Comics Workbook

An online magazine for comics makers

Chris Anthony Diaz

Posted on January 31, 2018January 31, 2018

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01/15/2018

Caleb OrecchioJanuary 15, 2018NewsCaleb Orecchio here with thoughts on Dash Shaw’s Spider-Man story from Strange Tales II, and more news.————————————————————————————————— Last week I talked a bit about Dash Shaw’s Doctor Strange comic from the first volume of the indie-cartoonist-superhero-anthology, Strange Tales. This week I was thinking about his Spider-Man comic for Strange Tales II. A meta, meditation on the Sam Rami movies, with a quote from Toby Maguire about his famous upside-down kissing scene with Kirsten Dunst at the end. This idea runs parallel with a Spider-Man v Mysterio fight with the latter using his “vapors of deception! Deceit!” I enjoy this comic as much as I enjoy all Dash Shaw comics. Shaw is usually not without something to say in his work: Spider-Man is on “some kind of elaborate film stage,” trapped by Mysterios deceitful fog until he finds his way out and falls into “Garbage! That’s where the spiders thrive!” Out of the theater and into the trash where he belongs. Where Spider-Man is best. I like this comic because Shaw is “selling out” (one could argue by working with Marvel) whilst simultaneously calling a childhood obsession (from Marvel) “garbage,” yet, lovingly. There is an irony that resides in this story and its circumstances that I relish. It’s an earnest love letter to trash. I always enjoy rereading this one. ————————————————————————————————— if you don’t know now you know Alex Wong talks to Jason Shiga at TCJ.com. I somehow missed that Chris Ware was a guest on RiYL. Conan the Barbarian is returning to Marvel in 2019. The latest guest on Inkstuds is Zach Hazard Vaupen. Have you checked out our own Sally Ingraham’s birding blog? Check out William Cardini’s Skew on Study Group if you’ve been snoozing. ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 1-15-2018 – by Sally Ingraham Share this page: [...]

12/06/2017

Juan FernándezDecember 6, 2017los Cómics / NewsJuan empieza el día con Gerardo Vilches y un elogia de mal dibujo; La Polola; un documental sobre Jim Pluk; #JusticiaParaHonduras, Call for Papers CuCo, Cuadernos de Cómic n.º 10 y más! ————————————————————————————————— «Eso lo dibuja un niño de cinco años»: Elogio del mal dibujo Over on Revista Cactus, the great Gerardo Vilches offers a fun exploration on the power of bad drawing. It moves through many different aesthetic streams, in the vein of Austin English’s recent piece for the Comics Journal, Feininger’s Grandkids. Gerardo Vilches: No es casual que estas corrientes de mal dibujo se estén desarrollando de forma paralela a la aparición de cómics que se publican al margen de la tradicional industria de la historieta infantil y juvenil, centrada en la aventura y la acción. Mientras que el dibujo realista es más literal y, por tanto, idóneo para reproducir la realidad tal cual la vemos, el dibujo que prescinde de todas las reglas académicas se ha mostrado especialmente adecuado para desarrollar temáticas nuevas y transmitir una información más abstracta, que va más allá de la descripción de situaciones y la narración de una acción. En eso coinciden todos los autores mencionados anteriormente, y otros nombres que sin llegar a sus extremos también se saltan ciertas normas en algunos trabajos —como puede ser el caso de Aisha Franz en Planeta Tierra, dibujado a lápiz de un modo muy fresco—: practican un tipo de cómic en el que la acción es secundaria, y lo que interesa es lo personal, lo psicológico, las ideas. Todo aquello que no puede dibujarse con herramientas convencionales. Léanlo todo AQUI. – All hail Heta-uma.- ————————————————————————————————— 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 Majo Puga, una de las gestoras de la feria, Viña del Mar, y de la carrera de ilustración. Les habló de su carrera como ilustradora, su gusto por hacer clases, por enseñar y motivar el amor por el dibujo y por la necesidad de gestionar y tomarse espacios de creación de forma colectiva. Ya pueden ver “Hasta que el cuerpo resista”, el documental para conocer de la creatividad y los retos del historietista colombiano Jim Pluk. With #JusticiaParaHonduras, cartoonists are turning their sketchpads into a form of protest against the recent electoral debacle in Honduras. Check out the aggregation over on REMEZCLA. Cuadernos de Cómic han lanzado el call for papers de CuCo 10. Podéis enviar propuestas desde ya. //Call for Papers CuCo, Cuadernos de Cómic n.º 10 Exposición: MUJERES DIBUJADAS. Seis autoras de hoy revisitan a Núria Pompeia en Barcelona. ————————————————————————————————— The Winter Semester of thee Santoro Correspondence Course for Comic Book Makers starts January 18th 2018! 8 weeks – 500 bux – coaching for as long as you need. The course is hard, but Frank will push your comics making practice to a new level, getting you to think about timing and color in new ways. Makes a great holiday gift for yourself – or for a loved one who is interested in comics. Apply by midnight (EST) on Dec. 25th and get $100 off the course price. Full details and how to apply can be found HERE! ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 12-6-2017 – by Sally Ingraham ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 12-6-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

