My reflections on the emerging US Mint / Captain America conspiracy at the City Paper

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/books/2010/02/18/when-captain-america-throws-his-mighty-shield/

Aquaman's back, and Glen Weldon digs him

All, and probably more than you ever needed to know, is at "Aquaman No Longer Sleeps With The Fishes! I Should Probably Rephrase That," National Public Radio's Monkey See blog (February 17 2010) as Glen Weldon recounts the past two decades of history of the Sea King.

Rappahannock librarian has some reading suggestions

Have some frightful fun with today's graphic novel: Local children's librarian offers timely reading suggestions, Fredericksburg.com 2/16/2010- Caroline Parr is coordinator of children's services for Central Rappahannock Regional Library.

Superhero mixtape from DC dj

Jon Fischer of the City Paper passed along this - Davy DMV – The Mixtape Super Heros Mixtape (Hosted by DJ Torkaveli). I'm just downloading it now and haven't listened to it, but I like the cover.

Kal quoted

More on what makes Florida special from Kal...

Famous speakers find way to SW Fla.
Bush brothers here today; many others set to follow
By GLENN MILLER
Fort Meyer News-Press February 16, 2010

John Hopkins U's JohnCon details

Our colleagues at Baltimore Gamer have some of the details including a 24-hour anime room which actually sounds a bit rough to me.

Wuerker wins Herblock

Moving to the East Coast is finally paying off for Matt Wuerker. As a staff cartoonist he was a finalist for the Pulitzer last year, and just won the Herblock award. Congratulations, Matt. It couldn't happen to a nicer, more deserving guy.

Although it will be interesting to hear his speech...

'Kelly' back in the Onion

The Onion's editorial cartoonist "Kelly" (actually Ward Sutton) returned in the February 11th issue, with a Star Trek / NASA parody. The cartoons are purposefully horrible, parodying the worst of the field, but I'm glad to see them back.

Marvel's Civil War plays out on Post blog

The rationale behind Marvel's Civil War storylines plays out on Ezra Klein's Post blog where he wrote a paragraph concluding "Iron Man was right" in favor of superhero registration - and then the comments begin...

Local cartoonist Julian Lytle is Glyph Award nomine

Matt Dembicki writes in to tell us:

Local cartoonist Julian Lytle of "Ants" (http://ants.julianlytle.com/) is a nominee for the Glyph Award's rising star category.

Let's all wish him luck.

Mo Willems comic strip in Post

Mo Willems, best known for his children's books, is a cartoonist too. He's filling in for Hilary Price this week in the Rhymes with Orange comic strip in the Post.

The Big Planet ACT-I-VATE Primer signing details (TIME corrected)

The ACT-I-VATE Primer Signing

The creators at ACT-I-VATE.com have been serializing webcomics for free since 2006, and have finally put out a print edition with stand-alone, all-new stories - The ACT-I-VATE Primer. Please join Dean Haspiel (Billy Dogma, The Alcoholic), Simon Fraser (Lilly MacKenzie, Nikolai Dante), Joe Infurnari (ULTRA-lad!, the Process, Mush!), and Jim Dougan (Sam & Lilah, Crazy Papers, No Formula) for a discussion and signing of THE ACT-I-VATE PRIMER.

"ACT-I-VATE makes comics better."  - Warren Ellis

THE ACT-I-VATE PRIMER

•  Official Selection of The New York Times' 2009 Holiday Gift Guide
•  Featured on Big Planet Comics' "Best of 2009" List
•  Selected for Politics and Prose's Favorite Graphic Literature of 2009

http://www.activatecomix.com

Free!
Big Planet Comics
426 Maple Ave. East
Vienna, VA 22180
http://www.bigplanetcomics.com
703-242-9412
Saturday, February 27, 2010, 2-4 pm


###

For more information, a cover image, or art samples, please contact:

Kevin Panetta or Jared Smith
bigplanetvienna@verizon.net
703-242-9412
Big Planet Comics
426 Maple Ave. East
Vienna, VA 22180

Marc Singer on Watchmen, and the teaching thereof

Marc Singer writes on teaching Watchmen for weeks 3-4 of his class on comics at Howard.

What Kevin Rechin actually did on Extreme Makeover Home Edition

Now that the show has aired, and we saw less than 5 seconds of Kevin at work, let's quote his email about what he actually did, "The room was a superhero-themed room for two of the sons. I basically designed and painted a mural of a cityscape with caricatures of each kid as a superhero incorporated into the scene and also designed personal superhero logos for each kid. These were embroidered on capes for customized costumes and used as decals on a cool car bed built for the show. That's basically it. Keep in mind I had 4 days to come up with the design, get it approved and then had from about 4 p.m. Friday to 2 p.m. the next day to do the whole room with the help of a couple more people. Needless to say it was an all-nighter! Everything done for that show is done for free or as a donation."

The family was the Tripp family of Hyattville, MD and it's episode 717 that you can watch on the Extreme Makeover Home Edition website. I quite liked Kevin's mural, and have invited him to do one in my house. I encourage you all to do the same. This time, we could pay him. Bravo to Kevin for donating his time and creativity to this!

