Monday, August 18, 2014

Small Press Expo Announces 2014 Ignatz Nominees




Small Press Expo Announces 2014 Ignatz Award Nominees
For Immediate Release
Contact: Eden Miller

Email: spxignatz@gmail.com

Bethesda, Maryland; August 18, 2014 Media Release ­—

The Small Press Expo (SPX), the preeminent showcase for the exhibition of independent comics, graphic novels and alternative political cartoons, is pleased to announce the 2014 nominees for the annual presentation of the Ignatz Awards, a celebration of outstanding achievement in comics and cartooning.

 The Ignatz, named after George Herriman's brick-wielding mouse from his long running comic strip Krazy Kat, recognizes exceptional work that challenges popular notions of what comics can achieve, both as an art form and as a means of personal expression. The Ignatz Awards are a festival prize, the first of such in the United States comic book industry.

The nominees for the ballot were determined by a panel of five of the best of today's comic artists, Darryl Ayo, Austin English, Melissa Mendes, Thien Pham and Whit Taylor, with the votes cast for the awards by the attendees during SPX. The Ignatz Awards will be presented at the gala Ignatz Awards ceremony held on Saturday, September 13, 2014 at 9:30 P.M.

Additional information on the nominees and previews (as available) can be found at http://www.spxpo.com/ignatz-awards.
 

Once again we want to thank our our friends at comiXology for sponsoring the Ignatz Awards. Information on comiXology and their self-publishing portal Submit can be found at https://submit.comixology.com.


Additional information on the nominees and previews (as available) can be found at http://www.spxpo.com/2014-ignatz-awards.

 SPX will be held Saturday, September 13 from 11AM to 7PM and Sunday, September 14, noon-6PM at The North Bethesda Marriott Convention Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Admission is $15 for Saturday, $10 for Sunday and $20 for both days.

For further information on the Ignatz Awards, the nominees or to request an interview, please contact Ignatz Awards coordinator, Eden Miller, at spxignatz@gmail.com or SPX executive director, Warren Bernard at warren@spxpo.com.
For more information on the Small Press Expo, please visit http://www.spxpo.com.
Outstanding Artist

Sam Bosma for Fantasy Basketball
Kim Deitch for The Amazing, Enlightening and Absolutely True Adventures of Katherine Whaley
Sophie Goldstein for Darwin Carmichael is Going To Hell; Edna II; House of Women
Ed Piskor for Hip Hop Family Tree Vol. 1
Jesse Reklaw for Couch Tag

Outstanding Anthology or Collection

Amazing Facts and Beyond by Kevin Huizenga and Dan Zettwoch

The End by Anders Nilsen

Eye of the Majestic Creature Vol. 2 by Leslie Stein

Sock Monkey Treasury by Tony Millionaire

QU33R edited by Robert Kirby

Outstanding Graphic Novel

The Amazing, Enlightening and Absolutely True Adventures of Katherine Whaley by Kim Deitch

The Boxer by Reinhard Kleist

Boxers and Saints by Gene Luen Yang

This One Summer by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki

War of Streets and Houses by Sophie Yanow

Outstanding Story

"Brownout Biscuit," Octopus Pie: Dead Forever by Meredith Gran

Destination X by John Martz

The Grassy Knoll by Nick Drnaso

"Jobs,"  Life Zone by Simon Hanselmann

"Mom,"  Viewotron #2 by Sam Sharpe

Promising New Talent

Luke Howard for Trevor

Cathy G. Johnson for Jeremiah; Boy Genius; Until It Runs Clear

Nick Offerman for Orange; Onions

Keiler Roberts for Powdered Milk

Daryl Seitchik for Missy

Outstanding Series

The Black Feather Falls by Ellen Lindner

Demon by Jason Shiga

Powdered Milk by Keiler Roberts

Sky in Stereo by Sacha Mardou

Towerkind by Kat Verhoeven

Outstanding Comic

Blammo #8 by Noah Van Sciver

Cosplayers by Dash Shaw

It Will All Hurt #2 by Farel Dalrymple

Misliving Amended by Adam Buttrick

Wicked Chicken Queen by Sam Alden

Outstanding Minicomic

The Grassy Knoll by Nick Drnaso

House of Women by Sophie Goldstein

Never Forgets by Yumi Sakugawa

Test Tube #1 by Carlos Gonzalez

Up to the Top by Ian Sampson

Outstanding Online Comic

Band for Life by Anya Davidson

Big Dogs at Nite by Dane Martin

Demon by Jason Shiga

On Hiatus by Pete Toms

Vattu by Evan Dahm




PR: Fantom Comics fundraising and comic book signing




Some important updates from Fantom

 

