Comics Workbook

An online magazine for comics makers

Posted in NewsTagged adam griffiths, caleb orecchio, conosaurus, Hellen Jo, jack brougham, Jay Lynch, Jonas Goonface, juan fernandez, Patrick Kyle, redistricted, sally ingraham

Juan Fernández

Posted on March 5, 2017March 5, 2017

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Vanesa R. Del Rey – Process

Sally IngrahamDecember 9, 2016Tool TalkFeaturing Vanesa R. Del Rey // vrdelrey.com Video by Michael Pisano, Di-ay Battad and Juan Fernandez // michaelpisano.com // cargocollective.com/di-ay // juanjosefernandez.com Soundtrack // Victoria’s Other Secret // Galapagoose Check out The Art of Vanesa R. Del Rey HERE. Share this page: [...]

Noah Van Sciver and Joseph Remnant’s Secret Headquarters Signing

Chris Anthony DiazOctober 26, 2017The Diaz Archive Share this page: [...]

03/13/2017

Sally IngrahamMarch 13, 2017NewsGrab your cup of coffee and dig into a new week with us – we have news and comics from Berliac, Sophie Yanow, Jim Rugg, Jaime Hernandez, and more. ————————————————————————————————— The Winter 2017 semester of the Santoro Correspondence Course for Comic Book Makers drew to a close a few weeks ago, and now several of the students have completed their course comics and graduated. November Garcia‘s Cycle can be seen in full HERE – and Drew Lerman‘s Boucher’s House is HERE. The course is hard, but those students who stick with it and create a 16 page, full color comic, usually have the sense that they’ve just finished a hero’s journey. Congratulations to these and every other student who has made it through the woods, over the mountain, down the river – but there is no sunset for you to ride off into just yet – simply more fantastic comics to make! (To apply to the Spring 2017 semester of the course visit this page.) ————————————————————————————————— Berliac‘s new book SADBØI is available now in Norway, and he shared a translation of a review on his site recently – the review appeared in the publication Morgenbladet. “Berliac’s embrace of Gekiga aesthetics falls under what the Americans define – and often condemn – as cultural appropriation, ie a consumerist approach to aesthetics and forms of expression with roots in (minority) cultures which one is not a part of. And in his book SADBØI, this transposition of a traditional Japanese form of expression into a European context plays a central role. … The story of how the protagonist rejects the roles Norwegian society offers to people like him, fits into the artistic tradition in which Art functions as a magical realm where society’s rules and regulations can be redefined. SADBØI is a compressed sociological essay based on Jean-Paul Sartre’s treatise about social outcasts in his tribute to the writer Jean Genet, “Saint Genet” (1952). By disguising these ideas about social integration in a visual language that is based on what may be perceived as an illegitimate use of culturally determined forms of expression, Berliac creates a dynamic that makes the book something far more than just a pastiche.” – Aksel Kielland Read the rest HERE. Berliac is an Argentinean cartoonist who now lives in Berlin. We don’t have specific dates for when SADBØI will appear in the States – but it will hopefully be soon. ————————————————————————————————— R.J. Casey interviewed Sophie Yanow for The Comics Journal last week – they talk about her initial focus on autobio comics and her more recent interest in comics journalism, which has kept her extremely busy over the past year or so. “What are people’s reactions when you tell interview subjects or sources that you will be drawing them for your journalism comics? Do you tell them? I do tell them. Usually I just say something like, “I draw portraits along with quotes” because it’s the quickest way to get an understanding across. Most people who object are more concerned with having a picture taken as reference than the actual drawing. Your autobio work can get fairly abstract or minimal in terms of line work, but your comics for The Guardian and The Nib are much more representational. Is that a conscious shift in style? Sometimes in my journal comics I want to keep things abstract enough that folks won’t be able to identify who the “characters” are, since I’m not always drawing those comics with explicit consent. They are more like a diary. When I’m doing journalism, I either have consent or the legal right to talk about someone doing something in public. The goal is totally different. I don’t make the autobio comics to inform the public about issues.