Podcaster Marc Maron roams DC after talking to Bob Fingerman

I haven't listened to this yet, but I doubt if he found the soul of America in DC - just a feeling I have.

Episode 58 - El Chupacabra / Bob Fingerman. Marc Maron, WTF with Marc Maron Podcast (March 25 2010): http://wtfpod.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=596953 and http://media.libsyn.com/media/wtfpod/WTF_-_EPISODE_58.mp3


By popular demand, Marc welcomes El Chupacabra back to WTF. Plus, artist and writer Bob Fingerman takes a unique look at the end of the world (forward by Marc Maron). And Marc searches for the soul of America as he wanders around Washington, DC.

Whither Thingpart, late of the City Paper

Before the City Paper's great (blood-)shedding of comics a couple of years back, they ran a strip called Thingpart close to the front. Here's an interview with the cartoonist - Joey Alison Sayers Interview, Dan Copulsky, Question Riot blog March 25th, 2010.

The cartoon made me do it

I don't really follow sports, but I imagine the cartoon defense in a weapons charge isn't all that common - Arenas’ ‘Character’ Witness Is a Cartoon Character: Gazo the Pranksta, by Rend Smith Washington City Paper City Desk blog Mar. 24, 2010.

Post review of How To Train Your Dragon

Movie review: 'How to Train Your Dragon': 3-D you can sink your teeth intoa
By Mike Clark
Washington Post March 26, 2010; WE26

March 27: Steranko at Geppi's Entertainment Museum REPOST

Colin Solan sends in "GEM hosts Steranko for a retrospective exhibit." Geppi's Museum site is here. As hard as it is to believe, it seems the exhibit is only up for 3 days. Steranko will be there in person for one day.

April 2-4: Cards, Comics & Collectibles Annual Easter Sale

Annual Easter Sale

From the Store that Brings You the Baltimore Comic-Con...

This Friday, April 2nd through Sunday, April 4th, come to the Cards, Comics & Collectibles Annual Easter Sale for amazing savings of 20% to 70% all weekend! Fill in those missing back issues or pick up that paperback, hardcover, or action figure you've been meaning to buy! This is the weekend to shrink that want list!

50% OFF: PAPERBACKS, HARDCOVERS, TOYS, TOON TUMBLERS, AND MORE!
70% OFF: MODERN BACK ISSUES, CARD SINGLES!
30% OFF: GOLD & SILVER AGE COMICS!
PLUS! DISCOUNTS ON CARD PACKS, POSTERS, AND MORE!

SUNDAY ONLY SPECIALS:
80% OFF: MODERN BACK ISSUES!
60% OFF: PAPERBACKS & HARDCOVERS!


Our address: 100 A Chartley Dr., Reisterstown, MD 21136
Our Hours: Friday, 11am-7:30pm; Saturday, 11am-7pm; Sunday, 12am-5pm
For more information, call Cards Comics and Collectibles: 410-526-7410

This annual sale has run for over 20 years, and this year, we're stocked to the gills!

Ask us about Free Comics every Wednesday!

Truitt on The Guild

Felicia Day takes her 'Guild' offline and into comics, By Brian Truitt, USA TODAY March 24 2010.

This is getting to be like the Good Old Days when the Examiner was introduced with 3 pages of comics, and a weekly page of comic book articles by Truitt and Scott Rosenberg...

Free Kick-Ass posters at Big Planet Bethesda

I'm not really looking forward to this movie, but Big Planet Bethesda has a pile of free Kick-Ass movie posters today.

Unexpected editorial cartoons in today's Post

The 'Russia Today' advertising section actually has 4 editorial cartoons or illustrations in it. 2 traditional cartoons are signed V Bogorad. 2 illustrations are by Dimitry Divin. At least 1 cartoon by Bogorad from a previous section can be seen on their website.

 

 

President Obama in Archie comic book

Now up at the Washington City Paper site -

Obama Returns to Comic Books, Tasks Veronica with Powering Economy

Posted by Mike Rhode on Mar. 24, 2010

PR: Baltimore Comic-Con

Publishers and Creators Come to the 2010 Baltimore Comic-Con!

