Tuesday, January 23, 2024

Steve Brodner's Jan. 7 illustrated Opinion essay, "These politicians denied democracy on Jan. 6. Now, they want your vote.," presented an initial shock because the full-page graphic was disturbing, and the text didn't add much clarifying content.

From the Jan. 7 illustrated Opinion essay. (Steve Brodner/For The Washington Post)

The essay unfortunately borrowed from former president Donald Trump's mockery playbook by presenting the 147 identified Republican members of Congress as cartoonish images of their worst selves. It simply presented a nasty graphic with minimal explanatory text. The cartoon images were repeated in a black-and-white arrangement with highlights of the antics of 11 of the 147.

The essay did not present an opinion. Was that intentional to force readers to develop their own opinion? If so, mine was that this did no better than Trump by mocking, demonizing and dehumanizing people, as he did recently with President Biden's stutter. By the looks of the cartoon faces of the 147 members of Congress the essay seemed to cast them as evil, against Amanda Ripley's wise advice in her Opinion column two pages later, "Want to make a decision you'll regret? Split the world into good and evil." By text explanation, the essay offered only that the 147 "formally supported objection to counting Joe Biden's electoral votes." Specific objections by members were not provided, leaving the inference that each member is as bad as the worst among them.

I'm an independent voter who was aghast by the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and Republicans' continued efforts to deny it happened and minimize its adverse consequences for our democracy. For The Post, though, to devote two full pages of the Opinion section to cartoonishly vilify those 147 members of Congress was unprofessional, ugly and unacceptable. Each of the 147 members has official photos that could have been used instead to help readers recognize them. The teeth-bared, scowling, red-faced and loud graphics were dehumanizing. Is that The Post's opinion?

That darn Ann Telnaes

More than words is all you have to do [Ann Telnaes letter]

Elizabeth Tebow, Silver Spring

Washington Post January 20 2024: A15

online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/01/19/biden-economy-claudine-gay-senior-fitness/

The Dec. 31 editorial cartoon, captioned "Autocracy is growing worldwide for 2024." (Ann Telnaes/The Washington Post)

Thanks for Ann Telnaes's Dec. 31 Opinion piece showing cartoons about the conflict in Gaza by an Israeli and a Palestinian, "Palestinian and Israeli cartoonists see the war differently (and the same)." They were powerful and their meanings clear, which is why I wondered why, other than the information on the artists, Telnaes felt it necessary to explain them.

Then I turned to her cartoon on the next page and realized that without the caption, I would not have understood it. The best cartoons, especially political ones, speak for themselves.

That darn Michael Ramirez

From the Jan. 2 editorial cartoon. (Michael Ramirez/Las Vegas Review-Journal for The Washington Post)

He didn't start the fire [Michael Ramirez]

Jack Aubert and Suzanne Richardson

Washington Post January 20 2024: A15

online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/01/19/biden-economy-claudine-gay-senior-fitness/

Political cartoons express political opinions, but they should stick to facts. Michael Ramirez's Jan. 2 "Burned" editorial cartoon was not particularly clever and utterly divorced from reality.

The U.S. economy was battered by the pandemic that began in 2020. Employment fell by 25 million in weeks. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, a.k.a. "Bidenomics," which passed with zero Republican support, kept businesses afloat. The downside of maintaining purchasing power was that demand often exceeded supply, stretching supply chains and causing a burst of inflation. But three years later, the U.S. economy is setting records both in terms of international comparisons and our pre-covid baseline. Labor force participation is up. Inflation is close to the Federal Reserve's 2 percent target. Unemployment is near a 50-year low. Most workers' real wages have gone up. The stock market has recorded its strongest year since 2019. Most credit for this should go to Federal Reserve policies, but, on balance, Bidenomics helped.

Jack Aubert, Falls Church

I woke up the morning of Jan. 2 to the strangest cartoon by Michael Ramirez, directly in contradiction to all known facts about the state of our economy.

Inflation has fallen dramatically, gas prices are down, workers' wages are up, the stock market is soaring, and the economy is doing well. Why this cartoon? It packs a punch all right, but not where intended; instead it blows a hole in our trust of The Post.

