Sunday, October 01, 2017

SPX 2017 Panels on YouTube

SPX 2017 Panel - Troubled Teenagers and Modern Times

Panelists Mardou(Sky In Stereo), Charles Forsman (The End Of The Fucking World, This is Not Okay), Sean Knickerbocker (Killbuck), Melissa Mendes (Lou, The Weight) and Nate Powell (Any Empire, Swallow Me Whole), led by moderator Craig Fischer, discuss how they are able to realistically and empathetically create vivid teenage characters who are struggling with morality, mental illness, drugs and the pressures of society.

SPX 2017 Panel - Barometer of the Free Press

Tom Spurgeon moderates a discussion among political cartoonists Ann Telnaes, Matt Wuerker, Keith Knight and Ben Passmore as they expand on the subject of Telnaes' keynote speech at the Canadian Committee for World Press Freedom luncheon in Ottawa. The panelists explore the role and responsibility of political cartoonists/satirists in a time when the freedom of the press is under attack.

SPX 2017 Panel - Genderfluidity, Technology and Futurism

L.Nichols moderates this panel on the recent movement in comics toward exploring genderfluidity within a science-fiction context, with an emphasis on technology and utopian ideals. Jeremy Sorese (Curveball), Carta Monir (Secure Connect), Kevin Czap (Fütchi Perf) and Rio Aubry Taylor (Jetty) each discusses how their own work fits into this bold new vision of comics.

SPX 2017 Panel - Gilbert Hernandez & Jim Rugg in Conversation

With Love & Rockets, legendary cartoonist Gilbert Hernandez helped create one of the most lauded comic series of all time. Pittsburgh cartoonist Jim Rugg has built a loyal fanbase with Street Angel, a beloved indie comic about a sword-wielding skateboarder and her heroic adventures. These two celebrated cartoonists discuss craft and practice, as well as their views on technology, culture, industry, and staying prolific while relevant in today's comic landscape.

SPX 2017 Panel - Filling in the Pieces: Comics Biography

When doing a comics biography, how do cartoonists approach the material they have at hand? For Box Brown, who did a biography of Andre the Giant, he struggled to find material that might reveal the wrestler's inner life. Anais Depommier had to sift through a mountain of material for her biography of Jean-Paul Sartre, a task made all the more difficult considering how much the philosopher wrote about himself. Luke Howard had to deal with a historically and racially sensitive topic in ragtime creator Ernest Hogan. Moderator Chris Mautner leads the discussion. Anais Depommier appears courtesy of a grant by The Cultural Services of the French Embassy.

SPX 2017 Panel - Fukushima Devil Fish:Susumu Katsumata's Anti-Nuclear Manga

Critiques of nuclear energy in Japanese manga did not begin with the Fukushima Daiichi meltdowns in 2011. One of the regulars of the legendary alternative manga monthly Garo in the magazine's heyday of the late 1960s and early 1970s, Susumu Katsumata (1943-2007) has the curious distinction of having risen within the world of political cartooning and literary comics while studying toward a graduate degree in nuclear physics in Tokyo. In the late 70s, he began drawing frequent humor strips about the dangers of nuclear power and stories about the "nuclear gypsies" who maintained Japan's nuclear plants under oppressive work conditions. This talk surveys Katsumata's work on the subject of nuclear power, which is the largest, most diverse, and most trenchant such oeuvre in Japanese visual art. Ryan Holmberg offers a preview of two of his upcoming publications with this wide-ranging visual survey, a collection of Katsumata's manga titled Fukushima Devil Fish (SISJAC and Breakdown Press) and No Nukes for Dinner.

SPX 2017 Panel - Kick-Ass Annie-Versary: Koyama Press Turns Ten

Annie Koyama has championed the work of emerging cartoonists for 10 years. As a leading publisher of underground comix, her roster features the work of many of today's top names in the indie comics scene, including Michael DeForge, Aidan Koch, Alex Schubert, Daryl Seitchik, and many more. KP artists Patrick Kyle, Eleanor Davis, Dustin Harbin, Hannah K. Lee, and Ben Sears assemble in a very special panel spotlighting one our favorite curators of small press cartoonists and their work. Moderated by Rob Clough of High-Low.

