Friday, May 27, 2016
June 4: 'Captive of Friendly Cove' signing at Big Planet in Vienna
June 4, noon to 2 p.m., Michael Short,
Rebecca Goldfield and I (Matt Dembicki) will be signing our Eisner-nominated graphic
novel Captive of Friendly Cove at Big Planet Comics in Vienna, Va. We'll bring some original art and some other cool things.
Thursday, May 26, 2016
Flugennock's Latest'n'Greatest: "President Trump"
From DC's anarchist cartoonist -
"President Trump"
http://sinkers.org/stage/?p=1969
So, the last polls I looked at in the If The Election Were Held Today Department had Sanders beating The Donald in the general fairly easily. So, while Hillary may be able to lie, cheat, steal and backstab her way to the nomination, she'll likely be toasted in November. Still, the Hillaroids will doubtless find some twisted, otherworldly reason why it's our fault for not supporting her lying, thieving, imperialist neoliberal ass... because, as we all know, nothing is ever Hillary's fault, right?
Comic Riffs recounts the Herblock Prize award to Mark Fiore
At the Herblock Prize ceremony, not talking about Trump still means talking about Trump
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog (May 25 2016):
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2016/05/25/at-the-herblock-prize-ceremony-not-talking-about-trump-still-means-talking-about-trump/
PR: Richard Thompson Library of books coming this summer
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Picture This Press to launch 'The Richard Thompson Library' in summer 2016
No. 11 -- May 2016
Picture This Press is proud to announce that it will be the publisher of the upcoming Richard Thompson Library. This new series will collect a variety of works produced by the prolific Thompson over the course of his career that have yet to be reprinted since their original publication.
Picture This Press, best known for its award-winning imprint Lost Art Books, intended from its inception to publish works by contemporary artists in a variety of media, and The Richard Thompson Library will be its first foray in this exciting direction.
Continued at https://madmimi.com/s/6fd8d7
Wednesday, May 25, 2016
Q&A with Cuddles and Rage
by Matt Dembicki
Local husband-and-wife duo Liz and Jimmy Reed (aka Cuddles and Rage) have been super busy with new projects. On display now at the National Building Museum is their diorama as part of the “Small Stories: At Home in a Dollhouse” exhibit. On the horizon is their first kids book, Sweet Competition, which is due in November from HarperCollins. Below, the Reeds answer a couple questions that ComicsDC posed to them about their work in diorama, comics and now picture books.
Local husband-and-wife duo Liz and Jimmy Reed (aka Cuddles and Rage) have been super busy with new projects. On display now at the National Building Museum is their diorama as part of the “Small Stories: At Home in a Dollhouse” exhibit. On the horizon is their first kids book, Sweet Competition, which is due in November from HarperCollins. Below, the Reeds answer a couple questions that ComicsDC posed to them about their work in diorama, comics and now picture books.
So, which came first—the diorama or the comic? By that I mean, which medium did you start working in first and how did it lead to the other? Which one is more challenging for you?
We started with drawn comics first in 2010 and incorporated the dioramas eight months later. Everything started off super simple. Our comics were all paper and pencil, and our dioramas were modest polymer clay characters shot with an iPhone on our kitchen counter. The dioramas were originally a one-off thing. Liz was excited to bring a few of our characters to life in 3D form and shared them with our audience. Our miniature creations really took off when Liz sculpted our evil villain, Dr. Taquito, running in the woods with a knife (the old days of Cuddles and Rage were pretty dark). People loved seeing Dr. Taquito as this tangible thing.
The dioramas are definitely harder to create than the comics. A lot of time goes into making them just right. With the comics, we now draw them digitally and post right away. With the dioramas, we draw the concept, sculpt the guys, find the props, setup the scene, shoot everything with a DSLR, and edit in Photoshop. We love the challenge of making them. It really tests your ability to transform objects into something else. A bottle cap can turn into a pie pan and a matchbox can morph into a miniature litter box. There’s always a little magic in every diorama.
How did cute food become a particular focus in your work?
