Comics Workbook

An online magazine for comics makers

Caleb Orecchio

Posted on May 28, 2018May 28, 2018

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10/12/2017

Sally IngrahamOctober 12, 2017NewsSally here with announcements and excitement from Adam Griffiths, Kyle Baker, Derick Jones, Ronald Wimberly, and more! ————————————————————————————————— East City Art featured an official shout-out regarding Adam Griffiths‘ forthcoming graphic novel Washington White: “Science fiction meets the aftermath of the 1960s civil rights movement in Adam Griffiths’ forthcoming self-published graphic novel, Washington White, a pseudo techno-thriller about corporate greed, gentrification, and corruption set inside the District of Columbia. Drawn in pencil with digital coloring, Griffiths has been working on the 600-page book for nine years; the first installment will be published as a 70-page newspaper tabloid. Written in the form of a spy thriller, the civil rights science-fiction plot and the mad-cap challenges that the story’s range of characters face make for a bombastic, silly, and disturbing experience.“ If you’re in the D.C. area keep an eye out for this newspaper and perhaps catch Adam at CAB this year with copies of the comic. Adam gave Frank and I a peek at the manuscript of this work when he was here in January for a Comics Workbook Rowhouse Residency, and I can tell you right now, it exists in a parallel dimension. I am eagerly anticipating this one! ————————————————————————————————— Like Derick Jones says, sometimes you gotta just use brute force to dig into a comics project, or page, or panel…! Above is part of a page from his new minicomic Rhythm Man, written by Storme Smith and recently published by Buno (which was founded in 2016 by Ulises Farinas and Storme Smith). You can see more pages and learn some of Derick’s thoughts behind them over on his Instagram – @skudsink – and get a copy of the comic HERE. ————————————————————————————————— An exciting announcement that came out of the New York Comic Con last week was that the Milestone imprint is coming back to DC Comics. A number of characters will return to or be born in the world of Earth M, including Static Shock (above) drawn by Kyle Baker and written by Denys Cowan and Reginald Hudlin. Cheers of delight met the announcement, made by Kyle Baker himself, as the character is a fan favorite. I’m just excited or anything and everything drawn by Kyle Baker, so we all must keep an eye out in 2018 for Static Shock #1…! Read the full report HERE on The Comics Beat. ————————————————————————————————— Ronald Wimberly is the featured artist at Superchief Gallery NY tonight (Oct. 12th 2017), so if you’re in the area you should go hang out with him from 7 PM – 12 AM. ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 10-12-2017 – by Sally Ingraham ————————————————————————————————— Cozytown – 10-12-2017 – by Juan Fernandez ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 10-12-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

A Studio Visit with Jim Rugg | Part II: TRICKRTREAT

Juan FernándezApril 18, 2016ClassesJim Rugg, creator of “Street Angel” and “Aphrodisiac”, shows Comics Workbook TV how he takes a story from script to final. Part II focuses on “GHOST MONSTER”, a story from Street Angel 4. Video by Michael Pisano | michaelpisano.com “GHOST MONSTER” is available as a mini here: copaceticcomics.com/comics/street-angel-twofer-trick-or-treat-x-mas-special Soundtrack | Johann Sebastian Bach // Gott fähret auf mit Jauchzen, BWV 43 – 7. Aria: Er ists, der ganz allein // performed by Michel Rondeau Share this page: [...]

