Comics Workbook

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Posted in NewsTagged caleb orecchio. parallel lives, olivier schrauwen

Caleb Orecchio

Posted on December 31, 2018December 31, 2018

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03/12/2018

Caleb OrecchioMarch 11, 2018NewsCaleb Orecchio here with Dirty Plotte #1 by Julie Doucet, and other news. ————————————————————————————————— I was rummaging through the back-issues at Copacetic Comics here in Pittsburgh, and I miraculously came across a copy of Julie Doucet’s Dirty Plotte #1. Whatta treat! The idea of finding it “in the wild” was almost as exciting as finding it period. That’s a classic Comics Workbook lesson in format. Imagine if Doucet had made her comics in various ACME Novelty dimensions, I’d never find the individual issues ever! This encounter and subsequent reading of the issue reminded me of Doucet’s intensity as a cartoonist. An unfettered intensity and earnestness in both narrative and drawing. A simultaneity that basically went unrivaled among her comics graduating class (the exception probably being Chester Brown). Even in our current comics community, I am hard-pressed to think of any cartoonist that revels so deeply and gleefully in one’s day-to-day routine of life, fantasies and bodily functions—and in a completely fun and personal way. Which is fine, it’s just something I notice. That day at Copacetic, I also took home Frank Miller and Lynn Varley’s Ronin #1, an old Marvel Team-Up, an issue of Special Forces by Kyle Baker, and Destroyer Duck #2 by Steve Gerber and Jack Kirby; but Dirty Plotte #1 was the real stand-out find of the day I think. Check out Mardou’s appreciation of Doucet’s work on this very site. ————————————————————————————————— if you don’t know, now you know Thee great Eddie Campbell has a brand spankin’ new website, complete with an amazing and hilarious limited weekly webcomic. Michael Dooley has two reviews up on Print, one on Monograph by Chris Ware, and the other on Fun by Paolo Bacilieri. Sean Howe on the thee great Billy Graham at The New York Times. ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 3-12-2018 – by Sally Ingraham Share this page: [...]

03/14/2017

Aaron CockleMarch 13, 2017NewsAaron here today with Gloeckner/Gfrörer; Mirror Mirror 2; Thi Bui; Felat Delibalto; Anti-fiction, Anti-story; RIP Gustav Metzger ————————————————————————————————— Why are we talking about me, anyway? Let’s talk about you! Phoebe Gloeckner interviewed Julia Gfrörer at the TCJ blog, lots of good stuff to read and think about: GLOECKNER: The general neutrality of their appearance makes it seem all the more normal. You could project anything onto those people. GFRÖRER: This gets back to what to what we were talking about earlier, about how you don’t have a perception of yourself as a unique individual. To you, you’re the default, and everyone else is some weird variation on that. Right, and interesting, therefore. The idea that the neutral body is a thin, white body. That’s very political. It is. There is no neutral default body. There is none. That’s culturally constructed as the default. But it feels like, in your work, like you’re neutralizing those bodies, somehow. Yeah. Because that’s my relationship to it. That’s the body that I have. It feels neutral to me. It’s not something that I have moved outside of, because I feel so consumed by the puzzle of my own body. If it feels neutral to you because you’re housed in the same sort of casing as your characters, then does that subtract the political meaning from it? That’s what artists do. They project themselves — I think the political action in my work is that I want to show women as actors, rather than a receptive or decorative object. ————————————————————————————————— horror / pornography / the Gothic / the abject Additionally, Gfrörer has co-edited (with Sean T. Collins) the 2nd issue of 2dcloud’s Mirror Mirror anthology: featuring new comics and drawings by Lala Albert / Clive Barker / Heather Benjamin / Sean Christensen / Nicole Claveloux / Sean T. Collins / Al Columbia / Dame Darcy / Noel Freibert / Renee French / Meaghan Garvey / Julia Gfrörer / Simon Hanselmann / Hellen Jo / Hadrianus Junius / Aidan Koch / Laura Lannes / Céline Loup / Uno Moralez / Mou / Chloe Piene / Josh Simmons / Carol Swain Available via 2dcloud’s Kickstarter for its Spring Collection. ————————————————————————————————— ‘I learned about America mostly through books and TV.’ Robert Kirby reviews Thi Bui’s illustrated memoir, The Best We Could Do: With the issue of immigration currently hitting full boil stateside, the 2017 publication of The Best We Could Do couldn’t be more timely, or more welcome. Bui’s story movingly puts a human face to new arrivals to our country, illuminating the background of their lives and struggles. Contrary to the rhetoric of the most reactionary U.S. right-wing factions, immigrants are people, not statistics–more than the sum of their homelands, more than the color of their skin. Bui depicts, with unsparing candor, the multiple traumas associated with being forced out of one’s country into the unknown. ————————————————————————————————— Turkey Has Imprisoned a Political Cartoonist for Over 120 Days Felat Delibalta via the Nib. ————————————————————————————————— ‘…to create a concentrated emotional impact’ Ethan Joella has some thoughts (37 of them!) on short fiction: 9 One way to flout the rules of the traditional short story has to do with length. As Philip Stevick puts it, “how short can a story be?”10 Pieces that are less than the usual length, usually referred to as “flash fiction” or “short shorts,” were originally viewed as inferior, inadequate. Critics seemed to feel as if length were a prerequisite for quality. In Stevick’s words, those stories were “likely to strike discriminating readers as gimmicky, tricksy pieces of commercial fluff whose shortness is possible only because of the slickness of their construction. How short can a serious fiction be? As short as one likes? That’s too easy an answer. A fiction must be long enough to display the art and craft of its writer, his own vision, his voice, his power. The minimal story, in fact, is an experiment no less audacious than the others.”11 10 The short but powerful story “Taboo” by Enrique Anderson Imbert is a mere snippet of a story. Only five sentences and four paragraphs long, it must have appeared to critics as a fraction of something real, an evasion of seriousness. The central character, Fabian, is warned by his guardian angel not to say the word doyen. Fabian repeats the word as a question, and the last sentence of the story reads: “And he dies,”12 a poignant climax. The value of this story actually lies in its simplicity, its directness and sharp detail. 11 Jamaica Kincaid is a groundbreaking writer. Her story “Girl,” for example, transfigures traditional fiction by toying with form. This particular story, less than three pages long, is written in only one long sentence. The piece is a series of phrases and exclamations separated by semicolons and linked by dashes: “… this is how you set a table for lunch; this is how you set a table for breakfast; this is how to behave in the presence of men who don’t know you very well, and this way they won’t recognize immediately the slut I have warned you against becoming; be sure to wash every day, even if it is with your own spit….”13 12 Resembling a process-analysis instructional essay, “Girl” pithily conveys the lukewarm, peremptory sentiments of a cynical mother barking orders to her daughter so she will, in some way, succeed in life. Each word seems to be chosen vigilantly for maximum effect; each exclamation is pieced together like an intricate quilt. ————————————————————————————————— ‘a desperate last-minute subversive political weapon … an attack on the capitalist system … an attack also on art dealers and collectors who manipulate modern art for profit’ Artist Gustav Metzger has passed away at age 90. Mr. Metzger discovered his ideal medium for auto-destructive art with a form of action painting. Wearing a gas mask and protective goggles, he gave a dramatic demonstration of his work in the 1960s, spraying hydrochloric acid on nylon, which melted, curled and shredded into tatters. He executed the work at an outdoor site in London, revealing St. Paul’s Cathedral in the distance through acid-burned holes. “Auto-destructive art was never merely destructive,” he said in 2012. “Destroy a canvas, and you create shapes.” ————————————————————————————————— We are diving into a busy 2nd year of the Comics Workbook Rowhouse Residency! Interested in joining us for a week or more? Email santoroschool@gmail.com to learn how to apply. There are still openings in May, with a wait list available for the summer months. After a break for show season we will be picking up scheduling once again in late October. 500 bux for a week and a life-changing experience. Read some of our Residency Reports HERE. Email santoroschool@gmail.com for more info. ————————————————————————————————— A Cosmic Journey – 3-14-2017 – by Cameron Arthur ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 3-14-2017 – by Sally Ingraham ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 3-14-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio Cozytown – 3-14-2017 – by Juan Fernandez Share this page: [...]

