PR: NBM Hits SPX

Good stuff here.

On the weekend of September 19th-20th, you can find NBM Publishing participating at two exciting events the 2015 Small Press Expo and The Brooklyn Book Festival.

And at both events we'll be debuting three new titles, Fires Above Hyperion by Patrick Atangan , Religion, A Discovery in Comics by Margreet de Heer and Walking Wounded: Uncut Stories from Iraq by Mael & Olivier Morel.

Fires Above Hyperion by Patrick Atangan

Imagine Sex and the City written by a gay Charlie Brown.

"One day I woke up and realized I had been dating for twenty years.  Twenty years.  It's hard to imagine anyone with as little resolve as I have doing anything for so long." 

In this autobiographical work, Patrick Atangan documents the sad hilarity of his love life from awkward first encounters, to finding out that the great guy you've been dating already has a boyfriend, to the sad inevitability of a break up. With a dark sense of humor, Atangan navigates the perils of the gay world.

Religion, A Discovery in Comics by Margreet de Heer

The author of the bestselling Discovery in Comics series, including on Science and Philosophy, tackles a very sensitive subject. Dealing with religion often means walking on eggshells – that is what comic artist Margreet de Heer finds out in this book in which she presents the five major religions and modern spirituality in a colorful, personal yet serious manner. She explores religious history and practices with tact and an open mind, but can't prevent a few eggs from breaking. Why is religion such a sensitive subject?

This book in comics is fun and informative for believers, non-believers and everyone in between. It offers a fresh look from different perspectives on the phenomenon of religion, the backgrounds and history of the five major world religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism) and makes the point that religion is something that should unite us, not drive us apart.

Walking Wounded: Uncut Stories from Iraq by Mael & Olivier Morel

For hundreds of thousands of young Americans, after the shock of 9/11, there was Ar Ramadi, Baghdad, Abu Ghraib… The war in Irak. Then came the trauma. Olivier Morel gave them a voice in his compelling documentary On the Bridge. Walking Wounded isn't the book of the documentary but the story of Morel getting close to the young vets, their troubled experience and lives. So close he could not avoid living their trauma himself, seeing all too clearly their vision of the world after their gut-wrenching experiences. From torment to reflection, Morel and artist Mael relate through these vets the impossible return of those who do aspire vividly to get back to a normal life. The effort is huge, some can't make it, others score their own victory by finally turning the corner… a parable for our country's war sickness.

SPX Details and Signing Schedule

September 19th-20th; Located at E 1-2

Appearing Saturday Only: Olivier Morel & Margreet de Heer

The Small Press Expo is North America's premiere independent cartooning and comic arts festival. SPX brings together more than 4,000 cartoonists and comic arts enthusiasts every fall in Bethesda, Maryland.

Unlike many conventions that are geared toward pop culture or corporately owned comics, SPX was created in 1994 to promote artists and publishers who produce independent comics. SPX hosts an annual festival that provides a forum for artists, writers and publishers of comic art in its various forms to present to the public comic art not normally accessible through normal commercial channels.

Signing Schedule:

11:00 am – 12:00 pm:  Olivier Morel

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm:   Margreet de Heer

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm:     Olivier Morel

2:00 pm – 3:00 pm:    Margreet de Heer

3:00 pm – 4:00 pm:  Olivier Morel & Margreet de Heer

Stefan Blitz
Publicist
NBM publishing
Graphic novel publisher since 1977
Distributed to the general trade by IPG
www.nbmpub.com
visit us on Facebook / follow us on Twitter
Visit our new Press Page: http://www.nbmpub.com/press/press.html

Brodner caricatures Trump in The Post

Donald Trump is like . . .

Is there a metaphor that can't be used to describe the Republican front-runner?

