|
Wednesday, October 08, 2014
Today: O'Barr, Komardin and Witterstaetter at Beyond Comics
Tuesday, October 07, 2014
The Roarbots blog
5 Questions with Gene Luen Yang
Jamie and Zoe
September 19, 2014
http://theroarbots.com/2014/09/19/5-questions-gene-luen-yang/
5 Questions with Mike Maihack
October 6, 2014
http://theroarbots.com/2014/10/06/5-questions-mike-maihack/
5 Questions with Jeffrey Brown
September 19, 2014
http://theroarbots.com/2014/09/19/5-questions-jeffrey-brown/
5 Questions with Frank Cammuso
October 3, 2014
http://theroarbots.com/2014/10/03/5-questions-frank-cammuso/
5 Questions with David Petersen
September 30, 2014
http://theroarbots.com/2014/09/30/5-questions-david-petersen-2/
5 Questions with Jeff Smith
September 17, 2014
http://theroarbots.com/2014/09/17/5-questions-jeff-smith/
10/8: James O'Barr at Beyond Comics
Wednesday October 8th
12:00noon to 4:00pm
Also Meet
Comic Riffs talks to Scott McCloud
The Express on The Flash tv series
Monday, October 06, 2014
Bruce Guthrie's SPX photos
Sunday, October 05, 2014
That darn Post comics page
Letters to the Editor
Seeing double in the comics [in print as A familiar sight in the comics].
Mitch Katz, Falls Church
Washington Post October 4 2014
October 8: Otis Frampton signing Oddly Normal at Big Planet Vienna
October 8 – Otis Frampton signing Oddly Normal
Big Planet Comics is proud to welcome Otis Frampton, to celebrate his new series from Image Comics, Oddly Normal!
Oddly Normal is the tale about a young girl whose mother is a witch, making it very hard for Oddly to fit in at school! But when her own magical powers might be manifesting, things go from unpopular to dangerously bad…
Otis Frampton's website: http://www.otisframpton.com/
Otis Frampton's twitter: https://twitter.com/otisframpton
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/738039909577123/
6pm-8pm
Big Planet Comics of Vienna
426 Maple Ave. East
Vienna, VA 22180
703-242-9412
vienna@bigplanetcomics.com
Friday, October 03, 2014
Comic Riffs talks to Scott Stantis about child abuse
CARTOONS OF THE YEAR: Chicago Tribune's Scott Stantis reveals own child abuse in powerful, 'wrenching' essay [Q+A]
By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog October 3 2014
Zunar in the Library of Congress
Zunar's statement: Book "Pirate Of The Carry-BN" accepted in the Library Of Congress.
http://www.zunar.my/news/bm-eng-zunars-statement-book-pirate-carry-bn-accepted-library-congress/Book "Pirate Of The Carry-BN" accepted in the Library Of Congress.
I hereby announce that my book, "Pirate of The Carry-BN" has been accepted as one of the collection at the Library Of Congress in Washington. The reception was held at the Library on October 1st, 2014.
Curator Sara W Duke, who is the curator of Popular and Applied Graphic Art in the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress, has accepted on behalf of the Library.
It will be located and catalogued in the bookshelves of the Asia Section of the library. Prior to this, there are books of mine that have been listed but only recorded in catalogues while physically not in the Library.
The "Pirate Of The Carry-BN" will be one of the more than 120,000 cartoon books in the library.
To me, this is a form of recognition since none of my cartoon books are recognized and even banned by the Malaysian government.
The 200-year old Library of Congress is the largest library in the world with a collection of over 3 million books and 33 million catalogued books.
The "Pirate Of The Carry-BN" is not available in any library in Malaysia due to the government restrictions. For the same reason, it also cannot be sold in any shop in Malaysia. This program is part of the month-long "To Fight Through Cartoon" American tour starting September 15th, 2014. During this tour, I also held a solo cartoon exhibition at an art gallery of The Crane House in Louisville.
I also gave lectures on art and journalism at the University of East Kentucky, the University of West Kentucky, Manual High School and Berea College. Also, I will be holding a forum for Malaysians in New York City and San Francisco.
In San Francisco, I will be attending as a guest of the Annual Convention of The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists for three days from October 9th, 2014.