“ Read the rest HERE. Check out Sophie Yanow’s new book What Is A Glacier?, available to pre-order from Retrofit Comics, HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Image Comics has a Spotlight on Jim Rugg and his Street Angel comics, in anticipation of their release in April of Street Angel: After School Kung Fu Special. “IC: STREET ANGEL is remarkable for a number of reasons, with its utter lack of irony and great sense of design being high on the list. STREET ANGEL plays fantastic ideas straight—why was this the right tone for a story that could’ve easily been an ironic riff on pop culture? RUGG: I don’t want to make something that’s “so bad it’s good” or a “guilty pleasure.” I enjoy a lot of “trash” culture like wrestling, exploitation movies, and old comic books. And I don’t apologize for it. Street Angel is a kid with problems. It’s important to me that readers identify with her character. Struggling to fit in or to overcome your situation is universal. I like the juxtaposition of different tones. With STREET ANGEL, there’s a lot of room to bring in different genres and to combine the fantastic with the mundane. Expanding her world by focusing on some of the smaller details of her friendships, alliances, and enemies is something I want to share with readers. To that end, STREET ANGEL is the readers’ guide into this fantastic world. Irony would create a distance between readers and Jesse. I want to create a closeness. I want the reader to cheer for Jesse. She may not be the smartest, cleanest, or friendliest kid, but her heart’s in the right place.“ Read the rest HERE. I am definitely looking forward to more Street Angel – look for this in shops around 4/26! ————————————————————————————————— Panel Patters relives Jaime Hernandez’s The Death of Speedy 30 years later: “So much has happened in Maggie’s life since the death of Speedy. She found Hopey again but their love has become something different, maybe purer but not as bright or burning. Ray has been in and out of her life and had so much change because of Maggie, and not always for the better. Maggie and Ray’s love for each other is just as pure as Maggie and Hopey’s but has a whole different essence to it. Ultimately, Speedy was a moment in Maggie’s life but it’s shaped the character that she’s become over the past 30 years. From mechanic to punk to apartment manager and back to mechanic, the great thing about Jaime Hernandez’s portion of Love and Rockets is that we’ve gotten to see these women and men grow up, make mistakes and learn lessons (some of them the right ones and many of them the wrong ones.) And we, the readers, get to how these moments like the death of Speed alter the trajectory of these characters lives.” – Scott Cederlund Read the rest HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Quilt Scraps In a complex article on The Comics Beat which analyzes the BookScan sales analysis of the graphic novels and comics market for 2016…it becomes clear that comics aimed for a younger audience are doing best (18 out of 20 top sellers are for younger readers) and that Raina Telgemeier is making comic sales history. (“Altogether, Raina’s eight books sell a staggering 1.3 million copies for $14.4 million dollars in sales. To put that in context, that means that nearly 5% of all dollars generated by all graphic novels listed (all 21k of them!) are coming from the pen of one woman: Raina Telgemeier.” Read the whole report HERE. Jacob Khepler writes for The Outline when he’s not working on Mother’s News – last week he gave the world a heads up about planning for the 200th anniversary of Frankenstein, coming March 11th 2018! Read more HERE. Jeff Lemire talks to Paste Magazine about his comic Royal City – the first issue debuted from Image Comics last week – more HERE. Phillipe Leblanc interviewed Maggie Umber for The Comics Beat – they talked about her new book Sound of Snow Falling which follows a pair of great horned owls throughout a winter in the forest – HERE. The Comics Alliance rounds up a gallery of the “weirdest Silver Age flash panels“. ————————————————————————————————— The Spring Semester of the Santoro Correspondence Course for Comic Book Makers has begun! There is a rolling start date for this semester of the course and we are continuing to take applications. Just apply! The course is 8 weeks long – 500 bux – payment plans are available. More details can be found HERE – or email santoroschoolATgmail. Check out a comic by Winter 2017 course grad November Garcia HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Blinkers – 3-13-2017 – by Jack Brougham ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 3-13-2017 – by Gabriella Tito ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 3-13-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio ————————————————————————————————— Cozytown – 3-13-2017 – by Juan Fernandez Share this page: [...]