Suzanne Richardson, Pikesville

Comics Research Bibliography citations update, 1/19/2024

Ian Gordon remembers David Kunzle
David Kunzle (April 17, 1936 – January 1, 2024)
by Ian Gordon
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF COMIC ART BLOG January 19, 2024
https://ijoca.blogspot.com/2024/01/ian-gordon-remembers-david-kunzle.html

WEBTOON INKS DEAL WITH EBOOK PUBLISHER AETHON

To Adapt 14 Action, Fantasy, LitRPG Webnovels to Webtoons

Brigid Alverson on January 18, 2024

https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/56037/webtoon-inks-deal-ebook-publisher-aethon

Zoe Thorogood's Original Cover Art For It's Lonely Sells For $7000

A couple of days ago, Michael Anthony posted "I'm selling Zoe Thorogood 's Eisner nominated original cover art for It's Lonely'"

by Rich Johnston

18 Jan 2024

https://bleedingcool.com/comics/zoe-thorogoods-original-cover-art-for-its-lonely-sells-for-7000/

Patton Oswalt To Help Save Arsenal Comics In Newbury Park On Saturday

Patton Oswalt as well as Jordan Blum, Tim Sheridan, Jackson Lanzing, Jeremy Adams, Jodi Houser, Marc Guggenheim, Gerry Duggan and more

by Rich Johnston

18 Jan 2024

https://bleedingcool.com/comics/patton-oswalt-to-help-save-arsenal-comics-in-ventura-on-saturday/

Scholastic UK's Graphic Novel Prize, Voted By Kids, Paid By Publishers

The Graphic Novel Prize is a new prize for kids and teengers books from Scholastic UK, but the details of entry are rather intriguing.

18 Jan 2024

by Rich Johnston

https://bleedingcool.com/comics/scholastic-uk-graphic-novel-prize-voted-kids-publishers/

Larry Shell Benefit Art Auction at Heritage
Scoop January 19 2024

https://scoop.previewsworld.com/Home/4/1/73/1012?ArticleID=272533

BOOM! Hires David Mariotte as Editor
Scoop January 19 2024

https://scoop.previewsworld.com/Home/4/1/73/1012?ArticleID=272529

Disney World War II Stamp Combat Insignias
Scoop January 19 2024

https://scoop.previewsworld.com/Home/4/1/73/1018?ArticleID=272429

How Director Chris Jenkins Made Every Meowment Count in His New Sundance Movie, '10 Lives'

By Ramin Zahed

January 18, 2024

https://www.animationmagazine.net/2024/01/how-director-chris-jenkins-made-every-meowment-count-in-his-new-sundance-movie-10-lives/

'The Boy and the Heron' Continues to Score B.O. Records in Europe

Animation Magazine

January 18, 2024

https://www.animationmagazine.net/2024/01/the-boy-and-the-heron-continues-to-score-b-o-records-in-europe/

Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out – This Week's Links

Clark Burscough | January 19, 2024

https://www.tcj.com/tenth-avenue-freeze-out-this-weeks-links/

An acclaimed graphic novel is seeing a resurgence, brought on by the war in Gaza [Sacco, Palestine]

Diba Mohtasham

January 18, 2024

https://www.npr.org/2024/01/18/1225003548/joe-sacco-palestine-gaza-comics-journalism

PW Comics World: More To Come

More to Come 601: Stargazing into 2024 [book reviews]

Meg Lemke and Calvin Reid

on 01/15/2024

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/podcasts/index.html?channel=2&podcast=1292

New Graphic Novel Realizes Obscure Opera Written By Holocaust Victims [Death Strikes: The Emperor of Atlantis]

Josh Weiss

Jan 17, 2024, https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshweiss/2024/01/17/new-graphic-novel-realizes-obscure-opera-written-by-holocaust-victims/

Off Panel #432: Bette Davis Eyes with Nate Powell

David Harper

Jan 15, 2024

https://sktchd.libsyn.com/offpanel432-bette-davis-eyes-with-nate-powell

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

X-Men Monday #235 – Kieron Gillen Discusses 'Rise of the Powers of X' #1

Chris Hassan

January 15, 2024

https://aiptcomics.com/2024/01/15/x-men-monday-rise-of-the-powers-of-x-1/

[" A brother and founding legend died on Saturday. Mark Stewart AKA Amy Poodle will be missed forever."]

SILENCE!

@silencepod

@mindlessones

https://twitter.com/silencepod/status/1747958148629925903

'The Infernals' creative team talks family, meaningful protagonists, and hellfire

Chris Coplan

January 18, 2024

https://aiptcomics.com/2024/01/18/the-infernals-team-qa/https://aiptcomics.com/2024/01/18/the-infernals-team-qa/

Digital Comics and Critical Librarianship: What, Why and How: A Perspective from the UK

Gebhart, Thomas

2023

https://bl.iro.bl.uk/concern/book_contributions/12a5b2f5-5cfc-43e1-a510-679aa634aadd?locale=en

Book Review: Drawing from the archives, comics memory and the contemporary graphic novel

by Benoît Crucifix, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2023, 273 pp., £85 (hardback), ISBN: 9781009250931

Gareth Brookes

Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics 07 Jan 2024

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21504857.2024.2302444

https://doi.org/10.1080/21504857.2024.2302444

Book Review: Tōjisha manga: Japan's graphic memoirs of brain and mental health

by Yoshiko Okuyama, Cham, Switzerland, Palgrave Macmillan, 2022, 311 pp., $60.86 (paperback), ISBN 978-3-031-008-399

