International Journal of Comic Art 19-1 Table of Contents

International Journal of Comic Art
Vol. 19, No. 1 Spring/Summer 2017


Freedom To Cartoon: An Endangered Concept
A Symposium
Edited by John A. Lent
1
Global Infringements on the "Right to Cartoon": A Research Guide
John A. Lent
4
From Socialism to Dictatorship: Editorial Ideologies in Chilean Science Fiction and Adventure Comics
Camila Gutierrez Fuentes
71
La Figura del Presidente Salvador Allende.Caricatura Politica e Imagenes Fatldicas
Jorge Montealegre I.
87
Control over Comic Books in Spain during the Franco Dictatorship (1939-1975)
Ignacio Fernandez Sarasola
95
Early Censorship of Comics in Brazil and Spain and Their Use as an Educational Resource as an Escape
Cristiana de Almeida Fernandes, Vera Lucia dos Santos Nojima, Ana Cristina dos Santos Malfacini, and Maria da Conceicao Vinciprova Fonseca
130
Two Life Times and 15 Years: A Cuban Prisoner's Coping Through Cartoons
John A. Lent
159
American Infection: The Swedish Debate over Comic Books, 1952-1957
Ulf Jonas Bjork
177
Seduced Innocence: The Dutch Debate about Comics in the 1940s and 1950s
Rik Sanders
Translated by Melchior Deekman
190
Pioneers in Comic Art Scholarship
"Acquire the Widest Possible Comics Culture": Au Interview with Thierry Groensteen
John A. Lent
205
Pioneers in Comic Art Scholarship
The Multi-Varied, 50-Year Career of a Fan-Researcher of Comic Art
Fred Patten
219
Gutter Ghosts and Panel Phantasms: Horror, Haunting, and Metacomics
Lin Young
243
World War II in French Collective Memory: The Relevance of Alternate History Comics.
An Analysis of the Wunderwaffen Saga
Simon Desplanque
270
Genre Hybridity as the Scheme of the Comics Industry
Jaehyeon Jeong
290
On the Pastoral Imaginary of a Latin American Social Democracy: Costa Rica's El Sabanero
Hector Fernandez L'Hoeste
309
Between Fine and Comic Art. On the Arab Page: Much Connects Art and Comics in Egypt and the Wider Middle East
Jonathan Guyer
334
"Art Is My Blood": A Short Interview with Nora Abdullah, Pioneer Female Malay Comic Artist
Lim Cheng Tju
345
Comics Theory for the Ages: Text and Image Relations in Medieval Manuscripts
Jesse D. Hurlbut
353
Examining Film Engagement Through the Visual Language of Comics
R. Brad Yarhouse
384
Hemispheric Latinx Identities and Transmedial Imaginaries: A Conversation with Frederick Luis Aldama
Janis Breckenridge
405
In Search of the Missing Puzzle Pieces: A Study of Jimmy Liao's Public Art Installations in Taiwan
Hong-Chi Shiau and Hsiang-wen Hsiao
413
Far from the Maddening Crowd: Guy Delisle as Cultural Reporter
Kenan Kocak
428
Portrayal of Massacre: A Comparative Study between Works of Joe Sacco, Art Spiegelman, and Fumiyo Kono
Sara Owj
479
Toriko's Database World
Bryan Hikari Hartzheim
499
Beyond Images and Gags: Comic Rhetoric in "Luann"
Veronica Anzaldua
525
Happy Ike, The Pink Kid and the American Presence in Early British Comics
Michael Connerty
538
The Swedish Phantom: Sweden's Domestication of an American Comic Book Hero
Ulf Jonas Bjork
547
Start Spreading the News: Marvel and New York City
Barry Pearl
562
Honore Daumier: Caricature and the Conception/Reception of "Fine Art"
Jasmin Cyril
575
China's Cartooning in the War of Resistance against the Japanese Invasion
Zola Zu
586
Belgian bande dessinee and the American West
Annabelle Cone
595
The Printed Word
John A. Lent
620
Book Reviews
M. Thomas Inge
David Lewis
John A. Lent
Lim Cheng Tju
Janis Breckenridge
Benoit Crucifix
Christopher Lee Proctor II
Michael J. Dittman
Leslie Gailloud
627
Exhibition and Media Reviews
Edited by Michael Rhode
Maite Urcaregui
Pascal Lefevre
Keith Friedlander
647
Portfolio
655

A Big Trip to the Small Press Expo: A Guest Post by Charles Brubaker

John Kovaleski and Charles Brubaker

by Charles Brubaker

One thing that became apparent to me as I became serious about cartooning is that vending in conventions is very important. Not only are comic conventions the best way to network with other comics professionals, but also are a good way of gaining new readers as well.

