Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Einstein's brain exhibit mentioned in The Post


News
 
'Maps' of Albert Einstein's brain on display
Washington Post
EXHIBIT 'Maps' of Einstein's brain on display "What Can We Learn from a Brain?" at the National Museum of Health and Medicine through May 31 In 1955, ...




April 20: District Comics panel

Room 102B – EXCLUSIVE TO AWESOME CON: DISTRICT COMICS!
Chronicling the unconventional history of our nation's capital, District Comics has won numerous awards and has received critical acclaim across the U.S. Join the writers and artist who came together to honor our favorite city during this Q and A panel moderated by ComicsDC's Mike Rhode. Panelists include Troy-Jeffrey Allen, Rafer Roberts, Andrew Cohen, Jacob Warrenfeltz, and Carolyn Belefski.
 
3 pm at Awesome Comics. Carolyn and Big Planet Comics will have the book for sale.

Press Release from ANS Sci-Fi & Comic Con


Big Guests, Big Vendors and A Big Film Make the Second ANS Sci-Fi & Comic Con a BIG DEAL!

 

Preparations are in full swing for the May 11 benefit event showcasing

Archbishop Neale School in La Plata.

 

"Our headlining special guest is the unmistakable Frank Cho," says event organizer Tom Boone.  "This is Frank's only scheduled convention appearance in the DC area for the rest of the year!"  This May, Marvel Comics will be wrapping up a well-received six issue series written and drawn by Mr. Cho called 'Savage Wolverine', based on the

X-Men hero.  More than 20 other comic artists and writers will be attending as well as artists from other disciplines including digital media, sculpting, pyrography and photography.

 

In addition to artists, more than 20 vendors covering over 80 tables will be selling a wide array of comics, cards, sci-fi, pop culture and entertainment collectibles.  "We're very proud that nearly all of our vendors from our 2012 show have returned and we've attracted even more this year," says Boone.  Among them are Cards, Comics and Collectibles, a retail store in Reisterstown and Third Eye Comics, a retailer with stores in Prince Frederick and Annapolis.  "We have vendors coming from as far away as Pennsylvania.  We've cast the net wide to try to get as many unique vendors as possible for our attendees."  Local retailers such as Comics MD and BookNuts Book Shop will also have a presence at the show.

 

Another first for the event is the screening of films.  New York based filmmaker Brian Stillman will be attending the ANS Sci-Fi & Comic Con to present previously unseen clips from his upcoming film, 'Plastic Galaxy - The Story of Star Wars Toys'.  According to Boone, "It's an incredible documentary that toy collectors and Star Wars fans will love."  Other works include student films from the DAVE School in Orlando, FL, and rare films that have never been commercially released.

 

Panels and presentations, a staple of comic conventions, will also be a part of this year's charity event.  "How to Make Your Own Comic" will be a panel discussion with artists and creators lead by Chris Rizzo, Creative Director of New York based multimedia group Dark Ink Pictures.  The panel will discuss topics such as breaking into comics and writing techniques.  "The DIY ethic is strong in comics today.  The internet and indie publishing are breaking down barriers and providing young creators with opportunities that were unthinkable as little as ten years ago," says Boone. 

 

Popular at conventions around the world is the 501st Legion, a Star Wars-inspired costuming group whose local unit, the Old Line Garrison, will be returning to the ANS Sci-Fi & Comic Con in greater numbers this year.  The stormtroopers will be entertaining fans of all ages with a charity putt-putt game and plenty of photo opportunities throughout the event.  Also returning are the Viking Re-enactors from Southern Maryland's own Longship Company, with authentic costumes and equipment. 

 

Another highlight of the ANS Sci-Fi & Comic Con is the Silent Auction.  "Every penny from admissions, the vendor's fees and the silent auction goes directly to the operating budget of Archbishop Neale School."  To that end, an impressive array of unique and one-of a-kind collectibles have been gathered for the auction from attending artists including Mike O'Shields and Laura Inglis, to major industry names like John Byrne, Doug Chiang and James Arnold Taylor, and authors Troy Denning and Lemony Snicket.