Comics on the Rack, Quick Picks for Comics Due 02-17-10

COMICS ON THE RACK

Quick Picks for Comics Due 02-17-10

By John Judy

 

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #621 by Dan Slott and Michael Lark.  More Dark Aunt May!  Finally!  Are those wheat cakes or carb-loaded disks of death?!  Gotta look!

 

AVENGERS VS. ATLAS #2 of 4 by Jeff Parker and Gabriel Hardman.  The original Avengers are in the modern day and ready to rumble with the Atlas gang!  Big fight!

 

BLACKEST NIGHT: THE FLASH #3 of 3 by Geoff Johns and Tony Daniel.  Barry dukes it out with Black Lantern Professor Zoom while the rogues try to figure out whose side they need to be on.  Good times!

 

CAPTAIN AMERICA #603 by Ed Brubaker and Luke Ross.  Bucky America and the Falcon take on a group of violent racist anti-government nuts who (honest!) bear no resemblance whatsoever to the tea-baggers who got so steamed up over the depiction of tea-bagger signs and slogans last issue that they got in Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada's grill about it.  Sadly, Joe Q immediately groveled for tea-bagger forgiveness and promised that the tea-bagger signs would be redrawn for all subsequent printings of these stories featuring these evil scum who are (really!) not tea-baggers despite sharing many of the views openly espoused at tea-bagger rallies!  Point is: your first prints of these issues are now collectibles.  (BTW, Captain America would never put up with this stuff, Joe.  He'd bounce his shield off their heads and call it macaroni.)

 

DAREDEVIL #505 by Andy Diggle and Marco Checchetto.  DD heads to Japan to talk to the Hand.

 

DARK AVENGERS #14 by Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato.  Ripping the Greek God of War apart with his bare hands will be a tough act for the Sentry to follow, but… Well, let's just look shall we?  Not for the younger kids.

 

DEVIL #1 of 4 by Torajiro Kishi and Madhouse Studios.  "A vampire virus rages through Japan!  This disease will devour mankind."  But it will be hungry again an hour later.

 

DOOMWAR #1 of 6 by Jonathan Maberry, Will Conrad and Scot Eaton.  Doctor Doom fights everyone for six issues starting NOW!

 

GARTH ENNIS BATTLEFIELDS: HAPPY VALLEY #3 of 3 by Ennis and Carlos Ezquerra.  It's the final mission for our heroic WW2 bomber crew.  One way or another.  Highly recommended.

 

GREEN LANTERN #51 by Geoff Johns and Doug Mahnke.  So Hal's Parallax again by choice, which is kind of a "Hail Mary" thing if you ask me.  Still a great spandex epic.  Recommended.

 

HELLBLAZER #264 by Peter Milligan and Giuseppe Camuncoli.  John Constantine wraps up an adventure in India.  Cue the dance number!

 

HULK #20 by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness.  Okay, everyone raise your hand if you are NOT a gamma ray-powered, green, red or sometimes gray or blue rampaging monster.  Right, both of you go talk to Loeb, get him to fix you up, write you a maxi-series or something…

 

IGNITION CITY SC by Warren Ellis and Gianluca Pagliarani.  A gorgeously illustrated sci-fi noir set in earth's last spaceport.  This one reads like "Blade Runner" only with more alcoholic perverts.  Look at the credits and go figure.  Not for kids.

 

INCORRUPTIBLE #3 by Mark Waid and Jean Diaz.  The companion title to Waid's superb IRREDEEMABLE, this one is the story of Max Damage, a bad guy driven to virtue by a hero turned monster.  In this issue Max shuts down a mad scientist who's giving out super-powers for money.  And killing people.  Recommended.

 

INCREDIBLE HULK #607 by Greg Pak and Paul Pelletier. The Red She-Hulk fights everyone and then gets a back-up feature. The real Hulk appears too but only on the variant cover.  Excelsior!

 

JOE THE BARBARIAN #2 of 8 by Grant Morrison and Sean Murphy.  "Toy Story" meets a diabetic coma.  We shall see….

 

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #42 by James Robinson and Mark Bagley.  Lots of adjustments taking place in the wake of Red Arrow getting his arm ripped off.  Plus, Doctor Impossible!

 

KICK-ASS PREMIERE HC by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.  All the violent, vulgar visuals collected in hardcover!  Suitable for reading AND throwing short distances!

 

MARVELS: EYE OF THE CAMERA #6 of 6 by Kurt Busiek, Roger Stern and Jay Anacleto.  Having reached my weekly limit on Marvel-bashing, I will say only that Kurt Busiek is a great writer, the art looks very nice and issue #5 was released on April 22^nd 2009.

 

SKIM GN by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki.  This coming of age tale about a mixed-race Canadian Wiccan goth lesbian has won a bunch of awards.  Read it and see why.  Highly recommended.

 

SPIDER-WOMAN #6 by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev.  SW is fighting Skrulls, apparently unaware that she's seriously dating herself.

 

THE STAND: SOUL SURVIVORS #4 of 5 by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa.  Mother Abigail versus the rats of Flagg!  Highly recommended.

 

STARMAN OMNIBUS, VOL. 4 HC by James Robinson and Friends.  Collecting all kinds of adventures starring Starman Jack Knight and the heroes of many worlds!  Recommended.

