Comics Workbook

An online magazine for comics makers

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Juan Fernández

Posted on January 11, 2017January 11, 2017

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06/14/2018

Sally IngrahamJune 14, 2018NewsSally here with a roundup of reviews and commentary on Frank Santoro’s “Pompei”, which was published in Italy in May 2018 by 001 Edizioni! ——————————————————————————— Frank Santoro‘s Pompeii (PictureBox, 2013) was published in Italy in 2018 by 001 Edizioni. Pompei was released during the Naples Comicon (April 28-May 1 2018) where Frank was a special guest. In addition, an exhibition of original artwork from Pompei was held at the Archeological Museum of Naples from April 18-May 31 2018. More about that exhibition can be found HERE. Several Italian critics, comics makers, and fans have written about Pompei since the release of the comic in Italy. Valerio Stivè, who translated Pompei for 001 Edizioni, was kind enough to translate those reviews into English for us. We present them here for you, with links to the original Italian publications where appropriate. The Afterward for the 001 Edizioni edition of Pompei was written by Manuele Fior (translated from Italian here by Valerio Stivè). If my personal library was threatened by a the eruption of a volcano, Pompeii by Frank Santoro is among the few books I would save. The subject of this graphic novel is drawing; drawing the living, that are drawn while they draw, and drawing the dead, who, hugging each other, become drawings. Here, the lines mix up, multiplying the levels of reading, and we don’t know if what we see is a face on paper, on canvas, or on a mural painting. The book is about drawing, and its ability to seduce, to distract from death, to imagine a future, and to establish an eternal testimony. There are no second thoughts in Frank’s line, no rubber strokes, only shameless immediacy that offers itself to the reader in its most direct essence, full of errors and clumsiness. This is the best and only way to express the unique strength of some of his compositions, of the raw sensuality of flesh, and especially, of the most necessary of all, the love between two people. This is a graphic novel that, for its intensity, I can never read in one breath. I have to stop, with shivers on my back, and reach for my heart. This is a book that looks like it was drawn on a stone dug up from the ashes, to which time has erased colors and details, while preserving the deeply human living trace of the intentions of this great cartoonist. – Manuele Fior Daniele Barbieri‘s review of Pompei was originally published on Fumettologica on May 5th 2018. Valerio Stivè translates it from Italian below (with sections in bold retained from Barbieri’s original piece): The idea of narrating a historic event through the personal events of a single fictional character in order to let the reader/spectator empathize with the story and understand the events – then comprehending History in a much deeper way than reading a History book – is not new. In literary fiction, as well as in cinema and comics, that is a common and effective narrative device, as long as the reader is able to understand it. Our present times can become the present of those events (despite the historical and cultural differences); and an every day life that we recognize as familiar suddenly fades into something totally different: the historic event itself. If limited to this, Pompeii by Frank Santoro could be seen as a story like many others, maybe more delicate and emotive. Yet there already are so many tales of the last days of Pompeii, even similar to this… The thing is that there is so much more in here. From the very first pages, even before one could figure out where the story would go, the drawing looks rapid, approximative; almost like a sketch or a storyboard – where the imperfect lines are not erased, but adjusted, leaving the imperfection in plain site. No colours, obviously, just some quick textures for the shadows, with an overall sense of temporariness and instability. Then, the story starts to take shape: Marcus, the main character, is an assistant to a painter who is probably going to become famous and move to Rome. Marcus prepares his colours and helps him with the paintings, while forced to be complicit in the painter’s affair with a princess, that needs to be kept hidden from Alba, his suspicious partner. Marcus has a woman too, Lucia, with whom he left Paestum, where he has no intention to come back: he wants to become a portrait painter in Pompeii – just like his master – to make money and start a family with Lucia. This is the picture of everyday affections and little tensions on which the eruption of the Vesuvius occurs. Obviously, the event leaves everyone astonished. However, Marcus encourages the painter to draw that shocking event right away (while it still has to fully take place). “You can add it to the landscape commission! You’ll be the first to paint the gods in action!” he says. The idea of drawing, which was there since the beginning of the story – but, before this, only in the work of the painter – now becomes more and more relevant. Please read the complete review in English HERE. Francesco Boille wrote about Pompei for Internazionale – you can see the magazine article in Italian above. Valerio Stivè translates it into English below. Pompeii fluidly tells a story of happy every day life of two couples from different social backgrounds, before the apocalypse that happened in August of the year 79 B.C. Santoro uses almost unfinished images that remind us of so many things from the History of Art, from cave painting onwards. He focuses on the act of drawing rather than on the act of painting – as Manuele Fior points out in his afterword – which “offers itself to the reader in its most direct essence”. This serves as a metaphor of the fact that images are only shadows, ghosts of the past, just like every one of us will be someday. Sketches of life and sketches of drawings are mixed up, and Santoro reverses the intense petrified physicality of the molds produced from human bodies in Pompeii into a totally lighter dimension. Looks like Frank Santoro, in contrast to the caducity of all things, is showing that the idea of how the strength of poetry expresses itself at best in its most ethereal form, as a unique way to go beyond time and space. To the cold and conceptual approach of most of American graphic novels, Santoro prefers a European approach, based on a free, soft and aerial line. Redesigned in a such a personal way. He comes up with a masterpiece of poetry in its most pure form, a masterpiece about the idea of poetry itself; and he does that while putting together frail and incomplete fragments of an artistic greatness that once was. – Francesco Boille, for Internazionale May 2018 Simona Di Rosa wrote a review of Pompei for FuoriPosto on May 23rd 2018. Valerio Stivè translates it from Italian into English below. Premiered at Napoli COMICON, Pompeii – a graphic novel published by 001 Edizioni from Torino – is written and drawn by Frank Santoro, and set in Pompeii a few days before the eruption that destroyed the city. The book – a large softcover edition – was published in collaboration with COMICON and the Archeological Museum of Naples, which until May 31st will be hosted an exhibition of original artwork from the book. Frank Santoro resides in Pittsburgh, where he manages artists’ residencies hosting and helping fellow cartoonists. He is not well known in Italy, and yet he is among the most original voices in contemporary avant garde American comics scene, thanks to Pompeii, published in the USA five years ago. Santoro has an artisanal approach to comics making, using poor tools – mostly pencils and markers – perfect to tell a story set in the ancient Pompeii, showing its historic value while supporting a touching plot, deeply touching despite the unavoidable outcome. Please read the complete review in English HERE. Get a copy of Pompeii by Frank Santoro in English from Copacetic Comics – HERE! Also, be sure to check out Frank’s new book, the stunning Pittsburgh (Éditions çà et là, May 2018 – currently available in French only!) You can read more about the book HERE. ——————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 6-14-18 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