 

"All this is just the tip of the iceberg," says Boone.  "We're screening more films and we'll have more artists and more presentations.  We're using more space inside the school than ever.  We have more food vendors this year, more prizes, more of everything fans go to conventions for.  We encourage all of our attendees to make plans to stay for a while!"

 

The Second Annual ANS Sci-Fi & Comic Con is happening May 11, 2013, from 10am to 3pm at Archbishop Neale School in La Plata, Maryland.  Admission is $5 for adults, kids under ten are free.  For more information, visit www.anscomiccon.com

 

Press inquiries contact Tom Boone at info@anscomiccon.com or 202-297-1461

 

Please see attachments for the latest Schedule of Events and a list of vendors and artists appearing at the ANS Sci-Fi & Comic Con!

Tom Boone
Event Organizer
ANS Sci-Fi & Comic Con
104 Port Tobacco Road
La Plata, Maryland 20646

(202) 297-1461

The ANS Sci-Fi & Comic Con is an ALL AGES fan and collectors event benefiting Archbishop Neale School on Saturday, May 11, 2013, from 10am to 3pm. For more information, visit
www.anscomiccon.com

About Archbishop Neale School -

Archbishop Neale School is a Catholic elementary school in La Plata, Maryland that has been in continuous operation since 1927, with a two-track system for grades Pre-K through 8 and a curriculum centered on the Archdiocese of Washington graded course of study. We are fully accredited, and our teachers are certified by the State of Maryland in their specific areas. We serve Catholic students from over seven parishes and many non-Catholics as well. For over 80 years, parents have entrusted their children to ANS because they are assured of an excellent, Archdiocesan standards-based academic curriculum that encompasses Catholic faith and values delivered in a safe, caring environment. For more information, visit
www.ArchbishopNealeSchool.org


 

Julia Langbein to Lecture on Comic Drawings of French Salon Paintings, May 1

Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave. SE
Washington DC   20540

April 16, 2013

Public contact:  Martha Kennedy (202) 707-9115, mkenn@loc.gov

Swann Foundation Fellow Julia Langbein
To Discuss Comic Drawings of French Salon Paintings

Swann Foundation Fellow Julia Langbein, in a lecture at the Library of Congress, will examine comic drawings about French Salon paintings created by the famous photographer Nadar (a.k.a. FĂ©lix Tournachon, 1820-1910).

Langbein will present "How to View an Exhibition from a Hot-Air Balloon: Nadar at the Paris Salon," at noon on Wednesday, May 1, in the West Dining Room on the sixth floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Avenue S.E., Washington, D.C.  The lecture is free and open to the public.  Tickets are not needed.

Langbein will focus specifically on caricatures of Salon paintings, created by Nadar during an unusual phase of his career when he briefly practiced art criticism in the form of caricature.  Art historians tend to celebrate Nadar for his achievements in photography and overlook this less-studied phase that also overlapped with his interest in aeronautics (he would soon take the first aerial photographs from a hot-air balloon.)

Like many of his peers in Paris in the 1850s, Nadar tried his hand at Salon caricature, in which caricaturists for illustrated journals comically distorted the paintings displayed at the annual or biennial state-sponsored exhibition of the arts in Paris.  Nadar produced caricatures of this type for an illustrated weekly magazine, Le Journal Pour Rire, and in three stand-alone albums.

Langbein will explore the symbolic significance of the hot-air balloon in the graphic imagination of 19th century France.  Using materials from the Library's Tissandier Collection and holdings of French satirical prints, she will ask how the experience of viewing art at the Salon prompted Nadar to envision art criticism as an exercise in aerial perspective.

Currently a Ph.D candidate in art history at the University of Chicago, she focuses on graphic satire and its relation to practices of art reception and criticism.  In her doctoral dissertation, "Salon Caricature in Paris, 1840-1881," she concentrates on this little-studied genre of caricature that was widely published in the Parisian press during the second half of the 19th century.

