Comics Workbook

An online magazine for comics makers

Posted in NewsTagged altcomics 10, Anna Haifisch, caleb orecchio, gabriella tito, Gengoroh Tagame, jack brougham, Martina Schradi, Michael DeForge, toronto comic arts festival 2017, tyler landry, ulli lust

Aaron Cockle

Posted on May 11, 2017May 11, 2017

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4/25/2016

Juan FernándezApril 25, 2016NewsNew comic by Emil Friis Ernst; Kris Mukai with handy process/printing tips; Santoro and Moynihan conversation from the archives; Abhay Khosla with real talk; and a look at COMIC TRAGICS in Perth, Australia. ————————————————————————————— New Comics – All In A Day’s Work I’m happy to announce that we are featuring All In A Day’s Work, a new short story by Emil Friis Ernst, exclusive to Comics Workbook. Emil is a young cartoonist and illustrator currently studying graphic storytelling at The Animation Workshop in Viborg, Denmark. All In A Day’s Work is a hand drawn doozy of color and tension. A 10 page comic that deftly uses the 6 panel grid to great effect. Go on and give it a read! You’ll feel it in your gut, I swear. ————————————————————————————— Publish or Perish Kris Mukai has what you dorks lusting after dipping your feet into risograph printing. She’s put together a tight printing resource zine that’s sure to have all the nitty gritty you need to get started making books of all kinds. Whether it’s web risograph resources, how to start thinking in color or simply basic comics materials you might want to use, she covers it all. Good, fun casual stuff that may save your life one day… Earlier this year I was asked to teach a risograph class at the SVA Risolab. The course I developed focused on writing/drawing comics, zine production, and risograph printing. Because I moved in the middle of the semester, I ended up co-teaching the class with Patrick Crotty of PEOW! fame. These are a few of the hand-out materials that I wrote for the class. The information is sort of… half there, it’s not set in stone and the hand-outs are meant to be accompanied with in-class explanation/workshops. One of the joys of risograph printing is that there’s always exceptions to the rules.. Check out Mukai’s awesome printing resource zine here. ————————————————————————————— From The Archives Here’s a good one from the Comics Workbook Archives that we’ve unearthed for you: Frank Santoro in coversation with Jesse Moynihan. Lots of juicy process talk, along with discussions of personal creative space. Frank Santoro: You mentioned to me once—unless I’m misremembering–that you had an offer to do a Forming animated cartoon and turned it down to keep it for yourself – you talked about that Forming was your “space” and no one else’s – and maybe that you may do an animated version yourself – I forget. Jesse Moynihan: If I remember, I was just saying that initially Frederator had asked if I wanted to do an adaptation of Forming for their channel. I told them something like, “Only if I have all the rights to it,” and of course they said “no”. I didn’t expect them to say “yes”! No production company would. That’s sort of my impossible ‘deal’ with Forming. If someone wanted to adapt it into another medium – my only way of agreeing to it is if I retained exclusive rights and control over all the content. Forming is my baby, man. It’s a place where I don’t have to answer to anyone. It’s a totally pure, streamlined place. I make up an idea within this world and I draw it. Then I put it on the internet. It’s so easy and simple. So regardless of how the rest of my career goes, I’ll always have that in my pocket, unless I give it up like a bozo! Santoro: Have you been approaching the website or the way the the comic is seen online serially any different since book one came out? Like I mean, has having the book made you think AT ALL differently about the webcomic version. Nothing major – I just wonder how it feels seeing it as a book instead of a stack of originals and dots on a screen. Moynihan: Yeah as I was serializing the first volume I had no solid intention to print, so every page was self contained. A lot of the gags and thematic ideas would resolve on the last panel. Once I held a copy of the first book in my hand, I think my consciousness shifted slightly and I started spacing my action and jokes out a bit more. I would let ideas spill out over a few pages and land wherever felt natural. I started to feel less pressure to sell a single page as a self contained thing. I think the second book breathes better because of that; maybe to the detriment of how it reads online. I’m definitely now in the mind mode of, “This will eventually be printed.” so I’m putting in two page spreads and stuff like that. It’s not a super radical change, but I can tell the difference. Read the rest… ————————————————————————————— Comics Tire Fires Abhay Khosla does some aerial maneuvers up and around the continually burning wreckage that were last week’s/every week’s comics industry sexual harassment discussions surrounding. If you treat like it’s about one evil villain who needs to be held to account,who gives a fucking shit? That’s a sucker’s game. It’s never about one guy. One guy can’t do all that much bad all by themselves – it really takes a shitty village, a shitty shitty village. It’s about a culture. Comics has a culture. Here it is. Trying to find heroes in that culture is a sucker’s game. It’s a culture about constantly telling stories about anonymous savior figures emerging out of the shadows to save people… because you can’t imagine people standing up and saving themselves and saving each other – where you count on that not to happen in order to maintain status quos that should not be permitted. Read it all here. ————————————————————————————— COMIC TRAGICS in Perth COMIC TRAGICS is a great exhibition that just recently opened to the publicat THE ART GALLERY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA in Perth, Australia. I’m really excited to see how this comics focused exhibition earnestly and intelligently presents the work. The show includes work by 9 artists: Gabrielle Bell (US), Stephen Collins (UK), Aisha Franz (Germany), Anders Nilsen (US), Tommi Parrish (AUS), John Porcellino (US), Ron Regé Jr (US), Dash Shaw (US) & Emma Talbot (UK). I want to take note that I think this kind of exhibition is really ground breaking for the comics art form: contemporary comics presented in the historical context and continuity of the comics medium and on their own terms. Curator Robert Cook and company have really done a great job, here. Don’t just take my word for it, here’s some of what Ron Regé Jr. who had some work in the show has written on his blog: The show is huge, and amazing! I have an entire room dedicated to my work! Artists Emma Talbot, Tommi Parrish & I were brought to the center of Perth for a week. We gave several public talks, attended opening parties, and were interviewed by TV, radio & print. It was so much fun! Curator Robert Cook put together a large and unprecedented sort of comics exhibition. It’s a specifically curated exhibit of contemporary art – that just happens to be full of comics. The Art Gallery is the central art museum in the city. It is open free & daily. There are no stores in Perth that sell the sort of graphic novels that are represented in the exhibit. Share this page: [...]

