Lynda Barry at UMBC photos

 From Randy Tischler...

 

 

Chatting with comics writer Barbara Perez Marquez

Baltimore Comic-Con

by Mike Rhode 

Barbara Perez Marquez was at both Small Press Expo and Baltimore Comic-Con this fall, so I asked if she'd answer our usual questions, altered for her Baltimore base. Additionally, Barbara tweaked a few of the questions, which I'm always glad to see.

What type of comic work or cartooning do you do?
I'm a writer, primarily of middle grade and young adult stories. Genre-wise I'm pretty expansive, from contemporary to fantasy stories and anything in between.

How do you do it? I know you're a writer - feel free to explore how you get an idea and then write a script.
Usually I start with something closer to a concept than a full-on idea for my stories. From there I'll expand it further (either starting an outline proper or even just listing out some story beats), at which point I get a better idea if I have a full story in my hands or if I need to start exploring further to find it.

If during that part of the process there's already an artist I'll be collaborating with (this isn't always the case or in others sometimes they are ALREADY involved from idea inception), then about this stage is when I ask them to jump in so we can make the foundation of the story something we can all be excited about. At this stage I'll also see if there's any particulars they'd like to see in terms of the style of the script. While across the board I use the same styling for my scripts, (if able) I try to meet the artist's needs in terms of ways in which the script can work with their own process. There's some variability from project to project, but after the above is mostly sorted, that's when I properly start writing. Nothing too exciting in terms of tools of the trade for my scripts, I actually dislike fancy word processors because I find convoluted formatting and file type transfers to be a headache, so I use OpenOffice with the least amount of bells and whistles I can manage.

When and where did you start working in comics?
I grew up in the Dominican Republic, which has a very different comics culture than we see in the USA (plus I was a '90s kid, so add that on to the difficulty of being outside of the American comics market). Most of my early comics reading were European comics and as far as DC and Marvel went, it was mostly the animated media for them and the Pepsi character cards.

It wasn't until college (in New York) when I properly dove into comics by way of indie comics and then onto more traditional cape comics. After that it's been mostly history, I wrote my first comic script around 2014 and it honestly got me hooked, I'd already been producing prose and poetry pieces by then, but comic scripts quickly became a staple in my portfolio too.

SPX

What is your training and/or education in cartooning?
I'd known I wanted to be a writer pretty early on in life and I moved to New York to pursue a degree in Creative Writing. As I mentioned, I'd grown up around comics enough, but it wasn't until 2014 that I really dove into writing them. Around that time I was working on an MFA in Creative Writing and I actually updated my coursework to add comics scripting to my workload (particularly around graphic novels). At the school I went to, Manhattanville University, Paul Levitz was a professor at the time. Similar to comics, I'd known about him from friends who'd taken his classes but didn't quite understand the magnitude of it until that comics writing spark fully formed for me.

By the time I realized it, none of the coursework he was offering lined up with my schedule. I wrote him this sort of shot in the dark email and explained my interest in writing comics and asked if he had any guidance. Thankfully, he replied back with a list of titles, which I immediately checked out from the library while I gathered enough cash to buy second hand copies to own. Those books basically created a "how to write comics" course of my own making. Shortly after that, I started applying to comic anthologies and involving myself in the comics community via social media.

Years later, at the 2019 Eisner Awards when Mr. Levitz was inducted into the Hall of Fame, I was actually in attendance and got to shyly approach him and expressed my gratitude for that email exchange. He had bigger things to be excited about that night, but it was great getting to thank him in person.

Who are your influences?
There's a few names that have been part of my bookshelves since those early days of getting into comics. Among them are Vera Brosgol, Lucy Knisley, and Cecil Castellucci. All of them are stellar storytellers. In terms of themes and writing style, I also keep close by some of my favorite collections of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's short stories.

What work are you best-known for?
I think my work in middle grade is still where I'm most recognized (The Cardboard Kingdom, Animal Rescue Friends, Girls Survive) and as I look ahead at upcoming projects, it's been nice to see that presence cement and continue to grow from it. I don't want to stop telling stories for young readers, but I'm excited to be branching out further into young adult.

What projects do you have coming up?
I've got quite a few titles coming out in 2026. First up will be The Curie Society: Game of Code (out March 2026) and then I'd been working on adapting Jenny Han's famous novel, To All the Boys I've Loved Before, so we're bringing that to the graphic novel realm (out May 2026).

