Comics Workbook

An online magazine for comics makers

Posted in NewsTagged Anne Harnet Fish, carol tyler, congressman John lewis, drawn to purpose, emma rios, fiona smyth, library of congress, Liv Strömquist, nell Brinkley, Rina Ayuyang, rose o'neill, small press expo 2018

Sally Ingraham

Posted on September 21, 2018September 21, 2018

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09/06/2016

Aaron CockleSeptember 6, 2016NewsAaron here today with the Composition Competition Awards; Sophie Yanow in the Dakotas; Shaw/Nadel on U-tube; some pioneers of the comic strip; Kirby injustices revisited ————————————————————————————————— Congratulations to ALL who created and submitted work for this year’s Composition Competition contest! First Place – $500 cash prize: Cameron Nicholson – For a Lack of Better Words Second Place – $250 credit at Copacetic Comics: Shee Phon – I Know It’s Not About Me, But I Don’t Want To Die Third Place – $100 credit at Copacetic Comics: Cameron Arthur – Oasis Honorable Mention – $50 credit at Big Planet Comics: Lisa Wilkinson – The Last Time I Saw Tate; Janne Marie Dauer – Blame It On the Night Moves; Luke Howard – Extragalactic; Niall Breen – Śūnyatā Special Prize – $25 credit at Copacetic Comics: Lina Madöry – Reflection No Prize Shout Out!: Jillian Fleck – I Got A Job; Phillip Dokes – Falling Congratulations to the winners and all of those who participated. ————————————————————————————————— Sophie Yanow is covering the Dakota Access Pipeline protest at the Nib: ————————————————————————————————— The Strand bookstore filmed last week’s conversation with Dash Shaw and Dan Nadel In support of Shaw’s recently released Cosplayers book, for your viewing/listening enjoyment. ————————————————————————————————— Some updated exhibition info for the Pioneers of the Comic Strip show on view at Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, through September 18: With an extensive exhibition, SCHIRN presents the pioneers of the comic strip, who set the artistic and substantive standards of early comic strips in an experimental and progressive way. This also highlights the relationship of comic strips and colorful newspaper supplements with the developments in visual arts at the time. The SCHIRN presents the cultural history of the comic strip in an outstanding series of selected works, primarily by American illustrators: Winsor McCay, Lyonel Feininger, Charles Forbell, George Herriman, Cliff Sterrett and Frank King. ————————————————————————————————— Asher Elbein writes about Jack Kirby’s history with Marvel Comics at the Atlantic: In the mid-1970s, Congress revised the laws around copyright, offering longer periods of ownership for copyright holders—if the proper paperwork could be provided. Marvel realized that many of its previous contracts were legally questionable, remnants of the comics industry’s fly-by-night origins with regards to creative work. In 1978, the company began handing out freelancer contracts that guaranteed the company “forever all rights of any kind and nature in and to the work.” As Michael Dean wrote in a 2002 issue of The Comics Journal, these “work for hire” contracts were partly a result of the superhero boom Kirby himself had a hand in creating. “It wasn’t just monthly comic books that were at stake any more,” Dean wrote. “It was the vast ancillary potential of licensing and merchandising the content of those comics.” The contracts legally formalized what had previously been loosely assumed to be corporate policy, but having it in writing gave many comics freelancers pause for thought. When Kirby got the contract, he refused to sign it and left Marvel for good. Share this page: [...]

