Thursday, November 06, 2014

Comics Toolbox

Jason Rodriguez and Matt Dembicki’s Comics Toolbox offers professional help for four-color non-fiction.

comicstoolbox@gmail.com | http://www.comicstoolbox.com

WASHINGTON DC (Nov. 5, 2014) - Comics Toolbox will provide comprehensive comics-related services, from project management to presentations, specializing in history, culture, nature and science.

A growing number of publishers and writers/artists want to delve into the comics medium. The problem they often face is they don’t know the inner workings of comics, from developing timelines to managing creative teams. We can do that for you. 

Our team has more than a decade of experience in writing/drawing/editing award-winning comics and comics programs. Whether you are looking to host a hands-on comics workshop for students, teachers or librarians, or you are looking for help to manage a comic book-related project, Comics Toolbox can assist you in achieving your goals.

Contact us (comicstoolbox@gmail.com) regarding your needs and we’ll reply promptly. About our team:

Jason Rodriguez is a writer and editor in Arlington, Va. The books he has edited or contributed to have been nominated for an Eisner Award and 10 Harvey Awards. Jason is currently editing a three-book series of graphic novel anthologies about colonial New England and the Mid-Atlantic region for Fulcrum Publishing. The first book, Colonial Comics: New England, 1620-1750 was released in October 2014. His first sci-fi book, Try Looking Ahead, will be released spring 2015 by Rosarium Publishing.

Jason is a frequent speaker at conferences and shows on the subjects of teaching with comics and outreach through comics. He has recently presented at the American Library Association, Baltimore Book Festival, Massachusetts Independent Comics Festival, and Baltimore Comic-Con. In fall 2014, Jason entered a partnership with AAAS, the publisher of Science Magazine and the largest general science organization in the world, to launch a program dedicated to science outreach to kids using comics and other media.

Matt Dembicki is a cartoonist working and living in the DMV (District-Maryland-Virginia area). He previously edited and contributed to the Eisner-nominated and Aesop Prize-winning Trickster and District Comics, which the Washington Post included in its top books of 2012. Matt’s other comics projects include the nature-based graphic novels Xoc: The Journey of a Great White and Mr. Big: A Tale of Pond Life. His latest project is Wild Ocean: Sharks, Whales, Rays and Other Endangered Sea Creatures. Matt is co-founder of the D.C. Conspiracy, a Washington-area comic creators collective that publishes the semi-annual free comics newspaper Magic Bullet.

Matt is a frequent guest at schools, libraries and colleges, speaking about using comics as learning tools and holding comics-making workshops for students and teachers. Most recently, Matt was invited by the U.S. State Department for a weeklong visit to Peru to speak to students, teachers and the general public on comics. In December, he will be a guest of the Guadalajara International Book Fair in Mexico, the second-largest book festival in the world.

Flugennock's Latest'n'Greatest: "Remember, Remember..."


"Remember, Remember..."
http://sinkers.org/stage/?p=1597

Remember this day, DC!

Here's my best bud, DC Cannabis Campaign Chairman Adam Eidinger, on election night last Tuesday:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tK50ZicUP8

________________________________________________________________
Mike Flugennock, flugennock at sinkers dot org
Mike's Political Cartoons: dubya dubya dubya dot sinkers dot org

Dec 6: The Art of Richard Thompson signing in Arlington

David Apatoff, Nick Galifianakis, Chris Sparks and Mike Rhode will be discussing the new book, The Art of Richard Thompson and signing copies. Richard will be attending, but not signing the book. A short film about Richard's career will also be premiered.

Saturday, December 6 at 2:30pm
Arlington Central Library
Auditorium
1015 N. Quincy Street 

Folks can pre-order signed copies of this and the Complete Cul de Sac from the website.

One More Page Books 
2200 N. Westmoreland Street #101 
Arlington, VA 22213 
703-300-9746 
www.onemorepagebooks.com

PR: Get your first look inside MARCH: BOOK TWO as pre-orders officially open!




Top Shelf Products

Get your first look inside MARCH: BOOK TWO as pre-orders officially open!

