March 19: An Animated Evening with Bill Plympton REPOST

An Animated Evening with Bill Plympton at National Geographic at 7:30 pm on March 19th. Plympton will show eight of his short animated films - oddly enough this might not be appropriate for children. $14 for members, $17 for non-members. I'm still planning on going; Plympton's work is sickly amusing.

On March 24th at 11 am, an Animated Environmental Film Festival has six films for $8 for adults and $6 for kids. The films are Gopher Broke, The Girl Who Hated Books, Tree Officer, Badgered, Turtle World and First Flight.

April 14: Fifth Annual Cherry Blossom Anime Marathon

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(March 18,2007)

CONTACT: vickto@si.edu or 202.633.4880

Fifth Annual Cherry Blossom Anime Marathon
In Person: Satoshi Kon!
Saturday, April 14
In celebration of this year’s Cherry Blossom Festival, the Freer presents a day-long festival of four Japanese Anime films. As a special treat, famous anime director Satoshi Kon will be on hand to discuss two of his films. The DC Anime Club will also present an interactive display of the evolution of anime fandom throughout the day. For more information please visit www.asia.si.edu.

Tickets for all films (two per person) will be available on a first-come, first-served basis beginning at 10:30 AM. Tickets for all films will be available throughout the day.

All films are in 35mm, in Japanese with English subtitles, unless otherwise indicated.

This event is made possible by the Japan Information and Culture Center of the Embassy of Japan, Otakorp, Inc., and Sony Pictures Classics.

11:00 AM
Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Movie
Fans of the wildly popular manga and card game will love this animated adventure, directed by Hatsuki Tsuji, in which a picked-on high school student unexpectedly becomes “the Game King,” and must battle the forces of evil. (2004, 90 min., English, video, rated PG)

1:30 PM
Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters
From anime visionary Mamoru Oshii, director of the classic Ghost in the Shell, comes this wildly experimental fusion of traditional Japanese storytelling, live action, and advanced animation techniques, which takes a humorous look at post-war Japan through the antics of some offbeat characters on the hunt for free grub. (2006, 104 min., appropriate for children 12 and older)

4:00 PM
Tokyo Godfathers
Join Satoshi Kon as he introduces and discusses his charming and visually arresting fable about three homeless people who discover an abandoned baby on Christmas and set off on a journey of wonder through Tokyo in search of its family. (2003, 91 min., rated PG-13)

7:00 PM
Paprika
For the crowning event for this year’s marathon, Satoshi Kon will also introduce and discuss his latest film, a surreal sci-fi adventure about a machine that can record dreams that falls into nefarious hands. (2006, 90 min., rated R)

Christopher Wanamaker
DC Anime Club President
http://www.dcanimeclub.org
202 262 2083

We read the Post so you can find the good bits...

...Like this nice Douglas Wolk centerspread review in Book World - Apocalypse Then, Now and Always: Worlds destroyed, new ones made and superheroes run amok. Of the four books reviewed, I have an older edition of Gilbert's Heartbreak Soup and recommend it wholeheartedly. I've been meaning to pick up the DMZ compilations for a while, but haven't found the time yet, and the other two books sound good. In fact, I'll be calling Big Planet in a few minutes specifically for the De Crecy book.

The Source section has a review of The Care Bears, but this new book and record store, the Red Onion, sounds more interesting.

I've already mentioned Richard Thompson today, so have that weekly duty out of the way, but his cartoon yesterday about Irish bars was hilarious.

Finally, the Corcoran's Modernism show looks awesome. Blake Gopnik, one of the Post's best critics, has a piece on it today. The show is from London's Victoria and Albert museum, with American additions. Anyone who saw the excellent Art Nouveau show by the same team at the National Gallery of Art a few years back should keep this one in mind.

A Short Interview With John Cuneo

Off-topic, but Richard Thompson emailed me a link to Tom Spurgeon's interview, with his friend John Cuneo. Enjoy.

AAEC Sunshine Week includes Washington cartoonists

Aside from local lads like Matt Wuerker and Tom Toles, Richmond's Jen Sorenson contributed her Slowpoke cartoons, and Herblock 2007 award winner Jim Morin sent in three cartoons. Sorenson usually appears at SPX, and I always buy her new book. Ted Rall's got a cartoon here too, which won't appear in DC any other way since the City Paper dropped him. Check them all out here.

