Dan Piraro in town today

He's at Big Planet Comics at 15th & U St, NW from 6-7 signing books and then performs at 8 p.m. at Riot Act Comedy Theater, 801 E St. NW. $15. http://riotactcomedy.com (202) 697-4900.

I'll be at Big Planet, the first time I'm visiting that store.

Updated - Eden Miller interviewed Piraro for her Comicsgirl blog

The Nate Beeler departure memo

Washington Examiner Bids Farewell to Editorial Cartoonist
By Betsy Rothstein
Mediabistro's FishbowlDC blog March 9, 2012
http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowldc/washington-examiner-bids-farewell-to-editorial-cartoonist_b67152

That darn Post editorial page, and Toles too

A cartoon unworthy of The Post [Gary McCoy's; not in print edition].
James Vassar, Vienna
Washington Post,com March 9 2012
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-cartoon-unworthy-of-the-post/2012/03/07/gIQAVKa81R_story.html

Eliciting No Laughs [online title: Eliciting less than laughs, March 9]

Stephen D. Wolpe, James L. McGee, Diane Yaworski, Julie M. Luckey

Washington Post March 10 2012
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/eliciting-less-than-laughs/2012/03/07/gIQAFNe81R_story.html

Tom Toles articulates frustration, rage

Judith Weinberg, John Richardson, Carol Peterson

Washington Post March 10 2012

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/tom-toles-articulates-frustration-rage/2012/03/07/gIQAWaT81R_story.html

Truitt on Valiant

Creators, company ready for a Valiant summer
By Brian Truitt, USA TODAY March 9 2012
http://www.usatoday.com/life/comics/story/2012-03-09/Valiant-Comics-relaunches-books/53421880/1

Nick Anderson wins Berryman award

Chronicle cartoonist Anderson gets national award
HOUSTON CHRONICLE March 8, 2012
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Chronicle-cartoonist-Anderson-gets-national-award-3393193.php

The award is partly named for long-time Washington cartoonist Clifford K. Berryman.

PR: Beyond Comics Dollar Comics

Check out our Dollar Comic Store Gaithersburg Square  536 North Frederick Ave. Yes, that is our old address!   Hours: Wednesday - Saturday 11:00am to 5:00pm Sunday 12noon to 5:00pm All comics $1 each (Cash* or Credit) Graphic Novels 50% to 75% OFF Everything 50% to 75% OFF    Additional Product Every Week! *There is a cash discount. Also visit our new location! Our full-service Comic Shop! 18749 B North Frederick Rd. Gaithersburg, Maryland 20879 301-216-0007

Comic Riffs on Doonesbury's wading into ridiculous abortion laws

ComicsDC is a product of Northern Virginia, which is currently experiencing similar legislative intrusions and depriving people of what the United Nation's Charter of Human Rights calls the Right to Life, Liberty and Security of Person. Virginia used to have a good idea, 140 years ago, what these rights meant.

"DOONESBURY": Next week's abortion strips pulled by at least one paper
By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog March 9 2012
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/doonesbury-next-weeks-abortion-strips-pulled-by-at-least-one-paper/2012/03/06/gIQAyTLc1R_blog.html

THE 'DOONESBURY' INTERVIEW: Garry Trudeau says to ignore abortion debate would have been 'comedy malpractice'
By Michael Cavna March 9 2012
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/the-doonesbury-interview-garry-trudeau-says-to-ignore-abortion-debate-would-have-been-comedy-malpractice/2012/03/09/gIQAjTHy1R_blog.html#pagebreak

Where have you gone, Nate Beeler?

 

Tom Spurgeon scooped me again by reporting that Nate Beeler is moving back to Columbus. I'll miss Nate's work - he's the main reason I pick up the Examiner since they dropped their 3 pages of comics. I've been tear-sheeting his cartoons and sending them to the comics libraries at Michigan and Ohio State Universities too.

 

Here's the main story:

 

 'Dispatch' hires new editorial cartoonist; Nate Beeler, a 31-year-old Bexley native, has worked at the Washington Examiner since 2005.
Friday March 9, 2012 5:39 AM
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/03/09/dispatch-hires-new-editorial-cartoonist.html

April 4: One Bad Rat discussion at Ashburn Library

The Graphic Novels/Comics Book Club meets the first Wednesday of the month at 7 PM at the Ashburn Library located at 43316 Hay Road, Ashburn Virginia, 20147. Here's a link about the next meeting to discuss The Tale of One Bad Rat by Bryan Talbot:    http://engagedpatrons.org/EventsExtended.cfm?SiteID=6457&EventID=112307

This is an excellent book - one of my favorites.

