Friday, April 03, 2009

Is The Onion peeling?

I've noticed that a bunch of Onion boxes were removed and it's not been distributed at Big Planet Comics for the past two weeks. Is the Onion's DC edition struggling?

Cavna twitters Thompson (no, not that one)

Boy, that headline sounds dirty. See "The Twitter Interview: Political Cartoonist Mike Thompson," By Michael Cavna, April 3, 2009 to get those images out of your head.

Craig Yoe and Joe Shuster at Big Planet

Craig will be signing his new book on Superman artist Joe Shuster's... alternative comics drawings ... at Big Planet Comics on Saturday, April 25th.

Thursday, April 02, 2009

Cagle and Cavna; Weingarten on comic strips

Off to the Herblock award, but check out "The Twitter Interview: Cartoonist Daryl Cagle," By Michael Cavna, April 2, 2009.

Gene Weingarten has a longish discussion of comic strips so I won't quote all of it - "Chatological Humor: Comics Section Shrinkage, Erogenous Zones (UPDATED 4.2.09)", Washington Post.com (March 31 2009).

Finally, there's a play with a superhero theme in town -
"A Crusade Against Religion: In 'The Faithkiller,' an atheistic superhero gets mixed reactions," by Express contributor Erin Trompeter, April 2, 2009.

Wednesday, April 01, 2009

British fascination with faces on transportation leads to autism cartoon dvd

This has been all over the place, but the Post picked it up so here you go - the country that gave us Thomas the Tank Engine and whatever those airplanes with faces on PBS were called is carrying anthropomorphism into new realms - "British DVD Takes Aim At Autism: Cartoons Focus on Facial Expressions," Rachel Saslow, Washington Post Tuesday, March 31, 2009; HE04.

Batcave Companion interview with Kronenberg

Their publisher has a podcast interview with the two authors - "TwoMorrows Tune-In #19: Michael Eury and Michael Kronenberg (The Batcave Companion)," April 1 2009. The direct link is http://twomorrows.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/19_rt_me_mk_090401.mp3

Cavna talks to Bell, Kurtz and other social networking cartoonists

Two are online at the Comic Riffs blog - "'Candorville' Cartoonist Finds His [Short-Form] Muse," By Michael Cavna, March 31, 2009 and "The Twitter Interview: 'PvP' Creator Scott Kurtz," By Michael Cavna, April 1, 2009. Cavna writes in that he would also like you to see "The Interview: Animator Bryan Brinkman," Michael Cavna, March 23, 2009, even though I had already linked to this as long ago as March 23rd.

In the physical post was "Cartooning's Webcrawler: The Micro-Blogs of Twitter," By Michael Cavna, Washington Post Staff Writer, Wednesday, April 1, 2009; C12. A similar article appeared on PBS's website - "Newspaper Cartoonists Engage Audiences (Including Haters) Online," by Mike Rosen-Molina, PBS Mediashift March 30, 2009.

Kal Theme Park

Kevin "Kal" Kallaugher says:
Today April 1, The Economist reports about a new theme park being built in Europe.(Also reported this morning on NPR) You can read the entire article here:
http://www.economist.com/world/britain/displayStory.cfm?story_id=13395767&source=features_box4

April 2: Art Spiegelman at George Washington U

Art Spiegleman on April 2 will be at GWU's Jack Morton Auditorium at 7 PM.

I'll be at the Herblock award so I'll have to miss this, but he's always an entertaining speaker.

Thanks to Phil T. for the tip.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Wildly OT, but amusing: Hustler cartoonist's blog

Dan Collins just wrote in, "I recently started my own cartoon blog. I've been a full time professional cartoonist since 1976."

Dan's work certainly fits into the Secret History of Comics - as he notes on his site, "Those cartoons have no doubt shown up in the inboxes of most of you at one time or another. Just look for the 'collins' at the bottom. If only I had a nickel every time they did."

I'm sure I've seen Dan's work that way too, but his blog is darned funny.

Express reviews Complete Peanuts 11

See "This One Goes to 11: 'The Complete Peanuts 1971-1972'," by Express contributor Ewa Beaujon, Express (March 30 2009). I think this was online only. Anyone know?

