Beaty on Hajdu's 10-Cents

Bart Beaty's written the first of three responses to David Hajdu's 10-Cent Plague. Bart did much of his research for his book on Wertham at the Library of Congress while living off Dupont Circle one summer, and I was able to provide him one article on Psychology of Comics that he hadn't previously seen.

Dilbert's new website covered in Post

See "Dilbert Cartoonist Challenges Readers To Outdo Punch Lines," by Mike Musgrove, Washington Post Staff Writer, Tuesday, April 22, 2008; Page D02.

PR: Cartoonist Jen Sorensen Releases New Book

Cartoonist Jen Sorensen Releases New Book

Source: Ig Publishing Press Release



For Immediate Release
April 20, 2008

Contact:
Robert Lasner
robert (at) igpub.com
(718) 797-0676

Interview requests:
Nettie Hartsock
Nettie (at) nettiehartsock.com

"Sly, quick and smart, Jen Sorensen's comic strip is nothing like its name. So don't be deceived -- Slowpoke is going places."
— Doonesbury creator Garry Trudeau

Jen Sorensen, creator of the award-winning comic "Slowpoke" which appears in the Village Voice and other newsweeklies around the country, has released a new collection of her cartoons entitled Slowpoke: One Nation, Oh My God!

She kicks off her book tour on the West Coast this week with cartoon slideshows in Berkeley, Portland, and Seattle, followed by East Coast dates in New York City and Philadelphia.

The collection includes 150 of Sorensen's provocative strips and an introduction by "Tom the Dancing Bug" creator Ruben Bolling. Deploying the trademark Slowpoke brand of absurdist humor, One Nation, Oh My God! covers everything from the Antique Ideology Roadshow to the rise of virtual donuts.

"This is not just another quirky cartoon book," says Sorensen. "One Nation, Oh My God! is packed with commentary for every strip and chock full of devastatingly sophisticated and accurate political analysis. It also answers all your questions about tube socks and teledildonics."

Sorensen adds, "This book will make you wonder what a complete tool like Bill Kristol is doing on the New York Times op-ed pages instead of, well, me."

Jen's cartoons and blog can be found online at www.slowpokecomics.com

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

"Jen Sorensen is a maniacal genius, gleefully exposing the mendacity which lurks behind conventional wisdom, glib newscasters, celebrity culture, Republican doublespeak, and other ills of our age. I can't recommend her work highly enough."
— Tom Tomorrow, creator of This Modern World

"In a world that seems to get murkier by the minute, Slowpoke is a freakin' beacon of lucidity."
— Alison Bechdel, author of Fun Home

"Boot-stompingly funny and progressively pointed. It skewers the bastards!"
—Jim Hightower, best-selling author and radio commentator

ABOUT JEN SORENSEN

Sorensen is one of the most widely-published female political cartoonists working today. In addition to the Village Voice, her comics and illustrations have appeared in The Los Angeles Times, Ms. Magazine, The American Prospect, Legal Affairs, Funny Times, Cagle's Cartoon Index, CampusProgress.org, Nickelodeon Magazine, and dozens of alt-weeklies. She has given presentations at the first annual ACLU convention, the Center for American Progress, the Rhode Island School of Design, and the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles. Her work has won a Xeric Grant and first place in the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies Awards.

Jen has been drawing Slowpoke for nearly ten years. She currently lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.

BOOK TOUR

Sorensen will present her cartoons, sign books, and draw funny pictures at the following locations. Other top alt-weekly cartoonists are joining her at various stops.

4/22 – BERKELEY: Cody's Books with "Troubletown" creator Lloyd Dangle, 7pm

4/25 – PORTLAND: Powell’s on Burnside with "Idiot Box" creator Matt Bors, 7:30pm

4/26 & 4/27 – PORTLAND: Stumptown Comics Fest (at table, no presentation)

4/29 – SEATTLE: University Bookstore, U District, 7pm

5/14 – NYC: The Tank with "Tom the Dancing Bug" creator Ruben Bolling, 8pm

6/4 – PHILADELPHIA: Robin's Bookstore, 6pm

PUBLICATION INFO

Based in Brooklyn, NY, Ig Publishing is an independent press dedicated to publishing original literary fiction, and progressive political and cultural nonfiction.

Slowpoke: One Nation, Oh My God! by Jen Sorensen
Trade Paperback • $13.95 • 168 pages • 8”x 9.5”
ISBN 978-0978843168 • April 10, 2008
Published by Ig Publishing, Brooklyn, NY • www.igpub.com

Comic book creator Jim Dougan writes in

Jim Dougan's allowed me to reprint his email to me, because he's done a lot of work and provided links for it.

"I thought you might be interested to know that there's another comics creator in Washington, DC.

In 2006, I self-published the DC-based comedy graphic novella CRAZY PAPERS, drawn by Danielle (GIRLS WITH SLINGSHOTS) Corsetto, which you can buy at Big Planet, Fantom
Comics which carries the book at both the Tenleytown and Union Station locations (Matt Klokel has been a strong supporter of CP) or Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Crazy-Papers-Jim-Dougan/dp/097778780X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208183405&sr=8-1

It was reviewed fairly well in a variety of places, and even Tom Spurgeon didn't hate it. I was also interviewed by Arion Berger in the Washington Post Express in October 2006, but that's only available as a PDF, so I'll spare you.

