At Christmas in 1967, I was almost three years old. Here's a picture of me with some Disney coloring* book, which I don't recognize nor remember.
Sunday, January 31, 2016
Mike's 1967 comics Christmas
At Christmas in 1967, I was almost three years old. Here's a picture of me with some Disney coloring* book, which I don't recognize nor remember.
That darn Foxtrot and Rick McKee
The 'Netflix and chill' joke in 'FoxTrot' was funny but inappropriate [in print as It's hard to stay chill about this comic].
David Smith, Annandale
Bernie Sanders is not offering 'free money' [in print as There's no 'free money']
Claude Kacser, Rockville
Washington Post January 30 2016, p. A17.
Saturday, January 30, 2016
Flugennock's Latest'n'Greatest: "Stop Digging, Mr. Mendelson!"
http://sinkers.org/stage/?p=1845
On January 4 the DC City Council, in a notorious cave-in to Mayor Bowser, quickly reversed its decision to end the ban on the smoking of marijuana in public establishments, setting the stage for the emergence of underground "smokeasies" for people unable to smoke in their own homes, such as poor tenants in Section 8 housing, or regular apartment tenants restricted by rental agreements.
DCMJ.org posted on January 5:
The January 4th Legislative Meeting of the DC Council was a rollercoaster. First the DC Council voted to #LetTheBanExpire, then the Mayor called members of the DC Council and told them to have a revote on the ban, and after the second vote the DC Council renewed the ban on social cannabis use…
Sounds like we lost, but we didn't. Here's why: the DC Council is going to amend the ban before it becomes permanent law. We believe the amended version will be less broad and carve out exceptions for adult use outside of private residences. In the meantime, nothing changes- the ban from 2015 is in place for at least 90 more days, but we now have the opportunity to fix the law before it becomes permanent, but we need everyone to step up their efforts and lobby the DC Council about the need to #AmendTheBan.
--
Mike Flugennock
Local papers on animation
Why sad movies make for kinder kids
Express January 29 2016
https://www.washingtonpost.com/express/wp/2016/01/29/why-sad-movies-make-for-kinder-kids/
Oscar Nominated Short Films 2016: Animated Heavy topics are lightened by the whimsical possibilities of the form [in print as The Big Shorts].
By Noah GittellWashington City Paper January 29, 2016, p 25.
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/47861/oscar-nominated-short-films-2016-animated-reviewed-heavy-topics-are/
Friday, January 29, 2016
The Post on Kung Fu Panda and Oscar shorts
Oscar-nominated shorts come to E Street [in print as Short, but alternately sweet and serious].

Chilean animator Gabriel Osorio's "Bear Story" is beautiful to look at, but was inspired by the abduction of the filmmaker's grandfather. (Bear Story)
'Kung Fu Panda 3': Welcome return of a bravehearted bumbler [in print as 'In a world with more pandas, this third film's a charmer].
January 29, 2016, p. Weekend 27

In "Kung Fu Panda 3," Po, left, reunites with his father, Li. Po remains a charming bumbler — excited to learn, for example, that other pandas don't eat with chopsticks. (DreamWorks Animation)
Thursday, January 28, 2016
New comics journalism newsletter from Josh Kramer
There's a new email newsletter in town.
Hi from Josh Kramer, Editor of The Cartoon Picayune. If you're a fan of my work or The Cartoon Picayune, you'll love The CoJo List, a new email newsletter dedicated to bringing you the best in nonfiction comics from around the internet. Please sign up!
E Street Cinema on Anomalisa animation
Filmmaker Letter: Anomalisa
http://www.landmarktheatres.com/anomalisa-filmmaker-letter
by Charlie Kaufman, co-director/writer/producer
The Express on Kung Fu Panda 3
'Kung Fu Panda 3′ uses technology to communicate emotion [in print as The 'Kung Fu Panda' balancing act].
