Thursday, July 27, 2017

Flugennock's Latest'n'Greatest: "Section 8 Smoker" (revised)


From DC's anarchist cartoonist, Mike Flugennock -




"Section 8 Smoker"
http://sinkers.org/stage/?p=2285

While it's been legal to possess and consume cannabis in DC, citizens here can still only do it in their private homes, which leaves many rental housing residents -- particularly tenants in Federally-subsidized Section 8 public housing -- in a rough spot.

Thanks to a budget "rider" introduced by Maryland Rep. Andy Harris a year or so ago as part of a budget bill to avoid a government shutdown, the District Of Columbia is unable to use any of its city budget to implement cannabis taxation/regulation laws, or to implement laws to allow for communal smoking in clubs, bars or cafés and lift the public use ban.

This means that most of us in DC who live in rental housing are forced to either go to somebody else's house (basically, a "speakeasy") or take our chances in public, in a park or someplace, where people can smell it -- including the cops, who arrested 354 people last year for public smoking.

So, if you're a DC citizen who lives in rental housing and are forced to go to a friend's house or sneak around on the street because there's noplace to go to have a civilized smoke at happy hour, thank Md. Rep. Andy Harris.


Aug 4: Jason Reynolds on Spider-Man at Hooray for Books


Meet the Author: Jason Reynolds
Friday, August 4: 6:30 pm

Hooray for Books! is thrilled to host rock-star author Jason Reynolds for the first time ever! Jason will present and sign his new book, Miles Morales: Spider-Man. In this novel for ages 12+, Brooklyn Visions Academy student Miles Morales may not want to be a superhero, but he must come to terms with his identity as the new Spider Man and deal with a villainous teacher.

In addition to Miles Morales, we have special permission from the publisher of Ghost and All American Boys to sell the paperback editions before their respective official publication dates of August 29 and 30.

Can't make it to this event but want a signed and personalized copy? Just place your order by Tuesday, August 1. To order, call 703-548-4092 or email order@hooray4books.com.



Hooray for Books! | 1555 King St • Alexandria, VA 22314 | 703.548.4092

NPR on June Foray's death

Whatever The Character, June Foray's Voice Was Warmly Familiar

July 27, 2017
http://www.npr.org/2017/07/27/539723457/whatever-the-character-june-forays-voice-was-warmly-familiar

Ben Claassen illustrates bathroom article

In today's Express, Ben Claassen III illustrates an article on the National Mall's bathroom for Sadie Dingfelder. It's also online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/express/wp/2017/07/27/i-visited-all-59-bathrooms-on-the-mall-heres-where-to-go-when-you-have-to-go/


"Becoming Stan Lee" for "King Kirby" play

Comic Riffs on the death of June Foray

RIP, June Foray: 'First lady' of animation acting voiced 'Rocky and Bullwinkle' and 'Tweety' roles


Washington Post
Comic Riffs blog July 27 2017

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2017/07/27/rip-june-foray-first-lady-of-animation-acting-voiced-rocky-and-bullwinkle-and-tweety-roles/

Remembering Richard Thompson

Richard Thompson, the ace cartoonist from Arlington, passed away a year ago today from complications of Parkinson's disease. I still find myself thinking I need to stop in when I'm on his side of town. Take a look at some of his drawings and share a smile in his memory today.
































Wednesday, July 26, 2017

"FRESH TALK: Who Are The new Superwomen of the Universe? on YouTube

FRESH TALK: Who Are The New Superwomen of the Universe

 Jul 26, 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7jWik_m7LY

In the final Fresh Talk of the 2016– 2017 season, hear from four superwomen who are changing the universe of comics and beyond.

For much of comics history, women characters were introduced as plot devices for the leading male characters. Join us for a conversation about the new wave of superheroines entering the comic universe, leading the fight for justice and dispelling traditional stereotypes in fiction and beyond.

Speakers:
Carolyn Cocca, author of Superwomen: Gender, Power, and Representation
Ariell Johnson, owner of Amalgam Comics & Coffeehouse, Philadelphia
Gabby Rivera, YA author and writer for Marvel's AMERICA series
Ashley Woods, illustrator, graphic novelist, and artist for the Stranger Comics series, NIOBE: She is Life

Moderated by Emily Whitten, ComicMix.com writer and moderator of Awesome Con. Emily is based in Washington, D.C.

