Wednesday, November 30, 2016

ReDistricted: 'Up the River'

There's a new installment at ReDistrictedComics.com: "Up the River: The Story of Captain Henry Fleet" by Joe Sutliff.

Dec 9: Animezing!: Only Yesterday

From the legendary Studio Ghibli, the creators of "My Neighbor Totoro" and "Spirited Away", comes the 25th anniversary re-release of this touching story about life and reflection.

It's 1982, and Taeko is 27 years old, single, and has lived her whole life in Tokyo. She decides to visit her relatives in the countryside, and as the train travels through the night, memories flood back of her younger years: her first budding romance, the physical manifestations of maturation, and the frustration of math and boys.

At the station she is met by young farmer Toshio, and her encounter with him begins to reconnect her with forgotten dreams. In lyrical switches between the present and the past, Taeko contemplates the current arc of her life, and wonders if she has really been true to the dreams of her childhood self.

Japanese w. English subtitles | Rated PG | 118 min | 1991 | Dir. by Isao Takahata

Registration is required

Women in Cinema

ANIMATOR MICHIYO YASUDA

For five decades, Michiyo Yasuda worked as an animator and color designer, and powerfully influenced the trademark Ghibli look. Director of the Studio Ghibli color department since 1984, Ms. Yasuda created the signature feel for beloved films such as Grave of the Fireflies (1988), Princess Mononoke (1997), and Howl's Moving Castle (2004).

In 2011 she was recognized for her work and received the Animation Lifetime Achievement Award from the Japanese Movie Critics Awards. Michiya Yasuda recently passed away on October 5, 2016 at the age of 77, but her memory lives within the palettes of her films.

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

In the event of a cancellation, please contact us at jicc@ws.mofa.go.jp.

Doors open 30 minutes before the program. Program begins at 6:30PM.

No admittance after 7PM or once seating is full.

Registered guests will be seated on a first come, first served basis. Please note that seating is limited and registration does not guarantee a seat.

1150 18th Street NW, Suite 100 | Washington, D.C. 20036-3838
TEL: 202-238-6900 | FAX: 202-822-6524 | jicc@ws.mofa.go.jp

This facility is free and open to the public Monday - Friday, 9AM - 5PM

Self-serving post about Master Jeffrey webcomic

Joe Sutliff drew my family into the strip again today, so you should read it at http://masterjeffrey.com/index.html

An interview with March's John Lewis

John Lewis: 'Read Everything. Be Kind. Be Bold.'

In Conversation with an American Hero

Literary Hub November 28, 2016 By Margaret Renkl

http://lithub.com/john-lewis-read-everything-be-kind-be-bold/

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Flugennock's Latest'n'Greatest: "'Smoke Sessions' Hits Capitol Hill"

From DC's anarchist cartoonist Mike Flugennock:

"'Smoke Sessions' hits Capitol Hill"
http://sinkers.org/stage/?p=2118

Photographed and edited by Mike Flugennock, TRT 08:53 https://youtu.be/D_SRru006mE

And so it was that activists from the DC Cannabis Coalition convened at the office of Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Trump's nominee for Attorney General, to discuss the Senator's recent remarks that "good people don't smoke marijuana"...

CBLDF education guide to Trickster

Using Graphic Novels in Education: Trickster

November 9, 2016

By Meryl Jaffe
http://cbldf.org/2016/11/using-graphic-novels-in-education-trickster/

Welcome to Using Graphic Novels in Education, an ongoing feature from CBLDF that is designed to allay confusion around the content of graphic novels and to help parents and teachers raise readers. In this column, we examine graphic novels, including those that have been targeted by censors, and provide teaching and discussion suggestions for the use of such books in classrooms.

Nov. 30: Robin Ha at University Club Book Fair

Robin Ha (Cook Korean! A Comic Book With Recipes) will be among the authors at the annual Meet the Author Night and Book Fair Nov. 30 at the University Club of Washington, D.C. This is the only time the club is open free to the general public, and it's a good chance to look at some of the cartoons and illustrations hanging at the club.

Catching up with Comic Riffs

The fight for comic books' First Amendment rights in the era of Trump

By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog November 29 2016
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2016/11/29/the-fight-for-comic-books-first-amendment-rights-in-the-era-of-trump/

The top 10 superhero comics of 2016

By David Betancourt
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog November 28 2016
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2016/11/28/the-top-10-superhero-comics-of-2016/

'South Park' had planned on a Clinton win. Here's how the show scrambled to depict President Trump and sexism.

