relating to Cold War anxiety by three nationally syndicated cartoonists—Herbert Block (Herblock), Paul Conrad and Frank Miller—in the context of their cartoons’ embedded contents and related articles and letters to the editor in the main newspapers that published their work (Herblock’s in the Washington Post, Conrad’s in the Denver Post and Los Angeles Times and Miller’s in the Des Moines Register).

Erin Corrales Diaz, a doctoral candidate in art history at the University of North Carolina, was awarded a fellowship to support research for her dissertation, “Remembering the Veteran: Disability, Trauma, and the American Civil War, 1861-1915.” She will investigate ways in which American illustrators, cartoonists, artists and photographers used the figure of the disabled veteran to explore the trauma and violence of the American Civil War. She will focus on the work of Thomas Nast, Joseph E. Baker and other artists whose work in the pictorial press shows how the figure of the veteran permeated many forms of American popular culture.

Allison Lange, a doctoral candidate in history at Brandeis University received a fellowship to support research on her dissertation, “Pictures of Change: Transformative Images of Gender and Politics in the Woman Suffrage Movement, 1776-1920.” This project explores the use of publicly circulating imagery in the movement.  Lange first will examine late-18th century conventions for representing gender. She then will examine how suffragists used newspaper cartoons and illustrations, photographs and other imagery to promote their movement, which ended with women winning the vote in 1920.

Johnathan Pettinato, a doctoral candidate in history at Fordham University, received a fellowship to support research for his dissertation, “Burke and Britons: Edmund Burke and the Irish Other in 18th-Century Cartoons.”  In tracing the rise of chauvinism and xenophobia in late-18th-century Britain, Pettinato focuses on the era’s scurrilous cartoons that caricatured Burke as an ‘other,’ an un-British threat to Britain and its empire, by often drawing upon stereotypes of the Irish and Jesuit priests. The study will particularly benefit from consulting the Library’s outstanding collection of British satirical prints.

Louis Dean Valencia, also a doctoral candidate in history at Fordham University, received a fellowship to support research for his dissertation, “Making a Scene: Movida, Comic Books, Punk Rock, Anti-authoritarian Youth Culture, and Creating Democratic Spaces in Franco’s Spain, 1955-1984.”  He explores how young Spaniards living under Francisco Franco’s dictatorship subverted the régime in their everyday lives by reading American comics, despite government attempts to interdict such activity. Valencia suggests that exposure to such comics that conveyed democratic, pluralistic and proto-feminist ideals contributed to Spanish youths’ rejection of fascist ideology as evidenced in comics they produced in the mid-1970s that critiqued the régime. 

During the coming academic year, the five recipients will conduct research at the Library of Congress, largely in the General Collections and in the Prints and Photographs, Serial and Government Publications, and Rare Book and Special Collections divisions.

New York advertising executive Erwin Swann (1906‑1973) established the Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon in 1967.  An avid collector, Swann assembled a large group of original drawings by more than 500 artists, spanning two centuries, which his estate bequeathed to the Library of Congress in the 1970s.  Swann=s original purpose was to build a collection of original drawings by significant creators of humorous and satiric art and to encourage the study of original cartoon and caricature drawings as works of art.  The foundation=s support of research and academic publication is carried out in part through a program of fellowships.

# # #

PR13-127
7/1/13
ISSN: 0731-3527

John Kinhart's videos on comics

It's been a few years since we checked in with cartoonist John Kinhart. We'll be interviewing him, but in the meantime, he's made three short videos about cartoonists and here are the links -

Kim Deitch : The Search For Smilin' Ed
Jul 15, 2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfqCgf8867c&feature=youtu.be

Finally collected in one volume, Kim Deitch's sprawling whiligig of a yarn "The Search for Smilin' Ed" chronicles his investigation into the secrets behind the life and career of a very strange children's show host and his malevolent (in fact, possibly demonic) sidekick. Directed, edited and shot by John Kinhart

BB&B Special Feature: The Archive of Jay Lynch
bbbmovie Nov 7, 2012
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_SAkUqsr-g&feature=youtu.be

Kelly Froh
Jan 5, 2012
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn4Nsa1qd0A&feature=youtu.be

Short documentary about cartoonist Kelly Froh. Kelly has released mini-comics and zines with such titles as The Cheapest S.O.B.'s, Puke Stories, Beating Up Little Brother, Unlucky, Two Days Away From Staring at Birds From a Park Bench and the autobiographical series Slither.

