May 3: Free Comic Book Day

April 25, 2008 10:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

National Free Comic Book Day Hits Saturday, May 3rd

A Big Day for a Booming Industry

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 3rd, the day after Paramount's Iron Man hits theaters, thousands of comic book retailers across North America and around the world will share the magic of comics with their customers when they distribute millions of comic books free of charge during the seventh consecutive Free Comic Book Day.

Comic industry heavyweights Dark Horse Comics, DC Comics, Image Comics, and Marvel Comics are among the many publishers and manufacturers creating special titles for this year’s Free Comic Book Day. The free books appeal to a broad range of reader tastes, from exciting super-hero adventures for all ages to cutting-edge graphic fiction for older, more mature readers.

“We are thrilled to be a part of Free Comic Book Day for the seventh year in a row,” said Marvel President and Publisher Dan Buckley. “This is the best opportunity retailers have to actually increase readers and customers to their stores and each year has been more successful than the last. This event is about celebrating creative expression and the unique art form it represents.”

This year’s Free Comic Book Day is particularly special because it coincides with two major comic-related happenings: the eagerly awaited opening weekend of Paramount's Iron Man and National Cartoonists Day (a celebration sponsored by the National Cartoonists Society, the world's largest and most prestigious organization of professional cartoonists). All three events promise to make this first weekend in May a memorable one for comic-lovers everywhere.

To find a store in your area and to learn more about Free Comic Book Day go to http://www.freecomicbookday.com.

Wash Post reviews Might B cartoon

"'Mighty B!': A Very Animated Heroine," By Jennifer Frey, Washington Post Staff Writer, Saturday, April 26, 2008; C07 gives it a thumbs up. Of course, you've already missed it this morning.

Editorial cartoonist Nate Beeler spawns more than vitriolic wit

Nate and his wife Eve have a new son, Maxwell (Max) Owen Beeler as of April 18th. Congratulations, folks! I knew this was imminent, and was watching the Examiner to see if a whole week went by without one of Nate's cartoons, but I'm not sure if he skipped or not. I think he might have, but he had at least one in the week after Max was born - now that's a true cartoonist. Or freelancer. I get confused sometime.

KAL channel on youtube

KAL wrote in to say he now has "a channel on Youtube. It is the best way to view all the new Kal animations and movies including the most recent 3-D film featuring Hillary and Obama. Coming this week... a film discusses drawing Bill Clinton."

It's www.youtube.com/politicalcartoons

His existing website is www.kaltoons.com

OT: Comic Art Indigène: There were cartoons before the Sunday Comics and Super Heroes before the Super Man

This press release came in this morning and sounds interesting, so even though it's not DC...

Comic Art Indigène: There were cartoons before the Sunday Comics and Super Heroes before the Super Man
May 11, 2008 – January 4, 2009


Santa Fe, NM—Storytelling has long been a part of Native American culture. Comic Art Indigène which opens at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture on May 11, 2008 looks at how storytelling has been used through comics and comic inspired art to express the contemporary Native American experience. Under the larger definition of narrative art, comic art is more related to Native American art traditions than one might expect. The earliest surviving examples of such narrative art is rock art. The historic examples used in the exhibition, such as photographs of rock art, ledger art, and ceramics are meant to link Native American art traditions with contemporary voices.

Making comics and producing art inspired by them is a method of reclaiming the narrative art form of comics and Native American culture from those who would dismiss an art for the masses. Today, Native American artists are reclaiming stereotypes used in earlier comic art depicting Indians as savage, war-like primitives or trusty sidekicks.

Two-fisted tales of suspense showcasing fantastic heroes and villains interacting with gods old and new have always been a part of Native American Culture. As the first widely accessible mass media, comic strips, and comic books, were consumed by Indian people as a recognizable and legitimate form of storytelling. Stories of humor, adventure and the fantastic depicted through pictures have always been an indigenous practice. Today’s Native American scribes grapple with the same topics emboldened with millennia-old cultural traditions, blended with new methods of expression and life in the 21st Century.

The exhibition begins with a photograph of a cartoon from the 13th century. The image of the red, white and blue pictograph of the All American Man, a shield carrying warrior from the Pueblo II period (carbon dated to ca. 1290) will be contrasted to a drawing of that other red, white and blue shield hurling hero, Captain America. The most recent works will be from 2008. The majority of Indian art will be from 1990 to the present day.

