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Thursday, January 31, 2008

Post censored Candorville two weeks ago

Earlier this week, Gene Weingarten revealed in his chat's poll that the Post censored January 19th's Candorville which joked about presidential assassination and illegal immigration.

His poll revealed that 73% of his readers thought it was the wrong decision with the other 27% split almost evenly in half over 'correct' and 'not sure.'

I of course, think it was wrong, WRONG, WRONG!

But -

Gene Weingarten: On the poll, this might surprise all of you, but I am not as sure as y'all are that The Post was wrong to pull that Candorville!

And I NEVER come down on that side.

This was a joke not only about assassination, but about the assination of a specific person. I would have had a serious taste question about that. I'm now second guessing myself a little, because so many of you did not.


and a later response that I agree with -

Washington, D.C.: The cartoon should have run because it expressed a sentiment that I think a lot of people are thinking/worried about but no one's saying it. I've only seen one interview with Obama that talked about security and even then it was very broad and he addressed it more broadly and they were off to the next question. I thought the illegal immigrant punchline was a perfect lampooning of where we're at as Americans right now.

Gene Weingarten: I'll buy that. Maybe.


and this one was way off base -

Candorville: The First Amendment and freedom of speech does not cover violence. The Post was right.

Gene Weingarten: Well, it wasn't ADVOCATING violence.


and a few more views -

London, UK : As an outsider you, as a country, can be a tad carefree with your presidents.

What Candorville seems to express is unspoken but not non-existant. The cartoon form is, and has always been, an ideal platform for such free speech.

Gene Weingarten: No one is questioning whether he is free to draw that strip. Of course he is. But newspapers do edit things for taste. It's not censorship, it's editing.

_______________________

Candorville: I read the strip you mention in today's poll last week online, not knowing that it had been cut from the print version of the Post, and I was surprised at it for the same reasons you mention. However, I don't think it's dangerous, and I think it is an important social commentary on the fact that racism and intolerance are still serious problems in American society. For that reason, I think the Post should have run it.

Gene Weingarten: Okay.


and -

Dogtown, Ark.: That Candorville was brilliant! Topical and poignant! What kind of maroon would think it offensive enough to pull from the comics page? Gene, it is your sacred duty to out this philistine so he/she may be duly ridiculed by the Chat.

Gene Weingarten: It was topical, though it was not a really original joke. It was a re-tooling of an old joke to fit a new topic.


and then -

Cambridge, Mass.: I would like to point out, as I'm sure many others already have, that the joke in the Candorville comic is a straight rip-off of a Dave Chapelle bit. Dave talks about how hard it would be to be the first black president and the likelihood of assassination, therefore he would only do it if his vice-president is Mexican, "for a little insurance. So everyone would just leave me and vice-president Santiago to our own devices." Great act by a native-D.C. comic.

Gene Weingarten: Dave was not the first to speculate on strategically having a terrible veep to make sure no one assassinates you. Those jokes were rampant during Dan Quayle's vice presidency.


Ok, after reading all the comments -- they were still wrong to drop it. It wasn't advocating assassination, so I think they just didn't want the outraged letters.

Berryman exhibit at National Archives preview UPDATED

Thanks to my colleague Miriam (we bonded over stories of St. Elizabeth Hospital records), I got to see the new National Archives exhibit on Clifford Berryman today. Running for Office: Candidates, Campaigns, and the Cartoons of Clifford Berryman is open at the downtown branch from February 8 - August 17th. A formal review will appear in the fall issue of the International Journal of Comic Art, but here's some notes.
Running for office button
The exhibit was curated by Jessie Kratz and Martha Grove. They looked through the 2,400 pieces of artwork that the Senate was given after the cartoons were found in garbage bags in Berryman's daughter's house in the early 1990s. The curators looked through all of the drawings for cartoons that related to the campaign process. They divided the exhibit into sections: Throwing Your Hat in the Ring!, Narrowing the Field, Running for Congress, The Campaign, The Voter, Candidate William Jennings Bryan, The Homestretch and The Results Are In! I'd guesstimate that about 50 cartoon are displayed including a self-portrait with teddy bear. Berryman's lasting claim to fame, beyond being a professional cartoonist for 53 years, is drawing a bear cub that Teddy Roosevelt refused to shoot. The teddy bear became an icon of his drawings.

Berryman was a consummate professional. There's barely any visible underlying pencil or scraping out of unwanted lines. His characters are clearly recognizable, although more as portraits than caricatures as Warren Bernard pointed out. However, as Richard Baker, a Senate Historian noted in his introduction, Berryman "...combined a fine skill in caricaturing Senators with a gentle humor..." The gentle humor means that these cartoons are very gentle indeed, especially when compared to Nast and Oliphant at the opposing ends of Berryman's career.
100_4687Ahh, the lame duck!

Still, I like his work. His drawing of Roosevelt as Shakespeare's Hamlet is fantastic. Henry Ford was satirized as wearing a bathing suit, but refusing to dive into the 'presidential pool'. His elephant and donkeys symbols are excellent pen and ink works. His line is clear and easy to understand, even with his use of a massive amount of crosshatching.

The curators made a good selection of cartoons - most are still easily understandable. A reproduction of a front page of Washington's Evening Star shows how these cartoons would have appeared originally - far smaller, but on the front page of the paper. Berryman was considered the dean of Washington cartoonists, and a visit to this exhibit can show you why.

The exhibit has a small brochure, and a catalogue which appears very well done. Full of color reproductions, it's for sale at the Archives; gift shop. Remember that there's a program with Oliphant, Stephen Hess, Telnaes, Matt Davies and Clay Bennet on the evening of February 7th.

For a week from February 1, you can download the prefatory comments by the Archivist of the US, a historian of the Senate, the curator and Miriam here. I made the recording to help writing a review.

Anthony Lappe talk at Library of Congress report and 2nd appearance later in the evening

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Anthony Lappe, author of the graphic novel, Shooting War, spoke at the Library of Congress today at lunchtime. Lappe, an editor at Guerrilla News Network had been to Iraq as an embedded reporter and produced a film about his trip there (which is available on their website). He will also be appearing at Bourbon tonight at 9 pm.

Lappe returned from Iraq disillusioned with both bloggers and mass media and wrote this satirical graphic novel (which started as a film). In 2011, blogger Jimmy Burns, accidentally films a suicide bombing for his blog, and then parleys that fame into a reporting trip to cover the Iraq War. His blogger character Burns arrives in Iraq with no journalistic experience, but is mentored by Dan Rather who's reinvigorating his career at the front. Lappe noted later that Rather had sent a nice note about his appearance in the book, and that none of the actual people or references in the book objected.

The artwork is done on a computer, probably a Wacom tablet. Lappe found his collaborator, artist Dan Goldman by placing an ad on Craig's List. Although Goldman wasn't at the event, Lappe showed some of the artwork, and the process of arriving at a finished page. Goldman seems to draw the figures, then layer in a real photograph as background.He did point out that all of the logos had to be replaced by Goldman for the UK edition due to their differing laws.

The project first appeared on Smith Magazine and can still be seen at http://www.shootingwar.com although that version is different than the final book.

For the hardcore superhero fans, Lappe pointed out that he was influenced by Spider-Man when writing this. His character gains great power like Peter Parker (by being the only person to videoblog a terrorist event) and then tries to live up to that power while still being a normal guy. Not a comic book reader, Lappe was surprised that no reviewer had picked up that link.

In the Q&A period, Lappe noted that the main character may return as a tv series with a concurrent series of comic books. He also said that he had no editorial interference from Grand Central Books (formerly Warner Books), his co-author is working on a graphic story about the current election, and while he admires the work of Joe Sacco, he really didn't want to repeat his movie as a comic book. He also railed against the comic industry a bit, noting that while up for an Eisner at San Diego, he found very few works that addressed the war. He was asked about veterans views on the book - the talk was sponsored by an LOC vet group - and said that his friends who were veterans liked the book, but that might be just because they were his friends. However, he did change one character, a Lt. Colonel, and his reaction to the death of one of his soldiers, based on responses to the online story.

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Obviously I bought a copy of the book and had it signed. I'm looking forward to reading it. More notes later as they occur to me.

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Feb 7: Tracy Sugerman at Library of Congress

I don't know anything about his work, but Sara Duke is introducing him.

Public contact: Veterans History Project (202) 707-4916, vohp@loc.gov

WWII VETERAN AND ACCLAIMED ARTIST TRACY SUGARMAN
DISCUSSES MEMOIR, ILLUSTRATIONS AT LIBRARY ON FEB. 7
Award-winning author and illustrator Tracy Sugarman will give a visual presentation and discuss his new memoir, “Drawing Conclusions: An Artist Discovers His America,” at a special program at noon on Thursday, Feb. 7, in Dining Room A of the Library’s James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.

The event, co-sponsored by the American Folklife Center’s Veterans History Project and the Prints and Photographs Division, is free and open to the public. No tickets or reservations are required.

"Mr. Sugarman’s writings, drawings and video-recorded interviews comprise a rich collection in both the Library’s Veterans History Project and the Prints and Photographs Division, and we are honored that he will be here to talk about his book, which is an important addition to the historical record he has already shared with the American people," said Librarian of Congress James H. Billington.

