Wednesday, July 02, 2008

July 12: "Tim Rogerson's World of Disney Color" at ArtInsights gallery in Reston

Co-owner Leslie Combemale posted on their website:

Also, we have Disney interpretive and 2006 official olympic poster artist Tim Rogerson coming to the opening weekend of his show "Tim Rogerson's World of Disney Color". Not sure honestly how many originals we'll be getting for the show as he just had a baby, but what we are getting is wonderful, and there'll be color concepts for his newest works which my clients get first dibs on, and the originals they are sending are really cool! He has a website of his Disney and non-Disney art, www.timrogerson.com. Let us know if you are interested in some of the art you see, and remember you can commission him when he's here!

The show starts on July 12th, and he'll be here 2-6 pm, along with Merrie Lasky, who has worked for Disney for many years and is now with Collectors Editions, who represents all Disney interpretive art. She will not only be helping out with orders for Tim, but will be onhand to explain the new Disney Fine Art Glass we just started carrying, that is gorgeous and very intricately designed and created.

Hancock reviews in today's papers

Both the Post and the NY Times gave so-so reviews to it.

"Man of Bent Steel: 'Hancock' Runs Into a Kryptonite Plot Twist and Loses Its Superpowers," By Stephen Hunter, Washington Post Staff Writer, Wednesday, July 2, 2008; C01.

"Able to Leap Tall Buildings, Even if Hung Over," By MANOHLA DARGIS, New York Times July 2, 2008.

I'm going out on a limb here and guess the twist that's referred to in both reviews:

Hunter: ...and then the movie takes the strangest turn in quite possibly movie history, which I will not disclose. It's as if the screenwriters were working in their bungalow one day, stuck on a plot point, and one said to the other, "What if --" and the other said, "No way," and the first said, "Okay, genius, you come up with something better!" and genius never did.

Dargis: The extent of that complexity doesn’t emerge until the big reveal, which involves Ms. Theron’s character and is so surprising that I heard several grown men loudly gasp. (“No way!”)

My guess, without anything beyond those two sentences, is that Theron's character is actually a superhero, just one who does things right and keeps a secret identity secret. Feel free to write in and let me know if I got it.

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Kal is back, back, back in the USA

He reports on his trip on his blog at "Kal talks Cartoons in Azerbaijan" from June 29 2008.

Post likes local Lion King

See "The Circle Is Unbroken: 'Lion King' Still Roars," By Peter Marks, Washington Post Staff Writer, Tuesday, July 1, 2008; C01. Unfortunately for anyone who was waiting for a review, the story says it's sold out.

Monday, June 30, 2008

Monday's papers

The NY Times continues to be the paper of comic art, with at least four new articles:

"From Trash to Auction, Faster Than a Speeding ...Well, You Know," By GEORGE GENE GUSTINES, New York Times June 30, 2008 is on collecting original comic book art.

"In China, Jeers and Cheers for ‘Kung Fu Panda’," By DAVID BARBOZA, New York Times June 30, 2008.

"Free to Follow His Heart Right Back to 'Star Wars'," By DAVE ITZKOFF, New York Times June 29, 2008 on the coming Clone Wars cartoon movie.

"Google and Creator of 'Family Guy' Strike a Deal," By BROOKS BARNES, New York Times June 30, 2008.

and a local article, "DVD Review: 'Futurama: Beast With a Billion Backs'," by Rudi Greenberg, Express June 30 2008

Richmond comic book store profiled

See "Patrick Godfrey: We get 20 answers from the co-owner of Velocity Comics," by Ryan Brosmer, Richmond.com Monday, June 30, 2008.

SWANN FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES AWARDS FOR 2008‑2009

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
June 30, 2008

Press contact: Donna Urschel (202) 707-1639, durschel@loc.gov
Public contact: Martha Kennedy (202) 707-9115, mkenn@loc.gov

SWANN FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES AWARDS FOR 2008‑2009

The Caroline and Erwin Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon, administered by the Library of Congress, announces the awarding of academic grants to five applicants for the 2008-2009 Swann Fellowship: Marie-Stéphanie Delamaire, Mazie Harris, Jared Richman, Christina Smylitopoulos and Veronica White.

