Comics Workbook

An online magazine for comics makers

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Juan Fernández

Posted on April 18, 2016May 21, 2019

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04/12/2017

Juan FernándezApril 12, 2017los Cómics / NewsEmpezamos el día con el Fanzine Chileno; Martin Lopez Lam; El Museo Nacional de Japón; El Víbora; Sole Otero; Edd Muñoz; Conxita Herrero; Arturo Porras sobre Jack Kirby; Alexis Ziritt; y los tebeos de Comics Workbook. ————————————————————————————————— Uhu, papel y tijera – Constanza Gutiérrez y el Fanzine Chileno Hace dos semanas, el New York Times publicó un artículo titulado “¿Por qué internet no mató a los fanzines?”, y a los pocos días el diario El País también hizo lo suyo. Actualmente existen plataformas gratuitas para crear blogs y álbumes de fotos, y si la idea es conectar con otros o propagar una idea, se supone que la web es el medio adecuado, pero para un montón de gente no basta. Los fanzines viven hoy una época dorada y en Chile, como en varios otros países, están circulando muchos. Esta es una pequeña muestra. ————————————————————————————————— Alejandro Serrano entrevista a Martin Lopez Lam artista gráfico,editor, agitador cultural. De hablan? De todo. ALEJANDRO SERRANO: ¿Cómo surgió la idea de organizar un festival como Tenderete? MARTÍN LÓPEZ LAM: Surgió de casualidad. En septiembre del año 2010 vinieron a Valencia los portugueses de Chili Com Carne, que estaban haciendo una muestra-gira por Europa y llegaron a Lavakerí, que por entonces la llevaba Susana, con ayuda del Parras y mía. Ahí montamos una muestra, conocimos a los portugueses y éstos nos dijeron que hacían un festival en Lisboa, la Feria Laica. En diciembre del mismo año fui al festival y vi cómo la organizaban, a la vuelta pensé que no parecía tan complicado montar algo así, siempre y cuando hubiera gente interesada. Una de esas personas fue Clara Iris. Al final, fue todo muy improvisado. ————————————————————————————————— Cómics y noticias que me han llamado la atención esta semana: El Museo Nacional de Japón publica en su web casi 70 animes de la primera mitad del siglo XX. Tebeosfera os ofrece una galería con varias portadas la mítica revista El Víbora. Poncho Fue – Crónica de una relación tóxica, magníficamente contado por la argentina Sole Otero. Otero describe magníficamente en su novela gráfica los extremos de una relación sentimental dañina. Edd Muñoz abrió un blog, El Ojo Erratico, donde estara hablando de cómics. La primera entrada está dedicada a The End de Anders Nilsen. It’s Nice That le pone el spotlight a Conxita Herrero. Lanzate dentro su mundo lleno de color y emoción! Arturo Porras celebra el Centenario de Jack Kirby. Analiza y explora la vida y obra del Rey de los cómics en la ZONA NEGATIVA. Get an original page from #SpaceRiders volumen uno!!! Last opportunity to pick up art by Alexis Ziritt!!! Out of Step Arts had taken these SPACE RIDERS pages down, but so many folks asked about them so they’re now back for one last run. ————————————————————————————————— Blinkers – 4-12-2017 – by Jack Brougham ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 4-12-2017 – by Sally Ingraham ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 4-12-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