Sugarman, a WWII naval officer, is a freelance artist and illustrator who, in a long and varied career, has covered the civil-rights struggle in the South, labor strikes, NASA rollouts, VISTA's work with Appalachian coal-miner families, and rehearsals of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Alvin Ailey Dance Group. His work has garnered recognition from the Society of Illustrators in New York and the Art Directors Club in Washington, D.C.

In 2000, Sugarman published “My War,” a reminiscence of his wartime experiences, which blended artwork, excerpts of letters home and memories of his days during wartime. Sugarman’s story was also included in “Voices of War,” a book published in 2004 by National Geographic and the Library, which features stories from the Veterans History Project collections. Sugarman’s wartime-era artwork is housed in the collections of the Prints and Photographs Division, and a watercolor from that collection is featured on the front of the VHP 2008 “Forever a Soldier” wall calendar.

Unequaled in their scope and richness, the collections in the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division currently include about 14 million photographs, drawings and prints from the 15th century to the present day. International in scope, these visual collections represent a uniquely rich fund of human experience, knowledge, creativity and achievement, touching on almost every realm of endeavor: science, art, invention, government, political struggle and the recording of history. For more information, visit www.loc.gov/rr/print/.

Wartime veterans are encouraged to come forward to record their experiences for the growing archive within the American Folklife Center’s Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress. Those interested can download a VHP Field Kit from the Veterans History Project Web site at www.loc.gov/vets/, request a kit via email at vohp@loc.gov or call the toll-free message line at (888) 371-5848.

March 5: Lecture at Library of Congress

ON March 5th at noon in the Madison building, Swann Fellowship winner Dr. Ellen Berg will speak on "Where Have You Gone, Miss Columbia? American Identity and Uncle Sam's Forgotten Partner." This should be good, although my uninformed opinion is that the Statue of Liberty simply subsumed Columbia.

More additions to the Rhode stash

Barbara of the Netherlands by way of Canada sent these faux Pez 'Klik' X-Men yesterday. Hoo-hah! Note the Taj Mahal in the background - site of the 4th low-budget movie?

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Boy, they're just horrible, aren't they? Another great addition to the collection!
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Wednesday, January 30, 2008

3 post-World War 1 cartoons on flickr

The National Museum of Health and Medicine, from whence I draw a paycheck, has been putting pictures up on Flickr. Today one of the other archivists put up some shots she took of the Comeback, the post-WW1 Walter Reed Army Hospital Paper. So here are links to a semi-editorial cartoonComeback December 4, 1918 - first edition,

a sports comic strip
Spots in Sports, Comeback, July 23, 1919

and an ad

Comeback May 7, 1919, America's Immortals.

Larger versions can be downloaded from the Flickr site - there are no download limits.

You can also see this somewhat out of date finding aid, Cartoons and Comics in the National Museum of Health and Medicine.

Monday, January 28, 2008

Feb 2: African cartoonist Issa Nyaphaga appears

Issa wrote in:

Please join us for a music / painting performance at the opening of Issa Nyaphaga's exhibition, "Mystic Forms" at Mount Rainier’s H&F Gallery on Rhode Island. Mount Rainier residents, Surabhi Shah, Deepak Shenoy, and Silver Spring resident Shareen Joshi will accompany with music and vocals Mount Rainier’s Issa Nyaphaga, while he performs improvisational live painting using the music for inspiration.

Date: Feb 2, 2007, Saturday
Venue: H&F Fine Arts Gallery, 3311 Rhode Island Avenue (next to Artmosphere), Mount Rainier, MD 20712, (301) 887-0080 (http://www.hffinearts.com/)
Reception: 5-8pm
Music/Painting Performance: 7-8pm
Performers:
Live Painting - Issa Nyaphaga (Mount Rainier, MD & Paris, France)
Tabla (Indian percussion instrument) - Deepak Shenoy (Mount Rainier, MD)
Vocals - Surabhi Shah (Mount Rainier, MD)
Vocals & Harmonium (Indian keyed instrument)- Shareen Joshi (Silver Spring, MD)
Presentation by Shivali Shah.


Check out this radio show about Issa.

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 01-30-08

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 01-30-08
By John Judy

ACTION COMICS #861 by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank. Superman goes to the computer world of Colu and gets hacked by Brainiacs! Fortunately their ISP is Time-Warner Cable and Supes gets away during one of their daily outages.

AVENGERS INITIATIVE #9 by Dan Slott and Stefano Caselli. MVP was KIA and now it appears he’s PO’d. The body-count begins here. Recommended.

BATMAN #673 by Grant Morrison and Tony Daniel. A flash-back issue in which we finally learn what happened during that purification ritual in the cave last year. Cool.

BATMAN: THE MAN WHO LAUGHS HC by Ed Brubaker and Associates. Batman’s first encounter with the Joker as told by my new favorite scribe Ed Brubaker. Also collects DETECTIVE COMICS #784-786, guest-starring the Golden-Age Green Lantern, Alan Scott. Recommended.

BLACK ADAM: THE DARK AGE #6 of 6 by Peter Tomasi and Doug Mahnke. The final fate of Isis. One gets the feeling it ain’t gonna be good. The end of a powerful series that is probably too violent for younger fans of Captain Marvel and the Fawcett heroes.

BLACK SUMMER #5 of 7 by Warren Ellis and Juan Jose Ryp. More shootin’s and ‘splosions from the remaining Seven Guns in honor of the month issue #7 was supposed to ship, but didn’t. “Oh, Avatar….” Still recommended. Still not for kids.

CAPTAIN AMERICA #34 by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting. A great week for Brubaker fans as Bucky does his first night out as The New Captain America! Only Brubaker could make this sort of thing cool.

DAREDEVIL #104 by Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark. More of the Bru-Meister as DD gets twisted tighter and tighter in his pursuit of Mister Fear. Guest-starring a significant Big Bad in the Marvel U.

FANTASTIC FOUR #553 by Dwayne McDuffie and Paul Pelletier. While I’m generally a fan of McDuffie’s writing this issue has two strikes against it: Time-travel and a lot of “Which one of us is lying?” dialogue. Still, in all a decent issue and a set-up for future story-lines.

GREEN LANTERN #27 by Geoff Johns and Mike McKone. “The Alpha Lanterns” continues as Johns explores how an unprecedented act of terror transforms an entity once renowned for its commitment to justice and higher ideals. Wonder what inspired him… Gutsy, imaginative stuff. Recommended.

MIGHTY AVENGERS #8 by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley. A Big Fight with Venomy symbiote things.

NARCOPOLIS #1 of 4 by Jamie Delano and Jeremy Rock. Guy in Utopia discovers that maybe all is not hunky-dory. From one of Vertigo’s Founding Fathers.

NEW AVENGERS ANNUAL by Brian Michael Bendis and Carlo Pagulayan. More Big Fights. Double-Sized!

PREVIEWS from Diamond Comics and Marvel. “The Future of Comics is in your hands!”

PROJECT SUPERPOWERS #0 by Jim Kruger, Alex Ross, and Stephen Sadowski. Best line of the week comes from artist Chris Weston: “Wow. The return of a team of long lost, Nazi-smashing golden age heroes... Why can't I get to draw something like that? Uh… Waitaminnit!” Okay, the deal appears to be that a bunch of Golden-Age heroes have entered the public domain. That means anyone can legally use them. The team from EARTH X and PARADISE X said “Why not us?” There is a preview up on Dynamite Entertainment’s website and it appears a sincere effort is going into making this comic something special. I didn’t care for this team’s earlier joint efforts, but I’m hooked on Golden-Age characters so this one’s a “Gotta Look!”

SPIDER-MAN WITH GREAT POWER #1 of 5 by David Lapham and Tony Harris. An untold slice of early Spider-Mania from a couple of super-cool creators. If you like STRAY BULLETS or EX MACHINA you need to read this comic!

SPIRIT #13 by Lotsa People. Special “Femmes Fatales” issue! You want this! Recommended!

Y THE LAST MAN #60 of 60 by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra. Final issue. End of story. Forty-eight pages. If you haven’t read this series go pick up the first trade collection and start. Thanks to Vaughan and his collaborators for one hell of a ride. Highly recommended.

www.johnjudy.net

Sunday, January 27, 2008

New Thought Balloonists blog born at Politics and Prose

My friends Craig Fischer and Charles Hatfield, two of the best academic writers on comics, have started a new blog, Thought Ballonists. So far they've taken indepth looks at Shaun Tan, Carol Tyler, Fraction's Iron Fist and Chester Brown. I hadn't paid any attention to the Iron Fist relaunch, even though Craig was pushing it at ICAF. Charles emailed me today, "The idea of TB was born while waiting in line at P&P to get Oliphant's signature, and Craig mentioned Iron Fist to me then as well!" So I just ordered it from Big Planet.

Anyway, check out the blog twice-weekly.

And in Sunday's WaPost

Frazz references a classic comic - Charles Addams this time - much as Lio did last week.

Emily Flake makes what might be her first appearance, illustrating the Jobs section (note the article next to it on archivist Connie Potter with whom I used to work).

The Book World gives a brief mention to McSweeny's latest project, THE BOOK OF OTHER PEOPLE edited by Zadie Smith, a book which includes Clowes, Posy Simmonds and Charles Burns.

Sometimes comic book writer Paul di Filippo reviews science fiction books.