Because of an unusually large number of strong applications, the foundation’s advisory board chose to support five applicants with smaller awards instead of selecting a single recipient of the fellowship.

Delamaire, a doctoral candidate in art history and archaeology at Columbia University, will receive an award of $3,000 to support her research on the influence of French academic painting traditions on the work of Thomas Nast, a predominant American political cartoonist in the second half of the 19th century. In her dissertation, titled “Transatlantic Encounters: Franco-American Exchanges in the Civil War and Reconstruction Era,” she will contend that Nast, who collected prints of paintings by such artists as Paul Delaroche and Jean Léon Gérôme, used pictorial and technical conventions that characterize these and other French artists’ work in his compositions.

Harris, a doctoral candidate in the history of art at Brown University, will receive $3,500 for research for her dissertation titled, “A Colorful Union: Patriotic Caricature and Characterization in Henry Louis Stephens’ Civil War Chromolithographs.” In her study of this underappreciated graphic artist, she will analyze the vacillation between caricature and characterization in Stephens’ two chromolithographic series, published in 1863, and clarify his struggle to portray race relations as a motivation for the Union cause.

Richman will receive $2,000 for research into political caricature as part of the visual culture that shaped popular attitudes toward America during the Romantic Era. He plans to study prints in the Library’s collection of British satires to illuminate the conceptual treatment of America during the period before, during and after the Revolutionary War. Analysis of this material will inform a key part of his dissertation titled “Transatlantic Realms: The Idea of America in the British Literary Imagination.” Richman is a doctoral candidate in the Department of English at the University of Pennsylvania.

Smylitopoulos, a doctoral candidate in art history and communication studies at McGill University, will receive $3,000 to support her research for her dissertation titled “A Nabob’s Progress: Graphic Satire, The Grand Master and British Excess, 1770-1830.” She intends to strengthen the broad art historical context for the figure of the nabob (a provincial governor in the Mogul empire in India, also often a person of great wealth or prominence) by conducting research in the Library’s outstanding holdings of British satires in the Prints and Photographs Division.

White, who will soon complete her doctorate in art history at Columbia University, will receive $2,000 to help underwrite work on postdoctoral research. Embarking on a new project titled, “Dangerous Domestics: Satirical Depiction of Wives in English Prints from 1745 to 1821,” she intends to identify and analyze the varied artistic treatments of married women during the Golden Age of British Satire through exploring the Library’s collection.

New York advertising executive Erwin Swann (1906‑1973) established the Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon in 1967. An avid collector, Swann assembled a large group of original drawings by more than 500 artists, spanning two centuries, which his estate bequeathed to the Library of Congress in the 1970s. Swann’ s original purpose was to build a collection of original drawings by significant creators of humorous and satiric art and to encourage the study of original cartoon and caricature drawings as works of art.

# # #

PR08-122

6/30/08

ISSN: 0731-3527

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 07-02-08

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 07-02-08
By John Judy


(Good news! They’re all better than “Hancock!”)

ASTONISHING X-MEN #25 by Warren Ellis and Simone Bianchi. If anyone can follow the imprisonment of Kitty Pryde in an asteroid-sized metal phallus it’s Warren “Internet Jesus” Ellis. Brace yourselves. Recommended.

ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN #7 by Robert Kirkman and Jason Howard. Wolfie gets outed as a murderer! And he seemed like such a nice werewolf…

AVENGERS/INVADERS #3 of 12 by Alex Ross, Jim Kreuger and Steve Sadowski. Only nine more to go til it stops.

BATMAN #678 by Grant Morrison and Tony Daniel. Bruce is having a bad day and only has three more issues to get it together. Or 17 if you want to count all those crossover issues of other series you don’t otherwise read. Yeah, me neither. Nice try, DC.

BILLY BATSON AND THE MAGIC OF SHAZAM #1 written and drawn by Mike Kunkel. The creator of HEROBEAR takes the reins in this out-of-continuity tale of the original Captain Marvel, picking up where Jeff Smith left off at the end of “Monster Society of Evil.” Appropriate for all ages. Recommended.

