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Comics Workbook

An online magazine for comics makers

Posted in ResourcesTagged Al Capp, Barney Tobey, Dick Cavali, Gurney Williams, Harry Haenigsen, Jr., Milton Caniff, Rube Goldberg, The Famous Artists Cartooning Course, Virgil Partch, Whitney Darrow, Willard Mullin

Juan Fernández

Posted on January 1, 2016May 14, 2019

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Juan FernándezApril 18, 2016NewsNorth American independent comics focus today; Comics Workbook Benefit Auction in its final days; Submitting comics to VICE; Marc Bell reflects on the past couple of months; Jay Lynch Collection joins the Billy Ireland; The Garden of Earthly Delights invites you in. – Juan Fernández —————————————————————————— Ecuadorian Earthquake Victims I wanted to take the time before we talked comics to ask for your help after the 5.1 magnitude earthquake in Ecuador that happened yesterday. There are cities that are completely devastated, people trapped under debris waiting to be rescued, towns without electricity, running water or communication. There are some initiatives receiving donations to send help to those in need. Here is a link to one of them that my friend Luis Eduardo is involved with: https://www.gofundme.com/hqzjghm4 Also, here’s an article where you will find other organizations at the end that are also receiving donations: http://www.bustle.com/…/155170-how-to-help-the-ecuador-eart… Any and all help is appreciated. If you are not able to donate, please help us by sharing these initiatives. Thank you so much for your help! —————————————————————————— COMICS WORKBOOK BENEFIT AUCTION ENDS SOON There are ONLY TWO DAYS left for our benefit auction. Take a gander at the INCREDIBLE AUCTION of original Chris Ware artwork that is being held to benefit the Comics Workbook Rowhouse Residency.You don’t want to miss this opportunity to make this incredible art yours. Check it out: The auction is live HERE, and will continue through mid-day Wednesday. We need your support and you need this art! —————————————————————————— VICE | Comics | Accepting Submissions If you are looking for a good venue to publish some stand alone comics work, take not that VICE is taking submissions. You get a regular deadline, to make work in color, get an audience and they pay. From Nick Gazin: I need new comics for VICE. The basic guidelines of Vice Comics is that the comics should all be: -in color -at least a page -have characters, dialogue and stories -not serlialized or to-be-continued -each page should be a 2000 pixel wide jpeg no larger than 1mb. -no racism, sexism or homophobia -no comics about VIce or “hipsters” -no genitals or sex acts -should contain dialogue and moment-to-moment panel transitions -should not rely heavily on narration. Actions and interactions should tell the story. Show, don’t tell. Check out what I’m running at vice.com/comics If you have stuff that’s already done or samples of comics you’ve made send them as low resolution email attachments to nick.gazin@vice.com This might be a good opportunity for you. Shoot Gazin an email if you’re interested. —————————————————————————— Pouring Melted Snow in a Pan Marc Bell does a couple life recap posts a year, he’s just posted his first one for 2016. Catch up with Marc Bell here. —————————————————————————— Jay Lynch Collection finds Home The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum has acquired the Jay Lynch Collection. This collection includes original art, comics, correspondence and other material from Lynch, who is now 71. Lynch is best known as the creator and editor of “Bijou Funnies” in the 1960s and 1970s. This collection is a real underground gem. And it’s a huge one! The collection totals to nearly 250 cubic feet of manuscript materials, original art, underground comix, merchandise from Lynch’s work at Topps, and letters from R. Crumb, Art Spiegelman, Lenny Bruce, Woody Allen, and other icons of the popular culture dating back to 1956. Additionally, the collection is home to an extensive number of fanzines and college humor magazines, often offering the earliest look at work from Harry Shearer, Art Spiegelman, Gilbert Shelton, and more. Also in the collection are some famous (and infamous) publicity campaigns, including groundbreaking satirical work such as Oingo Boingo’s anti-clown movement, Ed Sachs’s Irreverent Newsletter, Alan Abel and Buck Henry’s Society for Indecency to Naked Animals press releases, and early press kits from Jay Ward Productions. Get into the nitty gritty here. —————————————————————————— Visit Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights https://tuinderlusten-jheronimusbosch.ntr.nl/en Here’s a site that offers an interactive online adventure through Hieronymous Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights. There are two ways to virtually visit. You can choose to take a fifteen-step museum style tour, narrated by Redmond O’Hanlon, or you can “freely explore,” an option that allows you to zoom in on any part of the painting at will, clicking here and there to hear O’Hanlon discuss its motifs. Your choice! Don’t get too lost. The Garden of Earthly Delights is a story about moral and sin in a particular time. The painting however is timeless. The journey that the visitor sets out on in the interactive documentary is a personal one. Beneath the surface we aim to invite the visitor to reflect upon and question their sins and morals. The interactive documentary Hieronymus Bosch, The Garden of Delights is part of the transmedia tryptich: ‘Hieronymus Bosch’. The transmedia tryptich consists of the documentary film ‘Hieronymus Bosch, touched by the devil’, the interactive documentary ‘Hieronymus Bosch: Garden of Earthly Delights’ and the Virtual Reality documentary ‘Hieronymus Bosch, the Eyes of the Owl’. Website: http://jheronimus-bosch.nl —————————————————————————— I’ll see you Wednesday with South American happenings. I’ve got a ton of things I have to share! Share this page: [...]