Brazil – Scene Report

Anna ManciniApril 29, 2016Scene ReportsHello! This is Manzanna, or Anna Mancini. I’m a Brazilian freelance designer, illustrator and comics artist. I make zines, murals, t-shirt designs, animation, lettering and more – you can see my work on my tumblr and my website. I also have a facebook page, where I usually post my comics firsthand. Right now I’m managing client work, teaching a workshop on zines at the UFJF university and working on three new zines. ———————————————————————————————— Today, I’d like to talk to you about comics making in Brazil: In the last couple of years, Brazilian comics have had quite an influx of new folks and initiatives, myself included; so let me walk you through some of the most exciting and relevant aspects of our scene in this report. I am from Juiz de Fora. Home of the first television transmission in Latin America and of a widespread claim of inaugurating electric street light earlier than New York City (wrong by a year!), my hometown – Juiz de Fora, in the state of Minas Gerais, is not your first thought when it comes to Brazilian comics. Most artists, publishers and events in Brazil are situated in state capitals like Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Brasília, Belo Horizonte and Porto Alegre so I wouldn’t blame you. Despite that, coming from an uneventful city didn’t stop me from working on my own stuff and getting in touch with other artists (thanks, internet). I’ll start with my state in Brazil, Minas Gerais: our capital, Belo Horizonte, hosts the biannual International Comics Festival (Festival Internacional de Quadrinhos, or FIQ). With five days of panels, debates, workshops, exhibitions, it welcomes all sorts of enthusiasts, from the superhero fans to the more DIY, indie and experimental kinds. Every odd-numbered year, FIQ takes place in a historical lumberyard-turned-convention-center and proves itself as a great opportunity for attendees to meet in person with artists from different parts of the country, get to sell/buy/swap books + zines and hang out happily exhausted afterwards. On a smaller scale, Belo Horizonte has a monthly fair called Faísca, which showcases not only comics but all things illustration and graphic arts. Also from Belo Horizonte are the Lady’s Comics and ZiNas collectives, both committed to empowering women in comics; the former, a relevant content source on the topic, mobilized its first event in 2014 via crowdfunding and launched a magazine, Risca, in late 2015. ZiNas, in turn, are currently working on a project that includes a new book and free workshops on the subject of diversity in comics. One of the ZiNas members, Aline Lemos, was featured previously on the Daily News section of the Comics Workbook website for compiling a collaborative list of all Brazilian women involved in comics, of all time. There are more than 400 names, an impressive number that contrasts with the often assumed lack of women in the field. Other names that come to mind when talking about comics in BH are Ricardo Tokumoto, or Ryot, who makes lighthearted, funny, sometimes nonsense b&w strips, and Lu Cafaggi, who’s lending her super soft and expressive illustrations to a new release published by Nemo. As not to neglect my hometown, here are local highlights from Juiz de Fora: Raphael Salimena, an illustrator and cartoonist with a dynamic, plymptoonian style who recently set up a Patreon to support his bi-weekly strips; and Ramon Vitral, a journalist currently based in São Paulo whose blog Vitralizado, about comics and pop culture, features insightful interviews with great names like Scott McCloud, Chris Ware and Liniers. ———————————————————————————————— In the southeast but towards the coast, there’s Rio de Janeiro. There you can find the small indie publishing house A Bolha. With a staff of no more than 5 people, their passionate approach to publishing comes across with their well curated, intriguing and innovative books and warm newsletters. Among their staff is Gabriel Carvalho, who along with Mazô (this super talented young cartoonist) created Jornal Altamira, a newspaper-sized publication featuring comics by André Dahmer, L.M Melite, Fabio Zimbres, Alexandra Moraes and many others – it’s a stellar team. If you want to read more comics from Rio, make sure to take a look at the diversified, often satyrical catalog by small publisher Beleléu; and the recently published Hermínia, a graphic novel by Diego Sanchez. His wiggly, charming drawings and stories quickly gathered online praise in the last couple of years, notably in his facebook page Quadrinhos Insones. ( Facebook, by the way, has played an important role for this new wave of comics in Brazil, allowing otherwise isolated self-publishers to reach numbers people unfamiliar to independent comics. Also from Rio and this facebook-driven scene is Tombo, curator of Zine XXX, an anthology of five 24-page zines from 2014 that jumpstarted comics by women in Brazil – it featured Laura Lannes, Bárbara Malagoli, Gabriela Masson (Lovelove6) and Sirlanney, to name a few.) When it comes to events, there’s SIQ, the International Comics Week at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro; Feira Pão de Forma, which gathers small publishers, artists and collectives (also produced by the folks from A Bolha); and with a similar premise is Feira Tijuana, a solid event at its 10th edition from São Paulo which is making its debut in Rio in May (days 7 and 8) at the insanely beautiful School of