Sunday, April 20, 2014
Friday, April 18, 2014
Rep. Lewis' March nominated for an Eisner award
Awesome Con Newsletter
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Bleeding Cool talks to Awesome Con owner Penrod
Awesome Con Founder Ben Penrod On Breaking World Records And Getting Big Names This Year
By Devon Sanders
Bleeding Cool April 17, 2014
Comic Riffs on tomorrow's Awesome Con
The Riff: Is D.C. (finally) geeky enough to set a cosplay world record Friday?
By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog April 17 2014
Puck, Judge and The Wasp cartoons from local bookstore owner
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Steve Artley's SF Aphelion Arc PREVIEW ISSUE is now available
The Aphelion Arc PREVIEW ISSUE is now available! This special preview edition contains the latest and most complete version of "Exiles of Nod," along with The Nerds' Appendix and bonus material that provides a glimpse at the process in scripting and storyboarding. This 32-page magazine also contains sketches for the new story, "Adam's Eve." You can arrange to purchase your copy by emailing info@aphelionarc.com.
If you're in the Washington DC area, look for our APHELION ARC booth at AWESOME CON, Washington DC Convention Center April 18 — 20, where we'll have the magazine on sale along with a few other items of interest. http://awesomecondc.com/.
Comic Riffs on Eisner Award nominees
2014 EISNER AWARDS: From Aydin to Yang, nominees size up this year's list
By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog April 15 2014 http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2014/04/15/2014-eisner-awards-from-aydin-to-yang-nominees-size-up-this-years-incredible-list/
Herblock bio screening for Avalon movie theater Benefit
http://www.theavalon.org/support/2014benefit/
| On Sunday, April 27, 2014 at 5:00pm, the Avalon Theatre will hold its annual spring benefit event to support the theater. The focus of the event will be a local icon – legendary Washington Post editorial cartoonist Herbert L. Block – with a screening of the documentary HERBLOCK: THE BLACK AND THE WHITE. A post-film guest panel, which includes the film's producer and Honorary Chair of the event, George Stevens, Jr., as well as Tom Toles, Pulitzer Prize winning editorial cartoonist for the Washington Post, will discuss Block's life and legacy. An hors d'oeuvres reception precedes the film. Proceeds from the event will be used for general operating funds and to complete the renovation of the Avalon 2 side of our historic building. The upstairs theater will be updated with new, more comfortable seats and a freshly painted floor to complement the lobby renovation and elevator installation done last fall. In HERBLOCK: THE BLACK AND THE WHITE, Director Michael Stevens and Producer George Stevens, Jr. draw on the best minds in journalism to tell the Herbert Block tale. Block looked to Ted Koppel like a "Vermont pharmacist" – not "the most feared editorial cartoonist in the country." Block started cartooning in his Chicago teens and went on to win four Pulitzer Prizes and the Presidential Medal of Freedom during 55 years at the Post. He challenged the high and the mighty without fear or favor. In Block's words, it was his job to remind our public servants that "they are, after all, public servants." Gwen Ifill, Bob Schieffer, Tom Friedman, Tom Brokaw, Mark Shields and David Brooks offer insights on how one man utilized his pen like a stiletto to express his belief in justice, human rights and always "watching out for the little guy" – while Jon Stewart and Lewis Black describe how Block influenced 21st-century satire. | Download a printable invitation For more information, contact Sarah Pokempner at (202) 966-2149 or spokempner@theavalon.org. |
Underwriters
Janice & Kim Abraham
Lynn & Bill Choquette
Louie & Ralph Dweck
Donetta George
Lynne & Joe Horning
Beth Wehrle & Matthew Miller
Jodie Levin-Epstein & Barry Zigas
Host Committee
Cynthia Baker & Jon Zeitler | Claire Bloch & Geoffrey Griffis | Phyllis & Barry Caldwell | Caroline Croft | Toby & Dan Edelman | Bitsey Folger | Rena & Michael Gordon | Lynne & Joe Horning | Kitty Kelley | Aviva Kempner | Judy & Peter Kovler | Kitty Lansdale | Kathleen & Chris Matthews | Janice McCall | Anne McGuirk | Peggy Parsons | Mary Ellen & David Rogers | Bev & Steve Schacht | Jan Solomon & Ken Simonson | Susan Stamberg | Vali Tschirgi & Adam Nemzer | Katharine Weymouth | Catherine Wyler & Richard Rymland | Debra Yogodzinski (as of 3/6/14)
Aftertime Comics of Alexandria is City Paper's pick
Best Comic Shop
Tim Regan
Washington City Paper (April 11 2014): 98http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/bestofdc/artsandentertainment/2014/best-comic-shop
PR: Are You Ready for The Intergalactic Nemesis?
|
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Tom King to write DC comic book Grayson
Local writer Tom King's first novel was the entertaining superhero story, A Once Crowded Sky. He'll be writing a comic book for DC next.
Batman's sidekick leaves the cave for 'Grayson' comic
Brian Truitt, USA TODAY April 14, 2014
http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2014/04/14/grayson-comic-book-series/7480853/
Lincoln Peirce's new Guinness record
Toon-size: Guinness Record for longest comic strip set on TODAY
Scott Stump
TODAY April 11, 2014 http://www.today.com/news/toon-size-guinness-record-longest-comic-strip-set-today-2D79517765
Comic Riffs talks to Siers and Bechdel about Pulitzers
2014 PULITZER PRIZES: 'Fun Home's' Alison Bechdel 'thrilled' with theatrical nod
By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog April 14 014
2014 PULITZER PRIZES: Charlotte Observer's Kevin Siers calls his Editorial Cartooning win 'surreal'
By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog April 14 2014
For a local content footnote, Kevin Siers is a fan of Richard Thompson, and came out to meet him when Richard attended Heroes Con in Charlotte.
