Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Post on Enchanted

In a move not seen in quite a while - Roger Rabbit, I'd guess, and before that the currently-supressed Song of the South - Disney's mixed live-action with animation, to generally excellent reviews. For the Post's take, see "Princess Power: In Charming 'Enchanted,' Once Upon A Time Is Right Now" By Ann Hornaday, Washington Post Staff Writer, Wednesday, November 21, 2007; Page C01

Marc Singer on Moore's Black Dossier

Marc's one of the keener observers of superhero comics, so his post on Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neil's League of Extraordinary Gentleman: Black Dossier is worth reading.

A couple of sites for local creators

Randy T sent these in and will hopefully return to give more framing info:

Pop Mhan's website

Jo Chen's blog

Von Allan to be published by webcomics site Girlamatic.com

off-topic, but VA was one of our first readers - and look at those pseudonymous intials! Congratulations Von!

Von Allan to be published by webcomics site Girlamatic.com

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (November 19, 2007) – Webcomics have, over the past ten years, become a phenomenon and are read by people of all ages. This popularity has greatly increased both the diversity and sheer amount of high quality comics that might not have been able to find an audience in a traditional print format. Coinciding with this growth has been the development of a number of webcomic publishing sites that collect similarly themed webcomics under one roof. One of the most notable is GirlAMatic.com, primarily due to its focus on comics that would appeal to female readers both young and old. Canadian graphic novelist Von Allan’s original graphic novel the road to god knows… has recently been accepted into GirlAMatic.com and will launch as a webcomic on December 3rd, 2007. The story will update four times per week (Monday through Thursday).

“Comics are a wonderful and diverse medium that can showcase stories from any particular genre. This is often forgotten due to the overwhelming market presence of both Marvel and DC’s superhero comics in print format. As a result of this, comics have traditionally been considered a ‘boys club’,” says Allan. “Most comics, especially in North America, tended to exclude women and girls by creating characters and stories that few female readers would ever identify with. Which, of course, is an odd thing to say but it can still occur even in this day and age. GirlAMatic has tried very hard to change this by creating a home for stories that, while running the gamut in terms of genre, can all be considered female friendly. Webcomics have managed to become a great leveler when it comes to genre and it’s fascinating to see how many readers of webcomics are female. When one combines that with the phenomenal growth of manga, driven primarily by female readers, comics of all forms are seeing a remarkable equalization in readership that they’ve never experienced before. And I’m pleased as punch to be a part of that.”

The road to god knows... is the story of Marie, a young teenage girl coming to grips with her Mom’s schizophrenia. As a result, she’s struggling to grow up fast; wrestling with poverty, loneliness, and her Mom’s illness every step of the way. Betty, Marie’s Mom, can’t help; she’s living with an illness that’s slowly getting worse and increasingly frightening. With her Mom absorbed in her own problems,
Marie is essentially alone while she learns to deal with the chaos in her young life.

The road to god knows… is expected to be printed in 2008 and has an ISBN of 978-0-9781237-0-3.

About Von Allan: Von Allan was born red-headed and freckled in Arnprior, Ontario, just in time for Star Wars: A New Hope. The single child of two loving but troubled parents, Von split most of his childhood between their two homes and, consequently, spent a lot of time in the worlds of comics and wrestling. He managed Perfect Books, an independent bookstore in Ottawa, for many years while working on story ideas in his spare time; eventually, he decided to make the leap to a creative life, and
the road to god knows… was the result. Additional information about the graphic novel can be found at www.vonallan.com.

About GirlAMatic: Launched on March 31st 2003, GirlAMatic.com has become the home for a variety of female-friendly webcomics. Perhaps more importantly, the site has been the home for multiple award winning comics creators, including Leigh Dragoon and Raina Telgemeier (Kim Yale Award Winner for Best New Female Talent 2006 and 2003 respectively), Hope Larson (Ignatz Award Winner 2006), and Donna Barr (Xeric Winner 2002).

Contact:

Von Allan
P.O. Box 20520, 390 Rideau Street,
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. K1N 1A3
Email: von@vonallan.com
Phone: 613-236-9957

Girlamatic.com
Editor-in-Chief: Lisa R. Jonté
Email: gam.editor@gmail.com

NEXT Sun, Dec 2 - CapiCons.com Comic & Pop Culture Show

Randy T. forwarded this Con announcement.

This show features a special guest appearance by John K. Snyder, III, courtesy of www.HeroInitiative.org. John K. Snyder, III, is a writer/illustrator whose work has been published by D.C. Comics (The Green Lantern, Dr. Mid-nite and an upcoming Batman mini-series) and many independent comic book publishers (The Duckberg Times).

- If you receive a postcard in the mail before the show, PLEASE BRING POSTCARD TO THE SHOW.

