Zadzooks on Fantastic Four and Superman dvds

See Joseph Szadkowski, "Comic-book legends come to life on DVD," Washington Times October 20, 2007.

Oct 20: Kyle Baker at ICAF at LOC today

ICAF's been good, as usual this year. In two hours, the rest of the conference wraps up. Kyle Baker is speaking and he's always interesting. See you there?

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20
1:00-2:30 Panel 7: Remembrance and nostalgia
Moderated by Marc Singer, ICAF Executive Committee
Jennifer Castel, “Nostalgia, Representation, and Identity in Art Spiegelman's In the Shadow of No Towers”
Pedro Pérez del Solar, “’A Führer’s day’: Comics and politics of memory in 1980s Spain”
Jason Buchanan, “A Superman without a World: Mourning, Melancholy, and Nostalgia in the Images of Post 9/11 Superman”
2:30-2:45 Break
2:45-3:45 Lent Scholarship Lecture: Orion Ussner Kidder, University of Alberta
3:45-4:00 Break
4:00-5:00 Guest Artist KYLE BAKER (USA)
5:00 Closing remarks

Administrivia - UPCOMING EVENT

Anyone know if blogger has a calendar function? In the meantime, GWU professor Phil Troutman pointed out that it's hard to find upcoming events especially after they've crawled off the main page. I agree with him so look below this for a new label - UPCOMING EVENT. If you click on that, you should get a new page with all the posts labelled with it.

Rob Tornoe on Oliphant

New Jersey's The Press of Atlantic City's editorial cartoonist Rob Tornoe emailed in, "I went to see Oliphant last night at Politics & Prose, and I put up a very brief description of it, as well as a couple of photos, on my blog, http://tornoe.blogspot.com."

Rob also linked to Bruce Guthrie's pictures - I'm in photo 248 so please feel free to come up and say hello at the next event. A few of us from the International Comic Arts Forum and Bruce went out for pizza after the signing.

I went too, and met a bunch of people I know there. I'm downloading my pictures now and will add them in later. I got there late, but Oliphant mainly was doing caricatures - just whipping them out in charcoal - of the presidential wannabees.

Rob's got two more sites:

http://www.pressofac.com - The Press of Atlantic City
http://www.politicsnj.com/tornoe

Oct 25: David Michaelis on Charles Schulz at Olsson's

David Michaelis will be discussing his new and controversial biography of Charles Schulz at the Olsson's on 418 7th St, NW at 7 pm. Bill Watterson highly recommended this and John Updike reviewed it as well. Unfortunately I'll be traveling to Ohio State for their comics symposium and will have to miss this.

Thanks to Ignatz-nominee Matt Dembicki for the tip!

ICAF announces presenter refused admission to US updated

Over on the blog of Marc Singer, ICAF chair, Marc and Ernesto Priego engage in a little back and forth with Priego writing in that he feels his visa problem was a normal paperwork snafu. One can make up one's own mind depending on how one feels about the government, but I think Charles Hatfield will be reading Priego's paper on Saturday.

Charles and I are off to ICAF now - if you're coming to the sessions, look us up.

Another finger puppet!!!!

SPX meant I couldn't get this mentioned on Saturday, but Richard Thompson caricatured Hilary Clinton as a finger puppet this week. I've made it and she's glaring at my house guests now.

Oh, and my daughter appeared in The Beat's photos

Here she is in the purple beret, with her friend Dagny, bracing Jeff Smith after his talk. Heidi MacDonald did the interview with him, and must have shot some photos afterwards. Dagny spotted the SPX bit in the Post and cajoled her dad into checking with me about going up there. Her dad shepherded them through Jeff Smith's talk whilst I hit the con floor.

Claire's also in some of Bruce Guthrie's photos which I linked to yesterday, also hanging with Jeff Smith. She does better at these things than I do.

Chris Pitzer and AdHouse Books

One of the interesting people I met at the Matt Wagner signing at Big Planet Comics was Chris Pitzer, publisher of AdHouse Books. He's got an absolutely lovely, and giant, James Jean art collection out now - the thing is enormous. Chris is based in Richmond - local enough for this blog! Check out his blog and publishing sites.