Meet a Local Cartoonist: A Chat with Nguyen Nguyen (updated regarding a paper version)
Nguyen Nguyen (pronounced Win Win) is self-publishing a graphic novel drawing on his family's experiences in the Vietnam War. He's posting it by chapter in the iTunes store. His website has a nice biographical note, so I'll just repost it here:Nguyen Khoi Nguyen is a multi-disciplinary artist. He was born in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, raised in Cape Coral, Fl. and resides in Washington D.C. He studied visual art at the Cooper Union, music and integrated arts at Bard College and completed a master’s degree in jazz piano at the University of Maryland. Nguyen leads the jazz trio, “Superior Cling,” which performs in the D.C. metro area and released its first album this summer. As a filmmaker, Nguyen produces a wide range of content including art films, documentaries and promotional videos for non-profits and institutions. He was the recipient of the 2013 Artist Fellowship Grant from the DC Commission for the Arts. Nguyen is currently a 2014 Strathmore Fine Artist in Residence.
This week he's holding a release party for the third chapter of ten (details at the bottom of the post)
ComicsDC: What type of comic work or cartooning do you do?
Nguyen Nguyen: I make multimedia comics that include stories, drawings, music and animation. I am working on my first graphic novel called "The Gulf." The first three chapters are available now in the iBooks store.
"The Gulf," a digital mutlimedia comic, is about a
Vietnamese-American man and his family. The stories are set in
D.C., my hometown, the Gulf Coast city of Cape Coral, FL, and in Ho Chi
Minh City, Vietnam. Each chapter includes music and animation. I'm
releasing the individual chapters in the iBooks store. They can be
viewed on the iPad, iPad mini, and any Mac with OSX Mavericks.I received a 2013 Artist Fellowship to work on this project from the DC Commission on the Arts and I've been selected for a Strathmore Fine Artist Residency to keep working on it in 2014.
I do hope to make paper versions of "The Gulf" in the future and to add a Kindle version. The trick is that I try to make the multimedia elements not just add-ons but essential to the story. So a paper version of the gulf would be a different experience.
How do you do it? Traditional pen and ink, computer or a combination?
I draw and ink everything by hand. The images are then scanned, colored and laid out on the computer. I write and perform the music with various instruments and software. I draw the animation on the iPad.
When (within a decade is fine) and where were you born?
I was born in 1981, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Why are you in Washington now? What neighborhood or area do you live in?I have found a great community of artists and friends here in DC. I live in the wonderful Le Droit Park neighborhood.
What is your training and/or education in cartooning?
I've always loved to draw and began taking drawing classes when I was ten. I was very fortunate to attend an arts high school in Florida, and then went on to art school in New York.
Who are your influences?
My influences in comics include: Yoshihiro Tatsumi, Alison Bechdel, Adrian Tomine, Bill Watterson.
Nothing.
What work are you most proud of?
I'm very proud of the most recent chapter of my graphic novel that I've released: "The Gulf: #3 Fifty Needles."
The story is based on my mother's memories of learning how to sew as a girl in Vietnam in the 1960's.
What would you like to do or work on in the future?
I've set a goal to do ten chapters of "The Gulf." I'm three-tenths done now and that's taken over a year and a half of research, planning and then finally making the art! I'll be super happy when I finish but I'm sure I'll look to the next challenge. Ten more chapters?! Who knows?
What do you do when you're in a rut or have writer's block?
I try to work in a different medium or discipline to scramble my brain like playing piano or dancing. Also, I'll go for a run around the neighborhood reservoir.
Digital comics.
What local cons do you attend? The Small Press Expo, Intervention, or others? Any comments about attending them?
I've had great experiences at the conventions; talking shop with artists, meeting my heroes and just seeing what's out there. I love going to SPX and I attended the first Smudge convention a month ago. I'm looking forward to Awesome Con!
What's your favorite thing about DC?
Metro's green line.
Least favorite?The red line.
What monument or museum do like to take visitors to?
The Hirshhorn for their exhibits and the American Indian Museum for their cafeteria.
How about a favorite local restaurant?
So many to choose from: Fast Gourmet, Woodlands, The Big Greek Cafe in Silver Spring. La Mano Coffee bar is a fantastic coffee shop.
Do you have a website or blog?
My blog for "The Gulf:" http://ngknguyen.com/175725/978020/home/sketches-for-the-gulf
My website: http://ngknguyen.com
My etsy shop: http://etsy.com/shop/Nguyenmade
Nguyen is launching the third chapter of his story this week:
Thursday, April 17th at 7:00 PM
Shaw's Tavern, 2nd Floor
520 Florida Ave NW, Washington, DC
Monday, April 14, 2014
Hershel Kanter, friend of ComicsDC, wins civic award
SPACE Prizes
Comic Riffs talks to Gene Yang about his latest book award
COMICS LIT AWARDS: Gene Luen Yang, Ulli Lust among big winners at L.A. Times Book Festival Prizes
By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog April 13 2014