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Thursday, November 04, 2021
Greg's vacation, OR Big Planet Bethesda is closed 11/11-11/23
Wednesday, November 03, 2021
Fan Survey online from Towson University
I filled it out - it goes pretty quick
Welcome to the Facebook home of the Fan Survey at Towson University. As part of my research about comic-con culture, I am conducting a survey to learn more about different fan interests and experiences. If you consider yourself a "big fan" or a "casual fan" of any these interests (e.g., comic books, superheroes, cosplay, anime/manga, sci-fi/fantasy, art/collecting, gaming), I invite you to take the short survey, which is 26-questions and completely anonymous. You must have a Google+ account to access the survey and be at least 18 years old. Any questions about my research or the survey, contact: Dr. Michael Elliott, melliott@towson.edu
Toon Books did an event with DC schools
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Tuesday, November 02, 2021
A Montgomery County special strip
SCHNAPSY by SHOENKE
John Adcock
Yesterday's Papers blog October 30, 2021
http://john-adcock.blogspot.com/2021/10/schnapsy-by-shoenke.html
Towson U professor studies comic book fandom
Pop culture, sociology and the sacred
Professor Michael Elliott's fascination with nerd culture and fan communities inspires his teaching and research.
https://www.towson.edu/cla/departments/socioanthrocrim/about-michael-elliott.html
Tom King at 3rd Eye Comics, Nov 3 & 6
TOM KING RETURNS with another amazing new book THE HUMAN TARGET #1 and will be joining us at THIRD EYE ANNAPOLIS and LEXINGTON PARK for the LAUNCH!!
Christopher Chance has made a living out of being a human target-a man hired to disguise himself as his client to invite would-be assassins to attempt his murder.
He's had a remarkable career until his latest case protecting Lex Luthor when things go sideways. An assassination attempt Chance didn't see coming leaves him vulnerable and left trying to solve his own murder…as he has 12 days to discover just who in the DCU hated Luthor enough to want him dead.
Human Target is a hard-boiled, gritty story in the vein of classic detective noirs told by bestselling and critically acclaimed creators Tom King and Greg Smallwood!
Third Eye Faithful, we're so hype for this new book that we're bringing TOM KING to our stores to sign for its launch!
Join us at Third Eye ANNAPOLIS on WEDNESDAY 11/3/21 from 7PM-8PM or at Third Eye LEXINGTON PARK on SATURDAY 11/6/21 from 11AM-1PM to meet TOM KING and get some books signed!!
Monday, November 01, 2021
A Review of Ballad for Sophie by Filipe Melo and Juan Cavia
Ballad for Sophie, by Filipe Melo and Juan Cavia, Top Shelf Productions, ISBN 978-1-60309-498-6, $24.99, https://www.topshelfcomix.com/catalog/ballad-for-sophie/1068
First, here are some excerpts press release to summarize the plot and creators - Top Shelf Productions (an imprint of IDW) will be releasing Ballad for Sophie, a new music-themed graphic novel by Portuguese musician Filipe Melo and artist Juan Cavia that is packed with all of the drama of a rock ‘n’ roll biopic and with more twists than a night at the opera. Ballad for Sophie is a sweeping tale about what happens when a young journalist prompts a reclusive musical superstar to finally break his silence. Starring child prodigies, bitter old men, beautiful dancers, demonic managers, Nazi commandants, compassionate nuns and lifesaving animals, Ballad for Sophie is a stunning graphic symphony exploring a lifetime of ambition, betrayal, compassion anguish, long-buried secrets and flying pianos.
FILIPE MELO is a Portuguese musician, award-winning film director, and author. With decades of experience in classical and jazz piano, he teaches music at ESML, a university in Lisbon. He has developed commercials, music videos, and award-winning short films such as I’ll See You in My Dreams and Sleepwalk. His international writing career includes the Dark Horse Presents anthology, a career award from the Amadora comics festival, and several projects with Juan Cavia. JUAN CAVIA has worked as an art director and illustrator since 2004, after studying illustration and painting with the Argentinean artist Carlos Pedrazzini. His work includes graphic novels, advertisements, TV, music videos, theater and nine feature films, including Juan José Campanella’s Oscar-winning The Secret in Their Eyes. Listen to the beautiful Ballad for Sophie theme song on Spotify HERE.
and now, the review -
Writer Felipe Melo and artist Juan Cavia collaborate to share a visually gripping story that spans time, exploring identity, relationships, and music through the kinds of work that only comics can do. The story begins frame from the view of a journalist, and invites the reader into the narrative, with wordless panels giving us a clear time and place, and the hint of some mysterious turn to come.