Toles Strikes Back

Slightly over a year ago, the Joint Chiefs of Staff took the probably unprecedented, and certainly questionable step of sending a letter into the Post condemning a Tom Toles cartoon.

Reprehensible Cartoon, Washington Post Thursday, February 2, 2006; A20

We were extremely disappointed to see the Jan. 29 editorial cartoon by Tom Toles.

Using the likeness of a service member who has lost his arms and legs in war as the central theme of a cartoon was beyond tasteless. Editorial cartoons are often designed to exaggerate issues, and The Post is obviously free to address any topic, including the state of readiness of the armed forces. However, The Post and Mr. Toles have done a disservice to readers and to The Post's reputation by using such a callous depiction of those who volunteered to defend this nation and, as a result, suffered traumatic and life-altering wounds.

Those who visit wounded veterans in hospitals have found lives profoundly changed by pain and loss. They also have found brave men and women with a sense of purpose and selfless commitment that causes battle-hardened warriors to pause.

While The Post and some of its readers may not agree with the war or its conduct, these men and women and their families are owed the decency of not having a cartoon make light of their tremendous physical sacrifices.

As the joint chiefs, we rarely put our hand to one letter, but we cannot let this reprehensible cartoon go unanswered.

PETER PACE
General, U.S. Marine Corps
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

EDMUND P. GIAMBASTIANI JR.
Admiral, U.S. Navy
Vice Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff

MICHAEL W. HAGEE
General, U.S. Marine Corps
Commandant of the Marine Corps

PETER J. SCHOOMAKER
General, U.S. Army
Chief of Staff

MICHAEL G. MULLEN
Admiral, U.S. Navy
Chief of Naval Operations

T. MICHAEL MOSELEY
General, U.S. Air Force
Chief of Staff
Washington
Today Toles struck back. Yee-hah! Toles' cartoon refers to the brewing controversy over General Pace's expressing an opinion about the morality of homosexuality and the military.

Since this blog didn't exist - here's a bit of the coverage at the time (which was also at the height of the Danish Islam cartoon controversy).

Joint Chiefs Fire At Toles Cartoon On Strained Army by Howard Kurtz, Washington Post Staff Writer, Thursday, February 2, 2006; C01.

PAULA ZAHN NOW - U.S. Military Up in Arms Over Political Cartoon, Aired February 2, 2006 - 20:00 ET has a transcript of an interview with Toles.

Tom Toles's Cartoon: Offensive or Incisive? Washington Post Saturday, February 4, 2006; A16 printed reader's letters.

Fred Hiatt, editorial page editor of the Post said in "The Goal Of These Pages," Washington Post Sunday, February 5, 2006; B07

But that leads to an important distinction: The freedom to offend brings with it a responsibility not to offend gratuitously. That is the line that we at The Post were said to have crossed last week. The first alleged transgression was a cartoon by Tom Toles last Sunday. It took off on a comment by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who had denied that the Army was stretched thin and described it instead as "battle-hardened." The cartoon showed a quadruple amputee in a hospital bed, with "Dr. Rumsfeld" saying, "I'm listing your condition as 'battle hardened.' " The chart on the bed identified the patient as "U.S. Army."

On Thursday we published a letter describing the cartoon as "reprehensible," "beyond tasteless" and "a callous depiction" of wounded soldiers. The letter was signed by all six members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, something that doesn't happen often and that certainly got our attention.

Toles is on the staff of The Post and participates in our editorial board meetings, but he operates independently; I don't tell him what to draw. On the other hand, I am responsible for what appears on the editorial and op-ed pages; with Toles, as with independent columnists, it's my job to make sure the gratuitously offensive doesn't appear.

So why this cartoon? I respect the views of the chiefs, and of others who echoed their criticism, and I understand their reaction. But I don't agree with their reading of the cartoon. (Nor, by the way, did many other readers, who wrote to support Toles or take issue with the chiefs.) I think it's an indictment of Rumsfeld, who is portrayed as callous and inaccurate in his depiction of the Army and its soldiers. Whether that's fair to the defense secretary is a separate question. I don't believe Toles meant the cartoon to demean the soldiers themselves, and I don't think it did.