Jerry Beck's new history of Nickelodeon gets reviewed on the kid's page -
"Nick's History Is as Good as Goo; Text and interviews by Jerry Beck," by Scott Moore, Washington Post Sunday, January 27, 2008; Page M16

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Zadzooks comic book reviews

In "Hulk is back on Earth and spoiling for a fight," By Joseph Szadkowski, Washington Times January 26, 2008, Zadzooks also reviews the Don Martin collection and The Wind in The Willows by Plessix. As I refuse to read most superhero comics today, I had no idea that the Hulk, when exiled to a foreign planet, reused the storyline of meeting and marrying a barbarian girl as had been done thirty years ago with Jarella and his sub-atomic kingdom. I can't imagine the story's better now either.

Film & TV Adaptations book continues to be available

Film & TV Adaptations of Comics - 2007 edition by Rhode and Vogel is available for order.

149 pages long, it's a listing of the thousands of adaptations to film and television of hundreds of comic strips and books. Worldwide, it includes the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Russia, the Netherlands, Senegal, India, Turkey, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and Australia among others. Cross-referenced by cartoonist and translated titles, it includes a bibliography and index.

You can buy it via Lulu.com for $12.99 (plus shipping) or $3.00 for a pdf download at http://www.lulu.com/content/1677433.

This is a reference book, and one that might spark a bit of curiosity. Lulu will let you see a preview, and here's a sample section of late additions from the Errata page:

Titles of strips samples:

Suramu Danku [Slam Dunk] (Takehiko Inoue)
Suramu Danku (Japan: Toei Animation, 1993-1996; 101-episode anime tv series)
4 DTV anime movies (Japan: Toei Animation, 1994-1995)

Oldboy (Nobuaki Minegishi)
Oldboy (South Korea 2003)

Scary Godmother (Jill Thompson)
The Scary Godmother, Vol. 2: The Revenge of Jimmy (USA 2005; animated DTV movie)

Wulffmorgenthaler (Mikael Wulff and Anders Morgenthaler)
Wulffmorgenthaler? (Denmark 200?; tv series)

Cartoonists cross-reference sample:

Eliot, Jan (Stone Soup cartoonist)
Oregon Art Beat Episode# 915 - Illustrator Jan Eliot (Oregon Public Broadcasting, 2008; segment on January 10, 2008 tv show)


Bibliography samples:

• Ehrenreich, Ben. 2007. “Comic Genius? Before there was even a comic book to adapt, 'Cowboys and Aliens' had a movie deal [Platinum Comics],” New York Times Magazine (November 11).
• Kohanik, Eric / CanWest News Service. 2008. “Painkiller Jane comic-book heroine,” Saskatoon Star-Phoenix (January 5).
• Takahashi, Rumiko and Stephen Ayres (trans.). 2005. The Art of InuYasha (2nd Edition), San Francisco: Viz Media.
• Unknown. 2008. “New cartoon series in ‘Wiener Zeitung’: Danish duo ‘Wulffmorgenthaler’ to feature daily on the new English page,” Wiener Zeitung (January 4).

Friday, January 25, 2008

Persepolis finally opens in DC; newspapers take note

The Express ran an LATimes review, although they did publish this picture yesterday. The print version of the Onion has a review too.

The other local freebie, a paper that used to run comics, had "Oscar-nominated ‘Persepolis’ is beautiful to behold," by Sally Kline, The Washington Examiner Jan 25, 2008.

and another positive review is from another paper that used to run comics - "Menace, Anyone? Politics are a threat in Persepolis, but the danger's even more monstrous in Cloverfield," By Tricia Olszewski, Washington City Paper January 25, 2008: 42,

And in a paper that still runs comics, we find a bit harsher "Beautiful 'Persepolis' needs soul," By Kelly Jane Torrance, Washington Times January 25, 2008.

But we wrap up positively - "'Persepolis': A Stranger in Her Own Land: Film Deftly Animates Cultural Conflict in Iran," By Stephen Hunter, Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 25, 2008; Page C05.

Cartoonist Drew Litton likes Cul de Sac

Sports and editorial cartoonist Drew Litton of the Rocky Mountain News on his blog post "Dan O'Dowd Takes Aim," from Thursday, January 24, 2008, says,

I recently discovered the work of Richard Thompson, who just launched a new strip called Cul De Sac. You can see it in the News everyday. I love seeing the work of cartoonists I'm unfamiliar with. I did a search in Amazon and found this treasure trove [Richard's Poor Almanac] of cartoons from the feature that Thompson draws for the Washington Post. Absolutely fantastic work.

Feb 1: Jef Thompson painting exhibit opens


Odd Men and Industrials opens on February 1, from 6-9 pm in Baltimore at the Ottobar, 2549 North Howard St which Jef says is "close to the BMA. About 6 blocks south. 8 blocks north of Penn Station." Jef's worked at Big Planet Comics Bethesda for years, and has illustrated children's books, of which I have almost a complete set. You should all go and buy a painting. I'd be up for a car pool if anyone's interested.

Jan 31: Shooting War author at Library of Congress

Martha Kennedy reports:

The LCPA Veteran's Forum will host Anthony Lappe, author of the graphic novel "Shooting War," on Thursday, January 31, noon-1:00, Dining Room A, Madison Building, Library of Congress.

"Shooting War" began as an Eisner-nominated serialized web comic in May 2006. The book was expanded into a 192-page hardcover graphic novel, with new plot twists and "more Dan Rather than you can shake a dead armadillo at."

The novel takes place in Iraq in the year 2011. The protagonist, Jimmy Burns, dreams of becoming a war correspondent and soon finds himself in Baghdad.

Anthony Lappe served as an embedded correspondent in Iraq. He subsequently produced the award-winning Showtime documentary "Battleground: 21 Days on the Empire's Edge." He is the Executive Editor of GNN TV as well as a producer for MTV News and Fuse.

Anthony will show a short film as well as slides of illustrations from the book. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing at the event.

Further information contact David Moore 202-707-5034.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

And a UK mention of this blog

European collector Wim Lockefeer, who does the excellent Ephemerist blog devoted to passing bits of cartoon art (to which I'll infrequently send a piece) mentioned ComicsDC today on his Forbidden Planet blog. Thanks, Wim!

OT: My buddy Darko Macan's 24-hour comic

Darko's in Croatia, which is about as far from DC as we've ranged so far, and he has posted a 24-Hour comic. It's wordless, essentially, and a 'funny animal' if attempted murder can be termed that. American comic readers might recall his works in American comics, especially Star Wars, Tarzan and Cable.

Bits from the papers

Today's Express had a review of Persepolis which wasn't online and one of the Swamp Thing TV series dvd - Stephen M Deusnef's "Swamp Thing: Up From the Muck," [Washington Post] Express (January 24 2008): E13 - which is.

The City Paper had a Big-Daddy-Roth-channeling cover by Pekar-collaborating Ed Piskor (who has a self-published book out now too) and another review of Persepolis - "Menace, Anyone? Politics are a threat in Persepolis, but the danger's even more monstrous in Cloverfield," by Tricia Olszewski, Washington City Paper January 25, 2008: 42.

Comics Research Bibliography update January 25, 2008 citations

Fingeroth, Danny. 2004. Superman on the Couch: What Superheroes Really Tell Us About Ourselves and Our Society. Continuum-International

Fingeroth, Danny. 2007. Disguised as Clark Kent: Jews, Comics, and the Creation of the Superhero. Continuum-International

Deusnef, Stephen M. 2008.
Swamp Thing: Up From the Muck.
[Washington Post] Express (January 24): E13.
Online at http://www.readexpress.com/read_freeride/2008/01/swamp_thing_up_from_the_muck.php

Rickman, Johnathan (sic). 2008.
Rich Memory in 2-D: Marjane Satrapi's bio-comic segues to the silver screen.
[Washington Post] Express (January 24): E9


Green, Penelope. 2006.
At Home With Roz Chast: For a Professional Phobic, the Scariest Night of All.
New York Times (October 26)

Walker, Benjamen. 2006.
Comix books [Mark Siegel, editorial director of First Second].
Theory of Everything (May 30): http://www.toeradio.org/archives/2006/05/toe_53006_comix.html

Ashbrook, Tom. 2003.
A Right to Be Hostile [McGruder and Boondocks].
National Public Radio and WBUR's On Point (October 7).
Online at http://www.onpointradio.org/shows/2003/10/20031007_b_main.asp

Ashbrook, Tom. 2003.
Art Spiegelman's Art.
National Public Radio and WBUR's On Point (October 23).
Online at http://www.onpointradio.org/shows/2003/10/20031023_b_main.asp

Delaney, Bill. 2003.
X2: X-Men United.
Public Radio International and WBUR's Here and Now (May 9).
Online at http://www.here-now.org/shows/2003/05/20030509_17.asp

Gordon, Dick. 2001.
Toon Tunes [Carl Stalling Warner Brothers music].
National Public Radio and WBUR's Dick Gordon Show (August 23).
Online at http://www.theconnection.org/shows/2001/08/20010823_b_main.asp

Gordon, Dick. 2003.
Drawing the News [editorial cartoonists Horsey, Bell and Ariail].
National Public Radio and WBUR's Dick Gordon Show (April 4).
Online at http://www.theconnection.org/shows/2003/04/20030404_b_main.asp

Gordon, Dick. 2004.
Persepolis 2.
National Public Radio and WBUR's Dick Gordon Show (September 9).
Online at http://www.theconnection.org/shows/2004/09/20040909_b_main.asp