In the early days, we had a handful of reoccurring characters as our main focus – Dr. Taquito, Taco, Nugget, Hippo, and Pippo Nut (a half peanut, half hippo love child), but we didn’t want to limit ourselves to just those guys. If a joke was funny then we’d post it. It just so happened that our most popular jokes were all food based. We think about food a lot and really enjoy experiencing food so looking back it makes total sense. You write what you know, and we know food. This became very apparent when HelloGiggles asked us to create weekly food based dioramas for their site. That’s really when fans started viewing us as “food humor experts.”
Can you outline how you work together? Does one person write and draw, another sculpt, etc.?
We both draw and write. Liz does all the sculpting. Jimmy is actually allergic to the clay. We found that out the hard way! We both keep sketchbooks and are always bouncing ideas off one another. It’s really nice to have a partner who can help you work through a comic so it can grow into something beyond just an inside joke between you and your sketchbook.
Congrats on your upcoming first picture book! How did the idea for the book develop? Did you approach it as you would a comic?
Thank you! Being published is a dream come true. The book deal came about in a really unique way. We came to publishers with a completely different book that was cute but not quite the right fit. With that book we were able to showcase our unique art style and storytelling capabilities, which landed us a deal. Through our comic, they saw we had a million more stories in us and not just that one book. We went back and pitched them five different ideas and landed on the Sweet Competition. Our main characters, the Cherry Twins, stole their hearts with their witty banter and good old-fashion sibling rivalry.
Do you do this work full time? If so, can you briefly explain when you decided to go full time and what were the initial challenges?
Cuddles and Rage was really one of those things where we didn’t want to look back 10 years later and wonder “What if…?” We decided to make the leap into Liz going full time C&R two years ago. At that time, we didn’t have a book deal or steady income through C&R, but we knew it was a now or never situation. We put as much as we could into savings leading up to the career change and cut back on a ton of expenses. Fancy coffees and new clothes were put on hold for a long time. It kind of killed our social life, but we knew it was all for a good cause. Prior to leaving, we’d connected with a literary agent who we later signed with. We basically did what we could to make money (workshops, conventions, commissions) and lived as simple as possible until the book deal came through. Once the book came in, more opportunities opened up and fancy coffees found their way back to us. We’ve been fortunate enough to keep Cuddles and Rage going for the time being. It’s a constant hustle and nothing is a guarantee. If you do leave your day job, always leave on really good terms and stay connected. Those guys will one day be cheering for you when you succeed and will also be there if you need something to fall back on. When you believe in something and always strive to become better at your craft, good things will follow.
More on the new Cul de Sac play by Amy Thompson and Encore Stage
by Mike Rhode
Yesterday, the Washington City Paper posted my interview with Amy Thompson and Sara Duke on the new Cul de Sac play coming to Encore Stage and Studio next month. They didn't use all of the photographs that Amy provided, or a couple of little bits from the interview, so we present them here for the world's rabid Cul de Sac fans.
Mike Rhode: Richard’s characters are children, but sometimes they are Peanuts-like children, wise beyond their years, as opposed to actual children. Having met people in his family, I can definitely see some of the sources for the strip. Amy, you neglected to mention that you’re often the model for the mom.
MR: Did you take inspiration from any previous strip adaptations like the Peanuts cartoon shows or Annie the musical?
SD: The production team discussion about the toad zombies was really amusing and included: how do they move, what do their costumes look like, can they crawl on top of each other, how do they interact…?
MR: Did Richard ever draw them?
AT: He drew one. There was one picture of a toad zombie, and there was one picture later that his artist collaborator Stacy Curtis drew of a bunch of them. You don’t really know what happens with the toad zombies, so I got to make that up.
Mike Rhode: Richard’s characters are children, but sometimes they are Peanuts-like children, wise beyond their years, as opposed to actual children. Having met people in his family, I can definitely see some of the sources for the strip. Amy, you neglected to mention that you’re often the model for the mom.
Amy Thompson: [laughing] Sometimes…
MR: Did you take inspiration from any previous strip adaptations like the Peanuts cartoon shows or Annie the musical?
