Sunday, February 15, 2015

Latest Mohammad cartoon violence returns to Denmark and Sweden

The attack appears to have been on Lars Vilks, a Swede who followed up the Danish Islam cartoon controversy with a drawing of his own.

Danish police kill gunman believed behind 2 shootings [in print as Denmark on alert after two killed in dual Copenhagen shootings]

By Griff Witte and Karla Adam

Washington Post February 15 2015, p. A11

online at http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/police-1-dead-in-shooting-at-copenhagen-free-speech-event/2015/02/14/805975c6-b472-11e4-854b-a38d13486ba1_story.html

Danish police kill Copenhagen shooting suspect

By Griff Witte and Karla Adam

Washington Post February 15 2015

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/danish-police-kill-copenhagen-shooting-suspect/2015/02/15/8bed7a70-b50a-11e4-9423-f3d0a1ec335c_story.html

Saturday, February 14, 2015

Catching up with comics writer Michael Cowgill

Michael Cowgill (pronounced CO-gull) is one of the mainstays of the DC Conspiracy comics co-op. He's appeared regularly in the Magic Bullet free comics newspaper, including the new issue #10 out now. He also wrote stories in the District Comics and Wild Ocean anthologies that Matt Dembicki edited. While he defines himself as a writer, he draws minicomics too, which you can buy from him at the annual Small Press Expo. Michael tells me he will be appearing next week at Fantom Comics on February 21st for the DC Conspiracy's 10th anniversary bash.

Mike Rhode: What type of comic work or cartooning do you do?

Michael Cowgill: I mostly consider myself a writer and have a background in prose fiction writing, which I still work on, too. That said, I've done nonfiction/educational work for books like District Comics and Wild Ocean, and from issue 6 on of Magic Bullet, I've written and drawn my pages, featuring my characters Lil' P.I. and Trina Trubble and have done mini comics featuring them. There, I'd say I use a style in the Charles Schulz school (but in no way mean to compare myself to him!)

How do you do it? Traditional pen and ink, computer or a combination?


"Skip Dillon: Son of the B.E.F." from District Comics, art by Rand Arrington

For writing, I might start in a notebook or on scrap paper or the occasional napkin with some notes and sketchy drawings if I need to think out a page. There, I just outline or maybe write dialogue and very brief descriptions ("Fight!" "Pie in the face," etc.) Then I'll write a script in Scrivener, a cool and inexpensive word processor that features templates for all kinds of formats, including a comics script template created by Antony Johnston (The Fuse, Wasteland, The Coldest City). It has a lot of automated features that speed things along and allows you to quick rearrange scenes without having to update page numbers and so on.

For art, I create panels in Manga Studio and print them to a board in blue line (so they won't scan later), then draw with a blue pencil and ink with various pens. I'm still trying figure all that out and should probably teach myself to draw on the computer, but I find the inking stage particularly satisfying and relaxing. I scan that back in and then letter, color, and fix everything in Manga Studio.

When (within a decade is fine) and where were you born?

1973 in south Jersey, but we moved to the Atlanta area (a planned community called Peachtree City) when I was 3.

Why are you in Washington now? What neighborhood or area do you live in?

I moved here in 1997 to attend the MFA fiction program at George Mason University and ended up sticking around. I live in Falls Church.

What is your training and/or education in cartooning?

In cartooning, reading a lot of comics and books about comics. I don't have any formal art training. In writing, I have a BFA in creative writing from the University of Evansville (in Indiana) and an MFA in creative writing (fiction) from George Mason.

Who are your influences?

Growing up, Chris Claremont's X-Men and the Star Wars movies and toys were huge influences, as well as Bill Watterson, Berke Breathed, and as a kid from the eighties, I'm sure Garfield's in there somewhere. In late elementary school and junior high, serious young adult fiction like Katherine Paterson's Bridge to Terabithia and Virginia Hamilton's books caught my attention, and in high school, less serious fiction like Robert B. Parker's Spenser novels influenced me, especially his dialogue. From literature, Shakespeare, Steinbeck, Flannery O'Connor, Eudora Welty, William Maxwell, some Hemingway, Colum McCann, Michael Chabon, Ross Macdonald, poets like Seamus Heaney and Stephen Dunn, many of my teachers. Musicians like Bruce Springsteen, The Band, The Beatles, Dylan sometimes, R.E.M., Tom Petty, Scott McCaughey. All sorts of movies and TV have infected my brain from all the dumb crap I watched as a kid to comedies like Seinfeld, NewsRadio, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Community to dramas like Homicide, The Wire, Breaking Bad, etc.

