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The president led a motley crew through 2018
Sunday, December 23, 2018
Big Planet Special holiday hours
Cavna on Superman: The Movie
How 'Superman' gave rise to superhero movies 40 years ago [in print as 'Superman' gave rise to the heroes we know].
The Post on the death of Mrs. Dr. Seuss
Audrey Geisel, caretaker of the Dr. Seuss literary estate, dies at 97 [in print as Audrey Geisel, 97; Dr. Seuss's widow and the protector of his estate].
Washington Post December 22 2018, p. B5
The Post on Aquaman
'Aquaman' dazzles the eye, but it's really exhausting to watch [in print as Hard to catch breath in this underwater adventure].
Thursday, December 20, 2018
City Paper reviews Aquaman
Aquaman Is a Typhoon of Superhero Insanity
The latest DC Comics film embraces excess, and dares you to come up for air.
Dec 19, 2018
Wednesday, December 19, 2018
PR: Adam Hughes In-Store Signing at CC&C
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Tuesday, December 18, 2018
Interview with formerly-local Liz Suburbia
Interview with Liz Suburbia of CYANIDE MILKSHAKE
Book Riot 12-15-18
Editorial Cartoon by artleytoons
My cartoon, "The Cask of Trumpontillado."
—Steven G. Artley, artleytoonsclick on image for larger view
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| ©2018 Steven G. Artley • artleytoons • ALL RIGHTS RESERVED |
Monday, December 17, 2018
Fluegennock's Latest'n'Greatest: "Yellow Jacket"
The latest from Mike Flugennock, DC's anarchist cartoonist.
"Yellow Jacket"
http://sinkers.org/stage/?p=2650
In solidarity with the French revolutionaries of the Gilets Jaunes.
Much of the US Left points to the Gilets Jaunes as proof that protest works, but they couldn't be more wrong. Protest doesn't work; insurrection does.
The Gilets Jaunes didn't put Macron on the run and achieve a rollback of the regressive "carbon tax" by putting on a big police-permitted march on a Saturday afternoon and returning to work on Monday; they did it by totally disrupting business as usual, by tearing up the streets and burning the m*th@rf%ck!r down, by making the posh shopping districts unshoppable, and making the country ungovernable week after week.
"Yellow Jacket"
http://sinkers.org/stage/?p=2650
In solidarity with the French revolutionaries of the Gilets Jaunes.
Much of the US Left points to the Gilets Jaunes as proof that protest works, but they couldn't be more wrong. Protest doesn't work; insurrection does.
The Gilets Jaunes didn't put Macron on the run and achieve a rollback of the regressive "carbon tax" by putting on a big police-permitted march on a Saturday afternoon and returning to work on Monday; they did it by totally disrupting business as usual, by tearing up the streets and burning the m*th@rf%ck!r down, by making the posh shopping districts unshoppable, and making the country ungovernable week after week.
Reprising Flugennock's Latest'n'Greatest: "...or Democracy Gets It!"
A cartoon repeat, but with new commentary, from Mike Flugennock, DC's anarchist cartoonist.
"...or Democracy Gets It!"
http://sinkers.org/stage/?p=2646
In case you haven't noticed, the smell of 2020 is already in the air – on Twitter, the Left-punching Donut accounts are out punching the Left, the Sanders-punching Donuts are out punching Bernie, and they're all out pimping the Democratic Party because... democracy. Basically, if you're not voting Democratic, you hate Democracy™.
The Donuts are all real gung-ho for the exercise of democracy n'shit, but then when you actually vote your values, like vote Green or Socialist or something – that is, actually participate in friggin' democracy – they get their panties in a twist because you didn't vote for the goddamn Democrat, even though the Democrat in the race also sucked on toast.
http://sinkers.org/stage/?p=2646
In case you haven't noticed, the smell of 2020 is already in the air – on Twitter, the Left-punching Donut accounts are out punching the Left, the Sanders-punching Donuts are out punching Bernie, and they're all out pimping the Democratic Party because... democracy. Basically, if you're not voting Democratic, you hate Democracy™.
The Donuts are all real gung-ho for the exercise of democracy n'shit, but then when you actually vote your values, like vote Green or Socialist or something – that is, actually participate in friggin' democracy – they get their panties in a twist because you didn't vote for the goddamn Democrat, even though the Democrat in the race also sucked on toast.
Sunday, December 16, 2018
Betancourt on Spider-Man
Miles Morales is a Spider-Man who's biracial like me. So why wasn't I more excited for his movie? [in print as Looking at Spider-Man and seeing myself].
That darn Mark Trail and Doonesbury
'Doonesbury' divides
Mary Kay Stine, Reston
Washington Post December 15 2018
'Mark Trail' brings the world together
Frank Kohn, Fairfax
Washington Post December 15 2018
Saturday, December 15, 2018
Gypsy Omnibus review
by RM Rhodes
During the late 1990s and early 2000s, Heavy Metal ran six stories by Thierry Smolderen and Enrico Marini. The first of these, titled The Gypsy Star, was an immediate hit and was followed by the rest of the series over almost the course of a decade.