BOYS #20 by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. The true origins of the supers continue. Recommended. Not for the faint of gorge. Or kids. Ever.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #16 by Joss Whedon and Jo Chen. Buffy meets Fray and giant Dawn appears to be having giant cramps! Nuff said!

HELLBLAZER PRESENTS: CHAS - THE KNOWLEDGE #1 of 5 by Simon Oliver and Goran Sudzuka. Chas Chandler is a London cabbie and John Constantine’s oldest surviving friend. Can he use his knowledge of London’s streets and landmarks to defeat a Big Bad without the aid of his trench-coated pal? Gotta look.

HELLBOY: THE CROOKED MAN #1 of 3 by Mike Mignola and Richard Corben. Hellboy tries to save a man who sold his soul to a demon from West Virginia. Don’t laugh! That demon got the truck started real good!

NORTHLANDERS #7 by Brian Wood and Davide Gianfelice. It’s Go-Time for Sven the Viking as wicked Uncle Gorm decides to stop screwing around. Like “Hamlet” with less talk, more rock. Recommended.

PATSY WALKER: HELLCAT #1 of 5 by Kathryn Immonen and David Lafuente Garcia. The resurrected super-heroine has been tasked with defending Alaska from… whatever Alaska needs protecting from? Exxon-Mobil, maybe?

SQUADRON SUPREME 2 #1 written by someone who is not J. Michael Straczynski and drawn by someone who is not the guy who drew the cover. Okay, maybe they’re not all better than “Hancock.”

STEPHEN COLBERT’S TEK JANSEN #2 of 5 by People who are not Stephen Colbert. Why? Why? Why? (See above.)

TRINITY #5 by Kurt Busiek and Everyone. Okay, last issue was a big fight and a forgettable back-up story. Much as I like Busiek’s work elsewhere this is starting to smell like COUNTDOWN and it’s only issue five.

WALKING DEAD #50 by Robert Kirkman and Charles Adlard. Did Rick really kill himself? Will his son have to put him down for good? A stand-alone tale that no doubt will mess with whatever uneaten brains you have left. Recommended. NOT for kids.

www.johnjudy.net

Sunday, June 29, 2008

"What were they thinking?" department

Here's an American Express ad that's been running in the New York Times.


What are they trying to say here? "I own a comic book company so I can pay my Amex bill?" or "I collect comics, so I need an Amex card because they're expensive?"

Sketches from Heroes Con

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Chris Grine's Chickenhare sketch from Heroes Con.

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Aaron Renier's Spiral-Bound sketch from Heroes Con.

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Aaron Renier's King Arthur sketch from Heroes Con.

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Claire loved her Soup-erman doll handmade by Maris Wicks.

Kevin Rechin's DC Lottery cartoons

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I went to a Nationals game today (they lost in extra innings) and was the first to come up with pictures of Kevin Rechin's DC Lottery art that's used in ads in the subway. Here's some and the rest are on Flickr.

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Hellboy manhole covers!

Last night in Chinatown, or whatever they're calling that neighborhood now, I saw manhole covers that had Hellboy crawling out of them! Cool! It's actually a photograph stuck onto the real sewer cover of course. Didn't get a snap, but if anyone does, send it along.

Post on theater's animation adaptations

"A Roaring Success and Its Effects on Broadway: 'Lion King' Changed Everything, and the Stampede Isn't Over," By Nelson Pressley, Washington Post Sunday, June 29, 2008; M03.

To be honest, when these adaptations started they seemed like a really, really dumb idea. Why try to bring something to an earthbound stage when you've got unlimited imagination in animation? Not having seen one yet, I'm still unsure. But comic strips have been adapted to the stage and screen since forever (or the 1890s) so why should animation be any different?

Olsson's slides into bankruptcy (fixed to add link)

"Olsson's Braces For Chapter 11 Filing," By Anita Huslin, Washington Post Staff Writer, Saturday, June 28, 2008; Page D01. I was very sorry to see this. I've bought a lot of books at Olsson's, saw some great cartoonists including Joann Sfar (did I record that? I'll check and upload it if so), and like it as a local chain.