Truitt on Danger Club

'Danger Club' a 'visceral' world of teenage superheroes
By Brian Truitt, USA TODAY March 7 2012
http://www.usatoday.com/life/comics/story/2012-03-07/Danger-Club-comic-book-series/53401768/1?loc=interstitialskip

Politico on Limbaugh cartoons

Cartoonists skewer Rush Limbaugh
By PATRICK GAVIN | 3/8/12
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0312/73780.html

March 15: Jodi Picoult, former Wonder Woman writer in town

JODI PICOULT  Picoult discusses her latest novel, Lone Wolf, about a man [on] life support whose fate must be determined by his family members, who have difficult motives for keeping him alive or letting him die.  Book included in admission price.  Sixth & I Historic Synagogue.  600 I St. NW.  March 15, 7 p.m.  $28-$38.  (202) 408-3100.

Kerry G. Johnson's Spectra #4 has been completed

Following up on yesterday's link to an interview with him,Kerry G. Johnson tells ComicsDC about some local comic book work he's done -

Here is a recent project that I worked on for PhysicsCentral.com.

I'm the Art Director at the American Physical Society (APS Physics), the parent company of PhysicsCentral. Headquarters in College Park, MD (not on campus)

I recently illustrated the 4th installment of our comic book series, PhysicsQuest: Spectra #4: Spectra Heats Up! (written by Dr. Rebecca Thompson, illustrated by Kerry G. Johnson)

The Spectra series follows the adventures of a teen girl that discovers she has the powers of a laser. Spectra is also the official mascot of the 2010 LaserFest: Celebrating 50 Years of Laser Innovation.

PhysicsQuest is a set of four activities designed to engage middle school students in scientific inquiry. The 2011-2012 activities are linked together via a storyline and comic book. In the fourth issue, Spectra and her friends must combat "mean girl" Tiffany Maxwell and her impish demon. Spectra's super powers are all real things that a laser beam can do. Additionally, the students will learn via the 4 activities and by reading through the comic book.

The FREE comics and science kits are available by contacting PhysicsCentral.com:


LINKS

http://www.physicscentral.com/experiment/physicsquest/past/index.cfm

http://www.physicscentral.com/experiment/physicsquest/index.cfm

http://physicsbuzz.physicscentral.com/2011/11/spectra-saves-girls-interest-in-science.html

_____________________________________

Kerry G. Johnson Design & Illustration
Caricatures by Kerry
Website/Blog: http://kerrykraft.com
Twitter: caricaturekerry

Truitt on Spider-man cartoon

'Ultimate Spider-Man' leads Disney XD's new superhero series
By Brian Truitt, USA TODAY March 7 2012
http://www.usatoday.com/life/comics/story/2012-03-07/Ultimate-Spider-Man-Marvel-Universe-animated-series/53396068/1

City Paper recommends Dan Piraro's comedy show

Dan Piraro at Riot Act Comedy Theater Sunday, March 11
By Christopher Porter • March 9, 2012
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/42317/dan-piraro-at-riot-act-comedy-theater-sunday-march-11/

Disney animation music obituary

Robert B. Sherman, 86; Composer penned hit songs for Disney with his brother [online title: Disney composer wrote 'It's a Small World']
By Emily Langer,
Washington Post (March 8 2012)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/disney-composer-penned-its-a-small-world/2012/03/06/gIQAik3txR_story.html

 

