Saturday, September 01, 2007

Letter says Toles lacks basic decency


Cartoonist Most Foul
Washington Post (September 1, 2007)

Tom Toles's toilet stall cartoon in the Aug. 29 Post, playing off Idaho Sen. Larry Craig's troubles, should have been flushed before publication out of deference to the basic decency of your readers. Censorship, no. Editorial discretion, yes.

-- Ernest C. Raskauskas Sr.
Potomac

Seems a bit overstated to me - I can imagine far worse.

Post cartoon contest results


The Post's Style Invitational contest last week "supplied several "captions" and asked you to describe the cartoons they would accompany: The Empress posted this contest, at the Czar's suggestion, with some trepidation, concerned that dozens of descriptions of undrawn cartoons would just be too tedious. She concedes that her fears were unfounded, and therefore owes the Czar the heart cut out of her chest. Invitational Cartoonist Bob Staake chose this week's top four winners from the entries below, and will personally deface each winning sketch with his signature as a prize."

You can see the other cartoons and suggested captions through the link.

Meanwhile, Richard Thompson and 'Richard's Poor Almanack' continue to "be on vacation."

Friday, August 31, 2007

new caricatures in DC restaurant

In their Yeas & Nays column, Jeff Dufour and Patrick Gavin wrote "The Palm unveils its new caricatures," Washington Examiner August 31, 2007.

September 8-9 Baltimore Comic -con

Only a week away! Get the details at their website, but here's their guestlist:

SERGIO ARAGONES | Dick Ayers | Kyle Baker | David Michael Beck | Tom Brevoort | Michael Broussard | Kurt Busiek | Jim Calafiore | Jerry Carr | Tommy Castillo | C.B. Cebulski | Bernard Chang | Howard Chaykin | Sean Chen | Mark Chiarello | FRANK CHO | Steve Conley | Amanda Conner | Todd Dezago | Dan DiDio | Tommy Lee Edwards | Rich Faber | Al Feldstein | DAVID FINCH | John Gallagher | Ron Garney | MICHAEL GOLDEN| Jimmy Gownley | Randy Green | Cully Hamner | Dean Haspiel | Tariq Hasson | Marc Hempel | Rich Henn | Adam Hughes | Chris Ivy| James Jean | Georges Jeanty | J.G. Jones | Joe Jusko | Ken Kelly | Leonard Kirk | Barry Kitson | Rich Koslowski | Adam Kubert | Andy Kubert | JOE KUBERT | Scott Kurtz | Greg LaRocque | Eric Larson | JIM LEE (Sunday only) | Norman Lee | John Paul Leon | John Lucas | Ron Marz | Sean McKeever | Mark McKenna | Bob McLeod | Pop Mhan | MIKE MIGNOLA | Jeffrey Moy | Mark Morales | Doug Murray | Scott Neely | Steve Niles | Phil Noto | Mike Oeming | Jimmy Palmiotti | Andrew Pepoy | David Petersen | Brandon Peterson | Keith Pollard | Paul Pope | Eric Powell | Tom Raney | Kenneth Rocafort | JOHN ROMITA JR. | JOHN ROMITA SR. | Don Rosa | Craig Rousseau | Stephane Roux | Andy Runton | Scott Sava | Alex Saviuk | JIM SHOOTER | Louise Simonson | Walter Simonson | Andy Smith | John K Snyder III| Chris Sprouse | Jim Starlin | Brian Stelfreeze | Paul D. Storrie | Karl Story | Mark Texeira | Herb Trimpe | Dean Trippe| Tim Truman | Billy Tucci | Tim Vigil | Dexter Vines | Neil Vokes | Mark Waid | Mark Wheatley | Ron Wilson | Kelly Yates | and many many more!!!

A poster commemorating Mike Wieringo who recently died suddenly will also be available. The poster features local DC creator John Gallagher's Buzzboy.

This one's always good. I'll be there on Saturday most likely.

Zippy comic strip at Bob and Edith's diner available on a t-shirt

Zippy was at Weenie Beenie in Shirlington earlier this week, but a while back he was at Bob and Edith's Diner on Columbia Pike and you can buy a t-shirt with the strip. Thanks to Rebecca Krafft of the Alcova Heights listserve for the tip.

Weingarten on Post punting Opus

In his August 28th chat, Gene Weingarten said:

I agree with the vast majority of you that the snuffing of Opus was a mistake, the sort of knee-jerk oversensitivity that is becoming too common. Sadly, what you see is only half the offense -- The Post and many other papers also yanked NEXT week's strip, in what I believe to be a similar overreaction. Breathed showed me next week's, which is even better than this week's. We'll talk more about this later

Berkeley Breathed himself seems to have chimed in:

Santa Barbara, Wa: What's new in the comics world, Gene? Nothing ever happens on this side of the country.

Berkeley B.

Gene Weingarten: Same old same old, Berkeley. Sad to say.

Interesting poll results, eh?

and then Weingarten returned to the topic of his poll which is excerpted below as well:

Gene Weingarten: As I read it, not only to nine out of ten people believe the Post was wrong to pull your strip, but only eight percent of the readers believe you are a pornographer.
------------------

Many newspapers, including The Washington Post, refused to run this Opus on Sunday for reasons of taste and sensitivity. Was this the right decision?

Frequency Analysis
Answer Count Percent

1. Yes. 247 8.00%

2. No. 2839 92.00%

Total 3086 100%


At which group do you feel the satire is mostly directed?