SPX 2017 Panel - Mental Illness, Motherhood and Memoir

A new trend in memoir comics is an exploration of motherhood and the ways in which mental illness and societal forces have a profound effect on the experience. Keiler Roberts (Sunburning), Luke Howard (Our Mother), Tyler Cohen (Primahood: Magenta) and Summer Pierre (Paper Pencil Life) provide their perspectives on the topic, both from the point of view of mother and child. Moderated by Rob Clough.

SPX 2017 Panel - The Serious Business of Humorous Memoir

Panelists Keith Knight (K Chronicles), November Garcia (Foggy Notions), Glynnis Fawkes (Reign Of Crumbs), and Jennifer Hayden (The Story Of My Tits) discuss will explain how their focus on the funnier side of their lives doesn't stop them from exploring serious issues as well. For some of these cartoonists, humor is an important tool in diffusing the gravity of their circumstances. Moderated by Marc Sobel.

SPX 2017 Panel - Shock Humor, Farce and Satire

In a world that seems increasingly difficult to satirize, learn how cartoonists Tommi Musturi (Simply Samuel), Aaron Lange (Trim), Sabin Cauldron (Maleficium), and Katie Fricas (The New Yorker) use different comedic tools to address the absurd, the awful and the just plain ridiculous. Moderator Heidi MacDonald keeps track of each artist's approach and how their view of the world colors their senses of humor. Tommi Musturi appears courtesy of the Finnish Literature Exchange.

SPX 2017 Panel - Trump Presidential Library

Celebrants and detractors alike are chewing on the fact that Donald Trump was elected president. Shannon Wheeler and Robert Sikoryak help you swallow. In their books, "Sh*t My President Says," from Top Shelf and, "The Unquotable Trump," from Drawn & Quarterly (respectively), these two cartoonists illustrate Trump's words for comedic effect and insight. There are slides, a brief history of political satire and politics in comic books, and laughter through the tears as they wrestle with an understanding of our current dystopia. Can satire keep up with reality? Shannon Wheeler is the two-time Eisner winning creator of, "Too Much Coffee Man," and a New Yorker cartoonist. Robert Sikoryak started at Raw magazine, is a New Yorker contributor, and the author of, "Terms and Conditions," from Drawn & Quarterly.

SPX 2017 Interviews - Creator Debuts and Highlights

Jack Russell from TheApogeeks.com interviews select creators debuting new work at Small Press Expo 2017 and share a few highlights from the show.
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Friday, September 29, 2017

NPR doesn't much like The Inhumans tv show

Introducing ... The Inept, Inert 'Inhumans'

Glen Weldon

NPR's Monkey See blog September 29, 2017

http://www.npr.org/sections/monkeysee/2017/09/29/553704965/introducing-the-inept-inert-inhumans

and neither does the Times...


When It Comes to New Marvel Shows, Skip 'Inhumans' and Try 'The Gifted'

By MIKE HALE

A version of this review appears in print on September 29, 2017, on Page C12 of the New York edition with the headline: One Out of Two Ain't Bad.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/28/arts/television/marvels-inhumans-the-gifted-review.html
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Scoop at Baltimore Comic-Con

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GE Gallas blogs about her SPX table

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Sept 30: Gordon Harris at Richmond ZineFest tomorrow



September 29, 2017

Richmond ZineFest tomorrow

Gordon will be tabling tomorrow at the Richmond Public Library from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

He'll have copies of his first Zine, his all-new graphic novel for kids, MISTAKEN IDENTITY, and other fine things to share and behold.

Come on by! 

 



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Thursday, September 28, 2017

Best-paying cartoon magazine editor dies at 91

Hugh Hefner, visionary editor who founded Playboy magazine, dies at 91 [in print as Playboy founder brought titillation to the masses]

By Matt Schudel
Washington Post September 28 2017, p. A1, 7
online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/hugh-hefner-founder-of-playboy-magazine-dies-at-91/2017/09/27/0560ae1a-a3fe-11e7-ade1-76d061d56efa_story.html
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Writer Gabby Rivera Is A True Superhero

Writer Gabby Rivera Is A True Superhero

Writer Gabby Rivera is helping bring the Marvel Comics character America Chavez to life.

