Comics Workbook

An online magazine for comics makers

Posted in NewsTagged cory thomas, Gilbert Hernandez, keith knight, Kyle Baker, Ronald Wimberly, suzy and cecil

Sally Ingraham

Posted on December 28, 2016

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08/28/2017

Caleb OrecchioAugust 27, 2017NewsCaleb Orecchio here on Jack Kirby’s 100th birthday ———————————————————————————————— What’s out There? …and so I live with a lot of questions—and I find that entertaining. If my life would have went tomorrow, it would be fulfilled in that manner. I would say, “The questions have been terrific.” -Jack Kirby from the Harlan Ellison hosted documentary, Masters of American Comic Book Art. All images herein are written and drawn by Jack Kirby ———————————————————————————————— Today is Jack Kirby’s 100th birthday, and though he passed away in 1994, his spirit lives on as strong as it ever was. Undoubtedly, his influence has stretched across the four corners of the medium of comics–and culture in general. Over the past months in anticipation of this day, there has been an extra electricity in the air, surely not altogether separate from the social and political shifting of the last several years. Many feel the doomsday clock is winding down to midnight and the writing on the wall says the times are changing, and I couldn’t help but think of the recent solar eclipse as a sort of omen. Whether the eclipse was an omen for good or bad, I have no idea; but as the Jacques Prévert poem says, The earth it turns/The earth doesn’t stop turning. Another recent omen I encountered, just two days before the eclipse, was a screening of 2001: A Space Odyssey in a vintage 70mm print. As you know, it’s a complete and utter visual experience–a feast for the eyes–but seeing it in 70mm left me changed by the time the credits were rolling. “What did we just watch?” was a popular question asked among friends while ruminating over shared cigarettes. I couldn’t stop thinking about Kirby. More than a few readers will be well acquainted with Kirby’s comic book adaption of 2001 and his subsequent spin-off series. I think these works unhinged something in Kirby. The series, up to the point until Mister Machine (or later, Machine Man) takes over as protagonist, leans heavily on the evolution of early humans into a higher being: The New Seed. It’s a continuum: we’re born, we live, we die, we’re born again. During and after 2001, Kirby became unleashed. His “mature style” had fully formed. A New Seed emerged from his diminishing back and forth relationship between Marvel and DC. Back at Marvel once again for the last time, Kirby’s images obliterated the comparatively civilian drawings of his contemporaries. Smashing and gnashing his way through, arguably, some of industries worst years creatively and financially–standing as a monolith among the poor, hungry apes incapable of grasping the knowledge he was revealing to them. He, The Monolith, still stands to this day and we apes are still trying to figure out where the signal is pointing to. xoxo CO ———————————————————————————————— select Kirby links This special edition of the Kirby Collector looks like a banger. The Comics Journal interview with Kirby conducted by Gary Groth, with Roz Kirby in attendance. Masters of American Comic Book Art clip A really great Art in America piece on Kirby by Alexi Worth. Radio interview conducted on Kirby’s 70th birthday with surprise guest–brace yourselves True Believers–Stan Lee. A really excellent series by Robert Steibel on the collaboration between Kirby and Lee Kirby at War BANG! POW! Kirby on Entertainment Tonight A particularly good presentation by Arlen Schumer on Kirby’s influence in culture. Jack Kirby Musuem and Research Center Kirb Your Enthusiasm BONUS SPREAD ———————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 8-28-2017 – by Gabriella Tito ———————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 8-28-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

12/13/2016

Aaron CockleDecember 13, 2016NewsAaron here today with Rosalie Lightning; Ubu Roi; Trish Trash; Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky; Dronewatch 2017; George Herriman’s Biographer, Michael Tisserand; What Dan Nadel is Reading ————————————————————————————————— Background/Middleground/Foreground Tom Hart’s Rosalie Lightning, a strong contender for book of the year, is excerpted at the PEN America blog. ————————————————————————————————— ‘I think you have to let teens come to their own satire’ The Lunar Observer’s Jacob Khepler observes the anniversary of Alfred Jarry’s play, Ubu Roi: Ubu Roi will never get the high school treatment — it was a big, big noise in its time, forging a path for Dadaism, Surrealism, and the Theater of the Absurd, but the very first word is SHIT, if not in all caps then in an all-caps feeling, and there’s no avoiding or defending that. ————————————————————————————————— Rollergirls (on Mars) Michael C. Lorah interviews Jessica Abel at the Comic Book Resources blog: Many authors have books later published in another language. Was it strange in any way to see this one first appear in another tongue? It was interesting because it definitely gave me a lot of insight into how the French comics industry works. That was very interesting information, because producing a book doesn’t happen the same way it does in the American system. And there are good sides and bad sides to the French system as well. It’s a complex question. It’s nice to bring back into English. Of course, it was written in English, so it’s sort of being “untranslated” more than anything else. But I was able to work closely with the translator for the French version. I speak French, so I was able to refine it and make it reflect the spirit of the book. I’m proud of how it came out there. ————————————————————————————————— Here, Kevin Huizenga finds the baron composing aphorisms at a house known as Mad Bean Cottage. Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky Comics ————————————————————————————————— 21st Century Birdwatching ————————————————————————————————— The 173rd meeting of the NY Comics & Picture-story Symposium will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016 at 7pm at Parsons The New School for Design, 2 West 13th Street, in the Bark Room (off the lobby). Free and open to the public. Michael Tisserand on Birth of the Krazy: The Early Days of George Herriman and Krazy Kat. George Herriman’s biographer Michael Tisserand revisits the years when boxing, funny animals, and the one cartoonist’s genius produced comics’ most enigmatic character. Michael Tisserand‘s biography of George Herriman, Krazy: George Herriman, a Life in Black and White will be published by HarperCollins in December, 2016. His previous books include The Kingdom of Zydeco and the Hurricane Katrina memoir Sugarcane Academy. He lives in New Orleans. ————————————————————————————————— Nadel’s Reading List Including Lauren Weinstein’s Normel Person Comics: Normal here opens up to move away from the old “white straight guy” meaning and into a whole mindset of viewing the world and asking simple, structural questions and funny, moving observations. Halloween costumes, babies, food. The basics of our particular little kind of life. All done in Lauren’s detailed line work and lush watercolors. A master at work. And Jessica Campbell’s Hot or Not: 20th Century Male Artists: l love this little book that does exactly as the title suggests: breaks down male artists into the ol’ “hot or not” categories usually reserved for women, even, or even especially in the art world. Campbell nails the silly “objective” tone of it all, digs deep in her choices, and is very, very funny. Also, her unfussy, to-the-point cartooning removes any sense of artifice. The book moves along easily and you barely stop to realize how funny, weird, and uncomfortably natural it all feels. Share this page: [...]

