Monday, March 03, 2014

A couple books premiering at Smudge

Two books that will premiere at the Smudge Comics Arts Expo this weekend include Ben Hatke’s ‘The Return of Zita the Spacegirl’ (Ben will have a limited number of these advanced copies) and the 6x9 edition of Steve Conley’s ‘Bloop.’ The show on March 8 runs from noon to 6 p.m. at the Artisphere in Arlington, Va. (The Orange Line is a block away and there is validated parking at the Artisphere.)

Photos courtesy of Ben Hatke and Steve Conley

Sunday, March 02, 2014

Meet a Local Cartoonist: A Chat with Santiago Casares

What type of comic work or cartooning do you do?

I do mostly cartoony comics, if that makes sense. My style relates more to comic strips than to superhero comics.

How do you do it? Traditional pen and ink, computer or a combination?

Every finished piece of art I do passes through the computer nowadays, and most of it is being done 100% digitally. That being said, I still draw in my sketchbook every day in pencil/pen and ink.

When (within a decade is fine) and where were you born?

I was born in Mexico City in the 70’s.

Why are you in Washington now? What neighborhood or area do you live in?

I moved to Washington DC because of love (even though that might sound like a cliché!). We live in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood.

What is your training and/or education in cartooning?

I studied a BFA in Visual Arts in Mexico City and then a MFA in Illustration at the Academy of Art University is San Francisco.

Who are your influences?

My biggest influence as a cartoonist is Bill Watterson, who I consider the best there ever was. Besides him the people I admire and allow their work to influence me are very varied, from Mike Mignola to Scott Morse.

If you could, what in your career would you do-over or change?

I would’ve taken my drawing skills more seriously, and would’ve practiced more while growing up.

What work are you best-known for?

My best-known work is my webcomic, Chili’s World.

What work are you most proud of?

This is a hard question to answer, as it’s usually the last thing I’ve done! So, I guess it depends on what page I’ve just finished.

What would you like to do or work on in the future?

I am currently trying to break into the Picture Books market. Picture Books have the same element than comics in that it’s a medium that combines images and words to create a whole new world.

What do you do when you're in a rut or have writer's block?

When I don’t know what to do, I still have to do the work. Even though creativity might not be flowing as I wish it was, my webcomic still needs to be updated. So basically, I keep on working through the rut or writer’s block…

What do you think will be the future of your field?

It’s taken a while, but now comics are being recognized as a proper medium to tell stories (both fiction and non-fiction). I believe that just like with books, most comics are going to be delivered digitally, with print becoming more of a collectors market.

What local cons do you attend? The Small Press Expo, Intervention, or others? Any comments about attending them?

I’ve exhibited at SPX and at the DC Zine Fest. And this year I’m going to be a part of a new show that looks very promising called Smudge Expo, over at the Artisphere in Arlington, VA. Attending shows is important to get to know the people that like your stuff and to promote it to new crowds.

What's your favorite thing about DC?

I love that you can walk almost anywhere in the city without the need of a car. And having amazing museums for free isn’t too shabby either! :)

Least favorite?

The scorching summer.

What monument or museum do you like to take visitors to?

I love taking visitors to the Kogod Courtyard inside the Portrait Gallery / American Art Museum (after visiting the museums, of course). It’s such a peaceful place!

How about a favorite local restaurant?

I really like Beau Thai here in Mount Pleasant, or maybe Red Rocks Pizza or El Chucho's in Columbia Heights… I guess it depends on what I'm craving.

Do you have a website or blog?

Yes, I do! You can check out Chili’s World at www.chilisworld.com and my portfolio at www.santiagocasares.com.

As he noted, Mr. Casares will be at Smudge this coming Saturday, March 8th.

That darn Beetle Bailey

Letter to the Editor: The rewards of hard work

Washington Post March 1 2014

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-rewards-of-hard-work/2014/02/28/eab1f392-9a3a-11e3-b1de-e666d78c3937_story.html

Saturday, March 01, 2014

Daniel Boris' Kickstarter for children's book

Dozi the Alligator: An illustrated children's book

by Daniel Boris
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1107487436/dozi-the-alligator-an-illustrated-childrens-book

The story of a little alligator named Dozi, beautifully illustrated by Italian artist Nicola Sammarco.

This story is based on characters from my comic strip. It is the tale of a lovable alligator who secretly stows away with a family after a chance encounter during their Florida vacation. The colorful story is told in amusing verses and packed with twenty gorgeous illustrations that will captivate and entertain readers of all ages.