*******************************************************************
Our next Tysons Corner Monthly Comic & Pop Culture Show will be on Sun, December 2, 2007 at the Dunn Loring Volunteer Fire Department. The show is open to the public from 10 am - 3 pm.

Buy, sell and trade: gold, silver age and new comics; Magic and other gaming cards; non sport cards; videos and DVDs; anime; Horror; Sci-Fi; figures, toys; Star Wars and Star Trek memorabilia; original artwork, posters, T-shirts and various other comic related items.

Vendors confirmed for this show include:
All-American Comics
Cards Comics & Collectibles
Doug Cheshire
Michael Creager
Everyday Comics
FANDATA
Jerry Flynn
Gold Coast Collectibles
HeroInitiative.org
Damion Hill
Koop's Comics
Jim Montgomery
Outpost Station
Silver Fox Comics
TNT Comics
Tomorrow's Treasures
Steven Wagner
Brian Weinshenker
Welcome Back Comics
Zeno's Books
and more!

The Dunn Loring Volunteer Fire Department (directions - please see below) has a 70-space parking lot. Plus, there is a school behind the fire department with hundreds of parking spaces that are rarely used on the weekends.

To get to the Dunn Loring Volunteer Fire Department (located about 20 minutes west of Washington, D.C.). Take I-495 (DC/Capital Beltway) to Exit 47A (Rt 7 West). Go 1/2 mile, Take a Left on Gallows Rd and proceed 1 mile to 2148 Gallows Rd.

Or visit our website for detailed directions and Mapquest directions:
http://www.capicons.com/directions_dlvfd.htm

Venue Address:
Dunn Loring Volunteer Fire Department
2148 Gallows Road
Dunn Loring, VA 22027

We no longer require the Door Prize winner to be present to claim their prize. The door prize winner will be drawn after the show and the prize will be sent to the winner and announced in the next show's email.

Also, if you receive a postcard reminder for the event, PLEASE BRING THE POSTCARD TO THE SHOW. This will allow you to enter the door prize drawing without taking the time to fill out a new form.

If you do not receive a postcard before the show and would like this reminder, please visit our website and sign up for our mailing list:
http://www.capicons.com/contact_customer.htm

Or print out the following form, complete it and bring it to the next show:
http://www.capicons.com/door_prize_entry_form.htm

If you have any other questions, please visit our website:
http://www.CapiCons.com

Or send us an e-mail at:
info@capicons.com

Hope to see you soon.
Jeff
http://www.CapiCons.com
info@capicons.com

===================
*Capital Associates does not guarantee the arrival, arrival time or
departure time of the artist(s)/writer(s)/other guest(s) attending our
shows or attending on behalf of another group.
===================

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Nov 28: Shrek the Halls?

During the Peanuts' Thanksgiving show, we just saw an ad for what appears to be a made-for-tv movie, Shrek the Halls. I'm sure this has potential - remember the Star Wars Ewok holiday special?

Nate Beeler congratulated by Examinerr


The Examiner ran this thingie (I'm sure it has a technical name) congratulating Nate for getting syndicated today.

Monday, November 19, 2007

Dec 12-13: South African artist William Kentridge

South African artist William Kentridge's animated "9 Drawings for Projection" at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater, 202-467-4600, with original music by Philip Miller. 7:30 pm for $38.

Nov 20: Peanuts cartoons on tv

Peanuts cartoons are on tv at 8 pm. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving is followed by He's A Bully, Charlie Brown. Writer's strike? What writer's strike?

Nov 21: Ben 10 movie on Cartoon Network

AT 8 pm, Cartoon Network's Ben 10 animated series converts to a live action movie in Ben 10: Race Against Time.

Zapp! Comic Books and the Arts exhibit, Jerry Robinson and Lee Marrs photos

Jerry Robinson and me; photo by Bruce Guthrie

Bruce Guthrie was up at the VisArts at Rockville building this weekend and took some shots of the Zapp! Comic Books and the Arts exhibit that was closing on November 18th, as well as pictures of Jerry Robinson and Lee Marrs in the convention space. Ms. Marrs gave a talk on webcomics and Bruce got pictures of that as well. I did too, and I'll try to post mine soon.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Zadzooks mostly on Dr. Who, but also Spider-Man hi-def dvds

See Joseph Szadkowski's "Doctor Who treats fans to more sci-fi humor," Washington Times November 17, 2007