05/17/2016

Aaron CockleMay 16, 2016NewsAntonioni Comics Continued; Sophia Foster-Dimino; Genesis Breyer P-Orridge; SPREAD Zinefest; Adam Baumgold Gallery; NYRB Comics Release Party; Boom Box Profile; James Ensor Temptations ————————————————————————————————— CW continues it’s feature of Laila Milevski’s Drawing Antonioni. Please take some time to read/re-read/re-re-read this comic, it’s one of the most creative uses of the Frank Santoro Grid Technique System I’ve seen to date. ————————————————————————————————— New Sophia Foster-Dimino Comic ————————————————————————————————— Genesis Breyer P-Orridge: Try to Altar Everything Exhibition March 11-August at the Rubin Museum, NYC For nearly half a century Genesis Breyer P-Orridge has been questioning the meaning and substance of identity through artistic endeavors, willful reincarnation, and physical shapeshifting. Try to Altar Everything, a selection of paintings, sculptures, and installations, will explore the ways that Hindu mythology and Nepal’s Kathmandu Valley have influenced the artist and h/er work. ————————————————————————————————— SPREAD ZINEFEST I hear Groningen is lovely in June. ————————————————————————————————— Comic Inspirations at Adam Baumgold Gallery ————————————————————————————————— New York Review Comics Release Party Friday, May 27 at 7pm at BookCourt in Brooklyn ————————————————————————————————— On Boom Box The success of “The Lumberjanes” started with grass-roots efforts. Ms. Watters and her fellow creators — Brooke Allen, Grace Ellis and Noelle Stevenson — made copies of the first eight pages, included an order form, and gave them out free. “It was supposed to be eight issues, and then it became something much more, kind of growing ever since beyond our wildest dreams,” Ms. Watters said. ————————————————————————————————— Temptation: The Demons of James Ensor at Art Institute Chicago The exhibition was 2014/2015 but there is still an elaborately designed interactive aspect available to those with an internet connection. ‘Before the compositions I feel anxious and exalted,’ wrote Ensor in 1887, commenting on his work as he began to develop The Temptation. More than a century later, as we explore his monumental achievement, we share something of those emotions. To study the work is at times disturbing but—as we hope you will agree—it is, above all, exhilarating. ————————————————————————————————— Share this page: [...]

09/19/2017

Aaron CockleSeptember 18, 2017NewsAaron Cockle here today with Anti-Gone Tour Dates; the International Human Rights Cartoon Award; Teju Cole on Marie Cosindas; David Salle on Rei Kawakubo; John Hankiewicz’s Education; Tac au Tac ————————————————————————————————— Anti-Gone on Tour Connor Willumsen is touring in support of his new book, available now from Koyama Press. Noel Freibert and Patrick Kyle will also be joining Willumsen on the tour. ————————————————————————————————— International Human Rights Cartoon Award Via Maren Williams at the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund: Exiled Iranian cartoonist Kianoush Ramezani, who was forced to flee his native country when the regime took notice of his work in 2009, has established a new international prize to recognize cartoonists who are speaking out on issues of human rights anywhere in the world. Submissions for the International Human Rights Cartoon Award are open now until Nov. 30 through Ramezani’s organization United Sketches. ————————————————————————————————— ‘…an ensorcelled world that included flowers, vases, dolls, lace, fur, rugs, porcelain, books, chairs, oranges, asparagus, posters, ornaments, statues, dancers, dandies, sailors, tarot cards, masks and puppets, but also those portals into other worlds — paintings, mirrors and windows — that collectively constituted a highly personal vision of reality enamored of theatrical effects and attuned to the inner life of inanimate things…’ Teju Cole looks at the photography work of Marie Cosindas (among other topics), in the longest single sentence ever published by the NY Times. …much as Cosindas carefully selected subject matter and, through technical know-how and visual intelligence — a skillful deployment of lighting, filters, exposure times, developing times and ambient temperature for florals but also other genres, including portraits and assemblages of objects of all kinds for which she disliked the term “still life,” rightly rejecting any connotation of stasis, and for which she preferred “arrangement” — turned it into indelible statements about what photography could achieve more than half a century after pictorialism’s heyday, with a use of color that was more soulful, by being somehow both freer and more disciplined, than what was generally seen in commercial color of the 1960s, and that came into the world earlier than the work of some other great color photography pioneers like William Eggleston, whose style was more deadpan, less arranged, less obviously artful and more in keeping with the preference of critics and curators, once they acquired a taste for it, for what art photography in color should look like, though the louche and antiquarian work that Cosindas made did result in considerable fame for her in the ’60s and ’70s, with solo exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art (before Eggleston), the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Art Institute of Chicago, but did not win her glory in most standard histories of photography, in which other artists, mostly younger than she and almost all male, are credited as the true pioneers of color, so that she came to be seen as an anomaly, neither modern nor contemporary, in part because her particular contribution to photography was mystical, sensuous, unashamed of beauty and grounded in the combination of everyday objects with exotic ones, an earnestness that fit awkwardly with the ironic and occasionally cynical tastes that dominated the last half-century but put her firmly in the line of many artists in history who were revolutionary not by founding a new school of thought but by discovering unexpected life in old approaches, not in keeping with the times but rather timeless,… ————————————————————————————————— ‘For this interplay of references to have real weight, there must be at least hints of a discernible visual syntax.’ David Salle looks at length at the Rei Kawakubo exhibit, which just ended its run at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. The exhibition design, a collaboration between Kawakubo and the Met curators, follows no perceptible chronology. Enclosures of various shapes—inverted cones, flattened spheres and semicircles, keyholes, ovals, triangles—contain the clothes, which are grouped by collection or theme. These frames are rendered in white plasterboard and lit from above by dense rows of fluorescent tubes, making a shadowless space, objective in tone. They are like viewing platforms, some of which function as small proscenium stages, while others are more like theater in the round. Still others are like caves whose restrictive openings give only a partial view of the clothes within. There is no attempt to make the clothes themselves look inhabited. Dresses and other garments are displayed on mannequin forms supported by thin metal rods, like sculpture. They are what Giacometti’s figures would be wearing had they taken the time to get dressed. ————————————————————————————————— EDUCATION, by John Hankiewicz Henry Chamberlain at the Comics Grinder blog looks at John Hankiewicz’s most recent book. Yes, this is a very arty book but it avoids becoming an academic hot mess. Much to enjoy in simply accepting a greyhound head as a beam of light. Much to enjoy in a disjointed narrative if done right. There is certainly a long tradition of artists using text that doesn’t really seem to match the adjacent imagery. Think of Magritte and his play with text and image. Ever mindful of that, no doubt, Hankiewicz seems to relish his playing with text and image, and delightfully recontextualizing images, just like playing improvisational jazz. ————————————————————————————————— Tac au Tac Juan Fernández has a write-up (with extensive links) to the French TV program from 1969-1975 that brought cartoonists together to engage in improvisational drawing. The concept was simple, efficient, and allowed for many variations: A huge, blank white page and cartoonists equipped with just a simple marker. A theme was proposed (ex. invasion or pursuit), sometimes a visual starting point (simple line, spiral, circle), and the authors improvised, either collaboratively with their peers, or in a duel facing off against their opponents. The result was often far more than a juxtaposition of drawings, it was often a real visual dialogue between cartoonists. ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 9-19-2017 – by Sally Ingraham ————————————————————————————————— Share this page: [...]