05/03/2018

Comics WorkbookMay 3, 2018NewsSam Ombiri on Daniel Clowes’ Eightball No. 20: The Further Adventures of David Boring! —————————————————————————————————————————— Sam Ombiri here: More often than not, I sense some dishonesty when people talk about their work – as opposed to when their work does the talking. When I say “people’s work doing the talking” I’m not commenting on the overall quality, necessarily, but on how much the creator believes in the power of the form with which they are engaging. If they have to talk so much about what they’ve done with their work, do we really need the work at that point? Is it anything less than a prop for a prepared monologue? I couldn’t get a specific statement out of issue #20 of Eightball: The Further Adventures of David Boring – and this was for the better. It was all about characters being pushed in certain directions, and through engaging fully with the characters the story really goes places. The comic doesn’t need to convince me of the reality the story is taking place in – the story is so engrossing and captivating. There are turns that seemingly come out of nowhere, but fit in. Are these characters really just “characters”? They seem like humans to me. I’m going to risk navel gazing for a moment and I hope I won’t come off as Νάρκισσος falling in love with his own reflection, talking about what I’m about to talk about…but when confronted by a name like Dan Clowes, these days I’m skeptical of my reaction to it, because my reaction might be based on a large number of other people’s reaction to it. I feel like I run the risk of attempting to replicate variations of that collective reaction towards his wonderful work. I guess in some ways that can show that I’m not really one to think for myself, but I read comics to feel first and think later, and I personally think it’s good to gauge my reaction. I question whether my reaction is sincere, however, under these circumstances. I could just be having a sincere attempt without lucidity, which is the last thing I want to have! Luckily, this didn’t happen when I read David Boring. All that happened was I was hit by the story with an unforgiving gravity. David Boring didn’t seem to be pandering to a sensibility – it felt like it was doing its own thing, which happened to catch on. There’s a whole thing of, “No, duh,” with me saying this, but I was really struck with it. This issue of Eightball, like all issues of Eightball, feels like it exists in spite of a trend – and not at the service of a trend. The first time I read something by Clowes, I think I was 13-ish or 14. I could feel a bowling ball form in my gut and sink – there was so much gravity in the work, and I wondered, “Who is this, who has so much contempt for his characters?” Whenever I read Clowes work now, I really feel there’s something special about how we’re following the characters that we follow. When I opened the comic it’s so sudden, and for some reason or another I was really taken with that. At a certain point in the story I’m told, “You’ve placed yourself above another individual based on your own morality or whatever, so that it is only you who decide who should be dehumanized while pretending it’s at the service of humanity.” Manfred, possibly the most despicable character, is accused, but the accusation that’s made of him isn’t dehumanizing – still his actions seem foreign and distant, but not unhuman. The story between David and Pamela; the story between Manfred and Iris; the story of David and his father, told through David reading a comic that his father drew, David trying to savor every panel, not reading more than a panel a night, not knowing what he’s looking for – we’re suddenly presented with all these things that are equally compelling. I was suddenly presented with the issue, and then just as suddenly I am so involved in these people’s lives. This was the realization for me – that when Clowes is remembered and canonized the way he is, it isn’t done as a favor to him. It’s done as a favor to his readers. Clowes’ work cares about your understanding of what it is and what’s going on, even if what’s going on is supposed be a form of estrangement. From panel to panel, there’s plenty to read into. Clowes is putting things on display that are very straightforward. It doesn’t feel like dishonest work – even when it’s optimistic or pessimistic about humanity and the way that it can be. – Sam Ombiri Share this page: [...]

On Reselling Comics

Juan FernándezJune 26, 2018NewsAt Comics Workbook we are testing what it means to be a new kind of learning institution for comic book making. Among the many activities engaged in by Comics Workbook is the selling of comics we publish ourselves and the reselling of comics we have purchased from others. The collecting and reselling of older and out of print comics has been – and continues to be – fundamental to the creation and maintenance of the comics ecosystem through which the medium has advanced and developed over the last half century. This activity laid the groundwork for the creation of the “direct market” for comics, which in turn enabled the establishment of the market for independent, creator-owned and self-published comics that all of us now take for granted and without which Comics Workbook could not exist. We employ a curatorial approach to buying and selling comics. Generally, we comb old mainstream and independent comics offerings wherever we find them – looking for those that contain exemplary work that inform and/or showcase the comics values promulgated here at Comics Workbook. We then display and sell them in a curated fashion, focusing on the work of individual artists – whether they be pencillers, inkers, colorists or, yes, even letterers – and, of course, those artists whose work combine some or all of the aforementioned skills – in order to document the amazing richness and diversity of work in the various comics traditions that it is difficult to successfully parse for the purposes of study without guidance. Among our wares, you’ll find old mainstream and independent comics, rare mini-comics and zines, along with work by contemporary cartoonists and comics makers. When it comes to contemporary work, Comics Workbook often buys comics from individual artists, with the dual intent of both adding the works to the Rowhouse Residency collection and supporting the artists – and small press publishers – from whom we purchase the work. In addition, it is worth noting here that we do not knowingly sell work by contemporary, independent, small press and/or self-published creators that is still readily available from the creator and/or original small press publisher – unless it is by arrangement with said creator or publisher. Otherwise, on those occasions when we resell these works, our intent is to make unavailable works available. Our goal in selling the work of contemporary creators is the same as that of selling older work: to connect comics readers and, particularly, comics makers with works the quality of which we value here at Comics Workbook. On those occasions we choose to resell a comic, we normally sell it at a higher price than paid in order offset the costs involved with maintaining, storing and organizing the collection, as well as the costs associated with connecting readers with these comics, particularly at shows, where set-up costs are often significant, but also online, where listings of individual comics is time consuming and labor intensive. Any profits made over and above these expenses go towards funding our workshops, residency expenses and publishing costs. If you have questions or concerns about our resale policy please address them to Sally Ingraham and Juan Fernandez by emailing sally.ingraham42@gmail.com or fernandez.juan.j@gmail.com Share this page: [...]