By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog November 10 2016
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2016/11/10/south-park-had-planned-on-a-clinton-win-heres-how-the-show-scrambled-to-depict-president-trump-and-sexism/

'Being Right Sucks': 'The Simpsons' are not thrilled that they predicted President Trump in 2000

By Cleve R. Wootson Jr.
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog November 14 2016
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2016/11/14/being-right-sucks-the-simpsons-are-not-thrilled-that-they-predicted-president-trump-in-2000/

The young female Iron Man Riri Williams makes an impressive debut — despite controversy

By David Betancourt

Washington Post Comic Riffs blog November 11 2016
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2016/11/11/the-young-female-iron-man-riri-williams-makes-an-impressive-debut-despite-controversy/

Joe Sutliff launches Trumpy doll Kickstarter

The direct link is https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/485242647/trumpy-doll/

Gareth Hinds' graphic novels for Christmas

Gareth has recently sent out a note reminding people that one can get signed copies of his books directly from him.

As you do your holiday shopping, may I suggest that signed books make great gifts? Orders from my online store are signed and can be personalized on request. Order processing usually takes about 2 days, and shipping time varies based on location and shipping method, so plan accordingly.

I recently saw a cool custom beach towel from Society6 and decided I needed to create an Odyssey beach towel. So this might be another gift idea:

Monday, November 28, 2016

That darn Prickly City

Letters to the Editor

'Prickly City' residents' horror is too little, too late [in print as 'Prickly City' was inhospitable to Clinton].

Robert J. McManus, Bethesda

Washington Post November 26 2016

online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/prickly-city-residents-horror-is-too-little-too-late/2016/11/25/22716460-b03c-11e6-bc2d-19b3d759cfe7_story.html

More on the comic newspaper Resist

'RESIST!' EDITED BY FRANCOISE MOULY AND NADJA SPIEGELMAN

To Be Distributed at Inauguration, Women's March

by Milton Griepp on November 28, 2016
http://icv2.com/articles/news/view/36153/resist-edited-francoise-mouly-nadja-spiegelman

Sunday, November 27, 2016

Rex Morgan, MD dedicated to Richard Thompson's memory today

See the strip by Terry Beatty at

http://comicskingdom.com/shared_comics/63e5dcec-5a43-43f1-be30-d0a18db4776e

Thursday, November 24, 2016

Comic Riffs on After Death

Two top comic book creators have a new series about a cure for death

By David Betancourt
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog November 23 2016
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2016/11/23/two-top-comic-book-creators-have-a-new-series-about-a-cure-for-death/

The Post on Moana

Despite familiar formula, Disney's 'Moana' is a breath of fresh island air

By Caitlin Moore
Washington Post November 23 2016, p. C3
https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/disneys-moana-is-a-breath-of-fresh-island-air/2016/11/22/96bd1f90-a50f-11e6-8fc0-7be8f848c492_story.html

'Moana' isn't your typical Disney princess. She's an action hero.

By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog November 23 2016
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2016/11/23/moana-isnt-your-typical-disney-princess-shes-an-action-hero/

Why ‘Moana’s’ main demigod looks so much — and so little — like People’s ‘Sexiest Man Alive’

By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog November 22 2016
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2016/11/22/why-moanas-main-demigod-looks-so-much-and-so-little-like-peoples-sexiest-man-alive/

and the Times for luck.

'Moana,' Brave Princess on a Voyage With a Chicken

By A. O. SCOTT

A version of this review appears in print on November 23, 2016, on page C1 of the New York edition with the headline: Did You Just Call Me a Princess?

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/22/movies/moana-review.html

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Washington Blade article on Kameny comic

Kameny story told in comic
By Lou Chibbaro Jr.
A D.C.-based online comics site called ReDistricted earlier this month published an illustrated story of the life of pioneering gay rights leader Frank Kameny.
Read the article.

Francois Mouly compiling protest comic for march on Washington

Francoise Mouly

Calling all comics artists and illustrators!

Nadja Spiegelman and I are putting together a political comics and graphics newspaper called RESIST!

It will be a special issue of Gabe Fowler's Smoke Signals. It will be printed at 30,000 copies and distributed for free during the women's march on Washington, as well as across the country. We're aiming to have it be an all women's issue, but we're open to submissions from anyone.

Here's our website with more information:

www.resistsubmission.com

We need everything by December 10th at the very latest!

Please -- send us your political images and sketches! Make your voices heard! And spread the word about this as far and wide as you can...

Hospital visit for children by DC's chapter of the National Cartoonist Society

Carolyn Belefski has the details.

Cartooning for Kids 2016

November 23, 2016

http://www.curls-studio.com/curls/cartooning-for-kids-2016/

More to Come - on March

More To Come 237: March Book Three Wins National Book Award!

