Wednesday, July 26, 2017
Michael Maslin on the New Yorker cartoonists' advertising work
Advertising Work by New Yorker Cartoonists, Part 1: Peter Arno; Shanahan's Sharks
http://michaelmaslin.com/advertising-work-by-new-yorker-cartoonists-part-1-shanahans-sharks/
Advertising Work by New Yorker Cartoonists, Part 2: William Steig
http://michaelmaslin.com/advertising-work-by-new-yorker-cartoonists-pt-2-william-steig/
Advertising Work by New Yorker Cartoonists, Part 3: Barbara Shermund
http://michaelmaslin.com/advertising-work-by-new-yorker-cartoonists-part-3-barbara-shermund/
Tuesday, July 25, 2017
NPR on Dykes to Watch Out For
A Favorite In Waiting: Alison Bechdel's 'Dykes To Watch Out For'
Etelka Lehoczky
July 14, 2017
http://www.npr.org/2017/07/14/537052343/a-favorite-in-waiting-alison-bechdel-s-dykes-to-watch-out-for
NPR on children's comics
Yes, Some Comics Are For Kids — And They're Big Business
https://ondemand.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/wesat/2017/07/20170722_wesat_yes_some_comics_are_for_kids_and_theyre_big_business.mp3
http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=538662858
Books Received - July 2017
I find myself enjoying much of Scholastic's line for young people. Sunny Side Up was one of my favorite recent semi-autobiographical books. A sequel comes out this fall, and is more episodic, but we do meet the older brother whose 1970s-era problems with drugs have led him to being enrolled in military school. Recommended.
Not only is the whole middle school thing confusing . . . but life at home is confusing, too. Sunny misses her brother Dale, who's been sent to boarding school. But when Dale comes back, she STILL misses him . . . because he's changed.
Luckily Sunny's got her best friend and a mysterious new neighbor on her side . . . because she is NOT going let all this confusion get her down. Instead, she's going to remain Sunny-side up!
The Holms are also expanding their Babymouse series beyond the juvenile graphic novel books into middle school and mixed chapter book style. Not read.
It’s a new kind of book for Babymouse! Fans of Dork Diaries, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and James Patterson’s Middle School books, this is going to be epic. . . .
For Babymouse, middle school is like a monster movie. You can never be sure who’s a friend and who’s an enemy, and the halls are filled with mean-girl zombies. Instead of brains, the zombies hunger for stuff—the perfect wedge sandals or the right shade of sparkly lip gloss—and they expect everyone to be just like them.
But Babymouse doesn’t want to fit in—she wants to stand out! So she joins the film club to write and direct a sweeping cinematic epic. Will making the film of her dreams turn into a nightmare?
Thanks to Babymouse, middle school gets schooled in this hilarious new series from bestselling authors Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm.
Christopher Eliopoulos has been using his big-head style on historical biographies with Brad Meltzer, but he also does a lot of other cartooning. His original graphic novel about receiving superpowers via a magic ring and then getting caught in a video game eventually becomes a story about the importance of family. This book is probably best for pre-teen boys, but I enjoyed it. Recommended.
Cosmic Commandos Hardcover – July 4, 2017
In this graphic novel adventure for readers of Hilo and Roller Girl, a pair of twin brothers accidentally bring their favorite video game to life—and now they have to find a way to work together to defeat it.
Jeremy and Justin are twins, but they couldn’t be any more different from each other. Jeremy is a risk taker who likes to get his hands dirty; Justin prefers to read, focus, and get all his facts straight before jumping in. But they do have one important thing in common: They both love video games. When Jeremy wins a cereal-box charm that brings his favorite video game to life, villains and all, he finds that he’s in way over his head. Justin knows everything there is to know about the rules of the game—he read the handbook, of course—and Jeremy isn’t afraid to try new things. Can these two mismatched brothers work together to beat the video game that has become their life?
Lee J. Ames died in 2011, but his Draw 50 series has been continued. Two new books with art by Erin Harvey were sent to us. Not read.
In this new installment of Lee J. Ames's beloved Draw 50 series, readers will find easy-to-follow, step-by-step visual lessons on sketching and rendering all kinds of sea and ocean-dwelling creatures. Animals and plants from in and near the water featured in the book include clownfish, whale sharks, sea otters, dolphins, turtles and more.
In this new installment of Lee J. Ames's beloved Draw 50 series, readers will find easy-to-follow, step-by-step lessons for outer space drawing. In each lesson, six wordless steps provide everything needed to master drawing all kinds of planets, moons, comets, and meteors, as well as astronauts, rockets, spaceships, and other aspects--both natural and manmade--related to charting the cosmos.