Dove McHargue of SCAD's class in Arlington

On Friday night, my daughter and I got over to the Arlington Art Center about an hour after Dove McHargue started his class, Black and White Sequential Art -- The placement of compositional blacks. I had just planned to introduce myself and leave, but the class was well underway with about 10 students, including one dad who was there with his son. Dove was under the weather with a cold, but struggling through it as he showed several powerpoints on using inking to accent art. A lot of examples came from DC's Batman: Black and White books so I picked up volume 2 at a con yesterday. I think I had v.1 already. Dove gave the kids, who were all in high school, (and two dads) four pages from a Disney coloring book and suggested highlighting an element of each of the artwork. This was a very simple exercise to give out, but one that really made the kids (and me) think. There were a bunch of different solutions and Dove pointed out what worked and what didn't, talked about lighting, and was really very instructive. I personally found this absolutely fascinating and I have no desire at all to be a cartoonist. His explanation of how things work on the page was just really interesting. As the kids were working on their pages, he showed one of his black and white comic strips projected, and then how to color it with Photoshop - light dawned for me. If you have a chance, sit in on one of his sessions.

IJOCA's editorial

Some changes need to be made in IJOCA's distribution thanks to the Post Office's new rates for magazines. Here's what editor-in-chief Lent had to say. Write to him at john.lent at gmail.com if you have an opinion, especially on the overseas issues. Click on the page to make them larger and legible.

Nov 18: Alan Moore, Art Spiegelman and Dan Clowes on Simpsons

I'm not usually a Simpsons viewer (oddly enough - I could never get past a dislike for Life in Hell), but some of the greatest cartoonists will be on it tonight. Alan Moore discusses his appearance here.

And his League of Extraordinary Gentleman's Black Dossier came out this week. This is the real thing, not that Hollywood abomination.

Vip, Bok, Ware and Fish N Chips

A few new acquisitions can also make points about the Secret History of Comics.

The first is a set of three in-house books by CACI, a defense contractor. While these types of companies aren't usually known for their sense of humor, CACI's had the good sense to have their books initially illustrated by 'Vip' aka Virgil Partch. He was followed by gag and Playboy cartoonist John Dempsey and then most recently by editorial cartoonist Chip Bok.

Front cover to one of the three books with art by Vip.

Vip interior art.

John Dempsey cartoon.

Chip Bok cartoon.

Back cover of boxed set with art by Bok.

All three of these are major cartoonists, but I don't think their work here would be easily found.

The next item is the interior cover page of Chris Ware's Quimby the Mouse.

This is actually what a book signed by Chris Ware looks like - it's so subtle it's not something you'd really notice if you were in a hurry. Chris signed this for me at PENFaulkner, so I guarantee this is what you should be looking for.

Finally, at the Small Press Expo, I picked up Fish N Chips by Steve Hamaker. This book's apparently available now since I bought it two months ago, so one could ask 'what's it doing in a secret history post?' Steve's book, nominally from Vigil Press, is apparently self-published and there's no info in the book on how to order it. These days, Google tosses up his website with more information on the book, but parts of it appear to be last updated in 2005 and there's no guarantee that he'll keep the site up and a library or collector of the future might be confused by the lack of information in the book. Buy a copy from him to help comic scholars of the future and because he's a nice guy who did a fun fish sketch for me. BTW, he's coloring Bone for Jeff Smith.

KISS and Superman in Post

For Gene Simmons' take on Superman, see Sridhar Pappu's interview "I was immediately drawn to the idea of the cape and fancy outfit."; Kiss Man Gene Simmons Comes Out of the Phone Booth, Washington Post Sunday, November 18, 2007; M02.

Saturday, November 17, 2007

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 11-21-07

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 11-21-07
By John Judy
(Support striking writers! Buy ‘em turkey AND comics, especially “Scalped” from Vertigo!)

52 VOL. 4 SC by Johns, Morrison, Rucka, Waid, and Friends. Concluding the epic weekly series in trade format. If you’ve forgotten how impressive this was try reading COUNTDOWN. On second thought, don’t.

ANGEL AFTER THE FALL #1 by Brian Lynch, and Franco Urru. Angel Season Six anyone? Ya gotta look! Whedon-approved and recommended!

ACTION COMICS #859 by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank. Supes and the Legion in a time-twisting adventure that promises lots of non-suckiness!

BOYS #12 by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. Something about sending The Boys into the mob-ruled kleptocracy of modern Russia just feels… right. Recommended. Absolutely NOT for kids.

BRAVE AND BOLD #8 by Mark Waid and George Perez. The Doom Patrol and the Flash. Between this and the creative team, who could ask for more?

CAPTAIN AMERICA #32 by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting. Picking up where there are so many hangers one can hardly see the cliff. Recommended.

