The Salt Lake Tribune is reporting that their cartoonist, Pat Bagley, has won the Herblock award - see "Tribune political cartoonist wins distinguished Herblock prize
Biting humor » Pat Bagley cited for 'deft and witty' style documenting Utah politics," By Paul Beebe, The Salt Lake Tribune 2/20/2009. I've heard that Ted Koppel will be speaking at the ceremony. The Foundation has a press release buried on their website, and they've increased the award from $10,000 to $15,000 this year. The judges were Jules Feiffer, Garry Trudeau and last year's winner John Sherffius - an excellent panel.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Kal on Delonas chimp cartoon
Kal sent a note saying that he's got a blogpost on the Delonas cartoon.
He's also traveling a bit:
In June I will be the featured international artist at the annual Knokke-Heist cartoon festival in Belgium. The festival, one of the largest of its kind , will feature an exhibition of 50 originals and a lecture/symposium in the summer. The exhibition will be on display at the Belgium seaside resort through September.
I am delighted and honored to announce that I will be at the University of Portland on Thursday, March 5 to deliver the introductory William James Mazzacco Memorial Lecture in Distributive Justice.The lecture takes place at the Buckley Center Auditorium (5000 N Willamette Blvd.) at the University of Portland at 7:30 p.m. The lecture is open to the public.
He's also traveling a bit:
In June I will be the featured international artist at the annual Knokke-Heist cartoon festival in Belgium. The festival, one of the largest of its kind , will feature an exhibition of 50 originals and a lecture/symposium in the summer. The exhibition will be on display at the Belgium seaside resort through September.
I am delighted and honored to announce that I will be at the University of Portland on Thursday, March 5 to deliver the introductory William James Mazzacco Memorial Lecture in Distributive Justice.The lecture takes place at the Buckley Center Auditorium (5000 N Willamette Blvd.) at the University of Portland at 7:30 p.m. The lecture is open to the public.
Katsucon 15 report
"Katsucon 15-The Melancholy of Your Weatherman," By Weatherman 02-20-2009, and he notes that it'll be in the new National Harbor hotel complex in Maryland next year.
Washington City Paper Best of DC 2009 poll
Last year, we were surprise winners (because it wasn't actually a category) of Best (Comic) Arts Blogger, which we appreciated immensely. Well, I did at least. The City Paper's just started its 2009 poll for Best of DC and it's still not a category, but go check it out and vote now.
Comic Riffs cited in AP article on cartoons and race
Michael Cavna's blog got a mention here - "Cartoonists treading lightly when drawing Obama," By JESSE WASHINGTON AP National Writer, Posted: 02/20/2009. If you're not reading Riffs daily, you really should.
Friday, February 20, 2009
History Repeats Itself, in the Secret History of Comics
Warren Bernard writes in with another bit of the Secret History of Comics:
Well, no question that all of us capitalists have taken it on the chin recently. To show how things do not change and for your enjoyment, (Well, OK, as much as one can enjoy seeing their life savings evaporate into thin air), here is a cartoon about the stock market from Puck Magazine in 1884.
'The Wall Street Hellgate' by F. Graetz, Puck, 1884.
Note the electrical/telegraph wires in the crown of the "Siren", as she plays her harp of speculation.
Replace the strings labeled "Western Union", "Erie" and "Pacific" (all railroad companies, the growth stock of the day) with "CDOs", "Mortgage Backed Securities" and "Ethanol" and Voila!! Instant 21st Century political cartoon!!
But my favorite part of the cartoon are the foot pedals on the harp. They are named, appropriately enough, "Puts" and "Calls".
We have not changed much in 125 years and I dunno about you, but I surely feel as if I just crashed on those rocks.
Well, no question that all of us capitalists have taken it on the chin recently. To show how things do not change and for your enjoyment, (Well, OK, as much as one can enjoy seeing their life savings evaporate into thin air), here is a cartoon about the stock market from Puck Magazine in 1884.
'The Wall Street Hellgate' by F. Graetz, Puck, 1884.
Note the electrical/telegraph wires in the crown of the "Siren", as she plays her harp of speculation.
Replace the strings labeled "Western Union", "Erie" and "Pacific" (all railroad companies, the growth stock of the day) with "CDOs", "Mortgage Backed Securities" and "Ethanol" and Voila!! Instant 21st Century political cartoon!!
