Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Sneak peek: Fantom Comics' 'Fantoms' anthology

Local retailer Fantom Comics releases its first publication, Fantoms, on July 23 at the DC Zinesfest. Local artist Erin Lisette did the wraparound cover for the anthology.

Shapiro's 'Fun with Numbers' for Panel

Jake Shapiro of Fantom Comics writes "Fun with Numbers" for the comics website Panels. The column offers an interesting retailer perspective, albeit from data on Fantom's subscriber base.

The Post on comic book sales

The resurgence of comic books: The industry has its best-selling month in nearly two decades

By Travis M. Andrews
Washington Post Morning Mix July 12 2016
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/07/12/the-resurgence-of-comic-books-the-industry-has-its-best-selling-month-in-nearly-two-decades/

Comic Riffs book recommendations

7 graphic novels and memoirs you should read this summer

By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs July 12 2016
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2016/07/12/7-graphic-novels-and-memoirs-you-should-read-this-summer/

Monday, July 11, 2016

Flugennock's Latest'n'Greatest: "Nice Shooting!"

Another cartoon from Mike Flugennock, DC's anarchist cartoonist.

"Nice Shooting!"
http://sinkers.org/stage/?p=2004

If you've noticed, in the past few years, that the behavior and tactics of American police resemble those of Israeli police and soldiers, you'd be right -- and these tactics have come into even sharper focus with the murder of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Minneapolis, Minnesota recently.

Military occupation tactics, collective punishment, terrorizing and brutalizing neighborhoods -- Israel taught U.S. police everything they know.

-----

More background on Israeli training of U.S. police:

"Israel-trained police 'occupy' Missouri after killing of black youth"
Rania Khalek, Electronic Intifada 08.15.14
https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/rania-khalek/israel-trained-police-occupy-missouri-after-killing-black-youth

"From NYC, Ferguson To Baltimore, American Police Are Trained In Apartheid Israel"
Kit O'Connell, MintPress News 05.15.15
http://www.mintpressnews.com/from-nyc-ferguson-to-baltimore-american-police-are-trained-in-apartheid-israel/205650/

"U.S. Police Routinely Travel to Israel to Learn Methods of Brutality and Repression"
Justin Gardner, Free Thought Project 08.30.15
http://thefreethoughtproject.com/u-s-police-routinely-travel-israel-learn-methods-brutality-repression/

Joel Pollack on 30 years of Big Planet Comics stores (UPDATED)

by Mike Rhode

Thirty years ago today, Joel Pollack opened Big Planet Comics in Bethesda, Maryland. I became a regular customer soon afterwards. I'm glad to count Joel as a friend and to be able to run this 'thank you and congratulations' interview with him all these years later.

MR: When and where did the first BP store open?

JP: My first business partner, Gene Carpenter, and I opened the Bethesda Big Planet Comics on July 11, 1986. Our first location was on the second floor of 4865 Cordell Avenue, just 100 feet from our current location (at 4849). After one year, I decided that Gene's focus on back issues/collectibles was incompatible with my vision of what a modern comic shop should be, and I bought him out. It was an amiable split, and Gene and I remain friends.

MR: Why did you decide to open the store?

JP: I had worked in my father's drapery business since the age of twelve, and when he retired I found myself unemployed. I had toyed with the idea of opening a comic shop for at least ten years before I made my move.

101_9088 Dave Lasky and Martha Burns at Big Planet Comics

Dave Lasky and Martha Burns at Big Planet Comics Bethesda, 2014.

MR: You'd been active in fandom and publishing before that. Can you tell me about some of your work, like selling Bernie Wrightson's original art?

JP: I became a part of "organized" comics fandom as early as 1963 when I discovered my first fanzine, "Rocket's Blast". I was a charter member of Biljo White's "Batmania." In 1965, I had my first letters published in Detective Comics #342 and 343. That same year, My aunt Kitty Goldberg introduced me to her friend, Ira Schnapp, who was a letterer and designer at DC Comics. Ira invited me to visit DC's offices (twice) and I met Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson. It was those visits that made me determined to work in the comics field.

I attended my first convention (the first major comic convention) in 1968. Phil Seuling ran that convention and many subsequent July 4th conventions. At those conventions, I met many of my artistic heroes, as well as several up-and-comers who were my age. I became friends with several, including Bernie Wrightson, Jeff Jones, Michael Kaluta, Howard Chaykin, and Walt Simonson. I dabbled in publishing, first with Bob Lewis on "Colour Your Dreams," a fantasy coloring book, and later, the ill-fated "Wet Dreams" portfolio.