06/14/2017

Juan FernándezJune 14, 2017los Cómics / NewsEmpezamos el día con Alexis Ziritt, Fabian Rangel Jr.; Power Paola; La Polola;Vincente Jose Cociña; Tenderete Fest 14; Casa Ajena; Begoña García-Alén; Sol Díaz; y los tebeos de Comics Workbook! ————————————————————————————————— To celebrate the arrival of Alexis Ziritt and Fabian Rangel Jr.’s, return to North American bookshelves with the hardcover graphic novel, Tarantula. Vault of Midnight Detroit hit up Alexis with some questions about Tarantula: Vault of Midnight: What can you tell us about Tarantula and the inspirations for its concept? Alexis Ziritt: Tarantula is our love letter to pulp comics. Around 2006 I found some Argentian fotonovelas (a form of sequential storytelling that uses photographs) online. These were based on strong female characters fighting crime and dressing up like super heroes, but also I am a big fan of pulp and golden age comics and was able to find a bunch of comics from the 40’s with super heroines. VoM: Your art has a very retro vibe to it and seems inspired by more than just other artists, but also movies, music, and pop culture in general. Who and what are some of the biggest influences on your style? AZ: Sam Hiti, Jordi Bernet, Go Nagai, Steranko, Blade Runner, Forbidden World, Galaxy of Terror, Star Crash, Tokyo Drifter, Spaghetti Westerns, Fantomas, Judex, Doom Metal, Synth Wave, Goblin, Zombi… Read it all HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Power Paola: In-Situ en Correos Cuando alguien me quiere mandar algo por correo a Argentina sufro, porque hay que perder un día de tu vida haciendo el trámite, además te cobran por recibirlo. Así que la última vez que fui decidí hacer un cómic in-situ para que cuando a alguien me pida mi dirección para enviarme un regalito acá le pueda explicar por qué no. – Power Paola Léanlo todo de este cómic AQUI. ————————————————————————————————— Cómics y noticias que me han llamado la atención esta semana: Sol Díaz Castillo y Marcela Trujillo tienen una nueva edicion de La Polola Podcast! Las chicas conversan con el gran dibujante Vincente Jose Cociña acerca de su camino creativo, de su relación con la poesía, sus libros y proyectos de dibujo en diferentes áreas y mucho más. Este fin de semana Valencia celebra Tenderete Fest 14, el festival de autoedición gráfica y sonora por excelencia de Valencia. Participan una tonelada de artistas que son de todos lados del mundo Colombia y Alemania… Prepárate. Plop! Galéria ha compartido un trozito de la exposición Casa Ajena, de Mathias Sielfeld, Nico González, Matías Prado y Pablo Luebert. Denle un vistazo. Breixo Harguindey de 13 Millones de Naves reseña Nuevas Estructuras firmado por Begoña García-Alén, “uno de los cómics más revolucionarios del año”. Denle un vistazo a SPACE RIDERS: GALAXY OF BRUTALITY #2 en este preview! Fabian Rangel Jr. y Alexis Ziritt lógran algo maravilloso con esta edicion. Pueden ver la entretenida entrevista que Carlos Reyes le hizo a Sol Díaz en un nuevo VIÑETAS DEL FIN DEL MUNDO. ————————————————————————————————— Blinkers – 6-14-2017 – by Jack Brougham ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 6-14-2017 – by Gabriella Tito ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 6-14-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

07/20/2018

Sally IngrahamJuly 19, 2018NewsSally Ingraham here with a look at Lale Westvind’s Grip Vol. 1! ————————————————————————————————— I am usually swept along by Lale Westvind‘s work, but her latest comic – Grip Vol. 1 – swept me away. It “grips” you immediately, as your eye catches sight of the bright screen-printed cover and the lovely risograph interiors. The rise of riso printing has brought a wealth of pretty books, but a pretty book does not always equal a great comic. Lale’s voracious drawing style and the way she bends the comics medium to her will is in this case thrillingly complimented by the work of Chicago-based Perfectly Acceptable Press. Lale’s storytelling is particularly good in this comic. It begins with a transformative encounter with a force that sets the hands of the protagonist in motion. Her hands remain the focus of the story throughout, visually and thematically. She moves from one adventure to another, from one job to the next, meeting people and traveling, and her hands manipulate and influence what happens around her both at her will and perhaps against it. Without words and using only a few written sound effects, Lale Westvind crafts a moving tribute to working women, a wild celebration of female power and skill. Whether sorting mail, serving tables, piloting aircraft, traversing mountain heights, or sharing long significant eye-contact, the women in Lale’s comic are moving, building, holding the world together while tearing it apart. Although there is no regular rhythm in the structure of the panels, there are a lot of interesting design choices from spread to spread. There are visual rhymes and mirroring that I find satisfying, and a color scheme that balances and harmonizes with the lines. Grip Vol. 1 mixes reality with fantasy in a way that feels familiar to me. It’s like Lale got inside my head – and likely the heads of many women – and illustrated how the work of the moment, the task at hand, is transformed by the inner fantasies and landscapes of the heart, the joyous and violent riot of thought that leads to action or survival. Whether physically or metaphorically, often getting a grip and keeping it becomes the only motion that really matters. Recommended. Get a copy of the comic HERE! ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 7-20-2018 – by Sally Ingraham Share this page: [...]

