Monday, March 18, 2019

Longtime local fan, collector, teacher Ellen Vartanoff has passed away

Irene Vartanoff is noting on Facebook that her sister Ellen has passed away in hospice on March 17th. Ellen was a fixture in local fandom, and taught comics classes too. In the 1990s she had an exhibit of original comic art collected by herself and her sister which was lovely to see. She worked on three comic books for Marvel. Later today, we'll have Stu McIntire's remembrance of Ellen.

The Washington Post reviewed one of Ellen's exhibits in 1997.

Saturday, March 16, 2019

Not So Scary Monsters exhibit

Here's the official flyer, designed by the amazing and lovely Kris Loya for my upcoming solo art exhibit at Artists & Makers Studios! The exhibit, called "Not So Scary Monsters" will take place from April 5th, through April 24th, with the opening reception happening on Friday night, April 5th, from 6-9 PM. There are two Artists & Makers Studios locations, both in Rockville, MD, about a mile away from each other. Not So Scary Monsters will be on display at the Parklawn location (aka Artists & Makers Studios 1), however I highly recommend stopping by both locations if you decide to come to the show. There will also be an open studio event happening at both locations on Saturday, April 6th, and Sunday, April 7th. I'll be there again on Saturday the 6th, if you can't make it out on Friday night. Either way, it's going to be a fantastic show featuring lots of new Splotch Monster work, at a fantastic place, so hope you can join us! -Steve Loya

Friday, March 15, 2019

The Post reviews Wonder Park

'Wonder Park' is a movie about a girl with an overactive imagination, made by people who have none [in print as Going round and round...]

By Kristen Page-Kirby

Express Senior Arts Writer

March 15 2019, p. 24

also in print as A child's imagination isn't actually this tedious, thank goodness.

Washington Post March 15 2019, p. Weekend 26-27

online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/wonder-park-is-a-movie-about-a-girl-with-an-overactive-imagination-made-by-people-who-have-none/2019/03/13/b165e392-410f-11e9-9361-301ffb5bd5e6_story.html

Thursday, March 14, 2019

Cavna on Batman

Sen. Patrick Leahy was in 5 Batman movies. Now he's written the foreword for the superhero's 80th anniversary. [in print as Sen. Leahy answers the Bat-Signal].

By Michael Cavna

Washington Post March 14 2019, p. C1, 5

https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2019/03/13/sen-patrick-leahy-was-batman-movies-now-hes-written-foreword-superheros-th-anniversary/

And I missed this one:

Leaving Batman behind is the best thing that could happen to Ben Affleck

By Michael Cavna

Writer/critic

January 31 2019

https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2019/01/31/leaving-batman-behind-is-best-thing-that-could-happen-ben-affleck/

Re-Constitution book announced by local author Beka Feathers

You can read about the new imprint from First Second here:

First Second to Launch World Citizen Comics

By Calvin Reid |

Mar 13, 2019 https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/comics/article/79510-first-second-to-launch-world-citizen-comics.html

The book of interest to us is:

Re-Constitution, written by Beka Feathers and illustrated by Kasia Babis

as Randy T found out that Beka Feathers is a local conflict advisor and lawyer:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/beka-feathers-53b3b71a

https://twitter.com/feathersb

March 16: Garth Ennis and Russ Braun at Third Eye Annapolis

Meet comic superstars Garth Ennis (Preacher, The Boys, Punisher, Night Witches) & Russ Braun (The Boys, Night Witches) at our SARA / NIGHT WITCHES

Signing at THIRD EYE ANNAPOLIS this Saturday

MARCH 16th, 2019!

One of our biggest signing events! Meet the legendary writer behind graphic novels like PREACHER (and the inspiration for the AMC series), THE BOYS, & PUNISHER MAX with his co-artist on THE BOYS!

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Read all about Garth & Russ's s Other Projects!

From PREACHER to THE BOYS and more!

DETAILS HERE

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Comics Journal talks to Marc Singer

"I Wasn't Writing About the Work I Find Most Valuable": An Interview with Marc Singer

BY Noah Berlatsky Mar 13, 2019

http://www.tcj.com/an-interview-with-marc-singer/

March 18: Folger Library pop-up exhibit of caricature and cartoons

The Folger on Capitol Hill has a pop-up exhibition next Monday, March 18, 2019, from 1:00-4:00 pm in the Board Room.

"A scribbled form drawn with a pen upon a parchment" will present a selection of Shakespeare-themed caricatures and political cartoons from the Folger collection, poking fun at everyone from King George III to Henry Irving.

