Thursday, February 23, 2023

A new book tells the story of a family's escape from Nazi Germany that wends its way through bootleggers, comic-book creators, sports legends and one iconic starlet

Review by Jennifer Howard

Washington Post February 23, 2023 : C3

online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2023/02/22/american-way-stapinski/

I hid my disabilities at work. Now I know they don't limit my worth.

I gradually learned my worth wasn't determined by what I could "do," and that it was more important to listen to my body and myself

Perspective by Rachel Litchman

February 19, 2023

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2023/02/19/i-hid-my-disabilities-work-now-i-know-they-dont-define-my-worth/

A First Time for Everything: Dan Santat Discusses His Graphic Memoir, How Memories Change, and the Best Flavor of Fanta

February 21, 2023 by Betsy Bird

https://afuse8production.slj.com/2023/02/21/a-first-time-for-everything-dan-santat-discusses-his-graphic-memoir-how-memories-change-and-the-best-flavor-of-fanta/

13 Stories That Influenced My AVENGERS Debut, by PAUL LEVITZ

Feb 19, 2023

https://13thdimension.com/13-stories-that-influenced-my-avengers-debut-by-paul-levitz/

LA Times Book Prize 2023 Graphic Novel finalists announced

And Alex Segura's Secret Identity is a Mystery/Thriller finalist

Dean Simons

02/23/2023

https://www.comicsbeat.com/la-times-book-prize-2023-graphic-novel-finalists-announced/

Exclusive: Asterix Returns with New Writer

February 23, 2023 by Brigid Alverson

https://goodcomicsforkids.slj.com/2023/02/23/exclusive-asterix-returns-with-new-writer-news/

Steven Yeun Joins Marvel's 'Thunderbolts'

The Oscar nominee will play a key role in the film, which focuses on villains and anti-heroes.

Aaron Couch

February 23, 2023

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/steven-yeun-joins-marvels-thunderbolts-1235330495/

'He created something magical': Calvin and Hobbes fans rejoice as creator plans first work in decades

Bill Watterson to publish a sombre 'fable for grown-ups' after disappearing from public eye in 1995

Matthew Cantor

@CantorMatthew

Wed 22 Feb 2023 https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/feb/22/calvin-hobbes-bill-watterson-the-mysteries-new-book

European Journal 2023, Part 1: Bologna

Bill Kartalopoulos | February 23, 2023

https://www.tcj.com/european-journal-2023-part-1-bologna/

Precarious Youth in Contemporary Graphic Narratives : Young Lives in Crisis

Edited By

María Porras Sánchez,

Gerardo Vilches

2023

Routledge

https://www.routledge.com/Precarious-Youth-in-Contemporary-Graphic-Narratives-Young-Lives-in-Crisis/Sanchez-Vilches/p/book/9781032123592

Introduction: Graphic Narratives and the Precarious Condition

María Porras Sánchez and Gerardo Vilches

1. The Ideological Depiction of Childhood during the Great Depression: from Little Orphan Annie to Little Lefty

Francisco Saez de Adana

2. Oppressive Structures and Childhood Precarity in The Witches: A Graphic Novel

María Augusta Albuja Aguilar

3. Journey to Adulthood: Visual Representation of a Morphing Identity in Inio Asano's Goodnight Punpun

José Andrés Santiago

4. "A Malaise That We Don't Know What to Name:" Cruel Optimism and Residual Disenchantment in Nadar's El Mundo a Tus Pies (2015)

Katie Salmon

5. What Is Love? Precarious Lives, Precarious Loves in the Works of Italian Women Graphic Novelists

Nicoletta Mandolini and Giorgio Busi Rizzi

6. Uncertain Homes: Trauma, Fracture, and Resilience in Roma Biographies from the "Children's Homes" in the Czech Republic

Andrea Hoff

7. Finding Voice Within the Objects of Their Lives: Adolescents Writing Memoir Comics to Interrogate Crisis

Michael Kersulov

8. Super-Precariat: Socioeconomic Fictions and Realities of Superhero Comic Books

Elisa McCausland and Diego Salgado

9. "What Happens to a Dream Deferred?": Super Villains of African Descent

Óscar Gual Boronat and Mario Millanes Vaquero

10. Precarious Identity: Labelling Oneself Fumettista?

Lisa Maya Quaianni Manuzzato and Eva Van de Wiele

11. Amazing Ultradeformer Cartoonist from Ituzaingó: The Memes of Pedro Mancini

Amadeo Gandolfo

12. In Conversation with Vicent Giard: A Decade Taking Care of a Little Colossus

Enrique Bordes

13. Crises, New Modalities of Social Struggle and the Emergence of LGBTIQ+ Discourses as Revulsive and Autonomous Responses in the Field of Argentine Comics (2016- 2020)