Juan FernándezFebruary 28, 2018los Cómics / NewsJuan empieza el dia con la Casa Transparente de María Luque, los recreantes de Delius y más! ————————————————————————————————— La Vida en una Casa Transparente – Maria Luque En Revista Cactus, Elizabeth Casillas presenta la nueva novela grafica de la argentina, María Luque: La Vida en una Casa Transparente. Se trata de la vida nómada, sobre apropiarse de los “no lugares” y utilizarlos como fuente de inspiración: María Luque (Rosario, Argentina, 1983) acaba de publicar su última novela gráfica, Casa transparente, un relato autobiográfico en el que cuenta cómo, desde hace unos años, compagina su trabajo de ilustradora y dibujante de tebeos con cuidar las casa de sus amigos cuando se van de viaje. «Pago sus impuestos, riego las plantas y paseo sus perros. Todo el tiempo soy una vecina nueva, en algunas casas no llego a averiguar cuál es la mejor verdulería del barrio y en otras me quedo varios meses y hasta aprendo el nombre de las calles», explica Luque. Casa transparente llega a las librerías gracias a que la autora argentina se ha hecho con el I Premio de Novela Gráfica Ciudades Iberoamericanas que organiza la Unión de Ciudades Capitales Iberoamericanas (UCCI) junto al Ayuntamiento de Madrid y a la Editorial Sexto Piso. El jurado destacó la obra por su calidad, tanto en el dibujo como en el relato, valorando precisamente ese paso de la protagonista por distintas ciudades latinoamericanas –Luque recorre medio continente, de Buenos Aires a México, pasando por Cuzco o Bariloche– en una búsqueda de un espacio propio. Y aunque el jurado añade: «como le sucede a muchos y muchas jóvenes», esta novela gráfica no es necesariamente un relato generacional. Pueden léerlo todo AQUI. ————————————————————————————————— #GRAFBCN2018 Ya viene, ya llega. #GRAFBCN2018 a la vuelta de la esquina. GRAF is coming to Barcelona. Here’s all the info you need for #GRAFBCN2018‘s programming. March 2-4 at the wacky warehouse space, Fabra i Coats. It’s the ninth edition of the Festival so it should get pretty wild. You can sign up for workshops here: http://grafcomic.com/talleres ————————————————————————————————— Los Recreantes Delius (María Delia Lozupone) les ofrece un apunte sobre los “recreantes”* en el 2016. * los campamenteros del c.n.b.a. desde fines de los ’80 hasta ppios de los ’90. Todo en su blog. Delius: Durante el colegio secundario participé en la organización de campamentos para los alumnos, las actividades las organizábamos desde la “Comisión de Recreación” que tenía el centro de estudiantes en aquella época. Es una de las cosas que recuerdo con más alegría de mi paso por el C.N.B.A. Hace algunos años, los amigos de aquella época decidimos volver a reunirnos anualmente para pasar un fin de semana campamenteando, ahora como adultos. Posteo una historieta-apunte de uno que hicimos hace un año y medio, en el 2016, y un par de flyers de cuando decidimos volver a juntarnos, en el 2014. ————————————————————————————————— Los cómics y las noticias que me han llamado la atención esta semana: ~ en Español ~ En el último #FanzineMagazine Paloma García Zúñiga habla de “Necrópolis del Este” y el gran MAX les cuenta su música para dibujar con Victor Coyote y Mireia Pérez. Escúchalo aquí. Acabamos de saber que el juicio a Ramón Esono ha sido fijado para hoy. Aquí puedes escuchar su caso, explica su mujer Eloisa Vaello Marco en La Hora del Bocadillo. Esteban Hernández charla en Cafe con Vistas sobre tebeos y su Moneda músical. ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 02-28-2018- by Gabriella Tito ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 02-28-2018 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