Express January 28 2016, p. 43.
online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/express/wp/2016/01/28/kung-fu-panda-3-uses-technology-to-communicate-emotion/
1/29-2/3: OSCAR NOMINATED SHORT FILMS 2016: ANIMATION
E Street Cinema
http://www.landmarktheatres.com/washington-d-c/e-street-cinema/film-info/oscar-nominated-short-films-2016-animatedDon't miss this rare opportunity to see all five Academy Award nominees in the category of Best Animated Short and more! Program includes: "Historia de un Oso (Bear Story)" (Chile), in which an old, lonesome bear tells the story of his life through a mechanical diorama; Pixar Animation Studios' "Sanjay's Super Team" (USA), about a young, first-generation Indian-American boy whose love for western pop-culture comes into conflict with his father's traditions; "We Can't Live Without Cosmos" (Russia), in which two cosmonauts who are friends try to do their best in their everyday training life to make their common dream a reality; writer/director Don Hertzfeldt's "World of Tomorrow" (USA), in which a little girl is taken on a mind-bending tour of her distant future; and "Prologue" (UK), in which a small girl bears witness as warriors battle to death during the Spartan-Athenian wars of 2,400 years ago. Additional animated shorts will also be shown. (Note: "Prologue" contains mature content and will be shown last, so that parents and caregivers can usher children out of the theater if desired. Other shorts in the program are acceptable for kids of all ages.)
Sherman Lagoon's Jim Toomey has new cartoons online now
Jim Toomey has done animated public service announcements sponsored by Pew Trust. From their press release:
"Ocean governance. Even policy experts will admit it sounds pretty boring. But now those of us with less ocean savvy are in luck.
The Pew Charitable Trusts has joined forces with cartoonist Jim Toomey—whose daily comic strip, Sherman's Lagoon, is syndicated in more than 250 newspapers in the United States—to animate terms like "ocean governance" and nine others that can sometimes be confusing.
And after hundreds of hours spent by Jim Toomey "Cartoon Crash Course" is live. The hope was to offer a fun way to engage our audiences about important marine topics that needed explaining.
You can watch all 10 new short films here: http://ow.ly/XDDs6
We hope you check out these humorous cartoons and come away with a better, more animated understanding of what it means to take care of our oceans."
Feb 4: Gareth Hinds at Takoma Library
Thursday, February 4
10:30 a.m. at Politics & Prose and 7:30 p.m. at Takoma Park Library (MD) - Gareth Hinds - Samurai Rising: The Epic Life of Minamoto Yoshitsune
Politics and Prose has a graphic novels reading group
Graphic Novels: This group reads graphic novels from independent to superhero comics, memoirs, fictions, and everything in between. Led by two P&P booksellers, this group strives for inclusivity, welcoming seasoned comic readers and others just starting out.
Tom King featured in Sunday's upcoming Post Magazine
Holy DC connection! A local comic book writer used to work for the CIA!
By KK Ottesen January 28 2016https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/holy-dc-connection-a-local-comic-book-writer-used-to-work-for-the-cia/2016/01/27/3a4679a0-a98e-11e5-8058-480b572b4aae_story.html
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Comic Riffs on Marvel's amputee Venom
Marvel gave its amputee superhero prosthetic legs — with the help of an Iraq War vet
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog January 26 2016
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2016/01/26/marvel-gave-its-amputee-superhero-prosthetic-legs-with-the-help-of-an-iraq-war-vet/
Webcomic: 'First Time Parents'
Jan 30: Youth-facilitated panel: Exploring Historical Comics
This event now takes place on January 30. Stay tuned for updated timing on that day. Apologies for the inconvenience!
Join us on January 30, 2016, for our youth-facilitated panel Exploring Historical Comics from 12:30pm-1:30 p.m. in Wallace H Coulter Plaza at the National Museum of American History featuring our Youth Civic Engagement Program teens, representatives from Hirshhorn's ARTLAB+, Rebecca Goldfield, author of "Captive of Friendly Cove" Troy Allen and Evan Keeling of District Comics and Andrew Aydin, author of "March Book 1" and "March Book 2" with a book signing following in 1 Center in front of the Lego American flag.
Comics writer Willow Wilson reviews a Koran
'American Qur'an' is an old/new masterpiece [in print as A Holy Book Remix].
