Comic Riffs looks for best comic strip of the decade

Michael Cavna's got the question up on his Washington Post blog.

Fantasy artist started as medical illustrator after graduating from Catholic University

It's All in the Cards: Veronica V. Jones

By Wolfen Moondaughter

November 30, 2009   

http://www.sequentialtart.com/article.php?id=1560

 

 

'Looking for Calvin and Hobbes' review in LA Times

Writing the story of the lovable comic strip pair proved to be more challenging than the author thought.
By Susan Salter Reynolds
Los Angeles Times

Joe Sacco reviewed in Washington Examiner

Joe Sacco's new book is reviewed in Washington Examiner, December 6, 2009, p. 26, but it doesn't appear to be online. Pull quotes:

"Having already established his reputations as the world's leading comics journalist, Sacco is now making a serious case to be considered one of the world's top journalists, period."

"Sacco's art is alternately epic and intimate, but he exceeds himself in the scope of his ambition (particularly in one sequence that shows in vivid terms how desert refugee camps from 1948 turned into the teeming slums of today). But it's his exacting and harrowing interviews that make this book an invaluable and wrenching piece of journalism."

The review is unsigned.

Disney's newest princess and the question of race

An op-ed piece on The Princess and the Frog from Disney - Spoiler alert: This Disney princess gets a job, By Sara Sarasohn, Washington Post December 6, 2009.

Harvey Pekar interview from 2000

Here's another interview that's not in my Harvey Pekar: Conversations, in case you want to print it out and tuck it in.

Q and A: Harvey Pekar in 2000
Words: Christopher Irving
Friday, December 4, 2009

Disney's Mulan reviewed in Post

The show's at Imagination Stage and here's the review - 'Mulan': This girl warrior is no China doll, By Celia Wren, Washington Post Saturday, December 5, 2009.

Dec 6 convention

THIS Sun, Dec. 6 - CapiCons Comic & Pop Culture Show - FREE Customer Admission*

- Our Guest Artist/Creator and President of Heritage Comics HSQ, Andre Campbell!
http://www.heritagecomicshsq.com

- 21st Century Sandshark Studios Presents Tim Dzon--Artist/Inker ("West Coast Avengers," "GI Joe", etc.)

- Chris Flick, writer/artist and creator of the webcomics "Capes-N-Babes", and "CMX Suite"
http://www.capesnbabes.com/
http://www.communitymx.com/flicks/index.cfm

*****

Sun, Dec. 6 - CapiCons Comic & Pop Culture Show at the Dunn Loring Volunteer Fire Department. Our Guest will be Artist/Creator and President of Heritage Comics HSQ, Andre Campbell! AND 21st Century Sandshark Presents Tim Dzon--Artist/Inker (West Coast Avengers, GI Joe.) The show is open to the public from 10 am - 3 pm. Buy, sell and trade...gold, silver age and new comics; Magic and other gaming cards; Non-Sport Cards; Videos and DVDs; Anime; Horror; Sci-Fi; figures, toys; Star Wars and Star Trek memorabilia; original artwork, posters, T-shirts/clothing and various other comic related items. FREE customer admission for this show!

21st Century Sandshark Studios/Cards Comics & Collectibles/Doug Cheshire/Michael & Connie Creager/Chris Flick/
Donald and Kathy Gehl/Heritage Comics HSQ/FANDATA/J&M Comics/Outpost Station/Packcracker/Silver Fox Comics/TNT Comics/Steve Wagner/Tomorrow's Treasures/Wandering Rebel/Zeno's Books

...and MORE!!!!!!!!!!
...............

To get to the Dunn Loring Volunteer Fire Department (located about 20 minutes west of Washington, D.C.), take I-495 (DC/Capital Beltway) to Exit 47A (Rt 7 West). Go 1/2 mile, Take a Left on Gallows Rd and proceed 1 mile to 2148 Gallows Rd.

Or visit our website for detailed directions and Mapquest directions:
http://www.capicons.com/directions_dlvfd.htm

Address for convention location (no mail, please):
Dunn Loring Volunteer Fire Department
2148 Gallows Road
Dunn Loring, VA 22027

Quick Reviews for Comics Due 12-09-09

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 12-09-09

By John Judy

 

ADVENTURE COMICS #5 by Geoff Johns, Jerry Ordway and Francis Manapul.  Superboy-Prime versus the Black Lanterns!  Boy, who do you root for there?

