Tuesday, December 27, 2016

John Fantucchio's comic collection to be sold


From: Mary Fantucchio

Dear family and friends - as most of you know, John died in August of a stroke.  Please pass this on to anyone you know who might be interested.  For more information about John's work in fandom, see Aaron Caplan's website www.fantucchio.com.  




CGC recognizes a new pedigree!
CGC has recognized a new Silver Age Pedigree. The John G. Fantucchio Pedigree features nearly every comic published by Marvel and DC Comics from the inception of the Marvel era in the early 1960s through the mid-70s. Rounding out the collection are numerous other high grade comics from other publishers including Charlton, Gold Key, Dell, ACG, Tower and many others. 

"This collection was beautiful," said Paul Litch, CGC's Primary Grader, "It is a rare treat when a previously unseen collection of high grade comics becomes available to the public. It is even more rare for a collection to be recognized as a pedigree... a collection like this, cannot be denied." 

The books were collected by artist John G. Fantucchio and stored in ideal conditions. The result is a collection of beautifully preserved comics with amazing color and page quality. John had been a serious collector since the 1940's and was an adult at the beginning of the Silver Age.  These books had been stored for decades until being viewed by Rick Lowell of Casablanca Comics.

"I had known about these books for years, but nobody had ever seen them"  says Lowell. "I was unsure what I was going to find and as I unpacked them I was amazed at the quality. I was also stunned at how complete the collection is." 

John Fantucchio was one of the most prominent artists during the early days of comic fandom. He created hundreds of covers and illustrations for fanzines such as Rocket's Blast Comic Collector, Fantastic Fanzine, Comic Crusader and many others. John also did covers for the early issues of The Buyer's Guide for Comic Fandom, including the very first issue. 

"It has been over eight years since we've brought out an original owner collection dating back to the early Silver Age of comics with depth like this," stated Josh Nathanson, Founder and CEO of ComicLink.  "There is a distinct beauty in looking at book after book with a homogeneous look and feel, having been stored in the same place in the same way for decades.  It's one of the perks of this job that I relish.  I'm thrilled that ComicLink is working with Rick to disperse the collection into the hands of today's collectors.  We've decided that Amazing Spider-Man will be the first title to be offered, within the ComicLink.com Winter Featured Auction commencing on February 15th.  I'm looking forward to the event!"
P.O. Box 4738 • Sarasota, FL 34230 • 877-NM-COMIC (662-6642) 
CGCcomics.com • email CGC@cgccomics.com
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Thursday, December 22, 2016

Cole Goco's first Billy the Pop collection out now

From Cole Goco, Arlington's hardest working student cartoonist,

"I have BIG news today. The first Billy the Pop BOOK is now available for purchase! It contains the first year and a quarter of Billy strips, and features never-before-seen illustrations, as well as an amazing foreword by Mike Rhode, the editor of ComicsDC! If you guys really love Billy, are looking for a last-minute Christmas present, or just want to support the strip, I would truly appreciate it if you would buy a copy. It's super exiting to be able to look at my own work in book form, and I hope you feel the same way!
Here it is: https://www.amazon.com/Billy-Pop-Cole-Goco/dp/1539198022/ "

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Ron Wimberley on 10 best list

Ben Hatke and Alexis Frederick-Frost on Paste kids comics list

The Best Kids Comics of 2016

By Hillary Brown, Sean Edgar, Steve Foxe The Paste Comics Crew  |  December 16, 2016
https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/12/the-best-kids-comics-of-2016.html

March and Mighty Jack make SLJ's comics list

Top 10 Graphic Novels | 2016

 

Brigid Alverson is editor of "Good Comics for Kids." Also contributing: Lori Henderson, Esther Keller, Mike Pawuk, Scott Robins, Eva Volin.

By the "Good Comics for Kids" bloggers on November 21, 2016

This article was published in School Library Journal's December 2016 issue

http://www.slj.com/2016/11/reviews/best-of/top-10-graphic-novels-2016/#

March leads PW critics poll

Monday, December 19, 2016

"La Fabrique à Bulles" - "Bubble Factory" contest

The Alliance Française 

de washington, dc

Presents the Second Edition of


The 2017 Theme:

Childhood Memories / Les Souvenirs d'Enfance 

8 December 2016 - 30 April 2017 




Alliance Française de Washington DC  |  FranceDC.org  |  +1 202.234.7911
2142 Wyoming Avenue N.W. | Washington, DC 20008 | USA

Sunday, December 18, 2016

Juana Medina (and Cece Bell) reviewed in NY Times

Two New Chapter Books for Rookie Readers

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/16/books/review/two-new-chapter-books-for-rookie-readers.html

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Dec. 17: The Return of Grump!

