Kevin Rechin, local freelance cartoonist

I had the good fortune to meet some cartoonists this weekend at the Saul Steinberg exhibit at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. ComicsDC regular Richard Thompson, the Washington Post's advice cartoonist Nick Galifianakis and his artist dad Peter, and Kevin Rechin. I wasn't familiar with Kevin's work, but a google search tossed up this site and later Kevin sent me his agent's site. Kevin's totally a freelance cartoonist, and I'm glad to make his acquaintance and discover his enjoyable good-natured cartoons. Hopefully we can suckeXXXX encourage Kevin to post a bit on his work and where to find it.

That's a happy bio-fuel farmer! Kevin makes it all look so appealing.

I'm continually amazed at the rich comic art resources in the DC area.

Adding to ye olde comic art collection

One of my scouts (thanks Liz!) picked up the following items for me this weekend at some kind of sheep festival (no, I don't know why either). Anyone recognize them?

They're a dead technology - printing blocks from when type, and everything else being printed, was carved in wood or metal. These are two cartoons recreated in metal and attached to wood block for printing. Unfortunately I can only read the signature on the Hal Money one which has lost its caption.

These must have been wildly common at one point, but I've only seen one other example - a Yellow Kid ad at Geppi's Entertainment Museum (which I still plan a post on. Great place).

Free Comic Book Day at Big Planet Comics, Bethesda

Reports from the field are coming in:

FCBD '07 was a rousing success. We saw over 400 people, and no one got fewer than 10 comics apiece. In previous years, we always had plenty of comics left over for the Taste of Bethesda, but this year, we were out by 4 PM. The 501st Battalion volunteered to chaperon us, and attracted the attentions of shoppers at the nearby farmer's market. We made a lot of folks happy sharing the joy of comics, and our sales increased by 15% for the best non-sale day in our history.

--Joel
--

Joel Pollack
-=--=-=--=--
BIG PLANET COMICS
4908 Fairmont Ave. Bethesda, MD 20814
301-654-6856

Also affiliated with:
BIG PLANET COMICS
3145 Dumbarton St. NW
Washington, DC 20007

BIG PLANET COMICS
426 Maple Ave. East
Vienna, VA 22180

cIndyCenter podcasts

Since we last checked in, cIndyCenter's added seven new cartoonist interviews - see the link over there on the right in the permanent bit or http://www.cindycenter.com/

Chris, how about hitting up some local cartoonists like Toles, Thompson, Galifianakis, Garner, or Fluggennock for interviews? And let us know when new interviews are up!

Washington Times reviews Steinberg exhibit

"Illuminating images, words, wit and genius" By Joanna Shaw-Eagle, Washington Times May 5, 2007. There's also an amusing article on Spider-Man 3 tchotkes -
"Spider-Man battles foes on many toy land fronts" By Joseph Szadkowski, Washington Times May 5, 2007. I've got my Spider-Spud!

You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown play

Montgomery Playhouse puts on the Peanuts musical on the weekends this month. The Post says it's updated with more dialogue and more musical numbers.

Gaithersburg Art Barn
311 Kent Square Road
301-258-6394.

$16, or $14 for Gaithersburg residents. 8 pm on Friday and Saturday, 2 pm on Sunday until May 20th.

Today's comics weren't all comic

Richard Thompson has a hilarious sendup of Free Comic Book Day that about 37 readers of the Post will get and appreciate. In their continuing effort to combat e-piracy, the Post hasn't put it online yet, although you can see last week's panel.

Meanwhile a few other strips in the Post are worth noting today (that's the May 5th strips).

Bud Grace goes for a dose of reality in the Piranha Club.

Bill Griffith's History of the washing machine in Zippy was just lovely.

Pearls before Swine breaks the 4th wall in a graphically-amusing way.

Speaking of graphic, what's the deal with yesterday's Baldo? First his aunt walks in on him naked in the bathroom and seems to suggest a Red Hot Chili Peppers fashion, and then we get this strip. Am I reading too much into this or is there a "size of his dick" joke here? For Better or For Worse had a PMS joke today, and Brewster Rockit had a fart joke with spiderwebs coming out of a character's ass (a Spider-Man 3 tip of the hat).

Finally on Monday, two diametrically-opposed cartoonists ran similar strips on the Virginia Tech murders right next to each other: Prickly City vs Candorville.

Saturday May 5 - Free Comic Book Day

Ok, there's 28 comics in all - see http://www.freecomicbookday.com and good luck.

Things to look out for in my opinion - Gumby, the new Eddie Campbell from 01:02, Image's Wolfman, the Unseen Peanuts from Fantagraphics, Lynda Barry from D&Q; Oni's Whiteout and especially Top Shelf's Owly and Korgi.

Big Planet, at least in Bethesda, is giving out a nice prepared package of kid's comics.

Big Planet in Vienna is rumored to be visited by storm troopers.

TwoMorrows is not local, but they are uploading some of their excellent magazines for free:

Who says you can't get something for nothing? On Free Comic Book Day (this Saturday, May 5), stop in your local comic book shop and ask for a free copy of Comics 101, our new primer created just for the event. If they don't have any, then order yours at our webstore (http://www.twomorrows.com) by Sunday, and it'll only cost you enough to cover our printing and postage costs. After Sunday, we're going to start charging more for it, to help recoup our expenses (but it'll still be a bargain!).Also, this weekend only, you can download FREE PDF COMPLETE ISSUES of the following mags, just by logging in and putting them in your shopping cart:
Alter Ego #65
Back Issue #21
Jack Kirby Collector #47
Write Now #14
Draw #12
Rough Stuff #3
Because of contractual obligations, we can only give these away this Saturday and Sunday, and then we've got to take them down. So if you're never sampled all of our mags, here's your chance to try an ENTIRE ISSUE, absolutely FREE! Go get 'em, and
enjoy!

Best regards,
John Morrow
TwoMorrows
10407 Bedfordtown Dr.
Raleigh, NC
27614919-449-0344
fax 919-449-0327

Cartoonists in Washington, DC area newspapers as of May 2007

Cartoonists in Washington, DC area newspapers as of May 2007
compiled by Mike Rhode

Washington Post
Tom Toles - editorial cartoonist (semi-daily)
Richard Thompson - Richard’s Poor Almanac (Saturdays); Cul de Sac strip (Sunday’s Magazine), illustrations for Joel Achenbach’s Rough Draft column (Sunday’s Magazine)
Rob Shepperson, Tim Grajek - illustrations for Sunday's Business section
Nick Galifianakis - cartoons for ex-wife Carolyn Hax's Tell Me About It advice column.
Bob Staake - cartoons for Style Invitational contest (Sunday)
Patrick M. Reynolds - Flashback comic strip; unique Washington version (Sunday comics)
Eric Shansby - illustrations for Gene Weingarten’s Below the Beltway column (Sunday’s Magazine)
Christopher Gash; Christopher Neimen - spot illos especially on Sunday
Michael Cavna - editorial cartoons in Arts section, extremely irregularly
Julie Zhu - Montgomery Blair High School student cartoonist for Extra Credit column in local Extra sections
Saturday box of syndicated editorial cartoons
Turkish cartoonist Selcuk Demirel illustrations in Book World, semi-regularly

Washington Times
Garner - editorial cartoonist
Joseph Szadkowski - Zadzooks column on comic books (Saturday)
Large array of editorial cartoons and illustrations every day.