From current mainstream comics, writers Brian Michael Bendis and Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction have influenced me. Bendis especially. In my prose fiction, I like to use a lot of back-and-forth dialogue, something that can get tricky in comics because of visual aspect and space limitations, and seeing Bendis' work showed me that you can accomplish that. Brubaker has influenced things like tone and pacing, and I admire Fraction's swing-for-the-fences attitude. Some artists that inspire me include Walt Simonson, Paul Smith, and Chris Samnee. My colleagues in the DC Conspiracy inspire me. I probably wouldn't be doing this without their support.

If you could, what in your career would you do-over or change?

Maybe start earlier--I didn't know about Eisner's instructional books, and we didn't have things like script books or Understanding Comics when I was finishing high school and first entertaining the mysterious idea of writing comics. If you look at a novel, you might not be able to see how the writer did it it, but the book you have ultimately represents that work in a way a comic, especially one done by multiple creators, doesn't. With a comic, you see the house but not the blueprint. Also, I would have taken some art classes. I drew a lot as a kid but never had any training, and now I'm playing catch-up. Especially in terms of my prose writing, I'd be more aggressive about getting my work out there.

The first Lil' P.I. story from Magic Bullet #6

What work are you best-known for?

I suppose Lil' P.I. since it appears in Magic Bullet, which has a nice big print run.

What work are you most proud of?

Lil' P.I. means a lot to me and makes my friends and me laugh at the very least, and I've done it all on my own. I'd say it's a tie between that and my story in District Comics with Rand Arrington. It comes closest to what I'd like to accomplish. It has an emotional arc and a voice and uses the comics medium to accomplish its goals rather than just telling a story I could have written in prose.

How long have you been a DC Conspiracy member?

About 4 1/2 years.

Tell us about your Abstract Garage comic book...

"Night of the Jackalope" art by Art Hondros

I put together Tales From the Abstract Garage last year for SPX. I wanted it to serve as a showcase for some different styles of writing. I also wanted to work with artists I picked and write to their strengths. It features a few framing pages of Lil' P.I. and Trina Trubble introducing and closing the book and two stories. I wrote "Duet" in a literary style. It focuses on a moment when two strangers make a potentially romantic connection, and it's probably closer to a poem or song than a full-on narrative. I asked Jacob Warrenfeltz to draw this because he has a fairly realistic and humanistic style, and I decided to put one character on a motorcycle because Jake likes those and likes to draw them. For the second piece "Night of the Jackalope," I wanted to write an action-style piece and chose to avoid narration. It plays as a supernatural western, where a mysterious stranger faces off with a giant jackalope but discovers a secret. For this, a chose Art Hondros, whose great use of black white and crosshatching fits the mood and the old timey feel of the story. I know both artists through the DC Conspiracy, and they brought a lot to their stories. Jake did things with the layout that added a sense of weightlessness an floating to the dancing and motorcycle elements, a sense of what the characters feel physically and emotionally. Art added a lot to the design of the stranger, most notably the snake hatband and rougher look. I'm hoping to do more of these.

What would you like to do or work on in the future?

Maybe get better at drawing so I can do something long form on my own, even though I like collaborating with other artists I'd really like to do something like This One Summer from last year. I love quiet grounded fiction that still has a lot of emotion, and if I can do something along those lines that uses the medium to accomplish things I couldn't in prose, then I'd like to do that.

What do you do when you're in a rut or have writer's block?

Take a break. Work on something else, play guitar, watch TV, spend time with friends or family. From writing novels, I can say it also helps to have a long-term project because you have something to work on each day, as opposed to, say, poetry, where you might just tinker with a few words for weeks at a time. I believe in the just write it, then fix it method of writing. It helps you keep momentum. It sometimes helps to leave yourself problems to solve or a cliffhanger of some kind. After feeling the sting of rejection in the prose world, delving more into comics reinvigorated me. Having friends and colleagues to commiserate with helps, too, or a good editor. For Wild Ocean, I couldn't quite get the script down and alive, and Matt Dembicki suggested I just write it as if writing an article first and not worry about the comics part of it, and that helped a great deal. A good editor can do that, send you in the right direction without doing the work for you or making you feel like you're failing.

