Another Jeff Kinney profile

Didn't succeed; tried again: Jeff Kinney was a failure as a cartoonist, but his million-selling "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" books are being compared to "Harry Potter." By David Hiltbrand, Philadelphia Inquirer April 9 2008. There's a bit more about his University of Maryland strip in here.

Oliphant exhibit in April mentioned in E&P

Dave Astor had a brief story today - "Oliphant Exhibit Comes to D.C. Starting Next Week." The Stanford gallery mentioned is actually in Woodley Park on Connecticut Ave.

2008 QUARTERLY COMICS REPORT guest column by John Judy of Quick Reviews

John sent this in a couple of days ago, but it slid down my email list. Fortunately, it's still current! Enjoy.

2008 QUARTERLY COMICS REPORT
(What’s good so far this year)
By John Judy

Everything below is recommended as among the best stuff I’ve found on the stands so far this year. Some of it may have appeared earlier, but I only lucked onto it in 2008.

Where some material is better suited to specific age groups I mention it. Other times I don’t.

My object is to identify material that could be handed to an average reader with reasonable assurance it would be enjoyed.

ALL-STAR SUPERMAN by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. This comic won the 2007 Eisner Award for “Best Continuing Series.” It comes out slowly, but one can still enjoy each issue by itself. You really have no choice at least until the whole thing’s collected in trade. There is a larger story being told but it’s not essential to getting a good read whenever the next issue hits the stands. Good for all ages.

ALL WE EVER DO IS TALK ABOUT WOOD GN written and illustrated by Tom Horacek. A collection of Horacek’s morbidly funny single panel cartoons. Definitely for fans of Charles Addams, Edward Gorey, and Ivan Brunetti. Recommended for teens and up.

AMERICAN SPLENDOR SEASON TWO. A four-issue mini-series by Harvey Pekar and Assorted Talents. The J. Alfred Prufrock of comics returns with his autobiographical shorts illustrated by Chris Weston, David Lapham, and other gifted collaborators. Recommended for teens and up.

ANGEL: AFTER THE FALL by Joss Whedon, Brian Lynch, and Franco Urru. The art here honestly isn’t great, but the story is essential for us fans of the show who always wondered what happened after the suits decided network TV might be getting too good.

ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN by Robert Kirkman and Jason Howard. The further adventures of the most conflicted lycanthrope hero on the stands today. Good stuff, somewhat graphic violence, appropriate for teens and up.

AVENGERS: INITIATIVE by Dan Slott and Stefano Caselli. A series about young heroes in boot camp. Pretty heavily tied in with Marvel Universe continuity but with mostly original characters making it easy to enjoy without being an uber-fan.

THE BAKERS: BABIES AND KITTENS HC written and illustrated by Kyle Baker, the Greatest Cartoonist of All Time. Two cats are adopted into Kyle’s home against his wishes. Hijinks ensue. Beautifully drawn hijinks. Recommended by me, my wife, and four year-old kid.

BAT LASH by Sergio Aragones, Peter Brandvold, and John Severin. Mostly for western fans but a great example of a classic cowboy story. Beautiful art by industry legend John Severin.

BLACK SUMMER by Warren Ellis and Juan Jose Ryp. An ultra-violent, post-Iraq, anti-hero adventure featuring the assassination of an un-named U.S. President and his cabinet. Chaos ensues. Teens and up.

BONE COLOR EDITION VOL.7: GHOST CIRCLES HC & SC written and illustrated by Jeff Smith. Great stuff for all ages, hugely popular among kids according to my school librarian aunt. Seriously.

BOOSTER GOLD by Geoff Johns and Dan Jurgens. Time travel stories that don’t suck from Johns and great super-hero art from Jurgens.

THE BOYS by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. The continuing adventures of a black-ops squad charged with keeping super-heroes in line. So extreme that DC Comics actually cut the title loose to a new publisher. Older teens and adults only. You’ve been warned.

BRAVE AND BOLD by Mark Waid and George Perez. Classic Silver-Age style fun from an author who lives and breathes it. Best enjoyed by long-time fans but accessible for all ages.

CAPTAIN AMERICA by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting. The continuing story of Captain America’s old side-kick Bucky filling in for Cap while he’s “dead.” Probably not for the non-initiated but if you know the characters it’s great stuff.

CRIME BIBLE: FIVE LESSONS OF BLOOD by Greg Rucka and Diego Olmos. Recently collected in trade, this is the first solo series of the new Question, relentlessly seeking out a mysterious Holy Book for criminals.

DAN DARE by Garth Ennis and Gary Erskine. Space opera, zap-gun fights, a war comic in sci-fi clothing. All done up Ennis style. Good for young teens and up.

DAREDEVIL by Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark. Like Captain America it helps to know the back-story here, but basically it’s Marvel’s most “realistic” super-hero trying to cope with the kinds of crises that would come up when too many people know your secret identity.

DMZ by Brian Wood and Riccardo Burchielli. A dystopian fantasy about a reporter navigating New York City after the U.S. has been torn apart by civil war. There are now four paperback collections available for anyone wishing to get up to speed. It’s worth doing.

DOKTOR SLEEPLESS by Warren Ellis and Ivan Rodriguez. A weird sci-fi misadventure about a politically subversive scientist in corruption-riddled city.

DOOM PATROL VOL. 6: PLANET LOVE SC by Grant Morrison, Richard Case, and Friends. The final volume of Morrison’s legendary run on the junkyard dogs of DC’s super-teams. Collecting DP #58-63 and DOOM FORCE SPECIAL #1. Mid-eighties weirdness from the beginnings of Morrison’s career.

EC ARCHIVES: CRIME SUSPENSTORIES, VOL. 1 HC by Feldstein, Wood, Craig, Ingels, Kurtzman, Kamen, David, and Roussos. The EC Gods of 1950-51 have willed us these 24 twisted masterpieces. The first six issues of this series are all here. Hold onto your wallets because you’ll end up wanting a complete run of these beautiful hardcover editions.

EX MACHINA by Brian K. Vaughan and Tony Harris. The continuing story of a super-hero turned New York City Mayor who can talk to machines. Teens and up. Lots of trade collections available for starting at the beginning.

FELL by Warren Ellis and Ben Templesmith. The stand-alone stories of Detective Richard Fell, a cop banished from his home city for some yet-unknown breach of conduct. Teens and up.

GHOST RIDER by Jason Aaron and Roland Boschi. Pure, out of control motorcycle madness from the author/creator of SCALPED. Highly recommended, even though you hated the movie.

GREEN LANTERN by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis. Simply the best version of this character yet done. An epic police procedural drama set across the universe. Helps if you know your GL history but not essential. The future’s more interesting anyway.

GRENDEL: BEHOLD THE DEVIL written and illustrated by Matt Wagner. The return of Wagner’s masterpiece character, a novelist by day and super-crimelord by night, the baddest of the bad. Except now he’s got a stalker who may be even worse. Older teens and up.

GRAVEL by Warren Ellis Mike Wolfer, and Raulo Caceres. The adventures of a “Combat Magician” out to reclaim his territory after being written off for dead. It’s John Constantine on steroids without any delusions of higher morality. Older teens and up.

HARVEY COMICS CLASSICS VOL. 3: HOT STUFF SC by Various Creators. Collecting over 100 tales of comics’ original Little Devil, the Demon in a Diaper: HOT STUFF! A perfect gateway for all age groups into hardcore Satanism! A great follow-up to the earlier Harvey collections of CASPER THE FRIENDLY GHOST and RICHIE RICH. All ages.

HELLBLAZER by Andy Diggle and Leonardo Manco. Speaking of John Constantine, the Diggle/Manco run is universally acclaimed for bringing coherence and edge back to the original punk magician. Older teens, etc.

HOLMES GN written and illustrated by Omaha Perez. Author Perez explains it best: “What if Sherlock Holmes is constantly out of his head and Watson’s not much better off, the Dr. Gonzo to Holmes’s Raoul Duke?” This was great fun. Older teens, etc.

I SHALL DESTROY ALL CIVILIZED PLANETS: THE COMICS OF FLETCHER HANKS by Fletcher Hanks and Paul Karasik. A collection of the weirdly brilliant Golden-Age comics of Hanks, followed by the sad epilogue in which Karasik tracks down the artist’s only surviving relative to learn of his ultimate fate. Disturbing but moving stuff.

IMMORTAL IRON FIST by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, and David Aja. A martial arts epic set in the Marvel Universe. The story wanders all over the place but if you can keep track of all the flash-backs and intrigue it’s a good ride. Helps to be familiar with the characters.

INCOGNEGRO HC by Mat Johnson and Warren Pleece. Part-Mystery, Part-History describes this story of a light-skinned Northern black man passing for white (“going incognegro”) to investigate his brother’s arrest in the virulently racist Mississippi of early 20th century America. Powerful stuff, deserving wider notice.

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA by Geoff Johns, Alex Ross, and Dale Eaglesham. Best enjoyed by long-time fans, probably confusing to newbies. Still a great series of stories building on the legends of the original super-team of the Golden-Age.