Setting the foundation this way, along with the realistic style, are notable moves on the part of the artist and author, as the story travels back and forth across decades, and yet keeps the reader in tow through these twists in time. Another effective part of the storytelling is reader’s introduction to the maestro, the focal point in the story, first revealed as a figure turned away who closes out the inquisitive reporter, and then gradually warming to her questions. His reclusiveness forms one side of the mystery, and the motivations this interviewer create more questions for the reader.
Drawing on what can be communicated in the comics format, Melo and Cavia convey ideas and emotions through expressions, movements, and gestures, sometimes with words contained in panels, and sometimes not – and the hook of the story is set as we wonder about the maestro’s silence. Through the narrator’s voice, the story travels effectively, first revisiting events in 1933, expanding on elements of the central mystery. The same intrigue that underscores the play Amadeus by Peter Shaffer is a feature that works on these pages, probing into the hesitation and revealed genius of a composer.
The emotional power of the story comes through in Melo’s use of historical points and Cavia’s clear depictions of suffering and loss that build a foundation for the contemporary introduction the reader experiences, filling in gaps in character and motivation in a visual and very literary way. Working in a magical and supernatural way, the reader meets the character of Triton, the producer, to convey the devilish aspects of signing a professional contract for an artistic endeavor. This is another use of symbolism that the author and artist include, adding suspense.
Ballad for Sophie depicts the price of fame, the weight of guilt, the development of a life across times of war and affliction, and the emotional consequences of a life on display. These are themes that such stories have gone to before and almost inevitably address. Arguably, the comics page presents the emotion and experiences of characters more effectively than a prose novel could. The swirling images of sexuality, temptation, and addiction add to the reading, offering a storytelling technique that allows the reader to imagine what the main character is feeling. Movies have been more of mixed bag in exploring fame, sometimes pausing on moments with thoughtful weight and sometimes glossing over them as scenery the viewer expects to see along the way.
Though these themes may be found in other biographical and autobiographical works, the power of Ballad for Sophie is the way that the story is conveyed, including the ways the artistic choices support the narrative, and the presentation of images that could only exist in the minds of characters. The graphic novel and the innovation found in certain panels lifts the book, as well as the creative turns in the storytelling. With all of this taken in mind, I recommend this book for readers to enjoy.
As I've spent far more time at a computer screen during covid,
I've fallen way behind on doing book reviews. Thanks to Prof. Jason
DeHart of
Appalachian State University who reached out to volunteer to help, and
he will be doing more reviews for us. He also has his own site, Book Love: Dr J Reads. -
Mike
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Superman bisexuality becomes issue for Christopher Newport University professor
After protest over Twitter posts, Christopher Newport University professor says she won't attend forum to meet with students [Superman bisexuality]
Fri, October 29, 2021
Carolyn Belefki's Santa Turtle Enamel Pin Kickstarter is almost up
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Nov 16: Virtual Event: Kristin Cashore and Gareth Hinds, Graceling
Virtual Event: Kristin Cashore and Gareth Hinds, Graceling
Event Information
East City Bookshop welcomes Kristin Cashore and Gareth Hinds with their new book Graceling.
About this event
East City Bookshop welcomes Kristin Cashore and Gareth Hinds with their new book Graceling.
About Graceling
The beloved New York Times best-selling YA fantasy by Kristin Cashore is now available as a graphic novel, with stunning illustrations by award-winning artist Gareth Hinds.
Katsa is a Graceling, one of the rare people born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she lived a life of privilege until the day her ability to kill a man with her bare hands revealed itself during a royal banquet. Now she acts as her uncle's enforcer, traveling the kingdom and threatening those who dare oppose him.
But everything changes when she meets Po, a foreign prince Graced with combat skills who is searching for the truth about his grandfather's disappearance. When Katsa agrees to help him, she never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that could destroy them all.
