Thursday, November 30, 2006

Matt Diffee at Politics and Prose


Despite some audiovisual problems which led to us not seeing cartoons rejected from The Rejection Collection, Matt Diffee gave a fun and interesting talk tonight. While A/V concerns were being addressed, he talked a bit about being a New Yorker cartoonist, noting that cartoon editor Bob Mankoff recommends bringing in 10 cartoons a week. The cartoonists bring the cartoons in on Tuesday, Mankoff chooses some and shows them to editor Remnick, and if the magazine buys them, one gets a telephone call on Thursday. The best a cartoonist can hope for is one cartoon chosen - a 90% rejection rate if at the 'absolute top of the game.'



Diffee then showed a short film he made, "Being Bob," in which Bob Mankoff rejects every cartoon he's shown, then rejects every sandwich offered for lunch, then rejects a cab, and then, years later, has a successful transplant operation, if... his body doesn't reject it. Mankoff had some fun there obviously.


A question about the caption contest led Diffee to describe the process. He said the contest lets the magazine accept and reject the cartoon at the same time. They get about 9000 submissions for the contest. His first cartoon they bought for the contest was a boa constrictor wrapped around a man's date - his caption (or a reasonable facsimile submission) was chosen as a runner-up. Another time his caption did win.
He also talked about his cartoon of Che Guevara wearing a Bart Simpson t-shirt and said it grew out of seeing people in Brooklyn wearing Che t-shirts. Answering a question about the New Yorker's cartoon stable, he said there were about 50 cartoonists, but about 15 do the most cartoons.

A child asked him if he was frustrated - he replied that he's been drawing cartoons for them for 7 years. The first 2 years he was paying his dues, but the 3rd year he was frustrated. Now he recommends just being cynical as easier on everyone.


He had to leave for another event, but even so he was personalizing each book with a cartoon as you can see here. The Washington Post should cover this later in the week since Peter Carlson and a photographer were present. It'll be much better written and more interesting then, so I'll link to it.


The bird and the poop are added to the title page's facing drawing.

The man with the rejection stamp is drawn anew.
And mine - Duck!

Comics articles in today's papers

The Examiner has a review of a Superman Returns videogame. The Express has an Associated Press article about the new chain of Dagwood restaurants.

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Nov 30 - Booksigning Matt Diffee REPOST

Diffee will be at Politics and Prose for The Rejection Collection of cartoons the New Yorker wouldn't buy and it's a pick of the City Paper which came out last week.

I'll be there - anybody else?

Historical note: 1966 Cavalcade of American Comics exhibit updated


I was recently talking to Joel Pollack of Big Planet Comics about chalk talks he saw as a child at the Smithsonian. Since I'm an archivist, I corresponded with their archivist to see if the talks had perhaps been filmed.

Smithonian Archives' Assistant Archivist Ellen Alers responded,

"Chalk Talks" (nine in all) were held in the auditorium at the then Museum of History and Technology (what later became the National Museum of American History). These accompanied the exhibition titled, "Cavalcade of American Comics" that was on display at the Museum of History and Technology, May 2 - July 6, 1966. The exhibit was co-sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution, Washington Evening Star, and Washington Post newspapers.

Cartoonists who gave these talks included: Chester Gould, Allen Saunders, Alfred Andriola, Walt Kelly, Al Capp, Stan Drake, John Liney, Milton Caniff, and Hal Foster.

There is one box containing material from this exhibition and it is Record Unit 334, box 23. It is stored off-site so you'll need to give at least one week's notice before visiting.


I think I will take her up on that and perhaps do a short article for the International Journal of Comic Art at some point. Did anyone else see this show? If so, please leave a comment.

Joel's friend Charlie Roberts contributed his memories of attending:

Due to my work schedule I could only go to the Capp and Caniff talks. A few anecdotes. Al Capp was going to the car afterwards with Art Buchwald. He was pretty grouchy, and wouldn't sign an autograph but Buchwald said "Aw Al, sign the autograph for the kid" and Capp begrudgingly signed . I thanked Art, and Thank him again today (!) Caniff gave a chalk talk, and couldn't have been nicer on and off the stage. I talked to him afterwards about getting a drawing, and he gave me his address. I wrote him, and he sent me the original art to a Steve Canyon daily strip. My First original, inscribed and dated June 1966 ( yes, I still have it!), which led to a lifelong collecting interest in original art as well as appreciation for Caniff art and the artist himself. Caniff was the ultimate Goodwill Cartoonist Ambassador. I met collector Joe Goggin at the event, and within a year or so found out about Comic Fa! ndom, Pa flea markets (and Ted Hake!), Abe Paskow and others . 40 years ago seems like a long time, but also seems like a twinkle in a collectors eye.

7/2020 update by Stuart McIntire:

These creators made twice-daily appearances (10:30am and 2:30pm) Alfred Andriola on 5/14, Walt Kelly on 5/21, Chester Gould on 5/28, Leonard Starr on 6/4, Al Capp on 6/11, Stan Drake on 6/18, John Liney on 6/25, and Al Smith on 7/2. Other cartoonists who made appearances at the exhibit were Allen Saunders on 5/7, Milton Caniff on 5/19, and Johnny Hart and Brant Parker on 5/26. The designer of the exhibit was John Clendenning. 

I never did go down to see that box of records... Somebody remind me after covid-19, please.

Monday, November 27, 2006

This week's new comics list from Big Planet Comics


Courtesy of Big Planet Comics, Washingtonian's pick for Best Comics Store.

New comics arriving this WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29TH (Updated I checked. They'll be in on Wednesday, but shelved late. BP estimates 4 pm.)

