July 10: Animezing: Mai Mai Miracle

Animezing Series Presented by the JICC, Embassy of Japan Mai Mai Miracle Friday, July 10, 6:30 p.m. Never miss another event!   Our Location: JICC, Embassy of Japan 1150 18th St, NW Suite 100 Washington, DC 20036 Driving Directions © 2009 Nobuko Takagi / MAGAZINE HOUSE / "MAIMAISHINKO" Film Committee  | 2009 | 95 min | Not Rated | In Japanese with English subtitles | Directed by Sunao  Katabuchi In 1955 Japan, Shinko, a curious third grade elementary school student lives in a small village with her parents and grandparents where she spends her free time running free in the sea of wheat fields surrounding her house, immersed in her childhood daydreams.   Inspired by her grandfather's historical tales of the land on which they live, Shinko's fantasies travel far into the days of Japan's Heian Period (794 - 1185). One day a girl called Kiiko transfers from Tokyo and joins Shinko's class where they become good friends. Before long, the two of them become engulfed in a strange incident of one thousand years ago.   Winner of the Audience Award for Best Animated Feature for adults & the BeTV Award for Best Animated Feature at Anima (Brussels Animation Film Festival) in 2010; Jury Prize at the Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal in 2010; and the Excellence Prize for Feature Length Animation at the 14th Japan Media Arts Festival. Nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the 4th Asia Pacific Screen Awards.   Register Now! This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Please note that seating is limited and registration does not guarantee guests a seat. Registered guests will be seated on a first come, first served basis. Please contact us at jicc@ws.mofa.go.jp in the event of cancellation. Doors open at 6:00 pm. No admission or re-entry after 7:00 pm.

JICC, Embassy of Japan | 1150 18th St., NW | Suite 100 | Washington | DC | 20036

July 1: Sevara #1 available on ComiXology

Damian Wampler writes in:

I just wanted to let you know that Sevara #1 will be released on ComiXology on Wednesday, July 1, sometime during the day.

This is the link to Sevara issue #1 on ComiXology: http://bit.ly/1dioZcf
NOTE: this link won't be live until July 1.

Here's a link to the Sevara series on ComiXology, live all the time: https://www.comixology.com/Sevara/comics-series/46184? 

July 29: Bill Plympton in Silver Spring

CHEATIN' with Oscar® nominated animator Bill Plympton in person!

Public · Film · Hosted by AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center

https://www.facebook.com/events/447020438811401/

 

• Wednesday, July 29 at 7:00pm in EDT

• Show Map AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center 8633 Colesville Rd, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910

• Find Tickets Tickets Available www.afi.com

Widely considered the "King of Indie Animation", Bill Plympton is the only person to hand draw an entire animated feature film. Twice nominated for Oscars® for his animated short films, his work as also won the prestigious Cannes Palme d'Or.

After producing many shorts that appeared on MTV and Spike and Mike's, Plympton turned his talent to feature films. The subject of his 7th animated feature film Cheatin' (film), is a newlywed wife who proves the depth of her love by becoming her cheating husband's mistresses.

"Strife and sexual humor reign in this energetic romp, one of Bill Plympton's best long form animated works." --Dennis Harvey, Variety

John Cuneo on Richard Thompson

"I've also been looking closely at the aforementioned book of Goya's etchings, Ronald Searle's remarkable drawings in The Second Coming of Toulouse-Lautrec, and The Art of Richard Thompson. For me, Thompson's work has the capacity to conjure both inspiration and despair. I take it in small portions, no more than three or four pages at a time so as not to give up hope entirely."

- Illustrator Profile - John Cuneo: "The act of making marks on paper is a rare and singular pleasure"
By Robert Newman Thursday June 25, 2015
http://www.ai-ap.com/publications/article/14337/illustrator-profile-john-cuneo-the-act-of-maki.html

Andrew Cohen has illustrated his grandfather's new book

Local cartoonist Andrew Cohen has provided illustrations for a new collection of his grandfather's writings, Reflections on Martha's Vineyard.

From the publisher ...

William A. Caldwell was already a winner of the Pulitzer Prize for his work as editor of a New Jersey newspaper when he moved to the Martha's Vineyard, MA, in 1972. For the next 12 years, he wrote a column for the Vineyard Gazette called Reflections of That Man Friday. Reflections on Martha's Vineyard is a collection of those brilliant essays whether funny or critical, angry or compassionate, irrefutably logical but often philosophically surprising. The essays remain surprisingly relevant to today's Vineyard, an island eight miles off the coast of Massachusetts, written in a style that captures some of the best of writing about this small place.