Visual Arts Parque Laje, located at the foot of the Corcovado mountain. ———————————————————————————————— Let’s talk São Paulo. With its strong visual arts, publishing culture and centralizing tendency, the city is packed with collectives, artists and exhibitions. One can find comics and zines by Brazilian indie publishers events like: Kraft (at the State University of São Paulo), Avessa (at Sesc Pompeia), Miolo(s) (at the Mário de Andrade Library). Miolo(s) is a production by the same folks of Lote 42, a small publisher of literature, poetry, careful & crazy formats and, yes!, comics. They’re also related to Banca Tatuí, a newsstand transformed into a pocket book shop at the heart of the city, where not only the works by Lote 42 can be found but also self-published, hand-made titles from other parts of the country. The greatest, most anticipated independent event in SP, though, must be Feira Plana. Ever-growing, the latest edition offered, for the first time, a residency program and the next one is announced to happen at was it to be the largest venue to date, the Bienal of Ibirapuera. Comics by women get the spotlight at Mina de HQ, an initiative by Gabriela Borges; also from the city is the hugely influential, outspoken genius Laerte Coutinho. Her son, Rafael Coutinho, also works in comics, being at the front of initiatives like A Nébula, an anthology of contemporary Brazilian comics, the book Teen Kiss and the publisher Narval. Collaborating with Narval there’s the talented Julia Balthazar, and since I’m dropping names, let me also recommend Puiupo, Wagner Willian, Pedro Cobiaco (from the publisher Mino), and still in the SP state but from the interior – Felipe Nunes and Amanda Paschoal. Back to the city, you don’t miss a chance of visiting Ugra – a store, and an online shop and a publishing house that releases every year a comprehensive compilation of ibero-american zines. ———————————————————————————————— Now to Brasilia, closer to the actual geographical center of Brazil and capital. From its number-named urban-planned streets comes a group of active, prolific comics artists such as Lucas Gehre, aka LTG, who makes a page everyday for his experimental, contemplative series Quadradinhas (he’s also part of the collective/magazine SAMBA); and Daniel Lopes, Augusto Botelho and João Diniz, who make MÊS, a series of zines published every month, with comics by themselves and open-call guests. Worth mentioning again, more in-depth, is Gabriela Masson and her character Garota Siririca (something like Masturbation Girl). Defying taboos and misconceptions about sexuality, her story is updated every week at her website, which also sells sex toys. Gabriela is also part of the collective Batata Frita Murcha (Stale French Fries), along with Daniel Lopes and Heron Prado, that creates bummer stories on classic strip format. All the folks mentioned above, plus Selo Piqui and Extraterrestre, organize the event Dente, whose second edition happens in June. ———————————————————————————————— Despite often being underrepresented, northeast Brazil has been stirring with comics-related news. There’s Felipe Portugal, from Piauí, who’s on a super fast pace releasing new strips for his series O Eremita (The Hermit); There’s Netuno Press, from the state of Ceará, which despite only having been launched recently has nine published titles under their belt and a consistent presence on events and fairs. Events like GeekExpo and Tabuão are shaking up the scene, as are artists like Luiza de Souza, Éff, Sirlanney and Aureliano Medeiros, who all have published works at Tribo and have found caring audiences through social media. Tribo has also published Laura Athayde, originally from Manaus (North Brazil), an illustrator who makes funny strips about everyday life, but who transitions well to more somber themes in her longest stories. Worth mentioning, too, is Ramon Cavalcante, a partner at Cosmic, a comics streaming service focused on independent Brazilian authors; creator of a very quiet, movie-like comics series called Inoffensive Comics and of a project that produced around 4000 screen-printed single-page comics that were offered in place of coin change at the local commerce in Fortaleza. ———————————————————————————————— At last, let’s talk about the South. One of its states, Rio Grande do Sul, is home to Estúdio Complementares. This comics and illustration studio is formed by some really great names of comics in Brazil: Ana Luiza Koehler, author of the historical graphic novel Beco do Rosário; Cris Peter, colorist for Marvel and DC and Eisner nominee; Ariane Rauber and Ursula Dorada. They often teach comics and illustration classes at Galeria Hipotética, in Porto Alegre. The city also hosts its own indie publishing event, called Parada Gráfica – this year’s is going to happen in August. Artists from Porto Alegre include Samanta Flôor, a freelance cartoonist who makes sweet, endearing comics; Chiquinha, whose work might remind you of a dirtier, more daring Maitena; Odyr, both a skillfull painter and synthetic cartoonist; Fefê Torquato and Giovana Medeiros. Curitiba, in the state of Paraná, often hosts book releases at the Itiban Comic Shop, as well as talks and debates. One of the latest featured was Estelle Flores, co-founder of Selva Press – one of the few risograph printing studios in Brazil. ———————————————————————————————— For more information on Anna Mancini, visit her online on her website, tumblr or her facebook page. Share this page: [...]