11/10/2016

Sally IngrahamNovember 10, 2016NewsSam, Sally, and Juan here with Thursday’s comics news! Thoughts on originality, a moment with Yona Harvey, and some comics Instagram gems. ————————————————————————————————— Sam Ombiri: I find it hard these days to quote something where there is power in the words the person says and part of the power is reaffirmed by their accomplishments and stuff like that, and then their words are elevated really high. I guess what I’m kind of scared of is the trap of mentioning some important person’s name, followed with that important person’s quote, all manipulated so that I might appear important. Anyways, this isn’t to criticize others, it’s more a personal gripe. I was reading something where this guy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNMPrPyUcnM) quoted Kubrick. It was cool what Kubrick said, it reminded me of something Josh Bayer said, since in both instances they were dealing with the subject of originality. There’s a huge appeal of originality, and aspirations towards it. Maybe it’s because of bragging rights? However, Kubrick didn’t think that. Or maybe he did, but he instead looked at originality as something different. What he was saying was: you shouldn’t be so preoccupied with ideas of how to be original because original people can’t help but be original because they can’t work in the old form so they have start a new one. Josh Bayer’s trajectory in the subject of originality was that originality is “just a red herring.” When I heard that, it felt awesome to hear that thought so well articulated. I more than agree with that for many reasons, one of them being that originality doesn’t take too much effort. I also disagree with it, at the same time though if that makes any sense. Luckily Josh wasn’t using this idea as an excuse, but realigning focus to other aspects of the work. So I don’t disagree with what he said at the time he said it, and that being said, his originality just came by automatically, for reasons I can’t articulate nor do I feel I’m in the position to attempt. ————————————————————————————————— Juan Fernández: Last night I raced from work to Phantom of the Attic Comics in Oakland to catch Poet Yona Harvey’s signing for her first issue of the new World of Wakanda series. For those not in the know, this series is a spinoff of the popular new Black Panther series (written by Ta-Nahisi Coates). It made me really happy to see Phantom welcome one of Marvel’s newest creators and usher in a new wave of Marvel comics. Of course, when I had arrived all copies had been sold out! Bummed for myself, overjoyed for Yona, I placed an order for a copy 😉 In 2008 Yona taught a class that I can safely say, has informed pretty much all of my art creation. Synthesis through metamorphosis of existing images and words. The class was on archiving and autobiography. We read, and wrote and discussed a wide gamut of fiction and non-fiction that blurred any conceivable lines of categorization. Above all, we explored the idea of “truth”. She required us to go see lectures, attend poetry readings in the city and so much more. It’s thanks to her pushing us out of the classroom that within my first months as a student in Pittsburgh, I had understood that I wanted to call Pittsburgh home. I have so much gratitude in my heart for all the time that she has given her art and her students. I can say, without a doubt that I’m still unpacking the things I learned from her 7 years ago. She’s an amazing educator and to see her get the chance to swing fiercely on her work on the World of Wakanda brings me so much joy. Her collage based approached is very much the approach that I believe is the most fertile space for comics. Collaging thought through the collage of image and word. Here’s a little about her from the Pennsylvania Center for the Book: “Harvey’s work tends to originate through methods of collage or sampling, informed by her background in archiving and information science, and she celebrates the many lives one piece of literature can possess through the various multimedia and web-related forms it can take. She welcomes innovation in the study of how poetry is constructed and presented, and she is often referred to as a, “literary artist.” Her interest in audio archives and rare poetry recordings furthers this fascination in her study of how poetry is read aloud. The American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, Mary Lou Williams (who happened to grow up in the East Liberty area of Pittsburgh) is often a muse to Harvey’s work. This is especially true of her recent poetry collection, Hemming the Water (2013), which publisher Four Way Books describes as, “ speaks to the futility of trying to mend or straighten a life that is constantly changing.” The description goes on to read that with references to fairy tales and ancient fables, Yona Harvey, “inhabits, challenges, and explores the many facets of the female self—as daughter, mother, sister, wife, and artist—both on a personal level and cultural level.” ————————————————————————————————— Sally here: I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but increasingly Instagram is the place to keep up with the new work of your favorite cartoonists. The little square offers the chance to reveal only so much of a “wip” so you an keep fans engaged without giving away all your secrets. Folks have started to play with the format as well, when it comes to a publishing platform for actual work. A single panel comic is easy to share, as is a 4-panel strip. A few people have figured out how to share longer work as well, through the use of video. Here is recent work by some of the cartoonist that Comics Workbook follows (and follow @comicsworkbook!): Went to Walmart, being an adult, and these fruits (I think they were some kind of lemon??) had on tiny sweaters! ? #inktober A photo posted by Shannon Wright (@shannondrewthis) on Oct 26, 2016 at 8:47pm PDT Shannon Wright – @shannondrewthis Samurai mechanica colors. #mecha #conceptart #art #artwork #drawing #samurai #sword #coloring #comicartist #comic #anime #manga A photo posted by Skuds McKinley (@skudsink) on Nov 8, 2016 at 8:41pm PST Skuds McKinley – @skudsink a tomato wake into a bar… A video posted by Cameron•Weston Nicholson (@prof_weston) on Nov 3, 2016 at 1:34pm PDT Cameron Weston Nicholson – @prof_weston Another ☝️ #nyc #newyork #brooklyn #majorkey #peaches #sketchbook #art A photo posted by Chris Visions (@chrisvisions) on Nov 6, 2016 at 9:44am PST Chris Visions – @chrisvisions ————————————————————————————————— Sally started an eBay store to help out the Comics Workbook Rowhouse Residency and also her own comics-making projects. Check it out HERE! Share this page: [...]

06/02/2016

HarrisonJune 2, 2016News @h_gprince is collecting comics and arts news for Thursday, June 2, 2016. Today we’ll board the drunken boat, take a glance at process, and finish off by hunting heads. On a Boat PLEASE SHARE: Drunken Boat, the venerable online literary journal for experimental writing (15+ years running), is introducing a dedicated comics section beginning with our fall 2016 issue. We are seeking both form-melting and traditionally formal comics from a diverse range of artists, so whatever comics or comics-like things you’re making, send us your best. Submitted work should be previously unpublished (though feel free to contact us if this distinction is hazy), between one and twenty-five pages, and comprising either one or multiple pieces. Works will be displayed online, which offers some leeway with regards to size specifications. We simply ask that you familiarize yourself with the journal and use common sense when submitting. We’re open to figuring out a way to present your comics in the best possible fashion. The submissions deadline for our fall issue is 6/30/2016, so get to work! You’ll find our submissions page here. If you have any questions, feel free to email at nick@drunkenboat.com. -Nick Francis Potter, Drunken Boat comics editor Processing “Reading about other cartoonists’ process always interests me, but I’ve never really written about my own way of creating comics art because it’s usually as simple as can be – pencils, letters, inks, and colors all on the same sheet of paper in that order, no computer intercession to speak of. But for my latest comic, the bootleg Punisher/Dazzler blowout TRAP: FRANKIE TEARDROP, I employed a pretty different way of working that I thought one or two of you might be interested in looking behind the scenes of.” – Matt Seneca. This is how I do most my drawings. First attempt at using a time lapse thing, what do you think? #illustration #sketchbook #timelapse #animegirl #process A video posted by Matt Layzell (@m_layzell) on Jun 1, 2016 at 8:36am PDT Processing(g) “This is how I do most my drawings. First attempt at using a time lapse thing, what do you think?” – @m_layzell http://layzellbros.com/ Hunters Share this page: [...]