CAPTAIN AMERICA VOL. 1 DEATH OF CAPTAIN AMERICA PREMIERE HC by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting. Collecting issues 25-30 of the story so well told it’s hard to remember it’s the cheapest ploy in the super-hero comics bag-o-tricks. “Death.” Feh…

DETECTIVE COMICS #838 by Paul Dini and Ryan Benjamin. Batman and…. I-Ching. He’s a guy named… “I-Ching”… Look it’s a long story, it goes back to the 70s when everyone was doing a lot of… Hey, it’s part of the Ras al-Ghul story, okay?!

EX MACHINA #32 by Brian K. Vaughan and Tony Harris. The super-hero Mayor of New York meets the Pope. No rabbis, dogs, or bars involved. And they don’t go golfing. Honest.

GOON: CHINATOWN AND THE MYSTERY OF MR. WICKER HC written and drawn by Eric Powell. Powell’s first original graphic novel providing 128 uninterrupted pages of the Goon’s formative years. A must-have for all fans.

GRENDEL: BEHOLD THE DEVIL #1 of 8 written and drawn by Matt Wagner. An untold tale of novelist/assassin Hunter Rose in his prime. You need this.

HELLBLAZER #238 by Andy Diggle and Danijel Zezelj. Imagine a London where every urban legend is real and (GASP!) smoking is outlawed in pubs!!! It cannot be emphasized enough how much this title doesn’t suck anymore. Highly recommended.

JACK KIRBY’S FOURTH WORLD OMNIBUS VOL.3 HC by “The King.” Third of four volumes, kids! Featuring more re-drawn faces than Carmine Infantino ever thought we’d notice.

MAD ARCHIVES VOL.2 HC by Harvey Kurtzman and Artists Whose Names I Am Unworthy to Type. Collecting issues #7-12. You must own this or be forever diminished as a human being. Highly recommended.

SHE-HULK #23 by Peter David and Shawn Moll. Shulkie takes on Titania (the Marvel one) and the Absorbing Man, despite being at least partly…dead?

SPIRIT #11 written and drawn by Darwyn Cooke. Featuring Denny Colt’s continuing battle with “El Morte!” Awesome cover by Cooke. Highly recommended.

UMBRELLA ACADEMY APOCALYPSE SUITE #3 of 6 by Gerard Way Gabriel Ba. Featuring robot crime-sprees, dead musicians, and the apocalypse! Big fun from that guy in My Chemical Romance!

WALKING DEAD #44 by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard. The Governor is just gonna kill all kinds of people now. The most suspenseful title on the market today. Never for kids. Always recommended.

PS – Buy SCALPED by Jason Aaron and R.M. Guera every month or you’ll go blind and sterile. It’s noir on an Indian reservation and that’s just for starters. Not for kids or the delicate of spleen. It even comes with this money-back guarantee from the creators:

Guéra and I really want you to read SCALPED. We want you to have no excuse for not trying SCALPED. To that end, we're now offering a money-back guarantee on the first trade paperback collection, "Indian Country." If you buy a copy and don't like it, just mail it back to us and we'll refund the price, plus the cost of your shipping. It's as easy as that. Here are the details:

http://www.scalped.info/

Tell your friends.

Listen to Garth Ennis: The best new series in years. Spread the word. Tell your friends. Talk about it. Blog about it.

Listen to Ed Brubaker: Read SCALPED and love it, or your money back! Jason Aaron is going a different route to try to get more readers for his excellent Vertigo book - SCALPED. This is one of my very favorite comics right now, and I highly recommend you all take him up on his offer. Please give a great book a chance. Drop some superhero book (not one of mine, of course) that you've been buying out of habit and not enjoying and try something new.

www.johnjudy.net

ICAF and OSU's Festival - another blog

My buddy Charles Hatfield stayed with me for ICAF and then we drove to Ohio for OSU's event. If you click those preceeding sentence's links, you'll see he's put up blog entries on the two with many more links than I ever bother with. He did note that OSU's put up highlight photos so I'll steal that link from him.

Friday, November 16, 2007

Nov 16-17: Jerry Robinson, Lee Marrs in Rockville

Late-breaking news - Jerry Robinson's in town. Saturday Lee Marrs speaks at 4 pm. No time to link but here's Marrs' website - http://www.leemarrs.com/ I'm going to try to make it up there for Marrs talk.

This is their event description:

Comic-con
Come see our new building, and this Comic Book exhibition and convention, and our inaugural exhibit, Zapp! Comic Books and the Arts. Fun for the whole family begins with a free talk Friday night from 7 to 8 by authority Jerry Robinson, who wikipedia notes began work on Batman and Joker beginning in 1939! Activities continue through the weekend with guest artists, special costume events, prizes, commemorative t-shirts, dealers and collectors. Saturday, 10 to 5, and Sunday 11 to 4. For more information, call 301-315-8200.
Nov. 16-18 - VisArts at Rockville, 155 Gibbs St., Rockville, Md. 20850