Reviews, updates and other things can be found at my LiveJournal:

http://chatterbox-dc.livejournal.com

I was also one of the founding members of the comics collective THE CHEMISTRY SET (http://www.chemsetcomics.com).

At the Chemistry Set, you can see my stories, most of which have appeared in Desperado Publishing's NEGATIVE BURN anthology.

VULTURE GULCH: A LITTLE FRIENDLY ADVICE
Drawn by Eric Kim
Appeared in NEGATIVE BURN #7

http://www.chemsetcomics.com/vulture-gulch-other-stories/vulture-gulch/vulture-gulch-a-little-friendly-advice/

COME THE DAWN
Drawn by Hyeondo Park
Appeared in NEGATIVE BURN #8

http://www.chemsetcomics.com/vulture-gulch-other-stories/other-stories/come-the-dawn/

REST STOP
Co-written with Dean Haspiel, Drawn by Michel Fiffe
Appeared in NEGATIVE BURN #9

http://www.chemsetcomics.com/vulture-gulch-other-stories/other-stories/rest-stop/
THE GENTLEMAN
Drawn by Umberto Torricelli
Appeared in NEGATIVE BURN #16

http://www.chemsetcomics.com/vulture-gulch-other-stories/other-stories/the-gentleman/
OSCAR CHAVEZ, MACHISMO MONITOR
Drawn by Roger Langridge (yes, THAT Roger Langridge)
Appeared in NEGATIVE BURN #18

http://www.chemsetcomics.com/vulture-gulch-other-stories/other-stories/machismo-monitor/

THE BIG FAT NOON
Drawn by Michel Fiffe

http://www.chemsetcomics.com/vulture-gulch-other-stories/vulture-gulch/vulture-gulch-the-big-fat-noon/

HOW I LOST MY S#?! AT THE APPLE STORE
Drawn by Molly Lawless (from Northern VA!)
Currently continuing, in process…

Page 1:

http://www.chemsetcomics.com/2008/04/15/how-i-lost-my-s-at-the-apple-store-page-one/

Page 2:

http://www.chemsetcomics.com/2008/04/22/how-i-lost-my-sh-at-the-apple-store-page-two/

I'm the editor of the first volume of the print collection from the site, entitled NO FORMULA, which will be published by Desperado Publishing, and will be in the June Previews for release in August of this year. Keep an eye out!

Oh, and last and certainly not least, my comic SAM & LILAH, (a romance/adventure set in DC) drawn by Hyeondo Park, was in the March 2008 Zuda competition, and can be seen here:

http://www.zudacomics.com/node/320

We came in 4th, but announced immediately thereafter we would be taking S&L to ACT-I-VATE, the webcomics site started by Dean Haspiel and others, in May:

http://www.activatecomix.com

This weekend at NYCC, I was at the Zuda panel, did signings at the DC booth, etc. I may even submit something else down the road.

Whew! There's more in the works, but this is all for now."

I'll be picking up his book at Big Planet tomorrow. Support your local inkslinger!

Herblock exhibit - National Portrait Gallery press release

"Herblock's Presidents: 'Puncturing Pomposity'" Opens at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery May 2

As the nation moves toward electing its 44th president, the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery is opening an exhibition of the political cartoons of Herbert Lawrence Block (1909-2001), known by the pen name "Herblock." In "Herblock's Presidents: 'Puncturing Pomposity,'" 40 political cartoons demonstrate the witty, biting humor of the cartoonist who appeared in American newspapers for more than seven decades.

(Media-Newswire.com) - As the nation moves toward electing its 44th president, the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery is opening an exhibition of the political cartoons of Herbert Lawrence Block ( 1909–2001 ), known by the pen name "Herblock." In "Herblock's Presidents: 'Puncturing Pomposity,'" 40 political cartoons demonstrate the witty, biting humor of the cartoonist who appeared in American newspapers for more than seven decades. The cartoons featured in the exhibition were selected from the collections of the Library of Congress. The exhibition demonstrates that none of the 11 presidents who held office during his career escaped his criticism. "Herblock's Presidents: Puncturing Pomposity" will be on view through Nov. 30.

"There are many talented political cartoonists today, some of whom are included in the National Portrait Gallery's collection," said Carolyn K. Carr, acting director of the National Portrait Gallery. "However, Herblock remains unmatched in his ability to craft a subtle visual metaphor."

Herblock's cartoons were never ambivalent or balanced but always expressive of a distinct political point of view; they were always clear in meaning and direct in expression. Herblock's first political cartoon appeared in the Chicago Daily News in1929. He was an editorial cartoonist with the Newspaper Enterprise Association from 1933 to 1943 and, after serving in the army, joined The Washington Post in 1946. Maintaining editorial independence for most of his newspaper career, Herblock won three Pulitzer Prizes in 1942, 1954 and 1979 and shared one more with the Washington Post in 1973 for its coverage of Watergate. Also, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994. Besides the cartoons, Herblock's awards—including his first Pulitzer Prize—and his drawing tools also will be exhibited.