Comic Arts Brooklyn 2017

Chris Anthony DiazJanuary 25, 2018The Diaz ArchiveComic Arts Brooklyn, Saturday, November 11, 2017, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York (clicking image will take you to the cartoonist’s link) Share this page: [...]

07/21/2016

HarrisonJuly 21, 2016NewsDaily News with Harrison returns with drones, thoughts about war, dark animation, and ends with a question. ————————————————————————————————— Ride or Die “Jasper. We’re picking up a lot of drone noise. I think there’s a watch coming.” Sam Alden‘s Test of Loyalty at Hazlitt. Here ————————————————————————————————— Shadow and Form Jonathan Djob Nkondo’s Dark Day is a conflation of everything I want from contemporary animation; moody, inventive, stark, humorous, surreal, frightening, and impeccably illustrated. Pts. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. ————————————————————————————————— Before ” “NOddIN” is a collective launched by filmmakers and artists in the wake of the 3.11 Great East Japan Earthquake and related Fukushima nuclear power plant accident. With the cooperation of a large number of Japanese animation artists, we spearheaded this self-production with the aim to animate the words of the book round-robin style, and our collaborative project was begun. After over a year of production including the conception period, we completed our short film.” – The NOddIN team, October 2, 2015 More about the film project here. More about the collective NOddIN here. ————————————————————————————————— Visions of Heroes Friend of Comics Workbook Chris Visions has a collection of fun drawing videos shot by Richmond photographer/videographer Tyler Q. Tucker on his site. Here. ————————————————————————————————— Why? Share this page: [...]

05/11/2017

Posted on May 11, 2017May 11, 2017 by Aaron Cockle

Aaron filling in today with a pre-TCAF run-down.

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The Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF) is scheduled for Saturday-Sunday, May 13-14. Here is a brief listing of some of the many wonderful event offerings that may be of interest to our regular and patient readers:

Gengoroh Tagame
My Brother’s Husband – Exhibition by Gengoroh Tagame
May 9th to May 30th, 2017 @ Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge Street, 1st Floor Display Room (Near the Browsery), Free

The Toronto Comic Arts Festival is proud to a host a small display of materials from the creation of My Brother’s Husband, the new graphic novel series by TCAF Featured Guest Gengoroh Tagame. Winner of the Excellence Award for manga at The 19th Japan Media Art Festival, My Brother’s Husband is the moving story of a Japanese man learning to accept his late brother’s Canadian husband, the first LGBT person he’s ever met, who is visiting Japan. Upon winning the award, a small display of roughly 16 pieces of Tagame’s artwork, from layouts, to penciled pages, to final artwork, was assembled to be displayed for the award ceremony. It is this exhibition of materials, with additional English language material, which will be exhibited at Toronto Reference Library this May, as a part of The Toronto Comic Arts Festival. My Brother’s Husband will make its English-language debut at The Toronto Comic Arts Festival, May 13th and 14th, 2017, from Pantheon Books, a division of Penguin Random House. TCAF would like to thank Toronto Public Library, and Pantheon Books, for their assistance with this exhibition.

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The German Comics Pavilion
Featuring Anna Haifisch, Ulli Lust, and Martina Schradi
Saturday May 13, 9am-5pm & Sunday May 14, 10am-5pm
The Appel Salon, Novella Room, Toronto Reference Library 2nd Floor
Presented in association with the Goethe-Institut, Internationaler Comic-Salon Erlangen, Germany @ Canada 2017: Partners from Immigration to Innovation, the Federal Foreign Office and the German Comics Association

The Toronto Comic Arts Festival is proud to welcome a special pavilion of cartoonists, publishers, associations, and gallery shows from Germany! Germany is home to a thriving comics and artistic scene, and at TCAF 2017 you’ll be able to sample some of the diverse wares, thanks to a special international exchange between TCAF and Internationaler Comic-Salon Erlangen in Germany, with the incredible support of the Goethe-Institut. The pavilion is located on the second floor of Toronto Reference Library in the Appel Salon. TCAF will travel to Erlangen in 2018 with a cadre of Canadian cartoonists, to complete the exchange. Exhibiting in the pavilion will be cartoonists Anna Haifisch, Ulli Lust, and Martina Schradi, as well as Internationaler Comic-Salon Erlangen and The German Comics Association, and German comics publisher Rotopol (who will also be present but exhibiting on Toronto Reference Library’s first floor, so look for them there). The Pavilion will also house 3 small art exhibitions, including: “Ach, So Ist Das? (Oh, is that so?),” a survey of contemporary LGBTI society; a survey of contemporary German comics curated by comics journalist Lars von Törne for the Frankfurt Book Fair and presented here in collaboration with the German Comics Association; a selection of prints by Anna Haifisch.

Anna Haifisch

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Tyler Landry will be representing Comics Workbook at TCAF with a special workshop on Sunday, May 14th, in the Writers Room, on the 3rd floor of the Toronto Reference Library.

12:30pm – Comics Workbook : Composing a Spread – This workshop is about visual storytelling. Learn essentials of generating ideas, building a page, editing, and refining a functional comic spread layout. This workshop is PERFECT for beginners, or anyone more seasoned who wants to try a different approach to bringing their ideas to the page This workshop is being facilitated by Tyler Landry (Comics Workbook Member, Santoro Correspondence Course Alumnus, Cartoonist, Art Director, Head of the Charlottetown Comics Club)

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Other Programming Highlights

