George Washington by Arthur Szyk for President's Day

A detail from Szyk's print on the Declaration of Independence, on display at the DAR Museum.

Arthur Szyk in Library of Congress

Jewish cartoonist and caricaturist is a perennial favorite in the area. The Library of Congress displaying a couple of pieces of his original art for playing cards in the "Words Like Sapphires" Hebraicia exhibit, and is selling some new products based on his work - a book "Heroes of Ancient Israel: The Playing Card Art of Arthur Szyk" and two decks of the cards, a 'Player's Deck' and a 'Collector's Deck.'  I love Szyk's work and bought one of each.

One of Szyk's prints of the Declaration of Independence is on permanent display at the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Museum, I discovered yesterday.

SPX wants you...

...or rather your comics work which they will post on their Tumblr site - submit it at http://spx.tumblr.com/submit

Superhero contest answers, Escape from Planet Earth, and the Walking Dead in today's Post

Style Invitational Week 1009: What's in a name, plus the winning super- (and not-so-super-) heroes.
By Pat Myers, Washington Post February 17 2013
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/style-invitational-week-1009-whats-in-a-name-plus-the-winning-super--and-not-so-super--heroes/2013/02/14/98cf38d0-7413-11e2-aa12-e6cf1d31106b_story.html - and don't forget that Bob Staake has done the illustrations for this contest for around a decade. The honorable mentions seem to only be in the print edition, and include my neighbor Larry Yungk's Bleeperman.

'Escape From Planet Earth' movie review
By Michael O'Sullivan, February 15 2013
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/escape-from-planet-earth-movie-review/2013/02/15/a8079568-779c-11e2-8f84-3e4b513b1a13_story.html

and for the record:

McIntyre, Gina / Los Angeles Times.  2013.
Steven Yeun 'the heart' of 'The Walking Dead'.
Washington Post (February 17)

Yardley on Nast in the Post

'Thomas Nast: The Father of Modern Political Cartoons' by Fiona Deans Halloran
By Jonathan Yardley,
Washington Post February 16 2013
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/thomas-nast-the-father-of-modern-political-cartoons-by-fiona-deans-halloran/2013/02/15/e924d808-6964-11e2-ada3-d86a4806d5ee_story.html

Life Without Fossil Fuels cartoon ad in today's Washington Post

For the record, it's on page A5. Does anyone know who's drawing these?

Give me some old school PSAs

PSA's (aka Public Service Announcements) still exist, but are probably not as noticable to most in our media saturated environment.  As you might expect, cartoonists and cartoon characters are often a part of them. Of course, they also serve as an advertisement for the cartoon itself. Here's a current one that I walked past for a couple of months (excuse the cell phone quality):



This Blondie panel from 1970 was in a newspaper in the National Museum of Health and Medicine:



These comics of the Pink Panther, Blondie, Beetle Bailey, and Mutt & Jeff all come from Navy medical newspapers or newsletters.











Speaking of Mutt and Jeff, cartoonist Al Smith drew it for about 50 years. Here he is entertaining patients at a 1971 visit to Bethesda's National Naval Medical Center.



Caricaturist Jack Rosen visited Naval Hospital Orlando in 1979.



Of course, sometimes an ad is just an ad. This US Postal Service Mover's Guide Official Change of Address Kit, January 2013, has a Disney advertisement, and is available right now from your local post office.



These are minor footnotes in a larger history of comics, but hopefully enterained you briefly.

The Express on children and animation

That Was Intense

 By Kristen Page-Kirby

 [Washington Post] Express February 15, 2013

online at http://www.readexpress.com/2013/02/that-was-intense/

Cartoons to see in the L.o.C.

The Library of Congress has several cartoon and comics exhibits up now.  Here's a quick overview.

You can buy District Comics in their gift shop in the Jefferson Building. My story on the Army Medical Museum is around page 90, wink, wink.

Also in the Jefferson Building for another month is  "Down to Earth: Herblock and Photographers Observe the Environment" curated by Carol Johnson and Sara Duke. Carol's the photograph curator, Sara the Herblock one. I thought this was an excellent exhibit. The photographs and the cartoons really complemented each other, and the unlikely pairing made for a stronger exhibit than either alone would have.