KICK-ASS by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. A new series exploring the hideous results of a normal person trying to be a super-hero. Graphic violence, older teens and up.

KIRBY: KING OF COMICS HC by Mark Evanier. Years in the making, this is Evanier’s tribute to his former boss and long-time friend, Jack Kirby, the guy who co-created the foundations of the Marvel Universe and a lot more. Already going back to press, this book is a must for all subjects of The King. Highly Recommended.

LOGAN by Brian K. Vaughan and Eduardo Risso. A thrilling three-parter about Wolverine’s early adventures in a little city called Hiroshima.

NORTHLANDERS by Brian Wood and Davide Gianfelice. A new Vertigo series set a thousand years ago in the bleak world of a Viking village. Prince Sven, a prodigal son, returns from the Holy Land to claim his inheritance. That’s where the story begins. This is a bloody, fascinating adventure that draws the reader in with its depictions of how desolate and empty the Vikings’ world was back then and how one determined outsider could change the entire order of such a place. Not for kids.

PUNISHER by Garth Ennis and Goran Parlov. The final series of Ennis stories in which the Punisher is stripped down to the grim core of his character. Perfectly complimented by Gorlav’s outlandish style. Easily the best run ever of a guy who started out as an occasional foil to Spider-Man.

RUNAWAYS by Joss Whedon and Michael Ryan. My admiration of the creative team notwithstanding this book was last seen in October of 2007 so it’s kind of hard to recall who’s doing what to whom. Fun stuff if you like “Back to the Future Meets Gangs of New York Meets X-Men.” And I kinda do…. Still, I’d like my own time machine so I could travel into the future to see how this all wraps up.

SATCHEL PAIGE: STRIKING OUT JIM CROW HC and SC by James Sturm and Rich Tommaso. A fictionalized account of the legendary ball-player’s life, from his early days to the peak of his career in the Negro Leagues. Highly recommended, as are all of Mr. Sturm’s other works. A preview is available online at www.cartoonstudies.org

SCALPED by Jason Aaron and R.M. Guera. The story of F.B.I. Special Agent Dash Bad Horse’s return to the Indian reservation he thought he’d escaped forever. This is a dark crime series that quickly becomes addictive as Bad Horse stares deeper and deeper into his personal abyss. Grown-ups only. Two trades out for those needing to catch up.

SERENITY: BETTER DAYS by Joss Whedon, Brett Matthews, and Will Conrad. A story from the pre-Big Screen days of Captain Mal Reynolds and his crew. Y’know, back when everyone was still alive. Previews available at Dark Horse’s website.

THE SPIRIT by Mark Evanier, Sergio Aragones, and Mike Ploog. Following Darwyn Cooke’s run on Will Eisner’s most famous masked gumshoe, this is a series most enjoyable to fans of Eisner and pulp-era detectives. Pure fun, good for older kids on up.

STREETS OF GLORY by Garth Ennis and Mike Wolfer. A mini-series told in flashback about the closing days of the Wild West. Extreme graphic violence, but good for fans of Garth Ennis and Clint Eastwood. Not for kids.

STUDENTS FOR A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY GN by Harvey Pekar, Gary Dumm, and historian Paul Buhle. A non-fiction account of the rise and fall of one of the most ambitious and controversial activist groups of the 1960s. For grown-ups and interested parties. Very well-timed publication.

THOR by J. Michael Straczynski and Marko Djurdjevic. An impressive revamping of the classic Marvel thunder god, exploring the meanings in myth and the question of what happens after ragnorok.

THUNDERBOLTS by Warren Ellis, Mike Deodato, and Others. Ellis’ take on a team of government sanctioned super-villains, wrapping up this year. Dark stuff, teens and up.

TRANSHUMAN by Jonathan Hickman and Jm Ringuet. A four-issue mockumentary-style comic about the creation and marketing of the world’s first superhumans by the creator of NIGHTLY NEWS, PAX ROMANA, and RED MASS FOR MARS. “Spinal Tap” Meets Supers! Very promising debut issue.

THE TWELVE by J. Michael Straczynski and Chris Weston. A 12-issue series about golden-age super-heroes awaking in the 21st century and all the culture shock it would entail. Gorgeously rendered by Weston. Great for older kids and up. Already a contender for Best Book of the Year.

ULTIMATE HUMAN by Warren Ellis and Cary Nord. A four-issue mini-series where Ultimate Hulk fights Ultimate Iron Man. Hey, sometimes you just need an easy read amidst the heavy stuff.

WALKING DEAD by Robert Kirkman and Charles Adlard. The ongoing stories of the last humans alive after a zombie plague wipes out civilization. Imagine if the Romero movies never ended. Incredible suspense and continuous surprises derived from the systematic breaking of formula. You never know who might die (or worse) next. A guaranteed gut-punch per issue. Too intense for kids, but engrossing for older readers.

WAR IS HELL: THE FIRST FLIGHT OF THE PHANTOM EAGLE by Garth Ennis and Howard Chaykin. A foppish allied aviator meets World War I in “graphic” style. Not for kids.

WOLVERINE by Jason Aaron and Ron Garney. Aaron and Garney open their run on this title with a wild chase across the globe after Wolverine is tasked with the assassination of a long-time X-Men foe. Between this and LOGAN, Wolverine may be having his best creative year in a long while.

Y THE LAST MAN by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra. The series ended recently but is now available in trade paperback form. The saga of the last man on an Earth excelled past its cheesy sci-fi premise with issue one and never looked back. A real masterpiece worthy of sitting beside WATCHMEN and SANDMAN on bookshelves everywhere.

Great stuff so far and it’s only April. J

www.johnjudy.net

Whoops - Jeff Kinney went to the U of Maryland and did a comic strip for them

Boy, have I missed linking to a lot of Diary of a Wimpy Kid articles as I didn't realize that Jeff Kinney did a comic strip for the University of Maryland's Diamondback (as did Frank "Liberty Meadows" Cho and Corey "Watch Your Head" Thomas). If there's any interest, let me know in the comments and I'll cull my Comics Research Bibliography holding file for links. In the meantime, see "Story of the weak: Jeff Kinney's 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' draws on relatable school experiences," by David Mehegan, Boston Globe Staff, April 7, 2008.

Owen, not Stephen, King on comics

In "The Kings of Fiction: Stephen, Tabitha and Owen Offer A Family-Style Look at the Literary Life," by Bob Thompson (who's lately been at a few comics events including the Folger), Washington Post Staff Writer, Monday, April 7, 2008; C01, we find the following quotes about Owen King's interest in comic books.

At some point in his childhood, the 31-year-old King explains to his young listeners -- gathered this day as part of the PEN/Faulkner Writers in Schools program -- he was reading a Fantastic Four comic and the question of superhero sex occurred to him. "I was looking at Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman and I was thinking, well, how does this, you know, how do they do it?"

This draws a bit of nervous laughter.

"Dirty-minded as I am," he says the question never left him. And when the Fantastic Four movie came out, with Jessica Alba, "it was even more on my mind."

He goes on a bit after that to talk about how that idea became a short story about a superhero meerkat.

David Hajdu photographs UPDATED

Quick post of photos from the talk at Politics and Prose, which you should be able to order on cd from them. It was interesting, especially when he talked about interviewing cartoonists affected at the time. Bruce Guthrie, the professional amateur photographer, put his pictures online too and they're much better than mine so you should check them out. Anybody looking for more information on the book, reviews, or interviews, should check out Gene Kannenberg's Comics Research page.

Shakespeare + Manga, Folger Shakespeare Library review

Shakespeare + Manga. Adam Sexton, Yali Lin and Marc Singer (moderator). Washington, DC: Folger Shakespeare Library, March 31, 2008, $12.

As part of their Words on Will lecture series, the Folger tilted towards the mini-movement of adapting Shakespeare into comics by having two adaptors speak. The publisher John Wiley hired Adam Sexton to adapt four of Shakespeare’s plays to comics form, theoretically in a manga style, a point to which I will return.

Writer Adam Sexton and artist Yali Lin, adaptors of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet: The Manga Edition. Booksigning after lecture at Folger Shakespeare Library.


Sexton opened by reading his introduction to the Romeo and Juliet volume in which he noted that he sees a graphic novel as more visual than a theater play. His example is that the fairy Queen Mab or Ophelia’s death can be clearly depicted and not just described as one would find in the written play or most theater versions. Another point in favor of a graphic adaptation is that one can move at one’s own pace and linger over the reading.

Sexton noted that he had a fairly detailed plan to adapt Shakespeare. First he cut extraneous material. Then he shaped the words to resemble speech rather than poetry, closing line breaks when necessary. He punctuated and italicized for clarity, and highlighted puns and themes. His example, which he showed on a screen, came from the balcony scene of Romeo and Juliet, where he noted that Juliet consistently referred to death, while Romeo spoke of love. Juliet is the younger, but more mature character, so he needed to make sure the reader could see that. In the end, he had a script like a film script.