01/22/2016

Juan FernándezJanuary 21, 2016Newshello world, Lots of little things for you to nibble on today. Emily Carol just published her newest work Some Other Animal’s Meat on her website emcarroll.com. A quotidian tale of body horror and physical anxiety, it’s a smartly paced vertical scroll comic that breaks the story up into nine short black and white chapters. There’s an eerie calm through it all. Great stuff. Horror fans take note. Benjamin Urkowitz‘ newest comic, The Beauty Theorem is out at Hazlitt Magazine. Cheeky, spirited reflection on the rigorous, scientific study of metaphysics and its intersection with universal poetics. Heady concepts paired with goofy, cartooning and beautiful coloring. Steep yourself in it. Julian Lytle visits and chats with SPX’s Warren Bernard about forgotten Black Cartoonists, cooning, collecting comics and art, and of course SPX. So I had the pleasure of meeting and talking to Warren Bernard, executive director of @spx and author of the book Cartoons for Victory. I met him at this past year’s SPX and was kind enough to invite me over to his house to see his extensive collections of comics, cartoons, and books library then to talk to me for this here show. This might be the closest to an interview I’ve done so I hope you enjoy it. Check out the blog post to see some a pic of stuff from the visit and please check out @spx if you haven’t and a link to the book. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/242740702″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /] “An Art of Intervals” is raising is an upcoming art show that features the work of four young female comic artists, Abigael Puritz, Wendy Xu, Grace Passerotti, and Autumn Crossman. Showing at the Brooklyn, New York arts space, Tarot Society, from February 26th through February 28th, they hope to raise the funds to cover the cost of shipping the work to the gallery as well taking care of the expenses of opening night. Additionally, they are in the process of making new work specifically for this show to be released on the opening night. The majority of the funding will go toward collecting and publishing all of this new work in a zine that will be available both through this fundraiser and at Tarot Society for the duration of the show. Cameron Weston Nicholson has just reached the halfway mark in his fundraiser goal of $1,500 to acquire a risograph machine for selfpublishing in the RVA community. You can learn more on how to support his effort by hopping on over to his gofundme campaign. Having this printer will not only let me make a name for myself in the comics world but also be able to become a publisher in the future! I’ve got awesome ideas and big goals for my future and i want to share those possibilities with you. One major thing i can help is representation of people of color in the comic’s world. It is a goal to help push that forward. (One of the many goals) Giving the opportunity to share their stories to the world. Giving ones the chance to read this stories from beautiful people, beautiful story tellers. Once i obtain the printer I’ll have to do a few test runs to get used to the machine and get all of the kinks out. So a few months after acquiring the printer I’ll be able to open up shop for local (Virginia) jobs only. Later this year i should be able to open up shop for the US, and in the future internationally. It’s honestly going to take a lot to get that far but with your help I’ll be able to start this long journey. Share this page: [...]