08/25/2017

Sally IngrahamAugust 25, 2017NewsBon voyage to Caitlin Rose Boyle, and to Suzy & Cecil too – plus weird longbox comics finds and other news! ———————————————————————————————— Caitlin Rose Boyle‘s work was featured on the cover of Pittsburgh’s City Paper this week, and inside there’s an interview with her, on the eve of her departure for L.A. After a successful stint as the artist for Jonsey, Caitlin is ready to focus on animation for awhile and wants to be nearer to the studios where she hopes to collaborate. One of the things she’ll miss about Pittsburgh however are the comic makers here. “There are too many wonderful artists in this city. John Peña taught a comics class at CMU that kind of helped jumpstart my comics making process. Juan Fernandez has been a constant friend since our time at school and he’s one of the hardest working comics people I know! I’m always inspired after a conversation with Juan. Jenn Lisa’s drawings are so full of life and heart; her comics & drawings supercharge me when I look at them. Lizzie Solomon’s work pushes me to be bolder and weirder, Rachel Masilamani’s work is so powerful and raw and makes me want to share my heart on the page. I’m very lucky I got to share a space with Pittsburgh artists and comics-makers for awhile.“ Caitlin also makes note of her influences and the changing comics scene. “I wasn’t super into American comics growing up, and the male-dominated atmosphere was a big part of it. I gravitated towards manga, which had a huge selection of female creators to choose from in a bunch of different genres. There’s still totally an old guard of comics dudes making really stale stuff with the bigger publishers, but there are honestly SO many women and non-binary people doing amazing work in comics right now, here and all over the world. A large chunk of it is independently published, or published online, but it’s accessible and there’s so much of it that I frequently have a backlog of amazing work to read through.“ Read the rest of the interview HERE – and good luck to you Caitlin! ———————————————————————————————— Gabriella Tito and I are releasing a collection of Suzy & Cecil strips! Pulling from the comic strip that has been shared daily on Instagram and here in the Comics Workbook Daily News since November 2016, it will feature 44 strips picked out of the hundreds that we’ve made so far. Please pre-order a copy HERE! ———————————————————————————————— Digging through longboxes is often how I discover new-to-me comics makers who happen to be women. As with any sort of hunting, there are good days, and bad days, and just weird days. It’s interesting and informative to add names to my mental list, and file comics titles away, but not surprising that there is a great deal of chaff to sift through. Above is a comic by Diana Sasse, which at first glance I thought was a story by Donna Barr, who made those wild Stinz comics about centaurs. There are talking animals and centaurs galore in Diana Sasse’s Frenchie Doudou series, which follows a French soldier through a fantasy version of Europe in a time similar to WWI. The centaurs, and their more humanoid biped strain of being, are the Germans. Diana is Swiss, and began publishing comics in 1988. I think her most recent project was this Antique White House series from the early 2000’s (a European fairy-tale-style take on JFK…) I guess the wind has blown away much other traces of her work. Far more interesting – probably I should have led with this one – is one of Rachel Pollack‘s Doom Patrol issues, with art by Linda Medley. Rachel Pollack took over the writing on Doom Patrol when Grant Morrison left, and scribbled issues 64-87. Fans were heartbroken when Morrison left, but Rachel Pollack did some pretty interesting stuff with the series despite being a newcomer to comics – most notably, introducing a transgender character. Here’s an interview with Rachel from 2014 where she talks about some of what she tried to do with the series. DC is actually finally collecting Rachel’s run of Doom Patrol – Doom Patrol Book Four will be released in February of 2018. Rachel Pollack’s run of Doom Patrol featured a number of different artists, but the issue I found was penciled by Linda Medley. She, of course, went on to be the award-winning creator of Castle Waiting, a series she started publishing in 1996 with the help of a Xeric grant, and continued to self-published for years on her own. Fantagraphics collected two volumes of Castle Waiting, but as of now Linda is working on volume 3 and is back to funding it herself (with a little help from her friends, hopefully). One more longbox find – and this one IS by Donna Barr. No centaurs – instead we have the adventures of the (sadly fictitious) younger brother of the notorious German general the Desert Fox (Erwin Rommel). His little brother is Oberst Manfred Pfirsich Marie Rommel, and he is the Desert Peach. An openly gay German soldier during WWII is somewhat intriguing, and his misadventures as the commander of the 469th Halftrack, Gravedigging and Support Unit of the Afrika Korps, are pretty bonkers. Supposedly this unit is for the fellows who are really not “fit for service” in the German Army, the weirdos and strays who were nonetheless enlisted. The Desert Peach mainly tries to keep them out of any fighting, beyond what fighting they do among themselves. From the looks of issue #2, the series is pretty lively, and it appears that Donna aimed to bring a few more dimensions to the good vs. evil story-line of WWII. I guess I’d have to read the rest to see if she succeeded… Earlier this year Donna Barr announced that the San Diego State University Library had released her Black Manuscripts – a series of 12 “ornate” works that collect what she was writing and drawing about in the mid-1970’s, soon after she got out of the army – things she never expected to see published (like many girls of the time, she noted). You can peruse the manuscripts in the digital library HERE. ———————————————————————————————— In Addition Andrea Ayres digs into the barrier breaking/industry leading work of Kelly Sue DeConnick and MariNaomi over on The Comics Beat, laying out the resources both women have created to combat the problem of diversity in comics. Read the article HERE. Sara Lautman gives a shoutout to her “Microgeneration” on the New Yorker. Check out new online magazine Anomaly 25, featuring the work of a bunch of rad women – HERE. Melissa Mendes shared a comic she created based on a Twitter thread written by Julius Groat that deals with the recent white supremacist activity in Charlottsville. Read it HERE. ———————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 8-25-2017 – by Sally Ingraham ———————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie- 8-25-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

