Hoopla! - new Arlington VA comic book review blog

Paul Weissburg has restarted his comic book review column as Hoopla! An online comic-book review column. I don't know Paul, and am just passing along the notice I got from the owner of Big Planet Comics.

Zippy around DC

I completely missed this one, but Zippy was at Arlington's Bob and Edith's diner right after Christmas. Cartoonist Brian Biggs has eaten there with me as well. Zippy's also popped into Rock Creek Cemetery in DC; Barry's Magic Shop in Wheaton (on Georgia Avenue, near the shopping mall); Ben's Chili Bowl in DC; the newly-reopened National Portrait Gallery; and the Lincoln Memorial. He's even made it out to Catonsville, MD.

Jan 27-Feb 25 Shakespeare in Washington

I can hear you all wondering, but there's a comics link here that my friend Liz pointed out. Rough Magic, a reworking of The Tempest, is written by Marvel Comics writer, and former area resident (and Big Planet Comics customer) Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. I'm going to try to catch this.

Jan 27 - Alternative comics fest at Dr. Dremo's

Today's Post reported today that Dr. Dremo's Taproom in Arlington will host DC Counter Culture Festival next Saturday that will include alt cartoonists selling their comix. Specifically listed in the Post were Jason Rodriguez, Little Foot and Angry Dog Press. It goes from 4 pm - midnight, and the bar's address is 2100 Clarendon Blvd.

"Chicago 10" animated film in today's Post

Saturday's that is. Here's the article.

March 2-3 - Academic panels on comic books in Baltimore

Vanessa Raney reports two academic panels will be at the 2007 Northeast Modern Language Association (MLA) Convention at the The Sheraton Baltimore City Center Hotel, Baltimore, MD, March 1-4, 2007.

* Fri. (Mar. 2), 10:00a-11:30a *

2.08 Douglas Room
God and the Graphic Novel
Chair: Kelly S. Meyer, The College of Saint Rose

"Jesus Christ, Drawn and Quartered: The 'Reformed' Stations of the Cross in Fundamentalist Tracts"
Scott Maisano, University of Massachusetts-Boston

"Jesus Christ, Drawn and Quartered: The 'Reformed' Stations of the Cross in Fundamentalist Tracts"
T. Anne Metivier, Indiana University

"This Last Thing Ya Gotta Do Alone: Preacher and Masculinity"
Gordon Sullivan, North Carolina State University

"Alan Moore's Promethea: Comics as Primer and Missionary Tool for Alternative Religion"
Christine Hoff Kraemer, Boston University


* Saturday (Mar. 3), 11:45a-1:00p *

9.07 Pratt A
Picture Books and Children's Comics: Semiotics of Illustration
Chair: Vanessa Raney, Hood College

"Semiotics of the Visual: An Introduction"
Vanessa Raney, Hood College

"Puzzle Panels: The Semiotic Riddles of George Carlson's Comic Art and Children's Media"
Daniel F. Yezbick, Peninsula College WA

"Higglety Pigglety Pop! Or, There Must be a Picture Book for Adults"
Ofra Amihay, Tel Aviv University

Ann Telnaes cartoon chosen as "Cartoon of the Month"

Dave Astor says that Capitol Hill resident and Pulitzer Prize winner Ann Telnaes has a cartoon that's been picked as "Editorial Cartoon of the Month" in Editor&Publisher's upcoming February print issue. He describes the cartoon as "...an anti-"surge" cartoon last week showing George W. Bush at a podium attached to a treadmill. As the fitness-obsessed President ran in place, one could clearly see that the treadmill's treads were flag-draped coffins of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq." Astor then goes onto discuss the current state of editorial cartooning, although he doesn't note that shamefully enough, Telnaes is self-syndicated without a home newspaper.

Cartoon-based videogames reviewed in Friday's Post

The Weekend section had reviews of videogames based on Peanuts and Family Guy. These are syndicated though, and not unique to the Post.

