Comics Workbook

An online magazine for comics makers

Posted in ResourcesTagged Al Capp, facial expressions, Harry Haenigsen, Milton Caniff, Rube Goldberg

Juan Fernández

Posted on January 1, 2016May 21, 2019

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09/19/2016

Juan FernándezSeptember 19, 2016NewsJuan here! SPX just wrapped up. Wotta whirlwind! I’ve got loads to share but I’m on the road today, so only the essentials: Reflecting on our CW workshops; Ignatz Winners; Dash Shaw on instagram. ————————————————————————————————— We had the honor and privilege of presenting our one of a kind comics programming to eager creators at SPX this year. It was a joy to see cartoonists experienced and amateur to gather round for some spirited drawing and discussion. Although n depth coverage of our workshops and the full SPX experience is soon to come this week, a short recap of what went down in THE DANGER ROOM. Saturday September 17th 12:00-1:00 PM Comics with Jeffrey Brown Mr. Brown truly brought the “Star Wars Academy” to a packed audience! Jeffrey Brown was on hand to share storytelling tips and drawing advice. Jeffrey Brown challenged all participants to follow along with creation of a 4 panel slice of life comic. After some diligent work, sll participants recieved personalized reviews of their work. 1:00-3:00 PM Comics Workbook Hangout We were joined by a packed audiencefor an afternoon of comics-crafting. We explored the history of tracing and its benefits. It’s safe to say we are take your comics-making game to a new level. Simple exercises will push you in mind-bending directions. Drop in for a minute or an hour. 3:00-5:00 PM Spanish Fever (Spanish Language Workshop) This SPX, Comics Workbook, was joined by Spanish cartoonists José Domingo and David Rubín for some lively Spanish language instruction and presentations. Many thanks to SPX, Fantagraphics and the Spanish Cultural Ministry and Fantagraphics. 5:00-6:00 PM Cameron Nicholson and Frank Santoro Cameron Nicholson expanded minds as he examined his notions of the comics form and methodologies for creating and refining one’s own comics. Comics Workbook founder and internationally known cartoonist/teacher Frank Santoro piped in with color commentary. Spirits were very high during this uplifting, talk. Sunday September 18th 1:00-2:00 PM Comics with Carol Tyler The great Carol Tyler taught us the ins and outs of her unique mode of autobiographical comics, her history as a painter and the importance of cornering the market on her nibs. A maker who has been defining the form since the 1970’s, Tyler had her audience ebtranced. Carol Tyler will discuss her adventures in comics and share drawing tips and storytelling advice. 2:00-3:00 PM Comics Workbook Hangout Participants took a break from circling the ballroom and channeled their energy into a heaping helping of Dan DeCarlo and Harry Lucie studies. This hangout hammered home the idea of drawing as an exploration of drawing as a way of seeing and knowing. 3:00-4:00 PM Comics with Charles Burns The inimitable Charles Burns brought us a very special presentation wherein we explored his sometimes dark but always thrilling worlds. Participants drew along with him and got one of the heartiest Q&A sessions one could ask for. 4:00-5:00 PM Comics Workbook Hangout In our last, more laid back session, we hopped to it and explored the relationships between filmic techniques and cartooning. Participants left having completed an entire 8 panel, one page More to come this week! ————————————————————————————————— Ignatz Winners 2016 If you haven’t been checking Twitter feverishly to see the results of Saturday night’s Ignatz Winners, Tom Spurgeon’s got what you need! It’s all over on comicsreporter.com ————————————————————————————————— Dash Shaw is on instagram. I’m not messin’ around. It’s true! Hop on over to his account, follow him, and take a look behind the curtain on his latest projects. No better way to glean some insight into the american masters’ cartooning and animation process. All from the comfort of your home. ————————————————————————————————— See you next time with some JUICY, in depth, SPX Coverage. -Juan Share this page: [...]