This is the "inaugural" first printing of Dozi the Alligator. It will be a high-quality, hardcover, numbered, limited edition.

Friday, February 28, 2014

Comic Riffs talks to Reuben Award nominees

NCS REUBEN AWARDS: Finalists talk of surprise as 4 nominees named for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year

By Michael Cavna

Washington Post Comic Riffs blog February 28 2014

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2014/02/28/ncs-reuben-awards-finalists-talk-of-surprise-as-4-nominees-named-for-outstanding-cartoonist-of-the-year/

Chris Flick interviewed on Smudge Expo site

Smudge JR Interview #4: Chris Flick

BY TINA HENRY SMUDGE
FEBRUARY 28, 2014

http://www.smudgexpo.com/2014/02/28/smudge-jr-interview-4-chris-flick/

Free Dust Elves Ashcan Comic

February 28, 2014

Free DUST ELVES Ashcan Comic

Gordon will be giving away ASHCAN copies of the next issue of THE SECRET ORIGIN OF THE DUSTELVES at the SMUDGE COMIC ARTS EXPO next Saturday, March 8th.
That’s right, he’ll be GIVING THEM AWAY FOR FREE. But before you get all excited and send that soda out your nose, you might want to see what an ASHCAN is.

Ben Hatke to collect Little Robot strips

The Beat has the details.http://comicsbeat.com/first-look-ben-hatkes-new-book-little-robot/

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Bhob Stewart's 1969 underground comics exhibit at the Corcoran

I never met Bhob Stewart who passed away this week. I'm sorry I didn't because our interests in pop culture overlapped. We must have corresponded about comics though, because my name was in his email address book, and his friend Brad Verter was kind enough to send a notice of his death, and some scans that he thought might be of interest. Bhob had apparently asked him to scan these for his blog Potrzebie, but didn't get a chance to use them.

Bhob was apparently instrumental in putting on Phonus Balonus, an underground cartoon exhibit at an offshoot of the Corcoran Gallery on Dupont Circle. Sean Howe has photographs online here, here, and here.

Here are the scans about the exhibit. I'm afraid most of them are only partially complete, but they give you an idea about what was in the show, and how it was received. Brad scanned the whole catalog of the show, and it's online here. Two libraries are shown in Worldcat as holding a copy of it - the Tate in London and UC Berkeley in California.

Corcoran Gallery's press release, page 1

Front cover to the catalog with art by Bhob.

Exhibit opening ticket.

Newspaper clipping with Skip Williamson art

Article from the New York Post.

Fragment of a Washington Post article

Partial Washington Post article from May 21, 1969.

Partial Washington Star article from June 1, 1969

Article from an unknown New York city magazine.

For more information on Bhob's life, read Bhob Stewart, 1937-2014, by Bill Pearson, Feb 26, 2014.

March 5: Ecuadorian cartoonist Bonilla speaks

Communications Law in Ecuador:

When Censoring a Cartoon Becomes a

Presidential Priority

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2014

http://cima.ned.org/events/upcoming-events/communications-law-ecuador-when-censoring-cartoon-becomes-presidential-priori

Communications Law in Ecuador:
When Censoring a Cartoon Becomes a Presidential Priority

Since his reelection, President Rafael Correa has used a series of laws and decrees to constrain criticism and dissent. In June 2013, the National Assembly passed a restrictive communications law that designates the media as a public service subject to government regulation. Political cartoonist Xavier Bonilla was the first victim of this law following the publication of a cartoon that depicted the house raid of journalist FernandoVillavicencio. President Correa called Bonilla, among other things, “an assassin with ink.” Bonilla was forced to publish a correction, and El Universo paid a large fine. Join the Center for International Media Assistance and the Latin America and Caribbean program at the National Endowment for Democracy for a discussion on the restrictive nature of the communications law in Ecuador.

Featuring:

Xavier Bonilla
Political Cartoonist at El Universo

Martha Roldós
Fundación Mil Hojas

Carlos Lauría
Committee to Protect Journalists

Wednesday, March 5
12:00-2:00 p.m.

Lunch will be served from 12:00-12:30

1025 F Street, N.W., Suite 800
Washington, DC 20004

About the Speakers

Xavier “Bonil”Bonilla is the daily cartoonist for Ecuador's biggest newspaper, ElUniverso. He also publishes in five other important magazines and is a member of international organization, Cartooning for Peace. He has published eight books and received international recognition for his work from the Inter-American Press Society, World Press Cartoon, and the United Nations Ranan Lurie Political Cartoon Award. He was the first journalist to be sanctioned by Ecuador’s new Communications Law.