The art was the obvious draw of the story. Realistic, with an obvious manga influence, Marini could provide a cartoon flip to his line when it was necessary. The color scheme usually balanced a very orange red and a cool blue. The sequential storytelling was often clever and made for a compulsively readable feature.
The main character is called The Gypsy in the first series and Tsaigoi thereafter. He drives his eighteen wheel truck across a futuristic highway that spans the world. Sometimes he’s with his sister, sometimes he’s with other family members, and sometimes he’s alone. It’s a Mad Max setup with an unfortunate ethnic label and none of the pesky fuel shortage limitations.
Tsaigoi is an enthusiastic participant in capitalism. All of the stories are about him driving his truck through a problem area and getting caught up in local events, to his dismay. In every case, the stakes of the story are commercial in nature. And when it is called for, Tsaigoi will strap on his guns and take the fight to the people standing in the way of him getting his product to his customers.
Easily the best of these stories is a yarn about a caper in Germany during the final World Cup game between Germany and France. Germany loses badly due to a penalty shot 45 seconds into the game. Much comedy is made from this state of affairs and, in the end, Tsaigoi’s commercial instincts prove to be very very solid.
Tsaigoi is also a lover. I’m happy to report that every one of his sexual encounters (roughly one per story) is consensual. There is one problematic scene with a parapalegic woman, and one of the main characters is introduced by showing him running away from a giant man who wants to rape him. The way the character is drawn, he could be anywhere from a boy to his early teens. For the most part, though, it’s wholesome entertainment.
It is not difficult to find out what issues of Heavy Metal these originally appeared in, nor is it difficult to purchase them. The new Omnibus Edition of the six stories is, however, a much nicer product than the random handful of issues. It’s a hardback edition with a very nice slipcase. The extras are nice as well – a map of the world, showing the route of the highway, along with several pages of production art and sketches. It's the first thing I've seen from Insight Comics and its a handsome debut. The European edition must have recently been published.
The only real flaw in the production of the Omnibus is the title of the introduction. Dan Panosian remembers Gypsy from the pages of Heavy Metal and references a catchphrase saying that the main character utters when he is surprised or frustrated – “Dracu!” Except in the new translation for this edition, Dracu has been printed as Dracs.
Printed together like this, it is easy to see how well Marini’s art matured over the course of the series. The early stories have a sketchier aspect to the line weights, but the later stories are much more confident. The color got better as well – it’s almost as if the technology improved during the same period as the original publication.
Gypsy is a pretty solid action adventure comic. The creators did their best in the later stories to lean into the skid on the problematic name, but they were stuck with it. If you can get past that, you should be able to relax into the ultraviolence and over the top slapstick of it all. And if you can do that, there is a good chance you'll be very entertained indeed.
__________________________________________________________
Why is this here? It's a long story. Mike Rhode first introduced himself to me when I first started vending at SPX. Over the years, we've talk to each other at Comic conventions around the DC area and never quite get around to sitting down for lunch.
When I moved to Arlington two years ago, I didn't realize that Mike lived within a mile of my building. Nor did I realize that he lived next door to my girlfriend's friend from college. We also discovered, by accident that we work two buildings away from each other, because we work in adjacent organizations. The world is a very small place, sometimes.
It really feels that way when I run into Mike at the local farmer's market. Naturally, that's when I pitch him article ideas. I'm reading the entire run of Heavy Metal in public (in blog format) because I happen to own the entire run of Heavy Metal. This means that I'm engaged in an ongoing study of the magazine. In addition, I have a diverse and idiosyncratic reading list that tends towards the weird corners of comics history. Sometimes one circumstance or another results in long articles that I don't really have anyplace to put. Mike has been gracious enough to let me publish them here.
In summary: this is an article about comics from someone in the DC area.
During the late 1990s and early 2000s, Heavy Metal ran six stories by Thierry Smolderen and Enrico Marini. The first of these, titled The Gypsy Star, was an immediate hit and was followed by the rest of the series over almost the course of a decade.
The art was the obvious draw of the story. Realistic, with an obvious manga influence, Marini could provide a cartoon flip to his line when it was necessary. The color scheme usually balanced a very orange red and a cool blue. The sequential storytelling was often clever and made for a compulsively readable feature.
The main character is called The Gypsy in the first series and Tsaigoi thereafter. He drives his eighteen wheel truck across a futuristic highway that spans the world. Sometimes he’s with his sister, sometimes he’s with other family members, and sometimes he’s alone. It’s a Mad Max setup with an unfortunate ethnic label and none of the pesky fuel shortage limitations.
Tsaigoi is an enthusiastic participant in capitalism. All of the stories are about him driving his truck through a problem area and getting caught up in local events, to his dismay. In every case, the stakes of the story are commercial in nature. And when it is called for, Tsaigoi will strap on his guns and take the fight to the people standing in the way of him getting his product to his customers.
