Al Rio's 2008 Wonder Woman postcard

The artist Al Rio sends out a postcard to people who will send a digital picture of them with it back to him. This year he drew a nice Wonder Woman card. I got mine in the mail and just sent him back the picture below.

Special bonus points go to anyone who can name the books with it.

Finding Bash on DC's streets

The editor's pointed out some new Bash information to me...

You'll notice the work of Sean Ford and Jeff Lok, both new to BASH. Sean's story ("Waiting for your Bro") along with 25 pages from Only Skin and a nine-page story called "Disappearing Kids" will be posted on the December Comic Calendar between the 7th and 10th. The continuation of Jeff Lok's Sam n' Dan will be posted the 16th-18th, 13 pages in all.

Here's their distribution list, which is not completely up-to-date, and has a few [modifications by me]:

Washington, D.C.:

18th and U Duplex: 2004 18th Street NW
American University at Nebraska Avenue/New Mexico
Art Gallery Grille at 1706 T Street NW
AU/Tenleytown Avenue Metro North
AU/Tenleytown Avenue Metro South
Brookland/CUA Metro
Bus Stop at 12th Street and H Street NE
Bus Stop at Ward Circle/Massachusetts Avenue
Capitol South Metro
Caribou Coffee at 1400 14th Street NW
Chinatown Gallery Plaza Metro: 7th and D Stree NW
Cleveland Park Metro: North
Columbia Heights Metro North
Convention Center: 7th and Mt. Vernon Place NW
Convention Center: 9th and Mt. Vernon Place NW
Corner of 28th and M Street NW [this one's gone - it was the one I used!]
Corner of Wisconsin and M Street NW
Cosi at 14th and H Street NW
DC Government 12th and U Street NW
Dunn Loring Metro
Dupont Circle Metro: Connecticut and Q Street NW
East Falls Church Metro
Eastern Market Metro
Farragut North Metro: L Street and Connecticut Avenue
Federal Center Metro: 3rd and D Street SW
Federal Triangle Metro: 12th NW
Five Guys: Wisconsin Avenue @ Dunbarton Street NW
Foggy Bottom Metro
Friendship Heights Metro: 5230 Wisconsin Avenue
Friendship Heights Metro: Wisconsin @ Western
Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro at 9th and 6th Street NW
George Mason University Bus Stop
[Georgetown, Wisconsin at M, in front of PNC bank]
Georgetown University Hopital: Washington Circle at 23rd Street [actually George Washington]
Georgetown University Hospital 3800 Reservoir Road
Howard School of Business at 2600 6th Street
Howard University Bookstore: 2225 Georgia Avenue
Howard University Metro at 7th Street
Howard University: 6th and W Street NW
Judiciary Square Metro
L'Enfant Plaza Metro: 7th and MD Avenue SW
L'Enfant Plaza Metro: 8th and D Street SW
McDonald's 169 18th Street NW
McPherson Square Metro: 14th and I Street NW
McPherson Square Metro: 15th and T Street NW
Media and Public Affairs: 805 21st Street
Metro Center at 12th & G Street NW
Metro Center Metro: 11th and G Street NW
Mt. Vernon Square: 7th Street Convention Center
Navy Yard Metro: M Street and N.J. Avenue SW
PNC Bank: Wisconsin Avenue at M Street NW
Post Office: 2300 18 th Street NW
Potomac Avenue Metro: Potomac Avenue and PN Avenue
Safeway 1747 Columbia Road NW
Smithsonian Metro: 12th and Independence Avenue SW
Starbucks 1203: 19th Street @ M Street NW
Starbucks 1501 Connecticut Avenue at Dupont Circle
Starbucks 1600 U Street at New Hampshire Avenue
Starbucks 1801 Columbia Road NW
Starbucks 700 Connecticut Avenue at R Avenue
Starbucks at 1429 P Street NW
Starbucks: 7th and E Street NW
SunTrust: 1369 Connecticut Avenue at Dupont Circle
Takoma Park Metro
Tryst Lounge at 2457 18th Street NW
U St/African American Civil War Memorial at 13th
Van Ness/UDC Metro: North
Van Ness/UDC Metro: South
Waterfront Metro: 4th and M Street SW
Woodley Park/200 Metro



