AP article on growing acceptibility of comics in Express

The Express has an AP article on comics courses featuring quotes by Carol Tyler.

Richard Thompson's HeroesCon invite

Noted Arlington cartoonist Richard Thompson is among the recently announced guests for Charlotte, NC's HeroesCon.

My next project

Earlier this year, I posted this Film & TV Adaptations of Comics list here, and attempted to update it on the fly. That didn't work all that well, so I'm going to self-publish it through Lulu.com later this month. It's all-revised (anyone know anything about Jewel of the Gods, a possible South African comic) and with a new index will be over 130 pages long. It's a listing of basic information for comic strips, comic books, manga/anime, pirated characters, fan films and the like. Details to follow.

Wash Post apparently doesn't get any favorable letters about comics

Or doesn't run them if it does. In "Your Pique Grows While Your Comics Shrink"
Saturday, December 15, 2007; Page A19, the two letters about the comics read:

My family's peaceful, serene ritual of reading the Sunday morning paper together is in jeopardy. You see, it works this way: My wife gets the front page first, I get the Business section first and the two kids split the Sunday comics. Then the sections are exchanged. Everybody is happy.

Now, in one fell swoop, The Post threatens the very tranquility and quality family time that we've come to cherish every weekend. Whose featherbrained idea was it to "combine the two comics sections into one convenient section"? Convenient for whom? Now our Sundays will be filled with bickering, battling and brawls as my wife and I will be relegated to mediating the battle for the single comics section.

-- Eric Fremont
Fairfax

The Post has made a major error by reducing to squint-size the comics we readers have come to love.

I do not exaggerate when I say that I have had to buy a large magnifying glass to figure out what in the world is going on with the many characters I know so well. And before you dismiss this as the grump of an old fogey, consider that my eyesight is 20/20.

-- Wes Pedersen
Chevy Chase

OT: Metropolitan Museum of Art commissions Sorel

Edward Sorel's done an ad for them, "Home is Where the Art Is." The New York Times had a black and white print of it on the 14th and online there's a teeny-tiny version.

Washington Times on Disney DVDs

See "Media Room" Washington Times December 14, 2007 By Kelly Jane Torrance. She discusses the complete Donald Duck shorts dvds as well as Oswald the Rabbit. Did you know that Disney traded an ABC sportscaster for the return of the Oswald rights a few years ago?

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 12-19-07

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 12-19-07
By John “Support the WGA!” Judy

Wishing you and yours a Super Saturnalia and a Fine Festivus!

ACTION PHILOSOPHERS VOL.3 GIANT-SIZED THING SC by Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlevey. The final trade (for now!) of this great series collecting issues 7-9 for a well-deserved spot on your bookshelf. Funny, informative, and highly recommended.

ANGEL: AFTER THE FALL #2 by Joss Whedon, Brian Lynch, and Franco Urru. Okay, Urru’s art isn’t terribly appealing to me but it’s great to see these characters again and the first issue laid the groundwork for an amazing “New Season” of adventures. Recommended for all Whedon addicts and fans of the “Angel” ensemble.

DETECTIVE COMICS # 839 by Paul Dini and Don Kramer. Wrapping up the whole Ras al Ghul resurrection thing. Honest.

EX MACHINA #33 by Brian K. Vaughan and Tony Harris. Mayor Hundred finally meets the Pope and learns how volatile a mix religion and politics can be! (Don’t tell Huckabee, Romney, and the kids. They’re fun to watch.) Always recommended.

GRENDEL: BEHOLD THE DEVIL #2 of 8 written and drawn by Matt Wagner. A bloody return for Wagner’s signature character, an amoral super-human crime-boss/novelist who pretty much can kill anyone who gets in his way. And he does! Thus, the mystery is: “Who is stalking the most dangerous man in the city?” Recommended.

HELLBLAZER: BLOODLINES SC by Garth Ennis, Steve Dillon, and Friends. Collecting a number of devilishly good tales from issues 49, 52-55, and 59-61 in which JC gives the First of the Fallen what fer! Among the best runs this series has ever had. Recommended.

IMMORTAL IRON FIST #11 by Ed Brubaker , Matt Fraction, and David Aja. There are intrigues a-plenty as “Capital Cities of Heaven” keeps the action coming on every level. Very enjoyable, great art, no doubt to be one heck of a trade edition. Read it now anyway. Recommended.

INCREDIBLE HULK #112 by Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente, and Khoi Pham. So while they’re figuring out how the new Red Hulk thing is gonna work we get to watch Hercules and the smart Asian kid dance with SHIELD. Has a nice Steranko tribute cover by Arthur Adams.

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #16 by Dwayne McDuffie and Joe Benitez. Okay, ya remember that girl-Flash from the Tangent Universe of the nineties? Well, I do, not that I’m proud of it or anything. Anyway, she’s here and it looks like some of the other Tangent kids are along for the ride. Could be worse. Could be those “Just Imagine Stan Lee Creating…” characters. Thanks, Multi-verse!

