Comics Workbook

An online magazine for comics makers

Posted in NewsTagged Dan Berry, Jonas Goonface, Make it then tell everybody, Spike Trotman, Summer Pierre, The Illustrated Pen, Tove Jansson

Juan Fernández

Posted on June 13, 2016June 13, 2016

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12/13/2017

Juan FernándezDecember 13, 2017los Cómics / NewsJuan empieza el día con Julie Doucet y John Pham! ————————————————————————————————— Hoy en Revista Cactus Gerardo Vilches publicó su reciente entrevista con la gran Julie Doucet: ¿Qué sientes cuando tantas jóvenes dibujantes se declaran seguidoras de tu trabajo y afirman que eres una influencia para ellas? Es algo muy fuerte, desde luego. Y emocionante. No tenía ni idea de que eso pudiera pasar cuando hacía mis fanzines fotocopiados, con cincuenta ejemplares de tirada. No sabía que algún día me publicarían en una editorial o que inspiraría a otras personas, a otras mujeres, especialmente… Es increíble. Tus primeros trabajos están llegando ahora a un público joven… ¿Qué piensas cuando algunas de esas historias son leídas en clave feminista? Es cierto que, cuando las dibujaba, no tenía ninguna intención como esa. Principalmente, hablaba de mi propia experiencia, ni se me ocurría que alguien pudiera ver eso en mi trabajo. Entonces yo no terminaba de sentirme a gusto como mujer, y mis intereses no tenían nada que ver con los del resto de las mujeres que conocía. Pero pienso que cuando publicas una historia, esta deja de pertenecerte solo a ti. De modo que puedo entender perfectamente que haya gente que las considere feministas. Léanlo todo AQUI. ————————————————————————————————— Breixo Harguindey reseña al flamante ganador del @Puchiaward 2017: J+K de John Pham. Se trata de las peripecias de dos amigas en un universo de colorido eléctrico y resplandeciente. “A medio camino entre Gumball, Hanselmann y los videojuegos.” Aún no ha llegado a los Estados Unidos! Breixo Harguindey: A primer vistazo, lo más llamativo de J+K es su tratamiento del color, eléctrico y resplandeciente, con degradados muy conseguidos. Esta novedad respecto de Sublife proviene del trabajo de investigación de Pham con la técnica de impresión risográfica, una sistema a medio camino entre lo digital y el Offset. El propio autor reconoce la influencia del Norakuro de Suihō Tagawa en este tratamiento cromático. El ascendente del kitai manga, anterior a la Segunda Guerra Mundial, en las últimas hornadas del cómic alternativo se deja igualmente traslucir en el dibujo de Pham, cuyo trazo redondo como de dibujos animados (el autor colabora también en Cartoon Network) nos recuerda poderosamente al maestro del nansensu Shigeru Sugiura. Léanlo todo AQUI. ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 12-13-2017 – by Gabriella Tito ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 12-13-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio————————————————————————————————— The Winter Semester of thee Santoro Correspondence Course for Comic Book Makers starts January 18th 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. Makes a great holiday gift for yourself – or for a loved one who is interested in comics. Apply by midnight (EST) on Dec. 25th and get $100 off the course price. Full details and how to apply can be found HERE! ————————————————————————————————— Share this page: [...]