03/06/2017

Posted on March 5, 2017March 5, 2017 by Juan Fernández

We begin the week with Ryan Cecil Smith on risograph printing; Adam Griffiths on ReDistricted; the passing of Jay Lynch; the coming of Conosaurus; some thoughts from Hellen Jo; and much more!

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Frank Santoro interviews Ryan Cecil Smith for Part 3 of his Risograph Workbook on The Comics Journal.

“FS: Ryan, legend has it that you were one of the first American small press comics makers to employ risogragh printing of your comics, and that you basically introduced the process to the States. I remember you were in Japan making comics around 2008. Can you give us your “Risograph Origin Story”?

Smith: I heard that risograph was “a thing” but I didn’t know what it was. I guess I’d heard that Mickey Z was using it and Ryan Sands was using it. I discovered that my office workplace (in Japan) had this weird photocopier that was used for mass handouts on cheap paper. It was manufactured by “Ricoh” not “Riso,” but I eventually figured out it was the same technology. (This was 2008.) I loved how the prints from this machine lay on the paper; they seemed to soak into the paper, yet they lay flat and matte. They weren’t glossy or threadbare like laser prints/Xeroxes tend to look. So I was very happy that I had this machine that could make prints which didn’t look like anything else I’d ever seen! I made several books and tens of thousands of prints on my office risograph machines over the next few years.“

Read the rest HERE!

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Final page of the Pittsburgh Indy Comix Expo publication, 2017

Jay Lynch passed away yesterday (Sunday, March 5th 2017). The Comics Beat has some details about his life – but it is the Facebook messages of folks like Caitlin McGurk (Associate Curator at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, and John F. Kelly (Executive Director at The ToonSeum) whose testimony and heartbreak speaks most eloquently about the impact Jay Lynch had on their lives and on the alternative comics scene. Rest in peace, Jay.

Carol Tyler’s tribute to Jay Lynch, drawn for the cover of the Pittsburgh Indy Comix Expo publication, 2017

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*Staying Stylish* by Adam Griffiths and Matt Dembiki

Take a stroll around ReDistricted – an online comics anthology focused on lesser-known historical stories about Washington, D.C. Most recently Adam Griffiths was the featured comics artist on the story Staying Stylish, about the DuPont Circle Fountain. You can see the comic and download a printable PDF HERE.

Adam Griffiths recently spent a week in Pittsburgh for a Rowhouse Residency – read his thoughts about the experience HERE and check out more details about the Comics Workbook Rowhouse Residency.

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Hellen Jo riffs on Taiyo Matsumoto, Love and Rockets, and Steven Universe. Over at the House of Vans. (You know, the shoe people?) Jo’s got some great stories in that interview. Dig into it.

“Did you have a first comic shop you haunted? What did you fill your comic art hunger with?