11/23/2017

Sally IngrahamNovember 22, 2017NewsSally here with Egyptian comics, cartoonists on immigration, and a Happy Thanksgiving. ————————————————————————————————— The Atlantic has a great article about Egypt’s cartoonists – sort of a scene report of the Cairo Comix Festival, which took place in September, and an on-the-ground report of the comics scene as a whole in Egypt, where telling the truth is difficult and increasingly dangerous. “Despite a small readership—or perhaps thanks in part to their relative invisibility—comics in Egypt are blossoming in the shadows. “There is no distribution in Egypt. There are no graphic novel publishers. There is no real way to make a living publishing comics here,” says Sara El Masry, co-owner of an organization called MAZG that runs cartooning workshops throughout the country. But as other means of expression have been shut down, the cartoonist festival has grown, according to its organizer. With few eyes on them, these graphic storytellers are depicting the truth as they see it.“ The article profiles a number of comics makers from the country, including Mai Koraiem whose work is pictured above. “Other cartoonists at the festival approached their subjects with bare fists, particularly when it comes to gender politics in Egypt. In Traveler’s Diary, Mai Koraiem uses a rough, expressive inkwash technique to detail the history of women’s rights in Egypt and the Middle East. Through a journalistic narrative, Koraiem tells the story of the ascendance of a violent misogynist culture, and the unraveling of liberal feminist values she argues first found purchase in Cairo in the 1960s. In a small ongoing thread at the bottom of the page, Koraiem links the personal and political by including a comic strip narrating her own experiences with street harassment and sexual assault.“ Read the rest of the article HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Columbus Alive features the new exhibit at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum, which looks back at how the topic of immigration has been covered by cartoonists over the last 150 years. “The resulting exhibit, “Looking Backward, Looking Forward: U.S. Immigration in Cartoons and Comics,” reveals that while the particulars of immigration may not have remained constant, the push-and-pull of public opinion as reflected in comics — and shaped by cartoonists — is something that hasn’t changed as the United States has considered the philosophical, political and practical implications of immigration. “There is a very rich history of cartoonists commenting on what’s going on in the world in terms of immigration to the United States, reflecting what people are thinking and saying, but also, we think, impacting how people are thinking about it,” Curator and Assistant Professor Jenny Robb said. “So we wanted to take a look back at the past 150 years and see how cartoonists dealt with it in their work. And not just editorial cartoonists, but in comic strips and comic books and, more recently, graphic novels.”“ The image above is the exhibition’s featured comic. “Robb and Gardner chose Joseph Keppler’s 1893 artwork “Looking Backward” as the exhibition’s featured image because of its timeless message, Robb said. The cartoon depicts “people who have immigrant pasts and have benefited from the opportunities in the U.S. in 1893, are now trying to stop new immigrants from coming over, forgetting their own past,” Robb said. “You could run that today; it would just be a different group of people.” “ Read the whole article HERE. The exhibit is up through April 15th 2018. ————————————————————————————————— On The Nib Rawand Issa details why Being Illegal is Unbearable – for Syrian refugees in Lebanon. ————————————————————————————————— Here in the USA we are celebrating Thanksgiving today – an often controversial holiday, as many cartoonists take note of. Lauren Weinstein‘s weekly Normal Person for Village Voice details the types of politically tense turkeys that grace many tables – HERE. Lauren’s also got a Thanksgiving comic in Seattle’s The Stranger: Here’s Roz Chast for The New Yorker of course: ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 11-23-2017 – by Sally Ingraham ————————————————————————————————— Share this page: [...]

06/12/2018

Aaron CockleJune 12, 2018NewsMoore/Mendes; Drnaso & Kupperman; Regé, Jr. ————————————————————————————————— Understanding Detroit: The Nonfiction Work of Anne Elizabeth Moore & Melissa Mendes Sally linked to this last Friday, Alex Dueben’s interview with Anne Elizabeth Moore and Melissa Mendes, about their collaborative non-fiction comics: What do you two think comics can do that an essay or report couldn’t? Moore: This is a question I get a lot, since I’ve done both text-only reporting and comics journalism. There’s a particular story in Threadbare I did with Julia Gfrörer called “Let’s Go Shopping,” about fast fashion retail work. I went into a local H&M—it was years ago, now, so that worker’s not there anymore—and started chatting with one of the retail workers. Now, like factory workers, and many many other workers along the entire garment production and display assembly line, retail workers for most fast fashion outlets sign non-disclosure agreements stating that they agree that they have the right to be fired if they share information about their benefits or wages. This is a nutso clause in any contract designed to keep people from sharing information and organizing to improve their lives, and it’s basically a knife wound to the project of basic democracy, since it means that even though a LOT of people work in the garment industry, few people talk about what it’s like and so, for example, reporters usually struggle to write about it because no one will go on record. But no one knows, or cares, what comics journalism is, so I walked into this H&M and was like, “Yeah we draw this thing and it works like this and I do need a photo for reference but we can hide your identity to protect you and if you want we can draw you in your favorite outfit even if you aren’t wearing it right now, I just need to ask you a few questions that are in complete violation of your NDA are you OK with that?” And she answered everything I asked. Because with comics we were able to protect her, but also depict her in an interesting way, and she was invested in contributing to something she would be excited about. (That Julia drew it was super helpful. She is very very popular with models and fast fashion workers.) That’s an actual example of information that wouldn’t have been accessible without the form of comics. In “Scenes from the Foreclosure Crisis,” Melissa and I were able to do a very similar thing, depict a nonbinary figure, who still has a very clear personality, history, and set of concerns, in a way that wouldn’t bring them undue attention or frustration. Or violence, to be frank. (Detroit is very conservative, actually, so that’s a concern.) In text-based journalism, you’d have to give some kind of identifying distinction, and almost anything I could think of in this case would put my source in danger. Also audience, of course: comics journalism is read by a far less newsy crowd. More young people. I hear from a lot of students that this was sort of their gateway drug to text-based journalism. But it takes a long time, so you have to plan it all carefully. Mendes: Whenever I get this question I always think of Joe Sacco. There’s no way his work (Palestine, The Fixer, etc.) could ever be anything other than a comic. He’s going into these terrifying places, these war zones, and instead of just taking photos, which can be sort of voyeuristic, he’s drawing. There’s no question that it’s through his lens, that it’s his own point of view– he’s making those marks on the paper. There’s no way it could be taken as objective, while it’s possible to write or photograph or record in such a way that you forget there’s a person behind the camera or the keyboard. (I’m sure there are smarter words for what I’m trying to say but I haven’t written a college paper in like fourteen years so…) Does that make sense? Sacco is reporting, but it’s personal, and you feel that as a reader. You can’t escape it, it’s more raw somehow. The handmade aspect of cartooning makes it more human, and we are still able to protect identities, like Anne was saying. ————————————————————————————————— Can You Illustrate Emotional Absence? Ed Park looks at recent work by Nick Drnaso and Michael Kupperman: RE Drnaso: With his fluid framing — fitting anywhere from two to 24 panels to a page — he dictates information delivery, allowing the mind to breathe. His drawing style is at once poetically attuned to details of neighborhoods and interiors (the lit canopy of a gas station at night, the banquette at an antiseptic diner) and deceptively plain when it comes to the people who inhabit them. RE Kupperman: For an artist known for his off-kilter tableaus, this book has a static look, especially in its rendering of boldfaced names from the past. More problematic are the gaps: mysteries unsolved, re-creations that collapse under the weight of a disclaimer. Of a 1943 meeting between Joel and Henry Ford (once a vocal anti-Semite), Kupperman wonders, “What did they think of each other? There’s no way of knowing.” ————————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 6-12-18 – by Caleb Orecchio ————————————————————————————————— Share this page: [...]