Frequency Analysis
Answer Count Percent

1. Americans 2387 77.32%

2. Radical Islamists 496 16.07%

3. All Muslims 204 6.61%

Total 3087 100%


Was the sexual innuendo excessive, and/or in bad taste, for the comics pages?

Frequency Analysis
Answer Count Percent

1. Yes 229 7.38%

2. No 2874 92.62%

Total 3103 100%

-------------------------
and then Weingarten wraps it all up:

Gene Weingarten: Okay, the Opus poll.

This strip is mocking a whole bunch of stuff. It is mocking the fact that American culture is trashy, and Americans are fad-obsessed. It is mocking American men's desire to control their women. And sure, it is mocking the enforced submissiveness of Islamic women.

So what? Breathed (and Trudeau, and Darrin Bell, etc.) make much more barbed fun of Christian extremism. This is satire, and it's gentle satire, and the only excuse to pull it is the rather patronizing attitude that if you so much as whisper anything mildly satiric about Islamic society, "those people" will go nuts.

Islam is big news. It's fair game, so long as you are fair and not promiscuously cruel or hateful. This was neither.

Oh, and the sexual argument is totally bogus. That's mild innuendo. I mean, Trudeau, whom no one has ever accused of being lewd, had a Sunday devoted entirely to the healthful benefits of masturbation.

I just disagree strongly with the decision to pull this strip. As you do.

Next week's Opus is better than this week's; it's a parable, and it ends with a hilarious visual gag, and it's also mostly critical of America and gently mocking of Islamic customs, and you also won't see it in The Post. We'll look at it next week.

Thursday, August 30, 2007

National Portrait Gallery's PROFILE reviews Disney book

See "Book Review - Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination by Neal Gabler,Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2006, 851 pp., by Amy Henderson and click on the pdf link to the whole journal. I saw Gabler speak at Politics and Prose, and enjoyed the talk immensely. Bought the book, haven't read it yet.

Miguel Covarrubias portraits on display this fall.


The great Mexican caricaturist has material - "portraits of and by" - borrowed from the National Portrait Gallery in the exhibit "Mexican Treasures of the Smithsonian" in the underground Ripley Center from September 4 - November 11.


Last year's exhibit of his work was well worth seeing. Here's the review I wrote for the International Journal of Comic Art 8:2:

Miguel Covarrubias: Mexican Genius in the United States. Washington, DC: Cultural Institute of Mexico, May 3-July 7, 2006.

Covarrubias, while little remembered today, was a giant in magazine illustration and caricature from the 1920s though the 1940s. According to the promotional material for the exhibit, he illustrated for Vanity Fair, Vogue, The New Yorker, Fortune, Life and Time while also illustrating over twenty books. Surprisingly, he also did pioneering cultural anthropology research when he visited Bali with his wife in the 1930s.

This exhibit also consists of two smaller shows. On the ground level of the building, an aging mansion, sketches and studies from the Universidad de las Américas were displayed in a set of unadorned side galleries off the lobby. The fifty-two sketches appeared to be studies for more complete work. They were mostly on cheap newsprint paper, and the identity of the subject was frequently lost except for the famous like Marlene Dietrich, D.H. Lawrence, Joe Louis, Walt Disney, and Benny Goodman. The sketches showed Covarrubias working with a quick, forceful stroke, and "Unknown Character" in the first room demonstrated that Edward Sorel must have been familiar with his work. In the final room of the galleries, two or three films were supposed to be showing, but none were. The press release listed two films by José G. Benítez Wall, A Mexican in New York (1997) and Miguel Covarrubias 1904-1957 (1996) and the wall text listed a third, A Master Artist's Trade (1997).

Returning to the lobby, the visitor (of which I was the only one) could examine exhibit cases with published versions of some of his book and magazine work. Books he illustrated included non-fiction and non-cartoon works such as The Aztecs: People of the Sun. He wrote and illustrated Mexico South: The Isthmus of Tehuantepec (Knopf 1967) and drew striking maps and Olmec heads for it. In Fine Art Color Prints (Chicago: Peoples Book Club, 1945), Covarrubias contributed a very well done and very complex "Map of America" showing the distribution of natural resources. The exhibit cases also included Vanity Fair from June 1933 showing one of his series of Impossible Interviews -- "#18 Herr Adolf Hitler and Huey S. 'Hooey' Long versus Josef Stalin and Benito Mussolini." These Impossible Interviews were a major component of the second part of the exhibit, which was up four flights of red, fraying but thickly carpeted stairs, lined by mural scenes painted by Cueva del Rio from 1934-1941.

The fourth floor held the exhibit Miguel Covarrubias: Caricaturista, curated in 2004 by Kathryne B. Tovo for Humanities Texas with the University of Texas' Ransom Humanities Research Center. It was not readily apparent if the original show consisted of all reproductions, but the traveling version did. Given the quality of Covarrubias' artwork, the use of reproductions was a considerable disappointment, especially since the Ransom Center appears to have had access to the original works. In spite of that, this exhibit was a good representation of the breadth of his career, and was very well-labeled with biographical information on his subjects including scientists and explorers like William Beebe and Richard E. Byrd.

The label for the Impossible Interview in Vanity Fair of December 1931 succinctly explained the series rationale:

This regular feature paired two people who could not meet in real life in an imaginary conversation. Featuring such ill-matched celebrity pairs as a birth control advocate with the mother of quintuplets, a speakeasy hostess with the president of the Women's Christian Temperance Union, or a sultry Marlene Dietrich with moralist Senator Smith Brookhart, each interview offered rich potential for comic conversation and visual contrasts -- with the less respectable figure often achieving a slight edge.