By Steve Brodner
Washington Post September 13 2015
https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/09/10/donald-trump-is-like/

Q&A: Keeling on his ‘DC Punk' series

by Matt Dembicki
 
Local comic booker and co-DC Conspiracy founder Evan Keeling is putting the final touches on his new comic DC Punk Presents: Nation of Ulysses: Part 1: ’88-’90. Over the past few years, Keeling has reached out to various members of the defunct D.C. punk band to pull together this book. Below, Keeling answers a few questions about this book—which is premiering at the Small Press Expo in Bethesda, Md., Sept. 19-20—as well as his previous book in the series on the band DC Punk Presents: The Warmers: Part 1.

What inspired you to do this series on D.C. punk bands?

I grew up in D.C. and got really into punk music and the music coming out of D.C. in high school. D.C. has a long history with punk and a very influential one, but what mostly gets documented is the '80s. While that was an extremely fertile time and hard a larger impact on punk at a national level, most of the histories I’ve read or seen stop right before they really get into the bands that meant a lot to me growing up. Also for some of these bands, I wasn’t finding a lot of information available on the them so I could either wait around till someone else maybe wrote something or I could go find it myself.

Through my research, I did find Brandon Gentry who wrote the great eBook Capitol Contingency that is covering some of the same ground. He has been a great help getting me e-mails. But while his book focuses on individual albums, I wanted to dive a little further into how the members of the bands lived outside of their musical accomplishments. I also found some great resources’ for information like the D.C. Library Punk Archive and the UMD D.C. Zane archive, which is curated by John Davis (Q and not U, Title Tracks). That I will be utilizing and contributing to as I continue the project.

What connections did you have with the bands members in both books? Was it difficult in finding them after so many years?

Previous to this project, I didn’t know any members of these bands personally. I had talked to Alec [MacKaye] a couple of times back during the time the Warmers were active, but not much more than that. But I did know a number of folks that were in other bands that I am going to cover in the series and I started with them and it spread out from there.

Basically, I just started going through some of my friends Facebook friends, and when I recognized a name I would blind e-mail them and ask if they would let me interview them. Then, as people agreed, I would ask them to pass the word along or get me in touch with other members of their bands and get more e-mails and send out queries.

Luckily, a lot of folks are really happy to talk about the bands that they were in and have been very forthcoming with information. One of the first people to get back to me was Tim Green from Nation of Ulysses, and he was really forthcoming and a fountain of information, and Alec has had me over to his house a couple of times and shown me a lot of great pictures from his personal stuff. So far I would say for the most part the people I’ve interviewed have been super helpful.

I especially liked the endnotes at the end of Nation of Ulysses; they give deeper context to the events in the book without breaking the natural flow of the story. How did that idea come about?

It’s been over 20 years since most of these bands were together so sometimes memories are short and have to fabricate events for the flow of the story. I wanted to make these comics a narrative not just a string of facts and I remembered in [the graphic novel] From Hell how Alan Moore had extensive end notes that told page by page what he made up what lines were taken from different writings and such. I thought that would be a great way to get the information out and still have a narrative. There are also a lot of people and places that are going to appear in the stories. I didn’t want to crowd the pages with informative text boxes or have awkward introductions like “Hello, Christina Billotte from Slant 6” or “Let’s go to independent music venue d.c. space.” Nobody talks like that and I want the conversations to be as natural as possible. This isn’t like Harry Potter or some such thing where everyone and everything is getting introduced, these people have known each other for years.

Local label Dischord Records now carries The Warmers. Can you tell us how that came about?

When I was tabling this year at the DC Zine Fest, Ian MacKaye [Dischord Records founder] came by my table. I had talked to him before briefly about the project. His partner Amy Farina was the drummer in the Warmers and I had sent her a copy of the book. So he knew about the comic and wanted to pick some up for some other folks. I had a bunch of misprints that I had cut out to make buttons of peoples faces from the book and Ian had his and Amy’s son with him so they were having fun digging through the buttons and grabbing ones of people they recognized. While this was going on Ian asked me if Dischord Direct was distributing it. I told him that I was having trouble getting in touch with them. So Ian emailed me and got me in direct touch with Brian who runs Dischord Direct. It’s pretty exciting to be distributed there because if someone were to go to the Dischord site and look up the Warmers, my comic is listed right there along with their albums.