MIGHTY AVENGERS #6 by Brian Michael Bendis and Frank Cho. Lots of wacky, Ultron-smashing action and the Sentry discovers an ominous new power. Plus, The “Bendis-Thought Balloon” romance continues!

MARVEL MASTERWORKS RAWHIDE KID, VOL. 2 HC by Stan Lee, jack Kirby, and quite a few other impressive folks. Collecting RAWHIDE # 26-35 from the days before the Kid was out of the closet! Fun for all ages!

NEW X-MEN #45 by Christopher Yost, Craig Kyle, and Humberto Ramos. Okay, I’ll be honest, I never read this book and have no idea if it’s great or typical X-fare. I mention it only because supposedly we can learn what happened in last week’s X-FACTOR here. And that, Virginia, is why everyone loves big cross-overs! Do as you see fit.

SHE-HULK #24 by Peter David and Shawn Moll. She-Hulk is living in a trailer park with a Skrull. So that’s one accounted for…

SPECIAL FORCES #2 of 6 written and drawn by Kyle Baker. The beautifully drawn second chapter in Baker’s dark satire of our military’s darker policy of recruiting the mentally and emotionally unfit for duty. If Baker had made this up it might be offensive. Sadly, the truth behind the fiction can only leave us grateful that some in the comics community are addressing it. Highly, highly recommended.

SUPERMAN #671 by Kurt Busiek and Peter Vale. Insect Queen is back! What? You want more? It’s Insect Queen!

WALKING DEAD VOL.3 HC by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard. The deluxe edition collecting issues 25-36. NOT for kids. Kirkman continues some of the most interesting Universe creation that doesn’t involve super-heroes. Recommended for those who like their horror dark and thoughtful.

WOLVERINE FIREBREAK ONE-SHOT by Mike Carey and Scott Kolins with a back-up story by Macon Blair and Vasilis Lolos. Two done–in-one Wolvie shorts, both of which are a lot better than what’s being done in his two regular titles lately. Good reads.

WOLVERINE ORIGINS #20 by Daniel Way and Steve Dillon. To all the kids out there who worry that having no discernable talent whatsoever may be an impediment to writing comics professionally, Daniel Way provides hope.

www.johnjudy.net

Tom Toles' favorite Washington space

Actually I really agree with him on this, although I have a lot of favorite spaces. It's the bonsai collection at the Botanic Gardens - see "Conversation Pieces" by Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post Staff Writer, Friday, December 14, 2007; Page WE25. The Daumier pieces he mentions are actually sculptures in the National Gallery of Art's West building in the ground floor sculpture area.

South African fine art animator William Kentridge

Kentridge is speaking at the Kennedy Center tonight, right now. So you're missing that. But you can read this article about him in today's Express - Glenn Dixon's "African Elegies: William Kentridge's animated films move into the concert hall," Express (December 13 2007).

OT: Interesting comic book contest

I got an email today from a Simon & Schuster marketer, asking me to mention her new project here. While I'd like to think I'm not for sale (cheaply), the novelty of the idea appealed to me. Accordingly, here's Leah Wasielewski on the contest:

I’m a marketing manager at Simon & Schuster, and I’m working on an exciting new blockbuster novel by N Y Times bestselling author, Matthew Reilly. Titled The 6 Sacred Stones, this is the sequel to 7 Deadly Wonders. Reilly is redefining the thriller for the 21st century with novels that rival video games and Hollywood blockbusters for pulse-racing, non-stop action.

We have a fantastic contest I’d love to share with you. It’s called our "Create a Comic Book for 6 Sacred Stones Contest"—in it, consumers are invited to create comic books based on chapter 1 of the book (we have a free excerpt online). In order to be eligible to enter, entrants must create a comic book that is no longer than 20 pages.

One Grand Prize will be awarded: Winning comic submission will be included in the mass market edition of 6 Sacred Stones to be published in January 2009.

Here is the full set of rules: http://www.simonsays.com/content/feature.cfm?tab=1&feature_id=6256

Perhaps some of our DC-area creators will enter - it's probably a good bit of publicity for the winner. I haven't heard of anything like this before, and I think it's showing the growing popularity of comics. I'd be glad to hear from anyone about that they think.

Zippy a tounge-in-cheek Crumb homage?

Today's Zippy was about the joy of tape-dispensing machines - the same subject that Robert and Aline Crumb did a comic on in the New Yorker's putative cartoon issue a few weeks ago. My guess is it was a tip of the Zip to the Crumbs.

American U Prof Wenthe's graphic novel class

Michael got a press release yesterday. I'd take his course if I could.

http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/536090/
Source: American University
Released: Mon 10-Dec-2007, 12:50 ET

Graphic Novels Reach Academia

Newswise — Graphic novels, comic books’ grown up counterpart, have gained popular appeal in the last five years thanks to blockbuster Hollywood movies based on graphic novels like 300, Sin City, Ghost Rider and V for Vendetta. Now they have a place in academia. American University literature professor Michael Wenthe has brought the medium to the Department of Literature with a course titled, "The Graphic Novel."