The exhibition includes his depictions of Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. While Herblock was generally unsympathetic to Republican presidents, Democrats such as Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton did not escape his wrath. He consistently attacked any president he felt was insensitive to the "underdog." The show offers a rare opportunity for visitors to see how one of America's greatest political cartoonists viewed the American presidency for much of the 20th century.

An additional element of the exhibition is a computer touch screen that will allow visitors to further explore Herblock's presidents. These virtual digital images are organized along such topics as presidential scandals, domestic policy and war.

The exhibition was organized by Sidney Hart, historian at the National Portrait Gallery.

This exhibition has been made possible by a generous grant from The Herb Block Foundation.

The National Portrait Gallery
The National Portrait Gallery tells the stories of America through the individuals who have shaped its culture. Through the visual arts, performing arts and new media, the Portrait Gallery portrays poets and presidents, visionaries and villains, actors and activists who speak American history.

The National Portrait Gallery opened to the public in 1968. The museum's collection of nearly 20,000 works includes paintings, sculpture, photographs, drawings and new media. Located at Eighth and F streets N.W., Washington, D.C., it is open every day, except Dec. 25, from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Smithsonian information: ( 202 ) 633-1000; ( 202 ) 633-5285 ( TTY ). Web site: www.npg.si.edu.

New Flugennock cartoon!

DC's own anarchist cartoonist is at it again - see "Mike Flugennock Presents Another Damn' Election Cartoon," by Mike Flugennock, Monday Apr 21st, 2008 4:36 PM. I just love his stuff - and unfortunately this one is right on target.

Hatfield and Fischer - Siskel and Ebert? Nah.

My buddies Charles Hatfield and Craig Fischer are interviewed by Chris Mautner in "Everyone's A Critic: An interview with the Thought Balloonist guys," Sunday April 20, 2008.

Earth Day in the comic strips

King Features Syndicate cartoonists did Earth Day strips today. Dave Astor's got the story.

In the Washington Post, one can see Mutts (themed strips all week since last Sunday), On the Fastrack, Curtis, Hagar the Horrible, Amazing Spider-Man (just a blurb), Blondie, Mark Trail, Dennis the Menace, The Family Circus, Frazz, Mother Goose and Grimmm, Sally Forth, Beetle Bailey, Zits, Prickly city, Judge Parker, Baby Blues and Zippy the Pinhead.

In the Washington Times, one can see Crock, Mallard Fillmore and Bizarro. Funky Winkerbean just had a sign on the school's notice board for its Earth Day strip.

April 26: Big Planet Comics Iron Man Movie Party

Joel Pollack writes in about a...

Big Planet Comics Iron Man Movie Party

Join us Saturday April 26th at 3:00 pm in our Bethesda store for an Iron Man Movie party. We will be giving away many prizes to celebrate what looks to be an awesome movie. We will be holding a homemade Iron Man Costume Contest, and an Iron Man Trivia Contest. Prizes will be awarded to every participant who enters the contests, and a Grand Prize will be awarded to the overall winner. Actually making an Iron Man costume will count heavily towards winning the Grand Prize. Children are especially encouraged to make costumes. And everyone who shows up to the party will get something. Test your Iron Man knowledge in our trivia contest, or just come hang out and watch everyone have a great time.

Prizes will include Iron Man Movie Posters, Iron Man Toys, Iron Man comics, Big Planet Gift Certificates, and an Iron Man Statue.

The Grand Prize will be:

· A VIP Row for the winner and 10 friends to the Washington DC advance screening of IRON MAN on Tuesday, April 29, and the official IRON MAN video game for XBOX 360.


Saturday April 26th 3:00 pm

Big Planet Bethesda

4908 Fairmont Ave.

301.654.6856

www.bigplanetcomics.com

Kevin Rechin's latest work

Kevin did the maps for the Newseum (which I haven't seen, but they aren't cartoons), and he's now doing cartoons ads for Lottery for the subway station at the new Nationals ballpark. Hopefully he'll let me know when they're up because I won't be at that station for any other reason.

Washington Times on Hajdu's Ten-Cent Plague

See "When nation fought its war against comic books," By Stephen Goode, Washington Times April 20, 2008.

June 28: Crafty Bastards fair in Silver Spring

The Washington City Paper's crafts fair has gone bi-annual. There's usually cartoonists selling material of one sort or another.

Examiner covers New York Comic-Con

See "Costumed crusaders hit Big Apple," by Jeremy Monken, The Examiner Apr 21, 2008. It's on page 22 of the print edition. There's also a sidebar "Comic cinema."

So, who's Monken? A new comics columnist for the Examiner, replacing Rosenberg and Truitt of years gone by?

Stan Lee interview on Express website

See "Still a Marvel: Stan Lee," posted by Scott Rosenberg at 7:14 AM on April 21, 2008/

Zadzooks on Scholastic's Pickles

See "Great Pickle's food fight with evil vegetable cabal," By Joseph Szadkowski, Washington Times April 19, 2008. This is a comic by Scott Morse. He also reviews The Twelve from Marvel.