10/01/2018

Caleb OrecchioOctober 1, 2018NewsCaleb Orecchio here with an overview of my 2018 CXC experience. ————————————————————————————————— Apologies in advance for blurry photos herein. Another Cartoon Crossroads Columbus is in the books. This year was as fun as ever. On Thursday, I made it to The Billy Ireland Museum in Columbus in time to see Michael DeForge talk to Tom Spurgeon about his career. Tom asked a lot of good questions and brought up many good points that I haven’t heard many people ask DeForge. At the Q+A portion I, being a Comics Workbook person, asked about his use of the grid and how he determined what kind of grid he would use for what kind of story. He basically said that he thought that grids with two columns are funnier than grids with three or more columns which I thought was a good answer Friday I went back to The Billy Ireland and hung out with Kurt Ankeny and Chris Pitzer for a bit and went up to see the two great new exhibits, Koyama and Friends and Artistically MAD. Yes of course the MAD exhibit was awesome, but seeing the collection of Annie Koyama was a real treat. Seeing contemporary cartoonists’ work hung in one of the sacred temples of comics was energizing for me as a comics maker. The Museum was selling some of the overflow from their collection in the lobby which included some amazing old fanzines, obscure comic magazines and of course plenty of dumb comics. Everything I just mentioned is my favorite kinds of comic shopping. I paraded the gems I found like a person pushing spiritual literature in Las Vegas. Chris Pitzer geeked out when he saw my copy of “Tara” by William Black and we eventually bargained for a trade. Kurt and I missed the Koyama panel but made it to the Jim Woodring event moderated by Tom Spurgeon. I have not really heard or read many interviews with Woodring so I was going in fresh in a way. It was a great talk, and Woodring was a great interviewee. At the end of the talk, Tom surprised Woodring and the rest of the audience by awarding him with the this year’s Master Cartoonist award. It was a very touching moment and I am always happy to see people being awarded at CXC. Back to the “The Billy” where a reception was held with food and drinks followed by the official thank yous by Jenni Robb and Jeff Smith and then, a bewildered John Porcellino received the Transformative Work award for his legendary King-Cat comics. The whole place was glassy-eyed. While everyone went to see Lynn Johnston, I bailed to spend time with friends in town. I wish I would have stayed to see Johnston’s panel. All my sources tell me it was a great time. Saturday, the first day of the expo, Juan Fernandez and I were the dynamic duo representing Comics Workbook. We had two, count ’em, two tables. One we sold comics by Comics Workbook gang members, and the other was a drawing table. Juan had pads of paper, loose sheets and note cards ready for anyone and everyone willing to participate. Juan is a very gracious and patient teacher. He would jam with kids who would come by the table, too shy to draw without a nudge. We met a lot of parents who were very happy we were there, letting kids (young and old) have a hands-on experience at comic-making. The best part for us were the workshops. This year we held workshops on the same floor as the expo and really felt like we were part of the show. Juan had two workshops, and I had one. All three filled the room to the brim. Thank you CXC for providing that space for us. The workshops were a complete success. The famous Emerging Artist award went to Keren Katz. I love being able to see this award being announced because the recipient has no real way of knowing they will win. There are no nominations announced or anything like that so the winners always express gratitude in a raw honest way with no rehearsal. Congrats Keren. At the end of the first expo day, I, being a Central Ohio native, took off for a friends house to watch Ohio State beat Penn State. It was a stressful one, but the win made the holes in the drywall worth it. Sunday, was business as usual. Juan has his last workshop. We sold some comics. We talked to other cartoonists and guests and attendees and all that. The last surprise of the show was that Tom Spurgeon announced that Jeff Smith was stepping down as president of CXC, but would continue to serve as art director. Then, unbeknownst to Jeff, he was being awarded a special edition of the Master Cartoonist award; as well as a very special letter from the city of Columbus thanking him for his contribution to his community. Smith was slightly embarrassed to recieve an award at his own show, but the gesture was not lost on him. The show winded down quietly then Juan and I headed to the after party early to catch a drink with Ron Wimberly. Juan and Ron had an engaging discussion while I watched as if at a tennis court. My brain was fried from the show and my arms were almost too weak to lift my beer. Frank had sent me with a delivery for Ron, but I totally spaced and forgot to even mention it. Whoops. The Great Weekend wound down and everyone went back to their homes and hotels. As always, CXC was a blast. This is my “home show” and am proud latch my identity onto it for better or for worse. The staff and volunteers at the show were amazing as always. Once during the expo I thought, I’m thirsty. Then, lo and behold, a volunteer came by with water bottles. Mind-reading volunteers is a rare and blessed thing and they are only at CXC as far as I know. Thank you as always to Tom Spurgeon for directing yet another great show. Thank you to the Board and everyone involved at all the different venues. And of course thank you to Lucy Caswell, without whom none of this would exit. You make cartoonists feel appreciated which is hard to do. Thanks 10-01-2018 – by Niall Breen Share this page: [...]

