Comics Workbook

An online magazine for comics makers

Posted in NewsTagged Glynnis Fawkes, Karen Green, nina hemmingsso, Rachel Masilamani, sally ingraham, sara granér, sophia foster-dimino

Sally Ingraham

Posted on April 26, 2018April 26, 2018

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Duets with Frank

Chris Anthony DiazJanuary 27, 2016The Diaz ArchiveAll Photos by Chris Anthony Diaz and colored by Graham Willcox. THEE chronicler of north american small press comics. Share this page: [...]

12/12/2017

Aaron CockleDecember 12, 2017NewsAaron here today with Shaw/Willumsen; Fox & Gal; Hernandez/Salinger; Josef Albers in Mexico (at the Guggenheim); Polish Animation; Domino Print Mag ————————————————————————————————— ‘I think of the workspace as like mood and posture, surfaces and height, very physical, and then communication or information possibilities are something else.’ Caleb linked to this in yesterday’s newspost, Dash Shaw’s interview with Connor Willumsen, but it’s worth a read if you haven’t yet had the chance. It’s always nice to see cartoonists talking with each other about the work. : But it’s an accumulation of all of these decisions that you’re making. You’re deciding to not draw these things and to draw things in a different way… I get what you’re saying, that it’s intuitive, but you’re still creating the conditions. It’s not like those things happen to you. : Right, but I guess I am sort of nurturing a perspective as if they are just happening to me. I’ve been giving some workshops lately and I’ve been telling people that it helps to get through a page, continue the narrative, by just blowing the space on the page they’re currently working on, you know, like waste a lot of space and draw something small in an expansive void. The way I look at the way the book did turn out has a lot to do with how I was feeling while I was making it, because I was trying to make it quick, like as close as I could to the speed of reading a comic, which is impossible, and so I was subject to my immediate state during any particular page. So if I was feeling bogged down with a page, if it I was feeling it was becoming too laborious for me in its detail or pace, if it was boring me, I would blow a lot of space on the page to get through that moment and start fresh at the next, and my thinking is if I had a intuition that that needed to happen, just for my own wellbeing in that moment, the reader would have similar intuitions during the reading experience. Like if I’m getting bogged down by a page so is the reader, and to give myself drawing space is to give the reader space at the same appropriate moment, as if at the same moments we would feel the same moods or rhythms, even though we can’t possibly read and draw at the same speed. ————————————————————————————————— Almanac 2017, Orbiting, Meow De Vivre Over at the High-Low blog, Rob Clough looks at recent work by Iona Fox and Penina Gal. Fox’s comics have two built-in advantages. First, in her occupation as a farmer and mountain cabin caretaker, she simply does things that no other cartoonist talks about. Second, her sense of humor is extremely sharp, and she’s able to bring humor to any situation. Fox also brings the perspective of someone with a number of intellectual interests, as her degree is in geology, she knows quite a bit about meteorology and it goes from there. Her self-caricature is one of my favorites, with a “fox curl” on top of her head and a collection of freckles, knobby knees and jumbled limbs. Her strips can range from a relationship strip about geese to a beautiful series of shots of sunsets. The strips pre and post Trump’s election certainly have a different tone, as she touches both on politics and protecting those around her. There are strips about undocumented dairy workers and their struggle for improved conditions. … Meow De Vivre is a much sillier project, but it’s also visually distinctive. Originally designed for gallery space at a hair salon, Gal actually does something original with cat cartooning. The “Singles In Your Area” page is hilarious, with profiles from “OK Catnip”. There are “pawdicures”, trash talk about dogs, cat selfies, cat haute couture, and a clever collage. Gal has an eye for gag humor that’s never been obvious in some of her other work (with the exception of Glamera, which she did with Betsey Swardlick), but it stands out here in page after page celebrating cats as familiar creatures or as performing drag. Once again, Gal’s watercolors are the main attraction, grabbing the eye without looking too garish. Being in a gallery, that use of color was obviously crucial for an audience, but it worked just as well on the page. ————————————————————————————————— Reading ‘Catcher in the Rye’ Today Via Gilbert Hernandez, over at the NY Times. ————————————————————————————————— Guggenheim Museum Presents Josef Albers in Mexico Albers’s collaged images also suggest a nuanced relationship between the geometry and design elements of pre-Columbian monuments and the artist’s iconic abstract canvases and works on paper. Several of the latter are titled after key sites in Mexico, and formal resonances between the two bodies of work become apparent, especially when viewed together as in the Guggenheim presentation. Albers’s embrace of pre-Columbian imagery may be considered within the complex and often-fraught history of modernist artists looking toward non-Western cultures for source material. His work contrasts with that of the revolutionary Mexican artists with whom he met on his trips, including Diego Rivera. At the same time, Albers’s long-term commitment to studying Mexican art and architecture also positions him as a prescient figure in the history of post–World War II American art, when artists such as Donald Judd, Ad Reinhardt, and Robert Smithson looked toward ancient traditions with a new sensitivity and self-awareness. ————————————————————————————————— At Anthology Film Archives: The 70th Anniversary of Polish Animation Polish jazz and abstract art, posters in motion and inspired collages created by outstanding visual artists like Jan Lenica and Walerian Borowczyk – it can all be found in Polish animation. These films are almost invariably auteur works: the directors themselves discover the stories, write the scripts, draw, paint, shape the plasticine, sculpt the plaster, and sometimes even record the musical scores for their films. Polish animation has long been celebrated for its dark, black humor and courage in exploring the human psyche. Under communism, it mastered the art of the metaphor, in order to elude censorship. Social satire has always been a Polish specialty. ————————————————————————————————— Domino Books‏ @DominoComics New PRINT mag about comics from DOMINO, coming in mid 2018. Coedited by me & @LFlipowitz w/ beautiful first ish cover from Jesse McManus! ————————————————————————————————— The Winter Semester of thee Santoro Correspondence Course for Comic Book Makers starts January 18th 2018! 8 weeks – 500 bux – coaching for as long as you need. The course is hard, but Frank will push your comics making practice to a new level, getting you to think about timing and color in new ways. Makes a great holiday gift for yourself – or for a loved one who is interested in comics. Apply by midnight (EST) on Dec. 25th and get $100 off the course price. Full details and how to apply can be found HERE! ————————————————————————————————— Vision Box – 12-12-2017 – by Cameron Arthur ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 12-12-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