DC COMICS
52 WEEK #30
AMERICAN VIRGIN #9
AQUAMAN #46
BATMAN #659
BATMAN/THE SPIRIT
CROSSING MIDNIGHT #1
DEATHBLOW #2
EX MACHINA VOL. 4 TP
FLASH #6
GREEN LANTERN #15
GREEN LANTERN: REVENGE OF THE GREEN LANTERNS HC
GUY GARDNER: COLLATERAL DAMAGE #1
ION #8
LOVELESS #13
RUSH CITY #3
SUPERMAN BATMAN #30
TEEN TITANS #41
TEEN TITANS: GO #37
WARLORD #10
WETWORKS #3

MARVEL COMICS
AVENGERS: GALACTIC STORM VOL. 2 TP
AVENGERS: NEXT #2
BLACK PANTHER #22
CAPTAIN AMERICA #24
ESSENTIAL MAN-THING VOL. 1 TP
FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN #14
IMMORTAL IRON FIST #1
NEXTWAVE: AGENTS OF HATE #10
ONSLAUGHT REBORN #1
POWERS #21
PUNISHER #41
PUNISHER VOL. 6 TP
PUNISHER XMAS SPECIAL
SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN #32
SPIDER-MAN FAMILY FEATURING SPIDER CLAN
STAN LEE MEETS DR. DOOM
ULTIMATE POWER #2
ULTIMATE VISION #0
WHAT IF: WOLVERINE ENEMY OF THE STATE
X-MEN #193
ZOMBIE #3

INDYVILLE
ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY VOL. 17 HC
ARMY OF DARKNESS #12
CASTLE WAITING VOL. II #3
COMICS JOURNAL #279
CONAN: SONGS OF THE DEAD #5
CONAN: BOOK OF THOTH TP
DH BOOK OF MONSTERS HC
ELEPHANTMEN #0
GHOST IN THE SHELL 1.5 #2
GOON VOL. 5 TP
NOBLE CAUSES VOL. 6 TP
RAGMOP TP
SAVAGE DRAGON #130
SPAWN #162
STAR WARS: LEGACY #6
TALENT #4
TRANSFORMERS: ESCALATION #1
TRUE STORY SWEAR TO GOD #2
VERONICA #176
WHISPER #1
ZOMBIES VS. ROBOTS #1

PLANET PICKS
52 WEEK #30
BATMAN/THE SPIRIT
CROSSING MIDNIGHT #1
GUY GARDNER: COLLATERAL DAMAGE #1
IMMORTAL IRON FIST #1
NEXTWAVE: AGENTS OF HATE #10
PUNISHER #41
ULTIMATE POWER #2

Sunday, November 26, 2006

Howard University cartoonist Cory Thomas profiled

The North Carolina News and Observer just picked up Cory Thomas' "Watch Your Head" strip as did the Washington Post a few weeks ago. The Observer's profile of Thomas, an engineering student at Howard University, quotes Thomas as saying his main character "Cory isn't really me. He's kind of an exaggerated version of me," he says from his home just outside of Washington. "He's a lot nerdier, a lot wimpier."

Thanks to the Daily Cartoonist for the tip.

Saturday, November 25, 2006

Sean Delonas booksigning



Sean Delonas and his son Ryan signed their new children's book, Scuttle's Big Wish today at Aladinn's Lamp bookstore in Arlington. Sean is the New York Post's cartoonist for Page Six. Ryan's a ten-year old who tells stories. The two collaborated on Scuttle, a retelling of King Midas, which was picked up by HarperCollins. Sean painted each page in oil (see the photo of two of the paintings) and each took about 100 hours to complete. With revisions, the whole book took about four years, but they've got two more in the pipeline now. Sean told me that he got started in cartoons when his friend Bay Rigby at the NY Post took a break and recommended him as a replacement. Sean's website, linked above, has plenty of examples of his cartoons.

The bookstore had them sign some extra copies which should be available. (They also had signed copies of Mo Willems' You Can Never Find a Rickshaw When It Monsoons: The World on One Cartoon a Day.)



Ryan (seated with cheese hat) and Sean Delonas (standing with cheese tie)


Sean Delonas



Ryan Delonas



Two original oils for the book.

Hirschfeld original at National Postal Museum

Although you can't tell from their annoyingly incomplete website, the new exhibit Trailblazers and Trendsetters shows 76 pieces of original artwork commissioned for stamps, including Al Hirschfeld's Laurel and Hardy. The exhibit runs from now until next October.

A few bits and pieces from the papers

Catching up with some from the holidays, in the Washington Post we found:

Thursday's Holiday Issue magazine, which in addition to having food photos by my friend Lisa Cherkasky, also had an article illustrated by Kevin Pope. Pope became familiar to us DC types last year when he did a series of illustration ads for an IT firm that ran regularly in the Express. Barry Blitt had a political cartoon on the last page, "All I Want for Christmas: Young Elites and Their Holiday Wishes" that poked fun at some of the politicians and chattering classes. This was reminiscent of his work for Entertainment Weekly of a few years ago. Neither of these appear to be online.

The Examiner had the free Spider-Man reprint comic book today, although it was hard to find the paper. Reprinting a bit of Amazing Spider-Man #7, it features a new cover by Olivier and Morales. Yesterday, the paper ran a couple of articles on comics. One was a review of the videogame based on Avatar the Last Airbender cartoon, and the second was an AP article "Too Many 'Toons?" which strikes me as stupid. Nobody complains about too many sitcoms.

Upon reading the Post it appears Richard Thompson is on vacation (in any event the website is weeks behind). "Cartoonist Held After Siege at Miami Paper" details José Varela's inappropriate attempts to reform publishing. And they mention an exhibit at the Postal Museum that I'll post separately on.

While out of our purvey officially, the NY Times has been going gangbusters with comics articles. Yesterday they had a review of the new exhibit of African comics in Harlem and today, articles on DC Comics' new line for girls and an another article on the editorial cartoonist in FL going crazy and occupying a newsroom. Skipping past that last one quickly, they also ran one of James Stevenson's excellent "Lost and Found New York" pieces of cartoon journalism - this time burlesque.

Friday, November 24, 2006

Big Planet Comics named best by Washingtonian

Washingtonian Magazine named Big Planet Comics the best comics store in their 'Best of' December issue. The twenty-year old chain was founded by Joel Pollack, and his grinning face may be seen with a copy of Creepy in the photogaph accompanying the article. As someone who's been shopping at Big Planet for 20 years, I say, "Hear, hear!"

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Nov 30 - Booksigning - Matt Diffee

at Politics and Prose for The Rejection Collection of cartoons the New Yorker wouldn't buy and it's a pick of the City Paper which came out early this week.

The National Lampoon did at least one similar collection too.

Tom Toles online archive

This may be old news, actually it is old news, but it bears repeating. All of Tom Toles' cartoons for the Post since 2003 are online. But in addition to the version we see published in the paper, he has also been posting his sketches for the day's cartoon since August 2005 - which may or may not be what finally gets drawn. I think this is still a rare peek into a top cartoonist's working process.

New comics expected today, courtesy of Big Planet Comics



My friend Joel Pollack, owner of Big Planet Comics in Bethesda, sends out this weekly list. Hopefully, he won't mind my reposting it here, especially since I've already stopped in today and dropped a load of dough.