Virginia

Ballston Metro
Braddock Road Metro
Clarendon Metro
Courthouse Road Metro
Crystal City Metro
Eisenhower Avenue Metro
Huntington Metro: Lower
Huntington Metro: Upper
Kings Street Metro
Pentagon City Metro: Borders Side
Pentagon City Metro: Ritz Side
Rosslyn Metro
Springfield Metro
Van Dorn Metro: Bus Side
Van Dorn Metro: Kiss and Ride Side
Vienna Metro: North
Vienna Metro: South
Virginia Square Metro
West Falls Church Metro



Montgomery County, Maryland:
Bethesda Metro
Medical Center Metro
Silver Spring Metro
White Flint Metro
Wheaton Metro

Prince George's County, Maryland:
College Park Metro
Route 1 College Park (two locations)

OT: Blog by an artist friend

A work buddy, Navjeet Singh Chhina, has started a blog for his work. Navjeet says he's influenced by cartoons. The paintings he's got up so far show Indian Gods and Gurus.

Punisher and Bat movie bits from today's papers

Unsurprisingly, nobody appears to fond of the Punisher: War Zone movie. I must confess that I don't understand the popularity of the character, but I'm sure it ties into a thread that runs through the Shadow to Dirty Harry to the Mack Bolan novels and then into the comics. Anyway, here's some articles.

"A Comic-Book Avenger Strikes," By A. O. SCOTT, New York Times December 5, 2008.

"A Glut of Punishment," Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post Friday, December 5, 2008; Page WE28.

"DVD's Lack Of Ledger May Leave Fans Cold," By Jen Chaney, Washington Post Friday, December 5, 2008; Page WE32 on "The Dark Knight" Batman movie.

And surprisingly enough, New Yorker and New York Times (Science section, on Tuesdays) cartoonist Victoria Roberts did the cover of the Post's Weekend section. No pic online that I see.

OT: Bill Willingham's most important book

There's nothing to do with Washington in this essay, but I like Willingham's work and have since he was writing about undead superheroes a long time ago. So check out the Book Reporter's blog for Bill Willingham's most important book.

And here's more info from publicist Nicole Bruce about the larger project which is neat:

Bookreporter.com's Author Holiday Blogs

Many great writers share that their path to publishing started by being a voracious reader. To celebrate this season of giving --- and getting --- more than thirty authors are sharing their favorite memories of giving or receiving a book at the holidays on the Bookreporter.com Author Holiday Blog. For example, International best-selling author Mary Higgins Clark reminisces about the books that she was overjoyed to find under the Christmas tree during her childhood, while her daughter and co-writer, Carol Higgins Clark, theorizes that her most popular character, private detective Regan Reilly, may have had her roots in books given to her as a young girl. Meanwhile, Wendy Corsi Staub tells us why Christmas always means Little Women to her.

Upcoming blogs include a piece by Francoise Mouly, who reminisces about the intimate experience she shared over a comic strip with her now-husband, cartoonist Art Spiegelman, during the early stages of their relationship, and how that event forever changed the way she approached the solitary act of reading. Head over to Bookreporter.com each day until Christmas to read these essays and others from David Baldacci, Laura Pedersen, Ad Hudler, Kristin Hannah, Garth Stein, M.J. Rose, Mary Kay Andrews and more.

The blogs can be read each day at: http://www.bookreporter.com/blog/blog/index.asp

Dec 8: Swann fellow speaks on Civil War prints

Just a reminder from the Library of Congress -

Of possible interest to those in the Washington, D.C. area -- an invitation to a public lecture by Mazie Harris, Swann award winner, on Civil War era chromolithographs created by Henry Louis Stephens, a major illustrator and caricaturist for Vanity Fair. Her talk, entitled, "A Colorful Union: The Development of Union Patriotism in Henry Louis Stephens’ 1863 Chromolithographs," will be on Monday, Dec. 8, 2008, at noon in Dining Room A, 6th floor, Madison Building, Library of Congress, 101 Independence Avenue SE, Washington, D.C.

Unfortunately I probably can't make this one.

Dec 13: Marc Tyler Nobleman in town for Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman

Marc Tyler Nobleman writes in,

I will be signing my latest book, Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman , in Alexandria, Virginia, at Hooray for Books on Saturday, December 13, at 2 p.m. The book is aimed at people ages 7 and up, though I have read it to my 4-year-old (the first time was against her will but she did voluntarily ask for it again at least once). Boys, girls, geeks - all welcome.