Washington Examiner (daily, except Sundays)
Nate Beeler - editorial cartoonist (semi-daily); alternates with syndicated cartoonists

Washington City Paper (Friday-only paper)
Shawn Belschwender - News of the Weird column illustrator, unique to WCP
Ben Claasen III - Dirtfarm comic strip, unique to WCP; advertising illustrations
Joe Sayers - thingpart comic strip, started in 2006, unique to WCP?
Slug Signorino - The Straight Dope column illustrator
Robert Ullman - Savage Love column illustrator, unique to WCP
Max Kornell, Josh Neufeld - article illustrations
Syndicated comic strips - The City by Derf, Red Meat by Max Cannon, Ernie Pook’s Comeek by Lynda Barry, and Lulu Eightball by Emily Flake. (Ted Rall was dropped earlier this year).

Express
Eric Reece - illustration for Baggage Check advice column (Tuesday)

Washington Blade
No regular cartoonist - runs one syndicated editorial cartoon and six syndicated strips - Dykes to Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel, Jane’s World by Paige Braddock (2002 strips), Chelsea Boys by Glen Hanson and Allan Neuwirth (still running?), Troy by Michael Derry, Kyle’s Bed & Breakfast by Greg Fox and Adam & Andy by James Asal

The Hill
Weyant - editorial cartoonist for “Weyant’s World”

The Politico
Matt Wuerker - editorial cartoons, column-heading caricatures, maps

The Onion (national, not local content)
Kelly - editorial cartoonist
Syndicated strips - Postage Stamp Funnies by Shannon Wheeler, The Leftersons by Colin T. Hayes, Wondermark by David Maiki, The Spats, Cathy by Cathy Guisewhite (in Spanish) and Red Meat by Max Cannon.

Additions, corrections and comments welcome.

An editorial

The Purity of Vision vs The Rich Tapestry of History

There’s long been a significant school of thought in comic book criticism that a single author, or perhaps a collaboration between a writer or artist on a single title or character for a set period of time, produces the only stories worth reading. Fine examples of this abound such as Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, Jeff Smith’s Bone or Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s Spider-Man. These men made up their main characters and told their stories, and the stories stand alone and hold up well for years. Some critics like my friend Bart Beaty will even go so far as to say that these are the only stories that matter and anything else that comes later doesn’t count. I’m not as extreme as Bart, but this is generally an approach I hold with, and I still speak fondly of Starlin’s original run on Warlock. The fact that I can even use a shorthand phrase such as Segar’s Popeye and have that understood to be the early years of the strip and not Bobby London’s 1990s work shows how intertwined the author and character are.

But Spider-Man 3's debut crystallized a few questions with this approach that I have had. Certainly this “auteur” approach is a recent one. Oral storytelling meant that stories were changed and embroidered every time they were passed along. The long, tangled story of King Arthur and Camelot is a good example. Even in other art forms, Rembrandt didn’t differentiate between work that his pupils assisted on and probably charged the buyer the same, but now today a School of Rembrandt painting is worth considerably less.

So would Spider-Man somehow be a better story, if one can even say that, if the comic book ceased after Ditko left? The new Spider-Man movie would have no material at all in it, except for Sandman, whom promo stills show looking very close to Ditko’s vision. Gwen Stacy came into her own as a character after Ditko’s departure, and her death, a defining moment in later Spider-Man comic books, was much later. Similarly, Venom is a creation of the 1980s when Jim Shooter gave Spider-Man a live costume in the excesses of the Secret Wars miniseries, and then later writers turned it into a vengeful, rejected suitor. Sam Raimi has wholeheartedly reinterpreted the Spider-Man mythos, moving characters in time, and changing storylines, but I think he’s stayed remarkably true to the essential nature of both the character of those first Lee-Ditko books as well as the accretions of forty years of stories. On reflection, some of the best cartoonists have done similar work - from the 1970s reinterpretation of Green Arrow and Green Lantern as relevant heroes by writer Denny O’Neill and artist Neal Adams, and Jim Starlin’s reworking of Adam Warlock as a self-reflective wanderer in the stars to Frank Miller’s recreation of both Daredevil (essentially as a ninja) and Batman in The Dark Knight Returns. Even Alan Moore, one of the best writers of comics rarely invents out of whole cloth. His Swamp Thing took the existing elements of the story and recombined them wonderfully as did his Superman story ending the Silver Age, “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?” Even Watchman, his book most likely to be cited by fans as a story to give to non-comic book readers is a reworking of Charleton’s minor heroes like Blue Beetle and Captain Atom, and is a richer read with an awareness of the earlier characters. A revisionist interpretation needs something to revise against after all.

So while I prefer stories that stand on their own, I appreciate the rich elements that new creators can pull from forty years of Spider-Man’s tales.

Post on Argentine book fair mentions comics

In "At Annual Fete, A Nocturnal Tribute To the Printed Word" By Monte Reel, Washington Post Foreign Service, Wednesday, May 2, 2007; A10, he notes "There are publishers of Arabic books, medical texts, legal tracts, military manuals and comic books." But "Those who like to read Japanese manga graphic novels don't get enough sleep, which must explain why they get so testy when gently questioned by reporters." I can't really see Washington hosting an overnight book fair.

The State of Editorial Cartooning

Washington's American Political Science Association (APSA) has put online the April issue of PS: Political Science and Politics containing "The State of the Editorial Cartoon April 2007 PS Symposium" edited by Kent Worcester.

Elk's Run comic interview not in today's Express

But you can read Scott Rosenberg's interview "Daddy Dearest: 'Elk's Run'" with author Joshua Hale Fialkov online at Read Express.com (May 2): http://www.readexpress.com/read_freeride/2007/05/daddy_dearest_elks_run.php.

May 5: Free Comic Book Day

Besides Big Planet, other stores in DC advertising participating in Free Comic Book Day include Big Monkey Comics, Fantom Comics and Beyond Comics. They ran an ad in this week's City Paper.

Feiffer accepts McGovern award from Cosmos Club

As you can see from the above scans of the program, Jules Feiffer was awarded the Cosmos Club's McGovern award last night. Mr. Feiffer gave a short overview of his career in comics strips, read a few pages from a memoir that he's working on which sounds very interesting to me, had a short interview with moderator Alan Fern and then took a few questions. I'll post in more detail when I have a chance to decipher my notes, but it was a great pleasure to see him get this award for the humanities. I had the opportunity to sit with him and discuss old comic strips too as he finished his scotch and he talked about his old friends like Bill Mauldin and Milton Caniff. I'll update this post soon!

