Selcuk Demirel returns to the Washington Post

The great Turkish cartoonist Selcuk Demirel used to appear regularly in the Washington Post Book World, when that existed. Yesterday, an illustration by  Demirel ran in the Opinion section.

OT: March 15 - Mystery writer Brad Parks at One More Page bookstore

This is off-topic, but I quite enjoyed his last novel when I read it this weekend and was pleased by the coincidence of his speaking this week. If you read mysteries - give him a try.

Fri, March 15 at 7 pm:  One More Page welcomes back Brad Parks to discuss The Good Cop. His fourth novel featuring investigative reporter Carter Ross as he traces illegal gun smuggling from Virginia to New Jersey.

USA Weekend on Disney Worlds' redo

Mickey goes digital: A 10-year-old and his mom and dad try out Disney World's upgrade in time for spring break and summer.

By Joel, Mike and Bobbi James,

USA Weekend (March 8 2013).

Online at http://www.usaweekend.com/article/20130308/LIVING01/303080004/Mickey-goes-digital

USA Weekend is distributed locally in the Washington Examiner.

Need a book about comics? Try the National Gallery of Art

Here's my friend Bart Beaty's book, Comics Versus Art in the National Gallery of Art's bookstore. In the Art Theory section, no less.

Hank Ketchum in Navy Medicine's 1993 issue - online now

The January 1993 issue of Navy Medicine is digitized and online. It features the article "Food is Ammunition- Don't Waste It" which reproduces World War II cartoon posters, some of which were drawn by Hank "Dennis the Menace" Ketchum during his Navy career.

PSA: "Lenore" Creator Roman Dirge injured and in need of support

Roman Dirge, creator and illustrator of the Lenore comic book series, and his girlfriend Amber were injured in a hit-and-run accident in Hollywood, CA, on February 26, 2013. One of Dirge's legs was severely damaged, but he is said to be in good spirits despite facing a long recovery.

As a long time collaborator with Roman on his many exceptional projects, we at Titan Entertainment Group wish to offer him good health and a speedy recovery.

We would also love to spread the word that Roman's friend's and family have set up a fund to help him with his medical bills as they will be exceedingly large.

If you are a fan of Roman's work and would like to wish him all the best by making a contribution- please visit Give Forward at the link below:

http://www.giveforward.com/pleasehelpromancoverhismedicalexpenses

"I'm a self employed artist and I do not have insurance. The bills will start arriving next week, which I assume will add up to the cost of a small private island. One of my good friends set up a donation page to help with this. Believe me, anything helps. I've been blown away by the outpouring of support from friends, fans and family. I thank everyone, from the bottom of my jerky-like heart, and I'm just so thankful of everything." – Roman Dirge

Katharine Carroll
U.S. Publicity Director
Titan Books / Hard Case Crime - New York

www.titanbooks.com
www.hardcasecrime.com 

Weldon on Superman, for Salon

"Orson Scott Card isn't the guy to tell me a Superman story": A gay Superman expert explains why it was never a good idea for DC Comics to engage the controversial sci-fi writer

 By Daniel D'Addario

 Mar  7, 2013

 http://www.salon.com/2013/03/07/superman_biographer_on_the_orson_scott_card_fallout_supe_represents_compassion/

 

I believe Glen has his new business card - "A gay Superman expert" and his book isn't even out yet.

For the record: Gossip on Rep. Lewis' comic book

We posted the PR for this book here last week, but here's another local source picking it up -

Rep. John Lewis to write, star in graphic novel
By Judy Kurtz
In the Know: The Hill's Gossip Blog 03/06/13
 http://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/286563-rep-john-lewis-to-write-star-in-graphic-novel-

Steven Heller on Thomas Nast's murals, and the Library of Congress connection

Check out this excellent article on a failed project by Thomas Nast for a Th. Nast's Grand Caricaturama:



A Caricamural View of the American Civil War.

Steven Heller

The Daily Heller blog (March 7)

http://imprint.printmag.com/daily-heller/a-caricamural-view-of-the-american-civil-war/

In the article, Heller notes, "In 1950 five of the large (8' x 12') paintings were found in a barn in Morristown, New Jersey, where Nast had lived. They were acquired by Erwin Swann, founder of the Swann Foundation of Caricature and Cartoon dedicated to scholarship on comics and cartoons in all media."

DC-area cartoon types should recognize the name Swann - his collection is in the Library of Congress. Swann curator Martha Kennedy confirmed for me that the paintings are in the Library, albeit in off-site storage because they're so large. This search should pull up the catalogue records and hi-res scans of the five 8 x 11 1/2 feet images.  Martha also says that 2 more of the paintings survive in the northeast.

