Friday, June 03, 2016

Library of Congress' Edward Gorey collection

The D.C. Conspiracy today had a private viewing of an Edward Gorey collection donated by collector Glen Emil (who runs Goreyography.com) to the Library of Congress. Emil visited the LOC to talk about his collection. Below are some photos from today:

X-Men on NPR's Monkey See blog

Monkey See

Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'X-Men' And Supervillains

This week's show takes us back to a franchise we've neglected and into the heart of villainy. And as always, we tell you what's making us happy this week.

Read this story

The Post reviews Kirkman's Outcast tv show

Hardly heaven, West Virginia: Demons lurk in 'Outcast [online as In 'Outcast,' the creator of 'Walking Dead' finds demons in downtrodden America]

By Hank Stuever TV critic
Washington Post June 3 2016, p. C3
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/in-outcast-the-creator-of-walking-dead-finds-demons-in-downtrodden-america/2016/06/02/a1aaf998-2839-11e6-b989-4e5479715b54_story.html

The Post reviews TMNT

'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' franchise finds a sense of fun again

By Michael O'Sullivan
Washington Post.com (June 2 2016):
https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-franchise-finds-a-sense-of-fun-again/2016/06/02/9c5678e6-28de-11e6-b989-4e5479715b54_story.html

Leonardo, Michelangelo and Donatello are back, along with Raphael and some fun new villains, in "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows." (Lula Carvalho/Paramount Pictures)

Feeling the Bern: Grassroots Artists Capture Bernie Sanders

By Matt Wuerker and Brianna Gurciullo

06/02/16

http://www.politico.com/magazine/gallery/2016/06/feeling-the-bern-grassroots-artists-capture-bernie-sanders-000639?slide=0

Cul de Sac play premieres tonight in Arlington

Cul de Sac

Play by Amy Thompson
Adapted from the Comic Strip, Cul de Sac by Richard Thompson

Four-year-old Alice Otterloop and her older brother, Petey, learn about friendship and the importance of being yourself in this world premiere play adaptation of Richard Thompson's nationally syndicated Cul De Sac comic strip. When Alice decides to help Petey become more exciting she risks sending Petey further into his shell. With the help other their parents, teachers, and new and old friends the Otterloop children just might be able to learn something from each other. We recommend this production for ages 4 and older.

Performance Dates and Times:
Friday, June 3, 2016 at 7:30pm
Saturday, June 4, 2016 at 11am and 3pm
Sunday, June 5, 2016 at 3pm
Friday, June 10, 2016 at 7:30pm
Saturday, June 11, 2016 at 11am and 3pm
Sunday, June 12, 2016 at 3pm

About the comic strip and artist: "He never wanted to be anything other than a cartoonist," says playwright Amy Thompson in describing her husband Richard Thompson. Richard, a long-time Arlington resident, had created thousands of illustrations and cartoons for dozens of magazines and newspapers before Cul de Sac debuted in The Washington Post Magazine in 2007. Thompson drew on incidents from his own childhood ("there's a lot of him in Petey, the withdrawn artist" says Amy), and the lives of his family, including two daughters, Emma and Charlotte. Everything from Charlotte's unbounded exuberance, to Emma's discovery that a manhole cover made a great stage, to the reluctant introduction of a guinea pig in their home was fodder for Thompson's re-imagined suburban Washington. Thompson's Cul de Sac drew the attention of comic fans worldwide including some very famous fans.

"[The comic strip] is one of those rare visions that shows how surprising the ordinary world really is. Richard Thompson's wonderfully peculiar Otterloop family is closely observed with deep sympathy and rings absolutely true, I'm a huge fan." – Calvin and Hobbes creator Bill Watterson stated Watterson

"If Cul de Sac isn't French for 'wonderfully loopily sincerely life-affirmingly stupendously hilarious' then there is something wrong with the French language." -Children's book author Mo Willems (Knuffle Bunny, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, Elephant & Piggie series)

"Cul de Sac is the funniest strip to appear in decades. Inside Out. It's full of great characters, well-observed truths that most of us have forgotten about, and is so beautifully and funnily drawn that it is an absolute joy to look at even if you can't read. (Of course, if you can't read, then you'd better stop right now.)" -Pixar director and Oscar-winner Pete Docter (Films include Inside Out, Monsters, Inc. and Up.)
Click here for full press release.

Location:
All performances are held at Thomas Jefferson Community Theatre (125 S. Old Glebe Rd., Arlington, VA 22204)

Fwd: Awesome Con - Awesome Con Starts Today! Important Info & Ticketed Event Info!