- - Saturday, May 13:
    - 11:00 AM – Koyama Press 10th Anniversary Celebration – Koyama Press is now 10 years old! Join founder and publisher Annie Koyama, as well as a slew of artists whose work she has helped usher into the world, as they reflect back on the past 10 years, challenges and highlights of independent comics, and what their plans would’ve been had Koyama Press not come along. The comics world would be very different, that’s for sure! Happy Birthday KP!Panelists: Michael DeForge, John Martz, Jane Mai, Fiona Smyth, Aaron Leighton, Anne Koyama. Moderator: Dustin Harbin.
    - 01:30 PM – Expressive Lines And The Power of Restraint – There are many ways of showcasing expressive art in comics. Join Hellen Jo, Ron Rege Jr., Keren Katz, Maggie Umber, and Xia Gordon as they talk about what goes into composing a page, what influences their art, and how they use expressiveness to tell a story.
    - 2:00 PM – Watercolour and Comics – Julia Bax is an illustrator based in São Paulo, Brazil. She has been drawing comics for the majority of her career, and has been published in the United States, France, and of course, Brazil. In 2015 her book Princesse Caraboo (story by Ozanam) was published by Le Lombard in France. In this album the pages were illustrated using watercolor, and that is the theme of this workshop. Julia will explain her process from layout to completed page, and demonstrate the technique she used in Princesse Caraboo. If you have a love for traditional media and isn’t afraid of getting your hands dirty, this is the workshop for you!
    - 02:45 PM – Spotlight: Marcelino Truong x Thi Bui – With Such a Lovely Little War and The Best We Could Do, Marcelino Truong and This Bui share their powerful and compelling stories about the Vietnam War. Following their families’ experiences in getting out of the country, to the struggles of immigration, these creators explore the traumas of war. Join Marcelino and Thi as they discuss what drew them to comics to tell their stories, and what challenges they still see ahead for Vietnamese communities around the world.
  - Sunday, May 14
    - 10:30 AM – Book Shrinking – Make a miniature version of your favourite zine/comic book/artist book! Bring: A book you’d like to shrink and drawing supplies (preferably dry media, i.e., markers, coloured pencils, pens, scissors and transparent tape/double sided tape). This workshop is being facilitated by Keren Katz (The Academic Hour).
    - 12:00 PM – Comics As Political Resistance – Comics are amazing tools for communicating. This is never more vital than when telling your stories involves speaking out against oppressive systems or political climates. Join Nate Powell (March), Ben Passmore (Your Black Friend), Julia Alekseyeva (Soviet Daughter) and Matt Lubchansky (The Nib) as they talk about how creating and sharing comics can be an act of political resistance in these troubling times.
    - 02:00 PM – So Pretty / Very Rotten – So Pretty / Very Rotten is a collection of comics and essays that are at once academic and intimate, exploring the world of Lolita fashion and cute culture. In celebration of their new book and art show, Jane Mai and An Nguyen will be at the Japan Foundation for a reading and presentation that goes beyond the clothes.
    - 4:00 PM – 10 Years 10 Years: Koyama Press x 2dcloud – Annie Koyama & Raighne talk about 10 years at their respective labels and what the next 10 years might look like.

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Michael DeForge, https://www.instagram.com/richardsvalley/

Wowee Zonk Small Press Showcase
The Toronto Comic Arts Festival and Wowee Zonk proudly present the Wowee Zonk Small Press Showcase for 2017. Curated by Toronto Artists Chris Kuzma, Ginette Lapalme and Patrick Kyle, the Wowee Zonk Small Press Showcase highlights some of the best and most exciting work being made in comics, zines, and independent publishing.

See below for the entire list of artists! You’ll be able to find all these fantastic folks in the Browsery at the Toronto Reference Library.

Patrick Kyle – patrickkyle.com

Chris Kuzma – chriskuzma.com

Ginette Lapalme – ginettelapalme.com

Ted Gudlat – tedgudlat.tumblr.com

Keith Jones – Zipzapzoo.com

Brie Moreno – boogerbrie.tumblr.com

Kendra Yee – kendrayee.com

DDOOGG – shop.ddoogg.ca

Issue Press – issue.press

Swimmers Group – swimmersgroup.com

Alabaster Pizzo – alabasterpizzo.com

Tommi Parrish – tommipg.tumblr.com

Lee Lai – lee-lai.tumblr.com

Anya Davidson – anyadavidson.com

Colour Code – shop.colourcodeprinting.com

Eli Howey – elihowey.ca

Sabrina Scott – witchbody.com

Jamie Q – jamieq.net

Inés Estrada – inechi.com

Michael DeForge – michael-deforge.com

Adam De Souza – kumerish.com

Lily Snowden-Fine – lilysnowdenfine.com

Walker Mettling – walkermettling.tumblr.com

Ben Sears – freebensears.com

Connor Willumsen – connorwillumsen.com

Daryl Seitchik – darylseitchik.com

Starchild Stela – instagram.com/littlestarchild

<3 JG <3 PLANT WORLD PRINTING – plantworld.tictail.com

Jenn Liv – jennliv.com

Michael Comeau – slomeau.tumblr.com

Alicia’s Klassic Kool Shoppe – alicianauta.com

Forge Art Mag – forgeartmag.com

Perish Publishing – perishpublishing.ca

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Announcing the Summer Semester of the Santoro Correspondence Course for Comic Book Makers!

8 weeks! 500 bux! Payment plans are available! Summer Course starts June 1st 2017!

Applications are due by May 25th.

Visit THIS page for more details and email santoroschool@gmail.com with applications and questions!

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Blinkers – 5-11-2017 – by Jack Brougham

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Suzy and Cecil – 5-11-2017 – by Gabriella Tito

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Joanie and Jordie – 5-11-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio

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Comics Workbook

An online magazine for comics makers

Aaron Cockle

Posted on May 11, 2017May 11, 2017

Explore

10/31/2016

Juan FernándezOctober 31, 2016NewsJuan here with the good stuff: Chris Diaz photographs CXC 2016; Connor Willumsen’s LICAF report; interview with NYRB Comics Editor, Gabriel Winslow-Yost; Rob Clough on Patreon; Maggie Umber on great horned owls; Tom Spurgeon interviews Gabe Fowler; thoughts on CAB + APE. ————————————————————————————————— ⚡Want to see some of North America’s finest cartoonists? Chris Diaz has shared some photographs of the greats who showed up at CXC in the Diaz Archive here on the site – Seth, Sacha Mardou, Charles Burns and many more! This is just part 1 of 2, so stay tuned! ————————————————————————————————— ⚡Connor Willumsen’s LICAF report is live on the site. Mint Cakes, sheep-gazing, his workshop experiences, and Frank’s “intuitive” driving. All detailed in full. Hilarious and inspiring. You’re not going to want to miss this one! It is a struggle to reflect on anything without first commenting on the unfathomable number of sheep abstractly pacing between an ancient network of low stone walls up in the Lake District of northern England. I guess I saw, by virtue of my eyes being open, over a thousand sheep over the weekend. I became self conscious and learned to be discreet about my developing preoccupation with photographing them. ————————————————————————————————— ⚡ The Arkansas International has an interview with NYRB Comics Editor, Gabriel Winslow-Yost. NYRB’s comics publishing in the last year have been a delightful curation over forgotten cartooning gems. All of which have been especially visceral. A hell of a reprint project! Perhaps related to the above — what do you see as the mission of the imprint? Our main inspiration is the NYRB Classicsseries, which we’ve both been huge fans of for a long time. It’s brought hundreds of absolutely wonderful books into English and back into print over the past decade-plus, and built an audience that is adventurous and open — readers who will take a chance on books from all sorts of times and places, and in all sorts of styles. The idea behind NYR Comics is simply that something similar could be done for comics. Because of the somewhat tortured history of comics publishing in the US, there are a lot of fantastic works that have fallen way out of print, or never really even got into print, or were never translated into English —but that are still vital and exciting. And that have an audience out there, waiting for them, if only they knew… ————————————————————————————————— ⚡Rob Clough has launched a Patreon. Clough is one of the most attentive small press comics reviewers out there. He can contextualize even the most seemingly ephemeral publication. It’s incredible. AND he makes the valiant effort to review the work of cartoonists and comics makers whose work has usually never been reviewed. I encourage you to support his writing through patreon. We’ve gotten to read his excellent writing for years for free, it’s time we support his craft. I’ve been writing comics criticism for fifteen years now, in places like Savant, The Comics Journal, Cicada, Sequart, Foxing Quarterly, Sequential Magazine and the Poopsheet Foundation. Of course, my home base for a decade has been my own High-Low site: http://highlowcomics.blogspot.com I’ve been providing criticism about comics from across the alternative/indy spectrum, including shedding light on new artists, short-run minicomics, YA comics, and of course the major releases from Fantagraphics, Drawn & Quarterly, etc. Anyone who’s been following my blog for the past six months has seen that I’ve been adding reviews five days a week. ————————————————————————————————— ⚡Maggie Umber has cooked up a cool little reflection on the development of her latest long-form comics work, the Sound of Snowfalling. Learn more about the whole process over on Medium. In my tenth grade biology class we did the usual things: dissected frogs, identified birds from slide shows, and raised plants from seedlings in paper towels. It seemed like the typical high school science experience until we were asked to write a research paper in first person from an animal’s perspective. My imagination went into overdrive. The idea took ahold of me like nothing has since. For three weeks in tenth grade I became a great horned owl. ————————————————————————————————— ⚡CAB is right around the corner this weekend in Brooklyn, NY! To get you into high gear for the comics freak explosion that will sound descend upon Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, you’ll want to check out this interview with head festical organizer, Gabe Fowler. Thanks to Tom Spurgeon for always asking the right questions over on Comics Reporter. SPURGEON: My impression is that this year’s show was not a sure thing, and as I recall you announced a bit later than most shows might announce. Why the hesitancy? What put you over the top in terms of wanting to do another one? FOWLER: I’m basically burned out. Organizing a show by myself is a lot of work, I care about it a great deal, and it takes a lot out of me personally. I also have seen a widespread proliferation of shows since I conceived of our first show in 2009, and I have mixed feelings about it. When I initially wanted to start a show I knew it had to be something vital to the culture and a kick in the ass.. I don’t want to beat a dead horse. I want to make an innovative and fresh show out of nothing. Since I lack the funds or institutional support of larger festivals it becomes exhausting to create a worthwhile show while I’m running a business and working on my own creative projects. But in the end, I love it, and I can’t not do it. ————————————————————————————————— ⚡ As the latest iteration of CAB approaches, I think it serves us well to think about the constant change that these kinds of festivals take in the US. Take APE or example. The show used to be HUGE. In the early 2000s it was a juggernaut that rivaled SPX. It seemed that for everyone on the West Coast, APE was a rite of passage. Stephanie Tran‘s written a little on what it’s like today over on Women Write About Comics. It’s welcoming to new comers and is taking a different, smaller form, as demanded by the rest of the West Coast’s comics ecosystem. Interesting. It was held not in the San Jose Convention Center’s Exhibit Hall as I expected, but in its South Hall, a metal-framed structure that resembled more of a hanger than an actual hall. This turned out to be perfect for APE–unlike Heroes and Villains Fan Fest, APE spread out its exhibitors, leaving them with about a foot on each side instead of placing tables end-to-end. The setting was much more intimate and casual than Heroes and Villains, and, when coupled with the lack of a large crowd, encouraged dialogues and gave attendees the opportunity to mill around the booths and flip through a comic or look over the exhibitor’s art. According to veteran exhibitors and other attendees, the con has been getting smaller over the years (one person suggested that this was due to another independent comic fest in Berkeley though perhaps it has more to do with the SF Zine fest), but the size of APE was just right for my first time at an independent publishing expo. ————————————————————————————————— ⚡Even if you didn’t making it to one of the Comics Workbook-hosted workshops at SPX, CXC, or LICAF this year, you can still bring your comics game to a new level via thee Santoro School Handbook for Making Better Comics by Frank Santoro and Kurt Ankeny. Printed offset on cardstock by the professionals at The Prolific Group, Winnipeg, Canada, this is not some cheap color xerox or risograph. Looks great, feels great, and even smells great. Always available at our store HERE – free shipping worldwide! ————————————————————————————————— until next time! Juan Share this page: [...]

Cartoon Crossroads Columbus: is this real life?