04/05/2018

Sally IngrahamApril 5, 2018NewsSally here with “Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story”, plus comics by Morrie Turner, Brumsic Brandon Jr., and Ted Shearer! ————————————————————————————————— Yesterday we marked the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., and PREVIEWSworld took the opportunity to share a particularly important comic – Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story(above). “In the late 1950s, as the Civil Rights Movement was gaining strength throughout the country, the peace organization The Fellowship of Reconciliation saw the need to promote their philosophy of nonviolent resistance to as many people as possible. To accomplish this, they used one of the most accessible formats of the day – the comic book – to tell the story of the successful bus boycotts by African Americans in Montgomery, Alabama, and the man who helped inspire them.“ Originally handed out in churches and nonviolence workshops, this comic was a powerful inspiration to many. You can read the whole thing HERE. The creation of the comic is a pretty interesting story in itself. Originally conceived by a man who didn’t allow his own kids to read comics – Alfred Hassler – it was meant to help convey the ideas of the Civil Rights Movement to the semiliterate. The comic soon became something much greater than anyone would have guessed. You can read a very thorough examination of it’s history and influence HERE. It is interesting to note that the identity of the artist who drew the comic has been entirely lost. Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story helped inspire John Lewis to write the award winning March trilogy, with Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell. Check out that comic HERE. ————————————————————————————————— There were a couple of cartoonists who found their work in much greater demand immediately following the death of Martin Luther King Jr. – a bittersweet turn of events, for sure. Morrie Turner had a strip called Wee Pals (above), which was syndicated an 4-5 papers in the mid-60’s. It was considered “subversive” because it featured a diverse cast of childhood playmates. He had in fact been encouraged by his friend Charles Schulz to create the strip, after Turner had complained about the lack of black characters in newspaper comics. When Martin Luther King Jr. died, in short order nearly 100 papers picked up his strip. Morrie Turner continued to draw the strip well into his 80’s. You can read more about him HERE. Brumsic Brandon Jr.‘s strip Luther was also picked up by numerous papers in the late 60’s, remaining in syndication for two decades. It’s cast of characters were from a poor neighborhood and were a bit more “streetwise” than Morrie Turner’s. Read more about Brumsic Brandon Jr. HERE. I’ve encountered Wee Pals and Luther before, but another comic by a black creator that was in newspapers at the time was new to me. Ted Shearer‘s Quincy appeared in 1970. He had made a variety of strips over the years, aimed at an adult audience, and they had appeared in numerous publications. Before Quincy took off, Shearer was working in an ad agency, but with the success of the strip – which, like Turner’s and Brandon’s comics, featured black kids commenting on life as they experienced it – he was able to focus on Quincy exclusively. He enjoyed syndication for 16 years. I’d really like to find the collection that was published in 1972, but for now you can see a selection of strips that kind souls have scanned and shared on the web HERE. Read more about Ted Shearer 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 NOW! 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 – 4-5-2018 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