Laura Cristina Fernández

14. Cultural Otherness in Der Traum von Olympia (An Olympic Dream)

Julia C. Gómez Sáez

15. Wasted Potential, Disposable Bodies: The Many Victims of Backderf's My Friend Dahmer

Monica Chiu

16. Strike Comics: Representing the Inequities and Absurdities of Academic Precarity

Lydia Wysocki

JOCK exhibition announced at the UK's Panel Gallery this April
An exhibition showcasing original art from Jock's Batman: One Dark Knight limited series
Dean Simons
02/23/2023
https://www.comicsbeat.com/jock-exhibition-announced-at-the-uks-panel-gallery-this-april/

Bad Idea personnel moves: Stern and Militano
Heidi MacDonald
02/23/2023
https://www.comicsbeat.com/bad-idea-personnel-moves-stern-and-militano/

ComicsPRO president Jenn Haines: "Comics retailers know how to fight and how to adapt"
2022 was a great year, but the industry needs to work together to face new challenges
Heidi MacDonald
02/23/2023
https://www.comicsbeat.com/comicspro-president-jenn-haines-comics-retailers-know-how-to-fight-and-how-to-adapt/

This Superman fan film is so good that people thought it was an actual game leak
By Jasmine Gould-Wilson
Newsarama February 20 2023
https://www.gamesradar.com/this-superman-fan-film-is-so-good-that-people-thought-it-was-an-actual-game-leak/

How Scott Snyder is blazing a new path in comics after 'Batman'
The acclaimed comics writer who shaped Batman for the modern era is leading the charge on a new anthology for IDW. Here's the deal on 'Dark Spaces.'
by Eric Francisco
Aug. 2, 2022
https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/scott-synder-batman-interview

Raising Felix: Love and Fear
By Julia Wertz
February 22, 2023
https://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/raising-felix-love-and-fear

March 4: Rodney Barnes & Jason Shawn Alexander launch Blacula: Return of the King at Third Eye!

KILLADELPHIA creative team RODNEY BARNES (Killadelphia, Mandalorian, Nita Hawes Nightmare Blog, HBO's Winning Time) & JASON SHAWN ALEXANDER (Killadelphia, Empty Zone, Spawn) launch their new Blacula graphic novel at Third Eye Annapolis! !!

Hey Third Eye Faithful!

We've got a signing of legendary proportions on the way this March as we celebrate the return of the horror icon, BLACULA, in the all new BLACULA: RETURN OF THE KING graphic novel with superstar creators RODNEY BARNES (KILLADELPHIA, NITA HAWES NIGHTMARE BLOG, MONARCH, THE MANDALORIAN) & JASON SHAWN ALEXANDER (KILLADELPHIA, EMPTY ZONE, SPAWN)!

We're stoked to have Rodney & Jason joining us to not only celebrate the launch of their incredible graphic novel that brings the legendary BLACULA back into the spotlight, but also all of their other killer projects as well, including one of our personal faves at Third Eye: KILLADELPHIA!

Check out all the event details here!

PRE-ORDER BLACULA Return of the King, Signed Copies (in case you can't attend!) & PRIORITY ADMISSION VIP Packs!!

Click here to browse them all!

BLACULA TP [SIGNED BY RODNEY BARNES & JASON SHAWN ALEXANDER]

SIGNED BY RODNEY BARNES & JASON SHAWN ALEXANDER ON MARCH 4, 2023!

Los Angeles-the City of Angels. Two souls, one is looking for vengeance and one is looking for the truth. They share one thing in common, they are both searching for the legendary vampire Blacula.

Tina Thomas is a reporter for the blog Dark Knights, which chronicles all things unnatural, uneasy, and undead. She meets a young man named Kross whose family was forever changed by the vampire.

Kross asks Tina to help him kill Blacula.