05/17/2017

Juan FernándezMay 17, 2017los Cómics / NewsEmpezamos el día con Álvaro Pons; DisTinta; 11 autoras latinx; #HUL2017; Mujer y Comic; Bas; #gutterfest; Peter Jojaio; y los tebeos de Comics Workbook. ————————————————————————————————— La Cárcel de Papel nació como “el diario de un lector de tebeos” y en poco tiempo se convirtió en la referencia en la red para los amantes del cómic. Ahora, Álvaro Pons recupera en un volumen las mejores entradas que han ido apareciendo desde 2002. Se dice pronto en alicanteplaza.es: – El ritmo de La cárcel era frenético, una entrada al día durante mucho tiempo. Y era una dosis intensa, no cuatro líneas. – Confluyeron varias cosas. Al abrir La cárcel, pensaba más en un recopilatorio de artículos que iba escribiendo por ahí, siguiendo el ejemplo de los primeros blogs americanos. Pero luego mi verborrea natural me lleva a generar nuevos contenidos. Cuando me doy cuenta estoy escribiendo todos los días y, cuando se introducen los comentarios, eso tenía repercusión, la gente participaba y eso me animaba a hacer más contenidos. Al final se convirtió en una auténtica cárcel. – ¿Acabarías un poco hasta los güevos ¿no? – Sí, como te digo, acababa casi convertido en una auténtica cárcel, aunque igual no me daba cuenta porque lo hacía a muy a gusto, todo sea dicho. ————————————————————————————————— Andrea Guzmán le da un vistazo a la nueva antología argentina, DisTinta compilada por Martín Pérez y el dibujante Liniers: La historieta argentina debería estar muerta. Así de rotunda es la primera frase que abre el prólogo de DisTinta, la nueva antología compilada por Martín Pérez y el dibujante Liniers. Aunque esta contundente afirmación, aseguran los autores, no se trata de un deseo personal ni de una premonición pesimista, sino apenas de una constatación realista acerca de nuestra actualidad y nuestra forma de consumo cultural. Cada vez más digital, más efímera, menos narrativa, más pirotécnica. Lo bueno, es que aunque quizás debería estar muerta –o como afirman ellos, con suerte relegada a la nostalgia– la historieta argentina no solo continúa con vida, sino que respira con una energía renovada y sorprendente. Tanto así, que incluso esta selección –con sus imponentes 400 páginas a todo color, sus treinta y tres dibujantes y sus seis guionistas– llegaría a parecer pequeña para abarcar todas las aristas de su actualidad. Por este motivo, Pérez y Liniers se propusieron pensar en un libro bien específico. El recorte que eligieron no busca reunir a la nueva historieta con sus representantes más actuales o más vanguardistas, sino ser retrato de la generación de los años 2000, que ellos consideran la generación huérfana y una bisagra entre la gloria editorial que gozó la Argentina de antaño, y el universo de la historieta actual, que ya encontró su vía para renovarse y seguir existiendo de forma independiente. ————————————————————————————————— Cómics y noticias que me han llamado la atención esta semana: Sol Díaz Castillo y Marcela Trujillo tienen una nueva edicion de La Polola Podcast! En este capítulo las chicas conversan con Ana Tijoux acerca de sus inicios en el rap, su forma de hacer canciones, su vida como inmigrante, la diversidad y mucho más. Alex Serrano, les ofrece una lista de 11 autoras latinx que representan el presente y el futuro del cómic en español. ¡ Tienes una editorial o un fanzine? Ya está abierta la convocatoria para el #HUL2017 en Madrid! Mujer y Comic – Sobre la visibilidad de las autoras de cómic. Bas: la representante de las autoras en el TBO, entrevistada por Elisa McCausland. El fin de semana que viene llega el @gutterfest en Barcelona con un montón de sellos internacionales y actividades. Quieres saber quien viene? Kike Infame entrevisto a Peter Jojaio, autor de Febrero para galgos en @bilbao24horas. ————————————————————————————————— Blinkers – 5-17-2017 – by Jack Brougham ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 5-17-2017 – by Sally Ingraham Share this page: [...]

12/31/2018

Posted on December 31, 2018December 31, 2018 by Caleb Orecchio

Caleb Orecchio here on the last day of 2018 with Parallel Lives by Olivier Schrauwen

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Parallel Lives by Olivier Schrauwen

Olivier Schrauwen lives way up there with kings and queens of our medium. I have a lot to say about the author and his new book, but brevity may stop me from going too far over my head so in brevity I will write.

Schrauwen has set a hammock between the rigid and the naturalistic. Schrauwen’s drawing veers towards the rigid often. His use of ruled lines and strict character models nearly teeter into stone. Yet, it is his natural, loose free-hand that brings balance to the force. His wonderful, thin pencil lines themselves serve to soften that rigidity as well. O how I love that pencil that leaves smudges though they are hardly noticeable in direct sunlight, but nonetheless make looking all the more pleasurable.