03/29/2016

Aaron CockleMarch 29, 2016NewsMarcel Broodthaers in NYC; Bernadette Mayer & Experimental Writing; PMF VII; FUCK OTHER FORMS OF ART; O Risograph, my Risograph! ————————————————————————————————— Belgian artist Marcel Broodthaers (1924-1976) is experiencing something of a renaissance here in NYC, what with the room devoted to his book work at the most recent New York Art Book Fair, a show currently at Paul Kasmin Gallery, and the expansive career retrospective now on view at the Museum of Modern Art. ————————————————————————————————— Bernadette Mayer’s List of Journal Ideas + Writing Experiments ————————————————————————————————— Aidan Koch @ Open Space + the Seventh Annual Publications & Multiples Fair (PMF VII), April 9-10, 12-6pm each day at the Baltimore Design School, 1500 Barclay Street. The fair is free and open to the public. ————————————————————————————————— Jef Czejak’s essay from 2001 about funding for comics projects within the art-funding community still has relevance. That whole issue of The Comics Journal, #238, guest-edited by Tom Devlin, is full of useful information. ————————————————————————————————— Risograph Tutorials on YouTube. There are some semi-slick, corporate videos that are kind of fun to watch, if you’re in to that sort of thing. ————————————————————————————————— SPECIAL NEWS ITEM Please consider supporting the Retrofit Kickstarter. They have an ambitious publishing schedule in place with an amazing group of artists producing high quality comics work. ————————————————————————————————— Share this page: [...]