In addition to the Swann Fellowship, Langbein received a Franke Institute for the Humanities Dissertation-Year Grant and a Fulbright IIE Fellowship, among other fellowships.  She completed a master's degree in art history at the University of Chicago, and a bachelor's in art history at Columbia University.

This presentation, sponsored by the Swann Foundation and Prints & Photographs Division, is part of the Foundation's continuing activities to support the study, interpretation, preservation and appreciation of original works of humorous and satiric art by graphic artists from around the world.  The Swann Foundation's advisory board is composed of scholars, collectors, cartoonists and Library of Congress staff members.

The foundation strives to award one fellowship annually to assist scholarly research and writing projects in the field of caricature and cartoon.  Applications for the 2014-2015 academic year are due Feb. 15, 2014.  More information about the fellowship is available at www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/swannhome or by e-mailing swann@loc.gov.

# # #

PR13-75
4/16/13
ISSN: 0731-3527


Cavna on Katchor in today's Post

Book World: 'Hand-Drying in America' by Ben Katchor [in print as Wielding Irony to Break Free of Chains]
By Michael Cavna,
Washington Post April 15 2013

Monday, April 15, 2013

April 16: Ben Katchor in town - tomorrow!

Ben Katchor
Date:     Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Time:     7:00 PM
image     The first cartoonist to receive a MacArthur Fellowship reveals the ways urban planning and architecture influence and reflect cultural values in his new graphic narrative, Hand-Drying in America.
Here are window-ledge pillows designed expressly for people-watching and a forest of artificial trees for sufferers of hay fever. The Brotherhood of Immaculate Consumption deals with the matter of products that outlive their owners; high-visibility construction vests are marketed to lonely people as a method of getting noticed.

A master at twisting mundane commodities into surreal objects of social significance, Katchor reveals a world similar to our own—lives are defined by possessions, consumerism is a kind of spirituality—but also slightly, fabulously askew. This surrealist handbook for the rebuilding of society in the twenty-first century ensures that you will never look at a building, a bar of soap, or an ATM the same way.
Katchor is the author of The Cardboard Valise, The Jew of New York and Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer: The Beauty Supply District.

Admission:    
Tickets are $12 or receive 2 FREE tickets with the purchase of the book through Sixth & I ($30). Tickets and books can be purchased online or by calling TicketFly (877.987.6487). There is a $1.50 fee per ticket for phone orders. Doors open at 6:00 pm

WONDER WOMEN NOT on PBS tonight

The documentary Wonder Women is actually not on television around DC tonight as far as I can tell. It's on WETA late on Saturday night, 4/20 and on MPT late on 4/21.

NPR on tonight's superheroine documentary

Superheroines, Fighters, And Why Isn't There A Wonder Woman Movie?
by Linda Holmes
National Public Radio's Monkey See blog April 15, 2013

April 15: WONDER WOMEN on PBS tonight

 

 

 

 

 

WONDER WOMEN! THE UNTOLD STORY OF AMERICAN SUPERHEROINES PREMIERES ON INDEPENDENT LENS ON MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013 ON PBS

 

Film traces the fascinating birth, evolution and legacy of Wonder Woman and introduces a dynamic group of fictional and real-life superheroines fighting for positive role models for girls, both on screen and off

 

(San Francisco, CA) Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines traces the fascinating evolution and legacy of Wonder Woman. From the birth of the comic book superheroine in the 1940s to the blockbusters of today, Wonder Women looks at how popular representations of powerful women often reflect society's anxieties about women's liberation. The film goes behind the scenes with TV stars Lynda Carter (Wonder Woman) and Lindsay Wagner (The Bionic Woman), comic writers and artists, and real-life superheroines such as Gloria Steinem, Kathleen Hanna and others, who offer an enlightening and entertaining counterpoint to the male-dominated superhero genre. A film by Kristy Guevara-Flanagan and Kelcey Edwards, Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines premieres on the award-winning series Independent Lens, hosted by Stanley Tucci, on Monday, April 15, 2013 at 10 PM ET (check local listings). 