02/19/2016

Sally IngrahamFebruary 19, 2016NewsRight out of the gate on a Friday – Connor Willumsen has a new comic up on Study Group! Sweet Love is the last chocolate in the box, leftover from Valentines Day revels. A sticky treat for modern lovers wrapped in pink and red. READ IT HERE. Connor’s past work includes Calgary: Death Milks a Cow, which punched us in the gut with it’s visual detail and fierce movement. On the move himself, Connor is hoping to supplement the cost of his transit – “I am currently selling drawings, accepting commissions, skype portraits, etc. email mail@connorwillumsen.com for all inquiries – thanks” You can find an extensive list of Connor’s work HERE. Check it out! The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is celebrating Black History Month by spotlighting Black comics makers and cartoonists “who made significant contributions to free expression“. It’s high time to learn about Larry Fuller – Larry Fuller—a.k.a. A. Christian White—with his quick wit, eye for innovation, and keen sense of opportunity is regarded as one of the indisputable kings of the 1970s underground comix movement. From Ebon to White Whore Funnies, Fuller wrote comics, drew comics, published comics, and would become one of the premier businessmen in an industry characterized by its fast, loose, and decidedly un-business-like attitude that arose out of the aftermath of the 1954 Comics Code. Fuller’s ability to effectively use satire to comment upon social issues such as race and sexuality would make him an influential and important icon not only in the Black, but also the LGBTQ comics communities. Read all about Larry Fuller HERE! The world is losing Sparkplug Books…! This news hurts the heart… Virginia Paine wrote on the Sparkplug blog: It is with mixed feelings that I must announce that I will be shutting down Sparkplug this year. I appreciate the opportunities that running Sparkplug has given me and the wonderful people it has introduced me to. I know Sparkplug means a lot to many people and I want to assure you this is not a decision I’ve made lightly. Read the rest of her letter HERE, and see what amazing stuff this publisher still has to offer for the next few months HERE. Don’t mess around – value and support for as long as you can a part of the community that meant a lot to so many. Hey look! It’s an excerpt from Luke Pearson’s comic in š! #24 ‘Urban Jungle’. These Latvian comics anthologies bring together comics makers from around the world, and their latest offering – due to be released on February 23rd – looks like mad fun. Pre-order it HERE. Frank recently caught up with Wayne Wise at Phantom of the Attic in Pittsburgh, PA, to get the low down on how Wayne became one of the first Xeric Grant recipients. During the grant’s long cycle (1992-2012) over $3,000,000 was awarded to comic book makers and non-profits. Pretty brilliant! Check out the video below. Keep up with Wayne Wise over on his blog – Notes From the Playground – and get a taste of his comic Grey Legacy Tales HERE. (You can also get to know him better and hear more great stories via this episode of The AP Collection hosted by another cool Pittsburgh artist, Genevieve Barbee.) Check out the web comic Lovely’s (story so far HERE), now on it’s 10th episode on Pulp Deluxe HERE. LOVELY’S is a graphic novel / cookbook in the making, by Val Gallardo and Jonathan Beaton. The story follows a group of old friends who haven’t seen each other since they graduated from art school. Older but none the wiser, the ‘Brush Monkeys’ are reunited after they all receive an invitation to dinner from the mysterious philanthropist and burger tycoon Bingo Lovelett, owner of the Lovely’s Heavenly Burgers empire. New pages every Sunday 6 p.m GMT+1 Weird and funny, like all reunions of old friends should be, this comic is worth following. There’s a mystery to be solved after all…! A new collaborative comic from Zach Mason & G.W. Duncanson – Team-Up Comic #3, pictured above – just rolled into town! G. W. Duncanson has a history of these team up comics and they’re all interesting in their own right. Check out Team-Up Comic #1, made with Laurie Piña – and Team-Up Comic #2, made with Karissa Sakumoto. And finally, the fountain of knowledge is running over – another video from Bill Boichel and Comics Workbook, this time dishing up Melody by Sylvia Rancourt. You’re going to want to drop whatever you’re doing and get yourself a copy after watching this! Share this page: [...]

