Earlier this week, Gene Weingarten revealed in his chat's poll that the Post censored January 19th's Candorville which joked about presidential assassination and illegal immigration.
His poll revealed that 73% of his readers thought it was the wrong decision with the other 27% split almost evenly in half over 'correct' and 'not sure.'
I of course, think it was wrong, WRONG, WRONG!
But -
Gene Weingarten: On the poll, this might surprise all of you, but I am not as sure as y'all are that The Post was wrong to pull that Candorville!
And I NEVER come down on that side.
This was a joke not only about assassination, but about the assination of a specific person. I would have had a serious taste question about that. I'm now second guessing myself a little, because so many of you did not.
and a later response that I agree with -
Washington, D.C.: The cartoon should have run because it expressed a sentiment that I think a lot of people are thinking/worried about but no one's saying it. I've only seen one interview with Obama that talked about security and even then it was very broad and he addressed it more broadly and they were off to the next question. I thought the illegal immigrant punchline was a perfect lampooning of where we're at as Americans right now.
Gene Weingarten: I'll buy that. Maybe.
and this one was way off base -
Candorville: The First Amendment and freedom of speech does not cover violence. The Post was right.
Gene Weingarten: Well, it wasn't ADVOCATING violence.
and a few more views -
London, UK : As an outsider you, as a country, can be a tad carefree with your presidents.
What Candorville seems to express is unspoken but not non-existant. The cartoon form is, and has always been, an ideal platform for such free speech.
Gene Weingarten: No one is questioning whether he is free to draw that strip. Of course he is. But newspapers do edit things for taste. It's not censorship, it's editing.
_______________________
Candorville: I read the strip you mention in today's poll last week online, not knowing that it had been cut from the print version of the Post, and I was surprised at it for the same reasons you mention. However, I don't think it's dangerous, and I think it is an important social commentary on the fact that racism and intolerance are still serious problems in American society. For that reason, I think the Post should have run it.
Gene Weingarten: Okay.
and -
Dogtown, Ark.: That Candorville was brilliant! Topical and poignant! What kind of maroon would think it offensive enough to pull from the comics page? Gene, it is your sacred duty to out this philistine so he/she may be duly ridiculed by the Chat.
Gene Weingarten: It was topical, though it was not a really original joke. It was a re-tooling of an old joke to fit a new topic.
and then -
Cambridge, Mass.: I would like to point out, as I'm sure many others already have, that the joke in the Candorville comic is a straight rip-off of a Dave Chapelle bit. Dave talks about how hard it would be to be the first black president and the likelihood of assassination, therefore he would only do it if his vice-president is Mexican, "for a little insurance. So everyone would just leave me and vice-president Santiago to our own devices." Great act by a native-D.C. comic.
Gene Weingarten: Dave was not the first to speculate on strategically having a terrible veep to make sure no one assassinates you. Those jokes were rampant during Dan Quayle's vice presidency.
Ok, after reading all the comments -- they were still wrong to drop it. It wasn't advocating assassination, so I think they just didn't want the outraged letters.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Berryman exhibit at National Archives preview UPDATED
Thanks to my colleague Miriam (we bonded over stories of St. Elizabeth Hospital records), I got to see the new National Archives exhibit on Clifford Berryman today. Running for Office: Candidates, Campaigns, and the Cartoons of Clifford Berryman is open at the downtown branch from February 8 - August 17th. A formal review will appear in the fall issue of the International Journal of Comic Art, but here's some notes.
The exhibit was curated by Jessie Kratz and Martha Grove. They looked through the 2,400 pieces of artwork that the Senate was given after the cartoons were found in garbage bags in Berryman's daughter's house in the early 1990s. The curators looked through all of the drawings for cartoons that related to the campaign process. They divided the exhibit into sections: Throwing Your Hat in the Ring!, Narrowing the Field, Running for Congress, The Campaign, The Voter, Candidate William Jennings Bryan, The Homestretch and The Results Are In! I'd guesstimate that about 50 cartoon are displayed including a self-portrait with teddy bear. Berryman's lasting claim to fame, beyond being a professional cartoonist for 53 years, is drawing a bear cub that Teddy Roosevelt refused to shoot. The teddy bear became an icon of his drawings.
Berryman was a consummate professional. There's barely any visible underlying pencil or scraping out of unwanted lines. His characters are clearly recognizable, although more as portraits than caricatures as Warren Bernard pointed out. However, as Richard Baker, a Senate Historian noted in his introduction, Berryman "...combined a fine skill in caricaturing Senators with a gentle humor..." The gentle humor means that these cartoons are very gentle indeed, especially when compared to Nast and Oliphant at the opposing ends of Berryman's career.
Ahh, the lame duck!
Still, I like his work. His drawing of Roosevelt as Shakespeare's Hamlet is fantastic. Henry Ford was satirized as wearing a bathing suit, but refusing to dive into the 'presidential pool'. His elephant and donkeys symbols are excellent pen and ink works. His line is clear and easy to understand, even with his use of a massive amount of crosshatching.