OT: Donna Barstow, editorial cartoonist

Donna found me while looking for Dave Astor (sorry Dave!) and sent the following PR in, but she also noted "there are only 2 other women in [UCLICK's editorial group (over 60), and it's quite a switch to go from magazine gag cartoons to editorials (although I'm still doing mag cartoons mostly)! I'm hugely enjoying the challenge, but haven't gotten much feedback yet." So check her out on Slate (which actually offers you the opportunity to "Buy Donna Barstow for your Web, wireless or print publication." Is this the next step in cartooning?

She's also got a new New Yorker blog, "Why I did It".


Editorial Cartoonist Donna Barstow Brings Fresh, Original Voice to UCLICK® Website GoComics.com

Kansas City, MO (February 24, 2009) - Editorial cartoonist and acclaimed blogger Donna Barstow is bringing her signature style to GoComics.com, the popular Uclick comic strip and editorial cartoon portal that is home to some of the nation’s most renowned cartoonists.

Barstow’s new feature will update two to three times per week, putting on full display the unique commentary that has made her cartoons a hit on the pages of widely-read newspapers and periodicals such as Parade, The New Yorker, Harvard Business Review, the Los Angeles Times, and Glamour, among others. She has 2 books in print of cartoons for women, and her cartoon on food has run for several years in mainstream and alternative papers, including Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer, Salt Lake Tribune, Albany Times Union, Pasadena Weekly, and more.

Barstow approaches her job as an editorial cartoonist in a way that differs from the political myopia that sometimes dominates the field.

“I try to see more of the positive in the news,” said Barstow. “It’s important to have a point of view, but does it have to be fatalistic? I try and bring light to a subject even though I might loathe it.”

While the focus of Barstow’s feature will usually fall on politics, the cartoonist expects a large dose of pop culture to work its way into the mix as well, all filtered through the lens of her own perspective.

“Living in Hollywood, I can’t help but be influenced by entertainment, and yes, sadly, the drama of it all,” said Barstow. “I’m originally from the East Coast, so I definitely see the conflict and layers in East vs. West coast culture! It’s a challenge I enjoy, letting my opinions be known.”

Barstow joins a star-studded lineup of editorial cartoonists on GoComics.com. The site features 27 Pulitzer Prize winners, including Pat Oliphant, Mike Luckovich, Matt Davies, David Horsey, Mike Ramirez and more.

“Donna paints the world in shades most of us don’t even consider,” said Douglas Edwards, Uclick CEO. “She brings an original point of view and an instantly recognizable cartooning style to her work, not to mention her brilliant wit. She’s a great fit for the GoComics community.”

Check out Donna Barstow’s cartoons at GoComics.com/DonnaBarstow.
GoComics.com is owned and operated by digital entertainment provider Uclick, America's #1 provider of comics on the web and on mobile phones.

About UCLICK:
UCLICK® is the leading digital entertainment provider of humor, comic strips, manga, graphic novels, editorial cartoons, and other content for desktop, web and mobile phones. Uclick is also the leading creator and distributor of crosswords, and other word and number puzzles. Partners featuring Uclick content include the leading consumer portals Yahoo!, MSNBC.com, New York Times, Slate.com, washingtonpost.com, CNN, USA Today, and AOL. Uclick features include the top brand franchises Garfield, Doonesbury, Calvin and Hobbes, Paul Frank, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, TOKYOPOP, USA Today, Pat Sajak, Wyland, and many more. Uclick creative content and services are available through the GoComics.com website, U.S. mobile phone operators, the iTunes App Store, and other distributors worldwide. UCLICK, LLC is a division of Andrews McMeel Universal, the leading newspaper syndicate and publisher of humor books and calendars in North America.

For more information on Uclick, visit www.uclick.com.