More on Wertham's collection at the Library of Congress

Comic books' real-life supervillain: psychiatrist Fredric Wertham
Carol L Tilley
Boing Boing Mar 4 2013
http://boingboing.net/2013/03/04/comic-books-real-life-superv.html

Meet a Local Illustrator: A Chat With Darrenn Canton

Meet a Local Illustrator: A Chat With Darrenn Canton

by Mike Rhode on Mar. 5, 2013

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/general/2013/03/05/meet-a-local-illustrator-a-chat-with-darrenn-canton/

PR: Small Press Expo Announces Seth, Gary Panter, Lisa Hanawalt, Gene Yang and Frank Santoro as Guests at SPX 2013

Small Press Expo Announces Seth, Gary Panter, Lisa Hanawalt, Gene Yang and Frank Santoro as Guests at SPX 2013

For Immediate Release                Contact: Warren Bernard
                                                      E-Mail: warren@spxpo.com


Bethesda, Maryland; March 5, 2013 – Small Press Expo is pleased to announce Seth, Gary Panter, Lisa Hanawalt, Gene Yang and Frank Santoro as special guests at SPX 2013, to be held Saturday, September 14 and Sunday, September 15.  We are honored that both Seth and Gary Panter will be making their first SPX appearances at this year's show.

Creator and advocate of a Canadian design aesthetic, Seth is best known to the comics world as the artist/writer of the long running Palookaville comic, as well as his graphic novels Wimbledon Green and George Sprott (1895-1975), which was originally serialized in the New York Times. He is also known for his book design work for such series as The Complete Peanuts, Nancy and Melvin Monster, in addition to The Portable Dorothy Parker.

Painter, poster artist, cartoonist, commercial artist, and set designer, polymath Gary Panter has covered the gamut. Best known to the comics world for his long running, post-apocalyptic Jimbo series as well as his graphic novel Dal Tokyo, he also won an Emmy Award for his work on Pee-Wee's Playhouse, and the Chrysler Award for his influence in graphic design.

Lisa Hanawalt has vaulted from her Ignatz Award winning mini-comics Stay Away From Other People and I Want You, to illustrating for such periodicals as the New York Times Op-Ed page, Vanity Fair, Glamour, Bloomberg Business Week, as well as McSweeney's and The Believer. Her latest book is My Dirty Dumb Eyes, a compendium of her work being published this May by Drawn & Quarterly.

Gene Yang, creator behind the award winning American Born Chinese, is returning to the graphic novel field with a two volume set, Boxers & Saints, to be released this fall by First Second Books. Set in China in 1900, it tells the story of the the Boxer rebellion and how the teemagers of the day used their "super heroes" from Chinese opera as inspirations to fight against foreign invaders.

Frank Santoro is back with his latest work, Pompei, published by Picturebox. His Storeyville was one of the most influential comics of the 1990's, leading to its reprinting in book form in 2007. He now runs the Santoro Correspondence Course For Comic Book Makers, which carries on the tradition of correspondence courses for cartoonists that stretches back over century, now in an online form utilizing the latest in collaborative technology.


About SPX

Small Press Expo (SPX) is the preeminent showcase for the exhibition of independent comics, graphic novels, and alternative political cartoons. SPX is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit that brings together more than 350 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.

As in previous years, profits from the SPX will go to support the SPX Graphic Novel Gift Program, which funds graphic novel purchases for 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, visit their website at http://www.cbldf.org.

SPX also supports the Small Press Expo Collection at the Library of Congress, which preserves the history of both the artistic output of the creators who come to SPX, as well as the art that SPX itself generates as part of its yearly festival. It the first program of its type by a major institution in the United States to preserve the works of the indie comics community.

For more information on the Small Press Expo, please visit http://www.spxpo.com.

Bob Staake featured in today's Post

Bob Staake is featured in today's Washington Post for a decade of weekly contest drawings.

Bob Staake's favorite cartoons of 20 years of Style Invitational
Washington Post March 3 2013
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/bob-stakkes-favorite-cartoons-of-20-years-of-style-invitational/2013/02/27/b7c015e2-7b99-11e2-a044-676856536b40_gallery.html#photo=1

Bob Staake establishes the zaniness to the unwary of the Invitational. Bob started illustrating the weekly contest example in 1994, and he's drawn close to 1,000 images.

and a biographical note:

The art (or 'art') of the Invitational
By Pat Myers,
Washington Post (March 3 2013).
online at http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/the-art-or-art-of-the-invitational/2013/02/28/65239f10-7564-11e2-95e4-6148e45d7adb_story.html

Guess the artist, courtesy of Matt Dembicki

From Matt Dembicki: Saw this at a Famous Dave's BBQ restaurant in Oakton, Va.