More information at http://howzitfunnies.blogspot.com/2015/06/reflections-on-marthas-vineyard.html"

Ullman returns to the City Paper

Rob Ullman, formerly a long-time illustrator of the Savage Love column for the City Paper, has an illo in the paper again, after a long drought.

See The Last Supper: Horror Stories of Breaking Up in D.C. Restaurants and Bars

PR: Small Press Expo Announces Kate Beaton, Luke Pearson and Noelle Stevenson

For Immediate Release Contact: Warren Bernard Email: warren@spxpo.com Small Press Expo Announces Kate Beaton, Luke Pearson and Noelle Stevenson to Celebrate SPX's 21st Birthday   Bethesda, Maryland; June 25, 2015 Media Release ­— To commemorate its 21st birthday, the Small Press Expo (SPX) is proud to announce that SPX 2015 will spotlight creators who have only worked in the 21st Century.   We are pleased to announce that our first 21st Century/21st Birthday guests at SPX 2015 are Kate Beaton, Luke Pearson and Noelle Stevenson.   Her humorous, quirky takes on history, literature and famous people propelled Kate Beaton's Hark! A Vagrant! series of webcomics into a New York Times bestseller, as well as winning both the Harvey and Ignatz Awards. SPX 2015 will see the debut of Ms. Beaton's latest compendium of comics, Step Aside Pops! A Hark! A Vagrant Collection  for Drawn and Quarterly. She also just published her very first children's book,  The Princess and The Pony from Scholastic Books.   Luke Pearson's Hildafolk series started as a single issue comic that expanded into three volumes of Scandinavian inspired, critically acclaimed children's books for the artistically daring publisher Nobrow. Mr. Pearson's notoriety with the Hilda series and his other comics have led him to storyboard episodes of Adventure Time, as well as illustration assignments for such prestigious outlets as The New York Times, The New Yorker and the New Republic.   Noelle Stevenson's hit webcomic Nimona  has just been nominated for a 2015 Eisner Award for Best Digital/Web Comic, on top of having the first Nimona graphic novel released last month by Harpercollins. Ms. Stevenson was one of the primary writers of the hit series Lumberjanes from Boom! Studios, which has just been optioned for a movie. She is now writing for such Marvel titles as Thor and Runaways, as well for the Disney series Wander Over Yonder. SPX is honored to host Ms. Stevenson as guest for the first time.   SPX 2015 takes place on Saturday and Sunday, September 19-20, and will have over 650 creators, 280 exhibitor tables and 22 programming slots to entertain, enlighten and introduce attendees to the amazing world of independent and small press comics.   Small Press Expo (SPX) is the preeminent showcase for the exhibition of independent comics, graphic novels, and alternative political cartoons. SPX is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit that brings together more than 650 artists and publishers to meet their readers, booksellers, and distributors each year. Graphic novels, mini comics, and alternative comics will all be on display and for sale by their authors and illustrators. The expo includes a series of panel discussions and interviews with this year's guests.   The Ignatz Award is a festival prize held every year at SPX recognizing outstanding achievement in comics and cartooning, with the winners chosen by attendees at the show. As in previous years, profits from the SPX will go to support the SPX Graphic Novel Gift Program, which funds graphic novel purchases for public and academic libraries, as well as the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF), which protects the First Amendment rights of comic book readers and professionals. For more information on the CBLDF, visit their website at http://www.cbldf.org. For more information on the Small Press Expo, please visit http://www.spxpo.com.

National Library of Medicine historian Michael Sappol on WWII animation

The Inside Story

 Circulating Now on June 25, 2015

By Michael Sappol

Inside Out, Pixar's latest hit animated feature, is mainly set on the inside of a young girl's brain. Riley, an eleven-year-old, is operated by a committee of characters, each representing an emotion, who collectively try to deal with her troubles at school and home. It seems like a very contemporary way to depict consciousness, and critical reaction from psychologists and neuroscientists has been largely favorable.

But, strangely, the film echoes an older and quite obscure piece of animated cartooning: a 1944 movie made during wartime for the U.S. Coast Guard, The Inside Story. That film, now preserved in the historical audiovisual collection of the National Library of Medicine, deals with the typical emotional problems suffered by men entering the military service and argues that psychotherapeutic approaches may help.

Continued at http://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2015/06/25/the-inside-story/

Frank Cho to illustrate new Hulk title

The Hulk Gets Totally Awesome In New Series From Greg Pak and Frank Cho

• Andrew Steinbeiser
• - 06/25/2015

http://comicbook.com/2015/06/24/the-hulk-gets-totally-awesome-in-new-series-from-greg-pak-and-fr/

Comic Riffs wins awards

"Michael Cavna won four awards for his work on the great Comic Riffs blog, including first place/blog portfolio, first place/video storytelling, third place/arts and entertainment feature and third place/short feature."

