Michigan State U's Comic Art Collection additions for November 2009

It's been over a month since we looked at October, but I'm not getting a groundswell of interest in these posts anyway. So without further ado, here's bits added in November 2009 to the MSU Library's Comic Art Collection that struck me as interesting.

Hey, DC's Nate Beeler is the first entry:

"Bexley Graduate National Honoree" p. D3 in The Columbus
Dispatch, Nov. 21, 2008. -- Item about Nage Beeler and the
2008 Berryman Award for Editorial Cartooning. -- Call no.:
NC1320.S35 2008

This is followed by other articles from the newspapers, a lot of which are on Harvey Pekar for some reason. Maybe somebody else is doing a book on him.

Ahhh, remember the days when people really cared about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Enough to parody them?

Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters Classics. --
Eureka, CA : Parody Press, 1992- . -- ill. ; 26 cm. --
Began with no. 1 (Aug./Sept. 1992). -- Parody and funny
animal genres. -- LIBRARY HAS: no. 1. -- Call no.:
PN6728.6.P35A3


More newspaper articles, and oooh...

"Ultimate Comic Book" AP wirephoto in the Michigan State News,
East Lansing, Michigan, 1974. -- Shows collector Mitchell
Mehdy with a copy of Action Comics, no. 1 which he has
bought for $1,800. -- Call no.: PN6710.S35 1974

I wonder what's happened to that copy?

It's hard to imagine a comic less likely to cause ADD...

"Minds at 1,000 Miles an Hour" / by Michael D. Clark. p. 8A in
the Cincinnati Post, Dec. 4, 1989. -- Uses a Family Circus
panel by Bil Keane to illustrate an article on attention
deficit disorder. -- The panel is captioned: "Another
evening in the life on an A.D.D. child." -- Call no.:
PN6710.S35 1989

This looks vaguely interesting, at least to a bibliographer...

"Drawn from Life : How Comic Books are Changing Young People's
Lives, from Asia to the Middle East" / by Marco Visscher.
p. 20-24 in Ode, May 2009. -- Article about Suleiman Bakhit
and his company Aranim Media Factory, publishing comic
books for the Arabic language market. -- Call no.:
PN6710.S35 2009

I feel guilty saying it, but this sounds painful:

The Novel of Nonel and Vovel / Oreet Ashery ; Larissa Sansour.
-- Milano : Edizioni Charta, 2009. -- 183 p. : col. ill. ;
24 cm. -- "Oreet Ashery is from Israel and lives in London.
Larissa Sansour is from Palestine and lives in Copenhagen.
These two artists have created a very special graphic novel
that raises questions on artistic practice, the nature of
authority and art and politics, and offers an eye-opening
take on Palestine. All this assumes particular importance
considering that these artists come from both sides of the
Middle Eastern divide. Nonel and Vovel, the artists' alter
egos, are given superpowers from a virus compromising their
creativity. With their new powers and the help of local
ninja women, they strive to save Palestine" -- Political
and superhero genres. -- Call no.: PN6790 .I83 A77N6 2009

Remember when newspapers used to publish collections of their editorial cartoonists?

Macpherson Editorial Cartoons 1977. -- Toronto : Star Reader
Service, 1977. -- 126 p. : ill. ; 24 x 23 cm. -- Cartoons
published in the Toronto Star. -- Call no.: NC1449.M3A52
1977

Shouldn't there be a 'Little Orphan Annie' subject heading here?

"Little Red Wonder Girl : Annie, the Broadway Orphan Who Stole
Our Hearts Almost 30 Years Ago, Arrives at the Wharton
Center for a Six-Day Run" / by Mike Hughes. p. 1D, 3D in
the Lansing State Journal, Apr. 18, 2006. -- The Annie
musical arrives in East Lansing. Sidebar, "Stars Who've
Played Annie," lists several actresses. -- Call no.:
PN6710.S35 2006

Fantagraphics published 50 issues of this? Must be before they became ideologically pure (that's a joke, Gary)...

Critters. -- Agoura, CA : Fantagraphics Books, 1986-1990. --
ill. ; 26 cm. -- Published no. 1 (1986) - no. 50 (Mar.
1990). -- Funny animal genre. -- LIBRARY HAS: no. 1-50. --
Call no.: PN6728.5.F3C7
COMPLETE HOLDINGS

...actually I wonder if there's material worth collecting in there. I seem to recall some fairly good stuff in the few issues I've seen.