By G. Willow WilsonWashington Post January 24 2016, p. E12
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/american-quran-is-an-oldnew-masterpiece/2016/01/21/c067c350-becd-11e5-9443-7074c3645405_story.html
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
That darn Mark Trail
The saguaro cactus grows in the Sonoran Desert, not the Chihuahuan Desert [in print as 'A spine in the side of Mark Trail']
Casey Dowell, Alexandria
Washington Post (January 23, 2016): https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-saguaro-cactus-grows-in-the-sonoran-desert-not-the-chihuahuan-desert/2016/01/21/f3ce67d2-bed5-11e5-98c8-7fab78677d51_story.htmlBen Hatke receives an award
Little Robot receives Gryphon Award
http://www.lis.illinois.edu/articles/2016/01/little-robot-receives-gryphon-award
Monday, January 25, 2016
The Post on Disney's mid-1990s movies
Researchers have found a major problem with 'The Little Mermaid' and other Disney movies
Wonkblog January 25 2016
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/01/25/researchers-have-discovered-a-major-problem-with-the-little-mermaid-and-other-disney-movies/
Magic Bullet 12 cover peak
DC cartoonist Dana Maier added to Go Comics site
GoComics Introduces Four New Webcomics in January
More than 300 comic strips, panels and editorial cartoons are now available for daily and weekly reading online and via the free GoComics mobile app.
Kansas City, Mo. (January 25, 2016) — GoComics, a part of the Universal Uclick
syndicate family, is excited to announce the addition of four new features to its lineup of classic and new comic strips. Offering classic archives including Peanuts, Calvin and Hobbes, Garfield and Dilbert, and popular syndicated and webcomics such as The Argyle Sweater, Pearls Before Swine, Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal and Jim Benton Cartoons, GoComics provides new, fresh and free content every day. All are available at GoComics.com or on the free GoComics mobile app on multiple platforms.
The Worried Well by Dana Maier
Dana Jeri Maier's comics provide useful advice, philosophical musings and spot-on witticisms. She shows us ourselves, not unkindly, as silly and vain and self-involved. Her cartoons feel very interior, a mind watching the world and muttering to itself. They're what that person standing by themselves at the party, not talking to anyone, pretending to look vaguely interested in nothing in particular, has been secretly thinking the whole time.
Dana Jeri Maier is an artist and cartoonist living in Washington, DC. She has exhibited widely throughout the DC Metro area and various street corners, if you know where to look. Maier's site-specific mural, Inscrutable Comic, is on permanent display at the Flashpoint Gallery in Washington, DC.
Read The Worried Well at http://gocomics.com/the-worried-well.
Dadding Badly by John Kovaleski
Dadding Badly documents one dad's experience of raising a miniature version of himself who can't talk, walk, forage for food or have any concept of proper bathroom habits.
John Kovaleski is a cartoonist and writer living somewhere above ground. He is the creator of the comic strip Bo Nanas, and a contributor to MAD Magazine. He is also a father of his own small human, who seems to be turning out OK so far. Fingers crossed.
Read Dadding Badly at http://gocomics.com/dadding-badly.
Sunday, January 24, 2016
Flugennock's Latest'n'Greatest: "#DCBlizzard"
http://sinkers.org/stage/?p=1838
I rather like the shoveling -- repetitive, relaxing, meditative. Big ol' mug of coffee, smoke a bowl, suit up, stomp on out there and just kinda get into it. Some of my neighbors are out shoveling, too, so everybody's taking a break and hanging out. Round 2 begins soon -- or soonish, seeing as it's 8:30 on Sunday morning as I write this...
--
Saturday, January 23, 2016
The Post on Chinese animation
He's having an animated baby. Scared, kids? [online as The Chinese smash-hit 'Monster Hunt' makes its way to the U.S.]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/the-chinese-smash-hit-monster-hunt-makes-its-way-to-the-us/2016/01/21/0a490310-bbb5-11e5-829c-26ffb874a18d_story.html
Friday, January 22, 2016
Kremos books available from Lost Art Books
Volume 1: Bodacious Black & White
Introduction by Mario Verger • Edited by Joseph V. Procopio
Volume 2: Curvaceous Color
Foreword by Jerry Carr • Edited by Joseph V. Procopio
Vol. 1: $27.95 • 200 pp. • B&W • paper • ISBN: 978-0-9906932-3-9
Vol. 2: $34.95 • 260 pp. • Color • paper • ISBN: 978-0-9906932-4-6
AVAILABLE FOR IMMEDIATE SHIPMENT
Jan 22-24: Animore con in Baltimore?
