Tom Toles taken to task

The letter:

Caricature Run Amok, Washington Post November 10, 2007

While I have found Tom Toles's cartoons often trivial and sometimes annoying, the Nov. 7 submission left me infuriated. To suggest that Vice President Cheney supports or dreams of taking dictatorial actions of the type in Pakistan indicated in the cartoon is disgusting and beneath The Post's standards of fairness.

There are legitimate arguments about the president's wartime powers, but our basic freedoms remain intact, as evidenced by the ability of Toles and all journalists and citizens to freely express their views, however repugnant, without fear of governmental retribution.

-- Lawrence L. Thompson
Washington

and the cartoon:

Late-breakinging SPX con report

Well, it's not like I've written mine yet, but see "SPX 2007: Life at a Small Press Gathering," By Lee Atchison, Sequential Tart November 5, 2007

Post reviews Michaelis' Schulz biography tomorrow

See "It's Your Life, Charlie Brown! A portrait of the anxious artist who taught Snoopy how to dance," reviewed by Julie Phillips, Washington Post Book World Sunday, November 11, 2007; Page BW04.

Writings on comics by American U professor

I was introduced to American U professor Erik Dussere last night at the PEN/Faulkner talk. He's written a couple of articles on comics:

"Subversion in the Swamp: Pogo and the Folk in the McCarthy Era," Journal of American Culture 26 (1; March 2003): 134-141

"The queer world of the X-Men; OK, Wolverine never built a shrine to Judy Garland, but 'the strangest teens' were obviously homo superior -- emphasis on the homo," Salon (July 12, 2000)

Today's Richard's Poor Almanack

Isn't online yet, but it's another finger puppet. Whoo-hoo! In the meantime, enjoy last week's Peanuts parody.

Tomorrow's Washington Post bit on Caniff's Terry and the Pirates

See "Terry and the Pirates" by Dennis Drabelle, Washington Post Book World Sunday, November 11, 2007; Page BW04.

Zadzooks on Spidey game

See "Unlikely collaborators help Spidey in mission" by Joseph Szadkowski, Washington Times November 10, 2007.

Another DC-area blogger spotlight

Michael Wenthe - mentioned earlier today - shares a blog with Isaac Cates. Both teach about comics, and together they make minicomics. I hadn't realized they had a blog until Isaac mentioned it in passing today - check out Satisfactory Comics. Right now, it appears that their latest mini-comic is an intellectual exercise of the type that Matt Madden is the best promoter of - if you haven't bought his 99 Ways to Tell A Story, you should and you should shelve it next to McCloud, Eisner and Buscema.

A link to Satisfactory Comics will be up on the right for future visits.

Speaking of comics in the classroom

...Geppi's Museum curator Arnold Blumberg writes about teaching Watchmen at the University of Maryland.

Comics and Graphic Novels in the Classroom panel report

Literature professors Marc Singer (Howard U) and Michael Wenthe (American U) and I did a short panel at Busboys and Poets on 14th St at the request of PENFaulkner. Lynda Barry, Alison Bechdel and Chris Ware were in the audience and hopefully got some of the buffet supper. My friend, and potential breakout cartoonist for Cul de Sac, Richard Thompson accompanied me and didn't look too glazed over when the talk went academic at times.

I recorded 99% of the panel  - I missed my first question as moderator "Why have comics in the classroom, and how do you do it" was roughly the question. Marc Singer begins replying and the beginning of his reply is cut off too.

After the event, I was able to talk briefly with Lynda Barry who has some very interesting working methods. For her 100 Demons book, which I recommend, she has words written on cards that she pulls at random out of a bag. She then takes the word she's selected and writes other words that it reminds her of. When she has an idea for the strip, she starts writing and drawing it. As she said, 'The first draft is the only draft.' She also talked to Michael and I about her novel Cruddy, saying that she had been trying to write it for nine years on a computer. When she switched to writing with her brush and ink, it was done in under a year, so she feels that for cartoonists the link between moving your hand and thinking is wired into one's brain. Also for Cruddy, the illustrations are finger-painted, using ink, I think.

Lynda was absolutely great to talk to and very encouraging to anyone (including Chris Ware as he related the next night) who approached her. Alison and Chris are fun to talk to as well, and I'd like to spend more time talking comics with Dan Raeburn who's done three booklets and one big book on them. He moderated the talk by the cartoonists on the following night and I'll post on that separately.

Lynda's strips are now being posted on the Drawn & Quarterly blog.

QUICK REVIEWS OF COMICS DUE 11-14-07

QUICK REVIEWS OF COMICS DUE 11-14-07
Support striking Writers Guild members! Buy them comics!
By John Judy

ALL-STAR SUPERMAN #9 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. It’s the DC “All-Star” series where they HAVEN’T turned Black Canary into an Irish whore! Recommended!

AVENGERS INITIATIVE #7 by Dan Slott and Stefano Caselli. It’s Scarlet Spiders versus Vulturians but it’s written by Dan Slott, the man who can take even the lamest characters and make you love them. Highly recommended.

BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS #1 by Chuck Dixon and Julian Lopez. The dark-night detective teams up with a S.E. Hinton’s loveable band of scamps and…. Ah, heck, it’s time to refresh the trademark, guys. You know how it is.

BLACK ADAM THE DARK AGE #4 of 8 by Peter J. Tomasi and Doug Mahnke. This amazingly grim series is still holding up quite well in spite of being way too dark for the traditional Captain Marvel/Shazam audience. Half-way home. Not too late to jump on, readers.

BOOSTER GOLD #4 by Geoff Johns and Jeff Katz. It’s time-travel stories that not only don’t suck, but actually entertain and surprise! It’s a holiday miracle! Plus it has Flashes! Barry Allen even! Check it out!

CAPTAIN MARVEL #1 of 5 by Brian Reed and Lee Weeks. The blonde, disco-era Protector of the Universe is back from the dead, checking out paintings and punching robots! A decent start even if you think Marv shoulda stayed dead.

EX MACHINA VOL. 6: POWER DOWN SC by Brian K. Vaughan and Tony Harris. Collecting what Vaughan has called his favorite run on the book so far, issues #26-29, exploring what a power outage means to a guy who talks to machines. Recommended.

HOUSE OF M: AVENGERS #1 of 5 by Christos Gage and Mike Perkins. A well-drawn romp through a universe that sorta doesn’t exist anymore. Maybe it’s one of DC’s 52?

KIMMIE66 GN written and drawn by Aaron Alexovich. So what are awkward teen girls doing on the internet 200 years from now? Same as today only more so and with vampires. Take a gander.

LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN: THE BLACK DOSSIER HC by Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill. Okay, Moore has gone seriously nuts over the years, but whether a guy believes in ”magick” or not, if that same guy authored “Watchmen”, “Miracleman”, and the other “LoEG” books, you still have to sit up and take notice. This one has a lot of extras and will still be fascinating even if you end up hating it. (Yeah, I read “Lost Girls” and all the Lovecraft craziness. It’s like Frank Miller. You have to look to see if he’s recovering yet.) And Kevin O’Neill always rocks.

NEW AVENGERS #36 by Brian Michael Bendis and Lieinil Francis Yu. New York City’s been “Venom-ized” and The Hood is basking in his victory over Tigra the Were-Woman. Yeah, he hasn’t figured out that Tigra isn’t exactly A-list. Did I mention Wolverine is on the cover? Some people think he’s a Skrull because it’s the only way to account for him being in every single comic Marvel puts out each month, including the Classics Illustrated things they’re doing. I love this theory because it explains how Wolverine killed Moby Dick.

PUNISHER #52 by Garth Ennis and Goran Parlov Frank has to save the little girl and kill the Barracuda. One of the most intense Punisher stories in years. And then there’s…

PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL #13 by Matt Fraction and Cory Walker. Kraven the Hunter Junior, I swear to …. For the Punisher completists out there.

SALVATION RUN #1 of 7 by Bill Willingham and Sean Chen. The villains of the DC Universe finally get exiled to a whole ‘nother planet for their crimes! It’s like Australia only with super-powers and no beer!

SCOTT PILGRIM VOL.4 SCOTT PILGRIM GETS IT TOGETHER GN by Bryan Lee O’Malley. Scott plays in a band, dates a girl, and fights her evil ex-boyfriends. How is this not a TV series yet? A new one for all you Oni Press manga-maniacs.

THOR #4 by J. Michael Straczynski and Olivier Copiel. Thor’s looking up old friends. You see this one coming a mile away but it looks like they’re getting past that soon and anyway, it looks nice.

WOLVERINE #59 by Marc Guggenheim and Howard Chaykin. Featuring every version of Wolvie you’ve ever heard of. I smell action figure assortment…

WONDER WOMAN #14 by Gail Simone and Terry & Rachel Dodson. Honest! This time I mean it! Gail’s totally writing this! And WW’s fighting abominable snowmen on the cover! How great is that?!

WORLD OF WARCRAFT #1 by Walt Simonson and Ludo Lullabi. Yes, this is based on the popular on-line game and it is drawn by a guy named “Lullabi.” Lots of swords, armor, and fighting! Best of all, a comic book can’t crash right when you’re really enjoying it!

WORLD WAR HULK #5 of 5 by Greg Pak and John Romita Jr. Smash-smash-smashity-smash-smash!!!! Guest-starring the Sentry.

X-FACTOR #25 by Peter David and Scot Eaton. Rictor goes to church looking for the killer mutant-Jesus. Hijinks ensue.

www.johnjudy.net

Detroit Free Press picks up Cul de Sac

Richard Thompsons's added another paper. See "Quirky new comic has fan in 'Calvin and Hobbes' creator," Detroit Free Press November 5, 2007.

And he's been named by Tom Spurgeon on Comicsreporter.com as the Potential Breakout Cartoonist of 2008.

