Comics Workbook

An online magazine for comics makers

Posted in NewsTagged alabaster pizzo, Annie Mok, Chris Ware, chris ware auction, czap books, Eleanor Davis, Jim Rugg, simon hanselmann

Sally Ingraham

Posted on April 15, 2016

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09/27/2018

Caleb OrecchioSeptember 27, 2018NewsCaleb Orecchio here, and I’m headed to CXC ————————————————————————————————— Hi folks I’m about to head out the door to head to the Billy Ireland to check out the programming for CXC (though I feel like I’m still recovering from SPX). If you are attending CXC on Saturday come visit me at the Columbus Metropolitan Library in Room 2-A where I’ll be holding an hour-long workshop at 3:30 pm. We will be breaking down some of the basics and fundamentals of comics together. Come ready to draw! No pressure. Some of the best comics made in my workshops have been made by people who never draw and have never made comics. Meanwhile, I’ve been flipping through Andrew White’s comic Yearly 2018, and I have to say I’m very impressed. I’ll be reviewing it later next week so be on the lookout for that. Talk soon. Take it away Niall. ————————————————————————————————— 09-27-2018 – by Niall Breen Share this page: [...]

Art Trip: At the Magic House

MardouAugust 25, 2016Art Trip / EssaysThe notion of a Children’s Museum just didn’t exist in the 1980s when I was a child and let’s face it, it’s a complete misnomer. There’s nothing “museum-like” about St Louis’s Magic House, enjoyable as it is (for children). When I was a kid, the Museum meant the Manchester Museum, with impressive items pillaged from the British Empire and it’s protectorates during the Victorian Era. The Manchester Museum still has that same collection of Ancient Egyptian artifacts and I remember them perfectly, on school trips pressed up against the glass, staring at partially unwrapped mummies with horrified fascination. One of the mummies was a male with a 2000 year bandaged up penis. You just don’t forget seeing that as a child. Very unlike the Children’s “museums” of today, which are more or less interactive play palaces. That’s not a criticism, it’s fine, my kid had a great time. But unlike the Milwaukee Public Museum, where we took a family trip earlier this summer, I’m assuming she won’t remember much about the Magic House, except that she had fun. Nothing was learned, it’s an “in the moment” experience only. But this cool tamarind monkey with its little hairdo at the Milwaukee Public Museum might be remembered for a lot longer. It already has legendary status in our family unit. (Note: Milwaukee Public Museum is perhaps the best museum I have ever been to. It’s like stepping into a lurid 1970s text book. Everyone should go there.) In Milwaukee I didn’t get to draw anything, as my participation in looking at stuff was required. At the Magic House you just sit around and wait for your kid to be done playing. Which works out great if you take a sketchbook. Maybe these pages will serve as a memory book for my child, now that summer is all but over. ————————————————————————————————— Art Trip is a series that features reflections on art and comics, and the adventures that transform those who seek it out. ————————————————————————————————— Sacha Mardou is a Brit making comics in St Louis, Missouri. Sky in Stereo is her most recent comic. Share this page: [...]