And Fox News weighed in with a moderate article: As Violence Continues, U.S. Cartoonists Refuse to Draw the Line, Fox News Tuesday, February 14, 2006, by Greg Simmons.

March 15: Environmental Film Fest starts with animation

There's a couple of animated presentations tomorrow for the DC Environmental Film Fest.

MLK Library at Gallery Place at 10:30 AM -

Come On Rain! - note the comic book artist Jon J Muth did this
(USA, 2003, 7 min.)

Tess knows that the only thing that can fix the sagging vines, the cracking, dry path, the broiling alleyway and her listless mama is a good, soaking rainstorm. "Come on, rain!" she whispers into the endless summer heat. When it finally comes, there is shouting and dancing as everyone and everything spring to life. A joyful production with swinging music that is as cool as rain.

Narrated by Leila Ali with music by Jerry Dale McFadden, Weston Woods Scholastic Animations. Story by Karen Hesse, illustrated by Jon J. Muth. ALA Notable Video.

Pipsqueak Prince, The (Le trop petit prince)
(France, 2002, 7 min.)

A clean little boy decides the sun could use a bath when he notices all the dirty spots it has. After he wipes the sun clean, it sets behind the earth and all is right, until the little boy forgets where the sun goes at night! This film is about innocence and keeping the environment clean.

Directed by Zoia Trofimova. Winner, Certificate of Excellence, Animated Short Film or Video, 2003 Chicago International Children's Film Festival.

Japan Information & Cultural Center - 6:00 PM (reservations required - 202-238-6901)

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
(Japan, 1984, 116 min.)

One thousand years after the "Seven Days of Fire," an event that destroyed human civilization and most of the Earth's original ecosystem, scattered human settlements survive. They are isolated from one another by the "Sea of Corruption," a lethally toxic jungle of fungus swarming with giant insects that come together to wage war. Nausicaä is a charming young princess of the peaceful Valley of the Wind who is humane and peace-loving but also a skillful fighter noted for her empathy toward animals and humans. The Valley of the Wind becomes threatened when two rival states, Pejite and Tolmekia, battle to possess the "God Warrior," a lethal giant bio weapon that has landed in the Valley, and the fighting escalates out of control. The story holds a deeper meaning beyond war, however. Even the insects seem to be working toward some secret harmony and the lethal fungal forest seems to have a vital role in Earth's new dominant ecosystem. As she helps prisoners, villagers, enemies and mutant insects, Princess Nausicaä becomes a Joan of Arc figure–a warrior maiden inspired by a vision to defend all life against destruction.

Directed, written and illustrated by Hayao Miyazaki. Produced by Rick Dempsey and Isao Takahata.

TOONS THAT KILL draws response from Canadian cartoonist

Literally.

Steve Mielczarek sent me the cartoon to the left, but without any note attached beyond a "Comics DC" subject. When I queried him as to why, as this seemed to be a cartoon about the Danish Islam cartoon controversy, he replied:

I'm not sure. I read William Woodward Jr.'s story on your site.
I thought my cartoon was up the same alley, different topic.
I just thought I'd maybe inject some food for thought.
Here in Toronto it's "multicultural" this, and "multicultural" that.
"Multicultural", "Multicultural" all over the place.
One race is pretty much as good as another race, I guess.
I mean, Winston Churchill said it best:
"We are all worms."
But let me offer up one caveat.
I say: "We are all more like dogs."
And,
like dogs, display different temperaments.
Here's the rub:
Multiculturalism is like going to the Humane
Society to adopt a dog.
The pit bulls are best kept away from the poodles
and chihauhuas, lest they eat them up alive.
Different dogs are trained differently, and
act accordingly...

I don't know. Maybe I'm mental.
"Oh look! Over there! It's Ann Coulter!"

I dream of being a cartoonist...
Steve,
Feral Insight.

Thanks for writing in and sending the cartoon, Steve. We're ranging a bit afield beyond Washington, DC, but I appreciate it.