Richard Thompson's faves

Alan started a neat new feature over at the Daily Cartoonist by asking cartoonists who they like. His first victim was Arlington's own Richard Thompson. See "The Cartoonist’s Cartoonists: Richard Thompson" by Alan Gardner Nov 06, 2007. Personally I wouldn't have guessed Lynda Barry.

Richard tossed a few more names around on his blog.

Meet Lynda Barry, Chris Ware and Alison Bechdel and Richard at Busboy's and Poets on Thursday - click on the Upcoming Events link on the right to see details.

Nate Beeler goes national

Nate's emailed me that he's signed a syndication deal with Darryl Cagle's Cagle Cartoon syndicate and written about it on his blog. Congratulations, Nate. For those who don't pick up the Examiner regularly, Nate's cartoons are one of the best things in it.

Dave Astor adds a bit more to the story. So Nate, are you a right-leaning libertarian?

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 11-07-07

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 11-07-07
(Support striking Writers Guild members! Bring ‘em comics!)
By John Judy

ASTONISHING X-MEN #23 by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday. Maybe this book can go monthly now that Joss has all that extra time….

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #8 by Brian K. Vaughan and Georges Jeanty. Buffy versus Faith. The cover looks like Faith’s water-boarding The Buffster. Maybe she wants to be our new Attorney-General?

CAIRO HC by G. Willow Wilson and M.K. Perker. An original slam-bang action thriller set in Egypt’s largest city. Contains magic!

COUNTDOWN AND FRIENDS by Whoever Drew the Short Straw. Remember when weekly comics making their ship-dates was a good thing?

CRIMINAL #10 by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. A big finale in this awesome noir that keeps Daddy from getting a life. Highly recommended.

DARK TOWER GUNSLINGER BORN PREMIERE HC by Peter David and Jae Lee. Marvel heard a rumor that some of you still had money.

FANTASTIC FOUR #551 by Dwayne Mac Duffie and Paul Pelletier. Okay, it’s a time-travel story but it has an awesome last page. Enjoy!

GROO: HELL ON EARTH #1 of 4 by Mark Evanier and Sergio Aragones. The Wanderer battles the ultimate global warning in a humorous, fantastical way. From the guys who brought you MAD Magazine and “Welcome Back Kotter” among other things.

IMMORTAL IRON FIST #10 by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, and David Aja. Like reading a really good kung-fu flick. Recommended.

NEW AVENGERS ILLUMINATI #5 of 5 by Brian Michael Bendis and Jim Cheung. In which we finally learn which one of Our Heroes is not who he appears. “Skrull! Cough! Cough!”

SCALPED #11 by Jason Aaron and R.M. Guera. This noir Western set on an Indian reservation has all the right people raving. Check it out and see why. NOT for kids.

SUPERMAN #670 by Kurt Busiek and Rick Leonardi. It’s the end of “The Third Kryptonian!” Because there’s only FIVE OF THEM on the cover, not including The Character Formerly Known as Superboy-Prime! Sigh…

UNCANNY X-MEN #492 by Ed Brubaker and Billy Tan. Everyone’s looking for the Killer Jesus-Mutant! What a caper! Can a week ever have too much Brubaker? Not in my house, bub!

Y THE LAST MAN #59 by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra. It’s the next to last issue of this amazing series. If you haven’t read it before now is the time to start plowing through the trades. On a par with Neil Gaiman’s “Sandman” for depth and imagination. Highly recommended.

www.johnjudy.net

KAL exhibit somewhere down south

KAL, from our northern neighbor city Baltimore, has an exhibit of cartoons up at Duke University. See "Work of Editorial Cartoonist Goes on Display at Duke: Decades of contentious political cartoons by Kevin 'KAL' Kallaugher will be displayed at Duke starting Nov. 7," Thursday, November 1, 2007

Articles in today's papers - Bee Movie and Spider-Man game

Two Bee Movie reviews in the Express (an AP one) and the Examiner and Bumbling 'Bee Movie' Needs More of Jerry"

By Desson Thomson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 2, 2007; Page C01
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/01/AR2007110102491.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/01/AR200711
0100906.html
Spider-Man: Both Sides Now
Washington Post Friday, November 2, 2007; Page WE54

Hero novel review in Metro Weekly

Metro Weekly is actually one of the free papers that I don't regularly pick up, mostly because it doesn't run comics, but the new issue has this book review in it - "Heroic Exploits: Delving into the life of a young, gay superhero, Perry Moore's 'Hero' is a wonderful combo of reality and fantasy," by Tim Plant, Metro Weekly November 1, 2007.

Nov 10: Persepolis at AFI Silver

The animated film based on Marjane Satrapi's book at 8 pm in Silver Spring on the 10th. 1 showing! Geez.

Articles in today's papers - Bee Movie and Dethklok

The Post's got "The Bee in His Bonnet: Jerry Seinfeld's New Flick Began as a Joke but Made Him Busy as a . . . You Know," by William Booth, Washington Post Staff Writer, Thursday, November 1, 2007; C01.

Over in the Onion, a Cartoon Network band is profiled in "Brian Posehn Interviews Dethklok" [expanded version online], by Josh Modell, Onion November 1st, 2007.