The Comics That My Parents Read

Gloria RiveraApril 25, 2017EssaysI’ve been meaning to write something about these comics since I found out about them a year ago. Before this I never knew my parents read comics in their youth. They both grew up in Mexico (b. 1964 and 1966) in small pueblos, and left their houses at 14 and 19 to work. I was so curious as to what interested them enough as kids to capture their attention week after week. What captivated them had to actually interest the town as a whole in order to be read. They explained that children in the pueblos were poor and could only afford an issue here and there, and swapping comics with other kids was the only way they could finish the adventures. Even more removed – they paid to read to whichever child in the pueblo had the issue they needed to read next. For reference of the sort of social ecosystem my parents grew up in, my father herded sheep on a mountain and my mother was from a poor family of 5, leaving her house at 14 to work at an orphanage. Their childhood has eluded me most of my life, and I was curious as to the kind of stories that would be popular to humble roots like theirs. The majority of the comics I will be introducing were created in the 1960’s and 1970’s. From the 1930’s to the 1970’s the comics industry was strong in Mexico, with their own original titles in addition to translated American versions. La pequeña Lulú (Little Lulu) and La Mujer Maravilla (Wonder Woman) – both pictured above – were enjoyed, alongside comics of Mexican origin such as Chanoc (1959), Kaliman el Hombre Increible (1965), Rarotonga (1951), and Hermelinda Linda (1965) among many others. ————————————————————————————————— Going by year of debut, Rarotonga is a series within the larger comics title of Lagrimas, Risas y Amor (Tears, Laughter, and Love) published by Editorial Argumentos (also known as EDAR). Rarotonga is drawn by Antonio Gutierrez and has a total volumes of 216 issues. Other titles by Gutierrez include Yesenia, Rubí, and El pecado de Oyuki. Rarotonga (excerpted from above) tells the story of a jungle queen/goddess of the eponymous island, who seduces a professor/doctor visiting the isle – she is the goddess of love and death after all (as are all women). She has special powers she attempts to use upon the foreigner (who needs lust when you can magically seduce any man with your powers, right?) However he seems to resist her – for the sake of his pre-established marriage. Rarotonga is essentially a jungle-novella, suitable for the publication Lagrimas, Risas y Amor which ran romance comics, which were often adapted into films and telenovelas. The story itself is more than a trashy love story, as it also touches on themes of western civility and reason against uncolonized magic and lust. Visually, Mexican comics around this time have this value-heavy shaded look to them, and as the distribution later increased for comics in Mexico the comics were reprinted in color (speculatively lowering the quality of the comic artwork). The sepia tone comics (Rarotonga and Kaliman) initially enjoyed at fully newsprint size, later were reduced to the size of a pulp novel (4.5 x 7 roughly). Eventually comics in Lagrimas, Risas y Amor reached audiences in Spain, Venezuela and even Japan. The bodacious Rarotonga was liked by women as much as men. In a society where machismo reigns, Rarotonga piqued the interest of young women. (However, as it was told to me, boys would tease girls in the pueblos with big asses – calling them “Rarotonga”!) ————————————————————————————————— Chanoc, written by Martin de Lucenay and Angel Mora, are “adventures of sea and jungle”, that take place in the Gulf of Mexico. Chanoc is our rebellious hero who little by little sees a change in character as he adventures and protects his older godfather, Tsekub. Chanoc is developed within the port of Ixtas – the names and setting are all of Mayan origin, Chanoc being a deity in myth, but a pearl diver in this adventure. This is interesting because in Mexican comics history, pre-Columbian codices are arguably Latin America’s earliest form of comics. Mora draws Chanoc influenced by 1950’s and 60’s American comics, without letting go of themes and story traditions found in Mexican comics. Chanoc begins as a simple story of a young man against the sea, but eventually our protagonist is responsible for convincing the Mexican government to spend their economic resources on feeding the hungry instead of contracting more arms. This is all done with a flair of humor of course, which reflects on Mexican cinema of the time (Cantinflas and Tin-Tan) – political but humorous. ————————————————————————————————— Kaliman (above) is one of the most popular Mexican comics, which ran for 26 years starting in 1965. The first printing of 100,000 copies sold so quickly it had to be reprinted the same week of its launch. The series covers 39 different stories from 1965 to 1991. The story of Kaliman began as a radio show, in 1963, and with popularity became a comic book in the next few years. The comic is drawn by Rene del Valle. Kaliman is born in a fictitious setting in India. In the kingdom of Kalimantan he is found in a floating basket by a prince, Abul Pasha, who adopts him as his own son. Kaliman is later kidnapped with the intention of murder, and escapes. As Kaliman’s quest continues, he travels to other regions such as Tibet, and develops himself through teachings of judo, karate, and jiu jitsu, defeating enemies and defending justice. Like Rarotonga, Kaliman was originally printed in sepia tones, with an unpopular color reprint afterward. ————————————————————————————————— Hermelinda Linda is a satirical comic published between the decade of the seventies and the end of the eighties in Mexico by Editormex Mexicana, and later released as two films. The author of the original Hermelinda Linda series is controversial – traditionally attributed to Óscar González Guerrero, but in a different publication to José Cabezas García. The actual comic itself began under the title “Brujerias” (Witchcraft) and was re-named to sell better to its superstitious audience. The character of Hermelinda Linda is a vulgar looking witch who uses her sorcery to achieve the desires of her clients and herself. She has the ability to change into beautiful women, animals, anything with her potions, and uses her gifts to do odd jobs for others that come to her. The comic relies heavily on dark comedy, macabre, and mischief – jokes between the heinous Hermalinda Linda and beautiful women, and double entendre jokes. Below are some frames from the movie. Share this page: [...]

