Friday, April 14, 2017
Kickstarter for Retrofit/Big Planet Comics spring 2017 line
Retrofit/Big Planet Comics has launched a new $18,700 Kickstarter campaign to fund their spring 2017 line, which includes six new graphic novels/comics, including Virginia resident Warren Craghead III's TRUMPTRUMP Vol. 1: Nomination to Inauguration.
Comic Riffs on Bingo Love
'Bingo Love' writer Tee Franklin looks to tell a tale of romance rarely seen in comics
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog
Comic Riffs talks to MAD Jake Tapper
Jake Tapper achieves a childhood dream by drawing for the new book 'MAD About Trump'
April 28: Swann Foundation Fellow to Discuss German Cartoonist
Swann Foundation Fellow to Discuss German Cartoonist
Elizabeth Nijdam in Presentation on German Cartoonist Anke Feuchtenberger, April 28
Public Contact: Martha Kennedy (202) 707-9115
Request ADA accommodations five business days in advance at (202) 707-6362 or ADA@loc.gov
Swann Foundation Fellow Elizabeth (Biz) Nijdam, in a lecture at the Library of Congress, will discuss the comic art of the East German-born artist Anke Feuchtenberger in the context of her artistic training and the political climate in which she developed.
Nijdam will present "'It's Not Just Horror and Black:' The Comics of Anke Feuchtenberger and Their Many Expressionisms" at noon on Friday, April 28, in Dining Room A on the sixth floor of the Library's James Madison Building, 101 Independence Avenue S.E., Washington, D.C. The lecture is free and open to the public. Tickets are not needed.
Feuchtenberger studied at the Berlin Academy of Fine Arts. It was not until after 1989, the year the Berlin Wall came down, that she embraced comics, an art form virtually non-existent for adult audiences in the German Democratic Republic. According to Nijdam, a striking feature of Feuchtenberger's art is its expressionist visual rhetoric. Her sequential art recalls early German modernism, emulating the aesthetic of the woodcut print, the claustrophobic and angular space of German expressionist cinema and the deformed bodies and elongated appendages of the work of Otto Dix and Georg Grosz.
This visual language predates Feuchtenberger's artistic production by more than seven decades, and raises the question—how did she come to adopt an early German expressionist style? Nijdam's presentation investigates the many sources of Feuchtenberger's woodcut aesthetic, tracing its influences to her East German training in the graphic arts, Weimar modernism, East German neo-expressionism and American alternative comics.
Nijdam is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Her research focuses on German comics after 1989, and her dissertation traces East German artistic traditions influencing the post-unification comics of Anke Feuchtenberger and Henning Wagenbreth, members of the PGH Glühende Zukunft (Glowing Future), a group that Feuchtenberger and fellow students founded. Nijdam's dissertation research has been published in the International Journal of Comic Art and World Literature Today. She has worked extensively on comics in the classroom and wrote a chapter on teaching German history with graphic novels in the book "Class, Please Open Your Comics" (2015).
Nijdam is the secretary for the executive committee of the International Comic Arts Forum and a member-at-large on the executive board of the Comics Studies Society's Graduate Student Caucus. She is also the founding organizer for the Transnational Comics Studies Workshop at the University of Michigan. In 2017, she received the Rackham Outstanding Instructor Award for her teaching on comics. In October, she will begin work on her book, "Panelled Pasts: East German History and Memory in the German Graphic Novel," as a postdoctoral fellow in the Berlin Program for Advanced German and European Studies at the Freie Universität Berlin.
This presentation, sponsored by the Swann Foundation and the Library's Prints and Photographs Division, is part of the foundation's continuing activities to support the study, interpretation, preservation and appreciation of original works of humorous and satiric art by graphic artists from around the world.
The Swann Foundation's advisory board includes scholars, collectors, cartoonists and Library of Congress staff members. The foundation awards fellowships annually (or biennially) to assist scholarly research and writing projects in the field of caricature and cartoon. Applications for the 2017-2018 academic year will be due Monday, Feb. 15, 2018. For more information, visit loc.gov/rr/print/swann/
The Library of Congress is the world's largest library, offering access to the creative record of the United States—and extensive materials from around the world—both on site and online. It is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Explore collections, reference services and other programs and plan a visit at loc.gov, access the official site for U.S. federal legislative information at congress.gov, and register creative works of authorship at copyright.gov.
Paula Bannerman: An Artomatic Interview
by Mike RhodePaula Bannerman doesn't consider herself a cartoonist, but her display at Artomatic revolves around a cartoon character: "Hello Kitty Gone Wrong is a series of iPad drawings that puts Hello Kitty in Action, Suspense, and mostly Horror situations." She's kindly answered our usual questions anyway.