 

UNCANNY X-MEN #521 by Matt Fraction and Greg Land.  Mutant mischief and mayhem, Part Infinity.

 

www.johnjudy.net

Tonight!: Kevin Rechin on Extreme Makeover Home Edition

Kevin Rechin writes in "I think you wanted me to give you a heads up about the air date for the Extreme Makeover Home Edition show. It airs this Sunday at 9 p.m. I designed and illustrated a mural and other elements for a superhero-based kid's room."

Belgian stop motion animation 'A Town Called Panic' at Landmark in DC

Here's the Post's review: "Movie review: 'A Town Called Panic' is a surreal riot," By Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post Staff Writer, Friday, February 12, 2010; WE29.

Michigan State U's Comic Art Collection additions for November 2009

It's been over a month since we looked at October, but I'm not getting a groundswell of interest in these posts anyway. So without further ado, here's bits added in November 2009 to the MSU Library's Comic Art Collection that struck me as interesting.

Hey, DC's Nate Beeler is the first entry:

"Bexley Graduate National Honoree" p. D3 in The Columbus
Dispatch, Nov. 21, 2008. -- Item about Nage Beeler and the
2008 Berryman Award for Editorial Cartooning. -- Call no.:
NC1320.S35 2008

This is followed by other articles from the newspapers, a lot of which are on Harvey Pekar for some reason. Maybe somebody else is doing a book on him.

Ahhh, remember the days when people really cared about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Enough to parody them?

Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters Classics. --
Eureka, CA : Parody Press, 1992- . -- ill. ; 26 cm. --
Began with no. 1 (Aug./Sept. 1992). -- Parody and funny
animal genres. -- LIBRARY HAS: no. 1. -- Call no.:
PN6728.6.P35A3


More newspaper articles, and oooh...

"Ultimate Comic Book" AP wirephoto in the Michigan State News,
East Lansing, Michigan, 1974. -- Shows collector Mitchell
Mehdy with a copy of Action Comics, no. 1 which he has
bought for $1,800. -- Call no.: PN6710.S35 1974

I wonder what's happened to that copy?

It's hard to imagine a comic less likely to cause ADD...

"Minds at 1,000 Miles an Hour" / by Michael D. Clark. p. 8A in
the Cincinnati Post, Dec. 4, 1989. -- Uses a Family Circus
panel by Bil Keane to illustrate an article on attention
deficit disorder. -- The panel is captioned: "Another
evening in the life on an A.D.D. child." -- Call no.:
PN6710.S35 1989

This looks vaguely interesting, at least to a bibliographer...

"Drawn from Life : How Comic Books are Changing Young People's
Lives, from Asia to the Middle East" / by Marco Visscher.
p. 20-24 in Ode, May 2009. -- Article about Suleiman Bakhit
and his company Aranim Media Factory, publishing comic
books for the Arabic language market. -- Call no.:
PN6710.S35 2009

I feel guilty saying it, but this sounds painful:

The Novel of Nonel and Vovel / Oreet Ashery ; Larissa Sansour.
-- Milano : Edizioni Charta, 2009. -- 183 p. : col. ill. ;
24 cm. -- "Oreet Ashery is from Israel and lives in London.
Larissa Sansour is from Palestine and lives in Copenhagen.
These two artists have created a very special graphic novel
that raises questions on artistic practice, the nature of
authority and art and politics, and offers an eye-opening
take on Palestine. All this assumes particular importance
considering that these artists come from both sides of the
Middle Eastern divide. Nonel and Vovel, the artists' alter
egos, are given superpowers from a virus compromising their
creativity. With their new powers and the help of local
ninja women, they strive to save Palestine" -- Political
and superhero genres. -- Call no.: PN6790 .I83 A77N6 2009

Remember when newspapers used to publish collections of their editorial cartoonists?

Macpherson Editorial Cartoons 1977. -- Toronto : Star Reader
Service, 1977. -- 126 p. : ill. ; 24 x 23 cm. -- Cartoons
published in the Toronto Star. -- Call no.: NC1449.M3A52
1977

Shouldn't there be a 'Little Orphan Annie' subject heading here?

"Little Red Wonder Girl : Annie, the Broadway Orphan Who Stole
Our Hearts Almost 30 Years Ago, Arrives at the Wharton
Center for a Six-Day Run" / by Mike Hughes. p. 1D, 3D in
the Lansing State Journal, Apr. 18, 2006. -- The Annie
musical arrives in East Lansing. Sidebar, "Stars Who've
Played Annie," lists several actresses. -- Call no.:
PN6710.S35 2006

Fantagraphics published 50 issues of this? Must be before they became ideologically pure (that's a joke, Gary)...

Critters. -- Agoura, CA : Fantagraphics Books, 1986-1990. --
ill. ; 26 cm. -- Published no. 1 (1986) - no. 50 (Mar.
1990). -- Funny animal genre. -- LIBRARY HAS: no. 1-50. --
Call no.: PN6728.5.F3C7
COMPLETE HOLDINGS

...actually I wonder if there's material worth collecting in there. I seem to recall some fairly good stuff in the few issues I've seen.