Produced by Kate Fitzsimons

PW Comics World: More To Come 11/18/2016
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/podcasts/index.html?channel=2&podcast=661

Embed/Download

In this week's podcast the More to Come Crew - Calvin Reid, Heidi "The Beat" MacDonald and Kate Fitzsimons – discuss 'March Book Three' by Rep. John Lewis, Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell and the Civil Rights graphic memoir's historic evening winning the National Book Award for Young People's Literature—the first graphic novel to win a National Book Award. The Crew also recaps Comic Arts Brooklyn, the upcoming Miami Book Fair and New Jersey Comics Expo, legal troubles at Wizard World and offer pos

Express on Moana

I've gotta be me: 'Moana' is so over the princess thing

[online as 'Moana' has something insightful to say about the whole 'Disney princess' thing]

By Kristen Page-Kirby
Express November 23 2016, p. 39

online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/express/wp/2016/11/23/moana-has-something-insightful-to-say-about-the-whole-disney-princess-thing/

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Panetta's next comic

Tom Spurgeon at Comics Reporter tossed up this story from last spring that we missed about Kevin Panetta's upcoming graphic novel.

Graphic novel 'Bloom' has it all: romance, baking and LGBT visibility

By Aliza Weinberger Feb 08, 2016
http://mashable.com/2016/02/08/bloom-comic/

NY Times on March

John Lewis's National Book Award-Winning Graphic Memoir on the Civil Rights Movement

By JULIAN LUCAS

A version of this review appears in print on November 27, 2016, on page BR13 of the Sunday Book Review with the headline: They Had a Dream.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/27/books/review/john-lewis-march.html

Monday, November 21, 2016

Comic Culture with Baltimore cartoonist Monica Gallagher

Comic Culture with Monica Gallagher

Nov 21, 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC-NxRcipR8

Roller derby, indie comics, and self-doubt are among the topics covered with Monica Gallagher, the artist behind Bonnie N. Collide. Comic Culture is directed and crewed by students at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. I'm posting the video as producer/host and not as an official University publication.

Jeff Kinney in Catholic Standard

'Wimpy Kid' author Kinney comes home [online as 'Wimpy Kid' author pays tribute to his Catholic roots during visit to Piscataway school]

Mark Zimmermann, Catholic Standard

November 17, 2016

online at http://www.cathstan.org/Content/News/Schools/Article/-Wimpy-Kid-author-pays-tribute-to-his-Catholic-roots-during-visit-to-Piscataway-school/2/21/7408

Meet a Local Cartoonist: A Chat with Lenora Yerkes

by Mike Rhode

I met Lenora Yerkes recently at a local art book festival where she was selling two minicomics.

What type of comic work or cartooning do you do?

I write stories inspired by my life--you might call it personal or observational narrative drawing.

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

I'm all analog--pens and paper and nothing fancier than a nice Japanese pen and a kinda busted scanner.

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

My favorite Dolly Parton song (9 to 5) was a Billboard #1 hit the year I was born--in Los Angeles, CA.

Why are you in Washington now? What neighborhood or area do you live in?

This is my tenth year in DC and my seventh in Bloomingdale. I came for graduate school and stayed for love--of this weird place and its weird people.

What is your training and/or education in cartooning?


Twenty Six Days

In cartooning? None at all. My drawing has always been narrative and it's always told stories. I've drawn comics over the years, along with big narrative drawings and prints, but recently I'm devoting more time to this "comix" format that brings writing and drawing together into more literal narratives.

Who are your influences?

Lynda Barry, for sure, but also Vanessa Davis and Evan Dorkin and Kathe Kollwitz (OG narrative printmaker!) and the surrealist painters Remedios Varo and Leonora Carrington.

If you could, what in your career would you do-over or change?

I would have worked more. There's always room for more work.

What work are you best-known for?

This season, I shared a lot of a mini-comic I made called "Hibakusha." An interesting thing happened in sharing that book that I didn't expect--a lot of young people were interested because of the ostensible subject, but a lot of older folks were drawn in by the title, which is a word not that commonly used anymore. Response to that story has been great.

What work are you most proud of?

"Twenty Six Days" turned out beautifully and was a bear to compose. The process of writing that one is something I hope to improve on and then bottle.

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

Longer works! I'm a long-winded, round-about lover of analogies and metaphors, so I work a lot on making complex ideas concise. I'd love to build the patience to compose and draw a longer story.

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


Twenty Six Days page

These days, I go for a swim. My father-in-law tells me we get more ideas when we're in the water.

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

Comics or narrative drawing or cartooning--whatever you call it--can be used to tell any kind of story. We're situated to redefine what people think when they hear these words and move these kinds of drawings into every field.

What local cons do you attend? The Small Press Expo, Intervention, or others? Any comments about attending them?

I tabled at SPX this year for the first time and was lucky enough to participate in the first ever DC Art Book Fair. It's a huge, diverse community of a lot of artists doing different things.

What's your favorite thing about DC?


Hibakusha detail

DC is like no where else and every where else, all at once.

Least favorite?

Rent.

What monument or museum do like to take visitors to?

Actually, the view from the top of the 13th Street hill is one of my faves right now.