07/17/2017

Caleb OrecchioJuly 17, 2017News / Residency Reports / School UpdatesCaleb Orecchio here with my week in Pittsburgh at the Comics Workbook Rowhouse Residency ————————————————————————————————————— I come into Pittsburgh At six-thirty flat. I found myself a vacant seat An’ I put down my hat. -Bob Dylan Lo and Behold! or Where The Wild Cartoonists Are: A Pittsburgh Story And thus it came to pass that I returned to Pittsburgh, PA, the land of the wild cartoonists. I say wild because they certainly are not domesticated like most cartoonists who live Brooklyn or LA. The Comics Workbook crew being the most savage and barbaric of the Pittsburghers—I should know, I am one of them. Though I am not a native, I have been taken in and raised as their own. I’ve been taught the ways of the wolf and to speak in tongues. I come out of desert and back to Pittsburgh when I am called. This story largely documents my meeting and interacting with the young Texas cartoonist, Cameron Arthur. The Cast: Cameron Arthur Frank Santoro Sally Ingraham Audra Stang Juan Fernandez with a special cameo by Nate McDonough and narrated by me, Caleb Orecchio Our Story begins… I left Dayton, OH for Pittsburgh, PA on Sunday to pick up Cameron Arthur who was flying in from Houston, TX. My dog, Zoe, looked at me with the look she gives when she knows I’m leaving her for an extended period of time. Thankfully a couple friends, including comic-book blood brother Jason Hart who agreed to babysit her at his house, took care of her. I am eternally grateful for these pals. After a four hour drive, I arrived in Pittsburgh where the Comics Workbook Rowhouse Residency resides. As always, Frank and Sally greeted me with the warmth and welcome that makes me feel like family. We hung out for a bit before I had to go pick up Cameron. Sally left to hold down the fort at thee Copacetic Comics Company. The proprietor of Copacetic, Bill Boichel, was “at the beach” so he unfortunately does not come into this story. I got settled in and claimed my room at the Rowhouse and went back to hangout with Frank who showed me secret works of art that left me shattered and speechless. My tongue was cut out so I couldn’t speak to him about them, but it grew back in time to talk to Cameron at the airport. Cameron came out of the terminal glowing with excitement. He never gets to talk to cartoonists in real life so he was purging all the comics-related thoughts, and we’d had a million different conversations before we even left the airport; plus a million more on the way to Copacetic—the first stop on Cameron’s Pittsburgh journey. Cameron Arthur is a really bright kid from Texas, the land of his heroes: Gary Panter and Matt Brinkman (what 17-year-old has the taste to know Gary Panter is the greatest? Cameron does). I’ve “known” Cameron from corresponding online for years now. He was 14 then. This is the first time we’ve met in real life. This is the summer before his senior year in high school and already he is a powerful cartoonist. The force is strong with this one. Maybe you don’t like his drawing or storytelling or whatever, but you fail to see the boundless potential that is below the surface. This week, he would start to unlock it. Cameron and I arrive at Copacetic to find Sally working and Audra Stang shopping (I think I saw Blaise Larmee exiting the coffee shop that resides in the same building). Audra is dear friend, a terrific cartoonist, and recent Pittsburgh resident. At some point in the week she did over 40 portraits of students from the school she works at. Juan later told me, “I know those kids–she killed it.” We chatted and hung out with the dynamic duo before closing time. As Sally was locking up and we were leaving, we saw Nate McDonough (a Pittsburgh resident with some connections to my Dayton). I love Nate. I told him we should get together this weekend and have a beer. I always say that when I’m around, but I never have time. Please forgive me Nate! Audra went home and Sally, Frank, Cameron and I talked comics back at HQ. Frank told stories of Gary Panter and Fort Thunder and PitcureBox and Paper Rad and Francesco Clemente and Jack Kirby and Stan Lee and PeeWee Herman and Bob Dylan and Alan Moore and Cold Heat and Basquiat and Andy Warhol among many other things. Cameron and I went back to the Rowhouse full of knowledge and weary from our travels. Our Story continues… What follows is most of the week as I remember it. Specific days and activities are blending together so I will do without keeping track of exact times and dates. This is my impression of the week that already seems so long ago now that I’m back in the wilderness of Dayton, OH. Cameron and I drew a lot over the week of course, but we talked just as much as we drew. I feel that we really got to know each other, like I have another brother in comics. I felt that we clicked immediately being two easy-going dudes who just want to talk about comics all day. He really schooled me in the ways of Gary Panter and Fort Thunder and the surrounding entities. I could school him in some aspects, but his breadth of knowledge at his age is staggering. He just knows whats up. He also schooled me about his homeland, Texas. The land of western fever-dreams finally had a human face that I could talk to. He knew a lot about his homeland. Had some interesting personal stories of friends and family. In the beginning of the week, he drew very slow. Drawing his comics almost exclusively first-take, he developed a painstaking pace. Frank, and by extension, I, would work to unlock the maniac in him. At night, when we would go to Frank’s to talk and listen, Frank would give Cameron exercises to quicken and loosen Cameron’s drawing up. He talked about the difference between Matt Brinkman and other more traditional cartoonists. Most cartoonists try really hard to get their point across. “Multiforce just is,” I remember Frank saying. He showed him how Brinkman can draw very large and very small. He talked about how Gary Panter is an artist. “Gary Panter wouldn’t have to do eight months of research to learn cubism to do a comic about cubism, Gary Panter IS cubism!” Frank showed us a photo of one of Panter’s latest paintings—our brains blew out the back of our heads and we went back to the Rowhouse and tried to be cartoonists again. Frank, Sally, Cameron and I went to New Dimension Comics. It was amazing. More $1 back issue boxes than I’ve ever seen in one place! And we didn’t even get to see the basement that they open up to the public once or twice a year. I hardly got through a small section of the place before we there for a while and had to go. Throughout the back-issue digging, Cameron and I would show each other the cool shit we’d pull out. So many Kirby comics, Ditko’s Shade the Changing