Baltimore, Maryland - March 19, 2010 - The Baltimore Comic-Con is proud to announce our first series of guests for the 2010 convention. Major publishing houses Image Comics, Boom! Studios, and Top Cow Productions are the first announced exhibitors for our 11th annual show. In addition, we are pleased to announce the following guests: Mike and Laura Allred (Madman), Sergio Aragones (Groo), Ivan Brandon (Nemesis: The Imposters), Jim Calafiore (Secret Six), Eric Canete (New Avengers: Luke Cage), Howard Chaykin (Black Kiss), Cliff Chiang (Greendale), Frank Cho (Ultimate Comics New Ultimates), Steve Conley (Star Trek Omnibus: The Original Series), Amanda Conner (Power Girl), Dan DiDio (The Outsiders, Co-Publisher, DC Comics), Al Feldstein (MAD Magazine), Ron Garney (Wolverine: Weapon X), Michael Golden (Marvel 1602: Spider-Man), Cully Hamner (Detective Comics), Dean Haspiel (ACT-I-VATE), Geoff Johns (Blackest Night, Chief Creative Officer, DC Comics), J.G. Jones (DC Universe Legacies), Rich Koslowski (BB Wolf and the 3 LPs), Michael Lark (Spider-Man: Return of the Hunter Saga), Laura Martin (Girl Comics), Mark McKenna (Banana Tail), Terry Moore (Echo, SiP), Phil Noto (Avengers: The Origin), Ryan Ottley (Invincible), Jimmy Palmiotti (Jonah Hex), Khoi Pham (Mighty Avengers), Eric Powell (The Goon), James Robinson (Justice League of America), Stephane Roux (Zatanna), Louise Simonson (X-Factor Forever), Walter Simonson (Wednesday Comics), Jim Starlin (Dreadstar), Brian Stelfreeze (The Authority: The Lost Year), Karl Story (Zatanna), Mark Texeira (X-Men: Origins), Billy Tucci (Shi), Doug Wagner (World of Warcraft: Horde), Mark Waid (Irredeemable, Editor-in-Chief, Boom! Studios), Marv Wolfman (New Teen Titans), and John Workman (Heavy Metal).

"We're months away from show-time, and already, we've lined up some of the biggest stars of the industry. We're excited to have the presence and support of Image, Boom!, and Top Cow - we have an excellent relationship with all three publishers, and can sense the fans lining up to see them already!" said Marc Nathan, promoter of the Baltimore Comic-Con. "We're also very proud to have Dan Didio and Geoff Johns from DC Comics joining us again this year. Both have been great friends for some time now, and they produce some of the most cutting edge comics on the market today. There are so many noteworthy guests coming to the show that represent a cross-section of the comics industry's genres, creative roles, eras, and publishing models, we think 2010 is shaping up to be one of our best yet!"


In coming weeks, look for more announcements from the Baltimore Comic-Con. We are looking forward to highlighting our guests, the Harvey Awards, industry exclusives, and programming. The latest developments can always be found at our website (http://www.baltimorecomiccon.com/), Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/baltimorecomics), Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/baltimorecomiccon), MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/baltimorecomics), and ComicSpace (http://www.comicspace.com/baltimorecomicon) pages.

This year's Baltimore Comic-Con will be held August 28-29, 2010. Convention hours are Saturday 10 AM to 6 PM and Sunday 10 AM to 5 PM. The ceremony and banquet for the Harvey Awards will be held Saturday night, August 28th.

Contact Information
Please use the following e-mail addresses to contact the Baltimore Comic-Con:

press@baltimorecomiccon.com - for any general press inquiries or to be added to our PR distribution
promoter@baltimorecomiccon.com - for requesting exhibitor, publisher, and Artist Alley applications
registrar@baltimorecomiccon.com - for inquiries about submitted registrations
harveys@baltimorecomiccon.com - for communications regarding the Harvey Awards ceremony and banquet
general@baltimorecomiccon.com - for general Baltimore Comic-Con inquiries

About The Baltimore Comic-Con
The Baltimore Comic-Con is celebrating its 11th year of bringing the comic book industry to the Baltimore and Washington D.C. area. With a guest list unequaled in the industry, the Baltimore Comic-Con will be held August 28-29, 2010. For more information, please visit www.baltimorecomiccon.com.

About The Harvey Awards
The Harvey Awards are one of the comic book industry's oldest and most respected awards. With a history of over 20 years, the last 5 in conjunction with the Baltimore Comic-Con, the Harveys recognize outstanding achievements in over 20 categories. They are the only industry awards nominated and selected by the full body of comic book professionals. For more information, please visit www.harveyawards.org.