8/31/2016

Juan FernándezAugust 31, 2016los Cómics / NewsJuan here with your weekly Spanish language comics news round up! El fin del CW Composition Contest;Sol Díaz Castillo y Marcela Trujillo charlan con Katherine Supnem; la evolucion de Spanish Fever; Mireia Perez sobre Ben Marra; Edd Muñoz sobre El Publicadero en Manizales; el nuevo libro de Connor Willumsen, Portraits. ————————————————————————————————— Le concours – C’est fini The Comics Workbook Composition Competition 2016 is over! You can read all the entries HERE. Entries were still pouring in until the stroke of midnight, but it is over! – we are trying to get everyone’s comic reblogged here and added to the master list – if you don’t see your comic on the list yet, today DO NOT WORRY – if it was in our email before 11:59pm EST tonight then you are officially entered in the competition! We will post the final list later today! This has been the biggest explosion of comics we’ve ever gotten for this competition! We will be spending the next few days working with our judges to pick the winners – be patient – check out all the entries – reblog your favorites – AND THANKS FOR JOINING US THIS YEAR! ————————————————————————————————— [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/279783030″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /] Escucha @lapololapodcast, un podcast del cómic femenino con Sol Díaz Castillo y Marcela Trujillo! It’s always a fun, relaxing and enlightening listen. If you haven’t tuned in to La Polola just yet, Póngale Play 😉 En este capítulo se habla de los discursos y el dibujo, de como cuestionar las cosas y a uno mismo en lo que hacemos, de la marginalidad, el underground, la filosofía y más. Las chicas conversan con Katherine Supnem, dibujante chilena, sobre estos temas y su experiencia como dibujante de cómics feminista, profesora de filosofía, dibujante de escenografías, under y marginal. ————————————————————————————————— Charlando con Emma Rios Kaboom, la nueva seccion de El País dedicada a la exploracion del mundo del comic contemporaneo, compartió una mañana con la artista y arquitecta gallega, Emma Rios. Léanlo HOY! Angel Luis Sucasas: ¿Cómo cambia tu método cuando escribes y cuando dibujas? Emma Rios: Escribiendo, trabajo mucho desde los personajes pero al mismo tiempo soy muy conceptual. Nunca doy demasiadas explicaciones. Como escritora no me mola nada hacerlo. Lo que quiero es que el lector se sienta parte del mundo, que escuches cosas. Hablábamos antes de Dark souls y de cómo te enteras de las cosas por lo que dicen los personajes, por el contexto. En ID lo transmitía mucho a través de la gestualidad corporal. Normalmente se trata de decidir de qué coño me apetece hablar. En ID estaba claro que quería hablar de la aceptación… Es un cómic muy político. Tiene mucho que ver con una situación en la que yo me encontraba en el curro. Yo trabajo para gente extranjera. Eso significa una barrera idiomática y cultural. Y soy relativamente introvertida y me cuesta enfrentarme a esto. Me cuesta ser el centro de atención y me cuesta tener esa actitud, que allí es tan natural, de “¡Compra mi tebeo, compra mi tebeo”. Así que acabé distribuyendo eso en varios personajes para enfrentarme a ello. Yo estoy hasta las narices de que se me trate como alguien especial. Mira, lo que hago no es especial. Tu idea de lo que hacen las mujeres no es la realidad. Las mujeres hacen muchas cosas. ————————————————————————————————— Sobre Panorama//Spanish Fever – La Historia de su publicación, su importancia y mas… La antología de cómics española, Panorama cruza el charco! Sergio Jiménez Foronda le da un gran vistazo a la nueva edición de Panorama (Astiberri 2013), ahora Spanish Fever (Fantagraphics 2016). Los creadores han gozado de total libertad para producir sus trabajos, permitiéndoseles ser ellos mismos en cada palabra y en cada trazo. El resultado es una heterogénea panorámica de estilos y temáticas que hace más de un año llamó la atención de Fantagraphics, que se puso en contacto con Astiberri para exportar la obra. “Ha sido fundamental la participación de la Fundación Spain Arts & Culture de la Emabajada de España en Wahsington, que apoyó esta edición sufragando la traducción del libro y permitiendo que una selección de los autores que participan en el libro puedan viajar a EEUU y participar en diferentes eventos que servirán para promocionarlo”, explica García. Entre ellos se encuentra el festival de cómics norteamericano Small Press Expo, que se celebra en North Bethesda (Maryland), una cita a la que García ya había acudido numerosas veces y a la que le hace ilusión volver “para participar desde el otro lado de la mesa, para estar en el papel de profesional publicado en EEUU“. ————————————————————————————————— Mireia Pérez sobre Ben Marra Mireia Pérez escribe una carta de amor, bien merecida, a los comics del dibujante americano Ben Marra. Llevo puestas las gafas violetas desde la facultad y ya nunca me las podré quitar. Este punto de vista me acompaña a donde voy, sea de paseo, al cine o a leer. Tienes que saber esto, querida lectora, porque los tebeos de Marra transcurren en un universo donde los hombres llevan armas y son siempre los protagonistas y las mujeres son casi siempre putas o stripers, van en ropa interior y suelen ser vejadas a la primera de cambio. Y es que todo lo que fabrica Marra con sus manos (dibuja prácticamente sin boceto y a mano alzada cargada de tinta) emerge de la sátira y está cincelado con una pátina de ironía, algo que no tenían los tebeos en los ochenta y que viene exactamente de la misma cocina donde se fraguó la novela gráfica: el cómic undergraund americano. ————————————————————————————————— Edd Muñoz y El Publicadero En La Patria, Edd Muñoz nos cuenta sobre lo que nos podemos esperar en este segundo año de El Publicadero, encuentro de autoedición. Hoy es común encontrar muchos cómics de autores colombianos en las librerías, lo que no ocurría antes. ¿Es un buen síntoma? Claro. El Publicadero existe para debatir sobre el trabajo de esas personas y responde a unos eventos sobre cómic que se están realizando en Colombia, unos con más apoyo que otros. Hay una movida alrededor de la historieta y buscamos despertar el interés por los contenidos dibujados con una programación que incluye conversatorios y talleres. ————————————————————————————————— Portraits by Connor Willumsen. Este libro de 16 páginas bellamente impreso (por WestCan – que también imprimio el Manual de la Escuela Santoro) de retratos del gran Connor Willumsen está disponible para pre-pedido. De momento, sólo ofrecemos pre-pedidos para los Estados Unidos. Ofreceremos pre -pedidos para pedidos fuera de EEUU después de que mandemos el libro a los impresores. Dalé click AQUI para pedir tu pre-order! http://auction.comicsworkbook.com/2016/08/18/portraits-by-connor-willumsen-pre-order/ ————————————————————————————————— hasta la proxima! JF Share this page: [...]