Juliette Salgado/Courtesy of the artist

When writer Gabby Rivera read an email from Marvel Comics asking her to write for them, she was convinced it was spam at first.

But it turned out to be legit: Marvel wanted Rivera to put words to a new comic series featuring the queer, Latinx superhero America Chavez. The next thing she knew, Rivera was deep in research on superheroes from Marvel's vast archive.

NPR's Camilo Garzón caught up with Rivera at her home in Brooklyn.

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Wednesday, September 27, 2017

A BCC Interview with John Patrick Green

by Mike Rhode

For years now, John Patrick Green (as he now styles himself to avoid confusion with the young adult writer John Green) has been a regular at the Small Press Expo, usually accompanied by Dave Roman and Raina Telgemeier. This year, I caught up with him at Baltimore Comic Con where he agreed to answer a few questions.

What type of comic work or cartooning do you do?

I'm the writer/artist of HIPPOPOTAMISTER and the upcoming KITTEN CONSTRUCTION COMPANY early-reader graphic novels, both from First Second Books, and also the artist of the TEEN BOAT! and JAX EPOCH series' with writer Dave Roman. I also do a lot of freelance graphic novel and type design for other publishers like Scholastic Graphix.

How do you do it? Traditional pen and ink, computer or a combination?

I do a combination of traditional and digital. I still like to draw by hand onto actual paper, and then scan the work into the computer for colors. For inking often what I'll do is sketch out my pencils, scan and compose them into proper layouts in Photoshop, print the pencils as "blue lines" onto bristol, then ink over the printout. Then I'll scan those back into the computer for coloring, and the leftover blue lines can just be turned off, without having to erase graphite from the page like with classic inking over pencils. Depending on the project I'll do my balloons, captions, and letters by hand or in computer.

When (within a decade is fine) and where were you born?

I grew up an '80s kid on Long Island, NY.

What is your training and/or education in cartooning?

I went to School of Visual Arts (SVA) in Manhattan for graphic design, but I took a number of comic book-related electives. I pretty much grew up making comics, starting around 4th grade or so, and was always taking as many art classes as I could in school. I'd say I'm mostly self-taught, but my college experience was invaluable.

Who are your influences?

My earliest influences would be newspaper strips, like Garfield and later Calvin & Hobbes. Favorite painters would be Van Gogh, René Magritte, and Norman Rockwell. As for comics, my biggest influence as far as my own sensibilities go is probably the original Spider-Ham series (yes, I said "ham.") I was definitely more of a Marvel kid than a D.C. kid, but I was also inspired by a lot of indy books like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Usagi Yojimbo, especially. And being an '80s kid, of course Star Wars was a big part of my youth.
  
If you could, what in your career would you do-over or change?

I wouldn't say I have any regrets, but possibly the one thing I'd do differently is stay at Disney Publishing. I worked for Disney Adventures Magazine for almost 10 years, and I loved working for Disney, but I'd gone freelance before Disney bought out Marvel and Lucasfilm. So being huge fan of those things as a kid, I occasionally wonder if I'd stayed at Disney just a little longer, would I have a hand in those properties now?

What work are you best-known for?

Probably TEEN BOAT! It's the only graphic novel about a boy who can transform into a small yacht. It features the angst of being a teen and the thrill of being a boat!

What work are you most proud of?

That's tough! I don't know if I'm necessarily more proud of any one project of mine over another. I guess I'd probably go with HIPPOPOTAMISTER because it's gotten a lot of positive responses from librarians and kids, and the recognition certainly feels good. But that doesn't make me like any of my other books less. I am proud of my KITTEN CONSTRUCTION COMPANY book, but that doesn't come out for awhile, so I'd say I'm more nervous about how people will respond to it.

What would you like to do  or work on in the future?

So many things that it's hard to narrow it down! I'd love to finally finish NEARLY DEPARTED, this video game I've been designing for years, but technology moves so fast that every time I get around to working on it, most of my effort goes to rebuilding it for modern systems. That's more of a hobby project, but it'd be nice to put it to bed. Same for getting the final volume of JAX EPOCH published, as that's been completed for a few years and hasn't been released. As for my next book (after finishing the ones already in my queue), usually the thing I'd "like" to work on is whatever a publisher gives me the green light for! When there are half a dozen book ideas I want to do, but can't do all at once, it can be a big help to have someone else say "do this one!"

