Announcing City Wide Events at SPX 2023

Check out the books debuting at SPX 2023

For Immediate Release Contact: Warren Bernard Email: exhibitor-inquiries@smallpressexpo.com   City Wide Events at Small Press Expo 2023   Bethesda, Maryland - August 29, 2023   Media Release - Small Press Expo is thrilled to announce numerous events that take place throughout the surrounding area during SPX 2023. The festival takes place on Saturday and Sunday, September 9-10, at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center and will have over 500 creators, 280 exhibitor tables, 22 programming panels and 14 hands-on workshops to introduce attendees to the amazing world of independent and small press comics. These city wide events, can also be found on the SPX web site. Thursday September 7, 2023 Live! At The Library: Kent State - Recreating History with Comics with Derf Backderf Derf, the award winning author of Kent State and My Friend Dahmer, will give a talk a as part of the Library of Congress's Live at the Library program on Thursday September 7 at 6PM. Tamaki Fall Tour makes a stop at the MLK Jr. Memorial Library Roaming marks a triumphant return to the graphic novel and deft foray into new adult fiction for Caldecott Medal-winning authors Jillian Tamaki (Boundless) and Mariko Tamaki (Cold). The Tamakis will be in conversation with Melissa Scholes Young at the MLK Jr. Memorial Library on Thursday, September 7 at 7PM. The Tamakis will be at SPX on Sunday only. Friday September 8, 2023 World Premiere of Married To Comics at the AFI Silver Theatre Married to Comics, by veteran documentarian John Kinhart, is the story of graphic novelist Carol Tyler and her husband, the ground-breaking and influential cartoonist Justin Green, who passed away last year. Small Press Expo has announced the sponsorship of the World Premiere of Married To Comics, which will be held at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center on Friday, September 8, at 7PM. Bill Griffith Meet & Greet at Union Market From Bill Griffith, creator of Zippy the Pinhead and Nobody's Fool, comes Three Rocks, a biography of cartoonist Ernie Bushmiller, creator of the iconic comic strip Nancy.  09/08/2023 | 6:00pm – 7:30pm | Poilitics & Prose - Union Market Sunday September 10, 2023 Visit the SPX 2023 Website for More Info About This Years Show 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 Awards are held every year at SPX recognizing outstanding achievement in comics and cartooning. For more information on the Small Press Expo, please visit http://www.smallpressexpo.com. Small Press Expo P.O. Box 5704 Bethesda, Maryland 20824 www.smallpressexpo.com Email: press@smallpressexpo.com STAY CONNECTED

Izar Lunaček of Slovenia at SPX

Holy Fools and Funny Gods: The Hidden Link Between Religion and Humor

In Holy Fools and Funny Gods, philosopher and cartoonist Izar Lunacek explores the surprising intersections between religion and comedy. Many view religion as a monument to eternal truth. Comedy, on the other hand, is the eternal iconoclast. This conflict between jokers and the faithful frequently marks our present-day culture.

But in pre-Christian times, pagan pantheons included holy clowns precariously positioned at the right side of the main deity. Among many tributes paid to gods, at least one ritual was reserved for the trickster who destroyed the world order only to rebuild it refreshed and new.

What if the priest and the jester are enemies only because they are siblings? What if they are two sides of the same social taboos? When we put gods on pedestals, we also expose them to communal mockery. When we laugh at clowns, we worship their disregard for social convention.

Lunacek's Holy Fools and Funny Gods skillfully blends philosophy with the irreverence of the comics medium into a treatise that is both hilarious and profound.

Izar Lunaček is a Slovenian cartoonist and philosopher. After years of studying comedy and religion, he has recently retired from academia to focus on comics. His first international success was the IDW-published Animal Noir - a series starring a hardboiled giraffe detective. He lives in Ljubljana.

Comics Research Bibliography citations update, 9/1/2023

 

Carl Jones on Vlad's Interview Causing Fight with Aaron McGruder that Ended The Boondocks (Part 8)

djvlad

Aug 31, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXJe4Guyi0A

 

Drawing whatever

Liza Donnelly

August 31 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5fyt1TJ0Ng

 

Avengers Assembled with David Betancourt: Origins of Earth's Mightiest Heroes [August 31, 2023]

Helena Andrews-Dyer

DC Public Library August 31 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1rcOqQFhVc

 

Falling in Love With the Avengers, America's Most Toxic Work Force

One thing that drew Leigh Bardugo to the Avengers as a girl was that their turnover rate meant they were always hiring.