What type of comic work or cartooning do you do?
I'm unsure how to answer this question because I never thought of myself as a comic artist. I like to use bold colors. Everything depends on what I'm using to create.
How do you do it? Traditional pen and ink, computer or a combination?
It's drawn on my iPad. I usually draw while riding on the Metro, especially the red line. I get some much done during Safe Tracking.
When (within a decade is fine) and where were you born?
Late 70's, Washington, DC
Why are you in Washington now? What neighborhood or area do you live in?
The Washington, DC-area has always been my home. I do love traveling to other places, but I always love coming back to home, even with the changes.
What is your training and/or education in art?
I have been doing art since I was five years old. I managed to stay in art classes from elementary school to high school. Right now, when I go to the Portrait Gallery’s Open Studio, they have each week a different lesson which is great.
Who are your influences?
My family, my friends, Andy Warhol, Yayoi Kusama, and my art teachers: Roland Colmus, Annette Cross, and Jill Galloway.
If you could, what in your career would you do-over or change?
I wouldn't make any changes over because I am here right now for a reason.
What work are you best-known for?
I think I'm more known for usually drawing on my iPad while riding the Metro (trains and buses); outside of that, I think I am known for one of my first iPad drawings, "In Her Eyes," where you see a red decorated face with a yellow eye. And recently, I think my Hello Kitty's Gone Wrong series is becoming popular because I started receiving Hello Kitty toys, stickers and other merchandise from friends.
What work are you most proud of?
I'm proud of finishing a piece than just one work.
What would you like to do or work on in the future?
Ever since I started getting involved in the STEM/STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) movement, I would like to work on having large scale pieces with more of a strong emphasis on technology. Then with the pieces, I would love to inspire others to create something amazing as well.
What do you do when you're in a rut or have writer's block?
I go to the Portrait Gallery, spend time at my friend’s store in Union Station, travel somewhere, listen to music like the Cirque du Soleil soundtracks or just start doodling.
What do you think will be the future of your field?
In the past three years of drawing on the iPad, I went from just doing small sketches that I thought wouldn't go far, to now creating work wondering what other possibilities can I do with it, then going to conventions and showing others to create more. I feel that within drawing and creating there will always be a need to promote the importance of art, and with that, I see my field as always growing, even with opposition. Art is everywhere and is a powerful force that can't be stopped.
What local cons do you attend? The Small Press Expo, Awesome Con, Intervention, or others? Any comments about attending them?
So far I have done Awesomecon (taking a break this year), Tee con, T-mode, CreatorCon, Makers Day Nova, National Makers Faire, and Girl Scout Makers Day.
My comment about them is regardless of if you are a vendor or visiting, it's always good to have a comfortable pair of shoes and snacks. As well as map out the bathrooms and the cheap restaurants inside and outside of the convention.
What's your favorite thing about DC?
My favorite thing about DC is the fact there are so many opportunities out there to be able to do whatever they dream of doing for little or to no money. For example, I wanted to learn the coding language, Python. So I went to Hear Me Code, and I was able to get three free Python lessons. Don't get me started on the DC library and their amazing resources!
Least favorite?
Parking
What monument or museum do you like to take visitors to?
The Portrait Gallery because they have the free open studio on Fridays and they have art challenges in the Luce Center on Tuesdays. Also on the weekends, they have free coffee in the Luce Center.
How about a favorite local restaurant?
Pho 88.
Do you have a website or blog?
www.dcartist.com
The Post on 'Fun Home'
It's built around a funeral home, but there's nothing funereal about 'Fun Home' [in print as 'Home' is where the heartbreak is].
Theater critic
Thursday, April 13, 2017
NPR's Glen Weldon goes to Fantom Comics
Beyond The Pale (Male): Marvel, Diversity And A Changing Comics Readership
https://ondemand.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/wesat/2017/04/20170408_wesat_beyond_the_pale_male_marvel_diversity_and_a_changing_comics_readership.mp3
http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=523044892
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
NPR on Eartha by Malkasian
Long-Buried Secrets, Scampering Dreams And A Cat That Talks: 'Eartha'
A moment of discovery from Cathy Malkasian's richly melancholic graphic novel Eartha.
Comic Riffs wants your Trump drawing
So Trump's a visual learner? You can send your message to him now with #MyDoodle4Donald
Comic Riffs on X-Men artist's secret anti-tolerance messge
Marvel pulls X-Men comic that had a hidden Koranic message. Says the artist: 'My career is over.'