KAL and Second City taking it on the road

Alan at the Daily Cartoonist has posted a story that Baltimore's KAL and Second City comedy troupe are taking the Art of Satire on the road as a live variety show.

KAL, let go by the Baltimore Sun several years ago in a move of stunning ignorance, continues to reinvent himself and the definition of cartoonist. Let's hope this comes to the DC area. You can sign up on the website to be notified of where KAL's appearing.

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 04-23-08

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 04-23-08
By John Judy

AVENGERS: KREE-SKRULL WAR SC by Roy Thomas, Neal Adams, and the Buscema Bros. (John & Sal). A new printing of a timeless classic coinciding with the current Marvel “Secret Invasion” storyline. Remember: If you don’t know who the Skrull is in the room, it’s YOU!

BATMAN #675 by Grant Morrison and Tony Daniel. Warming up for “Batman: R.I.P.” in which Bucky becomes Batman.

COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS #1 by Various Short-Straw Holders. Our long national nightmare is over.

DAREDEVIL, VOL.2: HELL TO PAY SC by Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark. Collecting DD #100-105 in which Matt Murdock’s life falls apart again and again. Honestly, he envies Spider-Man, the tsuris is that bad…

DEATH OF THE NEW GODS #8 of 8 by Jim Starlin and Jim Starlin. It’s the Starlinest!

HULK #3 by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness. It’s the Hulk vs. the Abomination even though one’s red and the other’s dead! Hey, if it made sense it wouldn’t be Marvel! You tell the Hulk he’s not an “Autumn!” I dare ya!

HULK VS. HERCULES: WHEN TITANS COLLIDE #1 by Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente, and Leonard Kirk. A monograph on grain production quotas as they may affect fuel prices in former Soviet Bloc nations next quarter. Don’t let the title fool ya, True Believer!

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #20 by Dwayne McDuffie and Ethan Van Sciver. The Flash and Wonder Woman are trapped in a giant bee hive with honey being poured all over them. Years of therapy begin here!!!

MIGHTY AVENGERS #12 by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev. So what does Nick Fury think about all this Skrull “Secret Invasion” to-do? And what about the whole “Hasselhoff/Samuel L. Jackson” controversy? And if Bucky gets a bionic arm why can’t Nick Fury get a bionic eye? Or at least a good razor and some nicotine gum? Okay, I think I’ve given away enough…

NORTHLANDERS #5 by Brian Wood and David Gianfelice. It’s the secret origin of Prince Sven the Uber-Viking! Highly recommended!

PREVIEWS from Diamond and Marvel Comics.

SHE-HULK #28 by Peter David and Val Semeiks. Worth it just for the Eisner “Spirit” tribute cover by Mike Deodato. Honest.

SPIRIT #16 by Mark Evanier, Sergio Aragones, and Paul Smith. It’s murder at the movie studio and contract talks have barely begun!

THOR #8 by J. Michael Straczynski and Marco Djurdjevic. Thor-Sleepy Time is over and it’s back to work: Ruling New Asgard and bringing the hammer down on anyone who thinks looking like an eighties hair-rocker makes you a sissy! Recommended!

UNCANNY X-MEN #497 by Ed Brubaker and Michael Choi. Archangel, Cyclops, and the White Queen battle the menace of San Francisco retro clothing! Another trippy cover from the House of Ideas.

Okay, honestly while there us certainly some quality stuff out this week it’s still a little thin. Why not fill the gap by picking up the first and second paperbacks of either SCALPED by Jason Aaron and R.M. Guera and/or CRIMINAL by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips?

You’ll be glad you did.

And don’t forget: Free Comic Book Day next Saturday May 3rd!

www.johnjudy.net

Telnaes on what a Pulitzer Prize meant to her

See "Past Pulitzer Winners Describe What It Meant to Them," by Dave Astor, Editor and Publisher, April 18, 2008.

Should we switch to stalking Ms. Telnaes as opposed to Richard "Cul de Sac" Thompson? After all, he may be a dead-end! Hahahahahahha!

Sorry, not enough sleep. Rest assured, we're sticking with Our Man Richard.

Staake comic strip contest in Style Invitational

Today's Post has a contest based on three comic strips drawn by Bob Staake - Week 761: Strip Mining, Saturday, April 19, 2008; Page C02. Remember, you don't have to live in DC to enter the contest.

Ann Telnaes spoke in NYC this week

Dave Astor has the story at Editor and Publisher. Remember her editorial cartoon animations are appearing twice weekly in the Post.

And Trina Robbins will be reviewing the Sex and Sensibility exhibit that Telnaes appears in for the next issue of the International Journal of Comic Art, which has a new issue available now in spite of the website's datedness.

Post chat transcripts of Rubino and Martinbrough online

You can read the hour-long q&a's at

Comics: Drawing 'Noir' and New York Comic Con
Gangsters, Superheros and Other Creatures of the Underworld
Shawn Martinbrough
Illustrator and Author, 'How to Draw Noir Comics'
Friday, April 18, 2008; 12:00 PM

and

Meet the Comics Pages: Tony Rubino, Cartoonist -- "Daddy's Home"
Friday, April 18, 2008; 1:00 PM.

I sent a couple of questions in to the Rubino chat early as ComicsDC that he answered.