The artist Yali Lin took up the narrative at this point, explaining how she converted this script to a comic. She was born in China, but has been in America since the mid-1990s and attended the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York. She spoke briefly of her influences – Romiko Takahashi’s Ranma ½ (and showed a Romeo and Juliet scene from it) and especially Yukari Kawachi. She read the story and pictured it in her mind, then read it again and then began to draw it. She started with character designs which she showed to Sexton (and to the audience onscreen), who suggested that she make Juliet look a bit older, although as Lin noted, she was only fourteen in the play. Then she did what she called mini-thumbnails – sketches on the script next to the text for initial panel breakdowns. After this she does thumbnails which are still rough, but have the start of the dialogue and are the size of the finished paperback. Of the layout she noted, “Almost every page should have an establishing shot” so the reader knows where to focus. Her pencils are 11x14 inches on Bristol board. She then inks with both a pen nib and brushes, and said, “I really enjoy inking because it’s the easiest stage…”

After erasing her pencil marks, she scans in the artwork and then starts toning it digitally using Manga Studio for its tones, creating layers of them in Photoshop. The lettering is done last, using Illustrator. Long speech balloons were broken up in multiple bubbles to give a reader some relief. She worked act by act in the adaptation, finishing one and then moving onto the next one. As such, she thought her work on the first act, which took the longest, was the weakest.




At this point, moderator Marc Singer joined them on stage. He asked the two why they chose a manga style and Sexton replied, “We were told by the publisher.” Lin followed that by stating that, “Manga is expressionistic…” which let her use bleeds and irregular panels. It seems to this reviewer that the choice of ‘manga’ is a marketing one – of most forms of comic art, manga seems to be the highest selling at the moment. Even though a true manga adaptation of Shakespeare would probably run thousands of pages and for years, a pseudo-manga style could be created for an American audience.

Other points of interest emerged as the two continued to speak. Sexton said that the publisher asked him to maintain soliloquies. Lin said that as English is her second language at times she had problems understanding Shakespeare’s point, although Sexton disagreed with her and said she did usually have it right. Each book took about a year. Sexton’s biggest challenge was in the cutting – he thought Julius Caesar in particular would be a disaster as it’s a play about rhetoric in which characters try to persuade each other to do things. The two joined the project in different ways. Sexton got a call from a Wiley editor whom he had worked with before and who knew that he was a Shakespeare fan. A conversation with Matt Madden and Jessica Abel of SVA led to the five artists being selected.



Sexton noted that the publisher doesn’t quite know what to expect … “It’s hoped that these will be taken seriously enough to be used in the classroom, not replacing the original text, but perhaps in conjunction.” He said it was easier not to use the Classics Illustrated model of traditional Western comic books with added material and text boxes explaining what was happening, but to just use only Shakespeare’s actual words. “I think it’s more valuable consisting exclusively of Shakespeare’s language.”

The evening ended with an eight-year old girl’s observation that her teacher said she couldn’t read Julius Caesar at school because it was too violent. Sexton agreed with her that it was a violent play, but thought that her reading of it should be up to her parents. The little girl replied that she just decided to read it at home. The future of America looks brighter again, doesn't it?

Hajdu at Politics and Prose, in the Express and on the Express's website

David Hajdu is speaking on censorship and comic books tonight at 7 pm, but there's also an article about him in the Express and a different one with a longer interview online at "Not So Funny: David Hajdu on Comic Book Controversies," by Express contributor Stephen M. Deusner, Express April 7, 2008

Guggenheim interview on Express website

See "Cursed to Write: TV & Comics Scribe Marc Guggenheim," by Scott Rosenberg, ReadExpress.com April 7, 2008.

Oglethorpe strip? Gibson Girl sketch? Wrightson Batman?

These and other questions were raised by some of my new acquisitions at the flea market. Here's some crummy pictures to illustrate the questions.



This is labelled "Oglethorpe" in pencil at the top of the strip. It's not one I've heard of, nor have I heard of the artist Jorge Mercer. A Google search didn't turn up anything for the strip or the artist, but I haven't checked my reference books yet. The gag is lame, but the art is interesting.



"The Story of His Life" looks like a Gibson Girl. It's signed G.F.T./08. Who? It's definitely a 1908 piece - the artwork is acid-burned by the mat, the cardboard backing is disintegrating...



Obviously a bit newer item than the others, I was ignoring this radio-controlled Batman motorcycle until Claire asked for it (that's my girl!). What's of interest about this is that a better look reveals that the Batman is completely modeled after Berni Wrightson's version as seen in The Cult below(picture from the GCD). That's got to be off the model sheet - why choose this version?



Comments, questions and especially answers are welcome!

Two bookish things by me still available.

Film & TV Adaptations of Comics - 2007 edition by Rhode and Vogel is still available for order.

149 pages long, it's a listing of the thousands of adaptations to film and television of hundreds of comic strips and books. Worldwide, it includes the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Russia, the Netherlands, Senegal, India, Turkey, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and Australia among others. Cross-referenced by cartoonist and translated titles, it includes a bibliography and index.

You can buy it via Lulu.com for $12.99 (plus shipping) or $3.00 for a pdf download at http://www.lulu.com/content/1677433.

Also, the
INTERPLANETARY JOURNAL OF COMIC ART: A Festschrift in Honor of John Lent is still available.

Editor's note - The first issue of the new InterPlanetary Journal of Comic Art (or IPJOCA as we call it around the virtual office) is now available. We are proud to invite you to the 43rd indispensable academic organ published by JOHN LENT MULTIMEDIA ENTERPRISES. All are personally hand-edited by our founder and publisher JOHN LENT, and we remind you that any suggestions of forced labor or involuntary servitude were completely dismissed in Temple University grad students v. JOHN LENT FAMILY CONGLOMERATE. This issue is slightly late, and we apologize for that. Editor JOHN LENT was traveling widely with stops on Pluto, Venus, Charon, Deimos and Phobos, Antarctica, Cyprus, Monte Carlo and the French Riviera, interviewing aging cartoonists and presenting learned discourses on the history of comic art. LENT's presentation on Pluto, "Which came first? The planet or the dog?" was particularly well-received and will appear in a future issue of IPJOCA. IPJOCA is a proud successor to the Colonial Journal of Comic Art, the Union Journal of Comic Art, the Confederate Journal of Comic Art, and the Imperial Journal of Comic Art, as well as the continuing flagship International Journal of Comic Art.

Actually, IPJOCA is a work of satire and parody, published on the occasion of John's seventieth birthday in 2006, give or take a few months. Since 1960, John has published, taught, and lectured widely on comic art, and since 1999 has been the publisher and editor-in-chief of the academic International Journal of Comic Art. In March of this year, John served on the Pulitzer Prize Nominating Juries in Journalism. John has published over 70 books and 800 articles on comic art, mass communication and Asian studies.

John's colleagues in the comic world have come together to create a tribute book, and presented it to him at the Popular Culture Association meeting in Boston. The fully-illustrated book features a front cover by cartoonist Nick Thorkelson, and a back cover by Ralph Steadman as well as 100 pages of witty articles.

To order your copy for $10, go to http://www.lulu.com/content/679026; to subscribe to the International Journal of Comic Art, go to
http://www.ijoca.com and follow the instructions.

Post covers Garfield minus Garfield

See Amy Orndorff's "When the Cat's Away, Neurosis Is on Display," Washington Post Sunday, April 6, 2008; N02. This one's been making the rounds for a couple of weeks on the internet, but I must confess that it doesn't do much for me.

Another slice out of my 15 minutes

While at the Civitan flea market today, scooping up comics and cartoon related material including an original Oglethorpe strip (never heard of it), a Gibson girl knockoff drawing from 1908 signed G.F.T./08, Mr. Punch's History of the Great War, Bendini's Philadelphia, Madman Bubblegum Cards, William Hamilton's Anti-Social Register Cartoons, etc, etc (pictures and information to follow), I was accosted by a camera crew. Actually they were really polite so accosted isn't the right word, but they noticed me buying some Star*Reach and Heavy Metal comics. They asked if I was happy and if so if I'd explain why I was buying them. Of course, I was happy even though my wife wasn't so I talked for a few minutes and put in a plug for Michigan State U's Comic Art Collection which gets material that I decide I actually can part with. It's supposed to air on this coming Friday.

Cue Bowie's Fame, please.

April 16: Oliphant exhibit opens...

...at Stanford in Washington at 2661 Connecticut Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20008.

new International Journal of Comic Art is out!

602 pages! US$15.00! There's lots of manga, manwha and Rusty Witek's call to academic arms from the 2007 ICAF, "American Comics Criticism and the Problem of Dual Address." The website is out of date but the ordering information is still current.

Speaking of Thompson...

...today's Richard's Poor Almanack is a slashing, biting attack on the comics page, or at least the people who put them together. Theoretically you'll be able to see it on the Post site eventually, but right now that link goes to last week's. This link might work in a few days.

Where in the world is Richard Thompson?

According to his blog, he's foolishly venturing out to the Cherry Blossom festival today, so he may never been seen again and we'll just have to read rerun after rerun of Cul de Sac for the next forty years. He's been posting cherry blossom cartoons all week at his blog by the way. But the real reason we're mentioning him today is so that stalkers can track him down at the festival and have Petey drawn on their chests.