Caleb OrecchioDecember 18, 2017NewsCaleb Orecchio here with positive vibes and the usual gang of links to other news. ————————————————————————————————— When my extended family ask about how my comics are going I throw myself into a frenzy of roundabout explanations and unconfident, disconnected thoughts, leaving my loved ones confused and unsure of my life decisions—or I simply change the subject. This weekend when I visited some extended family I brought copies of my book to give to them. Everyone was glad to see and own physical fruit of my–until that moment, to them, theoretical–labors. One of my aunts hugged me, tears welling up. “I remember you drawing since you were little.” I watched my family examine and flip through my book–I have to admit, it was really satisfying. I often think of being an “independent” cartoonist in terms of being a folk singer, and I think this is the closest thing (for me, so far, anyway) to standing in a room of people while playing my version of “Goodnight Irene” or something. I let the “song” speak for itself, and the crowd responded positively. ————————————————————————————————— if you don’t know, now you know Cynthia Rose writes about the French comics festival, SoBD over at TCJ.com. If you are interested in supporting Cartoon Crossroads Columbus–a really great comics festival–consider donating to the cause. More info here from Tom Spurgeon at his The Comics Reporter. Alex Hoffman reviews William Cardini’s great comic, Tales from the Hyperverse, at Sequential Slate. Ben Towle reviews Tristan & Yseult by Agnés Maubpré and Singeon over at his blog, Benzilla.com. Dan Schindel talks Cerebus the Aardvark over at Hyperallergic.com, the remarkable (to few and myself) and ultimately tragic (to most and myself) self-published anomaly. ————————————————————————————————— 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. 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! ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 12-18-2017 – by Gabriella Tito ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 12-18-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