Figuring out which cons work best for me is a case of trial and error. Even if I focus on cons that are friendly to indie comics, it's still a gamble. I tried everything from a big ones like Baltimore Comic Con to smaller ones like SPACE in Columbus. However, one con I really wanted to go to was Small Press Expo (SPX), which was held this year on September 16 and 17.

Long regarded as the ultimate indie comic convention in the US, I was very curious about what it's like. Getting a booth there wasn't easy, as SPX gets thousands of application every year, while only being able to take a small number (I believe that nearly 600 people exhibited this year), so they choose who gets to have a table by using a raffle system.

To say it took me a while to get a space there is an understatement. In fact, it took me 2 years until luck shined on me. SPX was the fifth con I went to in 2017 (including a free table space I got at a children's book festival in my local library). I normally try to reserve my number of conventions to three due to cost factor, but I decided to take the SPX offer because, well, it took me years to finally get an opportunity.

I would normally fly to conventions, but after several airplane trips and going through TSA, I decided to drive to Bethesda, Maryland with my dad. It was a long trip from western Tennessee; it took two days, with a stop in Huntington, West Virginia.

I arrived with several boxes, containing paperbacks of my "Ask a Cat"  and "The Fuzzy Princess" comics, plus left-over minis and floppies from my other cons. Both of my on-going comics feature cats as leading characters. So naturally, the SPX people saw fit to put me in booth K-9 (har har), where I shared space with Lucy Bellwood, who traveled a lot further than I did, coming from Oregon. I don't know if the SPX people gave me that table number on purpose, but I'd like to think they did. It would fit with their sense of humor.

In previous cons, I would normally only sell floppies and mini-comics. I had my "Fuzzy Princess" stories printed in individual standard-sized issues, and minis collecting "Ask a Cat" strips. However for SPX, I had paperback books, having drawn enough material for both comics. I was worried that I would have harder time selling paperback books over the comparatively cheaper minis, but the opposite was the case. I ended up selling far more paperbacks than minis and floppies. As Lucy told me, "people like books with spines." I especially sold a lot of "The Fuzzy Princess Vol. 1," which is more story-oriented. Graphic novels are popular there, it seems.

While I still plan to continue making mini-comics, since they're easy to make, and also because they make great perks for my Patreon, I've been thinking of phasing out my floppies because of the cost. The cost of printing full-color comic books is about the same as printing up a 150-page black and white paperback book, and people would rather pay for $10 paperbacks with tons of content, even in black and white, over a 30-page color comic books that cost $5.

Of course, with nearly 600 people vending, and over a thousand or so people attending, you are bound to run into familiar faces. Pretty much everyone I worked for was there, but I was meeting them in person for the first time. These include Chris Duffy (editor for SpongeBob Comics), Ryan Flanders (art director for MAD Magazine), and Shena Wolf (editor at Andrews McMeel). Other familiar faces included comic creators. It was nice seeing Keith Knight again; the last time I saw him was over 10 years ago, when I was still in high school. Among people who were near my booth were Sponge Bob-contributor Joey Weiser (Mermin), whom I already met a year before at FLUKE in Athens, GA, Drew Weing, who draws "The Creepy Casefiles of Margo Maloo", and Steve Conley, who draws "The Middle Age" for GoComics. I also ran into John Kovaleski, who drew one of my favorite comic strips, "Bo Nanas", years ago. I had my online readers come visit me, which is always a pleasant experience (and a special mention to Mike Rhode, who suggested I write this post when I saw him).

The second day was a lot slower, selling fewer books, so I took the opportunity to walk around the con more. The thing about cons this big is that there will be creators you admire, but had no idea they were going to be here. That was the case with KC Green and Meredith Gran. It's impossible to keep track of everyone you know who's going to be here.