As of now, it is my only DC-area appearance so I hope you can overcome the short notice, skip that nap, and stop by!

Also, please forward to any friends who may be interested and, if you are willing, post for your DC/VA network on Facebook.

Best, thanks, and hope to see you,
Marc Tyler Nobleman

I bought this when it came out and enjoyed it a lot. Ross MacDonald's retro-style artwork is excellent too. I'm going to try to be there for this. Thanks to Casey Shaw of USA Weekend for the tip and the contact info!

Dec 16: Gag cartoonist Mort Gerberg in town

NEXTBOOK Public Programs presents Mort Gerberg

Last Laughs: Cartoons About Aging, Retirement...and the Great Beyond
December 16, 7:30 pm
$9; Discount Member Price $6
Washington DCJCC, 1529 16th Street NW

Longtime New Yorker cartoonist Mort Gerberg has assembled an all-star cast of gifted and popular cartoonists to join him in this exclusive collection confronting, illuminating and celebrating the inevitabilities of life. Everything from cloning to cryogenics is tackled with humor and pathos. Gerberg has written, illustrated or edited nearly forty books, including his textbook, Cartooning: The Art and the Business. Gerberg will discuss his most recent collection as well as demonstrate his drawing process. He will also touch on his upcoming book The All-Jewish Cartoon Collection.

Reprinted from huffingtonpost.com Review

"Be careful about taking this book on a long plane trip. From page to page you'll chuckle, you'll guffaw, you'll be seized with hysterical, uncontrollable laughter. Fellow passengers will be curious and you'll say (with tears streaming down your face) it's all about age and death. Fellow passengers might ask for a change of seats. You won't mind one bit as you become more and more helpless with laughter."
-- Frank McCourt, author of Angela's Ashes and Teacher Man

Click here to purchase tickets.

Thanks to Casey Shaw of USA Weekend for the tip!

The fall 2008 International Journal of Comic Art

Ok, back to the fall 2008 International Journal of Comic Art issue that clocks in at 872 pages. Editor & publisher John Lent wrote an introduction to it in which he highlighted the current issue and also looked back at the past 10 years of publishing. Here's some of John's introduction:

This issue marks the tenth anniversary of the International Journal of Comic Art, and fitting the occasion, is packed with informative, entertaining, and even some provocative articles and reviews. Two symposia are offered, one of 14 articles on women and cartooning worldwide; another, the fifth installment of the “Pioneers of Comic Art Scholarship Series,” featuring Seetha Srinivasan of University Press of Mississippi and Bi Keguan of China.

A couple of granddaughters of famous cartooning personnel provide insights gleaned from primary sources about their grandfathers. Nicky Heron Brown (nee Wheeler-Nicholson) refutes statements made by David Hajdu about her grandfather, Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, one of the “inventors” of the modern American comic book in the 1930s. Her article is especially welcomed as perhaps the first of a number of expected published accounts of the Major’s career planned by his family. Carolyn Wong contributes a second article on her grandfather, Huang Yao, a Chinese cartoonist who worked throughout East and Southeast Asia for decades; she unearthed new findings about his World War II work which supplement the article on World War II Chinese cartooning Xu Ying and I wrote in 10:1.

This anniversary issue is also enriched by an interview with Nakazawa Keiji of Barefoot Gen; a comprehensive “family tree” of educational comics by Sol M. Davidson (with help from his wife, Penny), many of which are culled from their collection; an analysis of Burmese political cartoons published in exile, written by Lisa Brooten; and articles or reviews written by cartoonists -- Trina Robbins and Matt Wuerker of U.S., Frank Hoffmann and Marlene Pohle of Germany, Ġorġ Mallia of Malta, Raquel Orzuj of Uruguay, and Arcadio Esquivel Mayorga of Costa Rica. It is the first time Burma, Costa Rica, Malta, and the Indian Ocean were featured in the International Journal of Comic Art. Besides articles on the American “Popeye,” Maus, Johnny the Homicidal Killer, Sin City, “Feiffer,” Captain America, war comics, and political cartoons, others in this issue dealt with Australia, Brazil, China, Cuba, Europe more generally, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.