PR: KAL returns from Public diplomacy trip to Middle East and releases iPhone App

We noticed he was gone, and now KAL tells us he's back -

Friends and colleagues

I wanted to share with you some recent exciting news. 

I have just returned from a 12 day visit to Amman, Jordan and Beirut, Lebanon as part of a strategic speaker initiative sponsored by the US Embassies in the region. During my visit I addressed a wide variety of groups including University students on six campuses, cartoonists, animators, journalists, and civic leaders. Our discussions centered on  the opportunities and limitations of political cartoons in promoting freedom of expression. There was great interest in the region in the program particularly in light of the controversial Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed.

My visit garnered a good bit of media exposure. There were numerous press and television interviews. Links to some of the news stories along with photos and observations from the trip will be available on my blog (www.kaltoons.com/wordpress) in the days ahead.

A also would like to announce the launch of the first KAL iPhone App.  Created in conjunction with RevelMob, the iKal-Book is just $.99 and available at the iTunes store. Please see our press release below.

Best

Kal

Kevin Kallaugher
kal@kaltoons.com
www.Kaltoons.com

KALTOONS GET THE IPHONE TREATMENT

Kevin KAL Kallaugher, the editorial cartoonist for The Economist magazine, launches his first iPhone app  

Baltimore/London: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

If you love fun and witty political cartoons of the highest quality, you will love the new iPhone application by Kevin KAL Kallaugher, the world-renowned editorial cartoonist for The Economist magazine.

Designed for the iPhone, this new application is an impressive collection of KAL's award winning political cartoons, hand-picked by the artist himself.  Browse through 150+ examples of KAL's work, including 29 color covers and illustrations from The Economist magazine. Store them on your iPhone, upload to Facebook or share with friends. 

Kal uses his poison pen to comment on Presidential elections, the War on Terror, American politics and international affairs. 

"Speaking about the iKal Book app, Kevin KAL Kallaugher said:

"iKal Book is more than an assembly of individual cartoons... together, the over 150 images read like a history lesson of recent world events."

"Among the award winning art found in the iKal-book are all the cartoons from my print collection "KAL Draws Criticism"($20.00) but at a fraction of the cost ($.99)"

Roman Grigorjev, Founder and Managing Partner of Revel Mob, comments:

"Cartoons are graphically engaging, instantaneous and fun to share with friends ... making them perfect for mobile devices like smartphones and iPhone in particular"

Revel Mob and KAL are also looking into developing more interactive and engaging applications for KAL in the near future and are welcoming any ideas and contributions as to what you would like to see in the next KAL iPhone application. Make your ideas count - post them on Revel Mob's Facebook Fan page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/RevelMob/296197102796?ref=ts

The iKal Book app is available for $0.99 from the App Store on iPhone and iPod Touch.

Marc Singer on teaching Bechdel's Fun Home

Marc Singer is on week 9 of his comics class and teaching Bechdel's Fun Home, which is one of my favorite graphic novels. He's got a much better sense of the formalist art that I ever will though.

Comic book writer wanted in DC?

This is making the rounds of the internet... I don't know anything else about it, but it does specifically mention DC.

My company is starting a project that will require us to develop manga-style comics for our client. We already have an excellent manga artist, and now we’re looking for a freelance writer who can translate business stories (esp. positive behaviors in the workplace) into an interesting comic book or graphic novel style narrative.

The general roles and responsibilities would include:
- Work with the project lead to develop potential characters, settings, and general plots
- Create interesting story lines based on information provided by the client
- Interact with the cartoonist to translate the story lines into a comic book

Qualifications for the job are:
- Successful screenwriting, comic, or graphic novel portfolio
- Demonstrated knowledge of global corporate environments (beyond Dilbert)
- Free to work on a 1099 basis
- Available for ~20 hours per week during May-June
- Preference for individuals located in NYC or Washington, DC
- Experience in agency or consulting environment is a plus

To be considered for this position, please send a cover letter, resume, and work samples/portfolio via email to:

Gordon Hui
Peer Insight LLC
ghui@peerinsight.com
Thanks,
Gordon

Brian Truitt reviews The Bronx Kill

Mystery abounds in Milligan's 'The Bronx Kill'
By Brian Truitt, USA TODAY March 22 2010

Jeff Kinney interviewed about reading

 

The future of children's book publishing

By Stephen Lowman
Washington Post  March 21, 2010; BW08

Chatalogical Humor on Weingarten's new comic strip

Today's Chatalogical Humor is on Gene Weingarten's new comic strip "Barney & Clyde" as well as the quality of early Dennis the Menace.