Ha, ha! as they say. No, the real reason is that he was interviewed by a Texas paper, a state which also has an Arlington in it. Coincidence? You decide.

Geppi's Entertainment Museum reviewed

See "Travel Through Time — One Exhibit at a Time," by William Gatevackes, Broken Frontier April 02, 2008.

City Paper recommends seeing Hajdu on Monday

Again, I'll be there. And it's pronounced Hay-du.

Here's the article - "David Hajdu, Monday, April 7, at Politics and Prose," by Mark Athitakis, Washington City Paper April 4, 2008.

Kliban on pot, not cats, or A Secret History of Comics post

This is from the well-known Cat cartoonist, the late B. Kliban.



It appeared in Apple Pie, January 1976.

Comics action in Cosmo 1957

Robert Day ad for Bell Telephone from Cosmopolitan, April 1957, in which they kindly define 'ubiquitous' for the reader.

Boy, public telephones certainly aren't 'ubiquitous' now, are they? In fact, this ad is incomprehensible to anyone under 20, isn't it?


Florida Cartoonists Poke Fun at Their State, p. 1, Cosmopolitan, April 1957. Featuring Lowell Hoppes and Charles E. Sharman.


Florida Cartoonists Poke Fun at Their State, p. 2, Cosmopolitan, April 1957. Featuring Martin Filchock and Bandell Linn.

OT: April 4: Illuminations exhibit opens

A friend at work is part of an art gallery co-op in Baltimore and the following card is from the latest show of works on paper. The opening is tonight.

April 13: Capital Associates comic book show

April 13: Capital Associates comic book show at the Dunn Loring, VA fire dept as usual, 10-3, $3.00. Pop Mhan guest stars again.

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 04-09-08

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 04-09-08
By John Judy

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #556 by Zeb Wells and Chris Bachalo. Creepy Mayan blood cults, snowstorms, and Spidey finds a new use for the Daily Bugle. Nuthin’ dirty but your mind, Mister Man.

BATMAN: DEATH MASK #1 of 4 written and illustrated by Yoshinori Natsume. A Prestige Format manga mini from the creator of “Toguri.” Ask your kid.

BOOSTER GOLD #8 by Geoff Johns, Jeff Katz, and Dan Jurgens. Still a really good title but the recurring presence of those stupid OMAC things is cause for concern. OMACs are the evil future clones of the DCU.

CRIMINAL 2 #2 by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. Another done-in-one story featuring Teeg Lawless, patriarch of the low-rent Lawless crime family. This issue has an expanded number of main story and back-up pages and is pure Blue Magic heroin for lovers of the crime noir genre. Too rough for kids. Highly recommended for clever teens and up.

DOKTOR SLEEPLESS #6 by Warren Ellis and Ivan Rodriguez. Injury to the eye motif! Comics Code Authority turning in its grave! Avatar website still horrible. Somebody call me a Doktor!

FANTASTIC FOUR #556 by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch. Big fights with Robo-Cap in the snow. It's a ride.

GOON #23 written and illustrated by Eric Powell. Overheard outside Madame Elsa’s Burlesque: “Back off, youse mugs! I swiped this here salmon and I’m gettin’ the squeezin’s!” Recommended!

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #14 by Geoff Johns, Alex Ross, and Dale Eaglesham. Why, God, why? Why are the clouds laughing at our heroes? And why do the clouds have fangs and crows feet? It’s an Alex Ross cover and thus filled with hidden meaning. Really. Look for the word “Nina.”

MARVEL ZOMBIES: DEAD DAYS HC by Lotsa People. Featuring all those Marvel Zombie stories that didn’t appear in the two mini-series. Twisted kicks. NOT for kids.

NUMBER OF THE BEAST #1 of 8 by Scott Beatty and Chris Sprouse. It’s the Apocalypse done up Wildstorm style! Featuring the return of a hero we all thought Warren Ellis had killed off! (Okay, that doesn’t narrow it down much, I know…)

PUNISHER #56 by Garth Ennis and Goran Parlov. The final Garth Ennis story-arc in which eight Special Forces soldiers are ordered to take out the Punisher, knowing that he won’t fire back on U.S. military and The Law. Not for kids, no-how, but highly recommended for all others.

SERENITY: BETTER DAYS #2 of 3 by Joss Whedon, Brett Matthews, and Will Conrad. The crew goes on vacation in the good ol’ days before fan favorites died horribly on the big screen.

TITANS #1 by Judd Winick and Ian Churchill. Looks like a return of the original Marv Wolfman/George Perez line-up so that’s a nice nod to us geezers. Gotta look.

WHATEVER GN written and drawn by Karl Stevens. A collection of short stories about life in the college town of Allston, Massachusetts. No capes, no tights, no kidding. Neat stuff.

WOLVERINE #64 by Jason Aaron and Ron Garney. Crazy, bloody chase caper continues! Great fun from Aaron and Garney. Ron Garney's tears cure athlete's foot.* Recommended!

WONDER WOMAN #19 by Gail Simone and Bernard Chang. WW’s having trouble with a nasty bunch of Khunds. They’re an alien race, so help me.

YOUNG LIARS #2 written and drawn by David Lapham. If you’re missing your fix of Lapham’s “Stray Bullets” you should certainly be reading this. Nihilistic fun, but not for younger kids.

www.johnjudy.net

*disclaimer from the blog owner. Probably not, but Mr. Garney did write in and ask that he be acknowledged as one of the creators of the comic in response to one of Mr. Judy's recent posts.

Piskor covers City Paper

The new issue of the Washington City Paper has a really nice cover of books as buildings by Pekar-collaborator Ed Piskor. He did interior illos for the story too. I'm willing to entertain requests for tear sheets if they come in soon.

April 21: Jef Thompson painting exhibit

Big Planet Comics' Jef Thompson has a show of Icelandic and English Landscapes in Baltimore from April 21-May 16. Viola!

Oliphant exhibit in April

There's one opening around April 14th - the exhibit that had been in Georgia - somewhere on Connecticut Ave in a Stanford gallery or something. More and better details will follow and clear up this post.

9 Chickweed Lane

Neither the Post nor the Times run 9 Chickweed Lane which I can't understand and I really don't get Gene Weingarten's professed dislike especially when it has strips like this.

Al Hirschfeld and Flash Gordon

Now how often do you see a duo in a title like that? Here's a couple of pieces I picked up recently, which is the only thing they have in common.


Al Hirschfeld cover for Man of La Mancha - note there's one Nina in there (click on the picture to open a larger one in Flickr). Record albums frequently used to have covers by cartoonists. I pick up a few, but there's some hard-core collectors out there with big collections.


Ming the Merciless paper toy from Playboy, January 1981. Print and make it now!


...and the instructions.

I love paper...

April 5: 6th Cherry Blossom Anime Marathon.

The Freer-Sackler's showing anime this weekend for their 6th Cherry Blossom Anime Marathon and details are in Rachel Kaufman's "Animated Imports: What's as Japanese as cherry blossoms? An Anime Marathon," [Washington Post] Express (April 3): E5.

Here's the film info from their website:

Sixth Annual Cherry Blossom Anime Marathon
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Meyer Auditorium
In celebration of this year’s National Cherry Blossom Festival, the Freer Gallery of Art, in conjunction with the Japan Information and Cultural Center and Otakorp, Inc., presents a day-long festival of four Japanese Anime films. This year’s event includes a costume show courtesy of the DC Anime Club as well as surprise special guests.

Free tickets for all films (limit 2 per person per film) will be distributed beginning at 10:30 AM, and will be available throughout the day.

All films are in Japanese with English subtitles, unless otherwise indicated.

11:30 AM
Jungle Emperor Leo
Adapted from a manga comic by the legendary Osamu Tezuka, this charming fable directed by Yoshio Takeuchi is a treat for animal lovers of all ages. Leo, a majestic white lion, rules the jungle at the foot of mysterious Moon Mountain, living in harmony with the other beasts – until humans show up and threaten to shatter their peaceful existence. 1997 / 100 min., Rated PG, Dubbed in English.

2:30 PM
Atagoal: Cat's Magical Forest
Hideyoshi is, literally, a fat cat who loves nothing more than gorging himself on tuna and rocking out at the annual town festival in the magical land of Atagoal. He gets into trouble, however, when he accidentally releases the imprisoned Botanical Queen Pileah, who has sinister plans for Hideyoshi and his feline friends. Mizuho Nishikubo’s film is fun for the whole family. 2006 / 81 min., suitable for all ages.

5:00 PM
5 Centimeters Per Second
The title of Makoto Shinkai’s wistful coming-of-age film describes the velocity at which cherry blossom petals fall – a metaphor for the impermanence of human relationships that is the theme of its three connected stories. Each story takes place at a different point in the lives of the film’s three main characters, from puppy love thwarted by a family move, to an unrequited teenage crush, to melancholy reminiscences in adulthood. 2007 / 62 min., unrated, appropriate for all ages.