There's a small brochure for the exhibit, although you have to get it at the Madison Building's Prints & Photographs department.


At the same location is "Herblock Looks at 1962: Fifty Years Ago in Editorial Cartoons," an exhibit curated by Sara Duke. This smaller exhibit focuses on President Kennedy.

Obviously Sara made curatorial choices to influence this in both exhibits, but it's still depressing how relevant 50-year-old cartoons are:

The third exhibit is a small one on comic books featuring Presidents that Megan Halsband did in the Serials Department (in the Madison Building) for President's Day. The majority of these comics are from Bluewater's current biographical series, but she did find an issue of Action Comics that I don't remember seeing.









The Prints & Photographs division showed off its new acquisitions this week. Sara Duke showed some original comic book and strip artwork:



A piece by Keith Knight, and two pages from Jim Rugg's anthology. They collected the entire book except for the centerfold. Not shown is...



Above are voting rights prints by Lalo Alcaraz, possibly selected by Helena Zinkham.

Martha Kennedy had some great acquistions this year, including works by James Flora, editorial cartoonist Signe Wilkinson, Garry "Doonesbury" Trudeau, and Charles Vess' entire book of Ballads and Sagas:












This artwork isn't on exhibit, but you can make an appointment to view it.

Katsucon is this weekend

Anime and manga goodness and weirdness - http://www.katsucon.org/

Comic Riffs talks about Molly Crabapple

ARTMAKING, A LOVE STORY: How viral 'I Have Your Heart' film brought two creators together from worlds away
By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog February 13 2013
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/artmaking-a-love-story-how-viral-i-have-your-heart-film-brought-two-creators-together-from-worlds-away/2013/02/13/1d3d4b8c-765f-11e2-8f84-3e4b513b1a13_blog.html#pagebreak

Nick Galifianakis cartoon contest at Comic Riffs

VALENTINE'S DAY CAPTION CONTEST: Enter now by writing this Nick Galifianakis cartoon (*and win the signed art)
By Michael Cavna

I've entered!

Feb 16: Scooby-Doo live in DC

Scooby-Doo Live! Musical Mysteries

Date: Sat, Feb 16, 2013 03:00 PM

Date: Sat, Feb 16, 2013 06:00 PM

Ticket Price: $25.00 to $75.00

 

Jeepers! SCOOBY-DOO and the Mystery Inc. gang have been called in to help solve an epic mystery in Washington. A trouble-making ghost is haunting the Warner Theatre and SHAGGY, FRED, DAPHNE, VELMA and SCOOBY-DOO are on their way in the MYSTERY MACHINE to help solve it! This hilarious live theater show brings everyone's favorite animated series to life. Filled with wacky new characters, fantastic songs and outrageous antics, SCOOBY-DOO LIVE! MUSICAL MYSTERIES, presented by Warner Bros. and Life Like Touring, will have audiences on the edge of their seats in traditional Scooby-Doo fashion. See if this time the gang is in over its head!

Comic Riffs investigates Penny Arcade's reality show

'PENNY ARCADE' GETS REAL: With new 'Strip Search' show, 12 cartoonists get a shot at big career boost
By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog February 12 2013: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/penny-arcade-gets-real-with-new-strip-search-show-12-cartoonists-get-a-shot-at-big-career-boost/2013/02/12/245b9436-6f4e-11e2-aa58-243de81040ba_blog.html#pagebreak

Amulet cartoonist Kibuishi to cover Harry Potter

A New Vision Of Harry Potter Premieres With A Fresh Take On 'Sorcerer's Stone' [by Kazu Kibuishi].

by Linda Holmes

National Public Radio's Monkey See blog (February 13, 2013): http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2013/02/13/171887105/a-new-vision-of-harry-potter-premieres-with-a-fresh-take-on-sorcerers-stone

The Post reviews ‘Anime Momotaro’

'Anime Momotaro' is truly for kids of all ages [in print as 'Banzai caper is a crowd-pleaser].