Spider-Man giveway in today's Washington Examiner

The Electro story from 1964 continues, but there's an interesting new cover by Kolins, dated 2006 so it's definitely new. The computerized coloring of the cover contrasts oddly with the flat colors of the original though. Remember - liberate your neighbors' copy! Capitol Hill by Eastern Market is a particularly rich stalking ground, as many people there don't want the paper and actively post signs saying so, but get it delivered anyway. Unlike my less-prosperous South Arlington neighborhood. Personally, I find it a perfectly respectable, although right-wing, free read.

Washington Post editor on language in comics

I'm pretty sure that Dave Astor is no where near DC, but he scooped me again with this one - Syndicate Editor Supports Candid Language in Comics - in which he notes that Washington Post Writers Group comic strip editor Amy Lago has posted a defense of adult language in comics. What's next - sex? Whoops, she defends that too. Seriously, it's about time - far more kids are hearing these terms on tv than reading them.

Tobacco cartoon show extended at Medical Museum

Ok, now this is embarrassing. I work in this place and didn't know the show was extended a month until reading Dave Astor about it. Anyway, the editorial cartoon exhibit, Cartoonists Take Up Smoking has been extended for another month through March 31st. The exhibit is a traveling show and not curated by us (ie me) so I can say that it's a good one with some really good cartoonists included.

If you're on the museum site, you might want to check out my recently-updated finding aid Cartoons and Comics in the National Museum of Health and Medicine, although it's already out of date again. Last week, a researcher came across a Dear Mabel World War 1 knock-off. I'll post more on that when I examine it more closely.

Oct 12 - SPX in Rockville with Jeff Smith

Everyone but me seems to have picked this up earlier today, but the Small Press Expo is returning to Rockville (North Bethesda - hah!) in October and Jeff Smith will be returning after a hiatus of years. Ben Towle has the most details (and an absolutely excellent review of a Peanuts exhibit appearing in the next issue of the International Journal of Comic Art. Buy his comics too.)

Feb 15 - Deadline for Library of Congress Swann Fellowships

I saw the talk by one of this year's Fellows - Katherine Roeder on Winsor McCay earlier this week. She gave a good talk about McCay's influences in circus posters, amusement parks (especially Coney Island) and department store windows (less convincing to my mind). So here's the announcement for next year's award.

Applications for the Swann Foundation Fellowship for the 2007-2008 academic year are due Feb. 15, 2007. Annual award of $15,000 is one of the few that supports scholarly graduate research in caricature and cartoon. Applicants must be enrolled in an accredited M.A. or Ph.D program in a university in the U.S., Canada, or Mexico. Current guidelines and application at:

http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/swann-fellow.html

Contact Martha Kennedy with questions by email at swann@loc.gov or call 202/707-9115.

My apologies for cross listing. Thanks very much for the opportunity to send this.

Martha H. Kennedy
Curatorial Assistant for Caricature and Cartoon
Prints and Photographs Division
Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave. SE
Washington, DC 20540-4730
Ph.: 202/707-9115 Fax: 202/707-6647

"New Comic Book Releases" column no more

A week ago I wondered if Brian Truitt's "New Comic Book Releases" column was gone for good from the Wednesday Washington Examiner. Apparently so - I've been informed by a reliable source that he's left the paper. I enjoyed his column, and even bought books just based on his review once in a while, but let's wish him well.

ICAF - THE JOHN A. LENT SCHOLARSHIP

And for poor students reading this blog (are there any of you?) here's a generous chance at a FREE ALL EXPENSE PAID TRIP TO GLAMOROUS WASHINGTON, DC. Yes, you can win a paid accomodation...

... obviously I kind of miss the 1970s gameshows once in a while. Anywhere here's the real gen, a scholarship named after my buddy John.

THE JOHN A. LENT SCHOLARSHIP

The ICAF Executive Committee is pleased to announce its third annual John A. Lent Scholarship competition, to be held in preparation for ICAF 2007. The Lent Scholarship, named for pioneering teacher and researcher Dr. John A. Lent, is offered to encourage student research into comic art. ICAF awards the Lent Scholarship each year to a current student who has authored, or is in the process of authoring, a substantial research-based writing project about comics. (Preference is given to master's theses and doctoral dissertations, but all students of comics are encouraged to apply.)