Comic Art Indigène examines how American Indian artists articulate identity, reclaim stereotypes, worldview, politics, and culture through the kinetic expression of sequential art. Inspired by this unique medium, using its icons, tropes and dynamism, this is a new world of American Indian art, full of the brash excitement first seen on newsprint a century ago, sometimes unrefined, even crude at times, but never sterile.

A reception hosted by the Women’s Board of the Museum of New Mexico will be held on Sunday, May 11, 2008 beginning at 2:00 p.m.

Opening events on Sunday, May 11th , from 1-4pm include a drum group, artist roundtable, gallery tours, costume contest, and family activities including; make your own comic or ledger art, create your superhero emblem, and more.

Also opening the same day will be Bare Nation, an exhibition in the Doris and Arnold Roland Sculpture Garden of the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture created by senior students from the Institute of American Indian Art.


Exhibit Website: http://miaclab.org/ComicArt/
Museum Website: www.miaclab.org


###

Located on Museum Hill™, the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture shares the beautiful Milner Plaza with the Museum of International Folk Art. Here, Now and Always, a major permanent exhibition at the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture, combines the voices of living Native Americans with ancient and contemporary artifacts and interactive multimedia to tell the complex stories of the Southwest. The Buchsbaum Gallery displays ceramics from the region’s pueblos. Five changing galleries present exhibits on subjects ranging from archaeological excavations to contemporary art. In addition, an outdoor sculpture garden offers rotating exhibits of works by Native American sculptors.

The Museum of Indian Arts and Culture is a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs.

Information for the Public
Location: The Museum of Indian Arts and Culture is located on Museum Hill™, Camino Lejo off Old Santa Fe Trail.
Information: 505-476-1250 or visit www.indianartsandculture.org
Days/Times: Tuesday through Sunday, 10:00 A.M.-5:00 P.M. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day the Museum is also open on Monday.

Admission: School groups free. Children 16 and under free. New Mexico residents with ID free on Sundays. New Mexico resident Senior Citizens (age 60+) with ID free Wednesdays. Museum Foundation members free. NM Veterans with 50% or more disability free. Students with ID $1 discount. Single visit to one museum: $8.00 for non-state residents; $6.00 for New Mexico residents. Four-day pass to five museums including state-run museums in Santa Fe plus The Museum of Spanish Colonial Art $18.00. One-day pass for two museums (Museum of International Folk Art and Museum of Indian Arts and Culture OR New Mexico Museum of Art and Palace of the Governors) $12.00. Group rate for ten or more people: single visit $6.00, four day pass $16.00.

Media Contacts:
Antonio Chavarria, Curator of Ethnology
505-476-1253
antonio.chavarria@state.nm.us

Steve Cantrell, PR Manager
505-476-1144
505-310-3539 – cell
steve.cantrell@state.nm.us

McCloud's theory influences fine art painter

When talking about "Four Months: Paintings by Deena Feigelson Margolis,", the conceptual installation by the Baltimore encaustic painter exhibit at the McLean Project for the Arts in the art center's Atrium Gallery, in his article "Artists Wax Eloquent in an Ancient Medium, Michael O'Sullivan (Washington Post Staff Writer, Friday, April 25, 2008; WE45) notes that she was influenced by Scott McCloud in the sidebar, "The Story Behind the Work". He writes:

The idea for Deena Feigelson Margolis's "Four Months," an abridged version of the artist's 2007 attempt to make a painting a day for six months, first came after reading Scott McCloud's "Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art."

What jumped out at her about the 1993 work, written in the sequential form of a comic book, was the author's discussion of "the relationship of the frame to the spaces between the frames," Margolis says. In other words, in visual storytelling, what's left unsaid is just as important as what's said.

Pretty neat!

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 04-30-08

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 04-30-08
By John Judy

ADAM STRANGE ARCHIVES, VOL. 3 HC by Gardner Fox, Carmine Infantino, Murphy Anderson, and Others. Strange Adventures and Mysteries in Space from 1963-1967! Appropriate for all ages! Jet-packs and zap guns galore! Recommended.