It's been a little over a year since we released March: Book One, and this graphic novel memoir by Congressman John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell turned into a smash hit. Debuting at #1 on both the New York Times and Washington Post Bestseller lists, March has quickly become a key resource for parents, librarians, teachers, and readers searching for a powerful way to bring the lessons of the civil rights movement alive for the modern world.

Now, after 40 weeks on the Bestseller List, after university reading programs, awards, and dozens of events making up the most ambitious book tour in Top Shelf history... it's time for Phase Two.

Our distributor Diamond Comics has released their November catalog for books shipping in January, confirming your suspicions that March: Book Two is set for release in January 2015 — and you can pre-order it from your favorite retailer! To celebrate, they've also published the first interview with all three creators discussing what lies ahead in Book Two:

    "If Book One is Star Wars, then Book Two is our Empire Strikes Back. The stakes are higher, the heroes are stronger, and the danger is more lethal... we show how these young people became a truly national force, and one of the key elements of the broader Civil Rights Movement." — Andrew Aydin

Diamond's also showing off a few first glimpses of interior art from Book Two. Don't miss it!

Retailers can now place their orders for March: Book Two with Diamond code NOV141657. In addition, there are two special editions available exclusively from Top Shelf — a hardcover edition, and a limited edition signed & numbered hardcover.

Thanks for all your support. We can't wait to get this incredible book into your hands.

Top Shelf Products

Your friend thru comics,

Chris Staros
Top Shelf Productions
PO Box 1282
Marietta GA 30061-1282
USA

chris@topshelfcomix.com
www.topshelfcomix.com



Comic Riffs on Jeremy Dale

RIP, Jeremy Dale: Friends remember 'Skyward' creator as big-hearted talent

By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog November 5 2014
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2014/11/05/rip-jeremy-dale/

Nov 8: Lost Art Books in Brooklyn

LOST ART BOOKS SPX2014 1 sided WEB

Download a handy PDF!

Lost Art Books is one of the official sponsors of this year's Comic Arts Brooklyn (CAB) festival to be held on Nov. 8 from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm. We'll be exhibiting and can be found in the upstairs hall at table #U36.

The festival is free to the public and is held at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church in Brooklyn. You can find more information about the show's exhibitors, programming, and special guests at Comic Arts Brooklyn's website. Download a copy of our handy floor plan flier with directions to our booth. Not only will you find every book we've published, but we'll also have our new limited-edition silkscreen poster by gig poster phenom, Jeffrey Everett. Come by our booth and introduce yourself; making new friends is our favorite part of exhibiting at these festivals.

Wednesday, November 05, 2014

Roger, Houston, Richard Thompson has landed


The Art of Richard Thompson! A box of contributor copies arrived yesterday!

Nov 8: Russ Kick at Politics & Prose

Russ Kick - The Graphic Canon of Children's Literature: The World's Greatest Kids' Lit as Comics and Visuals

Nov 8 2014 3:30 pm

What makes a story a classic? And how are folk tales like Little Red Riding Hood enhanced with a graphic treatment? From Snow White to Harry Potter, the timeless characters of childhood retain their appeal, and adults will delight in these stories and artwork as much as children. Join Kick, visionary activist turned anthologist, as he presents the fourth volume of his Graphic Canon. (Seven Stories)

$38.95
ISBN-13: 9781609805302
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Seven Stories Press, 5/2014

Tuesday, November 04, 2014

Tom King interviewed

Tom King Explores the Undercover History of "Grayson"

Kiel Phegley

Comic Book Resources October 30th, 2014

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=56655

Glen Weldon reviews Wonder Woman

Invisible Airplane, Meet Glass Ceiling: William Moulton Marston, his two wives, and the feminist origins of Wonder Woman.

By Glen Weldon

November 3 2014

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2014/11/william_moulton_marston_biography_jill_lepore_s_secret_history_of_wonder.single.html

Cartoonist Jeremy Dale passes away according to SL Gallant

Shannon's got a post up about his friend:

Gallant, Shannon.  2014.

Jeremy Dale, too soon.