06/01/2016

Juan FernándezJune 1, 2016NewsJuan Fernandez here with Tim Hensley in THE DIAZ ARCHIVE;Gran bola de helado by Conxita Herrero; 2nd Lady’s Comics Encontro in Brazil; Pablo Guerra por Ángel Castaño Gusmán; New Work from Power Paola; Spain’s first graphic novel, Tito y Tif. On the site: New in the DIAZ ARCHIVE: http://comicsworkbook.com/the-hensley-interview/ http://comicsworkbook.com/tim-hensley-draws-l-b-jeff-jeffries-from-rear-window/ ————————————————————————————————— Off the site: Gran bola de helado (Conxita Herrero) Gerardo V. reviews Conxita Herrero‘s exciting new work published by Apa-Apa in Barcelona, Gran Bola De Helado over at Entrecomics.com. Gerardo Vilches: …Conxita builds a minimalist style of naked lines, perfect for representing a world that feels vibrantly present , reflecting the concerns and way of life of Millenials today. An almost perfect synthesis between the hermetically tight and intimate, which crystallizes in small stories that depart from the literary density of the graphic novel tradition to conquer a far more unexplored terrain : the purely graphic . (..) In stripping down her their stories, Herrero sharpens them, and they reach us in more effective ways: some of the hit you in ways that only a drawing can. At times, it is reminiscent of the works of Yuichi Yokoyama and shares Yokoyama’s ability to show the world around us from a perspective that deforms and makes it fascinating. (Translated by Juan Fernandez) ————————————————————————————————— Mark your Calendar: 2nd Lady’s Comics Encontro, 29-31 July in Belo Horizonte Following the great success of first Encontro in October 2014 (an event that happened through crowdfunding, the first in Latin America on women and comics), the Lady’s Comics collective in Brazil is organizing a three day free festival with more than 30 guests, 5 workshops and display of the work by the Chicks on Comics collective. The theme of this second gathering will be The First Voyage. The programming of this entire encontro is aimed at women’s empowerment and serves as a reflection of women’s massive participation in all the creative processes in the ninth art. Conhece aquele branco que dá na hora de criar e não sabe o que fazer? Aquela dúvida sobre como participar de uma feira ou publicar em uma editora? E tirar o tal ISBN? Como montar e apresentar um portifólio? E para os educadores, como podemos usar os quadrinhos na escola? Cada caminho, com diferentes visões, desde o independente até mainstream, serão apresentados pelas artistas, produtoras de eventos, editoras e profissionais da área. Tudo isso visando o empoderamento feminino e a reflexão sobre a participação das mulheres em todos os processos criativos das HQs. Here’s the video they put together when organizing the first Encontro so you can see what they’re about. Check out their YouTube and their website channel to feast your eyes on their tireless work. ————————————————————————————————— Entrevista de Pablo Guerra por Ángel Castaño Gusmán Nice interview over at Revista Arcadia with Pablo Guerra, one of the co-organizers of the Colombian comics festival, Entreviñetas, about his comics writing process and the state of Colombian comics making. Ángel Castaño Guzmaán: In your role of editor and critic of comics, what are the obsessions that run across the work of comics makers nationally? What is the state of the Colombian graphic novel? Pablo Guerra: The national production of comics continues to respond, generally, to small niches of readers. In that sense, its not easy to find recurring themes further than preoccupations with how to survive and grow in a cultural milieu that, although more open than in previous decades, continues to treat comics as foreign matter. The Colombian graphic novel is a young phenomenon a still all the participants in the chain (creators, readers, editors, book sellers, journalists) are in the process of learning and experimentation. I hope that the path we still have to take continues to provide us with interesting works and authors that feel more and more comfortable with the form and that they begin to communicate among themselves. On top of that, it is important that, until now, the domestic production of comics continue to be the progonist in our discussions of the cultural panorama of our country. One of the greatest set backs in previous decades has been that international comics were very popular while those made in Colombia were practically all glossed over. (translated by Juan Fernandez) ————————————————————————————————— New Work from Power Paola Todo va a estar bien (Editorial Catalonia) This collects the autobiographic work that Power Paola began releasing online in 2013. Read a chapter for a real taste of Paola’s work: El Viaje. It is available for purchase via Editorial Catalonia in Santiago, Chile. Virus Tropical (2dcloud) This was just debuted at TCAF and will soon be available for purchase via 2dcloud’s website. Here’s a micro review by Kim of goodcomicsbykim.tumblr.com to whet your appetite. my short review on Virus Tropical by @powerpaola @2dcloud. i want more of her works!! #comics pic.twitter.com/qqlO1U37Qt — kim (@therealkim__) May 19, 2016 ————————————————————————————————— Spain’s first graphic novel, Tito y Tif to be Republished Published in 1915, Tito and Tif by Joaquín Xaudaró, the first Spanish comic book is now being republished by Ediciones Taulas. The story of a pharmacist and his dog, in the thralls of a surreal adventure, Tito and Tif originally appeared serialized in 4 page installments in Spanish newspapers. While it’s true that there were many “comic books” in Spain before because the publishing of Tito and Tif, all were nothing more than collections of short stories. There were no comics that picked up a single long story and followed it through from beginning, to middle and end. That’s where this book comes in. In the end, this book is 108 pages of cartooning, that all serve to tell one story. This volume is thus the first graphic novel published in Spain . And that was more than 100 years ago. RTVE.es has a wonderfully in depth look at this collection worth your time that explores the historical context of Xaudaró’s work and the elements that set Tito y Tif apart from comics of its time. ————————————————————————————————— hasta la proxima 😉 -Juan Share this page: [...]

03/02/2017

Sally IngrahamMarch 2, 2017NewsSam Ombiri is here today with thoughts on influences and his recent adventures in comics post-production – plus all the Comics Workbook Daily Strips! ————————————————————————————————— Sam Ombiri here – David O’Reilly said something like “it’s real cool for people to hide their influences and to not admit them“, and that “people who refrain from admitting their influences tend to have the most obvious ones“. I think he’s saying that it’s not so important how well one can hide their influence or not be obvious – it’s just a reflection of a certain attitude prominent in certain people. There is something to be said to not wanting to list influences. I recall both Claire Denis and Stefan Burnett saying “listing them seems boring/contrived” after mentioning 2 or 3 things when asked something akin to what other work has shaped their work? I remember reading about the guy who created Mr. Robot – he was listing all his influences in this way that kind of drove me nuts for some reason. He said something like “Taxi Driver for the narration, Breaking Bad for it’s character arc, Blade Runner for its introspection” and such and such. It makes me understand why Matthew Thurber said “All of these shows make me want to vomit in the face of the indoctrinated fool who invariably speaks of them in rapturous tones. I’d rather spend my time cleaning out a ten-year-old Rapidograph, or picking a scab!” (Maybe I don’t understand why but for a moment I can share his sentiment!) Sammy Harkham was saying something akin to “An influence is a thing that if a solution to a problem wasn’t found, it would be a longer winding road in order to find it.” The problem being, trying to figure out how to execute something that’s not entirely clear. It sounded like a really optimistic thing – that art is made with what is already in someone, and is not exactly dependent on what art a person encounters. It seemed a bit of a mystical idea. Sort of “the man at the end of the search” type of deal. It reminded me of the time in The Dance of Reality where Jodorowsky says “Everything you are is already inside you.” Something like that. I remember it more from the trailer than the movie. I don’t remember the movie too well as I haven’t seen it in a couple years, or at least it feels that way. I remember Jodorowsky’s Dad fighting a bunch of Nazis – and this one anarchist not wanting to live in world where dogs wore clothes. I remember other things. I must disagree with what Nicolas Winding Refn said about Jodorowsky’s movies being about what we don’t see. (What Refn actually said was that Jodorowsky’s movies remind him that all movies aren’t about what you see but what you don’t see. Trailers are to a huge extent how he executes this idea, I think. The movies our minds see when we see his trailers and the movies that we see on screen, and all the ideas floating around in the movie that aren’t fully uttered… I think Sammy Harkham said something like “Plot is like a coat room for one to hang ideas in.“ I think really often Sammy’s ideas of cartooning are almost similar to Robert Bresson. Not that his work is like Bresson’s, or completely like Bresson’s – they at times share similar traits. Or at least traits in what Bresson says. I think what Sammy was saying was about what fascinates him in horror films, which sounded very much like stuff that Bresson would talk about. Or this whole thing he says of demilitarized drama, and everything having the same weight, similar to how in Brian Chippendale’s Ninja things aren’t brought so much attention to. How Sammy was talking about cartooning was similar to how Bresson was talking about a virtuoso playing music and how their faces and composure are completely controlled. Or how Sammy was saying he’d rather people’s sadness not be on display for everyone to see – it echoes how Bresson said, “The sadness on people’s faces when you pass them on the street isn’t readily apparent.” They also share similarly mysterious triumphs strictly in themselves. That’s not to say that their work is, I don’t know, too too similar. Maybe Sammy is hiding Bresson’s influence to be cool, ha ha. I know that’s not the case. I think in a way that’s why I link Michael Haneke with Sammy a lot. I’m very certain Bresson had a ton of influence on Haneke. I always in my mind link Harkham with Haneke, for what are highly shallow reasons – not thinking that there are major connections, but a certain extremely specific similarity I see. – Sam Ombiri ————————————————————————————————— The Comics Workbook Rowhouse Residency is a space where cartoonists from out of town can come for a week or more of comics-making intensive – but it is also a space for Pittsburgh’s local cartoonists to “spar” and train. Sam Ombiri stopped by recently for an afternoon tutorial on final production – layout and printing. Over cups of tea and The Lounge Lizards spinning on the record player, he completed his comic Haunted VHS – debuting at the Pittsburgh Indy Comix Expo this April 9th! There’s always something interesting happening around the Rowhouse – comics to read and make and share. Learn more about the Residency program HERE or email santoroschool@gmail.com. ————————————————————————————————— The Spring Semester of the Santoro Correspondence Course for Comic Book Makers is about to start! Although we have a rolling start date this semester, the course will officially kick off on March 7th. We will continue taking applications past that date – Frank is always willing to make it work for your schedule. Just apply! The course is 8 weeks long – 500 bux – payment plans are available. Check out the comic Connor Willumsen made when he took the course – Calgary: Death Milks a Cow! More details can be found HERE or email santoroschool@gmail.com to apply. ————————————————————————————————— Blinkers – 3-2-2017 – by Jack Brougham ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 3-2-2017 – by Sally Ingraham ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 3-2-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio ————————————————————————————————— Cozytown – 3-2-2017 – by Juan Fernandez Share this page: [...]