Sorel's debt to Covarrubias can again be seen in his recent similar series for the Atlantic Monthly collected as First Encounters: A Book of Memorable Meetings (Knopf, 1994). The time is overdue for a collection of these original Interviews.

These rooms were filled interesting illustrations. Two especially worth noting were a skillful parody of Rockwell Kent that Covarrubias did in Kent's style in 1932, and an illustration of Walt Disney in Noah's Ark with all of his characters, done for Vogue in 1937. The Disney caricature was the finished version of the sketch seen on the first floor, and the failure to display the two side-by-side highlighted a disappointment of this exhibit. Overall, the show should have been better, but for those with little knowledge of Covarrubias' long and varied career, it was an adequate introduction to his work.

Sept 5: Peter Bagge in DC at invitation-only event

Heidi MacDonald posted an email from Peter Bagge on the Beat. The relevant part to us is:

On the following Wednesday, Sept. 5, REASON Magazine will be hosting a meet ‘n’ greet in my honor at their Washington DC offices. Blush! It’s invitation only, however, so if you’re in the DC area and are interested in attending please contact me here or at: peterbagge@earthlink.net about the details. Drinks and light snacks will be served, I’m told. Can’t beat that!

Thanks to Randy T for the tip.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Mark Wheatley's new webcomic project

Mark just sent me the following press release and pictures -

The Mighty Motor Sapiens Roar To Life
New Characters Introduced on Rowdy.com

Rowdy.com has partnered with Insight Studios Group to offer The Mighty Motor Sapiens, a new online daily comic strip that combines high speed action, fast cars, humor and the entire planet being taken over by lizard people.

With new installments appearing every weekday beginning September 3, 2007, the story begins 18 months after the world has been taken over by a race of the Morisoni, lizard people from the center of the Earth. Despite the odd change in circumstances, life has continued and things seem disturbingly okay. Sure, they took out Washington, Moscow, Beijing, and Paris, but on the other hand they took out Washington, Moscow, Beijing, and Paris. And for some reason they wiped out everyone's credit histories, too.

Now the Morisoni control the world and their military bases are everywhere. The Lizards live among us, but this new arrangement seems to be working. Four teenagers, Cam Corman, Hannah Barbario, Gigs Brewster and Maddie Brewster, haven't seen much of an impact from the changes. Yet.

Springing from the minds of writer-artist Daniel Krall (Oni's One Plus One), writer-artist Mark Wheatley (Frankenstein Mobster), and writer Robert Tinnell (Feast of the Seven Fishes), The Mighty Motor Sapiens was created as an exclusive feature for the ROWDY.com web community. The strip will be written and drawn by Krall with additional material by Wheatley and Tinnell. All three creators are veterans of both print and online comics. They are joined by inker Craig Taillerfer (The Chelation Kid), with colors provided by Krall's studio and lettering by Matthew Plog. The strip is produced by Insight Studios.

About Rowdy.com
At the forefront of the new media revolution, Rowdy combines podcasting with social networking and the internet to create a unique new place for NASCAR fans to congregate. The Rowdy podcast is a daily racing radio show devoted strictly to NASCAR racing. For 30 minutes a day, 6 days a week, fans listen in on their MP3 players, computers, or cell phones as hosts Reginald "Buck" Fever and Leonard "Bass" Masters deliver the latest news on America's most popular motorsport. Joining Buck and Bass to deliver expert commentary and analysis are award winning broadcaster Mark Garrow, former Cup driver Rick Mast, championship-winning crew chief Barry Dodson, and veteran print reporters David Poole of the Charlotte Observer, and Steve Waid of NASCAR Scene.

About Insight Studios Group
Producing numerous award-winning comic books, on-line and newspaper comic strips, graphic novels, portfolios and other publications, Insight Studios Group is profiled in a lavish art book titled IS Art - The Art of Insight Studios. This exceptional collection of artists, writers, film makers and media-masters is responsible for many books, comics and films that include Sightcadelic, Hammer of the Gods, Titanic Tales,
Jimgrim and the Devil at Ludd, Frank Cho Illustrator, Gray Morrow Visionary, Al Williamson Adventures, Frankenstein Mobster, Miles the Monster, MARS, Tug & Buster, Gregory, Marc Hempel's Naked Brain, Breathtaker, Feast of the Seven Fishes and many more. Their website, www.SunnyFundays.com, features additional daily strips such as The Chelation Kid, America Jr., Doctor Cyborg, Cryptozoo Crew, and others.


For more information contact:
Mark Wheatley
Insight Studios
insight@insightstudiosgroup.com
410 871 1235

- he also sent me the theme song, but I have no idea how to link it here.

Bashing of Post over Opus censorship continues

Here's an interesting one - one could reasonably expect CNS to stand for Catholic News Service instead of the actual Cybercast News Service. See "Papers Criticized for Pulling Cartoon on Radical Islam," by Melanie Hunter, CNSNews.com Senior Editor, August 28, 2007.

Aha! Apparently it is Catholic - see Dave Astor's story.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Small Press Expo Adds Matt Wagner, Jeff Smith and Kim Deitch As Guests for SPX 2007

Big year at SPX! Lots of great names will be there.