3 Oct 2014
Zunar
Malaysian Political Cartoonist
“The Hero of Color City” and ‘Star Wars Rebels’ reviewed in The Post
Oct. 9: Batman stamps
MISOGYNY IN COMICS on Fantastic Forum
Season 5 opens with a discussion on MISOGYNY IN COMICS. Featuring an interview with comics writer GAIL SIMONE and Cool Toys with the DJI Phantom 2 unmanned aerial vehicle. — with Gabrielle 'Bria' LaVorgna,Abigail Pritchard and El Anderson at Awesome Con.
News from Rafer Roberts on Nightmare the Rat
I plan to debut the NIGHTMARE THE RAT collection at theLocust Moon Comics Festival on October 25th in beautiful Philadelphia. It seemed like an appropriate venue since the Locust Moon folks are the guys that put out the giant LITTLE NEMO: DREAM ANOTHER DREAM book. Debuting the NIGHTMARE collection alongside DREAM ANOTHER DREAM just feels right.
On Halloween, we will be having a NIGHTMARE THE RAT release party at Fantom Comics in stately Washington DC. Details are still being finalized but there will be a signing, possibly a reading, and an actual Halloween party with candy and dancing. I will be in a costume of some sort.
Finally, I'll be at New York Comic Con next week. It will be far too early to have copies of the collection available, but I will have finished commissions for those of you who pledged at that level (and who let me know that you'll also be at NYCC). I won't have my own table, but I will be doing signings at a few different publisher booths throughout the weekend. I may add one or two signings, but here is my schedule as it stands right now:
Thursday:
4:30-5:30 signing at Valiant, booth 2028
Friday:
3:15-4:00 Kickstarter Office Hours panel - 1A24
4:30-5:30 signing at Valiant, booth 2028
Saturday:
12:00-1 signing at Valiant, booth 2028
Sunday:
11-12:30 signing at ComixTribe, booth 1172
1:30-2:30 signing at Valiant, booth 2028
Oct 4: Greg Pak at Fantom Comics
Greg Pak Signing!
Award-winning comics writer Greg Pak is back at Fantom for another signing, and WE. ARE. PUMPED!
From DC's Batman/Superman and Action Comics, to Marvel's Storm, Planet Hulk, Magneto Testament, Red Skull Incarnate, and Dynamite's Turok, chances are good that if you're reading an awesome book, Mr. Pak's name is all over it.
Mr. Pak will be here in-store from 2:30pm to 4pm and we'll have copies of some of his current work available for sale, so swing on by!
Thursday, October 02, 2014
Smithsonian Magazine on Wonder Woman
The Surprising Origin Story of Wonder Woman
The history of the comic-book superhero's creation seven decades ago has been hidden away—until now
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/origin-story-wonder-woman-180952710/?all&no-ist
Today's Unshelved done for Fairfax County Library
Unshelved is an entertaining web strip about a small staff of cranky librarians. I get it emailed to me every day, for free, which is cool. Then I buy their book collections.
Click here to see the strip of which the authors write:
I drew today's strip the old-fashioned way, on paper with pencil and ink. And I did it on the shores of Lake Michigan in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Honestly, it was pretty darned scenic. We wrote it for today's staff development day for the Fairfax County, VA Public Library. We looked over several dozen submissions and chose a great story from Randy Falkofske, presenting the library with the original art, and Randy a signed print.
We had a great time today and we'd love to do something similar for your library, conference, or customer event!
Oct 3-5: Anime USA con
Anime USA
Date: October 3–5, 2014
Location: Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington, DC
Caricaturist John Kascht
WTOP on "The end of Saturday morning cartoons"
Wednesday, October 01, 2014
Keeling on 'Student Exposure'
Comic Riffs on watermelon-toothpaste
Q&A: Rodriguez on 'Colonial Comics'
by Matt Dembicki
D.C. Conspiracy member Jason Rodriguez has edited a new comics anthology called Colonial Comics (Fulcrum Publishing) that debuts this weekend at the Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo in Boston. Below are a few questions Jason answered for us regarding his book. (Note: In full disclosure, I illustrated one of the stories in the book.)