05/28/2018

Posted on May 28, 2018May 28, 2018 by Caleb Orecchio

Gone fishing

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We will be back tomorrow at our normal programming schedule. Have a good one!

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Suzy and Cecil – 5-28-18 – by Gabriella Tito

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Comics Workbook

An online magazine for comics makers

Posted in NewsTagged gone fishing

Caleb Orecchio

Posted on May 28, 2018May 28, 2018

Explore

01/18/2018

Sally IngrahamJanuary 17, 2018NewsSally here with the story of Orrin C. Evans and the first comic made and published by black creators, plus a Toon Book from Jaime Hernandez, and much more! ————————————————————————————————— I was looking at a copy of Paul Gravett’s Holy Sh*t! The World’s Weirdest Comic Books recently, and discovered the remarkable story of Orrin C. Evans. He published the first comic book made by black artists, featuring black heroes, in 1947 (pictured above). After a career in newspapers, one that already hade some “firsts” in it (he broke the color barrier when he became a reporter at the Philadelphia Record covering general assignments), Evans decided to turn his energy to the issue of black representation in comic books. He had the support of several former editors at the Philadelphia Record (which had folded by then over labor issues) and he put together a proper “bullpen”. “He co-created the features in the comic along with the artists who included his brother, George J Evans Jr, two other Philadelphia cartoonists, one of whom was John Terrill, the other named Cooper, and a Baltimore artist who signed his work Cravat.” – Tom Christopher Paul Gravett’s entry on the comic includes details about the stories and characters – Lion Man and Bubba, police detective Ace Harlem, and others: The first issue was distributed around Philadelphia, and Evans eagerly got started on the second, completing all of the stories and art. Unfortunately, as noted above, it was never published because he lost access to the actual newsprint. Evans didn’t press the matter, having already faced death threats and other harassment due to articles he had written about segregation in the armed forces, among other things. And thus black representation in comics disappeared almost entirely until the mid-60s (when Stan Lee and Jack Kirby brought the Black Panther to life) and a comic made and published by a black creative team didn’t turn up again for even longer. You can learn more about Orrin C. Evans by reading the rest of Tom Christopher’s article on Evans and All-Negro Comics HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Jaime Hernandez is doing a Toon Book! Coming in March, it riffs on “the classic works of F. Isabel Campoy and Alma Flor Ada” – more details HERE. “Pioneering cartoonist Jackie Ormes and influential Marvel Marvel marketing manager Carol Kalish have been selected for induction into the Will Eisner Comic Awards Hall of Fame for 2018.” The Comics Beat has the full story, plus a list of the other 16 nominees who have been announced – from which 4 will be selected and added later in the year. Paste Magazine has a preview of one of the comics coming from the Berger Books imprint at Dark Horse – Incognegro: Renaissance #1, written by Mat Johnson and drawn by Warren Pleece. It is a prequel mini-series set before the events in their 2018 graphic novel. Both stories deal with black reporter Zane Pinchback, who can pass as white and uses this to investigate lynchings and other anti-black violence in the 1920s and 30s. See the preview HERE. Sloane Leong published her latest “dragnet” of comics on The Comics Journal – webcomics and paper, definitely some that I’ve been meaning to check out. See the list HERE. Silver Sprocket has announced a lineup of comics coming out soon, including a new hardcover 112 page volume that collects Ben Passmore’s political cartoons from The Nib and VICE along with his story Your Black Friend. See this project and 11 more from other cartoonists over on The Comics Beat. John Ridley, the screen-writer behind 12 Years a Slave and author of the DC series The American Way: Those Above and This Below, has a new project – The Other History of the DC Universe, which will examine some of the marginalized DC superheroes. Here’s the story, on i09. Atlanta’s High Museum has figured out how to diversify their audience, with an increase of 45% in their nonwhite visitors, which shouldn’t be a noteworthy feat but in today’s world still is – Hyperallergic has the story. ————————————————————————————————— We still have a space open in the Winter Semester of thee Santoro Correspondence Course for Comic Book Makers! 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. His experience and ideas have influenced the likes of Connor Willumsen, Michael DeForge, and Simon Hanselmann (quote “I consider Frank Santoro to be my L. Ron Hubbard”) among many others. Dig into something new in the new year! Full details and how to apply can be found HERE. Share this page: [...]