"Flood" in Library of Congress

This week's Dark Horse newsletter reported, "The Library of Congress has recently acquired Eric Drooker's original Flood! artwork to rest in their public prints collection." Perhaps one of the curators will give us more details.

May 15: IMAGES OF IRISH-AMERICAN IMMIGRANTS lecture

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
101 Independence Avenue SE
Washington DC 20540
Phone: (202) 707-2905
Fax: (202) 707-9199
Email: pao@loc.gov
April 26, 2007

Public contact: Martha Kennedy (202) 707-9115

IMAGES OF IRISH-AMERICAN IMMIGRANTS
FEATURED IN LECTURE BY SWANN FELLOW ON MAY 15

Swann Foundation Fellow Sharrona Pearl will discuss depictions of Irish-American immigrants in mid-19th century prints and analyze the ambiguous nature of the graphic imagery, on May 15 at the Library of Congress.

Pearl will present the lecture, titled “Black and White: Drawing the Irish-American Immigrant in Shades of Grey,” at noon on Tuesday, May 15, in West Dining Room on the sixth floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, DC.

Pearl’s illustrated presentation is based on research conducted at the Library of Congress during her fellowship awarded by the Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon. The Library administers the foundation. Sponsored by the Library’s Prints and Photographs Division and the Swann Foundation, the lecture is free and open to the public; no reservations are required.

At mid-19th century, Irish-Americans held rights of citizenship and voting and quickly became the most important political force on the East Coast. Many prints show politicians and others seeking support from the Irish, even as the imagery also suggests that they were racially and religiously different. Pearl will argue that close examination of selected prints from the 1830s through the 1860s demonstrates that Irishness was depicted more noticeably through linguistic and external symbols, such as clothing and weaponry, than through distinct racial and facial markers. Pearl will observe that the poor Irish were often depicted as more easily identifiable than their wealthier counterparts.

Pearl completed a Ph.D. in the history of science at Harvard University in 2005. She is currently working on a book tentatively titled “Facing the Victorians: Physiognomy in Nineteenth-Century Britain,” under contract with Harvard University Press. Pearl has published articles on a number of related topics, including her new research on science and theater. She is a lecturer with the Committee on Degrees in History and Literature at Harvard University, which is a three-year, post-doctoral fellowship.

Pearl’s presentation is part of the Swann Foundation’s continuing activities to support the study, interpretation, preservation and appreciation of original works of humorous and satiric art by graphic artists from around the world. The Swann Foundation awards one fellowship annually (with a stipend of $15,000) to assist scholarly research and writing projects in the field of caricature and cartoon. For more information, visit www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/swannhome or by e-mailing swann@loc.gov.

# # #

PR07-90
4/26/07
ISSN: 0731-3527

Canadian cartoonist Steve Mielczarek starts ComicsDC-inspired blog

A month or so ago, Canadian cartoonist Steve Mielczarek sent a cartoon to me, in response to a previous post.

Today, he wrote again, "I just want to say thanks for posting my cartoon and letter on your site a while back. And, Thanks to you, I realized that I too, could set up a blog. Of my own cartoons. If you'd like, take a look:

http://alienspaceworms.blogspot.com/

Best of luck, Steve!

April 28 Nick Bertozzi at Big Planet Bethesda UPDATED

Nick Bertozzi signed his two new books Houdini and The Salon, as well as the older Boswash and The Masochist at Big Planet today. A few non-comics readers stopped in and bought The Salon, which I think is one of the best graphic novels of the year. Nick was very pleasant and it was a joy to talk with him. His 6-year old daughter was there, and was helpful in pointing out when your drawing was dry and you could take your book. ;^) Nick talked a little about his books - showing me the page of The Salon that's gotten Gordon Lee in trouble in Georgia (it shows Picasso's penis swinging as he jumps across his studio) and saying that he never wants to draw another bowler hat after Houdini's crowd scenes.

Nick's got an interesting question he asks when he meets you - I won't give it away except to note that answers were INXS / PIL; Clapton or Jason and the Scorchers; and The Who opening for Herman's Hermits. His next project, which should be excellent, is a graphic novel on Lennie Bruce with Harvey Pekar.

This was a good signing - Nick says he'll be at SPX in the fall - if you didn't make this, go to that. And Tom Spurgeon's got a new interview up.

Morin's Herblock award, Bryan Talbot, French & American Cartoons, Nick Bertozzi pictures

I'm behind on transcribing my notes, so I've loaded pictures at Flickr. These are of Jim Morin accepting the Herblock award; Bryan Talbot signing at Big Planet; KAL, Nick Galifiankas, Ted Rall and Jeff Danziger speaking at Alliance Francaise; and Nick Bertozzi signing at Big Planet. There's also other shots I took of various comics and cartoon events over the past year. These are Creative Commons copyright - feel free to use them, just credit me and let me know please.

Eventually I'll move them over here with appropriate commentary.

May 5: Free Comic Book Day

Next Saturday, the day after Spider-Man 3 opens, will be the 6th annual Free Comic Book Day. Simply present yourself at a comic book store and pick up the freebies. I know Big Planet is participating. Anyone else in the area?

Pakistan needs comic strips like the Washington Post has

"POSTCARD USA: Cartoon-time USA" by Khalid Hasan in the Pakistan Daily Times (April 22 2007) is actually a fairly touching article in which he runs through the Sunday Post's comic section and concludes, "It is time we had a national comic strip running in all Pakistani newspapers."

Tom the Dancing Bug on VA Tech tragedy in Post

In the back pages of the Post's Weekend section, Reuben Bolling did a fairly tasteful cartoon on the killings at VA Tech. It's not online yet, but should eventually appear here.

Breathed and Lust in the new Onion

Thurday's Onion had a couple of articles on comics.
"Random Rules: Berkeley Breathed" by Tasha Robinson is an interview about his taste in music. The online version is about twice as long as the print one.

The second article is a review by Keith Phipps of the 1950s graphic (in both senses) novel "It Rhymes With Lust" by Arnold Drake, Leslie Waller, and Matt Baker just reissued by Dark Horse, in the same spring when both writers Drake and Waller died.

DC Anime Club movie showing

The Post's Weekend section says the Anime Club will be meeting at the Martin Luther King library at 1 pm on Saturday in room A9 to screen Elfenlied, Azumanga Daioh and (I love this) BYO anime. They also list Wednesday at 6 pm. Phone is 202-262-2083.

Comic-making workshop in D.C. area

Matt Dembicki's written in to say,

I'm the founder and one of the organizers of the D.C. Conspiracy (the comics-creating group - Mike). In conjunction with promoting our graphic novel "Mr. Big," my wife, Carol, and I will be holding several local creating comics workshops this summer. Here's a list of what's lined up so far (and they're all free to the public):

May 9, Free Comic Book Day, Big Planet Comics, Vienna, Va., noon-2 p.m. (I'll also have a free mini-comic made especially for FCBD by the D.C. Conspiracy!)