09/04/2017

Caleb OrecchioSeptember 3, 2017NewsCaleb Orecchio here on this Labor Day edition of the Daily News with thoughts on Connor Willumsen’s new book from Koyama Press, Anti-Gone–and other news. ———————————————————————————————— Connor Willumsen is one of thee premier drawers in comics. His prowess envelops the many styles of drawing found in comics, from expertly rendered figures, cars, and buildings–to minimal, child-like characters that would be at home in kid’s manga magazines. His new book, Anti-Gone—from thee great Koyama Press—to me really pushes Connor’s ideas as a cartoonist beyond just the pretty drawings. I feel he’s really digging deep into his bag of “tricks,” and expanding the language of the comics medium to a degree. First I want to say, that when I started to read Anti-Gone, I pinned it as a sci-fi comic–almost Brandon Graham-esque with a hint of Moebius (or vice versa); but as I read on, it was clear (to me at least) that this takes place in a “cartoon world.” Allow me to try to explain: In this world, you wouldn’t call a talking gorilla a “talking gorilla”–you would simply say, “that person is a gorilla.” if you would even care to make the distinction between a gorilla or human or whatever at all. Does that make sense? It’s like the fox and cat who sell Pinocchio to that puppeteer I think. Nobody says, “whoa a talking fox and cat!” they are just characters. Anyway, this detail of a cartoon world is not particularly pertinent to the story, but I felt it was worth pointing out. It’s our world, through Connor’s eyes. Something that made this crystal clear to me was when the seemingly alien girl undos her hair (directly below). What were once strange sacks on her head were now obviously a Connor-fide version of the double braid–see Kylie Jenner reference directly below the below excerpt. Two prominent formalistic tools Connor really utilizes well and to a very singular degree, particularly, is 1.) the economic use of visual reference, and 2.) the depiction of movement through sequential images–most notably the former, often they are used together with great success. The below page is from the perspective of our heroes as they float along a river watching a dog in a window as they pass by. We see the buildings in the background (where we get our main, big picture reference–the buildings–a sense of place) and Connor zeroes in on the doggy in the window giving us a simultaneous impression of where we are and where we are moving to without showing the characters (whose POV we are experiencing) within the page. Another good example is the below two-panel sequence of one of the protagonists making their way up a flight of stairs. First, Connor shows us the entire scene of the stairs with all it’s intricacies and hustle and bustle. Then he quiets it down by stripping away all the noise to show the girl going up the stairs (obviously the same stairs moments after the panel before it). This use of visual reference from detailed rendering to stripped down essential detail is both formalistically economical and tonally/emotionally important to the narrative–two birds with one stone. A+ I could go on and on about this book. Connor Willumsen is a blackbelt of formalism in comics. There is an unending sense of “thinking” in this book. Every angle and every option is considered. Highly recommend this book both for the tasteful, passive reader AND to the comics scholar looking for forward-thinking new work. -CO ———————————————————————————————— Frank Santoro made a comic book about his parents and now he needs help making a handbound copy of the book for each of them. It’s a good story. Check out the Indiegogo campaign HERE – or if you want to contribute via PayPal, look at the campaign HERE. ———————————————————————————————— if you don’t know now you know Hey not to brag but Comics Workbook will be at SPX conducting workshops so don’t miss out! After looking at the workshops you want to go to, sign up here. Gilbert Hernandez, Mardou, Alexis Ziritt, Connor Willumsen, Liz Reed, Juan Fernandez, Sally Ingraham, Audra Stang–what more could you possibly want?! Did you catch Joe McCulluoch’s final “This Week in Comics” entry? Jerry Moriarty is the latest guest on Inkstuds. Did you know you can download this San-Diego Comic Con Kirby 100th Celebration book for free? Have you missed Brandon Graham’s idiosyncratic blogging?? Well look no further because he’s back with a new one. Looks like he’ll have other contributors involved–firstly with A Sarah Horrocks entry about 2-page spreads. ———————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 9-4-2017 – by Sally Ingraham ———————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 9-4-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