Juan FernándezOctober 12, 2016los Cómics / NewsJuan les presenta: Tierra de fanzines; Teen Wolf de Fosfatina Ediciones; Catalina Bu en La Polola; Laura Andrea Garzón con Aidan Koch; Puño en el Tiempo; “Animal Collective” el cómic europeo de vanguardia; Los Space Riders se acercan; y MAS! ————————————————————————————————— Comics Workbook participará en dos festivales ESTE fin de semana: En el Reino Unido The Lakes International Comic Art Festival, Octubre 14-16. Frank Santoro, Aidan Koch, and Connor Willumsen en Kendal, UK. Buscános para y visita la mesa 67 en el Comics Clocktower para conocer a Oliver East y Jack Brougham, entre otros. Tendremos 3 talleres especiales, “Visual Poetry” con Aidan Koch, “The Hammer Party” con Connor Willumsen y “Composition Competition” con Frank Santoro. Las entradas para los eventos principales en el Festival Internacional de Lagos Arte cómico de este año están a la venta.ickets for the main events at this year’s Lakes International Comic Art Festival are on sale now. Visita nuestra página de eventos para más información.. En los Estados Unidos Cartoon Crossroads Columbus, October 13-16. Ofreciendo talleres y tendremos libros de venta. Júntate con la boca y dibujantes Alexa bar y Kurt Ankeny para disfrutar un fin de semana Juan llenísimo y de creación de cómics. Examinarémos el arte y la cuadricula, uniendo las pracitcas artísticas de Berg y Ankeny junto con la disciplina y el ritmo de la cuadricula, según lo principios establecidos por Frank Santoro. Cuatro horas a través de dos días, llenas de la exploración de una variedad de técnicas y métodos – que inspirarán el principiante, y desafiarán al dibujante avancado. Cómics como el jazz; cómics como la arquitectura; cómo una simple tarjeta de índice puede transformar su proceso de secuenciación y la narración. El horario completo del Festival CXC esta disponible AQUI. ————————————————————————————————— ⚡ Gerardo Vilches anuncia “Tierra de Fanzines” una nueva iniciativa en su blog. ¡Fanzines, todo fanzines! ⚡ Fosfatina ha sacado una nueva antologia: Teen Wolf – Mejores amigas, selfies, transmutaciones en la cancha, superpedos, misiones secretas, hombres malos, drama adolescente, sexo tinaguer, coreografías licántropas… y lo que queda por llegar. Así reza la entrada de esta maravillosa serie creada y alojada por TIK TOK y que ahora aparece recopilada y extendida en este volumen, que ahora se publica en colaboración con FOSFATINA. ⚡ Escucha la nueva edición de @lapololapodcast, un podcast del cómic femenino con Sol Díaz Castillo y Marcela Trujillo: En este capítulo las chicas conversan con Catalina Bu acerca de cómo: … Empezó en el mundo del dibujo, la soledad de venirse a santiago a estudiar, el tema de lo cotidiano, la aceptación de uno mismo en la forma en que tenemos de dibujar, cuestionamos al “éxito” impuesto desde afuera y recomendamos varios libros, entre muchas cosas más. Póngale play! [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/286263657″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /] ⚡ Laura Andrea Garzón habla con Aidan Koch en Colombia – De camino al taller hablamos de la estructura laberíntica del barrio. Pienso que es una buena estructura para perderse o para jugar a las escondidas. Curiosamente es algo que se repite en la exhibición de la que ha hablado Aidan. Me interesan los laberintos, aunque no son propiamente juegos. Uno sabe por donde entra pero no puede estar muy seguro de por dónde va a salir. Está esta idea de que se puede ganar o que se puede salir pero no es necesariamente cierta, no es la manera en que funciona la realidad. Usar estas figuras de manera metafórica es lo que más me llama la atención a la hora de incorporarlas en mi trabajo. ⚡ Puño en el Tiempo – ¿Desde pequeño tuvo talento para dibujar? Yo no creo en el talento, creo en el trabajo y en las horas de experiencia. Siempre he sido muy mal dibujante, pero he dibujado tanto que inevitablemente he tenido resultados. Dibujar es fallar miserablemente una y otra vez. Por eso hay mucha gente que lo deja, porque estamos acostumbrados a recibir recompensas inmediatamente y para dibujar bien hay que hacer entre 3.000 y 10.000 dibujos, según tu habilidad para aprender. Entonces, lo que he sido siempre es muy obstinado. ⚡ No te pierdes esta exhibicion – Animal Collective – en Madrid. En un lugar puedes saborear la vanguardia de cómics internacionales. Uuf, que delicia! Solo tenemos que pasear diez metros y habremos visto cuales son los proyectos más innovadores y auténticos del cómic europeo. De Finlandia a Austria pasando por Noruega, Letonia o Bélgica sin olvidar Barcelona o Madrid. Todo es parte de una exposición que pretende ofrecer una amplia visión de los movimientos artísticos y las tendencias colectivas que trabajan la viñeta en la actualidad. Es Animal Collective y se podrá ver en la cuarta planta de Centro Centro madrileño (Plaza de Cibeles, 1) hasta el 29 de enero de 2017. ⚡ SPACE RIDERS – el segundo volumen llegara el año que viene en 2017. Alexis Ziritt y Fabian Rangel Jr. nos vienen FULL FORCE. No se lo pierdan! Apurate y lee el primer volumen cuando puedas! Apúrate, apúrate y lée di el primer volumen cuando puedas! ————————————————————————————————— Echa un vistazo a este medallón estilo Pompeii! “Le encargué a la gran Airi Maeno que hiciera unos medallones de plata con sede fuera de mis dibujos. Este dibujo viende de mi libro Pompeii. Es algo que puedo imaginar que alguien se pondría hace dos mil años. Un simple medallón de un ser querido. Un retrato. Algo permanente para desafiar a la desaparición”. – Frank Santoro Puedes comprar uno aquí! ————————————————————————————————— hasta la próxima, Juan Share this page: [...]