TOONS THAT KILL

"Tabloid Newspaper's Cartoon Incites Allegations of Racism", the story the Post ran about St. Mary's Today staff artist William Woodward Jr.'s cartoon of three young black men as bank robbers has legs as AP picked it up. The newspaper has posted ... let us call it a rebuttal... on their webpage. Ladies and gentlemen ... TOONS THAT KILL.

And let's not forget the cartoon itself.

Tempest in a teapot in my opinion, as no one would have blinked twice if this was a movie, but it's nice to see an editorial cartoon pissing off somebody. And I've got to appreciate such a spirit defense of the First Amendment.

Post changes comics without asking readers!

Shocked! I am shocked! The Post has unilaterally made a decision about its comics pages without polling its readership.

A NOTE TO COMICS READERS
Washington Post
Monday, March 12, 2007; Page C10


Beginning Monday, March 19, you'll notice that the daily comics pages have a new look and three new comics.

Two new strips will join our lineup: "Agnes," by Tony Cochran, about a witty young girl who is poor but wise beyond her years, and Tim Rickard's "Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!," which features a captain and a crew of misfits in the space station R.U. Sirius.

One new panel, "Brevity," an irreverent take on almost anything, also joins the lineup, alternating with "Close to Home." And "Speed Bump" will now run seven days a week. (We're leaving the panels out this week to announce the changes, but they will return on Monday.)

The Scrabble Gram and Stickelers puzzles will become regular features six days a week.

To make room for these changes, we will say goodbye to three strips, "Mary Worth," "Cathy" and "Broom Hilda," and two panels, "The Flying McCoys" and "The Other Coast." Those comics will continue to be carried on our Web site at http://www.washingtonpost.com.

Finally, on Sunday, March 25, we will debut "Lio" as a Sunday-only strip. Creator Mark Tutulli chronicles the adventures of Lio, a curious young boy with a vivid imagination.

We realize change is unsettling but trust that you will quickly adjust to the new lineup. We hope the new design will make your favorite features easier to find. As always, we welcome your comments. Call our comics hotline at 202-334-4775, e-mail us at comics@washpost.com or write Comics Feedback, The Washington Post, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071.

Actually, I'm not sorry to see any of those strips go, especially Cathy which I actively do not read. I don't just ignore it like I do Mary Worth - I make my eyes go around it. Unfortunately, I'm not sure Agnes is ready for primetime (so to speak). I've been disappointed by Watch Your Head which seemed promising during its test last year.

Also in today's Post, Wiley took a shot at this Albany Times Union blog which suggested that product placement might be raising its ugly head on the comic strip pages, not just in comic books and movies.

March 23: Wonder Woman writer Jodi Picoult at Baileys Crossroads Borders

Jodi Picoult is signing her novel Nineteen Minutes at 7:30 pm on Friday March 23rd, but she's also the new writer on Wonder Woman and one could probably ask about that. The comic apparently won't be out until March 28th unfortunately.

5871 Crossroads Center Way (ie the intersection of Columbia Pike and Route 7), 703-998-0404.

Comics stuff in Saturday's Post (and Times)

There's a few interesting bits in the paper today - in St. Mary's County, MD, a cartoon reprinted from 2002 and described as "by St. Mary's Today staff artist William Woodward Jr., depicts three black men driving away from a strip of stores they have just robbed. One man is wearing a ski mask and holding a shotgun, while the driver -- whose hair is in cornrows -- remarks that the area is "so close to D.C." The characters have exaggerated wide noses and full lips. Off to the side, a small slug asks another, "What happened to law and order?" His friend responds, "Ask the liberals."" has generated controversy this time around. See "Tabloid Newspaper's Cartoon Incites Allegations of Racism" by Megan Greenwell, Washington Post Staff Writer, Saturday, March 10, 2007; Page B05.

