Sunday, September 27, 2009
Zadzooks on comics, this week
Zadzooks: Reviews of Star Wars Adventures, Archibald Aardvark and more, By Joseph Szadkowski, Washington Times September 24 2009
Oct 25: Bechdel day at Katzen Arts Center
* 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
* Visiting Writing Series presents Department of Literature Annual Colloquium, featuring Alison Bechdel
* Battelle-Tompkins Atrium
Alison Bechdel, Fun Home
Welcome! Each year, the American University students, faculty, staff, alumni and other members of the greater community come together for one day to explore a great book. Subjects of previous colloquia include Milan Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being and Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita.
We invite you to participate in the seventh annual Department of Literature Colloquium, featuring Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel.
About the Author and the Book
Named by Time magazine in 2006 as one of the “10 Best Booksof the Year,” Bechdel’s Fun Home was a finalist for a 2006 National Book Critics Circle Award and the winner of the 2007 Eisner Award for Best Reality-Based Work. Of Bechdel’s memoir, Amy Bloom has written: “If David Sedaris could draw, and if Bleak House had been a little funnier, you’d have Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home.” Bechdel is also known for her acclaimed, long-running comic strip, Dykes to Watch Out For. A graduate of Oberlin College, she lives near Burlington, Vermont, where she is now completing a second graphic memoir, Love Life: A Case Study. Alison Bechdel’s appearance is sponsored by the Visiting Writers Series and the Bishop McCabe Lecture Series.
Schedule: Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009
Register Online (by Oct. 21)
9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Colloquium in
Battelle-Tompkins Atrium
(Presentations to be announced!)
See Campus Directions/Maps
3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Lecture with Alison Bechdel,
Katzen Arts Center,
Abramson Family Recital Hall
Questions?
Literature
202-885-2971
lit@american.edu
Battelle Tompkins, Room 237
Thanks to Rick Banning for the tip.
* Visiting Writing Series presents Department of Literature Annual Colloquium, featuring Alison Bechdel
* Battelle-Tompkins Atrium
Alison Bechdel, Fun Home
Welcome! Each year, the American University students, faculty, staff, alumni and other members of the greater community come together for one day to explore a great book. Subjects of previous colloquia include Milan Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being and Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita.
We invite you to participate in the seventh annual Department of Literature Colloquium, featuring Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel.
About the Author and the Book
Named by Time magazine in 2006 as one of the “10 Best Booksof the Year,” Bechdel’s Fun Home was a finalist for a 2006 National Book Critics Circle Award and the winner of the 2007 Eisner Award for Best Reality-Based Work. Of Bechdel’s memoir, Amy Bloom has written: “If David Sedaris could draw, and if Bleak House had been a little funnier, you’d have Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home.” Bechdel is also known for her acclaimed, long-running comic strip, Dykes to Watch Out For. A graduate of Oberlin College, she lives near Burlington, Vermont, where she is now completing a second graphic memoir, Love Life: A Case Study. Alison Bechdel’s appearance is sponsored by the Visiting Writers Series and the Bishop McCabe Lecture Series.
Schedule: Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009
Register Online (by Oct. 21)
9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Colloquium in
Battelle-Tompkins Atrium
(Presentations to be announced!)
See Campus Directions/Maps
3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Lecture with Alison Bechdel,
Katzen Arts Center,
Abramson Family Recital Hall
Questions?
Literature
202-885-2971
lit@american.edu
Battelle Tompkins, Room 237
Thanks to Rick Banning for the tip.
Cul de Sac to appear in B&W in Sunday's Post
Today's newly-redesigned Washington Post Magazine says Cul de Sac, the strip it began and nurtured before syndication is being turfed from the magazine and will run in the Style section, presumably always sans color. Bad decision. You can tell the editors that too, in their upcoming chat on Monday at 11 am.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Gahan Wilson in the Spotlight at SPX
Gary Groth was running late so Gahan Wilson began speaking without an introduction. I missed the very beginning where he said he thought he'd like to live an academic life, but you can listen to the rest of his talk......or you can download it here.
