Comic Riffs on graphic novels in school, and Archie zombie comics

 

'Afterlife With Archie': The Walking Jughead? The art of bringing zombies to Riverdale High

By David Betancourt 

Washington Post Comic Riffs blog January 7 2014

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/afterlife-with-archie-the-walking-jughead-the-art-of-bringing-zombies-to-riverdale-high/2014/01/07/90db31f8-7753-11e3-b1c5-739e63e9c9a7_blog.html

'THE TRIAL BALLOON': Readers react to graphic novels in schools

By Michael Cavna 

Washington Post Comic Riffs blog January 7 2014

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/the-trial-balloon-readers-react-to-graphic-novels-in-schools/2014/01/07/3d2ff20c-7751-11e3-b1c5-739e63e9c9a7_blog.html 

American Political Science Association's Symposium on the Politics of Superheroes

The Washington-based American Political Science Association's journal PS: Political Science and Politics has just published a symposium on "The Politics of Superheroes," edited by Matthew Costello and Kent Worcester. 

During January 2014, these articles will be free online, and then disappear behind a paywall. Click on the Table Of Contents for the entire issue and then scroll down to find the articles. Click on the "PDF" or "HTML" icons below the titles for the complete contents.

The Politics of the Superhero - Introduction

Matthew J. Costello and Kent Worcester

"A is A": Spider-Man, Ayn Rand, and What Man Ought to Be

Claudia Franziska Bruhwiler

Hell's Kitchen's Prolonged Crisis and Would-Be Sovereigns: Daredevil, Hobbs, and Schmitt

Anthony Peter Spanakos

Negotiating the Third Wave of Feminism in Wonder Woman

Carolyn Cocca

Men of Steel? Rorschach, Theweleit, and Watchmen's Deconstructed Masculinity

Mervi Miettinen

The Imperial Superhero

Chris Gavaler

Superheroes in Hong Kong's Political Resistance: Icons, Images, and Opposition

Dan Garrett

Fighting the Battles We Never Could: The Avengers and Post-September 11 American Political identities

Annika Hagley and Michael Harrison

Devon Sanders has left Fantom Comics

Fantom's January 2014 Newsletter reads:

Farewell to Devon Sanders! A Fantom Welcome for El Anderson!

Dear Friends and Fans,

If you haven't heard already, our beloved Devon Sanders had his last day as a comic book store employee on Friday, 01/03/14. While we are sad to see him go, Fantom Comics would like to congratulate him on his new job, and wish him GOOD LUCK as he enters into the world of cubicle madness. Please join us on January 11th, 2014 to celebrate Devon's new job and buy a drink for the man of the hour!

What does this mean for our Fantom Comics customers? Well, a seamless transition and our continued assurance of a friendly and enthusiastic level of customer service. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to email us at reservations@fantomcomics.com, leave a message on our Facebook page, or write a comment on our website.

In the meantime, please help us welcome the latest member of the Fantom team, El Anderson, comic book fan and founder of local female geek group, Femmes in the Fridge!

More details are on Fantom's blog at Saying Goodbye to Devon Sanders. It sounds as though he's taking a job with the Federal government. Sanders worked at Fantom for almost six years, after being a manager at Another Universe, Beyond Comics and Big Monkey Comics according to this interview.

Brad Meltzer's new Batman story comes out

Meltzer retells first Batman story in 'Detective Comics': Author and comic-book scribe is part of an all-star creative roster celebrating hero's 75 years.

Brian Truitt, USA TODAY January 6, 2014 http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2014/01/06/brad-meltzer-detective-comics-batman-story/4335527/

The Economist Cartoonist Kevin Kallaugher to Discuss His New Book, Jan. 14

Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave. SE
Washington DC   20540
January 7, 2014

Public contact: Center for the Book (202) 707-5221; cfbook@loc.gov
Request ADA accommodations five business days in advance at (202) 707-6362 or ada@loc.gov