04/27/2016

Juan FernándezApril 27, 2016NewsFumetto 2016; Begoña García-Alén’s El Espectador; Dr Fausto Fanzine 10; Daryl Seitchik’s Missy for sale; a first look at Tim Hensley’s Sir Alfred No. 3 ; Al Jarnow & Edwin Rostron. ————————————————————————————————— FUMETTO 2016 Fumetto, one of Europe’s leading international comics festivals wrapped up this past weekend in Luzern, Switzerland. Celebrating its 25th anniversary, the festivities lasted from April 16-24. Among the many guests this year were Lorenzo Mattoti, Joost Swarte, Gabrielle Bell, Caroline Sury, Fremok, Max and Ben Katchor. Fumetto has captured glimpses of all the lectures, workshops, pop-up studios, gallery exhibitions, market places, and parties in a recently posted archive of photos. (If you want to get lost into the nitty gritty of the social media coverage of Fumetto, explore Fumetto’s social media wall here.) Among all of the goings on this year was Fumetto’s annual competition exhibition. The theme this year was “Temptation”. View the winning entries from the 2016 competition here. For those of you really hungry for more of Fumetto’s competitions, you can read all of the winning entries from 2014 and 2015. ————————————————————————————————— (the spectator) The fourth installment of Begoña Garcia-Alen‘s El Espectador (the spectator) is now up over on TikTok cómics. Her spectator series is a nice collection of work that explores the idea of observation and reflection. It’s done in a playful, formalist Koch/CF hybrid. Check it out here. ————————————————————————————————— Llegó nuestra Décima Edición. 10 Autores de Colombia, Argentina y Chile. Toda la info en: https://t.co/0OsmwQUpyN pic.twitter.com/Qhq901Nfmf — Dr Fausto Fanzine (@DrFaustoFanzine) April 25, 2016 Dr Fausto The 10th edition of the Colombian publication, the Dr Fausto Fanzine is here! This edition comes out thanks to the support of Editorial Universidad de Caldas. Ya llegó! It’s now available in cities throughout Colombia, starting in Bogotá. This is issue features 10 cartoonists from Colombia, Argentina and Chile: Edward Muñoz (Editor) http://eddmunoz.tumblr.com/ Un reptil http://relampagarto.tumblr.com/ Truchafrita http://www.truchafrita.net/ Wil Zapata http://wilcomix.blogspot.com.co/ Lutocorps http://lutocorps.blogspot.com.co/ Pablo Bofelli (https://www.facebook.com/PUNCH-590883774340172/?fref=ts)http://felipunch.com.ar/ Toto Duarte https://www.flickr.com/photos/sergalletas/ Javier Fabregas http://www.javierfabregas.co/ Pablo Pérez http://periodistailustrado.tumblr.com/ Jko Sánchez http://jkosanchez.net/ ————————————————————————————————— Digital Missy Daryl Seitchik has collected and made all of her issues of her comic Missy available digitally over on gumroad. Check it out. The first one’s free 😉 ————————————————————————————————— https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJZjfcMR2fc Comics Movie Tie-in Fantagraphics has just shared a detailed look at Tim Hensley’s latest book, Sir Alfred No. 3. It’s beautiful stuff, full o hyucks. Sir Alfred No. 3 is an oblique biography of the world’s most famous film director, Alfred Hitchcock. In fact, despite being numbered “No. 3,” no other issues exist. The comic book is composed of multiple gag strips based on anecdotes found in tomes of film lore in the public library and used book shops. As Hensley’s previous work Wally Gropius referenced the ’60s teenager genre, Sir Alfred pays homage to ’50s personality comics and movie tie-ins. It ends up being something of a cross between Marge Buell’s Tubby, who bears an unforeseen resemblance to the famous director, and Miss Beverly Hills of Hollywood. Have a closer look at the book over on Fantagraphics’ site. ————————————————————————————————— Asymmetric Navigations Take a walk and join Al Jarnow in conversation with Edwin Rostron over on Edge of Frame as they reflect on his life of creation that has move seamlessly across artistic mediums. Paintings, animations sculptures, software, exhibits – his ideas have taken every form you can imagine. Tune into his frequency for a little energy and inspiration. EoF: In the documentary Asymmetric Cycles you describe your process onCelestial Navigation as “setting up an experimental environment in which I could more or less improv and riff off of different ideas to do with time, the passage of time and the passage of light.” Was this typical of how you worked with your animations? Did this kind of experimental process relate to how you worked as a painter? Was there a lot of material generated through this kind of process that didn’t make the cut? AJ: Yes, always! In painting as in film, the process has always been a dialogue. What happens with the first stroke is a determining factor in what happens with the next. An experiment is an act in which you don’t know the outcome. It’s a learning process. You might have expectations and anticipate your results, but those can color your results. In film, a lot of snippets ended up on my cutting room floor (or at least in cans still stored in my attic). In painting, pieces ended up in re-cycling, painted over, cut in half, and again stored in my attic studio. ————————————————————————————————— Have a good one and see you soon. Here’s one some reverie for the road. Share this page: [...]

07/05/2018

Sally IngrahamJuly 5, 2018NewsSally here with new Italian interviews and commentary on Frank Santoro’s Pompeii! ————————————————————————————————— Noman Alani has an interview with Frank up on C4 Comic, part of the C4 Chatter column. The interview was conducted during the Naples Comicon 2018. Here is part of the interview: C4C: How was the choice of Pompeii created to set your comic book? FS: I was living in New York during the attack on the Twin Towers of September 11th. When the planes hit the buildings we were all motionless to stare at the scene. I remember that by the time the towers collapsed and an immense cloud of smoke rose, I thought that we could relive an experience similar to that in Pompeii. Obviously it didn’t happen, but it left me thinking for a long time. Some time after I visited the ruins of Pompeii and so I decided to tell something about where I come from and that is such a powerful concentrate of stories and sensations different for every visitor. In my intentions, at a time when everyone was facing the world of graphic novels, it was also to create a product accessible to all and not hermetic and in this the fact of talking about one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world was definitely helpful. I could concentrate so much more on what I wanted to tell seriously, behind the costumes and facts that are known there were people with their stories and there was the pathos. Read the whole interview HERE! Also on C4 Comic there is a review of Pompei by Luca Parri. Titled Pompei, between classic and theoretical experimentalism, it begins: Almost as if it were a virtual return to the homeland of Ameriana Memory, Pompeii of Frank Santoro lands on Italian soil five years after its original American publication. And we can only rejoice in knowing that a comic that treats an episode so tragic but at the same time founding of our cultural heritage, realized with wise love by a foreigner, has finally arrived in our bookstores. But it is not only for the engaging and convincing celebration of Classical culture Mediterranean (and Italian in particular) that this volume should be recognized as one of the most important comics of the Decade; The Book of Santoro is also fundamental for a theoretical-scientific progress within the Ninth art. The review continues: The research and the educational process to a markedly theoretical conception of the comic is a question which concerns and concerns Santoro both as a cartoonist but also and above all as theorist, scholar and teacher. Pompeiè therefore almost to be understood as a wise omni-comprehensive of all that the author has been able to collect and elaborate in several years of research and practice alternating three figures (the reader, the teacher and the author) until they are converged towards a single entity ; The individual parts communicate and coexist by influencing each other. All that the American has been able to learn about the harmonies, the rhythms and the emphasis that can be evoked in an unintentional way, but then meticulously and mathematically desired, recur in the Centoquarantaquattro pages of his comic strip. Read the whole review HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Thee Santoro Correspondence Course for Comic Book Makers Summer Session starts NOW! Floating start date! Apply anytime between now and July 12th 2018 to join the summer course. Email santoroschoolATgmail for more details. Ask about the Fall Course if now is too busy for you! The course is 8 weeks – 500 bux for 8 weeks plus access to Frank’s coaching for as long as you need. Payment plans are available. Put your summer to good use! Learn more about the Santoro Correspondence Course for Comic Book Makers HERE. ——————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 7-4-2018 – by Sally Ingraham ——————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 7-5-18 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

