Dec 12: Alex de Campi & Carla Speed McNeil signing - No Mercy

Alex de Campi & Carla Speed McNeil signing - No Mercy

Saturday, December 12 at 12:00pm - 2:00pm

Big Planet Comics of Bethesda

4849 Cordell Ave, Bethesda, Maryland 20814

Saturday, December 12 at 3:00pm Big Planet Comics of Washington DC

Big Planet Comics is proud to welcome Alex de Campi and Carla Speed McNeil, for 2 signings for their new Image Comics series, No Mercy!

No Mercy is the story of a trip by college freshmen to Central America to build schools, but when tragedy strikes, these once-privileged American teens must find their way home in a cruel landscape that at best doesn't like them, and at worst actively wants to kill them. No phones. No passports. No mercy.

You can see a preview of No Mercy for free at Image's website:
https://imagecomics.com/content/view/no-phones-no-passports-no-mercy

Alex is the writer of Grindhouse, Smokes/Ashes, and Archie vs. Predator.
Carla is the creator of Finder and artist of Bad Houses.

Alex's website: http://www.alexdecampi.com/
Carla's website: http://www.carlaspeedmcneil.com/

We will also be having a second signing at 3 pm at our Big Planet Comics of Washington DC store!
https://www.facebook.com/events/1634554496799632/

Oct 30: Anime USA

http://animeusa.org/about/

Anime USA, the convention

In 1999, a group of anime fans came together and started Anime USA, a three-day convention celebrating Japanese animation, art, culture, history, and fashion. In 2004, Anime USA formed a non-profit educational organization to host the convention. Anime USA's mission is to promote, as well as educate the public about Japanese arts and popular culture. Anime USA is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit managed solely by a staff of volunteers.

Anime USA has enjoyed steady growth since its inception. Our history has been punctuated three outgrowths of venue spaces.

1999: Crowne Plaza, Crystal City, VA
2000–2001: Holiday Inn Rosslyn Westpark Hotel at Key Bridge, Arlington
2002–2007: Sheraton Premiere at Tyson's Corner
2007–2011: Hyatt Regency Crystal City
2012–now: Washington Marriott Wardman Park

The Anime USA convention is an annual event, taking place during the fall season. The convention is a three-day celebration of Japanese arts, music, and culture. The event consists of interactive panels, workshops, musical performances, gaming rooms, and more.

Date: October 30–November 1, 2015

Location:

Washington Marriott Wardman Park
2660 Woodley Road NW
Washington D.C. 20008

Nov. 1: Captive of Friendly Cove booksigning at Busboys and Poets Brookland

Busboys and Poets Brookland: Rebecca Goldfield, Matt Dembicki, Mike Short, and Evan Keeling - Captive of Friendly Cove: Based on the Secret Journals of John Jewitt

Sunday, November 1, 2015 at 6:30 p.m.

Goldfield is an award-winning documentary filmmaker whose work has aired in such places as The Discovery Channel; her previous collaboration with Keeling, founding member of the D.C. Conspiracy, and the graphic artists Dembicki and Short, resulted in Trickster and District Comics, which was one of The Washington Post's Best Books of 2012. In their new work, this amazing creative team pairs early 19th-century adventure with 21st-century graphic tale-telling to depict the three years British sailor John Jewitt spent as a captive of the Mowachaht of Nootka Sound, showing the survivor keeping up his spirits by recording events in his journal and practicing his blacksmithing trade—all while plotting his escape.

Busboys and Poets Brookland

625 Monroe St NE

WashingtonDC20017

Captive of Friendly Cove: Based on the Secret Journals of John Jewitt (Paperback)

By Rebecca Goldfield, Mike Short, Richard Inglis (Foreword by)

$25.95

9781936218110

Cartozia Tales second Kickstarter project

Local teacher and comics writer Michael Wenthe is part of a shared-world comic known as Cartozia.

To fund some more issues, there's a new Kickstarter campaign. I've backed them.