Art Hondros' Song of Sandy Hook part 5

Art Hondros' Song of Sandy Hook part 4

Part 3.

Aug 21-Nov 3: DC Conspiracy at Arlington's Artisphere

COMICS MAKING STUDIO WITH MEMBERS OF THE D.C. CONSPIRACY

Meet and Greet: Sat Sep 21, 6-8pm
ON VIEW WED AUG 21 – SUN NOV 3
FREE
Works in Progress Gallery

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Meet and Greet with Artists: Sat Sep 21, 6-8pm

Members of the D.C. Conspiracy (DCC), a comics-creating collaborative, will be working on actual page submissions for the Spring 2014 edition of Magic Bullet, a free, semi-annual comics newspaper. The artists will have onsite working hours so you can watch them draw and see the magic unfold. There will be "blank" comic pages available so you can make a comic and leave it behind as part of the exhibition.

Artists' onsite residency hours:
Thursdays 6:30-9:30pm + Saturdays 1-4pm (+ Wednesday September 18)

Residency Dates:
Thu Aug 22 & Sat Aug 24: Matt Rawson
Thu Aug 29 & Sat Aug 31: Matt Dembicki
Thu Sep 5 & Sat Sep 7: Rafer Roberts
Thu Sep 12 & Sat Sep 14: Steve Loya
Wed Sep 18 & Sat Sep 21: Evan Keeling*
Thu Sep 26-Sat Sep 28: Eric Gordon
Thu Oct 3-Sat Oct 5: Jamie Noguchi
Thu Oct 10-Sat Oct 12: Christiann MacAuley
Thu Oct 17- Sat Oct 19: Art Hondros
Thu Oct 24- Sat Oct 26: Jacob Warrenfeltz
Thu Oct 31- Sat Nov 2: Andrew Cohen
*Please note that Evan Keeling will be on-site on Wed Sep 18 instead of Thu Sep 19.

Cartoonists Rights Network profiled in Salt Lake paper

 Russell: Cartoonist paying high price
By robert russell
Salt Lake Tribune Jun 28 2013
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/opinion/56505901-82/cartoonists-akram-political-rights.html.csp

The title refers to Akram Raslan of Syria.

Recent stories by Brian Truitt

A 'Superior' change of pace for Spider-Man comics: Big things are happening in the main Spidey book in July, which also sees the debut of three new titles.
Brian Truitt, USA TODAY June 27, 2013
http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2013/06/27/superior-spider-man-month-marvel-comics/2446727/

Two-Face a lethal lawyer in 'Dark Knight' digital series: The disfigured supervillain wants to right a wrong from his past in digital comic story.
Brian Truitt, USA TODAY June 26, 2013
http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2013/06/26/batman-legends-of-the-dark-knight-digital-comic/2459299/

Meet Marvel's new animated 'Agents of S.M.A.S.H.': The Disney XD series premieres in August with an array of musclebound superheroes.
Brian Truitt, USA TODAY  June 26, 2013
http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2013/06/26/hulk-and-the-agents-of-smash/2459317/

Art Hondros' Song of Sandy Hook, part 3

Part 2.

July 6: Mark Burrier's new t-shirt design

Shirt Release & Art Opening Saturday, July 6 at 5pm

Thrasher x Pitcrew Collab Shirt Turn up and get the new Thrasher Magazine x Pitcrew collab t-shirt Saturday, July 6 at Pitcrew. The shirt features my artwork as a homage to a classic Thrasher design from the 80's. The super-secret design will be revealed on the 6th. They are available in different colorways and only at Pitcrew in a limited edition so don't miss out!

New Artwork on Exhibit In conjunction with the shirt release, I will have new illustrations on display at the shop along side other local artists and skaters Ben Gartrell and Benji Ross. PITCREW 207 N Market St, Frederick, MD 21701 (301) 698-1813 www.pitcrewskateboards.com Share Tweet Forward to Friend +1 Copyright © 2013 Mark Burrier Illustration, All rights reserved.  www.markburrier.com

June 29: Nathan Edmondson Signing "The Dream Merchant" at Big Planet Comics DC

 

Nathan Edmondson Signing - The Dream Merchant

By Big Planet Comics

 June 29 3:00pm until 5:00pm

 

Nathan Edmondson will be appearing to sign copies of his new series, The Dream Merchant, as well as his comics The Activity, Who is Jake Ellis?, Ultimate Iron Man, Grifter, The Light, Olympus and more!