04/27/2018

Posted on April 26, 2018April 26, 2018 by Sally Ingraham

Sally Ingraham here with comics by Sophia Foster-Dimino, Glynnis Fawkes, and Rachel Masilamani; a Swedish canon of female cartoonists; plus much more!

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The Eisner Award nominations have been announced, and Sophia Foster-Dimino‘s comic Small Mistakes Make Big Problems, from the Comics for Choice anthology edited by Hazel Newlevant, Whit Taylor, and O.K. Fox, has gotten a nod in the Best Short Story category. You can read the whole comic HERE.

Another noteworthy nomination is Nick Sousanis’ essay on Karen Green, Columbia’s first curator for comics and cartoons, which appeared in Columbia Magazine last year. You can read A Life in Comics: The Graphic Adventures of Karen Green HERE.

Check out the numerous other Eisner Award nominations HERE.

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Juan Fernandez pointed me toward a powerful dissertation by Swedish visual communication design student Stina Sandström, which digs into feminism in Sweden and how comics play a role in the continuing discourse on gender performance there. Looking specifically at three female cartoonists – Liv Strömquist, Sara Granér (her work pictured above) and Nina Hemmingsso – Stina Sandström focuses on how they work independently and yet imitate and expand on each others work, together creating a unified voice that is having an increasingly profound effect on popular culture and cultural norms in Sweden.

“The success of these comic artists is reliant on their notion of Sisterhood. They have responded to the fragmentation of feminism by recognizing the power of coalition: that the search for essential female unity is not of gender identity, but of sexual afﬁnity. They’re connected in the realization that current representations of women’s roles, status, as well as the female body are all affected by gender norms which are growing stronger by repetition. By experimenting with 48 sexual transgressions and trying on a variety of gender costumes they try to break and disrupts repetitive gender performances. They have realized that by imitating and expanding on each others work, they share the burden of communicating the entire feminist story. These women make up a choir that, unlike the second wave of feminism, do not make up one united voice but rather sing in canon. A canon is a musical technique where an initial melody is imitated and expanded on by others at different intervals creating a wall of sound without interruption. As one singer takes a break to inhale there are others to ﬁll the gap and so the canon can continue in an endless loop. Like a canon these comic artists’ voices ﬂood the media landscape with provocative female identities and carnivalesque behavior without interruption. They keep repeating them until they lose their provocative nature and start to feel acceptable.“

Read the rest of The Carnival Grotesque: Representations of femininity in Swedish feminist comics HERE.

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Glynnis Fawkes takes Charlotte Brontë to yoga. What a concept! It makes for a good comic – read the whole thing on Spiral Bound.

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The Lines Drawn collective has a new installment of their project up on MUTHA Magazine. Part of a comic by Rachel Masilamani is pictured above. The collective states:

“We are parents and teachers using comics to illustrate how we feel as adults responsible for the care and safety of children and youth in an age of continued school shootings. We hope our comics add momentum to the groundswell of students demanding solutions to end gun violence, not only in schools, but as related to police shootings of people of color, and the criminalization of African Americans. The collective includes Emilie Bess, Adam Bessie, Amy Camber, Sarah Romano Diehl, Ellen Forney, Robyn Jordan, David Lasky, Meredith Li-Vollmer, Mita Mahato, Rachel Masilamani, Annie Murphy, Amy Ongiri, Marc Parenteau, and Rachel Scheer.“

This installment, posted on the anniversary of the Columbine High School Shooting, includes comics by Ellen Forney, Rachel Scheer, Sarah Romano Diehl, Adam Besie and Marc Parenteau, and Rachel Masilamani. See them all HERE.

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Extra! Extra!