02/29/2016

Juan FernándezFebruary 29, 2016NewsAvast, a new Kramer’s Ergot is right around the corner! Editor, Sammy Harkham has shown off a peak at the glorious comics interiors of this anthology. It’s going to be bursting at the seams with color, clocking in at 298 pages, 12 spot colors with CMYK. Fantagraphics is doing the heavy financial lifting on this one. They’ll be selling and distributing it a little later in May. More details on that to come. Have a look for yourself at the preview Sammy has put together. Don’t want to spoil it for you over here. This thing’s going to be a beast. Laura Knetzger has been making comics every month about games she plays. A week ago ZEAL published her 4th game reflection, Laura K plays 4: Threads of Fate/Anger and today she’s written a little more about Threads of Fate over on her blog. I encourage you to check out the comic and then read more of Laura’s thoughts. Laura reflects on video games in a really satisfying way… Replaying the story really knocked me on my ass too. I remembered the basics of what happened, but I was really moved by how quietly emotional it is. A lot of characters are living dolls created by sorcerers, and since the sorcerers have long since died, they’re struggling to find meaning in their lives. The emotional aspect of the story comes out when you play as the boy, and the humor comes out when you play as the girl. I guess I like that instead of being a demure healing-magic type of RPG girl, she’s a super snotty spoiled princess who solves a lot of her problems by kicking people in the face. This past weekend the Society of Illustrators hosted the second of the Stories Matters talks. This time around, Richie Pope hosted a roundtable with illustrators and comics makers Odera Igbokwe, Cathy G Johnson, John Lee, Ronald Wimberly, Shannon Wright, Yao Xiao, Alexandra Zsigmond. They discussed mentoring through interactions, the creation of safe spaces in schools, Angouleme, and the many played out diversity narratives, among other things. The audio is not online yet, but it will be posted soon. For the moment, you can look at the Mixlr chat history to look at the questions, comments and shout outs that were being sent in live during the panel. If you haven’t yet listened to the panel SoI hosted in the fall on the cultural significance of the popular image, you can do so over at SoI’s soundcloud. Let Bill Kartolopolous show you around the ground-breaking catalogues of 5 contemporary comics publishers from around the world: nos:books, la Editorial Común, Éditions Matière, kuš! komiksi, Boomkniga Press. If you’re looking to get your nose into some new books with totally new perspectives on the world on the comics form. Look no further. Kartolopolous gives you the perfect jumping off point over on World Literature Today to do further research. Money, money, money: Everybody needs it!! I want to point you in the way of some fine folks who have work for you, should you choose to be a patron of the arts. Today is the LAST DAY to get Cathy Johnson‘s February print from her 2016 print subscription. This year Johnson has been pushing her screen printing work by making 12 prints in 12 months. Patreon subscribers will get a brand new screen print every month in the mail. This subscription is on a rolling basis! Subscribe early to get the complete 2016 collection!! You’ll also get first look at my behind-the-scenes diary while I draw my upcoming graphic novel, No Dogs Allowed. I’ve cut a monthly deal with the amazing Dirt Palace, a 15+ year old feminist art space here in Providence: http://www.dirtpalace.org. I’ll be screen printing at this amazing place all year! A big goal for this Patreon is to help afford renting print space at the Dirt Palace. Let’s talk Vanesa Del Rey. She is taking commissions for the days leading up to C2E2 on March 18-20. Del Rey’s got what you need if you’re looking for lush, sensual original art that drips with drama. Don’t sleep on her commissions. OG Ron Rege Jr. is taking custom commisions and offering you the possibility being a recurring patron through paypal. Should you choose this noble path, you can be on the inside curve of the machinations of this modern master. What else could you want? Check it out. I’m going to be making a bunch of small minicomics in the coming months. For a $10 monthly donation, I’ll make sure that you get all of them, and some other fan-club style goodies as well. I’ll also make you an original drawing in time for the holidays this year. My true dream & idea for all of this is to get 100 people to sign up for $10 a month. That way, I could do an unadvertised subscription. Members would get sent secret comics that I never mention online. That would be cool, right? hm…. Help me continue to make as much new work as I can. I’ve been at it for 25 years, and am really starting to feel my stride. The drawings seem to just make themselves. I have endless ideas. That part is all really easy. It feels almost dumb for me to be doing anything else at this point. I try to draw all day every day & not worry about it, but I need to eat like anyone. I quit my day job in ’03. There’s always ups & downs, but I live pretty strictly hand to mouth. No assets / No savings / No credit. $$$, spread it if you got it. ’til next time jf Share this page: [...]

04/04/2018

Juan FernándezApril 4, 2018los Cómics / NewsRaquel Echenique, Jim Puk, y un poquito sobre El Fruto Prohibido! —————————————— Los cómics y las noticias que me han llamado la atención esta semana: ~ en Español y “sometimes in English” ~ Sol Díaz Castillo y Marcela Trujillo tienen una nueva edicion de La Polola Podcast! Las chicas conversan con Raquel Echenique acerca de sus influencias, el lugar en donde pasó su infancia, su trabajo, muestran sus referentes, hablan de su amor por el cómic y se Echenique confiesa como rabiosa, entre muchas otras cosas. ————————————————————————————————— Entrevista a Ghor Bosch (2015) – dibujado por Pablo Delcielo – publicado en Buenos Aires por Yegua ediciones. Este comic es parte de una serie de entrevistas imaginiarias, que son bastante graciosas y serias con Ghor Bosch aunque. Léanlo AQUI. ————————————————————————————————— Caricaturista colombiano ‘Matador’ deja de usar redes sociales por amenazas de muerte Julio César González, más conocido como ‘Matador’ por sus caricaturas en el diario El Tiempo, anunció en la madrugada de este martes su retiro de las redes sociales, después de haber estado en el ojo del huracán durante varias semanas luego de haber personificado al candidato uribista, Iván Duque, como un cerdo en varias de sus publicaciones. Aunque hace menos de dos semanas la Jueza Hilda María Saffon negó una tutela interpuesta contra el caricaturista por el dibujo titulado ‘Duque reflexiona’, argumentando que “la creatividad e ingenio del caricaturista no debe limitarse por quienes no comparten su opinión”, los simpatizantes del Centro Democrático y el expresidente Uribe no han cesado de expresarle su descontento con insultos y agresiones en medio de la contienda electoral. Léanlo todo en El Espectador ————————————————————————————————— Jim Pluk – @jimpluk Estaré publicando en las historias de mi Instagram ( @jimpluk ) algunos cómics de autores contemporáneos que recomiendo personalmente, por si quieren indagar más sobre estos, tanto Colombianos como extranjeros. Estos posts estarán bajo el hashtag #leacomix y #hagacomix ————————————————————————————————— Por qué lo llaman vagina cuando quieren decir vulva – Elizabeth Casillas Puede que sea uno de los tebeos más controvertidos que vayas a leer este año, y no precisamente por decir sandeces. La historietista sueca Liv Strömquist firma El fruto prohibido (Reservoir Books, 2018), un cómic que repasa la historia cultural de la vulva con argumentación teórica pero, sobre todo, mucho humor. Anuncios de compresas o tampones que recurren, en exceso, a las palabras “limpia” y “segura”. Señores que se preocupan, en exceso, de lo que suele denominarse «el órgano sexual femenino». Autoridades, organizaciones, periódicos, médicos y demás organismos empeñados, en exceso, de producir (des)información sobre el sexo. Y así sucesivamente, Liv Strömquist termina enumerando una serie de cosas que están mal (muy mal) en nuestra sociedad en lo que a la mujer y su sexo se refiere. Léanlo todo en REVISTA CACTUS ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 4-4-2018 – by Sally Ingraham ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 4-4-2018 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