Post debuts new cartoon journalism feature
Michael Cavna and another cartoonist are illustrating "Our Town" in the Post's Magazine, starting tomorrow. I love comics journalism and I have high hopes for this feature.
Wash Times on Disney purchase of Marvel
Out of characters: Disney should go indie, By Sonny Bunch, Washington Times September 25 2009.
SPX the first day
Spx crowd scene including Jeff AlexanderSome quick notes that are essentally stream of conciousness. Richard was under the weather and didn't come. My photos are here.
Carol TylerThe show appears to be a success with good, but not overwhelming crowds. I bought a lot from Fanfare and Fantagraphics. Gahan Wilson and Carol Tyler both had shorter lines that I expected. The big draw at the show, based solely on line length, appears to be Kate Beaton.
Gary GrothGahan Wilson is a born storyteller and his off the cuff talk (now online!) was very fun to hear, if not overly insightful. Look for the 3-volume set of Playboy cartoons coming from Fantagraphics, which has an interview and a biography by Gary Groth. Pre-orders at the show get a signed print and free shipping.
Gahan Wilson and Gary GrothFrank Camusso has a new Knights of the Lunch Table, his retelling of King Arthur. My daughter said Oh boy! when I brought it home tonight. Emily Flake, whose work appears in the Baltimore City Paper has a new collection as does Rob Ullman whose work used to appear in the Washington CP. I bought both.
Emily Flake and Warren BernardSome of the usual suspects are missing this year including Batton Lash and Jackie Estrada. Cartoonists with Attitude is not there, except Ted Rall and Stephanie McMillan are holding down an NBM table. Ted's got a new graphic biography and Stephanie a new comic.
R. SikoryakJames Kochalka is hanging out at the Top Shelf table as is Matt Kindt and Andy Runton. R Sikoryak is at Drawn and Quarterly and will draw Little Nemo in your book.
David MalkiDustin Harbin has a new book out and is holding my IOU for $47. He'll draw Alan Moore in a sketchbook if you ask him to.
Dustin HarbinPeter Kuper's got a new book out on his experiences living in Mexico. His publisher is in the far left corner as you face into the room.
Peter Kuper
Chris Mautner's pre-plan for SPX
Richard Thompson and I should be cruising around today, starting when it opens. Tomorrow I'll be on my own. I'm going to try to go to the sessions on Sikoryak, Kuper, Wilson, Tyler, and Neufeld
Meanwhile, see Chris Mautner's pre-plan for SPX.
Meanwhile, see Chris Mautner's pre-plan for SPX.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Oct 20: Cartoonist Ding Cong Symposium at LOC
Library of Congress
101 Independence Avenue SE
Washington DC 20540
September 25, 2009
Public contact: Robert Saladini (202) 707-2692, rsal@loc.gov
Library of Congress Symposium Celebrates
Chinese Cartoonist and Artist Ding Cong, Oct. 20
A Library of Congress symposium, "Public Art and Illustrations: The Cartoons and Art of Ding Cong," will celebrate the life and work of China's famous cartoonist and artist, Ding Cong, who provided daring social commentary on Chinese society during China's turbulent 20th century.
The symposium, which is free and open to the public, will be held from 9 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, Oct. 20, in Room 119 of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. S.E., Washington, D.C. The event is sponsored by the Library's John W. Kluge Center, and reservations or tickets are not needed.
Ding Cong (1916-2009), who worked under the pen name Xiao Ding, was born in Shanghai into a family of artists. He was a frequent admirer of the magazines The New Yorker and Vanity Fair, which were available in treaty-port Shanghai. From these and other Western influences, Ding Cong developed his art.
Ding Cong used his cartoons and illustrations to reveal the true state of Chinese society, which faced corruption and turmoil during most of the 20th century. His popularity stemmed from an intellectual and artistic integrity that made the inept of both the right and left fair game for his art. But the cartoonist paid dearly for his efforts, as he was exiled twice to the countryside and borderlands, effectively losing more than 20 years of his artistic life.