 

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #614 by Mark Waid and Paul Azaceta.  Spidey and J. Jonah Jameson must work together to stop Electro!  This would be a great time to be Electro.  Recommended.

 

DARK X-MEN #2 of 5 by Paul Cornell and Leonard Kirk.  Nate Grey, X-Man, is back and Norman Osborn's Dark X-Men are nervous.  As well they ought!

 

DAYTRIPPER #1 of 10 by Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon.  A couple of Eisner winners tackle the meaning of life in graphic form.  Gotta look!  Oh, and it's about a Brazilian obituary writer with a famous dad and how can you screw that up?  And it's named after a Beatles song and features an amazing cover!  Recommended.

 

DOOM PATROL #5 by Keith Giffen and Other People Who Are Not Keith Giffen.  The Doom Patrol versus their dead teammates.  One group outnumbers the other.

 

EX MACHINA, VOL. 8: DIRTY TRICKS SC by Brian K. Vaughan, Tony Harris and Others.  Collecting issues 35-39 and the Halloween Special, this one features a terrific arc about a masked woman who wants to disrupt the 2004 GOP National Convention in New York.  (And then four years later they ran her for Vice-President!  Pow!)  Highly recommended.

 

GOD COMPLEX #1 by Michael Avon Oeming and John Broglia.  Greek god Apollo is living on the down-low among mortals, much to the chagrin of Big Daddy Zeus who would rather see him dead than slumming.  A book about families with issues, just in time for the holidays!  Awesome!

 

GOGO MONSTER GN written and drawn by Taiyo Matsumoto.  A little something from VIZ, a story of a boy who lives in two worlds; one where he's a ridiculed loner with an overactive imagination, another in which he's the only one who can see monsters vying for control of his school.  OK, that sounds like one world to me…

 

INCREDIBLE HULK #605 by Fred Van Lente and Ariel Olivetti.  Next on the bout card: Tyrannus and the moloids!  Hey, it can't be all A-listers all the time.  Hulk Junior needs to ease his way up with a few palookas now and then.  And let's not even discuss the Thundra-Shulk back-up feature.  Just like anything with Jar-Jar Binks, this never happened…

 

INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #21 by Matt Fraction and Salvador Larocca.  Tony Stark's friends must bring him back from his brain-dead, vegetative state.  Can they pry the copy of "Going Rogue" from his fingers?  Can they twist the tea-bag hat off his head?  Switching the TV from Glenn Beck to Cartoon Network is only the first step back from the abyss!  Recommended!

 

NATION X #1 of 4 by Various People.  There's X-Men in this!

 

NEW AVENGERS ANNUAL #3 by Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Mayhew.  The ladies of the Avengers have to bust Hawkeye out of jail.  I guess that would make them the Lady Liberators or something.  Superchicks + Jailbreak = WIN!

 

PUNISHERMAX #2 by Jason Aaron and Steve Dillon.  After sparing the Punisher's life last issue Wilson Fisk continues engineering the rise of the (til now) mythological Kingpin of Crime.  If you liked Garth Ennis writing PUNISHER you'll love this.  Highly recommended.  Not for kids.

 

SECRET SIX #16 by Gail Simone and Peter Nguyen.  Black Alice, the super-powerful goth chick who can do pretty much anything except make goth cool again, wants to join the Six.  Sadly, the math requires her to knock it down to Five first.  Great cover.  Recommended.

 

UNWRITTEN #8 by Mike Carey and Peter Gross.  Tommy Taylor's still in prison, which is a tough row to hoe if you're a guy who might really be a whimsical storybook character.  Recommended.

 

WALKING DEAD #68 by Robert Kirkman and Charles Adlard.  Rick and his crew meet another survivor on the way to DC.  Why does he look so cheerful?  Cue violins… Highly recommended.  Not for kids.

 

www.johnjudy.net

Dec 6: Eisner film at AFI in Silver Spring

Dec 6th 12pm AFI Will Eisner: Portrait of a Sequential Artist

thanks to Liz for the tip

R. Fiore declares Cul de Sac "the best contemporary newspaper comic strip'

Comics Journal columnist R. Fiore declares Cul de Sac is "the best contemporary newspaper comic strip,' arguing with Bob Harvey over 9 Chickweed Lane. Heretically, I may agree with Bob, as Chickweed is continuing stories with a bit of spice in them; it really depends what I'm in the mood for though.