What do you do when you're in a rut or have writer's block?

There isn't really one specific thing I do. It could be anything, really. Sometimes I'll just zone out. Sometimes I'll pace around. Usually I'll just preoccupy myself with another project, or watch some TV, or play a video game, or cook some food, or do some chores, like wash dishes or something. So my strategy is basically "do something else and come back later." I guess that's also known as procrastination.

What do you think will be the future of your field?

The future is now! There are already a lot of things going on in comics and the book industry that I'd call futuristic. Digital versions with sound effects and motion graphics, things like that. Having a social media presence be so much a part of an author's profile. The Kickstarters and Patreons and the like being new or alternative funding and distribution models. But as much as things change, I think there's still a place for people who just want to write or draw. It certainly helps to keep up with the changes in the industry, but the basics aren't going to completely go away. Until the robots come for us, that is.

How was your BCC experience? How often have you attended it?

This was my first time at BCC and it was great. I've exhibited at big shows like San Diego Comic-Con before, and this show is in a similar vein. Lots of wonderful fans and the convention was well-run. And I got to see a lot of other creators that I haven't crossed paths with in awhile. I look forward to doing it again in the future. I haven't spent much time in Baltimore, but it seemed like a great city, so I hope to be back soon.

Do you have a website or blog?

My website is www.johngreenart.com, but I am absolutely terrible at keeping it up-to-date. Probably the best way to be informed of my projects and appearances is to follow me on twitter: @johngreenart
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Kneel Protest by Cosplayers at Baltimore Comic Con

A guest post by photographer Bruce Guthrie.


 
On the last day of the BCC, there's a group cosplay photo shoot that's done on the steps of the convention center.  It's always interesting.

It's organized by a cosplay guy who's not connected at all with the convention.  He just loves to organize this sort of thing and apparently also organizes photo shoots at Awesome Con and other places.  

This year at BCC, Marvel kicked DC's butt -- probably twice as many wore Marvel costumes vs DC.  And when the organizer tried to get a Justice League group shot, he found there was absolutely no one dressed as Batman.

(Keep in mind that Batman has always been my favorite comic book character.  When I had to come up with a software company so I could do some part-time coding work for NIH, I thought of my first name and called it "Wayne Software".  I had business cards made and had "Batman Lives" in hexadecimal characters appearing underneath the name of the company.  I was the only one who had any clue what that meant.)

At the end of the photo shoot, he said there would be one more group shot and he said that if anyone felt at all uncomfortable doing it, please feel free to leave.  He then asked everyone to either kneel or raise a fist.  A couple of people left but most stuck around.

There was no explanation of the protest...  and really no need to explain it.  We all understood.  

Thinking about it...  It used to be a protest against police treatment of African-Americans that started during Obama's term.  But it's become an anti-Trumputin thing. 


.


__,_._,___

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Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Drawing Inspiration with Cartoonist Jim Toomey Live Now




Drawing Inspiration with Cartoonist Jim Toomey


Tuesday, September 26 at 7 pm

Reception at 6:30 pm with refreshments


Nationally syndicated cartoonist Jim Toomey, who has been drawing the newspaper comic strip "Sherman's Lagoon" for almost two decades, uses live drawing to demonstrate how he weaves an environmental message into his work, and how he has taken what he has learned in "old media" and applied it to creating short films and animations for an online audience.



Free and open to the public.  Location:

Malsi Doyle & Michael Forman Theater – 2nd Floor, McKinley Building, American University

4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20016-8017



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Episode 237 – Ann Telnaes and Matt Wuerker

Episode 237 – Ann Telnaes and Matt Wuerker

Gil Roth

Virtual Memories podcast Sep 25, '17

http://chimeraobscura.com/vm/episode-237-ann-telnaes-and-matt-wuerker

http://traffic.libsyn.com/virtualmemories/Episode_237_-_Ann_Telnaes_and_Matt_Wuerker.mp3


"I did some hard-hitting cartoons during the Bush administration. . . . I kind of wish I held back a little because now it's like, 'Where do we go from here?'" –Ann Telnaes