Being a super sheltered teen with not-great social skills, I was lonely my first semester, so I would lurk at Cody’s Books and Comic Relief every single day after classes. I read the entirety of Xaime Hernandez’s Love & Rockets volume, The Death of Speedy one afternoon at Cody’s, and it literally made me high; I was so hooked. I amassed some massive credit card debt buying and reading as many amazing comics as I could those first (and only) couple years of school: all of Los Bros Hernandez’s Love & Rockets, Dan Clowes’ Eightball, Julie Doucet’s Dirty Plotte comics, Peter Bagge’s Hate series, Chris Ware’s Jimmy Corrigan, Charles Burns’ Black Hole, Taiyo Matsumoto’s Black and White, Junji Ito’s Tomie and Uzumaki volumes… I could not believe the scope and breadth of the alternative comics genre, and the stories were so insanely good; they literally mesmerized me. I was so obsessed; I even skulked around the tiny comics section at UC Berkeley’s Moffitt Library in search of books I hadn’t read, and amid the fifty volumes of Doonesbury strips, some sick university librarian had included an early English translation of the Suehiro Maruo collection, Ultra Gash Inferno. That book blew my tiny mind about a hundred times; it’s totally fucked up erotic-grotesque horror porn, but the art is unbelievably beautiful. I read that entire thing sitting on the floor in the aisle, feverishly praying to God to forgive my sins after I finished the book, because I was way too ashamed to check it out of the library.“

You can read the whole interview with Hellen Jo HERE.

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Do you do the wretched long haul of comics show after comics show? Eking out a pittance trying to just get your comics and zines into the hands of others? You’ll want to check out Conosaurus.

Conosaurus is a resource that helps independent creators and fans manage their convention schedules. You’ve been grinding on that custom made Google Doc of yours, synced with google alerts… This might make your life a little easier. There are quite a few convention databases already in existence, but not all of them are exactly as useful as they could be for exhibitors. The team building Conosaurus, Stephanie Zuppo, John Wotjtkielewicz, and Kazimir Lee, is designing it to be as useful to exhibitors as possible… And most importantly, it’s free to use and it will stay that way!

As of yesterday, the first ever Conosaurus convention digest is here. Sign up for weekly updates HERE.

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Bread & Butter

Patrick Kyle is a special guest at The Millionaire’s Club, Leipzig’s annual Comics & Graphics Festival which will take place March 24-26th, 2017. There’s a lengthy interview with Patrick on their website – check it out HERE.
In case you missed it, the 2017 Autoptic Festival in Minneapolis has been pushed back to 2018.
Jonas McCluggage shares a sneak peak of process from his upcoming book Godshaper and some process steps. You can see the extent of the backbreaking love he’s pumping into this joint with writer Simon Spurrier. It’s hitting shelves on April 12th via Boom Studios. Here’s a little interview with Jonas and Simon for you to get hyped.
Five trans cartoonists respond to bathroom hysteria over on the Nib.
C.F. has released CleanSweep, a collection of work printed on rolled receipt paper, with stories by himself (Comics Mosaic Edition), GHXYK2’s Your Son is the Kuso Guy, and Carlos Gonzalez’s Basic Content – get copies HERE.

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The Spring Semester of the Santoro Correspondence Course for Comic Book Makers starts March 7th! There is a rolling start date for this semester of the course, so we will continue taking applications beyond that date.

The course is 8 weeks long – 500 bux – payment plans are available.

More details can be found HERE – or email santoroschoolATgmail to apply.

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Blinkers – 3-6-2017 – by Jack Brougham

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Suzy and Cecil – 3-6-2017 – by Sally Ingraham

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Joanie and Jordie – 3-6-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio

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Cozytown – 3-6-2017 – by Juan Fernandez

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Comics Workbook

An online magazine for comics makers

Posted in NewsTagged adam griffiths, caleb orecchio, conosaurus, Hellen Jo, jack brougham, Jay Lynch, Jonas Goonface, juan fernandez, Patrick Kyle, redistricted, sally ingraham

Juan Fernández

Posted on March 5, 2017March 5, 2017

Explore

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: [...]