12/29/2016

Posted on December 28, 2016 by Sally Ingraham

We are back! The Comics Workbook Daily News resumes today. We have fresh ideas to launch in the new year and a few tricks up a few sleeves – but for the moment, while the team is still on its way back home and the last days of 2016 tick away…we have just a few comics and stories to share and many good wishes to send out to you all.

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To kick things off, a very relevant comic from Kyle Baker on The Village Voice (above).

And another comic by Kyle that I somehow missed can found on The Village Voice – HERE.

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Also on The Village Voice this week, Gilbert Hernandez has a new 4 page story…!! Page one below – the rest is HERE.

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Keith Knight has a review of Rogue One that I can happily get behind – a little spoilery – so if you haven’t seen the flick skip this one:

Keith also has a holiday-themed comic on The Nib, which offers some alt-right gift ideas… – HERE.

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While the team was resting this piece (above) by Cory Thomas was published on Fusion – The Weirdness of Being Black in White Spaces After the Election. Check out the whole thing HERE.

Cory Thomas is an Atlanta-based cartoonist who publishes the webcomic Watch Your Head HERE.

(Also check out the full Graphic Culture series at Fusion – plenty more political-themed comics to stir your blood…)

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Paste has all 20 pages of Ronald Wimberly‘s story in the Attack on Titan Anthology – HERE.

“…it’s an intriguing change of pace for cartoonists like Ronald Wimberly, who contributes the 20-page chapter “Bahamut.” Known for his rhythmic, hyper-stylized works like The Prince of Cats and GratNin, Wimberly takes a trip from his usual setting of Brooklyn to AoT’s turn-of-the-century Germanic landscape for a dark, hilarious take on the fiction.” – via Paste

(If you choose to cruise around Paste for a minute after reading Ron’s story, there is a pretty decent “best of” list for comics HERE.)

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The Winter semester of the Santoro Correspondence Course for Comic Book Makers started today, which means a new crew of talented artists are beginning what is often a transformative journey. If you missed out on getting a spot on the course this time round, keep an eye out for the Spring semester announcement in a few months, and meanwhile get yourself a copy of thee Santoro School Handbook – HERE.

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The Suzy and Cecil strips did NOT take a holiday break – in fact Gabriella Tito and I (Sally Ingraham) let the seasonal cheer creep into our stories – here’s a taste:

Suzy and Cecil – 12-24-2016 – Sally Ingraham

There are more holiday strips HERE. Daily updates are HERE – and will resume as a regular part of the Daily News tomorrow!

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Hang in there as we ride the rest of this year out – and thanks for making Comics Workbook part of your life in 2016! Cheers – thee Comics Workbook Daily News Team

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Comics Workbook

An online magazine for comics makers

Posted in NewsTagged cory thomas, Gilbert Hernandez, keith knight, Kyle Baker, Ronald Wimberly, suzy and cecil

Sally Ingraham

Posted on December 28, 2016

Explore

09/15/2016

Sally IngrahamSeptember 15, 2016NewsSally here to introduce a new Daily News team member and run you through the Comics Workbook happenings this week, in between making books and packing the car for the big trip to Small Press Expo this weekend…! ————————————————————————————————— This week we are joined by Samuel Ombiri, a Pittsburgh cartoonist and one of the cornerstones of our monthly Pittsburgh Comics Salons (pictured above). To kick off his CW Daily News career, Sam shares some thoughts on “Furukawa and Nara”. He writes: “An Interview With Yoshimoto Nara Above is a link to a dialogue that’s pretty inspiring to me in kind of a symbolic manner (Hideo Furukawa is probably my favorite author – or maybe not). I found an album where he’s featured in a track (and there’s a track by Oval and the Zs – it almost feels like a dream, but I wish I could speak Japanese in this dream I’m having.) I don’t have a favorite artist, because it would be physically painful to pick one, but let’s pretend that Yoshimoto Nara is my favorite artist (though to be honest I don’t know too much about him – Ian Jones-Quartey did a really cool short based off his work https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrpmIZlFpWY ) So on a shallow level …words and images… and I guess.. comics right? Though I don’t know if their words and images would compliment each other too well if put together, but I look at howww they are maybeee people with massive strengths in their own domain, and them coming together to talk gives me power……..If I was better at writing I’m sure I’d be able to articulate this concept better – that’s it! I give up! “The only thing I allow myself to expect is that something unexpected will happen or appear through the course of writing. This ‘something unexpected,’ which underlies the work in a piece of writing should be independent from the writer, and only then does this ‘something’ emerge. In this way the writer is simply a bridge between the piece and image to be delivered. The writer wouldn’t need to claim ‘This is My work. Read My story.” – Hideo Furukawa “As for me, I don’t care much about the audience and their reactions nowadays. It might be another effect of aging. What I wish now is that my works remain for, say, 200 years after my death. I hope they are strong enough, in various senses to over to overcome the disappearance and death of the person who’s created them.” -Yoshimoto Nara Thanks for sharing this Sam – here’s the link again to the full conversation between Furukawa and Nara. Sam will continue to contribute news items and his own thoughts in the coming weeks – and probably a comic or two! ————————————————————————————————— Bethesda, MD – where we will be this weekend, in force – look for the blue shirts! Some of the fantastic workshops Comics Workbook is offering at SPX this weekend will be standing room only based on the signup numbers! We hope to see you there. Full Small Press Expo details HERE! ————————————————————————————————— Applications for the fall semester of the Santoro Correspondence Course for Comic Book Makers are due September 16th 2016 – course starts September 23rd. FULL DETAILS HERE. The course is filling up, so if you are interested make sure to shoot us an email asap at santoroschoolATgmail…! ————————————————————————————————— Once again presenting this unique opportunity to get a rare Connor Willumsen book. “Swinespritzen” is now available from Comics Workbook. Connor and Frank Santoro reprinted this classic wacky pack originally produced for Breakdown Press in 2014. We have recreated the original item right down to the envelopes, paper, and crappy glue-job that Connor manifested one late night at Kinkos. We will have these at SPX but this is an extremely limited edition – so if you want one email santoroschoolATgmail or DM @santoro.frank on Instagram! ————————————————————————————————— I’ll be back with more news tomorrow (and hopefully full of the mysterious calm that descends right before a momentous occasion…?) Cheers – Sally Share this page: [...]