By Leigh Bardugo

A version of this article appears in print on Sept. 3, 2023, Page 19 of the Sunday Book Review with the headline: Help Wanted: Superhero.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/31/books/review/marvel-avengers.html

 

TWO PUBLISHERS ANNOUNCE NEW PRINTINGS AFTER TITLES SELL OUT AT DISTRIBUTOR LEVEL

Image and FairSquare Reveal the Numbers

Posted by Brigid Alverson on August 31, 2023

https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/55000/two-publishers-announce-new-printings-after-titles-sell-out-distributor-level

 

Sandstorm launches Storm the Block fest in Abu Dhabi

Heidi MacDonald

08/31/2023

https://www.comicsbeat.com/sandstorm-launches-storm-the-block-fest-in-abu-dhabi/

 

Abu Dhabi Comics Publisher Sandstorm Launches Its Own Comic Con

31 Aug 2023

by Rich Johnston

https://bleedingcool.com/comics/abu-dhabi-comics-publisher-sandstorm-launches-its-own-comic-con/

 

Texas School Libary Make Fun Home, Handmaid's Tale & Manga Disappear

Houston TV station KHOU uncovered a Texas school library banning system that went under the radar, including a number of graphic novels.

by Rich Johnston 31 Aug 2023

https://bleedingcool.com/comics/texas-school-libary-make-fun-home-handmaids-tale-manga-disappear/

 

KHOU Investigates: Klein ISD quietly removes books about race, sex and abortion

The district is using a system usually reserved for old or damaged books to remove controversial titles.

Author: Cheryl Mercedes (KHOU), Tina Macias (KHOU)

  August 16, 2023

https://www.khou.com/article/news/investigations/klein-isd-book-removals-investigation/285-20e563c2-a6c1-44a6-ae5b-258e9ceb6afb

 

The Archies Movie Poster Released

Scoop September 1 2023

https://scoop.previewsworld.com/Home/4/1/73/1019?ArticleID=270168

 

Harry "A" Chesler, Jr.: Comic Book Entrepreneur

The Rise of Original Comic Book Material

by Jon Berk

Scoop September 1 2023

https://scoop.previewsworld.com/Home/4/1/73/1018?ArticleID=270095

 

Joe Jusko Discusses the Completion of all 24 Tarzan Book Covers

Scoop September 1 2023

https://scoop.previewsworld.com/Home/4/1/73/1017?ArticleID=270166

 

Why MCU Phase Four Was Without Marvel's Creative Committee

John Turitzin, Marvel's former General Counsel, recalls, "I knew there was some tension. I just didn't realize that tension had gone that far."

Published Thu, 31 Aug 2023 11:02:09 -0500

by Rich Johnston

https://bleedingcool.com/movies/why-mcu-phase-four-was-without-marvels-creative-committee/

 

Marvel Shuffles TV Calendar with New Dates for 'Agatha,' 'Echo,' X-Men '97' (Exclusive)

'What If...?' is also getting a new date.

Borys Kit

September 1, 2023 https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/marvel-tv-show-release-dates-1235580093/

 

The Comics Industry Suffers Without A Proper Sales Chart

For years, industry pundits argued to end Diamond's monopoly. The price of getting what you want is getting what you once wanted

  28 Aug 2023 

by Rich Johnston

 https://bleedingcool.com/comics/the-comics-industry-suffers-without-a-proper-sales-chart/

 

Marvel, DC And Image Comics All Want A Comic Store Sales Chart

Marvel Comics, DC and Image Comics, have let it be known that they would like a comic store sales chart. But no one trusts anyone enough.

 , 31 Aug 2023 

by Rich Johnston

 https://bleedingcool.com/comics/marvel-dc-and-image-comics-all-want-a-comic-store-sales-chart/

 

More on Image, sales charts, and the future of comics

Heidi MacDonald

09/01/2023

https://www.comicsbeat.com/image-comics-industry-sales-charts/

 

'One Piece' Director Marc Jobst Talks Adapting the Best-Selling Manga and His 'Daredevil' Memories

Brian Davids

August 31, 2023

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/one-piece-director-adapting-manga-netflix-marc-jobst-interview-1235577459/

 

One Piece Director Marc Jobst On Adapting the Unadaptable

  By Daniel Kurland | September 1, 2023

https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/one-piece-director-marc-jobst-on-adapting-the-unadaptable/

 

The return of Sensational She-Hulk promises "mayhem, and also some tenderness"