A longtime reader of the strips corrects a mis-characterization of Daisy Mae from Li'l Abner:

Saturday, March 10, 2007; Page A17
Anna Was No Daisy Mae

I nearly spilled my coffee while reading Ruth Marcus's Feb. 28 column, "The Princess and the Playmate," asserting that Anna Nicole Smith was comparable to "L'il Abner's" Daisy Mae and thus an embodiment of America's "white trash." For shame. As "L'il Abner" readers recall, Daisy Mae was not only beautiful and scantily clad, but she was also virtuous, honest and smart enough to fend off the advances of the likes of Big Barnsmell, Earthquake McGoon and other unsavory suitors for her hand.

Her true and only love was L'il Abner, an all-American boy, whom eventually she wed.

-- Phil True

For the record, according to Allan Holtz's The Stripper's Guide index, "Li'l Abner" by Al Capp hasn't appeared since Capp's death in 1977, although there was an abortive reprint run from 1988-1989. A good example of a strip not surviving its creator, although by the end, I'm not sure how many readers Capp had for his bitter rightwing vitriol.

And of course, Richard's Poor Almanack appears in the Style section - today's panel is one of the constellation ones. And Elwood Smith has a good cartoon about noisy neighbors on the front of the real estate section.

In today's Times, "Ghost Rider just burning to prevent Armageddon" by Joseph Szadkowski, Washington Times March 10, 2007, reviews the videogames for 300 and the Ghost Rider movies. 300 comes out better than GR.

Catching up, in yesterday's paper "'300': A Losing Battle in More Ways Than 1" by Stephen Hunter, Washington Post Staff Writer, Friday, March 9, 2007; C01 slapped the movie around with phrases like, "So the movie isn't set in history or in time but in some dank, feverish swamp of the imagination that betrays its comic book origins (it's based on the graphic novel by "Sin City's" Frank Miller)." The Times appears to have run a wire service review, " '300': Spartans at their Alamo, Washington Times March 9, 2007.

Thompson's Small finger puppet finally online!

Print it, make it and wear it to the Smithsonian over the weekend! When they stop you at the x-ray machine, wave it in the guards' faces and ask them about endangered birds!

March 10: Frank Cho signing

Frank Cho will be appearing March 10th at 1 pm to sign his Mighty Avengers #1 at Cards, Comics & Collectibles, 1000A Chartley Drive, Reisterstown, MD 21136, 410-526-7410.

Post weighs in on Captain America's putative death

"O Captain! Our Captain! Hero's Day Is Done; Killing Off a Patriotic Icon, Marvel Comics Turns the Page On a Fading American Era" by Neely Tucker, Washington Post Staff Writer,
Thursday, March 8, 2007; Page C01 is our local take on the story that's on the wires.

My take is been there, done that. Bucky's back after being dead for 40 years, Superman didn't even last a year, Aunt May's been dead several times, and don't even start counting villains like Dr. Doom.

And Cap's been dead before, and better drawn by Jim Steranko, as you can see in the accompanying illustration. (And that's Rick Jones in Bucky's costume, not Bucky).

PR: DC Anime Club To Host Video Gaming Days UPDATED WITH NEW DATES

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(March 6,2007)

CONTACT: Chris Wanamaker, (202) 262 2083 president@dcanimeclub.org

DC Anime Club To Host Video Gaming Days


The DC Anime Club, an non profit organization whose purpose is to educate the Washington, DC community about East Asian culture through the art form known as Anime (Japanese animation) will host Video Game Days in Room A5 and Room A9 of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G Street, N.W. on the following dates:

March 24 Room A5
Video Game Day


May 26 Room A9
Video Game Day

July 7 Room A9
Video Game Day


August 18 Room A9
Video Game Day

DC Anime Club will be adding more dates for Video Game Days for the rest of the year. Attendees of the DC Anime Club Video Game Days are encouraged to bring their own games and Game Systems. DC Anime Club will be providing several Television sets as well as an LCD Projector and Screen for the Video Game Days.

This program is free and open to the public. For more information please visit the DC Anime Club website at http://dcanimeclub.org.

About DC Anime Club:
DCAC was established in 2003 to introduce and educate people in the Washington, DC area about East Asian culture, through viewing and discussion of Japanese animation (also known as anime) and Japanese comics (manga). DCAC is a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization, contributions to DC Anime Club are tax deductible to the extent allowable under the law.

The club also works to provide a positive, alternative activity to the youth in the area by exposing them to foreign culture, encouraging artistic expression and creativity, and providing opportunities for participation in community activities and leadership.