WashPost PR Blog

The Washington Post wins 14 awards in Society of Features Journalism contest

Kevin ‘Kal’ Kallaugher video online

Kevin 'Kal' Kallaugher – Entertaining & Enraging with Cartoons
Kevin Kallaugher (KAL)
Moses Znaimer's Ideacity conference
http://www.ideacityonline.com/video/kevin-kal-kallaugher-entertaining-enraging-with-cartoons/

Julian Lytle quoted in article about black cartoonists reaction to racial violence

"If James Baldwin didn't change fucking America, what's a comic essay going to do?"

    Seven cartoonists discuss race, outrage, and black grief after Charleston

    June 24 2015

    https://medium.com/the-response/if-james-baldwin-didn-t-change-fucking-america-what-s-a-comic-essay-going-to-do-8ab1bf83047d

 

With words and work from Ron Wimberly, Whit Taylor, Keith Knight, Chris Kindred, Richie Pope, Shannon Wright and Darryl Ayo.

July 7: KAL at Goethe-Institut

FuturePerfect - Telling Stories for a Better Future: How Art and Narratives Can Change the World

Forging the Future

Discussion
Tuesday, 7 July 2015, 6:30 pm
Goethe-Institut Washington, GoetheForum and FotoGalerie
English
No charge
+ 1 (202) 289-1200
info@washington.goethe.org

This discussion event officially launches FuturePerfect, a project showcasing stories of individuals and their innovative efforts to build a better future. FuturePerfect features stories from pioneers all over the world who are working in their communities in areas like energy, food security, textile production, mobility and the arts.

FuturePerfect stories show that the transformation of modern society toward sustainability is not principally the domain of experts in the fields of science, economics, and politics. It is the business of each individual to use their scope of action to experiment with what is possible in the here and now. FuturePerfect is a joint venture of the German foundation FUTURZWEI and the Goethe-Institut. Since its launch in 2012, FUTURZWEI has presented the stories of hundreds of pioneers of new and different economic, social, and cultural practices.

This panel discussion will explore how art and narratives can change the world by spreading visions of a utopian future. Questions to be discussed will include: Is art just utopia? Can stories lead people to change their behavior and work towards a better future? And what is the best way to make people pay attention to the problem of sustainability and to act on it?

Panelists:

KAL (Kevin Kallaugher) – KAL is an editorial cartoonist for The Economist magazine and The Baltimore Sun. He won the 2014 Grand Prix for Cartoon of the Year in Europe as presented by Press Cartoon Europe, and his work has appeared in more than 100 publications worldwide. KAL's work has been widely displayed at exhibitions including at the Tate Gallery in London and the Library of Congress in Washington. Many of his cartoons deal with climate change, the dependence on oil, and environmental pollution.

Sarah Browning – Browning is a poet and co-founder and executive director of Split This Rock (a project that calls poets to a greater role in public life). She is an Associate Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies and a featured writer for Other Words. She is the recipient of artist fellowships from the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities, and has been a community organizer for Boston public housing and a grassroots political organizer on a host of social and political issues.

Marc Gunther – Gunther is an editor-at-large for Guardian Sustainable Business US and a contributor at Fortune where he writes about business and sustainability. He is the creator and co-chair of Brainstorm Green, Fortune's annual conference on business and the environment. Gunther is the author or co-author of four books, including Faith and Fortune: How Compassionate Capitalism is Transforming American Business. His newest book, Suck It Up: How Capturing Carbon from the Air Can Help Solve the Climate Crisis, was published in 2012.

Nancy Averett – Averett is a freelance science journalist who writes for a variety of national publications like Pacific Standard, E! The Environmental Magazine, Inc., and Discover.com. She is a member of the Society for Environmental Journalists and a contributor to FuturePerfect.

Erik Assadourian – Assadourian is a Senior Fellow at the Worldwatch Institute, contributing editor to Adbusters and Managing Editor of FuturePerfect (US). He has published two editions of Vital Signs and four editions of State of the World, including State of the World 2013: Is Sustainability Still Possible? He is currently producing Yardfarmers, a reality TV show about young Americans moving back in with their parents to farm their yards and neighborhood green spaces, and in the process help solve issues such as the obesity epidemic and food insecurity.

A reception follows the discussion.

This event is part of the Forging the Future series.

Promoted by the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development and the Heinrich Böll Foundation

Forging the Future is supported by a generous contribution from the Elysée-Fonds for German-French cultural programs abroad. This event is also made possible with support from Friends of the Goethe-Institut.

Related links

• Future Perfect website  
  
• Website of the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development  
  
• Website of the Heinrich Böll Foundation  

Captain America comes to Madame Tussauds Washington, D.C.