As I mentioned, branching out into young adult stories has been a work in progress, so it's nice to get to see it shine in those two projects.

In the second half of 2026, there'll be two other titles: To Dance the Moon and Stars (alongside Tasia M.S.) and The Library of Memories (alongside Lissy Marlin). 2026 will be a busy year, but I'm excited to find that cadence in telling stories in both age ranges.

What do you do when you're in a rut or have writer's block?
Assuming it's not a looming deadline, I try my best to disconnect from the work that I'm stuck on. Sometimes I just need to reset creatively, so I'll spend time reading or watching shows/movies or playing videogames, I occasionally even leave the house to experience the outside world! 

 The Order of Belfry

Female knights and girls love comic 

Oftentimes writer's block is less about "not knowing what to do" and more about "your creative well needs replenishing" so I try my best to honor that. Which, don't get me wrong, can be hard work. But I think (unless absolutely necessary), just plowing through a writer's block is only a temporary fix. You'll just get stuck at the next junction, so you might as well step back and come at it refreshed.

What do you think will be the future of your field?
I think 2025 has been a big year of change in comics as a business, as well as in recent years with AI trying to encroach on creative fields. The future is still the same it's always been: Beyond all the noise, we must keep telling stories.

In the current climate, we have to aggressively tell human stories and that heart will continue to live on. Now in terms of the "business" of it all, I think we're going to see some new systems come into place and even go back to some old ones that have proven to withstand the test of time (this one in particular I'm thinking about networking and how with decentralized social media, we will have to go back to building connections "offline" in some modernized way).

What local cons do you attend? I know The Small Press Expo and Baltimore Comic-Con. Any comments about attending them?
I can be found pretty regularly at the Small Press Expo and Baltimore Comic-Con and I also attend the Graphic Novel Festival and the Baltimore Book Festival. I think they are all great shows, albeit with the occasional time conflicts. 

What comic books do you read regularly or recommend? Do you have a local store?
My comics pull box lives at Dreamers and Make-Believers, where I've even surprised the booksellers with some of my requests because my reading affinities can be all over the place. It all depends on my mood or my storytelling needs at the time of reading, but a few recent reads and titles I'm looking forward to are:

Go-Man! by Hamish Steele
Angelica and the Bear Prince by Trung Le Nguyen
Warriors and a Wee Wonder by Stephanie Williams, alongside an amazing artist rotation including: Jane Pica, Emily Pearson, Dominic Bustamante, and Tasia M.S.
Harley and Ivy: Life and Crimes by Erica Henderson
Death to Pachuco by Henry Barajas, Rachel Merrill, and Lee Loughridge

What's your favorite thing about Baltimore?
One of the first things that stood out to me about Baltimore was how perfectly in the middle it was to the two cities I'd lived before. I think it had some of the nostalgia points I missed from Santo Domingo and enough of a slowdown from New York to be able to keep up with it.

What monument or museum do you like to take visitors to?
A visit to the Walters Art Museum is a must!

Do you have a website or blog?
I have a website: www.mustachebabs.com, which I keep updated with all my current work and I also have a Patreon page as a newsletter-lite: www.patreon.com/mustachebabs

Alex Fine show at Dwightmess - opening night photos

I popped in briefly to say hello and check out the exhibit. We used to see his work regularly in the Washington Post Magazine, illustrating Gene Weingarten's column. Information on the show follows the pictures. This exhibit is mostly celebrity portraits. Here's Bruce Guthrie's photos.

 

Alex Fine

 

 And a Taylor Swift print for sale, but not on the wall. This was for an Economics journal based on the money generated by her Eras tour:

Hairhoppers & Showstoppers:
Portraits, Posters, and Editorial Art by Alex Fine

Bio: Alex Fine is a Baltimore-based illustrator with an extensive client list that includes TIME Magazine, Newsweek,  Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, Wired, Harvard Business Review, The Atlantic, Scholastic, Harper Collins, AT&T, Variety, Baltimore City Paper, and Politico. He is represented in North America and United Kingdom by SNYDER.