8/31/2016

Juan FernándezAugust 31, 2016los Cómics / NewsJuan here with your weekly Spanish language comics news round up! El fin del CW Composition Contest;Sol Díaz Castillo y Marcela Trujillo charlan con Katherine Supnem; la evolucion de Spanish Fever; Mireia Perez sobre Ben Marra; Edd Muñoz sobre El Publicadero en Manizales; el nuevo libro de Connor Willumsen, Portraits. ————————————————————————————————— Le concours – C’est fini The Comics Workbook Composition Competition 2016 is over! You can read all the entries HERE. Entries were still pouring in until the stroke of midnight, but it is over! – we are trying to get everyone’s comic reblogged here and added to the master list – if you don’t see your comic on the list yet, today DO NOT WORRY – if it was in our email before 11:59pm EST tonight then you are officially entered in the competition! We will post the final list later today! This has been the biggest explosion of comics we’ve ever gotten for this competition! We will be spending the next few days working with our judges to pick the winners – be patient – check out all the entries – reblog your favorites – AND THANKS FOR JOINING US THIS YEAR! ————————————————————————————————— [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/279783030″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /] Escucha @lapololapodcast, un podcast del cómic femenino con Sol Díaz Castillo y Marcela Trujillo! It’s always a fun, relaxing and enlightening listen. If you haven’t tuned in to La Polola just yet, Póngale Play 😉 En este capítulo se habla de los discursos y el dibujo, de como cuestionar las cosas y a uno mismo en lo que hacemos, de la marginalidad, el underground, la filosofía y más. Las chicas conversan con Katherine Supnem, dibujante chilena, sobre estos temas y su experiencia como dibujante de cómics feminista, profesora de filosofía, dibujante de escenografías, under y marginal. ————————————————————————————————— Charlando con Emma Rios Kaboom, la nueva seccion de El País dedicada a la exploracion del mundo del comic contemporaneo, compartió una mañana con la artista y arquitecta gallega, Emma Rios. Léanlo HOY! Angel Luis Sucasas: ¿Cómo cambia tu método cuando escribes y cuando dibujas? Emma Rios: Escribiendo, trabajo mucho desde los personajes pero al mismo tiempo soy muy conceptual. Nunca doy demasiadas explicaciones. Como escritora no me mola nada hacerlo. Lo que quiero es que el lector se sienta parte del mundo, que escuches cosas. Hablábamos antes de Dark souls y de cómo te enteras de las cosas por lo que dicen los personajes, por el contexto. En ID lo transmitía mucho a través de la gestualidad corporal. Normalmente se trata de decidir de qué coño me apetece hablar. En ID estaba claro que quería hablar de la aceptación… Es un cómic muy político. Tiene mucho que ver con una situación en la que yo me encontraba en el curro. Yo trabajo para gente extranjera. Eso significa una barrera idiomática y cultural. Y soy relativamente introvertida y me cuesta enfrentarme a esto. Me cuesta ser el centro de atención y me cuesta tener esa actitud, que allí es tan natural, de “¡Compra mi tebeo, compra mi tebeo”. Así que acabé distribuyendo eso en varios personajes para enfrentarme a ello. Yo estoy hasta las narices de que se me trate como alguien especial. Mira, lo que hago no es especial. Tu idea de lo que hacen las mujeres no es la realidad. Las mujeres hacen muchas cosas. ————————————————————————————————— Sobre Panorama//Spanish Fever – La Historia de su publicación, su importancia y mas… La antología de cómics española, Panorama cruza el charco! Sergio Jiménez Foronda le da un gran vistazo a la nueva edición de Panorama (Astiberri 2013), ahora Spanish Fever (Fantagraphics 2016). Los creadores han gozado de total libertad para producir sus trabajos, permitiéndoseles ser ellos mismos en cada palabra y en cada trazo. El resultado es una heterogénea panorámica de estilos y temáticas que hace más de un año llamó la atención de Fantagraphics, que se puso en contacto con Astiberri para exportar la obra. “Ha sido fundamental la participación de la Fundación Spain Arts & Culture de la Emabajada de España en Wahsington, que apoyó esta edición sufragando la traducción del libro y permitiendo que una selección de los autores que participan en el libro puedan viajar a EEUU y participar en diferentes eventos que servirán para promocionarlo”, explica García. Entre ellos se encuentra el festival de cómics norteamericano Small Press Expo, que se celebra en North Bethesda (Maryland), una cita a la que García ya había acudido numerosas veces y a la que le hace ilusión volver “para participar desde el otro lado de la mesa, para estar en el papel de profesional publicado en EEUU“. ————————————————————————————————— Mireia Pérez sobre Ben Marra Mireia Pérez escribe una carta de amor, bien merecida, a los comics del dibujante americano Ben Marra. Llevo puestas las gafas violetas desde la facultad y ya nunca me las podré quitar. Este punto de vista me acompaña a donde voy, sea de paseo, al cine o a leer. Tienes que saber esto, querida lectora, porque los tebeos de Marra transcurren en un universo donde los hombres llevan armas y son siempre los protagonistas y las mujeres son casi siempre putas o stripers, van en ropa interior y suelen ser vejadas a la primera de cambio. Y es que todo lo que fabrica Marra con sus manos (dibuja prácticamente sin boceto y a mano alzada cargada de tinta) emerge de la sátira y está cincelado con una pátina de ironía, algo que no tenían los tebeos en los ochenta y que viene exactamente de la misma cocina donde se fraguó la novela gráfica: el cómic undergraund americano. ————————————————————————————————— Edd Muñoz y El Publicadero En La Patria, Edd Muñoz nos cuenta sobre lo que nos podemos esperar en este segundo año de El Publicadero, encuentro de autoedición. Hoy es común encontrar muchos cómics de autores colombianos en las librerías, lo que no ocurría antes. ¿Es un buen síntoma? Claro. El Publicadero existe para debatir sobre el trabajo de esas personas y responde a unos eventos sobre cómic que se están realizando en Colombia, unos con más apoyo que otros. Hay una movida alrededor de la historieta y buscamos despertar el interés por los contenidos dibujados con una programación que incluye conversatorios y talleres. ————————————————————————————————— Portraits by Connor Willumsen. Este libro de 16 páginas bellamente impreso (por WestCan – que también imprimio el Manual de la Escuela Santoro) de retratos del gran Connor Willumsen está disponible para pre-pedido. De momento, sólo ofrecemos pre-pedidos para los Estados Unidos. Ofreceremos pre -pedidos para pedidos fuera de EEUU después de que mandemos el libro a los impresores. Dalé click AQUI para pedir tu pre-order! http://auction.comicsworkbook.com/2016/08/18/portraits-by-connor-willumsen-pre-order/ ————————————————————————————————— hasta la proxima! JF Share this page: [...]

