Thursday, February 09, 2012

Local author's new book about Superman and the Klan

Interview: Superman's Real KKK-Fighting Past Revealed
By Lauren Barack
newsletter Extra Helping February 9, 2012
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/newsletters/newsletterbucketextrahelping2/893628-477/interview.html.csp

Superman fought a very real enemy in radio shows of the 1940s: racial prejudice and the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). But Civil War historian and author Rick Bowers felt the official story behind the Man of Steel's exploits left something uncovered...

Urgent final reminder -- Swann Fellowship applications due next Weds.

A chance to study at the Library of Congress -

Applications for the Swann Fellowship in caricature and cartoon are due next Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012. For eligibility, criteria, requirements, etc. please see Library of Congress web pages: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/swann-fellow.html

Wednesday, February 08, 2012

Truitt on Buffy

Buffy the Vampire Slayer faces her biggest challenge
By Brian Truitt, USA TODAY February 8 2012
http://www.usatoday.com/life/comics/story/2012-02-08/buffy-the-vampire-slayer-comic-book-series/53002192/1

Mara “Meg” Maguire, webcomics artist interview

Meet a Local Cartoonist: A Chat with Mara "Meg" Maguire

by Mike Rhode on Feb. 8, 2012

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/visual-arts/2012/02/08/meet-a-local-cartoonist-a-chat-with-mara-meg-maguire/

I'm afraid this one's been sitting around since Intervention, as have a handful of others. Sorry!

Mar 26: Art Spiegelman at DCJCC

TICKETS FOR ART SPIEGELMAN ON MARCH 26 ON SALE NOW!

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Authors Out Loud presents

Art Spiegelman
MetaMaus: A Look Inside a Modern Classic, Maus
Monday, March 26
7:30 pm
$20; Member/Student with ID/Senior $15
$50 VIP Premium Ticket

Pulitzer Prize-winner Art Spiegelman reenters Maus, the unforgettable biography of his father's life during and after the Holocaust. Spiegelman delves into the book that consumed him for 13 years to discuss his survivor parents, the oxymoron of picturing life in a death camp, racist imagery and his beloved medium of comics. MetaMaus brilliantly deconstructs one of the most important works of art and literature of the 20th century, while providing insight into Spiegelman's creative process.

More Information Purchase Tickets

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Authors Out Loud is funded in part by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, an agency supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

For more information contact Elie Lichtschein at eliel@washingtondcjcc.org or (202) 777-3250.

Truitt on Saucer Country

Politicians vs. aliens: A first look at 'Saucer Country'
By Brian Truitt, USA TODAY February 8 2012
http://www.usatoday.com/life/comics/story/2012-02-08/Saucer-Country-comic-book-series/53010016/1

Comic Riffs talks to Stan Lee, because they can

STAN LEE LAUNCHES NEW SITE: Marvel mastermind answers our questions (*And yours at 7ET)
By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog February 8 2012
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/stan-lee-launches-new-site-marvel-mastermind-answers-our-questions-and-yours-at-7et/2012/02/08/gIQAUhNYzQ_blog.html#pagebreak

Curls comic strip in Cartoonist Studio contest

From: Carolyn Belefski

I just entered my comic strip "Curls" in The Cartoonist Studio competition. There are 10 rounds (1 strip per week).

Please consider casting your votes for Curls. You'll need to create an account and keep voting every 6 hours for maximum support. Even if you can't vote that often, every vote counts.

Search for "Curls" and you will find me.