June 25, Chantilly Regional Library, Chantilly, Va., 7
p.m.

June 28, George Mason Regional Library, Annandale,
Va., 7 p.m.

July 10, Dolley Madison Library, McLean, Va., 4 p.m.

July 17, Pohick Regional Library, Burke, Va., 7 p.m.

July 24, Great Falls Library, Great Falls, Va., 7 p.m.

July 25, Patrick Henry Library, Vienna, Va., 7 p.m.

July 30, Reston Regional Library, Reston, Va., 7 p.m.

July 31, Centreville Regional Library, Centreville, Va., 7 p.m.

August 2, John Marshall Library, Alexandria, Va., 7 p.m.

August 6, Kings Park Library, Burke, Va., 7 p.m.

Matt can be reached at m@waspcomics.com or http://www.comicspace.com/dembicki

April 28 - Disney illustrator in Reston

Toby Bluth will be at ArtInsights animation art and framing shop in Reston (11921 Freedom Dr.; 703-478-0778) on Saturday from 2-7. According to the Post, he's illustrated children's books and will be displaying the art.

Bertozzi article in today's Express; benefit in NYC

Scott Rosenberg interviewed Nick Bertozzi who will be at Big Planet Bethesda on Saturday from 2-4 pm. You can see the article as a pdf at the website, scroll down past the main paper to page E15. UPDATE - Scott's posted it online so you can see the article on the main page now with added information about the CBLDF.

The Salon was an excellent book, but unfortunately has led to a ridiculous prosecution of a comic book store owner in Georgia. There's a benefit in New York tonight for him:

This Thursday, April 26, The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is proud to present a benefit book launch party for Nick Bertozzi's controversial graphic novel THE SALON. Bertozzi's graphic novel about the birth of Cubism is the subject of the Fund's current casework. The launch party will be at The Village Pourhouse at 64 3rd Avenue in Manhattan, and will feature an open bar & appetizer reception from 7 - 8 PM, live music by The Cangelosi Cards all night, and a free signed Picasso print by Bertozzi for all attendees.

Since 2005, The Fund has been defending Georgia retailer Gordon Lee for distributing a preview of THE SALON which depicted Picasso in the nude. To date the case has cost upwards of $80,000, with the Fund successfully knocking out 5 of the 7 charges originally brought against Mr. Lee. A trial is expected in early June where the Fund's legal team will work to defeat the two remaining counts.

The Salon benefit launch party is presented to benefit the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund in cooperation with JahFurry and St. Martins Press. The Village Pourhouse is located at 64 Third Avenue at 11th Street in Manhattan. The party is this Thursday, April 26 from 7 PM to Midnight. For more information, please contact Charles Brownstein at 212.679.7151. For further details, please see: http://www.nickbertozzi.com/pourhouse_invite.jpg

French and American Politics... In Cartoons!

This event was extremely well attended and overflowed the Alliance Francaise's living room (ok, it was the living room before the townhouse was converted). In addition to KAL, Nick Galifianakis, Ted Rall and Jeff Danziger (in seating order), Cameroon cartoonist Issa Nyaphaga was there. The moderator Claude Porsella, Correspondent for Radio France Internationale,* had some good questions, and each cartoonist took a shot at drawing a cartoon relevant to the French election. I'll try to read my notes and post something more extensive with pictures possibly in a couple of nights.

*corrected from earlier version.

Dykes to Watch Out For publishing schedule changes

I'd been blaming the Blade's incompetent strip editing (which is still a problem - why are we getting Paige Braddock's Jane's World strips from 4 years ago?)

Anyway Alison Bechdel's announced a new book contract and a thus a reduced Dykes strip schedule. Read the whole post on her blog, but here's the relevant bits:

Man. I don’t even know where to start. I’ve been working on a post about the blog for days, and it’s about 12 pages long and completely disjointed. But before I get to that, I have to make an announcement. I’ve made the very difficult decision to temporarily cut back to one new Dykes to Watch Out For episode every four weeks, instead of every two weeks. I’ll be interspersing these new strips here and in the newspapers with “archive” strips from 1987, 20 years ago. ...

...The reason I’m doing this is that I have to crank out a new memoir by 2009. I just signed a contract for it. (MLK, thank you for raising the very interesting question a while ago about the difference between writing without a contract, and with one. I’ll get to that in a minute.) As many of you know, Fun Home took me seven years to complete. And most of those were spent quietly and reclusively at home, not galavanting around the country (and beyond) yammering about myself to all and sundry, like I’ve been doing for the past year.

Dykes is still one of the best soap opera strips running and I'm sorry to get less of it, but Fun Home was one of my favorite graphic novels last year.

Exhibition Opening: Cities are for People: The Visual Voice of John Wiebenson- 13 Years of Political Cartoons

Presumably at the University of Maryland... more news when I get it.

Exhibition Opening: Cities are for People: The Visual Voice of John Wiebenson- 13 Years of Political Cartoons
ID: 9984

When: Tuesday, April 03, 2007 6:00 PM - Wednesday, May 09, 2007 4:00 PM
Where: Architecture : Kibel Gallery
Event Type(s): Art Exhibition

Washington-based architect and educator, John Wiebenson, expressed his belief in people and social activism through his design work but also through his cartoons. Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, Archihorse appeared regularly in the DC Gazette, an alternative and progressive newspaper edited by Sam Smith.

Some of the many issues that Archihorse tackled included urban disinvestment, historic preservation, public transportation, and redevelopment insensitive to existing neighborhoods. The means were humorous and the goal was simple - a just, equitable, diverse, active, historic, imaginative and well-designed city where citizens' voices were heard and government was responsive.

For more information, contact:
Ronit Eisenbach
+1 301 405 6298
rze@umd.edu

Danish Islam cartoon editor to speak in DC again

Editor and Publisher, in a story most likely by David Astor, is reporting that Flemming Rose will speak at the editorial cartoonists' AAEC gathering in DC over the July 4th holiday weekend. Rose is known (or notorious) for publishing those pesky cartoons considered by some to be disrespectful of Islam. He's previously spoken in DC at Georgetown University.

Brad Meltzer novel

Brad Meltzer, a recovering Big Planet customer* and real sweetheart of a best-selling author, should be known to us as the writer of DC's "Identity Crisis" and the new "Justice League of America." Oddly enough he also dabbles in prose and has sent out the following info (I hear this book has an ad for the JLA in the back of it):

Is there a new book out? I wish -- but I'm way too slow for that (darn research and character development). But today, The Book of Fate comes out in paperback (Smaller! Cheaper! Teenier font!) and if I didn't tell my family and friends about it, then my Uncle Richie would give me major headache since he still refuses to pay full price for the hardback. No joke. And I even put his name in this one.

So...if you missed the hardback, or want to buy someone a really cheap (but thoughtful and generous) present, boy, is this one for you.