03/02/2016

Sally IngrahamMarch 2, 2016NewsMarch is Women’s History Month, and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is celebrating female cartoonists. First up was Barbara Hall, the main artist for Girl Commandos, which appeared in issues of Speed Comics in the 1940s. Read a bit more about her HERE, and check the CBLDF throughout the month for more biographical snippets of women in comics. How about a female cartoonist who is working today? Anna Mancini, or Manzanna, is a Brazilian artist. Click on the image above for more info about that particular comic. You can find much of Anna’s work on her tumblr, but it is nice to experience her comic Sadnesses HERE. A simple slideshow format brings a different rhythm to the panels, forcing, or allowing, you to slow down and really see it. This different type of viewing experience leads to a discussion of Stela, a subscription-based iOS app for reading comics that just hit the stores. The app was reviewed over on Polygon. Stela is experimenting with a variation on a format known as…the Infinite Canvas, a term coined by that mad scientist of sequential art, Scott McCloud. For obvious reasons, comics on screens don’t have to obey the physical limitations of print, and in his 2000 book Reinventing Comics, McCloud proposed that the screen could be treated as a window. Will it work or won’t it? That’s probably up to personal preference and the quality of the content. Fortunately comics like Ronald Wimberly’s GratNin are trying the app on for size, and if Ron can make the endless scroll bend to his will then there’s probably hope for it. On a somewhat related note, Simon Reinhardt has just released Mystery Town #4 and announced that it is going to be “officially a monthly thing for 2016″…! Who else is excited? Follow the link above to check out the whole thing, and read issues 1-3 as well. Tyler Landry has finished publishing The Jaundiced Eye on Comics Workbook. Stumble into a shadowy state that mesmerizes and terrifies almost equally. If you’re hungry for more CLAV after this, Tyler just loaded all of Shit and Piss #3 on Ello – check it out HERE. I hope these bits and bobs help you get through hump day! Cheerio – Sally Share this page: [...]

09/25/2017

Caleb OrecchioSeptember 24, 2017NewsCaleb Orecchio here with thoughts on work ethic, and other news.————————————————————————————————— I was talking to my dog recently. I says to her, “Zoe, I’ve rearranged my life around making comics and I still can’t finish a daily strip on time. I moved to a secluded lighthouse outside an old, cheap rust belt town and work the bare minimum to pay off school loans and rent and I still can’t manage to keep a consistent comics work schedule. What am I doing wrong?” She looked up from licking her privates and and answered, “You complain too much.” You probably already know this, but SPX 2017 was last week. I put my daily comic strip on hiatus because I was “too busy to be bothered by it” (if you’re a loyal CW Daily News reader, you’ll have noticed that Joanie and Jordie has been absent from this site for a minute). But lo and behold, Sally Ingraham (star cartoonist of Suzy and Cecil fame, comics educator, and managing editor of this very blog–among other things) made all her strips for that week in her hotel room at SPX AND executed her Daily News duties–PLUS! managed to manage the Comics Workbook Workshops being held throughout the weekend and keep tabs on us “kids.” I’m sorry to be so conflict of interest, but I didn’t do nearly as much and I was still more fatigued than she was by the end of the weekend. I mean, I still drew throughout the weekend. I did my drawing exercises and drew funny faces and dogs running every day. That counts right? Yes, but then I look over at Audra Stang and she has basically filled up a sketchbook with comics, documenting the journey from Pittsburgh to Bethesda and has Frank Santoro literally rolling on the floor with laughter reading them. Then Kurt Ankeny comes in with his sketchbook where, that morning, he had more-than-adequately redrawn some old masterpiece painting from some museum in D.C. He probably did it in 5 minutes while standing up. He invited me to go with him that morning but I was asleep when he messaged me. I could go on and on. What’s my point? My point is, to just keep going. Yes you’re tired. Yes you’re broke. Yes you’re busy. But guess what–we’re all in the same boat and we all want to be the next Gilbert Hernandez or Lynda Barry or whoever. Welcome to comics, it’s hard. Just keep going. ————————————————————————————————— The fall semester of thee Santoro Correspondence Course for Comic Book Makers starts October 1st 2017. 8 weeks of comics instruction that will bang your practice into shape – 500 bux. Full details about the course and how to apply can be found HERE. ————————————————————————————————— if you don’t know now you know Noah Van Sciver talks to Peter Bagge at The Comics Reporter. I always enjoy an interview with Alan Moore no matter the subject. Go to The Beat for more. Frank Young writes about Chester Gould’s “meta comics” over on TCJ. Darkseid model sheet by Jack Kirby. The Village Voice has published their last issue (the cover features the great Bob Dylan signing off) and have a history of their art directors at SPD.org. ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 9-25-2017 – by Sally Ingraham Share this page: [...]