It's a double-Pulitzer-winner episode! First, the great editorial cartoonist, animator and essayist Ann Telnaes joins the show to talk about the role of satire against the abuse of power, her political awakening, her present sense of urgency and her upcoming Trump's ABC (Fantagraphics), the reaction to the Charlie Hebdo murders, the images editors won't print, and the sanctuary of the Alexander Calder room at the National Gallery. Then past guest Matt Wuerker returns to the show (here's our first ep.) to talk about The Swamp, the loss of comity and the growth of tribalism in contemporary DC (characterized by that weekend's dueling rallies between Trump supporters and Juggalos), the problem with having easy targets, bringing conservative cartoons into his weekly roundup for Politico, taking up fly-fishing in his dotage, and more! Give it a listen! And go preorder Trump's A B C!

"It hasn't been this good for political cartoonists since Nixon and Watergate." –Matt Wuerker

About our Guests

Ann Telnaes creates editorial cartoons in various mediums — animation, visual essays, live sketches, and traditional print — for The Washington Post. She won the Pulitzer Prize in 2001 for her print cartoons and the National Cartoonists Society's Reuben for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year for 2016.

Telnaes' print work was shown in a solo exhibition at the Great Hall in the Thomas Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress in 2004. Her first book, Humor's Edge, was published by Pomegranate Press and the Library of Congress in 2004. A collection of Vice President Cheney cartoons, Dick, was self-published by Telnaes and Sara Thaves in 2006. Her work has been exhibited in Paris, Jerusalem, and Lisbon.

Telnaes attended California Institute of the Arts and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, specializing in character animation. Before beginning her career as an editorial cartoonist, Telnaes worked for several years as a designer for Walt Disney Imagineering. She has also animated and designed for various studios in Los Angeles, New York, London, and Taiwan.

Matt Wuerker is the staff cartoonist and illustrator for POLITICO. He likes to cross hatch… a lot. He was the winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning. He was a finalist for the award in 2009 and 2010. He has also been awarded the 2010 Herblock Prize (presented at the Library of Congress) and the 2010 Berryman Award by the National Press Foundation.

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Sept 27: Liniers in DC

In the DC area?
Liniers is comin' to town!

Picture
Picture

Wednesday, September 27, 2017 at 7:30 PM

Takoma Park Library
101 Philadelphia Ave
​Takoma Park, MD 20912

In partnership with Politics & Prose, join Liniers for a very special book reading of Good Night, Planet and Q&A at the Takoma Park Library.
Illustration and signing to follow!
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Liniers with new fans!

MORE INFO>>






Liniers to visit three DC public schools for bilingual presentations
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This week Liniers will present Good Night, Planet and Buenos Noches, Planeta to children at three Washington DC-area public schools. These are always fantastic events with book signings for the students. Thank you to Politics & Prose and An Open Book Children's Literacy Foundation for making these events possible.

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Comic Riffs on banned books

Banned Books Week: Why are illustrated books being challenged more than ever?

By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog September 25 2017
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2017/09/25/banned-books-week-half-of-the-most-challenged-books-including-bill-cosbys-tale-are-illustrated/
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International Journal of Comic Art 19-1 Table of Contents