The winner gets their comics published on gocomics.com and an electronic book publishing contract.

http://www.thecartooniststudio.com/Vote

http://www.curls-studio.blogspot.com/2012/02/vote-curls-in-cartoonist-studio-contest.html

Thanks in advance for your support,
Carolyn
The Cartoonist Studio
www.thecartooniststudio.com

Comic Riffs on NY Times editorial cartoon solicitation

Political cartoonists say they're indignant over Times' solicitation

By Michael Cavna

Washington Post Comic Riffs blog February 7 2012

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/political-cartoonists-say-theyre-indignant-over-times-solicitation/2012/02/07/gIQAo91vxQ_blog.html

Tuesday, February 07, 2012

Truitt on Fantastic Four

'Fantastic Four: Season One' a worthy new origin story
By Brian Truitt, USA TODAY February 6 2012
http://www.usatoday.com/life/comics/story/2012-02-06/Fantastic-Four-Season-One-graphic-novel/52986318/1

Post on Simpson's contest

'Simpsons' fans to attempt watching a ridiculous amount of TV for record, money
By Sarah Anne Hughes
Washington Post Celebritology blog February 7 2012
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/celebritology/post/simpsons-fans-to-attempt-watching-a-ridiculous-amount-of-tv-for-record-money/2012/02/06/gIQAPDwgwQ_blog.html?wprss=rss_entertainment

PR: "Herblock Looks at 1962" Exhibition Opens March 20

Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave. SE
Washington DC 20540

February 7, 2012

"Herblock Looks at 1962" Exhibition Opens March 20

John F. Kennedy in 1962, the second year of his U.S. presidency, attempted to implement new policies that met with partisan opposition: assisting the unemployed, passing a jobs bill and creating Medicare. Abroad, he increased military presence in Vietnam and faced the Soviet Union in a nuclear showdown known as the "Cuban Missile Crisis."

These issues provided rich material for Washington Post editorial cartoonist Herbert L. Block—better known as "Herblock." By 1962, Herblock, who could artfully and effectively wield his pen, had won two Pulitzer Prizes.

His drawings will be on view in the exhibition "Herblock Looks at 1962: Fifty Years Ago Today in Editorial Cartoons," opening March 20, 2012, at the Library of Congress in the Graphic Arts Galleries on the ground floor of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. S.E., Washington, D.C.

The exhibition, which runs through Sept. 5, 2012, is free and open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday. It will be held in the Herblock Gallery, part of the Graphic Arts Galleries, which celebrates the work of Herblock with an ongoing display of 10 original drawings. The display changes every six months.

In 1945, Herblock developed his character "Mr. Atom" to personify the threat of nuclear annihilation that was ever-present during the Cold War (1945-1990). In 1962, Herblock used Mr. Atom repeatedly, when Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev challenged Kennedy. The confrontation played out over the placement of nuclear missiles in Cuba and Turkey. At the same time, disarmament talks in Geneva, Switzerland, did not go well and the "Doomsday Clock" ticked closer to midnight, signaling the increased likelihood of nuclear war.

Ten cartoons will be on view, including "Tick—Tock—Tick," "Once More unto the Brink, Once More," "I May Still Have to Rely on Reckless Inaction" and "Hello—ORwell 1984?"

Herblock was a four-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize. He spent more than 55 years at the Washington Post, taking on political corruption wherever he saw it and championing the rights of "the little guy."

The Herb Block Foundation donated a collection of more than 14,000 original cartoon drawings and 50,000 rough sketches, as well as manuscripts, to the Library of Congress in 2002, and has generously continued to provide funds to support ongoing programming.

The Library has been collecting original cartoon art for more than 140 years. It is a major center for cartoon research with holdings of more than 100,000 original cartoon drawings and prints. These works, housed in the Prints and Photographs Division, span five centuries and range from 17th-century Dutch political prints to 21st-century contemporary comic strips.

The Prints and Photographs Division holds the largest-known collection of American political prints, the finest assemblage of British satirical prints outside Great Britain and holdings of original drawings by generations of America's best cartoonists and illustrators that are unequaled in breadth and depth. Extensive runs of rare satirical and comic journals from Europe and the United States represent another distinguishing facet. The Library acquired these materials through a variety of sources including artists' gifts, donations by private collectors, selective purchases and copyright registration.

For sample images from "Herblock Looks at 1962," contact Donna Urschel at (202) 707-1639.