05/28/2018

Caleb OrecchioMay 28, 2018NewsGone fishing ———————————————————————————— We will be back tomorrow at our normal programming schedule. Have a good one! ———————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 5-28-18 – by Gabriella Tito Share this page: [...]

A Studio Visit with Jim Rugg | Part II: TRICKRTREAT

Posted on April 18, 2016May 21, 2019 by Juan Jose Fernandez

Jim Rugg, creator of “Street Angel” and “Aphrodisiac”, shows Comics Workbook TV how he takes a story from script to final. Part II focuses on “GHOST MONSTER”, a story from Street Angel 4.

Video by Michael Pisano | michaelpisano.com

“GHOST MONSTER” is available as a mini here: copaceticcomics.com/comics/street-angel-twofer-trick-or-treat-x-mas-special

Soundtrack | Johann Sebastian Bach // Gott fähret auf mit Jauchzen, BWV 43 – 7. Aria: Er ists, der ganz allein // performed by
Michel Rondeau

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Comics Workbook

An online magazine for comics makers

Posted in Classes

Juan Fernández

Posted on April 18, 2016May 21, 2019

Explore

09/20/2017

Juan FernándezSeptember 20, 2017los Cómics / NewsEmpezamos el día con Amanda Baeza; Entreviñetas 8; Marco Toxico en La Polola; José Muñoz y Maria Luque; Gaspar Pujadas y Rodrigo Vargas;#GRAFMAD2017; Mireia Pérez entrevista a Richard McGuire; y los tebeos de Cómics Workbook! ————————————————————————————————— Amanda Baeza y las canciones dibujadas Gabriela Blanco nos invita a reflexionar sobre Su obra de narraciones autobiográficas en El Espectador. Sus historias son fragmentadas, alejadas de la estructura secuencial y más cercanas a la simultaneidad, y lo son porque responden a una representación de sus recuerdos, desde adentro, sin inicio, nudo y desenlace ordenados, así como recordamos todos. Su intención es lograr hacer sentir al lector lo mismo que ella sintió en aquellos instantes, ponerlo en su lugar. Le importa más el qué representó para ella que lo que realmente sucedió. Y es en ese punto donde Amanda emerge como vanguardia: cuando modifica las formas convencionales para contar historias y las reajusta a lo que realmente le interesa contar, porque cree en la empatía como un recurso más poderoso de conexión con el otro que la ficción misma. Léanlo todo AQUI. ————————————————————————————————— ENTREVIÑETAS 8 – BOGOTA La primera parte del gran festival Entreviñetas tendra lugar este fin de semana, del 20 al 24 de Septiembre. Si todavia no lo saben, el Festival Entreviñetas es el evento del cómic y el dibujo más influyente en la escena latinoamericana contemporanea. No se pierdan toda la programación! Pueden ver los horarios AQUÍ. Talleres, ferias, charlas y entrevistas – habra de todo, sobre TODO! ————————————————————————————————— Los cómics y las noticias que me han llamado la atención esta semana: Sol Díaz Castillo y Marcela Trujillo tienen una nueva edicion de La Polola Podcast! Las chicas conversan con Marco Toxico, les contó de su vida, sus inspiraciones, su punto de quiebre, y motivación por hacer lo que le gusta en esta vida. Conversan acerca de referentes, la monstruosidad como tema y mucho más. Lo que va del cómic argentino: Martín Pérez escribe en las #Entreviñetas de El Espectador acerca de la obra de José Muñoz y Maria Luque Entrevista Sacapunta N°1 – Gaspar Pujadas + Entrevista Sacapunta N°2 – Rodrigo Vargas Entrevista de Mireia Pérez a Richard McGuire en CuCo 5. Abierta la convocatoria para participar en #GRAFMAD2017 ¡Hasta el 16 de octubre! TIK TOK Comics os presenta una nueva entrega de DOMINGO, la serie conversacional de Muriel Bellini ¡Disfrutadla! ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 9-20-2017 – by Gabriella Tito Share this page: [...]