After the store closes at 6, Nathan has invited everyone to come hang out with him at Solly's down the street at 1942 11th St NW!

We will raffle off 2 free t-shirts to people at the signing, and the first 5 people at Solly's will get a free drink!
...
The Dream Merchant: Haunted by recurring dreams, a boy named Winslow is hunted by mysterious beings and protected by an old traveler. Soon Winslow will realize that what is in his dreams is what the rest of the world has been made to forget–and what strange entities will stop at nothing to erase from his mind.

Nathan's website: http://www.nathan-e.com/

Big Planet Comics of Washington, DC
1520 U St NW
Washington, DC 20009
202-342-1961
dc@bigplanetcomics.com

June 29: Annapolis Comic-Con

It's Almost Here! Be there tomorrow from 10am-6pm. Sorry to send you more than one email this week, but I just want to make sure you know about the Annapolis Comic-Con tomorrow. It's going to be FANTASTIC. We've got our best lineup EVER of dealers and artists, plus Travis Love and Daniel Thomas May from AMC's The Walking Dead! On top of that, it's the debut of Kids' Artist Alley, we'll have a TARDIS Photo Booth, and our first-ever video game tournament. Here's a preview of our map and directory: AWESOME CON KICKSTARTER BACKERS GET IN FREE TO ANNAPOLIS COMIC-CON Just a reminder that all backers of Awesome Con's Kickstarter get in to the Annapolis Comic-Con for free. We've recently added a $10 reward tier, so you can back Awesome Con AND get into the Annapolis Comic-Con for just $10! Just bring your pledge confirmation email to the Annapolis Comic-Con and that will work as your ticket! Back the Kickstarter at: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1611556041/awesome-con-dc Thanks a lot for supporting us! I totally appreciate it! Ben Penrod Awesome Conventions

July 14: Glen Weldon on Superman at Politics and Prose

Glen Weldon - Superman: The Unauthorized Biography

Start: Jul 14 2013 5:00 pm

End: Jul 14 2013 6:00 pm

As Superman turns 75, what better time to look back over his life? Weldon, NPR blogger, critic, and comics expert, considers not only the Man of Steel's adventures and achievements, but also his place in the culture as the first, and still most popular, superhero.

 Superman: The Unauthorized Biography (Hardcover)

By Glen Weldon

$25.95

ISBN-13: 9781118341841
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: John Wiley & Sons, 4/2013

Other Editions of this Title

 

---

Street:

5015 Connecticut Ave NW

City:

Washington

,

Province:

District Of Columbia

Postal Code:

20008

Country:

United States

Comics artists of the New Yorker Kickstarter Documentary profiled on Comic Riffs

KICKSTARTER OF THE WEEK: Training a lens on The New Yorker magazine's cartoonists

By Michael Cavna
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/kickstarter-of-the-week-training-a-lens-on-the-new-yorker-magazines-cartoonists/2013/06/27/70af02fc-ddf6-11e2-b197-f248b21f94c4_blog.html#pagebreak

The fundraising goes on for a few more hours.

Harvey Pekar: Conversations book on sale

The University Press of Mississippi is having a big website sale on their comics-related books. My Harvey Pekar: Conversations can be had for $10 which is less than the author's copies cost me.

Big Planet Comics to distribute Box Brown's Retrofit Comics

Heidi MacDonald's The Beat has learned that Big Planet Comics is going to distribute Box Brown's Retrofit Comics - the story by Hannah Means-Shannon is here:

http://comicsbeat.com/interview-box-brown-on-breaking-news-for-retrofit-comics/

ComicsDC will be following up on this, but it appears that this is being developed by Jared Smith, 
formerly the force behind Mars Import, the excellent Euro-comics source of the late 90s.

The byline to this should go to Matt Dembicki who caught it, but didn't want to type it out on
 his smartphone.

Art Hondros' Song of Sandy Hook part 2

Part 1.

Buy a copy.

Art Hondros interview online at City Paper

Meet a Local Cartoonist: A Chat with Art Hondros

by Mike Rhode on Jun. 27, 2013

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/visual-arts/2013/06/27/meet-a-local-cartoonist-a-chat-with-art-hondros/

Gibson Girls exhibit review in today's Express

Dingfelder, Sadie.  2013.