Big Planet Comics Orbit Newsletter - March 8, 2012

March 8, 2012

Dan Piraro Signing on Sunday! Don't forget Dan Piraro will be at our U Street store this Sunday, March 11, at 6! We have copies of his new strip collection, Bizarro Heroes, at all our stores now. We are also having an early release party for Avengers vs. X-Men #1, the next huge Marvel event. You can get copies of the comic a day early on Tuesday, April 3. Thanks to everyone who came out for the release party for Magic Bullet #4! It was great to see so many local DC area cartoonists all hanging out together, and eating delicious food prepared by Master Chef William is always a great treat! Luckily the weather turned out to be perfect, and many pounds of eggplants, hamburgers, hot dogs, and deliciously marinated chicken was devoured. Here are some pictures by Big Planet staff photographer Kevin https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.360870727286675.87800.111435242230226&type=1 And a lot more by Magic Bulleteer Joe Carabeo! https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100468365219396.2524582.25510747&type=1 Feel free to forward on our newsletter, and please send us any comments or mailing list requests to vienna@bigplanetcomics.com Thanks!   - the Big Planet Comics kids UPCOMING March 11 - Dan Piraro Signing Dan Piraro, will be appearing at our U Street store March 11, from 6:00 to 7:00, to sign his new book, Bizarro Heroes. Bizarro Heroes is a collection of his superhero themed spoofs from the last 25 years of Bizarro. 6-7 pm Big Planet Comics of U Street 1520 U St NW Washington, DC 20009 202-342-1961 greg@bigplanetcomics.com NEW April 3 - Avengers vs. X-Men #1 Early Release Party Marvel is calling it their biggest event yet, building on the last 10 years of storytelling, but really, who doesn't just want to see the superheroes throw down against each other? We will be having a special release party for Avengers vs. X-Men #1 one day early, on Tuesday April 3! So not only will you be able to buy AVX #1 a day early, but you will have access to some other specials, including limited variant covers, and other limited items, like a pin to show your allegiance to either the X-Men or the Avengers, so start thinking now about which team you support! Poor Wolverine, he's got to fight himself. 8-9 pm All 4 Big Planet Comics stores! King City SC by Brandon Graham A mix of lots of different styles: Paul Pope, Taiyo Matsumoto, Bryan Lee O'Malley, Moebius - come together into a delightful city where ninja play soccer games, strange new drugs keep soldiers in the war against xombies, and Joe is a cat master who knows the secret kung fu of cats! Seriously one of the best comics ever. Blue HC by Pat Grant A strange look at an Australian beach town that has decayed and been repopulated with a large group of strange aliens. A man thinks back to his idyllic childhood surfing and skipping school with his friends, and the rumor that there is a dead body they could go look at. Amazing and utterly different. Age of Apocalypse #1 by David Lapham and Roberto de la Torre The saga continues! After Apocalypse was defeated, Wolverine took his place as the evil Weapon Omega! Now almost all of humanity has been killed and mutants rule a wasteland. But will new heroes rise up? A lot of familiar faces return to the age of apocalypse. The Manhattan Projects #1 by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Pitarra Hickman returns with some of his best big scifi ideas ever! The atom bomb project in WW2 was cover for the crazy secret stuff the Americans were REALLY doing! Oppenheimer and his psychopathic twin are introduced to the projects where Einstein is locked in a room and Japanese psychic warriors assault the base! Insane and great. Fairest #1 by Bill Willingham and Phil Jimenez A new spin-off of Fables, this follows Ali Baba, Prince of Thieves, as a small genie tries to get him to rescue some of the princesses put under a magical sleep in the Fables assault on the Empire of the Homelands. Hilarious dialogue, an angry wooden soldier, and TWO princesses? At the Mountains of Madness SC by H.P. Lovecraft and I.N.J. Culbard Lovecraft's best novella is adapted to comics! One of the earliest Antarctic expeditions finds mysterious monsters from millennia past frozen in the ice, and a cyclopean alien city hidden in the mountains at the center of Antarctica. The inspiration for John Carpenter's The Thing! Great art and coloring too. Big Planet Comics Podcast #36   Kevin, Nick and Jared talk about Krispy Kreme Burgers and all the new comics! Download this week's now or subscribe on iTunes! Send us questions to podcast@bigplanetcomics.com   3/11 - Dan Piraro Signing Bizarro 6-7pm 1520 U St NW Washington, DC 20009 202-342-1961 greg@bigplanetcomics.com   4/3 - Avengers vs. X-Men #1 Early Release Party All stores! 8pm-9pm   4/14 - Justin Jordan & Tradd Moore Signing The Strange Talent of Luther Strode 11am-1pm 426 Maple Ave. East Vienna, VA 22180 703-242-9412 vienna@bigplanetcomics.com Signing The Strange Talent of Luther Strode 3pm-5pm 7315 Baltimore Ave. College Park, MD 20740 301-699-0498 bigplanetcollegepark@yahoo.com   5/5 - Free Comic Book Day All stores! freecomicbookday.com   5/5 - Jeremy Whitley Signing Princeless 11am-1pm 426 Maple Ave. East Vienna, VA 22180 703-242-9412 vienna@bigplanetcomics.com   Signing Princeless 3pm-5pm 7315 Baltimore Ave. College Park, MD 20740 301-699-0498 bigplanetcollegepark@yahoo.com 5/5 - Jorge Aguirre Signing Giants Beware! 11am-1pm 426 Maple Ave. East Vienna, VA 22180 703-242-9412 vienna@bigplanetcomics.com   Signing Giants Beware! 3pm-5pm 7315 Baltimore Ave. College Park, MD 20740 301-699-0498 bigplanetcollegepark@yahoo.com 7/4 - 20% off Sale All stores! 7/28 - Matt Dembicki Signing Xoc 11am-1pm 7315 Baltimore Ave. College Park, MD 20740 301-699-0498 bigplanetcollegepark@yahoo.com Signing Xoc 3pm-5pm 426 Maple Ave. East Vienna, VA 22180 703-242-9412 vienna@bigplanetcomics.com   Avengers Academy #27 by Christos Gage and Karl Moline The Runaways return, searching for their lost raptor! Flashpoint SC by Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert The Flash finds himself in a dark world where Bruce Wayne died! Friends With Boys SC by Faith Erin Hicks A home-schooled girl who is haunted goes to high school. Hell Yeah: The Last Generation of Heroes #1 by Joe Keatinge and Andre Szymanowicz The son of some of the first superheroes finds his destiny. Night Force #1 (of 6) by Marv Wolfman and Tom Mandrake The classic supernatural mystery returns. Supurbia #1 (of 4) by Grace Randolph and Russell Dauterman Desperate Housewives of superheroes!

