Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Powell Talks Real Life Violence in "March," "I Have a Dream" Speech & More

Comic Book Resources February 20th, 2015
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=59475

Marc Singer on Morrison's Mastermen

J. Robert Dean's cartoon children's book Kickstarter campaign

MOO THOUSAND AND PUN: A "Crass Fed Kids" All Ages Storybook

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/13694920/moo-thousand-and-pun-a-crass-fed-kids-all-ages-sto

A "pun-for-all-ages" Children's Book about a cow who goes on a spacewalk...and gets lost. (First in a new series from Crass Fed Kids.)

- the cartoonist is straight out of Springfield, VA and used to manage a comic book store. I just backed him.

March 2: Steve Brodner in Baltimore

Steve Brodner will be speaking on Johns Hopkins' Homewood Campus at 5:30 on March 2. See the image for more details.

Tonight: March vol. 2 at the Newseum (members only)

Civil Rights Superhero: An Evening with John Lewis and Andrew Aydin

- See more at: http://www.newseum.org/event/civil-rights-superhero-an-evening-with-john-lewis/

The Post reviews Gaiman's new book

Science fiction: Tales of possession, freedom and monsters [online as Best science fiction and fantasy for February]

By Nancy Hightower
Washington Post February 25 2015
http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/best-science-fiction-and-fantasy-for-february/2015/02/24/287f00a4-b22f-11e4-827f-93f454140e2b_story.html

The Post on Lela Lee's Angry Asian trademark battle

Who gets to be 'Angry Asian'? Trademark tiff splits activists [online as Who's the angriest Asian? It's 'man' vs. 'little girl' in trademark feud].

By David Nakamura
Washington Post February 25 2015, p. C1-2
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/whos-the-angriest-asian-its-man-vs-little-girl-in-trademark-feud/2015/02/24/8746c372-b90c-11e4-9423-f3d0a1ec335c_story.html

Support cartoonists rights now

The recent murder of 5 cartoonists, along with others, in their offices at Charlie Hebdo in Paris has brought the issue of cartoonists rights to freedom of speech and safety to the forefront of people's notice.

The Cartoonists Rights Network International (based in Northern Virginia) has been defending cartoonists for decades. In addition to the French cartoonists, Zunar in Malaysia has been arrested, Bonil is Ecuador is being censored and Mohammad Saba'aneh in Palestine has been suspended.

I spoke to Matt Wuerker last night about their Indiegogo fundraising campaign. The interview will appear soon on the City Paper, but time is ticking in their campaign. Click here:

Cartoonists Rights Network International - CRNI

Andertoons in today's Post

Mark Anderson's Andertoons provided the cartoon illustration for Better Medicare Alliance's advertisement on page A7 of the Washington Post today.

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

James "Giacomo" Bellora, RIP

Self-portrait courtesy of Billy Ireland Library

by Mike Rhode

ComicsDC has learned that Falls Church illustrator and sometime cartoonist James Bellora passed away on February 18, 2015. He was born in St. Charles, MO on June 6, 1960 according to the CaringBridge website that reported his passing. The site also notes that he had an engineering degree and was an avid bicyclist, and is survived by his wife and daughter. According to a brochure for his services held at Ohio State University's Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, his cartoons appeared in trade publications such as FBLA Association News, Air Force Acquisition Network News, Actuarial Association Magazine and Sketches magazine. He listed himself as a cartoonist and "humorous illustrator." He also recieved work from Arlington's BonoTom Studio. At points in his career, Bellora was a member of the National Cartoonists Society and the Illustrators Club of Washington, DC (where he also served as President). A funeral will be held on March 6th at St. James Catholic Church in Falls Church.

Several local cartoonists and illustrators have given us their thoughts on him.

Editorial cartoonist Steve Artley: "In the 90's, he was a regular at the annual Cartoons & Cocktails event and hung with Jack Higgins, Chip Beck and I during the event and afterward in the bar upstairs. He and I had a great time banging out songs on the piano in the lounge. He was very friendly and outgoing, engaging and seemed happy... ."