"My first art show in years and I’ll have a large collection of well coiffed portraits, band posters, and editorial art from years of magazine and newspaper work. Contact me or Dwightmess with any print requests and if you live in the DMV, hope to see you there!" ~Alex

Check out more of Alex's artwork !!--> @alexfineillos

Event Info:
Hairhoppers & Showstoppers:
Portraits, Posters, and Editorial Art by Alex Fine

Opening Reception:
Friday. January 10th. 7-9pm.

Location:
DWIGHTMESS
805 Silver Spring Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

Meet a DMV Cartoonist: A Chat with José Villarrubia

Paul Gravett and José Villarrubia at BCC 2023

by Mike Rhode

A few weeks ago I went to the Baltimore Comic-Con with my friend Paul Gravett, the British comics historian who is the 'man at the crossroads' and knows almost everyone. He introduced me to his friend José Villarrubia, who agreed to answer our usual questions (but also recommended looking at his Wikipedia entry). Jose returned his answers within the hour, by far the fastest anyone ever has, to which he replied, "Teachers who procrastinate can get in trouble. Same with colorists." In addition to being a comic book colorist, he also teaches at the Maryland Institute College of Art, where he is a professor and  currently the coordinator of the Sequential Art Concentration. Here's a nice article the school did about him. I think there is plenty of potential for a long Comics Journal-type interview with him perhaps when my Int. J. of Comic Art duties have lessened.

What type of comic work or cartooning do you do?

  Coloring, editing, and color restoration. 

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

 All in Photoshop.

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

 1961, Madrid, Spain.

Why are you in Baltimore now?

 I came here to study and I stayed.

What neighborhood or area do you live in?

 Mt. Vernon.

What is your training and/or education in cartooning?

 None in cartooning. I have a BFA in Fine Art and an MFA in Painting.

Who are your influences?

In comics Corben, Moebius, Neal Adams, Victor de la Fuente and Dino Battaglia. 

Speaking of Corben, a volume of Den that you worked on has just been released. What did you do on it?

I'm doing the art direction for the collection and the color restoration from the originals.

Can you discuss some of the ways this work is done?

The original art was scanned and I blended it with scans of diverse printings to recover the color. The result has much more detail and texture than the editions almost 50 years ago. I also wrote introductions and selected all the extra material.

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

Nothing, really.

 Or rather, how are you hoping your career will develop?

I hope to do more editing and art direction.

What work are you best-known for?

Batman Year 100 and Sweet Tooth.

What work are you most proud of?

My work with Alan Moore, particularly The Mirror of Love.

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

More restoration of classic comics, editing more illustrated books.

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

I am never in a rut.

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

If I knew I would be very, very rich. But I think the future of comics is very bright.

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

José and Dean Haspiel at BCC talking about Cuba in 2010

Always the Baltimore Comic-Con (my favorite), sometimes SPX.

What comic books do you read regularly or recommend?

I don’t read any monthlies, just collections and graphic novels.  

Do you have a local store?

I did: Collector’s Corner on Charles Street. But it closed down.

What's your favorite thing about Baltimore?

The architecture, history, and the people.

Least favorite?

Crime, obviously.

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

The American Visionary Museum and the Walters Art Museum.

How about a favorite local restaurant?

My favorite, the Mt. Vernon Stable, closed. My current favorite is Minato.

Do you have a website or blog?

 No. I post regularly in Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Bluesky, and Threads.

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

 The same as everyone else, which for comics professionals is “not much.” I missed the conventions and I am glad they are back.

Baltimore's David Plunkert interviewed by Steve Heller

The Daily Heller: A Commingle of David Plunkert’s Line and Collage

Steven Heller

June 30 2020

https://www.printmag.com/post/the-daily-heller-a-commingle-of-david-plunkert-s-line-and-collage

Barbara Dale's coronavirus cartoons

Baltimore cartoonist Barbara Dale did a couple of cartoons about COVID-19 on Facebook, and then put them on Zazzle and is selling prints of them. I asked her to say something about them for us.

About the "Self-Portrait During A Pandemic": I've worn the same red robe for three weeks. I no longer believe in underwear. My hair is reminding me that I'm old. It's hard to breathe through a mask. Disinfecting the mail is ridiculous, but I've done it. Clutching chocolate is a comfort. About "It's Not My Fault": I feel still, isolated, sad and only temporarily safe inside my four walls, while outside the numbers of dying continue to grow. I put Trump on top, all a flutter, to contrast the stillness of the bottom part of the poster. He's cruelty manic, pointing at everybody but himself to blame. A whirling dervish.  I think the bottom part of the poster, with the person inside the house surrounded by dead, is a good image unto itself and I'll explore that further.