09/24/2018

Caleb OrecchioSeptember 24, 2018NewsCaleb Orecchio here with thoughts on Jason Robinson’s Death Tramp no. 1 ————————————————————————————————— The premiere issue of Jason Robinson’s comic Death Tramp is a poetic fever dream of proliferating madness. The protagonist, whose sole companion is a raven not unlike Poe’s, plunges into a dark den of loneliness and destruction. Love has been lost, but the memory never leaves. The raven skrawws and our hero goes a step deeper into exile. According to the issue’s liner notes, “Death Tramp is a comics anthology of the strips, stories, and works of Jason Robinson. Issue One features the comic Skraww in two parts.” The first part was drawn as his final project for thee Santoro Correspondence Course for Comic Book Makers. Rendered, as are all the course’s student comics, in blue, red and yellow colored pencil with an emphasis on the fundamentals of comics. Mirroring pages on a spread, symbolic coloring as oppose to literal, “L” panel formations, maintaining character model, rhyming images, holding the “camera,” etc. A really great, stripped down student work that shows an understanding of how to compose comics. The second part was made after the course was completed. Colored digitally with a similar palette but with more variety, and drawn with more confidence. Robinson takes what he’d learned from the course and cranked the dial up several notches. The backgrounds become more realistic and the narrative more nuanced and intricate. There is a more specific mood in the second part that gives prominence to the dark, foreboding downward spiral of the protagonist and the burden of the raven. “Skraww” is a poetry leaning comic. The author embraces the timing and composition techniques taught in the correspondence course that is undeniable and emphasizes the more “melodic” aspects of comics making. Robinson’s focus is on the images. We don’t need the words, but the words extend an olive branch and offer a deeper insight into the protagonist’s thoughts. Still, the images and the composition of the 8-panel grid give the comic it’s meter and narrative drive (1234, 1234). I think a lot of cartoonists who consider their work “poetry comics” draw images to lay under their written poetry, but to me the driving force of a poetry comic must be the composition and patterning of images. Robinson achieves this coveted poetic way of cartooning, and I don’t even know if it was an entirely conscious consideration. Though the resemblance to Edgar Allen Poe’s famous narrative poem gives me reason to assume Robinson was at least aware what was happening in front of him. Jason Robinson’s Death Tramp issue 1 is a success. Particularly in a formalistic aspect. This work shows an understanding of comics-making that most cartoonists take for granted, and takes advantage of the music of comics. ————————————————————————————————— 09-24-2018 – by Niall Breen Share this page: [...]

05/04/2018

Sally IngrahamMay 4, 2018NewsSally here with Aline Kominsky-Crumb, Hillary Chute, Roz Chast, Jennifer Camper, and many more! ———————————————————————————————————— Hillary Chute takes a look at comics in black and white for The New York Times, reviewing Eleanor Davis‘ most recent work, Why Art?, and John Porcellino’s From Lone Mountain, concluding with a mention of Jennifer Camper. Hillary Chute suggests that there is nothing simple about these comics, although their appearance may lead you to believe otherwise. About Eleanor Davis’ book she writes: “Eccentric and visually inventive, answering all the many questions it raises, “Why Art?” is about the power that comes from creating. The art that we mold with our own hands shows us how to be strong; it shows us how to live.“ Chute notes the “zine-style” display of Porcellino’s work, and the quiet power behind his lyrical and sweet comics. She ties Davis and Porcellino to Jennifer Camper on the basis of their shared dedication to “the punk-inspired world of self-publishing” and references a new comic by Camper that appears in the April/May issue of The Believer. “Camper’s piece is devastatingly timeless and current at once. It includes hard-to-look-at scenes of assault, rendered in a black and white much less airy than either Porcellino’s or Davis’s. The discomfort it produces is its strength — another potent answer to the question “why art?”“ Read the whole article HERE. I highly recommend both Davis and Porcellino’s new books – and you can get a copy of The Believer HERE. Here’s the first page of a comic from 2003 by Jennifer Camper – you can read the rest HERE. ———————————————————————————————————— The Gothamist is running a series called Sketchy Interviews – visual interviews with cartoonists, illustrators, and graphic artists currently working in NYC. First up is Roz Chast! As you might guess, her answers to the interview questions are both funny and personal. See them all HERE. ———————————————————————————————————— The book (above) is out and Aline Kominsky-Crumb has been on tour and is FINALLY getting a lot of press and hype, and the recognition that she deserves! Called “the whiny grandmother of tell-all comics” by CBC Radio, she has been long-overlooked and even hated by fans of her husband, Robert Crumb. The recent Drawn & Quarterly reissue of her 1990’s collection – expanded to include 40 pages of new work, and sporting the hefty title Love That Bunch: Food, Sex, Death, Pain, Romance, Joy – is her only solo work in print. The Montreal Gazette writes: “A thread connecting all of Kominsky-Crumb’s work, and a quality especially evident in Love That Bunch, is the dynamic tension between self-deprecation and self-assurance. Yes, she’s hard on herself, but it takes real strength to reveal so much. “That was one of my arguments with the early feminists — that to learn to reveal your weaknesses and ugliness, you have to feel OK about yourself,” she said. “They thought I was being a poor role model. They didn’t understand that it’s a gift to other people, to allow them to get rid of it and live with it better. Even now, some people will say ‘Why do you draw yourself so ugly? Do you really feel that bad about yourself?’ I say: ‘Not really, but I’ve been there and I’ve lived through those feelings. Everybody does sometimes.’ I feel confident enough to expose that about myself and be willing to live with the results of it.” “ Read the rest of the article HERE. ———————————————————————————————————— Weekend Brunch The Comics Journal is running another A Cartoonist’s Diary, this time with Fiona Smyth sharing a week in her life – check it out HERE. John Seven reviews Jessica Campbell‘s new comic – XTC69 – (out from Koyama Press in a week!) for The Comics Beat – read the review HERE. Here’s a nice check in with Pénélope Bagieu, whose recent book Brazen tells the stories of dozens of female rebels and heroes – on MSN News. Rob Kirby reviews Love That Bunch – the deluxe hardcover reissue of Aline Kominsky-Crumb‘s original 1990 comic – on The Comics Journal. San Francisco Magazine has a list of famous female creators (of comics, film, and TV) who are the direct “Nasty Gal” decedents of Aline Kominsky-Crumb – HERE. Hillary Brown interviews Vera Brosgol, during which they discuss Brosgol’s new comic – Be Prepared – for Paste Magazine. ———————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 5-4-2018 – by Sally Ingraham Share this page: [...]

