Meet the creators of the zombie punx comic TOE TAG RIOT this Saturday

at THIRD EYE ANNAPOLIS Click here for event info on FACEBOOK. First 20 In Line Receive a FREE Special Gift! Signing from 11AM-1PM Hello Third Eye Faithful!   We are stoked to be hosting the creators behind the killer new indie comic series, TOE TAG RIOT, at Third Eye this Saturday!    We love this great new horror / comedy hybrid, which pits a bunch of punk rockers turned into zombies against those crazies from the Westboro Church.    We'd be totally honored if you guys would pop by and join us for this super fun signing with these great up-and-coming talents, Matt Miner and Sean Von Gorman!    Read on below to find out more about TOE TAG RIOT, and make sure you come by & snag a copy and get it signed!   Click here for event info on FACEBOOK. When we first saw pages from TOE TAG RIOT, we knew we had to totally get on board with this one! A hilarious and gory tongue-in-cheek story, Toe Tag Riot is about a punk rock band cursed to become zombies whenever they perform. The band goes on a last cross-country tour in search of the cure for their affliction, but being the ethical sometimes-zombie punks that they are, Toe Tag Riot uses their zombie superpowers to rid the world of racists, homophobes, misogynists, and all kinds of other nasty people. We're so stoked on TOE TAG RIOT that when the opportunity to have creators Matt Miner and Sean Von Gorman to Third Eye to do a big signing for the book came up, we knew we had to jump on it!  Be One of the First 20 in Line & Get a RAD Free Gift!   You guys know that we love it when you get into the event, and line up to have some fun! And, the creators behind these great books love it just as much! But, what's always really cool for us is seeing the community that you guys build among yourselves when you hang out waiting for the doors to open -- so we like to throw a little something extra cool your way to encourage it! The first 20 folks in line for our signing this Saturday will get hooked up with a very cool free gift!   OK, Third Eye Faithful, we look forward to seeing each and every one of you guys this weekend! For those of you who may be wondering if this one will be as crowded as last week's Snyder signing, this one should not be as crazy, so you don't need to worry about the lines going around the block. :) It will be a blast though, so make sure you show up and have fun with us! Click here for the event info on FACEBOOK.

Third Eye Comics | 2027A WEST ST. | Annapolis | MD | 21401

R.W. Alley interview reveals comic book work

PADDINGTON: How a Maryland-sprung artist inherited a royal line of work: Rendering the beloved Brit-immigrant bear

By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs January 22 2015
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2015/01/22/paddington-how-a-maryland-sprung-artist-inherited-a-royal-line-of-work-rendering-the-beloved-brit-immigrant-bear/

Late in this interview, RW Alley notes that he's done two comic book style books with his wife Zoe Alley. I just ordered them for my DC-area cartoonists collection.

Jan. 25: Lewis & Aydin at Fantom Comics

Rep. John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, co-authors of the March graphic novel series based on Lewis' experiences as a leader in the early days of the civil rights movement, will be signing the just-released second volume of the book at Fantom Comics (Dupont Circle) Jan. 25 from 1-3 p.m. Visit the Facebook event page for more info.

Newsarama did a Q&A with Lewis earlier this week.

Animation studio moving to D.C.'s Capitol Riverfront

By Rachel Kaufman/ElevationDC

An animation studio moving from Los Angeles to the District is in negotiations to lease space at the Boilermaker building in Capitol Riverfront for its new headquarters, according to Elevation DC.

Jan 23: Tom Toles in Georgetown TONIGHT

Friday, January 23 - 5th Annual Political Cartoon Exhibit

 

ART SOIREE PRESENTS  5TH ANNUAL POLITICAL CARTOON EXHIBIT  FEATURING TOM TOLES WHERE: The Ritz-Carlton, Georgetown 3100 South Street NW, Washington DC TICKETS: $20 limited and available online only: https://politicalcartoonexhibit.eventbrite.com Make sure to get yours before we sell out. No Door Sales.

