Thursday, April 30, 2020

May 7: Terri Libenson online at Politics and Prose

Erin Entrada Kelly and Terri Libenson, "We Dream of Space" and "Becoming Brianna" in conversation with Karen MacPherson

By Politics and Prose

https://www.crowdcast.io/e/erin-entrada-kelly-terri-libenson/

Ages 8-12

Join us for an afternoon with two award-winning middle grade authors as they discuss their authentic and compulsively readable new books. In We Dream of Space, the latest release from the Newbery Medal-winning author of Hello, Universe, three siblings navigate a chaotic household and the trials of seventh grade as they await the launch of the Challenger space shuttle. In Becoming Brianna, the fourth book in the Emmie & Friends graphic novel series, Brianna Davis prepares for her bat mitzvah while pressure builds from her mother's expectations and a fight with her best friend. Readers will find comfort and company in these refreshingly honest portrayals of family, friendship, and middle school angst. 

In Conversation with Karen MacPherson, Children and Teens Librarian, Takoma Park, MD Library.



"We Dream of Space" - https://www.politics-prose.com/book/9780062747303

"Becoming Brianna" - https://www.politics-prose.com/book/9780062894533

Terry Flippo on Blockhead podcast

Terry Flippo

Geoff Grogan

  Blockhead podcast 2020-04-08

Small-press cartoonist (and former mailman) Terry Flippo has made a big splash with hit webcomic, "Deliver Me!" about life carrying the mailbag for the U.S. Postal Service! Terry and Geoff talk about "Deliver Me!", small press, the early days of SPX and some of the challenges faced by mail carriers in the days of Covid-19.

Latest Liz at Large posted

Liz At Large: "Accomplishment"

How sweet it is.

Liz Montague
Apr 30, 2020

Cavna and cartoonists on Pence, unmasked

How cartoonists are ridiculing Pence's Mayo Clinic visit without a mask

Catching up with the Lily's coronavirus comics


Here's a day in my self-quarantined life, hour-by-hour. We think you might relate.

Is it week six or week 60?

Here are anxiety coping mechanisms that could help you during social distancing

I learned these helpful techniques in therapy

At first, self-quarantine pushed my marriage to its limits. Then, something amazing happened.

It all changed when we started having deep, honest conversations

Flugennock's Latest'n'Greatest: "America Sends Death"

From Mike Flugennock, DC's anarchist cartoonist -

"America Sends Death"
http://sinkers.org/stage/?p=2981

Despite oppressive blockades and sanctions, Cuba has managed to dispatch brigades of doctors to coronavirus hotspots to help fight the pandemic — in keeping with a long-standing tradition of solidarity and mutual aid. Cuba is also reported to have produced promising results 
with interferon and other experimental drugs against COVID-19, despite the punishing economic warfare Cuba is suffering at the hands of the United States.

The US, in the meantime — still the epicenter of the pandemic — escalates its brutal program of sanctions against Cuba, Venezuela and Iran, commits acts of piracy against other nations and its own States, continues to crank up xenophobic and racist hysteria against China,  deprives citizens and healthcare workers of vitally-needed PPE and other equipment, tries to whip its working class back to work under dangerous conditions for substandard wages, and its President goes on national TV to suggest that citizens combat the virus by injecting or drinking bleach.

I'll leave it to you to judge which nation is conducting itself better on the world stage.

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Annapolis' Jim Toomey and Sherman's Lagoon on Northwest fishing issue

'Sherman's Lagoon' wades into Columbia River debate

Comic strip author uses humor, science to shed light on salmon-sea lion controversy

By Scott Hewitt, Columbian Arts & Features Reporter
Published: April 28, 2020,

'Sherman's Lagoon' Brings Salmon-Eating Sea Lions In The Columbia River To A World-wide Audience

April 21, 2020

Thanks to DD Degg of the Daily Cartoonist for highlighting these links.

Fantom Presents: Bites of Terror Q&A with Cuddles and Rage!

Fantom Presents: Bites of Terror Q&A with Cuddles and Rage!
We're keeping our social distance talking to local creators Liz and Jimmy Reed about their new book, BITES OF TERROR. Jam-packed with some disturbingly delicious short stories, we'll discuss process, inspiration, and all things sweet, cute, and creepy. BITES OF TERROR is available for purchase at Fantomcomics.com now!