International Journal of Comic Art
Vol. 19, No. 1 Spring/Summer 2017


Freedom To Cartoon: An Endangered Concept
A Symposium
Edited by John A. Lent
1
Global Infringements on the "Right to Cartoon": A Research Guide
John A. Lent
4
From Socialism to Dictatorship: Editorial Ideologies in Chilean Science Fiction and Adventure Comics
Camila Gutierrez Fuentes
71
La Figura del Presidente Salvador Allende.Caricatura Politica e Imagenes Fatldicas
Jorge Montealegre I.
87
Control over Comic Books in Spain during the Franco Dictatorship (1939-1975)
Ignacio Fernandez Sarasola
95
Early Censorship of Comics in Brazil and Spain and Their Use as an Educational Resource as an Escape
Cristiana de Almeida Fernandes, Vera Lucia dos Santos Nojima, Ana Cristina dos Santos Malfacini, and Maria da Conceicao Vinciprova Fonseca
130
Two Life Times and 15 Years: A Cuban Prisoner's Coping Through Cartoons
John A. Lent
159
American Infection: The Swedish Debate over Comic Books, 1952-1957
Ulf Jonas Bjork
177
Seduced Innocence: The Dutch Debate about Comics in the 1940s and 1950s
Rik Sanders
Translated by Melchior Deekman
190
Pioneers in Comic Art Scholarship
"Acquire the Widest Possible Comics Culture": Au Interview with Thierry Groensteen
John A. Lent
205
Pioneers in Comic Art Scholarship
The Multi-Varied, 50-Year Career of a Fan-Researcher of Comic Art
Fred Patten
219
Gutter Ghosts and Panel Phantasms: Horror, Haunting, and Metacomics
Lin Young
243
World War II in French Collective Memory: The Relevance of Alternate History Comics.
An Analysis of the Wunderwaffen Saga
Simon Desplanque
270
Genre Hybridity as the Scheme of the Comics Industry
Jaehyeon Jeong
290
On the Pastoral Imaginary of a Latin American Social Democracy: Costa Rica's El Sabanero
Hector Fernandez L'Hoeste
309
Between Fine and Comic Art. On the Arab Page: Much Connects Art and Comics in Egypt and the Wider Middle East
Jonathan Guyer
334
"Art Is My Blood": A Short Interview with Nora Abdullah, Pioneer Female Malay Comic Artist
Lim Cheng Tju
345
Comics Theory for the Ages: Text and Image Relations in Medieval Manuscripts
Jesse D. Hurlbut
353
Examining Film Engagement Through the Visual Language of Comics
R. Brad Yarhouse
384
Hemispheric Latinx Identities and Transmedial Imaginaries: A Conversation with Frederick Luis Aldama
Janis Breckenridge
405
In Search of the Missing Puzzle Pieces: A Study of Jimmy Liao's Public Art Installations in Taiwan
Hong-Chi Shiau and Hsiang-wen Hsiao
413
Far from the Maddening Crowd: Guy Delisle as Cultural Reporter
Kenan Kocak
428
Portrayal of Massacre: A Comparative Study between Works of Joe Sacco, Art Spiegelman, and Fumiyo Kono
Sara Owj
479
Toriko's Database World
Bryan Hikari Hartzheim
499
Beyond Images and Gags: Comic Rhetoric in "Luann"
Veronica Anzaldua
525
Happy Ike, The Pink Kid and the American Presence in Early British Comics
Michael Connerty
538
The Swedish Phantom: Sweden's Domestication of an American Comic Book Hero
Ulf Jonas Bjork
547
Start Spreading the News: Marvel and New York City
Barry Pearl
562
Honore Daumier: Caricature and the Conception/Reception of "Fine Art"
Jasmin Cyril
575
China's Cartooning in the War of Resistance against the Japanese Invasion
Zola Zu
586
Belgian bande dessinee and the American West
Annabelle Cone
595
The Printed Word
John A. Lent
620
Book Reviews
M. Thomas Inge
David Lewis
John A. Lent
Lim Cheng Tju
Janis Breckenridge
Benoit Crucifix
Christopher Lee Proctor II
Michael J. Dittman
Leslie Gailloud
627
Exhibition and Media Reviews
Edited by Michael Rhode
Maite Urcaregui
Pascal Lefevre
Keith Friedlander
647
Portfolio
655

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A Big Trip to the Small Press Expo: A Guest Post by Charles Brubaker

John Kovaleski and Charles Brubaker
by Charles Brubaker

One thing that became apparent to me as I became serious about cartooning is that vending in conventions is very important. Not only are comic conventions the best way to network with other comics professionals, but also are a good way of gaining new readers as well.

Figuring out which cons work best for me is a case of trial and error. Even if I focus on cons that are friendly to indie comics, it's still a gamble. I tried everything from a big ones like Baltimore Comic Con to smaller ones like SPACE in Columbus. However, one con I really wanted to go to was Small Press Expo (SPX), which was held this year on September 16 and 17.

Long regarded as the ultimate indie comic convention in the US, I was very curious about what it's like. Getting a booth there wasn't easy, as SPX gets thousands of application every year, while only being able to take a small number (I believe that nearly 600 people exhibited this year), so they choose who gets to have a table by using a raffle system.