10/24/16

Juan FernándezOctober 24, 2016NewsJuan here with Comics Workbook’s ongoing CXC and LICAF coverage; my own thoughts on strip cartooning; HTML Flowers’ No Visitors – Issue One; Anya Davidson interviewed by Paste Magazine; a shout out to Good Comics by Kim; The Economist takes a look at the power of comics journalism; a Pepe oriented call to action from Matt Furie; Robyn Chapman soliciting stories about challenges or financial woes tabling at North American comics shows; Comics Assistant Professor Job opening at CCAD. One week out and we’re still thinking about CXC on our end! It was a hell of a weekend. Reports and thoughts seeded by CXC have been coming in left and right. I’ve wrangled them all for your convenience. Check them out and if you like what you read, consider making CXC part of your comics adventures in 2017. Here’s what we’ve got for you: The collective blow by blow take on the CXC experience, think of it as a Master post, if you will! Sacha Mardou’s personal CXC adventures Juan Fernandez’s (me ;)) CXC-inspired thoughts on expanding the “comics festival toolkit”. Kurt Ankeny’s post-CXC thoughts Alyssa Berg shares her first convention experience Caleb Orecchio’s detailed and hilarious tale of his CXC experience CXC 2016: 3 Questions for the Crew ⚡Frank and Niall Breen have taken some time to reflect on their experiences in Kendal during the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. You can check those out here to find out why if you’re anywhere near the UK, you’re going to want to add LICAF to your comics appreciation schedule next year. The Lakes International Comic Art Festival 2016 report by Frank Santoro Niall Breen on LICAF 2016 ⚡ On my end, I’ve been thinking about 4 panel comics. A lot. Reading them, drawing them, teaching them… Through all those thoughts,one that I keep coming back to is that of openness of narrative. In today’s cultural landscape of fractured narrative and more broadly the idea of narrative collapse, I’m finding I’m interested in constellations of narrative. Non-linear experiences through a narrative world. Just as how comics creates fertile liminal spaces between panels, it’s my belief that comic strips have the potential to foster inviting spaces between individual strips. No large structures, just small moments. Some link together. Many don’t. Think Cul de Sac, Moomin, Macanudos. All that said, I’m excited to announce that come Mid-November I’ll have a weekday comic strip going live online. I tried the experiment of Daily Comics from 2013-2014. But I fell off that horse. That was at the Center for Cartoon Studies. After I graduated from the Center for Cartoon Studies I had to transition back into a more regular pattern of life. Life’s commitments made it very hard to find that time. I’ve used these past two years to work on different forms and to experiment with technique. I realized that when it comes to comics, I’m here for the bliss of creation. The strip is where I feel that bliss most strongly. I’m ready and I hope you are too! ⚡ It’s exciting to see that The Economist is running a piece on the power and vitality of comics journalism in the current news media environment. It’s great to see the ascendancy of work like Sacco’s and Glidden’s happen real time. Comics journalism is nothing new. It has been around for decades, kept alive by such talented artists as Joe Sacco, who has used the medium to depict everything from a war-torn town in the Gaza Strip to the Eastern Bosnian war. But it has only been in the last few years that it has really started to find its place in the mainstream media. The Nib, founded in September 2013, consists entirely of comics, many of which contain journalism and non-fiction. It has published more than 2,000 works on its website and released a popular 300-page book of its best offerings. The Cartoon Picayune has been around even longer—since April 2011—and showcases a variety of comics journalism online as well as in its yearly publication, which it offers to readers for $4. Even some of the more established publications, such as the New York Times, are making use of the format. In May, it published Patrick Chappatte’s moving five-part piece that takes an in-depth look at the lives of four death row inmates. It is surprising, in the age of tight newspaper budgets and the 24-hour news cycle, that comics journalism is thriving. Ms Glidden says it’s because “it can make people stop and take notice.” Everyone is constantly bombarded by so many images and text that they can simply grow numb to all of the information being thrown their way. It helps that comics journalism is still novel to many people; its format encourages people to take an extra minute to fully consider the information being presented. ⚡ I wanted to share a short and sweet letter from Matt Furie: Dear friends, I need your help making positive pepe the frog memes to battle against evil trolls: Please make a kid-friendly pepe in your style and send it to me at: hashtagsavepepe@gmail.com I’m creating a positive pepe artist database, so include your name. also, please share nice pepe’s with the hashtag: #savepepe thanks! -matt ⚡ Don’t miss this juicy interview with Anya Davidson over on Paste that goes into her work on Band for Life! Paste: I think that love for your characters really shows in the work. A lot of these characters—and it was what really struck me about School Spirit, which was the first work of yours that I encountered—already feel distinct and fully formed when you first meet them. I’d be curious to know more about your process, especially for something serialized like this. How much do you plan, how much just comes from working with them for a few strips, etc.? Davidson: I had a story arc for Band for Life, but I wrote the strips week to week. It kept the project fresh and spontaneous. Sometimes I’d write a few weeks ahead when I knew there was a thread I wanted to draw out. I had a lot of fun working that way. Lovers in the Garden, the book I just finished for Retrofit Comics, was scripted start to finish before I put pen to paper. And my next book is going to be fully scripted, too. For a graphic novel, in my case, just so I can keep everything straight, and so I can hone dialogue, I really prefer scripting. But the strip form uniquely gave me the freedom to improvise. Every cartoonist has their preferred methods—there’s no right way. As far as character development, all my characters are me. I went to see George Saunders speak and a woman asked him how he was able to write the adolescent girl so well in his short story “Victory Lap,” and he said, “Because she’s me.” I also think about people I know: their mannerisms and speech patterns and personal histories. So all of my characters have elements of friends, acquaintances and myself put in a blender. And I like to drop people into stories as they’re happening. I want people to feel like they’ve been dropped in a world that is fully formed—like the story started before they got there. I think that’s most engaging, most surprising. ⚡ If you’re a comics educator that is looking for a new opportunity, check out this job opening at CCAD – Assistant Professor – Comics & Narrative Practice, Illustration ⚡ I want to give the great Robyn Chapman of Paper Rocket Comics a signal boost for her “poll”. She is looking for your thoughts about challenges or financial woes tabling at North American comics shows. She does a great job at compiling small press and minicomics trends in her zine, The Tiny Report. Hey, micro-publishers. I’m looking for a quote or two about the challenges of tabling at conventions. I’d be happy to hear numbers or about financial woes. You can remain anonymous. Please PM me in the next few days if you’re interested. robertaraechapman@gmail.com ⚡ I want to give a shout out to Good Comics by Kim Joo Ha. <3 Kim’s always turning me onto the good stuff via their posts. Kim makes it easier to find art comics and wild zines in this crazy fractured hyperactive internet mediated comics landscape. What a godsend… If you don’t follow their twitter or the Good Comics by Kim blog, I’d check that out. I don’t know how they stay on top of everything, but that doesn’t keep me from appreciating their eye on comics or their writing… Don’t sleep on Kim! Until next time! Juan Share this page: [...]