There's a lot of NY Times articles indexed. The Times is becoming the paper of record for comic art as well, something I'd never have predicted:

"Captain America Chooses Its Director" p. C2 in the New York
Times, Nov. 11, 2008. -- Item about Joe Johnston being
chosen to direct a Captain America film. -- Call no.:
PN6710.S35 2008
-----------------------------------------------------
"Sad News for Mad Fans" / George Gene Gustines. p. C2 in the
New York Times, Jan. 24, 2009. -- Item about Mad becoming
quarterly, quoting editor John Ficarra. -- Call no.:
PN6710.S35 2009
-----------------------------------------------------
"In Tough Times, Finding the Humor in Value" / Edward
Rothstein. p. C1, C6 in the New York Times, Jan. 31, 2009.
-- Review of an exhibition at the Morgan Library & Museum,
titled "On the Money : Cartoons for the New Yorker," which
collects cartoons about money. -- Call no.: NC1320.S35 2009
-----------------------------------------------------
"Civil War in Uganda, Illustrated and In Panels" / by George
Gene Gustines. p. C1, C5, in the New York Times, Aug. 12,
2009. -- Article about the DC/Vertigo series Unknown
Soldier. -- Call no.: PN6710.S35 2009
-----------------------------------------------------
"Spain Pulls Book with Grown-Up Tintin" p. B2 in the New York
Times, Aug. 19, 2008. -- Item about a book ("The Pink
Lotus") by Antonio Altarriba, which shows Tintin in his 30s
and "contains graphic sex scenes that the Hergé estate
considers to be inappropriate." -- Call no.: PN6710.S35


Not to worry though - obscurities continue!

George Morrow : His Book / with an introduction by E.V. Lucas.
-- 2d ed. -- London : Methuen & Co., 1921. -- 97 leaves :
ill. ; 25 cm. -- Cartoons reprinted from Punch and Land and
Water. -- Call no.: NC1479.M6G4 1921
Morrow, George, 1869-1955.
Lucas, E. V. (Edward Verrall), 1868-1938.
-----------------------------------------------------
More Morrow : a Book of Drawings / by George Morrow. -- London
: Methuen & Co., 1921. -- 97 leaves : chiefly ill. ; 25 cm.
-- Cartoons. -- "Thanks are due to the proprietors of Punch
for permission to reprint ... contributions in this
volume." -- Call no.: NC1479.M6M6 1921
-----------------------------------------------------
It's that Min again! (1968-69) : Cartoons from the New Zealand
Herald / by Minhinnick. -- Auckland : Wilson and Horton,
1969. -- 56 p. : chiefly ill. ; 19 x 24 cm. -- Editorial
cartoons. -- Call no.: NC1761.M5 I8 1969
Minhinnick, 1902-1992.

Furries!

1001 Arabian Tails. -- Miami, FL : Conquest Press, 1992. -- 32
p. : ill. ; 26 cm. -- Numbered "1" on cover. -- Indicia
title: 1001 Arabian Tales. -- Funny animal and erotic
genres. -- Call no.: PN6728.6.C59 O5 1992

The lack of follow through with this was a disappoint to me, as I'm a big Zelazny fan:

Roger Zelazny's Amber: Nine Princes in Amber / adapted by
Terry Bisson ; illustrated by Lou Harrison, Bryn Barnard,
Tom Roberts. -- New York : DC Comics, 1996. -- col. ill. ;
26 cm. -- Cover title: Roger Zelazny's Nine Princes in
Amber. -- Complete in 3 nos. -- "A Byron Preiss Visual
Publications, Inc. book." -- Fantasy genre. -- LIBRARY HAS:
no. 1-3. -- Call no.: PN6728.6.D3R638 1996

Here's our buddy Nevin's book:

Looking for Calvin and Hobbes : the Unconventional Story of
Bill Watterson and his Revolutionary Comic Strip / by Nevin
Martell. -- New York : Continuum International Publishing
Group, 2009. -- 247 p. ; 23 cm. -- Call no.: PN6727.W337M3
2009

Coming soon - December!

Feb 27: Act-i-vate at Big Planet Vienna too

At 2 pm.

BIG PLANET COMICS
426 Maple Ave. East
Vienna, VA 22180
703-242-9412

Comic Riffs interviews Scott Kurtz

The 'Riffs Interview: 'PvP' creator Scott Kurtz speaks today at Macworld. Washington Post Comic Riffs blog (February 12, 2010). This is Cavna's 2nd interview with Kurtz, if you're a PVP fan.