The curators made a good selection of cartoons - most are still easily understandable. A reproduction of a front page of Washington's Evening Star shows how these cartoons would have appeared originally - far smaller, but on the front page of the paper. Berryman was considered the dean of Washington cartoonists, and a visit to this exhibit can show you why.
The exhibit has a small brochure, and a catalogue which appears very well done. Full of color reproductions, it's for sale at the Archives; gift shop. Remember that there's a program with Oliphant, Stephen Hess, Telnaes, Matt Davies and Clay Bennet on the evening of February 7th.
For a week from February 1, you can download the prefatory comments by the Archivist of the US, a historian of the Senate, the curator and Miriam here. I made the recording to help writing a review.
The exhibit was curated by Jessie Kratz and Martha Grove. They looked through the 2,400 pieces of artwork that the Senate was given after the cartoons were found in garbage bags in Berryman's daughter's house in the early 1990s. The curators looked through all of the drawings for cartoons that related to the campaign process. They divided the exhibit into sections: Throwing Your Hat in the Ring!, Narrowing the Field, Running for Congress, The Campaign, The Voter, Candidate William Jennings Bryan, The Homestretch and The Results Are In! I'd guesstimate that about 50 cartoon are displayed including a self-portrait with teddy bear. Berryman's lasting claim to fame, beyond being a professional cartoonist for 53 years, is drawing a bear cub that Teddy Roosevelt refused to shoot. The teddy bear became an icon of his drawings.
Berryman was a consummate professional. There's barely any visible underlying pencil or scraping out of unwanted lines. His characters are clearly recognizable, although more as portraits than caricatures as Warren Bernard pointed out. However, as Richard Baker, a Senate Historian noted in his introduction, Berryman "...combined a fine skill in caricaturing Senators with a gentle humor..." The gentle humor means that these cartoons are very gentle indeed, especially when compared to Nast and Oliphant at the opposing ends of Berryman's career.
Ahh, the lame duck!Still, I like his work. His drawing of Roosevelt as Shakespeare's Hamlet is fantastic. Henry Ford was satirized as wearing a bathing suit, but refusing to dive into the 'presidential pool'. His elephant and donkeys symbols are excellent pen and ink works. His line is clear and easy to understand, even with his use of a massive amount of crosshatching.
The curators made a good selection of cartoons - most are still easily understandable. A reproduction of a front page of Washington's Evening Star shows how these cartoons would have appeared originally - far smaller, but on the front page of the paper. Berryman was considered the dean of Washington cartoonists, and a visit to this exhibit can show you why.
The exhibit has a small brochure, and a catalogue which appears very well done. Full of color reproductions, it's for sale at the Archives; gift shop. Remember that there's a program with Oliphant, Stephen Hess, Telnaes, Matt Davies and Clay Bennet on the evening of February 7th.
For a week from February 1, you can download the prefatory comments by the Archivist of the US, a historian of the Senate, the curator and Miriam here. I made the recording to help writing a review.
Anthony Lappe talk at Library of Congress report and 2nd appearance later in the evening
Anthony Lappe, author of the graphic novel, Shooting War, spoke at the Library of Congress today at lunchtime. Lappe, an editor at Guerrilla News Network had been to Iraq as an embedded reporter and produced a film about his trip there (which is available on their website). He will also be appearing at Bourbon tonight at 9 pm.
Lappe returned from Iraq disillusioned with both bloggers and mass media and wrote this satirical graphic novel (which started as a film). In 2011, blogger Jimmy Burns, accidentally films a suicide bombing for his blog, and then parleys that fame into a reporting trip to cover the Iraq War. His blogger character Burns arrives in Iraq with no journalistic experience, but is mentored by Dan Rather who's reinvigorating his career at the front. Lappe noted later that Rather had sent a nice note about his appearance in the book, and that none of the actual people or references in the book objected.
The artwork is done on a computer, probably a Wacom tablet. Lappe found his collaborator, artist Dan Goldman by placing an ad on Craig's List. Although Goldman wasn't at the event, Lappe showed some of the artwork, and the process of arriving at a finished page. Goldman seems to draw the figures, then layer in a real photograph as background.He did point out that all of the logos had to be replaced by Goldman for the UK edition due to their differing laws.
The project first appeared on Smith Magazine and can still be seen at http://www.shootingwar.com although that version is different than the final book.
For the hardcore superhero fans, Lappe pointed out that he was influenced by Spider-Man when writing this. His character gains great power like Peter Parker (by being the only person to videoblog a terrorist event) and then tries to live up to that power while still being a normal guy. Not a comic book reader, Lappe was surprised that no reviewer had picked up that link.