A Belle Epoque Barbie: The Gibson Girl was a hottie who held her own with Kens.

[Washington Post] Express (June 27): E9

 

It's online here.

International Journal of Comic Art 1:1 reprint available now

You can now buy a reprint of the sold-out Spring 1999 first issue of IJoCA at Lulu.com. Lulu will print and ship the issue to you directly.

Table of contents:

1. Editor's Note: Finally, an International Journal for Comic Art
2. Comics Criticism in the United States; A Brief Historical Survey
3. A Framework for Studying Comic Art
4. Comic Art in Scholarly Writing: A Citation Guide
5. The Marumaru Chinbun and the Origins of the Japanese Political Cartoon
6. Proving "Silas" an Artist: Winsor McCay's Formal Experiments in Comics and Animation
7. William Hogarth: Printing Techniques and Comics
8. Breaking Taboos: Sexuality in the Work of Will Eisner and the Early Wordless Novels
9. Comics in the Development of Africa
10. Featuring Stories by the World's Greatest Authors: Classics Illustrated and the "Middlebrow Problem" in the Postwar Era
11. Recovering Sensuality in Comic Theory
12. The Horrors of Cartooning in Slim's Algeria
13. Mr. Punch, Dangerous Savior Children's Comics in Brazil: From Chiquinho to Monica, A Difficult Journey
14. Brazilian Adult Comics: The Age of Market Postmodern Spatiality and the Narrative Structure of Comics

PR: Small Press Expo Announces Jeff Smith and Raina Telgemeier at SPX 2013

Small Press Expo Announces Jeff Smith and Raina Telgemeier as Featured Guests at SPX 2013 For Immediate Release                 Contact: Warren Bernard                                                        E-Mail: warren@spxpo.com Bethesda, Maryland; June 26, 2013 – Small Press Expo is pleased to  announce all ages creators Jeff Smith and Raina Telgemeier as featured guests to SPX 2013, to be held September 14 and 15. Jeff and Raina will be in addition to previously announced guests Seth, Lisa Hanawalt, Gary Panter  Rutu Modan, Frank Santoro, Michael Kupperman, Gene Yang,  and Congressman John Lewis. Jeff Smith's Bone is one of the most beloved series in all of comics. And this September, Jeff has no less than three books being released. First up is the release of the complete RASL, newly colored and in hardcover, being offered by his very own Cartoon Books. Next up, IDW is releasing an Artists Edition of the renowned Bone tale, The Great Cow Race. The volume will reproduce the art as it was drawn and in its original size. And lastly, Jeff  was the co-editor of The Best American Comics 2013 from Houghton Mifflin. Read about all of Jeff's latest work at http://www.boneville.com. Raina Telgemeier's Eisner Award winning and critically acclaimed graphic novel Smile was followed up last year by her latest book, Drama, which won the 2013 Stonewall Book Award given by the American Library Association. These two books, along with her work on The Babysitter's Club, has earned Raina a well deserved following amongst the children and young adult crowds. Get more information about Raina and her works at http://goraina.com. About SPX Small Press Expo (SPX) is the preeminent showcase for the exhibition of independent comics, graphic novels, and alternative political cartoons. SPX is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit that brings together more than 400 artists and publishers to meet their readers, booksellers, and distributors each year. Graphic novels, mini comics, and alternative comics will all be on display and for sale by their authors and illustrators. SPX also has a two tracks of of panel discussions and interviews with this year's guests that run through both days of the event. The Ignatz Award is a festival prize held every year at SPX, with the winners chosen by attendees at the show. As in previous years, profits from the SPX will go to support the SPX Graphic Novel Gift Program, which funds graphic novel purchases for public and academic libraries, as well as the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF), which protects the First Amendment rights of comic book readers and professionals. For more information on the CBLDF, visit their website at http://www.cbldf.org. Copyright © 2013 Small Press Expo, All rights reserved. We got your e-mail from either last years SPX signup list or you gave it to us online via our web site. Thanks a ton!!! Rest assured SPX will not sell, share, disclose, rent or in any way allow a 3rd party access to our e-mail list. We hate when people do that to us, and we sure ain't gonna do that to you. Our mailing address is: Small Press Expo P.O. Box 447 McLean, Virginia 22101

The Post on Annie; Weldon on Modan; CBR on March; and Fantagraphic's early U of MD years

Engaging documentaries offer glimpses of life’s ‘Homegoings’ and ‘Hard-Knocks’ [in print as On PBS, death has a whole lot of life]
By Hank Stuever,
Washington Post June 24 2013

and note Annie: It's the Hard-Knock Life, From Script to Stage (one hour) airs Friday at 9 p.m. on WETA.