12/21/2017

Sally IngrahamDecember 20, 2017NewsSam Ombiri on Aidan Koch’s The Blond Woman, plus new work from Tini Howard and Gilbert Hernandez! ————————————————————————————————— Sam Ombiri here: When I open a comic, and look at the page as a whole, I’m immediately confronted with multiple moments all at once. Maybe it is as a result of this that comics are really good for experiencing and then re-experiencing moments. The images in The Blonde Woman by Aidan Koch are so beautiful that when I go to another panel, I get this overwhelming need to go back to the panel I was reading prior. I get the feeling that I’ve not spent enough time with the panel I was looking at beforehand. In part 1 of The Blond Woman there are contradictions in the flow of time. Aidan uses this to convey a recurring force, for lack of a better term, that is present in the main character’s life. She wakes up, feels the need to brush her hair and is seemingly surprised, or to a certain extent seemingly troubled that it is still night. It seems that in her dreams she’s trying to get somewhere, and when she wakes up it’s the same story. The moon isn’t a trustworthy indicator of time – although at first it is the moon that told us and the Blonde Woman that it is night. Later on however, the moon turns crescent and red. We are only able to arrive in this state of experiencing time in this manner because Aidan has established that this isn’t one night, but a number of nights, and since all the nights can now be accessed, a red crescent moon can appear. A very menacing red, and the crescent shape edges seek to pierce. Through images and sequencing of the images the feelings of the main character, as a result, are very viscerally felt. The candles, at least in Part 1, are a more reliable signifier for immediate passage in time as opposed to multiple nights being conveyed simultaneously. I’m left wondering “Will dawn come for the character?” at the end of Part 1. In the last chapter of the book – Part 4 – there’s what seems to be, for me, a real surprise about the main character, and it turned the whole book on its head. In between that uncertainty of how to react, or what to think, I find that it really makes me relate to the character. It certainly makes what I at first saw as her friends’ unwarranted frustration make more sense. Aidan is able to communicate so much with so little. As readers we can circle this emotional space, and we see familiar structures and there’s so much information to derive from them. It’s not just information, because despite the efficiency of the images there’s too much beauty and sincerity coming from the images to refer to what’s in the images as “information”. That portrays the images in the book too coldly. Throughout the whole book, even in the end where there’s a melancholic tone, there’s a real warmth. There’s a real undeniable warmth to the pleasant moments and unpleasant alike. – Sam Ombiri Get a copy of The Blond Woman HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Sally here – The Comics Beat has a preview of Tini Howard’s and Gilbert Hernandez’s new series, Assassinistas, which came out yesterday. You can catch Black Crown editor Shelly Bond talking to Gerard Way about the series as well in a couple of videos. See for yourself how “Howard is writing it her way” but in his can’t be beat style “Hernandez knows his way around dangerous women talking about waffles, hair dye and weapons.” Preview and video conversations HERE. ————————————————————————————————— 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. ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 12-21-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

Charles Forsman at Comix Experience

Posted on January 31, 2018January 31, 2018 by Chris Anthony Diaz

Charles Forsman toured for I Am Not Okay with This as well as for the hardcover release of The End of the Fucking World (which also premiered recently on Netflix as an 8-episode live action series), both published by Fantagraphics Books. Bay area stop was at Comix Experience in San Francisco, Wednesday, December 6, 2017. (Click images for different external links related to Charles Forsman.)