9/2/2016

Juan FernándezSeptember 2, 2016NewsYoohoo, Juan’s here with the latest comics news: Gary Panter; SPX 2016 Programming; Cameron Nicholson on the RVA crew; Nicole Georges with AK Summers and Esther Godoy; The history of Craftint; payday for Noah Van Sciver; Connor Willumsen’s latest book; Rowhouse Residency’s Sammy Harkham ends TOMORROW! ————————————————————————————————— Portraits by Connor Willumsen Comics Workbook is very pleased to present a new book from Connor Willumsen – Portraits. Available now for pre-order – get your copy HERE! This 16-page beautifully printed booklet (by WestCan – who also printed thee Santoro School Handbook) of portraits by the great Connor Willumsen is now available for pre-order. We are only offering pre-orders for the States presently and will offer pre-orders for non-USA orders after we go to press in late August. Connor is one of our original CW samurais. He will be joining Frank Santoro at The Lakes International Comic Arts Festival this fall, teaching workshops and sharing his process. Look for him there! ————————————————————————————————— [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/280934796″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /] Gary Panter Eats Art John Mejias and Zak Smith talk to Gary Panter over on their new Podcast We Eat Art about painting, comics, meeting Jack Kirby, his psychedelic light shows, and a lot more. No better way to start your day than sitting down with uncle Gary. It’s a great start to what I hope to be a great series of podcasts. ————————————————————————————————— SPX 2016 Programming Schedule: LIVE Small Press Expo is pleased to announce the Programming Schedule for SPX 2016. SPX is continuing the festival’s established tradition of rich, thought provoking programming featuring leading comics artists and critics in conversation. As in previous years, the Programming Schedule features twenty-two sessions with two simultaneous tracks on both Saturday and Sunday, September 17 and 18. Check out these highlights! – Joe Sacco makes a rare festival appearance to talk about Comics Journalism with Sarah Glidden, moderated by The Nib’s Matt Bors. – Lisa Hanawalt graces SPX for a spotlight interview with NPR’s Glen Weldon. – Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell discuss their work with Congressman John Lewis on the acclaimed and award winning March trilogy. There will also be seven panels dedicated to celebrating the 40th Birthday of Fantagraphics, including: – Publisher Gary Groth joins Joe Sacco, Drew Friedman, Trina Robbins and Gilbert Hernandez to talk about Fantagraphics 40 years of publishing. – The two great indie comics legends, Charles Burns and Daniel Clowes, talk shop with Fantagraphics Associate Publisher Eric Reynolds – The panel Music & Comics has Jaime Hernandez and Ed Piskor discussing how Punk Rock and Hip Hop music influenced their respective creative styles, moderated by the Toonseum’s John Kelly. The complete schedule is available HERE. ————————————————————————————————— RVA at SPX Cameron Nicholson has cooked a post of Richmond, VA’s finest cartoonists and illustrators that’ll be making it out to Bethesda. Check it out and get acquainted with their work before the festival. There’s so much talent in that town. Big ups to Cameron for this annual spotlight! Get yourself a hot beverage and look at them pictures! ————————————————————————————————— Sagittatirian Matters: AK Summers & Esther Godoy Nicole Georges holds it down on her HARD HITTING podcast, Sagittarian Matters. It’s always a good listen. Nicole Georges: Today we are visited by “Pregnant Butch” author AK Summers & “Butch is Not a Dirty Word” creator Esther Godoy to discuss queer masculinity, pregnancy, ugliness, visibility and MORE. They are a Leo and an Aquarius, respectively. ————————————————————————————————— Art in the age of mechanical reproduction: Craftint Over on the incredible Legion of Andy site the in part anonymous site runner, Legion of Andy, has been publishing a series of articles on what might seem a pretty dry subject – the Ben-Day dots printing process, used to colour comics for many years in the US in the past. My god if these aren’t the most thrilling and satisfying reads on color reproduction for comics. The latest piece is on the history of Craftint. Check out the comments to see what Steve Bissette has to chime in 😉 If you want to jump into the thick of it, check out all the articles the Legion of Andy has put together. Part 1—Roy Lichtenstein—the man who didn’t paint Ben Day dots Part 2—Halftone dots, Polke dots, more Roy Part 3—CMYK / Four-colour comic book dots vs. RGB dots on screens Part 4—Pre-history, origins—Ben Day in the 19th century Part 5—Ben Day in lithography Part 5.5—French comic strips of the 1880s. Coloured by relief aquatint. Part 5.75—A lithographic protocomic (?) from 1885 Part 6—Ben Day meets the Sunday Comics in the 1890s Part 6.1—Tarzan and the Ben Day Dots—secrets of 1930s comic strip colour Part 6.2—Fun With (Mis-)Registration—when colour printing plates don’t line up Part 7 — The Birth of the Comic Book ————————————————————————————————— The Industry – Oh you know, the usual tire fire. Jude Terror waxes on the farce of the direct market, maddening pressure on the consumer, and dizzying hypocrisy. Stand by and watch from a distance, or hop in on the comments and get yourself dirty. “The same thing applies sometimes to fans, who are constantly pressured by the industry to feel responsible for sales numbers and pass along that attitude to their peers. Don’t want to see your favorite character’s book canceled? Well, you better preorder and tell all your friends to preorder too. Want to see more diversity in comics? You’d better buy whatever half-hearted attempt at cashing in on diversity Marvel is promoting this month whether you enjoy reading it or not, or else they might get the idea that comic book readers don’t like diversity, and that would be your fault, you see. Don’t want to see your favorite artist die alone in poverty after creating some of the most successful intellectual properties in the history of American pop culture? Well, you’d better keep shelling out $4.99 for those comics Marvel is giving them a 1% cut of, or that’s your fault too.” ————————————————————————————————— Pay day for Noah Van Sciver Noah Van Sciver has been doing a regular strip for Columbus’ weekly arts and culture newspaper Columbus Alive! Check out their archives to read everything that Noah has been cooking up. ————————————————————————————————— Private Rowhouse Auction – 8.27-9.3 ————————————————————————————————— until next time, friends. JF Share this page: [...]