Feb 27: Act-i-vate at Politics and Prose

Politics & Prose Bookstore
welcomes

The Act-I-Vate Primer
With contributors: Dean Haspiel, Jim Dougan, Simon Fraser and Joe Infurnari

Saturday, February 27, 6 p.m.

5015 Connecticut Avenue, NW • Washington, DC
www.politics-prose.com • (202) 364-1919

My new bookish thing

The new issue of the International Journal of Comic Art 11-3 is actually Comic Art, 2005-2009: A Global Bibliography, 626 pages of citations on comics compiled by John Lent and Mike Rhode. And it's got a special cover drawing done for us by Richard Thompson which makes it a collector's item (for collectors of Richard Thompson of course). You can buy it as a stand alone issue by sending $15 to John Lent. This is an addendum to John's previous 10-volume series of comics citations, and is a bargain because a set of those will cost you well over $1000.

Here's a sample from the 2010 version I'm working on now - the new citations for 2010 are marked with *:

Comic Book Sales
-Flage, Karon. 2001. Ranking and List Position [comic book sales]. Sequential Tart 4 (2: February): http://www.sequentialtart.com/
-Gustines, George Gene. 2009. Graphic Books Best Seller List: May 9. New York Times Art Beat blog (May 15): http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/graphic-books-best-seller-list-may-9/
-Gustines, George Gene. 2009. Graphic Books Best Seller List: June 6. New York Times Arts Beat blog (June 12): http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/12/graphic-books-best-seller-list-june-6/
*Hibbs, Brian. 2010. Looking At Bookscan: 2009. Comic Book Resources' Tilting at Windmills (February 12): http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=24818
-Miller, John Jackson. 2007. Comic Sales Analysis: January 2007–Snows, fifth week spur big month. Comics and Games Retailer (182; May): 26-27
-Reid, Calvin. 2009. February Comics Bestsellers. Publishers Weekly’s PW Comics Week (February 3): http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6634161.html
-Reid, Calvin. 2009. June Comics Bestsellers. Publishers Weekly (June 15): http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6665433.html
-Sheriff, Amanda. 2008. Comic Sales Figures Circulate. Scoop (December 5):
http://scoop.diamondgalleries.com/public/default.asp?t=1&m=1&c=34&s=268&ai=77604
*Unknown. 2010. Graphic Books. New York Times (February 4): http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/books/bestseller/bestgraphicbooks.html

Eduardo Barreto's illness leaves Judge Parker less lovely

Alan Gardner had a more hopeful story up at Daily Cartoonist, but Michael Cavna's Comic Riffs post says Eduardo Barreto's illness is meningitis and he'll be leaving the strip, which definitely leaves Judge Parker less lovely. It's one of the best looking action strips out there now, although Paul Ryan on the Phantom and Graham Nolan on Rex Morgan, MD do excellent work -- and those strips aren't in the Post.

PR: Greenwood Encyclopedia of Comic Books and Graphic Novels

I'm a contributor to this - I wrote the Harvey Pekar entry. I think it's a good project - for years I've thought we should have the equivalent of the volumes of Dictionaries of British Cartoonists which give the basic information about the person. This is a good start and I'm noodling over other plans with a knowledgeable person.

...The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Comic Books and Graphic Novels is due out at the end of May. It is now described on the Greenwood website at http://www.greenwood.com/catalog/GR5746.aspx and is up on Amazon as well.

Thanks again to all of you who helped to make this project a reality--I'm very pleased with the way it turned out. And thanks in advance to those of you who will help to make it a success by buying it or recommending it to your university or public libraries.
--
M. Keith Booker

That perfect Valentines/President's Day gift...

My latest City Paper blog post is another book review - “For the Wonky, Lovelorn Comics Reader, a Perfect Gift,” February 12, 2010,

Post finally realizes Disney released movie with black heroine

The Post finally realized Disney released a movie with a black heroine last year and just did an article on what it all means to children - "'The Princess and the Frog's' Tiana: A more modern heroine," By Mari-Jane Williams, Washington Post Staff Writer, Thursday, February 11, 2010; T17.

USA Today's Truitt on GI Joe

This is about writer Christos Gage, not our own SL Gallant, but I'm continuing to assume that Truitt is still in the area - "'G.I. Joe: Cobra' brings on the bad guys," By Brian Truitt, USA TODAY February 11 2010.