I want to create a book that functions as both entertainment and education. The main idea is to tell stories that you often don't find in school history books that can, in turn, lead into larger discussions about colonial American history. When I was growing up, my knowledge of colonial American history was essentially: 1) some people came over here for religious freedom, they wore funny hats, 2) they met this one Native American...not sure what happened to him, 3) something about burning witches, and 4) we went to war with England. What I want to do is fill in those gaps and tell stories about the Native Americans and women and free-thinkers and slaves and business owners who came from the Colonies and give a better understanding of what life was like over our first 200+ years, the good and the bad.
Probably working with people who never worked in comics before. There's a big difference between writing a history book and writing a comic script. We just needed small pieces of bigger stories and we needed to fit them into easy-to-read, 11-page comics stories. Schedules were difficult, as well - a lot of people taught and just simply didn't have the time to contribute on the level that would move the book along at a good pace. Also, I designed every page of the book and it turns out I'm a bit of a tinkerer. Two months before deadline I took the whole book part and rebuilt it with new intros, interstitials, book guides, and a reference section. I wouldn't say I'm my own worse enemy, but it turns out I'm definitely my own worst editor.
It contextualizes history, plain and simple. When we were kids we loved the dioramas at history museums. A handful of cavemen taking down a Wooly Mammoth, we could stare at it for hours on end and build a story out of it. From there, we began to get interested in the details of the clothes and the weapons and the process of hunting. Comics afford kids that same luxury - they can study a panel, see what people were wearing and how they spoke. Get a sense of scale. All the while reading an entertaining narrative. From there, they may become interested in the details. The free-range animal husbandry story (which was illustrated by Mike Sgier) is a silent story about a troublesome pig who keeps eating Native crops. We see the escalation of destruction that eventually leads to Native American's packing up and moving westward. The story behind the story, and beyond the story, is where the real teaching comes in.
I have two more Colonial books coming out, one focusing on pre-Revolutionary New England and one focusing on Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic region. I would like to do more, but let's see how these are received, first. The other history book I'm editing is a student's memoirs about growing up in war-torn Sarajevo, but that won't come out until 2016 or so, most likely.
Rafer Roberts interview online
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Comic Riffs talks to gag cartoonist Liza Donnelly
Tonight's Thurber Prize: New Yorker cartoonist LIZA DONNELLY strikes apt chords with 'Women on Men' [Q+A]
By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog September 30 2014
Comic Riffs on women cartoonists
Monday, September 29, 2014
"Oct 4: Armed Forces Appreciation Day includes Big Planet Comics"
Hope to see you Saturday.
--
Joel Pollack
BIG PLANET COMICS
4849 Cordell Ave.
Bethesda, MD 20814
Sept 30: Ted Rall and Kal
Cartoon journalist Josh Kramer on DCist
Drawn to Flavor: DC Noodles
Illustrator Josh Kramer highlights the beef ragu and chili mojito in watercolor....http://dcist.com/2014/09/drawn_to_flavor_dc_noodles.php
Comic Riffs on Thor
Oct 21: Art Spiegelman's Wordless at GWU
Art Spiegelman's WORDLESS! with music by Phillip Johnston
Presented by GW Lisner as part of the Washington DCJCC's Hyman S. & Freda Bernstein Jewish Literary Festival
Tuesday, October 21, 2014 - 8:00pm
Tickets: $35, $40, $45
Sunday, September 28, 2014
That darn Lio and Hagar
Letters to the Editor: The wrong image of shock therapy [Lio].
Lois F. Morris, Silver Spring
Washington Post September 27 2014
Letters to the Editor: Offended by anything [Hagar the Horrible].
Frank Carpenter, Riverdale
Washington Post September 27 2014
The Apple Creek News from Rob Steibel
Oct 2: Gene Weingarten & Eric Shansby
Comic strip writer Gene and cartoonist Eric are at Politics and Prose bookstore at 10:30 AM for their new children's book.
Bell, Roman and Telgemeier photos
Saturday, September 27, 2014
Friday, September 26, 2014
Sept 27: Disney, Dali and animation in Lobster Alice
The Post reviews Boxtrolls
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Sept. 26-28: Baltimore Book Fest
I'll be at the fest, too. At noon, I'll be at the National Aquarium's Ocean Exploration Stage (Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, Area 10, between the National Aquarium and World Trade Center), talking about Wild Ocean and using comics to spread the word about conservation.