 

By Jane Horwitz,

 

Washington Post February 11, 2013.

 

online at

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/anime-momotaro-is-truly-for-kids-of-all-ages/2013/02/09/e22a3e54-7309-11e2-ac36-3d8d9dcaa2e2_story.html

Comic Riffs on Kal's Kickstarter Campaign

KAL'S LAST KICK: With hours to go, Economist/Baltimore Sun cartoonist nears new Kickstarter goal

By Michael Cavna

Washington Post's Comic Riffs blog (February 11 2013)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/kals-last-kick-with-hours-to-go-economistbaltimore-sun-cartoonist-nears-new-kickstarter-goal/2013/02/11/eb13d712-74cd-11e2-8f84-3e4b513b1a13_blog.html

Weldon on Stan Lee

 The Man Behind Spider-Man? Stan Lee is a legend. But not for the reasons you think.
BY GLEN WELDON
 FEBRUARY 7, 2013
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/112342/stan-lee-launches-kids-comics-usual-he-didnt-write-them#

Third Eye Comics in Annapolis profiled

Reviewing your local shops: Third Eye Comics

By: Bryan Sinagra

02/08/2013

http://www.abc2news.com/dpp/money/consumer/reviewing-your-local-shops-third-eye-comics

PR: Civil rights legend Rep. John Lewis to launch graphic novel trilogy in August

Another DC-based (at least part-time) comic book writer!

 

Civil rights legend Rep. John Lewis to launch graphic novel trilogy in August

February 11, 2013

Congressman John Lewis (GA-5) is an American icon, a man who has witnessed history in the making and helped make history himself as one of the key figures of the civil rights movement. His commitment to justice and nonviolence has taken him from an Alabama sharecropper's farm to the halls of Congress, from a segregated schoolroom to the 1963 March on Washington, and from receiving beatings from state troopers to receiving the Medal of Freedom from the first African-American president.

Now, to share his remarkable story with new generations, Lewis is turning to the graphic novel format, in collaboration with co-writer Andrew Aydin and artist Nate Powell (winner of the Eisner Award and LA Times Book Prize finalist for Swallow Me Whole, NY Times Bestseller for The Silence of Our Friends). The resulting graphic novel trilogy, entitled March, will be released by Georgia-based publisher Top Shelf Productions, known for the thoughtful and award-winning works of Alan Moore, Craig Thompson, and Jeff Lemire.

March is a vivid first-hand account of John Lewis' lifelong struggle for civil and human rights (including his key roles in the historic 1963 March on Washington and the 1965 Selma-Montgomery March), meditating in the modern age on the distance traveled since the days of Jim Crow and segregation. Rooted in Lewis' personal story, it also reflects on the highs and lows of the broader civil rights movement.

The first volume, March (Book One), will appear in stores everywhere on August 13, 2013. Two weeks later, America will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs & Freedom.

Throughout the year, Lewis and his co-creators will travel across the country to promote the book, including featured keynote appearances at BookExpo America in New York, the American Library Association's Annual Conference in Chicago, and Comic-Con International in San Diego.

March is a historic first, both for the U.S. Congress and for comics publishing as a whole, marking the first time a sitting member of Congress has authored a graphic novel. Top Shelf Productions is the first and only graphic novel publisher to be certified by the House Committee on Standards.

In March, a true American icon joins with one of America's most acclaimed graphic novelists. Together, they bring to life one of our nation's most historic moments, a period both shameful and inspiring, and a movement whose echoes will be heard for generations.

March (Book One), a deluxe softcover graphic novel with french flaps and black & white interiors, 6.5" x 9.5", 128 pages, ISBN 978-1-60309-300-2, $14.95 US. August 13, 2013.

For more information and a 14-page preview, visit http://www.topshelfcomix.com/march.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Photo by Eric Etheridge

JOHN LEWIS is Georgia's Fifth Congressional District Representative and an American icon widely known for his role in the Civil Rights Movement.