Summer of Superheroes

School is out and superheroes are in! Just in time for summer break, Madame Tussauds Washington, D.C. welcomes Captain America.

Captain America, the famed Marvel character known for his super powerful and virtually indestructible shield, was greeted in the Nation's Capital by local children. The children and their families were on hand to unveil the wax figure to press and fans alike.

Captain America will be with Madame Tussauds Washington, D.C. for a limited period of time, so be sure to visit him while you can!

PLUS, wear you superhero themed attire (Captain America t-shirt, Spiderman suit, Hulk mask, and more) and save $5 off your admission to Madame Tussauds Washington, D.C. during the month of June.

The Post reviews novel on 200-year old cartoonist

'Death and Mr. Pickwick' asks if Dickens stole his famous first novel [in print as Did Dickens steal his first novel?]

By Wendy Smith June 23 2015
http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/death-and-mr-pickwick-asks-if-dickens-stole-his-famous-first-novel/2015/06/22/4cc8199e-1375-11e5-89f3-61410da94eb1_story.html

Daily Cartoonist follows up on Montgomery County Sentinel cartoon plagiarism

Investigation called in Sentinel plagiarism; 81 of 84 cartoons found to be copies; paper owner: 'meh'

by Alan Gardner
June 23, 2015
http://dailycartoonist.com/index.php/2015/06/23/investigation-called-in-sentinel-plagiarism-81-of-84-cartoons-found-to-be-copies-paper-owner-meh/

Spider-Man cited in Supreme Court patent decision today

Elena Kagan brings her Spidey sensibility to Supreme Court ruling

By Adam B. Lerner

6/22/15 http://www.politico.com/story/2015/06/elena-kagan-spider-man-supreme-court-ruling-119279.html

'With great power': How Supreme Court went fanboy-ish today in ruling for Marvel

By Michael Cavna June 22 2015
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2015/06/22/with-great-power-how-supreme-court-went-fanboy-ish-today-in-ruling-for-marvel/

July: Teresa Logan teaches comics at Politics & Prose

Graphic Memoirs (1570)

Four Fridays: July 17, 24, 31, August 7, 6 – 8 p.m.

Price: 

$105 (10% off for members)

The medium of graphic novels is a great way to combine words and pictures to tell a story, and can bring a personal memoir to life.

The class will delve into the ways the graphic novel can be an advantageous medium for writers exploring difficult themes. For instance, Ellen Forney uses humor in her work Marbles to depict her struggles in identifying and coping with bipolar disorder, whereas Marjane Sartrapi relies on the visual aspect of the narrative to make the political more personal in Persepolis, which is a moving depiction of the Iranian revolution. Graphic novel basics will also be covered, as well as how to put your own stories down in a way which will capture your readers' imaginations.

Recommended Reading:
Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi
Marbles, Ellen Forney
Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, Roz Chast

About the Instructor(s): 

T.R. Logan is a Reuben Award-nominated cartoonist, and has been a professional writer/artist for over 30 years, making a living from her words, as well as her pictures, from stage to page. A regular contributor to the D.C. Comics-only paper MAGIC BULLET, she is also a regular on comedy stages, and a storyteller at Storytalks in NYC and at Speakeasy D.C.  As a standup comic, she has been an opening act for Jerry Seinfeld, Ellen DeGeneres, Drew Carey, Kevin Nealon, Dana Carvey, and more. Her personal stories come through in her standup comedy act (HBO, Comedy Channel, A&E), and have been published in chapter books from a variety of publishers, including the upcoming Dirty Diamonds, an All-Girl Comics Anthology. Her work was also chosen to appear in the nationally distributed Cartoon Crier, published by the Center for Cartoon Studies, and her own book of cartoons, The Older I Get, The Less I Care, is available from Andrews McMeel Publishing.She is a regular exhibitor and frequent guest at ComicCons, including New York ComicCon, AwesomeConDC, and CreativeCon Panama City.

REFUND POLICY: Please note that we can issue class refunds up until seven (7) days before the first class session.

Graphic Memoirs (1570)

$105

AFI Docs: Why New Yorker cartoon editor let a filmmaker get ‘Very Semi-Serious’ - The Washington Post

In case anyone's planning to hit today's AFI DOCS screening of The New Yorker Cartoonists film in Silver Spring:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2015/06/20/afi-docs-why-new-yorker-cartoon-editor-let-filmmakers-get-very-semi-serious/

Comic Riffs talks to Jim Davis about the new Garfield musical

With his first-ever 'Garfield' musical, creator Jim Davis revels in a dream fulfilled

By Michael Cavna June 19 2015
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2015/06/19/with-the-first-ever-garfield-musical-creator-jim-davis-revels-in-a-dream-fulfilled/