08/23/2017

Juan FernándezAugust 23, 2017los Cómics / NewsEmpezamos el día con “Notas al pie” de Nacha Vollenweider; Elisa McCausland sobre la politica de Kate Evans y Catherine Meurisse; Vanesa R. Del Rey; Brian Sanchez; Andrea Galazina; Guerra de Soda de Jazmin Varela; FERIA RARA; y los tebeos de Cómics Workbook! ————————————————————————————————— Pablo Turnes escribe sobre Notas al pie de Nacha Vollenweider en Revista Kamandi. Nacha Vollenweider nació en 1983 en Río Cuarto, Córdoba, el último año de la dictadura militar que hizo de uno de sus tíos (Ignacio Manuel “El Corcho” Cisneros, militante montonero) uno de los 30.000 detenidos-desaparecidos, marca indeleble del país. Nacha (Ignacia) comparte nombre con aquel otro presente en su ausencia, cuyo rostro – entre otros – se multiplica en la casa de la abuela, una Madre de Plaza de Mayo, la Vasca. La autora carga con esa herencia familiar, que es expuesta como introducción a Notas al pie de forma sintética y didáctica, pero por sobre todo sincera, sin sobre explicaciones ni efectismos. Es una declaración identitaria y, por lo tanto, también política. Un salto nos traslada a Alemania – Hamburgo, más específicamente – donde Vollenweider reside desde hace algunos años junto a su pareja Carina (Chini), con quien se va a casar. El diálogo entre las dos, en lo que sería el “presente” del relato, siempre se produce arriba del tren. A partir de esos intercambios surgen recuerdos, reflexiones, vidas que se cruzan, se acercan y se alejan – y se extinguen – como las vías férreas. A la idea del movimiento y el traslado se le une la de lo rizomático: todo gira mientras va haciendo su propio camino en múltiples direcciones a la vez. Léanlo todo AQUI. ————————————————————————————————— Judaísmo + Robots Gigantes + Angustias adolescentes = El robot gigante del rabino – Una nueva historieta de Brian Janchez ————————————————————————————————— Andrea Galaxina necesita tus fanzines: ¡Hola! He empezado a colaborar con la Biblioteca de Mujeres de Madrid llevando el departamento de fanzines. De momento no contamos con una grandísimo número de fanzines en los fondos de la Biblioteca ¡pero eso tiene que cambiar! Por eso hago un llamamiento desde aquí para que te animes a donar tus fanzines y que estos formen parte de la gran iniciativa que es la Biblioteca de Mujeres. Aquí os dejo toda la información sobre por qué y cómo donar tus fanzines. Por supuesto estoy a vuestra disposición para solucionar cualquier duda que podáis tener, tan solo tenéis que escribirme un email a bombasparadesayunar(a)gmail.com y os contestaré encantada. Puedes saber más sobre la Biblioteca de Mujeres consultando estos enlaces. Catálogo e información general: http://www.mujerpalabra.net/bibliotecademujeres/index.htm Artículo sobre la BdM: http://ctxt.es/es/20170524/Culturas/12929/biblioteca-mujeres-fondo-libros-ctxt.htm ¡Difunde y Comparte este flyer a todas las autoras de fanzines que conozcas! [Puedes descargarte el flyer aquí: https://goo.gl/ukvBRB] ————————————————————————————————— Este fin de semana en Chile:FERIA RARA – 26 – 27 de agosto – la FERIA RARA en el maravilloso lugar de Axolote Matta, Santa Rosa 955, Santiago. Bandas – Editoriales – Sellos – Ilustradores y más ————————————————————————————————— Los cómics y las noticias que me han llamado la atención esta semana: ¿Qué hace que un cómic sea político? Elisa McCausland explora la propuestas recientementes de Kate Evans con La Rosa Roja y Catherine Meurisse con La Levedad. Sol Díaz Castillo y Marcela Trujillo tienen una nueva edicion de La Polola Podcast! Las chicas conversan con Sofía Flores y Catalina Cartagena, dos amigas dibujantes que han recorrido su carrera juntas, desde la música, las escuelas de arte, química, ilustración, la publicación de sus historias, fanzines y mucho más. Nos mostrarán sus ideas, secretos y animales guías. BEYOND REDLANDS: THE COMIC ART OF VANESA R. DEL REY – Over in the UK, Vanesa R. Del Rey will have my original pages and sketchbooks on display at Orbital Comics for a September exhibition. Brits, this is for you to drool at and be inspired by! Anteayer empezó la venta anticipada de “Guerra de soda”, el primer libro de Jazmin Varela que va a publicar la editorial Maten Al Mensajero. “Persecuciones en bici, divorcios, veranos con los abuelos, piojos. En “Guerra de soda”, Jazmín Varela es una niña tramposa y sensible que atraviesa como puede los pequeños espantos de la infancia. Construida a sí misma en el terreno mutante del fanzine, logra un retrato áspero y festivo sin engolosinarse en la clausura total de lo autobiográfico y estirando lo anecdótico a sus costados más reveladores. Para Jazmín, la niñez es un lugar más problemático que idílico donde los cambios, la negligencia de los adultos, el dolor y la incomodidad conviven naturalmente con los cumpleaños, los recreos y las piletas. Batallas que cuando se es niño parecen gigantes e igual de significativas, como llegar al club con la malla equivocada o acostumbrarse a una nueva configuración familiar. ¿A quién le importan? Si el día puede terminar comiendo un helado con doble cono y bañado en lluvia de rocklets.” Andrea Guzmán, periodista cultural y amiga de las comiquitas. Vino Joven: “Justin Green y el surgimiento del cómic autobiográfico”, un artículo de Irene Costa Mendia en CuCo 1. ———————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 8-23-2017 – by Sally Ingraham ———————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 8-23-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