Tom Gauld at Booksmith and Pegasus Books

Chris Anthony DiazJanuary 31, 2018The Diaz ArchiveTom Gauld toured for Baking with Kafka, published by Drawn & Quarterly. Bay area stops were at Booksmith in San Francisco, Tuesday, November 7, 2017 and Pegasus Books in Berkeley, Wednesday, November 8, 2017. (Click images for different external links related to Tom Gauld.) Share this page: [...]

07/28/2017

Sally IngrahamJuly 28, 2017NewsSally here with Lale Westvind’s work at Printed Matter, Ellen Forney’s Virtual Memories, Fabulous “Flo” Steinburg, and more. ———————————————————————————————— You have just a few days left to catch the “Something Unusual Is Happening” show at Printer Matter – it is up until July 31st 2017. Featuring work by 15 international comics artists, it delves into experimental comics and the art of visual narrative. More details about the show HERE. Over on the LA Review of Books Megan N. Liberty writes about the show and features the work of some of the specific makers. “Lale Westvind’sJoan the Drone Pilot & Mary the Drone (2017), printed with blue ink on pink pages (except the cover which is red ink on cream), is the story of a world that exists in several dimensions, with those in charge controlling those trapped in the lesser plane for profit, until Mary arrives and attempts to escape. A heavy-handed metaphor for our use of technology, or technology’s use of us when in the hands of advertisers, it has a more traditional structure, with spreads divided into panels and text in word bubbles and boxes. But its dense imagery, heavy lines, and block shading, reminiscent of ‘70s and ‘80s pulp comics, make it at times visually dizzying and challenging.” Read the rest of the report HERE. ———————————————————————————————— Gil Roth of Virtual Memories sat down with another female cartoonist of note recently, inviting Ellen Forney onto the show for Episode 228. “The great Seattle cartoonist Ellen Forney joins the show to talk about comics, civic art, being bipolar, and the challenges of maintaining! We get into her 2012 graphic memoir,Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me, finding a graphic representation of her depressive states, the evolution in her drawing style, the letter she stole from Michael Dougan, the process of going from comics panels to enormous murals for a light-rail station in Seattle, the influence of the Moosewood Cookbook, the importance of a psychology stats class she took in college, how she learned to teach comics, the moment when she felt she was using all her artistic tools, and why she needed Kaz to design her back-tattoo!“ Listen HERE. I went back through some of the past episodes and bookmarked shows with Posy Simmonds, Leslie Stein, Jennifer Hayden and Summer Pierre, Phoebe Gloeckner, Glynnis Fawkes, and Karen Green. I’m sure there are more good ones to dig up as well! Check out The Virtual Memories Show every Tuesday for a new interview about books and life. ———————————————————————————————— Flo Steinburg, longtime secretary to Marvel’s Stan Lee, died this week. She was 78, and still fabulous. At the San Diego Comic Con 2017 there was a panel on “Women of Marvel” which understandably kicked off with a remembrance of Flo. Rachel Maurer reported for The Comics Beat: “Many of the panelists have worked directly with Flo at some point in their Marvel careers, noting that she was more than Stan Lee’s assistant – she was the original Woman of Marvel, someone who forged a path for female comics creators and whose legacy will continue to do so. One major indicator of this is the panel itself, a useful benchmark for progress in gender equality. Nine years ago Marvel had zero female-led titles, while this year’s panel had nearly 20 on the roster.“ Read more about how these women are walking in Flo’s footprints – HERE. ———————————————————————————————— New page from Iona Fox‘s Almanac – check out more of her work HERE and keep an eye out for her strips in Burlington, VT’s alt paper Seven Days. ———————————————————————————————— Supplemental “A Brief Appreciation” of Leslie Stein – by Ken Perille on The Comics Journal. Also on tcj.com – An Interview with Katie Skelly. Carta Monir on Process Party Episode 42 – HERE. Gabrielle Bell‘s July Diary is close to concluding – here’s Thursday’s offering. —————————————————————————————————— Here it is – get ready to comic your socks off – thee Comics Workbook Composition Competition 2017 has been announced! This year it’s a riff on the 6-panel grid, in the traditional North American comic book size – but with a twist! Full details HERE. ———————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 7-28-2017 – by Sally Ingraham ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 7-28-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