10/12/206

Juan FernándezOctober 12, 2016los Cómics / NewsJuan les presenta: Tierra de fanzines; Teen Wolf de Fosfatina Ediciones; Catalina Bu en La Polola; Laura Andrea Garzón con Aidan Koch; Puño en el Tiempo; “Animal Collective” el cómic europeo de vanguardia; Los Space Riders se acercan; y MAS! ————————————————————————————————— Comics Workbook participará en dos festivales ESTE fin de semana: En el Reino Unido The Lakes International Comic Art Festival, Octubre 14-16. Frank Santoro, Aidan Koch, and Connor Willumsen en Kendal, UK. Buscános para y visita la mesa 67 en el Comics Clocktower para conocer a Oliver East y Jack Brougham, entre otros. Tendremos 3 talleres especiales, “Visual Poetry” con Aidan Koch, “The Hammer Party” con Connor Willumsen y “Composition Competition” con Frank Santoro. Las entradas para los eventos principales en el Festival Internacional de Lagos Arte cómico de este año están a la venta.ickets for the main events at this year’s Lakes International Comic Art Festival are on sale now. Visita nuestra página de eventos para más información.. En los Estados Unidos Cartoon Crossroads Columbus, October 13-16. Ofreciendo talleres y tendremos libros de venta. Júntate con la boca y dibujantes Alexa bar y Kurt Ankeny para disfrutar un fin de semana Juan llenísimo y de creación de cómics. Examinarémos el arte y la cuadricula, uniendo las pracitcas artísticas de Berg y Ankeny junto con la disciplina y el ritmo de la cuadricula, según lo principios establecidos por Frank Santoro. Cuatro horas a través de dos días, llenas de la exploración de una variedad de técnicas y métodos – que inspirarán el principiante, y desafiarán al dibujante avancado. Cómics como el jazz; cómics como la arquitectura; cómo una simple tarjeta de índice puede transformar su proceso de secuenciación y la narración. El horario completo del Festival CXC esta disponible AQUI. ————————————————————————————————— ⚡ Gerardo Vilches anuncia “Tierra de Fanzines” una nueva iniciativa en su blog. ¡Fanzines, todo fanzines! ⚡ Fosfatina ha sacado una nueva antologia: Teen Wolf – Mejores amigas, selfies, transmutaciones en la cancha, superpedos, misiones secretas, hombres malos, drama adolescente, sexo tinaguer, coreografías licántropas… y lo que queda por llegar. Así reza la entrada de esta maravillosa serie creada y alojada por TIK TOK y que ahora aparece recopilada y extendida en este volumen, que ahora se publica en colaboración con FOSFATINA. ⚡ Escucha la nueva edición de @lapololapodcast, un podcast del cómic femenino con Sol Díaz Castillo y Marcela Trujillo: En este capítulo las chicas conversan con Catalina Bu acerca de cómo: … Empezó en el mundo del dibujo, la soledad de venirse a santiago a estudiar, el tema de lo cotidiano, la aceptación de uno mismo en la forma en que tenemos de dibujar, cuestionamos al “éxito” impuesto desde afuera y recomendamos varios libros, entre muchas cosas más. Póngale play! [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/286263657″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /] ⚡ Laura Andrea Garzón habla con Aidan Koch en Colombia – De camino al taller hablamos de la estructura laberíntica del barrio. Pienso que es una buena estructura para perderse o para jugar a las escondidas. Curiosamente es algo que se repite en la exhibición de la que ha hablado Aidan. Me interesan los laberintos, aunque no son propiamente juegos. Uno sabe por donde entra pero no puede estar muy seguro de por dónde va a salir. Está esta idea de que se puede ganar o que se puede salir pero no es necesariamente cierta, no es la manera en que funciona la realidad. Usar estas figuras de manera metafórica es lo que más me llama la atención a la hora de incorporarlas en mi trabajo. ⚡ Puño en el Tiempo – ¿Desde pequeño tuvo talento para dibujar? Yo no creo en el talento, creo en el trabajo y en las horas de experiencia. Siempre he sido muy mal dibujante, pero he dibujado tanto que inevitablemente he tenido resultados. Dibujar es fallar miserablemente una y otra vez. Por eso hay mucha gente que lo deja, porque estamos acostumbrados a recibir recompensas inmediatamente y para dibujar bien hay que hacer entre 3.000 y 10.000 dibujos, según tu habilidad para aprender. Entonces, lo que he sido siempre es muy obstinado. ⚡ No te pierdes esta exhibicion – Animal Collective – en Madrid. En un lugar puedes saborear la vanguardia de cómics internacionales. Uuf, que delicia! Solo tenemos que pasear diez metros y habremos visto cuales son los proyectos más innovadores y auténticos del cómic europeo. De Finlandia a Austria pasando por Noruega, Letonia o Bélgica sin olvidar Barcelona o Madrid. Todo es parte de una exposición que pretende ofrecer una amplia visión de los movimientos artísticos y las tendencias colectivas que trabajan la viñeta en la actualidad. Es Animal Collective y se podrá ver en la cuarta planta de Centro Centro madrileño (Plaza de Cibeles, 1) hasta el 29 de enero de 2017. ⚡ SPACE RIDERS – el segundo volumen llegara el año que viene en 2017. Alexis Ziritt y Fabian Rangel Jr. nos vienen FULL FORCE. No se lo pierdan! Apurate y lee el primer volumen cuando puedas! Apúrate, apúrate y lée di el primer volumen cuando puedas! ————————————————————————————————— Echa un vistazo a este medallón estilo Pompeii! “Le encargué a la gran Airi Maeno que hiciera unos medallones de plata con sede fuera de mis dibujos. Este dibujo viende de mi libro Pompeii. Es algo que puedo imaginar que alguien se pondría hace dos mil años. Un simple medallón de un ser querido. Un retrato. Algo permanente para desafiar a la desaparición”. – Frank Santoro Puedes comprar uno aquí! ————————————————————————————————— hasta la próxima, Juan Share this page: [...]