Tuesday, March 12, 2019

Tom Brevoort reads Amazing Fantasy 15 original as an editor would

The original art being in the Library of Congress lets the Marvel editor do a close reading of what changes were made in the first Spider-Man story.

Lee & Ditko: AMAZING FANTASY #15

Tom Brevoort

The Tom Brevoort Experience blog March 3, 2019

https://tombrevoort.com/2019/03/03/lee-ditko-amazing-fantasy-15/

Library of Congress blog on superheroines

Let's Talk Comics: Superheroines

by Megan Halsband

Library of Congress' Headlines and Heroes blog March 12, 2019

https://blogs.loc.gov/headlinesandheroes/2019/03/lets-talk-comics-superheroines/

Singer's Breaking the Frames excerpt at TCJ

Excerpt: Breaking The Frames

BY Marc Singer Mar 12, 2019

http://www.tcj.com/excerpt-breaking-the-frames/

He's a Howard University professor who wrote a new book on the problems in comics scholarship.

Osvaldo Oyola interviews Marc Singer

https://themiddlespaces.com/2019/03/12/the-recollection-agency-11/

From his introduction:

Today's talk is with Marc Singer an Associate Professor of English at Howard University and holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Maryland, College Park. Before Howard, he taught at the University of Maryland, Mary Washington College, and Tennessee State University. He is the author of Grant Morrison: Combining the Worlds of Contemporary Comics (Mississippi UP, 2012) and the editor, with Nels Pearson, of Detective Fiction in a Postcolonial and Transnational World (Ashgate, 2009). He previously served as the chair of the International Comic Arts Forum, and his own research on comics has twice won the M. Thomas Inge Award. Most recently his book Breaking the Frames: Populism and Prestige in Comics Studies (Texas UP, 2018) has arrived to a lot of acclaim and perhaps consternation, and we spent most of our talk discussing the book, rather than the usual focus on collecting I try to foster in these talks but through discussing his development of the book we also ended up talking about his reading practices.

May 8: Little Girls Graphic Novel tour at Fantom Comics

Bleeding Cool has the details.

Tonight - Nerds in NoMa with four local cartoonists

March 12, 6:00–8:00 p.m.

https://www.nomabid.org/nerds-in-noma/

Comic Converts: The World of Comic Illustrators in D.C.
Telling stories through narrative illustrations and words is a centuries-old art that continues to thrive everywhere — including D.C., where there are a number of comic art practitioners. Some do it only as a private passion, while others manage to get paid for their creative endeavors. We'll dive into the local scene to learn what motivates artists, how they find ways to make money, and where the industry is headed.
>>>Moderator: Michael Rhode, Author/Publisher/Owner | ComicsDC
>>>Panelists: Malaka Gharib, Author/Illustrator, I Was the American Dream (forthcoming); Jade Feng Lee, Educator/Illustrator; Josh Kramer, Journalist/Illustrator; Shannon Gallant, Comic Illustrator
Let us know you're coming: Facebook / Eventbrite

Monday, March 11, 2019

Disney's Aladdin coming to the Kennedy Center in July

Tickets are on sale for members now, and open to the public next week.

Disney's Aladdin

Thursday, July 18, 2019 - Saturday, September 7, 2019

http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/event/TTTSD

Theater

Discover a whole new world at Disney's Aladdin, the hit Broadway musical! From the producer of The Lion King comes the timeless story of Aladdin, a thrilling new production filled with unforgettable beauty, magic, comedy, and breathtaking spectacle.

On Sale: March 18, 2019

Members: February 19, 2019

Price

$39.00 - $179.00

Venue

Opera House

Run Time

Running Time: TBA

The VIP Ticket Package includes the best seats in the theater, commemorative souvenir program and complimentary VIP show merchandise item. The VIP tickets are located in the center-front of the orchestra level.

There is a limit of eight (8) tickets for this event.

Goldstar also has tickets on sale.

Smithsonian's superhero collection via their catalog

https://www.si.edu/spotlight/superheroes

Explore items in our collections related to superheroes, including comic books, original comic art, movie and television costumes and props, and memorabilia.

- a surprise is a John Byrne and Jerry Ordway drawing of Superman in the National Portrait Gallery. It came as part of a collection of Time Magazine covers.

Art Institute of Washington shut down

Last year we noted that the Art Institute of Washington had stopped accepting new students.

The New York Times has reported that essentially the entire chain of Art Institutes has closed, and last week, "... members of the faculty at Argosy's Chicago and Northern Virginia campuses told students that they had been fired and instructed to remove their belongings."