01/25/2016

Juan FernándezJanuary 25, 2016NewsHello world, Sophie Yanow‘s got a new comic, Cozy out in Quebec’s comics magazine, PLANCHES. It’s a wordless, blizzard time revelry comic. Good reading for all of you out there buried under a couple of feet on the East Coast. Berliac‘s announced his latest project. SADBØI will be 128 pages long, and will initially be published by Norwegian publisher Jippi Forlag sometime this summer. English version will come out sometime after. Here’s where Berliac’s head is at with SADBØI. Social structures shape the individual into what we call “goodness”, and when it fails, correctional punishment is employed. Is goodness a real choice, then? In a world where Evil is the last bit of freedom left, SADBØI will heroically choose it, and craftfully make it visible to the eyes of everyone. Connor Stechschulte‘s second installment of Generous Bosom is now available for purchase through his online shop. He’s got a special package deal for anyone interested in purchasing Generous Bosom 1 and 2. Matt Seneca has said of GB1, “It’s a beautiful piece of work. It’s tough to make work better than this.” and “Probably the best sex scene I’ve seen in a comic in terms of realism. It’s perfect.” Heidi Macdonald of the Beat called GB2 the “most mindboggling comic of the year”. Dazzling, risograph printed erotic psychological thriller about the rain-soaked night a stranded motorist is forced to spend with a strange, isolated couple. Well worth your time. Sophie Goldstein‘s made the second installment of her 3-part House of Women series available for digital download on Gumroad. Science fiction meets psycho-sexual drama. Mysterious, tense and expansive. On the Pittsburgh front, I’m happy to relay the official communiqué that Comics Workbook’s latest publication, Zona, is now available for purchase on the school store. Zona #01 2016 – includes the work of Gabriella Tito, Harry Moyer, Jack Brougham, and Frank Santoro. 44 pages of comics – check it out HERE Pittsburgh Comics Salon – Saturday Comics Studio Jan 23 2016 Pittsburgh. Great turn out this past Saturday. Good vibes. Real cozy. Comics makers of all ability levels came out and held it down. Had lots of quality books for folks to peruse and copy from. Worked on modular comics composition. I was afraid that the snow was going to keep everyone at home, but folks came out full force. -juan fernandez Share this page: [...]

06/13/2016

Posted on June 13, 2016June 13, 2016 by Juan Fernández

Juan Fernandez here with: Kurt Ankeny’s IN PIECES PT.2 ; New items in the School Store; Forthcoming Jansson Biography in Film; Summer Pierre’s DEAR FRIEND; Spike Trotman interviewed; Cannibals at Copacetic.

On the Site:

http://comicsworkbook.com/in-pieces-someplace-which-i-call-home-24/

In Pieces: Someplace Which I Call Home – Kurt Ankeny
We’re excited to feature the second installment of a new graphic novel by Kurt Ankeny, creator of Saltwater Snow and A Bomb, and co-author of the Santoro School Handbook for Making Better Comics on Comics Workbook this week. In Pieces: Someplace Which I Call Home is a collage-portrait of a small New England town. Reflections in pencil that sweep across the grid.
Check it out and Pre-Order a copy today!

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School Store: New Comics Packs
We have some new items up on the school store that went up this weekend and they’ve have been selling fast. Don’t miss your chance to grab: ZONA #03, Gary Panter Combo, Matt Seneca pack, and TCAF 2016 4-Pack.

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Off the site:

Nybörjare – The Beginner: A Forthcoming Jansson Biography

Finnish production company Helsinki-filmi is making a biography movie about multi-talented Tove Jansson. Helsinki-filmi is one of the leading production companies in the Nordic Region and many of their films have been distributed widely all over the world.