Martha Roldós is a lifelong political and civil society activist. In 2006, she was elected to Congress representing the province of Guayas, and in 2007 was elected to serve in the Constituent Assembly. After a failed presidential run in 2009, she joined the coalition ‘United for Democracy,’ which advocated for a no vote to the 2011 referendum which sought to give greater control over the media and judiciary to the executive. Throughout her career, she has been a strong advocate for government transparency and accountability, and for freedom of expression and association. She fought against the passage of the communications law, and later joined a group to challenge the law before Ecuador’s Constitutional Court. She now serves as Executive Director ofFundación Mil Hojas, an organization that investigates government corruption.

Carlos Lauria is the senior Americas program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists where he serves as chief strategist and spokesperson on press freedom issues in the Americas. He monitors and documents press freedom violations in Latin America and has led missions to Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Haiti, Brazil, El Salvador, and Argentina. Lauría began his journalistic career in Buenos Aires in 1986 and settled in New York in 1994 as U.S. bureau chief correspondent for Editorial Perfil, Argentina’s largest magazine publisher. He serves on the board of the Maria Moors Cabot Award for excellence in Latin American journalism, which is sponsored by Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He is a graduate of journalism from the Universidad Católica Argentina.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Carolyn Belefski interview at Magic Bullet blog

Logan, Teresa.

[Our first MB8 Artist Interview is CAROLYN BELEFSKI.]

MAGIC BULLET Blog, 2/26/2014

http://magicbulletcomics.blogspot.com/2014/02/welcome-to-magic-bullet-blog-where.html

Comic Riffs checks in with Bill Watterson

Bill Watterson Talks: For new documentary, cartoonist offers his first public cartoon since ending ‘Calvin and Hobbes’

By Michael Cavna

Washington Post Comic Riffs blog February 26 2014

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2014/02/26/bill-watterson-talks-for-documentary-cartoonist-offers-his-first-public-cartoon-since-ending-calvin-and-hobbes/

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

3/1: Charles Soule at Third Eye Comics

SAT. 3/1: CHARLES SOULE Red vs. Green signing -- Meet the writer of RED LANTERNS, the new SHE-HULK, LETTER 44, SUPERMAN / WONDER WOMAN, THUNDERBOLTS and many more!

This Saturday March 1st, we'll be having a long-time friend of Third Eye, CHARLES SOULE, to the store to sign copies of the many awesome books he's got coming out, including the recently released SHE-HULK #1.

Charles has been wowing us for a while now, with great work on titles like LETTER 44, RED LANTERNS, SWAMP THING, THUNDERBOLTS, and SUPERMAN / WONDER WOMAN, and we're totally amped to give you guys this rare opportunity to meet the man before he totally blows us all out of the water with the upcoming INHUMAN ongoing series.

Want more info on our signing with Charles? Click here for the full scoop.

PR: Critical Acclaimed Hit "Fist of Justice" from Digital Webbing Press Returns

For Immediate Release

Methuen, MA, February 25, 2014

What began as a one-off, seven page story with a twist ending in the anthology series Digital Webbing Presents generated such positive reader response that creators Mike Imboden and Ed Dukeshire made the decision to undo that twist ending and revive Fist of Justice as an ongoing feature. Over the course of 10 issues (five lead stories in DWP and five in his own self-titled book), they created the world of Fist of Justice. After taking a few years off from publishing, the creative team felt the time was right to continue what they started and bring Fist of Justice back to the loyal fans who have longed for his return.

A Kickstarter campaign is underway to fund publication of a full-color trade paperback collecting Fist's earliest adventures. Some of the comic industry's hottest talents got their start illustrating Fist of Justice including Chad Hardin (Harley Quinn), Yildiray Cinar (Supergirl), Anthony Castrillo (X-Men), Dario Carrasco, Jr. (Star Wars), and Andre Coelho (Ms. Marvel).

So who is the Fist of Justice? Fist of Justice is a man out of time, a cat with his heart in the right place-- a true hero from the 70s awakened in our time. He was the super-heroic defender of Charm City until he made a fatal mistake that ended his career. He threw in the towel and was locked away and soon forgotten. But his power-- though dormant-- did not leave him. Now it has returned and resurrected FOJ-- restoring him as defender of a city dealing with the new villains of the 21st century. Villains who are tougher, stronger, and meaner than ever.