Frank Santoro in Naples Italy 2018

Frank Santoro in Naples Italy 2018

Frank SantoroApril 18, 2018NewsThere are over 30 pages from Pompeii by Frank Santoro on display at the National Archeology Museum of Naples, in an exhibition which is being held in conjunction with Frank’s appearance as a special guest at the Naples Comicon (April 28-May 1 2018). The show opened yesterday (April 18th) at MANN and will continue until May 31st 2018. More details on the show can be found HERE. During Comicon Frank will be participating in a panel with Blutch, whose graphic novel Peplum also takes a look at Ancient Rome. Details on the panel are HERE. If you’re in the area, be sure to attend Comicon and meet Frank, and don’t miss the exhibition at MANN! … The Naples Comicon Instagram account was buzzing on May 18th, as famed Italian paleontologist Alberto Angela was caught at the National Archeological Museum of Naples looking at original artwork from Frank Santoro’s Pompeii (above). Alberto Angela is a popular TV presenter and commentator for science-based programs. He is the author of A Day in the Life of Ancient Rome, among other texts, and has lectured on the tragedy of Pompeii. He seemed taken by Frank’s depictions, or as the Naples Comicon put it, he “could not resist the charm of the show“. … There were two Italian news stories upon the opening of the show, with the director of MANN talking about Frank’s work and the exhibition. … There is a review and preview of Pompeii in Italian HERE. … Share this page: [...]

Ch1: The Comic Head (FACC)

Posted on January 1, 2016May 14, 2019 by Juan Jose Fernandez

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Posted in ResourcesTagged Al Capp, Barney Tobey, Dick Cavali, Gurney Williams, Harry Haenigsen, Jr., Milton Caniff, Rube Goldberg, The Famous Artists Cartooning Course, Virgil Partch, Whitney Darrow, Willard Mullin

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Ch 5: The Figure in Detail (FACC)

Ch2: The Comic Figure (FACC)

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Comics Workbook

An online magazine for comics makers

Posted in ResourcesTagged Al Capp, Barney Tobey, Dick Cavali, Gurney Williams, Harry Haenigsen, Jr., Milton Caniff, Rube Goldberg, The Famous Artists Cartooning Course, Virgil Partch, Whitney Darrow, Willard Mullin