In spite of the slow second day, my overall experience was very good. It was a jam-packed event, from seeing everyone who is enthusiastic about comics, to the lively Ignatz Awards ceremony, and the legendary chocolate fountain. Here's hoping I can go back in 2018.

Charles Brubaker is a cartoonist based in Martin, TN. He draws Ask a Cat (http://www.gocomics.com/ask-a-cat) and The Fuzzy Princess (http://fuzzy-princess.com/), and also contributes to SpongeBob Comics and MAD Magazine. His blog is http://bakertoons.tumblr.com/

December 7: Lecture: "An Introduction to French Comics"

 

Lecture: "An Introduction to French Comics" 

(postponed from October 24)

A high-level introduction into how a closely neighboring culture views the humble comic book in a completely different way.About the Speaker: RM Rhodes has a day job and lives in Arlington, but he would prefer to be known as a comics creator and historian. He has written articles and reviews for sites like Forces of Geek, Need Coffee, The Hooded Utilitarian, and Comics Workbook. He is learning French so he can read his French comics and enjoys talking about himself in the third person. $5, Doors at 6:30 p.m., lecture at 7 p.m., followed by a wine and dessert reception.

VENUE: The Lyceum CAPACITY: 120 PRICE: $5.00 DATE: 12/7/2017 EVENTID: 6000278

Catching up with conservative cartoonist Al Goodwyn

by Mike Rhode

It's been 6 years since I interviewed you for the Washington City Paper - The world's changed a bit since then - have you?

Other than grayer hair and higher cholesterol, I haven't changed much.  Still enjoying life in DC.  And you're right, the world has certainly changed, some for the good and some for the bizarre.  What's also bizarre is that the good and bizarre labels seem to flip depending on individual political perspectives.

About six months ago you started a cartoon blog with Jeff Newman where you provide conservative political cartoons and he does humorous commentary on public events.  Can you tell us how that started, and why you're doing it? How is the reaction?

I had been wanting to try my hand at blogging for some time.  Given that the first steps at blogging aren't really part of the creative process, but include figuring out the mechanics of blogging, the layout, and all of the key strokes needed just to get started, it stayed on the back burner for years.  Jeff's a good friend of mine back in South Carolina and we chat often about politics.  He was actually the push to make the blog finally happen. 

It was over a few beers with Jeff that the topic of blogging resurfaced.  We convinced ourselves we could manage a blog.  Isn't beer amazing?  We wanted the theme to somehow counter the growing number of people who get their news from Comedy Central and memes.  We were both a fan of the book Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole where people seemingly amassed in a confederacy to stymie the protagonist's every move.  From our prospective those who simply latch on to whatever fits their world view without validation from other sources were acting like drones, hence Confederacy ofDrones was launched. 

With lots of snarkiness, satire and sarcasm, we've been posting on a fairly routine basis since then.  Part for fun and part for sanity.  We've loaded over 150 posts so far. We even appreciate other perspectives and disagreement especially when opinions are backed up by facts. The blog can be found here: https://confederacyofdrones.com/.  The reaction has been positive and we've enjoyed engaging with other bloggers on politics.

You've been picked up to do print cartoons for the Washington Examiner, which was Nate Beeler's home when it was a daily. What is the story behind that? Is it all new material for them?

Nate is a phenomenal editorial cartoonist.  His work was a part of my metro commute when the Washington Examiner was a daily newspaper.  I was sorry to see that daily paper go away, partly because it changed my commute routine but mostly because it was another step in the fading of political cartoonists.  Nate has been, and I'm sure he'll continue to be, used by the Washington Examiner through syndication. 

My involvement with the Washington Examiner came about because my cartooning outlet of 28 years, the HealthPhysics News, was cutting back on costs and no longer wanted cartoons.  My start at cartooning began with them back in 1989 when they were called the Health Physics Society Newsletter and ever since then I had been a regular contributor … until this summer when they let me know that they would no longer be running cartoons.  I think they felt worse about it than I did.  It's a business decision that I completely understood.  They had been great to me over those many years and without them, it's possible I may never have tried my hand at cartooning.   

Since one door closed, I was in search of another.  The Washington Examiner, now a weekly news magazine, has its offices near mine in downtown DC.  I made contact with several people there and after they looked at some of my work, we met in person.  They were encouraging during that meeting and indicated that they'd like to occasionally use my work.  The first was in the September 18^th issue. 