Small Press Expo Adds Matt Wagner, Jeff Smith and Kim Deitch As Guests for SPX 2007

For Immediate Release
Contact: Warren Bernard
E-Mail: webernard@spxpo.com

Bethesda, Maryland; August 29, 2007 - The Small Press Expo (SPX), the preeminent showcase for the exhibition of independent comic books, graphic novels and alternative political cartoons, is proud to add Matt Wagner, Jeff Smith and Kim Deitch to the roster of guests for SPX 2007. This years SPX will be held October 12 and October 13 at The North Bethesda Marriott Convention Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

Matt Wagner is one of the pioneers of indie comics with his original creation of “Grendel”, which celebrates its 25th Anniversary this year. Matt also created, wrote and drew “Mage”, and has worked on a number of projects for both DC and Vertigo. His next installment of the Grendel saga, “Behold The Devil” is due to be released this November from Dark Horse.

Jeff Smith, is the creator of the celebrated epic “Bone”, which has over a half million copies in print and is now available in Italian, Spanish, German and many other foreign languages. Jeff recently completed his critically acclaimed reworking of the Golden Age hero Captain Marvel, “Shazaam! The Monster Society of Evil” for DC Comics. He has recently been named by Fantagraphics as the art designer in charge of the upcoming reprints of Walt Kelly’s classic, “Pogo”.

Kim Deitch will be at SPX to promote his well received latest graphic novel, “Alias The Cat” from Pantheon Books. Kim is one of the original “underground” cartoonists who redefined comics in the 1960’s and has also worked in the field of animation.

These creators are in addition to Bill Griffith, Gilbert Hernandez and Rutu Modan who were previously announced as guests at this years SPX.

Additional guests will be added over the next few weeks, please stay tuned for those announcements.

For further information on the artists or to request an interview, please contact Warren Bernard at webernard@spxpo.com.

SPX, a non-profit organization, brings together more than 300 artists and publishers to meet their readers, booksellers and distributors each year. Graphic novels, political cartoon books and alternative comics will all be on display and for sale by their authors and illustrators. A series of panel discussions will also be held of interest to readers, academicians and creators of graphic novels and political cartoons.

SPX will be open to the public from 2 pm - 8 pm, Friday, October 12 and 10am - 7 pm Saturday, October 13. Admission is $8 for a single day and $15 for both days.

SPX culminates with the presentation of the 11th Annual Ignatz Awards for outstanding achievement in comics and cartooning. The Ignatz is the first Festival Prize in the US comic book industry, with winners chosen by balloting during the SPX.

As in previous years, all profits from the SPX will go to support the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF), protecting the First Amendment rights of comic book readers and professionals. For more information on the CBLDF, go to their website at
http://www.cbldf.org/.

Founded in 1994, SPX is North America's premier alternative comic-book festival. This annual event brings together comic creators, publishers and more than 2000 fans together to celebrate the art of storytelling.

Sept 22: Mama Mirabelle Festival

National Geographic Kids Entertainment's new preschool cartoon, Mama Mirabelle's Home Movies, which will be seen on PBS Kids in the fall, will be shown at a film screening at National Geographic.

11 AM, $7 ticket.

September - Anime on the big screen

The DC Anime Club's president forwarded this press release, so presumably the four movies can be seen in the area.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Michelle Portillo (303) 792-8651 michelle.portillo@ncm.com


“ANIME BENTO” FESTIVAL SERVES UP FOUR NIGHTS OF THE FRESHEST ANIME TITLES ON
THE BIG SCREEN

NCM Fathom Responds to Anime Movie Demand by
Hosting the Hottest Manga and FUNimation Entertainment
Anime Titles in more than 250 Movie Theatres Nationwide

Centennial, Colo. – August 21, 2007 – NCM FATHOM, the entertainment division of National CineMedia, takes an unprecedented move in alternative theatre entertainment by announcing a special, four-day anime festival – “Anime Bento, 4 Nights, 4 Servings – The Hottest Anime Movies on the Big Screen” – with FUNimation Entertainment and Manga movies never before seen on the big screen with exclusive bonus features each night.

“Anime Bento, 4 Nights, 4 Servings – The Hottest Anime Movies on the Big Screen” is the first of what is planned to be an annual NCM FATHOM Anime Event. Debuting in more than 250 select AMC, Regal Entertainment Group and Georgia Theatre Company movie theatres nationwide beginning on Sept. 19th at 7:30 p.m. local time, the complete “Anime Bento” schedule will serve up one exciting title each night as follows:

- “Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles” – Wednesday, Sept. 19th
- “Full Metal Alchemist – The Movie – Conqueror of Shambala” –Thursday, Sept. 20th
- “Lupin the III: The Castle of Cagliostro ” – Wednesday, Sept. 26th
- “Karas – The Prophecy” – Thursday, Sept. 27th

Tickets for “Anime Bento” can be purchased for $10.00 at www.FathomEvents.com or at participating theatre box offices. For a complete list of theatre locations, please visit the website (theatres are subject to change).

“We’ve had incredible success with the anime category in the recent past and NCM FATHOM is excited to debut the first annual anime festival in theatres with the hottest anime titles provided by the top anime studios in the industry – FUNimation Entertainment and Manga,” said Dan Diamond, vice president of NCM FATHOM. “The anime phenomenon has captivated teens and adults alike, and this special event is designed as a way for fans to meet and revel in their love for anime while experiencing it in a way they’ve never experienced it before – on the big screen.”

About the Titles

“Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles”
Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles is the latest exciting chapter of the Robotech saga. A heroic cast of returning characters, led by Scott Bernard and Vince Grant, fight to end a decades-long struggle against an enigmatic alien race known as the Invid. However, the mysterious disappearance of the legendary Admiral Hunter will unfold in a treacherous mystery that could tear apart our young heroes and threaten their very survival!