It's got a main character that may be my favorite I've ever written, former Presidents, and Freemasons.

To buy it, here's the link:

http://www.bradmeltzer.com/fate_buy.php

And if you want to see the new covers on all the other books (with lots of little men looking mysterious as they run nowhere in particular), they're here: http://www.bradmeltzer.com/blog.html.

And of course, thanks again -- especially those who were so amazing and bought the hardback those first days (not you, Uncle Rich). That means more than I can ever possibly express.

*he moved to Florida

Postcards: True Stories That Never Happened interviews

DC-area comics writer Jason Rodriguez has interviewed some of the creators in his new Postcards book over the past week:

"POSTCARDS" PART 4: MATT KINDT ON "THE HISTORY OF MARRIAGE", April 24, 2007.

"POSTCARDS" PART 3: ROBERT TINNELL'S "MIDNIGHT CALLER", April 23, 2007.

"POSTCARDS" PART 2: ANDE PARKS, April 20, 2007 .

"POSTCARDS" PART 1: RICK SPEARS & ROB G, April 19, 2007.

and was interviewed himself at MAIL CALL: JASON RODRIGUEZ TALKS POSTCARDS by Chris Arrant, April 18, 2007.

Images of Irish-American Immigrants Featured in Swann Fellow’s Talk on May 15

Martha Kennedy of the Library of Congress reports: Images of Irish-American Immigrants Featured in Swann Fellow’s Talk on May 15

Swann Foundation Fellow Sharrona Pearl will discuss depictions of Irish-American immigrants in mid-19th century prints and explore how such imagery conveyed ambiguous perceptions about this group, in a lecture at the Library of Congress on May 15.

Pearl will present the lecture titled "Black and White: Drawing the Irish-American Immigrant in Shades of Grey,” at noon on Tuesday May 15, 2007, in the West Dining Room on the sixth floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, DC.

Pearl’s illustrated presentation is based on research conducted at the Library of Congress during her fellowship awarded by the Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon. The Library administers the foundation. The lecture, sponsored by the foundation and the Library’s Prints and Photographs Division, is free and open to the public; no reservations are required.

Irish-Americans at mid-19th century held rights of citizenship and voting and quickly became the most important political force on the east coast. Pearl will discuss the ambiguity of graphic art that pictures members of this immigrant group. Many prints show politicians and others seeking support from the Irish, even as the imagery also suggests that they were racially and religiously different. Pearl will argue that close examination of selected prints from the 1830s through the 1860s demonstrates that Irishness was depicted more noticeably through linguistic and external symbols such as clothing and weaponry, rather than through distinct racial and facial markers. Mindful of links between race and class in the 19th century, Pearl observes that the poor Irish were often depicted as more strongly distinct than were their more wealthy counterparts. Although often compared with African-Americans, Irish-Americans, unlike their compatriots, had social mobility and were not always represented with common identifying features. The Irish, despite many historiographical claims to the contrary, were not black. Rather, Pearl will show that they were often drawn in literal and metaphorical shades of grey.

Pearl completed a Ph.D. in the History of Science at Harvard University in November, 2005. Strongly interdisciplinary, her doctoral research focused on physiognomy in nineteenth century Britain. She is currently working on her book manuscript, which is tentatively titled, “Facing the Victorians: Physiognomy in Nineteenth Century Britain,” under contract with Harvard University Press. Pearl has published articles on a number of related topics, including her new research on science and theater. She is a lecturer on the Committee on Degrees in History and Literature at Harvard University, which is a three year post-doctoral fellowship.

This presentation is part of the Swann Foundation’s continuing activities to support the study, interpretation, preservation and appreciation of original works of humorous and satiric art by graphic artists from around the world. The Swann Foundation’s advisory board is composed of scholars, collectors, cartoonists and Library of Congress staff members. The foundation customarily awards one fellowship annually (with a stipend of $15,000) to assist scholarly research and writing projects in the field of caricature and cartoon. Applications for the academic year 2007-2008 were due on Feb.15, 2007. More information about the fellowship is available through the Swann Foundation’s Web site: www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/swannhome or by e-mailing swann@loc.gov.

Local award for Jules Feiffer

Alan Fern, former director of the National Portrait Gallery, says "Monday, 30 April, Jules Feiffer will be at the Cosmos Club to receive the McGovern Award from the Cosmos Club Foundation." That's an impressive set of recipients of the award.

April 25: French and American Politics... in Cartoons! UPDATED

My buddy Rick Banning pointed this out in the new City Paper. The ad reads "Panel discussion featuring cartoonists Jeff Danziger, Ted Rall, KAL and Nick Galifianakis and TF1 correspondent Guillaume Debre. Alliance Francaise de Washington, 2141 Wyoming Ave, NW, Wednesday, 4/25 at 6:30 pm. $12. (202) 234-7911." It's $12 if you sign up today and tomorrow by phone or online. If you show up and buy a ticket for the thing, they charge you an extra $2.

This should be good. I've seen Danziger, Rall and Kal before and they're all entertaining speakers. I think I'll cough up the dough to go.

new Mt. Pleasant book - completely off topic

Lisa Cherkasky is a friend of mine who fluffs food for photos in the Post's food section, and her sister has a new book on DC coming out. Here's the info from Mara Cherkasky:

At long last my book on Mount Pleasant DC is out! It will go on sale April 30 in the big chain stores, on Amazon, and in some of the local businesses as well, including Pfeiffer's Hardware, at 3219 Mount Pleasant Street, NW (202-462-1431). You will also be able to purchase it directly from me (for the same price as everywhere else- $20 plus tax).

Pfeiffer's is hosting a book signing Saturday, May 5, from 10:30 am to 1 pm, so please come out if you can. This is the same day the Mount Pleasant farmers' market opens at Lamont Park across from the hardware store, so the mood will be festive.


Mara, iirc, wrote the neighborhood historical signs that have popped up.

April 28 Nick Bertozzi at Big Planet Bethesda UPDATED

From 2-4 pm. I read The Salon, his new book on Picasso, Braque and ghosts last night and enjoyed it a lot. Here's a brief interview by former Big Planet employee Ian Sattler.

UPDATED - here's an excellent review by The Comics Journal's Dirk Deppey.

I read Houdini by Lutes and Bertozzi today - enjoyable, but obviously and unnecessarily aimed at younger children, including Glen David Gold's introduction.

Secret DC comics creator's group

Well, it was a secret to me anyway, but Jason Rodriguez pointed out there's an informal group of DC comics creators, DC Conspiracy.

He also linked to this Fairfax Times article on Mr. Big the turtle.

Dagwood's coming to DC

The Washington Business Journal is reporting that the rights to open either 106 or 63* Dagwood's Sandwich Shoppes in the DC area. Hooray! More collectible ephemera!

*see if you can figure it out

One of my favorite cartoonists was in Sunday's Post Magazine...