MardouOctober 21, 2016Festivals and ShowsCXC happened last weekend in Columbus, OH, and I got to represent Team Comics Workbook and also myself as a special guest (this has never happened to me before – count me overexcited and also terrified!) I get in on Thursday night and head to the President’s Reception feeling very wallflowerish as I know literally no one except through Facebook and Instagram. First off I meet Tom Spurgeon (finally!), Jeff Bone and his lovely wife Vijaya, Caitlyn McGurk, and Robin the Inkstud. I nervously nurse my wine and then I am rescued by Sergio Aragonés, who sits next to me with a plate of meatballs and a beer. I’m a vegan but I don’t even care about the meatballs! It’s Sergio Aragonés and I proceed to fannishly monopolize him for the next hour. Sergio! I’ve loved his comics in Mad Magazine since I was eight years old. Ahhh. Those moments of life where nothing degrades or disappoints. CXC is already off to a GREAT start. Friday morning I’m giving a Peer-to-Peer talk at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum. I’m very nervous, but also ‘over prepared’ – I’m not going to TRUMP this, thank you very much. It’s also at 10 am, so I figure no one’s hardly going to be there. WRONG! It was a full house; I talked about scripting and planning processes for long form fiction in comics. I tried to jazz it up with stories of ayahuasca (not my own of course, I’m totally square, dear reader) and out of body experiences and Amazonian explorers. And I did a reading from the thumbnails of a new graphic novel I’ve been working on this year. Once that was out of the way, I was free to enjoy the Billy Ireland Museum. I loved it so much. I copied some stuff in my sketchbook whilst I explored in a blissed out state. Oh and I ran into old pal T. Edward Bak and we had lunch. Day Two: AWESOME. I skipped the festivities on Friday night so that I could be the sole un-hungover person at CXC on Saturday for a full day of tabling and socializing. I made the right decision. You have to treat comic’s shows like an eleven-hour congressional hearing, i.e.: you need STAMINA. (Apologies if the election has snuck in to my CXC coverage. Ohio is very much a swing state and my weekend, traffic, eating in bars etc, were interrupted by bizarre looking fashionista Trumpettes and a presidential motorcade – yes, both Trump and Obama had been/were in Columbus that very weekend.) So, Day Three: Saturday tabling. It went great. I hunkered down with Team Comics Workbook, and got to finally meet some of my Comics Workbook Roller Derby of the Mind compadres, particularly Alyssa Berg, Whit Taylor and Sally Ingraham. At one o’clock I had an author spotlight thing, which was easy and fun, thanks to Jared Gardner. I read from Sky In Stereo, and afterwards would sell all my copies. Sweet! So far I’m enjoying this show so much. The downtown Columbus Metropolitan Library is bright and airy, there’s some good energy about, the locals are so friendly and the organizers are present and visible. And I’ve sold all my comics! This never happens. But afterwards when I’m alone again, in this new Midwestern city, I’m strolling around downtown Columbus at twilight. It’s Saturday but everything’s closing or closed. I feel a little spooked out and get to thinking about Dorothy Thompson talking about Terre Haute in the 40s or something. She wrote to her man, Sinclair Lewis: “This is a lonely country, it is so goddamned empty. I am turning mystic. Surely there is something in the very air of a city where civilized people have lived, worked, dreamed loved and enjoyed civilized pleasures for hundreds of years…some radioactivity which lingers in the atmosphere. I begin to believe in ghosts, gentle ghosts which keep one company in ancient towns. Here there are none.” Traveling alone spooks me out. I’m not a good traveler at the best of times. I walk; admire statues and fountains and government buildings. I pass a tiny Episcopalian church. It has an 8am service on Sunday morning. Tomorrow! Maybe I’ll go, I tell myself, just to feel somehow cosmically rooted again. ‘You know what?’ I think, ‘I will definitely go. I’ll set my alarm tonight.’ I go back to my hotel room and spruce up for that evening’s drinks reception in honor of Stan Sakai. And I have fun! I forget my lonely existential Midwestern emptiness and that night I roll into bed at 3am having been to a Haunted House in ruralish Ohio with my publisher and a couple of Rhode Island hepcats. The Haunted House has a definite ‘juggalo’ vibe, something I’d heard about but never seen. It was gross and yucky, people in costumes tried to touch me! But the sight of rural folk wielding fake chainsaws made out of leaf blowers and duct tape PLUS the company of good friends has somehow righted me again. I don’t set my alarm after all. I don’t need church. I just need sleep dammit, and I just need ‘my people’ and this weekend Columbus, OH, has been full of them. On Sunday I sell all my publisher’s copies of Sky in Stereo, experience a sleep-deprived meltdown and Alyssa Berg revives me with dried mango slices and crystal healing. I get through! I meet Keiler Roberts and Noah Van Sciver, they’re both great! I talk to lots and lots of people. Until its time to go get my plane! Sergio Aragonés stops by my table to say goodbye. Is this real life? Before I go I coerce Tom Spurgeon into a hug. It feels right. My delightful assistant (I have an assistant!) Sara drives me to Chipotle and then to the airport. I fly home that night in the darkness over Midwestern cities that look like small bejeweled funfairs in pools of rural soupy darkness. America is a strange place. I’m full of that crackling comics energy. Ready to retreat again and draw my next comic. Thanks Columbus, OH. Thanks to all the volunteers who were so nice and the librarians who were unfazed by all these cartoonists, and to the comics community, including my own Comics Workbook community, for being so rad. Is it not amazing that comics people can just assemble and friendships made at CAKE or SPX years ago, can just pick up again, over printed pages and falafels? Well, it’s sort of magical to me. I get to be part of this. It was a strange and spooky, magical weekend. I wanna come back for more! I do, I do. ————————————————————————————————— Sacha Mardou is a Brit making comics in St Louis, Missouri. Sky in Stereo is her most recent comic. For the rest of our complete CXC coverage check out the special “round up” report HERE. Share this page: [...]

04/17/2018

Aaron CockleApril 17, 2018NewsAaron here today with Latin American Art; Remembering Geneviève Castrée; Banksy/Zehra Doğan; Retrofit Comics 2018 Subscription ————————————————————————————————— Radical Women: Latin American Art, 1960–1985 At the Brooklyn Museum through July 22: The artworks on view range from painting and sculpture to photography, video, performance, and other new mediums. Included are emblematic figures such as Lygia Pape, Ana Mendieta, and Marta Minujín, alongside lesser‐known names such as Cuban‐born abstract painter Zilia Sánchez; Colombian sculptor Feliza Bursztyn; Peruvian composer, choreographer, and activist Victoria Santa Cruz; and Argentine mixed‐media artist Margarita Paksa. The Brooklyn presentation also includes Nuyorican portraits by photographer Sophie Rivera, as well as work from Chicana graphic arts pioneer Ester Hernández, Cuban filmmaker Sara Gómez, and Afro-Latina activist and artist Marta Moreno Vega. ————————————————————————————————— “Poetry seemed useless in the context of actual annihilation.” On Studio 360, Kurt Anderson talks with Phil Elverum, husband of Geneviève Castrée, who passed away in 2016, about Elverum’s recent Mount Eerie albums, which are about Castrée’s death. Her last book, A Bubble, will be published in June by D&Q. ————————————————————————————————— Zehra Doğan/Banksy Patricia Mastricolo at the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund wrote about the Banksy mural protesting the imprisonment of Turkish artist and journalist Zehra Doğana few weeks back: This first night the mural was revealed, a projection of the dark painting Doğan is imprisoned for showed over the mural. Based off a photo Doğan saw, she painted the rubble of a Kurdish town, destroyed by tanks, with the Turkish flag flying over the town. She painted the tanks as surreal monsters. The Turkish government said that the painting compromised military security, even though it was based on a government photograph. ————————————————————————————————— Retrofit Comics 2018 All the Sad Songs – Summer Pierre Fashion Forecasts – Yumi Sakugawa I Love You – Sara Lautman John, Dear – Laura Lannes Our Wretched Town Hall – Eric Kostiuk Williams The Prince – Liam Cobb Survive 300 Million 1 – Pat Aulisio Survive 300 Million 2: Serpentine Captives – Pat Aulisio The Troublemakers – Baron Yoshimoto TRUMPTRUMP vol. 2: Modern Day Presidential – Warren Craghead III Understanding – Becca Tobin The Winner – Karl Stevens ————————————————————————————————— Vision Box – 4-17-2018 – by Cameron Arthur ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 4-17-2018 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