Weldon, Glen. 2013.
Women Find More Than They Bargained For In 'The Property' [Rutu Modan].
NPR.org (June 25)


Congressman John Lewis Recalls the Civil Rights Movement in "March".
Alex Dueben,
Comic Book Resources June 18th, 2013, updated: June 21st, 2013


Panel on the Origin of Fantagraphics: Excerpt
Comics Journal (June 24 2013): http://vimeo.com/69051716

Kim Thompson, Gary Groth and Mike Catron discuss the earliest days of Fantagraphics and The Comics Journal at the 2001 Comic-Con International: San Diego.

Art Hondros' Song of Sandy Hook part 1

Art Hondros, a local cartoonist based in Takoma Park, has just finished "Song of Sandy Hook," a comic strip on gun control. You may have seen his story "Fox Guy" in the Washing Post Magazine this March. He also did the cover to the latest free Magic Bullet comic.

When asked why he's done a comic book about gun control, Art says, "During the holidays last winter, I tried to keep my focus on comics projects I had currently in the works, but my mind kept going back to what it must've been like in the halls and classrooms at Sandy Hook Elementary School on that wretched day. Finally I realized I couldn't work on anything else but what follows here. Call it a process of dealing with the collective grief of that news. But I also felt that, as an illustrative storyteller, I could attempt something, just one more thing besides voting to keep someone in or out of office, or donating money to a cause one might think useful. No matter how feeble it may turn out, "Song of Sandy Hook" is that attempt."

An interview with Art should be up later this week at the City Paper. He's also agreed to let ComicsDC run his strip as a webcomic, although you can buy a hard copy at the DC Conspiracy store, and the money will be donated to the Newtown-Sandy Hook Community Foundation.

Here's the cover and page 1 of Song of Sandy Hook

International Ink extra: The She-Hulk Diaries

Along with Rogue Touch, The She-Hulk Diaries by Marta Acosta (Hyperion, $15) is Marvel Comics' latest experiment in reaching a new audience. The books are superhero romance novels. As a superhero fan, I'm perhaps 1/2 of the audience they're aiming at; I'm certainly not a woman who reads romance novels. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this novel.

I'm not currently keeping up with Marvel's ever-expanding Avengers line, so I'm not sure how the book fits into continuity. In Acosta's story, Jennifer Walters and her alter-ego She-Hulk (annoyingly aka Shulky) have a Jekyll and Hyde relationship with one personality displacing the other rather than the comic book's original version of She-Hulk as a more confident, less uptight and fun-loving version of Jennifer. John Byrne even had She-Hulk practicing law (which is referenced in this novel, but not in a believable fashion). Like Byrne, Acosta has a light humorous hand with the character, and refreshingly doesn't take superheroism too seriously.

As with Hyde, She-Hulk is a released Id and has been tossed out of Avengers Mansion for being too destructive and disruptive. Jennifer, narrating the story via her diary, is living in a borrowed apartment and looking for a new life - a new job, a new apartment and a new boyfriend. Her secret identity as She-Hulk is making all of these objectives difficult.

In coincidences that could only happen in a comic book, or a romance novel, Jennifer gets a job at a law firm that is suing over failing artificial organ transplants, and her former lover Ellis Tesla is the son of the firm;s owner, engaged to its hot-shot lead attorney AND being sued by the firm in the organ case. Tesla is a former musician whose most famous song "Flesh-Eating Bacteria Girl" is about Jennifer, although she continually denies it. Acosta keeps a lot of balls in the air as Jennifer works all of these things out, as well as random attacks by a minor league supervillains, while trying to keep a lid on She-Hulk.

The story is full of lines such as "In order to get Ellis out of my head, which is already crowded by Shulky sprawling all over the place, I decided to participate in something outside my comfort zone" (which is a Game of Thrones party at a bar). After a few minutes of reading, one gets used to them and begins looking forward to the next escapade. This novel won't be for everyone, but if you're a fan of strong female superhero characters, give it a try.