Heroes Con hangover

Richard had a table next to Stuart and Kathryn Immonen so I talked to them briefly. Ms. Immomen had some copies of her Hellcat comics at the table and it sounded interesting. Here's an interview about the new miniseries: "Hell's Belle," Lowdown by Tony Ingram, June 26, 2008.

Post reviews Pixar book

"Incredibles, Inc.: The story of how computer programmers transformed the art of movie animation." by Rob Pegoraro, Washington Post Book World Sunday, June 29, 2008; Page BW08

The book is:

THE PIXAR TOUCH
The Making of a Company
By David A. Price
Knopf. 308 pp. $27.95

Politics and Prose had the author last weekend, and probably still has signed copies. Also they sell a cd recording of the talks. Since I was at Heroes Con I bought the cd .

Saturday, June 28, 2008

AAEC touches on Washington issues

"At AAEC Confab, Cartoonist and Columnist Debate the Fate of Wrong-on-Iraq Pundits," by Dave Astor, E and P Online June 26, 2008.

I hope Dave won't mind if I repost the Herblock memory from that story, which is about editorial writer David Ignatius who was totally rolled by the Bush White House on Iraq, as I want to make a point off of it:

One of his strongest early Post memories was meeting Herblock and being thrilled that he became one of the people the editorial cartoonist would show his sketches to.

But one day Herblock showed Ignatius a cartoon idea in which King Hussein of Jordan was depicted in a very nasty way. "That's a little rough," said Ignatius -- and Herblock never came to him with a sketch again.

Speaking more generally of editorial cartoonists, Ignatius said he and other columnists are a little jealous of them. "You guys get to be caustic, irreverent, and crusading. We're pundits and, if we're in Washington, we're Beltway insiders. We use layers and layers of words. We wish we could be as quick and clean."


Roger Wilkins, an editorial writer for the Post during Watergate, made the exact same point about an editor at the Post being jealous of Herblock.

Herblock was also mentioned by Harry Katz at another panel - "Animated Discussion of Animation at Cartoon Confab," By Dave Astor, E and P Online June 27, 2008.

Tony Auth mentioned doing this at the Herblock event linked to in an earlier post. Graham was the publisher of the Washington Post - "Editorial Cartoonists Hear LBJ and Kay (Graham) on Tape," By Dave Astor, E and P Online June 27, 2008.

Friday's newspapers - Ed Arno, Wall-E and Wanted

In the local papers on Friday, one could find a lot of comics articles:

"Ed Arno, Cartoonist of New Yorker Whimsy, Is Dead at 92," By WILLIAM GRIMES, New York Times June 27, 2008 namechecks and quotes two bloggers, Michael Maslin and Mike Lynch. This is the first obituary I've seen that's taken information from blogs, I think.

Wall-E's all over the place:

"In a World Left Silent, One Heart Beeps," By A. O. SCOTT, New York Times June 27, 2008.

"From Pixar, A Droid Piece of Filmmaking," By John Anderson, Washington Post Friday, June 27, 2008; C01.

"'Wall•E's' world Strong visuals, comic brilliance can't save environmental fable," by Christian Toto, Washington Times Friday, June 27, 2008.

[this is longer than the print version...]
"Wall-E director Andrew Stanton," Interviewed by Tasha Robinson, Onion June 26th, 2008.

Millar and Jones' Wanted, based a comic that I hadn't read, was widely reviewed:

"'Wanted': This Angelina Jolie Is Not One for the Kiddies," By Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
Friday, June 27, 2008; C01.

"You Talkin' to Me, Boys? (Bang-Bang, My Pretties)," By MANOHLA DARGIS, New York Times June 27, 2008.

"Wanting more: A brotherhood of assassins fails to discover any deeper meaning," by Sonny Bunch, Washington Times Friday, June 27, 2008.

...a new tv cartoon - 'Three Delivery' - that I'll probably never see -

"With 3 You Get Egg Roll and a Side of Adventure," By MIKE HALE, New York Times June 27, 2008

...an animation voice was interviewed - the online version is much, much longer than the July 26th print one...