British not-quite comic books reviewed at City Paper

Reviewed: Classic Dan Dare: Safari in Space and The Best of Roy of the Rovers: The 1970s Straight from the "boys papers," two recently collected U.K. comic strips
By Mike Rhode
Washington City Paper February 11, 2010

Feb 14: Kevin Rechin on Extreme Makeover Home Edition

Kevin Rechin writes in "I think you wanted me to give you a heads up about the air date for the Extreme Makeover Home Edition show. It airs this Sunday at 9 p.m. I designed and illustrated a mural and other elements for a superhero-based kid's room."

Phoenix Comics/ Laughing Ogre Comics open

Both our locations at GMU and in Lansdowne are open today.

Thanks

Gary Dills

Beyond Comics store open in spite of snow UPDATED

Beyond Comics writes in:

GAITHERSBURG IS OPEN!

FREDERICK Pending Plowing of Parking Lot

We will update the newsletter and our face book page.

Bravo to the Washington Post

I think the Post's delivery people deserve a special thanks, although I'm sure none of them are reading this blog. We haven't gotten the paper everyday, but it's been delivered when the roads are passable. I was very surprised to look out this morning and see a bag poking out of the snow.

And the same thanks holds true for the production people and the reporters. I don't even have my car shoveled out again yet, but my wife is reading the Post and sipping coffee in comfort while the wind howls outside.

So to any Postie (you don't really use that term, do you?) reading this, thank you.

Big Planet's got your hit today, in spite of the snow

Owner Joel Pollack wrote to me to say, "Because each store in our chain sets its own policy, I can only speak for Bethesda and Georgetown. We are going to try to open today (Thursday) 11-7, but we recommend a phone call, just in case." Owner Greg Bennett followed up with "Vienna and College Park are both open today as well. Closing time dependent on weather/road conditions, so call first if you're coming out after dark. And we have new books!"

I'm going to suggest that unless you live in Bethesda or Georgetown, it's probably not a great idea to try to get there no matter how much you're missing your comics. I was just out in my Arlington neighborhood and the streets and sidewalks aren't ready.

Here's the BP contact info:

BIG PLANET COMICS
4908 Fairmont Ave.
Bethesda, MD 20814
301-654-6856

Also affiliated with:

BIG PLANET COMICS
3145 Dumbarton St. NW
Washington, DC 20007
202-342-1961

BIG PLANET COMICS
426 Maple Ave. East
Vienna, VA 22180
703-242-9412

BIG PLANET COMICS
7315 Baltimore Ave.
College Park, MD 20740
301-699-0498

Weldon on music and comics

Presumably Glen Weldon is snowed in like the rest of us in DC, so he's written a long look at "Comics That Have A Nice Beat And Are Easy To Dance To," National Public Radio's Monkey See blog (February 10 2010).

That darn Mussey

Marie Drom says in a letter to the editor of the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star "Mussey's cartoon was not a bit funny" (2/10/2010)

Feb 20: DC Anime Club's Cosplay Corner.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

DC Anime Club
 Presents Cosplay Corner

On Saturday February 20, 2010 at 2:30pm DC Anime Club will be hosting an costume creation workshop called "Cosplay Corner" at the Martin Luthur King, Jr Memorial Library 901 G St NW Washington, DC 20001 in Room A5 on the A Level. "Cosplay" is short for "Costume Play", in which fans of Japanese Animation (Anime) and Japanese Comics (Manga) dress up as their favorite Anime, Manga and Video Game Characters by costumes they make themselves. The word "Cosplay" was coined by Nov Takahashi of the Japanese Studio, "Studio Hard". DC Anime Club will teach members how to create their own costumes: everything from making cosplay props, to places where materials can be acquired, to even acting as their characters. DC Anime Club has also given Cosplay Presentations at the Smithsonian Anime Marathon an event which is part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival and the Fiesta Asia Parade where



This event is free and open to the public for Ages 13 and up.

For more information please call (703) 655-1412 visit the DC Anime Club website at http://dcanimeclub.org.

Tom the Dancing Bug cartoonist raises over $4,000 for Haiti

We highlighted Ruben Bolling's campaign to raise money for Haiti when he started, and now Ruben's written in to announce the total he's raised and who won original drawings. Let's here a big round of e-pplause for Ruben and his donors. Remember you can still donate too.