Next up: Tommysaurus Rex by Doug Tennapel

Matt Wuerker interview from March

Roth, Gil. 
Podcast: Cartoon Character
Virtual Memories – season 3 episode 6 –
Mar 18, '13
http://chimeraobscura.com/vm/podcast-cartoon-character
http://traffic.libsyn.com/virtualmemories/Season_3_Episode_6_-_Cartoon_Character.mp3

Dembicki at ALA this weekend

I'll be at the annual American Library Association convention this weekend in Chicago. I'll have a table in Artist Alley (booth 2356), along with free promo posters for the comics anthology Wild Ocean, due out in spring 2014 from Fulcrum Publishing. Plus, the original art for the promotional poster (below) will be in a silent auction as an ALA scholarship fundraiser!

I'll also be a one-man panel to talk about District Comics and what's coming down the pike for the project!

Other comics-related events at ALA: Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) will be one of the featured speakers, promoting the first book of his three-volume graphic novel March (Top Shelf Productions).
There's also a slew of events centered around comics all weekend, with panels featuring Gail Simone, Paul Pope and Jeffrey Brown, among others.

New local webcomic: 'Zodiac Starforce'

Local comics writer/podcaster Kevin Panetta is launching a new webcomic today with art by Paulina Ganucheau. 'Zodiac Starforce' is scheduled to premiere today at 8 p.m. (Last month, Panetta launched another webcomic, 'Kidd Cobbler', with artist Coleman Engle.)

Cavna on Herblock documentary film

SALUTING HERBLOCK: An open note to 'The Black and the White'
filmmakers: Send in the satirists

By Michael Cavna


Washington Post Comic Riffs blog June 24 2013
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/saluting-herblock-an-open-note-to-the-black-and-the-white-filmmakers-send-in-the-satirists/2013/06/24/4d398536-dd33-11e2-85de-c03ca84cb4ef_blog.html?wprss=rss_comic-riffs

June 29: Herblock documentary to be screened at AAEC convention

On June 29th, the new Herblock documentary is to be screened at AAEC convention. Alan Gardener has the details.

Nobleman talked to Jerry Robinson

Jerry Robinson previously unpublished interview, 6/9/06
by Marc Tyler Nobleman
Noblemania blog June 17-19 2013
http://noblemania.blogspot.com/2013/06/jerry-robinson-previously-unpublished.html
http://noblemania.blogspot.com/2013/06/jerry-robinson-previously-unpublished_18.html
http://noblemania.blogspot.com/2013/06/jerry-robinson-previously-unpublished_19.html

Michael O'Connell talks to Josh Kramer too

Josh Kramer takes journalistic approach to creating comics
By Michael O'Connell
It's All Journalism Podcast: June 22, 2013
http://itsalljournalism.com/josh-kramer-takes-journalistic-approach-to-creating-comics/
http://media.blubrry.com/itsalljournalism/p/content.blubrry.com/itsalljournalism/IAJ-2013-06-22-055.mp3
http://itsalljournalism.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Josh-Kramer-transcript.pdf

Truitt's latest articles

Pak debuts 'Batman/Superman,' takes over 'Action Comics': Writer pens the first meeting of two superhero greats this week, and in the fall he starts on the iconic Man of Steel title.
Brian Truitt, USA TODAY June 24, 2013
http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2013/06/24/greg-pak-batman-superman-action-comics/2451219/

Lois Lane plays important role in 75 years of Superman: For many fans, the Daily Planet reporter is just as important as the Man (of Steel) in her life.
Brian Truitt, USA TODAY June 22, 2013
http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2013/06/21/lois-lane-superman-75th-anniversary/2444395/

Comic Riffs on the end of Gaiman's booksignings and Time.com's cartoons

TIME.com e-mail: Cartoons of the Week feature discontinued
By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog June 24 2013
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/timecom-e-mail-cartoons-of-the-week-feature-discontinued/2013/06/24/9fa5e230-dceb-11e2-9218-bc2ac7cd44e2_blog.html#pagebreak

NEIL GAIMAN's FAREWELL SIGNING TOUR: In D.C., it's 'The Emotion at the End of the Line'
By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog June 23 2013
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/neil-gaimans-farewell-signing-tour-in-dc-its-the-emotion-at-the-end-of-the-line/2013/06/23/50aef8ce-dc5f-11e2-85de-c03ca84cb4ef_blog.html#pagebreak

Live now: Editorial cartoon chat

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/56493854-78/editorial-cartoonists-chat-lake.html.csp

Trib Talk: Chat with some of the nation's top editorial cartoonists