09/21/2018

Posted on September 21, 2018September 21, 2018 by Sally Ingraham

Sally Ingraham here with my Small Press Expo 2018 memories and pictures!

(See Juan Fernandez’s SPX report HERE, and read Caleb Orecchio’s thoughts HERE.)

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*Little Lulu* strip drawn by creator Marjorie Henderson Buell

I headed to Bethesda a day early and on Friday I was fortunate enough to tag along on SPX Director Warren Bernard’s annual field trip to the Library of Congress with some of the Expo’s special guests.

Some of the field trip attendees L-R – Emma Ríos, Kate Harmon, Fiona Smyth, Julie Doucet, Liv Strömquist and her travel companion, Ronald Wimberly, Karen Green (partially hidden behind me…) ME (Sally Ingraham), Dash Shaw, and Joshua Cotter – photo by Rina Ayuyang

At the Library of Congress we got to see some of the comics holdings that are kept in the Prints and Photographs collection. Here’s a few that I took note of:

Detail of a piece by Nell Brinkley, from 1918

Karen Green and Julie Doucet with Warren Bernard, looking at several pieces by Anne Harnet Fish

After looking at the comics holding for a bit, Emma Ríos, Rina Ayuyang, Liv Strömquist and her son and their travel companion, Kate Harmon, and myself, made the long dangerous trek underground through the maze of the Library of Congress (there were tunnels involved!) to find the Jefferson Building and the Drawn To Purpose show.

There was a nice timeline of work made by female cartoonists and illustrators, including the Little Lulu strip I shared at the top of this post, and this Brenda Starr, Reporter piece by Dale Messick:

*Brenda Starr, Reporter* strip by Dale Messick

Liv Strömquist and her son checking out the Drawn To Purpose show

We found our way back to the Madison Building in time to catch Carol Tyler‘s big presentation on her life and comics.

Having formed a bond over the morning, Emma Ríos, Rina Ayuyang, Kate Harmon and I continued to hang out for the rest of the day. And as we were leaving the Library of Congress in search of lunch, who should we bump into but Congressman John Lewis…?! (Check out the March trilogy that Congressman John Lewis wrote with Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell HERE.)

L-R – Emma Ríos, me, Rina Ayuyang, Congressman John Lewis, Kate Harmon – photo taken by Adam Griffiths

It was a real treat to explore Washington D.C. with my dear friend Kate Harmon, guided by our pal Adam Griffiths, and get to know Emma Ríos and Rina Ayuyang along the way.