08/18/2017

Sally IngrahamAugust 18, 2017NewsSally here with new work by Ulli Lust, Redlands #1 by Jordie Bellaire and Vanesa Del Rey, a look at Simon Hanselmann’s character Booger, and more! ———————————————————————————————— I have really enjoyed all of the New York Review Comics as they have come out, so I was THRILLED to discover that new work from Ulli Lust will be in my hands soon via NYRC! Look for Voices in the Dark (an adaptation of the novel The Karnau Tapes by Marcel Beyer) in October 2017. The site has a good write-up of the book and some excerpts from it – view them HERE. From Publishers Weekly: “The narrative switches between two small cogs in the relentless machinery of the Reich: Hermann Karnau, a sound engineer who progresses from arranging the speakers at Nazi rallies to conducting bizarre aural experiments on concentration camp prisoners, and Helga, the eldest daughter of Joseph Goebbels, who, along with her siblings, is destined to be murdered by her parents in Hitler’s bunker. Lust’s loose, deceptively simple art, tinted in washes of faded color, creates a mood of deepening claustrophobia as the complicit Karnau and the innocent Helga descend toward the same fate. It’s a rare adaptation that, rather than simply transcribing the source material, transcends it.“ This is the English version of the comic Flughunde (Airports) which came out in Berlin in 2013. It was well received there – here’s some of the press that Ulli has collected on her website. An excerpt from the original version: The comic that Ulli Lust has been working on for the past 3 or 4 years will be released in Germany and France this autumn…which means we probably won’t see it in the States until 2018 if not later. Sad face. That makes the NYRC edition of Voices in the Dark that much more exciting of course! ———————————————————————————————— Vanesa Del Rey and Jordie Bellaire bring fury and flame in the opening chapter of Redlands. I like the rich red and gold and black coloring of the comic, and the way it crashes straight into a violent moment of pain and power, as a coven of witches wrenches a Floridian town out of the hands of the patriarchy. The intentions of the creators are definitely on display in the first issue, and I can get behind the “righteous anger” that Jordie Bellaire has spoken of a couple of times. I am curious to see where the story goes, how the wrath of the first issue transitions into something more nuanced – what the “calm center” of the storm will be. I believe I linked to this interview on Multiversity Comics with Jordie Bellaire and Vanesa Del Rey before, but reading through it again today after having seen Redlands #1 myself is interesting. This bit rings true for sure: “Without giving too much away, this issue read completely unlike anything I was expecting. What’s it like trying to create a sense of horror in the reader when what most of the characters in the issue are afraid of are your main characters? JB: I wanted the characters to appear very morally ambiguous and again, tie into the trope that men fear educated, strong, liberated women. If the readers are afraid of the main characters (the witches), that’s great! But they should also be afraid or at the very least disgusted by the rest of the cast. It’s a pretty upsetting place, as is the world. Everyone is an enemy of someone, anyone could be a villain.“ Read the rest of the interview HERE. And hustle to your comics shop to pick up Redlands #1 if you haven’t already! ———————————————————————————————— I found this article by Sam Riedel on Medium to be a thoughtful read – Let’s Talk Comics: Booger, Gender, and Simon Hanselmann’s “One More Year”. Booger doesn’t get a lot of press time, generally, but she is one of the more complex characters in Simon Hanselmann’s wild world. Unlike many transfem characters, she is not “virtuous”. Riedel addresses that point: “On the still-uncommon occasions that transfem characters show up in fiction (and aren’t two-dimensional stereotypes), they’re often forced to be virtuous because they represent all trans people everywhere. Who wants to be represented by a douchebag? Other marginalized communities also suffer from this tendency, an unintended consequence of “diversity casting” that maintains structural whiteness, cisnormativity, and so on. … Since our stories are so often misunderstood, there’s an implicit demand that we be shown in the most palatable light, but that robs our stories of the all-important shades of grey.“ Booger has the shades of grey covered. She is never quite as actively “bad” as the other characters, but her particular ways of being messed up are, in a way, more brutal. Read the rest of Sam Riedel’s thoughts on Booger HERE. Get a copy of One More Year HERE. ———————————————————————————————— Other News in Brief The Ignatz Award nominees have been announced, and there are lots and lots of comics by women on the list! Michael Cavna shares the list on The Washington Post. Katie Skelly is on Episode 22 of Comic Book Decalogue – here on The Comics Journal. Also on the Journal, Rob Kirby reviews Glynnis Fawkes‘ Greek Diary, and Katie Skelly covers Kabi Nagata’s My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness. Jason Rhode tries to navigate the maze of gender diversity in the comics industry, doing a decent job of summarizing a lot of the conversations and controversies that have been going on in the last year, in particular, and across the decades more expansively – read the article on Paste Magazine HERE. Here’s a nice review of Maggie Umber‘s Sound of Snow Falling. Part 2 of Gabrielle Bell‘s comic Little Red and Big Bad is up on The Paris Review – read it HERE. Boundless by Jillian Tamaki is reviewed on Paste Magazine by Zainab Akhtar – she calls Jillian “undeniably one of the finest cartoonists of this generation.“ ———————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 8-18-2017 – by Gabriella Tito ———————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 8-18-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