Wash Post on Simpsons

One great thing about the Post, and sadly few other American newspapers, is that they're still staffing foreign bureaus. Yesterday they ran their own original reporting on the Simpsons evolving foreign policy crisis - "D'oh! 'Simpsons' Again Angers South Americans," By Monte Reel, Washington Post Foreign Service, Thursday, April 17, 2008; A18.

Later in the day, they ran this wire service report on their website -
"`The Simpsons' return on Venezuela television," The Associated Press, Thursday, April 17, 2008.

April 18 noon: Post chat with Shawn Martinbrough

Comics: Drawing 'Noir' and New York Comic Con: Gangsters, Superheros and Other Creatures of the Underworld - Shawn Martinbrough, Illustrator and Author, 'How to Draw Noir Comics', Friday, April 18, 2008; 12:00 PM

Best of DC 2008 - Richard Thompson is Best Cartoonist!

From Washington City Paper's 2008 Best of DC (April 18, 2008)...

Best Cartoonist - Richard Thompson!

...and the crowd goes wild!

Mark Athitakis has a nice writeup of Richard's virtues. The WCP also selected this site as...

Best (Comic) Art Blogger - ComicsDC

Thank you very much! That's very kind, especially after I beat up on the WCP so much this past year about their comics losses. I now feel a very teensy bit guilty. Teensy though.


Both of these were spotted by my friend and houseguest Nick "The System of Comics" Nguyen.

Eisner's PS Magazine scanned and online at VCU Library

Virginia Commonwealth University of Richmond has scanned and posted 162 issues of PS Magazine, Will Eisner's military training comic book.

Bob Andelman will be interviewing the librarian in charge of the project Cindy Jackson, as well as the author of the upcoming book, Will Eisner & PS Magazine, Paul Fitzgerald, on FRIDAY, APRIL 18 at 1 p.m. The URL is: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/mrmedia/2008/04/18/Cindy-Jackson-and-Paul-Fitzgerald-WILL-EISNER-PS-MAGAZINE-VCU-librarian-and-author-Mr-Media and you can participate in a simultaneous web chat or call in and ask the experts your own questions at (646) 595-3135.

VCU's library is also the home of Tom Inge's comic book collection.

April 25: Tony Rubino on Washington Post chat

Join Washington Post Comics page editor Suzanne Tobin on Friday, April 18 at 1 p.m. ET for a discussion with "Daddy's Home" creator Tony Rubino at
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2008/04/15/DI2008041502007.html.

Comic by D.C. natives launches at NYC Comic Con

Arthur Delaney writes in "myself and three other D.C. natives are launching our DIY comic NANOMAN: THE POST - HUMAN PROMETHEUS at the NYC Comic Con this weekend. What we've got right now is a 52 page "beta" book. Check out our website: www.NewAmericanGraphicNovels.com."

Best of luck with your new comic book, Arthur, and we look forward to hearing more about it.

Ex-Express reporter Rosenberg on NYC comic events

Scott Rosenberg's got a couple of articles in his new paper AM NY - see his Ten-Cent Plague review at "Curse of the comics," by Scott A. Rosenberg, April 15, 2008 and "An iFanboy guide to Surviving Comic Con," by Scott A. Rosenberg, April 15, 2008.

Oliphant exhibit coverage from television

There's a video here too -- "Political Cartoonist, Presidential Candidates Appear In D.C.," NBC 4 April 15, 2008.

The exhibit is excellent by the way. More details to follow.

Wuerker cartoon offends Californians

See "Perspectives on Heston and heaven," Readers' Representative Journal (April 15 2008) in which the article starts, "Bob Smith of Glendale calls him Chuck Heston -- he knew the man for 20 years and spent time with him at the L.A. Tennis Club -- and was horrified to see the Matt Wuerker cartoon in The Times' opinion pages on April 8."

Matt, Matt, Matt...

Washington writer reviews new gag comics book on Nazis

See "Is It Kosher To Laugh At Swastikas?," by Menachem Wecker, Jewish Press April 9, 2008 for his review of We Have Ways of Making You Laugh: 120 Funny Swastika Cartoons by Sam Gross.

Oliphant exhibit opening photos

Here's a link - at some point, I'll put the best up here with labels.

April Previews, or What does Mike order?

I don't know if anybody cares, but I always appreciated it when Bart Beaty did his satirical lists, Send Info, from Previews, and then Rodrigo Baeza does his serious ones. So here's what I'm ordering this month.

Herbie Archive, p. 31

Kyle Baker's Nat Turner sc

Joe Kubert biography - Man of Rock, p. 287

Matt Madden and Jessica Able's Drawing Words and Pictures, p. 291

Donald Duck Family - Dan Jippes

Comics Comics 4, p. 328

Gary Giani on Prince Valiant, p. 398

Dark Knight novel (I've got a childhood fondness for superhero novels, for no good reason),

Superheroes! Capes and Crusaders in Comics and Films book by Roz Kaveney, p. 401

Neil Gaiman's The Dangerous Alphabet, p. 405

If I missed anything, let me know!