There's a lot of NY Times articles indexed. The Times is becoming the paper of record for comic art as well, something I'd never have predicted:

"Captain America Chooses Its Director" p. C2 in the New York
Times, Nov. 11, 2008. -- Item about Joe Johnston being
chosen to direct a Captain America film. -- Call no.:
PN6710.S35 2008
-----------------------------------------------------
"Sad News for Mad Fans" / George Gene Gustines. p. C2 in the
New York Times, Jan. 24, 2009. -- Item about Mad becoming
quarterly, quoting editor John Ficarra. -- Call no.:
PN6710.S35 2009
-----------------------------------------------------
"In Tough Times, Finding the Humor in Value" / Edward
Rothstein. p. C1, C6 in the New York Times, Jan. 31, 2009.
-- Review of an exhibition at the Morgan Library & Museum,
titled "On the Money : Cartoons for the New Yorker," which
collects cartoons about money. -- Call no.: NC1320.S35 2009
-----------------------------------------------------
"Civil War in Uganda, Illustrated and In Panels" / by George
Gene Gustines. p. C1, C5, in the New York Times, Aug. 12,
2009. -- Article about the DC/Vertigo series Unknown
Soldier. -- Call no.: PN6710.S35 2009
-----------------------------------------------------
"Spain Pulls Book with Grown-Up Tintin" p. B2 in the New York
Times, Aug. 19, 2008. -- Item about a book ("The Pink
Lotus") by Antonio Altarriba, which shows Tintin in his 30s
and "contains graphic sex scenes that the Hergé estate
considers to be inappropriate." -- Call no.: PN6710.S35


Not to worry though - obscurities continue!

George Morrow : His Book / with an introduction by E.V. Lucas.
-- 2d ed. -- London : Methuen & Co., 1921. -- 97 leaves :
ill. ; 25 cm. -- Cartoons reprinted from Punch and Land and
Water. -- Call no.: NC1479.M6G4 1921
Morrow, George, 1869-1955.
Lucas, E. V. (Edward Verrall), 1868-1938.
-----------------------------------------------------
More Morrow : a Book of Drawings / by George Morrow. -- London
: Methuen & Co., 1921. -- 97 leaves : chiefly ill. ; 25 cm.
-- Cartoons. -- "Thanks are due to the proprietors of Punch
for permission to reprint ... contributions in this
volume." -- Call no.: NC1479.M6M6 1921
-----------------------------------------------------
It's that Min again! (1968-69) : Cartoons from the New Zealand
Herald / by Minhinnick. -- Auckland : Wilson and Horton,
1969. -- 56 p. : chiefly ill. ; 19 x 24 cm. -- Editorial
cartoons. -- Call no.: NC1761.M5 I8 1969
Minhinnick, 1902-1992.

Furries!

1001 Arabian Tails. -- Miami, FL : Conquest Press, 1992. -- 32
p. : ill. ; 26 cm. -- Numbered "1" on cover. -- Indicia
title: 1001 Arabian Tales. -- Funny animal and erotic
genres. -- Call no.: PN6728.6.C59 O5 1992

The lack of follow through with this was a disappoint to me, as I'm a big Zelazny fan:

Roger Zelazny's Amber: Nine Princes in Amber / adapted by
Terry Bisson ; illustrated by Lou Harrison, Bryn Barnard,
Tom Roberts. -- New York : DC Comics, 1996. -- col. ill. ;
26 cm. -- Cover title: Roger Zelazny's Nine Princes in
Amber. -- Complete in 3 nos. -- "A Byron Preiss Visual
Publications, Inc. book." -- Fantasy genre. -- LIBRARY HAS:
no. 1-3. -- Call no.: PN6728.6.D3R638 1996

Here's our buddy Nevin's book:

Looking for Calvin and Hobbes : the Unconventional Story of
Bill Watterson and his Revolutionary Comic Strip / by Nevin
Martell. -- New York : Continuum International Publishing
Group, 2009. -- 247 p. ; 23 cm. -- Call no.: PN6727.W337M3
2009

Coming soon - December!

Feb 27: Act-i-vate at Big Planet Vienna too

At 2 pm.

BIG PLANET COMICS
426 Maple Ave. East
Vienna, VA 22180
703-242-9412

Comic Riffs interviews Scott Kurtz

The 'Riffs Interview: 'PvP' creator Scott Kurtz speaks today at Macworld. Washington Post Comic Riffs blog (February 12, 2010). This is Cavna's 2nd interview with Kurtz, if you're a PVP fan.

Feb 27: Act-i-vate at Politics and Prose

Politics & Prose Bookstore
welcomes

The Act-I-Vate Primer
With contributors: Dean Haspiel, Jim Dougan, Simon Fraser and Joe Infurnari

Saturday, February 27, 6 p.m.

5015 Connecticut Avenue, NW • Washington, DC
www.politics-prose.com • (202) 364-1919

My new bookish thing

The new issue of the International Journal of Comic Art 11-3 is actually Comic Art, 2005-2009: A Global Bibliography, 626 pages of citations on comics compiled by John Lent and Mike Rhode. And it's got a special cover drawing done for us by Richard Thompson which makes it a collector's item (for collectors of Richard Thompson of course). You can buy it as a stand alone issue by sending $15 to John Lent. This is an addendum to John's previous 10-volume series of comics citations, and is a bargain because a set of those will cost you well over $1000.