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PR12-33
2/7/12
ISSN: 0731-3527

Monday, February 06, 2012

PR: Small Press Expo Announces Dan Clowes and Chris Ware as Special Guests for SPX 2012

Small Press Expo Announces Dan Clowes and Chris Ware as special guests for SPX 2012

For Immediate Release Contact: Warren Bernard

E-Mail: warren@spxpo.com

Bethesda, Maryland; February 6, 2012 – The Small Press Expo (SPX), the preeminent showcase for the exhibition of independent comics, graphic novels, and alternative political cartoons, kicks off 2012 with our official announcement that cartoonists Dan Clowes and Chris Ware will be attending this year's festival as special guests.

Superstar cartoonist Dan Clowes was awarded the 2011 PEN Center Literary Award for his "Outstanding body of work in graphic literature." He received the Independent Spirit Award and an Academy Award nomination as writer for the movie Ghost World, based on his graphic novel, and he has published in the New Yorker, Time, Newsweek, and GQ. He was the first cartoonist selected for inclusion in Esquire's prestigious fiction issue, and he drew the backgrounds for The Ramones' video "I Don't Want to Grow Up." But for cartooning cognoscenti, he is perhaps best loved for Eightball, the ambitious and groundbreaking serialized anthology in which he premiered most of the stories eventually collected in his graphic novels. The most recent issue of Eightball contained the entire story "The Death Ray", published in 2011 as a standalone graphic novel and selected by The Onion's AV Club as one of "The Best 25 Comics of the '00s."

Graphic novelist, gallery cartoonist, strip cartoonist -- Chris Ware is one of the best known and most respected independent American cartoonists. He has guest edited McSweeney's Quarterly and The Best American Comics and published cartoons in the New Yorker as well as the Virginia Quarterly Review. He was the first cartoonist to serialize a story in The New York Times Magazine, and has had his work included in the Whitney Biennial. His graphic novel Jimmy Corrigan – the Smartest Kid on Earth received the Guardian First Book Award, the American Book Award and the prestigious French comics award "L'Alph Art." Fans are eagerly anticipating Volume 21 of his Acme Novelty Library comic strip series and his new compendium, Building Stories, will be released this Fall from Pantheon.

Details of events featuring Ware and Clowes will be released as planning is finalized. Pre-expo interview opportunities may be available. Please contact the SPX press office at the number above.

About SPX

SPX is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit that brings together more than 300 artists and publishers to meet their readers, booksellers and distributors each year. Graphic novels, mini comics, and alternative comics will all be on display and for sale by their authors and illustrators, as well as a series of panel discussions and interviews with this year's guests.

SPX also preserves the works of the creators in the indie comics community through the Small Press Expo Collection at the Library of Congress, a first of its kind relationship with a major institution in the United States.

As in previous years, profits from the SPX will go to support the the SPX Graphic Novel Gift Program, which gifts graphic novels to public and academic libraries, as well as the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF), which protects the First Amendment rights of comic book readers and professionals. For more information on the CBLDF, go to their website at http://www.cbldf.org.

SPX 2012 will be held Saturday, September 15 and Sunday, September 16, with the Ignatz Awards festival prize ceremonies occurring Saturday September 15 at 9PM. For more information on the Small Press Expo, please visit http://www.spxpo.com.

Truitt on Batman; Cavna on Doonesbury

'Batwoman' series finds real life amid the supernatural
By Brian Truitt, USA TODAY February 6 2012
http://www.usatoday.com/life/comics/story/2012-02-06/Batwoman-comic-book-series/52989930/1

'DOONESBURY' PULLED BECAUSE OF CHARITY: Trudeau responds to Chicago Tribune's decision not to run DonorsChoose cartoon
By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog February 6 2012
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/doonesbury-pulled-because-of-charity-trudeau-responds-to-chicago-tribunes-decision-not-to-run-donorschoose-cartoon/2012/02/06/gIQAqPdztQ_blog.html#pagebreak

Feb 24: Nate Powell Signing - The Silence of Our Friends

Nate Powell, Eisner Award winning creator of Swallow Me Whole and Any Empire, will be appearing at Big Planet Vienna store on Friday, February 24, from 6:00 to 7:30, to celebrate the release of his new book The Silence of Our Friends.