A biography movie of Tove Jansson has been prepared behind the closed doors for many years. Production company Helsinki-filmi has signed an agreement with Jansson’s heirs and the filming is scheduled to start in 2018. The film is produced by Annika Sucksdorff together with Aleksi Bardy. Bardy also leads the group of scriptwriters, Jarno Elonen and Eeva Putro.

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Dear Friend by Summer Pierre
Reflections from the road in this latest installment of the Illustrated PEN. Meditations on travel via Summer Pierre. Perfect reading for those of you on the road this summer.
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Make it then tell everybody: C. Spike Trotman
On the latest episode of Dan Berry’s podcast, Make it then Tell Everybody, C. Spike Trotman of Iron Circus talks about being The Man, developing and trusting your taste, and the difference between digital dollars vs meat money.

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NEW AT COPACETIC: Follow the Leader
Jonas McLuggage has some new comics at Copacetic. Self-published in Pittsburgh, Follow the Leader is a badass comic about cannibals fighting the mafia in the 80’s. Gorgeous full bleed pages of lovingly colored intrigued. Jonas is a killer. Don’t sleep on the kid!

From Bill Boichel at Copacetic Comics:
Jonas McLuggage’s long-in-the-works online comics series, Follow the Leader at last sees the light of day as an actual, honest-to-gosh comic book, and it’s a real beaut! 36 pages of knock-your-socks off drawing and coloring power this strange tale that puts an all-new twist on the kids vs. the powers-that-be theme. Only 200 signed and numbered copies printed. Don’t miss this destined-to-be-a-collectors’-item, Made-in-Pittsburgh comic book! These won’t be around forever…

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until next time,
JF

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Comics Workbook

An online magazine for comics makers

Posted in NewsTagged Dan Berry, Jonas Goonface, Make it then tell everybody, Spike Trotman, Summer Pierre, The Illustrated Pen, Tove Jansson