ACT-I-VATE Primer in the NY Times 2009 Holiday Gift Guide

From: Jim Dougan (as I was remiss.)

Just a head's up in case you missed it:  the New York Times selected The ACT-I-VATE PRIMER (featuring an exclusive SAM & LILAH story by Hyeondo Park and Yours Truly) for its 2009 Holiday Gift Guide!

 

http://www.nytimes.com/gift-guide/holiday-2009/giftguide-graphicnovels/list.html

 

As you already know (but for the benefit of your readers) the book also features the talents of Nick Bertozzi, Dean Haspiel, Roger Langridge, Simon Fraser, Michel Fiffe, Molly Crabapple, Tim Hamilton, and the list goes on!  It's got a fairly diverse range of material, but isn't really kid-appropriate (as you also already know).

 

I know for a fact that it's in stock at all the local Big Planet and Fantom Comics locations, so if any of your readers are interested they can pick it up there!

 

Thanks,

Jim D.

 

PS Any readers liking what they find in the book can find hundreds more FREE pages of great comics by the same creators at www.activatecomix.com!

Weldon with a couple of more book recommendations

Weldon, Glen.  2009.

The Best Five Books To Share With Your Friends [Asterios Polyp; Supergirls].

NPR.org (December 2): http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120980848&sc=nl&cc=bn-20091204

 

Pow! Wham! Zap! Glen Weldon hates this attitude

Read him going on about 'geekiness' and 'comic books' being linked together at Geeks, Genre, And Why Fantasy Football Is Just D&D Without Elves, By Glen Weldon, National Public Radio's Monkey See blog December 2, 2009.

(I really don't get fantasy football)

Jurdy can't be too far away

This PR says that cartoonist Jenifer Jurden is from Bishopville, MD - she's got a 410 area code on her website, so we'll count her and her character Jurdy as local.

PR: Kal 2010 Wall calendars now available by telephone orders

Friends and Colleagues

I wanted to alert you that The 2010 Illustrated Wall Kalendar for The Economist can now be ordered via the telephone as well as via the Web. 

In the USA just call 1-800-456-6086. If you are interested in getting Kalendars for gifts, it might be wise to place your order soon to insure holiday delivery. 

International customers and those who prefer to order the Kalendar on line can view samples of the calendar and make web purchases Here:

http://www.kaltoons.com/wordpress/tag/calendar/

Best

Kal

Kevin Kallaugher

kal@kaltoons.com

www.Kaltoons.com

Ullman and Flake in 12/3 City Paper

Emily Flake illustrates an article on Costco, and Rob Ullman's got a full-page ad later in the current issue.

Dog Sees God, not a (wink, wink) Peanuts play in Alexandria

The Little Theatre of Alexandria is running this. If anyone wants to go, slap a note in the comments. I've never seen it. It's also positively reviewed in the Post.

DOG SEES GOD
Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead
November 27 – December, 19, 2009

Directed by: William D. Parker
Produced by: Jennifer Lyman

When CB's dog dies, CB begins to question the existence of an afterlife. A chance meeting sets in motion a friendship that will push teen angst to the very limits. Drugs, suicide, eating disorders, teen violence, and sexual identity collide and careen toward an ending that's both haunting and hopeful.

NOTE:
Please note this is a 10:30PM performance. This show contains references to drug use, sex, and other sensitive topics. It is not recommended for children.

Washington Times laying off 40% of staff - and 100% of comics?

I'm betting the comics aren't coming back, even though they're not mentioned in this article.

This has not been a good year for comic strips and editorial cartoons in the nation's capital. Perhaps I'll do a year-in-review post like everyone else does in December.

More SHOCs - Batmania and Japanese anime in 1966

I went through a couple more fragments of 1966 Detroit Free Press newspapers today.

One of the big stories was apparently the Batman tv show - this illustrated an article on Batmania:


Things don't appear to have changed much in 40 years, do they? It's by Thurston, who also did one of the Odd 'Change comics in yesterday's post.


I'm guessing that DC wasn't paid for this use...


And this wire photo of a Japanese anime character surprised me. I had to go Wikipedia to find out this was Obake no Qtarō (or Oba-Q as in the caption here). From February 28, 1966.