Man, Archie, Charlton comics, romance comics, sports comics, dusty comics, fresh comics, comics with covers, comics without covers, comics with artists mimicking Kirby, comics with artists mimicking Neal Adams, comics by Neal Adams, comics about Boris Karloff, propaganda comics, how to comics, how to not comics, good comics, bad comics, ugly comics, comics by men, comics by women, comics by boys, comics by Kentuckians, comics by West Virginians, comics comics comics. Frank would periodically bring over a stack, “Here a made you a stack. You don’t have to buy them…” He gave me look a of disappointment when I put back an oversized Dick Tracy collection for two Barry Smith Conan Treasury Edition books. Frank bought the Dick Tracy book. We went back to Frank’s to look at our booty and a wondrous time was had by all. Juan Fernandez, a valiant cowboy of comics. He’s the man behind the curtain—along with rest of the CW crew—educating the young minds of Pittsburgh about comics. He stopped by to meet Cameron and chat. It was good to catch up with Juan who is a genuinely sweet guy and a great thinker of comics. His enthusiasm for comics is only outmatched by the hours in the day. Still Juan tirelessly carries on against the wind. He is a key figure in comics, though he probably won’t be truly recognized for it until later—he is one of the Wild Ones. Let no one stand in his way. One night, Frank was showing Cameron and I how to better our respective drawing styles. When Frank teaches you something, it almost changes your entire life because you level up just by one interaction with him. He stressed to me the importance of being able to draw with one line and equated it with Dylan. He showed Cameron how to draw as his heroes draw. He showed Cameron how to draw in color. A loud “YES!” rang through the house once Cameron figured it out. Cameron went back to work on his comics, determined to fulfill his destiny. Frank also drew for me, upside down, his best Kirby impression. Frank is the best because he can draw in any way shape or form. Another night, Frank brought out a bunch of comics and books to look at. I zeroed in on a Kirby collection that had a bunch of Xeroxed pencils of Thor, while we watched Masters of American Comic Book Art. Kirby is the greatest. We’d been talking about the great Gary Panter all week. Gary Panter an artistic and cultural phenomenon regardless if you know it or not. Really he can do it all. Panter, Mazzuchelli, Westvind, Herriman, you name ’em; true masters of the form. But anyone can learn all they want and practice and practice – there is only one Kirby. I almost had an emotional breakdown looking at his pencils, quite literally read and wept. For most of the days, I was Cameron’s primary teacher. I quickly realized that Sally and Frank had tricked me into it. I can not thank them enough, because I had the extreme pleasure of seeing Cameron LEVEL UP: Cameron was starting to feel the burn. Comics Workbook expects you to draw until your hands hurt. A lot of the drawing is redrawing the same thing over and over. This was starting to tax Cameron and he wondered if there had to be somewhere out of here. I sensed his pain. His drawing was starting to slow down again. “Faster!” I screamed. “NO! Don’t slow down!” I made him draw four 8-panel one-page gag strips. “You have thirty minutes to do each one! Start in color and then go to black like Frank showed you! Pretend your Gary Panter!” We are about to make the jump to lightspeed! The ground shook and the winds were a gail! I looked over and Cameron’s hands were on fire! Sweat poured from him and he breathed heavily. He was doing it. He was Luke doing a handstand with Yoda on his foot and moving rocks with the force. He was Goku gathering the energy of the people in the tri-state area. In the middle of the frenzy, I get a call that a friend’s relative had died. Cameron’s power was reaching the far corners of the universe. He was unstoppable. The hairs on my neck stood on end. I tried to capture the event but no man or woman could render the awesome might of Cameron’s breakthrough. When he was done I noticed one of his hairs had turned gray in the process. He was a man now. We looked at the four comics he had done. Remember, one comic page per 30 minutes. He did each one in less than that and the last comic was his personal best at 21 minutes. These four comics were the best he’d ever done. He had willed them into existence. They floated, crackling lightning, fresh from the fire. They just were. Our story ends… After Cameron’s great breakthrough, we had tacos. We met up with Sally, Audra, and Frank and had a good ol’ time. I bragged about Cameron who was still recovering from it all. It was great to hang out because tomorrow we would be gone—the last hurrah. Got to talk more with Audra and Sally, while Frank had Cameron do more and more drawing. Sally and Audra and I talked endlessly about our current and future comics. Who we liked, who we hated. Sally and I discussed the woes, pros, and cons of the daily strip. I cursed Audra for being such savage cartoonist. Sally too. We talked about our old embarrassing poetry and past adolescent romances and mix tapes and hopes and dreams. Some real solid quality time with my comics family. As I looked around at Sally, Frank, Cameron, and Audra I felt a real sense of family. I’ve never lacked a loving family, fortunately, but this family seemed more like a wolf pack kind of family. We learn as a pack. We go to shows as a pack. We draw as a pack. We kill as a pack. We eat as a pack. The dreaded morning came when Cameron and I had to go. I grow weary as I type this overlong account so I’ll keep it short: I love all the cartoonists I mentioned and I feel really fortunate to have finally met Cameron in person. This stupid blog post does not do the trip justice. It was life changing–as always when I meet up with the CW crew. And now I’m back in the wilderness until it’s time to go back home again. THE END Goin’ back to Pittsburgh Count up to thirty, Round that horn and ride that herd, Gonna thread up! -Bob Dylan special thanks to everyone mentioned above, particularly Sally Ingraham who did a lot of the leg work to get me and Cameron here at the same time and kept the machine working; and of course Frank Santoro who is undoubtedly the master and without whom this past week (among other things) would not exist. ————————————————————————————————————— anyone still here? Well if you are, here are a few links Pepe has a lawyer. The ToonSeum of Pittsburgh is having a fundraiser. An interesting Five for Friday —————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 7-17-2017 – by Gabriella Tito —————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 7-17-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

