FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Fist of Justice Returns!
Critical hit "Fist of Justice" from Digital Webbing Press is making a return to comics and your help is needed.
Methuen, MA, February 10, 2014
What began as a one-off, seven page story with a twist ending in the anthology series Digital Webbing Presents generated such positive reader response that creators Mike Imboden and Ed Dukeshire made the decision to undo that twist ending and revive Fist of Justice as an ongoing feature. Over the course of 10 issues (five lead stories in DWP and five in his own self-titled book), they created the world of Fist of Justice. After taking a few years off from publishing, the creative team felt the time was right to continue what they started and bring Fist of Justice back to the loyal fans who have longed for his return.
A Kickstarter campaign is underway to fund publication of a full-color trade paperback collecting Fist's earliest adventures. Some of the comic industry's hottest talents got their start illustrating Fist of Justice including Chad Hardin (Harley Quinn), Yildiray Cinar (Supergirl), Anthony Castrillo (X-Men), Dario Carrasco, Jr. (Star Wars), and Andre Coelho (Ms. Marvel).
So who is the Fist of Justice? Fist of Justice is a man out of time, a cat with his heart in the right place-- a true hero from the 70s awakened in our time. He was the super-heroic defender of Charm City until he made a fatal mistake that ended his career. He threw in the towel and was locked away and soon forgotten. But his power-- though dormant-- did not leave him. Now it has returned and resurrected FOJ-- restoring him as defender of a city dealing with the new villains of the 21st century. Villains who are tougher, stronger, and meaner than ever.
Creators Mike Imboden and Ed Dukeshire have taken to crowd-funding site, Kickstarter, to raise the money needed to collect the first five issues of the comic into a trade paperback. In addition, plans call for publication of an all-new issue 6 of Fist of Justice. Says Dukeshire, "Kickstarter has shown that projects that couldn't originally happen, are now possible. While the costs to produce the book are too high for us alone, support via Kickstarter can change that. The campaign will help pay for the printing of the trade paperback, comic book, all the rewards, shipping supplies, and shipping. We'd love to get Fist of Justice out there on a regular basis once again, but need the help of our readers and fans."
A number of comics' most talented artists got their start illustrating Fist of Justice. Chad Hardin, artist of the super-hot Harley Quinn from DC, was first published in the pages of Fist of Justice. Yildiray Cinar, who currently draws Supergirl for DC, also began his career penciling FOJ. Now fans will be able to see their early work in a newly published trade paperback."These guys were extreme talents right out of the gate," said Dukeshire, who spotted samples of their drawings on the Digital Webbing Forums and offered them their first chance to be published.
Supporters can choose from a handful of incentives. "We've got plenty of incentives to contribute to the Kickstarter campaign", adds Imboden. "Not only can people get the trade paperback, we have pledge levels that include art by past FOJ artists. We've got t-shirts, prints and stickers and, what might be the coolest thing of all, the opportunity to have yourself drawn into an original Fist of Justice short story!"
Web address for Kickstarter is:
For more information about Fist of Justice, visit www.fistofjustice.org or www.facebook.com/fistofjustice or contact Imboden (mike@imboden.org) or Dukeshire (eduke@digitalwebbing.com)
.
Super Heroes with a Serious Message |
By Jeffrey S. Reznick
National Library of Medicine's Circulating Now blog February 10, 2014
http://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2014/02/10/super-heroes-with-a-serious-message/
How many characters can you name?
| |||||||||
Contact: Caitlin McGurk
The Ohio State University
Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum
1813 N. High Street
Columbus OH 43210-1343
614-292-0538
cartoons@osu.edu
For Immediate Release: February 7, 2014
Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum Announces Two New Exhibitions:
Exploring Calvin and Hobbes
&
The Irresistible Force Meets the Immovable Object: A Richard Thompson Retrospective
March 22 – August 3, 2014
Two new exhibitions of original art by cartoonists Bill Watterson and Richard Thompson will delight fans of Calvin and Hobbes and Cul De Sac. The exhibitions open March 22 at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum (BICLM) and will be on display through August 3, 2014. An opening reception on Friday, March 21 from 6 – 8 p.m. is free and open to the public. The companion shows provide a unique opportunity to see the original art of these two gifted cartoonists, who are friends and admirers of each other’s work.