Our Indiegogo Campaign Ends Tonight

Our Indiegogo campaign to raise money for outreach ends in just a few hours! 8:59 pm tonight! We're 2/3 of the way to our goal, and we can still make it! This cash will go towards bringing in big name creators, hosting events and reaching out to the larger community about how cool comics are! We're already leveraging the cash on things like:
  • Raising awareness during Banned Books Week; and
  • Int'l Read Comics in Public Day
But we can do so much more!

Every contribution comes with a reward! And we've got some cool ones, like:
  • Lock-In Party
  • Image Vol 1 Starter Sets
  • Custom Buttons / Magnets
  • Get Your Name Painted on our Wall, in whatever typeface you want (just 3 left!)
  • ...and more. Yeah, we got more!
8:59 pm tonight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

Comics & Cocktails tonight at The Big Hunt

Join us for our weekly get together at The Big Hunt! We'll be meeting at Fantom at 7:45 and walking over, or you can meet us there at 8. We've got the upstairs balcony. We had a great crowd last week at Thomas Foolery and we're looking forward to getting out again!
 

Meet the Creators of First Law of Mad Science

Per Ain't It Cool News, "FIRST LAW OF MAD SCIENCE is hands-down my favorite true indie right now," and we at Fantom couldn't agree more!

Join us at 1pm this coming Saturday, August 23rd for a discussion about small press comic creation and online collaboration with writers Oliver Mertz and Mike Isenberg.

Afterwards Oliver and Mike will be available to sign your books and talk further. And yes, we've made sure to stock up on their comic here at Fantom.
 

August Order Deadline is Wednesday at Midnight!

Want to be sure we have the book you're looking for? Then make sure to order it by midnight on Wednesday. Especially you Order of the Fantom folks! If you want your graphic novels at 50% off, you must reserve by midnight!
 

There's Plenty More Where That Came From!

We're going full steam ahead in the new Dupont Store! here a few more upcoming events:


Thanks for all your support!



PSA: Help support Asian comics at Michigan State University's Comic Art Collection

Asian Comics Cataloging at Michigan State University

reprinted from Insight May 2014 - http://img.lib.msu.edu/giving/insight/Insight_May2014.pdf


"I always recommend the MSU Comic Art Collection to fellow comic researchers since it is the world's most comprehensive and internationally oriented collection in the field." Matthias Harbeck, doctoral candidate, Carl von Ossietzky Universität, Oldenburg, Germany


Help make our Asian comics accessible!

 

Comics are truly a global phenomenon, and an important goal of our Comic Art Collection is to document how cultures around the world have adopted and transformed the medium.


That's why our collection ranges from Golden Age adventure strips to South American fotonovelas, and from Japanese manga to a nearly complete run of THE 99 – the world's first comic series with Muslim superheroes.


However, it's not enough to acquire these diverse materials. It's essential to catalog them as well, so users near and far can determine what we have available.


Thanks to recent gifts, we have far more Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese comics waiting to be cataloged than we can handle – even with the broad range of language skills among the cataloging team!


Fortunately, help is available. We can send the work to an outside contractor, Backstage, which performs research-level cataloging in some 70 different languages. Backstage can complete about 150 of the most needed items for $5000 – and we have already have a generous gift of $1000 to start us off.


The Comic Art Collection is heavily used by MSU students and faculty working in the fields of history, literature, and cultural studies. Help us support their research by putting more Asian comics on the shelf!