The off-beat holiday expo GRUMP returns this Saturday, Dec. 17, to the Shops in Crystal City in Arlington, Va. Among the vendors are local comic-bookers Santiago Casares, Jason Rodriguez and myself.

Esther Kim leaving Fantom Comics store for Image Comics publisher

From today's Fantom Comics newsletter -

Saturday, December 17 – Fantom Holiday Party: "Bon Voyage, Esther!" – Our holiday party! With party games, booze, and a tearful farewell to Esther, who's leaving in January to go work for Image Comics in Portland, Oregon. Stop by to celebrate the holiday season AND say farewell to the gal before she leaves!
https://www.facebook.com/events/1535864199773797/

Fantom has become one of DC's standout stores, and we'll miss Esther and her enthusiasm.

Matt Dembicki tells me that current employee Jake Shapiro is taking over as manager.

Monday, December 12, 2016

Sunday, December 11, 2016

Venus Winston, October 8, 1981-December 11, 2016

by Mike Rhode & Matt Dembicki

According to her Facebook page, artist and cartoonist Venus Winston passed away last night, from cancer. She was a member of the DC Comics Conspiracy (DCC) and a contributor to the group's Magic Bullet comics newspaper

Winston was a DC native, but lived recently in Hyattsville, MD. For an interview with us earlier this year, she noted, "In high school I attended Duke Ellington School of the Arts majoring in Visual Arts. After graduating I majored in Illustration at Rhode Island School of Design. I started making art at age 8 and loved reading comic books. I actually didn't start creating comics till 2010, when I started writing. Before this, I wanted to be a children's book illustrator or animation."  Winston began her "Cooking with Cancer" comic in 2014 as her own therapy. In addition to showing how to prepare food that might help a cancer patient, Winston was in favor of medical marijuana to stimulate the appetite.

Earlier this year, Winston was invited to present on her comic at Dundee University in Scotland this summer for the Annual International Graphic Medicine Conference. While fundraising to attend the conference, Winston wrote, "I lost my ovaries to cancerous Krukenberg tumors and it is my belief I survived by enforcing a healthy diet and mindset within my personal environment. 'Cooking with Cancer' has now grown into a collection of short stories, recipes and informative pieces focusing on my experience with cancer and how food can help beat illness."

Winston told us in September, "In a few months, I'll be self-publishing a children's book I've been working on for years." If her family continues that plan, ComicsDC will attempt to highlight it. Her work can be seen on her websites www.bongyongart.com and www.cookingwithcancer.tumblr.com

We here at ComicsDC send our condolences to her family and friends.

'They Came to See Me Die!' No. 2

The long-awaited continuation to They Came to See Me Die! is now available! OK, not sure it's really long-awaited, but we finally got it printed. It's the story of legendary aviator Lincoln Beachey--and I'm willing to guess you've never heard of him. Too bad. He was quite the guy. But you can learn now about him in our comic (art by Andrew Cohen, story by me). I've attached the first few pages. Email me or ping me on Facebook if you'd like a copy. 




My mini-comics collection now at Library of Congress

by Matt Dembicki

On Friday, I loaded up the minivan and brought my minicomics collection to the Library of Congress. It wasn't easy to part with, because these are not just books, but momentos and memories. But in the end, LOC will do a much better job preserving it and allowing researchers and others to find those gems they're looking for. My collection is mostly from 2000 up to present (with a heavy does of Midwest and D.C. area cartoonists) but there are a bunch from earlier decades as well as from other countries. One that comes to mind was a mini done by Kevin Eastman before he did Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.