In addition to our weekly meetings, the club holds an Annual Art Show, an Annual Costume fundraising event, and visits local schools to do presentations on anime. The club also works with the Smithsonian Freer Gallery and DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival on their anime screenings, and has helped locally promote performances for Japanese bands such as Puffy Ami Yumi and Pine am.

DC Anime Club was founded by Chris Wanamaker (President), Jules Chang (Vice President) and Craig Vaughn (Sgt in Arms) on Saturday June 5, 2003. We have a strong membership that continues to grow -- most of which are teenagers.

# # #

--
Christopher Wanamaker
DC Anime Club President
http://www.dcanimeclub.org
202 262 2083

Politics and Prose to carry manga

Their newsletter sent out earlier today announces:

Politics and Prose has officially ventured into the manga market. Manga, originally derived from the name given to a book of artist’s drawings in Edo period Japan, has become the name for entire genre of incredibly popular graphic serials from around the globe. We are beginning to stock a number of series that we love including Loveless, Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, Kami Kaze, 12 Days, To Terra, and Samurai Champloo. Don’t see your favorite on the shelf? Please let us know—we are continuing to add new series all the time.

This seems a bit late to me as everybody's carrying manga now, and in fact, I've noticed the amount carried dwindling in B. Daltons, and have been told that Big Planet is purposefully carrying much less.

Wish You Were There #2 - IS Art: The Art of Insight Studios

From the International Journal of Comic Art 3-2, we present another WISH YOU WERE THERE, starring Frank Cho, Mark Wheatly, Marc Hempel and a defunct comic store. Is Insight Studios still functioning I wonder?

IS Art: The Art of Insight Studios. Washington, DC: Illumination Arts Gallery of Georgetown / Beyond Comics II, May 12--June 30, 2001.

IS Art displayed original art of Insight Studios, founded in 1978 by Mark Wheatley, and artistically now consisting of him, Marc Hempel and Frank Cho. The exhibit is based on the book of the same title (by Allan Gross, Baltimore: Insight Studios Group, 2001. ISBN 1-89317-11-X; $29.95) which includes a history of Insight; the title of both is undoubtedly a play on words reflecting the general perception of comic art as a lowbrow form. There was a checklist for the show, but no explanatory exhibit text except for captions; presumably the book was intended to fulfill the viewer's possible desire for further information. Due to his syndicated comic strip, Liberty Meadows, and his penchant for drawing beautiful women, Cho is undoubtedly the main attraction of the Studio. In this show, held in an unused upper floor of a comic book store, very few of Cho's strips were displayed. However, instead he was mostly represented by his fanzine work on E.R. Burroughs' Tarzan and Mars series. Hempel included many of his early 1980s paintings of women, cover paintings from his 1990 DC Comics series Breathtaker, and cartoons from his self-published comic book Tug & Buster. His current work, of increasingly-stylized caricatures in ink and watercolor, harkened back to art of the 1920s and 1930s. The twenty-year span of Hempel's career exhibited here provided an interesting view of his artistic evolution. Wheatley has frequently worked on material derived from pulps and magazine illustration. His gouaches for IS's publication of Talbot Mundy's Jimgrim and the Devil at Ludd, clearly having evolved from his comic book work, displayed a strong sense of color and composition. The exhibit, although obviously not done by art gallery professionals (artwork not used in the show was still leaning in piles under a window), was an enjoyable look at a trio of local creators.

Undercover Brother: John Ridley

"Undercover Brother: John Ridley" is an interview by Scott Rosenberg in the online version of March 4th Express. Like the Molly Crabapple story of last week, it wasn't in the physical paper which just had a small pic of Ridley. Ridley's wrote a comic series for DC's Wildstorm imprint, The American Way, which is being collected now.

Wish You Were There #1 - Comics exhibit reviews 2000-2001

The following are reviews for DC exhibits from 2000-2001. They were originally published in the International Journal of Comic Art 3:1.

Blondie Gets Married! Comic Strip Drawings by Chic Young. Harry Katz and Sara Duke. Washington, DC: Library of Congress, June 22-September 16, 2000.