Sunday, February 05, 2012

Rob Anderson's Rex, Zombie Killer appearing soon

Rob Anderson here -- I'm still living in Alexandria and have been hard at work making comics. I'm writing because my first comic book is FINALLY in the Diamond Previews catalog this month, published by a company called Big Dog Ink. It's an "animals vs. zombies" tale called REX, ZOMBIE KILLER -- sort of like THE WALKING DEAD meets HOMEWARD BOUND, if either of those stories had a gorilla with a baseball bat. In a nutshell, it's about a small pack of animals trying to cross the country after a zombie apocalypse.

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PRESS RELEASE

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ANIMALS VS. ZOMBIES IN "REX, ZOMBIE KILLER #1"

Get Ready for a Gorilla with a Baseball Bat!

In April 2012, comic book publisher Big Dog Ink will release the hounds, as three dogs, a cat, and a gorilla with a baseball bat battle the walking dead in REX, ZOMBIE KILLER #1.

In the wake of a zombie apocalypse, a hyper-intelligent Golden Retriever named Rex, a sign language-speaking gorilla, and a small pack of animals begin a perilous cross-country journey to find safety...and a home.

"I've always wondered what happens to pets when the zombies arrive," explained writer Rob Anderson. "And I've always loved stories that show the heart and tenacity of animals, like WE3 and HOMEWARD BOUND / THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY. In REX ZK, the animals are trying to make their way across California to an underground government bunker where the scientist who raised Rex is now in hiding. But Rex isn't necessarily revealing everything he knows about the situation to his pack."

"This is a story I've been wanting to tell since at least 2008, because it combines three of my big passions: animals, zombies and comic books," Anderson said. "My constant writing companions are my dog and cat, and they're well trained for the coming zombie apocalypse with their patented 'play dead' routine."

The book was also a perfect fit for cover and interior artist DaFu Yu. "From an artistic standpoint, I love drawing monsters, and zombies fit in that category," Yu said. "I'm already detail-oriented in my style, but I go a little crazy when I draw zombies!"

Big Dog Ink Publisher, Tom Hutchinson, added, "This giant-sized one-shot is the latest addition to our creator-owned titles, and it's a unique, high quality story at a special price. We're very excited to add it to the BDI catalog!"

REX, ZOMBIE KILLER #1 is written by Rob Anderson (ANIMAL CONTROL: SPECIAL CREATURES UNIT, GREAT ZOMBIES IN HISTORY) with interior and cover art by DaFu Yu (GRIMM FAIRY TALES, WONDERLAND ANNUAL), colors by Kevin Volo, letters and design by E.T. Dollman, and edited by Paul Allor (CLOCKWORK).

The double-sized, 56-page one-shot ships in April at a special price of only $3.50, and will be available for pre-order in the February 2012 Diamond PREVIEWS catalog. (Order Code: FEB12 0806) The comic book will be in full color in standard comic book format. It is rated TEEN+ for mature themes and violence. Additional one-shots are planned for the future.

About Big Dog Ink

Founded in 2009, Big Dog Ink (http://www.BigDogInk.com) is the publisher of comic book properties such as PENNY FOR YOUR SOUL, CRITTER, and the upcoming werewolf/vampire horror series, URSA MINOR. Big Dog Ink's new hit series, THE LEGEND OF OZ: THE WICKED WEST, charted in the "Diamond Top 300" list in November of 2011.

For more information on REX, ZOMBIE KILLER, visit: http://www.RexZombieKiller.com

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CONTACT:

ROB ANDERSON

rob@RexZombieKiller.com

IMAGES & ONLINE MEDIA KIT: http://www.RexZombieKiller.com/p/press-info.html

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Cho preview

Frank Cho art on Avengers vs X-Men preview.