10/17/2017

Aaron CockleOctober 16, 2017NewsAaron here today with E.A. Bethea; Aidan Koch; Kara Walker; Thierry Groensteen; Connor Willumsen ————————————————————————————————— Book of Daze Domino Books is publishing a collection of E.A. Bethea work: Bethea, a simple interpretation might offer, chronicles the web of living in the world (and with her work, we are zeroed in on life in New York City, as this collection reveals itself as a truly local work of art about a city that paradoxically rarely receives its due—for every 1,000 works that gloss over the truth of the city, we have a book like this that has its eye on the reality of daily life in the five boroughs) with a heart and a mind sometimes at odds and sometimes simpatico. But Bethea gives us something more complex: at times, the work feels dead-pan as it shifts from exhilaration to resignation without a change in visual presentation, but it’s here where we have a guide to the heart of Bethea’s project. The often uniform nature of the pages and the highly non-uniform nature of what is contained within become a catalog of days or weeks or years. One page offers a subdued period in life, while the next (seemingly) similar page offers a day full of regret. Bethea talks about her work relating to cinema, specifically calling attention to what happens between one of her panels and the next. The shifts in emotion and carefully chosen images alongside highly precise language feel like walking into a film where the entire crew–from director to actor to gaffer—united in one mind to make something highly exquisite. ————————————————————————————————— Transmitter presents: In Search Of OCTOBER 20 – NOVEMBER 19, 2017 OPENING RECEPTION FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 6–9 PM AIDAN KOCH • DAWIT L. PETROS Transmitter is pleased to present In Search Of, an exhibition pairing the work of Aidan Koch and Dawit L. Petros, two artists who, despite their disparate media, take related approaches to pictorial space in order to create open-ended narratives, notable as much for the space within them as for the connections between different moments. Taking its title from Bas Jan Ader’s In Search of the Miraculous, this exhibition considers these artists’ work in terms of questions and histories of migration, and the search, whether for the sublime or for survival, which underlies human movement. In addressing these issues, Koch and Petros both make significant use of abstraction, and range in their interests from a mythological past to the factual present, and beyond, to the possible future. ————————————————————————————————— ‘A prominent critic posted on Instagram that they felt “uncomfortable” being in the room, perhaps a desired effect of the artist.’ Jessica Bell Brown at Hyperallergic takes another look at the Kara Walker show that recently closed: Ironically, most of the works in Walker’s show will go to museums that will proudly collect them, while for the sake of political neutrality many will likely remain timid when the time comes to roll up their sleeves and speak truth to power. As difficult and divisive as her images are, they point to a reckoning that we can no longer afford to ignore. Racism will remain inseparable from America’s history, its present, and its future. It penetrates every crevice and corner of our institutions, and pervades every fiber of our collective being. Walker’s work does not signal an impending culture war; it is a reminder that the previous ones never ended. ————————————————————————————————— ‘Overall, I’m glad this book exists.’ Nick Mullins on Ann Miller’s translation of Thierry Groensteen’s COMICS AND NARRATION: The other major theme in this book, which I briefly mentioned above, is rhythm. Groensteen mostly discusses panel layout, but also considers how words affect rhythm. While I liked this, I wished that he had gone further. Layout creates rhythm of course, but so does the relative visual density of the panels. So does the amount of time in the intervened. As I showed above, Groensteen hints at this possibility. Again, the fact the Jason chooses to end his page with a panel that implies a longer space of intervened time creates a change in rhythm to the end of the page. If Groensteen didn’t say this explicitly, he pointed the way. In other words, he has invited us to continue where he left off, which is one of the great gifts of well-written theory. ————————————————————————————————— Anti-Gone En Plein Air Connor Willumsen provides some insights (‘Cartooning is a lot like magic’, ‘Sometimes I ask myself, why would I want to be a cartoonist?’) in this new video, published by Koyama Press 2017, directed by Fatine-Violette Sabiri. Get a copy of Anti-Gone, along with two zines – a 20 page bootleg, and a special collage zine – as well as a unique Anti-Gone drawing, as part of the exclusive Connor Willumsen bundle from Comics Workbook – available HERE. Brian Nicholson reviews Anti-Gone, calling it the “book of the year”. ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 10-17-2017 – by Gabriella Tito ————————————————————————————————— Cozytown – 10/17/2017 – by Juan Fernandez ————————————————————————————————— Share this page: [...]

3/10/2016

HarrisonMarch 10, 2016News MOK: Both these pieces are excellent examples of something I see throughout your work, which is this very gestural, observed quality to figures with strong acting, and projection of an inner process behind the character’s eyes and in their posture. I see influences from R. Kikuo Jonhson and Jillian Tamaki in there, who I know you listed as influences, along with Mignola, Lynda Barry, Tomine, Ware, Clowes, Shaw, The Dark Knight Returns, in this list that you made last April. Which is also interesting because then there are times, certain panels, and then your self-portrait, where you put in this super cartoony manga cat-mouth smile. I’m curious about your approach to figures, acting, gesture, and also playing against that super-observed, illusionistic style with other drawing vocabularies. RICKS: I think it just comes down to me just—I want this to come across as clear as possible. I want the audience to know exactly what I mean. I want there to be almost no ambiguity, because it’s not written. There’s no, “she said sourly,” “she said slyly,” I want it to read. Also, always trying to push… I hope this is a good example: one of the things that I found appealing, and a lot of people find appealing about [Hellboy creator] Mike Mignola is how he gets image and weight across in his incredibly stylistic artwork. But that comes from decades of observing and drawing. He put in the work before he could strip it down and simplify it. That’s what I wanna go for: I observe, I draw. I’m always trying to learn new things and new ways. I’m always down to expand as an artist. I want to bring that into my work. And just keep evolving as an artist, and not stagnate. I’m always worried, like, “Oh, my character’s too stiff, and their mouth is not open enough!” So I’m always trying to push and expand. – Annie Mok and K.L. Ricks conversation at TCJ. Dash Shaw wrote and directed the animated feature film mentioned here. It stars Jason Schwartzmann, Lena Dunham, Reggie Watts, Maya Rudolph, John Cameron Mitchell and Susan Sarandon. The Second Edition of “Stories Matter” at the Society of Illustrators in New York with moderator Richie Pope and panelists Shannon Wright, Cathy G. Johnson, John Lee, Odera Igbokwe, Yao Xiao, Ronald Wimberly, and Alexandra Zsigmond is below. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/250653486″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /] Your comics often play with negative space. I was wondering when you started doing that, or if there was any other work that inspired you to do that? Not that I can think of. I mean, it’s been funny working in comics because I’m not super influenced by them. I was coming from what I was doing as an illustrator, or from fine arts practice. Especially working in pencil and erasing a lot and slowly removing unnecessary elements. I learned that I don’t have to show everything, and that I could use things as symbols for other things. I just gradually reduced the process. I think that After Nothing Comes shows that progression, which is cool. The pages get, like, emptier and emptier throughout the book. – Rachel Davies talked to Aidan Koch. Also, for a rainy day… Share this page: [...]