Easily the best of these stories is a yarn about a caper in Germany during the final World Cup game between Germany and France. Germany loses badly due to a penalty shot 45 seconds into the game. Much comedy is made from this state of affairs and, in the end, Tsaigoi’s commercial instincts prove to be very very solid.
Tsaigoi is also a lover. I’m happy to report that every one of his sexual encounters (roughly one per story) is consensual. There is one problematic scene with a parapalegic woman, and one of the main characters is introduced by showing him running away from a giant man who wants to rape him. The way the character is drawn, he could be anywhere from a boy to his early teens. For the most part, though, it’s wholesome entertainment.
It is not difficult to find out what issues of Heavy Metal these originally appeared in, nor is it difficult to purchase them. The new Omnibus Edition of the six stories is, however, a much nicer product than the random handful of issues. It’s a hardback edition with a very nice slipcase. The extras are nice as well – a map of the world, showing the route of the highway, along with several pages of production art and sketches. It's the first thing I've seen from Insight Comics and its a handsome debut. The European edition must have recently been published.
The only real flaw in the production of the Omnibus is the title of the introduction. Dan Panosian remembers Gypsy from the pages of Heavy Metal and references a catchphrase saying that the main character utters when he is surprised or frustrated – “Dracu!” Except in the new translation for this edition, Dracu has been printed as Dracs.
Printed together like this, it is easy to see how well Marini’s art matured over the course of the series. The early stories have a sketchier aspect to the line weights, but the later stories are much more confident. The color got better as well – it’s almost as if the technology improved during the same period as the original publication.
Gypsy is a pretty solid action adventure comic. The creators did their best in the later stories to lean into the skid on the problematic name, but they were stuck with it. If you can get past that, you should be able to relax into the ultraviolence and over the top slapstick of it all. And if you can do that, there is a good chance you'll be very entertained indeed.
__________________________________________________________
Why is this here? It's a long story. Mike Rhode first introduced himself to me when I first started vending at SPX. Over the years, we've talk to each other at Comic conventions around the DC area and never quite get around to sitting down for lunch.
When I moved to Arlington two years ago, I didn't realize that Mike lived within a mile of my building. Nor did I realize that he lived next door to my girlfriend's friend from college. We also discovered, by accident that we work two buildings away from each other, because we work in adjacent organizations. The world is a very small place, sometimes.
It really feels that way when I run into Mike at the local farmer's market. Naturally, that's when I pitch him article ideas. I'm reading the entire run of Heavy Metal in public (in blog format) because I happen to own the entire run of Heavy Metal. This means that I'm engaged in an ongoing study of the magazine. In addition, I have a diverse and idiosyncratic reading list that tends towards the weird corners of comics history. Sometimes one circumstance or another results in long articles that I don't really have anyplace to put. Mike has been gracious enough to let me publish them here.
In summary: this is an article about comics from someone in the DC area.
Friday, December 14, 2018
The Post on the business of the Spider-Man animated movie
'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse' could change the game for Hollywood's two biggest genres [in print as Animated 'Spider-Man' movie could be a game changer].
Dec 15: Mohammad Sabsaaneh art at Palestine Ctr (DC) gathering & live auction!
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When the exhibition of Mohammad's linocut prints opened at the gallery three weeks ago, it attracted 
I'm hoping to see many friends, old and new, at the auction/gathering! I am also eager to share the news about what JWE has achieved over the past year-- and what we have planned for the year ahead.Jan 9-10: Brad Meltzer in the area
#1: Author Brad Meltzer (Justice League of America, Identity Crisis, Green Arrow) appears in conversation with Josh Mensch at Politics and Prose Bookstore on Wednesday, January 9, 2019 at 7:00 PM to present his new non-fiction book, The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington.http://www.conventionscene.com/2018/12/07/dc-the-first-conspiracy-signing/
#2: Meet Brad Meltzer- Washington, DC
· Hosted by Brad Meltzer
- Thursday, January 10, 2019 at 12 PM – 2 PM
- The National Archives, 700 Constitution Ave NW, Washington, DC 20408
#3: Author Brad Meltzer appears at Barnes & Noble on Thursday, January 10, 2019 at 7:00 PM to sign his new non-fiction book, The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington.http://www.conventionscene.com/2018/12/11/va-the-first-conspiracy-signing/
Thursday, December 13, 2018
Dueling Tariff Man comic strips in major metropolitan newspapers
Last week, the Washington Post ran:
The amazing adventures of Tariff Man!
by Ellis Rosen
Washington Post (December 9): Outlook 2
Today, the NY Times ran their version:
Tariff Man: An Origin Story
Illustrations by Paul Hoppe
The New York Times (December 13 2018
online at https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/12/12/business/economy/tariff-man-origin-story.html
AFAIK, neither is by a regular comic strip artist either.
Is it something in the water?
Gallery Al-Quds Artist Talk with Mohammad Sabaaneh
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