But my favorite part of the cartoon are the foot pedals on the harp. They are named, appropriately enough, "Puts" and "Calls".
We have not changed much in 125 years and I dunno about you, but I surely feel as if I just crashed on those rocks.
OT: MTV on Watchman movie, 2/21/09
OK, I'm getting caught up in the hype. I've got 3 books from Titan on the movie that I'll try to get reviews up for this weekend too. They're lovely.
Spoilers Premieres Saturday, February 21 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT
On February 21, at 8:00 p.m. ET, MTV will air the second episode of "Spoilers," a quarterly movie special that will deliver first looks at the year's biggest upcoming flicks, including behind-the-scenes action and exclusive scenes.
Taped in front of a live audience, the second episode will spotlight "Watchmen," and will feature appearances from the entire cast of the eagerly anticipated superhero flick.
Hundreds of die-hard movie fanswill attend MTV News' screening of the film, with the stars walking the blood-red carpet to chat in front of our cameras.
In addition to "Watchmen," the episode will also give viewers exclusive access to scenes from such upcoming blockbusters as "Star Trek," "Land of the Lost," "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" and more.
Spoilers Premieres Saturday, February 21 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT
On February 21, at 8:00 p.m. ET, MTV will air the second episode of "Spoilers," a quarterly movie special that will deliver first looks at the year's biggest upcoming flicks, including behind-the-scenes action and exclusive scenes.
Taped in front of a live audience, the second episode will spotlight "Watchmen," and will feature appearances from the entire cast of the eagerly anticipated superhero flick.
Hundreds of die-hard movie fanswill attend MTV News' screening of the film, with the stars walking the blood-red carpet to chat in front of our cameras.
In addition to "Watchmen," the episode will also give viewers exclusive access to scenes from such upcoming blockbusters as "Star Trek," "Land of the Lost," "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" and more.
Montgomery on new Swamp Thing collection
My old comic-collecting buddy Robert chimes in on DC's new Swamp Thing collection, which has Alan Moore's first issue reprinted for the first time: DC is finally reprinting Alan Moore's Swamp Thing run in hardcover. So, of course, having waited for this for some time, I bought the first volume. When it arrived, first thing I noticed is that DC printed it on the same paper used in the trade paperbacks. Was I annoyed. I expected a high-quality product and basically got a trade with a hard cover. What the hell is DC thinking?
After I noticed the paper issue, I checked reviews on Amazon and people had the same reaction. They also complained about the cover being sticky - one person claimed they printed it on the wrong type of paper. The cover on my copy is a little sticky but don't know if I'd noticed it w/o having read the reviews.
After I noticed the paper issue, I checked reviews on Amazon and people had the same reaction. They also complained about the cover being sticky - one person claimed they printed it on the wrong type of paper. The cover on my copy is a little sticky but don't know if I'd noticed it w/o having read the reviews.
Weingarten on Prickly City, Doonesbury, Delonas' chimp
From the 2/10 Chatalogical Humor:
Washington, D.C.: Gene - what did you think of last Friday's Prickly City where they call Rush Limbaugh a jerk? It actually made me laugh.
Gene Weingarten: I would like this better if it were funny. I applaud the stance, but I think political cartoonists -- and political standup comics -- have an obligation to be funny.
_______________________
"...I think political cartoonists -- and political standup comics -- have an obligation to be funny." : Unless their name is Trudeau, the Garfield of political "humor."
Gene Weingarten: I was thinking specifically of Garry Trudeau and Doonesbury. He is the perfect example of the political satirist who sees his mission as humor first.
and 2/17's Chatalogical Humor:
Alexandria, VA: Hi,
No, Prickly City wasn't funny, and did you leave the "ly" off your link intentionally, or Freudian slip of a sort?
Gene Weingarten: I always call it Prick City, because of its politics. Been doing that for years.
_________
Richmond, Va.: I have a great Ralph Steadman story for you. At some point he was in town doing a book signing for his illustrated version of "Animal Farm" (it's so amazing). He was giving each signature a unique ink-blot and a fan came up and said "do something really crazy to mine!" So Steadman took out his lighter and set it on fire.
Gene Weingarten: Excellent. I have that Animal Farm book. It is brilliant.