04/15/2016

Posted on April 15, 2016 by Sally Ingraham

Sally here with sweet morsels to start the weekend off right – Simon Hanselmann and Eleanor Davis dazzle in interviews this week, while Alabaster Pizzo and Jim Rugg offer up comics overflowing with life-hacks, and Chris Ware via Comics Workbook provides us with the perfect way to spend that plump tax return we’re already dreaming of…

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chris-ware-heads-or-tails — Chris Ware – from *Heads or Tales*, 2014

What a day, what a day. Friday, April 15th, and in a stroke of great good fortune, it is NOT tax day…! Thanks to some obscure holiday celebrated only in Washington, D.C., the penny savers of the world can hold on to their riches for a few more days. If you still feel an urge to count coins, however, check out this comic by Chris Ware, which ran in the New York Times a few tax seasons ago. I say some obscure holiday…

*sigh*

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Anyway, once you get those taxes filed, hopefully there will be a sweet refund landing in your coffers – and in anticipation of that, you could certainly at least take a gander at the INCREDIBLE AUCTION of original Chris Ware artwork that is being held to benefit the Comics Workbook Rowhouse Residency. Check it out:

The auction is live HERE, and will continue through next week.

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We can’t get enough of Jim Rugg this week – after blowing his mind with the Chris Ware package, Comics Workbook followed up by paying his studio a visit and getting into the details of Jim’s process. Check out part 1 of 3 below:

Part 2 HERE. Part 3 HERE.

Jim is cranking out some new high octane Street Angel comics too – Fist Fight Funnies features our kick ass hero enduring the horrors of middle school…the story so far. Can she survive MATH CLASS…??

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Keeping things somewhat connected here, in a new interview with The Guardian, Simon Hanselmann mentions his confusion over how to read comics by Chris Ware. “I believe in the grid,” he says. This of course is the least interesting aspect of the article, which begins with Simon and HTMLflowers watching the sun rise at the top of a 12-storey crane in the middle of a construction site.

‘When not putting himself in mortal danger, Simon Hanselmann is responsible for the cult comic series Megg, Mogg and Owl. “If I don’t do stupid things every now and then, I will run out of stupid things for Megg and Mogg to do,” he says. “If I stop being a fuck-up, then Megg and Mogg will soon just be about managing European translations and Skyping with network executives.”’

Oh Simon, never change. Read the full article HERE.

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Annie Mok dives in deep with Eleanor Davis over on The Comics Journal. The conversation is lively, and the interview features a full banquet platter of Davis‘ styles – she’s a creative beast! There’s going to be something in there for everyone, and for me it was her thoughts about drawing as a form of play – holding on to the “kids drawing”, versus a more polished style.

DAVIS: I feel like there’s a lot of different stages, and when you get to a certain level of maturity you realize that people are looking at your drawings, and that your drawing can be judged as good or bad. And then you clench up like crazy, and that’s when your drawing starts getting bad. Usually. Like, objectively. And then you have to learn and do “How to Draw the Marvel Way” or whatever, and learn to be good. But before that, you’re drawing as a way of play. It makes the drawings a lot more linear. Not aesthetically linear, but the way that the drawing is built is more linear, ‘cause each line is—it’s not preplanned, so each line is responding to the previous line rather than trying to build an overarching image. I think that that lends kids’ drawings a sense of integrity that maybe gets lost when you’re trying to do something that’s pre-planned…

Read, and be staggered by, the whole interview HERE.

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Alabaster Pizzo has a new comic up on Vice, and it’s all about urban farming – a trickier and more treacherous endeavor than you might think.

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Czap Books just released a new collection –

Inaction Comics 1: Productivity

This book is a challenge to action. An attempt to break free of it, and to come to terms with it. So much of life is inaction, is just breathing or waiting. Is joys and shames, all so quiet you deny them or forget them a moment later. This book is made up of a group of very different artists with very different perspectives, but pulled together into an exploration of a single idea. A single story, in a way. Contributors include: Kimball Anderson – MJ Robinson – Paul K. Tunis – L. Nichols – LB Lee – Laurel Lynn Leake – Kelsea Rain – Alyssa Berg – Andrew White – Susie Oh – Klára Grancicova – Cathy G. Johnson

Get it HERE.

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tumblr_o5nmnsxEHB1relg96o1_540 — Drew Miller

Alrighty folks, make the most of your weekend – go on wild adventures (channel Simon Hanselmann perhaps) and if you don’t make it back by Monday, who can blame you? If you do make it back though, we’ll be here with more comics news! – Sally

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Comics Workbook

An online magazine for comics makers

Posted in NewsTagged alabaster pizzo, Annie Mok, Chris Ware, chris ware auction, czap books, Eleanor Davis, Jim Rugg, simon hanselmann