By George Marston

Newsarama August 31 2023

Interview | Writer Rainbow Rowell discusses her new Sensational She-Hulk ongoing title

https://www.gamesradar.com/the-return-of-sensational-she-hulk-promises-mayhem-and-also-some-tenderness/

 

Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake Review – A Bold New Direction

  By Rendy Jones | August 31, 2023

https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/adventure-time-fionna-and-cake-review/

 

Review: In the 'Ernest & Celestine' Sequel, a Prodigal Cub Returns [France, animation]

By Natalia Winkelman

A version of this article appears in print on Sept. 1, 2023, Section C, Page 6 of the New York edition with the headline: Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/31/movies/review-ernest-celestine-trip-to-gibberitia.html

 

COVER REVEAL + INTERVIEW: refrainbow reveals BOYFRIENDS. VOL. 2

The Beat caught up with refrainbow to ask all about Boyfriends. Vol 2 from WEBTOON Unscrolled.

Avery Kaplan

09/01/2023

https://www.comicsbeat.com/cover-reveal-interview-refrainbow-reveals-boyfriends-vol-2/

 

The Artists and Cartoonists Who Designed Pee-wee Herman's World – Part One

John Kelly | August 31, 2023

https://www.tcj.com/the-artists-and-cartoonists-who-designed-pee-wee-hermans-world-part-one/

 

Droppin' Plates – This Week's Links

Clark Burscough | September 1, 2023

https://www.tcj.com/droppin-plates-this-weeks-links/

 

The Spy Who Could Be You (But Hopefully Isn't)— Matt Kindt's Spy Superb.

Scott Cederlund

Aug 31, 2023

https://www.fromcovertocover.com/spy-superb-by-matt-kindt-and-sharlene-kindt/

 

Off Panel #414: Five Hour Energy with Nadia Shammas

David Harper

Aug 28, 2023

https://sktchd.libsyn.com/offpanel414-five-hour-energy-with-nadia-shammas

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/sktchd/Nadia_Shammas.mp3

 

Geof Darrow's Greatest Comic Has Arrived! [Shaolin Cowboy]

Piskor, Ed and Jim Rugg

Cartoonist Kayfabe August 27 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THEfJ5_eEqo

 

DEN, Richard Corben's Masterpiece is Back in Print! Geof Darrow Guest Hosts!

Piskor, Ed, Jim Rugg and Geof Darrow.

Cartoonist Kayfabe

August 25 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmRAB0xEB80

 

'Inferno Girl Red' co-creator Mat Groom talks new adventures, heartache galore

Book two of 'Inferno Girl Red' is funding now via Kickstarter.

Chris Coplan

August 28, 2023

https://aiptcomics.com/2023/08/28/inferno-girl-red-book-two-qa/

 

Fun, fast, and furious: Rob Williams and Pye Parr unpack 'Petrol Head'

David Brooke

August 31, 2023

https://aiptcomics.com/2023/08/31/rob-williams-pye-parr-petrol-head-qa/

 

She Created the World's Most Popular Comic—Now She's Taking a Break

By Kayti Burt  |  August 28, 2023

https://www.pastemagazine.com/books/rachel-smythe/lore-olympus-comics-hiatus-self-care

 

I Made the Most Banned Book in America

by Maia Kobabe

 September 1, 2023

https://thenib.com/i-made-the-most-banned-book-in-america/

 

PW Comics World: More To Come

More to Come 582: Levi Hastings and Josh Trujillo [Washington's Gay General]

Calvin Reid

on 08/28/2023

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/podcasts/index.html?channel=2&podcast=1273

 

Ep. 100: Okinawa by Susumu Higa – Interview with Jocelyne Allen and Andrew Woodrow-Butcher

David Brothers and Chip Zdarsky

            Mangasplaining, August 31, 2023

https://www.mangasplaining.com/blog/ep-100-okinawa-by-susumu-higa/

 

Read a Slice of Comics Legend Grant Morrison's New Absurdist Noir

The creator behind New X-Men, All-Star Superman, and more returns to comics in a new form with Partially Naked Came the Corpse!