Here's a sample from the 2010 version I'm working on now - the new citations for 2010 are marked with *:

Comic Book Sales
-Flage, Karon. 2001. Ranking and List Position [comic book sales]. Sequential Tart 4 (2: February): http://www.sequentialtart.com/
-Gustines, George Gene. 2009. Graphic Books Best Seller List: May 9. New York Times Art Beat blog (May 15): http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/graphic-books-best-seller-list-may-9/
-Gustines, George Gene. 2009. Graphic Books Best Seller List: June 6. New York Times Arts Beat blog (June 12): http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/12/graphic-books-best-seller-list-june-6/
*Hibbs, Brian. 2010. Looking At Bookscan: 2009. Comic Book Resources' Tilting at Windmills (February 12): http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=24818
-Miller, John Jackson. 2007. Comic Sales Analysis: January 2007–Snows, fifth week spur big month. Comics and Games Retailer (182; May): 26-27
-Reid, Calvin. 2009. February Comics Bestsellers. Publishers Weekly’s PW Comics Week (February 3): http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6634161.html
-Reid, Calvin. 2009. June Comics Bestsellers. Publishers Weekly (June 15): http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6665433.html
-Sheriff, Amanda. 2008. Comic Sales Figures Circulate. Scoop (December 5):
http://scoop.diamondgalleries.com/public/default.asp?t=1&m=1&c=34&s=268&ai=77604
*Unknown. 2010. Graphic Books. New York Times (February 4): http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/books/bestseller/bestgraphicbooks.html

Eduardo Barreto's illness leaves Judge Parker less lovely

Alan Gardner had a more hopeful story up at Daily Cartoonist, but Michael Cavna's Comic Riffs post says Eduardo Barreto's illness is meningitis and he'll be leaving the strip, which definitely leaves Judge Parker less lovely. It's one of the best looking action strips out there now, although Paul Ryan on the Phantom and Graham Nolan on Rex Morgan, MD do excellent work -- and those strips aren't in the Post.

PR: Greenwood Encyclopedia of Comic Books and Graphic Novels

I'm a contributor to this - I wrote the Harvey Pekar entry. I think it's a good project - for years I've thought we should have the equivalent of the volumes of Dictionaries of British Cartoonists which give the basic information about the person. This is a good start and I'm noodling over other plans with a knowledgeable person.

...The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Comic Books and Graphic Novels is due out at the end of May. It is now described on the Greenwood website at http://www.greenwood.com/catalog/GR5746.aspx and is up on Amazon as well.

Thanks again to all of you who helped to make this project a reality--I'm very pleased with the way it turned out. And thanks in advance to those of you who will help to make it a success by buying it or recommending it to your university or public libraries.
--
M. Keith Booker

That perfect Valentines/President's Day gift...

My latest City Paper blog post is another book review - “For the Wonky, Lovelorn Comics Reader, a Perfect Gift,” February 12, 2010,

Post finally realizes Disney released movie with black heroine

The Post finally realized Disney released a movie with a black heroine last year and just did an article on what it all means to children - "'The Princess and the Frog's' Tiana: A more modern heroine," By Mari-Jane Williams, Washington Post Staff Writer, Thursday, February 11, 2010; T17.

USA Today's Truitt on GI Joe

This is about writer Christos Gage, not our own SL Gallant, but I'm continuing to assume that Truitt is still in the area - "'G.I. Joe: Cobra' brings on the bad guys," By Brian Truitt, USA TODAY February 11 2010.

British not-quite comic books reviewed at City Paper

Reviewed: Classic Dan Dare: Safari in Space and The Best of Roy of the Rovers: The 1970s Straight from the "boys papers," two recently collected U.K. comic strips
By Mike Rhode
Washington City Paper February 11, 2010

Feb 14: Kevin Rechin on Extreme Makeover Home Edition

Kevin Rechin writes in "I think you wanted me to give you a heads up about the air date for the Extreme Makeover Home Edition show. It airs this Sunday at 9 p.m. I designed and illustrated a mural and other elements for a superhero-based kid's room."

Phoenix Comics/ Laughing Ogre Comics open

Both our locations at GMU and in Lansdowne are open today.

Thanks

Gary Dills

Beyond Comics store open in spite of snow UPDATED

Beyond Comics writes in:

GAITHERSBURG IS OPEN!

FREDERICK Pending Plowing of Parking Lot

We will update the newsletter and our face book page.

Bravo to the Washington Post

I think the Post's delivery people deserve a special thanks, although I'm sure none of them are reading this blog. We haven't gotten the paper everyday, but it's been delivered when the roads are passable. I was very surprised to look out this morning and see a bag poking out of the snow.

And the same thanks holds true for the production people and the reporters. I don't even have my car shoveled out again yet, but my wife is reading the Post and sipping coffee in comfort while the wind howls outside.

So to any Postie (you don't really use that term, do you?) reading this, thank you.