How does it feel to have a 'reinvigorated' political cartoon career as a conservative in 2017? 

It's great to have an outlet whether it's the blog or in print.  There's so much going on and so many opportunities to identify contrary opinions to what's happening in politics and society, that there's plenty of motivating material for cartoons. 

Even though I lean to the right and most of my cartoons have a conservative tilt, I still poke at Republicans and President Trump.  Of course many would say, and I'd agree, that those are easy targets based on recent missteps and gaffs.  Fortunately as far as US presidents are concerned, we don't elect them for life.  Unfortunately, in the absence of term limits for congress, the country has moved too far away from the citizen politician and more toward entrenched career politicians.  You'd think with the level of political fodder available today for lampooning that the world of political cartoons would be a thriving industry.  Maybe, again, some day.

PR: The Comics Industry Celebrates the Inaugural Ringo Awards

These awards replaced the Harvey Awards, which have moved to NYCC, and are currently in abeyance. Local winners include March, Tom King and ReDistricted.

The Comics Industry Celebrates the Inaugural Ringo Awards BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - September 24, 2017 - Comic creative professionals, publishers, retailers, and fans came together Saturday night, September 23, 2017 to socialize, dine, and experience the comic book industry celebrating recognition of their peers, co-workers, and competitors at the 2017 Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards. The inaugural Ringo Awards was sponsored by Presenting Sponsors Cards, Comics & Collectibles and the Baltimore Comic-Con; Gold Sponsors The Amazing Comic Shop, BOOM! Studios, Geppi Family Enterprises, Painted Vision Comics; Silver Sponsors AfterShock Comics, South Carolina Comic-Con, ComicMix, and Valiant Entertainment; and Gift Bag Sponsors Abrams ComicArts, AfterShock Comics, Archie Comic Publications, BOOM! Studios, Dark Horse Comics, DC Comics, Dynamite Entertainment, Flesk Publications, IDW Publishing, Scholastic, Source Point Press, 'Toon Tumblers, and Valiant Entertainment. The banquet and awards ceremony honoring nominees and winners in professional and fan categories was hosted by the Baltimore Comic-Con and Cards, Comics & Collectibles. The Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards is an annual celebration of the creativity, skill and fun of comics. The nomination ballot is determined by fans and pros alike. The Ringo Awards was honored to present David Petersen, best known as the multiple award-winning writer and artist of Mouse Guard., as the inaugural keynote presenter at the event. A very special thanks go to the sponsors who donated items to the 2017 Ringo Awards Gift Bags, including Abrams ComicArts, AfterShock Comics, Archie Comic Publications, BOOM! Studios, Dark Horse Comics, DC Comics, Dynamite Entertainment, Flesk Publications, IDW Publishing, Scholastic, Source Point Press, 'Toon Tumblers, and Valiant Entertainment. Winners of the 2017 Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards are: Fan Favorites: Favorite Hero: Cash Wayne (Spectrum) Favorite Villain: Arlo (unOrdinary) Favorite New Series: Spectrum Favorite New Talent: InstantMiso Jury and Fan Winners: Best Cover Artist: Frank Cho Best Series: Vision, Marvel Comics Best Letterer: Todd Klein Best Colorist: Laura Martin Best Humor Comic: I Hate Fairyland, Image Comics Best Original Graphic Novel: March: Book III, Top Shelf Productions Best Comic Strip or Panel: Bloom County, Berkeley Breathed, Universal Uclick Best Single Issue or Story: Emancipation Day, www.redistrictedcomics.com Mike Wieringo Spirit Award: Future Quest #1, DC Comics Best Anthology: Love is Love, DC Comics/IDW Publishing Best Non-fiction Comic Work: March: Book Three, Top Shelf Productions Best Presentation in Design: Mike Mignola's Screw-On Head and Other Curious Objects: Artist's Edition Hardcover, IDW Publishing Best Webcomic: The Red Hook, Dean Haspiel Best Inker: Sean Murphy Best Writer: Tom King Best Artist or Penciller: Fiona Staples Best Cartoonist (Writer/Artist): Skottie Young Hero Initiative Awards: Dick Giordano Humanitarian of the Year Award: Joshua Dysart Hero Initiative Lifetime Achievement Award: Marv Wolfman In addition, the Baltimore Comic-Con would like to thank those individuals who presented at this year's award ceremony, including: Keynote speaker David Petersen, Tom Brevoort, Darryl "DMC" McDaniels and Amy Chu, Walter and Louise Simonson, Terry and Robyn Moore, Kazu Kibuishi and Charlie Kochman, Lora Innes and Thom Zahler, and Todd Dezago, Craig Rousseau, and Mark Waid. We would also like to thank John Gallagher for his contributions to our program guide for the evening and awards ceremony presentation. Please join us next year for the second annual Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards taking place at the 19th annual Baltimore Comic-Con on September 29, 2018, and keep an eye on our website and social media accounts below for 2018 ballot information. Click Below to Follow Us! About Mike Wieringo Michael Lance "Mike" Wieringo was known to fans and friends as "Ringo", which is how he signed his artwork. His comics artist graced the pages of DC Comics' The Flash, Adventures of Superman, Batman, and Robin, Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Sensational Spider-Man, and Rogue, and his co-creation Tellos. He passed away on August 12, 2007 at the young age of 44 from an apparent heart attack. About the Ringo Awards The Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards is an annual celebration of the creativity, skill and fun of comics. The Ringo Awards recognize outstanding achievements in over 20 categories, and are the only industry awards nominated by fans and pros alike, with final voting by the comic professional community. Launched in 2017, the awards ceremony is held annually at the Baltimore Comic-Con. Further details are available at www.ringoawards.com. About the Baltimore Comic-Con The Baltimore Comic-Con is celebrating its 18th year of bringing the comic book industry to the Baltimore and Washington D.C. area. For more information, please visit www.baltimorecomiccon.com