So that's what you get in the current issue. Here's what the ten year period saw overall:

At least two articles (Fredrik Strömberg on Sweden and Fabio Gadducci on Italy) were developed into monographs by their authors, and many other articles were reprinted in books and very frequently cited in the scholarly literature. The journal is known worldwide, gracing the shelves of 111 university libraries, comic centers, art institutes, museums, and comics publishers in at least 20 countries; some of them are British Library, Library of Congress, Victoria & Albert Museum, Serieteket (Stockholm), Centre National de la Bande Dessinée de l’Image Bibliotheque (Angoulême), New York Public Library, Ivy League universities (Columbia, Dartmouth, Harvard, Yale), MIT, Stanford, UCLA, Georgetown, School of Visual Arts, and University of Chicago.

We take pride also in the quantity of production. In 20 issues, the International Journal of Comic Art published 493 articles, including 16 symposia [see list], 71 book reviews, and 141 exhibition reviews, the latter very ably handled by Michael Rhode. The total number of pages was 9,198. At least 357 different authors (151 in Vols. 1-5, 206 in Vols. 6-10) wrote articles;* some of them had multiple contributions. Sixty countries were written about individually and others were treated less exhaustively in regional treatments on Africa (2 articles), Asia (1), East Africa (2), East Europe (1), Europe (3), Francophone Africa (1), and Latin America (1). The most articles dealt with North America (U.S., 179; Canada, 6) with 185; Europe (107), Asia (100), Latin America (40), Africa (31), and Australia/New Zealand (14). Nineteen countries of Europe were featured in articles, followed by 14 each for Africa and Asia, nine for Latin America, and two each for North America (U.S., Canada) and Australia and New Zealand. The top ten countries with articles were U.S., 179; Japan, 45; France, 24; England, 23; China, 18; Russia, 14; Spain, 13; Australia, 12; Brazil, 11, and Argentina, 9.


He wraps up with a list of special issues in case any of these are of interest to you (we're working on a plan to get the out of print issues back into print):

List of Symposia

10:2 “Women in/of Cartooning: A Symposium” -- edited by John A. Lent (14 articles)
“Pioneers of Comic Art Scholarship Series, Part V” -- (2 articles)
10:1 “Biff! Bam!! Crikey!!! A Comics Conference in Scotland, 2007 -- edited by Christopher Murray (10 articles)
9:2 “Gallery Comics: A Symposium” -- edited by C Hill (4 articles)
“Egyptian Cartooning: A Symposium” -- edited by John A. Lent (4 articles)
9:1 “Kibyōshi: The World’s First Comicbook?” -- edited by Adam L. Kern (7 articles)
“Cartooning in Australia: A Symposium” -- edited by John A. Lent (6 articles)
8:2 “Racial Identity: A Mini Symposium” -- edited by William Foster, III (4 articles)
8:1 “Ever-Ending Battle: A Symposium” -- edited by A. David Lewis (8 articles)
7:2 “Pioneers of Comic Art Scholarship Series, Part IV” -- edited by John A. Lent (5 articles)
7:1 “Late/Post-Soviet Russian Komiks: A Symposium” -- edited by José Alaniz (10 articles)
5:2 “Spanish Comics: A Symposium” -- edited by Ana Merino (10 articles)
“Pioneers of Comic Art Scholarship Series, Part III” (4 articles)
5:1 “Pioneers of Comic Art Scholarship Series, Part II” (4 articles)
4:1 “There at the Beginning: Early Days of Comics Scholarship”
(“Pioneers of Comic Art Scholarship Series, Part I”) -- edited by John A. Lent (9 articles)
3:2 “Latin American Comic Art: A Symposium” -- edited by John A. Lent (10 articles)

Today's Thompson acquisition

Just one today - School Success: The Inside Story by Peter Kline and Laurence D. Martel. The front and back cover is by Richard. Otherwise this is of no interest.

Another one that just has a little bit of cartoon reprints from Richard's Poor Almanac (before the 'k' addition) is May Contain Nuts: A Very Loose Canon of American Humor by Michael J. Rosen.

No new comics today

Due to Thanksgiving, new comics come out on Thursday this week.

OT: Von Allan interview at Collector Times

Honorary ComicsDC'r Von Allan's got a new interview online.