Big Planet's got your hit today, in spite of the snow

Owner Joel Pollack wrote to me to say, "Because each store in our chain sets its own policy, I can only speak for Bethesda and Georgetown. We are going to try to open today (Thursday) 11-7, but we recommend a phone call, just in case." Owner Greg Bennett followed up with "Vienna and College Park are both open today as well. Closing time dependent on weather/road conditions, so call first if you're coming out after dark. And we have new books!"

I'm going to suggest that unless you live in Bethesda or Georgetown, it's probably not a great idea to try to get there no matter how much you're missing your comics. I was just out in my Arlington neighborhood and the streets and sidewalks aren't ready.

Here's the BP contact info:

BIG PLANET COMICS
4908 Fairmont Ave.
Bethesda, MD 20814
301-654-6856

Also affiliated with:

BIG PLANET COMICS
3145 Dumbarton St. NW
Washington, DC 20007
202-342-1961

BIG PLANET COMICS
426 Maple Ave. East
Vienna, VA 22180
703-242-9412

BIG PLANET COMICS
7315 Baltimore Ave.
College Park, MD 20740
301-699-0498

Weldon on music and comics

Presumably Glen Weldon is snowed in like the rest of us in DC, so he's written a long look at "Comics That Have A Nice Beat And Are Easy To Dance To," National Public Radio's Monkey See blog (February 10 2010).

That darn Mussey

Marie Drom says in a letter to the editor of the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star "Mussey's cartoon was not a bit funny" (2/10/2010)

Feb 20: DC Anime Club's Cosplay Corner.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Chris Wanamaker, (202) 262 2083 president@dcanimeclub.org

DC Anime Club
 Presents Cosplay Corner

On Saturday February 20, 2010 at 2:30pm DC Anime Club will be hosting an costume creation workshop called "Cosplay Corner" at the Martin Luthur King, Jr Memorial Library 901 G St NW Washington, DC 20001 in Room A5 on the A Level. "Cosplay" is short for "Costume Play", in which fans of Japanese Animation (Anime) and Japanese Comics (Manga) dress up as their favorite Anime, Manga and Video Game Characters by costumes they make themselves. The word "Cosplay" was coined by Nov Takahashi of the Japanese Studio, "Studio Hard". DC Anime Club will teach members how to create their own costumes: everything from making cosplay props, to places where materials can be acquired, to even acting as their characters. DC Anime Club has also given Cosplay Presentations at the Smithsonian Anime Marathon an event which is part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival and the Fiesta Asia Parade where



This event is free and open to the public for Ages 13 and up.

For more information please call (703) 655-1412 visit the DC Anime Club website at http://dcanimeclub.org.

Tom the Dancing Bug cartoonist raises over $4,000 for Haiti

We highlighted Ruben Bolling's campaign to raise money for Haiti when he started, and now Ruben's written in to announce the total he's raised and who won original drawings. Let's here a big round of e-pplause for Ruben and his donors. Remember you can still donate too.

Big Planet Comics says "This crazy weather"

Big Planet Comics Bethesda and Georgetown stores will be closed Wednesday Feb. 10th because of the snow storm.  We hope to be open Thursday the 11th.  We do have the new comics...and they'll be on the racks when next we open our doors.
Please call before coming here on Thursday to make sure we are in fact open, and to find out what time we plan on closing.

Stay safe and stay warm.

--Joel Pollack

--

BIG PLANET COMICS
4908 Fairmont Ave.
Bethesda, MD 20814
301-654-6856

Also affiliated with:

BIG PLANET COMICS
3145 Dumbarton St. NW
Washington, DC 20007
202-342-1961

BIG PLANET COMICS
426 Maple Ave. East
Vienna, VA 22180
703-242-9412

BIG PLANET COMICS
7315 Baltimore Ave.
College Park, MD 20740
301-699-0498

So who was editorial cartoonist John M Baer anyway?

For our 3rd post on editorial cartoonist John M Baer, we finally have some real information, courtesy of Curt Hanson, Department Head, Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections, Chester Fritz Library, University of North Dakota. Thanks to Curt for providing copies of articles about Baer, and also for pointing out their digitized collection of Stuart McDonald editorial cartoons.

The first article by Charles P. Stewart of the Central Press Association appears to be from 1921. Baer had been elected to congress from North Dakota in 1917 as an advocate for labor and farmers. In this article Baer blamed his re-election loss on his cartooning, rather than the fact that he was on the left (blue) in a right (red) district. The article said, "The fact is, Baer's cartoons had not rated as of national importance while their circulation was confined to North Dakota. As a congressman's handiwork, however, they quickly began making their appearance in all corners of the republic, causing widespread trouble for conservatism. In consequence, the campaign of 1920 saw an invasion of the Fargo district by outside spellbinders with practically unlimited resources. Since then Cartoonist Baer has been an ex-congressman."

Personally, I doubt that his cartooning was the cause of his election loss, but who can say 90 years later? He apparently was represented at some point by King Features Syndicate, who released the following:

World-Famous Artist Crashed Congress With A Lead Pencil
Washington, D.C. - Let it be understood that John M. Baer knows his politics from left to right, up and down and diagonally. For years he has been the champion of the farmer and the worker, fighting for them, not with glib, silver-tongued oratory but with a facile cartooning crayon that clarifies and mocks at most intricate bits of Machiavellian chicanery that back-room politicians ever foisted upon a suffering country.