Oooh, nice. Me want.

PR: Onezumi relaunches her comic

NOTED MD LOCAL WEBCOMIC EVENT FOUNDER ONI HARTSTEIN RELAUNCHES WEBCOMIC; ALREADY IT'S WEIRD

Oni Hartstein has relaunched her webcomic after a year hiatus spent working on her yearly event Intervention

HIGHLAND PARK, NJ — February 14, 2013 – Oni Hartstein is back. She relaunched her slice of life comic "My Annoying Life" on Feb. 14th and her other comic "Stupid and Insane Defenders Against Chaos" is set to follow in the coming weeks. 

Oni Hartstein, said, "Intervention rests mostly on me. I literally did almost everything in the first few years and so unfortunately the comic had to be temporarily sacrificed. I am now at the point where things are running well enough that I can devote some time back to my comics. I am back permanently now and really looking forward to being able to create again."

My Annoying Life is set to be updated at least once a week to start. Stupid and Insane will be returning with a change - it will now be co-written with Intervention co-founder James Harknell and will have a similar update schedule.

You can view Oni's comics at http://www.Onezumi.com 

Friend her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/onezumi 

Follow her on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/onezumi

Intervention is located in Rockville, MD and takes place this August 23-25th. The website is http://www.InterventionCon.com 

Meet a Local Con Organizer: Ron Barba of AnimeUSA

The Convention season has started again, with anime and manga focused-Katsucon having been at National Harbor last month, and Emerald City Comicon kicking off the comic book cons in Seattle this weekend. Six months ago, I attended AnimeUSA at the Washington Marriot Wardman Park, where it had moved after being in Crystal City in Arlington. The following interview was done with one of the con organizers, Rob Barba, for a Washington City Paper article that didn't gel. But everyone I see at AnimeUSA looks like they're having a great deal of fun, so perhaps it's not too soon to start planning to attend this September's event.

Mike Rhode: How’d you personally get into comics?

Rob Barba: I'm the writer for a webcomic, Claude & Monet (www.claudeandmo.net); due to its anime style, I felt working with a convention would be a good way to gain both exposure and experience. The former I've got, but the latter my cup runneth over. I can honestly say that in my eight years of working with Anime USA, it's been a worthy experience.

MR: How is AnimeUSA different than a standard comics con?

RB: We focus both on manga, manwha, and manhua (Japanese, Korean and Chinese comics, respectively) as well as webcomics. In the former case, these are the basis of anime, which has been on the rise for a number of years. For the latter, it will be the future of how comics are produced, and we felt it was important to be at the forefront of exposing our audience to this medium.

MR: How many years has it run, and how many years have you been a part of it?

RB: Anime USA has been around since 1998. I joined in 2004, after I moved into the area.

MR: How many people did you have?

RB: We had an attendance of roughly 3800 people. While this number is roughly the same as last year, we believe that the move to the new hotel as well as the tragic events of Hurricane Sandy had an effect on our attendance. We plan for greater growth next year.

MR: How did the weather such as Sandy and the following Noreaster affect 2012's con?

RB: Quite a bit, to be honest. The result was a wholesale cancellation of various panels, vendors coming from the north, and even many of our own staff. As mentioned before, attendance took a hit because of it. Still, I believe we did our best to regroup and move forward for our fans.

MR: Why did you move to the hotel in DC this year?

RB: The Marriott was best suited for our needs after an exhaustive search for a new location. With a layout suitable for panels, workshops and the like; plenty of picturesque locations for cosplayer photography, and room to grow, we were hard-pressed not to chose this site. Combined with the attentive staff of the Marriott, it sealed the deal for us.

MR: Any guests you are particularly proud of having come in 2012? Favorite guests of past years?

RB: Phil Lamarr, as he is one of the largest guests we have had to date. Caitlin Glass is also a fan favorite. The list of favorites for previous years is too long to mention, but includes folks like Steven Bloom, Monica Rial and others.

MR: Is there anything special about 2012 not mentioned yet?

RB: If people enjoyed 2012, wait until they see what we have planned for 2013. While I can't comment due to contractual reasons, I can say that the marquee guest for next year will be one the fans have been clamoring for, for quite some time.

Meet a Local Cartoonist: A Chat with T.R. Logan

Meet a Local Cartoonist: A Chat with T.R. Logan

by Mike Rhode on Mar. 1, 2013

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/visual-arts/2013/03/01/meet-a-local-cartoonist-a-chat-with-t-r-logan/

More cartoons on view at Library of Congress

Continuing our recent survey of the Library of Congress' cartoons on exhibit - the Civil War in America show has at least three cartoons in it. Although they appear to our eyes as political cartoons, these were published as stand-alone prints that one would buy to admire and look at frequently - almost the television of their day. Go see them in person to get a better view than these pictures taken without a flash.