03/24/2017

Sally IngrahamMarch 23, 2017NewsWe finish the week with Mary Fleener, Isabel Bas Amat, Gloria Rivera, Miranda Harmon, and more! ————————————————————————————————— I just had a chance to check out Mineshaft #34 (Fall 2016) at Copacetic Comics and happened across Mary Fleener‘s piece for the zine (above). Only hours later I discovered that Women Write About Comics had posted an interview with Mary Fleener, which digs into what she’s currently working on, her recent experience with comics about local politics, and her long relationship with the medium. She is part of a relatively small group of female cartoonists who have been working steadily since the 70’s, and I am pleased to see that she is still totally invested in the community and is still making serious work – perhaps the best work of her life (keep an eye out for her new book Billie the Bee, a project she considers to be the hardest thing she’s ever done.) Mary Fleener’s advice to an aspiring comics maker: “Read a lot of books, look at a lot of art, and go to a lot of museums. I compare a lot of things to learning how to play a musical instrument. It’s almost like a Law of Nature. If you practice, you will get better. If you draw a lot, you will get better. Some people take longer, and some can do it right away, but if you do not practice you’ll get nowhere. Another thing, if you have a burning desire to try something, then you MUST. If you do not, you will always wonder what you missed out on. Envy is another thing that can either give you the drive to try harder or it can eat you up inside. If someone gets an award, congratulate them, don’t be bitter. One more thing: always say “Please” and “Thank you”.“ Read the rest of the interview HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Thanks to the wonders of Google Translate I’ve been doing my best to learn about Isabel Bas Amat (b. 1931), a cartoonist from Barcelona, Spain, who was one of only three women to draw comics for the long-running comics magazine TBO (1917-1983). She began making work for the magazine in 1967, and her strip Ana-Emilia and Her Family (above) became popular. She was completely self taught and had very little communication with other cartoonists, so all of her work was based on the comics that she had grown up reading. She drew from an early age, and first sent her comics to a local magazine when she was 15. She had the satisfaction of seeing her work published, and was able to carry on making comics and doing illustration work. Her comic for TBO, a magazine she always hoped to be published in, featured a character that was based on the daughter of the publisher, Albert Viña. Like her character Ana-Emilia, Isabel was a climber and swimmer and tabletop tennis player – but comics were her first love. There is an interview with Isabel Bas Amat on Tebeosfera – with the aid of Google Translate you can learn more about this rad cartoonist and see more of her strips and comics – HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Gloria Rivera is in Pittsburgh this week for a Comics Workbook Rowhouse Residency. She is an alum of the Santoro Correspondence Course for Comic Book Makers and is a member of the CW Roller Derby League so we know that she isn’t afraid of working hard. Now she is making the most of a week dedicated entirely to drawing and research – or “sparing in the dojo” as we call it around CW. We’ll hear more about her adventures next week – meanwhile follow the Rowhouse Residency Instagram account – @rowhouseresidency – and if you’re interested in joining us in Pittsburgh yourself, email santoroschool@gmail.com for more info! ————————————————————————————————— Miranda Harmon was thinking about the X-Men recently (above). See the rest of her musings HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Fish Fry Friday M. S. Harkness is a cartoonists from Minneapolis, Minnesota who is headed to Pittsburgh this summer for a Comics Workbook Rowhouse Residency – come hell or high water! Donate to her travel expenses if you can – this gal will probably crawl here if she has to, but it would be nice if she could at least take the train – check out her Generosity campaign HERE – and send M.S. Harkness to Pittsburgh! The PEN America feature Illustrated PEN has an excerpt from Thi Bui’s new book, The Best We Could Do – HERE. Pinup Girl Clothing has released a line of Los Hernandez Brothers clothes, which uses fabric with designs pulled from their large body of work. Cartoonist Sarah Dyer (who is best known for the 90’s Action Girl anthology) is the Art Director for the line, so anyone ELSE who thinks this is a marvelous fashion development can join me in thanking Sarah for it! More about the line HERE on The Comics Beat – and you can order the clothing HERE. Sophie Goldstein treated herself to a Patreon for her birthday – support her HERE. Women Write About Comics reviews Peter Bagge’s new book Fire!!: The Zora Neale Hurston Story. ————————————————————————————————— Blinkers – 3-24-2017 – by Jack Brougham ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 3-24-2017 – by Gabriella Tito ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 3-24-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