What do you think will be the future of your field?

It's hard to tell. I've more or less embraced digital books, but I still buy and prefer comics in print and like the communal aspect of going to the comics shop. We're in a period where more people are embracing the medium, and I like that, and I think using the medium more for educational purposes, not just to educate about a topic but to encourage literacy by having fiction and nofiction comics about all sorts of things, has a lot of potential. I've come to enjoy the DIY aspect of comics, and given that we live in that kind of world with e-books and YouTube and web comics, it makes sense that that could spread even more in comics as the kids that are reading graphic novels now grow up.

Awesome Con comics convention in Washington, DC. District Comics panelists - Art Haupt, Rafer Roberts, Mike Cowgill, Andrew Cohen, Jacob Warrenfeltz, Mike Rhode, Carolyn Belefski and Troy-Jeffrey Allen.

What local cons do you attend? The Small Press Expo, Intervention, or others? Any comments about attending them?

I've attended Baltimore just as a fan and had a good time. I like its comics-centric nature. I've spent time on both sides of the table at SPX now, but I missed the early years, which sound a little more fun and unpredictable than the institutional role it plays now. I'll be exhibiting at Smudge this year and have exhibited at Bmore Into Comics in Baltimore a couple times, which is small and a good place to get some con experience. Awesome Con has potential, but ultimately, I wonder where comics fit into that.

"Duet" art by Jacob Warrenfeltz

What's your favorite thing about DC?

Probably the people or more specifically the people I know and that it does have some kind of scene for literature and comics at least, and even though it takes a while to get places, I like the proximity to the city itself from places like Falls Church. I also like the reasonable proximity to places like Philadelphia and New York. The two weeks of spring we get.

Least favorite?

Traffic and what happens to it the day before holidays, when the weather gets a little cranky, etc. I'd like to like and use Metro more, but I can't say that I do. I probably would if I lived in the city itself.

What monument or museum do you like to take visitors to?

I guess one of the Air and Space museums, mainly because my dad was a pilot and we would visit the main museum when we came through D.C. FDR and Jefferson memorials work, too.

How about a favorite local restaurant?

Hmm. I'm enjoying Ted's Bulletin a little too much right now.

Do you have a website or blog?

Yes. michaelcowgill.com.

Preparing for the D.C. Conspiracy party on Feb. 21

Members of the D.C. Conspiracy (namely Evan Keeling and Andrew Cohen) prepare the DCC comics arts exhibit at Fantom Comics, which on Feb. 21 will host the DCC's 10th anniversary party. The celebration, which runs from 3-9 p.m., will include a comics-making workshop, chat with creators and live music by Mickie & Mallory (which includes comics writer Joe Carabeo).

Warren Bernard curates Society of Illustrators exhibit

Warren Bernard co-curates a Society of Illustrators exhibit on Alternative Weekly Comics, March 04, 2015 - May 02, 2015. This will also be the theme of this year's Small Press Expo.

Friday, February 13, 2015

Comic Riffs on March vol 2 at UDC

REP. JOHN LEWIS: At UDC, civil-rights memoir 'March' keeps reaching the next generation

By Frances Stead Sellers

Washington Post Comic Riffs blog February 13 2015

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2015/02/13/rep-john-lewis-at-udc-civil-rights-memoir-march-keeps-reaching-the-next-generation/

Kal wins Cartoon of the Year in Europe

From Kal:

February 13 2015

I am delighted to announce that I have won the award for cartoon of the year in Europe in 2014. The press release and the winning entry are below:

GRAND PRIX PRESS CARTOON EUROPE 2015

The Grand Prix Press Cartoon Europe 2015 was won by Kevin Kallaugher (KAL) with a cartoon published in The Economist on the 18th of October 2014 . The European cartoon of the year was selected from over 400 published works from 151 cartoonists in 26 countries. The winner receives a cheque of 8.000 euro and a bronze trophy, designed by Belgian graphical artist Ever Meulen.

A second and third prize, each good for 1.000 euro, go to Jean Gouders (The Netherlands) for a cartoon published in BN De Stem on the 11^th of December 2014 and to Quirit (Belgium) for a cartoon published in Gazet van Antwerpen on the 30^th of December 2014.