BLACK SUMMER #6 by Warren Ellis and Juan Jose Ryp. If you wish to promote your comic and are given a choice between posting info on Avatar Press’s website or standing on a crowded subway platform and shouting yourself hoarse, make sure you purchase a monthly pass. Recommended. Not for kids.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER OMNIBUS, VOL. 4 SC by Various Creators. It’s 368 pages of serious slayage by the likes of Eric Powell, Christopher Golden, Ryan Sook, and “Buffy” TV scribe Doug Petrie! C’mon, that bookshelf looks sturdy!

THE COMPLETE CHESTER GOULD’S DICK TRACY, VOL. 4 HC by Chester Gould, plus an intro by Max Alan Collins and article by Mike Price. Collecting 500 strips from July 1936 through January 1938. This is what they were reading before Superman came along, kids. Recommended.

THE COMPLETE GREEN LAMA FEATURING THE ART OF MAC RABOY HC by Mac Raboy and Others. “Om Mani Padme Hum!” It’s the first four issues of the Tibetan Buddhist super-hero from World War Two! GL seems to be enjoying a revival lately courtesy of Dark Horse, Alex Ross, and trademark expiration. Why not see what started it all? Good for all ages. Recommended for fans of Raboy’s more famous work on CAPTAIN MARVEL JUNIOR. (He was Elvis’s favorite! Seriously!)

DAREDEVIL: BLOOD OF THE TARANTULA #1 by Ed Brubaker, Ande Barks, and Chris Samnee. The barely reformed Black Tarantula wants to clean up Hell’s Kitchen but that’s even harder than it sounds. It’s Brubaker so ya gotta look.

DC: UNIVERSE ZERO by Tons o’ People including Grant Morrison, Geoff Johns, George Perez and more! Billions of supes for only fifty cents! What a bargain!

EX MACHINA #36 by Brian K. Vaughan and Tony Harris. The Republican National Convention is coming to New York and Mayor Hundred must deal with a new female super-hero who has a problem with that. “Oh, Hillary…!”

GIANT SIZE AVENGERS/INVADERS #1 by Roy Thomas and Many, Many Artists. It’s a huge slab of re-print material but lots of fun, almost certainly more so than the 12-issue maxi-series from Alex Ross and Friends is likely to be.

GREEN LANTERN #30 by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis. The secret origin of Hal Jordan continues!

IMMORTAL IRON FIST #14 by Matt Fraction, Ed Brubaker, and David Aja. Wrapping up all the convoluted story-lines with a huge kung-fu fight. Cue the Carl Douglas!

NEW AVENGERS #40 by Brian Michael Bendis and Jim Cheung. It’s Skrully!

THOREAU AT WALDEN HC by John Porcellino. A graphic adaptation of Thoreau’s writings by the creator of KING-CAT COMICS AND STORIES, published by the always inspirational Center for Cartoon Studies. This one’s already getting good reviews from Kirkus and School Library Journal. Teens and up. Recommended.

ULTIMATE HUMAN #4 of 4 by Warren Ellis and Cary Nord. Ultimate Hulk and Iron Man punch the guy with the big head. Excelsior!

And don’t forget Free Comic Book Day next Saturday May 3rd!

www.johnjudy.net

Jim Toomey at NOAA in Silver Spring

Jim Toomey's been running comic strips this week about finning sharks - see "Cartoonist draws on fame to help plight of sharks: ‘Sherman’s Lagoon’ creator meets with experts at NOAA for awareness campaign," by Agnes Jasinski | Staff Writer, Montgomery Gazette April 23 2008.

OT: April 27: Meet Author & Illustrator Tedd Arnold

Meet Author & Illustrator Tedd Arnold

Sunday, April 27 at 1:30 p.m.

Attention early readers! Tedd Arnold, author and illustrator of the humorous, award-winning and easy-to-read Fly Guy series, will read and talk about his newest book, Fly Guy #5: Fly High, Fly Guy! Other titles in the series include There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Fly Guy; Shoo, Fly Guy!; Super Fly Guy; and Hi! Fly Guy. Mr. Arnold also is author of Parts; More Parts; Even More Parts; Five Ugly Monsters; No Jumping On the Bed!; and No More Water in the Tub!

