Stylized Notions, and Citizen Bill exhibits opening receptions at the Takoma Park Community Center

by Steve Loya

Last night I attended the Stylized Notions, and Citizen Bill exhibits at the Takoma Park Community Center, in Takoma Park, Maryland. The exhibits featured the works of local cartoon and comics artists who participated in the Cartoonists Draw Blood, Red Cross blood drives, as well as the amazing work of longtime Takoma Park resident and Takoma Voice editorial cartoonist William L. Brown. The exhibits were beautifully set up in an excellent space, ideal for showcasing the wide array of talent from the greater DC area. Lots of folks came out for the reception, and there was a lot of great media coverage as well. Eric Gordon added an extra dimension of fun to the event by setting up a makeshift space in the corner of the center, drawing some of his trademark stylized portraits for anyone who was interested. A special thanks goes out to Carolyn Belefski and Shanthi Chandrasekar for getting these events off the ground, as well as to all the fantastic artists who contributed in one way or another. The shows will continue to run through September 4th, 2016, so there is still plenty of time to see it. There's also talk of a closing reception as well, of which I'll post more about soon. You can read more about the shows and the artists involved HERE in the Takoma Voice. 

PR: 2016 Guest of Honor Kevin Eastman Announced for Baltimore Comic-Con

2016 Guest of Honor Kevin Eastman Announced for Baltimore Comic-Con BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - July 8, 2016 - The Baltimore Comic-Con takes place in the beautiful Inner Harbor on September 2-4, 2016 at the Baltimore Convention Center. The Baltimore Comic-Con is proud to announce our 2016 Guest of Honor, Kevin Eastman. Don't miss out on the opportunity to see his premiere attendance at our show -- tickets are now on sale. Kevin Eastman, collaborating with Peter Laird, self-published the first black & white issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in May, 1984 under their Mirage Studios banner. The 40-page over-sized comic had an initial print run of 3,000 copies, but received 3 additional printings within the next year and a half. Their second issue brought in advance orders of 15,000 copies - five times the initial print run of the first issue. By their fifth issue, TMNT was reformatted to the "normal" American comics size, and the previous four issues were reprinted to match with new color covers. With the Turtles' growing success and exposure, the property was licensed to numerous parties, including Dark Horse Miniatures, Palladium Books for an RPG, and First Comics, who reprinted the first eleven issues as 4-color trade paperback collections. Palladium's RPG brought the Turtles to the attention of a noted licensing agent, and the Turtles phenomenon took off, with the various characters soon appearing on t-shirts, Halloween masks, and coffee mugs, just to name a few. In December, 1987, a five-part televised TMNT cartoon mini-series debuted. Due to its success, this cartoon mini-series led to follow-on seasons that resulted in a run of 9 years over 10 seasons with 194 episodes in total. The ongoing success of the animated series also led to yet further merchandise sales, and new action figures and licensing agreements. In 1990, Eastman went on to found Tundra Publishing, which enabled him to meet his own projects as well as those of creators looking for a way to publish independent work. Titles that eventually found their way under the Tundra banner include From Hell, Lost Girls, The Crow, American Splendor, and Madman. Discovering that Heavy Metal had been put up for sale, and with one of Tundra's stated aims being to bring a more adult sensibility to comics, Eastman purchased the magazine in January 1992. In 1993, Eastman sold Tundra Publishing to Kitchen Sink Press but maintained ownership of Heavy Metal, which he continues to edit. He continues to work in comics for IDW Publishing, writing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe, Fistful of Blood, and Hero Comics: A Hero Initiative Benefit Book, drawing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Kevin Eastman Notebook Series and variant covers for TMNT titles such as TMNT: Bebop & Rocksteady Destroy Everything, and reprints of his past work is featured in IDW's TMNT Color Classics, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The IDW Collection, and TMNT collections. He has also provided variant covers for DC's Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. "This is really exciting for us," said Marc Nathan, promoter of the Baltimore Comic-Con. "We've been hoping to line this up for some time now, and thanks to our friends at IDW Publishing, we can finally put this one in the books. Kevin is one of the people we hear about regularly, with fans asking us if we can bring him to the show. We're thrilled we can finally answer, 'Yes!'" TICKETS General Admission and VIP Package tickets for Weekend, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, as well as the Harvey Awards, are now on sale! Visit www.baltimorecomiccon.com/tickets/ for more information and to purchase your advanced tickets now, and as always, kids 10 and under get into the show free with a paid adult General Admission!      About The Baltimore Comic-Con The Baltimore Comic-Con is celebrating its 17th year of bringing the comic book industry to the Baltimore and Washington D.C. area. For more information, please visit www.baltimorecomiccon.com.

July 8-10: Comic book creators at BronyCon in Baltimore

Jeremy Whitley, Tony Fleecs, Sara Richard, Andy Price, and Jenn Blake are the comics creators.