Wonder Women explores our nation's long-term love affair with comic book superheroes and raises questions about the possibilities and contradictions of heroines within the genre. Reflecting our culture's deep-seated ambivalence toward powerful women — even in this so-called post-feminist era — women may be portrayed as good, or brave, or even featured as "action babes," but rarely are they seen as heroes at the center of their own journey.

Tying the film together is the groundbreaking figure of Wonder Woman, the unlikely brainchild of a Harvard-trained pop psychologist named William Moulton Marston. From Wonder Woman's original, radical World War II presence, to her uninspiring 1960s incarnation as a fashion boutique owner, to her dramatic resurrection by feminist Gloria Steinem and the women of Ms. Magazine, Wonder Woman's legacy continues today—despite the fact that she has yet to make it to the big screen.

In our era of increased plastic surgeries and emphasis on "looking good" rather than acting powerfully, many psychologists, media and social critics have long decried the fact that women are bombarded with images of physical perfection and portrayals of their gender purely in terms of sexual attractiveness. Wonder Women counters this by reflecting on why our culture struggles with images of women triumphant beyond the domestic arena of relationships and family. Exploring how our highly visual culture places more emphasis on girls' and women's looks rather than on their deeds, Wonder Women urges women to claim the action genre — and media in general— as their own, if they want to change how they are represented.

Says director Guevera-Flanagan, "I loved the idea of looking at something as populist as comics to reveal our cultural obsessions, and in particular, how women's roles have changed over time. The narratives of our most iconic superheroes, told and re-told over decades, boldly outline our shifting values. For some it's Lara Croft, for others it's Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but we all need those iconic heroes that tell us we have the power to slay our dragons and don't have to wait around to be rescued."

To learn more about the film, visit the Wonder Women companion website (http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/wonder-women), which features information about the film, including an interview with the filmmaker and links and resources pertaining to the film's subject matter. The site also features a Talkback section for viewers to share their ideas and opinions, preview clips of the film, and more.

 

 

 

About the Filmmakers

 

Kristy Guevara-Flanagan (Director)

Kristy Guevera-Flanagan's first feature-length film was an acclaimed documentary covering four years in the lives of four adolescent girls, Going On 13. The film was an official selection of Tribeca, Silverdocs, and many other international film festivals and was broadcast on public television in 2009. Kristy has also produced and directed several short films, including El Corrido De Cecilia Rios, a chronicle of the violent death of 15-year-old Cecilia Rios. It was an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival. Now an assistant professor at Diablo Valley College, Kristy has a MFA in Film Production from San Francisco State University.

 

Kelcey Edwards (Producer)

Kelcey Edwards is an award-winning documentary filmmaker whose films have screened at many of the top-ranking festivals around the country, including True/False, Silverdocs, and SXSW. After receiving her MFA in Documentary Film & Video from Stanford University, she moved to New York City, where she works as a filmmaker, producer and arts educator. She is the co-producer of Words Of Witness, a documentary feature by director Mai Iskander (Garbage Dreams) and an official selection of Berlinale 2012.

 

About Independent Lens

Independent Lens is an Emmy® Award winning weekly series airing on PBS. The acclaimed anthology series features documentaries united by the creative freedom, artistic achievement and unflinching visions of independent filmmakers. Presented by the Independent Television Service (ITVS), the series is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private corporation funded by the American people, with additional funding provided by PBS, the National Endowment for the Arts and the MacArthur Foundation. The senior series producer is Lois Vossen. More information at www.pbs.org/independentlens. Join Independent Lens on Facebook at www.facebook.com/independentlens.

 

Animated money policy film playing in Ballston

An animated money policy film is playing in Ballston..and it's by someone who grew up in McLean.
 