09/03/18

Caleb OrecchioSeptember 3, 2018NewsGone fishing ———————————————————————————— We will be back tomorrow at our normal programming schedule. Have a good one! ———————————————————————————— Share this page: [...]

Frank’s Comics Corner #1 – Fantastic Four #233

Comics WorkbookFebruary 11, 2017EssaysFrank’s Comics Corner 2-4-2017 Share this page: [...]

Chicago, IL Scene Report

Frank SantoroJanuary 8, 2012Riff Raff / Scene ReportsThis week’s Scene Report is brought to you by Edie Fake. Thanks Flakes! —– It’s important to say one thing straight off the bat: Chicago loves comics like no other place I’ve ever been. It’s town is full of oddballs and oddities, a fermented blend of cheap rent, cheap beer, bad weather and good house shows…and somehow the result is a veritable hotbed of activity in all directions. Let’s start this report on my block. Down four flights of stairs from my apartment you’ll find Anya Davidson working furiously on her next graphic onslaught in a studio surrounded by many animals and no windows. She’s made these super lush silkscreened comics for years, usually in itty-bitty editions of five or so, but now she’s also got some killer pages in the Kramer’s E. that just came out, so get on it. When we make it out the door of the building and just head down the block, we’ll be at Robin Hustle’s house. Hustle not only draws perverse zine-comic hybrids about hair, milk and sex economies, she’s also spearheaded the reawakening of a Chicago punk free paper, to be known henceforth as The Land Line. This is the reincarnated version of the monthly paper called The Skeleton News that ran itself fabulously ragged for about two years while I was outta town. The Land Line is going to be quarterly and also free, content-rich and dirty, just like good soil. The first issue debuts right around the new year. There’s a million folks meeting, working and partying to make it happen…on the visual end, Grant Reynolds notably took on the helm of “Comics Editor” and recent transplants Mika Lee and Otto Splotch are throwing down some real brain bender drawings for it. A couple blocks further down the street towards my P.O. Box we run into this household that is a crazy pit of comics talent. Leslie Weibler, Andy Burkholder and Max Morris are all holed up together living with a collective library of approximately a million great comic books, spurring each other onward towards greatness. Dane Martin used to live here and Blaise Larmee too. Max can talk comics in a real way for days without stopping and he just launched a great Chicago comics anthology called “Vacuum Horror” at this year’s BCGF. There goes the neighborhood! Let’s expand a little…One of my favorite places in town is Spudnik Press. Started four years ago by Angee Lennard (who also draws the geriatric comic Mossdale Estates), the press has grown exponentially even during the year I’ve been a member. Part of the thrill of this shop is you might run into the likes of Lilli Carré printing some gorgeous, witty edition, or Sanya Glisic blowing your mind with her cosmic-ly perverse Struwwelpeter prints. Artist book maker Aaron Smith just got the AB Dick offset press up and running and it’s a force to be reckoned with, along with the functional facilities for letterpress, silkscreen, etching, woodblock and litho printing. Add to this the number of active copy scams in town and the fact that Aaron Renier just scored a free Risograph machine and we’ve got a print renaissance on our hands. …Which reminds me of Keith Herzik’s big show that just happened at the historic Hyde Park Art Center which included 4 zillion comics and posters he’s made plus a frozen pizza he accidentally cooked for 6 hours. Keith’s got colors on lockdown that no one has names for yet. That’s the sort of thing we encourage round these parts. …Which reminds me of the “Cartoon Ink” show Christa Donner, Jeremy Tinder and Surabhi Ghosh curated a few months back at the School of the Art Institute which showcased some of SAIC’s young guns like Sua Yoo, Wax Wing, Emily Fundis, Sarah Drake and William Cleveland next to the likes of Chris Ware, Anders Nilsen and Jeffrey Brown. Hey -right- Chicago’s a great place to learn comics in a school, if that’s your bag! When local rabble-rouser Anne Elizabeth Moore isn’t busy teaching zinemaking in Cambodia, starting her own tripped-out grad school or calling the comics industry on its own shit, she also teaches comics at the ‘tute. The comics-inclined SAIC student body has staged an impressive Small Press and Comics Symposium two years running and puts out an anthology Xerox Candy Bar. Comics historian Hillary Chute is down at University of Chicago, as is Paul Hornschemeier, as will be Alison Bechdel in the spring. Curmudgeon-with-a-heart-of-gold, Ivan Brunetti teaches at Columbia College where his passionate students like Onsmith and David Alvarado crank out the gorgeous anthology Linework. Ivan just re-released his iron-clad comics syllabus as a concise and potent little instruction volume that I am working through with Marian Runk at our biweekly gay comics coffee klatch. Jeremy Tinder is a good guy to know – not only is he awesome in a general way, he’s also one of the solid forces behind the weekly rendez-vous of Chicago’s notorious Trubble Club. TC roll call will break your drawing-chops-o-meter: frequent offenders include Aaron Renier, Nate Beaty, Carrie Vinarsky, Corinne Mucha, Grant Reynolds, Lilli Carré, Joe Tallarico, Sam Sharpe, Rachel Niffenegger, Ben Marcus, Bernie McGovern, Jo Dery, Becca Taylor, Travis Lampe and the unstoppable Laura Park– plus a rotating cast of out-of-town