How about a favorite local restaurant?

Meats & Foods at 247 Florida Ave NW--a beautiful simple store making great food.

Do you have a website or blog?

The best place to see my work is Instagram @lenorayerkes, but you can also see it at lenorayerkes.tumblr.com.

Tom Toles and Kevin Kallaugher at P&P video online now

Michael E. Mann, Tom Toles, and Kevin Kallaugher at P&P

Juliet Eilperin,

Nov 12, 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFxYCDmU5W8

n this inspired partnership, Mann, Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Science at Penn State and one of the nation's leading experts on climate change, and Toles, a Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post editorial cartoonist, expose the true folly of arguments against global warming. With dynamic, compelling graphics that illuminate the science, the book shows both the irrefutable evidence of human-generated environmental damage and the pretzel logic that skeptics and vested interests use to try to counter the inconvenient facts.

The award-winning and internationally syndicated columnist known as KAL, Kallaugher was hired by The Economist in the late seventies to do caricatures, which he soon elevated to the witty, insightful art of a master editorial cartoonist—skills he later carried over to The Baltimore Sun. This collection, drawn from over thirty years of his Economist work, focuses in turn on the United States, Europe, Economist covers, business and economics, and international topics, showing not just KAL's range, but providing a capsule history of recent decades as well as serving as a primer to political cartooning.

This event is moderated by Juliet Eilperin, The Washington Post's White House bureau chief.

Founded by Carla Cohen and Barbara Meade in 1984, Politics & Prose Bookstore is Washington, D.C.'s premier independent bookstore and cultural hub, a gathering place for people interested in reading and discussing books. Politics & Prose offers superior service, unusual book choices, and a haven for book lovers in the store and online. Visit them on the web at http://www.politics-prose.com/

Produced by Michael A. Kowaleski

Saturday, November 19, 2016

Gene Yang's book suggestions include Ben Hatke

A list for kids by a 'genius' graphic novelist [online as Best children's and young adult books of 2016]

By Harrison Smith,
Washington Post November 20 2016, p. E15

online at

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost/best-childrens-and-young-adult-books-of-2016/2016/11/17/e07131fe-a10d-11e6-8832-23a007c77bb4_story.html

Friday, November 18, 2016

Local Comic Book Store Day is tomorrow apparently

Here's Third Eye Comics on it.

Beyond Comics is also having sales and variant covers.

Glen Weldon calls for Comics

The Term 'Graphic Novel' Has Had A Good Run. We Don't Need It Anymore

Glen Weldon

NPR Monkey See blog November 17, 2016
http://www.npr.org/sections/monkeysee/2016/11/17/502422829/the-term-graphic-novel-has-had-a-good-run-we-dont-need-it-anymore

Brad Meltzer, formerly local, calls upon Lincoln: “All men are created equal.”

An Author's Plea to Trump: Denounce the Hate or We Stand Against You (Guest Column)

11/17/2016 by Brad Meltzer
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/trump-denounce-hate-we-stand-you-guest-column-948373

Tonight: Book fair at National Press Club

Includes comics-related friends Tom Toles, Juana Medina, and Glen Weldon.

http://www.press.org/bookfair

39th Annual Book Fair & Authors' Night, in partnership with Politics & Prose

November 18, 2016 5:30 PM

Location: Ballroom

The Capitol region's premiere holiday book event is back for the 39th year! The National Press Club Journalism Institute is once again partnering with landmark local book seller Politics & Prose for a night of pols, pundits and prose.

Authors will be on hand to talk to their fans and sign books at this most exciting literary event. Patrons can browse for books at the Club's headquarters from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 for NPC and Politics & Prose members; $10 public. Tickets can be purchased at the door.

The Book Fair is a fundraiser for The National Press Club Journalism Institute, a 501 (c) (3) charitable organization, which advances journalistic practice by equipping professionals with the skills and competence to innovate, leveraging emerging trends, recognizing leaders and innovators, and mentoring the next generation of journalism and communications professionals.

The Book Fair is partnering with The SEED Foundation, which helps under-served students prepare for college. The young scholars attend one of two public boarding schools in the District and Maryland. The students select books they believe would enrich their education and patrons can buy them at the fair to help develop the Baltimore SEED School library. A group of students from the SEED school attend the event each year, giving them a chance to meet with authors and attendees.

Please note: No outside books or other memorabilia are permitted into the Book Fair. All books must be purchased onsite.

Thursday, November 17, 2016

School Library Journal on March's award

"March: Book Three" Takes 2016 National Book Award

By Rocco Staino on November 17, 2016
http://www.slj.com/2016/11/industry-news/march-book-three-takes-2016-national-book-award/

Glen Weldon on superheroes and fascism

Superheroes And The F-Word: Grappling With The Ugly Truth Under The Capes