Coronavirus Catch-up Conversation with Caricaturist Mike Jenkins

Rhode by Jenkins
by Mike Rhode

I've talked with Arlington's Mike Jenkins several times here, iirc, and recently we were Zoom judges together for the Robert F. Kennedy cartoon award that will be announced on May 1. I checked in with Mike recently about the state of his business, which is normally dependent on going to places and parties and drawing the happy people there. As I suspected, his company, Capital Artworks, has taken a sharp hit from the pandemic. I commissioned a post-birthday caricature, and I encourage other readers with regular incomes to do the same (not drawings of me though).

How has the coronavirus pandemic affected your business of drawing caricatures?


Most of the work my coworkers and I do is caricatures for special events like high school graduation, family celebrations and company parties. We have sideline illustration and caricature commission work as well, but that is the bulk of it. The coronavirus hit in March, which is usually the tail end of our slow quarter. A great deal of the work we do is corporate and private events, which usually concentrates around graduation/summer and the holiday seasons. There’s a lull after the holidays, and the business picks up again around April. So when the coronavirus social distancing hit it didn’t affect our regular business cycle, but everything in the pipeline vanished. Even if the restrictions lift sometime before summer, there’s a strong likelihood the economy will have taken such a hit that there will be cutbacks in special events where caricaturists are hired.

But that void is a possible opportunity. There are many families who are upset that their high school graduates are missing out on all the fun and celebration of their kids’ milestone achievement, and want to commemorate it in some way. And other special occasions like birthdays, anniversaries and awards are going without the traditional gatherings and celebrations. Drawings were a popular part of those celebrations, and they are affordable and still available. The only work we have coming in right now is commission work of that sort, and we're hoping that will go some way towards refilling the pipeline. Even if the full blown event caricature business never comes back, we have the skills we developed there and commission work could be the next step.
 
How much of your business has dried up during this epidemic? 

I would say all of the business. Commission illustration and caricature work has been a sideline to the main special event caricature business. Now that’s all we see coming in. We’ll see if that holds.
 

Can people still get drawings from you? How should people contact you? 

What type of information do you need to do a 'virtual' cartoon (i.e. a real drawing, but not with the sitter in front of you)?

Two or three photos of the person to be drawn are what I usually go by,  including at least one high resolution one if possible, but one decent photo will do. If it’s a color caricature I may need details such as eye and hair color. They often don’t come through in photos quite right. And I ask people to suggest a personalized background detail or two if they want more than a head and shoulder portrait style. If they have a list of details, I ask that they make it in descending order of importance. If I can’t work it all in, I cut from the bottom of the list to make sure the most important suggestions are included in the finished drawing.

As a small business owner, are you applying for some loans from the government?

I was considering taking a loan to upgrade my website before the pandemic hit, then I was glad I hadn’t. I’m uncomfortable taking on debt when there’s no guarantee the work I’ve been doing will come back. If not, I need to rethink my marketing, and at that point may apply for a loan. When I hire other artists it’s on a subcontracting basis, so the paycheck protection aspect of government small business loans doesn’t seem to apply to people like me.

Mike's website for Capital Artworks is https://www.capitalartworks.com/ if you want to see more of his work. He has a strong following on Facebook for his lunchbag artwork and I'm sure he'd be glad to do some of these on commission too, if you've got someone still leaving the house each day. And you can read Mike's older attempt to creating a comic strip around his life.

The coronavirus is obviously affecting a lot of local artists, stores, and companies. If you'd like to be interviewed here at ComicsDC about your comic art job, drop me a line.

Ralph Steadman Zoom backgrounds from Flying Dog Brewery

They are available here - https://flyingdog.com/zoom-backgrounds/

Steadman's had a long-time relationship with the Frederick, MD brewery and has probably done about 30 labels for them.

Noon today - WATCH LIVE | Cartoon Workshop with Pulitzer Prize Winning Matt Wuerker



15 minutes until Cartoon Workshop with Pulitzer Prize Winning Matt Wuerker
e26.POLITICO-LIVE-logo-and-social_REV_Politico-Live-Black.png
0f0.politico-live-guests.png
WATCH VIRTUAL INTERVIEW HERE

Watch live in 15 minutes as Politico's Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist, Matt Wuerker, gives us an online lesson in the basics of cartooning. We'll play with the magic of the drawn line and explore the secrets to drawing cartoons. Have your pens and paper ready for 20 minutes of inky fun followed by Q&A with Matt.

Have a question for Matt Wuerker during the briefing? Tweet the question using #AskPOLITICO.