Creators Mike Imboden and Ed Dukeshire have taken to crowd-funding site, Kickstarter, to raise the money needed to collect the first five issues of the comic into a trade paperback. In addition, plans call for publication of an all-new issue 6 of Fist of Justice. Says Dukeshire, "Kickstarter has shown that projects that couldn't originally happen, are now possible. While the costs to produce the book are too high for us alone, support via Kickstarter can change that. The campaign will help pay for the printing of the trade paperback, comic book, all the rewards, shipping supplies, and shipping. We'd love to get Fist of Justice out there on a regular basis once again, but need the help of our readers and fans."

A number of comics' most talented artists got their start illustrating Fist of Justice. Chad Hardin, artist of the super-hot Harley Quinn from DC, was first published in the pages of Fist of Justice. Yildiray Cinar, who currently draws Supergirl for DC, also began his career penciling FOJ. Now fans will be able to see their early work in a newly published trade paperback."These guys were extreme talents right out of the gate," said Dukeshire, who spotted samples of their drawings on the Digital Webbing Forums and offered them their first chance to be published.

Supporters can choose from a handful of incentives. "We've got plenty of incentives to contribute to the Kickstarter campaign", adds Imboden. "Not only can people get the trade paperback, we have pledge levels that include art by past FOJ artists. We've got t-shirts, prints and stickers and, what might be the coolest thing of all, the opportunity to have yourself drawn into an original Fist of Justice short story!"

Web address for Kickstarter is: http://kck.st/1bnOoxp

For more information about Fist of Justice, visit http://www.fistofjustice.org or http://www.facebook.com/fistofjustice or contact Imboden (mike@imboden.org) or Dukeshire (eduke@digitalwebbing.com)

April 12: Comic Book exhibit opens at Strathmore

http://www.strathmore.org/fineartexhibitions/exhibitions.asp

A Shared Universe: The Art of Comic Books
April 12, 2014 - June 8, 2014

Free Opening Reception
Thursday, April 24, 7 - 9PM

Exhibition Hours
Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday - 10AM-4PM
Wednesday - 10AM-9PM
Closed Monday

It’s an American invention and a 20th century institution, yet the comic book encompasses the arc of humanity that runs from prehistoric cave paintings to the graphic novels of the future. Arnold Blumberg, former curator at Geppi’s Entertainment Museum, calls the comic book “not just a reflection of our culture—it is our culture.” A culture experienced on so many levels, whether it’s colored by memories of hiding under the covers with a flashlight and a comic book after bedtime or catching up with digital favorites online. Ever since Superman kicked off the superhero comic genre in 1938, the medium’s influence has spread throughout the arts, influencing fine and performing arts as well as pop culture and becoming part of the fabric of human dreams. This exhibit gathers all the elements of the art form, from original pencil drawing and hand inking to graphic design and digital manipulation, and beyond into the new incursions of what comic artist and theorist Scott McCloud calls “the infinite canvas” of web-based comics, games and graphic novels. Step into the world of wonder that’s reflected in the comic genre; share it with someone you love. It’s just as you remember, and so much more than you can imagine.

Please join us for the following programs, presented in conjunction with the exhibit:

CHILDREN'S TALK AND TOUR April 26
ART TALK FOR ADULTS April 26
SCREENING OF THE FILM STRIPPED April 27
BEYOND TEXT AND LINE: A STUDY ON THE ART OF COMIC BOOKS April 27

Saturday, February 22, 2014

That darn Agnes

Letter to the Editor

Abstract subjects, real art

Ellen Kalin, Silver Spring

Washington Post February 21 2014
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/abstract-subjects-real-art/2014/02/19/8fc0044a-98e8-11e3-b1de-e666d78c3937_story.html

Friday, February 21, 2014

What would 'feminist' Barbie look like?

Some new comics/illustrations by D.C.-area native Colleen Clark (who is studying at the Columbus College of Art and Design in Ohio) are featured in the Huffington Post.

'We Are All Barbie Girls' Illustrations By Colleen Clark Show What It Would Look Like If Dolls Represented All Women

The Huffington Post | by Nina Bahadur

"How great would it be if Barbie came in all dress sizes, body shapes and ethnicities? That's what student and illustrator Colleen Clark thought when she was approached by Marie Claire South Africa to illustrate what a "feminist" Barbie might look like." Read more.