Exploring Calvin and Hobbes revisits the beloved comic strip created by Watterson from 1985 to 1995. The exhibition will feature original Calvin and Hobbes dailies and Sundays as well as specialty pieces by Watterson from his collection of more than 3,000 originals housed at the BICLM. This is only the second exhibition devoted toCalvin and Hobbes, which appeared in 2,400 newspapers worldwide at the height of its popularity. Watterson won the National Cartoonists Society’s prestigious Reuben Award for “Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year” in both 1986 and 1988.
Six-year-old Calvin, named after the 16th-century theologian John Calvin, has a vivid imagination; an aversion to homework, chores, and girls; and a penchant for discussing the meaning of life. Hobbes, named for the 17th-century British philosopher Thomas Hobbes, appears to most of the strips’ characters as a stuffed animal, but from Calvin’s perspective, he is a living, breathing—sometimes even dangerous—tiger. He’s also a best friend, a playmate, a co-conspirator, and occasionally the voice of reason. The strip follows the two as they navigate the bumpy ride of life, surrounded by a supporting cast that includes Calvin’s parents, his neighbor Susie, his babysitter Rosalyn, the school bully Moe, and his teacher, Mrs. Wormwood.
The exhibition, curated by BICLM curator Jenny E. Robb, explores Watterson’s mastery of the comic strip art form through engaging characters, thoughtful writing, and creative layouts. It will also include original art by cartoonists who influenced Watterson, chosen by the artist from the BICLM’s collection, such as Charles Schulz, George Herriman, Jim Borgman, Berkeley Breathed, Garry Trudeau, and Ralph Steadman.
The 2011 winner of the Reuben Award for “Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year,” will be featured in the second exhibition, The Irresistible Force Meets the Immovable Object: A Richard Thompson Retrospective. This exhibit, curated by Caitlin McGurk, will not only include gorgeously hand-watercolored Sunday originals and black-and-white dailies from Thompson’s popular comic strip Cul de Sac, but will celebrate his lesser-known abilities as a master of caricature, gags, and editorial cartoons— both as cartoonist and painter.
The six-year run of Cul de Sac serves as an insightful, humorous, and at times sentimental illustration of suburban family life on the outskirts of the city, and therefore a meditation on the tiny and sacred universe we form with our family outside of the rest of the world. The strip orbits around the activities of sibling child characters Alice and Petey Otterloop. In an interview with Mike Rhode in 2008, Thompson explained, “Let’s have a comic strip with kids, because comic strips are only this big now, so if you can fit somebody into it, it better be a kid. I thought the kids should be the opposite—a small child who’s the unstoppable force and the brother who’s the immovable object and the way they collide would make some humor.”
This sentiment has grown to have a double meaning, as Thompson had to discontinue the strip in September 2012 due to the advancement of his Parkinson’s disease. Thompson’s work continues to be celebrated in the upcoming release of The Complete Cul de Sac and The Art of Richard Thompson (both to be published by Andrews McMeel), the $100,000 that has been raised and donated to the Michael J. Fox Foundation in Richard’s name, and this exhibition, the most extensive display of his work to date.
About the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum: The BICLM is one of The Ohio State University Libraries’ special collections. Its primary mission is to develop a comprehensive research collection of materials documenting American printed cartoon art (editorial cartoons, comic strips, comic books, graphic novels, sports cartoons, and magazine cartoons) and to provide access to the collections. The BICLM recently moved into its newly-renovated 30,000 sq. ft. facility that includes a museum with three exhibition galleries, a reading room for researchers and a state-of-the-art collections storage space. The library reading room is open Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 1 – 5 p.m. The museum is open Tuesday-Sunday from 1 – 5 p.m. See http://cartoons.osu.edu/ for further information.
Big Planet Comics is proud to welcome Yumi Sakugawa for a signing and reading from her brand new graphic novel, I Think I Am in Friend-Love With You!
|