Saturday, December 10, 2016

Cast a Vote for that Occasional Contributor to the ComicsDC blog, aka Steve



Last week, while laying in bed reading, getting ready to fall asleep, I suddenly heard a gleeful squeal from my wife Kris, who happened to be looking at her i-phone with eyes wide open. Barely able to get the words out of her mouth, she managed to inform me that I was nominated in the "best artist" category for the current 2017 Best of Loudoun poll. At first I thought she was being funny, but to my pleasant surprise, there was my name, among about fourteen others. In the past, Kris and I would fill in these polls, and I'd always give Kris my "write-in" vote, as she would also do with me, but this time I found myself on the actual list. I'm not sure what it means to be "best artist", as there is a plethora of great artists in this very large county known as Loudoun, however I am very grateful to whoever it was who nominated me, and found my work worthy enough to be in this poll. If you also find my artwork worthy, and if you've followed my artistic endeavors and adventures for a while, or if you've just found out about it and like what you see, then why not vote for me? A win is definitely a long shot, but it's always so nice to see there are folks who appreciate what you do, somewhere out there. By the way, the pic below is just a screen shot. HERE's the link to vote. It's simple and you can vote from anywhere. Thanks a ton, in the meantime (and apologies for the horn tooting)! -Steve Loya

                                                                                                                                              


Friday, December 09, 2016

Bedtime for Batman's Dahl at Hooray for Books

by Mike Rhode

A few nights ago, author Michael Dahl entertained a group of youngsters wearing their Batjammies at Alexandria's Hooray for Books. Dahl put on his own set and then read the book he wrote that is illustrated by Ethen Beavers. Dahl's story draws a parallel between a young boy getting ready for bed and Batman heading out to fight crime. Beavers did an excellent job with the Batman Adventures animation style. The book is aimed at the very young, and the children in the crowd certainly enjoyed it. Full disclosure - I was the only adult there without young children.











Dahl's next book is Good Morning, Superman, but some children starting reading it so I didn't get a glimpse. It's by a different artist though.

And they have autographed Wimpy Kid books for sale still.






Washington Wizards Collecti-Con on Feb. 26

The Washington Wizards are starting a one-day, all-age sports/pop culture/comic book show that will happen a few hours before their game on Sunday, Feb. 26 (10 am to 2 pm). It's $100 for a table (includes 4 tickets to the game). The agreement/applications forms are below.



Juana Medina interview in Wash City paper

Juana Medina, Children's Book Scribe

Liz Garrigan

Washington City Paper (December 9 2016): 15-16

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/special-issues/article/20846183/the-people-issue-2016#medina

Wednesday, December 07, 2016

Juana Medina on the Kojo Nmamdi show

Audio should be online tomorrow.

How To Fall In Love With Reading As A Young English Language Learner

Kojo Nmamdi Show Dec 07 2016

http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2016-12-07/helping-young-english-language-learners-love-reading

Learning a new language is an enriching, educational experience for some children and a necessity for others. For D.C. based author and illustrator Juana Medina, learning English in her native Columbia was a requirement she resisted as a child, yet appreciated later as an adult. Medina uses her early experience in her latest book "Juana & Lucas" to both encourage children to learn and to foster an appreciation of diversity in young readers. We talk with Medina and Mary Ellen Icaza of Montgomery County Public Libraries about the role communities have in encouraging young readers of varied backgrounds, and how libraries can make immigrant families feel more at home.

Guests

  • Mary Ellen Icaza Public Services Administrator for Community Engagement, Programming, and Learning, Montgomery County Public Libraries
  • Juana Medina author and illustrator, "Juana & Lucas" and "1 Big Salad"; teacher, George Washington University

D.C. in new 'Spider-Man: Homecoming' movie?

The trailer teaser for the upcoming "Spider-Man: Homecoming" movie has the webslinger sitting on top of the Washington Monument.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbLP_SmhtuM

The Post on Krazy Kat's Creator

What was the source of Krazy Kat's comic genius?

Tuesday, December 06, 2016

NPR's comics of the year list includes locals

NPR's Book Concierge

Our Guide To 2016's Great Reads

Showing books tagged Comics & Graphic Novels (31)

http://apps.npr.org/best-books-2016/#/tag/comics-and-graphic-novels

Produced by DC-area types are:

The Caped Crusade: Batman And The Rise Of Nerd Culture
by Glen Weldon

Cook Korean! A Comic Book With Recipes
by Robin Ha

March: Book Three
by John Lewis, with Andrew Aydin, illustrated by Nate Powell

Vision Volume 1: Little Worse Than A Man
by Tom King, illustrated by Gabriel Hernandez Walta

Matt Wuerker's Facebook page is...

Comic Riffs on Resist!