In the Q&A period, Lappe noted that the main character may return as a tv series with a concurrent series of comic books. He also said that he had no editorial interference from Grand Central Books (formerly Warner Books), his co-author is working on a graphic story about the current election, and while he admires the work of Joe Sacco, he really didn't want to repeat his movie as a comic book. He also railed against the comic industry a bit, noting that while up for an Eisner at San Diego, he found very few works that addressed the war. He was asked about veterans views on the book - the talk was sponsored by an LOC vet group - and said that his friends who were veterans liked the book, but that might be just because they were his friends. However, he did change one character, a Lt. Colonel, and his reaction to the death of one of his soldiers, based on responses to the online story.
Obviously I bought a copy of the book and had it signed. I'm looking forward to reading it. More notes later as they occur to me.
Feb 7: Tracy Sugerman at Library of Congress
I don't know anything about his work, but Sara Duke is introducing him.
Public contact: Veterans History Project (202) 707-4916, vohp@loc.gov
WWII VETERAN AND ACCLAIMED ARTIST TRACY SUGARMAN
DISCUSSES MEMOIR, ILLUSTRATIONS AT LIBRARY ON FEB. 7
Award-winning author and illustrator Tracy Sugarman will give a visual presentation and discuss his new memoir, “Drawing Conclusions: An Artist Discovers His America,” at a special program at noon on Thursday, Feb. 7, in Dining Room A of the Library’s James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.
The event, co-sponsored by the American Folklife Center’s Veterans History Project and the Prints and Photographs Division, is free and open to the public. No tickets or reservations are required.
"Mr. Sugarman’s writings, drawings and video-recorded interviews comprise a rich collection in both the Library’s Veterans History Project and the Prints and Photographs Division, and we are honored that he will be here to talk about his book, which is an important addition to the historical record he has already shared with the American people," said Librarian of Congress James H. Billington.
Sugarman, a WWII naval officer, is a freelance artist and illustrator who, in a long and varied career, has covered the civil-rights struggle in the South, labor strikes, NASA rollouts, VISTA's work with Appalachian coal-miner families, and rehearsals of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Alvin Ailey Dance Group. His work has garnered recognition from the Society of Illustrators in New York and the Art Directors Club in Washington, D.C.
In 2000, Sugarman published “My War,” a reminiscence of his wartime experiences, which blended artwork, excerpts of letters home and memories of his days during wartime. Sugarman’s story was also included in “Voices of War,” a book published in 2004 by National Geographic and the Library, which features stories from the Veterans History Project collections. Sugarman’s wartime-era artwork is housed in the collections of the Prints and Photographs Division, and a watercolor from that collection is featured on the front of the VHP 2008 “Forever a Soldier” wall calendar.
Unequaled in their scope and richness, the collections in the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division currently include about 14 million photographs, drawings and prints from the 15th century to the present day. International in scope, these visual collections represent a uniquely rich fund of human experience, knowledge, creativity and achievement, touching on almost every realm of endeavor: science, art, invention, government, political struggle and the recording of history. For more information, visit www.loc.gov/rr/print/.
Wartime veterans are encouraged to come forward to record their experiences for the growing archive within the American Folklife Center’s Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress. Those interested can download a VHP Field Kit from the Veterans History Project Web site at www.loc.gov/vets/, request a kit via email at vohp@loc.gov or call the toll-free message line at (888) 371-5848.
Public contact: Veterans History Project (202) 707-4916, vohp@loc.gov
WWII VETERAN AND ACCLAIMED ARTIST TRACY SUGARMAN
DISCUSSES MEMOIR, ILLUSTRATIONS AT LIBRARY ON FEB. 7
Award-winning author and illustrator Tracy Sugarman will give a visual presentation and discuss his new memoir, “Drawing Conclusions: An Artist Discovers His America,” at a special program at noon on Thursday, Feb. 7, in Dining Room A of the Library’s James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.
The event, co-sponsored by the American Folklife Center’s Veterans History Project and the Prints and Photographs Division, is free and open to the public. No tickets or reservations are required.
"Mr. Sugarman’s writings, drawings and video-recorded interviews comprise a rich collection in both the Library’s Veterans History Project and the Prints and Photographs Division, and we are honored that he will be here to talk about his book, which is an important addition to the historical record he has already shared with the American people," said Librarian of Congress James H. Billington.
Sugarman, a WWII naval officer, is a freelance artist and illustrator who, in a long and varied career, has covered the civil-rights struggle in the South, labor strikes, NASA rollouts, VISTA's work with Appalachian coal-miner families, and rehearsals of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Alvin Ailey Dance Group. His work has garnered recognition from the Society of Illustrators in New York and the Art Directors Club in Washington, D.C.
In 2000, Sugarman published “My War,” a reminiscence of his wartime experiences, which blended artwork, excerpts of letters home and memories of his days during wartime. Sugarman’s story was also included in “Voices of War,” a book published in 2004 by National Geographic and the Library, which features stories from the Veterans History Project collections. Sugarman’s wartime-era artwork is housed in the collections of the Prints and Photographs Division, and a watercolor from that collection is featured on the front of the VHP 2008 “Forever a Soldier” wall calendar.