James Whitbrook

August 31 2023

https://gizmodo.com/grant-morrison-short-fiction-excerpt-ahoy-comics-1850792254

 

Study & Scrutiny: Research on Young Adult Literature  Vol. 6 No. 1 (2023): CENSORSHIP AND YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE: INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM, READING RIGHTS, & READING ACTIVISM

Teacher Round Table: A Conversation Inspired by Ashley Dallacqua's "Reading When the World Is on Fire: Teaching with Comics and Other Multimodal Text Sets"  

Shelly Unsicker-Durham, Scott Bevill, Brooke Bianchi-Pennington, Kamrin Green, Ray Robinson, Paul Sausville,

https://doi.org/10.15763/issn.2376-5275.2023.6.1.181-196

https://journals.shareok.org/studyandscrutiny/article/view/1136

https://journals.shareok.org/studyandscrutiny/article/view/1136/1157

 

 

Book Review: Immigrants and comics: graphic spaces of remembrance, transaction, and mimesis

edited by Nhora Lucía Serrano, New York and London, Routledge, 2021, 248 pp., eBook £35.09 ISBN 9781315643991

Nafiseh Mousavi

Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics 27 Aug 2023

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21504857.2023.2252055

 

Traversing ruins: Kristen Radtke's post-apocalyptic dark tours in Imagine Wanting Only This

Namitha Soman & Swathi Krishna

Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics 24 Aug 2023

https://doi.org/10.1080/21504857.2023.2249537

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21504857.2023.2249537

 

'A Guest in the House' rests on atmosphere, delivering an uncanny, wild ride [Emily Carroll]

Tahneer Oksman

August 28, 2023

https://www.npr.org/2023/08/28/1195938201/book-review-emily-carroll-a-guest-in-the-house-graphic-novel

David Betancourt's Avengers novel launch in photos by Bruce Guthrie

MLK Memorial Library -- Event: David Betancourt ("Avengers Assembled") w/ Helena Andrews-Dyer:

http://www.bguthriephotos.com/graphlib.nsf/keys/2023_08_31B1_Betancourt

• Bruce Guthrie Photos Home Page: [Click here] to go to Bruce Guthrie Photos home page.
• Description of Pictures: Avengers Assembled with David Betancourt
  The Origin of the Earths Mightiest Heroes
  Fans of the Marvel Universe and readers of all ages are invited to celebrate the release of "The Avengers Assembled: The Origin of the Earth's Mightiest Heroes" with author David Betancourt.
  As a child, David Betancourt was mesmerized by the adventures of characters like Iron Man, Captain America, and the Black Panther. Those early fascinations turned into a love for reading graphic novels and, eventually, a career writing about the very heroes that ignited his imagination.
  Now, the native Washingtonian is a two-time Eisner Award nominee who writes about all aspects of comic book culture for The Washington Post's Comic Riffs blog. His lifelong passion has resulted in the Marvel graphic novel "Edge of the Spider-Verse #3" and the newly-released book "The Avengers Assembled: The Origin of the Earth's Mightiest Heroes."
  Betancourt's book is not just a retelling of the Avengers' tale. This in-depth exploration uncovers defining moments and the evolution of Marvel's premiere Super Hero team. It's a unique biographical take to the formation, lineup changes, and the introductions of fan-favorite characters. "The Avengers Assembled" brings iconic characters to life through meticulous research and vivid writing. From Tony Stark's suave demeanor to the brilliance of the Black Panther, Betancourt offers a fresh perspective on familiar heroes.
  Betancourt will talk about his career and his writing with his colleague Helena Andrews-Dyer, an award-winning culture reporter for The Washington Post. Andrews-Dyer's expertise in popular culture, race, politics and art will enhance the conversation.
  This event is a chance to learn about the rich history of heroes that have shaped generations, from Iron Man to Thor. As one of the first to explore Betancourt's newly-released book, attendees will uncover insights and captivating tales. People will also learn about Betancourt's transition from a sport ...More...

NPR on Emily Carroll's new book

'A Guest in the House' rests on atmosphere, delivering an uncanny, wild ride [Emily Carroll]

Tahneer Oksman

August 28, 2023

https://www.npr.org/2023/08/28/1195938201/book-review-emily-carroll-a-guest-in-the-house-graphic-novel

Avengers Assembled with David Betancourt: Origins of Earth's Mightiest Heroes [August 31, 2023]

Helena Andrews-Dyer

DC Public Library August 31 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1rcOqQFhVc

Native Washingtonian and two-time Eisner Award nominee, David Betancourt, meets award-winning culture reporter for The Washington Post, Helena Andrews Dyer, at the MLK Jr. Memorial Library in DC to talk about his new book, "The Avengers Assembled: The Origin of the Earth's Mightiest Heroes." Betancourt's book is a unique biographical take to the formation, lineup changes, and the introductions of fan-favorite characters like Tony Stark and Black Panther. Learn more about Betancourt's own transitions going from a sports reporter to covering comics for the Washington Post and how his perspective as an Afro-Latino informed writing for Afro-Latina superhero Billie Morales.