The Economist's Cartoonist, Kevin Kallaugher, to Discuss and Sign His New Book

            "Daggers Drawn" Covers 35 Years of Cartoons in The Economist           

In his celebrated career with The Economist, Kevin "Kal" Kallaugher has created more than 4,000 editorial cartoons and 140 covers. His work has lampooned international leaders across the liberal-to-conservative spectrum, and his distinctive renderings are immediately recognizable as the work of this multitalented artist.
Kallaugher will discuss and sign his new book, "Daggers Drawn: 35 Years of Kal Cartoons in The Economist" (Chatsworth Press, 2013), on Tuesday, Jan. 14, at noon in the Pickford Theater, third floor, Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E. This Books & Beyond event, co-sponsored by the Library's Center for the Book and its Prints and Photographs Division, is free and open to the public; no tickets are required. 
This 196-page large-format book contains more than 300 of Kallaugher's award-winning works along with essays discussing his time with The Economist. In this book, Kallaugher has pointed his keen eye and sharp pen at important world events of the past 35 years. There are cartoons satirizing leaders from Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher to Barack Obama and Angela Merkel.
In addition to his longtime work for The Economist, Kallaugher is also a cartoonist for The Baltimore Sun. He also spent 10 years in London, drawing cartoons for The Observer, The Sunday Telegraph, Today and The Mail on Sunday. His work has been exhibited at the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore, The Tate Gallery in London and the Library of Congress.
The Library's Center for the Book, established by Congress in 1977 to "stimulate public interest in books and reading," is a national force for reading and literacy promotion. A public-private partnership, it sponsors educational programs that reach readers of all ages through its affiliated state centers, through collaborations with nonprofit reading-promotion partners and through the Young Readers Center and the Poetry and Literature Center at the Library of Congress. For more information, visit www.read.gov.
The Library of Congress, the nation's oldest federal cultural institution and the largest library in the world, holds more than 158 million items in various languages, disciplines and formats.  The Library serves the U.S. Congress and the nation both on-site in its reading rooms on Capitol Hill and through its award-winning website at www.loc.gov.

# # #

PR 14-04
1/7/14
ISSN 0731-3527

Jan 14: KAL at Library of Congress, and interviewed at Comics Reporter

Sara Duke reports, "Kevin Kallaugher talk about his most recent publication, Daggers Drawn, in the Pickford Theater (3rd floor, Madison Building) next Tuesday - January 14, at noon. For those of you who don't already have a copy of Daggers Drawn, the Library of Congress offers them at a discounted price. The Madison Building is located at 101 Independence Avenue, SE. The nearest Metro station is Capitol South. This event is free and open to the public."

And here's a long interview -

CR Holiday Interview #15 -- Kevin "KAL" Kallaugher.

Tom Spurgeon

Comics Reporter January 6, 2014

http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/cr_holiday_interview_00_kevin_kallaugher/

NPR on Rube Goldberg

Lovebirds + String + Watering Can + Dog = Rube Goldberg Magic

Linda Wertheimer.

National Public Radio's Weekend Edition Saturday January 04, 2014
http://www.npr.org/2014/01/04/259402565/lovebirds-string-watering-can-dog-rube-goldberg-magic and http://pd.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/wesat/2014/01/20140104_wesat_lovebirds_string_watering_can_dog_rube_goldberg_magic.mp3

and http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=259402565

Is Wertheimer based in the DC offices?

New Brooke Allen comic book series

I've been told that Brooke Allen has moved to the area. She's pencilling Lumberjanes, a new comic book series from BOOM! which looks fun.

Frank Cho's super successful Kickstarter

Frank Cho's super successful Kickstarter is briefly summarized here. I didn't even know he had one going.

Kallaugher interview in Comics Reporter

Tom Spurgeon of Comics Reporter interviews Kevin "KAL" Kallaugher at length.

Feb 6-28: Cartoon Art Show at UDC

February 6th 6:30-8:00 pm opening reception
CARTOON Art Show
GALLERY 42
UDC Campus, Building 42, Room A-12


Cartoonists include: 

Matt Dembicki
Carolyn Belefski
Michael Auger
Steve Artley
David Hagen
Andrew Cohen
Teresa Roberts Logan
Rafer Roberts

Ben Hatke special guest at Smudge!

Ben Hatke, creator of Zita the Spacegirl, Legends of Zita the Spacegirl and the upcoming The Return of Zita the Spacegirl, will be the special guest at the inaugural Smudge! Comics Arts Expo on March 8 at Artisphere in Arlington, Va.

That darn Rube Goldberg

Rube Goldberg and the art of detection

Elijah White, Leesburg

Washington Post January 4 2014

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/rube-goldberg-and-the-art-of-detection/2014/01/02/059a2cb8-7251-11e3-bc6b-712d770c3715_story.html

G.I. Joe #200 is illustrated by Shannon Gallant

... who isn't mentioned in this interview. There's his name on the book though.

Larry Hama's Lessons On Writing G.I. Joe

by Vince Brusio

January 2014
http://www.previewsworld.com/Home/1/1/71/977?articleID=143516

Flugennock's Latest'n'Greatest: "Noise Channels"

As received from our local anarchist cartoonist.

"Noise Channels"
http://sinkers.org/stage/?p=1431

News channels? Noise channels, more like.

Cast your memory back, for a moment, to the Bush Years -- oh, sure you can, c'mon. Fox News was cheerleading for war and a burgeoning police state, calling dissenters "traitors", yelling for every dissident's and whistleblower's head on a plate, and spewing GOP talking points all over us. MSNBC, in the meantime, was hollering for an end to imperialist wars, the protection of civil liberties, and all that other speaking-truth-to-power horseshit.