Nov 8-17: World Premiere of Tezuka-inspired play

Now this is different... Anyone want to go with me? I'm busy on the 8th at the Pen/Faulkner thing, but later in the month should be fine.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Joshua Speiser
Tel: 202.687.6933
js47@georgetown.edu


Georgetown University’s Theater and Performance Studies Program presents

Trees and Ghosts
Adapted and Directed by Natsu Onoda, from the Graphic Novels of Osamu Tezuka
WORLD PREMIERE!

November 8th - 10th, 14th – 17th at 8 pm; November 11th at 2pm

Trees and Ghosts is a groundbreaking, new play adapted from three short, relatively unknown graphic novels by manga pioneer Osamu Tezuka (1928-1989) who is revered in his native Japan as the “God of Manga.” Spirits, elements of nature and memories of World War II haunt each of the stories that make up this highly visual production which employs interactive video, on-stage drawing, and live taiko drums.

The second production in the 2007-2008 Hidden Histories Season of New and Unseen Works, Trees and Ghosts exemplifies the Theater and Performance Studies Program’s commitment to the development of new work. According to Professor Derek Goldman, Director of Georgetown University’s Theater and Performance Studies Program, “each of the four plays chosen this year – Fabulation, Trees and Ghosts, Wisconsin Death Trip and Stuff Happens - deals explicitly with the relationship between history ‘writ large’ and its more microcosmic, personal, and psychic reverberations.”

Adapter/director Natsu Onoda, Visiting Assistant Professor of Theater and Performance Studies, has been a fan of Tezuka since she could read. One of her treasured memories of her childhood is that of meeting Tezuka himself in sixth grade. As a young aspiring cartoonist, she visited Tezuka’s studio and showed him her work. Tezuka, known for his generosity for young fans, responded: “This is very good. Come back in three years, and, if you have made a progress, you should become a cartoonist.” Tezuka died two and a half years later. Since then, Onoda has adapted Tezuka’s work into live theater, published papers and given lectures on them, and is currently working on the first English-language book on his work, to be published from the University Press of Mississippi in late 2008. The three Tezuka stories Onoda has chosen to adapt to the stage have never before appeared in English translation.

The cast of talented Georgetown undergraduates received a one-week intensive training in taiko drumming by accomplished drummer Yoshihiko Fueki, a Nagoya-based taiko drummer who has been playing the taiko for fourteen years. Also assisting with the production is Belgian video and sound designer Ben Dierckx, a multimedia artist who uses custom interactive software and projection technology to create an altered visual palette that mimics dreams and hallucinations.

Tickets: $15 general, $12 faculty/staff/alumni/seniors, $7 students. To purchase, call 202.687.ARTS.

Trees & Ghosts (World Premiere)

Nov 8/07—Nov 17/07 Adapted & Dir by Natsu Onoda. A new multimedia production adapted from three short graphic novels by a Japanese cartoonist Tezuka Osamu, who is considered the inventor of manga (contemporary Japanese comics). The stories, all dealing with nature, spirits and World War II, come alive in this highly visual production using interactive video, live on-stage drawing, and live taiko drums. [PLEASE CALL FOR ACCESSIBLE SEATING OR GROUP RATES: 202-687-ARTS] Pic. ID req'd to pick up tix and for verification of purchase. Please arrive 30 minutes early to collect your tickets. The house is general seating.


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

Tom Spurgeon memorializes SPX

Tom's posting links for what he calls "Collective Memory," a nice term. Since it's a local event, I'll just link to his Memory.

Boy, that "link to his Memory" sounded depressing, didn't it? It's not. As an archivist (professionally) and comics bibliographer (dilettante), it's very interesting to see how information sharing is evolving.

Oct 18: Oliphant at Politics and Prose

Thursday, October 18, 7 p.m.
PAT OLIPHANT
LEADERSHIP (Andrews McMeel, $19.95)
Pat Oliphant's newest collection of sharp-witted cartoons tackles Bush's tenure in office, taking him and other leaders to task. Oliphant, a Pulitzer winner, is the most widely syndicated political cartoonist in the world.

Unfortunately, I think ICAF will interfere and I won't be able to make it, but I called to order a signed copy. Also, I'll bet Thursday's Express has an interview with him since Scott Rosenberg did one last week.