Baer's political cartoons are known wherever a newspaper is read and he has he distinction of being the only man who ever crayoned himself into Congress, his Farm-Labor and Graft drawings having brought him such prominence that he was elected to fill the term of Congressman Helgessen of North Dakota, on the latter's death in 1917. At the expiration of that term, he was re-elected.

It was in 1912 that he came into real prominence by cartooning an expose of how the farmers were being "gypped" 90 cents per bushel on their wheat.

Since then he has never ceased in his fight on graft and shady political dealings and his work has appeared in most of our national periodicals and newspapers. His friends, among them workers of every calling, number millions and he is adding to the list daily. Baer's home is in Washington, D.C., where he keeps a watchful eye on the solons that make the wheels go round. One wonders if he is ever amused at the tales of huge campaign funds ad he remembers how he crashed Congress with a pencil.

"John M. Baer, once N.D. Congressman, still active at 83," a 1969 article by Jack Hagerty for the Grand Forks Herald provided far more information on Baer's life and career. Baer was born Mach 29, 1886 in Black Creek, Wisconsin, went to Lawrence University where he edited the newspaper and the yearbook before graduating in 1909, and then married a woman from North Dakota and moved to work on her father's farm. In 1913 he was appointed a postmaster, but soon was making more money from cartoons so in 1916 he moved to Fargo, North Dakota, to work for the Courier-News.

After losing re-election, Baer worked for Labor, a railroad union newspaper. In 1969, he was still working for them in an AFL-CIO building on Lafayette Square, but also cartooning at his home in Chevy Chase, MD.


Hagerty's article says this "Appropriation Pie" cartoon was printed over 100 million times, in 18 languages, and was credited with bringing about the Naval Disarmament Conference of 1921. Unfortunately, it's still true - past wars are shown as taking up 68% of the budget, defense with 25%, education at 1% and 6% left to labor, farmer and public.


Hagerty's article says that General Billy Mitchell distributed 20 million copies of this cartoon in 1925 and it was used in his court martial over aggressively pursuing an air force.


Baer's 1931 cartoon that was credited with coining the phrase "The New Deal." The worker, honest business and the farmer are saying "We demand a new deal" at a crooked card game with speculators, big business and cooked politicians.


A sidebar to Hagerty's article says that "For 58 years, he has used bears on his Christmas cards, but was turned down when he offered another cartoonist $1,000 for the right to use a bear symbol as an identifying mark in his cartoons." The other cartoonist is undoubtedly Clifford Berryman, also of Washington, who created the Teddy bear and drew him in many cartoons.

A new comic shop in Falls Church?

Missy Frederick is reporting that Victory Comics will be at 586 S. Washington Street. She notes that Hole in the Wall Books (which is a general used book store with comics) and Anime Pavilion are already in Falls Church.

Editorial cartoon change at the Examiner

Perusing today's Examiner online, we find that their editorial cartoon today is from Mike Ramirez and Creators Sydicate. I'm not sure if Cagletoons will still be providing cartoons to them as well. Their editorial cartoonist Nate Beeler is syndicated through Cagle.

Brian Keene signing in Baltimore

Up to our north, we have an upcoming creator appearance, which is really to promote a horror anthology book, The New Dead, but that never stopped me personally from plopping a comic or four in front of the creator and asking for a signature!

Nationwide Signing Event

On February 16th, 2010, the day The New Dead is released, the majority
of the authors who have written stories for the book will be signing in various
locations around the country.

Baltimore, MD: Brian Keene
7 PM
Barnes & Noble, 1819 Reisterstown Rd, Baltimore, MD 21208
(410) 415-5758

Mr. Keene wrote Marvel's Dead of Night Featuring Devil-Slayer. He also edited Cemetery Dance Publications' Grave Tales.

Bored? Big Planet is open in Georgetown and Bethesda

I'm not going out, but Big Planet is open in Georgetown and Bethesda. Beyond Comics was planning on being open today too. I would imagine that Fantom Comics is open since both sites are in large malls.

Comics on the Rack, Quick Picks for Comics Due 02-10-10

COMICS ON THE RACK

Quick Picks for Comics Due 02-10-10

By John Judy

 

ADVENTURE COMICS #7 by Tony Bedard and Travis Moore.  Black Lantern Superboy!  No, the other one!  Fight!

 

ALL-STAR SUPERMAN, VOL. 2 SC by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely.  Collecting issues #7-12 of the best Superman comics in quite a while.  Recommended.

 

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #620 by Dan Slott and Marcos Martin.  Mysterio made his big move last ish, but I'm really coming back to read more "Adventures of Dark Aunt May!"  Recommended.

 

BATMAN AND ROBIN #8 by Grant Morrison and Cameron Stewart.  So who or what exactly is coming out of that Lazarus pit?  There's gonna be a scrap!  I can tell!

 

BPRD: KING OF FEAR #2 of 5 by Mike Mignola, John Arcudi and Guy Davis.  A journey to the Hollow Earth and an attempt to lay Lobster Johnson's ghost to rest.  Also, Liz cremates some dead dudes.

