David Hagen's trip to Musee Herge

David Hagen has blogged about his trip to Musee Herge, where he kindly bought me one of the catalogues to the Swarte exhibit he mentions.

Belgian stop motion animation 'A Town Called Panic' at Landmark in DC

Here's the Post's review: "Movie review: 'A Town Called Panic' is a surreal riot," By Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post Staff Writer, Friday, February 12, 2010; WE29.

Belgian cartoonist postcards (and a Caribean one)

Here's some more Secret History of Comics bits - postcards found at the State Dept. booksale last weekend.

I didn't recognize the artists behind these first 3 cards at all, but the style looked vaguely familiar - it's that Franco-Belgian look.


Mazel artwork. #22.010-50 Belgian postcard.


Jean-Pol artwork. #22.010-58 Belgian postcard.


Jean-Pol artwork. # 22.010-53 Belgian postcard/

Now I want the rest of the set of course...


Caribbean Classic Series postcard. Pam Kerschner artwork. She's a cartoonist on the Virgin Islands. See "Caribbean Living With a Sense of Humor," By Pam Kerschner.

And here's the great Pat Oliphant, working for the man (or the US Postal Service)...

"This maximum card was issued in connection with the U.S./ Australia commemorative stamp which was jointly issued in Washington, D.C. and Sydney, Australia, on January 26, 1988. The stamps was designed by Roland Harvey of Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia. The art shown on the reverse of this card was designed by the renowned syndicated cartoonist, Pat Oliphant.

No. 88-1

Kal on Delonas chimp cartoon

Kal sent a note saying that he's got a blogpost on the Delonas cartoon.

He's also traveling a bit:

In June I will be the featured international artist at the annual Knokke-Heist cartoon festival in Belgium. The festival, one of the largest of its kind , will feature an exhibition of 50 originals and a lecture/symposium in the summer. The exhibition will be on display at the Belgium seaside resort through September.

I am delighted and honored to announce that I will be at the University of Portland on Thursday, March 5 to deliver the introductory William James Mazzacco Memorial Lecture in Distributive Justice.The lecture takes place at the Buckley Center Auditorium (5000 N Willamette Blvd.) at the University of Portland at 7:30 p.m. The lecture is open to the public.

Post obituary for Belgian former cartoonist and caricaturist

"Guy Peellaert; Belgian Painter Of Surreal Art, Album Covers," By Joe Holley and Adam Bernstein, Washington Post Staff Writers, Saturday, November 22, 2008; B04.

History and Politics in French-Language Comics and Graphic Novels press release

Here's some PR from my, uh-hmm, publisher. I know Mark and a lot of the authors in this book and I'm sure it's a good one. I'll be buying a copy when it's in paper.

History and Politics in French-Language Comics and Graphic Novels
Edited by Mark McKinney
University Press of Mississippi
ISBN 978-1-60473-004-3, hardback, $50

Book News for Immediate Release

French, Belgian comics have long been outlets of historical, political expression

Cartoonists have long created graphic narratives that provide engaging perspectives on the world’s historical and political events. In France and Belgium in particular, many well-known comics artists have focused their attention–explicitly and implicitly–on events that have affected these countries.

History and Politics in French-Language Comics and Graphic Novels (University Press of Mississippi) collects new essays that address French-language comics from a variety of theoretical perspectives. This anthology edited by Mark McKinney establishes the French comics tradition as one rich with historical and political inquiry and is one of the first English-language collections to explore this subject

In works ranging from comic books and graphic novels to newspaper strips and editorial cartoons, French-language cartoonists have addressed such controversial topics as French and Belgian collaboration and resistance during World War II; European colonialism and U.S. imperialism; anti-Semitism in France; the integration of African immigrant groups in Europe; May 1968 in France; and the ecology and feminist movements.

The essays range from discussion of the canonical (Hergé’s Tintin series, Rodolphe Töpffer’s picture-stories) to the contemporary (Jean-Philippe Stassen’s Déogratias, about the 1994 Rwandan genocide).

Several essays are close readings of specific comics series and graphic novels, such as Cécile Danehy’s examination of Cosey’s Saigon-Hanoi, about French involvement in Vietnam during the 1950s.

With essays by Baru, Bart Beaty, Cécile Vernier, Danehy, Hugo Frey, Pascal LefPvre, Fabrice Leroy, Amanda Macdonald, Mark McKinney, Ann Miller, and Clare Tufts.

History and Politics in French-Language Comics and Graphic Novels is one of the first English-language works to address history and politics in French-language comics and graphic novels and features over 60 illustrations of the works being discussed

Mark McKinney is associate professor of French at Miami University, Ohio. With Alec G. Hargreaves, he edited Post-Colonial Cultures in France.

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For more information contact Clint Kimberling, Publicist, ckimberling@mississippi.edu

Read more about History and Politics in French-Language Comics and Graphic Novels at http://www.upress.state.ms.us/books/1111