AT: I don’t think they’re comparable in the same way. There’s You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, but that’s a musical and I knew I didn’t want to do this as a musical for children’s theater. If I was doing this for professionals who could sing and dance, I think it would make a great musical. This has a couple of random songs, but isn’t a musical. One thing that I did think about is a stage adaptation of Maurice Sendak called Really Rosie. It was based on The Sign on Rosie’s Door and The Nutshell Library. They took the words from Nutshell Library and had ready-made songs. He did it with Carole King and that was a Broadway show. They also did it as an animated special, and I researched it more and read the script and heard the cast recording. That had the same kind of resonance because the main character Rosie is a drama queen. It’s all about “me and you’re going to be part of my little show.” That was something that I thought about.
Sara Duke: I love the detail she put into this. The plates look right. Everything on their kitchen table is perfect.
MR: Could you see using older people in it?
AT: It could be played by people of any age. The main drawback would be that it is for a very large cast the way it’s written right now. You couldn’t do it with a professional theater because it would cost way too much money. It would have to be reworked.
MR: What are you plans for the play in the future?
AT: There are no plans. I hope to publish it. If everything goes well, I would like to approach somebody about publishing it so it could be done anywhere.
SD: The production team discussion about the toad zombies was really amusing and included: how do they move, what do their costumes look like, can they crawl on top of each other, how do they interact…?
MR: Did Richard ever draw them?
AT: He drew one. There was one picture of a toad zombie, and there was one picture later that his artist collaborator Stacy Curtis drew of a bunch of them. You don’t really know what happens with the toad zombies, so I got to make that up.
Comic Riffs on the death of Mell Lazarus
RIP, Mell Lazarus: Colleagues salute the warm wit of the 'Momma' and 'Miss Peach' comics creator
Herblock prize photos by Bruce Guthrie
Mark Fiore received the Herblock prize last night at the Library of Congress and Bruce Guthrie documented it for us.
Presentation:
http://www.bguthriephotos.com/graphlib.nsf/keys/2016_05_24B1_FioreP
Everything except the presentation:
http://www.bguthriephotos.com/graphlib.nsf/keys/2016_05_24C_FioreR
Presentation:
http://www.bguthriephotos.com/graphlib.nsf/keys/2016_05_24B1_FioreP
Everything except the presentation:
http://www.bguthriephotos.com/graphlib.nsf/keys/2016_05_24C_FioreR
Tuesday, May 24, 2016
Comic Riffs talks to Herblock prize winner Mark Fiore
This year's Herblock Prize winner says 'Trump talks a big game,' but Obama's no beacon of press freedom
Amy Thompson interviewed about her Cul de Sac play premiere
From Page to Stage: How Cul de Sac Was Adapted Into a Play
Playwright Amy Thompson and Encore Theater's Sara Duke talks about adapting the hit Washington Post comic strip.
PR: TONIGHT - DC Rebirth Midnight Release Party at Beyond Comics - Frederick!
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Monday, May 23, 2016
DC's Jake Tapper is drawing Dilbert this week
Jake Tapper of CNN to guest-draw Scott Adams' Dilbert
Charleston Gazette-Mail
May 23, 2016
http://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/20160523/jake-tapper-of-cnn-to-guest-draw-scott-adams-dilbertPR: New book from J. Robert Deans
NO REST FOR THE DAIRY
SHAKES THE COW, introduced to readers in the 2015 children's book MOO THOUSAND AND PUN returns to the pages in TEMPLE OF MOO'D this June!
Author J. Robert Deans, who sent Shakes into space in his first children's book, returns to bring children of all ages a new adventure featuring his intrepid bovine. In TEMPLE OF MOO'D, Shakes is on holiday with her best friend, Percie the Penguin, trying to relax after her journey into space. While wandering the jungle, Shakes and Percie come upon ancient ruins which feature some peculiar, yet familiar, markings. As they investigate, Shakes and Percie make a huge discovery.
As with MOO, TEMPLE OF MOO'D features the same goofy story and art from the creator of Crass Fed Comics, and the same easter eggs for grown-ups to find while they read TEMPLE to their own Kidlets.
TEMPLE OF MOO'D is a 46-page hardcover children's book, featuring 38 pages of story, as well as fan art from kids who enjoyed Shakes' first adventure.
TEMPLE OF MOO'D is only available through the Deans Family Productions store until September when it enters wide distribution. Preorders placed now will ship next month, and will be available for pickup at Deans' first major convention appearance of the year, HEROESCON, in Charlotte, June 17-19.