New comics arriving this WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 22ND

DC COMICS
52 WEEK #29
ACTION COMICS #845
BATMAN: DARK KNIGHT ARCHIVES VOL. 5 HC
BLUE BEETLE #9
BOYS #5
CONNOR HAWKE: DRAGON’S BLOOD #1
CREEPER #4
EX MACHINA VOL. 4: MARCH TO WAR TP
HAWKGIRL #58
JACK OF FABLES #5
JSA CLASSIFIED #19
MAN CALLED KEV #4
RED MENACE #1
SHOWCASE PRESENTS: THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER VOL. 1 TP
SUPERGIRL AND LSH #24
SUPERMAN BATMAN VOL. 3 TP
SWAMP THING VOL. 9: INFERNAL TRIANGLES TP
UNCLE SAM AND THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS #5
WONDER WOMAN #3
Y-THE LAST MAN VOL. 8: KIMONO DRAGONS TP

MARVEL COMICS
ALL NEW OFF HANDBOOK MARVEL UNIVERSE A TO Z #11
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #536
AVENGERS: EARTHS MIGHTIEST HEROES II #2
CAPTAIN AMERICA: RED MENACE VOL. 2 TP
CIVIL WAR FRONT LINE #8
DAREDEVIL #91
ESSENTIAL CAPTAIN AMERICA VOL. 3 TP
EXILES #88
FANTASTIC FOUR: THE END #2
HELLSTORM, SON OF SATAN #2
HEROES FOR HIRE #4
HEROES REBORN: CAPTAIN AMERICA TP
MARVEL HOLIDAY DIGEST TP
NEW EXCALIBUR #13
NEW X-MEN OMNIBUS HC
PUNISHER: WAR JOURNAL #1
RUNAWAYS #22
SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE #12
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #102
WOLVERINE #48
X-FACTOR #13

INDYVILLE
ANGEL: AULD LANG SYNE #1
ANGRY YOUTH COMIX #12
ARCHIE & FRIENDS #105
ARMY OF DARKNESS #12
BLAB VOL. 17 GN
BUCKAROO BANZAI #3
CASANOVA #6
CONAN #34
DENNIS THE MENACE COMPLETE 1955-56 HC
DRAIN #1
FATHOM #11
FUTURAMA COMICS #28
GODLAND #14
THE GOON NOIR #2
HOT MEXICAN LOVE COMICS 2006
IMPALER #2
JOHN WOO’S SEVEN BROTHERS #2
LOOKING GLASS WARS: HATTER M #4
NOBLE CAUSES #25
PERHAPANAUTS: SECOND CHANCES #2
PIRATES OF CONEY ISLAND #2
PLANETARY BRIGADE: ORIGINS #1
PREVIEWS VOL. XVI #12
SAVAGE RED SONJA #4
SIMPSONS WINTER WINGDING #1
STAR WARS: KOTOR #10
TRANSFORMERS ANIMATED MOVIE ADAPTATION #2
USAGI YOJIMBO #98
WALKING DEAD #32
WIZARD #183

PLANET PICKS
52 WEEK #29
ACTION COMICS #845
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #536
BOYS #5
CONNOR HAWKE: DRAGON’S BLOOD #1
DAREDEVIL #91
EX MACHINA VOL. 4: MARCH TO WAR TP
FANTASTIC FOUR: THE END #2
GOON NOIR #2
HOT MEXICAN LOVE COMICS 2006
JACK OF FABLES #5
JOHN WOO’S SEVEN BROTHERS #2
MAN CALLED KEV #4
SHOWCASE PRESENTS: THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER VOL. 1 TP
SIMPSONS WINTER WINGDING #1
WALKING DEAD #32
WONDER WOMAN #3
X-FACTOR #13
Y-THE LAST MAN VOL. 8: KIMONO DRAGONS TP

Comics blog by DC resident John Daniels

My friend John Daniels lives in DC, reads more superhero comics than I do, shops at different comics stores, and has been at this blog thing longer than I have. He's writing Comic Story Arc, a blog with reviews and commentary, and his current page shows an interview with Frank Beddor, writer of Hatter M and The Looking-Glass Wars. I'll be checking that out since I just picked up the novel.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Author mentions Garry Trudeau's visits to Walter Reed hospital



The Comics Reporter linked to this article today in which amputee reporter, Michael Weisskopf, is asked by reporter Ben Steelman about Garry Trudeau. Weisskopf, who lost a hand as an embedded reporter while grabbing a live grenade tossed into the vehicle he was riding in, had this to say about Trudeau:

"Q. You mentioned that Doonesbury picked up the story line of its character B.D. losing a leg. What did the guys on Ward 57 think of that?

A. I think they believe it's nice to have the attention given to their lives. (Doonesbury cartoonist) Garry Trudeau, whom I've met through this process, is a real solid guy. He goes to Ward 57 regularly and uses proceeds from his work to help the Fisher House Foundation, which runs family support centers for wounded soldiers."




Ward 57 is the orthopedics and neurosurgery ward at Walter Reed here in DC, and information on the Fisher Houses can be found here.. Basically they're apartments for families of soldiers who need long-term care, but they also let the wounded soldier relearn living and domestic skills. The Combined Federal Charity campaign underway now for federal works certainly must have them as a charitable choice. The proceeds from Trudeau's work that Weisskopf refers to are profits from the two books about BD's wounding and recovery, The Long Road Home: One Step at a Time and The War Within: One More Step at a Time.

Cartoon Medicine in NY Times


Joe Palooka fought VD in World War II

Paul Terry battled booze in World War I (before Mighty Mouse)

Frank Mack became a cartoonist for Ripley after the war.









The film festival that the National Library of Medicine put on a few weeks ago was covered in today's New York Times (November 21, 2006), Historians Resurrect ‘Cartoon Medicine’ for a New Generation, By AMANDA SCHAFFER

The images above are from the National Museum of Health and Medicine's collection, but the National Library of Medicine also has posters by cartoonists from World War II and later.

Monday, November 20, 2006

Who is Greg Houston?

Beats me, but he's been doing some nice work for the City Paper. This is the second article he's illustrated in recent months - iirc he did one on the night life of Adams Morgan, such as it is.

Actually a quick Google search reveals his website and the fact that he's a Baltimore-based illustrator. He's got quite a few images on his site, including a Venom and a Batman, for us comic book fans.

I'll be keeping my eyes open for his work. The cover of this week's City Paper really stood out but they don't seem to have put it up on their website.