"Random Roles: Billy West," by David Wolinsky, June 18th, 2008.

Finally, it's online only this month, but the Onion also reviewed comic books...

"Comics Panel: June 27, 2008," Reviewed by Noel Murray, Keith Phipps, Tasha Robinson, Onion June 27th, 2008,

...and published this guide to Pixar...

"Primer: Pixar,"
by Donna Bowman, Noel Murray, Onion June 27th, 2008.

Whew! No wonder I'm two days late with this.

Herblock, Drawn from Memory panel recording

I caught the National Portrait Gallery's excellent panel on Herblock last night. Thanks to the miracles of modern technology, here's a link to download it. The NPG's description of the event read: The political cartoons of Herbert Lawrence Block (1909-2001), known by the pen name "Herblock," appeared in American newspapers for more than seventy years. National Portrait Gallery senior historian Sid Hart, Pulitzer prize-winning reporter Haynes Johnson, historian Roger Wilkins together with Pulitzer prize-winning cartoonist Tony Auth, will join in a conversation about the life and work of one of the nation's greatest political cartoonists, Herblock.

More commentary to follow after I visit Afghanistan (at the National Gallery of Art) and Bhutan (Smithsonian Folklife Festival). Also Bruce Guthrie took photographs which I'll track down

Friday, June 27, 2008

July 25: Anime showing in DC

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Chris Wanamaker, (202) 262 2083 president@dcanimeclub.org

DC Anime Club and Japan Information and Culture Center, Embassy of Japan
Present:Shinobi: Heart under blade

The DC Anime Club and the Japan Information and Culture Center (JICC), Embassy of Japan Present the Shinobi : Heart under blade on Friday July 25 ,2008 at 6:30pm as part of the Anime Summer Series. A live-action ninja movie featuring two rising stars of Japanese cinema- Joe Odagiri and Yukie Nakama. Shinobi is about two rival ninja clans, the Koga and the Iga, who have honed their skills to super human levels. The screening will be held at the Japanese Information and Culture Center, Embasy of Japan located at Lafayette Center III 1155 21st Street, NW Washington, DC 20036-3308. Seating for the screening of Shinobi is limited and attendees are encouraged to rsvp by sending an e-mail to jiccrsvpspring08@embjapan.org.

This program is free and open to the public. For more information please visit the Japanese Information and Culture Center website at http://www.us.embjapan.go.jp/jicc/ or visit the DC Anime Club website
at http://dcanimeclub.org.

About DC Anime Club:
DCAC was established in 2003 to introduce and educate people in the Washington,DC area about East Asian culture, through viewing and discussion of Japanese animation (also known as anime) and Japanese comics (manga). DCAC is a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization, contributions to DC Anime Club are taxed deductible to the extent allowable under the law.

The club also works to provide a positive, alternative activity to the youth in the area by exposing them to foreign culture, encouraging artistic expression and creativity, and providing opportunities for participation in community activities and leadership.

In addition to our weekly meetings, the club holds an Annual Art Show, an Annual Costume fundraising event, and visits local schools to do presentations on anime. The club also works with the Smithsonian Freer Gallery and DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival on their anime screenings, and has helped locally promote performances for Japanese bands such as Puffy Ami Yumi and Pine am. DC Anime Club was founded by Chris Wanamaker (President), Jules Chang (Vice President) and Craig Vaughn (Sgt in ARMS) on Saturday June 5, 2003. We have a strong membership that continues to grow -- most of which are teenagers.

About Japan Information and Culture Center:
The Japan Information and Culture Center (JICC) is the cultural and public affairs section of the Embassy of Japan in Washington D.C. Our primary role is to promote better understanding of Japan and Japanese culture by providing a wide range of
information, educational services and programs to the public. The JICC is located on the lower level of the glass-enclosed Galleria at Lafayette Centre III in downtown Washington, D.C. Its facilities include a research library, a 152-seat auditorium, and a 1,500-square-foot exhibition gallery where a wide variety of events sponsored by the JICC are hosted throughout the year.