1,230 works by Daumier added to National Gallery of Art

The majority of works in this second round of acquisitions, voted on Oct. 1 and announced Thursday, are lithographs by the prolific 19th century Frenchman Honoré Daumier. The museum accepted 1,230 works by Daumier, including a large work from 1834 titled "Le Ventre Legislatif."

read more at:

National Gallery of Art acquires nearly 8,000 works from Corcoran

By Peggy McGlone
Washington Post October 15 2015
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/museums/national-gallery-of-art-acquires-nearly-8000-works-from-corcoran/2015/10/15/127ef9b6-7350-11e5-8d93-0af317ed58c9_story.html

Honoré Daumier's "Le Défenseur (Council for the Defense)," c. 1862-1865. (National Gallery of Art, Corcoran Collection (William A. Clark Collection))

'Style Weekly' article on 'The Little Red Fish'

Local Creators Explore the History of Iranian Revolution in a Comic About Talking Fish 

By Rich Griset/(Richmond) Style Weekly

You know those people who always talk about the great projects they want to work on, but never do? James Moffitt doesn’t like those people.

“I kept encountering people who had a lot to say about creating stuff and these big ideas for stories or art pieces or comic books, but never actually doing anything about it,” he says. “That really frustrated me, because I’d get really excited about a lot of these ideas, but they’d fizzle out.”

This annoyance led Moffitt to co-found Sink/Swim Press in 2009, which will see the release of its 14th and 15th publications Saturday at Gallery5. One is Dashiell Kirk’s “Consumption,” the story of a tiny centipede trapped on top of a hamburger as it’s eaten by a boy. The other is the third installment of “The Little Red Fish,” a political allegory inspired by Orwell’s “Animal Farm,” using fish and cranes to represent the 1979 Iranian Revolution.

Read the full article.

Editor's note: Moffitt and Khodabandeh run the Comic Creator Expo, which is this Saturday in Richmond from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

New Herblock exhibit opening at Library of Congress next week

Herblock Looks at 1965: Fifty Years Ago in Editorial Cartoons, Part II

http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/herblock-gallery/herblock-looks-at-1965.html

After winning a landslide victory in the 1964 presidential election, Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973) promoted legislation that improved education, medical care, retirement benefits, and voting rights for all Americans. Through his cartoons, Herblock sided with Johnson on his Great Society programs—aimed at reducing poverty in America—and the implementation of democratic immigration reform and gun control. However, the cartoonist felt Johnson's Vietnam policy was too aggressive.

Herblock also focused his attention on the horrific stranglehold Ku Klux Klan organizations held on American politics and the legal system, as well as the Klan's involvement with the local police force in the Southern states. Although the Klan had existed in various iterations for a century, by 1965 participation rates had increased enormously in the South in response to the civil rights movement and African American mobilization in the 1960s. Although a minority of Southern whites belonged to the Klan, the organization's ruthless murders and intimidation made headlines news and drew the attention of President Johnson, who used both the FBI and the House Un-American Activities Committee to undermine Klan organizations.

Currently on exhibit: September 26, 2015–March 19, 2016

Cure anthology Kickstarter features interview with Lupp & Gillis

MICE + Creator Spotlight: Alex Lupp & Emily R. Gillis

by Square City Comics

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/squarecitycomics/the-cure-a-square-city-comics-anthology/posts/1384305?ref=backer_project_update

They only need 4% more to fund their new anthology.

Jan. 4: 'Magic Bullet' #12 deadline

Jan. 4 is the deadline for ads and comics submissions for Magic Bullet, the D.C. Conspiracy's free semi-annual comics newspaper. Find more info here.

Local collector Mitch Berger donated his sketchbook to Billy Ireland Library

Mitch has given me permission to reproduce this from his Facebook page. I love the fact that he's given this great collection to a cartoon archives.