 

EXCLUSIVE ONE NIGHT SOLO EXHIBITION BY TOM TOLES RETROSPECTIVE OF TWELVE YEARS AS WASHINGTON POST'S EDITORIAL CARTOONIST

 

Tom Toles is the Pulitzer prizewinning Editorial Cartoonist for the Washington Post and is widely syndicated nationally. He has covered government, politics and society in six cartoons per week for the Post since 2002. Previously he has been Editorial Cartoonist for US News and World Report, The New Republic, The New York Daily News, The Buffalo News and the Buffalo Courier-Express. He has also drawn a comic strip, Curious Avenue and a comic panel, Randolph Itch, 2am. In his spare time he sings and plays drums in two Washington DC based bands, Suspicious Package and Lethal Bark. He has written a musical comedy, Catapult Love featuring the original music of Lethal Bark. He also enjoys dancing all night long. http://www.washingtonpost.com/people/tom-tol! es

 

LIVE PERFORMANCE BY SUSPICIOUS PACKAGE

 

Continuing with annual tradition the event will feature live musical performance by local journo-band Suspicious Package, comprised of reporters armed with their musical talent and rock star looks. Band members include Pulitzer Prize-winning Editorial Cartoonist at The Washington Post Tom Toles, senior government officials Christina Sevilla and Bryan Greene, former TIME/Bloomberg correspondent and journalist Tim Burger and Director of Education and Outreach for the National Security Journalism Initiative at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, Josh Meyer. www.facebook.com/SusPackage

 

Grab Your Ticket

Flugennock's Latest'n'Greatest: "So Sue Me"

"So Sue Me"
http://sinkers.org/stage/?p=1654

Long story short: DC Mayor Bowser and the City Council plan to defy Congress and honor the will of the voters and implement Initiative 71. A gaggle of GOP clowns in the House are threatening litigation to prevent it. The response of Mayor Bowser and the Council is, in so many words, "so, sue me."

Long story:
"DC Marijuana Initiative Transmitted To Congress", Roll Call, 01.13.15:
http://tinyurl.com/nxwbzku

___________________________________________________________
Mike Flugennock, flugennock at sinkers dot org
Political Cartoons: dubya dubya dubya dot sinkers dot org

Underwire on March vol. 2

The Civil Rights Legend Who's Inspiring a New Generation With Comic Books

    By Laura Hudson 

    Wired's Underwire blog 01.21.15

    http://www.wired.com/2015/01/john-lewis-march-comic/

Big Planet Comics co-publisher Box Brown interviewed

Questions for Cartoonists: Box Brown

Jesse R. Lucas

Darling Sleeper blog Jan 19 2015

https://medium.com/darling-sleeper/questions-for-cartoonists-box-brown-6be9e1dd6ca4

Comic Riffs reviews March vol. 2

REVIEW: As a must-read monument, Rep. John Lewis's 'March: Book Two' illuminates the harrowing crucible of civil-rights heroism [+VIDEO]

By Michael Cavna

Washington Post Comic Riffs blog January 21 2015

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2015/01/21/review-as-a-must-read-monument-rep-john-lewiss-march-book-two-illuminates-the-harrowing-crucible-of-civil-rights-heroism-video/

John Lewis Q/A Awesome Con 2014 DC

Awesome Con Aug 26, 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTj4v7QSkLU

Q/A with Congressperson John Lewis at our DC show in April of 2014!

Who knew this was online until Cavna linked to it earlier this week? Not us.

Comic Riffs on Milestone's rebirth

EXCLUSIVE: Milestone Media rises again. Hudlin, Cowan and Dingle will revive company with eye toward characters of color

By David Betancourt
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog January 21 2015
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2015/01/21/exclusive-milestone-media-rises-again-hudlin-cowan-and-dingle-will-revive-company-with-eye-toward-characters-of-color/

Comic Riffs on March and Oatmeal games

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY: Civil-rights icon Rep. John Lewis offers stirring advice to a young activist [ILLUSTRATED]

By Michael Cavna

Washington Post Comic Riffs blog January 19 2015

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2015/01/19/martin-luther-king-jr-day-civil-rights-icon-rep-john-lewis-offers-encouragement-to-a-young-activist-illustrated/

 

KICKSTARTER OF THE WEEK: 'The Oatmeal' creator crowd-funds 'insanely fun' card game, 'Exploding Kittens'

By Michael Cavna

Washington Post Comic Riffs January 20 2014

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2015/01/20/kickstarter-of-the-week-the-oatmeal-creator-crowd-funds-insanely-fun-card-game-exploding-kittens/

 

Feb 21: Animated shorts at National Archives

http://www.archives.gov/dc-metro/events/february.html

Animated Short Film Nominees

Saturday, February 21, 3:30 p.m.
The Bigger Picture
Daisy Jacobs and Christopher Hees
(8 minutes; unrated)

The Dam Keeper
Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi
(18 minutes; unrated)

Feast
Patrick Osborne and Kristina Reed
(6 minutes; unrated)

Me and My Moulton
Torill Kove
(14 minutes; unrated)

A Single Life
Joris Oprins
(3 minutes; unrated)

Total Running Time: 49 minutes.