visitors. When I started going to this thing I thought that no way was I going to enjoy drawing against someone else’s panel, but it turns out that it’s actually utterly inspiring. Trubble Club is a beast unto itself! Not only is it a running contest to see who can be the most vile and crude, it keeps you loose and lucid and it’s like DIY drawing school, to boot. Trubble will be putting out it’s first full color edition momentarily courtesy of some Post Family support and we get to do an installation and curate a comics reading room at the DePaul Museum next year for a Chicago Imagists show they’re staging. On the note of shows staged, I wanna be sure to mention that people are doing some pretty amazing things with performative comics here. Does this even happen in other towns? Ezra Clayton Daniels used to throw infamous and rowdy Comics Art Battles back in the day, and since he just moved back to town I guess that means we should all look out. Brett Koontz makes brilliant comic books about post-apocalyptic sci-fi lifestyles and then turns them into these (also brilliant) backyard theater productions so you can figure out who he based each character on. Lyra Hill just started the world’s most exciting comic book reading series, Brain Frame, that alternates between feeding you jell-o shots and splashing you with fake blood. Lyra herself always goes above and beyond at these happenings and then hands the stage over to hams like Ian McDuffie and Krystal DiFronzo. It’s made me cry tears of joy and laugh food into my nose and I look forward to it every month like as if it were Halloween or something. It’s definitely a town where comics and art have met, fallen mad in love and now they’re having a baby. Just take a look at Paul Nudd’s crud, or check out Kerry James Marshall’s RYTHM MASTR paintings. And check out Deb Sokolow’s drawings. Did I mention the Imagists? That Yoshida shit runs deep! Even the Museum of Contemporary Art here is down, staging the giant Jim Nutt show last year as well as a special exhibit called “New Chicago Comics”. A few months ago Ruby Thorkelson got the local feminist gallery, WomanMade, to put on a great show of comics work from women and trans identified artists called “Underground” which included an amazing, amazing reading room. Also of underground note, The Chicago Underground Library got a new home and a new name after sustaining major damages last winter. Now it’s called Read/Write and it’s still rad all over. Additionally, Joe Tallarico has not-so-secretly been improving the underground comics stronghold in the Art Institute Library, as well as rooting some old-school Hot Nuts like George Hansen out of the woodwork. Joe’s been busy on the print end too, doing comics making and editing for the long running freak sheet, Lumpen which just up and turned 20. Also aging gracefully is Roctober, the best music/comics magazine in the universe; they’re about to turn twenty just as the clock strikes issue #50 Who else turned twenty this year? Oh, why, Quimby’s Books, the infamous weirdo comics and zines shop, my current place of employment and a truly astounding place to hang. I’ve been coming to Quimby’s since shortly before it moved to its current location in ’94, back when I was a zitty, obnoxious teenager and Dan Clowes was probably down the street drawing Eightball. Twenty years in now, this beast has made itself an international hub of self-publishing and small press comics, not only by keeping our eyes peeled for interesting experimental stuff on paper but also by accepting anything and everything folks send our way. For a good part of it’s run, the shop has been owned by Eric Kirsammer, who guides with a gentle hand and keeps us stocked in twisted art. Traditionally, the floor has been handled by rabid self-publishers like my powerhouse co-workers Liz Mason and Neil Brideau. There’s no telling how many minds have been blown in these walls, I certainly count mine among them. Deep scene resource 4eva. Can’t forget the other stores around here- Quimby’s is not the only game in town, especially if you’re a traditionalist. Our sister store, also under the mindful proprietorship of Kirsammer, is the stocked-to-the-gills Chicago Comics which I will proceed to call whenever I am confused about Marvel. There’s also Brainstorm for a passionate mix of superheroes, videos, and funny jokes. Challengers carries its own eccentric combo of local and mainstream work. I’ve only been into Vigilante once, but I liked it, and then if you go up so north it’s suburbia, Comix Revolution holds court and holds down the fort. What’s a better place to wrap things up than the future? For Chicago, that means getting a solid annual independent comics festival started here. Originally dreamed up by my Quimbyian coworker Neil (who also helped jump start the Chicago Zine Fest a few years ago), the Chicago Alternative Comics Expo (or CAKE, for short) finally has its ducks in a row – a plum location at Columbia College’s Ludington Building, a solid date (June 16th and 17th, 2012) and a gorgeous promotional poster by Laura Park. Applications are open until the first of January, the tables are truly affordable and things are really starting to get up and rolling to make it happen. CAKE’s core team of organizers (Neil, my neighbors Max and Andy along with Grace Tran, Jeff Zwirek, Nick Drnaso and myself) are starting the exciting work of mapping how we want the space set up and imagineering what the programming will look like. …So things are brewing in Chicago, in the past, in the now, and in the near next- If I were you I’d come check it out. Share this page: [...]