“Full Metal Alchemist – The Movie – Conqueror of Shambala”
It is 1923 in Munich . Two years have passed since Edward Elric’s sacrifice ripped him out of his world and into ours, separating him from his younger brother, Alphonse. In that time, Ed’s continued research into rocketry has allied him with Alphonse Heiderich, a fellow researcher who oddly resembles Ed’s brother. Progress has been slow, however, and Ed has become discouraged. But when he saves a quiet Gypsy girl with the power to read minds, Ed is quickly pulled into a plot by the Thule Society and the burgeoning Nazi Party that could drag both worlds into a terrible war. Back in his own world, Al has been unlocking new secrets of alchemy and gaining incredible powers, all in the hopes of finding Ed.

Battling the occult, ideological extremists, and monstrous Homunculi lurking in the shadows, can the brothers find a way to reunite without causing chaos and bloodshed? What will happen when the world of alchemy and the world of modern science collide?

“Lupin the III: The Castle of Cagliostro ”
When master thief Lupin III, a.k.a. "The Wolf," inadvertently steals a fortune in counterfeit bills from a casino, he is quick to realize the high-quality printing plates that made them are worth even more. Tracing the source of the money to the small European country of Cagliostro, Lupin and his team of colorful outlaws cross swords with the local count over his forthcoming marriage to the last princess of the Cagliostro family. It’s a fast-paced adventure as Lupin must battle fearsome ninjas, rescue a damsel in distress and uncover the key to the lost Cagliostro fortune. This is the first feature film written and directed by Academy Award™ winning anime pioneer and visionary Hayao Miyazaki.

“Karas – The Prophecy”
MIKURA IS ON THE RISE AGAIN... Tokyo - a city populated by both humans and by ghostly beings. They exist in both dimensions, seen and unseen: spirits, apparitions, demons. The balance between these two dimensions has long been upheld by the city's guardian raven Karas and his masters. But that balance has been thrown into disarray as Eko, a former Karas, has attempted to seize power and bring order to the streets through force. The entity Yurine, who represents the will of the people, stands in his way with her newly risen Karas. Now an ageless battle stretching across both dimensions and killing humans and spirits alike is in progress between the two sides and their armies. Karas is humanity’s last hope.

Monday, August 27, 2007

Fox News, late to game, slaps around Post over Opus

We had the story days ago of course, but Fox News is just getting to it today - "Washington Post, Other Newspapers Won't Run 'Opus' Cartoon Mocking Radical Islam," Fox News.com Monday, August 27, 2007, by Catherine Donaldson-Evans.

Zippy returns to Arlington!

And visits the Weenie Beenie, in Shirlington, just off 395. Thanks to Vince Miller for the tip. Somewhere in an earlier post, I linked to a lot of his DC area appearances.

Sept. 24: David Wallis appearance for Killed Cartoons in Fairfax

David Wallis just wrote in to mention this appearance. I enjoyed the book quite a bit.
FALL FOR THE BOOK
GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY
FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA

Sept. 24, 12:00 pm David Wallis Gold Room, Johnson Center
Davis Wallis discusses "Killed: Great Journalism Too Hot to Print and Killed Cartoons: Casualties from the War on Free Expression."

The six-day Fall for the Book Festival celebrates literature, learning and all types of books and storytelling - from literary fiction to mystery and thrillers to folk tales, from poetry and plays to children's books, and across a diverse range of nonfiction: history, memoir, politics and more. All events are free and open to the public.

John Porcellino interview on Express' website

"Practice Makes Imperfect: 'King-Cat Classix'", posted by Christopher Porter on August 27, 2007 - it's not in the physical paper and is about John Porcellino.

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Comics have conquered the world


The NY Times regularly runs articles on cartoons or comic art these days. Today's Times has an editorial praising Jack Kirby. Unfortunately, it may mean, like opera, that comics are essentially dead.

See "Editorial Observer - Jack Kirby, a Comic Book Genius, Is Finally Remembered" by BRENT STAPLES, New York Times August 26, 2007.

National Public Radio on the Danish Islam cartoon controversy - a bibliography

National Public Radio on the Danish Islam cartoon controversy - a bibliography

In September 2005, Danish paper Jyllands-Posten published cartoons of Mohammad, ostensibly to satirize and call attention to the issue that a children’s book about Mohammad could not find an illustrator due to the accepted proscription against depicting the prophet. After several months of attempting to raise interest, Danish Muslims in February were able to draw attention to them – after adding three non-cartoons faked from photographs -- which led to extreme violence in Arab countries. NPR’s coverage was generally excellent, especially Steve Inskeep’s provocative interview with one of the Danish clerics. These citations are in reverse chronological order. Many, but not all of these articles can be found linked at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5196793. These citations are being compiled for the Comics Research Bibliography by John Bullough & myself at http://www.rpi.edu/~bulloj/comxbib.html.

del Barco, Mandalit. 2006.
Muhammad Cartoons Displayed at UC Irvine.
National Public Radio's All Things Considered (March 1).
online at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5240309
College Republicans at the University of California at Irvine display the controversial Muhammad cartoons at a campus forum on Islamic extremism. The event provokes strong protests from Muslim students who denounce the cartoons as racist.