Juan Fernández

Posted on January 1, 2016May 14, 2019

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Sally IngrahamApril 27, 2016Festivals and ShowsComics Workbook special correspondent Raúl Burgos Paredes brings us this exciting report from his trip to Fumetto on Saturday, April 23rd ————————————————————————————————— I had the pleasure of attending the Fumetto festival in Luzerne last Saturday. Although I would have liked to attend more days and for longer periods of time, personal constraints did not make it possible – nevertheless the experience I had was very rewarding. Knowing beforehand that my time in Luzerne would be limited, I planned ahead what I wanted to explore and left open the possibility for randomness. My main motivations were the “Small Press Heaven” and the exhibitions of Frémok and Lorenzo Mattotti. When I arrived at the festival’s main meeting point I headed directly to explore the Small Press Heaven. My first interaction was with the Latvian publiser kuš!. They publish a great deal of their books in small format, A6, which I find especially appealing. I treated myself to several of their mini kuš!, which are individual artists’ comics, and also to some of their regular numbers where they publish a large amount of artists in the same issue. Then I talked with the people of Stripburger (Slovenia), Kutikuti (Finland) and Centrala (Poland). They were all really friendly, and enthusiastic to discuss their publications and aims. All I can say is that the books I bought are all great discoveries because even if I had seen some of what they publish on the net, it can never be the same as having them in your hands in a neatly printed form. They’re all sometimes fun, at times odd, and overall very unique and highly recommendable. Afterwards I found out that there would be a panel discussion with Frémok’s artists Yvan Alagbé and Olivier Deprez. I impatiently headed there and listened to their talk, where they discussed the history of Frémok as a collective. They also gave details about their editorial concept, which is non hierarchical. They seek to incorporate the use of mixed techniques to have, as a result, works that depart from the classical comics style. Frémok’s works are highly poetic and experimental as well. For example, they talked about Match-Catch, which is a book that was made by some of Frémok’s people in collaboration with handicapped artists. Something I found quite interesting was their visible commitment to producing books that have a different kind of vision, a vision that clearly reflects artistic freedom. The moderator of the panel discussion inquired about how comfortable they were in financial terms, taking into account that the works of Frémok are not maybe bestsellers because of their style. Both Olivier and Yvan were emphatic in being both keen and confident to maintain their artistic freedom, not thinking too much about financial matters. For Yvan, it’s a chosen lifestyle, he prefers to be joyfully producing the work he does than maybe being more financially comfortable, but producing works that he would not feel like doing. This response was very much inspiring! Then I headed to the Fremok’s exhibition and reception. By the way, I did not know there would be one so I was quite happy to know that I would be able to interact more with the artists while having a glass of wine. This was a really fantastic exhibition where the works were smartly ordered to create a world of its own. I was delighted to see in original some of the works I appreciate the most. During the reception I could talk more in detail with Mr Alagbé about Match-Catch. He explained to me that they regarded handicapped people as independent artists of their own and that they were not imposing limits on them. He said that Frémok’s artists had to adapt to them and not the other way around. The result is a formidable book in which narrative is not linear and therefore, very dynamic. Personally, I’m not very much into narrative styles in general, I’ve always preferred to read a poetry book than a novel, and Frémok’s books are poetical imagery linked with sometimes poetic writing. I highly recommend école de la misère by Yvan Alagbé, coloforme by Etienne Beck, and plus si entente by Dominique Goblet and Kai Pffeifer. During the exhibition I also talked a little bit with Kai Pffeifer and I told him I was surprised to realize that the original works did not differ that much from their form in a the published book. He explained to me that first of all the editorial committee was formed by the artists themselves and that they placed high importance first, to the scanner, and second, to the printing process. He explained with great detail the complex printing process, but I can not tell you more about it because I forgot and it encompassed things I did not know. Then I headed to see Lorenzo Mattotti’s exhibition named Oltremai. Oltremai is another world of its own, all in black and white, populated by dark and ever moving characters. As you enter the exhibition room you sense you’re entering something special by starting to notice the soft and eerie music that accompanies the works. The imagery contained in it is fantastic, sometimes mythological, and an aspect that astonished me is the flow that can be felt in each individual work. The whole works do not follow a narrative and the pieces are nameless. The book of Oltremai, big and heavy, does good justice to the original works of the exhibition. Finally I headed to the train station to catch my train back home (Neuchâtel). To make my travel more enjoyable I started drawing some of my impressions of the festival. One of those drawings is my interpretation of Yvan Alagbé. To conclude, I would like to say that it was overall a very gratifying experience and I was very much pleased to interact with publishers and artists alike. Surely something to repeat in 2017! ————————————————————————————————— Raúl Burgos Paredes is a Mexican tripolar social scientist who has been living in Switzerland for the last 7 years. He finds time, in the midst of writing his dissertation, to explore his drawing abilities and enjoy all the comics he can find. You can see more of his work HERE. Share this page: [...]