Bruce Jones, Kansas City, 1976

UPDATED 2/1/2022:

Why I described the Wet Dreams portfolio as ill-fated:

The project started out as a collaboration between Ron Barlow and me. Ron was a well-known fan, having published Wrightson's Badtime Stories, co-publishing early EC full-color reprints, promoting the first (and only) EC Comics convention, running the first Star Trek store in NYC, and many other fannish activities.

As the project grew, Ron had a diminishing role, and I eventually published it myself. It was near the end of the portfolio boom, and the explicit nature of the material (really only the Ralph Reese art was problematic) made it that much more difficult to sell. At some point, I just gave up and destroyed the majority of the print run. In 1976, Larry Kenton and I helped move Bernie Wrightson to Kansas City to pursue some gal. Bruce Jones lived in KC. I'm attaching a couple of photos of Bruce Jones taken in KC.

Unknown, Bernie Wrightson, & Bruce Jones, Kansas City, 1976

In the early 1980s, I started reselling original art and published four "Fantastique Illustration Catalogs," selling art by Wrightson, KaIuta and Jones, as well as by younger artists like Charles Vess and Jon J. Muth. I sold at least a dozen of Bernie Wrightson's original Frankenstein illos, none higher than $2000. Those same pieces now fetch tens of thousands. A lot of great art has passed through my hands.

Richard Thompson &Joel Pollack

MR: How did the decisions to eventually expand to four stores happen?

JP: It started when my protege, Greg Bennett, graduated college, and we opened the Vienna store together in 1992 (still in its original location). I mostly acted in an advisory role, while Greg did all of the hard work. In 2001, when it looked like an existing Georgetown comic shop was going to fold, Greg and I decided the time was right to make our foray into DC (I was born in DC). After years in our charming old rowhouse location in Georgetown, the building was sold, and we decided to move the shop to U Street for better Metro access and a younger population demographic.

The now-defunct Georgetown store

Our long-time store managers Jared Smith and Peter Casazza bought Liberty Books & Comics in College Park and turned it into the fourth Big Planet location, and now own the Vienna and U Street shops as well, allowing Greg to focus on Bethesda as I have been approaching retirement age. College Park is the only one I had no hand in, other than giving moral support, and licensing them the Big Planet Comics name.

MR: How have you survived the ups and downs of the comic book market?

JP: By mostly ignoring the collector in favor of the reader. Early on, we saw the future of contemporary comics in the collected editions, the so-called graphic novels/trade paperbacks. We eliminated 90% of our back issue stock, and gave over 75% of our rack space to collected editions. To this day, Big Planet Comics has the most comprehensive selection of comics in book form of any store in the area. The only back issues we carry in Bethesda are some vintage comics from the silver age.

Gene Yang & Joel Pollack in 2008

MR: How has the store changed over the 30 years? How is it the same?

JP: The main change is what I described above: a focus on collected editions and graphic novels. Our market has evolved from a primarily male collector-driven business to a much more diverse reader-driven base - especially with the tremendous growth in graphic novels for kids and young adults in the last decade.

Greg Bennett, Gary Panter, Steve Niles and Joel Pollack at Big Planet Comics, July 20, 2008

What has stayed the same is our focus on customer service. We constantly upgrade our inventory, and we're happy to fill special orders.

MR: What's next?

JP: For me, it's retirement. Even after retirement, I hope to continue in an advisory role, and spend a few hours weekly in the Bethesda store. I've made a lot of good friends there through the years, and I consider Big Planet Comics the high point of my life.

(Click here for more of my photographs at various Big Planet Comics stores and events)

David Miller on his new children's book

by Mike Rhode

A few years back, I interviewed David Miller about his comic book work. He recently sent me a note saying that he has a new book out, so we did a new brief interview via email.

David Miller: I've just launched my first children's book and it can be ordered at Amazon. The title is The Headless Sister. It's about a young girl whose little sister gets all the attention because she has no head. You can see a 4 page preview of the book on its Facebook fan-page.

Mike Rhode: What's the book about?

DM: It's basically a fantastical take on sibling rivalry. An older sister is jealous of the attention a younger sister gets. In this case the younger sister gets all the attention because she has no head. And through it they learn timeless lessons like envy can't ruin love. That being different doesn't get in the way of being happy. And that they will always be sisters.