Charlie Hebdo & DC - 2 more links

Exclusive: Full Interview with Charlie Hebdo's Editor-in-Chief

Chuck Todd

Meet the Press January 18th 2015

http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/exclusive-full-interview-charlie-hebdos-editor-chief-n288521

 

Free speech fuzziness [online as In France, fuzziness on free speech]

Ruth Marcus

Washington Post January 18 2014

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ruth-marcus-in-france-fuzziness-on-free-speech/2015/01/16/8ca2da64-9db3-11e4-a7ee-526210d665b4_story.html

Talburt in 1952

We've been poking around a bit lately, figuring out who Harold Talburt was. Here's the final piece we could find, courtesy of Randy Scott and Michigan State's Comic Art Collection. It's a 1952 article, reprinted in Cartoonews #15 (1977).

Jan 26: Roz Chast tickets almost sold out

Roz Chast—Priority Seating & Signing Tickets Added!
Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?: A Memoir
Monday, January 26, 7:30 pm

Famed New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast does such a comical, fluent job of conveying the things that keep her up at night that many readers are convinced she is somehow mapping their own inner lives. Her latest book, which tackles the subject of growing up in Brooklyn as an only child and of her efforts, decades later, to help her parents navigate the jagged shoals of old age, is by turns grim and absurd, deeply poignant and laugh-out-loud funny. Winner of the inaugural Kirkus Prize for Non-Fiction and finalist for the National Book Award in Non-Fiction.

Come for the chance to bid on a signed, original drawing by Roz!

Purchase Tickets

Face to Face - Illustrations and prose by Martin Graff (the Face Zone) and Laura McClure (Animals for Sam), at the Griffin Art Center through 1/31/2015

Last Saturday evening I had the pleasure of attending the opening artists' reception for Martin Graff (The Face Zone) and Laura McClure (Animals for Sam), entitled Face To Face. The reception was held at a fantastic space in the heart of downtown Frederick, Maryland, known as The Griffin Art Center. Laura and Martin had their work on exhibit together, in the middle gallery (I believe there were three galleries altogether at the center). I met Marty (as he likes to be called) at another, comics-themed art opening in Frederick last year, and through him, Laura, who also had some of her art at the show. I've been gladly following their work via Facebook and blog posts ever since. While the two have a very different approach to their work, stylistically, what their art has in common is a symbiotic relationship with words. 

 Animals for Sam was started by Laura as a way to keep her young, animal-loving godson Sam informed about a wide variety of animal species - kind of like a weekly digital postcard. Laura hand-draws the animals on her computer, using a mouse, usually dressing them in human attire that relates to a certain aspect of a particular species, mostly having to do with their environment or geographic location. She also merges photographic imagery in the background, adding a sense of depth and dimension to her work. A verbal description, both highly factual and informative, while told in the artist's own conversational style, discusses everything from eating habits, to odd and unique physical and behavioral characteristics. Finally, a small graph is at the bottom of each blog post, illustrating the animal species' level of vulnerability to extinction. I could imagine myself thoroughly enjoying something like this as a boy, who like Sam, held a keen interest in wildlife and the natural world. At the show, the framed digital print pieces were quite popular, as many of them were sold. Looking forward to a book compiling these works, hopefully in the near future!

As with many artists and creative types, music plays a big role in Martin Graff's Face Zone works, which employ a cartoon-inspired minimalist approach visually. The influence of punk rock lyricism is evident in the clever verbal wordplay of the sometimes darkly humorous poetry and prose that accompanies The Face Zone illustrations. Martin's blog posts can range from contemplative to laugh-out-loud hilarious, but they always make excellent food-for-thought, which is probably where his influence as a public school teacher comes in as well. Along with his work hanging on the walls of the gallery, Martin had a newly published book compiling his Face Zone material available, a good many of which sold at the show. I highly recommend grabbing one for yourself HERE. In the meantime, don't hesitate to read more about Martin and The Face Zone in this recent article from The Frederick News-Post!

Be sure to check out Face to Face in person, at the Griffin Art Center, which runs through January 31st, 2015!