The bookstore also has a bunch of signed Zippy books by Bill Griffith.

Politics & Prose Bookstore and Coffeehouse
5015 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20008
(202) 364-1919 or (800) 722-0790
Fax: (202) 966-7532


www.politics-prose.com
e-mail: books@politics-prose.com

Store Hours:

Monday-Saturday: 9 a.m.-10 p.m
Sunday: 10 a.m.-8 p.m.

Trudeau in town for Doonesbury Sandbox book promotion

See War Dispatches To 'Doonesbury'; Garry Trudeau Draws Soldiers to Blog" by David Montgomery, Washington Post Staff Writer, Wednesday, October 17, 2007; C01.

By the way, I can state for a fact that Walter Reed Army Medical Center blocks Blogger completely.

Also, Politics and Prose has some signed copies of:

Garry B. Trudeau, DOONESBURY.COM’S THE SANDBOX

Garry B. Trudeau, HECKUVA JOB, BUSHIE!

Garry B. Trudeau, THE LONG ROAD HOME

Garry B. Trudeau, THE WAR WITHIN

I just called and ordered mine.

Politics & Prose Bookstore and Coffeehouse
5015 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20008
(202) 364-1919 or (800) 722-0790
Fax: (202) 966-7532


www.politics-prose.com
e-mail: books@politics-prose.com

Store Hours:

Monday-Saturday: 9 a.m.-10 p.m
Sunday: 10 a.m.-8 p.m.

new Mike Flugennock editorial cartoon

DC's only (most likely) anarchist political cartoonist Mike Flugennock has posted a new piece. See the story and the art. The Fox News one to the left is from over the summer by the way.

And that reminds me - I should really mention Mike's site. It's great - I love his work.

Oct 27: Shoff Promotions Comic Book Show

Saturday, Oct 27, 10-3:30, Tysons Corner VA Holiday Inn Crown Plaza. Call 301-990-4929 or got to http://shoffpromotions.com for details. $3 fee.

Fantom Comics expands?

I hear that Fantom Comics, a good story in Tenleytown, is opening a second store in Union Station. Anyone got any details?

Zadzooks on toys

"She-Hulk's action plays outweigh sculpted look," by Joseph Szadkowski, Washington Times October 13, 2007.

Colonel America the zombie? Who buys this stuff?

Bruce Guthrie's pix of Richard Thompson and Small Press Expo

Bring me the head of Mr. Danders!
cake by Amy Thompson, photo by Bruce Guthrie. It was delicious.

Bruce Guthrie took a ton of SPX shots and has some online.

At Richard's talk at the Bethesda Writer's Center, Richard's the one in the sports coat, I'm wearing a black sweater and editorial cartoonist Jen Sorenson's in a leather coat, and then a short-sleeve yellow shirt. Be sure to notice the piles of original art Richard's handing around.

Bruce's SPX pics can be seen here and here. Note Richard Thompson introducing himself to Jeff Smith of 'Bone' fame for the sake of his daughters.

Toles anniversary

Dave Astor's reporting that Tom Toles has been syndicated for 25 years in "Anniversaries for Tom Toles and 'Cornered' Cartoonist" E&P October 16, 2007.

ICAF schedule

Ok, again - I'm going. Anyone else? I'll be there all three days.

THE TWELFTH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL COMIC ARTS FORUM
Madison Building, Library of Congress, Washington DC
October 18-20, 2007

This schedule is subject to change.

ICAF is free and open to the public. No registration is necessary to attend.