Gordon, Dick. 2004.
Slow Death of a Dangerous Art [editorial illustrators Ilic, Grossman, Heller and Kunz].
National Public Radio and WBUR's Dick Gordon Show (May 27).
Online at http://www.theconnection.org/shows/2004/05/20040527_b_main.asp

Gross, Terry. 2006.
Jimmy Olsen Grows Up [Superman television show]..
National Public Radio and WHYY's Fresh Air (June 3).
Online at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5524564

Guillermo, Emil. 2004.
Shrek and Race Relations in America.
National Public Radio and WBUR's On Point (June 8).
Online at http://www.onpointradio.org/shows/2004/06/20040608_b_main.asp

Horwich, Jeff. 2006.
Cartoonist watches the million-dollar success of an idea similar to her own [Moira Manion on Over the Hedge].
Minnesota Public Radio's All Things Considered (June 8).
online at http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2006/06/06/cartoonist/

Kerr, Euan. 2008.
Why it's difficult to make a movie from a comic book [Satrapi on Persepolis].
Minnesota Public Radio's Morning Edition (January 18).
online at http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/01/17/satrapi/

Kerr, Euan. 2007.
Joe Sacco goes to war to write a comic book.
Minnesota Public Radio's All Things Considered (November 13).
online at http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/11/13/sacco/

Silverblatt, Michael. 2005.
Umberto Eco [The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana].
National Public Radio and KCRW's Bookworm (August 25).
Online at http://www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/bw/bw050825umberto_eco

Silverblatt, Michael. 2005.
Jewish Identity in Writing (Part 5 of 10): Art Spiegelman, Cynthia Ozick and Jonathan Rosen.
National Public Radio and KCRW's Bookworm (June 30).
Online at http://www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/bw/bw050630jewish_identity_in_w

Silverblatt, Michael. 2005.
Peter Maresca and Art Spiegelman [on McCay and Little Nemo].
National Public Radio and KCRW's Bookworm (December 1).
Online at http://www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/bw/bw051201peter_maresca_and_ar

Young, Robin. 2003.
Controversial 'Boondocks' Strip Pulled.
Public Radio International and WBUR's Here and Now (April 2).
Online at http://www.here-now.org/shows/2003/04/20030402_13.asp

Young, Robin. 2004.
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood.
Public Radio International and WBUR's Here and Now (September 29).
Online at http://www.here-now.org/shows/2004/09/20040929_18.asp

Young, Robin and Gail Harris. 2003.
War Comics [Doonesbury and David Horsey].
Public Radio International and WBUR's Here and Now (August 1).
Online at http://www.here-now.org/shows/2003/08/20030801.asp

Young, Robin. 2005.
Education Secretary Blasts PBS Cartoon [Postcards from Buster].
Public Radio International and WBUR's Here and Now (January 28).
Online at http://www.here-now.org/shows/2005/01/20050128_12.asp

Wallington, Aury. 2008.
Heroes: Saving Charlie, A Novel.
New York: Del Rey

Wallington, Aury. 2008.
Author Q & A: Interview with Aury Wallington author of Saving Charlie [Heroes tv show novel].
Del Rey website (January): http://www.randomhouse.com/delrey/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780345503220&view=qa&ref=news&name=drin1208

Van Gelder, Lawrence. 2008.
A Chinese makeover for Mickey and Minnie [Hong Kong Disneyland].
New York Times (January 22)

Yu, Vincent / Associated Press. 2008.
Hong Kong: Mickey Mouse style [photograph at Hong Kong Disneyland].
[Washington Post] Express (January 22)

Ansen, David. 2006.
Surviving the cure; Nothing comes between the X-Men and their genes [X-Men: The Last Stand movie].
Newsweek (June 5)

Astor, Dave. 2007.
Mort Walker to Receive National Cartoonists Society's Gold Key Award.
E and P Online (March 23): http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/departments/syndicates/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003562119

Astor, Dave et al. 2006.
Authors Seek Stories About the Impact of 'Peanuts'.
E and P Online (August 9)

Astor, Dave et al. 2006.
'Girls' Cartoon Exhibit Moves to Ohio State.
E and P Online (September 21)

Astor, Dave et al. 2006.
Blog Focuses on Comics That Mention Golf.
E and P Online (September 21)

Astor, Dave et al. 2006.
Cartoonist Lester Co-Creates Another Kids' Book.
E and P Online (September 21)

Astor, Dave et al. 2006.
PBS Show to Focus on Editorial Cartoonist Paul Conrad.
E and P Online (September 20)

Barry, Dave and Richard Thompson (ill). 2008.
An inconvenient year.
Washington Post Magazine (December 30)

Brodner, Steve. 2008.
Sketchbook: "We take our text from the Book of Iowa, 20:08…" [caricature].
New Yorker (January 14): 53

Crist, Judith. 1948.
Horror in the nursery [Wertham].
Collier's (March 27)

Daly, Steve. 2008.
Fish out of water. Poor unfortunate show: Disney's aquatic adventure flounders in its screen-to-stage transfer [Little Mermaid].
Entertainment Weekly (January 25): 76

Dixon, Glenn. 2008.
Playing and dress-up: Cosplayers act the parts from manga to anime to video games.
[Washington Post] Express (January 17)

Faber, Michael. 2008.
Released at last: Alan Moore's Lost Girls opens Michael Faber's eyes to Wendy, Alice and Dorothy as they have never been seen before.
Guardian (January 5).
Online at http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/artsandentertainment/story/0,,2235471,00.html

Garrett, Stephen. 2007.
QandA: Frank Miller. The cartoonist-turned-director reveals what's so graphic about his new film, 300.
Esquire.com (March 23): http://www.esquire.com/features/qa/ESQ0407-APR_SCREEN_MILLER

Unknown. 2008.
Mark Millar, comic-book hero.
First Post (January 7): http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/index.php?storyID=11341

Gilligan, Paul. 2008.
Bark to Work Legislation [Pooch Cafe collection of unpublished strips].
Kansas City: Universal Press Syndicate / Lulu.com

Lakshmi, Rama. 2008.
In India, Gods Rule The 'Toon' Universe: Hindu Myth a Fount of Superheroes [animation].
Washington Post (January 9): A11.
Online at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/08/AR2008010804004.html

Lehrer, Brian. 2008.
Reading with Pictures [Bitz, Mouly, education].
National Public Radio and WNYC's Brian Lehrer Show (January 14).
online at http://www.wnyc.org/shows/bl/episodes/2008/01/14

Licata, Elizabeth. 2008.
Trespass juice: A talk with the maker of Original Sin cider [R. Black's cartoon advertisements].
Onion [Washington DC edition] (January 17): 23

Olson, Kevin Noel. 2006. Mark Texeira Speaks on Ghost Rider Hauntings. Silver Bullet Comic Books (January 26): http://www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com/features/113828619149410.htm

Scher, Steve. 2008.
The Sandbox: Dispatches from Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan [Doonesbury].
National Public Radio and KUOW's Weekday (January 8).
online at http://www.kuow.org/defaultProgram.asp?ID=14097

Shannon, Jeff. 2008. "Honey and Clover," a sensitive, understated drama. Seattle Times (January 11). Online at http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/movies/2004118749_honey11.html

Snierson, Dan. 2008.
Why we're endorsing the grand old potty [Simpsons].
Entertainment Weekly (January 18): 14

Jensen, Jeff, Ken Tucker, and Nisha Gopalan. 2008.
What's new in …comics: Drawn from life.
Entertainment Weekly (January 18)

Schwarzbaum, Lisa. 2008.
Drawing acclaim: A stunning animated film offers a portrait of an unfamiliar culture - and of a fascinating woman [Persepolis].
Entertainment Weekly (January 18): 56

Setoodeh, Ramin. 2007.
Black and white and read all over [Persepolis].
Newsweek (December 17): 72

Nelson, Rob. 2008.
Iranian chick: Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel on film.
The Phoenix (January 8): http://thephoenix.com/article_ektid54066.aspx

Graham Crackers Comics. 2007.
Graham Crackers Comics' Best-Sellers.
Entertainment Weekly (December 7): 81

Rogers, Vaneta. 2008.
Talking Flash With Tom Peyer.
Newsarama (January 3): http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=141769

Rogers, Vaneta. 2008.
Flashing Back & Forward: Waid On Leaving Flash, The B&B To Come, And Boom!
Newsarama (January 4): http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=141897

Rogers, Vaneta. 2007.
Tony Bedard On Supergirl And The Legion Of Super-Heroes.
Newsrama (March 19): http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=105686

Rogers, Vaneta. 2007.
Inside World War III With Champage And Ostrander.
Newsarama (March 30): http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=106993

Rogers, Vaneta. 2007.
The Spider Meets The Four - Talking To Jeff Parker.
Newsarama (March 28): http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=106794

Setoodeh, Ramin and Jennie Yabroff. 2007.
Princess power [Disney].
Newsweek (November 26): 66-67

Soller, Kurt. 2007.
Brown's the new black [Peanuts fashion show].
Newsweek (September 10): 15

Suintres, John. 2007.
Drew Friedman and the Original Kings Of Comedy.
Word Balloon (March 28):
http://wordballoon.blogspot.com/2007/03/drew-freidman-and-original-kings-of.html

Thill, Scott. 2008.
Joe Sacco on Comics, the Arabs and the Jews; Make it mandatory.
LA Weekly ( January 16).
Online at http://www.laweekly.com/art+books/books/joe-sacco-on-comics-the-arabs-and-the-jews/18138/