To say it took me a while to get a space there is an understatement. In fact, it took me 2 years until luck shined on me. SPX was the fifth con I went to in 2017 (including a free table space I got at a children's book festival in my local library). I normally try to reserve my number of conventions to three due to cost factor, but I decided to take the SPX offer because, well, it took me years to finally get an opportunity.

I would normally fly to conventions, but after several airplane trips and going through TSA, I decided to drive to Bethesda, Maryland with my dad. It was a long trip from western Tennessee; it took two days, with a stop in Huntington, West Virginia.

I arrived with several boxes, containing paperbacks of my "Ask a Cat"  and "The Fuzzy Princess" comics, plus left-over minis and floppies from my other cons. Both of my on-going comics feature cats as leading characters. So naturally, the SPX people saw fit to put me in booth K-9 (har har), where I shared space with Lucy Bellwood, who traveled a lot further than I did, coming from Oregon. I don't know if the SPX people gave me that table number on purpose, but I'd like to think they did. It would fit with their sense of humor.

In previous cons, I would normally only sell floppies and mini-comics. I had my "Fuzzy Princess" stories printed in individual standard-sized issues, and minis collecting "Ask a Cat" strips. However for SPX, I had paperback books, having drawn enough material for both comics. I was worried that I would have harder time selling paperback books over the comparatively cheaper minis, but the opposite was the case. I ended up selling far more paperbacks than minis and floppies. As Lucy told me, "people like books with spines." I especially sold a lot of "The Fuzzy Princess Vol. 1," which is more story-oriented. Graphic novels are popular there, it seems.

While I still plan to continue making mini-comics, since they're easy to make, and also because they make great perks for my Patreon, I've been thinking of phasing out my floppies because of the cost. The cost of printing full-color comic books is about the same as printing up a 150-page black and white paperback book, and people would rather pay for $10 paperbacks with tons of content, even in black and white, over a 30-page color comic books that cost $5.

Of course, with nearly 600 people vending, and over a thousand or so people attending, you are bound to run into familiar faces. Pretty much everyone I worked for was there, but I was meeting them in person for the first time. These include Chris Duffy (editor for SpongeBob Comics), Ryan Flanders (art director for MAD Magazine), and Shena Wolf (editor at Andrews McMeel). Other familiar faces included comic creators. It was nice seeing Keith Knight again; the last time I saw him was over 10 years ago, when I was still in high school. Among people who were near my booth were Sponge Bob-contributor Joey Weiser (Mermin), whom I already met a year before at FLUKE in Athens, GA, Drew Weing, who draws "The Creepy Casefiles of Margo Maloo", and Steve Conley, who draws "The Middle Age" for GoComics. I also ran into John Kovaleski, who drew one of my favorite comic strips, "Bo Nanas", years ago. I had my online readers come visit me, which is always a pleasant experience (and a special mention to Mike Rhode, who suggested I write this post when I saw him).

The second day was a lot slower, selling fewer books, so I took the opportunity to walk around the con more. The thing about cons this big is that there will be creators you admire, but had no idea they were going to be here. That was the case with KC Green and Meredith Gran. It's impossible to keep track of everyone you know who's going to be here.

In spite of the slow second day, my overall experience was very good. It was a jam-packed event, from seeing everyone who is enthusiastic about comics, to the lively Ignatz Awards ceremony, and the legendary chocolate fountain. Here's hoping I can go back in 2018.

Charles Brubaker is a cartoonist based in Martin, TN. He draws Ask a Cat (http://www.gocomics.com/ask-a-cat) and The Fuzzy Princess (http://fuzzy-princess.com/), and also contributes to SpongeBob Comics and MAD Magazine. His blog is http://bakertoons.tumblr.com/
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December 7: Lecture: "An Introduction to French Comics"

Lecture: "An Introduction to French Comics"
 

Lecture: "An Introduction to French Comics" 

(postponed from October 24)

A high-level introduction into how a closely neighboring culture views the humble comic book in a completely different way.About the Speaker: RM Rhodes has a day job and lives in Arlington, but he would prefer to be known as a comics creator and historian. He has written articles and reviews for sites like Forces of Geek, Need Coffee, The Hooded Utilitarian, and Comics Workbook. He is learning French so he can read his French comics and enjoys talking about himself in the third person. $5, Doors at 6:30 p.m., lecture at 7 p.m., followed by a wine and dessert reception.