AniMore 2016
Hyatt Regency Baltimore
Welcome to AniMore, a convention to be held January 22-24, 2016.
One-time local collector Greg Reece profiled
Art Cloos
http://scoop.previewsworld.com/Home/4/1/73/1017?ArticleID=173812
"GR: I first saw them in 1972 on a spinner rack at a 7-Eleven in Gaithersburg, MD. I was instantly drawn to the vibrant art and incredible colors. They just blew me away!"
March 5: GARY LUCAS’ FLEISCHEREI
GARY LUCAS' FLEISCHEREI:
Music From Max Fleischer Cartoons
Backed by the cartoons themselves, and the cream of NYC's jazz performers (Jeff Lederer on reeds, Rob Jost on bass, Rob Garcia on drums and Mingus Big Band's Joe Fiedler on trombone), Lucas and Stiles have a rare evening in store.
Get ready for a swirling melting-pot of jungle-band jazz, Tin Pan Alley torch songs, raucous vaudeville turns, and Dixieland mixed with a pinch of Klezmer.
SPOTLIGHT EVENING
Saturday, March 5, 8:30 pm
AFI Silver Theater
8633 Colesville Road
Silver Spring, MD
Thursday, January 21, 2016
Julian Lytle talks to Warren Bernard
Longboxes & 22's blog January 2016
http://longboxeson22s.tumblr.com/post/137784751817/julianlytle-so-i-had-the-pleasure-of-meeting
So I had the pleasure of meeting and talking to Warren Bernard, executive director of @spx and author of the book Cartoons for Victory. I met him at this past year's SPX and was kind enough to invite me over to his house to see his extensive collections of comics, cartoons, and books library then to talk to me for this here show. This might be the closest to an interview I've done so I hope you enjoy it. Check out the blog post to see some a pic of stuff from the visit and please check out @spx if you haven't and a link to the book.
The Post on Batman and Wonder Woman
Lynda Carter won't appear in the new Wonder Woman movie
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/reliable-source/wp/2016/01/20/lynda-carter-wont-appear-in-the-new-wonder-woman-movie/
How one Batman writer conquered the concern: 'What if everybody hates it?'
January 21 2016
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2016/01/21/how-one-batman-writer-conquered-the-concern-what-if-everybody-hates-it/
Ed Piskor, Michael Ramirez, and Gene Yang announced for National Book Festival in 2016
Update: Darrin Bell has also confirmed his attendance.
Sweet Sixteen: The 2016 National Book Festival Announced!
http://blogs.loc.gov/national-book-festival/2016/01/sweet-sixteen-the-2016-national-book-festival-announced/
Many authors have already accepted the festival's invitations this year, and they include:
- Kwame Alexander, Newbery Medal winner
- Douglas Brinkley, prize-winning historian
- Christopher Buckley, author of such satirical works as "Thank You for Smoking"
- Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House and author
- Philip Glass, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer
- Annette Gordon-Reed, Pulitzer Prize winner
- Winston Groom, author of "Forrest Gump"
- Stephen King, best-selling, prize-winning author and literacy advocate
- James McBride, National Book Award winner
- Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian
- Joyce Carol Oates, prize-winning author of more than 70 books
- Ed Piskor, alternative comics artist
- Michael Ramirez, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner
- Diane Rehm, NPR host and author
- Salman Rushdie, Man Booker Prize winner
- Stacy Schiff, Pulitzer Prize winner
- Bob Woodward, Pulitzer prize winner and author of 17 No. 1 best-sellers
- Luis Alberto Urrea, prize-winning author of "The Devil's Highway"
- Gene Luen Yang, Library of Congress National Ambassador for Young People's Literature
The National Book Festival poster will be designed this year by Yuko Shimizu, an illustrator based in New York City and an instructor at the School of Visual Arts. Her work has appeared on The Gap T-shirts, Pepsi cans, Visa card billboards and Microsoft and Target ads, as well as on book covers for Penguin, Scholastic and DC Comics. She has published work in the pages of The New York Times, Time magazine, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker and many other publications.
Big Planet Comics Bethesda 50% off all hardcovers
With the impending snow storm, 50% off all hardcovers starts today. Bethesda store only.