Cartoonists are creating a newspaper to protest Trump's view of women


Washington Post
Comic Riffs blog December 1 2016
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2016/12/01/hundreds-of-cartoonists-are-creating-a-newspaper-to-protest-trumps-view-of-women/

March vol 3 is #1 on Paste's best comics list

More on the upcoming Resist! comic

An anti-Trump comics collection edited by the Spiegelman family

By Gabe Friedman

Clay Jones on the ridiculous Comet Ping Pong problem

Monday, December 05, 2016

Work in progress: 'Magic Bullet' 14 cover

Sneak peek at the cover-in-progress for Magic Bullet #14 by Wendi Strang-Frost. Deadline for submissions and ads is Jan. 2. 

 

Dec 28: Adults Read YA Book Club - Gene Yang's American Born Chinese

Adults Read YA Book Club Pick
Wednesday, December 28th at 6:30 pm
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
Three apparently unrelated tales come together with an unexpected twist in this modern fable. In one story, Jin-Wang is the only Chinese American student at his school. He is picked on by jocks and bullies, and to make matters worse, he falls hopelessly in love with an all-American girl. Another strand of this novel tells the tale of the Monkey King, one of the oldest and greatest Chinese fables. A third story involves Danny and his cousin, Chin-Kee. When Chin-Kee makes his yearly visit, he ruins Danny's life and Danny has to switch schools to escape the shame. These three tales weave together in this astonishing novel from Gene Luen Yang.


FrogLogo
 
Hooray for Books
1555 King Street

Alexandria, VA 22314

Dec 7: Bedtime for Batman author Michael Dahl at Hooray for Books

Wednesday, December 7th: We have exciting news! We won a Bedtime for Batman Pajama Party from Capstone Publishing!!! Join us for this very special Bedtime for Batman Pajama Party with author Michael Dahl! When a dark night comes to the big city, one little superhero prepares for a great adventure -- bedtime! This Batman tale will have fans young and old delighting in their bedtime routine. At our Bedtime for Batman party, we will have a story time with the author, milk and cookies, and a superhero-themed craft. Put on your PJs and get ready for some fun! The party starts at 5 pm!

NEW: The first 16 prepaid orders of Bedtime for Batman ($15.99 plus tax) include complimentary superhero pajamas for your child! Sizing and color options limited. For best selection purchase early.


FrogLogo
 
Hooray for Books
1555 King Street

Alexandria, VA 22314
www.hooray4books.com

Saturday, December 03, 2016

Art of RT for sale in Singapore


CT Lim found The Art of Richard Thompson in his local bookshop Kinokuniya, in Singapore, and kindly sent me this photo.


Thursday, December 01, 2016

National Library of Medicine collects Eclipse trading cards



Trade Cards in The Fight Against AIDS


By Ginny A. Roth

Circulating Now blog December 1 2016

https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2016/12/01/trade-cards-in-the-fight-against-aids/


I can't believe they don't have a complete set though.  Boy, I bought a lot of Eclipse comic books back in the day. They were one of the interesting first new comic companies to spring up in the 1970s.

Rosarium Publishing's new graphic novels

I got 3 new graphic novels in the mail today from Greenbelt's Rosarium Publishing presumably as review copies. Bill Campbell is the man behind the company, and we really should interview him soon.

However, following my general policy for books by people or publishers I know, I'll highlight, but not review them (unless one really knocks my socks off like March vol 1-3, which is rare these days. Honestly, life's too short to hurt anyone's feelings with a casual sentence in a review).

So these arrived, and all look interesting:


Malice in Ovenland

Vol. 1

Malice in Ovenland
JUVENILE FICTION
128 Pages, 7 x 10
Formats: Paperback, ebook: PDF, Fixed Layout EPUB, Fixed Layout KF8
Paperback, $17.95 (US $17.95) (CA $23.95)
Publication Date: August 2016
ISBN 9780996769228

Instead of falling down a rabbit hole, Lily finds her way to a fantasy world through a messy kitchen appliance.

Lily Brown is a bright, curious, energetic young girl from Queens, New York. When her mom forces her to stay home for the summer and do chores, Lily fumes. Little did she know that the greasy oven in the kitchen was going to give her more excitement and adventure than she could possibly handle.

Born and raised in NYC, Micheline Hess does design at a prominent ad agency in Chelsea and spends her spare time developing graphic novels, short stories, and interactive iBooks for kids. She has always been fascinated by the visual narrative in books and film and is constantly endeavoring to weave her own sense of humorous story-telling into both her personal and sometimes professional work. She lives in New York City.