Earlier this summer I decided that it was time for me to donate my most prized possession, my cartoonist sketchbook, to an appropriate institution. I started collecting drawings from cartoonists I liked and admired back in 1972. The book has drawings by many greats who are no longer with us, Hal Foster, Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, Jeff Jones, Vaughn Bode, Roy G. Krenkel, Roy Crane, Alfredo Alcala, Ernie Chan (aka Chua), Joe Kubert, Joe Orlando, Jerry Robinson, Bill Gallo, Paul Conrad and Spain Rodriguez. 

Many more are, happily, still with us and include Marie Severin, Ralph Reese, Steve Bissette, Al Jaffee, Arnold Roth, Robert and Aline Crumb (in a "jam"), Walt Simonson, Howard Chaykin, Gilbert Shelton, Matt Groening, Berke Brethead, Batton Lash, Bobby London, Jen Sorensen, Kelly Bastow, Neal Adams, Roberta Gregory, Jules Feiffer, Jeff Smith, Wendy Pini, Steve Kelly, all three of Los Bros Hernandez and last, but by no means least, among many, many more, the greatest living cartoonist, Sergio Aragones.

I obtained the final two contributions to the sketchbook from Art Spiegelman and Bill Griffith at Cartoon Crossroads Columbus - CXC, and it was donated soon after, to the Billy Ireland Library and Cartoon Museum at Ohio State, the premier repository and most solid institution dedicated to cartoon art in the US. The picture below is of me and the incomparable Lucy Caswell, the heart and soul of the library/museum, going through the sketchbook one last time. I hope all of the drawings in it will be available online. Thanks to all the cartoonists who, through the last 40+ years, have given me the gift of their art.

You can never really own art, you are lucky if you have the privilege to be its custodian for a while. I have been tremendously lucky. I'm also lucky to have Peggy, as my wife. The sketchbook would easily sell for tens of thousand$, but it would be broken up and sold piecemeal. When it comes to doing the right thing, there's none better than my wife.

Comic Riffs talks to Noelle Stevenson

From idea born at MICA, Noelle Stevenson is the youngest 2015 National Book Award finalist

By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog October 15 2015
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2015/10/15/from-idea-born-at-mica-noelle-stevenson-is-now-youngest-national-book-award-finalist-ever/

Cartoonist Josh Kramer covers the City Paper

Fails of Justice Faked evidence, missing witnesses, and shady deals—how one defense attorney went wrong

By Will Sommer • Illustrations by Josh Kramer • October 16, 2015
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/47577/fails-of-justice-faked-evidence-missing-witnesses-and-shady-deals/

OCT 18 Southern Maryland Comic-Con 2015

• Sunday at 10:00am - 4:00pm 3 days from now · 49°F / 35°F Clear

• Show Map Hollywood Volunteer Fire Department 24801 Three Notch Rd, Hollywood, Maryland 20636

• Find Tickets Tickets Available www.eventbrite.com

Southern Maryland's comic-con is back!! We're going to be in Hollywood, MD this time, so make sure you come check it out! October 18, 10am-4pm. Don't forget your costume!

Oct 20, 24: Mike Jenkins' LunchBagArt reception

Mike Jenkins' LunchBagArt is on display at Studio Pause during the month of October. Please join us for a reception on Oct 20 6-8pm where Mike will talk about his inspriration, his daily method, and answer questions. Studio Pause owner Sush Mazumdar creates beautifully handmade books, so the much awaited LunchBag Art Books will also be for sale!

Studio Pause is at 2421 26th Rd South, Arlington, VA, just east of S. Glebe Rd. Not lots of parking, so plan on extra time to find a spot.

and

Reception, Sat., Oct 24, 6-8 pm
Art to Lunch: Thinking Outside the Bag with Cartoonist Mike Jenkins After a 25 year career as an Editorial Cartoonist, Mike Jenkins left the newspaper business but is still recovering (though he occasionally falls off the wagon). He lives in Arlington, Virginia with his wife Tish and daughter Maggy and works primarily as a caricaturist. He started his company Capital Artworks to provide caricaturists for events around the DC area as well as custom artwork for corporate, government and private clients.