Unequaled in their scope and richness, the collections in the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division currently include about 14 million photographs, drawings and prints from the 15th century to the present day. International in scope, these visual collections represent a uniquely rich fund of human experience, knowledge, creativity and achievement, touching on almost every realm of endeavor: science, art, invention, government, political struggle and the recording of history. For more information, visit www.loc.gov/rr/print/.
Wartime veterans are encouraged to come forward to record their experiences for the growing archive within the American Folklife Center’s Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress. Those interested can download a VHP Field Kit from the Veterans History Project Web site at www.loc.gov/vets/, request a kit via email at vohp@loc.gov or call the toll-free message line at (888) 371-5848.
March 5: Lecture at Library of Congress
ON March 5th at noon in the Madison building, Swann Fellowship winner Dr. Ellen Berg will speak on "Where Have You Gone, Miss Columbia? American Identity and Uncle Sam's Forgotten Partner." This should be good, although my uninformed opinion is that the Statue of Liberty simply subsumed Columbia.
More additions to the Rhode stash
Barbara of the Netherlands by way of Canada sent these faux Pez 'Klik' X-Men yesterday. Hoo-hah! Note the Taj Mahal in the background - site of the 4th low-budget movie?
Boy, they're just horrible, aren't they? Another great addition to the collection!
Boy, they're just horrible, aren't they? Another great addition to the collection!
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
3 post-World War 1 cartoons on flickr
The National Museum of Health and Medicine, from whence I draw a paycheck, has been putting pictures up on Flickr. Today one of the other archivists put up some shots she took of the Comeback, the post-WW1 Walter Reed Army Hospital Paper. So here are links to a semi-editorial cartoon
,
a sports comic strip
and an ad
.
Larger versions can be downloaded from the Flickr site - there are no download limits.
You can also see this somewhat out of date finding aid, Cartoons and Comics in the National Museum of Health and Medicine.
, a sports comic strip
and an ad
. Larger versions can be downloaded from the Flickr site - there are no download limits.
You can also see this somewhat out of date finding aid, Cartoons and Comics in the National Museum of Health and Medicine.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Feb 2: African cartoonist Issa Nyaphaga appears
Issa wrote in:
Please join us for a music / painting performance at the opening of Issa Nyaphaga's exhibition, "Mystic Forms" at Mount Rainier’s H&F Gallery on Rhode Island. Mount Rainier residents, Surabhi Shah, Deepak Shenoy, and Silver Spring resident Shareen Joshi will accompany with music and vocals Mount Rainier’s Issa Nyaphaga, while he performs improvisational live painting using the music for inspiration.
Date: Feb 2, 2007, Saturday
Venue: H&F Fine Arts Gallery, 3311 Rhode Island Avenue (next to Artmosphere), Mount Rainier, MD 20712, (301) 887-0080 (http://www.hffinearts.com/)
Reception: 5-8pm
Music/Painting Performance: 7-8pm
Performers:
Live Painting - Issa Nyaphaga (Mount Rainier, MD & Paris, France)
Tabla (Indian percussion instrument) - Deepak Shenoy (Mount Rainier, MD)
Vocals - Surabhi Shah (Mount Rainier, MD)
Vocals & Harmonium (Indian keyed instrument)- Shareen Joshi (Silver Spring, MD)
Presentation by Shivali Shah.
Check out this radio show about Issa.
Please join us for a music / painting performance at the opening of Issa Nyaphaga's exhibition, "Mystic Forms" at Mount Rainier’s H&F Gallery on Rhode Island. Mount Rainier residents, Surabhi Shah, Deepak Shenoy, and Silver Spring resident Shareen Joshi will accompany with music and vocals Mount Rainier’s Issa Nyaphaga, while he performs improvisational live painting using the music for inspiration.
Date: Feb 2, 2007, Saturday
Venue: H&F Fine Arts Gallery, 3311 Rhode Island Avenue (next to Artmosphere), Mount Rainier, MD 20712, (301) 887-0080 (http://www.hffinearts.com/)
Reception: 5-8pm
Music/Painting Performance: 7-8pm
Performers:
Live Painting - Issa Nyaphaga (Mount Rainier, MD & Paris, France)
Tabla (Indian percussion instrument) - Deepak Shenoy (Mount Rainier, MD)
Vocals - Surabhi Shah (Mount Rainier, MD)
Vocals & Harmonium (Indian keyed instrument)- Shareen Joshi (Silver Spring, MD)
Presentation by Shivali Shah.
Check out this radio show about Issa.
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 01-30-08
QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 01-30-08
By John Judy
ACTION COMICS #861 by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank. Superman goes to the computer world of Colu and gets hacked by Brainiacs! Fortunately their ISP is Time-Warner Cable and Supes gets away during one of their daily outages.