The art in this next one is very stylized, seemingly influenced by 1970s poster art.




The Little Black Fish
Illustrated by Bizhan Khodabandeh
7-9
JUVENILE FICTION
52 Pages, 6.75 x 10
Formats: Paperback, ebook: PDF, Fixed Layout KF8, Fixed Layout EPUB
Paperback, $9.95 (US $9.95) (CA $12.95)
Publication Date: August 2016
ISBN 9781495607295


Based on the Persian children's classic by Samad Behrangi, this book is about a young fish's courage to question authority and strike out on her own An inquisitive little fish decided to question authority and leave the safety of her own home to venture out into the expansive sea. The creatures she meets along the way teach her important lessons and make her learn the most valuable treasure in life: freedom.

Bizhan Khodabandeh is a designer, illustrator, artist, and activist. He is the communications director for Virginia Commonwealth University's department of communication arts and design and the design manager of Gallery5 in Richmond. He is the recipient of a Silver Medal Award for comics and cartooning through the Society of Illustrators. He lives in Richmond, Virginia.



Jennifer's Journal: The Life of a SubUrban Girl Vol. 1

Jennifer's Journal
COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS
62 Pages, 7 x 10
Formats: Paperback, Fixed Layout EPUB, ebook: PDF, Fixed Layout KF8
Paperback, $8.95 (US $8.95) (CA $15.95)
Publication Date: May 2015
ISBN 9780990319160

"...this graphic novel chronicles the life of me, Jennifer Crute, a freckled-face African American artists. Pages from my actual journals illustrate my upbringing as a misfit in the suburbs of New Jersey and my daily interactions as an adult living in New York City."

Jennifer Cruté started writing comics in 2003.  She is featured in a Current TV segment about women in comics called "KAPOW! The New Comic Book Heroines." She was nominated for a Glyph Comic Award for Best Rising Star.  Her cartoons have been featured in BITCH magazine. She was a finalist in Lambda Legal's Life Without Fair Courts contest.  She has lectured at the Museum of Comic & Cartoon Art, Miami University, Ohio, and Skidmore College, and her comics and oil and mixed media work has shown at the Medialia Gallery in New York City,  the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MOCADA)  in Brooklyn; the Limner Gallery in Hudson, N.Y.; and the Ocean Hill Arts Sanctuary in Brooklyn.

March v. 3 makes School Library Journal's best list

Best Graphic Novels of 2016
By LJ Reviews
Columnists Tom Batten and Martha Cornog chose the year's best graphic novels.
http://lj.libraryjournal.com/bestbooks2016/graphicnovels.php

Andrew Aydin's website

March's co-author has a website at http://www.andrewaydin.com/

I've just ordered March buttons to hand out.

Barbershop Stories with Jon Batiste and Congressman John Lewis

Barbershop Stories with Jon Batiste and Congressman John Lewis

 Nov 28, 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCHBi030TMM

Jon Batiste chats with Congressman John Lewis about "March" while getting a haircut from his barber Chad.

Dec 17: GRUMP arts fair in Crystal City

Local comic writers Matt Dembicki and Jason Rodriguez have tables.

GRUMP Holiday Arts & Crafts Show

Sat., Dec 17

Crystal City Underground

 

GRUMP returns! Featuring 55 local artists and makers selling everything from handmade soap to letterpress cards to locally designed and printed t-shirts to graphic novels! It's like Etsy in real life.  11:00am-5:00pm, 1750 Crystal Drive, Arlington. 

More


Juana Medina window display at Politics and Prose

A Winter Wonderland at P&P


feature
Come see our new holiday window display, spanning the entire storefront at our Connecticut Avenue location! We teamed up with local children's book author and illustrator Juana Medina, who drew characters playing against a snowy backdrop exclusively for this display in her typically colorful and vibrant style. Underneath, our Holiday Countdown Calendar will reveal a new item we love each day until December 24, so keep checking to see what's new. Appropriately, our first pick for the Countdown Calendar is the picture book Juana and Lucas, by Juana Medina.

Politics & Prose Bookstore and Coffeehouse
(5015 Connecticut Ave. NW)

Bruce Guthrie stopped by and  took some photographs this afternoon. Click through to see more.