When his two older children left for college, he started doodling on Maggy’s school lunch bags. When she mentioned one night during dinner that all the kids in cafeteria would run to see her lunch bag every day, they knew they were onto something. Mike’s wife posted the next bag on Facebook, and they were stunned by the positive reaction. That’s when Mike knew the pressure was on, and he was back to facing a daily deadline!

PLUS! Art to Lunch: Thinking Outside the Bag, a Handmade Storybook with 17 of Mike’s Lunch Bag art which will be available for sale at the reception.

Mike’s work can be seen daily on Instagram and Twitter @CapitalArtworks and on his website at www.CapitalArtworks.com

New DC Conspiracy anthology at DC Author Fest

The DC Conspiracy members will among the featured speakers at D.C. Author Festival Oct. 24-25 at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library. On Saturday, Andrew Cohen and Evan Keeling will be talking about the DCC's Magic Bullet comics newspaper at 2 p.m.

DCC will also be premiering a new comics anthology published in partnership with the DC Public Library system. DC Conspiracy, 2015: Comics from the Nation's Capital is 76 pages packed with mostly four-page comics by local creators (The cover is by David Ross). Proceeds from the sales of the book will go toward publishing Magic Bullet.

Oct 18: Liniers in Silver Spring with Michael Cavna

Busboys and Poets Takoma: Ricardo Liniers - Written and Drawn by Henrietta and Macanudo #3

Sunday, October 18, 2015 at 6:30 p.m.

Argentine cartoonist Liniers, in conversation with The Washington Post's Comic Riffs columnist Michael Cavna, discusses his two latest books. In Written and Drawn by Henrietta, the titular heroine shows her cat Fellini—and the reader—how to write and illustrate a spellbinding story. Macanudo #3 is a collection of Liniers's popular comic strip, translated from the Spanish, which also features Henrietta and Fellini as well as a host of other characters. All ages

• Liniers will also perform a live painting while attendees mix and mingle and enjoy the evening. 
• Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School Jazz Combo musicians will perform throughout the evening to add a lively vibe to the event. 

Busboys and Poets Takoma

235 Carroll Street NW

WashingtonDC20012

Written and Drawn by Henrietta (Hardcover)

By Liniers, Liniers (Illustrator)

$12.95

9781935179900

On Our Shelves Now

Toon Books - September 29th, 2015

Oct 24: DC Conspiracey at DC Author Festival

From Andrew Cohen, via Facebook:

Saturday, October 24, is the D.C. Author Festival at the MLK library. Along with all the other local authors and publishers, the DC Conspiracy will be proudly representing the local comic scene with Magic Bullet, as well as a brand new book printed on the library's own Espresso Book Machine! We'll even be giving a short talk at 2:00 pm, so come on down, say hi, and bask in the wordy pleasure!

D.C. Author Festival

Enjoy readings, workshops, and over 60 local author and publisher vendor booths. Vendor Fair Saturday, Oct. 24, 2015

dclibrary.org

Victory Comics owner is running Bernie Sanders' campaign?

Meet the Comic Book King Running Bernie Sanders' Campaign

Jeff Weaver is the Robin to Bernie's Batman.

—By Tim Murphy

Thu Jul. 16, 2015
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/07/bernie-sanders-jeff-weaver-victory-comics

"His is an unconventional campaign, so it was only logical that in May he picked an unconventional operative to run it—the owner of a comic book shop. A longtime Sanders friend and advisor, Jeff Weaver had worked on Sanders' campaigns and in his Washington offices for more than two decades. But before he came on board Bernie 2016, Weaver had retired from politics to launch one of the DC-area's biggest gaming businesses."