--
Joel Pollack
BIG PLANET COMICS
4849 Cordell Ave.
Bethesda, MD 20814
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Ryan Holmberg's latest article
Here's a new one by the sometime Silver Spring resident.
Singing Our Own Song: Hayashi Seiichi vs. Sasaki Maki, 1969
BY Ryan Holmberg Jan 20, 2016http://www.tcj.com/singing-our-own-song-hayashi-seiichi-vs-sasaki-maki-1969/
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Animator Butch Hartman in The Post
Meet Butch Hartman, the magical animator behind 'Fairly OddParents'
As 10th season of "OddParents" premieres, Hartman works on beastly new Nickelodeon show.
Washington Post January 19 2016 C8
Monday, January 18, 2016
Towles' Captain America
Pope's Google doodle
Sunday, January 17, 2016
2 new SPX videos both featuring local creators
SPX 2015 Panel - SPX Spotlight on Kathryn and Stuart Immonen

The incredibly impressive Immonens are comics creators who have done it all! Kathryn Immonen has written for Marvel Comics (Runaways, Journey into Mystery) and Stuart Immonen has drawn for Marvel and DC (Ultimate Spider-man, All New X-men, Superman), as well as collaborating on the wonderfully written and gorgeously illustrated independent graphic novel "Moving Pictures" and their 2015 release "Russian Olive to Red King." In this panel they discuss the intricacies of their latest story, one that visits the wild haunts of the Northern wilderness and the lonely worlds inhabited by broken hearts. Moderated by Jim Dougan.
SPX 2015 Panel -Tasty Comics
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtOgNKM7rvk
What's more delicious than the devastatingly perfect combination of COMICS and FOOD?! This tasty panel chews on the delectable dilemma of portraying food and its importance in our lives in comic book form! Welcome chefs Robin Ha (Banchan), Jade Lee (Dumpling Zine), Eric Colossal (Rutabaga the Adventure Chef), and Jessi Zabarsky (I Want to Eat Everything). Moderated by Head Chef Lauren Jordan.
Flugennock's Latest'n'Greatest: "Free Gifts With Every Fill-Up"
http://sinkers.org/stage/?p=1834
If you managed to tear yourself away from the US media's 24/7 election shitshow for ten or fifteen minutes in the past month, you may have noticed that one of the biggest stories of the past month or two has been the reports of the Erdogan regime buying smuggled black-market oil from ISIS.
That's Turkey, ostensibly our ally, buying oil from ISIS, ostensibly our enemy. Just so we're straight on that.
And by the way, you know the current oil price slump is really hitting hard when even ISIS has to start offering free giveaway goodies with every fill-up.
Paulina Ganucheau interview
http://www.previewsworld.com/Home/1/1/71/977?articleID=173503
Saturday, January 16, 2016
Charlie Hebdo at the Newseum
Charlie Hebdo at the Newseum
http://www.newseum.org/2016/01/11/charlie-hebdo-at-the-newseum/
On Jan. 8, the first Inside Media program of the year featured Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonists Ann Telnaes of The Washington Post and Signe Wilkinson of the Philadelphia Daily News talking about the role of political cartoonists in a free press, and how the deadly Charlie Hebdo attack, which killed five cartoonists at the magazine, has impacted their work.
Big Planet Comics Bethesda's January hardcover sale
--
Joel Pollack
BIG PLANET COMICS
4849 Cordell Ave.
Bethesda, MD 20814
Friday, January 15, 2016
Jan 29: Animezing - Princess Arete
![]() |
|
JICC, Embassy of Japan | 1150 18th St., NW | Suite 100 | Washington | DC | 20036 |
The Post reviews Norm
Save the world? Start with the script
[online as 'Norm of the North' goes south, fast]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/norm-of-the-north-goes-south-fast/2016/01/14/a1ce30b4-b964-11e5-99f3-184bc379b12d_story.html

Thursday, January 14, 2016
Feb 27: Disney Fantasia: Live in Concert at George Mason
Disney Fantasia: Live in Concert
featuring Czech National Symphony Orchestra
Ted Sperling, conductor
- February 27, 2016 at 8:00 pm
Dancing hippos, ostriches, and alligators; frolicking mythical centaurs and unicorns; and one famous mouse dabbling in magic come to life with live music in this performance for all ages. Experience these animated Fantasia films as you've never experienced them before: accompanied by a full, live orchestra. Conceived as a concert work, Walt Disney's original legendary film Fantasia (1940) was considered a masterpiece when it was released and introduced generations to some of the most magnificent works of classical music as well as the most creative animation of the time. Now you can enjoy favorite scenes from this groundbreaking film and its popular sequel, Disney Fantasia 2000, with live music played by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra. Stunning imagery from Disney's unmatched animation studios appears on screen above the orchestra as Broadway and orchestra conductor, Ted Sperling leads it in famous works such as Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker Suite, Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony, Resphigi's Pines of Rome, and Dukas's unforgettable The Sorcerer's Apprentice. "Fantasia…reminds us of the emotional storytelling power of classical music and the wide spectrum of beauty and characters that animation can provide." (Spinningplatters.com)
Presentation licensed by Disney Concert Library ©Disney.