The Ringo Awards, P.O. Box 917, Reisterstown, MD 21136

Library of Congress Magazine (Sept - Oct 2017) is all comics

Online at http://www.loc.gov/lcm/pdf/LCM_2017_0910.pdf it features librarians Megan Halsband and Sara Duke as well as these articles:

Curator's Picks: Wondrous Women Of Comics; Serials Reference Specialist Megan Halsband Shares A Few Of Her Favorites From The Library's Collection Of Some 140,000 Comic Books.

LCM (September - October): 4-5.

Expert's Corner: Stroke Of Pen, Brush Of Ink; Curator Of Popular And Applied Graphic

Art Sara Duke Explains How Original Art In Comics Offers Behind-The-Scenes Insight Into The Thinking And Collaboration That Go Into Creating Comics For Publication.

LCM (September - October): 6.

The Greatest Comic Book Villain? How  A  Mild-Mannered  Psychiatrist  Concerned  With  The  Welfare Of Children Nearly Destroyed The American Comic Book Industry In The 1950s.

By John Sayers

LCM (September - October): 8-9.

Presidents,  Rock Stars & Other Heroes: Real People In Comics

By Wendi A. Maloney

LCM (September - October): 10-13.

The American Way: How Comic Books Reflect Our Culture; The Library's Vast Trove Of Comic Books

Exposes A Unique And Revealing History Of American Popular Culture.

By Mark Hartsell

LCM (September - October): 14-19.

Collecting Web Comics And Culture: Two New Online Collections Capture Contemporary Culture As It Is Currently Consumed, Via The Web.

By Mark Hartsell

LCM (September - October): 22-23.

 

Contemporary  Graphic Gifts: Through An Agreement With The Small Press Expo, The Library Collects And Preserves Independent Comics And Cartoon Art.

Megan Halsband

LCM (September - October): 27.

She Had Come Because Of A Comic Book. She Left Stirred By The Words Of An American Hero [John Lewis and March].

Michael Cavna

LCM (September - October): 28.

ReDistricted's Emancipation Day wins Ringo Award

Matt Dembicki says,

Congrats to Chad Lambert and Mark McMurray for bringing home an inaugural Ringo Award for ReDistrictedComics.com for their story 'Emancipation Day!' Thanks also to ReDistricted associate editor Tabitha Whissemore for attending the awards show and helping with the project! And thanks to all the contributors to ReDistricted who helped us garner two additional nominations for the Ringos. It's been a very fun project and we have much more in store!