MR: Where did you get the rather macabre idea from?

DM: Macabre? I don't think it's any more creepy than the Addams Family. I always thought the Munsters were a typical TV family, while The Addams Family were GHOULS! (though hugely entertaining). As to the origins of the characters, I was just watching my daughters, who love each other dearly, fight like cats and dogs. And I would just go nuts and say "Will you stop?!? Will you stop treating your sister like a headless monster? Hmmmm. Headless Sister. That's an interesting image." And then the story just took on a life of it's own.

Harry Potter, in the beginning, was supposed to be children's literature and it was chock full of lurid elements. And the kids ate it up.

MR: Why did you decide to do it as a children's book rather than a comic book?

DM: I've wanted to do a children's book for years, but could never come up with a story that felt right. I can only speak for myself, but I was never able to do a children's story until I had children of my own. I was the youngest of five kids, so I never looked down to see how little kids acted. I could only look up to the older kids. And they seemed to have very adult expectations leveled at them. Once I got to spend time with my own kids, I thought I came up with something that would be entertaining to children without talking down to them.

MR: Without having seen the book yet, I can't get past the 'headless' bit. Four of our five main senses are based in the head - how does she respond to life? She doesn't have a head somewhere else, does she?

DM: This is a book about relationships. She responds to the world the same as any child who is different and has to adapt to the differences. In the next book, I show that she communicates with everyone through a language of interpretive dance that her family has developed a "vocabulary" for over the years. And while I don't necessarily mean for her condition to be a metaphor for a special needs child, I do think I've accidentally invented a metaphor, so new, that anyone can appropriate it.

I don't describe the pseudo-science of her condition any more than Cousin It's condition was explained in The Addams Family. So, no, she doesn't have another head.

MR: How long did it take to do? Was there a long gestational period?

DM: The actual writing was completed rather quickly. As I said, the story kind of spun out with a life of it's own. The illustration took about 6 months from start to finish. That included studying children's illustrators, developing my own style for the children's market and then actually doing the interior art.

MR: How did you do the art? Is it painted, drawn, or digital?

DM: I call the style for this book "controlled chaos." I drew on my 30 years in the cartooning industry and used whatever I thought would look best. I approached each page as its own individual piece of art. Whether it be hand-pulled, digital, dry medium, wet medium, whatever. I'm glad they all worked together under one cover. The foundation was my years in the comics industry where I learned my craft, combined with my study of children's illustration and balanced out with my caricaturing skills. Throw all that into a blender and an illustration style is born.MR: Is Amazon the only source for the book?

DM: Technically, that's where it all starts, but it's also on the createspace platform and their subsidiaries and available to public libraries through createspace.

Saturday, July 09, 2016

It only took hours to be warned of danger of Pokemon

This reminds me of when the cartoon tv show first came to America and there were a bunch of warnings about Pocket Monsters and epilepsy.

Pokemon Go's unexpected side effect: injuries [in print as Players dangerously immersed in Pokemon world].

By Hayley Tsukayama
Washington Post July 9 2016

online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/07/08/pokemon-gos-unexpected-side-effect-injuries/

The Post on Life, Animated

'Life, Animated': For one young man, the prison of autism turns out to be a palace [in print as The prison of autism turns out to be a palace].

By Michael O'Sullivan
Washington Post July 10 2016, E13

online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/for-one-young-man-the-prison-of-autism-turns-out-to-be-a-palace/2016/07/06/0c3ff332-42d2-11e6-bc99-7d269f8719b1_story.html

Friday, July 08, 2016

Glen Weldon on Pokemon

Gotta Catch 'Em All, Or At Least A Few: A Pokemon Neophyte Tries 'Pokemon GO'

Glen Weldon

July 8, 2016

http://www.npr.org/sections/monkeysee/2016/07/08/485078495/gotta-catch-em-all-or-at-least-a-few-a-pokemon-neophyte-tries-pokemon-go