01/21/2016

Juan FernándezJanuary 21, 2016NewsHello world, Frank’s got your coverage of what has been going on with the Rowhouse so far over at the Comics Journal. Big things happening come February 1st… Bill expounds on the glory that is Kevin Huizenga’s Gloriana on camera in Bill’s Remedial Comics #1. Watch and and see what all the fuss is about. oh and did you hear the news? You can catch Deforge, Drnaso, Chippendale on the East Coast for their Winter tour! Holy shit is right. Chippendale will be on tour promoting Puke Force, DeForge will be on tour promoting Big Kids, and Drnaso will be on tour for his debut of Beverly. Check out all the details here. Paper Jam – the Bushwick zine/comics hang out is just around the corner and they’ve started announcing exhibitors. Loads of new work to check out there if you want go hang out and talk comics/ pick up some new comics and zines. Stay abreast of their tumblr to get the low-down on who’ll be setting up shop. Kevin Czap is first up to bat. Oh and last but not least, we heard it through the grapevine that Lenny the pug has been getting pretty down what with the dark days spent indoors in Pittsburgh. Maybe you could help cheer Lenny up with some love over at the Lenny Fan Club Mailbox? Share this page: [...]

01/11/2017

Posted on January 11, 2017January 11, 2017 by Juan Fernández

Juan con un poquito sobre las Tetastristes; Reconciendo Amanda Baeza y su gran obra Nubes de Talco; la estética de la distorsion;Laura Barrachina entrevista a Conxita Herrero, Joaquín Guirao y Antonio Hitos; Un Faulduo en el foco; Tarantula Preview; The Art of Vanesa R. Del Rey; y tiras de Gabriella Tito,Caleb Orecchio, y Juan Fernandez.

Cómics y noticias que me han llamado la atencion:

“Las Tetastristes se toman el puerto” – La colectiva de ilustradoras y autoeditoras feministas Tetastristes Cómics estará por primera vez en Valparaiso, en una intima variete de actividades en la casa de Me lo dijo unx TRUEK ubicada en Cerro Concepción, Valparaiso el 1/14. Va haber un montón de actividades, como exposición y venta de material de las Tetastristes Cómics y de lesbilais, además de otras artistas visuales porteñas feministas y revoltosas. Para más información:
David Romera de FNAC reseña Nubes de Talco de Amanda Baeza. Esta obra, originalmente publicada por la editorial Fulgencio Pimentel, ya llegara al mundo anglohablante: kuš!komiks is set to translate Amanda Baeza’s Brume (Nubes de Talco) into English this February! Now the global english speaking community can experience Baeza’s tour de force in poetic, abstracted yet cartoony, work of emotional autobiography.
Bañate en la estética de la distorsion con Pablo Turnes en la Revista Kamandi.
En la ultima edicion de La Hora del Bocadillo en RTVE Laura Barrachina entrevista a Conxita Herrero, Joaquín Guirao y Antonio Hitos. Una hora de jovenes promesas…

Sebastián Martínez ha compartido con Comics Workbook un gran tesoro postmoderno escondido: Un Faulduo.

Joder, que genial. Dale un momento y ponte a explorar su website. Tienen de todo!

Formalmente, Un Faulduo es un colectivo de investigación y experimentación alrededor del campo de la historieta, conformado por Nicolás Daniluk, Ezequiel García, Nicolás Moguilevsky y Nicolás Zukerfeld. Sus colaboraciones hacen un recorrido interdisciplinario que abarca las artes visuales, el cine, la música, las artes escénicas y la literatura.

Nicolás Daniluk, Ezequiel García, Nicolás Zukerfeld y Nicolás Moguilevsky – trastienda de las “ADAPTACIONES ACADÉMICAS II: Historieta y disidencia” Buenos Aires, 2012

Un Faulduo es el nombre de la revista editada por el grupo. Lleva 10 números realizados desde 2005 y mantiene, desde su aparición y hasta la actualidad, un sistema de rotación de directores (cada número es dirigido por un miembro diferente del staff, lo que obliga a cambios de formato, contenido, técnica). / Un Faulduo is the name of a magazine published by the group. Ten issues have been released since 2005, and each one is led by a different member of the staff, forcing changes in format, content and technique.

Han publicado un libro a la vez tradicional y de vanguardia, La Historieta En El (Faulduo) Mundo Moderno. Pop-Collage-Noise-Fanzine-Deconstructivistas. Al fin del cabo, el libroe, es un ensayo visual, que viene desde la tradición de la escritura visual de John Berger.

Libremente inspirado en el mítico ensayo “La historieta en el mundo moderno” (Oscar Masotta, 1970), este libro realizado por Un Faulduo (colectivo de investigación y experimentación alrededor del campo de la historieta, formado por Nicolás Daniluk, Ezequiel García, Nicolás Moguilevsky y Nicolás Zukerfeld) se propone pensar la relación entre el lenguaje de la historieta y la forma del ensayo, tomando los propios materiales de la historieta como materia prima para su producción y como una forma que permite analizarse y pensarse a sí misma.