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Off topic - Von Allan interview

Longtime (hah!) readers of this blog might recall that Von Allan sent us a press release before his SPX appearance. I stopped by to meet him and enjoyed talking to him and seeing previews of his comics. I know he's a reader of the blog because he keeps posting comments asking how to pronouce "Marjane" as in Marjane Satrapi. Since I haven't answered that yet, here's a link to a recent interview with him.

Nov 25 - Booksigning Sean Delonas

The Washington Post's Book World lists a signing by New York Post cartoonist Sean Delonas and his son Ryan. They've coauthored a children's book, Scuttle's Big Wish. The signing is at Aladdin's Lamp Children's Bookstore, 2499 N. Harrison St, Arlington at 11 am. For some reason they're asking for an RSVP (I've not been to the store - perhaps it's small) - 703-241-8281. I'm not familiar with Delonas' work, but I think I'll try to attend this.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Minor Washington Post comics bits

Two Post strips this week have a bit of interest. Dave Astor does an excellent column on newspaper syndicates, and I'm not just saying that because he just quoted this blog. He pointed out earlier in the week that Hilary Price, Rhymes with Orange cartoonist, is on her honeymoon, and Mary Lawton is doing the strip for two weeks, a fact that complete escaped me even though I read the darned thing. (For those reading between the lines of Dave's story, yes, Price is an out of the closet lesbian).

Ok, a third thing before the second - The Other Coast alternates with another panel in the Post, annoyingly enough, but as Dave points out Raeside really bit the hand that feeds him yesterday. Good for him. "Peanuts out of the Post!" could be my rallying cry.

The second thing is that Stephan Pastis' Pearls Before Swine strip is doing another of those breaking the fourth wall bits and swapping into his strip bits of Get Fuzzy by Darby Conley (who's on vacation).

Any further interest in posts like this where I just note what struck me about a comic? I read the Post, City Paper, Blade, Examiner, Express and Washington Times* (when I get it for free) as well as the NY Times (brag, brag) so I might have something to note if there's any interest.

*It's that Comics Research Bibliography thing that drives me.

Post mentions American Born Chinese at National Book Awards

National Book Awards Honor 'Echo Maker,' 'Worst Hard Time' By Bob Thompson, Washington Post Staff Writer, Thursday, November 16, 2006; Page C01 has a little bit on Gene Yang's nomination. To wit:

In his acceptance speech, [Young people's literature award winner M.T.] Anderson made a point of noting that Gene Luen Yang's "American Born Chinese" was the first graphic novel nominated for a National Book Award. "There is a lot of dithering in the blogosphere," he said, about whether graphic novels are worthy. This can now be laid to rest.

and

Yang said he thinks we're "in the middle of a renaissance for the graphic novel" -- finally seeing "an entire body of work" in the form that aspires to be literature.

Nothing world-shaking, but perhaps of interest.

In other news, as I was driving home tonight I was behind a silver Pacifica SUV with a license plate that read "DC Comic" - it was driven by a black man in a military uniform, and judging from the frequency of shows advertised at Walter Reed, I'm going to go out on a limb and say he's a comedian. I was excited for a minute though.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Nov 18 - Academic panels - “Comics, Graphic Novels, and the Bible” REPOST

This has gotten closer, so I'll repeat the information.

A. David Lewis reports that he will be speaking at the following session. More details if I get them, but it sounds interesting. Besides the obvious issue of the propriety of the Danish Islam cartoons, there has been a lot of growth in Christian and Jewish comics in the US. (BTW, I think that's Andre, not Andrea).

Program for 2006 National Academy of American Religion/Society of Biblical Literature

SBL Forum Special Session, Nov. 18, 1pm – DC Convention Center
“Comics, Graphic Novels, and the Bible”
Dan W. Clanton, Jr., Presider

Papers

G. Andrew Tooze, Winston-Salem, NC, “Do Superheroes Read Scripture? The Bible and Comic Books” (30 minutes)

Terry Clark, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, “Biblical Graphic Novels: Adaptation, Interpretation, and Pedagogy” (30 minutes)

Andrea Molinari, Creighton University, “Climbing the Dragon’s Ladder: Perpetua, Felicitas, Graphic Novels and the Possibility of Modern Hagiography” (30 minutes)

Panel Discussion (60 minutes)

Greg Garrett, Professor of English, Baylor University
A. David Lewis, author of The Lone and Level Sands
Steve Ross, author of Marked
JT Waldman, author of Megillat Esther

Library of Congress announces Swann Fellowship applications

This just in from the Library. Note that the grant supports doing research in the Library's collections, which have grown quite a bit. In addition to the donation/purchase of Art Wood's collection which is the basis of the Cartoon America exhibit, the Library also picked up the Harry "A" Chesler collection from Fairleigh Dickenson University in 2001.

November 15, 2006

Public contact: Martha Kennedy (202) 707-9115, mkenn@loc.gov

SWANN FOUNDATION ACCEPTING FELLOWSHIP APPLICATIONS
Foundation Supports Research in the Humorous Arts of Caricature and Cartoon

The Caroline and Erwin Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon, administered by the Library of Congress, is accepting applications for its graduate fellowship for the 2007-2008 academic year. Applications are due by close of business on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2007, and notification will occur in the spring.

The Swann Foundation awards one fellowship annually (with a $15,000 stipend) to assist in continuing scholarly research and writing projects in the field of caricature and cartoon.

As part of the fellowship, the Swann Foundation will support a required two-week residency at the Library of Congress, where the fellow will use the Library’s extensive collections and deliver a public lecture at the Library on his or her work. The fellow must also provide a copy of his or her dissertation, thesis or postgraduate publication upon completion, for the Swann Foundation Fund files.

Guidelines and application forms are available through the Swann Foundation’s Web site www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/swann-fellow.html, by e-mailing swann@loc.gov or by calling Martha Kennedy in the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library at (202) 707-9115.

To be eligible, an applicant must be a resident of the United States and a candidate for a master’s or doctoral degree at a university based in the United States, Canada or Mexico. The applicant must be working toward completion of a dissertation or thesis for that degree or be engaged in postgraduate research within three years of receiving an M.A. or a Ph.D. Individuals who are not U.S. residents but who otherwise meet these academic qualifications may also apply and be considered for a fellowship, contingent upon the applicant’s visa eligibility.

The applicant’s research must be in the field of caricature and cartoon. There are no restrictions on the place or time period covered. To encourage research in a variety of academic disciplines, any university department may oversee a project proposed for the fellowship, provided the subject pertains to caricature or cartoon art.