like us on Facebook | follow us on Twitter | subscribe on iTunes | forward to a friend  Copyright © 2012 Big Planet Comics, All rights reserved. Big Planet Comics  -  426 Maple Ave. East, Vienna, Virginia 22180  -  703.242.9412 Big Planet Comics  -  7315 Baltimore Ave., College Park, Maryland 20740  -  301.699.0498 Big Planet Comics  -  4908 Fairmont Ave., Bethesda, Maryland 20814  -  301.654.6856 Big Planet Comics  -  1520 U St. NW, Washington, DC 20009  -  202.342.1961

Sent to mrhode@gmail.com — why did I get this? unsubscribe from this list | update subscription preferences Big Planet Comics · 426 Maple Ave. East · Vienna, VA 22180

Latest Toles cartoon contest winner

The winner of the Super Tuesday Cartoon Caption Contest

By Tom Toles
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/tom-toles/post/the-winner-of-the-super-tuesday-cartoon-caption-contest/2012/03/07/gIQANXQJxR_blog.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/super-tuesday-cartoon-caption-contest/2012/03/07/gIQAOLxIxR_gallery.html#imgid=gIQAA8wIxR

Keith Knight Kickstarter campaign

Keith is one of my favorite cartoonists - his strip Knight Life appears in the Post on Sundays and he's a regular at SPX. I've just signed up.

              Knight Life & K Chronicles cartoonist

Keith Knight Launches Kickstarter campaign

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Los Angeles, CA/March 7 , 2012- Award-winning cartoonist Keith Knight (the Knight Life, the K Chronicles, (th)ink), has launched a Kickstarter  campaign for his first graphic novel, I Was A Teenage Michael Jackson Impersonator. 

 

The book will chronicle Knight's high school senior year and college freshman year, when he performed as a Michael Jackson impersonator (circa 1984 and '85).

"It was the best paying gig I ever had, " says the semi-famous cartoonist.

Knight estimates it will take two years to complete the graphic novel and has 30 days to raise the funds on Kickstarter, a website devoted to the public providing financial support of art projects.  If the final tally comes up a dollar short of the funds requested, it all goes back to the donors.

The Harvey and Glyph award winner notes that there are some interesting rewards for backers, "Including a phone call from my evil twin sister."

Knight draws three different comic strips: the autobiographical K Chronicles, the socio-political single panel,  (th)ink, and the syndicated daily strip, the Knight Life.  His work can be found in the Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Boston Herald, Daily KOS, Funny Times, MAD Magazine and more.  He won the 2010 Comic Con Inkpot Award for career achievement in the field of comic strips.

To donate to the campaign, go to:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/190901932/i-was-a-teenage-michael-jackson-impersonator

www.knightlifecomic.com  http://www.kchronicles.com

 

Link to Kickstarter page:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/190901932/i-was-a-teenage-michael-jackson-impersonator

Here's an odd bit

Former Mayor Adrian Fenty's life told through animation

By Chris L. Jenkins
The Root DC bog March 6 2012
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/therootdc/post/former-mayor-adrian-fentys-life-told-through-animation/2012/03/06/gIQAl66suR_blog.html

12 parts!