“This definitely is a time when comics in general, and graphic novels as a species of them, have found a lot more general acceptance,” said Wenthe, who also creates comics along with graduate school friend Isaac Cates. “It would not have been nearly as easy to teach such a course 10 years ago, in part because there’s been an explosion of really good material in the last 10 years, but also because the wider public discourse about comics has gotten a lot more nuanced.”

An expert in medieval literature, Wenthe introduces students to the literary characters in graphic novels that find their roots in medieval literature and even the works of Shakespeare. The class has 13 required books including Jimmy Corrigan—the Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware, a 380-page exploration of the bleak life of a middle-aged man and his family’s 100-year history of withdrawal and loneliness. Also required are Alison Bechdel’s graphic memoir Fun Home, Joe Sacco and Christopher Hitchens’ journalistic Safe Area Gorazde: The War in Eastern Bosnia, Lynda Barry’s award-winning 100 Demons, and the complex City of Glass, written in part by Paul Karasik, who visited the class.

No longer relegated to the ever-ridiculed comic book store, graphic novels delve deeper into the human experience, rarely feature a superhero and are now popping up with regularity in libraries and book stores. Many graphic novels have even garnered major literary prizes, including the American Book Award. Wenthe is not the only academic teaching the virtues of comic books. Wake Forest University Sociologist Saylor Breckenridge has researched the subject, studying the relationship between comic books and popular culture.

Wenthe was trained in medieval literature at Duke, Harvard, Oxford, and Yale. His primary research interest – aside from graphic novels – involves international literature of King Arthur, and his current book project has the working title Arthurian Outsiders: The Dynamic of Difference in the Matter of Britain.

American University (www.american.edu) is a leader in global education, enrolling a diverse student body from throughout the U.S. and nearly 150 countries. Located in Washington, D.C., the university provides opportunities for academic excellence, public service and internships in the nation’s capital and around the world.

OT: John Lent interview

My friend John Lent was interviewed about the International Journal of Comic Art earlier this year by Steve Black, a librarian at the College of St. Rose. Black's transcribed the interview and put it online.

Nate Beeler featured in Cagle newsletter

As we mentioned, Nate Beeler of the Examiner is now syndicated by Cagle. Today was the second time he was the featured cartoonist in Cagle's email newsletter.

Feb 15: Swann Fellowship in Caricature and Cartoon

Applications for the Swann Fellowship in Caricature and Cartoon are due Feb. 15, 2008. The Swann Foundation makes an annual award of up to $15,000 to support 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. Access guidelines and application at:
http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/swann-fellow.html
Contact Martha Kennedy with questions at 202/707-9115 or email swann@loc.gov

Martha H. Kennedy
Assistant Curator, Popular and Applied Graphic Art
Prints and Photographs Division
Library of Congress

Christmas decorating with Richard's Poor Almanack

Saturday's Post had another fun 'do-it-yourself' panel by Richard Thompson. So I cut out the Christmas Curmudgeons and decorated my computer at work.(click on picture for larger version and for extra credit, find Michael Kahn lurking in the background)

The panel didn't come with a manger or anything so I had to make my own tree. Richard discussed the genesis of the panel on his blog - read the comments.

I think he should sponsor a contest for the best decorating scheme.

Marvel might have an image problem

Every once in a while, a Washington Times comes to hand and I read the comics and editorial cartoons. Here's one by Combs of Tribune Media Services that struck me today.
Perhaps most people wouldn't notice it, but as you can see the skull on the kid's shirt is clearly the Punisher's emblem.
The average non-comics reader would probably have heard of the two failed movies, the second with John Travolta, but the Punisher's been around since the early 1970s. He's from the time when Dirty Harry was in the theaters and The Destoyer and The Executioner were in men's novels.

I have no idea if this is drawn from life and some mass murderer really wore a Punisher t-shirt, or if the artist just liked the image, or what, but it seems like Marvel might end up with some image problems if cartoons like this one continue.

Mike Dirda goes "Snap Ploobadoof" for Don Martin

See his review, "The cartoonist who made Mad magazine truly mad for more than 30 years" By Michael Dirda, Washington Post Book World Sunday, December 9, 2007; Page BW11.

(Actually that's the sound of Wonder Woman's bra opening)

Smithsonian curator wrote comics

See "A Local Life: Silvio A. Bedini: Collector and Scholar Pried Loose History's Secret Gems," By Patricia Sullivan, Washington Post Staff Writer, Sunday, December 9, 2007; Page C07. Anyone know any more about these?

NoVA's Luna Brothers interview and Zadzooks

See Luna "Brothers Hone Storytelling Acumen on Sword," by Matthew McLean, December 4, 2007

and today's Zadzook's column is "Paranormal forays in 'Bleach,' 'X-Files' DVDs," By Joseph Szadkowski, Washington Times December 8, 2007.