Stylized Notions, and Citizen Bill exhibits opening receptions at the Takoma Park Community Center

by Steve Loya

Last night I attended the Stylized Notions, and Citizen Bill exhibits at the Takoma Park Community Center, in Takoma Park, Maryland. The exhibits featured the works of local cartoon and comics artists who participated in the Cartoonists Draw Blood, Red Cross blood drives, as well as the amazing work of longtime Takoma Park resident and Takoma Voice editorial cartoonist William L. Brown. The exhibits were beautifully set up in an excellent space, ideal for showcasing the wide array of talent from the greater DC area. Lots of folks came out for the reception, and there was a lot of great media coverage as well. Eric Gordon added an extra dimension of fun to the event by setting up a makeshift space in the corner of the center, drawing some of his trademark stylized portraits for anyone who was interested. A special thanks goes out to Carolyn Belefski and Shanthi Chandrasekar for getting these events off the ground, as well as to all the fantastic artists who contributed in one way or another. The shows will continue to run through September 4th, 2016, so there is still plenty of time to see it. There's also talk of a closing reception as well, of which I'll post more about soon. You can read more about the shows and the artists involved HERE in the Takoma Voice.

PR: 2016 Guest of Honor Kevin Eastman Announced for Baltimore Comic-Con

2016 Guest of Honor Kevin Eastman Announced for Baltimore Comic-Con

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - July 8, 2016 - The Baltimore Comic-Con takes place in the beautiful Inner Harbor on September 2-4, 2016 at the Baltimore Convention Center. The Baltimore Comic-Con is proud to announce our 2016 Guest of Honor, Kevin Eastman. Don't miss out on the opportunity to see his premiere attendance at our show -- tickets are now on sale.

Kevin Eastman, collaborating with Peter Laird, self-published the first black & white issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in May, 1984 under their Mirage Studios banner. The 40-page over-sized comic had an initial print run of 3,000 copies, but received 3 additional printings within the next year and a half. Their second issue brought in advance orders of 15,000 copies - five times the initial print run of the first issue. By their fifth issue, TMNT was reformatted to the "normal" American comics size, and the previous four issues were reprinted to match with new color covers. With the Turtles' growing success and exposure, the property was licensed to numerous parties, including Dark Horse Miniatures, Palladium Books for an RPG, and First Comics, who reprinted the first eleven issues as 4-color trade paperback collections.

Palladium's RPG brought the Turtles to the attention of a noted licensing agent, and the Turtles phenomenon took off, with the various characters soon appearing on t-shirts, Halloween masks, and coffee mugs, just to name a few.

In December, 1987, a five-part televised TMNT cartoon mini-series debuted. Due to its success, this cartoon mini-series led to follow-on seasons that resulted in a run of 9 years over 10 seasons with 194 episodes in total. The ongoing success of the animated series also led to yet further merchandise sales, and new action figures and licensing agreements.

In 1990, Eastman went on to found Tundra Publishing, which enabled him to meet his own projects as well as those of creators looking for a way to publish independent work. Titles that eventually found their way under the Tundra banner include From Hell, Lost Girls, The Crow, American Splendor, and Madman. Discovering that Heavy Metal had been put up for sale, and with one of Tundra's stated aims being to bring a more adult sensibility to comics, Eastman purchased the magazine in January 1992. In 1993, Eastman sold Tundra Publishing to Kitchen Sink Press but maintained ownership of Heavy Metal, which he continues to edit.

He continues to work in comics for IDW Publishing, writing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe, Fistful of Blood, and Hero Comics: A Hero Initiative Benefit Book, drawing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Kevin Eastman Notebook Series and variant covers for TMNT titles such as TMNT: Bebop & Rocksteady Destroy Everything, and reprints of his past work is featured in IDW's TMNT Color Classics, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The IDW Collection, and TMNT collections. He has also provided variant covers for DC's Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

"This is really exciting for us," said Marc Nathan, promoter of the Baltimore Comic-Con. "We've been hoping to line this up for some time now, and thanks to our friends at IDW Publishing, we can finally put this one in the books. Kevin is one of the people we hear about regularly, with fans asking us if we can bring him to the show. We're thrilled we can finally answer, 'Yes!'"

TICKETS

General Admission and VIP Package tickets for Weekend, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, as well as the Harvey Awards, are now on sale! Visit www.baltimorecomiccon.com/tickets/ for more information and to purchase your advanced tickets now, and as always, kids 10 and under get into the show free with a paid adult General Admission!

About The Baltimore Comic-Con

The Baltimore Comic-Con is celebrating its 17th year of bringing the comic book industry to the Baltimore and Washington D.C. area. For more information, please visit www.baltimorecomiccon.com.