Gross, Terry. 2006.
Stealing Thunder from Satirists in the Mideast.
National Public Radio's Fresh Air (February 16).
online at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5219479
A new tactic has emerged in the angry debate over cartoons depicting religious figures, as an Israeli artist launches a contest for the best anti-Semitic cartoon -- drawn by a Jew. Amitai Sandy says the Israeli Anti-Semitic Cartoons Contest is a response to an Iranian newspaper's competition for cartoons on the Holocaust.
Sandy, who is also the publisher of Dimona Comix, describes the issue as a matter of pride. He insists that Jews can offer sharper, more offensive satire of themselves than anyone. After the contest's deadline of March 5, 2006, the winners will be displayed in Tel Aviv.

Socolovsky, Jerome. 2006
Muslim Cartoon Rioting Affects Spanish Rituals.
National Public Radio's Morning Edition (February 15) .
online at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5206890
After Muslim rulers were expelled from Spain in the 13th century, many small communities in the southeast region started holding annual festivals to celebrate. Effigies of the Prophet Muhammed were burned at these events. The recent violent demonstrations over cartoons published in a Danish newspaper have led these villages to change their centuries-old traditions.

Montagne, Renee. 2006.
Imam: Muslims Can Work Toward Peaceful Protest.
National Public Radio's Morning Edition (February 15).
online at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5206887
Muslim leaders in the United States are trying to influence their counterparts in Europe as protests continue over cartoons depicting Prophet Muhammed. Renee Montagne talks to Imam Mohamed Magid, who leads a large mosque in northern Virginia. He says the American civil rights movement can be an example to Muslims of how to peacefully bring change.

Dvorkin, Jeffrey A. 2006.
NPR Ombudsman - Muhammad Cartoons: Strong Listener Response.
NPR.org (February 14): http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5206152

Gillespie, Kristen. 2006.
Editor Arrested for Publishing Cartoons in Jordan.
National Public Radio's Day to Day (February 13)
online at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5203801
A Jordanian newspaper editor has been arrested on charges of blasphemy after reprinting cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad. The controversial cartoons, which originally appeared in a Danish paper, have sparked angry protests by Muslims around the world. Proponents of liberalism in Jordan now face serious opposition on matters of religion.

Knoy, Laura. 2006.
Drawing the Line on Editorial Cartoons
New Hampshire Public Radio (February 13).
online at http://www.nhpr.org/node/10293
A recent Danish comic characterizing the Islamic Prophet Mohammed, has created a storm of protest in the Muslim world and storm of debate everywhere over free speech and religious respect. We’ll talk to those in the Granite state who deal with editorial and political cartoons to look at how much is too much and what takes precedent when the first amendment clashes with faith.
Laura's guests are Mark Timney, Assistant Professor of Journalism at Keene State College. Andrew Cline, Editorial Page Editor for the Union Leader. Mike Marland, Editorial Cartoonist for the Concord Monitor and Stephen Bissette, Instructor at the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vermont, Artist for the "Swamp Thing" Comic Book and Co-Founder and Editor of "Taboo", a 10-volume anthology of the most disturbing comics ever made.

Garfield Bob. 2006.
Arab Media Politics.
National Public Radio's On the Media (February 10).
online at http://www.onthemedia.org/otm021006.html
After days of violent protests over provocative political cartoons, the old familiar phrase - CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS - kept roaring back. With two satellites dishes, seven or eight Arabic-language newspapers and a number of Internet magazines, Cal State political science professor As'ad AbuKhalil is awash in media from the Middle East. AbuKhalil, who blogs under the name Angry Arab, knows more acutely than most what our respective media are saying. He joins Bob for some analysis.

Garfield Bob. 2006.
Speech Impediment.
National Public Radio's On the Media (February 10).
online at http://www.onthemedia.org/otm021006.html
It was only a handful of newspaper cartoons, but it was apparently enough to trigger angry protests - some of them violent - throughout the Middle East and Asia. This week, Bob gets several perspectives on the uproar over the Danish Mohammed caricatures. First, he talks to an American newspaper editor who quit after his bosses refused to reprint the images. Then, he speaks with a law scholar who's worried by the post WW-II European legal tradition of restricting hate speech and "incitement." And finally, he hears from a Middle East historian, who thinks that framing the controversy as a free speech conflict misses the real story.

Martin, Rachel. 2006.
Cartoon Controversy Slams Denmark's Economy.
National Public Radio's Morning Edition (February 10).
online at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5199960
The publication of cariticatures of the Prophet Muhammed in a Danish newspaper -- and subsequently around Europe -- has caused unprecedented economic problems for Denmark. It has also triggered a debate among Danes over freedom of speech and religious multi-culturalism.

Conan, Neal. 2006.
Where Do Editorial Cartoonists Draw the Line?
National Public Radio's Talk of the Nation (February 9).
online at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5198673
The visceral -- and in some cases violent -- reaction in the Muslim world to Danish cartoons of the prophet Muhammad have raised all sort of questions about the freedom of speech and cultural sensitivity in a globalized world. It also reminds us of the power of the political cartoon.
Neal Conan talks to cartoonists Mike Luckovich of the Atlanta Journal Constitution and Ann Telnaes, whose work has appeared in many newspapers, including The New York Times and The Washington Post, about their craft. Joining the discussion is Stephen Hess, co-author of the book Drawn & Quartered: The History of American Political Cartoons.

Gonyea, Don. 2006.
Bush Urges Muslim Leaders to Calm Cartoon Furor.
National Public Radio's All Things Considered (February 8).
online at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5196763&ft=1&f=5196793
President Bush asks Muslim leaders around the world to help stop the violence that has erupted in several countries over cartoons depicting Muhammad. At the same time, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice suggests that Syria and Iran are using the cartoons to further inflame tensions.