Sally IngrahamSeptember 16, 2016NewsSally here with more on SPX, the Spanish Fever crew, Dash Shaw, Glynnis Fawkes, and Lynda Barry. ————————————————————————————————— Around this time last year I had just moved to New Mexico, and I was missing Pittsburgh desperately. I spent the weekend of Small Press Expo somewhat frantically composing my comic Walkabout (which is all about Pittsburgh) and watching the various small dramas of SPX unfold via meager internet updates. A year later I will be attending SPX myself, bringing copies of Walkabout with me, and also a car-load of special zines made by Comics Workbook for SPX and Fantagraphics‘ 40th Anniversary celebration. Quite the switch-up! You can get a copy of the “Fanta-zine” when you register at the show – and a copy of my comic as well as loads of other cool stuff from Frank Santoro, Andrew White, Juan Fernandez, Audra Stang, Emil Friis Ernst, and others at the Comics Workbook table – N8. Observe the nifty map below so that this info imprints in your memory bank: ————————————————————————————————— The workshops that Comics Workbook is hosting at SPX have created quite a buzz, and may set the stage for more programming along these lines at future shows. We are particularly pleased to be presenting members of the “new wave of Spanish cartoonists”. A portion of the talent behind the new Fantagraphics compilation Spanish Fever arrived in the D.C. area on Thursday, kicking off their US tour with a public talk at the Former Residence of the Ambassadors of Spain, moderated by José Villarrubia. “Asked if there was some stylistic through-line that characterized this new movement, Villarubia said, “I see the influence of American independent comics, the underground, the influence of French comics, Japanese comics. In terms of the art, the aesthetics are influenced by what everyone else all over the world is being influenced by. I think more and more people are reading comics online and have access to materials from many different traditions. This work is informed by that. The five creators who are coming are a really great sampling of that, with different styles and age and gender.” ” – via dcist.com Spanish Fever editor Santiago Garcia is joined by David Rubin, Javier Olivares, José Domingo, and Ana Galvañ as the tour moves on to SPX this weekend. You can catch them at a panel moderated by Matt Madden and then learn to make comics THEIR WAY at the Spanish Fever workshop session on Saturday, Sept. 17th at 3-5pm (Brookside A&B room). See you there! I could keep talking about SPX, but there will be plenty of time for that next week… ————————————————————————————————— Meanwhile, Dash Shaw’s film My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea is garnering praise from everyone who has seen it – No Film School sat down with Dash soon after the premiere at the Toronto Film Festival and dug into the production adventure: “NFS: The process of casting animators is in and of itself its own form of directing. Were you and Jane generally on the same page? How did you navigate when you weren’t? Shaw: Jane and I are married and we live together. When we were drawing this, it was a small apartment, so discussions from the movie would comically fall over into other aspects of life. It would be very long talks when there were disagreements about what a face would be like for a certain line. Somehow it would work itself out. Our marriage survived this movie. A great example: there’s a part where all of the characters are running and the background moves while they’re in silhouette. Jane does all the silhouettes. I did the collage paper that’s flying past them, and I think that’s a good moment to point to where it was Jane in full force juxtaposed with something that I did and it equals something that’s more than the sum of its parts.“ Read the rest of the interview here. ————————————————————————————————— Over on Mutha Magazine Glynnis Fawkes has a late summer harvest of comics about kids and adults and general weirdness. One such: Many more HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Lynda Barry has her 3rd New York solo exhibition opening this weekend at the Adam Baumgold Gallery. “The Marlys Show, from September 17th through November 5th…will be devoted to Lynda Barry’s beloved character Marlys, and will feature 80 original drawings. There will be work dating from the early appearances of Marlys in 1986 to watercolor drawings of Marlys from 2016, with stories from Barry’s books The Fun House; Come Over, Come Over; It’s So Magic, The Freddie Stories, and of course The Greatest of Marlys, which is being reissued this year in hardcover by Drawn and Quarterly. Also included will be many of Lynda Barry’s comic drawings that were published in Raw, The Village Voice, Esquire, Newsweek and The New York Times, among others.” -Adam Baumgold The opening reception is September 17th from 5-7 and promises to be a great party, although Lynda Barry claims she will be “smoking and drinking beer over in the corner and trying not to make eye-contact“…! More details about the show HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Today is the last day to apply for a spot in the fall semester of the Santoro Correspondence Course for Comic Book Makers – DO IT! ————————————————————————————————— I’ll bid you farewell till next week and a very happy weekend and leave you in the joyous grip of the Dom Flemons Trio (who swung through Pittsburgh on Thursday to make a special stop mid-tour at Copacetic Comics so they could get the new volume of Hip Hop Family Tree by Ed Piskor!) Cheers! Share this page: [...]