FRESH TALK: Who Are The new Superwomen of the Universe? Conversation

Published on Jul 26, 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9JcuzscKaw

During this part of the program, listen to a conversation with speakers and moderator Emily Whitten, ComicMix.com writer and moderator of Awesome Con. Emily is based in Washington, D.C.


Retrofit Comics reviews

Big Planet's publishing arm gets reviewed at The Beat:

Reviews: Three thought-provoking new releases from Retrofit

by

Michael Maslin on the New Yorker cartoonists' advertising work

Linked to here because the images came from Bethesda's Warren Bernard -

Advertising Work by New Yorker Cartoonists, Part 1: Peter Arno; Shanahan's Sharks


http://michaelmaslin.com/advertising-work-by-new-yorker-cartoonists-part-1-shanahans-sharks/

Advertising Work by New Yorker Cartoonists, Part 2: William Steig


http://michaelmaslin.com/advertising-work-by-new-yorker-cartoonists-pt-2-william-steig/

Advertising Work by New Yorker Cartoonists, Part 3: Barbara Shermund


http://michaelmaslin.com/advertising-work-by-new-yorker-cartoonists-part-3-barbara-shermund/


Tuesday, July 25, 2017

NPR on Dykes to Watch Out For

A Favorite In Waiting: Alison Bechdel's 'Dykes To Watch Out For'


July 14, 2017
http://www.npr.org/2017/07/14/537052343/a-favorite-in-waiting-alison-bechdel-s-dykes-to-watch-out-for

NPR on children's comics

Books Received - July 2017

Newly published books continue to appear in my mailbox. I'll try to get notices of them up more regularly. 

I find myself enjoying much of Scholastic's line for young people. Sunny Side Up was one of my favorite recent semi-autobiographical books. A sequel comes out this fall, and is more episodic, but we do meet the older brother whose 1970s-era problems with drugs have led him to being enrolled in military school. Recommended.



 



The Holms are also expanding their Babymouse series beyond the juvenile graphic novel books into middle school and mixed chapter book style. Not read.


 It’s a new kind of book for Babymouse! Fans of Dork Diaries, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and James Patterson’s Middle School books, this is going to be epic. . . .

For Babymouse, middle school is like a monster movie. You can never be sure who’s a friend and who’s an enemy, and the halls are filled with mean-girl zombies. Instead of brains, the zombies hunger for stuff—the perfect wedge sandals or the right shade of sparkly lip gloss—and they expect everyone to be just like them.

But Babymouse doesn’t want to fit in—she wants to stand out! So she joins the film club to write and direct a sweeping cinematic epic. Will making the film of her dreams turn into a nightmare?

Thanks to Babymouse, middle school gets schooled in this hilarious new series from bestselling authors Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm.

 Christopher Eliopoulos has been using his big-head style on historical biographies with Brad Meltzer, but he also does a lot of other cartooning. His original graphic novel about receiving superpowers via a magic ring and then getting caught in a video game eventually becomes a story about the importance of family. This book is probably best for pre-teen boys, but I enjoyed it. Recommended.



Cosmic Commandos Hardcover – July 4, 2017
Dial

 In this graphic novel adventure for readers of Hilo and Roller Girl, a pair of twin brothers accidentally bring their favorite video game to life—and now they have to find a way to work together to defeat it.

Jeremy and Justin are twins, but they couldn’t be any more different from each other. Jeremy is a risk taker who likes to get his hands dirty; Justin prefers to read, focus, and get all his facts straight before jumping in. But they do have one important thing in common: They both love video games. When Jeremy wins a cereal-box charm that brings his favorite video game to life, villains and all, he finds that he’s in way over his head. Justin knows everything there is to know about the rules of the game—he read the handbook, of course—and Jeremy isn’t afraid to try new things. Can these two mismatched brothers work together to beat the video game that has become their life? 

Lee J. Ames died in 2011, but his Draw 50 series has been continued. Two new books with art by Erin Harvey were sent to us. Not read.


PR: Small Press Expo Announces International Special Guests



For Immediate Release
Contact: Warren Bernard
Email: warren@spxpo.com
 
Small Press Expo Announces International Special Guests Albert Monteys, Tommi Musturi, Anaïs Depommier and Alex Alice for SPX 2017
 
Bethesda, Maryland; July 17, 2017
 
Media Release - Small Press Expo is proud to announce its International Special Guests for SPX 2017. The festival takes place on Saturday and Sunday, September 16-17, at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center and will have over 650 creators, 280 exhibitor tables and 22 programming slots to entertain, enlighten and introduce attendees to the amazing world of independent and small press comics.
 