What bands are you eyeing for to cover in future issues?

[Local cartoonist/artist] Eric Gordon of Vinyl Vagabonds is going to draw at least one issue about Circus Lupus for me once I get him some more info. With a little more legwork I’m hoping to put together a comic about Corm-Tech. Then I have a number of other bands like Monorchid, Bratmobile, The Meta-Matics and the All-Scars where I have some information but need to conduct some more interviews to develop a narrative. I’d really like to do one on Slant 6 and Frodus, but I have to get in touch with some folks to get those going.

There are so many bands that it is going to take a while. I started with Eric but I am still scouting around for collaborators so I can get more issues out faster. 

Axtell's work featured at Comic Logic

Local artist Jason Axtell has books featuring his work on a special display at Comic Logic in Ashburn, Va.

Intervention con covered in Paste Magazine

10 Reasons Geeky Creatives Need The 'Intervention' Experience

By Tai Gooden

September 10, 2015
http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2015/09/10-reasons-geeky-creatives-need-the-intervention-e.html

I was out of town so I missed it this year...

PR: Cartooning Class this fall at Upshur Books

Comics Djinn: Drawing and Storytelling by You, Led by Adam Griffiths, Cartoonist

Upshur Street Books, 827 Upshur St. NW, Washington, D.C.

Every Monday, October 19, 2015 at 7:00 PM through November 9, 2015

Click here to register:
http://www.eventbrite.com/e/comics-djinn-drawing-and-storytelling-by-you-led-by-adam-griffiths-cartoonist-tickets-18546345619
 
Cartoonist Adam Griffiths leads a four-session drawing and storytelling course that covers the cartooning process from style to character development to the nuts and bolts of getting started in the comics profession.

Each course is split into 2 half-hour blocks. One half covers the theme of the day's session. The other half is a studio lesson in comics.

Ages 18-Adult, All Skill Levels Welcome. 

Recommended reading: 
Drawing Words, Writing Pictures by Jessica Abel
This book will be available to course enrollees at a discount. 

Supplies: 
8 ½ x 11" sketchbook, 50 pages
2 pencils: 2H & 2B
Alvin White vinyl pencil eraser
Gum eraser
12" ruler or T-square
NOTE: Do not buy inking supplies until we cover this topic in the 2nd session
FINAL PROJECTS: 2 pieces of 11 x 14" vellum Bristol board will be provided 

Participants will attain intermediate knowledge of comics literature and the comics profession. Participants will create one fully developed, completed page of comics. 

SESSION 1: Genres of the Comics World
 What interests you most? Editorial cartooning? Web comics? Daily strips? Graphic novels? Manga? Superheroes? Underground comics? Minicomics? Nobrow comics? Art comics? Zines? Instructor will lead a discussion of various facets of the comics and cartooning world, followed by a lesson in basic to intermediate concepts of the comics narrative language.

BAR HOURS: Every Thursday at 6:30pm during the course, Adam Griffiths will come to Petworth Citizen for SKETCH SHARE, which is open to the general public. Anyone wishing to share sketches made during this time will have them posted online and to the instructor's Instagram account with a special hashtag. Course participants can come to draw, discuss comics with peers or have questions answered by the instructor about their final projects. 
 
SESSION 2: Strength of Character
Character development is a crucial element to the storytelling process. The instructor will present successful examples of character-building, with participants offering insights about the characters they observe. The studio block will explore various inking methods.

SESSION 3: Word, Text, Form, Vision: Maximizing Your Storytelling 
Instructor will lead an in-depth lecture on the formal aspects of storytelling, delving into innovative storytelling concepts, themes, and challenges for creators. For the studio block, participants will have the opportunity to work on final projects with one-on-one feedback from the instructor.