Juan Fernández

Posted on June 13, 2016June 13, 2016

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10/10/2018

Juan FernándezOctober 10, 2018NewsJuan here. It’s been a while since we talked. Here’s hoping you’re having a good day so far. I’m here in Pittsburgh getting ready for what is looking to be like a fun, doozy of a weekend. Before I dive back into that work I’d like to step back and reflect on this year’s Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC). For anyone wondering about CXC, it was a blast. I’m not one to write much, but as I’ve mentioned before, CXC is on track to becoming America’s Angoulême. A festival that uses the entire city as campus. Accessible, free and intergenerational. Sales and the marketplace, while important, take a back seat to human connection. Something that I love about this show is that amidst all the programming, there’s time for you to get what you need from Columbus. I knew of people hitting the bars, going to nature preserves, visiting nearby family. I got to do my thing and celebrate the new release of a new Magic the Gathering set, Guilds of Ravnica by playing in two, that’s right TWO, tournaments, On the educational front, Comics Workbook led three workshops. Each workshop was packed, a full house. We handed out our new workbook zine and led attendees through the activities therein. We couldn’t have asked for a better host than CXC. They promoted our work really well, provided us with a great workshop space and they brought out Columbus’ aspiring comics makers in droves. At our table I played around with folks making some jumbo sized jam comics on easels. Through playful activities, each person who stopped by to draw was getting a free comics fundamentals lesson. I love being able to use play to invite reluctant or shy makers to open up and see what they can do. I couldn’t have asked for a better table mate than Caleb. He led his own workshop, got me some food when I was famished, sold our comics and zines left and right and collaborated with attendees at our activity table. Here’s the nitty gritty: I drove in Friday evening and drove back to Pittsburgh Sunday night with Caleb Orecchio. SATURDAY: Friday night I slid into Columbus at 11:55pm, after driving straight from work in Pittsburgh. I arrived just in time to register for the midnight prerelease at lovely gaming store, the Guardtower. I played magic until 6:45am, 5 rounds of matches, 4 wins, 1 loss. It was a blast. As the sun was rising I zipped over to the hostel where I was staying, freshened up, got some breakfast and then met my trusty sidekick for the weekend, Caleb Orecchio at the Columbus Metropolitan Library. We set up our spots, one table for sales and another for collaborative drawing activities with attendees. I downed some coffee, caught up with Caleb and in no time the library filled up with attendees. We were off to the races. The day zipped by, a sea of new faces and a welcoming stream of old friends from across the country. It was nice to catch up with folks left and right. I had the pleasure of meeting Maggie Umber, Feña, Breena Nuñez Peralta and Annie Koyama and catching up with Iona Fox, Whit Taylor, Kat Fajardo, and Kurt Ankeny on the expo floor. The day raced by and we wrapped up by 5pm, I wolfed down a salad from the library cafe and debated going to sleep or playing in another magic tournament. Of course, I went to play in another tournament. That one, didn’t go so well, as the lack of sleep was really getting to me. Thankfully it was a team format where two players collaboratively built decks and faced off against another teams. Thanks to Carl from Columbus for holding my hand through the crazy combat math at the end of the night. Tournament over, I drove home to the hostel, slightly delirious, and konked out. SUNDAY: I was up and at ‘em at 8:30 and I got ready for Richie Pope’s talk with William Evans at the Columbus Museum of Art. Great venue, great talk and a great crowd. I have to admit that I’ve been sleeping on Richie. What a fool I’ve been. Through the internet I’ve seen comics by him here and there and his work has come through Copacetic enough for me to read and appreciate. I had recently read “The Box We Sit On” and had slightly lost my mind for how great of a comic it was. It was a joy to see this conversation where strands of his work were woven together to create this portrait of a complex, inviting body of work. To see Richie’s calm, fluid and excited way of talking about all of it, what a gift. What a titan. What an excellent maker. The way that he weaves personal symbology, playful lines, smart color palettes, humor and poetry… A Richie Pope appreciation post is to come in the near future. What an inspiring guy… After that, it was back to the library for day 2 of sales and workshops. After that, it was time to wrap up and head back home to Pittsburgh. But not without getting a drink with Ron Wimberly. to catch up and weave together a bunch of ideas. There’s few people I have more fun talking to in comics than Ron. People flowed in and out of our conversation and it was nice to feel the flow of it all. We talked about the greatness of Richie Pope, food as the highest art form, language/ guilt symbol transmission stuff, personal comics making processes, art and labor, 9/11, memes, the French origins of critical theory, tumblr and more. it was really nice to talk with everyone, together. Caleb and I hit the road and we were back in Pittsburgh around 1am. Thank you as always to Tom Spurgeon for directing yet another great show. Thank you to the Board and everyone involved at all the different venues. And of course thank you to Lucy Caswell, without whom none of this would exit. You make cartoonists feel appreciated which is hard to do. Thanks. So, what’s coming up in Pittsburgh? Well, in between the the constraints of time imposed by my day-job I’ve been trying to get all the ducks in a row for the Pittsburgh Zine Fair and the IDEA FACTORY, a fun concept that will be part of Rube Fest, the festival to celebrate the opening of the Children’s Museum’s new exhibit, Rube Goldberg™: The World of Hilarious Invention! Artists are taking over parts of the Museum where guest inventors, artists and activities will inspire visitor’s vision and put their problem-solving skills to the test. I was asked to come up with a performance style workshop that playfully celebrated the limitless capacities for invention that paper and pencil allowed. To this effect we will be having a wacky patent office where children will be invited to work with local cartoonists to turn inventions that they’ve drawn into jumbo sized blue-prints that they’ll be able to take home. It’s been fun wrangling a crew of regular Pittsburgh Comics Salon attendees to run this activity. Come Sunday, zines will be pouring out of the Union Project! That’s right, it’s time for the Eighth Annual Pittsburgh Zine Fair. I’ll have a recap of that next week. As one of the primary organizers of the fair I have to make sure things go smoothly so I need to hop to it. Photos of Rube Fest and the Zine Fair to come. In the meantime check out that poster by the great Christina Lee! Perfection. For now, I’m off to get all those ducks in a row! over and out, juan 10/10/2018 – by Niall Breen 10/10/2018 – by Fifi Martinez Share this page: [...]