The jury was composed by journalist from different countries:

Olivier le Bussy, Kris van Haver, Lukas de Vos from Belgium, Denis Crowley from Ireland, Mark John, Sara Lewis, Simon Frédéric from the UK assisted by Vincent Baudoux from the PCE-committee.

The awards will be handed at an official ceremony on the 4^th of July 2015 at the opening of the 54st International Cartoon Festival in Knokke-Heist, Belgium. All cartoons nominated for the PCE (Press Cartoon Europe) and PCB (Press Cartoon Belgium) will be shown at the exhibition of the Cartoon Festival during summer 2015.

More information:
Evi Duson
Assistant Producer PCB
evi@presscartoon.com
+32 479 66 10 55

Kevin Kallaugher

daggersdrawnbykal@gmail.com

Kal's New retrospective collection Daggers Drawn is now available to order.

The Post reviews Kingsman, movie based on Millar & Gibbons comic book

'Kingsman: The Secret Service': James Bond meets Jack Bauer

By Michael O'Sullivan
Washington Post February 13 2015
http://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/kingsman-the-secret-service-james-bond-meets-jack-bauer/2015/02/11/c22facf2-b203-11e4-854b-a38d13486ba1_story.html

Eggsy (Taron Egerton) and Arthur (Michael Caine) bond in "Kingsman: The Secret Service." (Jaap Buitendijk/AP)

Support cartoonists' rights now

The recent murder of 5 cartoonists, along with others, in their offices at Charlie Hebdo in Paris has brought the issue of cartoonists rights to freedom of speech and safety to the forefront of people's notice.

The Cartoonists Rights Network International (based in Northern Virginia) has been defending cartoonists for decades. In addition to the French cartoonists, Zunar in Malaysia has been arrested, Bonil is Ecuador is being censored and Mohammad Saba'aneh in Palestine has been suspended.

I spoke to Matt Wuerker last night about their Indiegogo fundraising campaign. The interview will appear soon on the City Paper, but time is ticking in their campaign. Click here:

Cartoonists Rights Network International - CRNI

Former Library of Congress curator to head San Diego Comic Art Gallery

Harry Katz, a former Library of Congress curator is to head IDW's new San Diego Comic Art Gallery.

While Harry was at the Library, they acquired the massive collection of Art Young. Harry was also affiliated with the Herblock Foundation for many years.

Thursday, February 12, 2015

March vol. 2 reviewed by School Library Journal

Sound and Fury: Graphic Nonfiction for Teens

By Mahnaz Dar
School Library Journal's Curriculum Connections enewsletter. February 10, 2015
http://www.slj.com/2015/02/standards/curriculum-connections/sound-and-fury-graphic-nonfiction-for-teens/#_

City Paper's Arts Guide highlights Smudge comics expo

Smudge Expo
Tim Regan

Washington City Paper February 13, 2015
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/46852/spring-arts-guide-2015/

Smudge is March 14th at the Artisphere in Arlington.

May 1: Neil Gaiman tickets available through Politics and Prose

Friday, May 1, 8 p.m.

Don't miss Neil Gaiman, the critically acclaimed bestselling author of titles such as American Gods, Coraline, The Graveyard Book and the groundbreaking Sandman comics, at this special one-night-only event May 1 at DAR Constitution Hall.

Starting now, you can get access to the best seats in the house, before the general public! Just use the promo code: CORALINE to register.

CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Feb 21: fantoM/Make presents Making Comics with Jason Rodriguez!

fantoM/Make presents Making Comics with Jason Rodriguez!

Saturday, February 21
at 1:00pm
Next Week
Show Map
Fantom Comics
2010 P St NW, Washington, District of Columbia 20036

Join us for the first in a series of comic-making workshops from the fantastic Harvey and Eisner-nominated writer and editor, Jason Rodriguez (Colonial Comics).

Sit in on this week's session which will cover the basics of making comics - the business and the DIY parts. Then join us for the DC Conspiracy 10th Anniversary Party!

Future sessions will deal with creating an actual comic, panel-by-panel and scene-by-scene.