Frank Santoro’s 2016 LICAF Workshop – Notes for Attendees

Frank SantoroOctober 6, 2016Classesthee Comics Workbook crew from the USA Aidan Koch, Frank Santoro, and Connor Willumsen at The Lakes International Comic Art Festival 2016 presentation notes and videos During this presentation I will be referring to this master blog post – please open it in a separate window: http://coldheatcomics.blogspot.com/2015/02/notes-for-comics-symposium.html ================================ Watch these videos later – https://vimeo.com/185881298 ================================ watch the above and consider that “comic books” are the intersection of art and commerce and watch at the end for the doodle by Michelangelo ============================ 1:02 inversion of the traditional hierachy of art – where the doodle, so to speak, is the height of the craft ============================================ 1:04 on becoming a writer incrementally =============================== watch the above and draw a loved one from memory – in your sketchbook – or on a scrap of paper – but it has to be a drawing made with real effort – as if you had someone like a parent or respected elder or friend who knew the loved one and were judging if it looked like the person or not =============================================== Aidan’s work connects to what Dyer speaks of–the inversion of the traditional hierarchy. She isn’t so interested in the “graphic novel” as a proving ground for being a cartoonist in 2016 – the fragments expand the conversation of what is possible within the form and much like Lawrence’s most poetic and mysterious works, like his travel diaries, expand what the idea of a novel is or can be. ============================== Connor’s work connects to Berger’s idea of fighting disappearance Connor’s drawings of loved ones are done “in real life” and through video phone calls and his sequential narratives are often presented “unbound” and exist as numbered drawings and not necessarily as a book at all ========================================================== =================================================== Berger on Storytelling as a space time that exists like music ========================================================= I read a Guy Davenport essay about a Eudora Welty novel which used a very clear symbolism of the Persephone myth and I adapted that symbolism into a “melody” with a 4/4 time signature – I was also thinking about the 8 of an octave–or at least humbly attempting to draw a myth in 8 panels without the normal sequencing–I want a more “all at once” reading. The panels are numbered and it can be read “across the spread” or in a traditional zig-zag or even out of order and I believe the “song” is still heard; the melody is clear and the symbolism there to peel away like an onion. In the Welty novel the symbolism is spread through the characters and the period drama of a southern American wedding in the early 20th century. A sprawling literary use of the symbolism. I wanted to see if I could distill it down to the most core “notes” or “sounds” by using words and pictures (color and line) in the most simple and (i hope) clear way possible to present the symbolism with drawing. =================================== Watch the above “Berger 4” video and then watch the video of Aidan’s “original” drawings made for her books (below) ============================= I feel that Aidan’s work, like Connor’s, and my own, is rooted in the belief that drawing is a language. Letters and words are symbols after all. Lines. Shapes. Words written are but lines drawn, aren’t they? Even the printed word or the word on a computer screen is an image. Comic books are simply words and images together. Comic books and graphic novels and even comic strips have been overly concerned with character serial narrative “soap operas” than they have been with the poetry and mystery of visual literacy. ============================= =========================================== ============================================= Click on the below and then click back. Layout Workbook 3 Back? Great. Then, of course, there is the idea and the reality of genre narratives, like a vampire story or a science-fiction story. These comic books are very different than the “poetic comics” we are discussing here today. HOWEVER, I think that as Berger says “Metaphor is our guide” and so the super-hero escapism of many mainstream comics reflects our 2016 world me thinks (like a Black guy who wants to be bulletproof). In cartooning circles, how one draws is like how one speaks or writes. Connor’s “digressive” drawn line offers a type of “familiar” language that comics are often phrased. The digressiveness is disciplined in service of the genre. Genre and style are just raincoats, umbrellas under which to play within convention and to stretch the idea of what is familiar–the time in the narrative is experienced through the space depicted on the page with such stylized lines—a language unto itself within complex, many drawer-d toolbox that is the craft of comics. (said with a straight face – comic book drawing and this type of pen and ink drawing is often impenetrable by non-initiates) ============================================================ Dyer talks about metaphor and the fictive below (:48) and I think his ideas connect to how cartoonists can use style like a jazz musician and metaphor and invented scenes to serve the wild heights of style – even Aidan can engage in the style game, the dynamism of comics and the space, the glimpse, between the “genre” of western art’s depiction of the figure and how the figure is depicted in *most mainstream comic books ========================== ================================================================== ============================== ============================== ============================== Share this page: [...]