Ages 4-7. Please call to register.


Alina Gawlik
Aladdin's Lamp Children's Books and Other Treasures
2499 N. Harrison St.
Arlington, VA 22207
Tel 703-241-8281
Fax 703-241-8283
Email: aladlamp@speakeasy.net

STORE HOURS: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, & Saturday 10 am to 6 pm, Tuesday & Thursday 10 am to 8 pm, Sunday 11 am to 5 pm

Zadzooks video of New York ComicCon

You can see video of Stan Lee and Mike Mignola on Zadzook's Washington Times website.

May 8: KAL at National Archives

Thursday, May 8, at 7 p.m.
William G. McGowan Theater, National Archives, 9th and Pennsylvania Ave, NW
An Evening with Kevin "KAL" Kallaugher: Moving Political Cartoons from Page to Screen

Tonight, Berryman Award–winning editorial cartoonist Kevin "KAL" Kallaugher will present an illustrated lecture tracing the evolution of political cartoons from two-dimensional print to 3D animation. Kallaugher's work for the Baltimore Sun and the Economist has appeared in more than 100 publications worldwide. In 2007 he launched Kaltoons LLC, which pioneered the development of animated, 3D digital caricatures. Kaltoons' first video, Dancin' Dubya, was released on the web in August 2007. A signing of his latest collection of cartoons, KAL Draws Criticism, published in June 2006, will follow the program.

Amazing Fantasy #15 original Spider-Man artwork given to Library of Congress

The first appearance of Spider-Man, an 11-page story which includes his origin, now belongs to the American people. According to curator Sara Duke, an anonymous donor has given the 24 pages of original interior artwork from Amazing Fantasy #15 to the Library of Congress' Prints and Photographs division. The artwork, drawn by Steve Ditko and written by Stan Lee, first appeared in print in 1962, and is in good shape. The art has some whiteout where features of the women were modified, apparently not by Ditko, as well as pasteup word balloons. According to Sara, who called it a "lovely and generous gift," the donor checked with Ditko before donating it, and was told that since the story was a gift to him (although not from Ditko), he could do what he liked with it. The donor declined to have it appraised when giving it to the Library so the actual value of the gift is unknown, although certainly in the six figures range. Three other non-superhero stories were in the book - "The Bell-Ringer", "Man in the Mummy Case", "There are Martians among us!" - and were also donated.

Sara hopes that the Library's collection of comic book art will continue to grow with similar donations since they can't afford to buy them.

The donation has been given the accession number 2008.043. All unprocessed collections require an access to unprocessed collections request form to be filled out prior to making an appointment to see art: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/info/022_unpr.html

Members of the press should contact Donna Urschel in the Public Affairs Office, 202-707-1639.

This post has been corrected from an earlier version.

Evanier on Kirby reviewed by Rosenberg

See "Other Worlds: 'Kirby: King of Comics'," by Scott Rosenberg, online at Express April 23, 2008.

Another article on KAL's new tour

See "Cartoonist, troupe join forces for political satire," by Matt Ehlers, Staff Writer, News and Observer April 23 2008

Newspaper Guild Herbert Block Freedom Award

Dave Astor in "Another Award for Reporters Who Exposed Walter Reed Scandal," E&P Online, April 22, 2008, notes

"BBC Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston will receive the Newspaper Guild Herbert Block Freedom Award. That honor is named after renowned Washington Post editorial cartoonist Herblock (1909-2001)."

A rare Mike non-acquistion

In the "Who buys these things?" arena, Second Story Books on Dupont Circle has the following:





"What are they?" you might ask. I did. They're Les Daniels' Batman and Superman histories with Alex Ross covers, bound in leather and unsigned, and costing $150 each at Second Story Books. I imagine they're still there, no matter when you read this.

Pekar book status update

The page proofs came yesterday so now I've got a pile of reading and Randy Scott's got a lot of indexing to do for the book. We've got 3 weeks to get things turned around.

Beaty on Hajdu's 10-Cents

Bart Beaty's written the first of three responses to David Hajdu's 10-Cent Plague. Bart did much of his research for his book on Wertham at the Library of Congress while living off Dupont Circle one summer, and I was able to provide him one article on Psychology of Comics that he hadn't previously seen.