...although I'm pretty sure that Guy Billout doesn't even consider himself a cartoonist. He began as a children's book illustrator as far as I know and now does illustration work. He did the illustration for "Hearts and Bones" in the centerfold of the magazine today. The drawing's not online, but the article is about a couple who bought an old house to renovate, only to find out that the man has a heart condition. Billout's drawing is of a building with smoke rising from it and the smoke forms a dividing line in the trees on the horizon. Check out his website to see more images, many of which were published in the Atlantic before their recent makeover. He also did work in the late 1990s for Reader's Digest which is why you can find me flipping through them at times.

Jason Rodriguez's new book

Through circumstances not ready to be detailed here, I've found that Jason Rodriguez is a DC-area comics creator. Read "MAIL CALL: JASON RODRIGUEZ TALKS POSTCARDS" by Chris Arrant in Newsrama (April 18, 2007) for details on his latest project.

Also, after visiting Jason's website earlier in the week, I went to the link to Rick Geary's website and bought all the postcards he offers. I'd recommend that you do the same. Some are political cartoons and I'll try to do a longer post on them later in the week.

TwoMorrows Free Comic Book Day offer

The stores around DC are pretty good about participating, but in case anyone wants to be sure, here's their press release:

If your can't get COMICS 101 (our Free Comic Book Day publication) at your local comics shop, you can order one now at www.twomorrows.com! We're making copies available for order now, but we will be charging enough to cover our printing and postage costs. So if you can get yours locally, you'll save some cash (and get a chance to see all the great offerings your local retailer has!). But for those who can't get one, order now while they last!NOTE: Place your order now, but we will NOT be mailing copies until the week after Free Comic Book Day (May 5). And don't delay; after May 5, if any copies remain, we will be selling them at a higher price. Here's a direct link!


Best regards,John Morrow
TwoMorrows Publishing10407 Bedfordtown
Dr.Raleigh, NC 27614919-449-0344fax 919-449-0327

April 21: Warren Craghead speaks at exhibit in Bethesda

I got a comment from Mr. Craghead that he'd be doing an artist's talk at 1 pm at his exhibit, HOW TO BE EVERYWHERE at the Gallery Neptune, 4901 Cordell Ave, Bethesda, Maryland, April 6 - 28, 2007.

I'm going to try to make this.

May 19: Anime Pavilion's Anime Festival

This one just came in the email - I know nothing more about it.

CONTACT: (703) 534-1544 anime.festival@gmail.com
Anime Pavilion's Anime Festival
A Night of Anime Fun.


Anime Pavilion Presents: Anime Festival on Saturday May 19,2007 at 6pm located at Anime Pavilion 115 Hillwood Avenue, Suite 110 Falls Church, VA 22046.
Anime Festival will consist of screenings of Anime (Japanese Animation) cosplay (the Japanese term for costume play), dressing up in homemade costumes as their favorite Japanese animated characters. There will also be video game sessions such as Dance Dance Revolution (dancing video game) for all Anime video game fans.
This program is free and open to the public. For more information please visit AnimePavilions Website at www.animepavilion.com or call (703) 534-1544.

April 21: Smithsonian Anime seminar REPOST

Japanese Art Forms Manga and Anime Topic of Smithsonian Event; Experts Discuss the Development, Creative Process and Cultural Impact

The Smithsonian Associates will feature the Japanese pop culture phenomena of manga (comics and printed cartoons) and anime in an all-day seminar on Saturday, April 21, 10 a.m. –5 p.m. as part of its cultural series “Japan WOW!” (March 31—June 9). The program “Manga to Anime: From Astro Boy to Spirited Away” will be held in the Meyer Auditorium at the Freer Gallery of Art (12th and Independence Avenue SW, DC, 20013). Tickets are $45 general admission, $30 for members, and $15 for students 18 years and under. For tickets and information, call (202) 357-3030 or visit
www.smithsonianassociates.org.

Manga and anime are now two of Japan’s biggest cultural exports—as evidenced by the popularity and record-breaking sales associated with the 2001 animated movie “Spirited Away.” In this seminar leading experts and industry veterans will explore the development of these interconnected art forms, commenting on the creative process, styles, characters and the effect these pop cultural creations have on United States markets and trends.

Leading the discussion on manga is Michael Uslan, “Batman” series producer and creative chief officer and producer of Comic Book Movies LLC. He is joined by artists/ directors Ryuhei Kitamura, Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, Kazuhiko Kato and Lotus representative Hiroshi Koizumi. Presenters Osamu Tezuka (creator of “Astro Boy”), Leiji Matsumoto and Masashi Kishimoto (creator of “Naruto”), use the works of Shotaro Ishinomori, as they look into manga’s history, the interaction of manga and modern culture, as well as its impact on the worlds of publishing, animation, and live action cinema with these talented artists of today’s manga creations.

In the afternoon, Dr. Susan Napier, professor of Japanese literature and culture at Tufts University, illuminates the world of anime. Considering it as a global cultural phenomenon, Napier expounds on the stories, characters and symbolism that define it.
The program “Manga to Anime: From Astro Boy to Spirited Away” is supported by the DC Anime Club. The Japan WOW! series is made possible by Amway Japan LTD, The Boeing Company, The Hay-Adams, Kikkoman, Mitsubishi International Corporation, Toyota and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (METRO); with additional support by All Nippon Airways (ANA), EYA, Embassy of Japan, Japan Information and Cultural Center, Japan Commerce Association of Washington, D.C., Japan Foundation New York, the Japan National Tourist Organization New York, Comic Book Movies, LLC, Lotus, Inc. and the Palomar Hotel.

[Tezuka's dead, so he's probably not a presenter].

Illuminated! minicomic

Students from Winston Churchill High School in Potomac, Maryland have produced this minicomic and are selling it at Big Planet Comics in Bethesda. I bought one for myself and one for Michigan State University's Comic Art collection today.

Big Planet's view of online versus physical bookstores

Greg Bennet's quoted in this article from the Montgomery County Gazette (Wednesday, April 18, 2007) - "Is this ‘The End’ for local booksellers? Fierce competition forces independent bookstores to turn their last page" by Audrey Dutton.

Greg's optimistic, saying "Our business model has evolved. Now it’s based on graphic novels... We don’t have the kind of collectors coming to us who used to come to us, because everybody knows they can go to the ‘net." Greg notes that Big Planet has turned to graphic novels as the majority of its business and is making more money selling them and "That bodes much better for the long-term health of the business.”

April 19-20: Bill Griffith in Baltimore

The Baltimore City Paper (4/18/2007) has an interview with Bill Griffith by Christopher Skokna - "Things Change: Zippy the Pinhead Creator Bill Griffith Isn't Too Worried About the Sunset of the Comic Strip."