------
UPDATED 2.20.09
Gene Weingarten: I want to begin with an important clarification. In yesterday's update I was asked if I found THIS photograph interesting in light of the sharply debated prior discussion involving posteriors. I responded with laughter. At some point during the day yesterday, the link mysteriously shifted to a different picture, namely THIS one, which was a highly controversial political cartoon from the New York Post. This cartoon was seen by many people as a racist commentary directed at President Obama. This one I would not have laughed at.
But let's talk about it!
It's by Post cartoonist Sean Delonas, a man whose work I have read and loathed for years. Delonas is strident, unfunny, rabidly right-wing and a virulent bigot, portraying gay people in a way so revolting you would think it's parody if you saw it in The Onion. It's not. Here is Sean Delonas, for example, on gay marriage. Here is Sean Delonas on Governor McGreevey. See that oddly raised leg? That is Delonas's signature move to show someone is gay: Gays are prancing lilyhoppers!
So what do we make of the furor over the chimp cartoon? Is it racist? Does Delonas get the benefit of the doubt?
Sure. I'll give it to him. This cartoon is interpretable without racial overtones: The stimulus bill is stupid, he thinks: It might as well have been written by a rabid chimp. The cartoon coincided with the story of the crazed chimp in Connecticut who ripped off a woman's face, and was shot to death by police. Obama wasn't really the author of the stimulus bill, though his was the most public face behind it. Mostly, I think comparing a black person to an ape is so archaic, so Depression-era, and so primitive that even a Neanderthal like Delonas wouldn't do it.
No, what Delonas would and did do is create a totally pathetic cartoon using the unspeakable tragedy of the chimp attack, which left a woman horrifyingly maimed, to make some lame political point about the stimulus package. It's inappropriate, unclever, and makes senseless use of a shockingly violent image. Pure Delonas, pure crap, but not racist.
Washington, D.C.: Gene - what did you think of last Friday's Prickly City where they call Rush Limbaugh a jerk? It actually made me laugh.
Gene Weingarten: I would like this better if it were funny. I applaud the stance, but I think political cartoonists -- and political standup comics -- have an obligation to be funny.
_______________________
"...I think political cartoonists -- and political standup comics -- have an obligation to be funny." : Unless their name is Trudeau, the Garfield of political "humor."
Gene Weingarten: I was thinking specifically of Garry Trudeau and Doonesbury. He is the perfect example of the political satirist who sees his mission as humor first.
and 2/17's Chatalogical Humor:
Alexandria, VA: Hi,
No, Prickly City wasn't funny, and did you leave the "ly" off your link intentionally, or Freudian slip of a sort?
Gene Weingarten: I always call it Prick City, because of its politics. Been doing that for years.
_________
Richmond, Va.: I have a great Ralph Steadman story for you. At some point he was in town doing a book signing for his illustrated version of "Animal Farm" (it's so amazing). He was giving each signature a unique ink-blot and a fan came up and said "do something really crazy to mine!" So Steadman took out his lighter and set it on fire.
Gene Weingarten: Excellent. I have that Animal Farm book. It is brilliant.
------
UPDATED 2.20.09
Gene Weingarten: I want to begin with an important clarification. In yesterday's update I was asked if I found THIS photograph interesting in light of the sharply debated prior discussion involving posteriors. I responded with laughter. At some point during the day yesterday, the link mysteriously shifted to a different picture, namely THIS one, which was a highly controversial political cartoon from the New York Post. This cartoon was seen by many people as a racist commentary directed at President Obama. This one I would not have laughed at.
But let's talk about it!
It's by Post cartoonist Sean Delonas, a man whose work I have read and loathed for years. Delonas is strident, unfunny, rabidly right-wing and a virulent bigot, portraying gay people in a way so revolting you would think it's parody if you saw it in The Onion. It's not. Here is Sean Delonas, for example, on gay marriage. Here is Sean Delonas on Governor McGreevey. See that oddly raised leg? That is Delonas's signature move to show someone is gay: Gays are prancing lilyhoppers!
So what do we make of the furor over the chimp cartoon? Is it racist? Does Delonas get the benefit of the doubt?