PR: Small Press Expo Announces International Special Guests
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Monday, July 24, 2017
New POE book from Gareth Hinds
POE is almost here!
My new book POE: Stories and Poems comes out August 1 from Candlewick Press. Simultaneous hardcover, paperback and eBook release. See below for a sneak peek.
You can pre-order it now from your favorite online or brick-and-mortar merchant. At the moment my own online store is down because I'm working in a temporary studio space -- so if you'd like a signed copy, please come to one of my bookstore events, or order from one of the stores below and ask to have it signed when I'm there.
There will be more events added to this schedule, but this is what's confirmed so far:
DC Area
8/1 - Official launch at Takoma Park, MD Library, in association with Politics & Prose, 7:00pm
9/9 - Barnes & Noble Bethesda, 2:00pm
More DC events to come!
Boston Area
Baltimore
10/3 - Enoch Pratt Govans Branch Library, 6:30pm
2/3 of March team and their Eisner Award photo
Jill Thompson, John Lewis, Sonny Liew Take Home 2017 Eisner Awards
https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/awards-and-prizes/article/74310-jill-thompson-john-lewis-sonny-liew-take-home-2017-eisner-awards.html
Comic Riffs on Eisner Awards including local winners.
Eisner Awards: Cartoonists from Singapore, Canada and Capitol Hill win big at 'the Oscars of comics'
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog July 22 2017
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2017/07/22/eisner-awards-cartoonists-from-singapore-canada-and-capitol-hill-win-big-at-the-oscars-of-comics/
New ReDistricted comic online
King of Washington
Story by Christopher Charlton
and art by Ali Cantarella
Friday, July 21, 2017
Aug 1: Marc Tyler Nobleman talk on Batman CANCELLED
- 6:30 pm happy (half) hour
- 7:00 presentation
- 8:00 Q&A/shake heads in disbelief
- 8:30 reception
—attendee, Charlotte S. Huck Children's Literature Festival, CA
This story has surprised and moved audiences from Tanzania to Thailand—even those who could not care less about superheroes. It has inspired multiple books, a TED talk, an NPR segment...and something bigger. You haven't heard a story like it...
Batman exhibit on display at Geppi's museum in Baltimore
Holy exhibits, Batman! Now, through October 2017, Geppi's Entertainment Museum (GEM) is hosting an exhibit entitled The Dark Knight Through The Decades. This special exhibit offers attendees the chance to journey through time with the caped crusader.
Continue reading at http://scoop.previewsworld.com/Home/4/1/73/1012?ArticleID=197118
The Post on Valerian
'Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets': Little more than meets the eye [in print as A brilliant galaxy with no signs of life].
Washington Post July 21 2017, p. Weekend 23
Thursday, July 20, 2017
Ben Hatke profiled in Catholic paper
Catholic cartoonist draws inspiration from fantasy classics, family life
By Ashleigh Kassock Catholic News Service
7.19.2017
Comic Riffs catchup - Aquaman and DuckTales
Aquaman used to be a king — now he's a vigilante
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog July 19 2017
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2017/07/19/aquaman-used-to-be-a-king-now-hes-a-vigilante/
'DuckTales' is back. Yes, 'DuckTales.' Woo-oo.
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog July 18 2017
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2017/07/18/ducktales-is-back-yes-ducktales-woo-oo/
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
New beer and hence character from Heroic Aleworks
Let me begin this week with a huge THANK YOU to everyone who made it to our Game of Thrones party last Saturday! It was a ton of fun, and the actual Season 7 premier on Sunday was pretty strong too. I look forward to hearing everyone's opinions in the taproom about all the action over the next 6 weeks!
THIS WEEKEND
Up this coming Friday we have our 80's Night AND a limited beer release.
If you love the 80's as much as I do, you won't want to miss it. The classic 80's music and videos start at 7:30. For those of you who frequented the arcades back in the day, this is your chance to polish off your Pac Man skills on our free arcade. Highest score of the night wins a special prize. And if video games weren't your thing, perhaps you'd prefer to tackle the Rubik's Cube challenge - first three to solve one get a $25 gift card (and the Rubik's Cube). Most of all, I'm hoping lots of you get in the spirit and come in some awesome 80's attire! $5 pours until 9 PM for anyone who dares to break out the legwarmers and teases up their hair! For the gentlemen, maybe some acid washed jeans, the Miami Vice look, or a Members Only jacket? The possibilities are as fabulous as they are endless!