03/23/2016

Juan FernándezMarch 23, 2016NewsHagio Moto in the limelight; Julie Doucet’s latest; New York Review Comics announced; Rolling Black Outs stacked; Denver Indepent Comics Expo. ————————————————————————————————— Hagio Moto spotlight on Urasawa no Manben There is a great sub of the 1st episode of the 2nd season of Urasawa Naoki no Manben with author Hagio Moto. Don’t miss a behind the scenes look at the life and work of the founding mothers of shōjo manga! For those hungry for more, check out Matt Thorn’s TCJ interview of Hagio-san from 2005. Urasawa Naoki no Manben (which, roughly translated, means “Naoki Urasawa‘s Manga Exertions”) is hosted by veteran manga artist Naoki Urasawa (Monster, Pluto,20th Century Boys) and follows different artists each episode, watching them draw their manga from scratch and exploring what differentiates their styles. Amazing show, with a great format for comics makers by comics makers. Watch the subbed episode over on Daily Motion. ————————————————————————————————— Carpet Sweeper Tales There’s Nice write-up of the new Julie Doucet book, Carpet Sweeper Tales book by Joe McCulloch over at TCJ. Doucet, in a four-word introduction, requests you read everything in the book out loud – this is much harder than it seems, as some of the text is made up of symbols, and many of the words are broken down to some (not all) of their component letters. In this way, the book also evokes experimental vocal performance – Meredith Monk, for instance. Check it out over on the Comics Journal. ————————————————————————————————— New York Review Comics New York Review Books has announced their new line of classic comics reprints, New York Review Comics. In the tradition of NYRC Classics, NYRC will present new editions of out-of-print masterpieces and new translation of books that have never been published in English. The books will be of all sorts, from intimate memoirs to absurdist gags, from graphic novels to dizzying experiments. NYRC is coming out of the gate reprinting Mark Beyer’s Agony, an impeccable first choice. This is very, very exciting. If you’ve never had a chance to before, Mark Beyer’s delightfully mordant Agony, at Lithub now. ————————————————————————————————— http://sarahglidden.tumblr.com/post/141552146632/5-years-279-pages-rolling-blackouts-is-finally Rolling Black Outs Sarah Glidden shows how all her hard work piles up. You can get a look at Sarah’s process on the book over on her site. Lots of behind the scenes looks at her thumbnails, watercolors and all around design. Rolling Blackouts details Glidden’s two-month long journey through Turkey, Iraq, and Syria. Glidden accompanies her two friends—reporters and founders of the journalistic non-profit The Seattle Globalist—as they research stories on the Iraq War’s effect on the Middle East and, specifically, the war’s refugees. Joining them is a former Marine and childhood friend of one of the journalists whose deployment to Iraq in 2007 adds an unexpected and sometimes unwelcome viewpoint, both to the people they come across and perhaps even themselves. Rolling Black Outs will be published by Drawn and Quarterly this October. ————————————————————————————————— Denver Independent Comics Expo – DINK The inaugural DINK is this Weekend. Get the scoop on DIN over on their site. They’ve got a crazy amount of panels and workshops. Check out the smorgasbord and see what’s up your alley. Share this page: [...]

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