AVENGERS INITIATIVE #9 by Dan Slott and Stefano Caselli. MVP was KIA and now it appears he’s PO’d. The body-count begins here. Recommended.
BATMAN #673 by Grant Morrison and Tony Daniel. A flash-back issue in which we finally learn what happened during that purification ritual in the cave last year. Cool.
BATMAN: THE MAN WHO LAUGHS HC by Ed Brubaker and Associates. Batman’s first encounter with the Joker as told by my new favorite scribe Ed Brubaker. Also collects DETECTIVE COMICS #784-786, guest-starring the Golden-Age Green Lantern, Alan Scott. Recommended.
BLACK ADAM: THE DARK AGE #6 of 6 by Peter Tomasi and Doug Mahnke. The final fate of Isis. One gets the feeling it ain’t gonna be good. The end of a powerful series that is probably too violent for younger fans of Captain Marvel and the Fawcett heroes.
BLACK SUMMER #5 of 7 by Warren Ellis and Juan Jose Ryp. More shootin’s and ‘splosions from the remaining Seven Guns in honor of the month issue #7 was supposed to ship, but didn’t. “Oh, Avatar….” Still recommended. Still not for kids.
CAPTAIN AMERICA #34 by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting. A great week for Brubaker fans as Bucky does his first night out as The New Captain America! Only Brubaker could make this sort of thing cool.
DAREDEVIL #104 by Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark. More of the Bru-Meister as DD gets twisted tighter and tighter in his pursuit of Mister Fear. Guest-starring a significant Big Bad in the Marvel U.
FANTASTIC FOUR #553 by Dwayne McDuffie and Paul Pelletier. While I’m generally a fan of McDuffie’s writing this issue has two strikes against it: Time-travel and a lot of “Which one of us is lying?” dialogue. Still, in all a decent issue and a set-up for future story-lines.
GREEN LANTERN #27 by Geoff Johns and Mike McKone. “The Alpha Lanterns” continues as Johns explores how an unprecedented act of terror transforms an entity once renowned for its commitment to justice and higher ideals. Wonder what inspired him… Gutsy, imaginative stuff. Recommended.
MIGHTY AVENGERS #8 by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley. A Big Fight with Venomy symbiote things.
NARCOPOLIS #1 of 4 by Jamie Delano and Jeremy Rock. Guy in Utopia discovers that maybe all is not hunky-dory. From one of Vertigo’s Founding Fathers.
NEW AVENGERS ANNUAL by Brian Michael Bendis and Carlo Pagulayan. More Big Fights. Double-Sized!
PREVIEWS from Diamond Comics and Marvel. “The Future of Comics is in your hands!”
PROJECT SUPERPOWERS #0 by Jim Kruger, Alex Ross, and Stephen Sadowski. Best line of the week comes from artist Chris Weston: “Wow. The return of a team of long lost, Nazi-smashing golden age heroes... Why can't I get to draw something like that? Uh… Waitaminnit!” Okay, the deal appears to be that a bunch of Golden-Age heroes have entered the public domain. That means anyone can legally use them. The team from EARTH X and PARADISE X said “Why not us?” There is a preview up on Dynamite Entertainment’s website and it appears a sincere effort is going into making this comic something special. I didn’t care for this team’s earlier joint efforts, but I’m hooked on Golden-Age characters so this one’s a “Gotta Look!”
SPIDER-MAN WITH GREAT POWER #1 of 5 by David Lapham and Tony Harris. An untold slice of early Spider-Mania from a couple of super-cool creators. If you like STRAY BULLETS or EX MACHINA you need to read this comic!
SPIRIT #13 by Lotsa People. Special “Femmes Fatales” issue! You want this! Recommended!
Y THE LAST MAN #60 of 60 by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra. Final issue. End of story. Forty-eight pages. If you haven’t read this series go pick up the first trade collection and start. Thanks to Vaughan and his collaborators for one hell of a ride. Highly recommended.
www.johnjudy.net
By John Judy
ACTION COMICS #861 by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank. Superman goes to the computer world of Colu and gets hacked by Brainiacs! Fortunately their ISP is Time-Warner Cable and Supes gets away during one of their daily outages.
AVENGERS INITIATIVE #9 by Dan Slott and Stefano Caselli. MVP was KIA and now it appears he’s PO’d. The body-count begins here. Recommended.
BATMAN #673 by Grant Morrison and Tony Daniel. A flash-back issue in which we finally learn what happened during that purification ritual in the cave last year. Cool.
BATMAN: THE MAN WHO LAUGHS HC by Ed Brubaker and Associates. Batman’s first encounter with the Joker as told by my new favorite scribe Ed Brubaker. Also collects DETECTIVE COMICS #784-786, guest-starring the Golden-Age Green Lantern, Alan Scott. Recommended.