Sally IngrahamOctober 25, 2017NewsSam Ombiri with a review of Maggie Umber’s Sound of Snow Falling – and Sally with Adam Griffiths, Tayo Fatunla, and more! ————————————————————————————————— Sam Ombiri here: After reading Sound of Snow Falling by Maggie Umber I’m not content with the comic being treated only as “a nature documentary”. The comic uses the form in a way that is more than just to inform. It is true that the accuracy , the intricacy of the perceived statements, and the manner in which Maggie is feeding us the images are centered around her observations, based on a long period of research. However, in James Duncan’s introduction (which was good overall,) I was having trouble with how he would try to sell the book on its strictly functional purposes of informing. Even when he calls the book beautiful, it’s only so that the beauty can serve the purpose of informing. Of course I’m not opposed to the idea of informing, I just feel it undersells the comic. So then what purposes can a comic like this serve, if it’s not purely informative? When you read Sound of Snow Falling, it’ll jab you from the get-go. It’s the sequencing done in response to the research that drove the four years that were spent on the book. This reveals messages that even Maggie isn’t aware of, as a result of her not imposing her thoughts on the reader. This doesn’t mean she doesn’t guide the reader with intricate sequences. That’s why I’m rather frustrated with the work just being treated like a documentary. Comics and movies are very different mediums, but I guess a comic book version of a documentary is already a somewhat subversive idea, I’m more inclined to compare it to something like An owl is an owl is an owl before some random “owl nature documentary”. For example, the way that Maggie will show the Owl’s relation to the period of time it takes of the owl to hatch – it’s immensely poetic, especially with the way it’s displayed. Again, intricacy. There’s a lot of it in these sequences, and they are really great to read. – Sam Ombiri Get a copy of Sound of Snow Falling by Maggie Umber HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Sally here – Adam Griffiths‘ Washington White comic is out! Part 1: Algorithm is a 72 page tabloid style tale told in a “bonkers spy-thriller” style – and it’s all about an anti-discrimination case. Bound to intrigue and absolutely certain to entice the eye. Get a copy HERE (and look for it at the Comics Workbook table at CAB in a few weeks.) Be sure to also check out Adam’s comic A Permanent Night, mostly drawn in January of 2017 while he was doing a Comics Workbook Rowhouse Residency. Actually, Adam’s conversations with Frank Santoro during that time prompted him to make the last push toward publishing Washington White, a project that he had been drawing for several years. It’s thrilling to see it come out now, especially in this tabloid format (which really seems to capture the immediacy and unpretentious quality that I love about comics). Adam just won the CAKE Cupcake Award, which grants him $250 to print a new mini-comic for CAKE 2018, along with the mentoring of Edie Fake during the process, and his webcomic American Cryo- updates most weeks on Tumblr – HERE. He’s a busy guy, and really pouring his heart into the medium right now. Try to keep up with him! Here’s the latest American Cry- strip: ————————————————————————————————— Check out the work of Tayo Fatunla, a Nigerian cartoonist who is a graduate of the Kubert School. He began a strip called Our Roots in 1983, while he was at the school in NJ, and it remains his most well-known continuing work, published internationally. He maintains the strip, along with other political cartoons, while also teaching and lecturing around the world. Check out a selection of Our Roots HERE. Read his full bio HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Tayo Fatunla wrote an introduction on EURweb.com recently to a young man whom he has been working with since he was a teen – a new cartoonist from Cameroon named Toh Bright. Read about him HERE and keep an eye out for his name and work in the future. ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 10-26-2017 – by Sally Ingraham and America S. (aged 8, a student in Sally’s comics class at LAWCC) ————————————————————————————————— Cozytown – 10-26-2017 – by Juan Fernandez ————————————————————————————————— Share this page: [...]

Aaron CockleOctober 15, 2018NewsMid-October Process Post ————————————————————————————————— I was out of town last week. As with my last trip, I wasn’t really able to work on comics, but I tried to keep busy with sketching when I had the chance. Mostly quick exercises with negative space, nothing too intense. I was drawing in sketchbooks I made out of a portable speaker user’s manual and some books made out of tea bag wrappers. Examples below. ————————————————————————————————— I picked up some books as well: Moron der Schwachsinnige, by L.G.X., 1995 Mad Love, by André Breton, translated from the French by Mary Ann Caws, 1988 (Coincidentally, Caws participated in a panel discussion at Printed Matter this past Friday to promote Ideas Have No Smell: Three Belgian Surrealist Booklets Ideas Have No Smell collects the first English-language translations of three works: Transfigured Publicity, visual texts by poet and photographer Paul Nougé (1895-1967); the whimsical, hand-drawn artist’s book, Abstractive Treatise on Obeuse by Paul Colinet (1898-1957); and For Balthazar, a collection of aphorisms and observations by the ever skeptical author, lawyer, and anarchist Louis Scutenaire (1905-1987). Star Warriors : A Penetrating Look into the Lives of the Young Scientists Behind Our Space Age Weaponry, by William Broad, 1985 ————————————————————————————————— Cement Mixer – 10-16-18 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

Juan FernándezJune 13, 2016NewsJuan 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! ————————————————————————————————— 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. ————————————————————————————————— 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. ————————————————————————————————— 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. ————————————————————————————————— 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. ————————————————————————————————— 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… ————————————————————————————————— until next time, JF Share this page: [...]