Ajayi, Angela. 2007.
Drawing on the Universal in Africa: An Interview with Marguerite Abouet.
Wild River Review 4 (4; May 11).
Online at http://www.wildriverreview.com/worldvoices-margueriteabouet.php

Lumenick, Lou. 2007.
Bliss, Family Robinson [Meet the Robinsons].
New York Post (March 30).
Online at http://www.nypost.com/seven/03302007/entertainment/movies/bliss__family_robinson_movies_lou_lumenick.htm

Parkin, J.K. 2007.
Blog@ QandA: Ryan Claytor.
Newsarama (May 22): http://blog.newsarama.com/2007/05/22/blog-qa-ryan-claytor/

Schneider, Rob. 2007.
Collector opens Super Heroes Museum.
Indianapolis Star (March 31).
Online at http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070331/LOCAL/703310495

Schneider, Rob. 2007.
Superhero museum readies for opening.
Indianapolis Star (March 29).
Online at http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070329/BUSINESS/70329030

Unknown. 2008.
Indianapolis Super Heroes Museum closes.
Associated Press January 8): http://www.wthr.com/global/story.asp?s=7592960

Unknown. 2008.
Climate change cartoons displayed; A series of cartoons, with the theme of climate change, have gone on display in Ellesmere, Shropshire.
BBC News (January 8): http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/shropshire/7177595.stm

Kelly. 2007.
Friday Fifteen: Brian Biggs.
Tiny Treasury (March 2): http://www.tinytreasury.com/friday-fifteen-2/

Unknown. 2007.
Interview with Eric Powell.
Dark Horse.com (December 18): http://www.darkhorse.com/news/interviews.php?id=1512

VanderMeer, Jeff. 2008.
Understanding Manga: An Interview with Robin Brenner.
Bookslut (January): http://www.bookslut.com/features/2008_01_012167.php

VanderMeer, Jeff and Robin Brenner. 2008.
The Best Manga of All Time.
Bookslut (January): http://www.bookslut.com/comicbookslut/2008_01_012166.php

Warren, Mitchell. 2008.
Mmm... Steamy [Steamboy anime].
Miami Poetry Review (January 8): http://www.miamipoetryreview.com/2008/01/mmmsteamy.html

Unknown. 2007.
Marshall Rogers, Batman comic book artist, dies at 57.
Associated Press (March 28): http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/03/28/state/n165251D53.DTLandhw=marshallandsn=003andsc=900

Zurzolo, Vincent. 2007.
Marshall Rogers Memorial.
World Talk Radio's The Comic Zone (March 28)

Various. 2007.
In Memory Of A Great Talent: Marshall Rogers 1950-2007.
Pop Thought (March): http://www.popthought.com/display_column.asp?DAID=1340

Unknown. 2007.
Artist Marshall Rogers Dies At Age 57.
DC Comics Direct Channel (#824; March 27)

Reed, Travis. 2007.
Disney could unlock `Song of the South'.
Associated Press (March 27): http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070327/ap_en_mo/film_song_of_the_south

Gross, Daniel. 2007.
Mickey's Management Mojo [Disney World theme park].
Newsweek (November 19): 18

Bennett, Jessica. 2007.
Coloring outside the lines [religion, child abuse education].
Newsweek (December 10): 16

Jones, Malcolm. 2007.
Paintball Rembrandt [Steadman].
Newsweek (December 10)

Gurdon, Meghan Cox. 2008.
Chilling climate for journalists in our neighbor to the north [Danish Islam cartoons in Canada].
Washington Examiner (January 17): 15.
Online at http://www.examiner.com/a-1163305~Meghan_Cox_Gurdon__Chilling_climate_for_journalists_in_our_neighbor_to_the_north.html

Hunnell, Carl. 2008.
News Journal editorial cartoon struck a nerve with some.
News Journal (January 6).
Online at http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080106/OPINION02/801060315

Herold, Charles. 2008.
In Mimicking Adult Swim Cartoon Series, Designers May Have Gone Too Far [video game Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law].
New York Times (January 17).
Online at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/17/technology/personaltech/17games.html?ex=1358312400&en=b63eff4049ad8fe9&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Shindler, Dorman T. 2006.
Alan Moore leaves behind his Extraordinary Gentlemen to dally with Lost Girls.
SciFi Weekly (August 7): http://www.scifi.com/sfw/interviews/sfw13282.html

Phegley, Kiel. 2007.
Whatever Happened To Miracleman? In the hands of Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman, this Captain Marvel knockoff revitalized the comic book superhero-only for vicious legal battles to make it the medium's greatest lost masterpiece.
Wizard Universe.com (February 21): http://www.wizarduniverse.com/magazine/wizard/003576727.cfm

Brady, Matt. 2007.
Johns, Katz, And Jurgens Talk Booster Gold.
Newsrama (March): http://www.newsarama.com/dcnew/Booster/booster.html

Irving, Christopher. 2007.
TwoMorrows Tune-In #3: George Perez and Mike Mignola.
TwoMorrows.com (February 26): http://twomorrows.com/blog/tune-in/twomorrows-tune-in-3-george-perez-and-mike-mignola/

Jenkins, Henry. 2007.
Millennial Monsters: An Interview with Anne Allison [on manga and anime].
Confessions of an ACA/Fan (February 21-22): http://www.henryjenkins.org/2007/02/lets_start_where_your_book.html and http://www.henryjenkins.org/2007/02/in_the_book_you_draw.html

Unknown. 2008.
New comic strip appears today [Retro Geek].
Olympian (January 7).
Online at http://www.theolympian.com/living/story/319662.html

Vera, Kukla. 2008.
No Laughing Matter: Diabetes Education in Comic Book Form Targets the Latino Community.
Los Angeles Downtown News (January 7).
Online at http://www.ladowntownnews.com/articles/2008/01/07/health2/health03.txt

Wolff, Henry Jr. 2007.
'Terry and the Pirates' once graced Foster Field club.
Victoria Advocate (March 28).
Online at http://www.thevictoriaadvocate.com/631/story/30391.html

Bell, Blake. 2007.
Terry and Annie Reissues: An Interview with Dean Mullaney.
Best of Most of blog (March 29): http://www.bestofmostof.com/07mar/index070328.htm

Griepp, Milton and Tom Flinn (eds). 2008. Bat Manga! The Secret History of Batman in Japan; Due From Pantheon in September. ICv2 (January 16): http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/11921.html

Griepp, Milton and Tom Flinn (eds). 2008. New 'Turok' DVD Has Stones; Due Out on February 5th. ICv2 (January 21): http://www.icv2.com/articles/home/11950.html

Griepp, Milton and Tom Flinn (eds). 2008.
Interview with Dave Sim, 'Glamourpuss'.
ICv2 (January 10): http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/11882.html

Griepp, Milton and Tom Flinn (eds). 2008.
Aardvark Vanaheim to Publish 'Glamourpuss'; New Series from Dave Sim.
ICv2 (January 10): http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/11883.html

Jewell, Stephen. 2008.
Man of many genres [Michael Chabon].
New Zealand Herald (January 22)
Online at http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1501119/story.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=10487978

Wilding, Patrice. 2008.
'Family Tree' takes root on comics pages [Signe Wilkinson].
Times-Tribune (January 7).
Online at http://www.thetimes-tribune.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19170233&BRD=2185&PAG=461&dept_id=450444&rfi=6

Goodwin, Christopher. 2007.
300 reasons to stop eating the popcorn; Christopher Goodwin in Los Angeles joins the boys in the blood-curdling theatre of war.
First Post (March 12): http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/index.php?storyID=5229

Bouchard, Gilbert A. 2008.
The art of war: An exclusive /ed magazine interview with comic-book legend Joe Sacco.
Edmonton Journal (January 6): http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/ed/story.html?id=16856914-b6d4-4984-8995-9c6c801f9258&k=95045

Bouchard, Gilbert A. 2008.
A short history of non-fiction and war comics.
edmontonjournal.com (January 6): http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/ed/story.html?id=01ff50e2-5753-4b24-bd8e-809eb02ff936

Purcell, Charles. 2008.
Just plain batty: Two lives, a dark past - Batman may need help, writes Charles Purcell.
Sydney Morning Herald (January 7).
Online at http://www.smh.com.au/news/books/just-plain-batty/2008/01/06/1199554487088.html

Unknown. 2008.
5 Web Comics That Will Make You Ditch Your Newspaper; Don't suffer through one more installment of 'Ziggy' or 'Marmaduke'! Hilarity is just a click away with these online strips.
PC World (January 4): http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/04/AR2008010400267.html

Gardner, Jan. 2008.
Short and drawn out [Jay Hosler and comic books in the classroom].
Boston Globe (January 6).
Online at http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2008/01/06/short_and_drawn_out/

Hatrash, Hasan. 2008.
Saudi Comic Artists Invited to Take Part in Manga Contest.
Arab News (January 8): http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=105426&d=8&m=1&y=2008&pix=kingdom.jpg&category=Kingdom

Unknown. 2008.
'Ollie and Quentin' replaces 'Lio' in Q-C Times comics.
Quad-City Times (January 7): http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2008/01/07/news/local/doc4781bae355649077734628.txt

Spurgeon, Tom. 2005.
A Short Interview With Larry Young.
Comics Reporter (July 3): http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/resources/interviews/2256/