SESSION 4: The Comics Profession and Final Critiques
How does a comics creator make it work today? What's in a cartoonist's portfolio? Where should I pitch my comics project? What type of exposure do I want for my work? Where can I meet other comics artists? Participants will be provided with a resource sheet and presented with samples. The instructor will cover expos, conventions, websites, professional journals, and publishers where a creator can find support, followed by a critiques of final projects. 

FINAL THURSDAY SKETCH SHARE: Participants' final projects and any other drawings made during the course will be presented in the reading room of Petworth Citizen.
 
See cartoons, illustrations, and artwork by the instructor: www.adamgriffithsart.com

Sept 12: Headlopper at Third Eye Comics

at THIRD EYE ANNAPOLIS

Click here for event info on FACEBOOK.

First 25 In Line Receive a FREE Special Gift!

Signing from 11AM-1PM

Catching up with Keith Knight before SPX

by Mike Rhode

Michael Cavna, Keith Knight and Lalo Alcaraz

Keith Knight is one of my favorite cartoonists and one of the hardest working men in comics. His 7-day strip Knight Life appears in the Washington Post (only on Sundays, boo!). He does another panel each week called (Th)ink). And his first 1-page multi-panel, The K Chronicles, is still running. You can see them all at http://www.kchronicles.com/

Keith was in town last weekend for the National Book Festival (link to my pictures) and we started chatting until he had to go on stage. He's had a lot of changes in his life in the past year or so. First read my 2011 interview with Keith.

MR: Why did you move to North Carolina from California? How's that working out? 

KK: One of my first comic strip slideshows was in the Research Triangle of North Carolina (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill)..I had such a great time and really enjoyed the area..so it was always in the back of my mind...Then my mom moved down to South Carolina from Boston, so there's that...  Affordability was also a huge factor.  The boys have a yard to run in...

MR: What's the story behind your NAACP award?

K: I was recognized, along with a number of other activists, for my cartoon slideshow about police brutality.  It's not really an award, just recognition.

MR: You're taking on the serious topic of police violence against black people in more ways than just drawing a cartoon. Can you tell us about that, and why you feel the need to do so?

 
KK: I felt like a slideshow of 20 years of my police brutality cartoons would be a good way to engage audiences to ask why these incidents continue unabated.  I was really frustrated drawing yet another cartoon after Ferguson. I used to say to myself, "I hope this is the last time I have to draw one of these." Clearly, it never is.

And this Shaun King quote really resonated with me: "LISTEN: If you ever wondered what you would do if you were alive in the Civil Rights Movement, NOW IS THE TIME to find out." 

MR: Your children are bi-racial, you live in a progressive part of NC, and you've chosen to home-school them. Why?

KK:  A number of reasons, but the biggest being that we felt it was a doable. The amount of resources the Research Triangle offers to secular folks who decide to home-school is incredible.  Classes for home-schoolers are held at libraries, the Y,  the university..There's even a homeschooling store near our place.

Keith's sign language interpreter kept cracking up.

MR: You've told me that your business model has been changing from sales of books to sales of prints, and that you're doing better at art shows than you do at comic cons. Can you expand on that?

KK: Comic book conventions give folks a chance to get their fantasy on, so I can understand how they don't want to be confronted with the ugly reality of some of the stuff I do.  To balance things, I've been doing comics celebrating some of the people I've looked up to who have recently passed.  Folks like Julian Bond, Maya Angelou, and Nelson Mandela. I do their portraits, along with some of their quotes.  They go over really well in non-comic book settings.  Sometimes it's better being the one cartoonist at an art show, than one of 500  at a comic book convention.

MR: Keith returns to DC next weekend for the Small Press Expo. I can't recommend his work highly enough.

Dylan Horrocks' new book reviewed in The City Paper

Around the Block [online as A graphic novel about self-doubt and writer's block gets meta].

Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen 

By Dylan Horrocks 

Fantagraphics, 228 pps. 

By Dominic Umile • September 11, 2015. p. 34
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/47472/sam-zabel-and-the-magic-pen-reviewed-a-graphic-novel/

Flugennock's Latest'nGreatest: "Tripping Refugee"

From Washington's only anarchist cartoonist:

"Tripping Refugee"
http://sinkers.org/stage/?p=1784

Y'know, I've seen mainstream media types pull some pretty lowdown stuff in my day. I've heard Chris Matthews telling the antiwar movement it should apologize. I've heard Bill O'Reilly call the Black Lives Matter movement "terrorists". I've heard a CNN anchordroid acting disappointed at the absence of violence at the premiere of Straight Outta Compton. But I've never seen something as rock-bottom piss-poor as the Hungarian TV camerawoman sticking her leg out to trip a Syrian war refugee trying to flee the Roeszke detention camp.

What's especially sad about this, though, is that the camerawoman's behavior pretty much encapsulates the current policies and attitudes of most EU member governments.

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

Telnaes to head Editorial Cartoonists group in 2017

This was in Jack Ohman's Comic Riffs interview:

"Ann Telnaes will be president in 2017, and I was particularly pleased she's taking a leadership role. [She and current president Adam Zyglis] both have leadership personalities, and they are both people who take strong positions."

Good luck, Ann

Comic Riffs interviews Jack Ohman

As AAEC shifts, Jack Ohman weighs challenges facing modern political cartoonist

By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog September 10 2015
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2015/09/10/as-aaec-shifts-jack-ohman-weighs-challenges-facing-modern-political-cartoonist/

Comic Book Legal Defense Fund to benefit from digital Gaiman collection

Calling Neil Gaiman fans: Author's rarities go on Humble Bundle to back CBLDF

By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog September 9 2015
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2015/09/09/calling-neil-gaiman-fans-authors-rarities-to-go-on-humble-bundle-to-back-cbldf/

Marmaduke cartoonist obituary in The Post

Brad Anderson, cartoonist who created 'Marmaduke,' dies at 91 [in print as Brad Anderson, 91; Created Marmaduke, charismatic Great Dane of cartoons].

By Emily Langer
Washington Post September 9 2015, p. B5

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/comics/brad-anderson-cartoonist-who-created-marmaduke-dies-at-91/2015/09/08/768e737c-5646-11e5-b8c9-944725fcd3b9_story.html

Brad Anderson, creator of the "Marmaduke" comic strip, died at 91 on Aug. 30, 2015. (Courtesy of UFS)

Marmaduke creator remembered at Comic Riffs

RIP, Brad Anderson: His syndicate editor remembers the 'Marmaduke' creator

By Michael Cavna Washington Post Comic Riffs blog September 9 2015
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2015/09/09/rip-brad-anderson-his-syndicate-editor-remembers-the-marmaduke-creator/

Ben Hatke interview online

Web Exclusive – September 1, 2015

Ben Hatke: Assembling parts for new friendship

BookPage interview by Cat Acree

http://bookpage.com/interviews/18740-ben-hatke

Jonathan Luna interview from early summer

Luna and Vaughn Talk the Star Crossed Lovers of Alex + Ada

We dig into the book with the team of the acclaimed Image title

By David Harper

June 25, 2015

sktchd.com/interview/jonathan-luna-and-sarah-vaughn-talk-the-star-crossed-lovers-of-alex-ada/

I missed this one earlier.