Art of S.L. Gallant blog November 4, 2014

http://slgallant.com/2014/11/04/jeremy-dale-too-soon/


Make the Art of Richard Thompson a Goodreads' Best Graphic novel!

Go to https://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/best-graphic-novels-comics-2014 and put the book in as a write-in choice at the bottom of the page.

Another satisfied reviewer of The Complete Cul de Sac

Richard Thompson's Cul de Sac in 5 favourite things

by

Comics & Cola blog 3 November 2014

http://www.comicsandcola.com/2014/11/richard-thompsons-cul-de-sac-in-5.html

The Post on Peanuts, Daumier and Springsteen & Caruso

'Scandal' sex scene airs right after 'It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,' making parents angry

By Emily Yahr
Washington Post Style Blog November 3 2014
 http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/style-blog/wp/2014/11/03/scandal-sex-scene-airs-right-after-its-the-great-pumpkin-charlie-brown-making-parents-angry/

Dark wood, bright lights: Two artists' varied visions [online as Sculpture shows by Emilie Brzezinski, Bernardi Roig diverge sharply in theme]

 
By Philip Kennicott Art and architecture critic
Washington Post November 4 2014
http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/museums/sculpture-shows-by-emilie-brzezinski-bernardi-roig-diverge-sharply-in-theme/2014/11/03/66ccc2a4-6114-11e4-8b9e-2ccdac31a031_story.html


The Boss's new book: No average kiddie tale [online as Bruce Springsteen on 'Outlaw Pete' and not sheltering kids from the realities of life]

By Nora Krug
Washington Post November 4 2014
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/bruce-springsteen-on-outlaw-pete-and-not-sheltering-kids-from-the-realities-of-life/2014/11/03/877967a0-6394-11e4-836c-83bc4f26eb67_story.html

NPR: The man behind Wonder Woman

Fresh Air’s Terry Gross interviews Harvard professor and New Yorker contributor Jill Lepore about her new book The Secret History of Wonder Woman and how it related to suffragists and centerfolds.

"I got fascinated by this story because I'm a political historian and it seemed to me there was a really important political story that had been missed that's basically as invisible as Wonder Woman's jet," Lepore says.


Monday, November 03, 2014

Nov 22: Nightmare The Rat Signing with Rafer Roberts and John Shine






Rafer Roberts invited you to Beyond Comics 's event   Nightmare The Rat Signing with Rafer Roberts and John Shine Saturday, November 22 at 12:00pm Beyond Comics in Gaithersburg, Maryland   Join     Maybe     Decline   Rafer Roberts will be meeting fans and signing his new Nightmare The Rat collection, from 12 to 4, along with Beyond Comics' own John Shine, Nightmare pin-up contributor. Barbara Dale and 26 others are also in the guest list.             Pending Invites (3) Block invites from Rafer?    
   
   
   

Nightmare The Rat Signing with Rafer Roberts and John Shine
Saturday, November 22 at 12:00pm
Beyond Comics in Gaithersburg, Maryland
   
 
Rafer Roberts will be meeting fans and signing his new Nightmare The Rat collection, from 12 to 4, along with Beyond Comics' own John Shine, Nightmare pin-up contributor.





   
   

   

"Jewish War Heroes" Canadian comic book here in DC

The article says that the Holocaust Museum has a copy.

Sunday, November 02, 2014

Flugennock's Latest'n'Greatest: "This Time, Next Year?" on marijuana legalization

"This Time, Next Year?"
http://sinkers.org/stage/?p=1589

Last week, I was over at a friend's house when he pulled out this lid of something really fresh, pulled out this big stinky bud, handed it to me and invited me to take a good smell -- and man, was that some stanky-ass stuff.

So, anyway, my buddy asked me to guess where it was from; I ran down the standard guesses -- Humboldt, Maui -- but you could've knocked me over with a feather when he told me that sticky, smelly bud was grown right here in DC, in Ward 8.

All I could think of is how things could possibly be, this time next year, if Prop 71 goes through, allowing three mature plants. It also reminded me that DC has a state fair now. Can't wait to see next year's Blue Ribbon Ward 8 Skunk Bud.