According to the story, Griffith will be in town for 2 events:
"Up From the Underground With Zippy: 38 Years and Still Climbing," a free slide lecture at Johns Hopkins University's Mattin Center April 19 at 5:30 p.m.
He signs books at Atomic Books on April 20 from 6 to 7 p.m. For more information visit www.zippythepinhead.com

International Journal of Comic Art's John Lent interview

As it says over there on the right, I work on the International Journal of Comic Art, specifically editing exhibit and media reviews. If you see an exhibit or website you'd like to review, feel free to contact me. In the meantime, here's a link to an interview with editor in chief / publisher / chief cook & bottlewasher John Lent. It's a late 2006 one by Steve Black for the College of Saint Rose's Periodical Radio and covers "Comic art as a subject of scholarly research, importance of international perspective, insights on the peer review process."

The Reaper! Stalin cartoons by Benton F. Thompson

This has nothing to do with DC, except I bought it at a book sale in Arlington. I don't know what it is, nor whom Thompson was, and a quick check on the internet hasn't revealed anything yet. The whole booklet is 16 pages long - every other page is blank and I didn't copy it. Anyone have any information or guesses? One way or another, I thought it was pretty neat and probably rare enough to share.

Doonesbury bashed, including positioning in Post

Conservative blogger Tim Graham takes a shot at Doonesbury in "Doonesbury Comic Strip Boasts 'No Divorces or Infidelities' For Clinton, Obama, Edwards" and includes the brutal critique, "Oh, and The Washington Post is especially cruel to Doonesbury, putting it on the front page of the comics section right above "Opus." Trudeau isn't even attempting to be funny most of the time, since it gets in the way of the diatribes, and Opus man Berkeley Breathed is routinely funny, even when he mocks conservatives."

Warren Craghead exhibit in Bethesda

Warren Craghead, the indy cartoonist, has an exhibit, HOW TO BE EVERYWHERE at the Gallery Neptune, 4901 Cordell Ave, Bethesda, Maryland, April 6 - 28. 2007. All the work, and a 100-page limited-edition book of drawings published at the same time, is based on the poetry of Guillaume Apollinaire.

Brant Parker, longtime Virginian cartoonist, has died too

The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times are reporting that Brant Parker, Johnny Hart's collaborator on 'The Wizard of Id' has died as well. Arlington cartoonist Richard Thompson sent me the heads-up, saying "Brant P was a local guy for a long time, his studio was above a saddlery on Lee Highway out in Fairfax. He was the first cartoonist I ever really talked to; I interviewed him for my high school paper in 1975. A very droll, nice man."

Unfortunately Jeff Parker's cartoon in this appreciation of Hart now makes sense to me. Brant Parker's tribute is here.

In their day, Parker and Hart's strips 'B.C.,' 'The Wizard of Id,' and 'Crock' ruled the comics page. Raise a glass to them.

April 17: Ben Katchor at DCJCC

In his "picture stories," Ben Katchor turns the American city into a wonderland of tin ceilings, illuminated storefronts, and unusual enterprises: the Senseless Elaboration Parlor, the Sublime Vision Center, the Mortal Coil Mattress Store. The first cartoonist to win a MacArthur "genius grant," Katchor is the author of The Jew of New York, Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer, and The Cardboard Valise. He has also collaborated on several works of musical theater, including The Carbon Copy
Building, The Rosenbach Company, and The Slugbearers of Kayrol Island. His comic strips have appeared in The New Yorker, The Forward, Metropolis, and other newspapers and magazines. In his public appearances, Katchor elevates the slide show to a form of performance art.

Tuesday, April 17th
7:30pm
Washington DCJCC
Tickets: $8/$6 (students/JCC members/under 25)
Reserve at www.nextbook.org or call 1-888-219-5222

Saul Steinberg: Illuminations special Smithsonian-only content

Boy, that cartoon has a whole new meaning these days, doesn't it?

In 1967, Saul Steinberg became the Smithsonian's first and last artist-in-residence. While in DC, he took some Smithsonian stationary and make these cartoons, influenced by his residency on the Georgetown tea circuit. These won't be in any other versions of the show. Neat, huh? Go see the originals at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and enjoy the refurbished museum.

Non Sequiter non-compete?

Editor TOM MARQUARDT in "Comic strip changes go forward - with last-minute substitution" in the Annapolis Capital (April 15, 2007) says he was all set to add 'Non Sequiter, but ..."Then came an apology from Universal Press Syndicate, which distributes "Non Sequitur." It had to withdraw its offer - one of this area's metropolitan dailies already carries the comic strip and pays a premium price to prevent it from appearing in any competing newspaper. Newspapers can be as territorial as wolves."

So is the Post the territorial paper?

He's running 'F-Minus' by Tony Carillo (haven't read it) instead for those who don't care to click through. 'Pearls Before Swine' (generally good) and 'Pickles' (eh) were his other two choices.

Imus fingerpuppet in Richard's Poor Almanack - now with link

Your collection can continue to grow if you track down today's Post and get the Don Imus finger puppet by Richard Thompson. I suppose it'll be online eventually. I'm getting quite a little shelf of these.

Ok, it's up - make your own!

Lamar Wants Superhero Family

NBC4 featured Lamar, a young man who is looking for an adoptive family, on their Wednesday's Child program. The interview took place at Big Planet Comics.

Steinberg exhibit review in today's Examiner

Unfortunately, it's not online so if you want to read it, you'll have to find a copy of the paper.

I'll try to follow up my initial Steinberg report later today.

Through the Looking Glass: Bryan Talbot

Bryan Talbot's at Big Planet Comics in Bethesda at 6 pm tonight. In the meantime, read "Through the Looking Glass: Bryan Talbot" by Scott Rosenberg, Express April 11, 2007.

Late-Saturday night gaming at Fantom Comics

Catherine Andrews points out on the Washingtonian blog that Fantom Comics at 4500 Wisconsin Avenue is open at midnight for videogames. Notwithstanding that, this is a good store - if I hadn't been with Big Planet for 20 years, this would be my choice for a local store. They've got a darn good selection of books.

Story link courtesy of Tom Spurgeon's Comics Reporter.

Baltimorean Brian Ralph profile & Top Shelf sale

"Illustrator survives, thrives in Baltimore" by Adam Bednar, The Jeffersonian (April 10, 2007).

I didn't realize he was in Baltimore now - he's one of Top Shelf's stable, and they're having a big sale now.

Here's the sale info: Hey Comics Fans,

To celebrate Top Shelf's 10th Anniversary in publishing, and also to announce (and prepare for) our 2007-2008 publishing line, for the next ten days -- from Monday April 9th thru Wednesday April 18th -- Top Shelf is having its biggest web sale ever. When you visit the site, you'll find over 125 graphic novels and comics on sale, with fifty titles marked down to just $3 (!), twenty-five titles marked down to just $1 (!), and a slew of other key titles just slashed! All we ask is that you hit a $30 minimum on sale and/or non-sale items (before shipping). It's a great opportunity to
load up on all those graphic novels you've wanted to try, but just never got around to picking up. Get 'em while supplies last!