Pre-Performance Discussion: Member of the Company (Feb 27, 2016)
$60, $51, $36. 1 Free Student Ticket Available with Mason ID on February 16, 2016
Jan 21-24: Pixar in Concert
Pixar In Concert
- SuperPops
- Thu, Jan 21, 2016 8:00 PM
- Strathmore
- Fri, Jan 22, 2016 8:00 PM
- Meyerhoff
- Sat, Jan 23, 2016 8:00 PM
- Meyerhoff
- Sun, Jan 24, 2016 3:00 PM
- Meyerhoff
Constantine Kitsopoulos, conductor
For the first time, Pixar presents a compilation of the music and imagery from Pixar's 13 feature films, performed by the BSO SuperPops. Featuring visually stunning clips and memorable scores from all your favorite Pixar films including Toy Story, Up, A Bug's Life, Monsters, Inc., Cars, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles and more.
Kids pricing available for the Thursday and Friday performances.
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
The Post on a new tasteless Charlie Hebdo cartoon
New Charlie Hebdo cartoon suggests dead 3-year-old refugee Alan Kurdi would have become sexual attacker
By Adam Taylor
WorldViews blog January 13 2015
Monday, January 11, 2016
Cavna on comics and Congress
In the light of the Capitol, ambassadors illuminate the great power of graphic novels
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2016/01/08/in-the-light-of-the-capitol-ambassadors-illuminate-the-great-power-of-graphic-novels/
DC Conspiracy's online store
The DC Conspiracy is a collection of Washington DC area comics creators. Our work runs the gamut from witty and literary works to action, the mystical, and just plain nonsense. This DC Conspiracy Distro is run by Rafer Roberts.
Jan 13: Gallery talk on cartoonist Anne Mergen
Rafer Roberts interview in Previews
Sunday, January 10, 2016
Telnaes and Wilkinson on Washington Journal
First Anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo Attack
Ylan MuiWashington Journal January 9, 2016
http://www.c-span.org/video/?402665-5/washington-journal-roundtable-first-anniversary-charlie-hebdo-attack
Saturday, January 09, 2016
Those darn black cartoonists
There's one way The Post can support black cartoonists
Colin Jacobson, Alexandria
Marjorie Silverberg, Alexandria
Charlie Hebdo Attack and Press Freedom
Charlie Hebdo Attack and Press Freedom
January 6, 2016http://www.c-span.org/video/?402821-1/discussion-freedom-press-charlie-hebdo-attack
The Newseum hosted a panel discussion commemorating the one-year anniversary of the terrorist attack on the Charlie Hebdo magazine headquarters in Paris. Panelists, including journalists and first amendment lawyers, discussed the impact of this attack on freedom of the press and other free expression rights. On January 7, 2015, Islamic extremists attacked the Charlie Hebdo headquarters killing 12 people. The magazine has published a 32-page special edition to mark the one-year anniversary of the attack. Caroline Fourest participated by Skype from France
Telnaes on Charlie Hebdo
Charlie Hebdo, one year later
Washington Post January 7 2015
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/opinions/wp/2016/01/07/charlie-hebdo-one-year-later/
SPX 2013-2014 videos - Catching up
SPX 2013 Panel - Liniers Q+A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LupWAVSuFJ0
Liniers is among the most globally recognized cartoonists from Argentina, a nation with a strong cartooning tradition still largely unrecognized in the US. His diverse body of work includes formally experimental comics, painting and material for younger readers. For more than ten years, Liniers has drawn a hugely popular daily strip, Macanudo, for the Argentine newspaper La Nación. The Big Wet Balloon (TOON Books) is his first book to be published in the United States. Moderated by Bill Kartalopoulos.