BLACK ADAM: THE DARK AGE #6 of 6 by Peter Tomasi and Doug Mahnke. The final fate of Isis. One gets the feeling it ain’t gonna be good. The end of a powerful series that is probably too violent for younger fans of Captain Marvel and the Fawcett heroes.
BLACK SUMMER #5 of 7 by Warren Ellis and Juan Jose Ryp. More shootin’s and ‘splosions from the remaining Seven Guns in honor of the month issue #7 was supposed to ship, but didn’t. “Oh, Avatar….” Still recommended. Still not for kids.
CAPTAIN AMERICA #34 by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting. A great week for Brubaker fans as Bucky does his first night out as The New Captain America! Only Brubaker could make this sort of thing cool.
DAREDEVIL #104 by Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark. More of the Bru-Meister as DD gets twisted tighter and tighter in his pursuit of Mister Fear. Guest-starring a significant Big Bad in the Marvel U.
FANTASTIC FOUR #553 by Dwayne McDuffie and Paul Pelletier. While I’m generally a fan of McDuffie’s writing this issue has two strikes against it: Time-travel and a lot of “Which one of us is lying?” dialogue. Still, in all a decent issue and a set-up for future story-lines.
GREEN LANTERN #27 by Geoff Johns and Mike McKone. “The Alpha Lanterns” continues as Johns explores how an unprecedented act of terror transforms an entity once renowned for its commitment to justice and higher ideals. Wonder what inspired him… Gutsy, imaginative stuff. Recommended.
MIGHTY AVENGERS #8 by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley. A Big Fight with Venomy symbiote things.
NARCOPOLIS #1 of 4 by Jamie Delano and Jeremy Rock. Guy in Utopia discovers that maybe all is not hunky-dory. From one of Vertigo’s Founding Fathers.
NEW AVENGERS ANNUAL by Brian Michael Bendis and Carlo Pagulayan. More Big Fights. Double-Sized!
PREVIEWS from Diamond Comics and Marvel. “The Future of Comics is in your hands!”
PROJECT SUPERPOWERS #0 by Jim Kruger, Alex Ross, and Stephen Sadowski. Best line of the week comes from artist Chris Weston: “Wow. The return of a team of long lost, Nazi-smashing golden age heroes... Why can't I get to draw something like that? Uh… Waitaminnit!” Okay, the deal appears to be that a bunch of Golden-Age heroes have entered the public domain. That means anyone can legally use them. The team from EARTH X and PARADISE X said “Why not us?” There is a preview up on Dynamite Entertainment’s website and it appears a sincere effort is going into making this comic something special. I didn’t care for this team’s earlier joint efforts, but I’m hooked on Golden-Age characters so this one’s a “Gotta Look!”
SPIDER-MAN WITH GREAT POWER #1 of 5 by David Lapham and Tony Harris. An untold slice of early Spider-Mania from a couple of super-cool creators. If you like STRAY BULLETS or EX MACHINA you need to read this comic!
SPIRIT #13 by Lotsa People. Special “Femmes Fatales” issue! You want this! Recommended!
Y THE LAST MAN #60 of 60 by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra. Final issue. End of story. Forty-eight pages. If you haven’t read this series go pick up the first trade collection and start. Thanks to Vaughan and his collaborators for one hell of a ride. Highly recommended.
www.johnjudy.net
Sunday, January 27, 2008
New Thought Balloonists blog born at Politics and Prose
My friends Craig Fischer and Charles Hatfield, two of the best academic writers on comics, have started a new blog, Thought Ballonists. So far they've taken indepth looks at Shaun Tan, Carol Tyler, Fraction's Iron Fist and Chester Brown. I hadn't paid any attention to the Iron Fist relaunch, even though Craig was pushing it at ICAF. Charles emailed me today, "The idea of TB was born while waiting in line at P&P to get Oliphant's signature, and Craig mentioned Iron Fist to me then as well!" So I just ordered it from Big Planet.
Anyway, check out the blog twice-weekly.
Anyway, check out the blog twice-weekly.
And in Sunday's WaPost
Frazz references a classic comic - Charles Addams this time - much as Lio did last week.
Emily Flake makes what might be her first appearance, illustrating the Jobs section (note the article next to it on archivist Connie Potter with whom I used to work).
The Book World gives a brief mention to McSweeny's latest project, THE BOOK OF OTHER PEOPLE edited by Zadie Smith, a book which includes Clowes, Posy Simmonds and Charles Burns.
Sometimes comic book writer Paul di Filippo reviews science fiction books.
Jerry Beck's new history of Nickelodeon gets reviewed on the kid's page -
"Nick's History Is as Good as Goo; Text and interviews by Jerry Beck," by Scott Moore, Washington Post Sunday, January 27, 2008; Page M16
Emily Flake makes what might be her first appearance, illustrating the Jobs section (note the article next to it on archivist Connie Potter with whom I used to work).