The feature story of Parallel Lives, “Space Bodies,” is undeniably inspired by Moebius’ Gardens of Aedena (concept-wise), and is probably his most visually striking comic to date. His colors are masterful and beautiful. You’ve scarcely seen blue until you have seen it in this comic. The future he illustrates is completely enviable if only for want to walk around in it. Schrauwen fleshes out worlds that seem impossible, and yet inviting to live in. The whole book is practically beckoning one to jump in.

Olivier Schrauwen can not be more on the up and up right now. He is steam-rolling over the lame and sickly cartoonists and driving himself to the center of the universe.

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Comics Workbook

An online magazine for comics makers

Posted in NewsTagged caleb orecchio. parallel lives, olivier schrauwen

Caleb Orecchio

Posted on December 31, 2018December 31, 2018

Explore

06/15/2017

Sally IngrahamJune 15, 2017NewsSally here with Shannon Wright, Jillian Tamaki, Adam Griffiths, and James Baldwin to get your Thursday morning started! ————————————————————————————————— Shannon Wright made this comic to share with her followers on Instagram this week (@shannondrewthis) and it speaks volumes to her recent experiences as a young, talented artist who has recently gained a lot of attention. Her illustrations have appeared in numerous national publications and her comics have been featured on The Nib among other places. Her Black hair illustration series, mentioned in the comic above, is an ongoing project that touches on many recent discussions about cultural appropriation and the image of Black women in history and pop culture. I appreciate Shannon’s honesty and blunt politeness in embracing her new fans and dealing with her (probable) frustration with other folks’ demands and expectations for her time and art – this comic is cute and classy. Good luck Shannon! ————————————————————————————————— Adam Griffiths continues his web comic American Cryo – the 7th strip is seen above – check out the rest HERE. Get a copy of Adam’s comic The Permanent Night – which he worked on during a Comics Workbook Rowhouse Residency earlier this year – HERE. ————————————————————————————————— There is a James Baldwin celebration going on in Harlem – 77 boxes of Baldwin’s manuscripts, photos, letters, notes and more, have come back to where it all started – the contents are on display at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture on Malcolm X Boulevard, just a few doors down from the elementary school that Baldwin attended. Other bookstores in the area are featuring Baldwin’s work and churches and schools will be hosting lectures and other events in the next few weeks. More detail HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Jillian Tamaki speaks to The Guardian about her new comics collection Boundless. “The stories in Boundless often started as thought experiments, for which Tamaki would conjure up the domino sequence that follows. Half Life exemplifies her simultaneously deadpan and sensitive voice: protagonist Helen slowly shrinks in size, as if possessed by an intractable force. “If gets pushed and pushed and pushed, it is relentless. There’s no changing her path,” explains Tamaki. But it is Helen’s reactions that are the focus of the story. “I think the story is quite fantastical, obviously, but it’s also fantastical in that she is completely calm about it. She’s not afraid, she’s not freaking out – people around her are freaking out – but she is completely adapting to the new circumstances.” “ More HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Blinkers – 6-15-2017 – by Jack Brougham ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 6-15-2017 – by Sally Ingraham ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 6-15-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

08/02/2017

Juan FernándezAugust 2, 2017los Cómics / NewsEmpezamos el día con Power Paola y autobiografía ficticia; Sarah Glidden y el Arte de la Guerra; La Polola; Juan Mediavilla; Caminos da HQ; Enrique’s Shadow; y los tebeos de Cómics Workbook! ————————————————————————————————— POWERPAOLA- Dibujos nómadas y autobiografía ficticia Abril Castillo Cabrera les ofrece sus reflecciones sobre la relación entre la ficción y la no-ficción que bailan juntas en el mundo de autobiografía: Powerpaola escribe autobiografías (“no-ficción”) y confiesa su dificultad para escribir historias que no sean las suyas (“ficción”). Con todo, ha tomado la decisión de hablar de su vida y ponerla en orden para narrarla en forma de novela gráfica. Ese ejercicio provee de un distanciamiento que parecería volverla ajena a ella misma. Pasa lo mismo cuando uno se acuesta en un diván por primera vez y ante el silencio del psicoanalista comienza a tejer un relato; se trata de poner en orden situaciones, personajes y sentimientos que vuelan como luciérnagas desamparadas que metemos en un frasco. Algunas brillan y otras no. Algunas mueren y otras sobreviven. Así son los recuerdos que tenemos, esa materia de la que nos hacemos y recreamos. Algunas partes de nuestra infancia llegan a nuestra vida adulta y otras son liberadas para siempre. Unas de pronto regresan y bien nos reconfortan o nos destruyen. Pero todas nos conforman: las personas con las que estuvimos y con las que estamos, las pérdidas y los nuevos encuentros, los lugares tangibles y los imaginarios, lo que leemos y lo que escribimos. Su trabajo inicialmente plantado desde la no-ficción pronto se vio zurcido con las imágenes de su madre antes de que ella naciera o al dibujar un escenario que Paola nunca habitó; todo eso es imaginación que construye una descripción objetiva de un recuerdo que no tiene. En su primer libro, Virus tropical, recreó la génesis de su propia vida y seleccionó a los personajes y los lugares. Quizá en el camino contestó varios porqués sobre sí misma, pero esta podría ser sólo una de las mil razones por las que en general un artista se vuelca a hacer algo. El resultado no es ninguna verdad, sino una atmósfera a la que podemos acceder, un relato con un principio y un cierre, una reelaboración de su vida y un puente que tiende con la vida de los demás que la leemos. Léanlo AQUI – Read it all HERE. ————————————————————————————————— El Arte de la Guerra Sarah Glidden tiene un nuevo comic este fin de semana en El País Semanal sobre arte y violencia. Nos ofrece reflexiónes sobre Goya, Picasso y el papel del arte en nuestra cultura. (ed. Brush up on your spanish if you need to because this is a GREAT read.) ————————————————————————————————— Los cómics y las noticias que me han llamado la atención esta semana: Sol Díaz Castillo y Marcela Trujillo tienen una nueva edicion de La Polola Podcast! Las chicas conversan acerca de la sanacion, de ayudarse a si mismas, de poner atención a sus problemas y a solucionar sus dolencias de maneras diversas. También les presentan a su practicante Sol Bravo (@sunmorales)! Una joyita de El Víbora de Juan Mediavilla, que sólo se publicó en un número de El Víbora, sacado de en línea. Instituto Itaú Cultural de São Paulo published two videos recorded at its Caminos da HQ in 2016. One on female protagonism in comics, with statements by cartoonists Ana Recalde, Cris Eiko, Carol Rossetti and Germana Viana. Another on independent comics production in the Brazilian comic book market. Enrique’s Shadow is now online – comic about one of the 90,000+ people who have disappeared during the conflict in Colombia this is Enrique’s story told by his sister Jacinta. Commissioned by the International Committee of the Red Cross to Positive Negatives and drawn by Lindsay Pollock. ———————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 8-2-17 – by Gabriella Tito ———————————————————————————————— Share this page: [...]