Spurgeon, Tom. 2005.
Interview: John Romita (2002).
Comics Reporter (March 22): http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/briefings/commentary/1178/

Spurgeon, Tom. 2005.
Interview with Publisher Nadia Katz-Wise of Typocrat Press.
Comics Reporter (March 24):
http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/briefings/commentary/1196/

Spurgeon, Tom. 2005.
Interview with Cartoonist Johnny Ryan.
Comics Reporter (March 24): http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/briefings/commentary/1211/

Spurgeon, Tom. 2005.
A Short Interview With Ted Slampyak.
Comics Reporter (June 5): http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/briefings/commentary/1785/

Spurgeon, Tom. 2005.
A Short Interview with Douglas Fraser.
Comics Reporter (June 18): http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/briefings/commentary/1924/

Spurgeon, Tom. 2005.
A Short Interview With Jeet Heer and Kent Worcester.
Comics Reporter (June 26): http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/briefings/commentary/2032/

Spurgeon, Tom. 2005.
Interview: Jeff Smith (1999).
Comics Reporter (March 21): http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/briefings/commentary/1179/

Spurgeon, Tom. 2005.
Short Chat With Cartoonist Alex Robinson.
Comics Reporter (March 21): http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/briefings/commentary/1213/

Spurgeon, Tom. 2005.
Interview With Cartoonist Peter Bagge.
Comics Reporter (March 21): http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/briefings/commentary/1210/

Spurgeon, Tom. 2005.
Interview With Cartoonist Scott Mills.
Comics Reporter (March 22): http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/briefings/commentary/1197/

Spurgeon, Tom. 2005.
Interview With James Kimball of Pantheon Books.
Comics Reporter (March 22): http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/briefings/commentary/1177/

Spurgeon, Tom. 2005.
A Short Interview With Michael Kupperman.
Comics Reporter (August 7): http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/briefings/commentary/2481/

Spurgeon, Tom. 2005.
A Short Interview With Jim Ottaviani.
Comics Reporter (June 12): http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/resources/interviews/2253/

Spurgeon, Tom. 2005.
A Short Interview With James Kochalka.
Comics Reporter (July 17): http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/resources/interviews/2292/

Spurgeon, Tom. 2005.
Spiegelman Looking Forward To Lafayette Despite Controversy.
Comicon's The Pulse (February 21): http://www.comicon.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=36;t=003482

Spurgeon, Tom. 2008.
CR Holiday Interview #10: Frank Santoro.
Comics Reporter (January 5):
http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/cr_holiday_interview_8_frank_santoro/

Spurgeon, Tom. 2008.
CR Holiday Interview #11: Vito Delsante [comics writer and Jim Hanley's Universe store].
Comics Reporter (January 5):
http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/cr_holiday_interview_9_vito_delsante/

Spurgeon, Tom. 2008.
CR Holiday Interview #12: Karen Berger.
Comics Reporter (January 6): http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/cr_holiday_interview_13/

Spurgeon, Tom. 2008.
CR Holiday Interview #13: Francoise Mouly.
Comics Reporter (January 6): http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/cr_holiday_interview_7/

Brady, Matt. 2007.
Checking Out 'Checkout' With Rucka And Winick - Updated [Checkmate comic book].
Newsarama (March 27): http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=106660

Hunter, Stephen. 2006.
Quite The Bomb: 'V for Vendetta' Can Blow Away Parliament, But Not Its Audience.
Washington Post (March 17): C1

Stevenson, James. 2006.
Lost and Found New York: Richard Croker [comics journalism].
New York Times (February 25)
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/02/24/opinion/25opart.gif

Sheneman, Drew. 2006.
'Fantastic Four: First Family No. 1'.
Newark Star-Ledger (March 5).
Online at http://www.nj.com/entertainment/ledger/index.ssf?/base/entertainment-0/114153950028060.xmlandcoll=1

Clark, Colin. 2006.
Neil Gaiman Interview [his and Dave McKean's project The Wolves in the Walls].
National Theatre of Scotland (February): http://www.lyric.co.uk/images/event/NeilGaim.pdf

Denby, David. 2007.
Men Gone Wild: "Shooter" and "300".
New Yorker (April 2): 88-89

Denby, David. 2007.
Not Kid's Stuff: "Shrek the Third" and "Paprika".
New Yorker (May 28): 86-87

Kane, Tim / Albany Times Union. 2007.
Eisner's 'Contract With God' has proved lucrative.
San Francisco Chronicle (December 21): E10

Jozic, Mike. 2004.
Jill Thompson - Sooktacular Spooktacular!!!
Mike Jozic.com (October 30): http://www.mikejozic.com/thompsoninterview.html

Unknown. 2004.
Zagreb Animation Week to liven up Tehran.
IranMania.com (October 30): http://www.iranmania.com/news/articleview/default.asp?NewsCode=26538&NewsKind=Culture

Unknown. 2004.
Marvel Profit Falls, But Revenue Up Sharply.
Reuters (October 28)

Unknown. 2004.
Bill Liebowitz, founder of LA comic book store, dead at 63.
Associated Press (October 29): http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/10049387.htm

Peters, Mike. 2004.
Dilbert's house? It's 'wife bait'.
Dallas Morning News (October 30).
Online at http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/fea/texasliving/columnists/mpeters/stories/103104dnlivcomics.7f712.html

Kapko, Matt. 2008.
Executive Interview: Ross Cox [Cartoon Network New Media].
RCR Wireless News (January 7): http://www.rcrnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080107/SUB/414798038/1012/allnews

Unknown. 2004.
Since We Asked: 'Doonesbury' goes missing and readers are curious. Several readers contacted the Mail Tribune's newsroom Saturday, all with the same question: 'What happened to `Doonesbury' in today's paper?'.
Mail Tribune (October 31).
Online at http://www.mailtribune.com/archive/2004/1031/local/stories/18local.htm

Marlowe, Chris. 2004.
Scribe Develops Mobile Greeting Cards [animator and screenwriter Michael Dougherty].
Hollywood Reporter (October 29)

Wagner, Vit. 2007.
Cartoonist of the macabre [Gahan Wilson].
Toronto Star (March 25).
Online at http://www.thestar.com/artsentertainment/article/195747

Pinkerton, Nick. 2008.
Persepolis: Abba Versus the Mullahs!
Seattle Weekly (January 23).
Online at http://www.seattleweekly.com/2008-01-23/film/persepolis-abba-versus-the-mullahs.php

Salamon, Jeff. 2008.
The somewhat amazing adventures of 'The Escapist'.
Austin American-Statesman (January 6).
Online at http://www.statesman.com/life/content/life/stories/books/01/06/0106quick.html
Unknown. 2005.
Inside With: Neil Swaab, Creator of Rehabilitating Mr. Wiggles.
The Apiary (October 11): http://www.theapiary.org/archives/2005/10/inside_with_nei.html

Unknown. 2005.
Look … Up in the Museum: UVSC's new exhibit takes comic books seriously as an art form [Will Eisner; Utah Valley State College's Woodbury Art Museum; The Art of Comics].
Salt Lake City Weekly (October 13).
Online at http://www.slweekly.com/editorial/2005/ae_1_2005-10-13.cfm

Unknown. 2005.
Local couple publishes 1st comic book [Dragon Firefly Island].
Florence Reminder (October 13).
Online at http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15382957&BRD=1817&PAG=461&dept_id=222076&rfi=6

Stratton, Ted S. 2005.
Not quite quitting time for local working-class muse [The Quitter by Pekar and Haspiel].
Cleveland Jewish News (October 13).
Online at http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/articles/2005/10/13/features/arts/carts1015.txt

Pekar, Harvey. 2005.
12 of the Best by Harvey Pekar.
Emusic.com: http://www.emusic.com/lists/showlist.html?lid=224579

Schwartz, Jay. 2005.
Eisner's 'A Contract With God' an epic on Bronx existence.
Jewish News Weekly (October 14).
Online at http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/27317/format/html/displaystory.html

Schwartz, Jay. 2005.
Comic about 'Protocols' the final work of a master [Eisner].
Jewish News Weekly (October 14).
Online at http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/27316/format/html/displaystory.html


Eisner, Will. 2005.
The Plot: The Secret Story of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
New York: W.W. Norton & Company

Lackner, Michael. 2004.
Hate America "Superhero"? [Punisher and Garth Ennis editorial].
FrontPageMagazine.com (May 12): http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=13334

Miller, Brian and I. Steve Wiecking et al. 2004.
TV on DVD [Jonny Quest: The Complete First Season; Smallville: The Complete Second Season].
Seattle Weekly (May 12).
Online at
http://www.seattleweekly.com/features/0419/040512_film_tvdvds.php

Swartz, Jon. 2004.
Stan Lee rises from dot-com rubble.
USA Today (May 12).
Online at http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/2004-05-12-stan-lee_x.htm

Sutel, Seth. 2004.
Rall receives death threats over Tillman cartoon.
Associated Press (May 5)

O'Reilly, Bill. 2004.
Did a Political Cartoon Disrespect an American Hero? [Ted Rall].
O'Reilly Factor (May 4)
transcript online at http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,119096,00.html

Sangiacomo, Michael. 2005.
Mad editors are just mad about praise.
Cleveland Plain Dealer (July 2)

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

The City Paper and Ullman - The Final Chapter

Well, sort of. See "Savage Outcry," by editor Andrew Beaujon, posted on Jan. 16, 2008 for his take on the whole "laying off illustrators" then followed unfortunately by "laying off staff." I really am not sure what the new owners are doing, but I feel sorry for Mr. Beaujon who was very nice on the phone when confirming that I actually did write a letter, and who has been stuck doing a really crummy job at someone else's behest. Read the blog post for his side of the story - a man who says, "The cause was taken up by ComicsDC" as though that means something. I'm just glad I didn't pull out Rob's new baby as a tearjerker guilt-trip (whoops, just did). But note Rob's response to the editor's post slightly further down the page too.