Han oido las buenas noticias? Ya pueden pedir Tarantula a todo color! AdHouse esta publicando este primer volumen de la novela policíaca, psicodelica y a la vez satanica del equipo Alexis Ziritt y Fabian Rangel Jr. y Evelyn Rangel. Si no has leido Tarantula te daremos un antojo: aquí tienes tu preview.

Hoy les presentamos una nueva publicacion de Comics Workbook:
The Art of Vanesa R. Del Rey.

La gran Vanesa R. Del Rey le ha dado permiso a Comics Workbook para publicar unas selecciónes de sus cuadernos de bocetos. Hemos diseñado esta publicación para que parezca uno de esos libros de de artistas los años 80. Arte y Entrevista. El texto es una transcripción de la entrevista que hicimos con Vanesa cuando visito la Residencia Rowhouse en 2016. Vanesa es un artista impresionante y inigualable.

Puedes comprar tu copia AQUI.Order a copy of The Art of Vanesa R. Del Rey HERE.

Frank Santoro, el director de Comics Workbook, nos cuenta un poquito sobre sus experiencias con Vanesa:

Me encontré por primera vez con VRDR en un festival de cómics en Toronto (TCAF) en 2014. Había empezado a hacer comics profesionalmente después de un período como un animadora. Fui Sorprendido por su la capacidad de ser como un camaleón de cambiar de estilos, y por su puesto le pedí ver más de sus obras.

Desenterró pilas de cuadernos de dibujos de sus días en Cuba, cuando estudiaba el realismo soviético y de trabajaba con George Pratt, maestro de cómics pintados. La educación de Vanesa como artista hace el balance suavemente entre los niveles alto y bajo del arte, así como los valores estéticos del este y el oeste. Es una base asombrosa. Ella es, a la vez, consciente de la historia del arte, la historia de los cómics y la historia de la animación de una manera NUEVA que casi parecía imposible hace quince o veinte años.

Debo admitir como un estudiante y fan de cómics que se enfocan en la mezcla de “alto y bajo” y en ” los cómics pintados” — Nunca he visto tal mezcla de habilidades al nivel de VRDR. Feroz. Imparable. Un competidor feroz. Michael Jordan-esque? ¿Es eso posible en la fabricación de cómic? Siempre he dicho que habría un “invasor vertical” en los cómics que podría emplear el “naturalismo” de la escuela de Noel Sickles / Alex Toth pero que podría pintar como una Alice Neel o una Jenny Saville. Creo que “el invasor” ha llegado en forma de Vanesa R. Del Rey.

Puedes comprar tu copia AQUI.
Sigan a Vanesa por Instagram – @vrdelrey – y http://vrdelrey.com/

Suzy and Cecil – 1-11-2017 – by Gabriella Tito

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Joanie and Jordie – 1-11-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio

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1-11-2017 – by Juan Fernández

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Comics Workbook

An online magazine for comics makers

Posted in News

Juan Fernández

Posted on January 11, 2017January 11, 2017

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03/31/2016

HarrisonMarch 31, 2016News Cameron Weston Nicholson and Harrison G. Prince here with news and musings on work music, vegetables, blocks, and other things. ————————————————————————————————— Cameron Weston Nicholson is an exciting and talented artist out of Richmond, VA who’s work can be found on Comics Workbook. Here he is on music, mindset, and poetry. Sometimes you just can’t find that right side of the pillow right? One side is too cold, the other too hot, and the middle ground is where you end up sleeping with no pillow at all. While working I try to find music that powers my mind (depending on the project). Lately, poems have been my main priority. So how do you find that middle ground between music that doesn’t take your thoughts away from words you’re trying to conjure? I’ve got a couple remedies that work for me, but could possibly help you aswell. With news updates comes busy times. Here are some choices of music that mellow out and empower my mind simultaneously. “Breakfast with Ringgo” is a series of YouTube videos that have been keeping me going day and night. Listening to recordings of beat makers is soothing for a couple reasons. You have music (mainly beats) which automatically puts your mind in a trance, but you also have the subtle commentary of those in the room. This series makes you feel like you’re listening to a podcast. Hearing a “voice” is comforting when it’s miscellaneous and choppy. True Body is a local band based in Virginia Beach, Va that has caught my attention. Experimental with beautiful synths and a great voice on top of it. These are just two things that can get your fingers warmed up for any intense/good day of working. Give them a try, relax, and remember to drink some water! ————————————————————————————————— Mexican/Texan artist Ines Estrada made a funny update to her Pachecomics series a few days ago. Don’t open this one around kids, prudes, or the humorless. Also, make sure to check out the Gatosaurio collective from San Antonio for more comics and art too. ————————————————————————————————— Continuing off of what Jillian was talking about yesterday about finishing work, the video above from filmmaker Ze Frank shares some interesting thoughts about idea generation and getting unstuck. This particular passage (8:08) about rhythm and recognition resonated with me…. “Almost everything you do has a rhythm, and the rhythm gets established without you knowing it. For example, if you listen to yourself talk, you record yourself or something like that, you’ll notice that you have very specific rhythms, and often people when they speak in public get into a pattern of speaking in the same, exact, way. I think there is a pattern of expectation and release that in and of itself kind of starts to wash out because we tend to stop listening to patterns once we’ve identified them. So the challenge is to identify as many rhythms as possible, in all facets of the media that you’re making, and then break them.” ————————————————————————————————— Along with Cam’s choices, here’s my old school pick for the week. Listen with your good headphones. Until next week. -Harrison Share this page: [...]