11/11/2016

Sally IngrahamNovember 11, 2016NewsSally here with some odds and ends as you head into the weekend! ————————————————————————————————— Spend some time today with Carol Tyler’s Soldier’s Heart (Fantagraphics, 2016) – read Annie Mok’s review of the collection via The Comics Journal. Get a copy HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Jessica Campbell was interviewed by Culture Trip this week about her new book Hot or Not: 20th-Century Male Artists (Koyama Press, 2016). “You take a lighthearted, humorous approach to your definitive sexual judgments, but your book is obviously a simultaneous commentary on a very real historical – and contemporary – issue surrounding the objectified female figure. What do you want your readers to take away from Hot or Not? My hope is that the absurdity of this idea – of gauging men’s work by their appearances – will make evident the absurdity of doing the same to women. And while I don’t really think it’s the case that women artists are discussed in terms of how “hot” they are, an artist’s appearance is not irrelevant to their careers. What gender someone presents as, race, class, sexuality, nationality all become relevant the further an artist strays from straight, white, male, etc. There are so many exhibitions where the only curatorial construct is that all of the artists are black, or women, or queer, and that doesn’t really address the problem. That further surreptitiously implies the white, male and straight as “neutral” positions and everything else as charged.“ Read the full interview HERE. ————————————————————————————————— There was an interview with Liz Suburbia in Razorcake awhile back that I just stumbled across. Her book Sacred Heart was recently published by Fantagraphics. “Natalye: What specifically about zines and punk influenced your direction? Liz: I think most of all it’s been the big DIY principle of making and sharing your own shit with your friends, instead of just consuming what the culture at large is manufacturing with a bottom line in mind. It’s the idea that wanting to do something is enough—you don’t have to be at a certain skill level, you don’t have to have a certain number of people paying attention, and it doesn’t matter if it’s forgotten a year from now or if it ever gets any kind of notice or makes any money. When you’re just making a zine or writing a song or whatever for your own edification, or to share with your friends because you love them and you want to do something fun for them, it keeps you in the moment. It’s what helps us feel alive. And the freedom that comes from that can open up a space for amazing things, like art and ideas that really push boundaries and platforms for people whose voices don’t get heard otherwise. My surface aesthetic tastes are fickle, but that core world view is going to enliven and sustain me until the day I die.“ Read the rest of the interview HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Dash Shaw: “I fulfilled my fantasy of being a Classics Illustrated cartoonist by doing a short comic of Willa Cather’s “O Pioneers!” for the latest issue of The Happy Reader.” Nice one Dash! Check out a recent interview with Dash on making the film My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Jim Rugg: “I follow a lot of skateboarders and skate companies for Street Angel research. One of my favorite resources is Girl Is Not a 4 Letter Word. It’s founder, Cindy Whitehead’s goal is to give women in action sports the same opportunities and recognition as their male counterparts. She pursues that goal daily by interviewing and promoting female action sports athletes on her company’s website.“ That’s something we can definitely get behind – check out the website HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Color first. lines second #comicsworkbook A photo posted by Gabriella Tito (@gabriella.tito) on Nov 1, 2016 at 9:27am PDT Recent work by Gabriella Tito. ————————————————————————————————— Sally started an eBay store to help out the Comics Workbook Rowhouse Residency and also her own comics-making projects. Check it out HERE! Share this page: [...]

05/26/2017

Sally IngrahamMay 26, 2017NewsSally here with work by Gloria Rivera and Vreni Stollberger, a reality check from Hannah Berry, an update on the Resist! and Comics 4 Choice anthologies, and wisdom from Hellen Jo and Jessica Abel. ————————————————————————————————— Hellen Jo is interviewed on Giant Robot Media. She talks about making comics vs paintings, moving away from being an animator, Korean ghosts, and the political climate’s effect on her work. “GR: Can you tell me where the strong women aspect of your work comes from? HJ: When I started self-publishing comics, I was disturbed by how little representation of Asian and Asian American women I could find in comics that I could really get behind. Nearly every character I came across was either hyper-kawaii-infantile-cute, or dragon-lady yellow fever sexualized. Where the hell were the strong minded butch girls and tomboys who were gross, dirty, mean, violent, powerful? When I was a young adult, I desperately needed to see that kind of characterization; it was my aspiration, my purest personal desire, to become that type of woman, and if I wasn’t gonna find it anywhere, I was determined to build it myself. Selfishly, I also made this art to help me express this desire and to grow into this cooler version of myself; it’s a work in progress but so far so good, I think.