7:00 PM
Appleseed: Ex Machina
The year is 2138. Society is divided between humans and peaceful cyborgs developed to prevent the wars that killed half of the world’s population. But what happens when nefarious forces find a way to make them violent? Inspired by a popular manga comic, Shinji Aramaki’s sci-fi braintwister offers state-of-the-art animation, thrilling action scenes, and a provocative meditation on what our world might become. 2007 / 105 min., PG-13.

Positive review of Cul de Sac

"'Cul de Sac,' the Comic Strip You Need to Read: Richard Thompson mixes childish innocence and adult neuroses to perfection," by Van Jensen, ComicMix Tue Apr 1, 2008.

Manga Shakespeare photos

I've got notes about the presentation that I'll try to write up soon, but here's some pictures at least. It was very interesting.

Writer Adam Sexton and artist Yali Lin, adaptors of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet: The Manga Edition. Booksigning after lecture at Folger Shakespeare Library.

Georgetown University professor op-ed on Danish Islam cartoon controversy

See "The Controversy Over the Cartoons," by Noureddine Jebnoun, Middle East Online pril 2, 2008. Jebnoun is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies.

April 7: David Hajdu at Politics and Prose

Monday, April 7th at 7 pm: David Hajdu turns from the folk pop era of the ’60s (Positively Fourth Street) to the comic book era of the ‘30s and ‘40s with THE TEN-CENT PLAGUE at Politics and Prose in DC.

I'm going; anyone else?

April 12: Howard Zinn and Mike Konopacki

Saturday, April 12, 1 p.m at Politics and Prose - HOWARD ZINN & MIKE KONOPACKI's A PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF AMERICAN EMPIRE: A GRAPHIC ADAPTATION (Metropolitan, $17).

The people’s historian has teamed up with labor cartoonist Mike Konopacki for a graphic presentation of American imperialism. Zinn’s primary-source accounts are illuminated by the artist’s pen, making for a dramatic and bracing retelling of the darker side of our national story.

Singer on Morrison on Superman

Go read Marc on All-Star Superman #10, and briefly return with us to the thrilling days of yesteryear when titans like Eliot S! Maggin wrote about a godlike superhero.

National Cartoonist Society nominations online

And our own Richard Thompson's name can be seen on the site. The very last name, it's true...

For the main Reuben, it's an odd group - two single panel cartoonists even though no single panels where nominated for an award, and a grand old man of MAD Magazine, Al Jaffee, who should win. There's a good article on Jaffee in "A Veteran MAD Man Remains in the Fold,"By NEIL GENZLINGER, New York Times March 30, 2008.

April 4: Stephen King at Folger

April 4, 2008 8 P.M. PEN/Faulkner winds up its 2007-08 season with a reading by "The Three Kings": bestselling novelist Stephen King, his wife, Tabitha King, and their son Owen King at the Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 East Capitol St. SE. A reception and book signing follow. Tickets are $30; RSVP at 202-544-7077 or http://www.folger.edu/pen.

April 1: Marjane Satrapi in Baltimore; April 2 in McClean

She's well worth going to hear.

April 1, 20087 P.M. Iranian-born writer and artist Marjane Satrapi, author of Persepolis (her memoir of Iran's Islamic Revolution told in graphic novel form and the basis for an Oscar-nominated animated film), delivers the 2008 Baldwin Lecture in Humanities at the College of Notre Dame of Maryland, 4701 N. Charles St., Baltimore, Md. A book signing follows. For details, call 410-532-5516 or visit http://www.ndm.edu.

She will also speak on Wednesday, April 2, at 7 p.m. at the McLean Community Center, Alden Theatre, 1234 Ingleside Ave., McLean, Va. Admission to this event, sponsored by the Fairfax County Public Library (part of its "Perspectives" series), is free. Tickets will be distributed (limit four per person) beginning at 7 p.m.; call 703-324-8428 for details.

OT: New Marvel book by buddy

Rob Weiner who I've corresponded with off and on for years has a specialized book for librarians coming out that may also appeal to the hardcore Marvel fan. Here's the details.

Marvel Graphic Novels and Related Publications
An Annotated Guide to Comics, Prose Novels, Children's Books,
Articles, Criticism and Reference Works, 1965–2005
Robert G. Weiner
Foreword by John Rhett Thomas

ISBN 978-0-7864-2500-6
appendices, bibliography, indexes
399pp. hardcover (7 x 10) 2008

$49.95
Available for immediate shipment

Description
This work provides an extensive guide for students, fans, and
collectors of Marvel Comics. Focusing on Marvel's mainstream comics,
the author provides a detailed description of each comic along with a
bibliographic citation listing the publication's title,
writers/artists, publisher, ISBN (if available), and a plot synopsis.
One appendix provides a comprehensive alphabetical index of Marvel and
Marvel–related publications to 2005, while two other appendices
provide selected lists of Marvel–related game books and unpublished
Marvel titles.

About the Author
Robert G. Weiner is a reference librarian at the Mahon Library in
Lubbock, Texas. His works have been published in the following
journals: Journal of Popular Culture, Public Library Quarterly,
Journal of American Culture and Popular Music and Society. He lives in
Lubbock.


Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix
Foreword by John Rhett Thomas 1
Preface 3

Section I. Background Highlights
1. Graphic Novels and Literature, Then and Now 5
2. Marvel Comics, Then and Now 11

Section II. Marvel's Superheroes
3. Major Characters, Teams, and Team-Ups
Avengers, Black Panther/Black Widow, Hawkeye, Hercules, Thunderbolts,
and Ultimates 19
Captain America, Fury, Human Torch, Namor, and Golden-Age Characters
27
Conan/Kull 34
Cosmic Heroes and Supernaturals/Blade, Captain Marvel, Dr. Strange,
Dracula, Ghost Rider, Silver Surfer, Thanos, et al. 37
Daredevil and Elektra 44
Fantastic Four/Dr. Doom and Inhumans 50
Hulk and She-Hulk 55
Iron Man and War Machine 60
Punisher, Shadowmasters, and The 'Nam 62
Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, Spider-Girl, Venom, and Carnage 67
Thor 86
Transformers, G.I. Joe, and Death's Head 90
Wolverine, Deadpool, Sabretooth, and Weapon X 96
X-Men/Mutants and Related 104
4. Minor Characters and Minor Character Combos
Minor Characters 131
Minor Character Combos 143

Section III. Special Volumes and Series
5. Special Hardbacks and Marvel Masterworks
Special Hardbacks 151
Marvel Masterworks 168
6. Marvel's Essential Series
Avengers, Ant-Man, Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor 180
Daredevil 184
Fantastic Four, Dr. Doom, Human Torch, and Inhumans 185
Hulk 187
Spider-Man 187
Wolverine 189
X-Men 191
Essential Monsters 193
Other Essentials 194
7. Epic Comics Graphic Novels 197
8. Marvel and Marvel-Related Paperbacks 215

Section IV. Selected Marvel Publications
9. Marvel/DC Crossovers 227
10. Children's Books 232
11. Movies and Television 245
12. Classical, Esoteric, Historical, Music-Related, and Religious
Works 252

Section V. Selected Marvel-Related Publications
13. Prose Novels
Avengers 257
Blade 257
Captain America 258
Daredevil and Elektra 258
Fantastic Four 259
Hulk 260
Iron Man 262
Spider-Man 262
X-Men/Wolverine and Related 268
Team-Ups 276
Other Characters and Novels 279
14. Articles, Books, Guides, and Indexes
Articles and Books 282
Guides and Indexes 298
15. Children's Books 305
16. Scholarly Publications 311

Appendix 1. Marvel and Marvel-Related Publications, 2005 325
Appendix 2. Selected Marvel-Related Game Books 332
Appendix 3. Unpublished Books 335
Title Index 337
Artist and Author Index 354
Subject Index 364

Zadzooks on Justice League

See "Justice series is packed with star-filled action," By Joseph Szadkowski, Washington Times March 29, 2008

In Saturday's Post ... Toles criticism, Superhero Movie, Candorville

Ok, I can't find it online just like last week as the Free For All section doesn't appear in searches or on the opinion webpage, but there's a letter to the editor criticizing Tom Toles for this cartoon. Surprise, surprise.

Also, Superhero Movie got a lousy review in "Spoofs Like 'Superhero' Make Anyone Climb the Walls," By John Anderson, Washington Post Saturday, March 29, 2008; C01.

Finally, Darrin Bell in Candorville is definitely criticizing the Post in Friday and Saturday's strips for not running his strips about Obama's security.

Mark Chiarello interview

I saw the Mark Chiarello "Heroes of the Negro Leagues" exhibit today at ArtInSights Gallery and enjoyed it, as well as meeting the artist. I'll post a review of the exhibit (and the whole store actually) here soon as IJOCA's deadline isn't remotely close, but you can read an interview done by the gallery owner starting here and continuing here.

There's a book that the artwork came from too so I picked up a copy of it as well.

Here's a picture of the gallery owner co-owner Leslie Combemale (red hair) and Chiarello (center with beard).