Politico's Matt Wuerker speaks

Podcast: Matt Wuerker on the art of political cartoons & Jake Tapper on U.S. absence

By POLITICO 1/16/15 

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/01/podcast-matt-wuerker-on-the-art-of-political-cartoons-jake-tapper-on-us-absence-114319.html

POLITICO Magazine's Glenn Thrush sits down with Pulitzer Prize winning political cartoonist Matt Wuerker for a conversation on why this particular form of journalism can incite outrage.

SPX 2015 Lottery Registration!

Dear Creators, Publishers, and Friends, We hope you had a great 2014!  It's now that time where we must look forward to the fall and SPX 2015. We're amazed at how much the show has grown and evolved, and we want you to be part of the experience with us.  Below is a rundown of what's going to be happening over the next few weeks! SPX 2015 TABLE REGISTRATION As many of you know, last year we made the move to a split registration system for SPX, whereby half of our tables are awarded by open lottery and the other half by invitation. The process will be the same for 2015.   By late January we will notify all 2015 SPX invitees so everyone will be clear on whether or not they should register for the Lottery.  Just like last year, the lottery will have a simple sign-up and a generous registration period.  WHAT TO EXPECT OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS 1. SPX 2015 invitees will hear from us before the end of January. Tables associated with any invitations not accepted will be rolled over into the lottery pool. 2. The SPX 2015 table lottery will run from February 1 to February 15, 2015 (at midnight eastern time). We'll widely advertise the lottery opening and, at that time, provide access to an online form to enter the lottery.  3. After entering the lottery, you'll receive your lottery number.  Don't lose it!  Just kidding.  We'll keep a copy and notify you either way if you win. 4. All lottery entries will be reviewed by SPX. What are we reviewing them for?  SPX is a showcase for independent comics. If it will not be clear to us that you make such things we reserve the right to remove your lottery entry. If we contact you to follow up with your registration, we appreciate your help in letting us know more about your work. 5. Upon conclusion of our review, we'll notify the lottery winners for 2015 (yay!).  You'll have a reasonable window of time to pay for your requested table space. 6. We'll also maintain a wait list (based on the next 50 potential lottery winners). Tables that are not paid for in a timely manner or are subsequently cancelled will be offered to members of the wait list in turn. THE LOTTERY PROCESS! There are just a few steps to the process, and if you did this last year it should be familiar to you! If you're new to the lottery this year, it takes just a few minutes. - Beginning February 1, go to the Lottery Registration Form and submit your info (we will post this form on the SPX site, social media, Tumblr, and anywhere else we can!). There will be a full set of FAQ, rules, and other information about your registration available with this form. - An e-mail will be sent back confirming your registration application immediately after you submit your info. Please check your spam folder if you don't see it within a few minutes! - Within 48 hours we will send you another e-mail with a 6 digit random number provided by Random.org. - We will sort the lottery entrant list by random number in either ascending or order descending based on a computer generated coin flip. - We'll apportion tables in the order dictated until we run out. - Remaining lottery registrants will be preserved in their lottery order as the 2015 Wait List. - Lottery winners will be announced by mid-March 2015. - Information about the process for paying for the tables will be made available when the lottery winners are announced, with payment processing to begin the end of the month. - Winners will be given until April 15, 2015 to pay for their tables. Payment not received in that time frame will result in those tables in being forfeited and used for the Wait List. YOU GUYS! SPX 2015 is going to be here so soon!  And we can't wait to welcome you back. It is truly an honor to put on this show for you every year. Thank you for making it basically the best thing. Any questions, do not hesitate to send us a note to EXHIBITORS@SPXPO.COM and we will get back to you with answers as soon as possible! We're committed keeping SPX an open, welcoming event as well as to using a transparent, democratic process that ensures new creators have an equal opportunity to participate. Thanks all, Sam and Mike and Warren and Dan and Eden and Sarah and Bill and Catherine and Greg and Tom and Megan and Rusty and Joe and Esther and Baily and Yitzy       Copyright © 2015 Small Press Expo, All rights reserved. You are on the Combined Master Exhibitor List for Small Press Expo to whom this e-mail is directed. Our mailing address is: Small Press Expo P.O. Box 5704 Bethesda, Maryland 20824 Add us to your address book

That darn Charlie Hebdo

Letters to the Editor: Abusing the right to free speech

[online as The meaning of free speech]

John S. Koppel, Abdul Kadir Hussain, Robert Burney, William H. Barkell

Washington Post January 17 2015

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-meaning-of-free-speech/2015/01/16/3d74c098-9cd1-11e4-86a3-1b56f64925f6_story.html