06/18/2018

Caleb OrecchioJune 18, 2018NewsCaleb Orecchio here with a brief discourse on the fundamental prowess of Steve Ditko, and more! ——————————————————————————— This Ditko spread is breathtaking. To me at least. It’s so simple. Simple and balanced colors, simple shapes, strong silhouettes, and I love the way he uses hatching to convey the foggy atmosphere. I understand the action immediately. It’s beautifully structured like a painting. Fundamental. Every comic student should be made to copy it. Consider the left page. Notice how the top and middle tiers make an “X” so to speak. They correspond or “rhyme.” You see what I mean? And look, that bottom wide panel opens it up while maintaining the flow of images. And that’s just the obvious stuff I notice! It is not terribly complicated, but it’s smart comics. Ditko is like a good quarterback. He patiently stays in the pocket – he waits he waits – then bang – right in the bread basket! He’s not resorting to hail marys or 180 degree flipping of perspective. The entire page is essentially from the same camera angle, he just pulls it in and out to create tension. Then, on the next page, he flips the perspective to show spacial relations and to keep the action moving towards the center of the page. The result is great sequencing on top of the fact that the spread itself is pleasing to look at as a whole. I can’t stop looking at it. Oh yeah, also check out the Pat Boyette strip in this issue of Haunted #14 (1973) if you can find it – – it’s really good too. ——————————————————————————— if you don’t know, now you know Did you see the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum announcement for the 2018 Lucy Shelton Caswell Research Award winners? One of three recipients was our own Frank Santoro! Go read all about what Frank and the other cartoon researchers will be getting into. Scott Cederlund takes a look at the newest Love and Rockets over on Panel Patter. Elijah Brubaker is the latest guest on Inkstuds. ——————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 6-18-18 – by Gabriella Tito 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: [...]

Angoulême International Comics Festival Report 2017 (Part 1)

Juan FernándezFebruary 6, 2017Festivals and ShowsThis is the first of a 3 part series on the Comics Workbook Experience at the 44th Angoulême International Comics Festival. Before we get into all dissecting and reflecting on this latest edition of the heavy weight championship of comics expos, Angoulême, let’s go for a stroll, take it easy and soak it all in. What do you say? Intentionally presented free of commentary, this series of photos invites you to take a look and see what tickles your eye. In depth reflections on this edition of the annual festival appears in the next next installment of this Comics Workbook Festival News series. See something you like? Write down some book names and follow that curiousity! You’re sure to find more with an online search. In the next installment I’ll unpack some of these photos and with some links to outposts and hubs online to explore the perspectives that were present at this spectacular Festival. -JF Share this page: [...]

03/09/16

Aaron CockleMarch 9, 2016Interviews / NewsGary Panter Printed Matter. The Rozz Tox Effect: Publications by Gary Panter, 1972-2016 is on view now through March 19 at the new Printed Matter space in NYC. Curated by Dan Nadel. Smoke Signals. The two most recent issues of Gabe Fowler’s Smoke Signal features work by Al Columbia, among many other talented artists. An interview from 2010 with Columbia and Nicole Ruddick can be found at the fondly-remembered Comics Comics blog. High-Focus Drawing. James McMullan has a 12-part series of drawing exercises posted on the NY Times Opinionator blog. Graph Paper Templates. Generated Paper + Printable Paper Aspen #8. The Fluxus Issue ‘pass To move past; go by. To pass someone on the road. To let go without notice, action, re mark, etc. ; leave unconsidered; disregard; overlook. Pass the preface and go on to the text. To go across or over extreme threshold etc.; cross. To undergo; they passed the worst night of their lives. To go beyond a point, degree, stage, etc.; transcend; exceed; surpass. To cause to go or move onward. To pass a rope through a hole. To live during a portion of time spent. He decided to pass a year abroad improving his German. To live through without tedium, how to pass the time. To cause to circulate or spread. To pass rumors all over the Naval base. To convey, transfer or transmit; deliver. To convey from one person, hand, etc. to another. Please pass the mustard. He passed a remark about every passer-by. To discard, void from the body as excrement. To transfer to a teammate. To go or move onward; proceed. To come to or toward, then go beyond. To pass by. To pass through. To go away; depart. The lightheaded feeling will pass in a minute. To come to an end. To die. To take place; happen; occur. To go by or move past. To go about or circulate; be current. To serve as a marginally acceptable sub stitute; the facsimile is not very good but it will pass. To live or be known as a member of a racial or religious or ethnic group other than one’s own, especially to live and be known as a white person, although having some negro ancestry. To undergo transition or conversion. To pass from a solid to a liquid state; bring to pass; come to pass; pass away; pass for; to be ac cepted as; be considered; material that passed for silk; pass-off; to pass-off a spurious Rembrandt on someone. He passed himself off as a doctor; pass-on; pass-out; pass-over; pass wind.’ Share this page: [...]

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