Schedule of Upcoming Workshops:

Feb 21 - Making Comics Pt. 1 - An Intro to Making Comics
March 13 - Making Comics Pt. 2 - A Moment in Time
April 16 - Making Comics Part 3 - Making Them Move
May 14 - Making Comics Part 4 - Scene Work
June 18 - Making Comics Part 5 - Making Your Comic

The Post reports the arrest of Zunar in Malaysia

The Post reports the arrest of Zunar, a cartoonist who has recently visited Washington, in Malaysia over a tweet. The news is essentially a footnote in the article, so I'm quoting it below.

"Human Rights Watch reported that the Malaysian government on Tuesday also arrested a well-known Malaysian cartoonist, Zunar, after he tweeted: "The lackeys in black robes are proud about their sentence. The reward from political masters must be plenty.""

Comic Riffs has recently spoken with Zunar over the Charlie Hebdo massacres.

March 14: SMUDGE COMICS ARTS EXPO programming

SMUDGE COMICS ARTS EXPO

Saturday, March 14

at 12:00pm - 6:00pm

Artisphere

1101 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, Virginia 22209

PROGRAMMING AT A GLANCE

Black Box Theater
1-1:50 – Comics as teaching tools
2-2:50 – Exploring science through comics
3-3:50 – Race in comics
4-4:50 – Dreamworld
5-5:50 – 10 years of the D.C. Conspiracy

Classroom
1-1:50 – Jade Feng Lee – Character Design
2-2:50 – Santiago Casares – Make Your Own Comic Workshop
3-3:50 – Pauli Kohberger (Art Way Alliance) – Anime, Manga, and the Basics of Character Design
4-4:50 – Liz Reed – Create a clay character

Dome Theatre – seating in the Dome is free and first come/first served.
Animated Shorts (all ages) – 12-1pm
Root Hog or Die (104 minutes) – 2-3:45pm
The Art of Richard Thompson – 4-4:30pm

Jamie Greene now writing for GeekDad

Jamie Greene is now writing for GeekDad. He's got 3 comics interviews up with excellent cartoonists:

The Tamaki cousins

Cece Bell

Nick Dragotta

Earlier interviews by Jamie and his daughter Zoey on his blog are linked to in various places on ComicsDC.

Here's one we missed: 5 Questions with Disney Imagineer Joe Rohde

New Magic Bullet #10 free comic newspaper is out

It's also got two Charlie Hebdo massacre cartoons, by Joe Sutliff and Dale Rawlings, for the history-minded among us.
Here's some photos in action by the artists in the comic, who are also distributing it.

Jeremy Wetzel

Magic Bullet issue #10 is available at Art Whino in the National Harbor area.

Robin Ha

Magic bullet #10 at Beanetics Cafe Annandale Va

Robin Ha

Magic bullet #10 at George Mason Library in Annandale Va!

Steve Loya

Magic Bullet 10 now at CD Cellar Falls Church and Space Bar!

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Neil Gaiman event tickets available through Fantom Comics

From their website:

Getcha presale Neil Gaiman tickets here!!!

We are super excited to present you with the opportunity to purchase exclusive, presale tickets to Neil Gaiman's appearance in Washington, DC on May 1st 2015! Starting NOW, you can get access to the best seats in the house, before the general public!

Don't miss Neil Gaiman, the critically acclaimed bestselling author of titles such as American Gods, Coraline, The Graveyard Book and the groundbreaking Sandman comics, at this special one-night-only event May 1st at DAR Constitution Hall. Join Gaiman for an evening of engaging conversations and stories of his life's work, both past and future, including an open discussion with the audience.

Gareth Hinds' Macbeth is on sale today

From his blog:
Displaying

Macbeth is on sale!

Today is Feb. 10, and Macbeth is now available in fine book and comic shops, online, and on iBooks, Comixology, and Kobo (coming soon on Google Play and Nook).

Launch events have not changed since the last email, but here's a quick reminder:

Wellesley, MA - Wellesley Books, 2/11 @7pm

Cambridge, MA - Porter Square Books, 2/13 @7pm

Washington, DC - Politics & Prose, 2/17@10:30am

Takoma Park, MD - Takoma Park Public Library sponsored by P&P, 2/23 @7:30pm
Alexandria, VA - Hooray for Books, 2/27 @7pm

St. Louis, MO - Left Bank Books, 3/5 @7pm

Gaithersburg, MD - appearing at the Gaithersburg Book Festival, 5/16 (10am-6pm)

Macbeth-related blog highlights:

You can see a step-by-step animated GIF of how I created the artwork for Macbeth here.