Awesome Con Starts Today! Important Info & Ticketed Event Info!

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Awesome Con Starts Today! Important Info & Ticketed Event Info!

Ahoy, Awesome Con starts today, and as we're just hours away from opening the doors, we wanted to share some important information, additional info, and further details on VIP tickets and special ticketed events. Give it all a read to make the most of the con.

WEBSITE, MOBILE APP, AND FACEBOOK

Awesome Con is more popular than ever, and due to heavy traffic, our website is experiencing short periods of downtime. If you're having trouble loading awesomecon.com, don't worry, as you can still get all the important info.

Download our Mobile App to put all of Awesome Con's programming in the palm of your hand.

Follow us on Facebook to get all our updates live through the show.

Here's a direct link to our ticket portal if you still need to grab tickets, and click here to buy photo ops.

GENDER NEUTRAL BATHROOMS

New this year at Awesome Con, we're sporting a pair of Gender Neutral Bathrooms. If nature calls, you can use either of our Gender Neutral Bathrooms located in the rear of our exhibit hall near photo ops.

VIP PICK UP

Did you order a VIP Ticket to Awesome Con? It comes with a T-Shirt, exclusive comic, and (depending on the VIP) photo and autograph tickets. To get all this, head to Hall E and visit the VIP DESK to claim your perks. Bring your original confirmation email (with the QR Code) and hand it to the staff member at the desk. You'll receive all your goodies!

LIMITED SPECIAL EVENT TICKETS LEFT

Kevin Smith, Eugene Mirman, and StarTalk all have special ticketed events at Awesome Con this year. Our StarTalk tickets & Bill Nye autograph combo packs are sold out, with all other tickets (including general StarTalk tickets) available in limited numbers. Have a Special Event ticket or thinking of buying one? Here's all the info you need!

SPECIAL EVENT TICKET PICK UP

When you arrive at Awesome Con, please head to Hall E and visit the VIP DESK to claim your Special Event tickets. Bring your original confirmation email (with the QR Code) and hand it to the staff member at the desk. You will then receive your ticket and any perks attached to it. Kevin Smith Preferred Seats + Autograph ticket holders will receive a ticket to pick up his pre-signed autograph later in the day; Eugene Mirman's Preferred Seats + Autograph ticket holders will receive his record set and an autograph ticket; all StarTalk ticket holders will receive a StarTalk poster; and StarTalk tickets + Autograph ticket holders will receive an autograph ticket and copy of Bill Nye's latest book.

SPECIAL EVENT TICKET LINES

Hall E is also home for the queue to get into "An Evening with Kevin Smith" and StarTalk Live. Please be in the room a half hour before each event (6:30 PM on Friday / 11:30 AM on Sunday). Eugene Mirman will be in Room 152. (Please be there by 7:30 PM on Saturday.)

SPECIAL EVENT AUTOGRAPHS

Kevin Smith will be pre-signing autographs. Follow the instructions on his autograph ticket to pick up your autograph right before or after his show. Both Eugene Mirman and Bill Nye will be doing live signings onsite for select fans. Eugene Mirman will be signing his record set at 6 PM on Saturday in the autograph area at the back of our exhibit hall. Eugene will only be signing his record set (not other items), and you must bring both your record set and autograph ticket you receive at registration to take part. Please be at his signing at 6 PM. Bill will be signing his book at 2:30 PM in the autograph area at the back of our exhibit hall. Bill will only be signing his book, and you must bring both your book and autograph ticket you receive at registration to take part. Bill will not be personalizing books and will not pose for pictures. Please be at his signing at 2:30 PM.

AWESOME CON TICKET REQUIRED

Our special ticketed events are for Awesome Con attendees and an Awesome Con badge is required to attend each.

HERE WE GO!

Awesome Con kicks off in just a few hours, and we're looking forward to throwing DC's biggest comic con yet! We'll see you soon, and if you have any questions, ask us at our INFO and VIP DESKS.

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Thursday, June 02, 2016

Comic Riffs talks to Tom King

How one man went from the CIA to writing Batman's adventures

By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog June 2 2016
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2016/06/02/how-one-man-went-from-the-cia-to-writing-batmans-adventures/

June 9: Ben Hatke at Politics and Prose and Takoma Park

Ben Hatke - Nobody Likes a Goblin

Thursday, June 9, 2016 at 10:30 a.m.