At 3 p.m. I'll be at the Charm City Comics Book Pavilion with fellow D.C. comic booker Jason Rodriguez (editor of the upcoming Colonial Comics anthology), where we will give examples of how schools and libraries are using comics in the classroom, from teaching English to bringing history to life.
Bill Brown's artwork for the Capital Maritime Music Fest
Fantastic Forum's interview with Gail Simone
Oct 1: Dork Diaries at Politics and Prose
Rachel Renee Russell - Dork Diaries 8: Tales from a Not-So-Happily Ever After with Erin Russell and Nikki Russell
The team behind the Dork Diaries is back with another entry in Nikki Maxwell's life. This time around Nikki has some particularly interesting dreams after a bad bump on the head. In them, she, and all of her, friends, enemies, crushes, and everyone in between, become the main players in a series of fairy tales. Of course, things don't play out quite as you'd expect, because when Nikki's telling the story, everything is sure to have a twist. Ages 9 – 13 (Aladdin)
- 5015 Connecticut Ave NW
- Washington
- District Of Columbia
Sept 30: Scott Campbell at Politics and Prose
Scott Campbell - Hug Machine
Hug Machine (Hardcover)
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 8/2014
- 5015 Connecticut Ave NW
- Washington
- District Of Columbia
Oct 1: Ars Electronica Animation Film Festival
|
Dreams Really Did Come True at Disney's ToonFest
by Steve Artley
I was honored to be a part of the annual ToonFest event in Walt Disney's hometown of Marceline, Missouri last week. The two-day celebration honors the memory of Walt Disney and the cartooning profession through activities including programs that feature guest cartoonists. Among the other headliners brought in to give presentations were Hilary Price, Bill Hinds, Eddie Pittman and the dynamic Guy Gilchrist.
On Friday, the team spoke to over 400 high school and college students, who were bused in from surrounding communities. Event organizers reported that this year's attendance was a record high.
One of the highlights, is a street parade complete with strolling performers and several bands. Guest artists are each featured as "Grand Marshal" and ride the parade route down the original Main Street USA (inspiration for the Disney parks' street of the same name) in the back of classic pickups. Following the parade, the team reprises their talks at the Marceline Community Center. Later, we were taken to Walt Disney's boyhood farm for a ceremony at the "Dreaming Tree," where youngsters Walt and his sister, Ruth reportedly spent many childhood hours gazing up through the branches, to wish upon their star. With much pomp and flair, each artist was re-introduced, brought before the assemblage and inducted into the "Order of Plantears" (each are crowned with a hardhat featuring Mickey ears). Young Mouseketeers led each of us to our respective spots to plant our own "dreaming tree." A grand BBQ picnic at the farmstead brought the event to a festive conclusion.
Throughout our entire visit, we artists were met with an abundance of genuine welcoming warmth and charity by the good folks of Marceline. Shortly after landing at the Washington airport, I walked through the crowded corridors of fast-paced indifference. I was shoved aside without apology from one of the self-absorbed pushing his way to the VIP lounge. It took every effort to restrain myself from boarding a return flight to Marceline with intent to seek asylum.
Friday night was a banquet and tour of the Disney Museum. |
Hilary Price and Bill Hinds |
A horse-drawn wagon full of cartoonists and friends |
The door to Walt Disney's boyhood bedroom |
ToonFest Parade: Awesome. Vehicle carrying Hilary Price along the parade route: Priceless.
During the last leg of the parade route, the classic pickup carrying Hilary Price overheated and came to an abrupt Disneyesque halt, complete with gurgling sound FX and billowing steam. Disney animators and Foley artists couldn't have done it better. Not to be left knuckle biting and helpless at the roadside, the ever resourceful Hilary got out and pushed with assistance by a couple of onlookers.From my vantage point of the tailgate of the vehicle ahead of Hilary, I gleefully iPhone photographed the following sequence.
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
The Post reviews Cece Bell's book
Cece Bell's story of a deaf child's struggles reflects her own [Review: 'El Deafo' by Cece Bell
By Sharon Pajka
Washington Post September 24 2014, p. C4.
Comic Riffs on banned books
BANNED BOOKS WEEK: No 'Bone' or 'Neverwhere'? Here's why we can't afford to shelve the debate
By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog September 24 2014