Sure. I'll give it to him. This cartoon is interpretable without racial overtones: The stimulus bill is stupid, he thinks: It might as well have been written by a rabid chimp. The cartoon coincided with the story of the crazed chimp in Connecticut who ripped off a woman's face, and was shot to death by police. Obama wasn't really the author of the stimulus bill, though his was the most public face behind it. Mostly, I think comparing a black person to an ape is so archaic, so Depression-era, and so primitive that even a Neanderthal like Delonas wouldn't do it.
No, what Delonas would and did do is create a totally pathetic cartoon using the unspeakable tragedy of the chimp attack, which left a woman horrifyingly maimed, to make some lame political point about the stimulus package. It's inappropriate, unclever, and makes senseless use of a shockingly violent image. Pure Delonas, pure crap, but not racist.
Express poll on Delonas chimp cartoon
Yesterday the Express asked "Was the New York Post's cartoon using a chimp to criticize the stimulus bill racist?"
http://www.expressnightout.com/pollcenter/index.php?poll_date=2009-02-19
A short sample of the answers is printed in today's paper, and you can click through the online link to read 75 more.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Silver Spring schoolgirl draws comics
See "Autistic pupil turns to comics to express herself," by Timmy Gelles, The Gazette February 19 2009.
Feb 24: Clarendon Mardi Gras parade features Thompson figures
At 8 pm on February 24th, Sarah Palin and Obama puppets based on Richard's designs will be in the Clarendon (of Arlington, VA) Mardi Gras parade on Wilson Boulevard. Cool, huh? Last year was great fun.
Wanna work on Herblock cartoons this summer?
Sara Duke tells me "you would like hands-on experience working with cartoon art this summer, the Junior Fellows who come to the Prints and Photographs Division will be working with our Herb Block Collection - more than 14,000 original drawings. Come to this page: http://www.loc.gov/hr/employment/index.php, and click on "Internship, Fellowship, and Volunteer Programs". The information for the 2009 Junior Fellows Program has just gone online. The deadline is March 11, 2009."
Spiegelman, Chabon, to read at George Washington University
Sara Duke tips us off that, for a course on Jewish literature, Spiegelman and Chabon will be at GWU this spring. "While on campus, several authors will give readings open to the entire GW community. Ulinich will read on March 5; Chabon, who will be introduced by GW's Wang Visiting Professor in Contemporary English Edward P. Jones, will present on March 23; and Spiegelman will read on April 2."
GWU's PR deptartment says, "The event is open and free to the public. It will be held at 8pm in the Jack Morton Auditorium, which is located on the main level of the Media and Public Affairs Building. The address is 805 21st St. NW."
GWU's PR deptartment says, "The event is open and free to the public. It will be held at 8pm in the Jack Morton Auditorium, which is located on the main level of the Media and Public Affairs Building. The address is 805 21st St. NW."
Arlington cartoonist Richard Thompson featured in Say Tooned! #3
Richard did the cover of the new Stay Tooned! #3 and there's a big interview with him (and another with Jim Scancarelli of Gasoline Alley) done at HeroesCon whilst I watched his table. Order a copy at http://www.staytoonedmagazine.com
NY Post chimp cartoon starts a firestorm on a Wash Post blog.
Posting for the blog host Mike Rhode:
Yesterday, Mr. Cavna asked about a Sean Delonas cartoon, "The Stimulus Monkey': Is Today's 'NY Post' Cartoon Racist?" As of this posting, he's got 81 comments, possibly a record for the Comic Riffs blog. Judging from the hits this blog got last night on Delonas (for a post about meeting him at a children's book signing), he's really touched a nerve.
Yesterday, Mr. Cavna asked about a Sean Delonas cartoon, "The Stimulus Monkey': Is Today's 'NY Post' Cartoon Racist?" As of this posting, he's got 81 comments, possibly a record for the Comic Riffs blog. Judging from the hits this blog got last night on Delonas (for a post about meeting him at a children's book signing), he's really touched a nerve.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
OT: Ottaviani on the space race
Jim's got a new book coming out this spring and his stuff is always interesting - just like real life. See "The Race to the Moon in Comic Form: Ottaviani on T-Minus," By Zack Smith, Newsarama 18 February 2009.
Comic Riffs returns to Black Panther, or should that be Pantheress?