06/05/2018

Aaron CockleJune 5, 2018NewsCrabapple/Hisham; Gipi; 2dcloud; Mega Press at Printed Matter; Chute/Drnaso/Tomine/Ware ————————————————————————————————— Molly Crabapple & Marwan Hisham: Syria in Ink At Brooklyn Public Library, 10 Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, NY, May 15 to Jun 30, 2018. Crabapple’s drawings, created from 2014-2017, illustrate the pages of Hisham’s coming-of-age story, Brothers of the Gun: A Memoir of the Syrian War, which the two co-authored (One World/ Penguin Random House, 2018) and mark their ongoing collaboration. For the 82 illustrations included in Brothers of the Gun, Crabapple drew inspiration from photos she and Hisham shot, amateur photos and videos posted on social media by Syrians involved in the conflict, Google Earth, and above all, Hisham’s memories. The artist composited references from hundreds of sources, using Hisham’s instructions, diagrams, and visual research to accurately convey the war and his experiences. BPL is pleased to present Crabapple’s original works on paper and an immersive experience of the text, along with an audio walk that includes Hisham’s reflections on the war and the artwork which emerged in response. Molly Crabapple writes: In creating the art displayed in Syria in Ink, I was inspired by Goya’s Disasters of War. We now live in the age of infinite photos, and Syria is perhaps the most widely documented war in history. But oppressors, whether they are governments or not, seldom allow cameras into the spaces where they inflict their oppression. The lived experience of those under them disappears into the memory hole. Thankfully, art is a slippery thing. It can evade censorship, make history visible, invest the hideous with beauty and the prosaic with force. It can reveal that which power would otherwise be able to hide. I seek to accomplish with my art what photos cannot. Also, Lindsey Hilsom in The New York Review of Books on ‘The Smartphone War’: Hisham, who, after attending a religious school in a village near Aleppo, became fascinated by European soccer and literature, is the ideal interlocutor for Western readers, but the reasons he and his friends had for rising against the repressive regime of Bashar al-Assad were far from typical: We were an extreme minority within Raqqa. The values we held marked us, in the eyes of our neighbors, as dangerous, un-Islamic agents of the West. grassroots democracy electoral rights respect for the ballot box, as a basis for representation and legitimacy Could these words be more alien to most Syrians? Could these so-called universal values, the values my friends and I screamed for between our gas-choked curses at security officers, be far from universal indeed? Perhaps they are parochial mores, speculated about in the university campuses of European capitals. Perhaps they are as insubstantial as ghosts. ————————————————————————————————— Land Of The Sons New Gipi book out with an English Translation: This unusual postapocalyptic story is often grim and violent, but by channeling the story through the brothers’ limited, cockeyed perspective, Gipi develops a naturalism and human quality often missing from SF survival fantasies. The loose, limber black-and-white artwork is a marvel; the figure drawings balance careful realism with cartoon expression, and details of the natural world—rain, water, weeds—are sketched in quick, powerful lines. Above all, the art reveals a credible vast alternative landscape of mud, water, reedy islands, makeshift boats, and strange and hostile patched-together colonies. It’s a strikingly envisioned imaginary world. ————————————————————————————————— 2dcloud Spring 2018 Another strong selection of work, featuring books and zines by: Christopher Adams, Alexis Beauclair, Tara Booth, Apolo Cacho, Eli Howey, Fifi Martinez, Justin Skarhus, and Maggie Umber. ————————————————————————————————— Mega Press at Printed Matter Featuring work by Panayiotis Terzis, Yuriko Katori, Kurt Woerpel, Teng Yung han, Irkus Zeberio, Alexis Beauclair, Anna Pipes, Makiko Furuichi, Apolo Cacho, Nichole Shinn, Lane Milburn, Ben Marcus, Benjamin Brubaker, and Zebadiah Keneally. ————————————————————————————————— Why Comics? Adrian Tomine, Nick Drnaso, Chris Ware in conversation with Hillary Chute Sunday, June 10, 2018, 1:30-2:15 PM CDT Harold Washington Library 400 South State Street Cindy Pritzker Auditorium, Chicago, IL 60605 ————————————————————————————————— Vision Box – 6-5-2018 – by Cameron Arthur ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 6-5-18 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