Goblin lives a quiet but happy life in a dungeon. He has everything he needs: boots to eat for breakfast, rats to care for as pets, and Skeleton to have as his Very Best Friend. Together, the two buddies do what they love best: namely, counting the bats hanging from the ceiling and telling stories. One day, however, disaster strikes: a band of adventurers storms the dungeon and, as Goblin hides, they steal absolutely everything—including Skeleton. Goblin immediately leaves his comfortable home and embarks upon a rescue mission. But how can he succeed when everyone he meets keeps running away from him? Ages 4 – 8

Online pre-orders for school events may be placed up until 48 hours before the event takes place

5015 Connecticut Ave NW

Washington DC 20008

Ben Hatke - Nobody Likes a Goblin — at Takoma Park Library (MD)

Thursday, June 9, 2016 at 7 p.m.

Takoma Park Library (MD)

101 Philadelphia Ave

Takoma Park MD 20912

Wednesday, June 01, 2016

Mark Fiore's Herblock Award speech is online now

Mark Fiore's speech is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki1nh9vV1Mg

Mark Shield's talk is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW-HiglTl2I

June 3: Eric Gordon display at Kefa Cafe

Friday kicks off a retrospective of recent comic projects by Eric Gordon (aka DC Creepers) featuring many of his tabloid-size comics pages from the DC-based comics newspaper, Magic Bullet. The reception on June 3 at Kefa Cafe in Silver Spring, Md., runs from 7:10 p.m. to 9 p.m. The display is up through June 30.

In addition to selling prints of his work on Friday, Eric will be "sketching like a madman the whole time (which should not surprise anyone who knows him) and might even sketch you as a character into the third chapter of a mini comic he is working on," according to the Facebook event page.

Courtesy of Eric Gordon

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Cartoon journalism in National Geographic's June issue

The magazine contains a two-page strip "Looting and Conflict: The Isis Antiquities Pipeline" by Matthew Twombly, looking at how the looting of historical sites is paying for war.

UPDATE: This isn't Twombly's first piece for them. According to his website, he also did "Fearless Rat" and "On Sinister Pond," for November 2014 issue of National Geographic. He's also done several illustrations for them.

Monday, May 30, 2016

Angelo Lopez, RFK editorial cartooning award winner

Here's a few pictures of Angelo Lopez (and his lovely wife Lisa) from the award ceremony this past week. They're not great shots, but the perspective is unique!

Sunday, May 29, 2016

Tom Toles inspires Style Invitational contest this week

Style Invitational Week 1177: The Ballad Box — write an election-themed song parody

Plus 'S'morons' and other winning wordplays on food names

Hey, he could be a Loser! The Post's editorial cartoonist shows a flair for song parody, below. (Tom Toles/The Washington Post)

By Pat Myers May 29 2016

June 12: Lucy Bellwood at Fantom Comics

Baggywrinkles Ahoy!
https://www.facebook.com/events/913351492115519/

Sunday, June 12 at 2 PM

Fantom Comics in Washington, District of Columbia
Please help us welcome LUCY BELLWOOD to DC for this very special BOOK RELEASE party of BAGGYWRINKLES: A LUBBER'S GUIDE TO LIFE AT SEA!!

This all-ages book covers everything we land lubbers need to know about the sailor's life, from the meaning of various nautical tattoos to what exactly a "fathom" covers and all of the essential details Lucy learned while sailing on the LADY WASHINGTON!

Join us for a day of sailing and adventure within the pages of this fantastic new graphic novel!

Fantastic Forum on Awesome Con and new superhero movies

Saturday, May 28, 2016 "Dawn of Justice v Civil War"

By Fantastic Forum May 28 2016

https://www.mixcloud.com/FantasticForum/saturday-may-28-2016/

Ulie and panelists Mike Lunsford, Bryan Lyles and Emily Whitten discuss blockbuster superhero movies Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Captain America: Civil War! Featuring a call-in interview with Awesome Con founder/organizer Ben Penrod!

Ann Telnaes wins Silver Reuben award for editorial cartooning

Ann Telnaes with her award, courtesy of Barbara Dale

Ann Telnaes has won the Silver Reuben award from the National Cartoonists Society in the editorial cartooning section. Ann does animated cartoons for the Post's website. This is the second big win for an political cartoon animator, as Mark Fiore just accepted his Herblock Prize this past week. While still doing ink on paper cartoons, Ann won the Pulitzer Prize in 2001, so she's still got it.

The other winners, all a worthy bunch, are detailed at -