The Book World gives a brief mention to McSweeny's latest project, THE BOOK OF OTHER PEOPLE edited by Zadie Smith, a book which includes Clowes, Posy Simmonds and Charles Burns.
Sometimes comic book writer Paul di Filippo reviews science fiction books.
Jerry Beck's new history of Nickelodeon gets reviewed on the kid's page -
"Nick's History Is as Good as Goo; Text and interviews by Jerry Beck," by Scott Moore, Washington Post Sunday, January 27, 2008; Page M16
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Zadzooks comic book reviews
In "Hulk is back on Earth and spoiling for a fight," By Joseph Szadkowski, Washington Times January 26, 2008, Zadzooks also reviews the Don Martin collection and The Wind in The Willows by Plessix. As I refuse to read most superhero comics today, I had no idea that the Hulk, when exiled to a foreign planet, reused the storyline of meeting and marrying a barbarian girl as had been done thirty years ago with Jarella and his sub-atomic kingdom. I can't imagine the story's better now either.
Film & TV Adaptations book continues to be available
Film & TV Adaptations of Comics - 2007 edition by Rhode and Vogel is available for order.149 pages long, it's a listing of the thousands of adaptations to film and television of hundreds of comic strips and books. Worldwide, it includes the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Russia, the Netherlands, Senegal, India, Turkey, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and Australia among others. Cross-referenced by cartoonist and translated titles, it includes a bibliography and index.
You can buy it via Lulu.com for $12.99 (plus shipping) or $3.00 for a pdf download at http://www.lulu.com/content/1677433.
This is a reference book, and one that might spark a bit of curiosity. Lulu will let you see a preview, and here's a sample section of late additions from the Errata page:
Titles of strips samples:
Suramu Danku [Slam Dunk] (Takehiko Inoue)
Suramu Danku (Japan: Toei Animation, 1993-1996; 101-episode anime tv series)
4 DTV anime movies (Japan: Toei Animation, 1994-1995)
Oldboy (Nobuaki Minegishi)
Oldboy (South Korea 2003)
Scary Godmother (Jill Thompson)
The Scary Godmother, Vol. 2: The Revenge of Jimmy (USA 2005; animated DTV movie)
Wulffmorgenthaler (Mikael Wulff and Anders Morgenthaler)
Wulffmorgenthaler? (Denmark 200?; tv series)
Cartoonists cross-reference sample:
Eliot, Jan (Stone Soup cartoonist)
Oregon Art Beat Episode# 915 - Illustrator Jan Eliot (Oregon Public Broadcasting, 2008; segment on January 10, 2008 tv show)
Bibliography samples:
• Ehrenreich, Ben. 2007. “Comic Genius? Before there was even a comic book to adapt, 'Cowboys and Aliens' had a movie deal [Platinum Comics],” New York Times Magazine (November 11).
• Kohanik, Eric / CanWest News Service. 2008. “Painkiller Jane comic-book heroine,” Saskatoon Star-Phoenix (January 5).
• Takahashi, Rumiko and Stephen Ayres (trans.). 2005. The Art of InuYasha (2nd Edition), San Francisco: Viz Media.
• Unknown. 2008. “New cartoon series in ‘Wiener Zeitung’: Danish duo ‘Wulffmorgenthaler’ to feature daily on the new English page,” Wiener Zeitung (January 4).
Friday, January 25, 2008
Persepolis finally opens in DC; newspapers take note
The Express ran an LATimes review, although they did publish this picture yesterday. The print version of the Onion has a review too.
The other local freebie, a paper that used to run comics, had "Oscar-nominated ‘Persepolis’ is beautiful to behold," by Sally Kline, The Washington Examiner Jan 25, 2008.
and another positive review is from another paper that used to run comics - "Menace, Anyone? Politics are a threat in Persepolis, but the danger's even more monstrous in Cloverfield," By Tricia Olszewski, Washington City Paper January 25, 2008: 42,
And in a paper that still runs comics, we find a bit harsher "Beautiful 'Persepolis' needs soul," By Kelly Jane Torrance, Washington Times January 25, 2008.
But we wrap up positively - "'Persepolis': A Stranger in Her Own Land: Film Deftly Animates Cultural Conflict in Iran," By Stephen Hunter, Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 25, 2008; Page C05.
The other local freebie, a paper that used to run comics, had "Oscar-nominated ‘Persepolis’ is beautiful to behold," by Sally Kline, The Washington Examiner Jan 25, 2008.
and another positive review is from another paper that used to run comics - "Menace, Anyone? Politics are a threat in Persepolis, but the danger's even more monstrous in Cloverfield," By Tricia Olszewski, Washington City Paper January 25, 2008: 42,
And in a paper that still runs comics, we find a bit harsher "Beautiful 'Persepolis' needs soul," By Kelly Jane Torrance, Washington Times January 25, 2008.
But we wrap up positively - "'Persepolis': A Stranger in Her Own Land: Film Deftly Animates Cultural Conflict in Iran," By Stephen Hunter, Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 25, 2008; Page C05.