I knew Spanish cartoonist Emma Ríos‘ work from the Image titles Pretty Deadly, with Kelly Sue DeConnick, and Mirror, with Hwei Lim. In 2016 she put out a comic that she drew as well as wrote (the first comic she has written in English), called I.D., which I’ve been meaning to read (and I was so delighted later in the weekend when she gave me her last copy!) Here’s an interview with Emma from last year that details more of her comics adventures.

Rina Ayuyang is originally from Pittsburgh, PA, so we hit it off right away! I’m super excited to read her new book, just out from Drawn & Quarterly – Blame This on the Boogie (get a copy of it HERE).

Getting to meet cartoonists like Emma and Rina is why I come to SPX every year. I’m interested in the quick friendships that form because of the common interest that pulls us together. You’ve never met before, and may come from different career/publishing backgrounds, but especially in groups of women I have found that there is a powerful connection and a desire to support and celebrate all the varied comics-making paths that we’ve traversed. I felt that strongly with Emma and Rina, and although our encounter was more incidental, with Liv Strömquist as well. (Check out Liv’s powerful new book The Fruit of Knowledge HERE.)

By the end of day on Friday Kate Harmon and I were having dinner with Fiona Smyth, due to a quick invitation in the hotel elevator (another key part of the success of SPX – everyone is in the same hotel!) I am such a big fan of Fiona’s work, and was lucky enough to meet her during her visit to Pittsburgh, PA, a few years ago. It was terrific to catch up and congratulate her in person on her new book, just out from Koyama Press – Somnambulance.

Saturday and Sunday at SPX I was completely engrossed in running the Comics Workbook-hosted workshops. These workshops provided a veritable crash-course in comics making, beginning with Juan Fernandez‘s highly energetic intro to image-making as language. This was followed by Dash Shaw‘s in-depth exploration of comics writing, and Molly Ostertag‘s (standing room only!) session on digging a fresh story out of yourself. There were numerous other offerings (we ran 8 workshops this year!) including a clay sculpture workshop with Liz Reed and a Kickstarter intro course with Camilla Zhang.

(Big shoutout to Caleb Orecchio for being doorman on Saturday and wrangling the enthusiastic and lengthy lines of folks who attended – and for his own great workshop on Sunday! And to Kate Harmon for helping with supply runs and the door on Sunday!)

Saturday night is always bonkers – for me it’s a balance of hanging out with the Comics Workbook and Pittsburgh Comics Salon crew, and finding my more far-flung comics friends to catch up with (Andrew White, M. S. Harkness, Iona Fox!) But despite great conversations and late hours kept, I somehow got up on Sunday morning and drove 30 minutes to Great Falls Park, VA, to pursue the topic of all my own comics lately – BIRDS!

Sunday at SPX went by in a flash, and before I knew it we were packing up the workshop room, and I was making a last round of the Expo floor to find cartoonists I’d missed before they in turn packed up and took off. Dinner with Kate Harmon and Emma Ríos and Fiona Smyth, followed by late-night chats with Iona Fox, and then the show was officially over for me. I crawled into bed to sleep for a bit before racing back to Pittsburgh, PA, on Monday morning in time to work at 10 AM… Phew!

Thanks to Warren Bernard, Lynda Bernard, Rob Clough, Danethin Mejia, and Eden Miller for the organization behind the show, and especially their help in making the workshops happen. Thanks to Juan Fernandez, Liz Reed, Dash Shaw, Molly Ostertag, Jason Rodriguez and the Latin American Youth Council, Mosi, Camilla Zhang, and Caleb Orecchio for delivering such stellar workshops! And many, many thanks to all the folks who turned up to learn about comics with us over the weekend. See you next year for SPX 2019!

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09-21-2018 – by Niall Breen

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2 thoughts on “09/21/2018”

Robert says:

September 21, 2018 at 1:06 pm

That Little Lulu daily strip was not drawn by Marge.

http://michelesworld.net/dmm/lulu/trib/trib.htm

Reply
Juan Fernández says:

September 25, 2018 at 11:46 am

You’re right. Seems like if it’s from ’58 it’d be Woody Kimbrell (1950–1964) who worked on it.

The nature of the licensing empire of sorts that Marge was able to develop from Little Lulu, combined with the market necessity of ghost writers, is especially interesting.

Reply

Comics Workbook

An online magazine for comics makers

Sally Ingraham

Posted on September 21, 2018September 21, 2018

Explore

San Diego Comic-Con International 2018

Chris Anthony DiazJuly 24, 2018The Diaz ArchiveMy first Comic-Con ever! So my apologies, I tried my best to take as many photos as possible, but this show is overwhelming, yet a lot of fun. Also, I lugged around too much stuff to get signed, which i brought — yes excuses! Anyways, this is all I ended up with despite going in with a more extensive list of cartoonists I wanted to photograph! Oh well, hopefully next year I end up taking more. San Diego Comic-Con International 2018, downtown San Diego Convention Center Exhibit Hall, Thursday, July 19, 2018 Share this page: [...]