The New York Times weighs into the conversation on the “new” Nancy, as envisioned by Olivia Jaimes – HERE. At The Comics Beat there is a “hits” version of the Nancy buzz – and the anticipation for the reveal of Aunt Fritzi is getting out of control…!
Six cartoonists look at immigration – on The Nib.
Graphic Novel TK talks to Annie Koyama about her life as a comics publisher – listen HERE.
Sloane Leong talks to Nivedita Sekar about her upcoming comic Your Mother’s Fox – on The Comics Journal.
I haven’t been reading Natasha Alterici‘s Heathen, but after skimming this article on the upcoming film production, I feel like I need to start. A “lesbian Viking comic” about a gal named Aydis “who is intent on ending the patriarchal and oppressive reign of the god-king Odin“…? YES PLEASE!

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Suzy and Cecil – 4-27-2018 – by Sally Ingraham

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Comics Workbook

An online magazine for comics makers

Posted in NewsTagged Glynnis Fawkes, Karen Green, nina hemmingsso, Rachel Masilamani, sally ingraham, sara granér, sophia foster-dimino

Sally Ingraham

Posted on April 26, 2018April 26, 2018

Explore

THE ENVELOPE MANUFACTURER by Chris Oliveros

Chris Anthony DiazJuly 9, 2016The Diaz ArchiveTHE ENVELOPE MANUFACTURER (all versions, softcover collection and mini-comic book issues) by Chris Oliveros. Photo of Chris Oliveros taken at TCAF 2015, Toronto, Sunday, May 9th and photo colored by Graham Willcox Share this page: [...]

03/15/2017

Juan FernándezMarch 15, 2017los Cómics / NewsEmpezamos el dia con Sol Diaz; Miguel A. Giner y Cristina Durán; Vanesa R. Del Rey; Chicks on Comics; Alvaro Ortiz; Fran Meneses and the ugly side; Billar de letras new comics club y los tebeos del dia! ————————————————————————————————— Cómics y noticias que me han llamado la atención esta semana: Sol Diaz – spotlighted over on Es Mi Fiesta y lanza un nuevo libro: La historia ilustrada de un embarazo. Miguel A. Giner and Cristina Durán tell the story of the adoption of their daughter in their latest comic, Una Posibilidad Entre Mil. They talk shop over on RTVE3’s La Hora Del Bocadillo + there’s a fresh interview with Miguel A. Giner and Cristina Durán on their new book over at Bilbao24Horas. Constantine #3-4 original art by the great Vanesa R. Del Rey available NOW over on Cadence Comics Art Gallery. Don’t miss your chance to own some of the action. CHICAS DE COMICS/CHICKS ON COMICS Siete mujeres historietistas de distintas partes del mundo expusieron sus trabajos en la Fundación Proa de la ciudad de Buenos Aires. Nice interviews and video documentation of the exhibition over on Argentina’s TV Publica. (Start at 34:00) @Kikeinfame picks back up with his tradition of interview comics makers – this time around, take a tour of Alvaro Ortiz’ tebeoteca y mas! ————————————————————————————————— Billar de Letras esta poniendo en marcha un club de novela gráfica y cómic donde, de la mano de Gerardo Vilches, codirector de CuCo y una de las personas que mejor conoce el mundo del cómic en España, una vez al mes se analizará de manera exhaustiva una obra para descubrir sus mecanismos narrativos y desentrañar los recursos gráficos empleados por su autor. Nuestra intención es mostrar la gran riqueza del lenguaje del cómic y sus posibilidades narrativas, a través de la lectura crítica de obras que ya forman parte del canon de la novela gráfica. En las últimas décadas, el cómic ha experimentado un gran crecimiento como medio artístico, de forma que sus posbilidades narrativas y estéticas se están desarrollando en obras de extraordinaria calidad. En la web de Billar de letras tenéis toda la información para inscribiros. ————————————————————————————————— Fran Meneses, Chilean comics maker and illustrator in England, gets real with the ugly side of freelance life. Really nice, honest lens that invites us to dispel the glorification of work-a-holism in the freelance life. It gets unhealthy fast, if unchecked and the glamour that gets associated with it winds up being destructive and causes a lot of silence and erasure of the honest struggle. ————————————————————————————————— We are in the midst of our 2nd year of the Comics Workbook Rowhouse Residency! Gabriella Tito was here recently, our 4th resident of 2017, and we already starting a wait list for the summer months. Interested in joining us for a week or more? Email santoroschool@gmail.com to learn how to apply. There are still openings in April and May, with that wait list available for the summer months. After a break for show season we will be picking up scheduling once again in late October. 500 bux for a week and a life-changing experience. Read some of our Residency Reports HERE. Email santoroschool@gmail.com for more info. ————————————————————————————————— Blinkers – 3-15-2017 – by Jack Brougham ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 3-15-2017 – by Gabriella Tito ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 3-15-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