Fast-forward to the Obama Years. Fox News is suddenly hollering about dissent and civil liberties and Obama's adventurism overseas. MSNBC, in the meantime, is cheerleading for war, softpedaling Obama's use of drones to murder civilians, calling dissenters "traitors", yelling for every dissident's and whistleblower's head on a plate, and spewing Democratic Party talking points all over us.

Anybody detecting a pattern here?

These three sticker designs depict the real reason for being of both of these hypocritical partisan "news" channels. The MSDNC logo may be something new to most of you, but why the Fox News parody logo, you might ask? Granted, everybody and their cat may have figured out that Fox News was a GOP mouthpiece from day one, but I thought it might be a good idea to include it, because Fair And Balanced.

--

________________________________________________________________
Mike Flugennock, flugennock at sinkers dot org
Mike's Political Cartoons: dubya dubya dubya dot sinkers dot org

PR: Dilbert's Scott Adams on being happy in 2014- WashPost

This is as I received it because I drove to NJ and back this weekend and am too tired to rewrite it. Thanks to Molly Gannon for passing it along. Enjoy the article. - Mike

Dilbert creator Scott Adams writes in The Washington Post about how to be happy in 2014, touching on topics like diet, exercise, and career. An excerpt from his article is below and the entire piece can be found at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/read-this-if-you-want-to-be-happy-in-2014/2014/01/02/d96370f0-7192-11e3-9389-09ef9944065e_story.html

 

Today — as some of you are already backtracking on those New Year's resolutions — I'm going to strip out all of the mumbo-jumbo around the topic of happiness and tell you the simplest way to get some.

 

You're reading this in the business section because every bit of what follows on the topic of happiness is relevant to your career, especially if you have entrepreneurial ambitions. You'll need all the good health, good looks and mental energy you can muster to influence people and survive the long hours. As luck would have it, the good habits that make you healthy and energetic help to make you happy at the same time, so it's a double win.

 

As far as I can tell, people usually experience the sensation of happiness whenever they have both health and freedom. It's a simple formula:

 

Happiness = Health + Freedom

 

Jan 17-18: KAL and other political cartoonists

Lifted from Kal's Facebook page:

If you are in Washington in January... check out this fun event!

Art Soiree Productions Presents 4th Annual Political Cartoon Exhibit by Kevin Kallaugher Friday, January 17th - 8pm-1am Saturday, January 18th - 8pm-1am Tickets online at www.artsoiree.com

The new 'Axel and Alex'

Marylander Terry Flippo is re-imagining his comics characters Axel and Alex, which he published as mini comics more than a decade ago. This week, Flippo has re-launched the new series as a biweekly webcomic on his Facebook page.

Courtesy of Terry Flippo

Gareth Hinds may be the newest local cartoonist

Gareth Hinds' website says he now lives in the area. Hinds is best known for his adaptations of classic works of literature into comics.

Jef Thompson let go from Big Planet Comics Bethesda (revised)

I'm updating this as some of the material I tried to quote from Facebook didn't appear, nor did other material that I had in the draft version. My apologies to my readers.

Jef Thompson has reported on Facebook that he's been let go from Big Planet Comics Bethesda, after working there for sixteen years. The decision is purely a financial one according to the store's owners. Jef was the most recognizable employee behind the counter since former employee Peter Casazza purchased Liberty Comics & Books (nee Closet of Comics) and turned it into Big Planet Comics College Park. Joel Pollack, founder and co-owner of the store with Greg Bennett, said on Jef's Facebook page, "I assure you, it was a sad day for me. A simple"thank you" cannot express my gratitude for all you did for Big Planet and for me personally. This wasn't an easy decision." The store will be solely staffed by the two owners for the near future.

Both Joel and Greg have assured me that Big Planet Bethesda is financially healthy, and making a profit, but noted they're both taking a salary from it. Joel also needs to plan for the future as he approaches retirement age -- which is hard for me to believe, but when I think about it, I've been going to his store for over 25 years now.

Jef works as a professional illustrator and his website is http://www.jefthompson.com/ - you can also buy his original artwork online from him on Etsy. He noted that the job "gave me a cushion cash wise to earn money as an artist." I've got some of his art decorating my office and home, and will be buying more now, I'm sure.

All three people in this posting are friends of mine, but I feel this was worth noting both because Jef's been a regular presence at the store for so long on comic book day (aka Wednesday) and will be missed. The long-term viability of comic book stores is regularly debated, but Newsrama reported today that some stores are reporting that sales are up. Assumptions are dangerous, but the federal government's sequestration and the following shut-down affected salaries in the area, and may very well have affected sales at the store; I know that I cut back on my personal spending in the summer and fall due to those events.

In any event, my best wishes go to everyone involved.

-- Mike Rhode