10/21/2016

Sally IngrahamOctober 21, 2016NewsSally here this fine Friday with exciting news from Meg Lemke, comics from Shannon Wright, Lauren R. Weinstein, and Leela Corman, a unique Con this weekend in Detroit, Sacha Mardou’s report on CXC, and a few other tidbits. ————————————————————————————————— Here on the site Sacha Mardou shares her recent adventures at Cartoon Crossroads Columbus. “CXC 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.“ More on what she did and saw at this terrific event HERE. ————————————————————————————————— PEN America announced this week that Meg Lemke is the newest guest editor of the Illustrated PEN series. This series “aspires to be at the intersection of literature, journalism, and visual storytelling, where images and words come together in an ever-emerging and essential creative form.” Meg Lemke has 15 years of experience with comics in a number of roles, and is currently the editor-in-chief of MUTHA Magazine – so she has a lot to bring to the series, not least – “…exemplars of the form that showcase the power of comics to tell stories in surprising ways. We talk often about literature letting us ‘see’ a new perspective. Comics can do that quite literally, and when it’s done well, there is a magical interaction between the visuals and text that stimulates a different part of our thinking. In our lives lived online, as readers we are inundated with imagery on the Internet, much of it advertising in margins (or popping up mid-screen). But comics can skillfully interrupt this oversaturation, as it necessitates we slow down and take in visual narrative, for example to parse a plot carried in background scenic details. Reading comics has been compared to reading poetry—they both invite play between the reader and the text on the page (be it broken into stanzas or word balloons).” – Meg Lemke Read the rest of the piece HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Meg Lemke’s first official post for the Illustrated PEN series is about Leela Corman‘s piece PTSD: The Wound That Never Heals, which is an excerpt from We All Wish For Deadly Force (Retrofit, 2016). Read Meg’s thoughts and the piece by Leela HERE. ————————————————————————————————— And if you haven’t checked out the comics on MUTHA Magazine in awhile, here’s your reminder – there are a bunch of new ones by Lisa Brown, Tyler Cohen, and Amy Kurzweil among others! ————————————————————————————————— Today’s comic is pretty personal; not only have I chosen to reveal how much I weigh, but I’m showing a tad of family judgment (which I know EVERYONE has). I started my diet today, it’s a complete 180 of how I’ve been eating all my life and I’m kinda excited about it. So when my grandma asked how I had been, I debated on sharing my health journey because of this very reason. Family can be the worst when it comes to body image. Also, I’m not necessarily doing this diet to lose weight, but to feel better. My sleep pattern has been off, my skin has been getting worse, and I just feel sluggish. I wish people would realize everyone is built differently and weight gets distributed differently. #inktober A photo posted by Shannon Wright (@shannondrewthis) on Oct 18, 2016 at 9:55am PDT Shannon Wright has been posting a comic almost every day this month – follow her Instagram account to keep up. ————————————————————————————————— Lauren R. Weinstein has a new piece in The Village Voice – HERE. ————————————————————————————————— ComiqueCon is this Saturday, October 22nd 2016, in Dearborn at the Arab American National Museum. “ComiqueCon is a one-day celebration of the contributions of women to the sequential arts. Launched in 2015 in Metro Detroit, the event brings together comics all-stars and their fans for a wicked awesome day of comics and cosplay! … In an industry that consistently under-solicits women, we’re spotlighting the work of women in comics and encouraging representation and inclusiveness.” This year’s special guests include Mariko Tamaki, Ashley Woods, and Carolyn Nowak among others. The con founder, Chelsea Liddy, and Kathleen Hiraga, founder and CEO of Pop-Post, were interviewed by Michigan Radio for the Stateside show. ‘ “It’s a really special atmosphere that just happens naturally when you have a bunch of supportive women working for the same industry in a room,” said Liddy, on the differences between ComiqueCon and some of the larger comic cons. She also noted that it’s a safe place for female comic creators to talk about their craft, which hasn’t always been the case. … “It’s about that community becoming a voice and together expanding into a force,” said Hiraga. ‘ Listen to the rest of the interview HERE. Next year I think the Comics Workbook Roller Derby League needs to check this con out! ————————————————————————————————— Frank’s report on The Lakes International Comic Art Festival is up on the site – HERE. Check out this video from his Instagram feed last weekend of Aidan Koch leading a workshop: Aidan Koch discussing her collaborative workshop project from LICAF UK 2016 #comicsworkbook @aidanalexiskoch #licaf A video posted by @santoro.frank on Oct 15, 2016 at 2:11pm PDT ————————————————————————————————— Today is the last day to get in on the special Michael DeForge auction hosted by Copacetic Comics – HERE. ————————————————————————————————— It’s Connor Willumsen’s birthday today! Check out his work and help him celebrate. 🙂 ————————————————————————————————— I share Sacha’s excitement about Cartoon Crossroads Columbus – and the Comics Workbook team will be presenting more thoughts, videos, and the official report from Whit Taylor soon. Stay tuned! Cheers – Sally Share this page: [...]