Monday, March 30, 2009

OT: Cartooning in Africa book now available

I saw John Lent yesterday and got a copy of his new book, Cartooning in Africa. It's an edited volume of essays on Africa as a whole, Angola, Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Southern Africa, South Africa, Tunisia and Tanzania. Here's the description lifted from Amazon's site:

Product Description
This volume documents from historical and contemporary perspectives, the situations, trends and issues of cartooning in a number of African countries, and profiles the individuals, forms and phenomena that stand out. All types of cartooning are covered, including comic books, comic strips, gag and political cartoons, and humour magazines.
Product Details

* Paperback: 383 pages
* Publisher: Hampton Press (October 2008)
* Language: English
* ISBN-10: 1572735546
* ISBN-13: 978-1572735545

Malaria Moe cartoons on Flickr

088266-32
My colleague at the Medical Museum put up a bunch of scans of World War 2 Malaria Moe propaganda cartoons on Flickr today. The artist, Frank Mack, later went on to work for Ripley's Believe It Or Not.

Dave Astor's idea for jobless editorial cartoonists

It's a doozy.

That Darn Auth

Tom Toles isn't the only editorial cartoonist that gets complaints at the Post. Even though he works for a Philly paper, Tony Auth came in for this gripe, although he was unnamed. The accompanying cartoon was signed.


Catholicism Under Attack
Washington Post Saturday, March 28, 2009; A11

Of all the cartoons published last week, why did you choose one that is anti-Catholic for Drawing Board on March 21? Not only was it offensive, but its implications were false.

The cartoon showed Pope Benedict XVI in an AIDS ward saying, "Blessed are the sick, for they have not used condoms." The implication was that condoms would reduce the incidence of AIDS.

However, no less an authority than Edward C. Green, a senior research scientist at the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, was quoted as saying in National Review Online last week that "we have found no consistent associations between condom use and lower HIV-infection rates."

When asked to comment on a statement by Pope Benedict XVI on AIDS, Green said that the pope is correct, "or put it a better way, the best evidence we have supports the pope's comments."

The implication of the cartoon that the pope does not care about the plight of AIDS victims was insulting and outrageously untrue. What other group can match the care given to AIDS victims throughout the world by Catholic institutions and health-care workers?

-- Robert H. Follett
Lansdowne

Post drops, shrinks comics

The Post introduced its new 2 comics pages today. The strips are about 1/4 smaller. They justified themselves in several places recently. First the ombudsman, and then the managing editors:

"Why Monday's Post Will Look a Lot Different,"
By Andrew Alexander
Washington Post Sunday, March 29, 2009; A11

Another [way to cut costs] is to trim the physical size of the paper. The savings can be substantial.

A single page of newsprint in the daily Post, with its 650,000 circulation, costs roughly $2,500. A single page on Sundays, with its 870,000 circulation, costs about $3,500.

Shaving two pages from each daily and Sunday paper can save close to $2 million a year. ...

Reducing the number of comics and games was a simple matter of gauging reader preferences. The Post uses an outside firm to regularly question more than 3,000 adults in the Washington area and also conducts its own surveys. To evaluate the comics and games, adults were asked which ones they read, and adults with children were asked which ones their kids read.

Those scoring at the bottom with both adults and kids got the ax.

So, by that logic, if you cut printing the paper out completely at 100 pages (guesstimate for an average day) X $2,500 = $250,000/page/day. Multiple that by the 650,000 copies you print and you can save $162 billion dollars a day! They may have solved the economic crisis!

Ask The Post: Liz Spayd and Raju Narisetti, Washington Post Managing Editors
Monday, March 30, 2009; 12:00 PM

The Washington Post's managing editors, Raju Narisetti and Liz Spayd were online Monday, March 30 at 12 p.m. ET to discuss the recent changes and enhancements in both the newspaper and Web site. They will also answer your questions about the current state of the news industry.

Anonymous: "For all the choices we are making, we have used reader surveys to make sure we keep the features that are most popular."

Does that include comics? Because I never saw one, and I'm a faithful reader.

How was the decision made to drop six current, ongoing strips while keeping Peanuts reruns and tired old "zombie" strips that might as well be reruns, such as Family Circus, Garfield, Beetle Bailey, Mark Trail, and Dennis the Menace. those strips should have been put our of their (and our) miserry years ago.

Sacred cows, anyone?

Raju Narisetti and Liz Spayd: We do regular readership surveys both on the phone and in-person and the comics that moved online were the least popular with our readers.

_______________________

Silver Spring, Md.: Why don't you put Gene Weingarten in charge of the Comics section?