To go directly to the list of items on sale, just click here:
http://www.topshelfcomix.com/catalog.php?section=specialdeals

But here are a few sample sale items:
-- $3 Books: The Mirror of Love, The King, Tricked, Bighead, and more!
-- $1 Books: The Surrogates #1 and more!
-- Slashed Prices: Lost Girls, From Hell, Blankets, Owly Plush, and more!

**We now accept PayPal (as well as Visa, MasterCard, Amex, and Discover).
All secure.**

Please note that this sale is GOOD for "direct market" retailers as well, and comic book shops will get their wholesale discount on top of these sale prices. Certain minimums apply, so retailers please email us for details.

http://www.topshelfcomix.com

Weingarten on Johnny Hart's death

Gene Weingarten, as a noted comics aficionado was asked about Hart's death during his "Post Magazine: Too Busy to Stop and Hear the Music" (washingtonpost.com, April 9, 2007; 1:00 PM)


Fairfax, VA: For four months you leave us, and now you think you can just walk in here like nothing happened? At least offer us a poop joke and some words about Johnny Hart.

Gene Weingarten: I tried to write an appreciation of Johnny for today's paper, but failed. It was coming out nasty, and that was bad.

Johnny Hart was one of the greatest cartoonists who ever lived. "B.C." during the first few years of the strip was breathtakingly brilliant; really, if you're too young to remember (everyone but me is) go on ebay and buy a few of his very early collections, from before about 1963.

One of my favorites:

Peter, the smart one, declares he is going to travel across the earth dragging a forked stick in the sand, to prove that two parallel lines never meet. He starts out toward the right of the page. In the next several panels, you see him dragging that forked stick through desert and tundra and jungle, with parallel lines following him the whole way. Finally, he returns to his friends from the left of the panel, obviously having completely circumnavigated the globe. They all look down. The two forks of the stick have been abraded down into a single nub. The parallel lines have met.

Another one: The cavement discover this lumpy creature and decide they have to name it. Peter says: "Well, let's name it for its most obvious characteristic. What is it?" And Thor answers: "It eats ants." So they decide to name it an "eatanter."

Another one: They decide to name that muscle in the chest that pumps blood. Peter decides to call it a "Hart." And B.C. yells at him: "Bootlicker!"

Hart was a genius. Then he got weird and scared, and it made him selfish and intolerant and preachy. I hope he's in heaven, because it was REALLY important to him to get there. It warped his priorities.

Steinberg exhibit reviewed in Monday's Post

I missed these two articles in my post last night. I still have a little more to say on the exhibit, and I'll get it, and more relevantly a bunch of pictures, up someday.
"Saul Steinberg: Brilliance in the Common Touch" by Paul Richard, Special to The Washington Post, Monday, April 9, 2007; C01

"21st Century Consort: Steinberg's Wit as Music" by Stephen Brookes, Washington Post Monday, April 9, 2007; C05

April 11: Bryan Talbot at Big Planet Comics in Bethesda

Bryan Talbot's signing his new book, Alice in Sunderland at Big Planet Comics on Wednesday at 6 pm. In the meantime, you can read this interview with him by Swamp Thing artist Steve Bissette.

April 10: WILLIAM HOGARTH'S ART Repost

March 28, 2007

Public contact: Martha Kennedy (202) 707-9115

SWANN FELLOW TO LECTURE ON WILLIAM HOGARTH
AND THE ART OF GESTURE AT LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, APRIL 10

Swann Foundation Fellow Hope Saska will explore the connection between the popular graphic satire of William Hogarth, whose art presented amusing yet cautionary tales of human behavior, and the staging of theatrical productions in the 18th century, in a lecture at the Library of Congress on April 10.

Saska will present the lecture, titled “Of Attitude and Action: William Hogarth and the Art of Gesture,” at noon on Tuesday, April 10, in Dining Room A on the sixth floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.

Saska’s illustrated presentation is based on research conducted at the Library of Congress during her fellowship awarded by the Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon. The Library administers the Swann Foundation. The lecture, sponsored by the foundation and the Library’s Prints and Photographs Division, is free and open to the public; no reservations are required.

Hogarth (1697-1764), the versatile English painter and satirist often called “the father of English caricature,” became well known for his paintings of “modern moral subjects,” also published as print series. At a time when actors were urged to study the fine arts  particularly paintings of historical subjects and ancient sculpture  for samples of gesture and expression to enliven the characters they portrayed on stage, Hogarth turned to theatrical metaphor to describe his two-dimensional “performances” on canvas and the engraved page.

In her lecture, Saska will argue that the practices in staging a theatrical production are analogous to the artistic process of creating two-dimensional scenes in visual art. As such, the motions the artist makes with his hand and arm to draw on the page or to inscribe a copper plate are synonymous with the gestures a performer makes in front of an audience.

Investigating Hogarth’s analogy between theatrical performance and art making, Saska’s lecture will focus on key passages of Hogarth’s 1753 treatise, “The Analysis of Beauty,” and on his engravings, especially the second illustrative plate to the text, often referred to as “The Country Dance.” She will argue that Hogarth’s theatric metaphor allowed artists, especially those working with graphic media, to envision their processes of art-making as a new category of performance.

Saska is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of History of Art and Architecture at Brown University, where she also completed her master’s degree in the field. Her dissertation, titled “Staging the Page: Graphic Satire in Eighteenth Century England,” examines shared aspects of theatrical performance and graphic satire and caricature in 18th century London.

In addition to being one of three Swann Fellows for 2006-2007, Saska is a curatorial assistant at the David Winton Bell Gallery in the List Art Center of Brown University.

This presentation is part of the Swann Foundation’s continuing activities to support the study, interpretation, preservation and appreciation of original works of humorous and satiric art by graphic artists from around the world. The foundation customarily awards one fellowship annually (with a stipend of $15,000) to assist scholarly research and writing projects in the field of caricature and cartoon. More information about the fellowship is available through the Swann Foundation’s Web site: www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/swannhome or by e-mailing swann@loc.gov.

# # #

PR07-64
3/28/07
ISSN: 0731-3527

Quick hits from today's Post

Zippy is another tribute strip to comics editor Jay Kennedy, like Mallard Filmore was a few days ago.

Johnny Hart's obituary is unique to the Post: "'B.C.' and 'Wizard of Id' Cartoonist Johnny Hart, 76" by Adam Bernstein, Washington Post Staff Writer, Monday, April 9, 2007; B05;

and the paper's notice that Iranian's may not like 300: "Iranian Community Offended by Film's Take on Ancient Battle" by Pamela Constable, Washington Post Staff Writer, Monday, April 9, 2007; B01

Prickly City 'get-well' strip for Mrs. Edwards

Scott Stantis, whose conservative strip Prickly City runs in the Post, did a touching "feel better" Saturday strip for Presidential candidate John Edward's wife, whose cancer has recently returned.

April 19: Zippy's Bill Griffith speaks in Baltimore

Dave Astor reports that Bill Griffith will be speaking at Johns Hopkins. A google search will probably reveal the fine details.