11/03/2017

Sally IngrahamNovember 2, 2017NewsSally here with Mickey Z in FORGE.; political cartoonists in Africa, the UK, and the US; a reminder to watch She Draws Comics – and more! ————————————————————————————————— The new issue of FORGE. is out, and it is quite amazing – it is huge, for starters. More artists, more cities, more pages than ever before. Matthew James-Wilson, who single-handedly makes the magazine, recently quit a full-time job at VICE, so the theme of Issue 17 – Risk – seemed especially apt for him. He seems to have gone off the deep end with this issue – but in a good way! Here’s a brief idea of what it includes: “Issue 17: Risk includes submissions by Sarah Mason, Leesh Adamerovich, Corrinne James, Jessica Pettway, Brian Ejar, Louise Reimer, Alexa Viscius, Will Dereume, Graham Lister, Ross Jackson, Chris Nordahl, Sophia Schultz, Melisa Cola, Sander Ettema, Alexander Laird, and Disa Wallander. This issue also includes interviews with cartoonist, Mickey Zacchilli, Dustin Payseur of Beach Fossils, photographer, Laurence Philomene, show promoter and booker, Yiwei Meng, and Rene Contreras of Viva! Presents. Issue 17 features comics by Patrick Kyle, Becca Tobin, and Patrick Edell in its OP-ED section. Lastly, Issue 17 also includes the FORGE. Summer Review, documenting several concerts and events that took place in New York, Los Angeles, and Providence during Summer 2017.“ You can read the whole thing online HERE. Among the things I’m excited about with this issue is the TWENTY PAGE LONG interview with Mickey Z (one spread shown above, complete with an appearance by Bread). I just read it at high speed (there are lots of pictures!) and will have to go back to actually digest it, but I must say that Mickey Z proves to be a constant source of inspiration to me. She’s like a complete package of creative forces, doing a lot of different things at once – but only the things that make her happy and hold her interest. Comics, printing, jujitsu, massage therapy, video games – whatever she wants to do. In this interview she mentions that she’s actually “anti-productivity” at the moment, which I find compelling. You’ll have to explore her reasoning. There’s a bunch of other good stuff in this issue, so take some time with it – and kudos to Matthew James-Wilson for getting it out there! (Be sure to check out Mickey Z’s current comics project – Space Academy – available to read online HERE.) ————————————————————————————————— Abraham Riesman released his list on Vulture of the 8 Best Comics to Read (and One Comics Movie to Watch) in November. On the list is Leslie Stein‘s new comic Present, Julie Maroh‘s Body Music (which I wasn’t aware of, oops!) and the new version of Runaways, written by beloved YA novelist Rainbow Rowell. Abraham also reports that Netflix has added the 2014 film She Makes Comics this month, so schedule a movie night and invite your friends over to listen to some of comics’ female heavyweights talk about the industry and their place in it. Check out the list and it’s other offerings HERE. ————————————————————————————————— I was perusing a list from 2016 of Africa’s top 10 cartoonists and came across the names of Doaa Eladl (Egypt’s most famous female cartoonist), Siham Zebiri (an Algerian cartoonist), and Nadia Khiari (Tunisian creator of the character Willis). All 3 women are political cartoonists, and as such they often face difficulties in their countries that are only exacerbated by their sex. However they all continue to work, draw, and speak out about topics that are important to them, from female genital mutilation (Doaa Eladl), to immigration (Siham Zebiri), to male guardianship (Nadia Khiari). Here is a sampling of work by each of these radical women: I have been repeatedly reminded recently that political cartooning is an ancient art form, and remains an important (and somewhat terrifying) space for artistic expression. I listened to Signe Wilkinson (the Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist) speak at CXC in September, and she talked about “the trenches” in a way that gave me goosebumps. For herself and other political/editorial cartoonists, reality includes the possibility of bombed offices, arrest and lengthy imprisonment, and a regular, brutal dose of spite, malice, and outrage. You have to be pretty tough to deal with that, and pretty resilient, to find the power within to turn that harsh edge, somewhat, so that you can engage with people on a humorous level. I really admire and respect Signe, and Ann Telnaes, (who spoke about her similar work and experiences at CXC last year), and of course the African female cartoonists I’ve mentioned here, who are wielding their pencils and brushes in defense and celebration of themselves and the things they love. Here’s a recent comic by Signe Wilkinson – check out more of her work on GoComics. ————————————————————————————————— In related news, the BBC recently published an article by Becky Morton about the “boys club” of political cartooning in the UK. Not surprisingly, there are only 6 full-time editorial cartoonists employed by national newspapers in the UK, and none of them are women. Becky Morton details why, and digs up a wealth of female cartoonists who have resorted (willingly or grudgingly) to publishing their comics online or outside of national media. Read the article HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Not Last and Not Least Kevin Bramer reviews Jenny Zervakis‘ The Complete Strange Growths on Optical Sloth – calling it a “remarkable achievement”. Marnie Galloway has a new comic up on Mutha Magazine – read part 1 of Burrow HERE. Tom Spurgeon reviews The Wendy Project by Veronica Fish and Melissa Jane Osborne on The Comics Reporter. Marc Sobel interviews Ulli Lust for The Comics Journal and discusses her new book, Voices in the Dark, and how comics are a “musical medium” to her – read it HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 11-3-2017 – by Sally Ingraham ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 11-3-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio ————————————————————————————————— Cozytown- 11-3-2017 – by Juan Fernandez Share this page: [...]