#AskPOLITICO

Today: Cuddles and Rage at Fantom Comics on Zoom


APR 29 2020

Fantom Comics presents: Bites of Terror by Cuddles and Rage



· Hosted by Fantom Comics and 2 others


  • Today at 6 PM – 7:30 PM
    Starts in about 8 hours


  • Fantom Comics
    2010 P St NW, 3rd Floor, Washington D.C. 20036

Details
So we originally intended for this to be an in person event, but we're doing a work around and hosting it virtually! Fantom Manager Leah will be doing a Q&A with local Fantom friends Liz and Jimmy Reed of Cuddles and Rage via Zoom! We will be streaming, so stay tuned for details!

BITES OF TERROR is a collection of 10 creepy-cute short stories starring Cuddles and Rage's signature high quality diorama photographs of their hand-sculpted creations which are always delicious and sometimes diabolical. Follow The Cake Creeper through this macabre anthology of cautionary tales!

BITES OF TERROR is available now at Fantom Comics. Check out our website, fantomcomics.com! https://www.fantomcomics.com/products/bites-of-terror-graphic-novel

If you'd like to make a mail order request please contact us at fantomhq@fantomcomics.com or call us at 202-241-6498!

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

DCist on virtual Awesome Con

Awesome Con Goes Online To Offer Some Comic Relief
Colleen Grablick
DCist April 28 2020

Re: 3 pm today: Satire Can Save Us All webcast: The virus has struck!




Satire Can Save Us All webcast: The virus has struck!
KAL
April 28 2020
This episode Interviews Australian cartoonist Jason Chatfield who has published a diary about his brutal battle with Coronavirus. Very much worth a watch.

3 pm today: Satire Can Save Us All webcast: The virus has struck!


Satire Can Save Us All webcast: The virus has struck!
KAL
April 28 2020
This episode Interviews Australian cartoonist Jason Chatfield who has published a diary about his brutal battle with Coronavirus. Very much worth a watch.

Monday, April 27, 2020

April 30: P&P Live! Christopher Eliopoulos - The Yawns Are Coming

P&P Live! Christopher Eliopoulos - The Yawns Are Coming

It's sleepover night, and two best friends have a lot on their to-do list. They can't wait to stay up all night to accomplish it all. But everywhere they turn, the dastardly Yawns threaten to overtake them. Those Yawns might even bring Dozes, Snores, and Sleepies! Will two pajama-clad heroes be able to outrun them? This witty, adorable picture book succinctly captures the magic of best-friendship and childhood sleepovers. Ages 4-8.

Click here to join the event.

Politics and Prose Live!   5015 Connecticut Ave NW   Washington   DC    20008

The Yawns Are Coming! Cover Image
$17.99
9781984816306
Coming Soon—Pre-Order Now
Dial Books - April 28th, 2020

PR: With Garth Ennis and PJ Holden’s The Stringbags, Dead Reckoning Maintains May 20th On-Sale Date and Establishes Comic Store Terms


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
With Garth Ennis and PJ Holden’s The Stringbags,
Dead Reckoning Maintains May 20th On-Sale Date and Establishes
Comic Store Terms

Dead Reckoning, the graphic novel imprint of Naval Institute Press, will maintain the on-sale date of May 20, 2020 for The Stringbags by Garth Ennis, PJ Holden, and Kelly Fitzpatrick. Considering the current upheaval in the comics distribution pipeline, Dead Reckoning has established comic store terms for those shops that may wish to order direct and advises thatThe Stringbags is also available from Ingram Content Group.

Based on the Royal Navy’s combat squadrons who flew the Fairey Swordfish aircraft during World War II, The Stringbags is a subject Ennis has wanted to write about for years. Because of an extensive partnership effort during May and June 2020 with Wargaming.net and its hit game, World of Warships (whose combined reach is one half billion users worldwide), Dead Reckoning believes that those comic stores operating on an online or curbside basis will receive requests for this book. Robin Noonan, director of sales and marketing, and Jack Russell, sales and marketing manager, are reaching out to comic retailers to inform them of the newly created terms. Shops interested in purchasing The Stringbags or any other Dead Reckoning titles direct are encouraged to contact  sales@deadreckoning.org.

“We believe that if ever there was a time when books and the stores who sell them are considered ‘essential services,’ it is now,” says Noonan. She adds, “In their pre-publication reviews, comic and book critics agree The Stringbags story and art are stellar. We think those retailers who want new titles should be able to order this book from us or from Ingram in the timeframe originally promised.”