VENUE: The Lyceum CAPACITY: 120 PRICE: $5.00 DATE: 12/7/2017 EVENTID: 6000278
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Monday, September 25, 2017

Catching up with conservative cartoonist Al Goodwyn

by Mike Rhode
It's been 6 years since I interviewed you for the Washington City Paper - The world's changed a bit since then - have you?
Other than grayer hair and higher cholesterol, I haven't changed much.  Still enjoying life in DC.  And you're right, the world has certainly changed, some for the good and some for the bizarre.  What's also bizarre is that the good and bizarre labels seem to flip depending on individual political perspectives.
About six months ago you started a cartoon blog with Jeff Newman where you provide conservative political cartoons and he does humorous commentary on public events.  Can you tell us how that started, and why you're doing it? How is the reaction?
I had been wanting to try my hand at blogging for some time.  Given that the first steps at blogging aren't really part of the creative process, but include figuring out the mechanics of blogging, the layout, and all of the key strokes needed just to get started, it stayed on the back burner for years.  Jeff's a good friend of mine back in South Carolina and we chat often about politics.  He was actually the push to make the blog finally happen. 
It was over a few beers with Jeff that the topic of blogging resurfaced.  We convinced ourselves we could manage a blog.  Isn't beer amazing?  We wanted the theme to somehow counter the growing number of people who get their news from Comedy Central and memes.  We were both a fan of the book Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole where people seemingly amassed in a confederacy to stymie the protagonist's every move.  From our prospective those who simply latch on to whatever fits their world view without validation from other sources were acting like drones, hence Confederacy ofDrones was launched. 
With lots of snarkiness, satire and sarcasm, we've been posting on a fairly routine basis since then.  Part for fun and part for sanity.  We've loaded over 150 posts so far. We even appreciate other perspectives and disagreement especially when opinions are backed up by facts. The blog can be found here: https://confederacyofdrones.com/.  The reaction has been positive and we've enjoyed engaging with other bloggers on politics.
You've been picked up to do print cartoons for the Washington Examiner, which was Nate Beeler's home when it was a daily. What is the story behind that? Is it all new material for them?
Nate is a phenomenal editorial cartoonist.  His work was a part of my metro commute when the Washington Examiner was a daily newspaper.  I was sorry to see that daily paper go away, partly because it changed my commute routine but mostly because it was another step in the fading of political cartoonists.  Nate has been, and I'm sure he'll continue to be, used by the Washington Examiner through syndication. 
My involvement with the Washington Examiner came about because my cartooning outlet of 28 years, the HealthPhysics News, was cutting back on costs and no longer wanted cartoons.  My start at cartooning began with them back in 1989 when they were called the Health Physics Society Newsletter and ever since then I had been a regular contributor … until this summer when they let me know that they would no longer be running cartoons.  I think they felt worse about it than I did.  It's a business decision that I completely understood.  They had been great to me over those many years and without them, it's possible I may never have tried my hand at cartooning.   
Since one door closed, I was in search of another.  The Washington Examiner, now a weekly news magazine, has its offices near mine in downtown DC.  I made contact with several people there and after they looked at some of my work, we met in person.  They were encouraging during that meeting and indicated that they'd like to occasionally use my work.  The first was in the September 18th issue. 
How does it feel to have a 'reinvigorated' political cartoon career as a conservative in 2017? 

It's great to have an outlet whether it's the blog or in print.  There's so much going on and so many opportunities to identify contrary opinions to what's happening in politics and society, that there's plenty of motivating material for cartoons. 

Even though I lean to the right and most of my cartoons have a conservative tilt, I still poke at Republicans and President Trump.  Of course many would say, and I'd agree, that those are easy targets based on recent missteps and gaffs.  Fortunately as far as US presidents are concerned, we don't elect them for life.  Unfortunately, in the absence of term limits for congress, the country has moved too far away from the citizen politician and more toward entrenched career politicians.  You'd think with the level of political fodder available today for lampooning that the world of political cartoons would be a thriving industry.  Maybe, again, some day.
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