--

.____________________
Mike Flugennock, flugennock at sinkers dot org
Mike's Political Cartoons: dubya dubya dubya dot sinkers dot org

Saturday, November 01, 2014

SPX 2014 Panel - Bob Mankoff: The Past, Present and Future of The New Yorker Cartoons

SPX 2014 Panel - Bob Mankoff: The Past, Present and Future of The New Yorker Cartoons


Oct 17, 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiYVd8sJwEE

Sunday, September 14, 2014 - White Oak Room 1:00 PM. Bob Mankoff is a cartoonist and has been the Cartoon Editor for The New Yorker magazine since 1997. He has written and edited many books including The Complete Cartoons of The New Yorker, The Naked Cartoonist, and his new memoir How About Never--Is Never Good for You? In this special presentation, Mankoff discusses the historical development and evolution of the iconic single panel cartoon form and the magazine that perfected and popularized it--with an eye towards the future.

SPX 2014 Panel - Spanish Language Comics

SPX 2014 Panel - Spanish Language Comics


Oct 27, 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPxb_dOSKnY&feature=em-subs_digest

The world of Spanish-language comics from South America to Europe is examined in this SPX 2014 panel. Colombian comics editor Daniel Jiménez Quiroz (Revista Larva) discusses Colombian and South American comics and leads the discussion that includes Spanish comics critic Santiago Garcia, Colombian comics critic Pablo Guerra, and North American editor Scott O. Brown

That darn WuMo, redux

 

Letters to the Editor: Save the lemmings

Chuck Smith, Woodbridge

Washington Post  November 1 2014

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/save-the-lemmings/2014/10/31/6e28e4aa-5d3c-11e4-827b-2d813561bdfd_story.html

Friday, October 31, 2014

Comic Riffs on Wytches and Halloween reading recommendations

HALLOWEEN READING: Bewitching 'Wytches' summons some of Scott Snyder's deepest real-life fears

By David Betancourt

Washington Post Comic Riffs blog October 31 2014

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2014/10/31/halloween-reading-bewitching-wytches-summons-some-of-scott-snyders-deepest-real-life-fears/

 

HALLOWEEN WEEKEND READING: Wanna good (graphic) scare? Here are 10 Dark and Spooky Picks for hiding between their covers

By Michael Cavna

Washington Post Comic Riffs blog October 31 2014

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2014/10/31/halloween-weekend-reading-wanna-good-scare-here-are-12-dark-and-spooky-picks-for-hiding-between-their-covers/

The Post reviews ‘The Tale of the Princess Kaguya’

Not a Disney princess story

[in print in the Express as "A fairy tale made for grown ups"; 'The Tale of the Princess Kaguya' movie review]

By Michael O'Sullivan
Washington Post October 31, 2014, p. EZ 34 and Express, p. 22
http://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/the-tale-of-the-princess-kaguya-movie-review/2014/10/29/bd63986c-5e1d-11e4-8b9e-2ccdac31a031_story.html


Chloë Grace Moretz gives voice to the title character in the dubbed version of the animated "The Tale of Princess Kaguya." (Hatake Jimusho/GKids)

Daumier, in passing, at the Phillips

Schlump in the Night: An invasion of bald everymen lights up the Phillips ["NO/Escape" At the Phillips Collection to March 8, 2015]

By Kriston Capps
Washington City Paper October 31, 2014, p. 31
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/46485/bernardi-roigs-noescape-at-the-phillips-collection-reviewed/

Those darn corporate animators

For families of color, diversity is a fantasy [online as In the land of make-believe, racial diversity is a fantasy]