The symposium features lectures by preeminent scholars of Chinese cartoons as well as family and friends of the artist.
9:00-9:05 Welcome by Carolyn Brown, director of the John W. Kluge Center, Library of Congress
9:05-9:25 "Ding Cong: The Artist and Art Form" by Marcia Ristaino, visiting scholar, John W. Kluge Center
9:25-9:45 "Ding Cong's Art During the Years of Hardship" by Shelley Drake Hawks, lecturer, Boston University
9:45-10:10 "Ding Cong: His Artistic Circle and Contributions" by John A. Lent, publisher and editor-in-chief, International Journal of Comic Art
10:10-10:30 Break
10:30-10:55 "One Who Saw China As It Really Was: Ding Cong in the Forties" by Michael Sullivan, fellow emeritus of St. Catherine's College, Oxford
10:55-11:20 "The Relationship Between Chinese Visual Art and Society" (tentative) by Carma Hinton, documentary filmmaker and Robinson Professor of Visual Culture and Chinese Studies, George Mason University
11:20-11:40 "Herblock's Caricature of Mao Zedong: A Window onto Resources for Cartoon-Related Research in the Library's Prints and Photographs Division" by Martha Kennedy, curator, Library of Congress
11:40-12:00 Questions and Discussion
At 1:45 p.m., an exhibition of 30 reproductions of Ding Cong's work may be viewed at the Mason Atrium Art Gallery, School of Visual and Performing Arts, George Mason University, Fairfax, Va., along with additional commentary from speakers, his widow and friends. For more information, visit http://today.gmu.edu/48188/.
Through a generous endowment from John W. Kluge, the Library of Congress established the Kluge Center in 2000 to bring together the world's best thinkers to stimulate and energize one another to distill wisdom from the Library's rich resources and to interact with policymakers in Washington. For further information on the Kluge Center, visit www.loc.gov/kluge/.
# # #
PR09-188
9/25/09
ISSN: 0731-3527
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Speaking of SPX, in a way
This isn't directly about comics, but many of the lessons here are used by cartoonists, or should be -
On Web, A Most Novel Approach
With Promotion Money Tight, Authors Take to Online Sites To Toot Their Own Horns
By Neely Tucker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 24, 2009
On Web, A Most Novel Approach
With Promotion Money Tight, Authors Take to Online Sites To Toot Their Own Horns
By Neely Tucker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 24, 2009
PR: John Kovaleski at Small Press Expo
I bought everything John had last year ...
Hi there-
Just a quick little note to tell you that I'll be at the Small Press Expo this weekend (September 26 and 27) in Bethesda, MD. I'll be signing "Bo Nanas," "Jack N. Box" and "Great Scott" books for your personal reading enjoyment at table C9. Hope to see you there.
For more info http://www.spxpo.com/
Best,
John Kovaleski
You can see more of my work here:
http://www.kovaleski.com/
As always you can find out too much about me on my blog:
http://kovaleski.wordpress.com/
Or follow me on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/johnkovaleski
BIO: Before becoming a cartoonist, John Kovaleski had "done time" at an ad agency, a consulting firm, a newspaper and a big, faceless corporation.
His humorous scribblings have adorned magazines, newspapers, greeting cards, puzzles, billboards, and that new-fangled Internet that all the kids are talking about.
In 2003 his comic strip "Bo Nanas" was unleashed on an unsuspecting world by the fine folks at The Washington Post Writers Group.
In 2006 he became "one of the usual gang of idiots." In other words, a contributor to MAD Magazine.
In his spare time he practices the ukulele and does the occasional escape-artist trick
Hi there-
Just a quick little note to tell you that I'll be at the Small Press Expo this weekend (September 26 and 27) in Bethesda, MD. I'll be signing "Bo Nanas," "Jack N. Box" and "Great Scott" books for your personal reading enjoyment at table C9. Hope to see you there.