 

CHOKER #1 by Ben McCool and Ben Templesmith.  There are so many reasons this comic is a must-have, but among the most compelling is this: The female lead is a cop nicknamed "Dick-Puncher."  Described by co-creator Templesmith as "A little bit like FELL with a bad case of Gonorrhea."  Highly recommended.  Not for kids.

 

DAYTRIPPER #3 of 10 by Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba.  Okay, I think I'm getting this one now.  Every issue is a new "Death of Kenny."  It's cool though because each issue thus far has been extremely well-crafted on both the art and scripting.  Recommended for grown-ups.

 

HELLBLAZER: PANDEMONIUM HC by Jamie Delano and Jock.  John Constantine goes to Iraq.  What could possibly go wrong?  This marks the return of the original HELLBLAZER scribe to the character.  Combined with Jock doing the art makes this one Highly Recommended.

 

HIT-MONKEY #1 by Daniel Way and Dalibor Talijic.  This is written by Daniel Way, the guy who writes WOLVERINE:ORIGINS.  And that's all I have to say about that…

 

HUMAN TARGET #1 of 6 by Len Wein and Various Creators.  DC's newest TV star, Christopher Chance, takes on every low-life and ne'er-do-well on the European continent!  Action, intrigue and glamour galore from co-creator Len Wein!  Recommended.

 

JSA ALL-STARS #3 by Matthew Sturges and Freddie Williams II.  After last week's godawful JSA ANNUAL #2 Mr. Sturges has some serious ground to make up.  Geoff Johns has never been more missed. And why there needs to be a Liberty Belle/Hourman co-feature written by Jen Van Meter continues to elude me.

 

PUNISHERMAX #4 by Jason Aaron and Steve Dillon.  Words that will make me buy a comic, sight unseen: "Sledgehammer-swinging hitman!"  Must-have!  Not for kids.

 

SECRET SIX #18 by John Ostrander, Gail Simone and Jim Calafiore.  Black Lanterns vs. the Six vs. the Suicide Squad!  Boy, who most deserves to eat that one?  Recommended.

 

SMILE SC written and drawn by Raina Telgemeier.  The autobiographical account of a girl who gets her two front teeth knocked out just in time to start middle school.  In real-world pubescent terms this is Galactus coming to Earth.  Recommended.

 

SOLOMON KANE: DEATH'S BLACK RIDERS #2 of 4 by Scott Allie and Mario Guevara.  Okay, so if you're hiding from demons in the Black Forest is it really a step up to barricade yourself in a tavern called The Cleft Skull?  This is a cool adventure series and you should read it.

 

STRANGE #4 of 4 by Mark Waid and Emma Rios.  The big finish that leaves readers asking, "Hey, could we maybe get an on-going Doctor Strange series written by Waid, like, starting next month?"  Great series.  Recommended.

 

TAILS OF THE PET AVENGERS #1 by Various Pickers of the Short Straw.  Kids, when you start shooting heroin you think it will be cool, like in those reality fashion shows.  Then you wake up one morning , naked and alone, with your name attached to something like PET AVENGERS.  Stay in school!

 

UNWRITTEN #10 by Mike Carey and Peter Gross.  Tommy Taylor meets the spiritual father of Fox News: Josef Goebbels!  Gotta look!

 

X-MEN: PIXIE STRIKES BACK #1 of 4 by Kathryn Immonen and Sara Pichelli.  No Pet Avengers appear in this comic.

 

www.johnjudy.net

March 7: Capicons convention rescheduled

Event: Capicons Comic Book & Pop Culture Con
Start Time: Sunday, March 7 at 10:00am
End Time: Sunday, March 7 at 3:00pm
Where: Dunn Loring Volunteer Fire Department

To see more details and RSVP, follow the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/n/?event.php&eid=293214896993&mid=1d94bd4G40206d0eG15556b8G7

Zadzooks on Whiteout dvd

Zadzooks: Whiteout, Doctor Who and Zombieland reviews, Joseph Szadkowski, Washington Times February 6, 2010.

Herblock & McCarthyism is AAEC's lesson

Click on the AAEC's Cartoons in the Classroom website and look for February 7th.

Brian Wood interview at USA Weekend

From the heart of snowy Rosslyn comes - Comics scribe Brian Wood ready for the best February ever, by Brian Truitt, USA Weekend's Whos News blog (February 5 2010).

Another Harvey Pekar interview popped up

Here's another one to print out and paste in the back of Harvey Pekar: Conversations -

INTERVIEW: Comix Legend and Creator of American Splendor – Harvey Pekar
The Zeitgeisty Report Feb 5th, 2010

Feb 7: "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" at Shirlington Library

Ok, I'm pretty sure this will be cancelled now that we have 1 1/2 feet of snow with another 1/2 foot projected... It was a good movie though.

Film: "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs"
Sunday, Feb. 7, 2pm
Shirlington Branch Library

The Shirlington "Family Movie Matinee" presents "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" [2009]. Rated PG, 90 minutes. Directed by Christopher Miller and Phil Lord. Featuring Andy Samberg, Anna Faris and James Caan. Based on the children?s book, this animated adventure follows a scientist who tries to solve world hunger only to see things go awry as food falls from the sky in abundance.