12/21/2017

Sally IngrahamDecember 20, 2017NewsSam Ombiri on Aidan Koch’s The Blond Woman, plus new work from Tini Howard and Gilbert Hernandez! ————————————————————————————————— Sam Ombiri here: When I open a comic, and look at the page as a whole, I’m immediately confronted with multiple moments all at once. Maybe it is as a result of this that comics are really good for experiencing and then re-experiencing moments. The images in The Blonde Woman by Aidan Koch are so beautiful that when I go to another panel, I get this overwhelming need to go back to the panel I was reading prior. I get the feeling that I’ve not spent enough time with the panel I was looking at beforehand. In part 1 of The Blond Woman there are contradictions in the flow of time. Aidan uses this to convey a recurring force, for lack of a better term, that is present in the main character’s life. She wakes up, feels the need to brush her hair and is seemingly surprised, or to a certain extent seemingly troubled that it is still night. It seems that in her dreams she’s trying to get somewhere, and when she wakes up it’s the same story. The moon isn’t a trustworthy indicator of time – although at first it is the moon that told us and the Blonde Woman that it is night. Later on however, the moon turns crescent and red. We are only able to arrive in this state of experiencing time in this manner because Aidan has established that this isn’t one night, but a number of nights, and since all the nights can now be accessed, a red crescent moon can appear. A very menacing red, and the crescent shape edges seek to pierce. Through images and sequencing of the images the feelings of the main character, as a result, are very viscerally felt. The candles, at least in Part 1, are a more reliable signifier for immediate passage in time as opposed to multiple nights being conveyed simultaneously. I’m left wondering “Will dawn come for the character?” at the end of Part 1. In the last chapter of the book – Part 4 – there’s what seems to be, for me, a real surprise about the main character, and it turned the whole book on its head. In between that uncertainty of how to react, or what to think, I find that it really makes me relate to the character. It certainly makes what I at first saw as her friends’ unwarranted frustration make more sense. Aidan is able to communicate so much with so little. As readers we can circle this emotional space, and we see familiar structures and there’s so much information to derive from them. It’s not just information, because despite the efficiency of the images there’s too much beauty and sincerity coming from the images to refer to what’s in the images as “information”. That portrays the images in the book too coldly. Throughout the whole book, even in the end where there’s a melancholic tone, there’s a real warmth. There’s a real undeniable warmth to the pleasant moments and unpleasant alike. – Sam Ombiri Get a copy of The Blond Woman HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Sally here – The Comics Beat has a preview of Tini Howard’s and Gilbert Hernandez’s new series, Assassinistas, which came out yesterday. You can catch Black Crown editor Shelly Bond talking to Gerard Way about the series as well in a couple of videos. See for yourself how “Howard is writing it her way” but in his can’t be beat style “Hernandez knows his way around dangerous women talking about waffles, hair dye and weapons.” Preview and video conversations HERE. ————————————————————————————————— The Winter Semester of thee Santoro Correspondence Course for Comic Book Makers starts January 16th 2018! 8 weeks – 500 bux – coaching for as long as you need. The course is hard, but Frank will push your comics making practice to a new level, getting you to think about timing and color in new ways. His experience and ideas have influenced the likes of Connor Willumsen, Michael DeForge, and Simon Hanselmann (quote “I consider Frank Santoro to be my L. Ron Hubbard”) among many others. Dig into something new in the new year! Full details and how to apply can be found HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 12-21-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

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