Updating this a little, Barney and Clyde is a comic about a billionaire and a pauper. It's got a Facebook page now, and will be appearing in the Post when it launches.

April 26: Kim Deitch at Johns Hopkins U

from Eric Reynolds of Fantagraphics....
CARTOONIST KIM DEITCH TO SPEAK AT JOHNS HOPKINS APRIL 26

The Homewood Art Workshops wraps up its 35th anniversary celebration with a slide talk by legendary cartoonist Kim Deitch on Monday, April 26. Deitch’s talk, “The Search for Smilin’ Ed and Other Tales,” will begin at 5:30 p.m. in Room 101 of the F. Ross Jones Building, Mattin Center, on the Homewood campus at 3400 N. Charles St. in Baltimore.

Along with Robert Crumb, Bill Griffith and Art Spiegelman, Deitch transformed the art of cartooning in the psychedelic late 1960s. Combining a love of early 20th century comic strips and animation with the media-savvy satire of mid-century MAD Magazine, these artists gave a raucously subversive jolt to a nearly moribund medium.
Deitch, 65, began doing comic strips for the New York underground newspaper, the East Village Other, in 1967. Since then, his work has appeared in dozens of publications, including RAW, Pictopia, Details, Nickelodeon Magazine, and Little Lit. Among his groundbreaking comic books and graphic novels are Hollywoodland, The Mishkin Files, A Shroud for Waldo, The Boulevard of Broken Dreams and Alias the Cat! His latest book, The Search for Smilin’ Ed, will be published by Fantagraphics in June. Deitch will sign advance copies of Smilin’ Ed at the Johns Hopkins Barnes & Noble, 3330 St. Paul Street, on Sunday, April 25, from 4 to 6 p.m.

Deitch has been recognized with the comics industry’s highest honors, including an Eisner Award, an Inkpot Award and a retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art in 2008. He lives in New York City with his wife, Pam.

To download images of Deitch’s work, go to: http://www.jhu.edu/artwork/deitch.html

“The Search for Smilin’ Ed and Other Tales” is co-sponsored by Homewood Art Workshops and Homewood Arts Programs. Visitor parking on campus is available in the South Garage, 3101 Wyman Park Drive, Baltimore, Md. 21211. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, call 410-516-6705.

April 11: Rob Rogers at the Newseum

Inside Media: The Best of Editorial Cartoonist Rob Rogers
Guest: Rob Rogers
Date: Sunday, April 11, 2010
Location: Knight TV Studio, Level 3, 2:30 p.m.

The editorial cartoons of Rob Rogers have been gracing the pages of newspapers since 1984 when he was hired by the Pittsburgh Press.

A syndicated cartoonist with United Features Syndicate, Rogers has covered a diverse range of topics, including the Cold War, gun control, smoking, racism, the environment, 9/11 and presidential elections.

He talks about his new retrospective "No Cartoon Left Behind! The Best of Rob Rogers," which recounts his humorous path to cartooning. He also shares his own personal perspective on the major news stories of the past 25 years.

In a chapter called "Where's the Beef: Fear and Drawing On the Campaign Trail," Rogers shares his best cartoons from the last seven presidential races, including President Barack Obama's historic win in 2008. This unique retrospective includes a chapter for every White House he has covered.

Rogers's cartoons appear regularly in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Newsweek, and USA Today.

A book signing will follow the program.

thanks to Bruce Guthrie for the tip.

You still have a chance to send Ted Rall to Afghanistan...

His latest plea for money (I've given some)-

Heading Toward the Finish

My plan to return to Afghanistan this summer is halfway there--more than 140 backers have put up 50% of the $25,000 I will need (I'm also going to spend about $10,000+ of my own money) to get there and around. War zones are crazy expensive, and this is actually the bargain rate for this sort of journalism, particularly when one isn't backed by a major publication or broadcasting company.

This is the do-or-die phase. I'm halfway there, but there are less than two weeks left. Unless the pace of pledges accelerates, I won't make it. If you have been considering whether or not to participate, please think about it now!

As always, I remain ready, willing and able to answer any and all questions, comments, concerns, etc. about this project.

To comment on this update or see previous updates:
http://www.kickstarter.com/e/7JEIG/projects/tedrall/comix-journalism-send-ted-rall-back-to-afghanista-0/posts/9163?show_token=c63ec49fab336c2c