The Scholarship for 2007 is subject to the condition that the recipient present a half-hour talk, based on their research, during ICAF 2007. The award will consist of hotel accommodations for the duration of ICAF 2007 (that is, three nights' hotel) at ICAF's expense. A commemorative letter and plaque will also be awarded.

Applicants must be students, or must show acceptance into an academic program, at the time of application. For example, applicants for ICAF 2007 must show proof of student status for the academic year 2006-2007, or proof that they have been accepted into an academic program for the academic year 2007-2008.

The Scholarship competition will be adjudicated by a three-person committee chosen from among the members of ICAF's Executive Committee. Applications should consist of:

* A self-contained excerpt from the project in question, not to exceed twenty (20) double-spaced pages of typescript.
* A brief cover letter, introducing the applicant and explaining the nature of the project.
* The applicant's professional resume.
* A letter of reference, on school letterhead, from a teacher or academic advisor (preferably thesis director), establishing the applicant's student status and speaking to her/his qualifications as a researcher and presenter.

Please note that applications for the Lent Scholarship are handled entirely separately from ICAF's general Call for Papers. Students who submit abstracts for the CFP are invited to apply separately for the Lent Award.

Please send applications by March 15, 2007 to

Marc Singer
Department of English
Howard University
Washington, DC 20059

Applicants should expect to be notified of the committee's decision in June 2006, at which point ICAF will begin working with the recipient to arrange her/his itinerary and accommodations.

Richard Thompson's Cut & Play Shakespeare Festival online

Kahn! Kahn!!! Kaaaaahhhhhnnnnn!
Finally the Post has put up Richard Thompson's Cut & Play Shakespeare Festival. I'm making mine now - that Michael Kahn was tough to cut out, but it's tempting to photocopy dozens of them and turn them loose on the world. Or perhaps just stick them in the Globe models in the National Building Museum exhibit.

CFP: International Comic Arts Forum (3/15/07; 10/18/07-10/20/07)

That's Call For Papers for the non-academic readers among us. BTW, anyone can submit a paper to ICAF - you don't have to be affiliated with a college. I've done a couple that don't seem to have harmed anyone. This is one of my favorite events in Comics DC. And look! There's that new name that I had suspicions of.


The Twelfth Annual INTERNATIONAL COMIC ARTS FORUM (ICAF)

October 18-20, 2007
The Library of Congress, James Madison Building, Washington, D.C.

The International Comic Arts Forum (formerly the International Comic Arts Festival) invites scholarly paper presentations for its twelfth annual meeting, to be held at the Madison Building of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., from Thursday, October 18, through Saturday, October 20, 2007. We welcome original proposals from a variety of disciplines and theoretical perspectives on any aspect of comics including comic strips, comic books, albums, manga, graphic novels, political cartoons, other panel cartoons, caricature, or comics in electronic media), with a special interest in international comics. Proposals will be refereed via blind review.

PROPOSAL GUIDELINES

For its scholarly presentations, ICAF prefers argumentative, thesis-driven papers, clearly linked to larger critical, artistic, or cultural issues; we strive to avoid presentations that are merely summative or survey-like in character. We can only accept original papers that have not been presented or accepted for publication elsewhere. Presenters should assume an audience versed in comics and the fundamentals of comics studies. Where possible, papers should be illustrated by relevant images. In all cases, presentations should be timed to finish within the strict limit of TWENTY (20) MINUTES (roughly eight to nine typed, double-spaced pages).

Proposals should not exceed 300 WORDS. At the bottom of the proposal, the author should precisely state her/his audiovisual equipment needs.

AUDIOVISUAL EQUIPMENT: Our preferred format for the display of images is MS PowerPoint. Regretfully we cannot accommodate non-digital media such as transparencies, slides, or VHS tapes. Presenters should bring their PowerPoint or other electronic files on a CD or a USB key, not just on the hard drive of a portable computer. We cannot guarantee the compatibility of our equipment with presenters' individual laptops.