And then there's one last letter in this past week's paper -

Illo Talk

I am writing to express my sadness over the recent dismissal of Robert Ullman from your Savage Love illustrating lineup. I have been a fan of Robert’s illustrations for years, and it is apparent that he can bring wit, life, and interest to just about any topic. In many cases, his illustrations are what draw me to look at and read the columns.

I had seen Robert’s illustrations before he found work at the City Paper and knew that he was headed for great things with his talent. Likewise, when I moved to the D.C. area and found out his talent was being utilized by the City Paper, I was thrilled! I have seen many illustrators’ work and can tell you that it would be plain foolish to let him get away because you won’t find another quite like him. Please reconsider this decision and get Robert back.

Erin Antognoli
Germantown, Md.

Editor’s note: Thanks to all the fans of Robert Ullman’s illustrations who’ve written in. Our budget cuts don’t allow us to continue commisioning weekly illustrations for Savage Love, but we were able to hire Ullman to do a permanent illustration for the column; it debuted last week. We’re going to keep hiring him when possible; he illustrated last week’s Young & Hungry column, for example.


Shawn Belschwender and his News of the Weird illos didn't get as much attention here - probably because Rob draws prettier girls and is still localish (Richmond), but Shawn was doing a strip for the George Washington U's Hatchet in the mid-80s when I was in school there.

I really miss the comic strips too, especially Derf. Sigh. I just picked up the Baltimore CP (different owners fortunately) and they've got Lulu Eightball still AND When Will The Pain Stop by Tim Kreider. AND Perry Bible Fellowship!

And the 'no bluegrass' thing sucks too.

Manga and comics at Barnes and Noble

I've been taking a few shots of comics and manga displays lately, since they've changed and expanded so much. Here's some shots from the Barnes & Noble on Route 50 in Northern Virginia. Larger versions of the pictures can be seen and downloaded on my flickr site.









Monday, January 21, 2008

Geppi's Entertainment Museum photos from 'Scrooged' exhibit and more

I, along with some friends, got a tour of the new exhibit at Geppi's Entertainment Museum which opens at the end of January. Curator Arnold and Registrar Andy kindly took us through the whole museum. I'll post more thoughts later, but here's the pictures. As I've said before, it's a cool museum, and there's a lot of Barks originals here that none of us would see any place else. And for fun, a Happy Hooligan toy where the cops beat on him as it rolls and an ad by Winsor McCay in a section not open to the public. The Museum's closed on Monday's during the winter, so watch out for that, but it's well worth seeing. Steve Geppi's got a collection to envy.

Larger versions of the pictures can be seen and downloaded on my flickr site.

A couple of duck oil paintings.

Part of the complete North to the Yukon story that's on display.

The atypical section with non-Disney Duck watercolors, and some other oddities including a landscape.

A Faberge egg offered by Another Rainbow.

Pirate's Gold oil painting.

Duck family statue from Another Rainbow. That's an oil of Donald lying next to it.

Ah, McCay... This was opposite an original Krazy Kat, but this is all I had eyes for.

Happy Hooligan gets bopped by the cops when you roll this toy.

Look at that lovely Winsor McCay ad.

DC area cartoonist does web strip for USA Weekend

Casey Shaw sent me an email with the press release below - let's wish him luck with his new webcomic. Casey, feel free to send in some reminders off and on. I assume the bear's named in honor of James Thurber?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 21, 2008

MCLEAN, VA -- USA WEEKEND Magazine's website is carrying its first online comic strip. In recent years, the print magazine published panel cartoons which were also archived on usaweekend.com, but this will be the first cartoons, and first comic strip, to be created specifically for USA WEEKEND's website independent of the print magazine. The strip, Thurbear, is created by USA WEEKEND's Creative Manager, Casey Shaw, and will update weekly.

"While I've contributed more than 200 individual panel cartoons to the print version of the magazine in the past," says Shaw, "I'm really excited about this opportunity. I really love the comic strip format and having a continuing feature will allow me to play much more with developing a recurring cast of characters."

To view the comic strip, which will also include blog-style postings by Shaw with links to other web comics in addition to the Thurbear cartoon, go to usaweekend.com and click on "Cartoon."

#######################

About USA WEEKEND:
USA WEEKEND Magazine is a national weekly magazine distributed through more than 600 newspapers in the United States. Awarded for its journalism and design, USA WEEKEND focuses on social issues, entertainment, health, food and travel. The magazine provides Newspaper in Education classroom guides to partner newspapers. usaweekend.com provides enhanced content and interactive magazine features. USA WEEKEND is a Gannett Co., Inc. publication.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 01-23-08

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 01-23-08
By John Judy
(Support Striking Writers for Having More Stones Than the Directors!)

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #548 by Dan Slott and Steve McNiven. Love it or hate it, it’s coming out three times a month! That’s almost as much as a GOP Congressman! The aftermath of the most controversial Marvel decision since the “death” of Captain America continues here!

ASTONISHING X-MEN #24 by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday. This is it! Will “Breakworld” finally live up to its name and break already? Rumors abound that someone won’t be coming back from this one. Hopefully they’re a Skrull.

COMPLETE TERRY AND THE PIRATES VOL. 2 HC written and illustrated by Milton Caniff. Volume two of IDW’s six-volume reprinting of the entire run of Caniff’s iconic strip. Dailies and Sunday color strips. Recommended.

CRIME BIBLE: FIVE LESSONS OF BLOOD #4 of 5 by Greg Rucka and Diego Olmos. “Deceit?” Check. “Lust?” Check. “Greed?” Check. “Murder…?” The latest of the lessons gets taught in Hub City. Recommended. (Thank-you, Professor Rucka.)

DAN DARE #3 of 7 by Garth Ennis and Gary Erskine. Space opera, zap-gun fights, a war comic in sci-fi clothing. All done up Ennis style. Dive in.

HELLBLAZER #240 by Andy Diggle and Leonardo Manco. Okay, if last issue didn’t get you anxious about Constantine’s latest foe, try this one. “The Laughing Magician” versus an African War Mage in the middle of London! NOT for kids.

HULK VISIONARIES: PETER DAVID VOL. 5 by PAD and Friends. Collecting INCREDIBLE #364-372 and ANNUAL #16 of a truly legendary run. Hopefully Marvel will end up collecting and publishing the whole magilla.

MARVEL ZOMBIES 2 #4 of 5 by Robert Kirkman and Sean Phillips. The Zombie Civil War continues with Colonel America back from the un-dead and a cover that could kill the Iron Man movie. Not for kids but great fun for the rest of us freaks.

MARVEL MASTERWORKS: GOLDEN-AGE DARING MYSTERY, VOL.1 HC by Nobody Seems to Know. A collection of adventures from this forties anthology title featuring every Marvel/Timely character you’ve never heard of, at least until Straczynski revived them for THE TWELVE. This week’s “Gotta Have It” based on sheer weirdness alone.

PUNISHER #54 by Garth Ennis and Goran Parlov. Every issue of Punisher vs. Barracuda gets bloodier and more gut-wrenching than the last. Supposedly “This Is It!” but Ennis seems to really love The Cuda. Can he bring himself to finally pull the pin? Absolutely 100% not for kids under any circumstance, but highly recommended anyway.

SHE HULK #25 by Peter David and Shawn Moll. Double-sized anniversary ish in which we learn why Shulk left the lawyering biz, plus two back-up stories and an alien fight.

SHOWCASE PRESENTS AQUAMAN VOL. 2 SC by Jack Miller, Bob Haney, Ramona Fradon, Nick Cardy and Friends. Sixties Aqua-Fun, appropriate for all ages!

STUDENTS FOR A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY GN by Harvey Pekar, Gary Dumm, and historian Paul Buhle. A non-fiction account of the rise and fall of one of the most ambitious and controversial activist groups of the 1960s. This week. Honest. Recommended.

ULTIMATE FF, IRON MAN II, VISION SC, and ULTIMATES 3 #2 by Lotsa People. It’s a big week for ULTIMATE titles, is all I’m saying. There’s fights. Big ones.

WONDER WOMAN #16 by Gail Simone and Terry & Rachel Dodson. This title is back to looking and reading great! Give it a whirl! Recommended.

X-MEN #207 by Mike Carey and Chris Bachalo. “Messiah Complex: the 13th and Final Chapter for the love of merciful, muppety Odin!” They promise! No mas! It’s done! At least until the phone-book sized Premiere hardcover with the lasers…

YOUNG AVENGERS PRESENTS #1 of 6 by Ed Brubaker and Paco Medina. Okay, watch this title carefully because every issue is going to have a new “top” creative team. This issue is Brubaker/Medina doing a Patriot/Winter Bucky team-up so we kind of need to look. Next issue….?

www.johnjudy.net

Our man Thompson interviewed at Comics Reporter

This is going to be good. Tom Spurgeon's one of the best writers and interviewers about comics, talents honed as the editor of the Comics Journal.