Illustrator David Hagen: "We had sort of a competitive relationship especially in the days you used to hump your big illustration portfolio around town for freelance jobs. I'd see him either coming or going. He was the president of the Illustrators Club when I joined and remember pausing by his display table at the yearly portfolio shows. I think I stepped up my game because I knew he was out there! Which made me a better illustrator."

Cartoonist Joe Sutliff: "James (I never called him Jim or Giaccomo) and I hung out a lot years ago, but I lost touch after he met his soon-to-be wife. He was full of passion for anything he got involved in, and truthfully I had been thinking about him a lot lately... I remember James as always being "full throttle"… whatever he went after, it was never halfway. He was always ready to lead the way - he went from a freshman member of the Illustrator's Club to President in just a couple of years, and joined the National Cartoonist Society and organized the local chapter as well. He was always fun-loving; I remember one Illustrators Club Holiday party where he lead me, Rob Sprouse and some others in a full dance-out of YMCA… I think it's still on online somewhere…:

Illustrator Kevin Rechin: "So unbelievably sad. I knew him fairly well. Saw him quite often in the '90s either at NCS stuff or Illustrators Club gatherings. He was definitely a go-getter and full of life. Always had a smile on his face. Thoughts and prayers to his wife, daughter and family."

Monday, February 23, 2015

Carolyn Belefski's Curls book Kickstarter

Curls: The Ultimate Book Collection

by Carolyn Belefski

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/carolynbelefski/curls-the-ultimate-book-collection

"I hope you'll join me in supporting Carolyn's Kickstarter. Because I really want to see what a really talented goofball does with 90 Billion dollars."
-- Richard Thompson (Cul de Sac - 2010 Reuben Award)
for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year

"This collection is what kickstarter was made for. Carolyn is able to bring to life her ideas in a way that is both charming and funny with the compliment of beautiful art and skill. I love this strip and am so happy to see it finally collected. It's about time!"
-- Jimmy Palmiotti (Harley Quinn, Jonah Hex, Painkiller Jane, Power Girl)

"'Curls' is a thoroughly engaging comic that positively brims with joy and warmth. Strip by strip, Carolyn Belefski constructs a magical world of animal (and toast!) friendships that feels, well, utterly believable -- proof that the cartoonist has the rich imagination to pull off this sleight of hand and heart. Raise a (large) toast to the world of Curls!"
-- Michael Cavna ("Comic Riffs" Columnist/Cartoonist, The Washington Post)

"The expressions, movement and attitude in Carolyn Belefski's characters resonate because she's somehow created a line that is at once deft, fun, innocent and sexy."
-- Nick Galifianakis (The Washington Post)

I've just put my money in.

Carolyn Belefski blogs about her White House 'Obamacare' cartoons

Comics for The White House

January 30, 2015
http://www.carolynbelefski.com/blog/2015/1/29/comics-for-the-white-house

With Macbeth behind him, Gareth Hinds eyes an "impossibly long list of classic adaptations"

Gareth Hinds (all pictures from his website)

by Mike Rhode

Gareth Hinds just released Macbeth, his newest Shakespeare adaptation. He'll be introducing Macbeth tonight at the Takoma Park Library in MD, Politics and Prose in DC on March 3, and Hooray for Books in VA this Friday. Maria Russo at the New York Times just gave the book an excellent review, writing "The book feels like a remarkably faithful rendering of the world of the play. You can almost feel the damp chill of the Scottish Highlands in the silvery-green palette, and as the murdered corpses pile up, the warm oranges of the candlelit castle interiors inevitably tinge toward the blood-red at the center of the story."

What type of comic work or cartooning do you do?
Graphic novels based on literary classics

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

Always a combination, sometimes more digital, sometimes more traditional.

When (within a decade is fine) and where were you born?
I'm from central Vermont. I was born in 1971.

Why are you in Washington now? What neighborhood or area do you live in?
My wife took a job at the literacy nonprofit First Book, and we moved to Takoma Park about a year and a half ago.

What is your training and/or education in cartooning?
I went to Parsons School of Design for illustration, but they didn't have a lot of classes on comics, so as a cartoonist I'm mostly self-taught.