We also have a new limited release beer hitting the taproom on Friday - Hailstorm White IPA. Come try it while it lasts!
If you have any questions please feel free to drop me a note at kate@heroicaleworks.com, give a call to the taproom at (571) 398-6113, or message us on Facebook.
Heroic Aleworks LLC
Tuesday, July 18, 2017
July 22: March creators at San Diego Comic-Con
Saturday, July 22 • 10:00am - 11:00am • Room 23ABC
Celebrate the record-breaking, award-winning success of the March trilogy! Join the authors for an emotional look back at their stunning accomplishment — and the way it's inspiring new generations to speak up, speak out, and move our feet.
Director's Notes for Off the Quill's upcoming King Kirby play
http://offthequill.org/
When I started collecting comics, the artist everyone was talking about was Neil Adams. I quickly became a Neil Adams super-fan. Jack Kirby’s (to my untrained eye) blocky and cartoony layouts just never measured up to Adams’ smooth, flowing compositions, which featured subtle, realistic facial expressions as well as a detailed knowledge of musculature and anatomy. I actually thought Kirby’s work was ugly by comparison…How foolish I was.
As I grew older and (at least a little) wiser, I began to learn how misplaced my first impressions were. Comic art is about moving the story forward and no one did that better than Jack Kirby. Every panel of a Kirby comic is packed with as much emotion as the scene required. When a Kirby hero punches a villain, it’s not just his fist landing on the miscreant’s face, but rather his whole body exploding off the evil-doer’s chin sending him flying backwards. Kirby’s use of depth makes his work appear three dimensional as he often has characters break the frame of the panel. There may have been better artists working in superheroes over the years (Neil Adams among them,) but I argue that there has never been a better illustrator than Jack Kirby.
I found this script while browsing at the Drama Book Shop in New York. I was intrigued that someone had written a play about Jack Kirby, and after I read it was very excited to stage it. Two of my greatest passions are theatre and comic books and I was thrilled to be able to merge the two interests into one project.
Off The Quill was the first and only company I thought of. I knew from the first reading that I wanted to tell the story with a great deal of theatricalism and movement. OTQ has proved quite adept at such stagings in their young history. Also, having acted in productions with many OTQ people before, I knew that they would provide the camaraderie and collaboration, necessary to produce this play in accordance with my vision. I told Patrick Mullen up front, “You guys are better at this than me. I’m really depending on you to nail down the movement aspects of this show.” I was not disappointed.
From my first production meeting, we were all in agreement that the art should be the center of the production and would incorporate projections of Kirby’s work throughout the show, not only to give the audience an appreciation for his genius, but also to illuminate how Kirby’s life influenced his work. The goal was to have the projections, when they were used, take up several locations. They would not just appear on screens, but on the walls and floors, literally turning the stage into a giant comic book.
From the very first auditions, the actors in this show have been a tremendous joy to work with. There was not one rehearsal after which I did not leave feeling artistically satisfied. Every day, they find something new in their characters. There are many aspects associated with this production that I will forever have fond memories of, but working with this enormously talented group of actors, led by the incredible Josh Mooney in the title role, certainly tops the list.
One final note to all of you Stan Lee fans (and I consider myself one,) this play reflects Jack Kirby’s version of their working and personal relationship. Stan’s memories are quite different. Many comic book historians take one side or the other…or somewhere in the middle. However, I feel that the playwrights committed to telling JACK’S story and we have to respect that. One thing EVERYONE agrees on, is that Jack never received as much credit as he deserves. Even Stan says so. I invite you all to do your own research and draw your own conclusions.
Hopefully, after seeing our production, audiences will have a greater appreciation of Jack’s contributions, both in creating the Marvel Universe and in promoting the art of graphic storytelling.
He was the KING!
Monday, July 17, 2017
Former cartoonist Martin Landau RIP
Martin Landau, Oscar-winning actor who played heroes and villains, dies at 89 [in print as Martin Landau, 89; Oscar winner, star of TV's 'Mission: Impossible]
By Adam Bernstein Washington Post July 17 2017, p. B4
online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/martin-landau-oscar-winning-actor-who-played-heroes-and-villains-dies-at-xx/2017/07/16/310a5ee6-6a86-11e7-96ab-5f38140b38cc_story.html
July 22: Superhero Family Day at Smithsonian American Art Museum
Photo credit: Bruce Guthrie