Blacula too is on a mission, he is searching for the one who forever changed his life centuries ago. His name is Count Dracula.

$29.99

Buy Now

VIP PACKAGE - BLACULA WITH RODNEY BARNES & JASON SHAWN ALEXANDER

THIS SIGNING WILL TAKE PLACE ON - 3/4/2023

PRIORITY ADMISSION - BE IN OUR PRIORITY ADMISSION LINE, AND SKIP THE LONGER GENERAL ADMISSION LINE

1 FREE COPY OF STAR WARS MANDALORIAN #1 2ND PRINTING PHOTO CVR

EXTENDED SIGNING LIMITS 6 ITEMS FROM TABLE / 6 ITEMS FROM HOME

$49.99

Buy Now

STAR WARS MANDALORIAN #1 TV VAR [SIGNED BY RODNEY BARNES]

$12.99

Buy Now

KILLADELPHIA TPB VOL 1 [SIGNED BY RODNEY BARNES & JASON SHAWN ALEXANDER]

$19.99

Buy Now

EMPTY ZONE VOL 1 TP [SIGNED BY JASON SHAWN ALEXANDER]

$14.99

Buy Now

KILLADELPHIA #10 CVR B CAMPBELL (MR) [SIGNED BY RODNEY BARNES & JASON SHAWN ALEXANDER]

$14.99

Buy Now

NITA HAWES NIGHTMARE BLOG TP VOL 01 [SIGNED BY WRITER RODNEY BARNES AND COVER ARTIST JASON SHAWN ALEXANDER]

$19.99

Buy Now

STAR WARS MANDALORIAN #4 LARROCA VAR [SIGNED BY RODNEY BARNES]

$14.99

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SPAWN DARK HORROR TP [SIGNED BY JASON SHAWN ALEXANDER]

$24.99

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KILLADELPHIA #19 CVR B LEE (MR) [SIGNED BY RODNEY BARNES & JASON SHAWN ALEXANDER]

$14.99

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STAR WARS: THE MANDALORIAN #1 1:50 YU VARIANT SIGNED BY RODNEY BARNES

$59.99

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DC journalist Nevin Martell interviewed on new Watterson book

'He created something magical': Calvin and Hobbes fans rejoice as creator plans first work in decades

Bill Watterson to publish a sombre 'fable for grown-ups' after disappearing from public eye in 1995

Matthew Cantor

@CantorMatthew

Wed 22 Feb 2023 https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/feb/22/calvin-hobbes-bill-watterson-the-mysteries-new-book

PR: Small Press Expo 2023 Show Update

Friends,

Yes, it is that time of year again where we officially kick off the planning for SPX 2023. This year's SPX will occur September 9-10, 2023 at the Marriott Bethesda North Hotel & Conference Center, with events occurring in the days preceding the show throughout the Washington, D.C. area.

Please be sure to check out our newly redesigned web site.

We look forward to seeing everybody this September!!

COVID-19 AND SPX

In these times of pandemics and other easily transmitted diseases, the health and safety of the SPX Community is paramount in our minds. So here is where we stand with health measures at this year's show:

Masking will be required for everybody, attendees, exhibitors and SPX staff/volunteers.

If there is a current Covid wave close to the show, proof of vaccination will once again be required to gain entry. This decision will be made and communicated to the SPX Community in mid-late August.

For exhibitors, we will once again limit the number of people behind tables to 2-3 people, with medical exceptions allowed.

ATTENDEE KEY DATES

First week in June - For those attendees coming from out of town, the hotel room block will be made available.

Late June - Advance tickets will go on sale.

Late June - Special Guests will be announced.

Mid-August - Sign-up forms for workshops will become available.

Mid-August - Ignatz nominees/voting, Debuts and Programming slate will all be announced.

EXHIBITOR KEY DATES

Below is our planned schedule for table registration and other exhibitor milestones for SPX 2023. If we are off by a day or two (or three...), we apologize beforehand.

If you want to be placed on the Exhibitor Email List, please fill out this form on our web site.

Any questions about tabling, send them to exhibitor-inquiries@smallpressexpo.com.