Express on Casarosa and Delisle

Here's Scott Rosenberg on two good books The Venice Chronicles and Burma Chronicles - "Around the World: Graphic Novel Travelogues," Express December 2, 2008.

OT: Frank Cammuso interview

Brian Heater's got it at "Interview: Frank Cammuso Pt. 1 [of 2]," Daily Cross Hatch (December 2). I hung around with Frank a little at both Baltimore and SPX as he's a friend of Richard's. Also, years ago at SPX he and I stood in line for ... who? I can't recall anymore. Anyway, I've bought all his current books and you should too.

Our first guest ComicsDC logo

I was touched, touched I say!, when I got this logo in the mail today from cartoonist David Hagen who found this blog via Our Man Thompson's (thanks, Richard!) and now says he's a faithful reader. David's kindly granted me the use of his drawing, saying "Yes, it's yours to do with as you wish. I'm seeing coffee mugs, sweatshirts, and baseball hats in time for Xmas!"

Having had sooo much fun drawing stick figures on a computer lately, I asked about his technique and he replied, "I draw the line art on paper and scan it and then add the color in photoshop. Snap, crackle, pop!"

To thank him for his kindness, I suggested he start a blog too, instead of working on a promotional website for his freelance cartooning. Pulling out all stops, I cited our mutual friend Richard's success - "He did his on a dare and now look at him! He's a successful, almost award-winning cartoonist, and I'm sure he'd agree that he owes it all to his blog." David immediately rose to the bait and started Hagen Illustration. Demonstrating a true instinct for cartooning success, his first post features actual cartoon nudity!

This guy's going to go far, and you might have seen him here first.

Thanks again, David! The products you mentioned are on Zazzle now... each with a credit line to you as well.

Breaking news: Tom Toles in concert, Dec 8th

Bruce Guthrie just sent this in -

The WP's replacement for Herblock is in a band called Suspicious Package.

They're playing at DC IV at 9th and U on Monday night. The performance of mostly rock covers starts at 8:30 but they're having a grin and greet at 7:30.

Today's Thompson acquisitions

Two new acquisitions to my Richard Thompson library arrived today - BrainJuice: American History, Fresh Squeezed! by Carol Diggory Shields and Richard Thompson and BrainJuice: Science, Fresh Squeezed! by Carol Diggory Shields and Richard Thompson. I commend them to you.

Bob Staake, the Post's Style Invitational cartoonist

Here's a nice, if short, interview with Bob Staake, the Post's Style Invitational cartoonist. Staake's moving into children's books as well as New Yorker covers, but he's got some interesting how-to books out as well, iirc.

See "G FORCE | BOB STAAKE: He's got it covered," Boston Globe November 27, 2008.

Universal Press Syndicate starts a blog, emails me about it eventually

Got this today from Kathie Kerr who does PR for Universal (the blog started in early November so we have to play catch-up) presumably due to my continued mentioning of their client, Our Man Thompson:

Inside the doors of Universal Press Syndicate are a lot of smart people, but they’re busy, so the rest of us have started a blog on the inside workings of a syndicate. While that might sound as exciting as a digestive disorder, the blog may be of some actual value to cartoonists looking for tips on how to become syndicated and for die-hard comic fans who want behind-the-scene glimpses of today’s comics. Go to http://gocomics.typepad.com/editors/ and the next sound you hear will be that of an UPS editor giving you the uncensored truth about comics and the syndicate, while giving thanks for his/her job.

I like the idea of this, as let's face it, Comics Syndicates are strange and mysterious places - they're called Syndicates after all. Has anything light and open ever been called a Syndicate? No.

One complaint - the posts don't identify who they're by so you have no idea whose brother is buying Johnny Ryan Garfield art. [update: Alan at the Daily Cartoonist says it's all by comics editor John Glynn].

Update 2: KK, I was just kidding about the late notice!!! Come back!

Dec 7: Comic book show in Tysons

Tysons Corner Monthly Comic Show

Sun, Dec 7, 2008 at the Dunn Loring Volunteer Fire Department.

Show opens to the public 10am to 3pm

Special Guest – Jo Chen

Cover artist for Runaways, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Serenity: Better Days, and many other titles.

She is appearing on behalf of www.HeroInitiative.org.

For more information visit CapiCons Comic & Pop Culture Show website http://www.CapiCons.com