2013 SPX Panel - Funding Comics Projects
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8jpYLteRE4
The rise of crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter has created new opportunities for funding comics projects while raising many questions about the issues surrounding network-based fundraising. Additionally, comics artists are increasingly seeking other sources of funding, from sponsorships to grants, to support their projects. Isaac Cates discusses these issues and more with T. Edward Bak, Box Brown, Marnie Galloway, and Spike C. Trotman.
SPX 2014 Panel - Eleanor Davis: How to Be Happy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzRvoW6DYVo
Eleanor Davis (How to be Happy) shares an autobiographical presentation that has something to do with finding truth in fiction and the strange passions inside an author/reader relationship. Moderator Tom Spurgeon (The Comics Reporter) follows Davis's presentations with questions about her work, and answers audience questions.
SPX 2014 Panel - Making Art for the Internet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkZrh-wRN74
This panel considers different aspects of the process, problems and possibilities of making art for internet-based platforms. It includes questions of art-media, digital medium specificity, online platforms, audience, culture, and content. Bill Kartalopoulos leads a discussion featuring Sam Alden (It Never Happened Again), Emily Carroll (Through the Woods), Blaise Larmee (altcomics.tumblr.com), and Rebecca Mock (rebeccamock.tumblr.com).
SPX 2014 Panel - Jules Feiffer Q+A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NfA6NGaidw
Jules Feiffer has reinvented the comics form multiple times in his diverse and storied career. In 1956 Feiffer broke new ground with a truly modern comic strip intended for an adult audience in the pages of The Village Voice. In addition to his incisive comics, Feiffer has distinguished himself as a playwright, screenwriter, children's book author, and much more. His most recent books are the graphic novel Kill My Mother and the picture book Rupert Can Dance. He discusses these and more in conversation with Bill Kartalopoulos (Series Editor, The Best American Comics).
SPX 2014 Panel - Raina Telgemeier Q+A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bk-KbmPZ6d4
Raina Telgemeier has distinguished herself among the leading American artists producing graphic novels for younger readers. Her autobiographical graphic novel Smile has spent more than two years on the New York Times Graphic Books bestseller list, and her follow-up, Drama, has won the Stonewall Book Award among other distinctions. She has recently published a sequel to Smile titled Sisters. Telgemeier discusses her work and her process with moderator Isaac Cates (Cartozia Tales, University of Vermont) in this special spotlight session.
SPX 2014 Panel - Lynda Barry Q+A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_IU4v_oVo0
Lynda Barry changed the fate of North American comics with her pioneering comic strip, "Ernie Pook's Comeeks," which ran in alternative weekly newspapers for more than twenty years. Her celebrated books include, "One! Handed! Demon!," and, "What It Is," as well as the illustrated novel, "Cruddy." Ms. Barry is currently an assistant professor of art and Discovery Fellow at University of Wisconsin Madison. Her latest book is, "Syllabus: Notes from an Accidental Professor." In this SPX 2014 panel, Ms. Barry discusses her career and current work in conversation with Slate Culture Editor Dan Kois.
SPX 2014 Panel - Spanish Language Comics
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPxb_dOSKnY
The world of Spanish-language comics from South America to Europe is examined in this SPX 2014 panel. Colombian comics editor Daniel Jiménez Quiroz (Revista Larva) discusses Colombian and South American comics and leads the discussion that includes Spanish comics critic Santiago Garcia, Colombian comics critic Pablo Guerra, and North American editor Scott O. Brown
SPX 2014 Panel - The Closed Caption Comics Legacy
Dec 18, 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yZTiSohH2I
In 2004 a group of students at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) formed the loosely-defined art group Closed Caption Comics, their collective activity centered around an eponymous comics anthology which ran for nine increasingly ambitious issues. Ten years later, the members of the group are productively focused on individual projects. Several of them discuss their common roots and current work, including Ryan Cecil Smith (S.F. #3), Molly Colleen O'Connell (Strip Mall, Poety Unlimited), Noel Freibert (Weird Magazine), and Conor Stechschulte (The Amateurs). Moderated by Brian Nicholson.