See "Talking "Black Panther: The Sex Change"," by David Betancourt, Washington Post's Comic Riffs blog (February 18):
Marvel's new female Black Panther debuted this month, and with the first issue now on the stands, Comic Riffs caught up with Black Panther writer Reggie Hudlin to discuss the direction of the new BP series.
:
Marvel's new female Black Panther debuted this month, and with the first issue now on the stands, Comic Riffs caught up with Black Panther writer Reggie Hudlin to discuss the direction of the new BP series.
:
April 26: Roz Chast at Smithsonian
Another tip from Herschel:
Roz Chast, Harold Holzer, Jamaica Kincaid and John Waters Participate in Second Annual Lecture Series
WASHINGTON, DC.- This spring, the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, in partnership with Washington College in Chestertown, Md., present the second annual “American Pictures Distinguished Lecture Series.” The 2009 series speakers are Roz Chast, internationally recognized cartoonist for the New Yorker; leading Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer; critically acclaimed novelist Jamaica Kincaid; and actor, writer, visual artist and filmmaker John Waters.
“American Pictures” pairs great works of art with pre-eminent figures of contemporary American culture. Each lecture features a writer, critic, historian or artist who chooses a single image and investigates its meanings. In the process, the speaker also explores how works of art inspire creativity in many different fields and reveal American identity or a shared history. The series director is historian and essayist Adam Goodheart, who is director of the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience at Washington College.
The series debuts Saturday, March 21, when Waters offers his insights into Cy Twombly’s drawing “Letter of Resignation” (1967). Kincaid will discuss the painting “Kept In” (1889) by Edward Lamson Henry Saturday, April 11. Holzer will examine John Henry Brown’s portrait of Abraham Lincoln (1860) Saturday, April 18. The 2009 series concludes Sunday, April 26, with Chast’s exploration of Charles Addams’s famous cartoon “Boiling Oil” (1946).
Additional information about the series and the speakers is available online at americanart.si.edu and npg.si.edu or in a printed brochure that is available at the museums’ information desks.
“American Pictures” is made possible through the pioneering partnership among Washington College, the National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Additional support comes from the Starr Foundation, the Hodson Trust, the Hedgelawn Foundation and other donors.
Roz Chast, Harold Holzer, Jamaica Kincaid and John Waters Participate in Second Annual Lecture Series
WASHINGTON, DC.- This spring, the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, in partnership with Washington College in Chestertown, Md., present the second annual “American Pictures Distinguished Lecture Series.” The 2009 series speakers are Roz Chast, internationally recognized cartoonist for the New Yorker; leading Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer; critically acclaimed novelist Jamaica Kincaid; and actor, writer, visual artist and filmmaker John Waters.
“American Pictures” pairs great works of art with pre-eminent figures of contemporary American culture. Each lecture features a writer, critic, historian or artist who chooses a single image and investigates its meanings. In the process, the speaker also explores how works of art inspire creativity in many different fields and reveal American identity or a shared history. The series director is historian and essayist Adam Goodheart, who is director of the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience at Washington College.
The series debuts Saturday, March 21, when Waters offers his insights into Cy Twombly’s drawing “Letter of Resignation” (1967). Kincaid will discuss the painting “Kept In” (1889) by Edward Lamson Henry Saturday, April 11. Holzer will examine John Henry Brown’s portrait of Abraham Lincoln (1860) Saturday, April 18. The 2009 series concludes Sunday, April 26, with Chast’s exploration of Charles Addams’s famous cartoon “Boiling Oil” (1946).
Additional information about the series and the speakers is available online at americanart.si.edu and npg.si.edu or in a printed brochure that is available at the museums’ information desks.
“American Pictures” is made possible through the pioneering partnership among Washington College, the National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Additional support comes from the Starr Foundation, the Hodson Trust, the Hedgelawn Foundation and other donors.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
OT: Arizona store Atomic Comics posts interviews
This blog seems to be seeping out of DC and into the amorphous blogosphere... I got a newsletter from Atomic Comics today which noted that they had an interview, or Radiation Interrogation: Jay Faerber up today. I'm always interested in that type of thing, as I work on my big Comics Research Bibliography project. They also have interviews with Adam Kubert, Phil Hester, and Joe Pokaski up on their main page. I haven't poked any deeper yet.
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