Herblock's History: Political Cartoons from the Crash to the Millennium. Harry Katz, Sara Duke, and Lucia Rather. Washington, DC: Library of Congress, October 17, 2000--February 17, 2001.

Al Hirschfeld, Beyond Broadway. David Leopold. Washington, DC: Library of Congress, November 9, 2000--March 31, 2001.

At the turn of the millennium, Harry Katz and Sara Duke continued to make the Library of Congress one of the premier spaces for the display of comic art. These three exhibits examined different aspects of comic art: comic strips, political cartoons, and caricature.

Blondie, beginning in 1930, has evolved with the comic strip. Early strips were large and had continuity, but by the 1972 strip in the show, the size had shrunk and Young made it a gag strip. The exhibit of 27 strips out of a donation of 150 had minimal labeling and was divided into typical tropes: naps, courtship, wedding, family, mailman, food, work, love, homemaking, and baths. Young used a delicate line in the 1930s, typical of some cartoonists of the era, that is a pleasure to see in the original. His 1931--1933 courtship and marriage strips were wildly popular during the Depression and Young's artwork conveys now a vivid sense of the time. In the 1938 Sunday dream strip, "We'll be back in a few hours," Young was playfully surrealistic while still drawing the pretty girls he was known for. While an exhibit devoted to original art, not commentary or history, needs few labels, an explanation of the blue penciling seen on many strips over the regular graphite pencil would be helpful; the blue was used to indicate where mechanical tones and shading needed to be added by the syndicate. "All quiet on the Bumstead's front!" from 1945 contained clear marginal instructions about the shading, and showed an interesting piece of comic history now that computers handle all such details. A good brochure was distributed at the show with articles by Duke and Young's daughter, and an electronic version of the exhibit can be seen at http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/blondie/.

Herbert "Herblock" Block has cartooned through nine decades, won three Pulitzer Prizes, and coined the word "McCarthyism." This exhibit was drawn from 119 cartoons that he gave to the Library. The show was mounted in a grand space on either side of the Jefferson Building's great hall on red, white, and blue panels. It was divided into roughly chronological sections except for overarching ones like "Herblock's Presidents." Herblock's masterly use of pencil, ink and crayon can be seen throughout the show, although correction overlays become more common and his latest work resembled collages. Seeing the evolution of Herblock's style and subjects over 70 years was fascinating. Although the exhibit was excellently done and displayed the breadth of his career, Block's work can be fairly easily seen in other media. He has published many collections of his work, and this exhibit has a short catalogue produced by the Library. One clever idea made this show especially interesting. The Library solicited caricatures of "Herblock by Other Cartoonists" and displayed them at the end of each panel. Fifteen colleagues like Mike Peters, Ann Telnaes, Jules Feiffer, Signe Wilkinson, and Mike Luckovich produced pointed, but obviously respectful, drawings of Block, frequently with his bete noire Richard Nixon. Katz, Duke, and Rather deserve credit for a truly fine exhibit.
The exhibit on Hirschfeld is somewhat problematic because it was designed to be. When faced with a career even longer than Herblock's, guest curator and Hirschfeld archivist David Leopold chose to focus not on Hirschfeld's well-known pen-and-ink entertainment caricatures, but rather on his other artistic pursuits. Exhibiting 24 pieces, many donated to the Library by the artist, Leopold produced a wide-ranging survey of works in all media, especially including some early art. The result was an interesting and ambitious show, but not a complete success since Hirschfeld's best work is his caricatures. Leopold included obscure material like drawings of North Africa from 1926 -- material that was reminiscent of magazine illustration of the time. Other early work like a 1923 gouache advertisement for Woman to Woman magazine recalled Szyk's work in miniatures, and his 1931 lithograph Art and Industry owed much to Daumier. Hirschfeld's color caricatures, usually for magazine covers like "Walter Lippman" for American Mercury in the 1940s, show that he could have continued doing similar work and had a full career. Recently, printing advances have made it possible for him to use color for caricatures and one from the New York Times in 2000 is in the show. The exhibit, accompanied by a well-done brochure, was an interesting example of Hirschfeld's lesser abilities, but not a major view of his career.