12/18/2017

Caleb OrecchioDecember 18, 2017NewsCaleb Orecchio here with positive vibes and the usual gang of links to other news. ————————————————————————————————— When my extended family ask about how my comics are going I throw myself into a frenzy of roundabout explanations and unconfident, disconnected thoughts, leaving my loved ones confused and unsure of my life decisions—or I simply change the subject. This weekend when I visited some extended family I brought copies of my book to give to them. Everyone was glad to see and own physical fruit of my–until that moment, to them, theoretical–labors. One of my aunts hugged me, tears welling up. “I remember you drawing since you were little.” I watched my family examine and flip through my book–I have to admit, it was really satisfying. I often think of being an “independent” cartoonist in terms of being a folk singer, and I think this is the closest thing (for me, so far, anyway) to standing in a room of people while playing my version of “Goodnight Irene” or something. I let the “song” speak for itself, and the crowd responded positively. ————————————————————————————————— if you don’t know, now you know Cynthia Rose writes about the French comics festival, SoBD over at TCJ.com. If you are interested in supporting Cartoon Crossroads Columbus–a really great comics festival–consider donating to the cause. More info here from Tom Spurgeon at his The Comics Reporter. Alex Hoffman reviews William Cardini’s great comic, Tales from the Hyperverse, at Sequential Slate. Ben Towle reviews Tristan & Yseult by Agnés Maubpré and Singeon over at his blog, Benzilla.com. Dan Schindel talks Cerebus the Aardvark over at Hyperallergic.com, the remarkable (to few and myself) and ultimately tragic (to most and myself) self-published anomaly. ————————————————————————————————— The Winter Semester of thee Santoro Correspondence Course for Comic Book Makers starts January 16th 2018! 8 weeks – 500 bux – coaching for as long as you need. The course is hard, but Frank will push your comics making practice to a new level, getting you to think about timing and color in new ways. Makes a great holiday gift for yourself – or for a loved one who is interested in comics. Apply by midnight (EST) on Dec. 25th and get $100 off the course price. Full details and how to apply can be found HERE! ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 12-18-2017 – by Gabriella Tito ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 12-18-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