Cartoonist Drew Litton likes Cul de Sac
Sports and editorial cartoonist Drew Litton of the Rocky Mountain News on his blog post "Dan O'Dowd Takes Aim," from Thursday, January 24, 2008, says,
I recently discovered the work of Richard Thompson, who just launched a new strip called Cul De Sac. You can see it in the News everyday. I love seeing the work of cartoonists I'm unfamiliar with. I did a search in Amazon and found this treasure trove [Richard's Poor Almanac] of cartoons from the feature that Thompson draws for the Washington Post. Absolutely fantastic work.
I recently discovered the work of Richard Thompson, who just launched a new strip called Cul De Sac. You can see it in the News everyday. I love seeing the work of cartoonists I'm unfamiliar with. I did a search in Amazon and found this treasure trove [Richard's Poor Almanac] of cartoons from the feature that Thompson draws for the Washington Post. Absolutely fantastic work.
Feb 1: Jef Thompson painting exhibit opens
Odd Men and Industrials opens on February 1, from 6-9 pm in Baltimore at the Ottobar, 2549 North Howard St which Jef says is "close to the BMA. About 6 blocks south. 8 blocks north of Penn Station." Jef's worked at Big Planet Comics Bethesda for years, and has illustrated children's books, of which I have almost a complete set. You should all go and buy a painting. I'd be up for a car pool if anyone's interested.
Jan 31: Shooting War author at Library of Congress
Martha Kennedy reports:
The LCPA Veteran's Forum will host Anthony Lappe, author of the graphic novel "Shooting War," on Thursday, January 31, noon-1:00, Dining Room A, Madison Building, Library of Congress.
"Shooting War" began as an Eisner-nominated serialized web comic in May 2006. The book was expanded into a 192-page hardcover graphic novel, with new plot twists and "more Dan Rather than you can shake a dead armadillo at."
The novel takes place in Iraq in the year 2011. The protagonist, Jimmy Burns, dreams of becoming a war correspondent and soon finds himself in Baghdad.
Anthony Lappe served as an embedded correspondent in Iraq. He subsequently produced the award-winning Showtime documentary "Battleground: 21 Days on the Empire's Edge." He is the Executive Editor of GNN TV as well as a producer for MTV News and Fuse.
Anthony will show a short film as well as slides of illustrations from the book. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing at the event.
Further information contact David Moore 202-707-5034.
The LCPA Veteran's Forum will host Anthony Lappe, author of the graphic novel "Shooting War," on Thursday, January 31, noon-1:00, Dining Room A, Madison Building, Library of Congress.
"Shooting War" began as an Eisner-nominated serialized web comic in May 2006. The book was expanded into a 192-page hardcover graphic novel, with new plot twists and "more Dan Rather than you can shake a dead armadillo at."
The novel takes place in Iraq in the year 2011. The protagonist, Jimmy Burns, dreams of becoming a war correspondent and soon finds himself in Baghdad.
Anthony Lappe served as an embedded correspondent in Iraq. He subsequently produced the award-winning Showtime documentary "Battleground: 21 Days on the Empire's Edge." He is the Executive Editor of GNN TV as well as a producer for MTV News and Fuse.
Anthony will show a short film as well as slides of illustrations from the book. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing at the event.
Further information contact David Moore 202-707-5034.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
And a UK mention of this blog
European collector Wim Lockefeer, who does the excellent Ephemerist blog devoted to passing bits of cartoon art (to which I'll infrequently send a piece) mentioned ComicsDC today on his Forbidden Planet blog. Thanks, Wim!
OT: My buddy Darko Macan's 24-hour comic
Darko's in Croatia, which is about as far from DC as we've ranged so far, and he has posted a 24-Hour comic. It's wordless, essentially, and a 'funny animal' if attempted murder can be termed that. American comic readers might recall his works in American comics, especially Star Wars, Tarzan and Cable.
Bits from the papers
Today's Express had a review of Persepolis which wasn't online and one of the Swamp Thing TV series dvd - Stephen M Deusnef's "Swamp Thing: Up From the Muck," [Washington Post] Express (January 24 2008): E13 - which is.
The City Paper had a Big-Daddy-Roth-channeling cover by Pekar-collaborating Ed Piskor (who has a self-published book out now too) and another review of Persepolis - "Menace, Anyone? Politics are a threat in Persepolis, but the danger's even more monstrous in Cloverfield," by Tricia Olszewski, Washington City Paper January 25, 2008: 42.
The City Paper had a Big-Daddy-Roth-channeling cover by Pekar-collaborating Ed Piskor (who has a self-published book out now too) and another review of Persepolis - "Menace, Anyone? Politics are a threat in Persepolis, but the danger's even more monstrous in Cloverfield," by Tricia Olszewski, Washington City Paper January 25, 2008: 42.
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