The Post on new animation movies

'The Secret Life of Pets': Animated film's humor is, like a dog whistle, subjective [in print as Not quite 'Woof!' but certainly not witty

By Michael O'Sullivan
Washington Post July 8 2016, p. Weekend 24
 https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/the-secret-life-of-pets-animated-films-humor-is-like-a-dog-whistle-subjective/2016/07/07/12f48a36-4385-11e6-88d0-6adee48be8bc_story.html

'The Secret Life of Pets' embraces girly power [in print as Pretty in 'Pets'" Girly Gidget isn't defined by looks].

By Kristen Page-Kirby
Express July 8 2016, p. 24
https://www.washingtonpost.com/express/wp/2016/07/08/the-secret-life-of-pets-embraces-girly-power/

'Life, Animated': A young man's obsession with Disney helps him navigate autism [in print as Cartoon characters cut through the fog of autism].

By Ann Hornaday
Washington Post July 8 2016, p. Weekend 26
https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/life-animated-a-young-mans-obsession-with-disney-helps-him-navigate-autism/2016/07/07/7852a6c4-3e0d-11e6-80bc-d06711fd2125_story.html

July 9: Mark Wheatley at Dr Who Comics Day at Beyond Comics

Saturday, July 9th Doctor Who Comics Day! Get 25% OFF  Dr Who Comics* Meet Cover Artist - Mark Wheatley 11am to 3pm at our Frederick Location!  *Excludes New Arrivals! Frederick  5632 Buckeystown Pike  Frederick, MD 21704 301-668-8202   Gaithersburg  18749 N Frederick Ave  Gaithersburg,  MD 20879 301-216-0007 Shepherdstown 207 S. Princess St Shepherdstown, WV 25443 304-870-4039

Glen Weldon on the latest Iron Man

A Starkly Different Iron Man: Black, Female, And 15 Years Old

Glen Weldon

NPR.org July 6, 2016
http://www.npr.org/sections/monkeysee/2016/07/06/484945363/a-starkly-different-iron-man-black-female-and-15-years-old

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The cover of Invincible Iron Man, with art by Jeff Dekal.

Marvel Comics

Today: Cook Korean! + Tales of the Night Watchman Release Party at Fantom Comics!

Cook Korean! + Tales of the Night Watchman Release Party at Fantom Comics!

Today at 6 PM - 9 PM

Fantom Comics

2010 P Street NW, Washington, District of Columbia 20036

PR: Small Press Expo Announces Celebration of the 40th Anniversary of Fantagraphics at SPX 2016

For Immediate Release Contact: Warren Bernard Email: warren@spxpo.com Small Press Expo Announces Celebration of the 40th Anniversary of Fantagraphics with Daniel Clowes, Joe Sacco, Trina Robbins, Jaime & Gilbert Hernandez and Others   Bethesda, Maryland; July 7, 2016 Media Release - Small Press Expo is proud to announce that SPX 2016 will celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Fantagraphics with an all-star line-up and special events. Founded in 1976 by Gary Groth and Michael Catron, in the ensuing years Fantagraphics provided the foundation for today's wealth of indie comics, graphic novels and comic's criticism. Fantagraphics also gave some of the most acclaimed names in indie comics their start in the comic's world, with many of those names appearing at SPX 2016.   This year's show will host a rare festival appearance by the esteemed Joe Sacco, along with Trina Robbins first appearance at SPX. Mr. Sacco, Ms. Robbins, Daniel Clowes and The Hernandez Brothers will be joined by several of Fantagraphics other critically and commercially successful authors, Carol Tyler, Jim Woodring, Drew Friedman and Ed Piskor, for this celebration.   Events around the celebration of the 40th Anniversary of Fantagraphics include: Publisher Gary Groth will give the SPX Lecture at the Library of Congress on Friday September 16 at Noon in the Madison Building. There will be a separate track of programming at SPX 2016 dedicated to Fantagraphics and its creators, with details to be announced mid-August. Attendees will be able to get an SPX exclusive, a free newsprint commemorative booklet with artwork by Fantagraphic artists. Over the next few weeks, additional guests for SPX 2016 will be announced and in August we will announce the 2016 Ignatz nominees, the full programming slate and the recipient of the SPX Graphic Novel Gift Program, the first of its kind program that gifts graphic novels to local library systems.   SPX 2016 takes place on Saturday and Sunday, September 17-18, 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.smallpressexpo.com. Copyright © 2016 Small Press Expo, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Small Press Expo P.O. Box 5704 Bethesda, Maryland 20824

July 7: Cartoonists draw blood exhibit opens

On Thursday, July 7th, from 6:30-8:00 pm, come visit the Takoma Park Community Center for the official opening of the "Cartoonists Draw Blood" art exhibit, featuring a diverse display of some of the DC area's finest cartoon and comics-making talent. There will be refreshments and live drawing, as well as books available for purchase. Organized by Carolyn Belefski, of Curls Studio fame, the project began a couple of years back when a small band of local comics/cartoon creators from the DC region got together to draw and give away original art work to folks who stopped by a local Red Cross to donate blood. Many of the participating artists themselves donated blood as well! So, if you're in the area, don't hesitate to check this event out, as you'll be in for an excellent show. (reprinting Steve Artley's earlier post)