An SPX Interview with UK's Avery Hill Publishing

by Mike Rhode

Tillie Walden was a guest at SPX this year for her autobiography Spinning out now from First Second. I was surprised to be told that she had already published three works with a British publisher and that Avery Hill Publishing was at the con. On their website, they have a very clever mission statement: "Avery Hill is a publishing company based in South London that helps aspiring creators reach their potential and is a home to the geniuses that the mainstream has yet to recognise. Our canon includes psychogeographical mappings, drunk 19th century scientists,time-travelling beagles, minimalist musings, kids running amok in dance tents, a giant cat called Nemo and much more." I went over and met owners Ricky Miller and David White, and they agreed to an email interview.

How long has Avery Hill been publishing?

We started self-publishing our own zines about six years ago. They were mainly filled with our own work and contributions by friends. Then we realised that everyone else we were publishing were far better than us and so we decided just to put out work by them. It kind of escalated from there, but some of the people from the early days, such as Tim Bird who does the Grey Area series for us, are still with us now.

Where are you based?

We’re based in London in the UK. We tend to get a bit provincial and narrow it down to South London as there’s a faux rivalry between north and south London, in the same way you get in a lot of cities. We both grew up around this area, we’ve know each other since we were eleven and Avery Hill is an actual place quite nearby that we used to go to when we were young. The Avery Hill logo is actually based on a photo of Ricky climbing over the fence into Avery Hill when we were 18.

How many artists do you publish? Just cartoonists?

Over the years we’ve published roughly 25 creators, some multiple times. We mainly do comics, but we’ve also put out a couple of books of illustrations, including Internal Wilderness by Claire Scully, which is a series of images of imagined landscapes and A Is For Amos by Ukranian illustrator Daria Hlazatova, which is an A to Z of illustrations of her favourite musicians. In the UK a lot of the comics creators we work with come form an illustration background rather than a comics/cartooning background, so it’s quite a fluid thing to move from comics to also illustrating things like children’s books and magazine editorial work.

What are your individual backgrounds?

We both grew up within about a mile of each other in the deep, dark, working class suburbs of South East London. We went to school together and are still very close friends with some other people from that time. We shared a common interest in music, mainly Britpop at the time and comics. After university we briefly formed a band, called The Do-Nothing Kings with some other friends and then when we realized we weren’t very good we started doing podcasts and music reviews. Dave then decided to put out a zine, which Ricky contributed a comic to called Metroland (which we still put out and that brings you up to date.

Favorite cartoonists, or influences, living or dead?

One of the first books that we both got into was Cerebus by Dave Sim. Whilst we find his politics and social attitudes problematic to say the least - Google him if you don’t know the story - the level of artistry in those books by him and his background artist, Gerhard, plus his self-publishing ethos were massively influential. We’d also both consider From Hell by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell to be one of the greatest works of art in any form. In recent times anything by Darwyn Cooke or the Morrison & Quietly partnership are essential. More modern creators from around our scene would be people like Jillian Tamaki, Jason, Eleanor Davis and Isabel Greenberg.

Was this your first American con?

Yes, this was our first con in the US. We’ve mainly only done shows in the UK, apart from going to the Toronto Comics Art Festival a couple of times and one in Denmark. We’d definitely like to do more of them and are seriously considering shows in Boston and New York next year.

Why SPX?

We met the Executive Director of SPX, Warren Bernard, at the Toronto Comics Art Festival last year when we were there with our creator Tillie Walden. Warren took a lot of interest in our work and said that he’d love for us to go to SPX this year and that he’d help us out with some of our expenses. We were blown away by the generosity of that and of course accepted. We’d tried to get in to SPX in the lottery prior to that and we also had a couple of Tillie’s books nominated in the Ignatz awards last year (which she won) so we were desperate to make it there. We’d heard such great things about SPX, it’s pretty famous in the UK.

What did you think of it?

We absolutely loved it. The quality of the exhibitors was incredibly high and there were lots of great talks and guests. The overall vibe was just lovely as well, such a great feeling of community and diversity. Little touches, like having free coffee in the morning really make a difference as well. When you do a lot of shows you definitely notice that kind of thing. Having all of the exhibitors in the same room is another great thing as often if people are in different rooms then it can inevitably lead to some feeling they are in an area with less footfall.