Ranny Rastati

Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics 10 Jan 2024

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21504857.2024.2303347

https://doi.org/10.1080/21504857.2024.2303347

Thundercats #1 orders hit 170,000 copies

Heidi MacDonald

01/19/2024

https://www.comicsbeat.com/thundercats-1-orders-hit-170000-copies/

"Childhood Innocence" Does Not Need Rescuing Here : Growing Up Graphic book review

reviewed by Cecilia Garrison

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF COMIC ART BLOG January 19, 2024

https://ijoca.blogspot.com/2024/01/childhood-innocence-does-not-need.html

Letting the Everyday Speak its Own Power: The Works of Von Allan - A Review Essay

by David Beard,

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF COMIC ART BLOG January 19, 2024 https://ijoca.blogspot.com/2024/01/letting-everyday-speak-its-own-power.html

TAPE DEC Talks 04 Ed Brisson

Declan Shalvey

Jan 17, 2024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osO56MM2Qrs

Yen Press adds BLACK BUTLER art book plus 7 manga and a light novel

Deb Aoki

01/19/2024

https://www.comicsbeat.com/yen-press-adds-black-butler-art-book-plus-7-manga-and-a-light-novel/

Trump-Hitler! All the best Trump as Hitler Political Cartoons!

Daryl Cagle,Taylor Jones, Pat Byrnes, and Bill Day

Caglecast Jan 19, 2024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdCWENX0dk0

With 'Echo' Marvel returns to street level

Glen Weldon, Sam Yellowhorse Kesler, Shea Vassar

Pop Culture Happy Hour January 18, 2024

https://www.npr.org/2024/01/18/1197961113/with-echo-marvel-returns-to-street-level

https://chrt.fm/track/138C95/prfx.byspotify.com/e/play.podtrac.com/npr-510282/traffic.megaphone.fm/NPR2700685022.mp3

https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1197961113

What Does The Boy and the Heron Mean? Exploring the Theories

Hayao Miyazaki's latest Studio Ghibli film is a nightmarish fantasy about…what, exactly? Spoilers.

By Louisa Mellor | January 19, 2024

https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/what-does-the-boy-and-the-heron-mean-exploring-the-theories/

Friday, January 19, 2024

NPR revisits Sacco's Palestine

An acclaimed graphic novel is seeing a resurgence, brought on by the war in Gaza [Sacco, Palestine]

Diba Mohtasham

January 18, 2024

https://www.npr.org/2024/01/18/1225003548/joe-sacco-palestine-gaza-comics-journalism

Tuesday, January 23, 2024

Comics Research Bibliography citations update, 1/22/2024

Monday, January 22, 2024

Comics Research Bibliography citations update, 1/20-21/2024

Saturday, January 20, 2024

NPR reviews 'Lunar New Year Love Story'

'Lunar New Year Love Story' celebrates true love, honors immigrant struggles

That darn Steve Brodner

People are people [Steve Brodner letter]

Tom Horrigan

Washington Post January 20 2024: A15

online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/01/19/biden-economy-claudine-gay-senior-fitness/

That darn Ann Telnaes

More than words is all you have to do [Ann Telnaes letter]

Elizabeth Tebow, Silver Spring

Washington Post January 20 2024: A15

online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/01/19/biden-economy-claudine-gay-senior-fitness/

That darn Michael Ramirez

Comics Research Bibliography citations update, 1/19/2024

Friday, January 19, 2024

NPR revisits Sacco's Palestine

An acclaimed graphic novel is seeing a resurgence, brought on by the war in Gaza [Sacco, Palestine]

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What's it all mean in the end?

Tuesday, January 23, 2024

Monday, January 22, 2024

Saturday, January 20, 2024

'Lunar New Year Love Story' celebrates true love, honors immigrant struggles

People are people [Steve Brodner letter] Tom Horrigan Washington Post January 20 2024: A15 online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/01/19/biden-economy-claudine-gay-senior-fitness/

More than words is all you have to do [Ann Telnaes letter] Elizabeth Tebow, Silver Spring Washington Post January 20 2024: A15 online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/01/19/biden-economy-claudine-gay-senior-fitness/

Friday, January 19, 2024

An acclaimed graphic novel is seeing a resurgence, brought on by the war in Gaza [Sacco, Palestine]

People are people [Steve Brodner letter]

Tom Horrigan

Washington Post January 20 2024: A15

online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/01/19/biden-economy-claudine-gay-senior-fitness/

More than words is all you have to do [Ann Telnaes letter]

Elizabeth Tebow, Silver Spring

Washington Post January 20 2024: A15

online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/01/19/biden-economy-claudine-gay-senior-fitness/