11/10/2016

Sally IngrahamNovember 10, 2016NewsSam, Sally, and Juan here with Thursday’s comics news! Thoughts on originality, a moment with Yona Harvey, and some comics Instagram gems. ————————————————————————————————— Sam Ombiri: I find it hard these days to quote something where there is power in the words the person says and part of the power is reaffirmed by their accomplishments and stuff like that, and then their words are elevated really high. I guess what I’m kind of scared of is the trap of mentioning some important person’s name, followed with that important person’s quote, all manipulated so that I might appear important. Anyways, this isn’t to criticize others, it’s more a personal gripe. I was reading something where this guy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNMPrPyUcnM) quoted Kubrick. It was cool what Kubrick said, it reminded me of something Josh Bayer said, since in both instances they were dealing with the subject of originality. There’s a huge appeal of originality, and aspirations towards it. Maybe it’s because of bragging rights? However, Kubrick didn’t think that. Or maybe he did, but he instead looked at originality as something different. What he was saying was: you shouldn’t be so preoccupied with ideas of how to be original because original people can’t help but be original because they can’t work in the old form so they have start a new one. Josh Bayer’s trajectory in the subject of originality was that originality is “just a red herring.” When I heard that, it felt awesome to hear that thought so well articulated. I more than agree with that for many reasons, one of them being that originality doesn’t take too much effort. I also disagree with it, at the same time though if that makes any sense. Luckily Josh wasn’t using this idea as an excuse, but realigning focus to other aspects of the work. So I don’t disagree with what he said at the time he said it, and that being said, his originality just came by automatically, for reasons I can’t articulate nor do I feel I’m in the position to attempt. ————————————————————————————————— Juan Fernández: Last night I raced from work to Phantom of the Attic Comics in Oakland to catch Poet Yona Harvey’s signing for her first issue of the new World of Wakanda series. For those not in the know, this series is a spinoff of the popular new Black Panther series (written by Ta-Nahisi Coates). It made me really happy to see Phantom welcome one of Marvel’s newest creators and usher in a new wave of Marvel comics. Of course, when I had arrived all copies had been sold out! Bummed for myself, overjoyed for Yona, I placed an order for a copy 😉 In 2008 Yona taught a class that I can safely say, has informed pretty much all of my art creation. Synthesis through metamorphosis of existing images and words. The class was on archiving and autobiography. We read, and wrote and discussed a wide gamut of fiction and non-fiction that blurred any conceivable lines of categorization. Above all, we explored the idea of “truth”. She required us to go see lectures, attend poetry readings in the city and so much more. It’s thanks to her pushing us out of the classroom that within my first months as a student in Pittsburgh, I had understood that I wanted to call Pittsburgh home. I have so much gratitude in my heart for all the time that she has given her art and her students. I can say, without a doubt that I’m still unpacking the things I learned from her 7 years ago. She’s an amazing educator and to see her get the chance to swing fiercely on her work on the World of Wakanda brings me so much joy. Her collage based approached is very much the approach that I believe is the most fertile space for comics. Collaging thought through the collage of image and word. Here’s a little about her from the Pennsylvania Center for the Book: “Harvey’s work tends to originate through methods of collage or sampling, informed by her background in archiving and information science, and she celebrates the many lives one piece of literature can possess through the various multimedia and web-related forms it can take. She welcomes innovation in the study of how poetry is constructed and presented, and she is often referred to as a, “literary artist.” Her interest in audio archives and rare poetry recordings furthers this fascination in her study of how poetry is read aloud. The American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, Mary Lou Williams (who happened to grow up in the East Liberty area of Pittsburgh) is often a muse to Harvey’s work. This is especially true of her recent poetry collection, Hemming the Water (2013), which publisher Four Way Books describes as, “ speaks to the futility of trying to mend or straighten a life that is constantly changing.” The description goes on to read that with references to fairy tales and ancient fables, Yona Harvey, “inhabits, challenges, and explores the many facets of the female self—as daughter, mother, sister, wife, and artist—both on a personal level and cultural level.” ————————————————————————————————— Sally here: I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but increasingly Instagram is the place to keep up with the new work of your favorite cartoonists. The little square offers the chance to reveal only so much of a “wip” so you an keep fans engaged without giving away all your secrets. Folks have started to play with the format as well, when it comes to a publishing platform for actual work. A single panel comic is easy to share, as is a 4-panel strip. A few people have figured out how to share longer work as well, through the use of video. Here is recent work by some of the cartoonist that Comics Workbook follows (and follow @comicsworkbook!): Went to Walmart, being an adult, and these fruits (I think they were some kind of lemon??) had on tiny sweaters! ? #inktober A photo posted by Shannon Wright (@shannondrewthis) on Oct 26, 2016 at 8:47pm PDT Shannon Wright – @shannondrewthis Samurai mechanica colors. #mecha #conceptart #art #artwork #drawing #samurai #sword #coloring #comicartist #comic #anime #manga A photo posted by Skuds McKinley (@skudsink) on Nov 8, 2016 at 8:41pm PST Skuds McKinley – @skudsink a tomato wake into a bar… A video posted by Cameron•Weston Nicholson (@prof_weston) on Nov 3, 2016 at 1:34pm PDT Cameron Weston Nicholson – @prof_weston Another ☝️ #nyc #newyork #brooklyn #majorkey #peaches #sketchbook #art A photo posted by Chris Visions (@chrisvisions) on Nov 6, 2016 at 9:44am PST Chris Visions – @chrisvisions ————————————————————————————————— Sally started an eBay store to help out the Comics Workbook Rowhouse Residency and also her own comics-making projects. Check it out HERE! Share this page: [...]