March 4 - Invitations sent to publishers and creators on our Invite List.
March 18 - Response for accepting/declining Invite List invitation due.
March 20 - Table lottery opens.
March 31 - Table lottery closes.
April 1 - Ignatz Submissions open.
April 24- Lottery winners and Wait Listed exhibitors contacted
May 1- Table payment and hotel room block information sent to all table holders.
May 22 - Payments due for all tables.
May 31 - Ignatz Submissions close.
July 10- Table Assignments sent out, begin signing up for badge pickup names and names for the program guide/web site.
July 31 - Debut submissions begin.
August 5 - Names due for Program Guide.
August 14 - Debuts posted on web site, debut submissions end.
August 19 - Names due for web site and badge pickup.

Stay safe and hope to see you in September,

The SPX Executive Committee

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 nonprofit that brings together more than 650 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. The expo includes a series of panel discussions and interviews with this year's guests.

The Ignatz Award is a festival prize held every year at SPX recognizing outstanding achievement in comics and cartooning.

Small Press Expo

P.O. Box 5704

Bethesda, Maryland

20824

www.smallpressexpo.com

warren@smallpressexpo.com

STAY CONNECTED

The Lily's latest webcomic

I hid my disabilities at work. Now I know they don't limit my worth.

I gradually learned my worth wasn't determined by what I could "do," and that it was more important to listen to my body and myself

Perspective by Rachel Litchman

February 19, 2023

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2023/02/19/i-hid-my-disabilities-work-now-i-know-they-dont-define-my-worth/

The Post reviews The American Way

'The American Way' is a tale of pluck and luck [n print as 'The American Way': A fast-moving tale of pluck and luck]

A new book tells the story of a family's escape from Nazi Germany that wends its way through bootleggers, comic-book creators, sports legends and one iconic starlet

Review by Jennifer Howard

Washington Post February 23, 2023 : C3

online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2023/02/22/american-way-stapinski/

Flugennock's Latest'n'Greatest: "Balloonacy (don't panic!)"

From Mike Flugennock, DC's anarchist cartoonist

"Balloonacy (don't panic!)"
http://sinkers.org/stage/?p=3609

JEEEEEEzus christ, man, wotta goddamn shitshow, huh? Not that anyone
with two synapses to rub together could tell you that the US boss
media were pulling it straight outta their ass, that it wasn't a "spy
balloon" and probably not even Chinese, given the US media's record
over the past 30, 40 years.

Finally, about 2 weeks into this Mel Brooks movie, the Pentagon
Amateur Hour crew starts shuffling and backpedaling and stammering
like Porky Pig that well, OK, it wasn't really dangerous and probably
not a surveillance balloon after all — and while that's going on, a
bunch of Top Gun wannabes piss away $2m worth of our tax money
shooting down what was probably some kid's science project, likely to
get Marjorie Taylor-Greene to shut the hell up. And btw, when a
fascist freak like MTG is allowed to sit in Congress and yell for
something to be shot down as if it were "Call Of Duty" or something,
you know your Rules-Based Order™ is circling the shitter.

So, if you're thinking that Uncle Joe's handling of this and other
foreign policy batshittery he's stoking up is looking more and more
like a rejected Pinky And The Brain plot — except that P & the B
actually had their shit together a little more — join the club,
kiddos. Hell, the Chinese were showing more class in their little
finger than the US and the West at large, who spent the last 2 weeks
filling every pair of BVD's in the drawer.

Ha haahhhhh, NARF.

----------

"US media report calls into question balloon 'spy mission' claims
against China", Patrick Martin at the World Socialists' site, 02.16.2023
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/02/16/gcsf-f16.html

"US admits weather pushed Chinese balloon off course, US shot down
hobbyists' $12 balloon in $2M missile attack", Ben Norton at the
Geopolitical Economy Report, 02.18.2023
https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/02/18/us-weather-chinese-balloon-hobbyist/

"Marjorie Taylor Greene urges fans to shoot down spy balloon", Matthew
Chapman at Raw Story, 02.03.2023
https://www.rawstory.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-spy-balloon/

_________________________________________________________________
Mike Flugennock, Political Cartoons: http://www.sinkers.org/stage
Mike's press kit: http://sinkers.org/stage/?page_id=2

UCLA Rare Book Library course in DC - The Social and Material Lives of Comic Art, or, How Comics Get Around

The Social and Material Lives of Comic Art, or, How Comics Get Around

https://www.calrbs.org/program/courses/cartoons-popular-culture-and-comics/

Course Information

Instructor: Charles Hatfield
Location: Smithsonian / Washington D.C.
Mode: In-person
Dates: August 14 – August 18
Tuition: $1200.00

apply on submittable

Description

Popular yet personal, branded as trivial yet rich with meaning, comics are more than cultural scraps or leftovers. In fact, comics are everywhere: they are art objects, storying machines, readable games, tools for disseminating knowledge, and platforms for worldbuilding and political argument. Whether viewed as historical artifacts or distinctive literary and artistic works, comics carry culture with them. In this workshop, we will study how comics move through the world, socially and materially, how they can make a difference in the world, and how we, as teachers, researchers, and creators, can use them.