SPX 2017 is honored to have the following creators from Europe as Special Guests to this year's show:

Albert Monteys is a Spanish graphic novelist and illustrator, known for his works in El Jueves, a weekly satirical magazine that he directed from 2006 until January 2011.Albert created the series Carlitos Fax for the children's magazine Mister K. After his departure from El Jueves, in 2014, he founded a satirical monthly publication Orgullo y Satisfaccion (Pride and Satisfaction) with other cartoonists. That same year Monteys began to publish a science fiction comic ¡Universo! (Universe!) in Panel Syndicate, winning a 2017 Eisner Award nomination for Best Digital Comic. Albert's appearance at SPX is supported by a grant from Spain Arts & Culture.                                                                               

Tommi Musturi is a Finnish cartoonist, illustrator, graphic designer, and artist. In addition to his current ongoing series Walking with Samuel and The Books of Hope, Musturi contributes to the studio Kutikuti based out of Helsinki, which creates, publishes, and teaches comic art. Musturi co-founded Huuda Huuda in 2006 to translate international comics into Finnish, publish local comic artists, and get the word out about the vibrant Finnish scene by anthologizing the work in English. Tommi latest graphic novel is Simply Samuel from Fantagraphics. Tommi's appearance at SPX is supported by a grant from the Finnish Literature Exchange.
Anaïs Depommier was born in the late 1980s in a small village in the Southeast of France. Growing up a close friend of Mathilde Ramadier, they can't do enough sleepovers from one's house to the other. Inseparable at school, they spend their weekends building huts in the bush, watching the gendarmes go by, playing "Mouse Stampede" on a Macintosh Classic, and reading many comics. When it becomes time to prepare for the entrance exam to art school, they meet later in the evenings at the painter Jean-Michel Pétrissans' workshop in Valence. Anais first graphic novel, in collaboration with Mathilde Ramadier, is Sartre from NBM. Her appearance at SPX is supported by a grant from the Cultural Services of the French Embassy. She will be appearing at SPX on Saturday September 16.
Alex Alice is a French graphic novelist whose works have been translated into more than fifteen languages. His comics in English include the esoteric thriller The Third Testament and the operatic fantasy Siegfried. In his latest, Castle in the Stars from First Second, he draws on Jules Verne and nineteenth-century romanticism to create a watercolor world of adventure and wonder. His appearance at SPX is supported by a grant from the Cultural Services of the French Embassy. Alex will be appearing at SPX on Saturday September 16.
In the next few weeks, SPX will announce additional guests, special events, the 2017 Ignatz nominees and a full slate of programming.
 
Small Press Expo (SPX) is the preeminent showcase for the exhibition of independent comics, graphic novels, and alternative political cartoons. SPX is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit that brings together more than 650 artists and publishers to meet their readers, booksellers, and distributors each year. Graphic novels, mini comics, and alternative comics will all be on display and for sale by their authors and illustrators. The expo includes a series of panel discussions and interviews with this year's guests.
 
The Ignatz Award is a festival prize held every year at SPX recognizing outstanding achievement in comics and cartooning, with the winners chosen by attendees at the show.

As in previous years, profits from the SPX will go to support the SPX Graphic Novel Gift Program, which funds graphic novel purchases for public and academic libraries, as well as the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF), which protects the First Amendment rights of comic book readers and professionals. For more information on the CBLDF, visit their website at http://www.cbldf.org. For more information on the Small Press Expo, please visit http://www.smallpressexpo.com.



Monday, July 24, 2017

New POE book from Gareth Hinds


POE is almost here!


My new book POE: Stories and Poems comes out August 1 from Candlewick Press. Simultaneous hardcover, paperback and eBook release. See below for a sneak peek.

You can pre-order it now from your favorite online or brick-and-mortar merchant. At the moment my own online store is down because I'm working in a temporary studio space -- so if you'd like a signed copy, please come to one of my bookstore events, or order from one of the stores below and ask to have it signed when I'm there.

There will be more events added to this schedule, but this is what's confirmed so far:

DC Area
8/1 - Official launch at Takoma Park, MD Library, in association with Politics & Prose, 7:00pm
9/9 - Barnes & Noble Bethesda, 2:00pm
More DC events to come!

Boston Area
9/26 - Tentative: Brookline Booksmith, 7:00pm

Baltimore
10/3 - Enoch Pratt Govans Branch Library, 6:30pm
10/7 - BCPL Reistertown Library, 7:00pm