Below is a link to a giving page that allows one to make a donation to support the cataloging of our Asian Comics.  Thanks for your interest and help with this project.

https://givingto.msu.edu/gift/?sid=1625


Saturday, August 16, 2014

That darn Beetle Bailey

The Post and Pokemon

2,000 Pokemon fans swarm D.C., and a 12-year-old has time of his life

By Jessica Contrera
Washington Post August 16 2014
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/style-blog/wp/2014/08/15/2000-pokemon-fans-gather-in-d-c-and-this-12-year-old-is-having-the-time-of-his-life/

The Post visits Moominworld

In Finland, giving in to Moomin madness [in print Moomin-madness: it's not just for Finnish kids].


Performers dressed up as characters from the Moomin book series pose at Moominworld, a theme park in Naantali, Finland. Besides saunas and Nokia phones, the Moomin universe may be Finland's most successful export item ever. (Jenni Virta/AFP/Getty Images)

Artomatic Takes Flight exhibit

The Artomatic Takes Flight exhibit (an Artomatic program that has more to do with its location than theme) runs through January 2015 and includes artwork for sale by a couple of D.C.-area cartoonists, namely Michael Auger and David Hagen. (The exhibit is in the old terminal at Reagan National Airport, so it's a bit of a walk from the Metro, but still Metro accessible.)

Art by Michael Auger

Art by David Hagen

Monday, August 11, 2014

8/16: NoVA's Shawn Martinbrough at Geppi's Museum



Saturday, August 16 from 1:00pm - 4:00pm

Shawn Martinbrough will be appearing at GEM from 1 pm to 4 pm on Saturday, August 16, 2014

Shawn Martinbrough at Geppi's Entertainment Museum

Batman, Black Panther and Thief of Thieves Artist appears for Talk & Free Signing


[Baltimore, Maryland] – Artist Shawn Martinbrough, known for his acclaimed two-year run illustrating Batman in Detective Comics with writer Greg Rucka and his current best selling work on Thief of Thieves with writer Robert Kirkman, creator of The Walking Dead, will appear at Geppi's Entertainment Museum (GEM) on Saturday, August 16, 2014, in two sessions from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

From 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., he will give a talk about how he developed his craft and discuss his career in the comics industry. That session will conclude with a question-and-answer period. Then from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. he will be signing in the museum's gift shop, Geppi's Comic World. Admission for the talk is free with paid admission for non-museum members and free for museum members, however, reservations are recommended as seating is limited. Admission for the signing in the store is free to all.

Martinbrough's work, as well as that of many other creators, is currently on display at GEM as part of the widely lauded exhibit Milestones: African Americans in Comics, Pop Culture and Beyond, which runs through December 31, 2014. Among numerous projects, he has garnered praise for his Detective Comics work with Rucka, during which he co-created characters that were featured in the Batman: Gotham Knights animated DVD as a companion to director Christopher Nolan's trilogy of Batman films.

"We are extremely pleased to welcome Shawn Martinbrough back to GEM and to offer our community the chance to get to know this exciting creator in such an intimate setting," said Melissa Bowersox, President of Geppi's Entertainment Museum.

Martinbrough's other recent comic book work includes Luke Cage Noir and Black Panther: The Most Dangerous Man Alive for Marvel Comics. He also illustrated Captain America: The First Avenger, a promotional comic book created exclusively for the U.S. Army & Air Force Exchange Service, which runs the on-base stores on military posts. It had a million copy print run and was released in conjunction with the feature film of the same name.

For more than the last two years, Martinbrough has served as artist on the Image Comics series Thief of Thieves. Produced by Robert Kirkman, the creator of both the comic book and the hit AMC television series The Walking Dead, Thief of Thieves is in development as a television series as well. Martinbrough is also the co-creator and co-author of The REN, an upcoming 200-page graphic novel set during the Harlem Renaissance. It will be published by First Second Books. His art instruction book, How To Draw Noir Comics: The Art and Technique of Visual Storytelling, is published by Random House and has been reprinted in several languages.