“ Read more HERE. ————————————————————————————————— The L.A. Zine Fest is this Sunday, May 28th, from 10-6 at the California Market Center. Comics Workbook student and comics maker-extraordinaire Gloria Rivera will be tabling – find her at 34B. She will be debuting her comic We come from a desert (above) at the festival. She drew some of this comic while in Pittsburgh, PA, for her Comics Workbook Rowhouse Residency in March of this year. ————————————————————————————————— Michael Cavna’s Comic Riffs on the Washington Post checks in on the progress of the second issue of Resist!, the political zine that was “co-founded by New Yorker art director Françoise Mouly to spotlight female creators and issues they view as important” following the election of President Trump. Instead of simply being a free newspaper to pass out at the Women’s March in Washington, Resist! quickly became part of a growing movement. ” “While everywhere else there may be protest fatigue, from our standpoint it seems to be an exciting moment of rebirth for comics as political activity,” Mouly tells The Post’s Comic Riffs. “It feels like a return to the Charlie Hebdo of my youth in May 1968,” during the Paris student riots. Mouly underscores the publication’s embrace of star cartoonists and young unknowns alike. “What’s unique to Resist! is the way it mixes the voices of librarians and young girls and accountants together with that of Roz Chast, Cathy Malkasian, Miriam Katin, Daniel Clowes and Art Spiegelman,” she says.“ The second issue, which received even more submissions than the first, is due to be released on Independence Day. Read more about it HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Here is an interesting piece by Hannah Berry (which I found through The Comics Reporter) – it ties into something that I’ve been thinking about and having conversations about a lot recently. Hannah writes that her recent graphic novel Livestock may very well be her last, and details her precarious financial situation and the hopeless reality/impossibility for most of making a “living” from being a working cartoonist. You can read more of Hannah’s thoughts HERE (scroll down a little bit). One cannot doubt that her heart is in the right place: “Comics are the most sublime form of storytelling, and I will never, ever stop making them. They offer such a perfect balance of narrative freedom and restrictions, of clarity and subtlety, that whenever anyone asks me why I make comics I wonder if they shouldn’t be asking all other writers and filmmakers why they’re not, the cuckoos. Comics are everything.“ Hannah, who has been published several times and won arts council grants in the UK, and managed to gain enough traction to pick up small supporting side-comic/art jobs…is one of the lucky ones. And she is STILL tempted to quit. You just can’t make a living doing this. Her solution to the problem is to raise a clamor and demand more funding and attention for work like hers…and mine…and ours… And I agree – but in the reality I face here in the United States, where funding and support of the arts is actually dwindling visibly…I don’t see that as a solution any more viable than us all going out to dig holes at the bottom of rainbows. I’m tired of talking about money. Most of us are never going to make any. And most of us didn’t get into this industry to do so – we did it because “comics are everything.” So let’s go with that. In the face of capitalism, to do something “for the love” is radical. We can create spaces, build an audience, be a community of organizers so that no one person is expected to find the funding. We can incubate, we can plant seeds. I think we have to stop demanding support from a limping industry propped against a broken capitalist system. We have to be better, more inventive, more giving, more dangerous than that. ————————————————————————————————— There is an excerpt from Vreni Stollberger‘s comic Nothing Feels Real on The Nib – see it HERE. You can see the rest of the story in the upcoming collection Comics for Choice: Anthology for Abortion Rights, edited by Hazel Newlevant. The collection will be about 250 pages, made by 60 writers and artists and featuring 41 stories. Learn more about the project HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Jessica Abel is offering a free online workshop this Sunday, May 28th 2017 – you can register HERE. Jessica’s line these days is that “being creative is not a state of mind” – her latest project is a book about finding/developing focus in your creative life. Check it out HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Just a few days left to apply for the summer semester of thee Santoro Correspondence Course for Comic Book Makers! The course starts June 1st. 8 weeks – $500 bux – the best comics coaching around. More details HERE or email santoroschool@gmail.com to apply. ————————————————————————————————— Blinkers – 5-26-2017 – by Jack Brougham ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 5-26-2017 – by Gabriella Tito Share this page: [...]