Dilbert's new website covered in Post

See "Dilbert Cartoonist Challenges Readers To Outdo Punch Lines," by Mike Musgrove, Washington Post Staff Writer, Tuesday, April 22, 2008; Page D02.

PR: Cartoonist Jen Sorensen Releases New Book

Cartoonist Jen Sorensen Releases New Book

Source: Ig Publishing Press Release



For Immediate Release
April 20, 2008

Contact:
Robert Lasner
robert (at) igpub.com
(718) 797-0676

Interview requests:
Nettie Hartsock
Nettie (at) nettiehartsock.com

"Sly, quick and smart, Jen Sorensen's comic strip is nothing like its name. So don't be deceived -- Slowpoke is going places."
— Doonesbury creator Garry Trudeau

Jen Sorensen, creator of the award-winning comic "Slowpoke" which appears in the Village Voice and other newsweeklies around the country, has released a new collection of her cartoons entitled Slowpoke: One Nation, Oh My God!

She kicks off her book tour on the West Coast this week with cartoon slideshows in Berkeley, Portland, and Seattle, followed by East Coast dates in New York City and Philadelphia.

The collection includes 150 of Sorensen's provocative strips and an introduction by "Tom the Dancing Bug" creator Ruben Bolling. Deploying the trademark Slowpoke brand of absurdist humor, One Nation, Oh My God! covers everything from the Antique Ideology Roadshow to the rise of virtual donuts.

"This is not just another quirky cartoon book," says Sorensen. "One Nation, Oh My God! is packed with commentary for every strip and chock full of devastatingly sophisticated and accurate political analysis. It also answers all your questions about tube socks and teledildonics."

Sorensen adds, "This book will make you wonder what a complete tool like Bill Kristol is doing on the New York Times op-ed pages instead of, well, me."

Jen's cartoons and blog can be found online at www.slowpokecomics.com

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

"Jen Sorensen is a maniacal genius, gleefully exposing the mendacity which lurks behind conventional wisdom, glib newscasters, celebrity culture, Republican doublespeak, and other ills of our age. I can't recommend her work highly enough."
— Tom Tomorrow, creator of This Modern World

"In a world that seems to get murkier by the minute, Slowpoke is a freakin' beacon of lucidity."
— Alison Bechdel, author of Fun Home

"Boot-stompingly funny and progressively pointed. It skewers the bastards!"
—Jim Hightower, best-selling author and radio commentator

ABOUT JEN SORENSEN

Sorensen is one of the most widely-published female political cartoonists working today. In addition to the Village Voice, her comics and illustrations have appeared in The Los Angeles Times, Ms. Magazine, The American Prospect, Legal Affairs, Funny Times, Cagle's Cartoon Index, CampusProgress.org, Nickelodeon Magazine, and dozens of alt-weeklies. She has given presentations at the first annual ACLU convention, the Center for American Progress, the Rhode Island School of Design, and the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles. Her work has won a Xeric Grant and first place in the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies Awards.

Jen has been drawing Slowpoke for nearly ten years. She currently lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.

BOOK TOUR

Sorensen will present her cartoons, sign books, and draw funny pictures at the following locations. Other top alt-weekly cartoonists are joining her at various stops.

4/22 – BERKELEY: Cody's Books with "Troubletown" creator Lloyd Dangle, 7pm

4/25 – PORTLAND: Powell’s on Burnside with "Idiot Box" creator Matt Bors, 7:30pm

4/26 & 4/27 – PORTLAND: Stumptown Comics Fest (at table, no presentation)

4/29 – SEATTLE: University Bookstore, U District, 7pm

5/14 – NYC: The Tank with "Tom the Dancing Bug" creator Ruben Bolling, 8pm

6/4 – PHILADELPHIA: Robin's Bookstore, 6pm

PUBLICATION INFO

Based in Brooklyn, NY, Ig Publishing is an independent press dedicated to publishing original literary fiction, and progressive political and cultural nonfiction.

Slowpoke: One Nation, Oh My God! by Jen Sorensen
Trade Paperback • $13.95 • 168 pages • 8”x 9.5”
ISBN 978-0978843168 • April 10, 2008
Published by Ig Publishing, Brooklyn, NY • www.igpub.com