All events will be held in the Mumford Room on the sixth floor of the Madison Building unless otherwise noted.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18
9:00-9:15 Welcome and introduction
9:15-10:45 Panel 1: To and against type: Othering and stereotyping
Moderated by Stanford Carpenter, ICAF Executive Committee
Phillip Troutman, “Abolition Comix: Semiotics, Icon, Sequence, and Network in Anti-Slavery Visual Argument”
Jay Casey, “Advance and Be Criticized: A Reappraisal of the Portrayal of Friend and Foe by Overseas Soldier Cartoonists during the Second World War”
Frank Bramlett, “Camp, Sissies, and Queers in The Rawhide Kid”
10:45-11:00 Break
11:00-12:00 Panel 2: Political tensions in contemporary Asian cartooning
Moderated by Craig Fischer, ICAF Executive Committee
Todd S. Munson, “Anti-Chinese Rhetoric in Contemporary Japanese Manga”
Josette Mazzella di Bosco Balsa, “Political cartoonists in the historical context of Hong Kong after the Handover, 1997-2007”
12:00-1:30 Lunch
1:30-2:30 Panel 3: Sound and speech in comics
Moderated by Cecile Danehy, ICAF Executive Committee
Robert S. Petersen, “The Metamorphosis of Phylacteries”
C. W. Toph Marshall, “Diegetic Sound in Dave Sim’s Cerebus”
2:30-2:45 Break
2:45-3:45 Guest Speaker DR. IAN GORDON (Australia/Singapore)
3:45-4:00 Break
4:00-5:00 Art display in the Prints & Photographs Reading Room
Courtesy of the Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon
Curated by Sara Duke and Martha Kennedy, The Swann Foundation
5:00-6:00 Display of drawings by Lat in the Asian Division Reading Room
Courtesy of the Library of Congress Asian Division
Curated by Kathryn Wellen, Library of Congress Asian Division

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19
9:30-11:00 Panel 4: Comics in cultural institutions
Moderated by Arnold Blumberg, Geppi's Entertainment Museum
Poliana Irizarry and Joshua C. Roberts, “Beyond Leisure Reading: Garnering Support for Comics Scholarship from Your Academic Library”
John Jennings and Damian Duffy, “Remasters of American Comics: Sequential art as new media in the face of the transformative museum context”
11:00-11:30 Break
11:30-12:30

Panel 5: The theory and practice of comics studies
Moderated by Charles Hatfield, ICAF Executive Committee
Ernesto Priego, “The Tell-Tale Smell of Burning Paper: ‘Logic of Form’ and the Origin of Comics”
Benjamin Woo, “An Age-old Problem: Problematics of Comic Book Historiography”
Joseph Witek, “American Comics Criticism and the Problem of Dual Address”

Ernesto Priego is unable to present his paper at ICAF because he has been denied entry into the United States of America. The U.S. government has not renewed his visa, nor have they given him any explanation why he will not be allowed into the country. ICAF protests this refusal of entry, part of a recent and disturbing trend of excluding foreign scholars, as an infringement on academic freedom.
12:30-2:00 Lunch
2:00-3:30 Panel 6: Audiences and reception cultures
Moderated by Guy Spielmann, ICAF Executive Committee
Noriko Inomata, “The establishment of female manga readership in Japan and its circulation system: A comparison with the case of French market”
Ken Parille, “Jason and the Appropriators: Fashion, Photos, and the Comic”
José Alaniz, “Autobiography and Post-Soviet Russian Comics”
3:30-4:00 Break
4:00-5:00 Guest Artist LAT (Mohammed Nor Khalid) (Malaysia)
Introduced by John A. Lent, Temple University
5:00-7:30 Dinner
7:30-9:00 ICAF AND THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY JOINTLY PRESENT:
Iconophobia: Comics, Politics, and the Power of the Image
A special event at the George Washington University’s Gelman Library featuring Lat, Kevin “KAL” Kallaugher, and Robert Russell
Co-sponsored by the Gelman Library, the GWU English Department, & the GWU Writing Program

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20
1:00-2:30 Panel 7: Remembrance and nostalgia
Moderated by Marc Singer, ICAF Executive Committee
Jennifer Castel, “Nostalgia, Representation, and Identity in Art Spiegelman's In the Shadow of No Towers”
Pedro Pérez del Solar, “’A Führer’s day’: Comics and politics of memory in 1980s Spain”
Jason Buchanan, “A Superman without a World: Mourning, Melancholy, and Nostalgia in the Images of Post 9/11 Superman”
2:30-2:45 Break
2:45-3:45 Lent Scholarship Lecture: Orion Ussner Kidder, University of Alberta
3:45-4:00 Break
4:00-5:00 Guest Artist KYLE BAKER (USA)
5:00 Closing remarks