More on Wertham by Beaty and Jeet Heer

My friend Bart's got a response to Jeet Heer's review of Hajdu's new book on Wertham and 50s comics censorship and Jeet responds to Bart as well. See "SYMPOSIUM: CULTURE WARS: Comic books were criticized not because they possessed the 'unruly spirit of youth' but because they were emblematic of the worst aspects of a widely disparaged mass culture," Bart Beaty writes," by BART BEATY AND JEET HEER, Globe and Mail March 29, 2008. I'm of two minds about Bart's argument, but I will accept that Wertham was acting as a concerned psychiatrist. Unfortunately the most-well meaning people can do the most damage.

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 04-02-08

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 04-02-08
By John Judy

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #555 by Zeb Wells and Chris Bachalo. Gorgeous art, ninjas, Wolverine, and an official Marvel No-Prize challenge for all you kids who think you're smarter than a Marvel Editor. Start slamming your head into a brick wall to make it fair...

AMERICAN SPLENDOR SEASON TWO #1 of 4 by Harvey Pekar and Assorted Talents. The J. Alfred Prufrock of comics returns with his autobiographical shorts illustrated by Chris Weston, David Lapham, and other gifted collaborators. Recommended for teens and up.

ANGEL: AFTER THE FALL #6 by Joss Whedon, Brian Lynch, and a bunch of artists. A two-parter finally giving with the scoop about what exactly happened after the final scene of the TV series. Way cool. Recommended.

ANNA MERCURY #1 of 5 by Warren Ellis and Facundo Percio. Warren’s new superwoman who makes Jet Li and the Shadow look like Laurel and Hardy! Recommended!

BOYS #17 by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. Wee Hughie starts to live again. Sadly so does his old foe, The Blarney Cock! Vicious, soul-to-hell-condemning fun from Belfast’s Favorite Son. Not for kids.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #13 by Drew Goddard and Georges Jeanty. Buffy and the Scoobs fight uber-vamps in Tokyo. From the writer of “Cloverfield.”

CABLE #2 by Duane Swierczynski and Ariel Olivetti. Mutant cyborg time-travelin' action with a baby. This is what Sweeps Week looks like in Hell.

ESSENTIAL IRON MAN VOL.3. SC by Archie Goodwin, Gene Colan, and Many Others. Collecting issues #12-38 and DAREDEVIL #73. Time to get psyched for next month’s movie and bargain-priced reprints are the best place to start. Enjoy!

HOLMES GN written and illustrated by Omaha Perez. Author Perez explains it best: “What if Sherlock Holmes is constantly out of his head and Watson’s not much better off, the Dr. Gonzo to Holmes’s Raoul Duke?” This week’s “Gotta-look!”

KICK ASS #2 by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. Okay, the first issue saw our hero essentially beaten to death, sans mutant healing factor, which is good enough for me to want to read issue two! Definitely too rough for younger kids. Twisted fun for all others.

LOGAN #2 of 3 by Brian K. Vaughan and Eduardo Risso. Wolverine’s back in Japan which is always good for few sword and barbed arrowhead induced laughs. Beautiful art by Risso and a comforting fix of Vaughan for those of us who still miss Y THE LAST MAN. Recommended.

PROJECT SUPERPOWERS #2 of 6 by Alex Ross, Jim Krueger, and Carlos Paul. The most interesting thing about this series is the fact that its cast of heroes is in play due to copyright expiration. At least one of them (Dynamic Man) is also appearing in THE TWELVE over at Marvel. And it’s tough to overcome the fact that one of the main protagonists in this “serious” adventure story is repeatedly addressed as “Yank.” Just sayin’…

SCALPED #16 by Jason Aaron and R.M. Guera. Dash and Red Crow butt heads with a Nebraska sheriff. This is the title Garth Ennis calls “like a comic book written just for me!” The hardest of hard stuff for fans of westerns and noir. Highly recommended. Not for kids.

SECRET INVASION #1 of 8 by Brian Bendis and Leinil Francis Yu. SKRULLS!!!! Shapeshifting, concentric circle-eyed, ridgey-chinned !@$^@#$!!!! Time to start collecting on those bets you made with your friends. Geeky fun!

SHAZAM: GREATEST STORIES EVER TLD SC by Bill Parker, C.C. Beck, Dennis O’Neil, Gil Kane, Jack Kirby and many more. The best of the past 60+ years of the Big Red Cheese! Highly recommended for all ages!

THE TWELVE #4 of 12 by J. Michael Straczynski and Chris Weston. More murders and back-biting among our time-lost Golden Age heroes! Plus, the origin of Rockman! Appointment reading, highly recommended!

WALKING DEAD #48 by Robert Kirkman and Charles Adlard. The bloody aftermath of the Governor’s raid. As Kirkman has proven: “No one is safe.” Not for kids. Recommended for older teens on up.

YOUNG AVENGERS PRESENTS #3 of 6 by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Alina Urusov. Wiccan and Speed search for their lost mama, the Scarlet Witch!

YOUNG X-MEN #1 by Marc Guggenheim and Yanick Paquette. Cyclops is gettin' the band back together. If you liked "Young Justice", "Young All-Stars", "Youngblood", "Young Guns", "Young and the Restless", and Young MC.... well, you have OCD and you're not going to feel right if you don't buy this comic. PS - The kitchen floor is covered with germs.

ZORRO #2 by Matt Wagner and Francesco Francavilla. “The Fox” versus the brutal Gonzales in the new adventures of the original Man in Black!

www.johnjudy.net

Another Plastic Farm article

"Jefferson man pens full-length graphic novel," by Connor Adams Sheets, Gazette newspapers Thursday, March 27, 2008

Manga Shakespeare at Folger covered by Times

See "Manga revamp for the Bard," By Jenny Mayo, Washington Times March 28, 2008.

I'll be there - anybody else?

Ullman back in City Paper

Rob's illustrated the Eats food column for 3/28/08 - no cute girl though!

Hellblazer writer Denise Mina at Borders

Actually she was there to talk about her new mystery book. I happened to notice this article by Arion Berger, "Plaid, the New Black: Crime fiction writer Denise Mina on the gritty side of Glasgow," Express (March 27): E10 and had a vague idea that it would be interesting so I drove on over. I was the only comics fan in the audience so I didn't ask too many questions especially since I hadn't read her Hellblazer run. DC came to her to write it, and she said that she was surprised because Ian Rankin, Scotland's most famous crimewriter said to her, "How the f-ck did you get that? I want to write comics." Comics are still apparently declasse in Glasgow, and she said, "I also write comics and usually when I say that, one person in the audience kind of goes like that (lifts chin knowingly) because that's what they're interested in. If I was trying to be fancy I'd say graphic novels or something like that, but it's comics I write. I think we should just be out and proud - I write comics."

She was thrilled to be asked she says. She's a Grant Morrison fan and also recommended Sebastian O (that's going back a few years). She gets a comp box from DC and is now reading Love & Rockets as well. Meanwhile Rankin's writing a stand-alone Constantine story (which should be good).

She was very nice and very funny and is doing a new graphic novel for DC on ... high real estate prices. I think we'll have to wait and check it out before seeing how much we can relate to it around here.

Now a pet peeve - these chain stores never get any of the writer's comic book collections nor publicize to the comics community. Borders had one of her two collections and somebody had to hunt for it for me. As I said, I was the only comics fan in the audience (which wasn't large unfortunately0. They had plenty of signed copies of Jodi Picoult's new book for sale from last month, but none of her new Wonder Woman collection at all on the shelves, let alone signed. Is there any wonder that Borders is in financial trouble? But it's not just them - Gene Yang's two earlier books are still available from Slave Labor - why not slap golden stickers on like First Second did and market them as "National Book nominee Gene Yang's..."

4 new interviews on cIndy Center UPDATED

Local podcaster Chris Shields has 4 interviews up this spring at cIndy Center - DC Comics writer Mike Carey, Mike Gallagher talks about his co-created comic "Ruin" at Alterna Comics, Chad Lambert talks about his upcoming projects at Ape Entertainment and Digital Webbing, and Hardway Studio's Chris Carpenter.

Here's an email Chris sent in last night:

We have had several comic interviews lately including, they listed below. Upcoming guests include Xeric winning artist Sonny Liew (My Faith in Frankie & SLG/Disney's Wonderland), legendary artist Joe Staton and writer Christopher Mills. They work together on Ape Entertainment's Femme Noir http://www.thrillingdetective.com/eyes/femme_noir.html.

The interview with Mike Carey is available in two parts:
http://www.cindycenter.com/MikeCareyFinalP1.mp3
http://www.cindycenter.com/MikeCareyFinalP2.mp3

Interview with writer of kill the revisionist, CHAD LAMBERT. More information available at: http://www.killtherevisionist.com/
http://www.cindycenter.com/ChadFinal.mp3

Mike Gallagher talks about his co-created comic "Ruin" at Alterna Comics. Check-out Alterna's website for more information about "Ruin".
For more information about Mike, please visit http://www.alternacomics.com/ruin.htm. Listen to the interview with Mike @ http://www.cindycenter.com/MikeGalFinal.mp3

New Keith Knight book out

Keith, who's been to DC many times for the Small Press Expo, has an excellent new book out - "I Left My Arse in San Francisco". I started it the day I got it and finished it at one go. He's got some of his hardest hitting political work in here too - just what one needs when one gets the Washington Post delivered. You can only buy this on his website; probably to avoid competing with the Omnibus that's coming from Dark Horse via Diamond this summer. I'm going to buy that too, of course.