As a student at American Baptist Theological Seminary in 1959, John Lewis organized sit-in demonstrations at segregated lunch counters in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1961, he volunteered to participate in the Freedom Rides, which challenged segregation at interstate bus terminals across the South. He was beaten severely by angry mobs and arrested by police for challenging the injustice of Jim Crow segregation in the South.

From 1963 to 1966, Lewis was Chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). As Chairman, John Lewis became a nationally recognized leader. Lewis was dubbed one of the Big Six leaders of the Civil Rights Movement and at the age of 23, he was an architect of and a keynote speaker at the historic March on Washington in August 1963.

In 1964, John Lewis coordinated SNCC efforts to organize voter registration drives and community action programs during the Mississippi Freedom Summer. The following year, Lewis helped spearhead one of the most seminal moments of the Civil Rights Movement. Hosea Williams, another notable Civil Rights leader, and John Lewis led over 600 peaceful, orderly protestors across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama on March 7, 1965. They intended to march from Selma to Montgomery to demonstrate the need for voting rights in the state. The marchers were attacked by Alabama state troopers in a brutal confrontation that became known as "Bloody Sunday." News broadcasts and photographs revealing the senseless cruelty of the segregated South helped hasten the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Despite more than 40 arrests, physical attacks and serious injuries, John Lewis remained a devoted advocate of the philosophy of nonviolence. After leaving SNCC in 1966, he continued his commitment to the Civil Rights Movement as Associate Director of the Field Foundation and his participation in the Southern Regional Council's voter registration programs. Lewis went on to become the Director of the Voter Education Project (VEP). In 1977, John Lewis was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to direct more than 250,000 volunteers of ACTION, the federal volunteer agency.

In 1981, he was elected to the Atlanta City Council. He was elected to Congress in November 1986 and has served as U.S. Representative of Georgia's Fifth Congressional District since then. In 2011 he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Lewis' 1999 memoir Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement won numerous honors, including the Robert F. Kennedy, Lillian Smith, and Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards. His most recent book, Across That Bridge: Life Lessons and a Vision for Change, has received the NAACP Image Award.

ANDREW AYDIN, NATE POWELL & JOHN LEWIS

ANDREW AYDIN, an Atlanta native, currently serves in Rep. John Lewis' Washington, D.C. office handling Telecommunications and Technology policy as well as New Media. Previously, he served as Communications Director and Press Secretary during Rep. Lewis' 2008 and 2010 re-election campaigns, as District Aide to Rep John Larson (D-CT), and as Special Assistant to Connecticut Lt. Governor Kevin Sullivan. Andrew is a graduate of the Lovett School in Atlanta, Trinity College in Hartford, and Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

NATE POWELL is a New York Times best-selling graphic novelist born in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1978. He began self-publishing at age 14, and graduated from the School of Visual Arts in 2000. His work includes the critically acclaimed Any Empire, Swallow Me Whole (winner of the Eisner Award and Ignatz Award, finalist for the LA Times Book Prize), The Year of the Beasts, The Silence of Our Friends, and Sounds of Your Name.

Powell appeared at the United Nations in 2011, discussing his contribution to the fundraising fiction anthology What You Wish For: A Book For Darfur alongside some of the world's foremost writers of young adult fiction.

In addition to March, Powell is also currently drawing the graphic novel adaptation of Rick Riordan's #1 international bestseller Heroes of Olympus: The Lost Hero, while writing and drawing his own forthcoming graphic novel Cover and assembling the short story collection You Don't Say.

TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS, based in Atlanta, GA, is the literary graphic novel and comics publisher best known for its ability to discover and showcase the vanguard of the comics scene. Founded by co-publisher Brett Warnock in 1995, and joined by co-publisher Chris Staros in 1997, Top Shelf has produced over 250 comics and graphic novels that have helped to revitalize interest in comics as a literary art form.

Among Top Shelf's most notable releases are Alan Moore's From Hell, Lost Girls, and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen; Craig Thompson's Blankets; Andy Runton's Owly; Robert Venditti & Brett Weldele's The Surrogates; Jeff Lemire's Essex County and The Underwater Welder; and Jeffrey Brown's Clumsy.