06/10/2016

Sally IngrahamJune 10, 2016NewsFrom Sally to you – interviews, reviews, and Rowhouse mischief. Dig in! ————————————————————————————————— The Rowhouse had a special guest this week – samurai ninja badass cartoonist Lale Westvind stopped by on her way to CAKE in Chicago. She spent an evening digging into Frank’s library, and somehow simultaneously drew four pages of a new comic, all the while sharing stories about her cross-country motorcycle adventures. You can catch up with her yourself at CAKE this weekend (table 42b), or if you’re not in Chicago, check out a nicely coincidental interview with Lale here on the Comics Workbook site – follow the link below. http://comicsworkbook.com/lale-westvind-sometimes-an-overgrown-golf-course-will-do/ ————————————————————————————————— Speaking of CAKE, there are lots of brilliant books debuting at the show. I’m particularly excited about Hip Hop Family Tree Vol. 4 by Ed Piskor. Here’s the whole list! ————————————————————————————————— Over on The Comics Journal RJ Casey reviewed Ben Sears‘ new book Night Air (Koyama Press, 2016). “I’m nostalgic for things not beholden to nostalgia. I want to read adventure comics without the guilt of knowing that the original creators died flat broke and drowning in menacing legalese. I want to laugh at jokes that aren’t slathered in sanctimonious pandering. Frankly, I’m on the lookout for fun comics with no icky strings attached. So thank goodness for Night Air.” – RJ Casey Read the whole review HERE. ————————————————————————————————— The Comics Beat has a review of Melissa Mendes‘ Lou (Oily Comics). John Seven writes: “Mendes presents a full picture of this family’s life, working with multiple perspectives in reaction to the possibility of getting a puppy, as well as Lou’s hang-outs in an abandoned theater with her buddies, the shady dealings that Eddie encounters at the pizza place, and the mother’s reminiscence of the simpler, more intimate life with her husband before her children came along. Mendes brings all these pieces together to present a family as a form of super organism that can be jolted or made buoyant be the way separate parts of its life fester or expand. The mundanity of a new puppy can bounce up against the desperate actions of a criminal to create the family dynamic.“ Read the rest of the review HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Around the Comics Workbook HQ, we’re still processing the successful first official residency that took place last week. Mahmoud Hashemi, one of the two fellows who joined us, sent us a detailed report of his experience which we will share more of soon. For the moment, here’s the light touch, in Mahmoud’s words: “From May 28th to June 2nd, 2016, I visited Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I went to work with Frank Santoro on Matt Conway’s game Homemake. Overall it was a great vacation because it wasn’t your typical beachside retreat. Rather, it was mounting an effort to renew creativity and productivity on Matt Conway’s longstanding project, Homemake. … Frank’s own creative methods have a focus on systems, especially jazz-inspired rhythmic systems, making them an exceptional fit with Homemake‘s motivations and goals. I was skeptical at first, but it worked wonders. This effectiveness may have been magnified because half of Homemake‘s vision was disparate moments, a grab bag of mental notes about certain aesthetics. This method allowed Matt to express all his thoughts and editors, like me and Frank, to come through, see the patterns a reader would want to see, and develop the most coherent narrative. Everyone wins.” Look for more from Mahmoud and Matt and Frank on the exceptional days they spent together here on Comics Workbook soon! ————————————————————————————————— Have a great weekend folks! – Sally Share this page: [...]

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