Gene Yang interview

Our buddy Scott Rosenberg interviewed him for "A.B.C.: Gene Yang's 'American Born Chinese'," at ReadExpress.com on March 26, 2008.

March 29: Mark Chiarello exhibit in Reston

For Immediate Release
Contact: Leslie Combemale
703-478-0778
artnsights@aol.com
www.artinsights.com

ARTINSIGHTS EXHIBITS ART BY MARK CHIARELLO
USED FOR THE BOOK "HEROES OF THE NEGRO LEAGUES", AND FOR THE FIRST COLOR BASEBALL CARDS OF THE NEGRO LEAGUES

Reston, VA- ArtInsights Gallery in Reston Town Center has secured exclusive rights to exhibit and sell the original watercolor art used for the bestselling book "Heroes of the Negro Leagues" by illustrator and DC Comics Art Editor Mark Chiarello. Many of these illustrations were used for the first color baseball cards for the Negro Leagues. The exhibit will include images of famed Negro Leaguers Satchel Paige, Rube Foster, Josh Gibson, Buck O'Neil, and many others. Mr. Chiarello will be appearing in person in the gallery opening weekend of Major League Baseball, opening day of the new exhibit, Saturday, March 29th, from 2 to 5 pm. The show will run through May 30th, or as sales allow.

The publication of the original baseball cards that inspired the "Heroes of the Negro Leagues" book marked the first time most of the players ever appeared on a baseball card. Mark Chiarello says he and writer Jack Morelli were inspired to create the cards when they visited the National Baseball Museum in Cooperstown, New York where they saw a plaque for a player they'd never heard of, Judy Johnson. After some research, they resolved to correct the fact that they and other hardcore baseball fans knew so little of these great athletes. The cards were expanded into a book that was rated 2nd of all sports books on Amazon.com in 2007, with watercolors the New York Times called "evocative". Los Angeles magazine said of the book, "Mark Chiarello's dreamy watercolor portraits transport us back to a league that time (and most everyone else) has conveniently forgotten".

Mark Chiarello is an award winning artist and the art editor of DC Comics, and has done illustration for LucasFilm, Disney, Universal Pictures, Topps, and Universal Pictures, to name a few. He has won the comic book industry's Eisner, Harvey, and Reuben awards. He is also creating art for instillation in the new Gaylord National Resort in Maryland's "National Pastime."

Says ArtInsights co-owner Michael Barry, "We've carried illustration art for quite some time, but never anything sports related. Mark's Negro League watercolors are so beautifully executed, it was a perfect fit. He is more than just a skilled watercolorist, with these pieces he's captured so much more". A great deal of research was required for these portraits, and artist Chiarello says he often looked at more than 200 pictures of a player to find the perfect reference to use. Barry's partner, Leslie Combemale, adds, "Of course they are historically important, but they definitely stand alone as great art. Many know the more famous Negro Leaguers, but these illustrations allow collectors to connect with some of the many unsung heroes who deserve more recognition. These watercolors offer an opportunity for baseball fans, art collectors, and history buffs to expand how they see the world, as the best art always does, and Mark has an encyclopedic knowledge of the subject. We're proud to have his art in the gallery."

ABOUT ARTINSIGHTS

ArtInsights, established in 1994, is a privately owned business located in Reston Town Center, Virginia. In addition to specializing in creating and developing collections of animation art from Disney, Warner Brothers, Hanna Barbera, and all other major studios, The gallery is constantly looking for new and important artist of illustrative, animation, and film art to add to those they currently represent. Their roster includes Chuck Jones, John Alvin, Toby Bluth, Tim Rogerson, Mary GrandPre, and Jim Salvati. They recently had the international exclusive first release of limited editions of the Harry Potter book covers by Mary GrandPre.

With more than 30 combined years of experience in these art genres, owners Michael Barry and Leslie Combemale work closely with individuals and corporations to ensure the integrity of their clients' collections. ArtInsights is the only art gallery in the Washington Metropolitan area authorized to represent Warner Bros., Hanna Barbera, and Disney interpretive art to the public.

Gene Yang at Big Planet Comics and beyond

Gene Yang says he's in town to speak to schoolchildren at the Kennedy Center tomorrow which will apparently also go out over a webcast. Details desired.

Quick notes - he used the Monkey King because the character was in lots of childrens books his parents had. He read superhero comics, not manga (Dragonball is based on the Monkey King, so I asked). He's working on a new book with Derek Kirk Kim which First Second will publish. His Slave Labor books - Loyola Chin and the San Peligran Order and Gordon Yamamoto And The King Of The Geeks are still available from that publisher.

Here's some pics.

Gene Yang and Joel Pollack at Big Planet Comics in Bethesda, Maryland.

Randy T getting a sketch from Gene Yang.

You can see the sketches here and here.

Gene Yang signing his book American Born Chinese at Big Planet Comics in Bethesda, Maryland.

Gene Yang doing a sketch at Big Planet Comics in Bethesda, Maryland.

More, similar pictures on flickr.

April 21: Stan Lee at National Press Club POSTPONED

In spite of these flyers, Stan Lee will NOT be appearing at the National Press Club on Monday April 21st. Hopefully he'll be able to reschedule.

Folger Shakespeare Library presents Shakespeare + Manga

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 7, 2007

Press Contact:
Tim Swoape, 202.675.0344 / tswoape @folger.edu
Teri Cross Davis, 202.675.0374 / tdavis @folger.edu


Folger Shakespeare Library presents Shakespeare + Manga as part of the Words on Will lecture series

Shakespeare’s plays adapted into Japanese-style illustrated books

(WASHINGTON, DC) The plays of William Shakespeare meet the highly stylized Japanese illustration form known as manga (Japanese for “whimsical pictures”) in The Manga Editions. Writer/adaptor Adam Sexton and illustrator Yali Lin discuss their work on The Manga Editions during Shakespeare + Manga at Folger Shakespeare Library on Monday, March 31 at 7:30 p.m. They will be joined by moderator Marc Singer, a comics scholar and assistant professor of English at Howard University. Their discussion is the final installment of this season’s Words on Will, a lecture series in which luminaries from across the world of arts, letters, and other fields discuss the role Shakespeare has played in their lives and work.

Tickets, which include the discussion and a reception, are $12 for adults and $6 for students. Tickets may be purchased at the Folger box office, 202.544.7077, or online at www.folger.edu/wordsonwill.

Published by Wiley, The Manga Editions present four newly adapted and fully-illustrated editions of Shakespeare’s plays: Macbeth, Hamlet, Julius Caesar, and Romeo and Juliet. The Manga Editions are the latest in a 400-year tradition of translating and adapting Shakespeare’s plays into different languages and multiple media.

In order to fit their adaptations into books of less than 200 pages, the writers and editors of The Manga Editions have cut words, lines, speeches, and even entire scenes from Shakespeare’s plays, a practice almost universal among stage and film directors. However, they never paraphrased Shakespeare’s language or summarize the action. Every word in The Manga Editions was written by William Shakespeare himself.

According to the publisher, manga is potentially more visual than a theatrical production of Shakespeare’s plays. Unbound by the physical realities of the theater, the graphic novel can depict any situation, no matter how fantastical or violent, that its creators are able to pencil, ink, and shade.

Writer/adaptor Adam Sexton is author of Master Class in Fiction Writing and editor of the anthologies Love Stories, Rap on Rap, and Desperately Seeking Madonna. He has written on art and entertainment for The New York Times and The Village Voice, and he teaches fiction writing and literature at New York University and critical reading and writing at Parsons The New School for Design. He is a graduate of Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania.

Manga illustrator Yali Lin was born in southern China and moved to New York with her family in 1995. She earned a BFA in Cartooning from the School of Visual Arts in 2006. Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet, The Manga Edition is her first published work. She currently teaches cartooning and manga courses to young teens in Manhattan.

Moderator Marc Singer is an assistant professor of English at Howard University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland, College Park. Dr. Singer regularly reviews new works of comics scholarship for the International Journal of Comic Art, and he is the former chair of the International Comic Arts Forum, an academic conference on comics. His own research on comics has twice won the M. Thomas Inge Award for Comics Scholarship.


DATE & TIME: Monday, March 31, 2007 at 7:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Folger Theatre at Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 East Capitol Street, SE, Washington, DC
TICKETS: $12 adults / $6 students; Purchase at Folger box office, 202.544.7077, or online at www.folger.edu/wordsonwill.
METRO: Capitol South (blue/orange lines)
PARKING: Street parking in neighborhood. Please read and obey all posted signs.

Cartoonists at Politics and Prose bookstore pictures

Politics and Prose has started a flickr site. So far they have pictures of

- Scott McCloud

- Myla Goldberg, the novelist who's married to cartoonist Jason Little

- Neil Gaiman

and their main page.