10/02/2017

Caleb OrecchioOctober 2, 2017NewsCaleb Orecchio here with your Monday edition of the Daily News providing a CXC wrap-up. ———————————————————————————————— What a weekend. A long weekend. From September 28th to October 1st I attended Cartoon Crossroads Columbus with Comics Workbook, and I have no regrets. First I must thank Frank Santoro who, apart from being my favorite cartoonist, is the fearless leader of Comics Workbook –without whom, my experience of these festivals would be lacking any sense of purpose. Thanks Frank! Also have to thank Sally Ingraham who keeps me and the other kids in check and with things to do–she also serves as an inspiration of work ethic in comics. Next I should thank the CXC Executive committee, the people who make this show what it is and tirelessly keep the wheels going–Jeff Smith, Lucy Caswell, Vijaya Iyer, Kathleen Glosan, Tom Spurgeon and Melody Reed. Thanks for putting on such a great show. ———————————————————————————————— FIRST DAY–Thursday September 28th Got there in time to meet the rest of the Comics Workbook crew and see Kevin Huizenga’s talk about his use of time in comics. As you may have guessed, the talk was very in-depth and interesting. I thought it was cool that he remembers, vividly, drawing his first comic. He ran through his Ganges catalog and gave us examples of how he plays with time and how time has many different perspectives. You, dear reader, probably already know this, but he is extremely smart and I was really impressed with the amount of research that goes into each issue of Ganges. And so we, the CW crew hung out and around OSU campus and caught up with each other and generally palled around. The official CW caravan crew was Frank Santoro, Sally Ingraham, Connor Willumsen, Audra Stang, and Kurt Ankeny driving in from Pittsburgh–then myself who came in from Dayton, OH. We also saw the likes of Adam Griffith, Phil Dokes, Juan Fernandez, Jenn Lisa, and Aaron Cockle that weekend. Of course, how could I not mention the Billy Ireland. What you’ve heard is true. It’s amazing. Often, peoples hearts stop and their eyes get teary. I’ve written much on this before and so have others, so I won’t take up any more space on here about this subject. SECOND DAY–Friday September 29th First thing I saw was Leslie Stein’s tutorial on watercolor and other various materials she uses. Very fun lecture. Stein did great crowd work and was entertaining while she drew. I found it interesting just how much of an education this was for a lot of people in the audience who didn’t even know what a micron pen was(!). Side note, I think microns should die a quick and sudden death–but that’s just me. Audra, Kurt and I got lunch and hung out. They gave me some tips on drawing portraits–they are both very accomplished in this field, among others, and I am often quite jealous of their ability. At 3:00pm, was the Chris Ware spotlight moderated by Caitlin McGurk. My friends, you could not have seen a better talk. Chris Ware was, as usual, completely and utterly fantastic–funny, intelligent, self-deprecating–everything you’d ever want from the man. And Caitlin McGurk was an excellent interviewer, she could hold her own and her intellect matched Ware’s. In fact, Ware surprised her by mentioning how an article about memory that she wrote when she was nineteen, changed the way he thought about memory–the article was recommended by Chester Brown–and much of her ideas in that article made their way into Building Stories. Like I said, the interview was amazing, I could not be happier with the experience. Real quick, I’ll share one of the anecdotes that Ware shared about his daughter (when she was six)–I’m paraphrasing: Ware: Okay, Daddy has to go upstairs to work. Daughter: Daddy, you’re not going upstairs to work, you’re going upstairs to blame yourself. (Uncontrollable laughter by crowd) Then at 5:00pm comes The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum 40th Anniversary Reception. Got to spend quality time with Audra and Connor before the awards for Master Cartoonist and Transformative Cartoonist were awarded to Kyle Baker and Howard Cruse, respectively, by Tom Spurgeon and Jeff Smith. Before the awards were passed out, Jeff Smith gave a very touching thank you to all the staff, volunteers and sponsors of CXC. What was particularly touching was Smith’s thank you to Lucy Caswell–who was his mentor and, I think it’s fair to say, we would not know Jeff Smith as we know him today if not for Lucy. THIRD and FOURTH DAY–Saturday September 3oth—Sunday October 1st First day of Expo and Marketplace. Comics Workbook had our table next to Connor Willumsen’s which was nice. Frank ran both tables expertly. Watching him table, one learns the ropes. He’s certainly the best tabler I’ve seen–maybe only rivaled by his own mentor, Bill Boichel. People love going to Frank’s table and talking to him and commenting on “back issues” or anything that comes to mind. It was fun to see him talk to the likes of Rob Clough, Peter Bagge, Matt Fraction, Tom Spurgeon, Jeff Smith, etc. etc. People have such a respect for Frank. He’s the man. Connor Willumsen had workshops literally every hour while the library was open–AND he would occasionally come up to his table and draw sketches, sign and draw in his book–Anti-Gone, it’s amazing–for people. Connor’s amazing, dude can draw straight to ink like a master. I’d be mad at him if he wasn’t such a kind, thoughtful person. Speaking of Connor, he was on a panel with Jeff Smith, Peter Bagge, and Kyle Baker–three giants of comics and some of the most successful cartoonist fiscally and critically. Despite Connor’s relatively low-profile compared to these legends, Connor held his own and impressed everyone on the panel with his cartooning prowess (all three legends took a look at his book during the session) and his ability to hold an audience. Connor had a busy weekend and a tall tall mountain to climb–and he finished the race a mile in front of the pack. Frank says he’s the “starting center fielder” on the scene these days. Sally Ingraham took over for Connor during his aforementioned panel because he was double-booked and people still wanted to learn comics. Every time I want to complain about comics and how much it engulfs my life, I remember that Sally is a savage and never complains. She is ready to jump in whenever and wherever CW needs her–and is totally prepared. AND she still manages to make a daily comic. Audra Stang is a rising star. I heard critics mention her work multiple times throughout the weekend. People are starting to pay attention to her–and you should too. I have to mention how particularly fun the last CXC after-party at Pins Mechanical was. Evan Dorkin was the host and made everyone howl with laughter. When I arrived, Frank was holding a ping pong tournament where Dustin Harbin was the undisputed champ. We came in when he was battling the great JC Menu. Harbin has an interesting serve that is hard to keep track of, but it was no match for my past youth group skills. Once I came in to play–the pace changed. I never lost a game. Connor came close though–so did Dustin. It was fun–Frank had to bench me because I had beaten everyone and other people wanted to play. haha I say all this to brag about beating a bunch of great cartoonists at ping pong–it’s ridiculous. All in all, CXC was great. I love going because, 1.) it’s my hometown festival, and 2.) I haven’t been to show that has such a mix of camps and to see all those camps mingling is something to behold. And my comics sold pretty well so no complaints from me. Thanks again to everyone who makes CXC a great show, from the executive committee to the donors to the board of directors and volunteers. Thank you! And once again, thanks to Frank and Sally for their support of the Comics Workbook “kids” and our endeavors. -CO ———————————————————————————————— if you don’t know now you know Be sure to check out the great Bill Boichel’s review of John Hankiewicz’s Education on this very site. Latest Inkstuds interview is with Sophia Foster-Domino. Speaking of which, Annie Mok talks to Sophia Foster-Domino over at TCJ.com. Gina Wynbrandt is the latest guest on Comics Decalogue, also on TCJ. Latest Process Party guest is Christopher Sebela. ———————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 10-2-2017 – by Audra Stang Share this page: [...]