Arnold Blumberg, Geppi's Entertainment Museum's first curator, remembers the museum

by Mike Rhode

Geppi's Entertainment Museum (GEM) in Baltimore closed for good earlier today. It was one of my favorite museums with an overwhelming amount of fantastic material on comics and cartoons and I'm sorry to see it go. The only positive thing is that Steve Geppi is donating a lot of the Museum (3,300 items I'm told) to the Library of Congress in the coming weeks.

I've reached out to a few people to get their thoughts on the Museum. Dr. Arnold Blumberg was the first curator of the museum, and was very generous with his time over the years. As he has been this weekend, when he answered a few questions about the museum and his role in it.

I was proud to be Curator and part of the team that developed a one-of-a-kind display of 230 years of pop culture history, shedding light on the many ways we defined ourselves through the decades as a nation and as people. I think it's wonderful that so many media artifacts will now be available for public view. The collection will surely provide opportunities for future historians to examine the ways entertainment shaped and reflected the American experience

When were you curator?

I was Curator beginning in the summer of 2005, hand-picked by John Snyder, and worked on building the museum with the rest of the team for that next year until our opening on Sept. 2006. John was President of Geppi's Entertainment Museum when we started, and had already been running Diamond International Galleries before that and also Gemstone Publishing, which is where I was working as Editor when he tapped me to move over to the museum. I left in October 2010.

What did the work entail?

I was charged with being the intellectual custodian of the history behind all those amazing artifacts, coordinating educational and other programming in conjunction with other staff members, conducting tours and doing community and media outreach - lots of morning TV interviews! - writing most of the material on the walls and in various publications associated with the museum, and helping to care for and manage the collection alongside Registrar Andrew Hershberger. There were lots of other things in an average day, but that's the basic overview.

What was your favorite item or exhibit?

My favorite room was the museum within a museum - the comic book room, showcasing the history of that medium from periodicals and artwork stretching back centuries to the formal comics timeline of the 1930s to the present. One of my personal favorites was the Oscar Goldman action figure from the Six Million Dollar Man Kenner toy line in the 1970s room, mainly because it was one of the few things from that line that I never got myself.

Did you expect an outcome like this? It's a pretty munificent gift.

It's been years since I've been involved in the museum or in contact with anyone associated with it, so I have no particular insight into the reasons behind the museum's closure and the donation of the collection, but it's nice to know that all those items that give people so much joy and allow them to travel back into their own pasts will now be made available to view for free and at a facility that will respect their historical importance and preserve them for future generations.

After leaving the Museum, you put together your own publishing house?

Yup, since 2012 we've put out a number of titles from ATB Publishing, and we just put out our first book on comics and superheroes, Storytelling Engines, this past May!

We'll be checking in with Arnold in the coming weeks to find out more about how he went from being a museum curator, to a college professor, to a book author and publisher...

Kata Kane's NBM double debut

by Mike Rhode

At  the Small Press Expo, Kata Kane had her own table as usual, but she was also signing books at NBM's table. They have published the first book in a new series Ana and the Cosmic Race by Amy Chu with art by Kata. We caught up to ask how her career was changing.. 

After our first interview, you published Altar Girl vol. 2. Did that wrap up the series, or do you have plans to continue it?

Altar Girl is ongoing, and you can read up to Book 4 online at my website altar-girl.com. I've also started releasing the series on webcomic sites like WEBTOON and Tapastic. I'm hoping to do a print version of Altar Girl Book 3 soon, but for now it's still going strong online! 

You've done the art for two new series coming out this fall from NBM's Papercutz imprint. How did that come about?

Papercutz reached out to me when they started the launch for their new Charmz romance book line. They saw that my art style and stories were all-ages/tween/YA and asked me to pitch. My first pitch was for GFFs: Ghost Friends Forever with Monica Gallagher [also of Baltimore]. Then they asked if I'd be interested in doing the art for Ana and the Cosmic Race, a story already in production with Amy Chu. I'm so glad I've gotten to work on both series! 

What kind of script do you get? Do you work directly with the writer at all?