SPX 2014 Panel - Pro Tips: How Comics Get Reviewed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9YrTitc-OM
How do comics get reviewed? What role do publicists, pitching and marketing plans play in determining coverage? What kind of coverage do editors prefer? To what extent is it possible to get a reviewer's attention, and how is that best accomplished? And how do individual critics evaluate work? Johanna Draper Carlson (Comics Worth Reading) investigates these questions and more with Brigid Alverson (School Library Journal), Michael Cavna (Washington Post), Dan Kois (Slate), Heidi MacDonald (Publishers Weekly), and Douglas Wolk (The New York Times).
SPX 2014 Panel - The Roots of Frémok: Yvan Alagbé and Dominique Goblet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owpqvfPEvfQ
Yvan Alagbé and Dominique Goblet are foundational figures in the poetic comics movement represented by the the avant-garde publishing house Frémok. Alagbé's work expresses in harsh lines and soft tones his narratives of mysterious desire and explosive cultural conflict, as in his most recent book, École de la misère. Goblet's work troubles the distinctions between fiction and autobiography, and between narrative comics and poetic image-making. Her new graphic novel Plus si entente was produced collaboratively with Kai Pfeiffer to test the possibilities of narrative within the comics form. Moderated by Bill Kartalopoulos.
SPX 2014 Panel - Micro-Press and Beyond
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNA4ZDi0H2I
Robyn Chapman has been documenting the movement in comics towards very small publishing, otherwise know as micro-publishing. Robyn briefly shares findings from her upcoming publication (The Tiny Report: Micro-Press Yearbook 2013) and speaks with a range of publishers—from the micro-press to traditional small press—to discuss how they print, sell, and distribute their comics. Panelists include Chuck Forsman (Oily Comics), Keenan Marshall Keller (Drippy Bone Books), Justin Skarhus and Raighne Hogan (2D Cloud), and Anne Koyama (Koyama Press).
SPX 2014 Panel - Inkstuds Live: Michael DeForge, Simon Hanselmann and Patrick Kyle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiXyPNjIlcc
Inkstuds host Robin McConnell takes his popular comics-focused radio show on the road with special guest co-host Brandon Graham in tow, in a series of live Inkstuds programs. In Bethesda, Michael DeForge (Lose #6), Simon Hanselmann (Megahex), and Patrick Kyle (Distance Mover) will kick off their own book tour live on stage as McConnell and Graham's special guests.
SPX 2014 Panel - Comics Workshop presented by the Sequential Artists Workshop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4KhhUkTsZk
Comics educators Josh Bayer and Sally Cantirino from the Sequential Artists Workshop (SAW) in Gainesville, FL, guide the audience through a complete cartooning exercise. A fun, educational creative workshop for everyone, from experienced cartoonists to those who have never drawn a panel of comics. No matter the age or experience level, attendees leave this workshop having drawn their own comic!
2014 Ignatz Awards
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpjqLM98XS0
The 2014 Ignatz Awards Ceremony. The Ignatz Award, named for the character in the classic comic strip Krazy Kat by George Herriman, is the festival prize of the Small Press Expo. Since 1997 The Ignatz has recognized outstanding achievement in comics and cartooning. The Ignatz recognizes exceptional work that challenges popular notions of what comics can achieve, both as an art form and as a means of personal expression.
2014 WINNERS:
OUTSTANDING ARTIST
* Sam Bosma, Fantasy Basketball
OUTSTANDING ANTHOLOGY OR COLLECTION
* QU33R, Various (Edited By Robert Kirby)
OUTSTANDING GRAPHIC NOVEL
* This One Summer, Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki
OUTSTANDING STORY
* Brownout Biscuit from Octoups Pie: Dead Forever, Meredith Gran
PROMISING NEW TALENT
* Cathy G. Johnson, Jeremiah; Boy Genius; Until It Runs Clear
OUTSTANDING SERIES
* Demon, Jason Shiga
OUTSTANDING COMIC
* Wicked Chicken Queen, Sam Alden
OUTSTANDING MINICOMIC
* House of Women, Sophie Goldstein
OUTSTANDING ONLINE COMIC
* Vattu, Evan Dahm