Roz Chast does 2017 Book Festival poster
2017 National Book Festival Poster Depicts Delightful World of Books
2017 National Book Festival poster by cartoonist Roz Chast.
The poster artist is Roz Chast, a cartoonist whose work has been published in The New Yorker, Scientific American, the Harvard Business Review, Redbook, and more. Chast started drawing cartoons as a child growing up in Brooklyn, and went on to graduate from the Rhode Island School of Design. She has won numerous awards for her books and illustrations.
Cindy Moore, a graphic specialist at the Library of Congress, led a team of other graphics specialists at the Library in selecting Chast to design this year's poster. However, the theme Chast came up with was all her own.
"Books have always been a major part of my life from the time I learned to read," explains Chast. "They are a way to escape from the world, but also a way to feel more deeply connected to it. I wanted to make a poster that expressed the excitement, appreciation, and delight I have for the books of my life."
By the looks of this lively whimsical poster, she succeeded wildly!
You can download a copy of the poster from the Library of Congress National Book Festival website.
The 2017 Library of Congress National Book Festival, which is free for everyone, will be held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on Saturday, Sept. 2. The festival is made possible by the generosity of sponsors. You too can support the festival by making a gift now.
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
New specialty bookstore in DC seeks funding
Judging from their Artomatic stock, they will be carrying graphic novels.
Veteran Bookseller Plans D.C. Bookstore Around Diverse Staff
Nishith "Nish" Pandya - An Artomatic Interview
by Mike Rhode
Nishith "Nish" Pandya's illustration style, as on display at Artomatic, is somewhat cartoony, but his use of the web-handle "cartoonish" led us to decide to reach out to him. (all images from his websites, as my photos from Artomatic did not come out well).
What type of comic work or cartooning do you do?
Lately, my drawing style has been combining my characters and my love for nature and hiking.
How do you do it? Traditional pen and ink, computer or a combination?
I mainly work in pencil, charcoal, or pen-n-ink. I think these mediums tend to enhance the mood I try to create in the drawings.
When (within a decade is fine) and where were you born?
I was born in 1970 in Baroda, India.
Why are you in Washington now? What neighborhood or area do you live in?
I moved up to DC for a software job and I have been living in Capitol Hill.
What is your training and/or education in cartooning?
Aside from watching cartoons on tv...none.
Who are your influences?
I think Bugs Bunny did this to me! I would religiously watch Loony Toons on Saturday mornings.
But somewhat-recent animation programs that I love include Invader Zim and Ed, Edd, and Eddy.
If you could, what in your career would you do-over or change?
My day job is software and sometimes I wish I had focused more on my art.
What work are you best-known for?
Lately, I think I am known for my nature-inspired drawings.
What work are you most proud of?
I have few personal favorites. One of them is on display at Artomatic. It's an illustration of a girl reading a book by a tree.
What would you like to do or work on in the future?
I am currently learning oil painting. I have tons of sketches that I would like paint...and finally work with color.
In addition, I keep saying I would like to write and illustrate a children's book.
What do you do when you're in a rut or have writer's block?
I get drawing blocks and many times I'll go on nature walks to get ideas and inspiration.
What local cons do you attend? The Small Press Expo, Awesome Con, Intervention, or others? Any comments about attending them?
I have not attended any cons. I think I need to attend some!
What's your favorite thing about DC?
I think DC is a great walkable city and I definitely do a lot of walking.
What monument or museum do you like to take visitors to?
Neither a monument nor a museum, but I like to take visitors to Great Falls if they have never seen it before.
Which side?
Least favorite?
Easy answer...the summers. it gets too hot here.
How about a favorite local restaurant?
It's a chain but I like Matchbox.
Do you have a website or blog?
I am on Instagram. My username is cartoonish2.
I also have a few drawings on www.coroflot.com/cartoonish
Nishith "Nish" Pandya's illustration style, as on display at Artomatic, is somewhat cartoony, but his use of the web-handle "cartoonish" led us to decide to reach out to him. (all images from his websites, as my photos from Artomatic did not come out well).
What type of comic work or cartooning do you do?
Lately, my drawing style has been combining my characters and my love for nature and hiking.
How do you do it? Traditional pen and ink, computer or a combination?
I mainly work in pencil, charcoal, or pen-n-ink. I think these mediums tend to enhance the mood I try to create in the drawings.
When (within a decade is fine) and where were you born?I was born in 1970 in Baroda, India.
Why are you in Washington now? What neighborhood or area do you live in?
I moved up to DC for a software job and I have been living in Capitol Hill.