09/14/2016

Juan FernándezSeptember 14, 2016los Cómics / NewsJuan here with your Latin American and Spanish comics news! Hoy tenemos: Dash Shaw dibuja el estreno de MY ENTIRE HIGHSCHOOL SINKING INTO THE SEA; John Kelly apuntado director del ToonSeum en Pittsburgh; Spanish Fever llega a los EE.UU; Entrevista con Jose Domingo; Entrevista con PowerPaola; Taller de Maggie Lynn Negrete en Pittsburgh; Taller con Marco M. Noreña en Colombia; Convocatoria Abierta de Zinebiosís y GRAF – Madrid; Malaimagen invitado a La Polala #11. ————————————————————————————————— Dash Shaw dibuja el estreno de su nueva pelicula My Entire Highschool Sinking into the Sea ————————————————————————————————— SPANISH FEVER: STORIES BY THE NEW SPANISH CARTOONISTS U.S. TOUR The crew has landed and is now in America – Santiago García, Javier Olivares, David Rubín, Ana Galvañ, y José Domingo han llegado! Si tienen la oportunidad de escuchar una de sus charlas o talleres, no se lo pueden perder. Estos son los “heavy hitters” Españoles. Santiago García les puedo contar un poquito sobre la gira! ————————————————————————————————— Entrevista: José Domingo José Domingo shares some thoughts with Meagan Meehan over on Blasting News. BN: How did you come up with the idea for “Adventures of a Japanese Businessman” and “Pablo and Jane and the Hot Air Contraption”? JD: The idea for “Adventures of a Japanese Businessman” came out from a littlesketch on my sketchbook and the feeling it created. Trying to capture that feeling–following the thread of it–resulted in the book. For “Pablo and Jane and the Hot Air Contraption” I was commissioned by Flying Eye Books to create a book about monsters with a core hide-and-seek element but I was given total freedom to develop the story, characters and tone of the book. Read it HERE + and don’t miss José Domingo (and the rest of the Spanish Fever crew) at SPX!!! ————————————————————————————————— Learn to Draw from the Pros! Acompañanos este sabado en Bethesda, Maryland desde las 3-5 durante nuestro taller de Spanish Fever! (Spanish Language Workshop). SPX and Comics Workbook, along with the Spanish Cultural Ministry and Fantagraphics, is pleased to provide Spanish language instruction and presentations with José Domingo and David Rubín. Es un verdadero honor poder presentar una charla + taller con José Domingo y David Rubín. 100% en Español! 100% Gratis! No se lo pierdan! ————————————————————————————————— [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/281896150″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /] Escucha @lapololapodcast, un podcast del cómic femenino con Sol Díaz Castillo y Marcela Trujillo! It’s always a fun, relaxing and enlightening listen. If you haven’t tuned in to La Polola just yet, Póngale Play 😉 En este capítulo las chicas conversan con Malaimagen, uno de los más prolíficos dibujantes chilenos, autor de libros como “Sin Tolerancia”, “Pase Usted”, “Boleta o Factura”, “Pan y Circo” y el último “Malditos Humanos” entre otros más. Hablamos de sus inspiraciones, sus temas y su relación con la música punk y su grupo punkora, que nos acompaña con la música con dos canciones de su último disco “contra el suelo”. Además dimos los resultados de nuestro concurso del mapa emocional, ¡gracias a todas y todos los que nos mandaron sus dibujos! Y tenemos un gran anuncio: desde este capítulo comenzaremos a ser transmitidas por radio ITACA FM en España ————————————————————————————————— Entreviñetas 2016 – La Feria Vagabunda ¡Pronto comienza la séptima temporada de Entreviñetas en Colombia! El #FestivalEntreviñetas2016 tendrá a Bogotá y Medellín como sedes. Si el cómic es lo que te apasiona y vives en Latinoamérica, no se lo pueden perder! Entreviñetas acabo de anunciar los proyectos que participarán en la Feria Vagabunda en sus versiones Bogotá (24 y 25 de sept) y Medellín (8 y 9 de oct). En la feria encontraras libros, cómics y fanzines que son verdaderamente unicos. Mantente al dia y sigue la pagina de Entreviñetas en FB. Los invitados oficiales del festival seran: Brecht Vandenbroucke (Bélgica), Michael DeForge (Canadá), Olivier Kugler (Alemania), Elenio Pico (Argentina), Aidan Koch (Estados Unidos), Zane Zlemeša (Letonia), Inés Estrada (México), Diana Ojeda (Colombia), Sole Otero (Argentina), Pablo Guerra (Colombia), Marco Tóxico (Bolivia), Hernán Sansone (Argentina), Olea (Chile), Phoebe Gloeckner (Estados Unidos), Benjamin Dix (Reino Unido), ICINORI (Francia), Alexandra Zsigmond (Estados Unidos), Puño (España), Miguel Gallardo (España), Cabizbaja (Colombia), David Avend (Colombia), Jean Paul Zapata (Colombia) ————————————————————————————————— Convocatoria: GRAF – Madrid GRAF, evento en torno al cómic de autor y la edición independiente, tendrá lugar los días 11, 12 y 13 de noviembre de 2016. Para esta ocasión ampliamos la duración de la feria. Al igual que en la anterior edición en Barcelona, esta se extenderá a lo largo de tres días, dando comienzo el viernes a las 17:00h y terminando el domingo a las 14:30h. La organización hace un llamamiento a los editores, autores, artistas y colectivos interesados en participar. Para solicitar espacio en #GRAFMADRID2016 es imprescindible enviar un correo a graf.contacta@gmail.com con el nombre de la propuesta y una web o portfolio de la misma, indicando el tamaño de la mesa solicitada: Stand grande 2 metros = 90€ Stand mediano 1,5 metros = 70€ Stand pequeño 1,20 metros = 50€. (Las medidas puedes sufrir modificaciones. Os avisaremos por e-mail). ————————————————————————————————— Convocatoria: ZINEBIOSIS Fanzineros y fanzineras, ¡todavía está abierta la convocatoria para participar en la muestra Zinebiosis en Bogota! Zinebiosis Muestra de Fazines Colombia / Perú que se inaugura el sábado 24 de septiembre en Rat Trap, Organiza Rapiña y apoya ENTREVIÑETAS. Zinebiosis llega a Colombia, luego por su paso por Perú, compartiendo el intercambio de fazines colombo-peruano. Además de la muestra habrá concierto con las bandas Cadaver, FINAL, Muro y Tumbas!!! ————————————————————————————————— Taller: Marco Noreña (Medellin) Marco Noreña nos viene “full force” con los fanzines! Apuntate a este taller introductorio y de nociones básicas al mundo del cómic y la narrativa gráfica en El Lápiz Azul. El objetivo primordial es el de generar un producto finalizado e incentivar su realización de una forma amena y entretenida, por medio de ejercicios prácticos. 17 de septiembre · Horario: 9.00 am – 12.00 m Receso 2.00 – 5.00 pm Registrate AQUI. ————————————————————————————————— Taller y Charla: Maggie Lynn Negrete (Pittsburgh) The Pittsburgh Comics Salon is pleased to announce this month’s local spotlight artist will be: Maggie Lynn Negrete. Come join us at the ToonSeum (945 Liberty Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15222) on Thursday, September 15th from 6-8pm. This event is free to all-age attendees and promises an evening of art, conversation, and an atmosphere of solidarity. Maggie is a feminist artist that adapts her medium in response to the dialogue she wishes to create with her audience. Her artwork takes the form of installations, zines, and gallery-ready illustrations and prints. Uniting these various mediums and forms, her design sense manifests through graphic black and white line work with nods to late 19th and early 20th century illustration, psychedelic era poster design and the current renaissance of sign painting. Her visual language is highly influenced by my heritage of typographers, printers and illustrators. This session will consist of a conversation between Maggie Lynn Negrete and Juan Fernandez about identity, typography and education and how they intertwine in her design, cartooning and illustration. Their conversation will be followed by Q+A. ————————————————————————————————— John Kelly – Nuevo Director del ToonSeum (Pittsburgh) Aquí en Pittsburgh, John Kelly, escritor y historiador del mundo del cómic, ha sido nombrado el Executive Director del ToonSeum, nuestro museo del arte del cómic! Kelly sera a la vez responsable por las operaciones cotidianas del museo y la planificación del crecimiento a largo plazo del museo. Kelly, who has written extensively about comics since the late 1980s, had been serving as Vice President of the Museum since June, 2016 and has been heavily involved with it since moving to Pittsburgh in 2011. He has written for The Comics Journal magazine since the early 1990s and his work has appeared in DC Comics, among other publications. A New York native, Kelly is the former Senior Vice President of Communications at the National Basketball Association and also served in senior communications roles at Catholic Charities of the Archdioceses of New York and Columbia University. Aprende mas sobre John Kelly AQUI. ————————————————————————————————— hasta la proxima! JF Share this page: [...]