With "gorgeous storytelling" (School Library Journal, starred review) and characters "crafted with meticulous devotion" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), Graceling is a beloved classic that has continued to resonate with readers for over a decade.
About Kristin Cashore
Kristin Cashore is the author of many New York Times best-selling books, including Graceling, Fire, Bitterblue, Winterkeep, and Jane, Unlimited. She received a master's from the Center for the Study of Children's Literature at Simmons College, and she has worked as a dog runner, a packer in a candy factory, an editorial assistant, a legal assistant, and a freelance writer. She currently lives in the Boston area.
About Gareth Hinds
Gareth Hinds is the creator of critically acclaimed graphic novels based on literary classics, including Beowulf, King Lear, The Merchant of Venice, The Odyssey, Romeo and Juliet, and Macbeth. He is a recipient of the Boston Public Library's "Literary Lights for Children" award. He lives in Maryland.
Nov 10 - Virtual Event: Harmony Becker, Himawari House, with Sloane Leong
Virtual Event: Harmony Becker, Himawari House, with Sloane Leong
November 10 2021
$0 – $54.57
Event Information
East City Bookshop welcomes Harmony Becker with her new book Himawari House in conversation with Sloane Leong.
About this event
East City Bookshop welcomes Harmony Becker with her new book Himawari House in conversation with Sloane Leong.
About Himawari House
A young adult graphic novel about three foreign exchange students and the pleasures, and difficulties, of adjusting to living in Japan.
Living in a new country is no walk in the park—Nao, Hyejung, and Tina can all attest to that. The three of them became fast friends through living together in the Himawari House in Tokyo and attending the same Japanese cram school. Nao came to Japan to reconnect with her Japanese heritage, while Hyejung and Tina came to find freedom and their own paths. Though each of them has her own motivations and challenges, they all deal with language barriers, being a fish out of water, self discovery, love, and family.
About Harmony Becker
Harmony Becker was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. She is the illustrator of George Takei's graphic memoir They Called Us Enemy. She currently lives in Mexico City.
About Sloane Leong
Sloane Leong is a self-taught cartoonist, artist and writer of Hawaiian, Chinese, Italian, Mexican, Native American, and European ancestries. Her work aims to connect personally with individuals through storytelling and to cultivate a kinder, more understanding future. She has been self-publishing her own comics since she was sixteen and has done various work for companies like Image Comics, First Second, Top Cow, Cartoon Network, DC, Dark Horse, Boom!, Namco, and BuzzFeed. She is currently living near Portland, Oregon and her latest book is A Map to the Sun.
Maia Kobabe on WAPO's Please, Go On podcast
Revealing interviews, compelling arguments and notable voices that highlight the diversity of Washington Post Opinions. Because there's always more to say.
A queer author caught in culture war crossfire
James Hohmann
Washington Post's "Please, Go On" podcast Friday, October 29, 2021
Maia Kobabe on Fairfax County pulling her book from school libraries
Opinion: Schools are banning my book. But queer kids need queer stories.
Saturday, October 30, 2021
The Post on Tombraider's voice actors
The women who brought Lara Croft to life
By Stacey Henley
Washington Post October 31, 2021 p E14
Herblock Prize [2020/2021 Herblock Prize & Lecture]
Speaking of de Adder, did I already post this here?
Herblock Prize [2020/2021 Herblock Prize & Lecture]
Oct 25, 2021
Award Ceremony & Lecture
2021 Prize Winner
Rob Rogers
2020 Prize Winner
Michael de Adder
Lecturer
José Andrés
a VIRTUAL EVENT streaming LIVE from the
Library of Congress
Monday, October 25, 2021, 7:00 to 8:30 pm
That darn de Adder
He may have received a Herblock Award this week, but...
A dim view [de Adder letter]
John Enoch, Fairfax
Washington Post October 30 2021
John Enoch, Fairfax
Charlie Hebdo cartoons a gift that keeps on being given
Four killed, hundreds wounded in clash with police as radical Islamists move to march on Pakistan's capital [in print as Officers slain in clashes at protest were 'lovers of our prophet,' too]
Friday, October 29, 2021
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