Ch 4: The Head in Detail (FACC)

Posted on January 1, 2016May 21, 2019 by Juan Jose Fernandez

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Comics Workbook

An online magazine for comics makers

Posted in ResourcesTagged Al Capp, facial expressions, Harry Haenigsen, Milton Caniff, Rube Goldberg

Juan Fernández

Posted on January 1, 2016May 21, 2019

Explore

01/10/2018

Juan FernándezJanuary 10, 2018los Cómics / NewsJuan empieza el día con el Puchi Award 2018 y Paul Karasik & Mark Newgarden charlando sobre Nancy! ———————————————— Los cómics y las noticias que me han llamado la atención esta semana: ~ In English and en Español ~ Deadline reminder: Jan. 10th 201 – TODAY -. La Horchata Zine is accepting submissions from creators of Central American ancestry. New Deadline: submissions for Ink Brick no. 9 are due Monday, Feb 19, 2018! Do yourself a favor and submit your comics-poetry, won’t you? Belgian cartoonist and autobio-comics champion, David Libens, is starting to publish his current notebook online. His recent comics and zines have been coming from this notebook. There’s some really amazing autobiography in here. First take cartooning, grappling with depression, love and the nuisance that is the call of the void. Earnest, painful and funny. The First 12 pages are available here. Happy reading. La Casa Encendida y Fulgencio Pimentel siguen buscando un libro. La convocatoria de #PuchiAward 2018 está abierta a todo tipo de géneros y formas: ficción, no ficción, novela, poesía, cómic, álbum ilustrado, ensayo, libro de cocina, geografía… Hasta el 25 de enero. The Latino Comix Expo is coming to Brownsville, Texas! Exhibitors can apply for a table, fans can get their your tickets! Cynthia Alfonso and Óscar Raña have created a new video for Spanish Psych-pop band Dois – this comes via with their new experimental animation studio called RAPAPAWN. Check out the European Fuzzy Vector Goop Abstraction in action. Paul Karasik & Mark Newgarden talk on the Virtual Memories Show with Gil Roth about their glortious achievement – How to Read Nancy, a decade-long experiment in close comics reading and visual literacy. Listen here. ————————————————————————————————— Frank Santoro and Simon Hanselmann, CAB 2013 – photo by Chris Anthony Diaz, colored by Graham Willcox International Students: The Winter Semester of thee Santoro Correspondence Course for Comic Book Makers starts January 16th 2018! 8 weeks – 500 bux – coaching for as long as you need. The course is hard, but Frank will push your comics making practice to a new level, getting you to think about timing and color in new ways. His experience and ideas have influenced the likes of Connor Willumsen, Michael DeForge, and Simon Hanselmann (quote “I consider Frank Santoro to be my L. Ron Hubbard”) among many others. Dig into something new in the new year! Full details and how to apply can be found HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 1-10-2018 – by Sally Ingraham ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 1-10-2018 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