Politics in Black and White: Local, State, and National Cartoons and Caricatures. Dan Voss and Ellen Vartanoff. Rockville, MD: Montgomery College VCT Department Gallery, October 10--November 10, 2000.

This small exhibit was aimed at students in the College's graphic arts department. According to Voss, the "idea was to be topical and to bring in a little bit more local connection than you would expect." With eight artists (Joe Azar, Chip Beck, Steve Brodner, Chris Curtis, Kevin "Kal" Kallaugher, Marcia Klioze-Hughes, and Lucinda Levine) and 55 pieces in the exhibit, students and other visitors saw a wide range of comic art. The only label in the exhibit was a short introductory panel with brief biographical information. Azar (a conservative political cartoonist for the Legal Times and the Washington Times), Kal, and Curtis (cartoonist for the Gazette chain of local newspapers) all produce standard "modern" political cartoons; while competent, no cartoon displayed was particularly memorable. Caricaturists were well represented. Levine's work looked like that of unrelated David Levine. Klioze-Hughes' color work caricatured historical figures like George Washington. Beck's pieces were unfortunately reminiscent of the cartoonists working in chalk in shopping malls. Brodner works for national publications like the New Yorker, Time, and Newsweek and his distinctive style was well represented. "We hope to bring [the students] the real thing," Voss stated, and the exhibit succeeded in being an engaging look at the styles and ability of a small range of working professional cartoonists.


Cartoons and Campaigns. Arlington, VA: The Newseum, October 7--November 12, 2000.

Pens and Needles: The Editorial Cartoons of Joel Pett. Arlington, VA: The Newseum, November 10, 2000--January 7, 2001.

"Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus." Arlington, VA: The Newseum, December, 2000.

Cartoons and Campaigns added political cartoons to Every Four Years, an exhibit on press coverage of the Presidential campaign. The cartoons, a mixture of originals and reproductions, totaled approximately 40 pieces of art. Included in the show were originals by Luckovich (who still uses tone shading), Breen, Conrad, Wilkinson, Horsey, Borgman, Peters, and reproductions by Marlette, Toles, Handelsman, Chip Beck, Morin, Higgins, Kal, Pett, Gorrell, Gerner, Telnaes, Bok, Benson, Herblock, and Szep. The show presented a snapshot of election cartoons, and was enjoyable in a casual sense, but did not add anything significant to the study of comic art.

Pins and Needles was a significantly better exhibit in terms of learning. Ten original cartoons with commentary by Pett were displayed, unfortunately in a hallway leading to a movie theater. Seven reproductions from the twenty cartoons that Pett submitted to win the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning were also included. Pett's commentary on his process of cartooning included exhibiting three drafts and the final cartoon. This was a minor, but interesting show.

"Yes, Virginia..." is the Newseum's annual show of Thomas Nast's Harper's Weekly engravings of Santa Claus. The exhibit included artwork from 1863, 1865, 1866, 1871, 1879, 1884, and 1885 and showed how Nast's artwork and concept of Santa progressed through a twenty-year period. According to Nast, by 1884 Santa was answering telephone requests. Since Santa Claus is so deeply embedded in American culture, an annual show devoted to the cartoonist who created him helps keep Nast's work alive.


The Art of John Cederquist: Reality of Illusion. Washington, DC: National Museum of American Art's Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, March 31--August 20, 2000.

John Cederquist stretches the definition of comic art. He creates artistic wooden furniture. Cederquist is influenced by Popeye cartoons and he has copied two-dimensional furniture from the cartoons to produce three-dimensional pieces. Although this show, organized by the Oakland Museum of California, did not include any of his Popeye works among its thirteen pieces, the influence of cartoons could still be seen. "Tubular" (1990) appeared to be a bookcase made of shipping crates but had a Hokusai-style wave rolling out of the top. "Steamer Chest III" (1995) looked as though it was a coiled pipe, supported by stacked wood, with puffs of Crumb-like smoke emerging from each end of the pipe. Cederquist's titles were puns that helped define the piece -- words and pictures working together -- leading to the beginning of the definition of a cartoon. The exhibit provoked thought on what comic art really is.