Requirements for the fellowship applications include a statement of qualifications, a one-page abstract of the proposed project, a project description that specifies research needs and a budget, two letters of reference and official transcripts.

The Swann Foundation fellowship in caricature and cartoon is the only scholarly fellowship that provides direct support for continuing graduate research in the field. It has supported groundbreaking research on caricature and cartoon that focuses on a variety of subjects and topics such as the Cold War; representations of race, class conflict and disease; and the early origins of caricature.

The Caroline and Erwin Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon is overseen by an advisory board composed of scholars, collectors, cartoonists and Library of Congress staff members. The foundation’s activities support the study, interpretation, preservation and appreciation of original works of humorous and satiric art by graphic artists from around the world. New York advertising executive Erwin Swann (1906-1973) established the Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon in 1967.

# # #
PR06-212
11/15/06
ISSN: 0731-3527

Washington Examiner dropping comics followup

Today the Examiner ran the letter on the left. I'd call it disingenous since the Pooch Cafe website shows no signs of the strip being discontinued, and it ran today in the Post's free Express paper. And of the strips the Examiner ran, it duplicated Over the Hedge in Overboard's space.

Also in today's Examiner is Brian Truitt's New Comic Book Releases column which I always enjoy.

Monday, November 13, 2006

Washington Examiner dropping comics?

Since the middle of last week, the Examiner appears to have dropped a page of comics. On October 14th, a paper I happened to have lying around the house, they had two pages of strips. These were Adam@Home, Frazz, Overboard, The Duplex, Pooch Cafe, Jump Start, Prickly City, Rose is Rose, Over the Hedge, The Buckets, Monty, Spot the Frog, Marmaduke, and Herman. In other words, a good middle-of-the-road selection.

Today's paper though only has Frazz, Over the Hedge, Overboard, Spot the Frog, Adam@Home, and Prickly City (which also runs in the Post). And this has been the case for a few days now. So have they cut almost 2/3 of their strips with no notice? Perhaps some more journalistically-inclined soul will look into it.

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Nov 27 KAL speaks in Baltimore

The Daily Cartoonist reported that KAL will be speaking in Baltimore soon, and KAL's website has the details:

The League of Woman Voters is sponsoring a special event with KAL on Monday November 27

A lecture titled KAL Draws Criticism: Political Cartoons and The Democratic Society will begin at 6PM at Sheppard Pratt Conference Cente, 6501 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD

Tickets are $10.00

For more information call the League office, 410-377-8046 or email lwvbaltimore@verizon.net

Saturday, November 11, 2006

Cartoon America opening photographs

The exhibit opening in the Library of Congress' Members Room was marked with speeches from various luminaries like Librarian of Congress James Billington (I only partially envy him his job), Jules Feiffer, Kevin KAL Kallaugher, Harry Katz, Ann Telnaes, Brian Walker and Art Wood. I'll try to update this entry to post some comments they made that struck me, but in the meantime, here's some pictures that Richard Thompson requested.


Jules Feiffer


Brian Walker



Kevin KAL Kallaugher


Ann Telnaes


Warren Bernard, volunteer cartoon cataloguer, and curators Martha Kennedy and Sara Duke.


Richard Thompson talking to the former manager of the Susan Conway gallery, as the signing line goes on.

Cartoon America review in Washington Post




The Post ran a good review in yesterday's paper, albeit in the Weekend section instead of Style -

Cartoons That Draw You In
By Michael O'Sullivan
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 10, 2006; Page WE48

The pull quote would be, "Tightly yet smartly organized by curators Sara W. Duke and Martha H. Kennedy, this cream-of-the-crop-style survey showcases a collection that is not just vast but deep, featuring a 1743 etching, "Characters & Caricaturas," by satirical printmaker William Hogarth along with examples of original work by Bill Griffith ("Zippy the Pinhead") and Lynn Johnston ("For Better or for Worse"), two contemporary masters of the daily comic strip."

As I've said before, this is an excellent show. I attempted to take my daughter to see it yesterday, but the LoC was closed for the holiday, which is today, and it's open today of course. And don't forget to see Martha and Sara's fine little Herblock show which is upstairs in the American Treasures exhibit.

Nov 25 Booksigning by Ted Hake at Geppi's Museum

Since this is essentially a press release, I don't think they'll mind if I reproduce it in full.

GEM's Inaugural Signing with Ted Hake
Superstars, Scoop, Friday, November 10, 2006
http://scoop.diamondgalleries.com/scoop_article.asp?ai=13776&si=122

As announced in last week's Scoop, Geppi's Entertainment Museum has developed an author signing series and is proud to announce that Ted Hake will be the inaugural featured guest author on Saturday, November 25, 2006. Ted will be the guest of Geppi's Entertainment Museum Store from 1 to 4 pm on the second floor of historic Camden Station in downtown Baltimore, MD on the Camden Yards campus.

Ted Hake is recognized as the founding father of America's collectibles industry. He began Hake's Americana & Collectibles in 1967, the first auction house to specialize in 20th century American popular culture. His early initiatives in hundreds of collecting areas contributed significantly to establishing collectibles as a major pastime for millions of Americans. Over the years, Hake has shared his expertise by writing seventeen reference/price guides covering such subjects as presidential campaign artifacts, pinback buttons and vintage collectibles in the areas of advertising, comic characters, cowboy characters and television. His lifelong interest in Disneyana culminated in 2005 with the comprehensive (9,000 pictured items) Official Price Guide to Disney Collectibles 1st Edition (Random House). He is a frequent guest on radio, was an appraiser on the first two seasons of the PBS series The Antiques Roadshow and is a featured expert on the History Channel's 2003 program History of Toys. In March 2004, Hake sold his business which is now a division of Diamond International Galleries and he continues as Chief Operating Officer.


Hake's four annual catalogue and internet (www.hakes.com) auctions, sales lists and books are produced at the company's home office in Timonium, Maryland.

Friday, November 10, 2006

Steve Geppi interview podcast

I haven't made it to his new museum in Baltimore yet, but I'm looking forward to going.

Zurzolo, Vincent. 2006.
Steve Geppi interview
World Talk Radio's Comic Zone (November 1):
http://www.worldtalkradio.com/archive.asp?aid=8307

Steve Geppi -comic Collector, founder of Diamond Distribution and the Geppi Entertainment Museum joins Vincent Zurzolo to talk about his illustrious career in the world of comics!