06/21/2017

Juan FernándezJune 21, 2017los Cómics / NewsEmpezamos el día conFebrero para galgos de Peter Jojaio; Frank Santoro en vivo;Pati Aguilera e Isabel Molina; Galería Plop!; Álvaro Pons; y los tebeos de Comics Workbook! ————————————————————————————————— Peter Jojaio: La Violencia de lo Sublime Elizabeth Casillas comparte sus impresiones sobre una de las mejores sorpresas que nos ha llevado este año: Febrero para galgos de Peter Jojaio en Revista Cactus: Febrero para galgos es una obra sublime porque implica dolor, porque se aleja de la complacencia o el agrado y entra a formar parte de ese otro círculo que conforman las obras que nos enseñan la decadencia de la sociedad –sin atisbo de humor, sin redención– y en el que podríamos englobar algunos relatos de Adrian Tomine, como el devastador Búhos de Intrusos (Sapristi, 2016), o ese compendio de dolor que es Beverly de Nick Drnaso (Fulgencio Pimentel, 2016). De hecho, lo primero que uno tiende a pensar al terminar esta novela gráfica es que no ha podido hacerse aquí, en España. Por lo arriesgado de la propuesta, por su estilo. Aquí es cuando salen a relucir los referentes del autor, porque más allá de los evidentes –como Daniel Clowes, Chris Ware o Charles Burns–, surgen nombres de disciplinas variadas. «Intentaba usar como buenamente podía todo aquello que iba viendo y me gustaba: de Aki Kaurismäki, el tipo de intensidad que alcanza a través de un lenguaje y un humor frío y áspero. De Jean Pierre Melville, cómo hace que los actores se muevan como piezas de un reloj, cómo explica los personajes y el mundo en el que viven a través de la acción, sin apenas recurrir al diálogo. El uso de la perspectiva en las pinturas del gótico. Leer Hijo de la ira de Jim Thompson y El señor de las moscas me dio algunas ideas de base. Los cuadros de Paula Rego, James Ensor, Caspar David Friedrich», enumera Jojaio. Léanlo AQUI. ————————————————————————————————— RiYL Episode 219: Frank Santoro Our fearless leader, Frank Santoro speaks up in the latest edition of RiYLcast with Brian Heater. They met up at the Row House Residency in Swissvale, PA for a rich, cafe style discussion: Pittsburgh comics, regionalism, self-publishing and the long shadow of Andy Warhol – it’s all there. Póngale play! ————————————————————————————————— Cómics y noticias que me han llamado la atención esta semana: Sol Díaz Castillo y Marcela Trujillo tienen una nueva edicion de La Polola Podcast! Las chicas conversan con Pati Aguilera e Isabel Molina, ilustradora y periodista, además de ser el elemento femenino de Galería Plop!. Hablan acerca de la historia de la Galería, sus aventuras, proyecciones, momentos altos, y momentos complicados. Plop! Galéria ha compartido un trozito de la exposición Casa Ajena, de Mathias Sielfeld, Nico González, Matías Prado y Pablo Luebert. Denle un vistazo. La fanzinoteca del Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderno (IVAM) calienta motores con una exposición con los fondos de Álvaro Pons. Al igual que ocurre con nuestras parejas de baile, en los contratos también debemos elegir bien a quien concedemos nuestra obra. Ceder o no ceder en exclusiva? Esa es la cuestión de la que hablan hoy en el post, ¿Me concedes esta obra? en firmado por. ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 6-21-2017 – by Gabriella Tito ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 6-21-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

10/23/2018

Aaron CockleOctober 22, 2018NewsAnne Carson; Boiled Angels; Gabe Fowler; Mary Ann Caws ————————————————————————————————— “Flaubert Again” Anne Carson has a piece of fiction in the most recent New Yorker issue: Once, she and Martha had gone to Greece together, to an international writers’ conference. While they were there, she’d renounced writing. Instead, she made sketches in a sketchbook and titled it “The Glass of Water,” as if that were what everyone was looking for, a glass of water in Greece, not a different kind of novel or some not-stupid sentences. The sketches were a bit cartoonish but loving. We see the glass of water disappearing up the stairs with a Russian poet. Or gripped fast by a Turkish Cypriot novelist (who has poured it into two glasses). Or lost by a Spanish writer behind a mountain of toast at the breakfast table. She found toast difficult to draw convincingly, from a side view. Drawing the Peruvian poet, on the other hand, who claimed to have videotaped his llama drinking from the glass of water, was a joy, as she already knew how to draw llamas. ————————————————————————————————— Color Giants – Cinema Comix Expo 2018 The third year of the free Color Giants Expo moves (temporarily) away from animation to feature two events featuring iconic underground cartoonists. Nov. 10th at 7pm is the second-ever NYC screening of the 2018 feature documentary Boiled Angels: The Trial of Mike Diana directed by Frank Henenlotter (Basket Case). The titular Mike Diana (“Boiled Angel”)—the only artist in US history convicted of obscenity, whose legal battle is the subject matter of this important film—will be present for a Q&A with director Henenlotter. Nov. 11th at 8pm are new programs of occult-related films, with a live Q&A and tarot readings with cartoonist and witchcraft-enthusiast Dame Darcy (“Meat Cake”). Films will include works by Dame Darcy and Lisa Hammer, Zev Deans, H.R. Giger and more. Programmed by Kenneth Filmer as part of the Brooklyn Fire Proof Screening Series in association with Comic Arts Brooklyn and Robyn Chapman. Both programs are free. Address: Seltzer Room Studio 3 at 102 Ingraham St., Brooklyn, NY 11237. (Two blocks from L Train at Morgan Ave.) This program is for adults only, and no children will be admitted. ————————————————————————————————— ‘Do you keep up with the comics news–and what does the term “comics news” mean to you?’ Gabe Fowler is interviewed over at TCJ: What gets you most annoyed about comics right now? I try not to sustain annoyance. There’s a lot of regrettable beating-of-dead-horses in comics, and the horse-beaters need to grow a brain or get out of the way. Let me say this: if you look at comics history or comics present and are troubled by problematic material or problematic creators, THAT’S GOOD. When you spot a problem, that’s the world telling you it’s your turn to correct it. This is literally why I run a store. All the other stores were full of stale garbage, run by assholes, had no sense of style, and were always playing shitty music. I realized it was my duty to address these problems and try to find a better way. ————————————————————————————————— The Art of Interference: Stressed Readings in Verbal & Visual Texts I recently started reading this book, by Mary Ann Caws, published in 1989. Here’s a bit from the introduction: Marc Shell, in his Money, Language, and Thought, points out the limits of our institutions of philosophy and criticism, given our more than complex relation to economy, exchange, and coinage, particularly in America. Our money complex and our frequent refusal or incapacity to separate the interrelations of coin and paper, cash and symbol, investment and expenditure, are themselves bound up with our production of writing and our theatricalized productions of textual interpretation, with our reading and our perception of all the former. To expand on this thought, then, could we not imagine that what we institute in our thought and speech, and are likely to have instituted, is bound and limited, even as what we think we are defending nationally is the freedom of thinking and discoursing against what would bind and censor? ————————————————————————————————— 10-23-2018 by Niall Breen ————————————————————————————————— Cement Mixer – 10-23-18 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