How were your sales?

Sales were great, it was busy all weekend. We sold nearly everything that we shipped over, which meant that we didn’t have too much to have to carry back! It definitely stands comparison with some of our best ever events in that regard.

How do you decide what or whom to publish?

Essentially we just publish books that we like. Which doesn’t really tell you very much but it’s how it is. When we started Avery Hill we had no greater aspiration than to end up with a shelf of books that wouldn’t exist had it not been for us. We run this company in our spare time, we both have day jobs, so we have to keep it interesting for us and that means basing what we want to publish more on our personal choice than it does on a commercial decision. One of us will find a creator and then we’ll both discuss whether or not to approach them. If we do then we ask the creator what they’d like to do and more often than not we agree to do whatever it is they’re most interested in doing. Our only real limitation is time, so that dictates how many projects we can take on, but beyond that it really is just a case of trying to find books and creators that we’re passionate about. Luckily, it also often pays off.

How did you become Tillie Walden's first publisher given that she's an American educated in Texas and Vermont?

We first discovered Tillie’s work on Twitter when she posted a couple of images that someone retweeted. We got in touch with her to see if she’d be interested in doing a book and got a reply back from her saying she was too busy with school as she was only 17. This stunned us as the level of her work was already very high and we’d assumed she was much older. We gave it another six months and then got back in touch with her when she had finished school and had enrolled in the Center For Cartoon Studies in Vermont. This time she agreed to put a pitch together for us, which turned out to be her first graphic novel, The End of Summer. We loved working together and so quickly moved on to do another two books with her, all before she turned 19! She’s a great friend of ours and often comes to shows with us. The UK has a long tradition of discovering great US creators before their own country does, so we refer to Tillie as being our Jimi Hendrix.

Does your company have an overall aesthetic?

People often say to us that although we have a very wide range of different kinds of books, they can still see an Avery Hill aesthetic unifying them into a cohesive line. If there is one then it’s probably the midpoint between both of our tastes, plus the strong emphasis that we both put on quality writing. But really, an Avery Hill book could be anything, as long as we both like it.

Did you get to spend any time in Washington?

Yes we got out here early in order to do some sightseeing. It’s such a lovely city! We did the usual touristy things of the Lincoln Memorial/Washington Monument and the National Gallery of Art, of which the Impressionist section was a big highlight! Then on Friday evening we went to see The Nationals vs The Dodgers, which was great fun. We definitely hope to come back some day soon!

Washington reviews of the Kingsman sequel and latest Lego movie

Kingsman: The Golden Circle Doesn't Quite Live Up to Its Deranged Predecessor[in print as Shooting Blanks]

Matthew Vaughn turns it up to 11 in this action/comedy sequel, but it might be a little too much.

Alan Zilberman

Washington City Paper Sep 22, 2017  , p. 28

online at http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/arts/film-tv/blog/20976489/kingsman-the-golden-circle-reviewed

'Kingsman: The Golden Circle' delivers a second dose of R-rated action and comedy

By Stephanie Merry

Washington Post September 22 2017

online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/kingsman-the-golden-circle-delivers-a-second-dose-of-r-rated-action-and-comedy/2017/09/21/e82e09ba-9d44-11e7-8ea1-ed975285475e_story.html

'The Lego Ninjago Movie': Too much Saturday morning TV and not enough snark

By Michael O'Sullivan

Washington Post September 22 2017

online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/the-lego-ninjago-movie-too-much-saturday-morning-tv-and-not-enough-snark/2017/09/21/20bee23a-9e09-11e7-9c8d-cf053ff30921_story.html

Flugennock's Latest'n'Greatest: "Last Chance, Punk!"

DC's anarchist cartoonist Mike Flugennock's latest...

"Last Chance, Punk!"
http://sinkers.org/stage/?p=2318

If you caught any of the Trumpster's speech at the UN this past week, you'll know that pretty much the only thing missing was him banging his shoe on the podium and yelling "we will bury you!".

A fake war threat juiced up with sick-ass lies, a tinhorn enemy made out to be all-powerful, repeatedly screamed claims about weapons of mass destruction, bellicose threats at the UN... jeez, just when did we hear this last time, kids? Don't everybody jump up at once...