Dead Reckoning’s warehouse, Books International, remains open. It operates under guidelines set forth by Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the State of Virginia, and local authorities.

Jacqline Barnes, Publicity Manager, 410-295-1028, publicity@deadreckoning.org
291 Wood Road Annapolis, MD 21402 www.deadreckoning.org

Cartoon Carousel with Joel Pett

Cartoon Carousel with Joel Pett

Matt Wuerker

04/24/2020

https://www.politico.com/video/2020/04/24/cartoon-carousel-with-joel-pett-073270

Aftertime Comics closes; SPX is on

Aftertime Comics Folds Up, Waits for Pandemic to End Before Reopening in New Space
James Cullum
April 27 2020

SPX 2020 Is Still On — For Now

Saturday, April 25, 2020

Friday, April 24, 2020

PR: David Miller's The Comics Prisoner

David Miller writes in,

I'm announcing my new YouTube show: The Comics Prisoner! It's a review and commentary show about comic art and artists. It will be filled with OpEd pieces by yours truly and I hope you'll check it out and share feedback. Here's the link to the inaugural episode. Please watch, comment, hit like and subscribe. That's it for now! More news to come!

David Miller
In the inaugural episode of the Comics Prisoner, he finds himself both incarcerated and enraptured by the epic pairing of penciler Bob Brown and inker extrao...

NPR comics on coronavirus

Third Eye Comics interviewed

Comic Retailers on the State of Comics and How They're Adjusting to the New World Order

NPR reviews 'Apsara Engine'

'Apsara Engine' Doesn't Break The Graphic Novel Rules — It Ignores Them

Matt Wuerker's first Punchline: Cartooning through coronavirus

Cartooning through coronavirus with Matt Wuerker

04/22/2020
https://www.politico.com/video/2020/04/22/cartooning-through-coronavirus-with-matt-wuerker-072871

4/24: Updated with correct link.

Matt Wuerker's 2nd Punchlines: Cartoonists against Covid

Punchlines: Cartoonists against Covid

Matt Wuerker

Politico 04/23/2020 05:54 PM EDT


Matt noted on Facebook - "Had a lot of fun chatting with the always charming and terribly erudite Wes Tyrell about the Canadian Cartoonist's gallery of Covid cartoons on our second installment of "Punchlines" @politico"

Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Meet a Local Cartoonist: A Chat with Dick Wright


by Mike Rhode


Dick Wright of The Providence Journal-Bulletin was the 1983 Pulitzer Prize Finalist in Editorial Cartooning. As Dave Astor has written, “Wright worked for the [San Diego] Union-Tribune … (starting in 1976) and later joined The Providence (R.I.) Journal, the Nashville (Tenn.) Banner, and The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch. Currently [2005], he’s affiliated with the Gwinnett Daily Post of Lawrenceville, Ga. He was syndicated by Tribune Media Services, then Copley News Service, and finally for several years in the early 2000s by Daryl Cagle. His work was collected in the book If He Only Had a Brain... in 1998. The Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco “houses over 300 political cartoons illustrated by famed cartoonist Dick Wright in the mid-1990s.” He retired from editorial cartooning in 2005, around the same time he was profiled by the Washington Times. Wright has recently returned to editorial cartooning.

What type of comic work or cartooning do you do?

I draw editorial cartoons.

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

I use a brush, pen and India ink.
 
When (within a decade is fine) and where were you born?

I was born in 1944.

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

I live in Warrenton, Virginia.

What is your training and/or education in cartooning?

I am self-taught. I went to Long Beach State University and I majored in finance.

Who are your influences?

Mad magazine, and especially Mort Drucker. Also, Walt Disney.

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

I think I would do more local cartoons.

What work are you best-known for?

I can't think of a single piece of work. In general probably my caricatures.

What work are you most proud of?

Well, when I started I was pretty rough. I guess that given where I started I am most proud of what I developed into. My work is a far cry from when I started. I had some help along the way. Mort Drucker was a great encouragement to me as well as Karl Hubenthal in Los Angeles.

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

I am content to do cartoons about Virginia at this point in my career.

What do you do when you're in a rut or have writer's block?
I used to keep a file of "ideas" that I used to trigger new ideas. If you worked at it long enough something would come.

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

I think that the future in cartooning is in online venues.

What local cons do you attend?

I don't attend any.

What's your favorite thing about DC?