Summer 2016 Rowhouse Update

Juan FernándezJuly 29, 2016School UpdatesShare this page: [...]

YI YI by Steven Weissman

Chris Anthony DiazJuly 20, 2016The Diaz ArchiveSteven Weissman’s portrayal of Jonathan Chang as Yang Yang in Edward Yang’s YI YI (Taiwan, 2000) for my ILLUSTRATED MOMENTS IN CINEMA/TELEVISION. The illustration was completed January 2011 in India and Pearlescent inks complimented with Screentone patterns, and Steven’s candid with his son was taken at the Oakland Museum of California’s cafeteria in August 2012. And Graham Willcox did the color on Steven’s candid Share this page: [...]

01/25/2018

Comics WorkbookJanuary 25, 2018NewsSam Ombiri on Coco Moodysson’s Never Goodnight – plus other news and comics! ————————————————————————————————— Sam Ombiri here: I’ve been reading a splendid comic called Never Goodnight by Coco Moodysson. I found out about this fantastic book through Coco’s husband, Lukas Moodysson. Lukas Moodysson is my favorite living movie director as it stands right now. His movies have received praise from Ingmar Bergman as well as Harmony Korine, and those two directors really speak to the sensibility of Lukas. Those are two filmmakers he admires, and from my understanding this admiration was independent of the praise he receives from those two directors. He made a great adaptation of Coco’s Never Goodnight entitled We Are The Best. I just don’t know where to start with this book. This comic is one of the most fun autobio comics I’ve ever read. The drawings are spectacular, it’s great that she was able to summon enough of this creative energy for every panel, and deliver consistently. Her drawings are like candy that don’t lose their sweetness when eaten too much. The drawings are simultaneously so expressive, but all done with that line that Sammy Harkham always talks about, where every drawing has the same weight to it and it doesn’t deviate. It’s easy to see why this book has the cult following it has. The storytelling is so clear, and I can see that the whole was considered, as opposed to some parts. The jokes in this book are really funny. The jokes don’t even seem like jokes, or funny observations made by a distant person reminiscing. Which is not to say that there’d be anything wrong if that, were it the case – in fact it’s commonly the case with autobio, or even non-autobio work (although people say all work is ultimately autobio). I guess this just speaks to the nature of life, but it’s really interesting how Coco’s comics don’t have that reminiscing attitude, despite that being what she’s doing throughout the whole work(reminiscing I mean). It’s a really curious thing that when I read the comic it just feels like I’m watching life unfolding, and all the fun moments and funny moments unfolding with it. There is of course clear, concise timing in the way Coco leads us through the story, but I don’t feel the least bit, shall we say, “manipulated”. There are those moments in the book where it’s so cute I want to hurl, but I’m still completely sold. For example, where Coco talks about how she bought dog food and hid it under her pillow in case she ever got a dog, (this was after they went around begging for money to buy a guitar and instead just splurged on a bunch of snacks). I don’t know what to blame though: is it because Coco was such a likeable character to follow? Did I relate to it somehow? Are the drawings so charming that it’s disarming my suspicion? It definitely seems earned because this specific brand of sentimentality doesn’t pop up until the 78th page, and the comic hasn’t demanded as much of an emotional response to be reciprocated to the work up until that point. It’s become the trend in some comics that the author just demand that the reader reciprocate an emotional response, just because they’re being courageous in expressing themselves in comics. I can’t speak for every case, but people making comics should realize that you can’t and shouldn’t blame the reader. If what you’re doing is independent of the reader, that’s a different story. You can’t just mumble some words and expect someone to read your mind and guess the rest of the sentence. You are responsible for making the sentence. Part of what’s enjoyable (and at times it can be detrimental to me) is the ambiguity in experiencing and then re-experiencing work. This is with all art forms, though, and I really hesitate to say it’s especially so with comics because of how it’s words and images that you’re looking at. You’re also looking at the line work, you’re looking at the design. Makers should consider all this and perhaps accept this when making work and not let their vain guise of “how courageous they are for expressing themselves” be where the value of the work is derived. Coco’s book made me think of this because of how good it is. I didn’t feel cheated for reciprocating the emotional response Coco called for. I feel that I should mention that it was surprisingly easy to separate the movie from the book whenever they would intersect. This goes deeper than them being different mediums, or what couldn’t be in the movie due to Lukas and Coco’s difference in sensibility. Even when I’m reading the exact same scene play out in the book that was in the movie, they seem so separate and this book is so distinguished that I don’t even think about the movie. There’s an aspect to this book that I have no idea how to approach. I don’t know how comics are perceived in Sweden. It seems that there they have a tighter relationship with the literary world, maybe? I really don’t know. Anyway, there’s a panel in the book where Coco just coldly mentions how a friend’s friend killed himself with a guitar chord. I’m rather puzzled at the intention of this. From what I understand, she was doing some work behind the scenes with Lukas’ films, and they made some kind of comic together (which someone should translate!) so I can’t help but to think there’s this lyrical element to her including this in the comic, something that’s similar to the lyricism in Lukas’ movies. In contrast to this, though, there’s a sequence where the girls run out and there’s a homeless person with a syringe stuck in his arm, and he’s just there as a gag to convey how loud the girls are being about a bunch of nonsense, and yelling “We Are the Best!” It’s like he’s just there to be annoyed, but there’s a whole cute aspect to this. It’s funny because of how certain elements that were in the book were taken out of the movie, probably because of how it would evoke a completely different feeling, and completely change the atmosphere. The sensibility of Never Goodnight feels a lot like a YA book, but introduces bleaker elements than those found in the adaptation made by Lukas (whom people sometimes liken to a more trustworthy incarnation of Lars Von Trier and who is associated with “the New Extremity” movement). It’s just really funny how I don’t know what to make of this. Not that the comic is any less fun to read as a result, it only makes it more interesting to read. In a lot of ways, and obviously this comes as no surprise, there’s a lot of match up in terms of sensibility between Lukas and Coco. Maybe it’s because of how Lukas described his creative process as different from Coco’s that I anticipated a bigger difference. For example, Coco will say things like there’s not enough brown, or whichever color. This is strange because her comic are done in black and white! I feel that however many accolades I can try to give this book would be a futile attempt at describing how great this book is. It’s just such a wonderful book! – Sam Ombiri ————————————————————————————————— Other News Ben Passmore animated – check it out HERE. Ron Wimberly on Radix Media, talking the sensual experience of paper, among other things – HERE. Philippe Leblanc reviews Carta Minor’s Passing for The Comics Beat. Zora Gilbert writes about Bingo Love by Tee Franklin, for Women Write About Comics – read the article HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Collected from the thousands of pages of material that Frank has left scattered all over the digital landscape, these 4 PDF collections contain Frank’s best writing on comics and comics making from the past decade. Theory and process, reviews and discoveries, journeys both physical and spiritual. Check out the “Best of Frank Santoro” PDF collections, available HERE! ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 1-25-2018 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