Shakespeare, comics and Star Trek

After yesterday's post on Shakespeare manga at the Folger, I was emailed a press release about a British Shakespeare comic series which was blurbed by Patrick Stewart. Stewart's on Broadway now in Macbeth, but I saw him two decades ago in DC talking about Shakespeare. Here's a letter that I sent the NY Times that they didn't run:

I was very glad to see the long Arts article, "To boldly go where Shakespeare calls" (January 27, 2008) on Patrick Stewart's return to Shakespeare. As an undergrad at George Washington University in Washington DC, I saw Mr. Stewart give a lecture on Shakespeare around 1985. The event was sponsored most likely by the English department and was in a small room in the student union. It was probably underpublicized and Mr. Stewart had not yet become famous as Capt. Picard, but his talk, "Iago and Other Strangers" was one of the best lectures on Shakespeare I've seen. It ranked favorably with Ian McKellan's one-man Shakespeare show which I saw a year or so later. I rode the elevator down with Mr. Stewart and told him how much I enjoyed it, but it still strikes me as a shame that so few saw his talk. I have often wished that he'd put out a cd of that talk.

Shakespeare adapted in comics has appeared off and on for a few decades now - mostly with uninteresting adaptations - but I've got high hopes of some of these new ones, and will try to review a series of them in the International Journal of Comic Art. I've got a bibliography of earlier attempts around somewhere too that I can post if there's any interest.

And, since they made me think about this again, here's the full PR on the British Shakespeare books:

Patrick Stewart applauds Classical Comics’ pioneering three-tier dialogue graphic novel adaptation of Macbeth

I’m fascinated by your approach... I find them gripping, dramatic and, although for me the original Shakespeare is always my reason for turning to these plays, I think that what you are doing in illuminating and making perhaps more lucid, especially for young people, is clever and meaningful - Patrick Stewart

The internationally respected actor, known for successfully bridging the gap between the theatrical world of the Shakespearean stage and contemporary film and television, has given his seal of approval to Classical Comics’ pioneering three-tier dialogue approach, in particular its forthcoming graphic novel adaptation of Macbeth. Patrick Stewart’s recent stint in Macbeth at the Gielgud Theatre in London garnered him several awards - including Best Actor at the Evening Standard Awards, and the prize for Best Shakespearean Performance at the 19th annual Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards (which he shares with Chiwetel Ejiofor for Othello) - and the production transferred to New York’s Brooklyn Academy of Music on 12 February.

With its revolutionary three-tier dialogue approach, Classical Comics presents a brand new and inclusive view of the sheer genius of Shakespeare’s storytelling. Macbeth, arguably Shakespeare’s most dramatic tragedy, certainly one of his greatest works, features stunning artwork from Marvel/Spider-man illustrator Jon Haward and comic strip illustrator Nigel Dobbyn, and script adaptation by author John McDonald.

Each of Classical Comics’ graphic novel adaptations of literary classics is published in three versions: Original Text – the full, unabridged script; Plain Text – a modern English version of the original script; and Quick Text – with reduced, simplified dialogue for easier and faster reading. Classical Comics’ Clive Bryant explains the thinking behind this: ‘We wanted to spread a joy and appreciation of literacy, and particularly to target readers in key stages 2 and 3. Often children of that age are forced to read Shakespeare, but they struggle to get past the language. The comic book format and three text versions will undoubtedly help with their understanding. By providing these three text versions, which are all on the same artwork, we allow a reader to absorb the story at Quick Text level, proceed onto Plain English, and then onto the Original script. That way, they understand the play and can appreciate the beautiful language that Shakespeare used. We believe that we’ve created a way for readers to enjoy these fantastic stories regardless of their age or their reading ability’.

Having been told by young readers that they were bored by the Bard, Classical Comics set out to make Shakespeare as energetic and colourful as Spider-man. With its new series of graphic novel adaptations of literary classics, Classical Comics has succeeded in bringing Shakespeare to life, with striking full-colour artwork depicting the drama, emotion and action scenes in an exciting, captivating way.

Macbeth was published on Monday 25 February 2008

Macbeth and Henry V are Classical Comics’ first books in its range of graphic novel adaptations. Other great literary novels receiving the Classical Comic treatment include: Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre (Spring 2008), Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations (Summer 2008), and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (Summer 2008),

The books retail at £9.99 each, and are available from Amazon, and all good bookshops nationwide.

www.classicalcomics.com

press enquiries to: Helen Maleed
tel/fax: 020 7732 4624 mobile: 07986 235 855
email: helen@greendesk.demon.co.uk

Review copies available

Artwork samples available

www.classicalcomics.com

Following the success of its pioneering three-tier dialogue treatment of Henry V, Classical Comics publishes Macbeth, its graphic novel adaptation of, arguably, Shakespeare’s most dramatic tragedy, certainly one of his greatest works. With stunning artwork from Marvel/Spider-man illustrator Jon Haward and comic strip illustrator Nigel Dobbyn, and script adaptation by author John McDonald, Classical Comics’ presents a brand new and totally fulfilling view of the sheer genius of Shakespeare’s storytelling.

Classical Comics has devised a revolutionary three-tier dialogue approach; each book is published in three versions: Original Text – the full, unabridged script; Plain Text – a modern English version of the original script; and Quick Text – with reduced, simplified dialogue for easier and faster reading. Clive Bryant, of Classical Comics, explains the thinking behind this: ‘We wanted to spread a joy and appreciation of literacy, and particularly to target readers in key stages 2 and 3. Often children of that age are forced to read Shakespeare, but they struggle to get past the language. The comic book format and three text versions will undoubtedly help with their understanding. By providing these three text versions, which are all on the same artwork, we allow a reader to absorb the story at Quick Text level, proceed onto Plain English, and then onto the Original script. That way, they understand the play and can appreciate the beautiful language that Shakespeare used. We believe that we’ve created a way for readers to enjoy these fantastic stories regardless of their age or their reading ability’.

OT: Von Allan interview

Von Allan, one of the first people to write into this blog, and thus an honorary Washingtonian, was interviewed today at "Walking the road to god knows ... Von Allan," By Katherine Keller, Sequential Tart March 24, 2008.

Plastic Farm booksigning report

From the past weekend in Frederick, MD - "Descent into madness: Jefferson artist holds comic book signing," by Nicholas C. Stern, Frederick News-Post March 23, 2008. Note that one of his artists is from Takoma Park, right close to DC.

92 years yesterday ... the SHOC of McCay!

Another Secret History of Comics entry by Warren Bernard:

92 years ago this past Sunday, March 23, 1916, the members of The Albany Legislative Correspondents Association got together for their annual dinner. Not unlike the Gridiron Club, it was a boys night out to rib and celebrate the then occupants of the New York State Legislature and the sitting Governor, Charles Whitman.

The program for this event features a Winsor McCay drawing that to my knowledge, has not been reprinted before. This dinner and its associated program was done for over 60 years, and each year political cartoonists did both the covers and in some years, up to a half dozen specialty pieces for the inside text.

How many more did Mccay do? For what other obscure organization did he do such material? The former I do not know the answer to, the latter, one day soon this question will be at least partially answered.

So stay tuned to the SHOC...

Warren

I had to reduce the image dpi from 300 to 150 to get a reasonable size to post - if anyone wants the supersize original, click here.

March 26: Gene Yang booksigning at Big Planet Comics

On Wednesday, March 26, from 7-8, Gene Yang will be signing copies of his award-winning American Born Chinese at Big Planet Comics, 4908 Fairmont Ave., Bethesda, MD, 301-654-6856.

I'll be in Bethesda for dinner early, probably meeting with tipster Randy T. If anyone else is interested, let me know.

3/31: Manga Shakespeare at the Folger

Words on Will: Shakespeare + Manga

Details:
Shakespeare meets manga, a stylized Japanese comic form, in four new editions of Macbeth, Hamlet, Julius Caesar, and Romeo and Juliet. Writer/adapter Adam Sexton, faculty member at Parsons The New School for Design, and the manga artists discuss their work on these unique and beautifully illustrated new works.

Dates & Times:
March 31, 2008 7:30pm

Tickets:
$12

About Manga:
Manga can mean Japanese graphic novels or comic books, typically intended for adults, characterized by highly stylized art.

About the writer Adam Sexton :
Adam Sexton is author of Master Class in Fiction Writing and editor of the anthologies Love Stories, Rap on Rap, and Desperately Seeking Madonna. He has written on art and entertainment for the New York Times and the Village Voice, and he teaches fiction writing and literature at New York University and critical reading and writing at Parsons School of Design. He is a graduate of Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania.

About the artist Yali Lin:
Yali Lin was born in southern China and moved to New York with her family in 1995. After earning her BFA in Cartooning from the School of Visual Arts in 2006, Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet Manga Edition is her first book. She teaches Cartooning/Manga courses to young teens in Manhattan, NYC.

I'm going - my friend Marc Singer might be moderating, but this should be interesting anyway even if he's not. Anybody else?

OT: Beaty on Wertham ratified by New Yorker

My revisionist Canuck buddy Bart Beaty's book on Fredric Wertham, which you should all own, is cited approvingly in this article "The Horror: Congress investigates the comics," by Louis Menand, New Yorker.com March 31, 2008.