His work has been covered by The Hollywood Reporter, The New York Daily News, Entertainment Weekly, USA Today, AOL, AintItCoolNews.com, Architecture Magazine, Publisher's Weekly, The Washington Times, National Public Radio, SIRIUS/XM Radio, Ebony, Essence, Vibe, The Source and others, and he has lectured at the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art, The University of Michigan, The Savannah College of Art and Design, Prince George's Community College, BEA/Book Expo of America and The 100 Black Men of America Conference.

There are 80 seats available for the talk. As noted, admission is free with paid admission for non-museum members and free for museum members, however, reservations are recommended. To reserve your spot, contact Andy Hershberger at handy@geppismuseum.com or call (410) 625-7066.

GEM is located at 301 W. Camden Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, in the historic Camden Yards sports complex. It is situated immediately next door to Oriole Park and just across the street from the Baltimore Convention Center. For general museum information, call (410) 625-7060 or visit www.geppismuseum.com. Admission: Adults are admitted for $10, Seniors (55 and older) for $9, Students (5-18) for $7, and children under 4 are free.

About Geppi's Entertainment Museum
Geppi's Entertainment Museum is a journey through 250 years of American pop culture, located in historic Camden Station at Camden Yards in Baltimore Maryland, just a few blocks from the city's famed Inner Harbor, immediately across the street from the Baltimore Convention Center, and right next door to Oriole Park. Where else can you revisit your childhood and get back in touch with old friends that entertained you in the past through comic strips and books, radio and television shows, films, cartoons, and so much more? The museum exhibits nearly 6,000 pop culture artifacts including comics, toys, dolls, games and memorabilia of every conceivable category. Journey from the late 1700s to the present day and revisit favorite characters like Superman, Spider-Man, Batman, Mickey Mouse, Barbie, G.I. Joe, and many more. Geppi's Entertainment Museum is the home of "pop culture with character!" and it is open Tuesday-Sunday, 10 AM – 6 PM, closed Mondays except for major holidays, and closed New Year's Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

Contact:
Andy Hershberger, handy@geppismuseum.com,
(410) 625-7066.


Comic Riffs on the Pastis-Watterson collaboration for Team Cul de Sac

Swine' creator cites 'the power of Bill' as collaboration art raises nearly $70K for Parkinson's


By Michael Cavna Washington Post Comic Riffs blog August 11 2014 

(courtesy of STEPHAN PASTIS / distributed by Universal Uclick.)

How the mighty had fallen

Here's a scan of a 1956 record album giveaway of Captain Kangaroo with a barely recognizable Buster Brown and Tige. I picked it up in a flea market in Arlington, VA.

Chuck Jones's cartoon art - the Smithsonian's icon?

The NY Times has a story today about a Smithsonian Summer Showdown in which you can vote for a favorite iconic piece. SITES (the travelling exhibit branch) has offered up: Wile E. Coyote from "What's Up, Doc? The Animation Art of Chuck Jones", Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES). "Ready...Set... Zoom!" Original layout drawing, 1955. Chuck Jones Center for Creativity. From "What's Up, Doc? The Animation Art of Chuck Jones," a new Smithsonian traveling exhibit now at Museum of the Moving Image in NYC.

Personally, I think that's iffy since it's not in the Smithsonian, but it's Chuck Jones so I voted for it.

Friday, August 08, 2014

Aug 9: DC Zinefest

Fandom Comics atypical crowdfunding campaign

Fandom Comics has launched an Indiegogo campaign "Help Fantom Comics Bring New Fans Into Comics".  They note, "We're a small comic book shop in DC looking to do extensive outreach and we need the funds to do it!"

Honestly, I'm not sure about this, but if you're interested, click through.

The Post reviews the new TMNT movie



By Sandie Angulo Chen Washington Post August 8 2014
This also ran in today's Express newspaper.

Sept 6: Gownley, Roman and Telgemeier at Politics and Prose

BYT on Fantom Comics

The local blog Brightest Young Things profiles the new location of Fantom Comics in Dupont Circle: “While finishing touches are still being done, Fantom retains the qualities that made it popular. They foster a welcoming environment, where everyone (even women and newbies) are accepted into the comic book community.” Read more.

Photo: BYT