05/19/2016

HarrisonMay 19, 2016NewsDaily News. Daily News. Daily News. Daily News. Daily News. Kon in the vault. Photos in New York. Zines in the Land. Groove from Brazil. Snapshot “Kamoinge was not as much an organization, strictly speaking, as it was an informal circle of trust, affirmation, and career development. For Smith, just at the start of her practice, the group provided important forms of peer-to-peer discourse, meaningful critiques, and exhibitions.” Read up. ? ? “So supply appears to be a factor; regression analysis might find out how much (a project for another day). It should be noted that smaller release slates aren’t necessarily a bad thing, if the result is that the publishers and retailers are earning more profit per title; figuring out how much the comics market will absorb is the name of the game. It does appear that in 2016, at least thus far, the six publishers after Marvel in the charts have been a little more (and in some cases, a lot more) conservative in their periodical releases” More numbers and bar charts about comics. ? ? CALLING ALL ZINESTERS, COMIC CREATORS, PHOTOBOOK MAKERS, AND DIY PUBLISHERS! We’re gearing up for BOUND: Art Book + Zine Fair at MOCA Cleveland, planned for Friday-Saturday, August 26-27, 2016. Mark your calendar and submit your application today to be considered for a table. Participating tablers will be curated by TR Ericsson. We look forward to having a wide variety of creators’ work on view along with a line-up of programs that will include live music, DJs, workshops, and more. Applications are due by Friday, June 24, 2016. If you have any questions, please send us an email. All accepted artists will be responsible for paying a $50 table fee to MOCA before the fair. Learn More. https://youtu.be/nqq0nVu29g8 ? ? ☔️ “Millennium Actress, one of anime director Satoshi Kon’s feature films, is now available to watch on YouTube for free. The 2002 film is the latest addition to the Paramount Vault, a collection of full-length movies and short clips, all viewable for free.” @hgerard_prince arbitrary Kon Power Rankings: Tokyo Godfathers (2003) “Idiosyncratic Christmas Carol with pace and empathy.” Ohayo (2008) “Emotional and physical truth through detail.” Millenium Actress (2001) “Time and memory are pliable.” Paranoia Agent (2004) “Something small can morph into something ugly.” Magnetic Rose (1995) “Shedding of space.” Perfect Blue (1997) “Knife Emoji, Scary Face Emoji.” Paprika (2006) “Goofy Dreams > Sleek Dreams > Nightmares.” ? ? ☀️ ? Share this page: [...]

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