11/24/2017

Sally IngrahamNovember 23, 2017NewsSally here with work by Jessica Campbell, Jessica Abel and Meg Lemke, Sophie Goldstein, and more! ————————————————————————————————— Hillary Brown talks House of Women with Sophie Goldstein on Paste Magazine. About the comic itself Hillary writes: “Alternately spiky and luscious, it draws you in by receding. She writes with economy, but the resulting story isn’t irritatingly arty or hard to follow; it’s not drawn by a comics artist only for other comics artists who speak the lingo and can read the subtext. It’s no surprise, in fact, that Margaret Atwood (restless, relentless experimenter, unafraid to leap into any genre that grabs her interest, including comics) is an inspiration for this female-centered and complexly feminist story of colonization and controlled social dynamics. Goldstein provides no easy answers—the book is thematically driven rather than focused on plot first and foremost—but she knows how to be just difficult enough.“ Read the interview HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Jessica Campbell has a comic about The Bad Behavior of Men in Comics up on Hyperallergic – it’ll probably make you squirm or steam, depending, because she brings up all kinds of things that no one likes to talk about. Read it HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Meg Lemke interviews Jessica Abel about her new book Growing Gills over on Mutha Magazine. Jessica has spent her life making comics, working in arts education, and developing theories about maintaining creative focus – something that I’d say the majority of us struggle with. This book came out of a series of online courses she taught and a working group she managed – where instead of dealing with issues like “how can I tell better stories?”, for example, the overwhelming chorus from her students and peers was “how can I deal with my paralyzing anxiety and procrastination?!” In Growing Gills Jessica offers some working theories she’s developed (although she struggles with the same issues in her own life on a regular basis.) In the interview Jessica and Meg talk about organization, self-forgiveness, and process over progress. “MUTHA: You talk in the book also about process over project outcomes, can you unpack that more? JESSICA ABEL: What’s destructive is when people want to make art, but don’t want to sell art. AND at the same time they feel they can’t be artists if they aren’t attempting to be professionals. “If I’m not showing in a gallery, am I really an artist? If I don’t have a mainstream publisher, am I a writer?” Yes, you are. It may be that the business side is not what you’re interested in; it requires sacrifice of your creative time to do the work required to be a “pro.” People miss that the selling part is a separate project. If they can recognize and commit to selling as a separate project, great. If you constantly find yourself saying “I don’t want to do the things needed to sell my work,” then maybe you need to rethink the underlying model. Maybe the creative work on its own is what you need to feed your psyche. Make room in your life for your work without worrying about making it pay for itself. Maybe it’s enough to share it with your family, friends, or put it up for free on Medium. Don’t confuse the creative work with your childhood dreams of fame.“ This speaks to me right now, as a good reminder that making comics and making money can’t always be the same thing, and if I’m sacrificing making good comics in favor of making money, then I need to reevaluate. The book is long and full of good stuff, but if you don’t have time to squeeze reading it into your already busy life, at least read this interview, which unpacks a lot. Check out Growing Gills HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Thanksgiving Leftovers (always better the next day!) Melanie Gillman‘s webcomic As the Crow Flies has been released by Iron Circus Comics – the A.V. Club reviews the comic HERE. GG discusses I’m Not Here over on Smash Pages. NPR reviews Body Music by Julie Maroh – apparently “earnest romanticism buoys it over the trouble spots“. Read the review HERE. Drawn + Quarterly is publishing new work by Rina Ayuyang and the last work of Geneviève Castrée – both comics coming in 2018. ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 11-24-2017 – by Gabriella Tito ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 11-24-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