'Silver Circle': A libertarian love story where the bad guys work at the Federal Reserve [in print as 'The Fed gets him animated'].
 By Monica Hesse,
 Washington Post April 15 2013

Sunday, April 14, 2013

April 15: Gilbert Hernandez This Monday in Baltimore for Free!!




Gilbert Hernadez Monday 5:30PM at Johns Hopkins!!


Cartoonist and graphic novelist Gilbert Hernandez will present a slide talk for free on his work on Monday, April 15 at The Johns Hopkins University. Hernandez' talk, "From Funnybooks to Graphic Novels," 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. A book-signing will follow.

In 1981, along with his brothers Jaime and Mario, Hernandez created "Love and Rockets," a landmark, award-winning comic book series informed by the L.A. hardcore punk rock scene. The long-running series' DIY ethic and compelling, multiracial female characters earned it a well-deserved spot in the pantheon of alternative comix. Love and Rockets also spawned the "Palomar" stories, Hernandez' magic realist magnum opus. Set in a fictional Central American border town, the vivid, diverse characters of "Heartbreak Soup" and "Human Diastrophism" prompted The New York Times to declare Hernandez "one of the great craftsmen of American comics."

Hernandez' current graphic novel, "Marble Season," is a semi-autobiographical work set in a 1960s California suburb against the golden age of the American dream and the silver age of comics. It's a subtle, deft rumination on the redemptive and timeless power of storytelling and world-building in childhood.

Hernandez, 56, lives in Las Vegas with his wife and daughter.

To download images of Hernandez' work, go to: http://www.jhu.edu/~artwork/.

"From Funnybooks to Graphic Novels" 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.

Johns Hopkins University news releases can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.jhu.edu/news_info/news
Information on automatic E-mail delivery of science and medical news releases is available at the same address.
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KAL collectibles from Raven Beer

You can get a couple of KAL collectibles from Raven Beer. Besides the three beers he's done the cover for, there's a t-shirt and magnets.

Comic Riffs on the Pulitzers

HANDICAPPING THE PULITZERS: Who might win out in 2013?
By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog April 11 2013
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/handicapping-the-pulitzers-who-might-win-out-in-2013/2013/04/11/793d3730-a305-11e2-be47-b44febada3a8_blog.html#pagebreak

Leslie Goldman's new website

Leslie Goldman and I met through her volunteering at a museum that I used to work in. Her husband had worked on comics, so we talked about that and now I find out that Leslie is a painter. She's just launched A Sense of Wonder website about her paintings.

Friday, April 12, 2013

Barbarian Comics profile from 2011

Joel Pollack of Big Planet Comics just kicked this over to me -

Barbarian Comics still serving readers after 40 years
Landmark Wheaton business staying true to its roots
by Aaron Kraut, Staff Writer
September 28 2011
http://www.gazette.net/article/20110928/NEWS/709289582/1123/barbarian-comics-still-serving-readers-after-40-years&template=gazette

April 13-14: Samurai Champloo anime marathon at the Smithsonian


DateSaturday, April 13, 2013, 11 am
CategoriesFilms
VenueFreer Gallery
Event LocationMeyer Auditorium
CostFree; walk-in.
Related EventsTour: Arts of Japan
Related Exhibition   Hand-Held: Gerhard Pulverer's Japanese Illustrated Books

Bill Day responds to critics

A few weeks back we noted accusations that Bill Day was plagiarizing and 'self-plagiarizing'.  Bill's not local, but won the DC-based Robert F Kennedy Journalism award for cartooning. Here's his response to his critics, and local cartoonist Matt Wuerker comments at the end as AAEC president.
 
Bill Day
Apr 12 2013
Assault Weapons and False Charges

Cartoonists at Library of Congess Book Festival this fall

 Cartoonists at Library of Congess Book Festival this fall have been announced. Gilbert Hernandez, Jaime Hernandez, Jennifer and Matthew Holm and Brad Meltzer will be appearing according to this press release. Rumor has it that Fred "Johnny Hiro" Chao will be attending as well.