Beardsley, Eleanor. 2006.
Paris Paper Publishes New Muhammad Cartoon.
National Public Radio's All Things Considered (February 8).
online at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5196766
French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo publishes a new cartoon of Muhammad and reprints those from a Danish newspaper, further angering Muslim groups. Sources at Charlie Hebdo say some of the staff have been placed under police protection.

Inskeep, Steve. 2006.
Muslim Society Official Explains Mission Against Cartoons.
National Public Radio's Morning Edition (February 8).
online at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5195798
Protests against cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad have led to a number of deaths and damage to Danish missions in several countries. The Danish cartoons came to worldwide attention in part because of Ahmed Abu Laban, the religious director of the Muslim Society in Copenhagen. Steve Inskeep talks to Laban.

Weiner, Eric. 2006.
Why Cartoons of the Prophet Insult Muslims.
National Public Radio's Day to Day (February 8).
online at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5196323
"Many Muslims are angry not only at how their prophet was depicted, but the fact that he was depicted at all. In Islam, it is forbidden to depict the prophet Muhammad in any way -- a prohibition that dates back to the very birth of the religion, in 7th-century Arabia."
There were more protests Wednesday over the Danish cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad. In Afghanistan, police shot four protesters to death as a crowd tried to march on a U.S. military base there, even as Afghanistan's top Islamic group called for an end to violent protests....

Brand, Madeleine. 2006.
Controversial Muhammad Cartoons Reprinted in France.
National Public Radio's Day to Day (February 8).
online at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5196320
Protests sparked by cartoons lampooning the Islamic prophet Muhammad have raised concerns about relations between European and Muslim nations. Now a French satirical weekly has reprinted those controversial cartoons. Madeleine Brand speaks with Sebastian Rotella, Paris bureau chief for The Los Angeles Times, about what that decision might mean for a nation already torn by dissent.

Young, Robin. 2006.
The Sound and Fury over Danish Cartoons.
National Public Radio and WBUR's Here and Now (February 8).
online at http://www.here-now.org/shows/2006/02/20060208_1.asp
Controversy over the publication of cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed and Muslims continues to roil much of the Islamic world.
On Wednesday, President Bush called on governments to stop the violence as protesters took to the streets in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indian-controlled Kashmir, and in Afghanistan, where police shot and killed four protesters marching on a U.S. military base.
A U.S. military spokesman says the U.S. and other countries are now investigating whether extremist groups are inciting rioters.
But elsewhere, a satirical news magazine in France became the latest to display the cartoons -- plus a few more based on a variety of religions. And the Arab European League, citing the right of artistic expressions, posted a cartoon on its website depicting Hitler in bed with Anne Frank.
Meanwhile, Flemming Rose, the Danish editor who sparked the entire controversy by commissioning the cartoons in the first place, told CNN that he does not regret publishing the original 12 cartoons back in September. And he offered to publish any cartoons on the Holocaust drawn as part of an Iranian newspaper contest.
Also today, listeners to NPR's Morning Edition heard from the leading Danish imam, Ahmed Abu Laban, who led the campaign to bring the published cartoons -- and some even more derogatory ones that were not published -- to the attention of government leaders in the Middle East.
Guests:
Naser Khadar, a member of the Danish Parliament for the Social Liberal Party, which is in opposition to the current government. Khadar,is leading a group of Muslim moderates trying to quell the controversy.
Joe Jofee, the editor and publisher of the Germannews weekly Die Ziet, which last week decided to publish one of the cartoons.

Folkenflik, David. 2006.
U.S. Media Avoid Publishing Controversial Cartoons.
National Public Radio's Morning Edition (February 7).
online at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5193569
Riots sparked by the publication of cartoons in a Danish newspaper led to sharp debates in American newsrooms in recent days as editors weighed how far to go in covering this important news.
Ultimately, few U.S. publications have reproduced the offending cartoons, which sparked riots across the Muslim world. These protests have resulted in the death of at least five Afghan protesters and the destruction of the Danish Consulate in Lebanon and the Danish Embassy in Syria.
On Monday morning, Amanda Bennett, editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer, dropped her kids off at school, went to the gym and soon found protesters right outside her office.
"About 25 people came out," Bennett says. "I came down and met with them. I assured them that neither the paper nor I had any interest in being disrespectful to them or to their religion, and I was actually proud of them exercising their freedom of speech to protest in front of my building."
Bennett's newspaper made the decision to run a cartoon depicting the Muslim prophet Muhammad. It was one of the most incendiary ones from a series of 12 cartoons published by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten last September. Other European papers picked up the cartoons since then and published them, in solidarity with the Danish paper's right to print what it wants. The cartoon in The Philadelphia Inquirer showed a bomb with a lit fuse tucked into the prophet's turban. ...

Norris, Michele and Andrew Higgins. 2006.
How the Muhammad Cartoon Controversy Spread.
National Public Radio's All Things Considered (February 7).
online at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5194727
Andrew Higgins of The Wall Street Journal, talks to Michele Norris about what prompted the publication in a Danish newspaper of the controversial cartoons of Muhammad at the heart of recent protests. They discuss how reaction to the cartoons, which began in Copenhagen, spread across the Muslim world.

Martin, Rachel. 2006.
Denmark Battles Muslim Backlash over Cartoons.
National Public Radio's All Things Considered (February 7).
online at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5194724
The Danish government tries to mollify Muslims angry over cartoons depicting Muhammad that were first published in a Danish newspaper. But it has not condemned their publication. As protest continues around the world, Copenhagen is demanding protection for its diplomats and citizens.