For more info http://www.spxpo.com/
Best,
John Kovaleski
You can see more of my work here:
http://www.kovaleski.com/
As always you can find out too much about me on my blog:
http://kovaleski.wordpress.com/
Or follow me on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/johnkovaleski
BIO: Before becoming a cartoonist, John Kovaleski had "done time" at an ad agency, a consulting firm, a newspaper and a big, faceless corporation.
His humorous scribblings have adorned magazines, newspapers, greeting cards, puzzles, billboards, and that new-fangled Internet that all the kids are talking about.
In 2003 his comic strip "Bo Nanas" was unleashed on an unsuspecting world by the fine folks at The Washington Post Writers Group.
In 2006 he became "one of the usual gang of idiots." In other words, a contributor to MAD Magazine.
In his spare time he practices the ukulele and does the occasional escape-artist trick
USA Today cartoonist Joel Pett featured in campus newstory
See "What in the world is so funny? Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist Joel Pett talks politics at Whitman," By Eric Nickeson-Mendheim, Whitman Pioneer September 22, 2009.
National Book Festival, the OTHER Saturday event
Cartoonist Jeff Kinney will be among the authors at the Library of Congress' National Book Festival on the Mall on Sept 26th. Also appearing are Jodi Picoult who briefly wrote Wonder Woman, and Junot Diaz who's influenced by comics.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Daily Cross Hatch previews SPX
The excellent site Daily Cross Hatch previews SPX - they're much hipper than I am so pay attention to what they say. Also they run excellent interviews, usually by Brian Heater so check the site regularly.
KAL speaks to Maryland students
See Web site hopes to spark high school students' interest in current events
by Amber Parcher
The Gazette September 23 2009
by Amber Parcher
The Gazette September 23 2009
Weldon on Wednesday Comics
Weldon, Glen. 2009.
Comic Books Take A Bold Leap Backward And Nail The Dismount.
National Public Radio's Monkey See blog (September 23)
Small Press Expo This Weekend with Gahan Wilson, Carol Tyler, Kate Beaton, Jerry Moriarity and Josh Neufeld
Small Press Expo This Weekend with Gahan Wilson, Carol Tyler, Kate Beaton, Jerry Moriarity and Josh Neufeld
For Immediate Release
Contact: Warren Bernard
E-Mail: warren@spxpo.com
Bethesda, Maryland; September 24, 2009 - The Small Press Expo (SPX), the preeminent showcase for the exhibition of independent comics, graphic novels and alternative political cartoons, will be held this weekend, Saturday Sept 25 from 11AM-7PM and Sunday, September 26 from noon-6PM. The guest list this year includes Gahan Wilson, Paul Karasik, Carol Tyler, Josh Neufeld, John Porcellino, Peter Kuper, Kevin Huizenga, Kate Beaton, Al Columbia, Jerry Moriarity, R. Sikoryak and Joshua Cotter .
There will be 11 panel discussions on a wide variety of comics topics as well as one on one sessions with Gahan Wilson, Jerry Moriarity, R. Sikoryak, John Porcellino and Carol Tyler, amongst others.
SPX culminates with the presentation of the Ignatz Awards for outstanding achievement in comics and cartooning which will occur Saturday night, September 26 at 9PM. Attendees at SPX get in free to the Ignatz Awards. The Ignatz is the first Festival Prize in the US comic book industry, with winners chosen by balloting by attendees during SPX.
For detailed information about guests, panels and the Ignatz Awards, visit the SPX web site at www.spxpo.com.
SPX brings together more than 300 artists and publishers to meet their readers, booksellers and distributors each year. Graphic novels, political cartoon books and alternative comics will all be on display and for sale by their authors and illustrators.
As in previous years, profits from the SPX will go to support the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF), protecting the First Amendment rights of comic book readers and professionals. For more information on the CBLDF, go to their website at http://www.cbldf.org/.
SPX will be held The North Bethesda Marriott Convention Center in Bethesda, Maryland, next to the White Flint Metro stop. Admission is $10 for a single day and $15 for both days.
Post on local comic book store economy
One Comics Shop to Close; Others Stay in the Action
By Mike Musgrove
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
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