I just saw a great "sequel" to Macbeth called Dunsinane -- sketches and reviews here. And here are sketches from two performances of The Tempest (part 1 and part 2), and from Mary Stuart, a drama about Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots.

Monday, February 09, 2015

Flugennock's Latest'n'Greatest: "Ye Olde Colonial Constituents Day"

"Ye Olde Colonial Constituents Day"

http://sinkers.org/stage/?p=1662

Congratulations, DC! Your new plantation overseer -- that is, the new chairman of the House Oversight Committee -- is a Mormon with an injection-molded face, one Jason Chaffetz of Utah.

Seeing as how part of his job is getting in the way of the people of Washington, DC when they try and govern themselves, then perhaps he might be interested in such DC minutiae as traffic, parking, trash pickup, Metro subway fires, and that goddamn' streetcar project that keeps falling behind schedule.

Join us as we take these and other grievances to our new colonial governor at his office in the Rayburn Building on March 17... won't you?

___________________________________________________________
Mike Flugennock, flugennock at sinkers dot org
Political Cartoons: dubya dubya dubya dot sinkers dot org

Feb 18: Syrian animator Essa Neima exhibit opens on Dupont Circle

My interview with Essa from 2013 can be read here.

Artist Essa Neima Presents "Touch Me Not" at Dupont Pilgrims Gallery

FEBRUARY 18^TH THROUGH APRIL 5^TH

WHO: Artist Essa Neima

WHAT: Opening for "Touch Me Not", an expressionist/abstract exhibit done with acrylic and oil on canvas depicting the effect of violence on art in the country of Syria.

WHERE: Dupont Pilgrims Gallery located at 2201 P Street NW, Washington D.C. 20037

WHEN: February 18^th through April 5^th with Exhibition Reception Friday, March 6^th, 2015 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

About the artist and his art:

Due to the acts of violence from extreme organizations in Syria, a huge number of artwork from that area is being destroyed. Mr. Neima's paintings speak about these damaged pieces. His work is designed to show the viewer a part of Syria the media doesn't seem to have time to show, that of what is lost beyond the obvious, the art and emotions it provokes.

Essa Neima was born and raised in Syria and currently lives in Washington D.C. He is an art instructor at University of the District of Columbia and has worked in the animation field for ten years between Syria and Dubai. Essa studied art at the University of Damascus in Syria.

MEDIA CONTACT: Pat Brogan, 703-462-0530, pbrogan@wamu.org

The Dupont Pilgrims Gallery features rotating exhibits by local artists using visual art as inspiration. It's open Sundays 12-2pm, First Fridays of each month 6-8pm and by request. Contact Carol Hulls at artgallery@churchofthepilgrims.org or 202-236-5525

###

Chip Beck, cartoonist, combat artist and CIA agent, profiled at City Paper

Inside the Drawings of a Cartoonist for the CIA

by Mike Rhode on Feb. 9, 2015
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/visual-arts/2015/02/09/inside-the-drawings-of-a-cartoonist-for-the-cia/

Chip Beck is my latest interview subject. At 69 years old, I think he's the longest working cartoonist I've talked to besides Jules Feiffer. His career is certainly livelier than any one else I know of.

Chip Beck–Moulin Sur Mer, Haiti

In spite of the article's length, my editor Christina Cauterucci barely trimmed it, for which I thank her.

Mark Korsak is a local cartoonist

I've met Mark Korsak, a professional illustrator, at a couple of local events and found out from him that he's working on a Civil War graphic novel, which sounds pretty neat. He moved to the area within the past year with his wife, but worked at the Society of Illustrators in NYC before that which sounds unspeakably cool.

Mark's going to answer my longer interview questions, but in the meantime, I will note that he's available for illustration work.