REVIEW PROCESS: All proposals will be subject to blind review by the ICAF Executive Committee, with preference given to proposals that observe the above standards. The final number of papers accepted will depend on the needs of the conference program. Due to increasing interest in the conference, in recent years ICAF has typically accepted only one third toone half of the proposals it has received.

SEND ABSTRACTS (with COMPLETE contact information) by March 15, 2007, to Prof. Cécile Danehy, ICAF Academic Coordinator, via email at .

Receipt of proposals is acknowledged immediately; if you do not receive acknowledgement within a few days of sending your proposal, please resubmit.

Applicants should expect to receive confirmation of acceptance or rejection by May 15, 2007.


(Comics scholars, please note the conference's change of name. Our currentwebsite can be found at http://go.to/icaf, though that may be changing in the next few weeks as well.)

Jan 29 - Shojo Manga exhibit at JICC

This post is cleaned up a bit and the links work now. Note that an RSVP is required for the opening lecture on January 30th - click on the JICC link at the bottom to do so. This exhibit will be in a non-descript building on 21st St, NW at about M St, but it should be a nice exhibit. The JICC does a lot of interesting stuff. I plan on attending the opening and have RSVP'd. Anyone else?


Active Anime posted this press release from the Japan Information and Culture Center -

Girl Power! Girls’ Comics from Japan - An Exhibit
Posted on Monday, January 15, 2007 - 01:04 PM
Japan Information and Culture Center, Washington D.C presents Girls' Comics from Japan - An Exhibit. The exhibit will run from January 29 - March 16, 2007


This international touring exhibit features historic Japanese manga, with a special emphasis on shojo manga—comic books for girls. The exhibit features 23 renowned shojo manga creators and more than 200 works from World War II to the present.The pieces in this exhibit come together for the first and only time in Washington D.C.

The medium reflects the evolution of the social roles of Japanese girls and women during this period. The exhibition also documents how the visual composition of manga mirrors the developments in Japanese aesthetics.

Curated by Dr. Masami Toku, Associate Professor of Art and Art History at California State University Chico, “Girl Power!” has toured throughout North and South America Details at: http://www.csuchico.edu/~mtoku/vc .

Opening lecture: Tuesday, January 30, 2007 in the JICC Auditorium,from 6:30 p.m. RSVP to jiccrsvpwinter07@embjapan.org

Join us for a special opening talk by Masami Toku, curator and general director of the Shojo Manga Project. Dr. Toku will provide an opening lecture for this exhibition, offering insights into the featured works as well as the artists themselves. Refreshments will be served and exhibition catalogue will be available.

Co-Sponsored by: Japan Information and Culture Center; The Japan-America Society of Washington, Inc.; The Japan Foundation, New York; and California State University, Chico.

Shojo Manga Project: http://www.csuchico.edu/~mtoku/vc

Visit the Japan Information and Culture Center - Embassy of Japan - Washington D.C. at http://www.us.emb-japan.go.jp/jicc/index.htm

Jan 16 - Winsor McCay lecture at LOC REPOST

Martha Kennedy reports Swann Foundation Fellow Katherine Roeder will present a lecture titled "Wide Awake in Slumberland: Fantasy and Mass Culture in the work of Winsor McCay," at noon on Tuesday January 16, 2007, in the Library of Congress's Dining Room A on the sixth floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, DC. Roeder's illustrated presentation is based on a research project, which has been supported by her fellowship from the Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon, which is administered by the Library. The lecture, sponsored by the foundation and the Library's Prints and Photographs Division, is free and open to the public; no reservations are required.

Jan 13 Cut & Play Shakespeare Festival in Post

Richard Thompson's Richard's Poor Almanack (note that new spelling) has another set of cutouts today, and there's six of them! DC's staging an area-wide Shakespeare festival this spring (including an adaptation by comic book writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa). This set of cutouts has the greats - Richard III, Lady MacBeth and director Michael Kahn! I'll be making these. Unfortunately, it's not online yet so you'll have to buy, beg or borrow the Post's Style section for p. C3.

Richard Thompson has not paid for mentions in this blog.