Oliphant Exhibit in Washington, DC press release

Oliphant Exhibit in Washington, DC

Kansas City, MO (04/08/2008) Editorial cartoonist Pat Oliphant’s exhibit, "Leadership: Oliphant Cartoons and Sculpture from the Bush Years" will be on display April 15 through July 15, 2008 at the Stanford University Washington Center Art Gallery in Washington, DC.

The exhibit is based on a collection of Oliphant’s work in his recently released book, "Leadership: Political Cartoons – The Bush Years" from Andrews McMeel Publishing.

A review of the book on Comicsreporter.com called Oliphant a "...legend who still rushes at his targets knives out, no apologies. He also draws extremely well. After reading so many newspaper cartoons where it seems the reader is expected to compensate for odd stylistic choices and a lack of craft, reading a bunch of Oliphant is like moving mid-bite from vanilla wafers to rum-laced chocolate cheesecake. He's one of the few cartoonists in that field who can communicate -- and punish -- with the quality of his art alone."

The Stanford University Washington Center Art Gallery is located in the Sant Building at 2655 Connecticut Ave., NW in Washington, DC. For questions about the museum or the exhibit, please call 202.332.6235.

For more of Pat Oliphant’s work, visit: http://www.gocomics.com.

Jeff Kinney podcast

Continuing our coverage of the ex-University of Maryland cartoonist, the Free Library of Philadelphia has a downloadable mp3 of his talk to them from April 12th.

Persepolis editors from Alexandria

See "Anjali Singh: Rooting for good books—graphic or prose," by Calvin Reid, Publishers Weekly, 4/14/2008, and she's got a couple of other comics titles that she acquired too.

Animator Lisa Henson profiled in Sunday's Post

On the kid's page - "Familiar Name, Different View," Washington Post Sunday, April 13, 2008; Page M16. The article by Brenna Maloney starts, "It took two years of huffing and puffing, but Lisa Henson, one of the producers of the animated comedy "Unstable Fables: 3 Pigs and a Baby," finally blew the house down."

WashingtonTimes still polling about comics

April 15: Bethesda Writer's Center on Writing Comics

Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose

This Feiffer cartoon dropped out of a book I was buying. I was amazed at its timeliness - he's still got it!




Keep reading...

A little further...


Actually, below is the real unmodified cartoon - from the New Republic of October 15, 1972. Sad, isn't it? You can make almost a one-for-one switch of wartime scandals.



But at least we've still got Jules Feiffer to kick around! And my apologies to him for the liberties I took with his cartoon to make a point that should be obvious. And I apologize to everyone for misspelling Guantanamo, but I'm even sorrier that the whole world is familiar with how to spell an obscure American naval base's name.

A little bit of New York(er) in DC

While waiting for the American Empire talk, I noticed this rack of New Yorker cartoon cards in Politics and Prose. Bob Mankoff has done an amazing job at making money for both cartoonists and the magazine, hasn't he?

Mike Konopacki at Politics and Prose

Labor cartoonist Mike Konopacki was at Politics and Prose this afternoon to discuss his new book A People's History of American Empire. Howard Zinn who wrote the original that this graphic history (Konopacki kept stumbling over what to call it since it isn't a novel) was based on called in sick, disappointing some in the crowd, but not me, as Konopacki talked comics for 45 minutes instead.


Since the early 1970s, Konopacki and his partner Gary Huck have been doing labor editorial cartoons, with a detour into doing a comic book on the World Bank for a labor union in the 1990s. This was Konopacki's first longform work though. You can order a cd of the talk from Politics and Prose. He worked with pen and ink, and tracing paper and then scanned in the art and reworked it in Photoshop. To add verisimilitude, he used many photographs including famous AP ones like the girl burned by napalm in Vietnam.

Konopacki did a promo video for the book too which can be seen on youtube -
A People's History of American Empire by Howard Zinn

And here's some more shots:

So, how do you find these new acquisitions?

Book sales, among other places.



This is three days worth of book-sale hauls, from two sales. Most of it is going to Michigan State University's Comic Art collection. The nice thing about being in DC is the international culture - almost 100 of these books are manga in Japanese, and there's even a Jacques Tardi album that MSU doesn't have yet.

And sometimes your family provides, like this nifty light-up Superman bust. Oddly enough, my wife wouldn't let me keep the whole cake.

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 04-16-08

Click for some visual links (covers)

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 04-16-08
By John Judy

AVENGERS INITIATIVE #11 by Dan Slott and Stefano Caselli. “Killed in Action” wraps up here with Camp Hammond giving Camp Crystal Lake a run for its blood money! Recommended.

BRAVE AND BOLD #12 by Mark Waid and George Perez. All twelve issues have led up to this grand finale: A big fight with an evil wizard. Those are always great!

CAPTAIN AMERICA #37 by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting. Cap still “dead.” Red Skull still evil. This comic still awesome anyway. Recommended.

DC WILDSTORM DREAMWAR #1 of 6 by Keith Giffen, Lee Garbett, and Trevor Scott. A cross-over between the big guns of the DCU and all those Wildstorm guys you’re not reading.

DMZ #30 by Brian Wood and Riccardo Burchielli. Intrepid indy journalist Matty Roth gets his story rejected by all major news outlets. That’ll teach him to write about John McCain’s lobbyist girlfriend! Look! Kitty-cats with string!