Watson, Ivan. 2006.
Anti-Cartoon Protests Turn Deadly in Afghanistan.
National Public Radio's All Things Considered (February 7).
online at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5194721
At least three demonstrators are killed during a protest outside a NATO peacekeeping base in the northwestern part of Afghanistan. Unrest among Muslims continues in the country, prompted by the publication in European newspapers of caricatures of the Muhammad.

Inskeep, Steve and Rachel Martin. 2006.
Denmark Tries to Ease Muslim Anger over Cartoons.
National Public Radio's Morning Edition (February 7).
online at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5193566
A Denmark newspaper's publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad has continued to spark protests, despite the government's efforts to contain Muslim anger. Several thousand people rallied in Pakistan Tuesday, burning effigies of Denmark's prime minister.

Pett, Joel. 2006.
Worldwide Protests, Proof of the Power of Cartoons.
National Public Radio's All Things Considered (February 7).
online at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5194742
Muslims in the Middle East and Asia participate in more violent protests over a Danish cartoon of Muhammad. Commentator Joel Pett says the riots -- and deaths -- are evidence of the power of cartoons. He is a Pulitzer-winning editorial cartoonist for the Lexington Herald Leader and USA Today.

Amos, Deborah. 2006.
Violent Backlash Persists over Muhammad Cartoons.
National Public Radio's Morning Edition (February 6).
online at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5191200
Parts of the Arab world are still reeling from a furious reaction to the publication of Danish cartoons offensive to many Muslims. The burning of the Danish consulate in Beirut prompts Lebanon's interior minister to resign.

Schorr, Daniel. 2006.
Press Freedom Not Always Paramount.
National Public Radio's All Things Considered (February 6).
online at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5192592
Senior news analyst Daniel Schorr says that American media outlets made the correct decision in deciding not to republish a cartoon offensive to millions of Muslims. In times of tension, First Amendment rights may give way to other interests.

Dvorkin, Jeffrey A. 2006.
NPR Ombudsman: The 'Muhammad Cartoon': Has NPR Been Intimidated?
NPR.org (February 7): http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5194697

Amos, Deborah. 2006.
Protests Over Cartoons Turn Violent in Lebanon.
National Public Radio's All Things Considered (February 5).
online at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5190815
There were riots in Lebanon on Sunday over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad published in Denmark this past fall. The Danish consulate in Beirut was torched and property in Christian areas was attacked.

Elliot, Debbie and Kristin Gillespie. 2006.
Muhammad Cartoons Prompt Growing Protests.
National Public Radio's All Things Considered (February 4)
online at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5189906&ft=1&f=1001
A violent reaction continues across the Muslim world to the publication of cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad. A Jordanian newspaper editor was arrested for reprinting the Danish caricatures.

Elliott, Debbie and Fred Hiatt. 2006.
Drawing the Line on Offensive Images.
National Public Radio's All Things Considered (February 4).
online at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5189909
Fred Hiatt, editorial page editor of The Washington Post talks with Debbie Elliott about the decisions editors must make when potentially offensive cartoons cross their desks.

Garfield, Bob. 2006.
Drawing Ire.
National Public Radio's On the Media (February 3).
online at http://www.onthemedia.org/otm020306.html
Rarely does a debate over free speech include as many people, in as many different countries, as has the Danish "cartoon controversy." In the months after a series of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed were published in Denmark, Muslims in Europe and the Middle East have responded with boycotts and angry demonstrations. This week the tension escalated, after several European newspapers reprinted the images. Bob discusses the flap with Susan Caskie of The Week.

Wertheimer, Linda. 2006.
Muslim Anger Builds over Newspaper Cartoons.
National Public Radio's Morning Edition (February 3).
online at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5186889
Outrage over the publication in the European press of cartoons lampooning the Prophet Muhammad continues to escalate. The cartoons were first published last fall in a Danish newspaper and have since been reprinted in several European papers. Linda Wertheimer talks to Ramez Maluf, professor of journalism at the Lebanese American University in Beirut.

Siegel, Robert. 2006
Understanding Muslim Anger over Cartoons
National Public Radio's All Things Considered (February 3).
online at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5188026
Religious scholar Reza Aslan explains to Robert Siegel why the Muhammad cartoons recently published in several European newspapers are offensive to Muslims. The depiction of Muhammad is considered blasphemous by many in the Muslim world and has prompted vigorous protest. Reza Aslan is a scholar of religions and author of No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam.

Young, Robin. 2006.
Mohammed Cartoons Spark Fury.
National Public Radio and WBUR's Here and Now (February 3).
online at http://www.here-now.org/shows/2006/02/20060203_9.asp
The furor over the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed is growing across the Islamic world. In Gaza, armed gunmen surrounded the office of the European Union, firing shots in the air, searching hotels, and threatening violence across westerners unless the cartoons were retracted. Aid workers and other foreigners are pulling out of the region as a result.
The cartoons were originally published in September by a Danish paper -- ostensibly as part of a contest to find a book illustrator.
Some of the images are benign and some are not. One shows Mohammed as a terrorist with a bomb in a turban. The furor escalated this week as other European newspapers printed the cartoons, claiming free speech protections.
Joining us to take about the caricatures and the response they are drawing across the Islamic world is Jyette Klausen, a professor of politics at Brandies University. Klausen is from Denmark and studies the experience of Muslim immigrants.