01/23/2018

Aaron CockleJanuary 22, 2018NewsAaron today with Breaking the Sequence; Orbiting; Structures; Birdcage Bottom Books; Outsider Art Fair ————————————————————————————————— “experimental” “comics” Shea Fitzpatrick’s Case Study: Breaking the Sequence, from October 2017. Juan may have posted about this already? In a lecture, the writer and webcomics artist Daniel Merlin Goodbrey provides a helpful outline of characteristics that are distinct to comics as a visual medium. Defining the norm gave me a framework for understanding the works that deviate from it. Goodbrey’s characteristics were a useful jumping off point for articulating what the works I was collecting were doing, and why they struck me so powerfully. They are: Juxtaposition of images Spatial networks Space as Time Temporal Maps Closure between Images Word & Image Blending Reader Control of Pacing Experimental comics, then, are works that acknowledge the traditional framework of comics but, rather than adhere to it, tend to tilt, twist, and warp it into other things. This case study offers a survey of comics that abandon one or more of these characteristics, honoring innovations by artists, video game designers, poets, and educators alike. It should go without saying that these categories are by no means mutually exclusive. There are comics that exist outside of and in between these make-shift categories. As you may expect, there are very few rules. ————————————————————————————————— Orbiting At Broken Frontier, Robin Enrico looks at some recent work from Penina Gal. The means of storytelling in Orbiting then goes in a direction rarely tread by comics with the use of a single word, the word “you.” The second person, already a rarity in prose fiction is a technique almost entirely untouched upon in comics. The form lends it self so well to the third person in fiction and the first person in autobiography that even when characters do break the fourth wall and speak directly to the audience it takes on the form of a soliloquy rather than an outward address. Gal’s consistent use of the second person moves the reader to an undefined space. Who is the “you” the narrator is speaking to here? Even assuming the narrator is Gal, who is the recipient of this message: a friend, the reader, Gal themselves? ————————————————————————————————— STRUCTURES 1-45 At Your Chicken Enemy, Philippe LeBlanc looks at work from Uncivilized Books. Structures is a series that has been exploring interesting topics throughout its short publication history. From the creation of modern society, to how we destroy nature for our own purpose, to how we construct myths and how our mind behaves, Structures show that comics can achieve thoughtful explorations of philosophical topics and existential questions even in small formats. The medium is made better by work like these, each piece builds onto the previous one to create something bigger than the sum of its part. Uncivilized Books can be very proud to publish such a strong and experimental comic series. ————————————————————————————————— Birdcage Bottom Books 2018 Comics Publications There’s a nice range of work in this, including comics from Eva Müller, Jordan Jeffries, D. Bradford Gambles, Larkin Ford, Stephanie Mannheim, J.T. Yost, and CW fave Sara Lautman. Kickstarting until Feb 20. ————————————————————————————————— A couple photos from this past weekend’s Outsider Art Fair. ————————————————————————————————— Collected from the thousands of pages of material that Frank has left scattered all over the digital landscape, these 4 PDF collections contain Frank’s best writing on comics and comics making from the past decade. Theory and process, reviews and discoveries, journeys both physical and spiritual. Check out the “Best of Frank Santoro” PDF collections, available HERE! ————————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————————— Share this page: [...]

08/24/2018

Sally IngrahamAugust 23, 2018NewsSally here with a look at Anne Simon’s “Song of Aglaia” ————————————————————————————————— I found Anne Simon‘s Song of Aglaia difficult, but in a way, the things I didn’t like about it are what makes it interesting. When I am presented with a female protagonist I want to get behind them 100%. When a female protagonist turns out to be complicated and prone to making decisions that hurt the people around her, I have to adjust my expectations. Such is life, of course. Simon demands many adjusted expectations with Song of Aglaia. She begins by upsetting a number of traditional tropes that are usually found in myths and fairy tales. A water nymph, Aglaia, is presented at the beginning of the comic as a fairly typical victim of male violence and oppression. She wants to be happy and loved, and in the pursuit of that finds herself abandoned and with child, rejected by her father, and then forced into a marriage of convienence in order to avoid a punishment of death handed down by a tyrannical ruler. Switching things up from there, Simon draws Aglaia with more backbone than is usually the case in fairy tales. Aglaia fights back, rescuing her children, killing the tyrant, escaping her loveless marriage – but at what cost? Once she has gained power, Aglaia wields it poorly, decreeing her own opressions and abondoning people who care for her. The moral clarity that many fairy tales lay claim to is definitely blurry in this comic. It’s easy to root for Aglaia to a point, but when her choices continue to lead to heartbreak, reality sets in and I am forced to consider that Song of Aglaia is NOT a fairy tale. It is a story that asks “what happens next?” After the male oppressors are overthrown and equality is achieved, when women in fact gain the upper hand and are free to build the world they wish for…then what? The example that Aglaia provides is an all too possible result. There is no triumph when cruelty leads to more cruelty, when the abused turn into abusers. With interesting artwork and good storytelling Simon offers a thoughtful comic, but one that doesn’t answer the questions she brings up. It’s a fairly heavy reminder that in the fairy tale and in real life there are no easy answers. Everyone is complicated and nursing their own wounds, and we are caught in a cycle that often seems inescapable. At best, we can hope to muddle onward, perhaps with a little more grace than Aglaia manages. Although it may sound as though I didn’t like this comic, I do recommend taking a look at it! Somewhere, hidden between asking these types of questions and imagining the possible answers, there lies the potential for discovering a solution – and examining the “difficult” things always brings us closer to that. ————————————————————————————————— Share this page: [...]

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