GHOST RIDER #22 by Jason Aaron and Roland Boschi. The story is called “Deathrace on Ghost Cannibal Highway” and it’s written by the guy who created SCALPED. If you don’t read this you’re crazier than the guys who greenlit the “Ghost Rider” screenplay. Highly recommended for teens on up.

GRENDEL: BEHOLD THE DEVIL #6 of 8 written and drawn by Matt Wagner. If you’re being pursued by a mystical super-predator sometimes it feels really good to take out all your frustrations on the Korean mob. At least that’s what Grandma always said. Recommended.

HELLBLAZER #243 by Andy Diggle and Giuseppe Camuncoli. Bad doings at the Vatican, even worse than usual. So who ya gonna call? The start of a blasphemously fun two-parter. Recommended.

INVINCIBLE IRON MAN OMNIBUS VOL. 1 HC by Stan Lee, Don Heck, Gene Colan, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and Others. Collecting TALES OF SUSPENSE #39-83 and TALES TO ASTONISH #82, this volume has the earliest IM adventures from the bad old days of the Cold War, plus lots of extras. Great for all ages, highly recommended.

MARVEL MASTERWORKS: CAPTAIN MARVEL VOL. 3 HC by Jim Starlin and Others. Okay, if you buy one Captain Mar-Vell book in your life this should probably be it. This one collects issues #22-33 in which Mar-Vell went cosmic and Starlin started channeling Steve Ditko through an LSD filter. This is the stuff that defined the character and made us all kind of happy when Starlin killed him off so nobody else could screw him up. At least not for 20 years or so… Highly Recommended.

NIXON’S PALS GN by Joe Casey and Chris Burnham. The story of an LA parole officer on the super-villain beat. “Elmore Leonard meets Jack Kirby!” Not for kids but otherwise recommended!

PIGEONS FROM HELL #1 by Joe R. Lansdale and Nathan Fox. A modern-day adaptation of a classic Robert E. Howard tale about… well, y’know… pigeons. From Hell. It’s really pretty cool. Take a look.

SHOWCASE PRESENTS LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES VOL.2 SC by Jerry Siegel, Jim Shooter, Curt Swan, Jim Mooney, and Others. Classic tales from the Silver-Age of super sci-fi. Great stuff for all ages. Recommended.

SUPERMAN #675 by Kurt Busiek and Renato Guedes. Busiek’s final issue! Alex Ross cover! Galactic Golem! And Supes fights everybody! This week’s “Gotta-look!”

WAR IS HELL: FIRST FLIGHT OF THE PHANTOM EAGLE #2 of 5 by Garth Ennis and Howard Chaykin. World War I flying ace Karl Kaufman must prove his worth as a fighter before his fellow fliers discover that maybe he ain’t supposed to be there… Ennis/Chaykin level mature themes so this is recommended only for older teens and up. But highly so.

X-FACTOR #30 by Peter David and Valentine DeLandro. It’s the return of Arcade, the villain who builds giant pinball machines to kill superheroes with! How come they never do that in the movies, huh? Classic stuff.

X-MEN: DIVIDED WE STAND #1 of 2 by Lotsa People. This has mutants.

And don’t forget Free Comic Book Day coming up Saturday May 3rd at respectable comic stores everywhere!

www.johnjudy.net

That darn Toles

This time he's making fun of dementia!

Dementia Is Not a Prop
Washington Post April 12 2008

Tom Toles's March 28 cartoon based on the report linking being overweight with dementia was in extremely poor taste. It is incomprehensible that you would allow a political cartoon to make fun of dementia.

Dementia is a serious condition affecting our aging population and is the leading reason for placing elderly people in institutions such as nursing homes. Surely you could use something benign to make your political points without making a medical condition a prop.

-- John Fuller

Fairfax

The writer is the diversity and equal employment opportunity officer for Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and a consultant for the National Council for Support of Disability Issues.

OT: Emett of Punch

Here's another new acquisition from a library sale. I'd never heard of Emett before, but his book Far Twittering was in the expensive section so I took a look. The book is all reprint drawings from Punch.



And there was the reason - this lovely sketch by Pietro Lazzari (see Chris Brown's comment below).



Punch imploded for the 2nd time in 2002, but you can still find collections of their cartoons easily.

Baltimore Comic-Con news: Mike Mignola Joins the Baltimore Comic-Con

Mike Mignola Joins the Baltimore Comic-Con



Hellboy creator and Disney Atlantis artist Mike Mignola, last year’s Guest of Honor t the Baltimore Comic-Con, is returning to the Baltimore Convention Center on September 27-28, 2008 for this year’s edition of the convention. This summer will see the release of the second Hellboy feature film and the popularity of both creator and character couldn’t be higher.

“We’re extremely happy to welcome back Mike Mignola to Baltimore. Our fans were thrilled to see him last year, and we know they’ll be even happier to have him return this year,” said Marc Nathan, the show’s promoter.

Swamp Thing co-creator and Frankenstein artist Bernie Wrightson will be the Guest of Honor at this year’s show.