I do work closely with the writers when it comes to collaborating and world-building, especially with the characters. As for the script, it varies from writer to writer the level of detail, but I do try to give suggestions if I see a spot where we could do something fun with the art, or if there's a chance to insert some great reactions from the characters. I'm lucky that I've gotten to work with wonderful writers who have given me a lot of freedom and great feedback too. I think pacing is one of my strong points, so in cases where I've been given either a lot or just a little to work with script-wise, I always aim to get a good flow going with the dialog and art.

Will there be more books in the two new series?

I'm currently working on Book 2 for both Ana and the Cosmic Race as well as GFFs! There's still much more to discover, so I think readers of Book 1 for both of these series will be eager to see what's in store.

My online/social media info: kata-kane.com | @kata_kane

Hang Dai Studios at Baltimore Comic-Con: Chris Miskiewicz speaks

by Mike Rhode
 
Baltimore Comic-Con is one of the best and friendliest of the mid-size superhero focused cons. Under the leadership of Marc Nathan and Brad Tree, it's grown quite a bit in a decade and a half, but still remains enjoyable for all ages and interests. Hang Dai Studios is based in Brooklyn, but as usual will have a big presence at Baltimore. My friend Dean Haspiel (and Hang Dai Studios founder) will be there with the whole studio, a week after he, Christa Cassano and Gregory Benton attended the Small Press Expo. Just when you think there's nobody left in the Studio to talk with, our sixth interview is with writer and actor Chris Miskiewicz.

What type of comic work or cartooning do you do? 

 I’m a Brooklyn-based writer and actor. In comics, I’m best known for writing the critically acclaimed series, Thomas Alsop alongside artist Palle Schmidt (dubbed Best Mini-Series of 2014 by USA Today) published by BOOM! Studios. And the comic anthology Everywhere published by ActivateComix. As an actor I’ve appeared on HBO's Bored to Death, USA Networks White Collar, and various others.

When (within a decade is fine) and where were you born? 
 
I’m a native New Yorker. I’m 4th generation Italian and 1st generation Polish, born in Brooklyn, NY.

What is your training and/or education in cartooning?
 
I took up writing and drama in college, but I’ve been a comic book reader since I was ten years old. It was the first type of fiction I got, and I never fell out of love with the episodic nature of the industry.

Who are your influences?
 
Warren Ellis, Mark Millar, Ed Brubaker, Mike Mignola, Frank Miller, Brian K. Vaughn, Charles Bukowski.


What work are you best-known for? 
 
Currently Thomas Alsop published by BOOM! Studios.

What work are you most proud of?
 
Thomas Alsop and a webseries I co-wrote with my cousin Christopher Piazza called The Adventures of Shakespeare & Watson: Detectives of Mystery. It’s absolutely bonkers and I wish Adult Swim would call me up right now to buy it. 


What would you like to do or work on in the future?
 
I write in all forms. Prose, comics, screenwriting, as well as physical storytelling in acting, and a bunch of short films. I’d like to continue exploring every way you can tell a tale. I mean, if Shakespeare were alive he’d probably have a blog…

What do you do when you're in a rut or have writer's block?
 
Drugs, drinking, go up to the roof and crawl into a bawl crying that all of my life choices have been wrong and that I’m a failure, play “Simpson’s Tapped Out,” breaking and entering somewhere I shouldn’t be to snap a picture.

You know, the normal things a person with voices in their head does during a crisis.

What do you think will be the future of your field? 
 
I think comics will continue to be a testing ground for properties that larger media are considering for live action works.

Why are you at the Baltimore Comic-Con this year? 
 
I’m hanging with some old friends at Hang-Dai’s table, as well as appearing on a panel with them on Sunday 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm in room 343-344 which is followed by a quick signing at BOOM!’s booth #2001 from 3 to 4 pm.

What other cons do you attend? The Small Press Expo, or others? Any comments about attending them? 
 
This year I’ve been to MOCCA, SDCC and Copenhagen Comic Con for the release of the Danish translated edition of Thomas Alsop vol. 1. Copenhagen Comic Con was awesome, and I want someone to adopt me so I can move to Denmark.

I’ll also be appearing at NYCC in October…

What's your favorite thing about Baltimore? 
 
The Wire.

How about a favorite local restaurant?
 
Hit me up again after this convention.

Do you have a website or blog?
 
My site is being completed, but you can follow me on twitter at @CMMiskiewicz and track me down at: http://welcometotripcity.com/contributors/chris-miskiewicz/