Thursday, November 09, 2006

Nov 9 - articles in today's papers

Besides the Chast article, the Express has wire stories about SpongeBob and the new animated penguin movie, Happy Feet. The Examiner has an AP story about the new Disney biography that's about to come out.

Nov 16: Roz Chast speaks and sells


The Express has an article on New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast speaking at the Smithsonian's Residents Associates Program. The lecture, presumably part of her book tour, is $25 or 15 bucks if you're a RAP member. While I've paid for one of these in the past, notably Mankoff and the other New Yorker cartoonists that were touring with the complete cartoon book a couple of years ago, in general it pisses me off to pay someone to be sold something by them. So I won't be attending this. On the other hand, it appears to be sold out so apparently they didn't need me anyway.

Satrapi at Politics and Prose followup

Tom Spurgeon linked to this site which reproduces a State Dept information piece on Satrapi, quoting from her talk at Politics and Prose on Halloween. This struck me as slightly odd, but not inappropriate. She's certainly an articulate advocate for her point of view.

Since works by the US Gov't are in the public domain, here's the whole piece:

06 November 2006
Book About Wartime Iran a Statement Against Dictatorships:
Graphic novel explains experiences of Iranians during revolution and war


Washington -- Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, a four-volume series that first was published in 2000, has become one of the most influential graphic novels in the past 10 years and is a cornerstone of curricula being taught at U.S. universities, including the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the premier institution for training U.S. Army officers.

The series, which tells the story of Satrapi's life in revolutionary and wartime Iran, has educated and inspired a wide range of readers, including pro-democracy activists from China to Chile.

“Suddenly it became the story of all dictatorships and it put me in a situation that suddenly, despite myself, I became the voice of a generation or the population,” Satrapi said in Washington October 31.

She said she wrote the book to help outsiders understand the Iranian people and their experience during the revolution and war with Iraq, adding that with the current tensions between Iran and the outside world, “there is a lot of need of this book today.”

“This whole work … [was] to try to show the human part of us, to say hey, these people that are so much misjudged, they are human beings exactly like you with family stories, with hopes, and you can identify with them and it might be you today.”

She said a whole generation of Iranians went through this, and now after a period of reflection “it is the right moment” to talk about these events.

Satrapi is among a growing number of women of Persian heritage living in the United States and elsewhere who are seizing upon the opportunity to tell their own stories, taking advantage of new freedoms and an increased feeling of comfort in their new societies. (See related article.)

For more coverage, see Women in the Global Community and The Arts.

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

and here's a second article from the same session:

06 November 2006
Iranian Women in Exile Finding Voices Through Literature: Lack of censorship spawns creative outlet for women to tell their own stories
By Stephen Kaufman
Washington File Staff Writer


Washington -- Women of Persian heritage living in the United States and elsewhere are seizing upon the opportunity to tell their own stories, taking advantage of new freedoms and an increased feeling of comfort in their new societies, and the literary world in turn has begun to respond with interest.

Persis Karim, associate professor of English and comparative literature at San Jose State University in California, said that in the past five years to six years there has been “an explosion” of memoirs written by women of Iranian heritage that discuss the loss and nostalgia from having to leave their home country, as well as taboo topics such as sexuality and love.

Speaking at the University of Maryland November 2, Karim attributed the surge of activity in the United States to “a real desire for people to narrate their own story, and a curiosity on the part of Americans -- readers and publishers -- to know something about Iranian women in particular.”

Women in the Iranian Diaspora are “remak[ing] themselves anew,” and Karim said they feel more of an urgency than men to represent themselves to the outside world. She said this stems in part from a reaction to the media’s depiction of Iranian women concealed by veils and seemingly without a voice. But they also want to represent themselves “because they, in some ways, never had that opportunity.”

Karim said the freedom in the Diaspora to write without censorship “is a really important part” of the new wave of literature, and in her compilation, Let Me Tell You Where I Have Been, she includes poems and stories by women written without the knowledge or approval of their families, including topics that explore wide-ranging sexual themes that are typically restricted in Iran’s conservative, traditional culture.

“[W]hat’s exciting and interesting about it is people are writing about sexuality and marriage and love in ways that are very difficult, particularly at the present moment, to write about in Iran,” she said. “It’s a very interesting moment in terms of the literature.”

These women are asking “hard questions about American culture and about Iranian culture,” and Karim said “they’re willing to do it in writing and I think obviously, with the issue of censorship not being there, it affords them some of those opportunities.”

PATRIARCHAL CULTURE SEEN AS INHIBITING DEMOCRACY

Marjane Satrapi, a graphic novelist living in France, has achieved tremendous international recognition, especially for her book, Persepolis, which tells the story of her life in revolutionary and wartime Iran. (See related article.)

Her book Embroideries concerns the situation of women and the topic of sex in Iran, which she describes as “a big taboo in any country in which you don’t have democracy.” Satrapi was speaking in a Washington bookstore October 31.

Among other themes in Embroideries, she discusses the issue of virginity and the cultural importance and pressure that it places on women.

“[It] is the first key to the open door of freedom and democracy because until this problem is solved, of course we cannot talk about democracy,” she said, explaining that she was seeking to discuss “in a nonaggressive way” the right of women to enjoy sexual gratification.

“I really certainly believe that the biggest enemy of democracy is the patriarchal culture,” Satrapi said. Authoritarian and oppressive leaders cannot stop democracy, she argued, but the culture can. In many countries, “half of the society is repressed by the other half of the society,” and it is often enforced through popular notions that women are less intelligent than men or are too sensitive by nature to accomplish what men can.

Democracy is “an evolution,” she said. In Iran, although women “have half of the rights of the men,” 70 percent of Iranian students are women. Satrapi suggested change could occur when educated women become economically independent, but until then “our government is really not representative of us.”

LIFE IN EXILE CREATES BOTH NOSTALGIA AND CREATIVE OPPORTUNITIES

Karim said Iranian Americans are beginning “to write themselves back into the narrative” of the recent events in Iran, and their work is marked by a confidence in English language expression.

“What I see coming through in the writing is a real attempt to grapple with how one situates oneself between that culture in Iran and the United States and/or other countries,” she said. Many younger Iranian Americans are claiming their cultural heritage, but are “also recognizing that they do stand outside of it to some degree.”

Simultaneously, she said, there is “a whole generation of young people growing up in the United States who are influenced and interested in Iranian culture and who are trying to find ways to address that interest.”

Karim said life in the United States, a country of immigrants, has created what she termed “hybrid literature.” The situation of living in a new place gives space for people to “reinvent themselves and maybe revisit their traditions and create new bodies of knowledge based on the experience of immigration.”