02/22/2016

Juan FernándezFebruary 22, 2016NewsLet’s start off right with a look at Ron Wimberley’s latest offerings! He’s published his 12 powerful illustrations of black luminaries. He did 12 last year in February. He did 12 this year. You can see the full set in detail over here. For snippets of the inking process, hop on over to Ron’s Instagram. He’s also got the whole behind the scenes action over at his Patreon. Very much worth checking out if you’ve been looking to step up your inking game. I dropped three a week. Here are most of them. Original inks and zip are for sale, $350 a piece. DM me with inquiries (All but Zadie Smith are available as of this posting) – Ron Ever been to Prague? Yeah, me neither! But with Sophia Foster-Dimino‘s most recent travel diary I now know a good deal of what I should check out should I ever have the good fortune to go. Art, history and day drinking with KJ Martinet. She’s shared her pages via twitter as she completed them and it seems some were made while abroad and others upon returning. I love Sophia’s way of plugging in completed comics sequences, illustrations and doodles and filling the text around them. Really refreshing and inspiring assemblage process. One for the utility belt, kids. For now, take a peek on her travels! I’m in Prague for a week with @kjmartinet, gonna try to document it as much as possible, travel tips appreciated ✨ pic.twitter.com/MRXJR5AvFn — Sophia Foster-Dimino (@hellophia) February 10, 2016 Thursday part one! pic.twitter.com/icN0wYZdxl — Sophia Foster-Dimino (@hellophia) February 12, 2016 Thursday part two ✌ pic.twitter.com/0iXycZ00TW — Sophia Foster-Dimino (@hellophia) February 13, 2016 Saturday part two and Sunday part one ? pic.twitter.com/wDjSSbqcri — Sophia Foster-Dimino (@hellophia) February 16, 2016 aaand Tuesday part two and then we went home and now I’m home. ? pic.twitter.com/Ue5eD63lFh — Sophia Foster-Dimino (@hellophia) February 21, 2016 Isabel Ryan‘s got some floaty, dreamy, goofy cartooning going on over at Rookie Mag in her comic Magic 8 Ball. Should you go over and read Isabel’s latest *shake shake shake* Definitely . Zainab Akhtar‘s been thinking about Jane Mai‘s See You Next Tuesday. It’s time you did too. She’s got a really interesting review of this whirlwind of comics by Mai. Really puts Mai’s work in context for greater appreciation. Big ups to Koyama Press for making this showcase of Mai’s skills possible. While the relative ‘democracy’ of the internet has allowed people to bypass instituionalised gatekeeping to some degree, the transition of culture from ‘in real life’ to online remains the same (if not worse in that it facilitates rampant, unchecked abuse). Mai is one of many contemporary artists who have built followings after publishing work online, a feat that often requires a specific level of engagement and giving of oneself in order for it to be successful. The nature of that interaction can feel more direct and personal to the audience, fostering (with regard to female creatives, especially) entitlement and attempted ownership. There’s a sense of people playing a part in your persona, a ‘we made you’ mentality; a collective Frankenstein-ing. – Zainab Blaise Larmee joined Robin over at Inkstuds to talk about some of the new work he has been involved with from 2d Cloud. Most recently, Blaise edited the Mirror Mirror anthology which is part of 2d Cloud’s current Kickstarter efforts. Most awkward inkstuds ever. Highly recommended. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/248252491″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /] Print wizards Justine and Jordan Hurder over at Chance Press have announced a gorgeous new Kim Deitch print for ya. Really cool story behing this one: There’s another unique thing about this print: it’s not based on original artwork. Usually with fine art printing, the goal is to reproduce an original piece of work as faithfully as possible. Here, the original black and white artwork was sold long ago, the color was done in Photoshop, and the only scan was on a disc that didn’t work anymore. In fact, the only surviving record of the artwork was a yellowing page from an early-90s issue of the LA Weekly. After an extensive color correction process, I was able to restore it and include it in the 2014 publication of ‘A Deitch Miscellany.’ For this print, I tweaked some more color, made the blacks a little deeper and more consistent, pulled out some of the oversaturation, and came up with something I’m really happy with. It definitely doesn’t look like a normal print made from a modern high-res scan, but that’s part of the charm. Preorder a copy now over at Chance Press. Last but not least, Paper Jam 5 took place this past weekend. Seemed like it was a buzzing hive of color and camraderie in NYC. A party for sharing that deep, deep zine love. Photos are trickling in from attendees and exhibitors. You’re going to want to follow the paperjam tumblr to stay abreast with photos, interviews and the like that happened during the happening. More news to come! Juan Fernandez, over and out. Share this page: [...]

Announcing the Summer Semester of the Santoro Correspondence Course for Comic Book Makers!

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