Feb 11 - 16: Disney on Ice: Worlds of Fantasy at Verizon Center

Experience a magical Disney fantasy live on ice! Rev up for non-stop fun with four of your favorite Disney stories at Disney On Ice presents Worlds of Fantasy Presented by Stonyfield YoKids Organic Yogurt. Thrill to high-speed stunts as Lightning McQueen, Mater and the crew of Disney•Pixar's Cars race across the ice like you've never seen before! Dive into The Little Mermaid's enchanting undersea kingdom and enter the mystical world of Pixie Hollow with Tinker Bell and the Disney Fairies as they reveal the magic that lies within! The toys are back in town with heroic action when Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Jessie and the Toy Story gang escape from the rambunctious tots of Sunnyside Daycare and race for home, in their most daring adventure ever! From wheels to waves, playtime to pixie dust, your family's favorite Disney moments come to life at Disney On Ice presents Worlds of Fantasy.

Indiegogo campaign for Cartoonists Rights Network International - CRNI

Here's a local fundraising campaign supported by Matt Wuerker -

Cartoonists Rights Network International - CRNI

CRNI defends the creative and human rights of cartoonists under threat throughout the world.

Saturday, February 07, 2015

Gareth Hinds is now a local cartoonist

Actually he's been a local cartoonist for a year or so, but I've never met him until last night.

Gareth Hinds has a new Shakespeare adaptation coming out next week. He'll be introducing Macbeth at Politics and Prose in DC, the Takoma Park Library in MD, and Hooray for Books in VA. I'll be at the VA one.

His website is here and his blog is here. I hope to run an interview soon with him on the City Paper's site.

Last night we met at Scott McCloud's talk at Politics and Prose. Here's his take on it.

Friday, February 06, 2015

Scott McCloud in Conversation with Michael Cavna (February 6, 2015) UPDATED

The recording of the event, 1 1/2 hours long, is at this link:

https://archive.org/details/PP150206ScottMcCloudAndMichaelCavna

This may be the only recording as I'm not sure if the store recorded it. Someone was videoing it, but they weren't from P&P.

Nice things were said about local cartoonist Richard Thompson, and less nice things about Bob "Batman" Kane. McCloud had some things to say that rang true to me and I'll try to excerpt them in a post early next week.

More photographs by me are online here.

Better photographs by Bruce Guthrie are online here.

Cartoonist Gareth Hinds did some live-sketching of the event.

Scott McCloud live at Politics and Prose

Here's a few pictures from his conversation ongoing now with Comic Riffs' Michael Cavna.

Comic Riffs talks to Scott McCloud several times

Cavna will also be speaking with McCloud tonight at Politics and Prose in DC at 7 pm.

'THE SCULPTOR': With graphic-novel epic, Scott McCloud weighs artistic ambition on the scale of life

By Michael Cavna

Washington Post Comic Riffs blog February 6 2015

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2015/02/06/the-sculptor-with-graphic-novel-epic-scott-mccloud-weighs-artistic-ambition-on-the-scale-of-life/

Flugennock's Latest'n'Greatest: "Blood In The Water"

I gotta say, I don't get this one, but I'm not the intended audience for our resident anarchist's cartoon.

"Blood In The Water"
http://sinkers.org/stage/?p=1657

So, I was hanging around the Prop 71 office the other day, working on sketches and listening to Our Exalted Leader Adam Eidinger giving an interview to Cannabis Radio News over at Marijuana Public Media, and in the course of his discussion of the growing pushback against GOP meddlers regarding DC's Initiative 71, Adam threw down the phrase "blood in the water"...

___________________
Mike Flugennock, flugennock at sinkers dot org
Political Cartoons: dubya dubya dubya dot sinkers dot org

FEB 28: Justin Jordan Signing at Fantom Comics

Saturday, February 28
at 1:00pm - 3:00pm
Show Map
Fantom Comics
2010 P St NW, Washington, District of Columbia 20036

The incredibly talented creator/writer of The Strange Talent of Luther Strode, Dead Body Road, Deep State, and Spread will be gracing Fantom Comics with his presence the last Saturday in February!

Bring your comics and prints and autograph books to get ALL THE THINGS signed!

Feb 27: Gareth Hinds in Alexandria

This event is at Hooray for Books on King Street.

Friday, February 27th: Author Gareth Hinds will present and sign his latest graphic novel for teens, Macbeth. 7 pm.

Set against the moody backdrop of eleventh-century Scotland, Gareth Hinds's illustrated interpretation of Shakespeare's classic play takes readers into the claustrophobic mind of a man driven mad by ambition. An evil seed takes root in the mind of Macbeth, a general in the king's army, when three witches tell him he will one day be king. But is Macbeth prepared to commit murder to steal, and keep, the crown?