10/20/2016

Sally IngrahamOctober 20, 2016NewsSam Ombiri is here today with some thoughts on his experience at the Pittsburgh Zine Fair, and then Sally Ingraham rounds up some other happenings in the greater comics community! ————————————————————————————————— thank you for attending the 2016 #pittsburghzinefair! we had almost 700 attendees this year, our largest turnout ever! another big thanks to our exhibitors, sponsors, and partners. watch this space for upcoming events soon! #zines #pittsburgh pic credit: @annesleyadventures A photo posted by Pittsburgh Zine Fair (@pittsburghzinefair) on Oct 16, 2016 at 6:49pm PDT Sam Ombiri was helping run the Pittsburgh Comics Salon table at the zine fair this past weekend. He writes: The Pittsburgh Zine Fair was a lot of fun, it was a such great environment. There was a constant wave of sound the whole time I was there. I’d try to make out what people were talking about from a small distance, but I guess that’s not how it works. I like how one person doesn’t see what the other sees – I maybe see person 1 and 3, but because I’m moving along too quickly I totally miss person 2. So I could think I found the coolest zines, but someone else shows me that’s not the case. This one guy’s book was about being in a place where someone else had previously left their mark there, and his fascination of the ghost like quality that comes with someone else being there before he’s there – but as he said, “I’m trying to avoid being didactic about it.” His name was Alex Lukas. I dig his marks, I wish I browsed more of his stuff, he has really cool work on his website. I talked to him a bit, then I went back to my table, then I went back to buy a book from him, then I gave him one of my zines (without intention of trading,) to which he generously gave me three, and then I walked away. He wanted to have a lot of ambiguity in the work, so that the readers draw their own conclusions to it – altogether irrelevant from his intentions. I started to think about what Alex’s intention was for his pictures of, say, rocks with chalk drawn on them by some mysterious people (who we don’t know what they looked like, their way of life, or their concerns – we know about them themselves through the marks that they left). In my view, the marks on the rocks were fueled by boredom, and the ones who drew it were moving their hands before they themselves realized they were moving their hands, and something else altogether powerful was moving through this, and that power is there in those marks they made. With that mark they left there’s not too much concern about design or maybe there was concern with design. So, Alex’s work, or at least the book, makes you think it’s design oriented. I guess this happens because Alex has designed the book, but the people who leave their marks not so much. There’s a couple of photographs of graffiti and signs, but he wasn’t taking a picture just because it just looked cool, I think. This will most likely be the only way we have of knowing them instead of seeing their face or hearing their voice. Then on top of that Alex copied the pattern on security envelopes and added them to confuse you as the reader, to my understanding it was just for having an effect there, but he said it also served in adding ambiguity. There was other people I got great stuff from as well – I did not leave dissatisfied, far from it. – Sam Ombiri ————————————————————————————————— Frank, Aidan Koch, and Connor Willumsen made it safely back from the U.K. earlier this week, after a wildly successful trip to The Lakes International Comic Art Festival in Kendal. Frank scribbled some thoughts about the show on the plane home, and we have shared them here on the site. A taster: “One of the current riffs about comics festivals is that many different shows exist within the show. Meaning, you can go to SPX and not even see everything or miss your friends completely – whereas in years past you could lap the room each hour and see everything and everyone there. LICAF is different insomuch as it is not situated centrally in a hotel or a convention center. So what happens is that one has their interactions in the town of Kendal itself. The Brewery Arts Centre provides ample space to host everyone and the short walk to the Clock Tower is where I found myself most often running into friendly faces – friends and strangers alike. It was very pleasant, I thought, especially because it was so unlike what we are used to in the States and specific to the town of Kendal.” – Frank Santoro Read the rest of the report HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Cartoon Crossroads Columbus for the Comics Workbook team – in one minute! Full festival report coming Friday, thanks to Whit Taylor – stay tuned! #comicsworkbook #cxc2016 A video posted by Comics Workbook (@comicsworkbook) on Oct 19, 2016 at 2:20pm PDT The rest of the team was in Ohio last weekend for Cartoon Crossroads Columbus – Whit Taylor will provide a full report for us soon – meanwhile you can get a taste of the show above! ————————————————————————————————— Alyssa Berg led a workshop for Comics Workbook at CXC, and as I was cleaning up afterward I noticed that attendee Phil Dokes had left his pages behind – check it out: ————————————————————————————————— #Repost @madegibbs with @repostapp ・・・ Ronald Wimberly at CMA, ey! A video posted by Ronald Wimberly (@ronaldwimberly) on Oct 18, 2016 at 6:16pm PDT Ronald Wimberly is the 2016 graphic-novelist-in-residence at the Columbus Museum of Art – over 100 pieces of his art will hang in the museum through this coming February, and he will be staying at the Thurber House through the end of this month working on his own projects and hanging out with high school students in the Young Writers’ Studio program. He got a lot of hype over the weekend of CXC, of course, and the Columbus Dispatch wrote a nice piece about him and the residency program. ————————————————————————————————— Copacetic Comics is hosting an auction of some SUPER scarce or rare Michael DeForge items – check it out HERE! ————————————————————————————————— P.S. A video about the Pittsburgh Zine Fair by Dan Scullin: Share this page: [...]

11/08/2018

Comics WorkbookNovember 7, 2018NewsSam Ombiri on Men’s Group The Video by Ben Jones ————————————————————————————————— I find I am often longing for a great comic. This longing has the feeling of a hole with a specific shape that only allows a corresponding shape to fit in. I suppose there’s no sense in wondering why I want to read a good comic; I mean I don’t want to read a bad comic as far as I know, although I don’t mind reading a bad one. There’s a lingering dissatisfaction that often comes from reading good work, taking it for granted how good the work is, and then moving on to the next good work to take for granted. There’s something rather depressing about it. It seems to me that Ben Jones’ work is often consumed along in this manner. It’s apparent when I run into a knock off of Ben Jones’ or Paper Rad’s work that it’s being done by someone who totally missed the mysterious and vague point of Ben Jones’ work. Which to be fair seems mysterious even to him. In an interview in his book, Men’s Group The Video, Ben Jones says “I don’t get Gumby. You can’t say he’s well animated. I didn’t even watch Gumby all that much as a kid. I’m not trying to call back to some 1970s nostalgia. I’m not using characters for their pop iconographic value. I’m using them as language.” He later says “I’m trying to use Gumby for what Gumby was intended for…” to which he adds “I’m deadly serious about my characters. I don’t mean this as a joke: I feel like Shakespeare, and I’m using star-crossed lovers. I’m very much interested in my characters as much as Shakespeare was interesting in using cheesy things like lovers and kings to tell interesting stories.” Men’s Group The Video benefits by not being jam packed with a lot of comics. This allows the comics to be more closely examined by the preceding text casually asking questions about the comics. In the case of Gumby, Ben finds himself optimizing what Gumby’s presence in Ben Jones’ work represents or invokes or communicates. There’s an interview where Kevin Huizenga says “Ben Jones has always been really inspiring to me, I think it’s because- this sounds stupid- he is very creative. He just comes up with amazing things. His work is unified in a strange way, too. It’s hard to explain. The way he’ll just draw a comic about muppet babies as if it’s no big deal and they’ll be rapping or something. It’ll be really funny but beautiful and scary too.” Men’s Group The Video is packed with what appear to be, metaphorically speaking, a magnifying glass to what Ben Jones is doing with the comics language (as well as other mediums). He has created this mythology of this collective called Men’s Group The Video that in a certain sense exists. The idea or the impression of the existence of the collective is used as a language of sorts to communicate a certain feeling Ben Jones is trying to get at. It also allows him raise new questions in this mode of communicating. Some “members” of this collective write essays, some, like the painter Joe Bradley, write poetry. Some “members” like Dan Nadel interview Ben Jones. Reading these texts are important in relation to the comics, because while the comics are immensely strong on their own, the comics are even more so felt with a certain depth. They also give loads of clarity, and somehow create more mystery simultaneously to the comics and art Ben did in Men’s Group The Video and the work he did with Jessica and Jacob Ciocci in the past. Ben’s work often seems to be about solving the mystery of him drawing what he did at the time that he did it. Ordinarily with most other comics, it would seem goofy to question the drawings in this way. It seems fitting to ask the question despite the goofy nature of the question, but the ingrained nature of what he’s drawing is goofiness. Ben doesn’t have a big answer to this question he just keeps circling it with more art and comics that don’t cease to be compelling. ————————————————————————————————— Cement Mixer – 11-8-18 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

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