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Comics Workbook

An online magazine for comics makers

Posted in The Diaz Archive

Chris Anthony Diaz

Posted on January 31, 2018January 31, 2018

Explore

02/15/2018

Comics WorkbookFebruary 14, 2018NewsSam Ombiri on Noel Freibert’s Old Ground! ————————————————————————————————— Sam Ombiri here: What’s so special about comics? If someone asked me that, I’d point directly to Old Ground by Noel Freibert. Among my vague, imaginary mental list of favorite comics right now, Old Ground is up there; seriously. Everything seems to be in place in the book, and for me it couldn’t be more perfect. This is a comic that can’t be described in a way that would do it justice, as lazy as I might sound in saying that. Some scenes cause me to laugh a certain kind of laughter. It’s kind of a nervous laughter, but not necessarily out of being too frightened or weirded out to respond “properly”. It feels like Noel draws the way he does so he can simultaneously restrict himself, and through that free himself to go to certain places with his comics that wouldn’t be accessible to him (or anyone else for that matter) otherwise. This might be what accounts of my nervous laughter – some of the gags presented perhaps lack of a point of reference. The comic is a real shock to the system because the drawings and the story are virtuosic. The comic is simultaneously cute, frightening, menacing, intensely dramatic, intensely goofy, and so on and so on. Somehow Noel made all these shifts register really well, and every moment resonates with the moment before, surprisingly harmoniously for such a chaotic book. He lingers in moments so that the events can properly register. He isn’t in any rush to show us his cooler-looking drawings. I say this because a lot of times comics fall flat for me in their refusal to be comics. The drawings might be labored over, but the sequence of events or images have no pulse whatsoever, so to speak. Not so with Old Ground, not by a long shot. When the comic is focused on the two people buried in the grave, it goes on and on because it needs to, and then as the comic progresses Noel uses this established rhythm of the two people in the grave, and plays with it. He doesn’t just play with it – he confronts it. This comic doesn’t feel like Noel did it at a distance, with vague suggestions that aren’t a part of him. At least that was the feeling I was getting from reading the book. Noel is committed to displaying this vague feeling he has and pursuing it to the end (or no end). That’s what makes it such a compelling read – and the results are evident there in the book. In the story, one of the corpses in the grave claims to be 5, and the other claims to be 8 (but I suppose if they’ve been able to talk for as many years as they’ve been buried, maybe they’re even older). As one of the corpses – called Silver Spoon – put it, the worms maybe have eaten Cliffie’s (the other corpse) memory. The way Silver Spoon says it seems to be alluding to this only happening to Cliffie. The age seems to be more connected with the age when they died than the length of time they’ve been thinking. Although at the end of the story even this is questionable. What would they be thinking about? How frogs were believed to be able to consume evil spirits, and how this means they can eat anything? They talk about how they’re dead and what that means to them. Silver Spoon suggests that Cliffie’s parents deserved to die in the fire in which they perished (for no reason whatsoever!) Meanwhile, we’re also entertained by two wacky people whose goal is to demolish the graveyard. One is called Renaldo and is a very likeable character. I felt bad with how he was kind of forced into this situation by his boss, who is such a hilarious character. The story at a certain point turns into Silver Spoon trying to convince Cliffie that Renaldo and his boss aren’t his parents. The interaction between the corpses reminded me of Jim Bored’s adventures in Powr Mastrs 3. The way the characters’ imaginations take shape, which is symbolically realized through each of the books’ creators’ efforts (Noel for Old Ground and CF for Powr Mastrs), are of the same nature. The pacing of it is based off of boredom, so it’s a good excuse for imagination to suddenly take vivid shapes. I mean, there’s also a good amount of differences, like how it’s a dialogue in Old Ground, as opposed to a monologue in Powr Mastrs, or how instead of someone who is still alive but forgetting, it’s two dead people remembering (albeit not with much luck). I guess Jim Bored is also about remembering, but I think what Noel was saying with the comic partly is: dead people are not only forgotten by others – they’re also forgotten by themselves. So their goal of remembering is quite different from what Jim Bored’s goal was (which seemed to be self preservation and survival). If you haven’t read Old Ground it’s probably in your best interest to do so. The ending of the story is an especially good one, with so many great moments leading up to it. The characters are excellent, and the sequences have done more than just simply blow me away; they’ve really astounded me. The lines Noel draws really bend to his mysterious whims. The drawings suggest they’re based off of simplicity, but it’s a trick. When I begin reading the comic I’m lured in and at the same time Noel is bent on driving me through this story, which has these sudden bursts of hyperkinetic movements. When motion is conveyed it’s a real marvel to read. – Sam Ombiri Read more about Old Ground (Koyama Press, 2017) HERE, and get a copy of the comic HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Collected from the thousands of pages of material that Frank has left scattered all over the digital landscape, these 4 PDF collections contain Frank’s best writing on comics and comics making from the past decade. Theory and process, reviews and discoveries, journeys both physical and spiritual. Check out the “Best of Frank Santoro” PDF collections, available HERE! ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 2-14-2018 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