Raju Narisetti and Liz Spayd: We are putting it on our list of things to ask Gene!!

Sunday, March 29, 2009

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 04-01-09

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 04-01-09
By John Judy


AGENTS OF ATLAS #3 by Jeff Parker, Clayton Henry and Gabriel Hardman. Fighting commies back in The Day and everyone else in the Here and Now, these vintage super-folk just don’t know when to quit! A must for all aficionados of robots and talking gorillas!

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #590 by Dan Slott and Barry Kitson. Lots of doings in the Spider-verse, with a guest appearance by the Fantastic Four!

ANGEL: BLOOD AND TRENCHES #2 written and drawn by John Byrne. Oddly enough, both the best Angel story and best work from John Byrne in quite a while. Reminiscent of the TV show in all the ways his latest series isn’t. Good stuff.

AVENGERS/INVADERS #9 of 12 Alex Ross, Jim Kreuger and Steve Sadowski. Still coming out.

BATMAN: BATTLE FOR THE COWL: MAN-BAT #1 by Joe Harris and Jim Calafiore. Between you and me, that cowl ain’t gonna fit.

BLACK PANTHER #3 by Reginald Hudlin and Ken Lashley. While T’Challa heals the mysterious new lady Panther continues her quest to even some scores.

THE BOYS #29 by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. The dark secret of the G-Men is exposed at last! Not for kids.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #24 by Jim Krueger and Cliff Richards. A Faith/Giles titanic team-up! Here’s hoping they take down the Dollhouse!

CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS 70th ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL #1 by Joe Simon, Jack Kirby, James Robinson and Marcos Martin. A look back to Steve Rogers’ pre-Super Soldier days and a classic tale from Cap’s legendary creators. Recommended!

THE DESTROYER #1 of 5 by Robert Kirkman and Cory Walker. Legendary WWII hero Keen Marlowe (swear to god) is dying and with a name like “The Destroyer” he’s kind of obliged to take as many nefarious nogoodniks with him as he can. From the creator of WALKING DEAD and MARVEL ZOMBIES so you know it’s gonna be a twisty ride. Gotta look!

FLASH: REBIRTH #1 of 5 by Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver. Barry’s back. Must Have!

GLAMOURPUSS #6 written and drawn by Dave Sim. For anyone interested in tracking CEREBUS creator Dave Sim’s inexorable path to the rubber room.

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #25 by Geoff Johns and Jerry Ordway. At last! The big smack-down with Black Adam and Mighty Isis!

MY MOMMY IS IN AMERICA AND SHE MET BUFFALO BILL HC by Jean Regnaud and Emile Bravo. The English translation of the award-winning French graphic novel about the postcards a young French boy receives from his mother who’s off “traveling the world.” Recommended for readers age ten and up.

PREVIEWS by Diamond and Marvel Comics. To help you plan what to do with your bail-out money!

SCALPED #27 by Jason Aaron and Francesco Francavilla. Ladies and Gentlemen: FBI Agent Baylis Earl Nitz! May want to wear a rain poncho because this one’s gonna get wet! Highly recommended. Not for kids.

SEAGUY: THE SLAVES OF MICKEY EYE #1 of 3 by Grant Morrison and Cameron Stewart. And speaking of “wet” here’s more of the cartoon madness that is Grant Morrison. Hey, it’s only three issues. I mean, “Darn it!”

www.johnjudy.net

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Newseum offering news?

Bruce Guthrie sent in this link to a story about Brenda Starr on the Newseum's website - "A Starr Is Mourned," By Sharon Shahid, senior Web editor, Newseum March 26, 2009.

While the comics are certainly part of a newspaper (take that, Washington Post), I have no idea why the Newseum would be devoting a writer to this given that they probably don't have anything about Brenda Starr on display.

Zadzooks on Resident Evil vidoegame, Bennet on Ambush Bug

"Zadzooks: Resident Evil 5 review," Joseph Szadkowski, Washington Times Wednesday, March 25, 2009 and "Bennett's Best for the week of March 22," By Greg Bennett, Zadzooks Blog March 26 2009. Greg recommends Ambush Bug, a comic I love.