It also creates room to depart from the burden of tradition, addressing the writers’ desire to “create something new, with a new language, [and] a new experience.”

Literature by Iranian-American women is also “part of a conversation that’s much bigger than just the United States,” she said, because Iranians now are living all over the world.

“I think that that inability to comfortably go back to Iran without problems or concerns, or feeling somewhat cut off from that ability to have regular engagement with the culture … makes people want to talk about it and write about it and see themselves in some relationship to it,” she said.

For more information, see Women in the Global Community and The Arts.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

International Journal of Comic Art out now

The new issue of the International Journal of Comic Art is out now. An academic journal published and edited by John Lent, the current issue has an excellent piece on Grant Morrison and Dave McKean's Batman graphic novel, Arkham Asylum by Howard University professor Marc Singer. It's also got an interview with Harvey Pekar, Josh Neufeld, Dean Haspiel and Ed Piskor by yours truly from last year's Small Press Expo. The Exhibition Reviews section which I edit has my comments on recent local shows "Drawing Back" at Provisions Library, "Miguel Covarrubias" at the Cultural Institute of Mexico, and "Mightier than the Sword: The Satirical Pen of Kal" at the Walters Art Museum.

Buy your copy today!

Nov 7 - Richard's Poor Alamanac snuck in Post

This is a day late because my modem refused to recognize my internet service last night. The Post snuck a Richard Thompson cartoon, "An Introduction to Electronic Voting", in color on the front page of Style yesterday. The panel usually appears on Saturday.

Matt Wuerker becomes staff cartoonist on Nov 21

Tom Spurgeon at the Comics Reporter picked this bit up from the AAEC website - local freelance cartoonist Matt Wuerker, whose work is infrequently seen in the Washington Times, and in political ads in the Washington Post, will become the staff cartoonist of the new Capitol Leader paper. The AAEC also reports that you can see Wuerker's Flash-animated cartoons here.

Monday, November 06, 2006

Cartoon America - ABC News review

Tom Spurgeon pointed this out on his Comics Reporter blog.

ABC News covered the exhibit with a report by LAURA MARQUEZ - "Vietnam War Jabs and Washington Spending: The Art of Editorial Cartoons - New Exhibit Traces History of Political Drawings, Reflecting Little Changes in Washington."

The two-page article also links to a slideshow Cartoons Through War & Scandal.

Course: Super-Mensch: The Story of Jews and Comic Books

Steve Bergson pointed this one out on his Jewish Comics group.


Super-Mensch: The Story of Jews and Comic Books
Oct. 30 - Nov. 27 ,
(5 sessions)
7:00 - 8:15 PM
Members: $55, non-members: $65


Since the inception of the comic book industry, Jews have been involved as writers, artists, and visionaries. In fact, many heroes and villains have been based on the Jewish-American experience. We will look at how the relationship between Jews and comic books began, how it has grown, and what we can expect for the future.

Richard "Kap" Kaplowitz is a lifelong comic book collector and student of the industry. His son sells comics for "Kap's Komics" online and at comic book shows.

Monday classes at St. Margaret's Episcopal Church, Dupont Circle, 1830 Connecticut Ave, NW, two blocks north of the Dupont Circle's north Metro exit. Street parking is available.

Friday, November 03, 2006

Nov 3 - Fluggenock poster spotted


Driving home tonight, I spotted a Mike Fluggenock poster on the lightpost base at 21st and Massachussets Ave, NW. Fluggenock's a local anarchist who puts his cartoon work on the web for anyone to print and use. The poster I saw, pictured above, can also be downloaded here.

DC needs more Fluggenocks.

Dec 13 - Booksigning - Neal Gabler on Walt Disney

Gabler's signing his new biography on Disney at 7 pm at Politics and Prose.

Salon's run an excerpt of this recently.

And apparently there's been some criticism of the book? Anyone know anything?

Nov 30 - Booksigning - Matt Diffee

Matt Diffee signs The Rejection Collection at Politics and Prose at 7 pm. These are the cartoons the New Yorker didn't want. I'll be going to this one.

For further information,

The Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco has an exhibit of the cartoons through March - 655 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105 - 415-CAR-TOON, http://www.cartoonart.org

Reviews of the book:

Dernavich, Drew. 2006.
Back to the drawing board: A new anthology collects cartoons that were too dirty, too wacky, or just too dumb to make it into The New Yorker.
Boston Globe (October 15).

SCHILLINGER, LIESL. 2006.
Crossing the Line, Laughing All the Way.
New York Times (October 22): ST13

Washington Post editorial cartoonist Coffin in GWU magazine

I got my alumni copy of GW Magazine from George Washington University last night and my wife pointed out that there's an article on 19th century Washington Post editorial cartoonist George Yost Coffin in it by Lyle Slovick, one of the University's archivist. Coffin's papers are in the Gelman Library. It's a good article and worth reading.

Nov 3 - Aardman Animation's Flushed Away opens in DC

Reviews of the new movie by the Wallace & Gromit studio can be found in the Post, Washington Times, Sally Kline's in the Examiner and an Associated Press bit in the Express. In spite of the subject matter (rat flushed down the toilet into the sewers), I'm looking forward to seeing this.

Also in the Post is a review of Class of 3000, a new animated tv show.

Nov 2 - Cartoonists in City Paper


The cover story in the City Paper is illustrated by my friend Rob Ullman - Rob regularly illustrates the Savage Love column in the paper, although he's based in Richmond. He was up here recently for SPX and the City Paper's festival so I bought some more art from him. Most of the illos can be seen on the website, but look much better in the paper.

Also, Josh Neufeld, another nice guy who does some good travel comics called Vagabond, has an illo in the paper too.

Mike

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Nov 2 - Zadzooks on comics-related video games

In this article, he reviews a Peanuts videogame as well as the dvd for the animated Monster House.