Who are your influences?
Herge, Moebius, Bill Sienkiewicz, Walt Simonson, Walt Kelly, Lorenzo Matotti, Enki Bilal, Masamune Shirow and a lot of other manga artists.

If you could, what in your career would you do-over or change?
I would have probably picked a more popular play than King Lear as my first Shakespeare outing.

What work are you best-known for?
Beowulf and The Odyssey

What work are you most proud of?
When I look back at each book I see things to love and things to groan about. Beowulf launched my career. The Odyssey is my magnum opus (At least so far).

What would you like to do or work on in the future?
An impossibly long list of classic adaptations and original projects.

What do you do when you're in a rut or have writer's block?
Work on something else for a bit, draw from life, meditate, doodle.

Beowulf

What do you think will be the future of your field?
The only constant is change. However, like other media I don't think newer forms of storytelling will make comics go away, though they may become less profitable or change in terms of delivery format. I'm already doing eBooks, and I think they're still in their infancy. We're kind of still waiting for the right reading platform/device as well as a unified format.

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

I've been at SPX on and off since the mid-90s. I generally don't table, as I prefer to walk around and see what/who is there. I have been a guest at the Gaithersburg Book Fest and am going back this year.

What's your favorite thing about DC?

It's a lot easier to get around to things than New York, and there's more good theater (especially Shakespeare) than almost any other city but New York.

Least favorite?

Downtown is just not very interesting, apart from the museums.

What monument or museum do like to take visitors to?
Depends on who they are, but my favorite is probably The Portrait Gallery / Smithsonian Museum of Art. Particularly the Luce Center and some of the contemporary portrait shows.

How about a favorite local restaurant?

There are quite a few options I like, but right now probably Founding Farmers and Comet Pizza Ping Pong (right next to Politics & Prose bookstore!).

Do you have a website or blog?

www.garethhinds.com links to my blog, email newsletter, and social media profiles.

Sunday, February 22, 2015

Photos from DC Conspiracy birthday bash

A few photos from Saturday's DC Conspiracy 10th anniversary celebration at Fantom Comics at Dupont Circle. Despite the snow (which was reminiscent of DCC's first meeting back on Jan. 22, 2005), the turnout was great for the workshop lead by Jason Rodriguez and the panel talk (with Evan Keeling, Andrew Cohen and myself). The crowd dwindled later as the frozen rain set it. Still, the live music by Mickie and Mallory (featuring Joe Carabeo) was so good that passers-by hearing it from the street were coming in to check it out.

(Photos are courtesy of Jason Rodriguez and Fantom Comics. Click on their links for more pics.)

PW feature on Rosarium Publishing

Brigid Alverson, who often writes about comics, pens a feature story in Publishers Weekly on D.C.'s Rosarium Publishing, which is the brainchild of Bill Campbell.

Rosarium Bets on Multicultural Novels and Comics

By Brigid Aversion

Publishers kept telling Bill Campbell that his novels weren’t marketable, so he published them himself, found a market, and 18 months ago started Rosarium Publishing to do the same for other writers and comics creators. Based in the Washington, D.C., area, Rosarium Publishing boasts a multicultural lineup of authors and a list that features prose works as well as comics.

Read the article.

Saturday, February 21, 2015

DC Conspiracy 10th Anniversary Party!

Today
at 3:00pm - 9:00pm
Starts in about 6 hours · 19°F Mostly Cloudy
Show Map
Fantom Comics
2010 P St NW, Washington, District of Columbia 20036

DC Conspiracy, the collective behind the free semi-annual comics newspaper MAGIC BULLET, has hit its 10TH BIRTHDAY!

In celebration of DC Conspiracy's 10th anniversary, we're putting together a commemorative party to look back on the group's long and varied history as THE local Washington DC comic book creators' collective!

Join us as we enjoy a chill night of art, music, booze, and friends. Help us celebrate 10 amazing years of local homegrown art!

3-4pm: Make Your Own Mini-Comics Workshop with Jason Rodriguez
5-6: Q & A with The DC Conspiracy
7-8: Mickie & Mallory
Cash bar and free nibbles all night long.