Comic art has a complex social life. Comic books, graphic novels, strips, and cartoons come in varied material (and now digital) forms and reach diverse readerships. Many are thought to be ephemeral, as disposable as yesterday's newspapers or tweets; some are built to last. Many last despite their seeming ephemerality, archived by collectors, fans, and, increasingly, archiving professionals and research libraries. Conserving, organizing, and accessing these artifacts can be a challenge but also a profound pleasure; comics offer us opportunities for creative engagement as well as deep research. Our workshop will study how comics come to be, how they circulate, where and how they are archived, and how we may teach with them.

We will focus on comics' physical materiality, on firsthand experience and "show and tell." Our hands-on sessions will mix varied forms of nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first century comic art, from newspaper pages to comic magazines, from graphic novels to minicomix, zines, and webcomics. Drawing on the resources of the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives, we will explore the material and social histories of comics, the idiosyncrasies of comics production, including differences among American, European, and Japanese traditions, and how comics have been shored against time by collectors. We will consider comics as products of various industries, cultures, and social scenes—as historic artifacts, yes, but also urgent dispatches from the here and now. Participants will come out of this workshop knowing:

the distinctions among various genres of comics (including comic strips, comic books, graphic novels, webcomics, and minicomics) and how they look and feel
the various ways comics are produced and circulated, by whom, and under what conditions
how to find and access comics in archives
how we can deploy comics in teaching
how comics can elevate marginalized and minoritized identities and serve as vehicles for social protest and transformation
overall, how comics move through and "trouble" the world, in the best senses of that word.

Requirements

I will share a list of pre-readings with participants prior to the course. We will read further materials during our week together. In addition, everyone should prepare a brief (one or two-page) written or comics-style introduction to themselves, to be shared no later than our first meeting. Expect to participate in class discussions, take part in various site visits, and interact with, and prepare questions, for our guest speakers (comics and archiving experts from the greater Washington, D.C. area). Sketchnoting or keeping a comics diary will be encouraged.

Feel free to email me with questions at charles.hatfield@csun.edu.

Offered

2023

Credit

Completion of this course helps to meet credits for one of the following certificate requirements:

1 of 3 elective credit courses for Certificate in Rare Books and Manuscripts, or
1 of 2 elective credit courses for Certificate in Librarianship, Activism, and Justice

Department of Information Studies, UCLA
232 GSEIS Building Box 951520
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1520

Thursday, February 23, 2023

Comics Research Bibliography citations update, 2/23/23

March 4: Rodney Barnes & Jason Shawn Alexander launch Blacula: Return of the King at Third Eye!

DC journalist Nevin Martell interviewed on new Watterson book

'He created something magical': Calvin and Hobbes fans rejoice as creator plans first work in decades

PR: Small Press Expo 2023 Show Update

The Lily's latest webcomic

I hid my disabilities at work. Now I know they don't limit my worth.

I gradually learned my worth wasn't determined by what I could "do," and that it was more important to listen to my body and myself

The Post reviews The American Way

'The American Way' is a tale of pluck and luck [n print as 'The American Way': A fast-moving tale of pluck and luck]

A new book tells the story of a family's escape from Nazi Germany that wends its way through bootleggers, comic-book creators, sports legends and one iconic starlet

Flugennock's Latest'n'Greatest: "Balloonacy (don't panic!)"

UCLA Rare Book Library course in DC - The Social and Material Lives of Comic Art, or, How Comics Get Around

UCLA Rare Book Library course in DC - The Social and Material Lives of Comic Art, or, How Comics Get Around

The Social and Material Lives of Comic Art, or, How Comics Get Around

Course Information

Description

Requirements

Offered

Credit

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