09/13/2016

Aaron CockleSeptember 12, 2016NewsAaron here today with some SPX programming highlights; Shaw; Ruliffson; Mendes; Smoke Signal Open Call; Dueling book festivals in NYC this weekend ————————————————————————————————— Comics Workbook has an incredibly robust selection of workshops scheduled for this weekend at the Small Press Exposition (‘SPX’) in Bethesda, MD. Each one of these workshops has the potential to completely change your life (the Carol Tyler one alone will probably do that), so please do try and attend one/all of them. ————————————————————————————————— Oh, yeah, in case you weren’t aware, SPX is this weekend, don’t forget The SPX Programming Schedule is posted here, and the exhibitor list is here. Take a look and see if your favorite cartoonist is on the list! As always, this show is an intriguing assemblage of independent and mainstream small press comics from N.America and beyond, meeting in quiet desperation in the freakishly carpeted Marriott North Bethesda Hotel & Conference Center. ————————————————————————————————— Dash Shaw, Twittering Machine In support of his newly released animated film, My Entire High School Sinking into the Sea, Dash Shaw has posted a lot of reviews and screening info on Twitter. ————————————————————————————————— Jess Ruliffson interviews former US Army Captain Drew Pham at the Nib ————————————————————————————————— Melissa Mendes interviewed by Alex Dueben Why did you decide to make “The Weight” a webcomic and serialize it that way? I decided, after “Lou,” that I wanted this project to be something I did just for me. I wanted to draw and write exactly how I envisioned, but I knew that I also needed deadlines to keep me focused. Making myself post two pages a week keeps me working, even when I feel like crap, and knowing that people are following it and reading it fuels the fire under my ass. So that’s why I put it online — to give myself some structure. Has your process changed because you’re posting this online, one page at a time? It has a little. It’s kind of letting me be looser with the story. I’ve been allowing the characters to sort of take the story where they want to, and not planning out anything too rigidly. I do feel the pressure of posting two pages a week, especially right now, when there’s been some upheaval on the home front and I’ve been busy. I feel very guilty when I fall behind. Do you have a sense of how big and how long this story is? I really love family sagas, like “East of Eden” by John Steinbeck and “The Thorn Birds” by Colleen McCullough, for example, where the story spans generations. That’s sort of my plan with “The Weight.” I want it to at least encompass Edie’s (the main character’s) entire life, and maybe it’ll even go beyond that. I have a rough idea of the main turning points in the story, but nothing is set in stone at this point. But yeah, it’s a huge project. ————————————————————————————————— Gabe Fowler has posted an open call for the upcoming (26th!) issue of Smoke Signal: b+w spreads ONLY, size 21.5″ x 15.5″, 300 dpi, due Oct 1 to smokesignalcomics@gmail.com ————————————————————————————————— In Brooklyn and Queens this weekend, two of this nation’s finest book festivals: NY Art Book Fair Free and open to the public, the NY Art Book Fair is the world’s premier event for artists’ books, catalogs, monographs, periodicals, and zines. Last year, the fair featured over 370 booksellers, antiquarians, artists, institutions and independent publishers from twenty-eight countries. The 2015 NY Art Book Fair was attended by more than 35,000 people. This year’s NY Art Book Fair will once again include an ever-growing variety of exhibitors – from the zinesters in (XE)ROX & PAPER + SCISSORS and the Small Press Dome representing publishing at its most innovative and affordable, to rare and antiquarian dealers offering out-of-print books and ephemera from art and artist book history, plus the NYABF-classic Friendly Fire, focused on the intersections of art and activism. Brooklyn Book Festival The Brooklyn Book Festival is the largest free literary event in New York City, presenting an array of national and international literary stars and emerging authors. One of America’s premier book festivals, this hip, smart diverse gathering attracts thousands of book lovers of all ages to enjoy authors and the festival’s lively literary marketplace. AUTHORS INCLUDE Margaret Atwood, Margo Jefferson, Faith Erin Hicks, Russell Banks, Phoebe Gloeckner, Chester Brown, Salman Rushdie, Libba Bray, Stephanie Danler, Gayle Forman, Pete Hamill, Jacqueline Woodson, Angela Flournoy, Helen Garner, Karin Slaughter, Bruce Schneier, Rebecca Traister, Marjorie Liu, Sayed Kashua, Esmeralda Santiago, Thomas Frank, Ralph Nader, Nicole Dennis-Benn, Yusef Komunyakaa, Joyce Carol Oates, A.O. Scott, Hua Hsu, Rob Sheffield, Yoss, Jessica Valenti, Cecily von Ziegesar, Ocean Vuong, Ed Yong and hundreds more. Share this page: [...]

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