Bruce Guthrie's pictures of cartoonists at the Library of Congress Book Festival online now

DC -- Natl Book Festival 2015 -- Cece Bell
A Virginia-born author and illustrator, Cece Bell enjoys limeade and lives in an old church. She majored in art at the College of William and Mary, where she met her author-illustrator husband, Tom Angleberger. Her works include "Bee-wigged," "Itty Bitty," "Food Friends," "Busy Buddies" and the Sock... (Partially reviewed)

DC -- Natl Book Festival 2015 -- Jennifer L. Holm
Jennifer L. Holm is a New York Times best-selling children’s author inspired by her own childhood. She has written the Newbery Honor-receiving novels “Turtle in Paradise,” “Penny from Heaven” and “Our Only May Amelia,” as well as the “Boston Jane” series. Instead of fighting with him for the comics... (Partially reviewed)

 DC -- Natl Book Festival 2015 -- Christian Robinson and Mac Barnett ("Leo: A Ghost Story")
Christian Robinson is an illustrator and animator. He has worked with Pixar Animation Studios and The Sesame Street Workshop. Robinson is the illustrator of several best-selling and acclaimed picture books, including "Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker," "Gaston," "Last Stop on Market... (Partially reviewed) 

DC -- Natl Book Festival 2015 -- Graphic Novels Part 1: Knight, Alcaraz, Stantis w/Michael Cavna
Keith Knight is a musician and cartoonist. His works include The K Chronicles, (Th)ink and The Knight Life series. He has received the Comic-Con Inkpot Award for career achievement, multiple Glyph Awards for best comic strip and the Harvey Kurtzman Award for best syndicated comic strip. His art has... (Partially reviewed) 

DC -- Natl Book Festival 2015 -- Graphic Novels Part 2: Noomin, Lasko-Gorss, Robbins
Diane Noomin is a comics artist best known as the creator of Didi Glitz. She is one of the original contributors to Wimmen's Comix and is the editor of the anthology series Twisted Sisters. Her work has appeared in many books, magazines and underground comic publications, including Weirdo, Young Lust,... (Partially reviewed) 

DC -- Natl Book Festival 2015 -- Stephan Pastis w/Michael Cavna
Stephan Pastis used to be a lawyer. Now, he is the award-winning cartoonist who creates "Pearls Before Swine," a syndicated daily comic strip that runs in 750 newspapers around the world. The humorous comic strip's host of friends—Rat, Pig, Goat and Zebra—deliver a smart, witty and painfully honest... (Partially reviewed)

Sept 13: Parkinson's Walk for Team Cul de Sac

Team Cul de Sac

Please Help Us Walk Off Parkinson's

http://engage.parkinsonfoundation.org/site/TR?team_id=2180&fr_id=1050&pg=team

We are participating in Walk Off Parkinson's on Sunday September 13, 2015 at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. to benefit the Parkinson's Foundation of the National Capital Area (PFNCA).

That day, we will gather with thousands of others impacted by Parkinson's to show that those facing this disease that they do not do so alone. We will raise funds to support those impacted by Parkinson's including people diagnosed with the disease, care partners and their family members.

Please join us or make a donation.

You can make a donation in honor of a member of our team by selecting their name from the roster on the right.

Together, we will Walk Off Parkinson's.

Thank you.

 About Team Cul de Sac

Team Cul de Sac is a fundraising effort in honor of Richard Thompson, the cartoonist behind the Cul de Sac comic strip. Richard was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. With Richard's support, Chris Sparks asked cartoonists across the country to contribute comics compiled into a fundraising book published by Andrews McMeel (Team Cul de Sac: Cartoonists Draw The Line At Parkinson's). The original artwork was auctioned to raise additional money. Team Cul de Sac continues to progress and expand our fundraising efforts.

 

- See more at: http://engage.parkinsonfoundation.org/site/TR?team_id=2180&fr_id=1050&pg=team#sthash.HTSVCSG2.dpuf

Photos from the Library of Congress National Book Festival

Here's pictures of some of the cartoonists including Jennifer Holm, Peter De Seve, Keith Knight, Scott Stantis, Lalo Alcaraz, Diane Noomin, Miss Lasko-Gross, and Trina Robbins. Also Michael David Thomas of SPX.