Sally Ingraham

Posted on April 15, 2016

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07/31/2017

Caleb OrecchioJuly 31, 2017NewsCaleb Orecchio here and I can’t stop thinking about Jack Kirby ———————————————————————————————— Kirby Complex Not a day goes by that I don’t flip through a Kirby comic. Lately I’ve taken keen interest in the “Tales of Asgard” stories that were the back up feature for Thor. Love those 4-panel grids. And I don’t care what anyone says, Colletta was NOT Kirby’s worst inker—in fact I’d argue (at least in the case of the Tales of Asgard) that Colletta was one of Kirby’s BEST inkers. Chic Stone is the most underwhelming Kirby inker in my humble opinion—but that is neither here nor there. I’m just thinking out loud. Hmmm…I’m stalling because I’m having a hard time collecting my thoughts at the moment. More and more each day I am convinced that Jack Kirby was a prophet. And I know I’m not the only who thinks this. Just one google search led me to this. I’ve heard others talk about Kirby amazing ability to either affect future culture or basically predict future events. Ever heard the story of how Kirby drew a mushroom cloud before the public was even aware what that was? He got a visit from the FBI. I’m having a hard time remembering where I read/heard this so you get a “No-Prize” if you leave a link in the comments to it. Whenever I talk about Kirby to a layperson, I like to point out Mother Box. Basically, Kirby’s prediction of the smartphone and tablet. See below how Orion of the New Gods uses Mother Box to hide his real face like a Instagram or Snapchat filter—he’s practically taking a selfie. Or this one where Orion (as O’Ryan) mentions Mother Box’s GPS capabilities. And when I see this page, I can’t help but think of how we now have the technology to control drones with our devices. These were just the examples that came to me off the top of my head. If the spirit moves you, dear reader, feel free to leave any other examples that struck you while reading Kirby’s work that gives evidence of Kirby’s prophetic gift. I’m sure there are those of you who have given this much thought. Anyway, have a good Monday ———————————————————————————————— if you don’t know, now you know I found this talk on Kirby by Arlene Schumer to be really really fantastic. I particularly like how he gave context to Kirby’s roll in culture through the years. I have very much been enjoying Gabrielle Bell’s Annual July Dairies this year. I’m a sucker for comics with dogs. If you wanted to apply for CAB this year and haven’t yet–you’re too late, but here is Chris Ware art you can snag if you do go. I spent my lunches this past week watching this esoteric comic store documentary series on youtube. For those of you with taste, much of the content will probably infuriate you as it did me. Almost all of the people involved in this comic store HATE everything I love. That being said, I absolutely love this series for its non-judgemental take on an aspect of comics culture. ———————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 7-31-2017 – by Gabriella Tito ———————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 7-31-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

San Francisco, CA Scene Report

Frank SantoroDecember 10, 2011Riff Raff / Scene ReportsThis article originally appeared on The Comics Journal 12/10/2011 This week’s scene report is brought to you by my old friend Gabby Gamboa. I remember meeting Gabby in 1992 when I walked into Comic Relief on Haight Street in San Francisco to sell my zines. She was the mini-comics buyer. I lied and said that I didn’t make them. I was too shy. She became a good friend and I’m happy that she agreed to do a scene report for that cow town known as SF. Please enjoy. Also, I will be posting a full Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival report soon. Thanks to Dan, Gabe, Bill and everyone who helped put on the show. It was the best con ever on the fun meter for me. XO. INTERMISSION FUNNIES with MICHAEL DEFORGE San Francisco CA Scene Report by Gabby Gamboa It seems like a million things have happened recently, there is so much to report. Fall started with SF Zine Fest, which was once again held at the County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park. It was an inspiring, energetic show that reminded me a lot of APE when APE first started. APE itself was a bit too large and unfocused for my taste this year. There seemed to be a larger emphasis on selling crafts and prints, much less on books and comics. Most people I spoke to said that sales were way down (curse this economy!) and everyone seemed to have a different opinion on what was wrong with the show and how to fix it. It will be interesting to see what direction the show will take in the future, especially now that Wondercon has moved to Anaheim. As a former Comic Relief employee, I was saddened when the Berkeley store shut down recently amid chaos, but from the ashes grew two new very good comic shops that are worth a visit: Fantastic Comics on Shattuck Avenue, and The Escapist on Claremont Ave. Here in San Francisco, the institution that is Al Kizziah just closed his Al’s Comics store after 22 years, and will be selling comics online and at trade shows. After a long absence, Marc Arsenault has restarted Wow Cool, his comics, zines, and music mail order empire, proving that it is indeed the 90’s all over again. You should buy some great comics at wowcool.com. Isotope (The Comic Book Lounge) continues to be a friend to creators and the indie-comics crowd. They recently presented their Isotope Award for excellence in minicomics to Katie Longua for her comic “Rok.” Seeing her around APE in a viking helmet made me nostalgic for some of the cool comics dames who have since moved away. Isotope also hosted a Halloween-themed book party with local cartoonists Lark Pien, Thien Pham, and First Second Books’ Mark Siegel. Isotope is currently hosting a series of comics creation classes taught by Ed Luce, creator of the seriously awesome Wuvable Oaf. Matt Wobensmith and Ed Luce run Gotblud Vintage Zine Store, which sells and buys vintage zines and minicomics, stocks all of your Wuvable Oaf needs, and hosts events with visiting artists like Tom Neely and Dave King (designer of the Crass logo). Needles and Pens continues to be another good place to get hard-to-find minicomics, much like the Rock Paper Scissors Collective in Oakland. Mission Comics and Art on 20th Street just celebrated its 2nd anniversary. It is a brilliant store with the best of everything. Like Isotope, Mission Comics takes comics seriously, so if you want action figures or trading cards, look elsewhere. Owner Leef Smith is very knowledgeable and he is a great supporter of the local comics community. He turns his store into an all-night studio for 24 Hour-Comics Day, he hosts a graphic novel book club and a lending library. In October the Mission Comics Gallery exhibited the Francois Vigneault-curated show Tales, which featured quirky fantasy art by cartoonists such as Dylan Horrocks, Jesse Reklaw, Ben Catmull, Andrice Arp, Kane Lynch, and many others. The December show will be original art from Mari Naomi’s Kiss and Tell graphic novel. Another great thing about Mission Comics is that they host a monthly creator meet-up. There are several other on-going creator meet-ups happening in the Bay Area, including a Berkeley Jupiter Comix Jam that has been happening for at least a decade. And I suppose that OWS is a meet-up of sorts. Cartoon journalist Susie Cagle was arrested along with a lot of other journalists and legal observers for standing off to the side during the riot that followed the shut down of the Port of Oakland. I have been enjoying her sketches from the scene. The Cartoon Art Museum had a great retrospective of local legend Lloyd Dangle’s now defunct Troubletown strip. One of the worst side effects of the demise of the newspaper is the end of great strips like this. They have an exhibit up now that I’ve been meaning to check out celebrating 100 years of The Wizard of OZ comics and newspaper strips. Opening December 17 is “Black and White and Read All Over: Comics of the New Millennium” featuring post-2000 comic strips, including Richard Thompson, Stephan Pastis, Keith Knight, Mark Tatulli and others. And ordering goodies from the online museum store is a great way to support them. Rina Ayuyang and Thien Pham are putting out the monthly Comix Claptrap podcast. Imagine The View, but about comics. Or Fresh Air, but about comics. Thien’s Elizabeth Hasselbeck is a great counter-point to Rina’s Terry Gross. Okay, it’s not like either of those things, but you should give it a listen if you haven’t already. Lit Quake is a weeklong San Francisco literary festival during which a dizzying variety of authors read from their works at venues all over the heavily mustachioed Mission District. I attended When Pictures Speak Louder Than Words at ZSpace. The highlights were a reading /mock-bickering session from Game Over by Gene Yang and Thien Pham (man that guy is everywhere!), Jon Macy reading his classy, yet sexy Teleny and Camille, Christine Shields reading from her beautiful limited-edition children’s book, and MariNaomi reading a creepy comic about bedbugs that can be found on the delightful therumpus.net. I was sad to have missed the LitCrawl event the next night at Mission Comics where Kane Lynch, Justin Hall, Rick Worley, and MariNaomi, but I heard it was smashing. In mainstream news, local publisher Image comics is still making up for torturing us in the 1990’s by putting out great stuff like the Walking Dead and the upcoming Danger Club. Besides stealing some of the best former Comics Relief employees (shout out to Todd Martinez and Biggles @Biggletron), they are also planning to celebrate themselves at the recently announced Image Expo at the Oakland Convention Center on February 24-26. They are welcoming exhibitors and artists, so a Wondercon replacement this may become. We suffered a tragic loss this Fall of cartoonist and Sparkplug publisher Dylan Williams. Though he had lived in Portland since the late 1990’s, he grew up in Berkeley and had a great impact on the Bay Area comics scene. He had been an employee of both Stand Up Comics and Comic Relief. He was an artist and founding member of the Puppy Toss collective, of which I was also a member. He was the main drive behind the unwieldy Puppy Toss minicomics publishing and distribution catalog, which he would finally get right all on his own with Sparkplug. He left behind many friends here, and we memorialized him with a gathering generously held at cartoonist Scott Hsu-Storaker’s house, and then again at a very teary-eyed panel at APE. He will be profoundly missed. As I write this I am getting ready for the East Bay Alternative Press Book Fair at Berkeley City College on December 10. Cartoonists such as Jaime Crespo (winner of Season 2’s America’s Favorite Vato! ), Kane Lynch, Sophie Yanow, MariNaomi, and many others will be there. I will be sharing a table with Primahood creator Tyler Cohen, and I will be selling my new Miss Lonelyhearts minicomic, and original art. By the time you read this, this event will already have occurred. I hope to have seen you there. If you had a time machine, you could go back and visit me on this night as I write to share in my eager anticipation of my future/your past event. Then we could both travel to the future and enjoy the release of my upcoming work concerning a group of young people who abuse their time machine to visit insignificant historical events. But then I would have to travel back again to this night to stop myself from writing this passage so no one can steal my awesome idea for my time travel comic before I get a chance to write it myself. Share this page: [...]