Persepolis opens in DC

Apparently it opens on Friday, January 25th at the Landmark in Georgetown. Anyone want to go see it on Saturday or Sunday?

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Quick bits from weekend's Post UPDATED

In Saturday's paper, our man Thompson's got a Romney finger puppet (but not at this link!), this week's Style Invitational contest (note the Bob Staake Opus) is in response to Berkeley Breathed using old ones in Opus, and there's a letter complaining about inaccuracies in Flashbacks.

Sunday's paper recommends Trondheim's Little Nothings in the Source section which is not online. In the comics, Lio shows what really happened to Calvin and Hobbes, and there's a major Satrapi and Persepolis article in Style. Finally, there's a wire service obit for the founder of the East Village Other Newspaper which provided jobs for many early underground cartoonists which is not online, so here's a link to the LA Times article.

Friday, January 18, 2008

Jan 19: DC Conspiracy at Dr. Dremo's CORRECTED

DC Conspiracy members will be present at Dr. Dremo's tomorrow at the Counter Culture Festival with comics for sale beginning at 4 pm. I'm going to try to make this one.

Risko covers Post's Weekend

Noted caricaturist Robert Risko did the cover caricature of Woody Allen for Friday's Weekend section. Risko's usually seen more often in the New Yorker -- perhaps his illustrations is where the whole year's budge for Tom the Dancing Bug went. Apparently they didn't pay him for web rights though.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Bits from today's papers UPDATED

For a bit on the Danish Islam cartoons and fallout in Canada, see Meghan Cox Gurdon on "Chilling climate for journalists in our neighbor to the north," Washington Examiner (January 17, 2008): 15. Editorial cartoonist Nate Beeler's in their most days too and remains the chief reason to pick up the paper.

And then not online is a story about an upcoming event with the DC Anime Club at the Japanese Information and Culture Center - Dixon, Glenn. 2008. Playing and dress-up: Cosplayes act the parts from manga to anime to video games. [Washington Post] Express (January 17). Apparently there will be a cosplay get-together there tomorrow night.

The Express is still running 5 strips or panels, including Bizarro.

The Post has a big strip by Mark Zingarelli on the front of the Home section - my copy will go to Michigan State U's comic art collection.

The Onion has an article about Original Sin cider's ad campaign by cartoonist R. Black. Can't find it online yet, but it's page 32 of the DC edition.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Film & TV Adaptations book continues to be available

In spite of election mania driving paper prices sky high, Film & TV Adaptations of Comics - 2007 edition by Rhode and Vogel is available for order.

149 pages long, it's a listing of the thousands of adaptations to film and television of hundreds of comic strips and books. Worldwide, it includes the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Russia, the Netherlands, Senegal, India, Turkey, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and Australia among others. Cross-referenced by cartoonist and translated titles, it includes a bibliography and index.

You can buy it via Lulu.com for $12.99 (plus shipping) or $3.00 for a pdf download at http://www.lulu.com/content/1677433.

This is not a book that you can sit and read - it's a reference book, and one that might spark a bit of curiosity. Lulu will let you see a preview, and here's a sample section of late additions from the Errata page:

Titles of strips samples:

Suramu Danku [Slam Dunk] (Takehiko Inoue)
Suramu Danku (Japan: Toei Animation, 1993-1996; 101-episode anime tv series)
4 DTV anime movies (Japan: Toei Animation, 1994-1995)

Oldboy (Nobuaki Minegishi)
Oldboy (South Korea 2003)

Scary Godmother (Jill Thompson)
The Scary Godmother, Vol. 2: The Revenge of Jimmy (USA 2005; animated DTV movie)

Wulffmorgenthaler (Mikael Wulff and Anders Morgenthaler)
Wulffmorgenthaler? (Denmark 200?; tv series)

Cartoonists cross-reference sample:

Eliot, Jan (Stone Soup cartoonist)
Oregon Art Beat Episode# 915 - Illustrator Jan Eliot (Oregon Public Broadcasting, 2008; segment on January 10, 2008 tv show)


Bibliography samples:

• Ehrenreich, Ben. 2007. “Comic Genius? Before there was even a comic book to adapt, 'Cowboys and Aliens' had a movie deal [Platinum Comics],” New York Times Magazine (November 11).
• Kohanik, Eric / CanWest News Service. 2008. “Painkiller Jane comic-book heroine,” Saskatoon Star-Phoenix (January 5).
• Takahashi, Rumiko and Stephen Ayres (trans.). 2005. The Art of InuYasha (2nd Edition), San Francisco: Viz Media.
• Unknown. 2008. “New cartoon series in ‘Wiener Zeitung’: Danish duo ‘Wulffmorgenthaler’ to feature daily on the new English page,” Wiener Zeitung (January 4).

Feb 15: Swann Fellowship in Caricature and Cartoon

Applications for the Swann Fellowship in Caricature and Cartoon are due next month, Feb. 15, 2008. Guidelines and application for this annual award of $15,000 can be accessed at:
http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/swann-fellow.html
Applicants must be enrolled in an accredited M.A. or Ph.D program in a university in the U.S., Canada or Mexico. Contact Martha Kennedy with questions at 202/707-9115 or email swann@loc.gov


Martha H. Kennedy
Assistant Curator, Popular and Applied Graphic Art
Prints and Photographs Division
Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave. SE
Washington, DC 20540-4730
tel.: 202/707-9115; fax: 202/707-6647

Our man Thompson interviewed in four-way faceoff

Richard's got a short interview, including dissing a local diner, in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Cul de Sac is competing against 3 other strips for a permanent place in the paper.

Sunday, January 13, 2008

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 01-16-08

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 01-16-08
By John Judy
(Support Striking WGA Writers! Buy their comic books!)

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #547 by Dan Slott and Steve McNiven. Nevermind the plot, I just want to see if they can really get this thing out three weeks a month. Betting pool? BTW, Dan Slott rocks and it looks like Spidey’s fighting ninjas or Yakuza or possibly those poor, metal-faced Persians from “300.”

ANGEL: AFTER THE FALL #3 by Joss Whedon, Brian Lynch, and Franco Urru. Illyria’s back. Hijinks ensue. Recommended.

BONE COLOR EDITION VOL.7: GHOST CIRCLES HC & SC written and illustrated by Jeff Smith. The Bone Epic continues and (despite the name) is appropriate for all ages. Your bookshelf awaits.

BOOSTER GOLD #6 by Geoff Johns and Dan Jurgens. The one we’ve been waiting for. Can Booster save Blue Beetle? Fingers crossed.

DISNEY’S DUCKTAILS BY MARV WOLFMAN: SCROOGE’S QUEST SC by MW and Various Artists. Gemstone Publishing has brought this back into print for the first time since 1990. It’s Scrooge McDuck by the guy who re-invented the Teen Titans, among other things. Gotta look.

DMZ #27 by Brian Wood and Nathan Fox. So what do people do for night-time fun in post-apocalypse New York? Pretty much what they do now except with even more gunplay, if such a thing is possible. Not for kids, recommended.

DOOM PATROL VOL. 6: PLANET LOVE SC by Grant Morrison, Richard Case, and Friends. The final volume of Morrison’s legendary run on the junkyard dogs of DC’s super-teams. Collecting DP #58-63 and DOOM FORCE SPECIAL #1. Recommended.

EC ARCHIVES: CRIME SUSPENSTORIES, VOL. 1 HC by Feldstein, Wood, Craig, Ingels, Kurtzman, Kamen, David, and Roussos. The EC Gods of 1950-51 have willed us these 24 twisted masterpieces. The first six issues of this series are all here. You must have this book.

FELL #9 by Warren Ellis and Ben Templesmith. “Detective Richard Fell: Hostage Negotiator.” Do you really need to know more? Highly recommended.

GRENDEL: BEHOLD THE DEVIL #3 of 8 written and illustrated by Matt Wagner. The story is good but the art is A Gift from On High. The world is better for the presence of Matt Wagner and his drafting table. Recommended.

IMMORTAL IRON FIST #12 by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, and David Aja. Okay, it’s taken a year but now some of the intrigue is starting to clear up and it looks like a great fight is in the works. Putting the “Capital!” back in “Seven Capital Cities of Heaven!” Recommended.

INCREDIBLE HERCULES #113 by Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente, and Khoi Pham. While the Red Hulk is off doing his thing, Herc’s keeping this series going with a little help from the Smart Asian Kid who IS NOT a surrogate for any comic writer we know of so put that idea right out of your mind, Mister-Man! This issue touches upon some of Herc’s classical Greek back-story so that’s kind of cool. Also, a family reunion with Ares occurs.

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #17 by Several People. Two stories, no waiting! Big fight up front, mystery in the back. Something for everyone!

THUNDERBOLTS VOL. 1: FAITH IN MONSTERS SC by Warren Ellis, Mike Deodato, and Others. Collecting T-Bolts #110-115 and a couple of miscellaneous
Stories showing how Ellis transformed this team into The Dirty Dozen on crack. Recommended, but too violent for younger kids.

WOLVERINE ORIGINS #21 by Daniel Way and Steve Dillon. Deadpool guest-stars as this title explores what may be its proper place in the universe: As an “Itchy and Scratchy” cartoon.

ZOMBIES VS ROBOTS VS AMAZONS #2 of 3 by Chris Ryall and Ashley Wood. Exactly what it says, kids. Not for kids.

www.johnjudy.net