What is your training and/or education in cartooning?
Aside from watching cartoons on tv...none.
Who are your influences?
I think Bugs Bunny did this to me! I would religiously watch Loony Toons on Saturday mornings.
But somewhat-recent animation programs that I love include Invader Zim and Ed, Edd, and Eddy.
If you could, what in your career would you do-over or change?
My day job is software and sometimes I wish I had focused more on my art.
What work are you best-known for?
Lately, I think I am known for my nature-inspired drawings.
What work are you most proud of?
I have few personal favorites. One of them is on display at Artomatic. It's an illustration of a girl reading a book by a tree.
What would you like to do or work on in the future?
I am currently learning oil painting. I have tons of sketches that I would like paint...and finally work with color.
In addition, I keep saying I would like to write and illustrate a children's book.
What do you do when you're in a rut or have writer's block?
I get drawing blocks and many times I'll go on nature walks to get ideas and inspiration.
What local cons do you attend? The Small Press Expo, Awesome Con, Intervention, or others? Any comments about attending them?
I have not attended any cons. I think I need to attend some!
What's your favorite thing about DC?
I think DC is a great walkable city and I definitely do a lot of walking.
What monument or museum do you like to take visitors to?
Neither a monument nor a museum, but I like to take visitors to Great Falls if they have never seen it before.
Which side?
I like both sides.
I prefer the hiking on the MD side for myself.
But if my parents come visit me, I ll take them to the VA side since its easier for them to walk around.
Least favorite?
Easy answer...the summers. it gets too hot here.
How about a favorite local restaurant?
It's a chain but I like Matchbox.
Do you have a website or blog?
I am on Instagram. My username is cartoonish2.
I also have a few drawings on www.coroflot.com/cartoonish
Monday, April 10, 2017
April 15: Bmore Into Comics
Join comics creators from Baltimore and the greater B'more area April 15 for their Bmore Into Comics show, a DIY/minicomics show held at the Windup Space, a local bar. It's free and open to the public.
Comics Worth Reading on 'ReDistricted'
Comics Worth Reading, a comics review blog run by former Richmond, Va. resident Johanna Draper Carlson, gives a shout out to the online comics anthology ReDistricted.
Today: Gene Yang signing at Big Planet Comics DC
National Ambassador of Young
People's Literature and best-selling comic book creator Gene Luen Yang comes to Big Planet Comics on U St. on Monday, April 10, 6-7:30 p.m.
Rockeats Alcoreza - An Artomatic Interview
by Mike RhodeRockeats Alcoreza's exhibit at Artomatic is heavily-influenced by graffiti and popular culture, especially animation. We reached out to him to ask our usual questions, some of which are less relevant to a painter than a cartoonist.
What type of comic work or cartooning do you do?
I do a mixture of urban street art and realism.
How do you do it? Traditional pen and ink, computer or a combination?
Acrylic paint, sometimes oil.
When (within a decade is fine) and where were you born?
I'm from DC.
Why are you in Washington now? What neighborhood or area do you live in?
I live in Arlington, VA's Green Valley.
What is your training and/or education in cartooning?
No training or education, but I feel if I take classes my talent will develop greatly.
Who are your influences?
Hip hop, anime, people
If you could, what in your career would you do-over or change?
I would've took art more serious back in middle school. I had a conflict with my art teacher at the time. I didn't continue with art. I completely dropped it. I recently picked it up again. I know for a fact if I continued doing since middle school to high school, my art would be amazing beyond amazing because I would've learned so many techniques and been guided to produce better art.
What work are you best-known for?
My backgrounds (the patterns you see in majority of my art is called THE 88's).
What work are you most proud of?
Nothing really I feel like I could do a lot better when I look back at my work.
What would you like to do or work on in the future?
Make comic strips, funny crude humor or create a book for kids. That would be the dream.
What do you do when you're in a rut or have writer's block?
I hate when that happens; listening to music sometimes helps.
What local cons do you attend? The Small Press Expo, Awesome Con, Intervention, or others? Any comments about attending them?
Awesome con, but I would like to attend more. I'm not that informed about when these events happen.
What's your favorite thing about DC?
Our go-go music. Our sense of style, the way we talk, and also the fact we are at the nation's capitol.
Least favorite?
Traffic
What monument or museum do you like to take visitors to?
Corinto gallery
How about a favorite local restaurant?
El Pollo Rico - it's in Arlington - it's crack.
Do you have a website or blog?
Websites would be https://www.facebook.com/24mobrockeats
https://www.instagram.com/24mobrockeats/
Later I will create my own website.
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