Thursday, October 30, 2014

Swann Foundation Announces Awards for 2014-2015






NEWS from the LIBRARY of CONGRESS
October 30, 2014

Public contact: Martha Kennedy (202) 707-9115, mkenn@loc.gov

Swann Foundation Announces Awards for 2014-2015
The Caroline and Erwin Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon, administered by the Library of Congress, is awarding fellowships to three applicants for the academic year 2014-2015.  Recipients are affiliated with McGill University, the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Northwestern University.
Andrew Benjamin Bricker, a postdoctoral fellow in English at McGill University, recently completed his doctorate in English at Stanford University.  He will expand on part of his dissertation "Producing and Litigating Satire, 1670-1792," as he investigates a shift in satire in the second half of the 18th century, when changes in British libel laws made printed political and personal satire legally precarious.  Bricker contends that, at mid-century, satire began to migrate from print to visual media, especially caricature and visual satire, and plans to study the wealth of examples held at the Library of Congress.  These visual works were executed by key British satirical artists who offered personalized, nasty and popular critiques of their often well-known human targets.
Paul Hirsch is an instructor in the Department of History at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he also completed his doctorate in American history. Building on his dissertation "Pulp Empire: Comic Books, Cartoons, and U.S. Foreign Policy, 1941-1955," he will examine the dissemination of and impact made by millions of American comic books and cartoon booklets from the early 1940s to the mid-1950s.  Hirsch contends that these popular publications, whether uncensored commercial ones or government-sanctioned, worked to define, for a global audience, what it meant to be American—presenting American policymakers with both an opportunity and a challenge. The American government, he contends, met this challenge through a combination of repression and co-optation.
Maureen Warren, a doctoral candidate in art history at Northwestern University, analyzes works of art about domestic political disputes in the Northern Netherlands during the 17th century in her dissertation "Politics, Punishment, and Prestige: Images of Johan van Oldenbarnevelt and the States Party in the Dutch Republic, 1618-1672."  The artists creating such work used caricature and satire to mock politicians and religious leaders in Dutch and German news prints and illustrated broadsides.  These include the Hauslab Album, a rare collection of prints that depicts European armed conflicts from 1566-1711. Study of the Hauslab imagery and Dutch prints in the Library's collections will contribute to Warren's goal of contextualizing later examples of Dutch political art.
During the coming academic year, the three recipients will collectively conduct research at the Library, in the General Collections and in the Prints and Photographs, Serial and Government Publications, and Rare Book and Special Collections divisions.
New York advertising executive Erwin Swann (1906-1973) established the Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon in 1967.  An avid collector, Swann assembled a large group of original drawings by over 500 artists, spanning two centuries, which his estate bequeathed to the Library of Congress in the 1970s.  Swann's original purpose was to build a collection of original drawings by significant creators of humorous and satiric art and to encourage the study of original cartoon and caricature drawings as works of art.  The foundation's support of research and academic publication is carried out, in part, through a program of fellowships.
The Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division holds more than 15 million photographs, drawings and prints from the 15th century to the present day.  International in scope, these visual collections represent a uniquely rich array of human experience, knowledge, creativity and achievement, touching on almost every realm of endeavor: science, art, invention, government and political struggle, and the recording of history.  For more information, visit www.loc.gov/rr/print/.
The Library of Congress, the nation's oldest federal cultural institution and the largest library in the world, holds more than 158 million items in various languages, disciplines and formats.  The Library serves the U.S. Congress and the nation both on-site in its reading rooms on Capitol Hill and through its award-winning website at www.loc.gov.
# # #
PR14-193
10/30/14
ISSN: 0731-3527


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Library of Congress | 101 Independence Ave SE | Washington DC 20540-1610 USA  | 202.707.2905


Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Oct. 30: 'Wolf Children' at JICC


Wolf Children’ will show Oct. 30 at the Japanese Information and Cultural Center (1150 18th St. NW) at 6:30 pm.
                                                          Click on image to see trailer

Why not watch Gahan Wilson for Halloween?


Steven-Charles Jaffe sent me a copy of his movie this summer to review, and I still haven't gotten around to it, even though Gahan Wilson is one of my favorite gag cartoonists. So I'm passing along his notification that "Gahan Wilson: Born Dead, Still Weird is now available on DVD in time for Halloween with some bonus interviews at http://amzn.to/1nO31Cp.It's still available on iTunes, X-Box, Amazon Prime." And, because I prefer to own the object and support projects like this, I'm going to buy a copy too.