08/22/2018

Juan FernándezAugust 22, 2018NewsHow do you say goodbye? This past month, my cat, my baby boy, Boris got sick. Really sick. We had to say goodbye on Monday. I don’t really know what to say. He was only six, barely into full maturity. It’s so quiet here. In the spirit of this site, I hope to make some comics about the guy, to use this artform to create a beautiful artifact. A zine that can serve as a conduit for grief to turn to joy. It will be posted here in the coming months. My hope is to spend some time writing and reflecting on our memories together with Jenn Lisa and to invite others that knew him to write or draw any memories of him that they cherish. I like the thought that he is everywhere, in me and in you, dear reader. Our regularly scheduled programming of comics and related news will return tomorrow, along with some exciting updates regarding Comics Workbook’s presence at SPX 2018. Share this page: [...]

07/12/2017

Juan FernándezJuly 12, 2017los Cómics / NewsEmpezamos el día con Jaime y Gilbert Hernandez; Amanda Mijangos y Armando Fonseca en La Polola;Klari Moreno; Cornet; Begoña García-Alén; E. Muñoz y CuCo 8; y los tebeos de Cómics Workbook! ————————————————————————————————— Punk, Latinidad, & Reviving Their Seminal ‘Love and Rockets’ Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez talk shop over on Remezcla: It’s like people were waiting for it. Latinos have been thirsty for that kind of representation. What I don’t understand is why, after 35 years, representation is still a problem. Do you have any ideas about why that is? Jaime: I think there’s a hell of a lot more Latino creators than I knew about back then. They’re doing it their way, some differently than I would. Which is cool. Everyone’s got their own view. I think the problem is still when money is involved. Whenever money is involved there’s going to be stereotypes. Everything is going to be done to please whitey. Money is going to steer you toward the money – and who is the 1%? You find out that the people in control of the TV studio or the movie studio or whoever is paying the check for this art – they don’t care. They don’t care about other cultures. When they find out that, “Oh well golly! Lots of Latin people spend money on our product” they don’t know what to do! The bottom line is when money is involved someone is going to get shorted. You’ve said, “The more ethnic I am, the more attention I get.” Why do you think that is and why does it work? Gilbert: I think I become more truthful when I get closer to who I am and where I’m from. I can tell a more truthful story and even a funnier and darker story because I’m just reflecting who I am. There’s a small element though, I hate to say, is it’s safe for non-Latino readers. It’s on paper. The characters are drawings. They’re not a threat. When it becomes a pop singer or actress or actor, they’re in your face. That’s a real person there. I think are a little tougher to take for some people. ————————————————————————————————— Cómics y noticias que me han llamado la atención esta semana: Jueves 3 de Agosto – Evento para recaudar fondos para el 2do Encuentro de Fanzineras. Santiago de Chile/Metro Irarrázabal. Organizado por @Comiqueraschile . Sol Díaz Castillo y Marcela Trujillo tienen una nueva edicion de La Polola Podcast! Las chicas conversan con Amanda Mijangos y Armando Fonseca, dos talentosos ilustradores Mexicanos. Hablan acerca de su trabajo, la importancia de buscar una mirada propia en la ilustración, la experimentación, la relación con los editores, sus proyectos personales y el proyecto que los trae a Chile, la obra de teatro “Risas de Papel” que estará en cartelera en Teatro Ictus, donde ellos hacen ilustración en vivo que dialoga con el actor. Un toquecito de historia: Cornet, Dibujante Catalan del siglo XX, fue uno de los artistas más populares que se formó en ‘¡Cu-Cut!’ – Humoristan.org les ofrece un vistazo a su vida en imagenes! Véte de cañas con Klari Moreno en Madrid con su entrevista en Segundo Premio. Moreno: «Defiendo la autoedición como acto político» Hay nuevo número de el espectador de Begoña García-Alén. El mejor de la serie, sin duda! E. Muñoz les ofrece un tronco de ensayo en CuCo 8:“El cómic como lenguaje visual híbrido y su vigencia en la era digital contemporánea”. ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 7-11-2017 – by Sally Ingraham ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 7-11-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

03/29/2018

Comics WorkbookMarch 28, 2018NewsHere’s Sam Ombiri on Sophie Goldstein’s House of Women! ————————————————————————————————— Sam Ombiri here: At times when I read comics I’m really invested in the scenario being presented, and I don’t really identify the characters well enough. I’m reading the story and I have to interrupt myself to study who is who. With House of Women by Sophie Goldstein, however, I was really struck by the characters’ various expressions, and the gestures the characters would make. I was impressed by how much information was conveyed through this, and in ways that aren’t that obvious. I was just reading and reading, invested in the scenario, but I found that I was experiencing who each character was in a different way. It wasn’t just their distinctive design – it had more to do with their facial expressions, and the moments that took place really stuck in my mind after reading because I could feel who the characters were. Before the characters could speak, I felt a deep understanding of who they were. Whenever characters would act a certain way, it would come as no surprise because just their facial expressions would communicate so much. This was more so for Sarai, Kizzy, Rhivka, and Aphra than for Mr. Dean or the aliens (above). And that makes sense. It’s the equivalent of shining a spotlight. For example, it’s not unlike Aphra to look so cross – she’s clearly a very level-headed person, so when she looks cross or worried, it’s for good reason. When Kizzy appreciates the smell of the blossoms or is really taken by children, it’s very expected. Rhivka, for good reason, is hard to pin down and her absence is really felt. She looks like someone who would be mysteriously absent while the other women are gathered. All the expressions a character has ever made has molded that character’s face, and their gestures dictate the shape of their body. I was really struck by this – maybe because the style the book is drawn in is seemingly trying to get in the way of the story. It seems like there are things that should be obscuring my understanding and such, but the story is so clearly laid out – even the word balloons tell me where to go as a reader. What’s alluded to is what’s being said, making a rhyme with the image and words. Maybe I’m also thinking about how straightforward the visual narration in The Oven was, whereas in House of Women Sophie Goldstein is more specific with how moments should unfold. The book is very aware of a reader reading the pages – each moment is paced very distinctly. If a scene is of the women walking up a hill (above), the page is drawn in such a way that you feel it, you feel the moment passing slowly. It’s a case of using the comics medium to its full extent. This is perhaps like it’s filmic counterpart, Black Narcissus. I was anticipating a retelling of Black Narcissus because of how much Sophie emphasized it as a major influence – though truth be told, to me it was very far from that. I see maybe, for lack of a better term, iconography from Black Narcissus (like the title itself for example), and certain moments from Black Narcissus playing out in the book, but it simultaneously feels independent of the movie and any comparison to it would be inappropriate. What happened to Rhivka is perhaps comparable to Sister Ruth in Black Narcissus, but Rhivka is more aware of what’s happening to her. There is also this Cronenberg-esque mutation that one of the alien natives has gone through. This was actually a fantastic point in the book. The alien’s mutation was amazing. I really liked the design of the aliens in the book. All the drawings in this book are enjoyable both to look at, and to read – from the way the story is told through the panels, to the way the sounds the characters are hearing is communicated, and the words the characters say to each other. All great. – Sam Ombiri Get a copy of House of Women by Sophie Goldstein HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Announcing the Spring Semester of thee Santoro Correspondence Course for Comic Book Makers 8 weeks! $500 bux! 10 spots available! Rolling start date because of spring break – start as early as March 30th 2018. Deadline to apply is April 12th. Read all about the course HERE and email santoroschool@gmail.com for more details or to apply. ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 3-29-2018 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

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