In the Words Like Sapphires: 100 Years of Hebraica at the Library of Congress, 1912–2012 exhibit, there's two original paintings by Arthur Szyk for playing cards.





Down to Earth: Herblock and Photographers Observe the Environment is only open for three more weeks.

March 2: Meet GOOD CHARLOTTE'S Billy Martin & Brent Allen at our VITRIOL THE HUNTER Signing!

THIS SATURDAY 3/2/13    SIGNING FROM 11AM to 1PM First 25 in Line Receive a Very Special Free Mystery Gift!    Heya Third Eye Faithful! Who's anxious to greet Spring? I know we are, and we're kicking off the season for you with a freakin' AWESOME signing event with GOOD CHARLOTTE's Billy Martin and Brent Allen signing copies of their brand new IDW PUBLISHING series VITRIOL THE HUNTER. We're really excited about this event for a number of reasons, but the biggest one is that the book itself, VITRIOL, is a fantastic read, and totally worth checking out if you're a fan of the horror comic genre. Not to mention the fact that Billy Martin, the artist on the series, is the guitarist of a stellar band that brought a ton of attention to our homestate here of Maryland; we have to admit, we're pumped because we know so many of you guys are stoked about this! So, let's kick things off big with a huge turnout for Billy and Brent this Saturday, and show them WHY they chose to make Third Eye their first stop of in-store signings for VITRIOL THE HUNTER. What is VITRIOL THE HUNTER?   This exciting new series is a must for fans of HELLBOY, BPRD, JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK, and BALTIMORE: THE PLAGUE SHIPS. Drawing on folklore and old monster myths prevalent in today's society, shaping them into a story that's one part classic horror film, and one part futuristic fantasy; imagine Hammer Studios's Horror of Dracula by way of Blade Runner. A self-proclaimed vigilante, Vitriol leads a mission to cleanse his homeland of the malicious monsters that have overtaken it, led by a brutal vampire with some tyrannical inclinations. Set in the city of Basilika in the year 2127, Vitriol the Hunter chronicles Vitriol's encounters with werewolves, hordes of hellions, and other walking myths.   The book has a great plot, with some sharp artwork, and is a total blast to read. Snag yourself a copy this Saturday. BE ONE OF THE FIRST 25 IN LINE WHEN DOORS OPEN AND RECEIVE A FREE MYSTERY GIFT!You know we like to do it up big for our events, and it's you guys that keep us pushing forward, and making these things happen! We love the excitement and energy of having a line of awesome Third Eye Faithful waiting for the event, and so do the creators, and as such, we feel it's our duty to reward you with something cool for your dedication. :)   This week, we've got a very special item that's very limited, and very low in print run, that will be available as a FREE gift to the first 25 people in line.  Click here for the FACEBOOK event info. Okay, Third Eye Faithful, let's get the Spring season off to an awesome start, and blow this one out of the water! We'll be looking forward to seeing you guys this weekend, and we think you'll have a blast. Both Billy and Brent are super awesome dudes, and you're gonna like 'em both lots.  Feel free to bring your copy of VITRIOL, or we'll have plenty available for purchase at the signing. For those of you who're GOOD CHARLOTTE fans as well, you can also bring your CDs to the signing for Billy to sign as well. We'll see you Saturday morning! :)

Comic Strip Hate in Arlington (contains morally-offensive images)

Randy Scott of Michigan State University's Comic Art Collection posts a list of material he's catalogued each week and I usually browse it on Friday evening.

This description caught my eye recently:

Buy Aryan : Boycott Jew Stores. -- Arlington, Va. : National Socialist White People's Party, 1973. -- 1 leaf : ill. ; 28 cm. -- A white supremacy leaflet describing the program of the political party, in comic strip format on one side and text on the verso. -- Call no.: HS2330.N39B8 1973

Yes, Virginia, Arlington had a headquarters for George Lincoln Rockwell's American Nazi party. Thanks to MSU, we can see this comic strip abuse of Uncle Sam in favor of ridiculous anti-Semitism. Thankfully, these days - 40 years later - Rockwell would be run out of Arlington on a rail. His former headquarters is now a coffee shop. As a corrective to these images, ComicsDC recommends a visit downtown to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, where one can see the consequences of rhetoric such as this. (We do of course recognize and support the First Amendment and Rockwell's right to speech like this, even as we despise his views).