Snoopy's dogfight with Red Baron

By Joseph Szadkowski
WASHINGTON TIMES November 2, 2006

Nov 2 - Cartoon America opens, mentioned in newspapers

I'll try to post a few pictures and quotes from the opening later, but in the meantime, the Express has a small article by Arion Berger on the exhibit, with an illustration by E. Simms Campbell. The Examiner has a blurb on the inside front cover with a completely inappropriate picture of people looking at life-size Hanna-Barbera characters. Nothing in the Post yet.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Nov 2 - Cartoon America opens at Library of Congress

I was privileged to go to the preview opening today, and hear remarks by collector and cartoonist Art Wood, Librarian of Congress James Billington, curator/author Harry Katz and noted cartoonists Jules Feiffer, Ann Telnaes and Kal, as well as meeting the Post's Richard Thompson ... and all of this occured in the gilded 'members' room of the Library of Congress. A very attractive room that was. Anyway, I'll try to post more on this in the next day, or so, but here's the press release for this absolutely fantastic exhibit. The Nast original alone is worth making the trip downtown to see. Martha and Sara have done another fine job. And don't forget that they've got a Herblock exhibit on the floor above as well.


Library of Congress Exhibition "Cartoon America" Opens Nov. 2
Exhibition Features America's Best Cartoons from the Art Wood Collection

"Cartoon America: Highlights from the Art Wood Collection of Cartoon and Caricature" will open at the Library of Congress on Thursday, Nov. 2, in the Great Hall of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. S.E., Washington, D.C. On view through Jan. 27, 2007, the exhibition is free and open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday-Saturday.

The exhibition will feature 100 masterworks of such celebrated artists as political cartoonists Thomas Nast, Rube Goldberg, Bill Mauldin and Patrick Oliphant; comic strip creators Winsor McCay, George Herriman, Chic Young, Milt Caniff, Charles Schulz and Lynn Johnston; humorous gag cartoonists Peter Arno and William Steig; caricaturists Al Hirschfeld and David Levine; animation drawings and cels from Walt Disney Productions and Hanna-Barbera; and illustrations by Edwin A. Abbey, John Held and Michael Hague.

Drawings selected for the exhibition reflect the primary collecting interests of J. Arthur Wood Jr., a connoisseur of popular graphic art. Wood's collection of more than 36,000 original cartoon drawings * the Art Wood Collection of Cartoon and Caricature * is now housed in the Library's Prints and Photographs Division. The collection came to the Library in 2003 through a gift-purchase agreement made possible in part by a generous contribution from H. Fred Krimendahl II, a member of the Library's Madison Council, and the generosity of Wood himself.

The collection, spanning three centuries, is distinctive and unparalleled because of the depth of holdings in political cartoons and comic strips and the specific landmark pieces in all major genres. It stands out as a jewel among the Library's special collections, illuminating the history of American cartoon art forms and greatly enhancing the Library's extensive holdings of cartoon art.

According to exhibition co-curators Sara W. Duke and Martha H. Kennedy, the exhibition presents stellar examples from Wood's collection that reflect the vitality of an innovative, indigenous art form. The exhibition features the major genres of cartoon art: political cartoons, illustration, comic strips, gag and single-panel cartoons, illustration, and animation drawings and cels. An overview of highlights includes:

* Political cartoons by leading practitioners of the "ungentlemanly art," who comment pointedly on corruption, war and public figures from the 19th century's Gilded Age to recent times. Their visual editorials reflect diverse viewpoints conveyed in a wide variety of artistic approaches, including the classic cross-hatching techniques of Harper's Weekly cartoonist Thomas Nast and Washington Star cartoonist Clifford Berryman, the broad crayon strokes of Rube Goldberg and Bill Mauldin, and the painterly styles of contemporary cartoonists Paul Conrad and Patrick Oliphant.

* Rare early comics in large, multi-panel formats include portrayals of the Yellow Kid and Buster Brown, two early famous comic strip characters created by Richard Outcault. Family strips such as "Bringing Up Father" by George McManus, "Gasoline Alley" by Frank King and "For Better or for Worse" by Lynn Johnston chronicle the humorous ups and downs of family life. Selections include adventure strips "Secret Agent X-9" by Alex Raymond and "Terry and the Pirates" by Milt Caniff; artfully innovative strips "Krazy Kat" by George Herriman and "Dream of the Rarebit Fiend" by Winsor McCay; and timeless classics "Popeye" by Elzie Segar and "Peanuts" by Charles Schulz. All transport viewers to other, self-contained, captivating worlds.

* Gag cartoons by Peter Arno, Barbara Shermund, George Price and others lampoon behavioral quirks and foibles that madden and amuse readers of The New Yorker and other popular magazines.

* Caricatures of Stokely Carmichael, by David Levine, and of performers Jimmy Durante and Paul Whiteman, in a 1935 staging of "Jumbo" by Al Hirschfeld, offer incisive insights and display witty and magical use of the pen.

* Treasures of animation art include a Walt Disney Productions cel of Mickey Mouse from "Fantasia"; a delightful drawing of Dumbo the elephant bathing himself; a storyboard drawing for "Bambi" by Tyrus Wong; a presentation drawing of all of the Seven Dwarfs; and a beautiful animation cel of Snow White for Disney's groundbreaking first full-length animated feature "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937).

* America's Golden Age of Illustration (1880s to 1920s) is represented by drawings created by Edwin Austin Abbey, James Montgomery Flagg, Dean Cornwell and their pioneering women counterparts, Nell Brinkley, Rose O'Neill and Katherine Pyle.

Wood, an award-winning cartoonist himself, began collecting original drawings at the age of 12. During a period of 60 years, he contacted and befriended numerous older masters of cartoon art forms, as well as leading contemporary creators in the field, and obtained selections of their work, primarily by gift and some by purchase. During his professional life, Wood worked diligently to establish a museum or gallery to preserve and showcase his collection. He achieved his goal in 1995 with the opening of the National Gallery of Caricature and Cartoon Art in downtown Washington, D.C., but the gallery closed in 1997, due to a lack of sustained funding. Undeterred, Wood turned to the Library of Congress, where he had worked early in his career, to preserve and present his collection.

A companion book titled "Cartoon America: Comic Art in the Library of Congress" will be published by Harry N. Abrams, in association with the Library of Congress. The book is edited by Harry Katz, former head curator of the Library's Prints and Photographs Division. Images of many cartoon drawings in the exhibition will be included among the 275 full-color illustrations in the book, which also surveys the Library's other holdings of related art.

The exhibition and an accompanying brochure are funded through the generous support of the Caroline and Erwin Swann Memorial Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon. The Swann Foundation showcases the collections of the Library of Congress in rotating exhibitions and promotes the continuing Swann Foundation program in the study of cartoon, caricature and illustration, while also offering a provocative and informative selection of works by masters from the past and present.

Nov 1 - articles in today's papers

The Express has an article on Jonah Hex by Scott Rosenberg, and the Examiner has Truitt's regular New Comic Book Releases column and a review of a new Family Guy videogame.