TEMPLE OF MOO'D retails for $22, but is only $20 when purchased from the author. Go to jrobertdeans.com and select Books for sample pages and links to the DFP web store.
Interview with Batman writer Tom King
Interview with Batman writer Tom King
https://soundcloud.com/the-mothership/interview-with-batman-writer-tom-king
https://soundcloud.com/the-mothership/interview-with-batman-writer-tom-king
USA TODAY's Brian Truitt, Brett Molina and Kelly Lawler interview the writer behind the new Batman series in DC Comics' "Rebirth." Plus the new Ghostbusters trailer.
Kennedy Center's opera stars influenced by Bugs Bunny
How Bugs Bunny and 'Kill the Wabbit' Inspired a Generation of Opera Stars
'Ring' cast recalls influence of Bugs Bunny's 'What's Opera, Doc'
Many of the people involved in the Washington National Opera's production of Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle say their first exposure to opera came from the same source—Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd cartoons.
By
May 20, 2016 Michael M. Phillips
http://www.wsj.com/articles/singers-wecall-how-elmer-fudd-bugs-bunny-tuned-them-to-wagner-roles-1463753848
Flugennock's Latest'n'Greatest: "Hail To The Choom"
From DC's anarchist cartoonist, Michael Flugennock:
"Hail To The Choom"
http://sinkers.org/stage/?p=1961
In his high school days in Hawaii, Barack Obama hung out with a circle of friends nicknamed "the Choom Gang" -- "choom" being Hawaiian slang for smoking marijuana. Almost all the students in this group went on to be entirely productive and successful citizens -- writers, lawyers, businessmen and, of course, President of the United States.
This is by way of reminding everybody out there that cannabis is still listed by the DEA as "Schedule 1", along with meth and heroin, and that Obama could start the descheduling process for marijuana himself instead of passing the buck to Congress. Obama himself is living proof that cannabis should be descheduled; his legacy could only be improved by ending a program of persecution based entirely on the deceptions and racism of Harry Anslinger and Richard Nixon.
http://sinkers.org/stage/?p=1961
In his high school days in Hawaii, Barack Obama hung out with a circle of friends nicknamed "the Choom Gang" -- "choom" being Hawaiian slang for smoking marijuana. Almost all the students in this group went on to be entirely productive and successful citizens -- writers, lawyers, businessmen and, of course, President of the United States.
This is by way of reminding everybody out there that cannabis is still listed by the DEA as "Schedule 1", along with meth and heroin, and that Obama could start the descheduling process for marijuana himself instead of passing the buck to Congress. Obama himself is living proof that cannabis should be descheduled; his legacy could only be improved by ending a program of persecution based entirely on the deceptions and racism of Harry Anslinger and Richard Nixon.
Sunday, May 22, 2016
Scrooge McDuck's voice dies
Alan Young, 96: Best friend of Mister Ed, voice of Scrooge McDuck [online as Alan Young, actor who played Willllburrrrr on 'Mister Ed,' dies at 96]
Washington Post May 22 2016, p. C7
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/alan-young-actor-who-played-wilbur-on-mister-ed-dies-at-96/2016/05/20/88ae8838-1ed4-11e6-8c7b-6931e66333e7_story.html
Cuddles & Rage diorama at National Building Museum
The National Building Museum has a new exhibit called “Small Stories: At Home in a Dollhouse” that includes among its artists the miniature work of Cuddles & Rage (aka Liz and Jimmy Reed). The D.C.-area husband-and-wife team is known for its cute dioramas and witty comics. On exhibit at NBM is “Banana Bath.” According to the description, “Banana loves waking-up and starting his day off soaking in a cool tub of milk and cereal while devouring a great book. As a single banana living in Snuggle City, he embraces the morning quiet before heading off to a long day at work.”
Also, keep an eye out for their first picture book, Sweet Competition, which is about a pair of competitive twin cherries. It's due in November from HarperCollins.
Cuddles & Rage will also exhibit at Awesome Con June 3-5. On Sunday, Liz will participate on a panel on how to write and pitch books for kids.
Photo courtesy of Cuddles & Rage
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