04/17/2017

Sally IngrahamApril 16, 2017NewsDigging into a new week with news and comics from Dash Shaw, Frank Santoro, Eleanor Davis, Sam Alden, Jen Sorensen, and M. S. Harkness. ————————————————————————————————— Dash Shaw writes about curating the pop-up shop at the Metrograph theater in New York City, where his film My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea opened on April 14th 2017 – on The Comics Journal. The shop carries: “…rare DVDs, film-related books, and issues of Cahiers du Cinéma. They asked me to pick books and DVDs that felt related to my movie, or that a cinema-going audience would be interested in.” Included in the selection is Frank Santoro’s Incanto (above). Dash Shaw writes that Frank: “…painted the key exterior background paintings in High School Sinking. This particular zine by Santoro is lovely and poetic, and also, to me, utterly hilarious, because a section of it comes from a Speed Racer episode. Santoro told me that this was drawn after working as Francesco Clemente’s assistant. Clemente would often interpret preexisting old drawings, so that inspired Santoro to adapt a two-second Speed Racer moment. It’s perfect – like seeing something you’ve seen before for the first time. He captures the stillness of those Speed Racer cartoons with their minimal background paintings.” Incanto is out of print and a rare find, so if you don’t stop by the Metrograph pop-up shop in April to get a copy, you might still be able to find it at Copacetic Comics – HERE. Read about the rest of Dash’s picks for the shop and be sure to catch My Entire Highschool Sinking Into the Sea in a city near you soon! Here are some recent reviews of the film/interviews with Dash: “Drawn to Disaster” – Filmmaker Magazine interview “The Strife’s Aquatic” – NPR movie review Q&A from Denver Alamo Drafthouse screening, with artist Andrew Lorenzi “Alt Comix Artists Revives Classic Animation Tech” – Inverse feature “Resplendent Teenage Turmoil” – Fandor Keyframe interview Dash Shaw will be coming to Pittsburgh for a screening of his movie on April 25th 2017 at the Rowhouse Cinema! Full event details are HERE. Creator and director Dash Shaw along with cartoonist Frank Santoro will kick off the Pittsburgh Premiere of “My Entire High School Sinking into the Sea” with a live interview followed by a sneak preview showing of the film. VIP tickets include everything above plus a private Meet & Greet in the Bierport taproom (limit 30 people)! Tuesday, April 25th 7:15pm $12 Regular Ticket: Live Interview & Screening $20 VIP Ticket: Live Interview & Screening AND private Meet & Greet post screening. If you are in the region be sure to come out for this event! For a list of other screenings around the country visit this page. ————————————————————————————————— You can find an excerpt from the upcoming You & A Bike & A Road by Eleanor Davis (Koyama Press, May 2017) on Illustrated PEN, presented by guest editor MariNaomi. She writes: “Eleanor Davis puts out consistently great work, so much that it amazes me when I’m surprised (each and every time) by how wonderful her work is. This book is no exception, filled with moments that are full of joy, pain, beauty, and trouble. Using minimal lines and words, Eleanor conveys so much about the spectrum of emotions involved with being human.“ See the excerpt HERE. ————————————————————————————————— M. S. Harkness has offered a preview of her upcoming comic Tinderella – see it HERE. Marina is coming to Pittsburgh this summer for a Comics Workbook Rowhouse Residency, and she will be working on Tinderella and other comics while she is here in July. Unperturbed by a tentative post-graduation financial state, Marina has been creating the ways and means to get to Pittsburgh – she’s determined to cause some havoc around here, come hell or high water – but you can help her get here with a little more comfort and ease by contributing to her Generosity campaign. She – and the Comics Workbook team – thank you in advance! ————————————————————————————————— Sam Alden published part 2 of 4 of his comic Sledgehammer on Hazlitt….in February – I somehow missed it, so possibly you did as well. Check it out HERE. New on Hazlitt is Rory Frances‘ Look Outside – view part 1 HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Jen Sorensen is interviewed on The Comics Beat. She talks about making political cartoons, being the comics editor at Fusion, and what it means to be a cartoonist in the present world. “Dueben: You won the Herblock Award a few years ago and you said that your job is “worrying about how humanity is destroying itself.” Which is a good line, but do you think that is the role of the cartoonist in some way? Sorensen: I’m doing a lot of worrying about humanity destroying itself these days. I think it is an important role of a political cartoonist. I think sometimes it’s probably more acute than others. It’s something that’s hard to deal with sometimes. Right now I find that these aren’t really funny times. There are ludicrous characters and you can make fun of Trump and these ridiculous nominees, but at the same time I don’t want to normalize him. I find myself not even wanting to draw him. I mean, I do and I will, but I don’t want to treat him like any other President. I’ve been struggling with that. How to be humorous at a time when things are just very serious. I guess what I wind up doing is somewhat darker humor, darker cartoons, and more informative cartoons that say, this is what’s happening, can you believe it? With the Bush administration things were terrible and there were definitely some dark times, but I felt like you could make fun of Bush for being a buffoon and the implications just weren’t quite as grave. It’s a different time now.“ Read the rest HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Blinkers – 4-17-2017 – by Jack Brougham ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 4-17-2017 – by Christian Southgate Christian is a member of the Charlottetown Comics Club (Prince Edward Island, Canada) which is headed by Comics Workbook alum Tyler Landry – more about Christian Southgate and the CCC HERE! ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 4-17-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

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