I worked in DC for Scripps-Howard Newspapers. I got to know DC a bit. I guess being in the middle of the action was my favorite thing. I ran into many people that were real players. I enjoyed that

Least favorite?

Traffic.

What monument or museum do you like to take visitors to?

The Smithsonian.

How about a favorite local restaurant?

I love Mexican food just about anywhere.

Do you have a website or blog?

I have a website for a book I wrote called "Growing Big In God". I wrote short messages about many topics about life. I was a pastor of two churches and used my experience and knowledge to help others deal with the tough side of life. Dick Wright Cartoons is my Facebook page with new cartoons.

How has the COVID-19 outbreak affected you, personally and professionally?

I work from home anyway so it really hasn't impacted me much.

 Can you tell us a bit about being a church pastor and your faith?

I grew up in church. I had a very powerful experience with God at about the age of thirteen. From that time forward, I was deeply engaged in church and was very focused on spiritual things. On my own I began to read the Bible every evening before going to sleep. In reading the Bible, I learned a lot about God and it changed me. Even as a young teen, I became very interested in someday serving the Lord as a pastor. My parents were middle class. We struggled financially even as my dad worked two and three jobs as far back as I can remember. When it came time for me to go to college, I did not have you the heart to ask for help in going to college. I was interested in going to a bible college to become a pastor. Instead, I attended Junior College with no particular direction. I dropped out and got a job as a draftsman because I could draw. In those days we actually drew by hand the things we were building. I advanced quickly and moved up to a junior designer at the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, California. I became interested in engineering.


By then I was married with two little girls. I wanted to become a senior designer, but you had to be degreed. So I went to Long Beach State studying engineering and worked full time. While I was at Long Beach State I began to draw cartoons for the university newspaper, the 49'er. I did this a couple of years and finally I went to some local newspaper editors and asked them what they thought of my work. They were very encouraging and began to print a few. This changed my whole direction. I began to consider changing my career goal from engineering to cartooning. I spent about two years contacting newspapers looking for a job. Finally, I was hired at the San Diego Union as their back-up cartoonist and illustrator and I was on my way. It didn't take long for my editorial cartoons to be used more and more and I became the lead cartoonist. I was in San Diego for about eighteen months and then moved to the Providence Journal and that is where my career took off. I was focused on being as good as I could be. I would get up at about four in the morning and read the paper cover to cover. My intent was to know what was going on so my cartoons had substance. I worked at it. I became syndicated and my list of papers grew to about 420. This was a lot, since at that time there were only about 1700 dailies in the country.

This went on for years, but I never forgot the early experience I had with God and my very distinct call to be a pastor. As my list of papers grew I reached my limit. I began to struggle to keep the numbers up and had to work harder just to stay even. I began to realize that there was no way I could sustain what I had been doing for years and I became discouraged. I began to question what I was doing, and for what? At this time I began to think about becoming a pastor and fulfill that early calling. I was 52 at the time. I began to seek out what was necessary to become a pastor. I had a friend who was a pastor who told me that in Virginia all you needed to become a pastor was to be ordained by a church and I could become a pastor. His church ordained me as I had 30 years’ experience leading and teaching the Word. Within a month I had gathered together a group of 21 people and we started a church and I was the pastor. In 12 weeks the church grew to 100 attenders. Three years later we completed a new church building. In five years, my church had grown to more than 400. I retired and then came out of retirement to help another small church get established. I am currently the assistant pastor at that church now.

 You mentioned Mort Drucker who just passed away this month, after a long life. Do you have any specific stories or anecdotes about knowing him?

 When I was trying to get into cartooning, I wrote Mort a letter with some of my work to Mad magazine. I received a letter back from him. He was gracious and encouraging. He offered advice about cartooning that was very helpful. One of the things he told me was that every assignment I get and send off should be better than the last job I did. He said this was the way to get better. He said that when you plateau and level off, keep working at doing better than your last job. He said this is how he improved. Mort was a very kind and gracious man. Many years later, when I was the cartoonist at the Providence Journal, I was involved is getting the program set for an editorial cartooning convention. I contacted Mad and talked to the editor and invited all the cartoonist to the convention in Newport. Mort and Jack Davis showed up along with some others. What a thrill! I have a photo of Mort and myself taken at the mansion where we were hosting the convention. He was so gracious and kind to me. What a great cartoonist, a great man. I miss him.

 4/23/2020: Updated with links to Wright's Facebook page, thanks to DD Degg of the Daily Cartoonist.