Oct 28: Animezing - Brave Story

-Brave Story- | October 28, 2015 | Wednesday, 6:30PM   Adventure | Not Rated | 2006 | 111 min | In Japanese with English subtitles ©FUJI TELEVISION NETWORK/ GONZO/ WARNER ENTERTAINMENT JAPAN/ DENTSU/ SPWT Please join us at:        Interested in more great Japan-related events in the Washington, DC area?       Check out our upcoming area events page, updated three times a week, for a list of the latest events in the region.   Japan Information and Culture Center  1150 18th Street NW, Suite 100 Washington DC, 20036   In the event of a cancellations, please contact us at jicc@ws.mofa.go.jp. Japan Academy Award Nominee Best Animated Film, 2007 Young Wataru lives a carefree life until he learns of his parents' divorce and his mother is suddenly hospitalized. Feeling trapped and helpless, he longs to somehow escape his fate. Enter the enigmatic Mitsuru, who presents Wataru with a solution to his troubles. If Wataru goes to the magical world of Vision and can prove himself a worthy hero, the Goddess of Fortune will grant him one wish. Seizing the opportunity, Wataru discovers the portal to Vision and decides to face the challenges that separate him from achieving his goal. But will he have the courage necessary to change his destiny? Screening Materials provided by the Japan Foundation. - TRICK OR TREAT! - Please join us for a thrilling Halloween-themed evening at the JICC! Wear your favorite costume and trick-or-treat with staff following the film. Happy Halloween! Warning: This film is unrated but parental guidance is suggested as some scenes may be frightening for young children. This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required for security purposes. Click here to register.   Doors open at 6:00PM and will close once seating is full or promptly at 7:00PM. Registered guests will be seated on a first come, first served basis. Please note that seating is limited and registration does not guarantee guests a seat. This program is presented in cooperation with the Japan Foundation.

Oct 23-29: Animation in Silver Spring

THE 17TH ANNUAL ANIMATION SHOW OF SHOWS at AFI/Silver Theater

Run Time:

97 Minutes

Genre:

Animation, family

Rating:

NOT RATED

Special Features:

One week only, Oct. 23-29!

Opening Date:

Friday, October 23, 2015

Presenting eleven new international award-winning animated short films in a variety of animation techniques, including traditional hand-drawn 2-D, computer graphics 3-D, stop-motion and painted clay. Includes four mini-portrait documentaries of filmmakers in their homes and studios; filmed on location in Russia, Ireland, the U.S. and Iran.

Featuring Janette Goodey and John Lewis' THE STORY OF PERCIVAL PILTS; Geoffrey Godet and Burcu Sankur's TANT DE FORÊTS [SO MANY FORESTS]; Conor Whelan's SNOWFALL; Lynn Tomlinson's BALLAD OF HOLLAND ISLAND HOUSE; Amanda Palmer and Avi Ofer's BEHIND THE TREES; Konstantin Bronzit's WE CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT THE COSMOS; Isabelle Favez's MESSAGES DANS L'AIR [MESSAGES IN THE AIR], Babak Nekooei and Behnoud Nekooei's STRIPY; Thomas Bourdis, Martin de Coudenhove, Caroline Domergue, Colin Laubry and Florian Laubry's ASCENSION; Melissa Johnson and Robertino Zambrano's LOVE IN THE TIME OF MARCH MADNESS; and Don Hertzfeldt's WORLD OF TOMORROW, curated and produced by Ron Diamond.
DIR Janette Goodey, John Lewis, Geoffrey Godet, Burcu Sankur, Conor Whelan, Lynn Tomlinson, Amanda Palmer, Avi Ofer, Konstantin Bronzit, Isabelle Favez, Babak Nekooei, Behnoud Nekooei, Thomas Bourdis, Martin de Coudenhove, Caroline Domergue, Colin Laubry, Florian Laubry, Melissa Johnson, Robertino Zambrano, Don Hertzfeldt. Australia/France/Ireland/Russia/Iran/U.S., 2014/2015, color, 97 min, DCP. NOT RATED