Mignola and Wrightson are among the headliners that also include , in alphabetical order, Kyle Baker (The Bakers), Brian Michael Bendis (Ultimate Spider-Man, New Avengers), Jim Califiore (Exiles, Captain Marvel), Howard Chaykin (American Flagg), Cliff Chiang (Green Arrow & Black Canary), Frank Cho (Liberty Meadows, Mighty Avengers), Steve Conley (Star Trek, The Escapist), Amanda Conner (JSA Classified, Terra), Darwyn Cooke (The Sprit, New Frontier), Todd Dezago (Tellos), David Finch (World War Hulk, New Avengers), Ramona Fradon (Aquaman), John Gallagher (Buzzboy, Roboy Red), Ron Garney (Wolverine), Michael Golden (Micronauts, The ’Nam), Cully Hamner (Blue Beetle, Black Lightning), Adam Hughes (Catwoman), Geoff Johns (Green Lantern, Action Comics), J.G. Jones (52, Wonder Woman), Dean Haspiel (Brawl), Stuart Immonen (Ultimate Spider-Man), Robert Kirkman (Invincible, Ultimate X-Men), Barry Kitson (Empire, The Order), Jim Lee (Batman: Hush, Wildcats), David Mack (Kabuki, Daredevil), Phil Noto (Danger Girl, Jonah Hex), Michael Avon Oeming (Mice Templar, Powers), Jimmy Palmiotti (Painkiller Jane, Jonah Hex), Brandon Peterson (Ultimate X-Men, Strange), Eric Powell (The Goon), Tom Raney (Ultimate X-Men), John Romita, Sr. (Amazing Spider-Man), Craig Rousseau (Perhapanauts, Ruule), Andy Runton (Owly), Tim Sale (Batman: The Long Halloween, Heroes), Alex Saviuk (Web of Spider-Man, Feast of the Seven Fishes), Jim Shooter (Legion of Super-Heroes), Vincent Spencer (Zombie-Proof), Robert Tinnell (EZ Street), Herb Trimpe (Incredible Hulk), J.C. Vaughn (Zombie-Proof, 24), Neil Vokes (The Black Forest, The Wicked West), Mike Vosburg (Lori Lovecraft), Matt Wagner (Zorro, Grendel), Mark Waid (Flash, Boom! Studios), and Mark Wheatley (Frankenstein Mobster).

The Harvey Awards will return to the Baltimore Comic-Con for the third consecutive year. The awards dinner and ceremony will be held Saturday night, September 27, 2008, following the convention’s normal hours. As in 2007, the first 300 paid attendees and honorees at the 2008 Harvey Awards Ceremonies will receive a Hollywood-style bag of swag. Last year’s bag included The EC Archives: Two-Fisted Tales - Volume 1 from Gemstone Publishing, a complete base set of the soon-to-be-released Jericho Season One trading cards from Inkworks, an exclusive pin from AdHouse Books, a Comic-Con exclusive edition of 30 Days of Night: Red Snow 1 from IDW Publishing, a Toon Tumbler from Popfun Merchandising, and an exclusive Harvey Awards keychain from LaserMach. Nominating ballots are presently online at www.harveyawards.org. Kyle Baker will return as Master of Ceremonies for the evening’s events.

For more information about the Baltimore Comic-Con, e-mail cardscomicscollectilbes@yahoo.com or call (410) 526-7410. The guest list and other information can be found on the convention’s website or on its MySpace page.

For more information about the Harvey Awards, including sponsorship opportunities, e-mail baltimorecomiccon@yahoo.com.

OT: Underground comics mag find part two - A Secret History of Comics Special

As you can see in the comments for part one, Steve Rowe notes that these were an attempt to sponge off National Lampoon's readership and were definitely ground-level, available in newsstands. However, due to the cartoonists involved, I'll keep calling them underground. Here's the 2nd issue with cartoonists I have, Apple Pie July 1975. The two issues from 1976 didn't have cartoonists in them. All four are going to Michigan State University's Comic Art Collection this spring, should one need to see them for research. Or a laugh.



Another Terry Austin editorial cartoon.


An ad for the mag by Howard Chaykin using some of his usual tropes of the time.


Two one-pages by Justin Green.



Michael Kaluta draws Buster Brown!



Two pages of pirate violence from S. Clay Wilson.



Four pages of vegetarian activism from Kim Deitch.

Charlottesville's Jen Sorenson interviewed about new book

See "SORENSEN'S SLOWPOKE A QUICK HIT," by Jennifer M. Contino, Comicon's The Pulse 04-10-2008 and then order the book, or plan to buy it at the Small Press Expo.

April 12: Howard Zinn and Mike Konopacki

Saturday, April 12, 1 p.m at Politics and Prose - HOWARD ZINN & MIKE KONOPACKI's A PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF AMERICAN EMPIRE: A GRAPHIC ADAPTATION (Metropolitan, $17).

The people’s historian has teamed up with labor cartoonist Mike Konopacki for a graphic presentation of American imperialism. Zinn’s primary-source accounts are illuminated by the artist’s pen, making for a dramatic and bracing retelling of the darker side of our national story.

I'm going to try to attend in spite of this less-than-stellar review from Dave Carter.