04/28/2016

HarrisonApril 28, 2016NewsExtra, Extra. News for Thursday with Hazlitt, Switzerland, and a Purple Party. ————————————————————————————————— Begin Jillian Tamaki Early Stories Pt. 5 The ClairFree System is now up on Hazlitt. It’s the final chapter of Tamaki’s Early Stories. Cleanser, toner and moisturizer – the backbone of the Clairfree system. Read all of Early Stories pts. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ————————————————————————————————— PassOVOver Comics Workbook’s Cameron Weston Nicholson has teamed up with Daniel Reis to bring you a very special seder. Passover’s in full force, so it’s time you read this comic. Take a seat and join us as we eat, drink, and share the untold story of how the Prince of Toronto became the 6 God. Have a seat at the seder and read it all here. ————————————————————————————————— Festival Report Raúl Burgos Paredes went to Switzerland for Fumetto 2016. Read up. Something I found quite interesting was visible commitment to producing books that have a different kind of vision, a vision that clearly reflects artistic freedom. The moderator of the panel discussion inquired about how comfortable they were in financial terms, taking into account that the works of Frémok are not maybe bestsellers because of their style. Both Olivier and Yvan were emphatic in being both keen and confident to maintain their artistic freedom, not thinking too much about financial matters. For Yvan, it’s a chosen lifestyle, he prefers to be joyfully producing the work he does than maybe being more financially comfortable, but producing works that he would not feel like doing. This response was very much inspiring! ————————————————————————————————— Boiler Sketchy I enjoyed this sketchbook page from Brandon Graham. Nice new posts over on the Royal Boiler blog. Check them out. ————————————————————————————————— Immortal From Steve Welch, the editor of New Girl, the party playlist Prince made for his appearance on the show. pic.twitter.com/2azbr4R8C5 — Anil Dash 🥭 (@anildash) April 24, 2016 Share this page: [...]

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