01/29/2018

Caleb OrecchioJanuary 29, 2018NewsCaleb Orecchio here with thoughts on amazing, dumb back-issues that won’t leave my brain, and other news. ————————————————————————————————— One of my favorite parts of comics culture is the scrounging for back-issues, which often feels like trying to find a lost wedding band in yesterday’s garbage—in a good way. I get a sincere rush from finding wacky crap from comic’s past. As I was scavenging the longboxes and finding some excellent garbage this past week, I was reminded of some things Chris Ware said in his recent RiYL interview: “Most great works of art don’t work in the present, they work in the memory.” ” will draw things in a certain way, especially in his more recent work, that is very uncomfortable or strange. I know he’s looked at comics by cartoonists who might be considered awkward or almost naive just as a way of making an image that has–as I think of it, personally–hooks that hang in your brain and stay with you.” In a recent back-issue find, Kull the Destroyer #19 (1976), there’s this sequence of “SHEMENON–THE GOD OF FIRE AND ICE–!” a wraith, a skeleton encapsulated in diamond whose “SOLE PURPOSE WAS TO FILL HIS CRYSTALLOID FLESH WITH LIFE!!” Very campy, classic mid-seventies Marvel stuff that the staff at The Comics Journal would have used as toilet paper. To read this comic in any way as to understand the narrative is a fool’s errand, and not worth the time of intelligent, discerning people. Yet! the images will not leave my mind! I find myself returning and going back over the fight between our hero and this jewel-encrusted executioner from hell! Old dumb boy adventure comics featuring superheroes, barbarians and flights of action-packed fever-dreams tend to fall into the “Minor Prophets” category of the comics “Bible.” When all the history of comics is laid before us, it’s comics like Kull the Destroyer #19 that tend to get ignored for various reasons; but it’s these very kinds of comics that tend to infest our subconscious and become active images in our memory when least expected—like an annoying radio jingle or something. Have you ever met a real Kirby-hater? Maybe you are one. You hate his comics for reasons others love him. People hate/love his weird knees, or they hate/love his square hands, or they hate/love the way he draws action or machines or whatever. Both parties remember the same things. Whether you like the art or not, the image is permanently branded onto the folds of your brain. ————————————————————————————————— if you don’t know, now you know Ty Burr writes about How to Read Nancy, at the The Boston Globe, plus, the authors of said book, Paul Karasik and Mark Newgarden, sit down for a radio interview. On the latest episode of Comic Books Are Burning in Hell, the boys talk about their favorite comics of 2017. Paul Tumey on Mark Campos, the Seattle mini comics maker at TCJ.com. The latest Process Party episode features Jason T. Miles, and on the same site, Study Group Comics, Will Tempest begins a web comic. Ryan C. has a guest spot on Your Chicken Enemy, he writes about Forsman’s Slasher. ————————————————————————————————— Collected from the thousands of pages of material that Frank has left scattered all over the digital landscape, these 4 PDF collections contain Frank’s best writing on comics and comics making from the past decade. Theory and process, reviews and discoveries, journeys both physical and spiritual. Check out the “Best of Frank Santoro” PDF collections, available HERE! ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 1-29-2018 – by Sally Ingraham ————————————————————————————————— Share this page: [...]

05/26/2017

Sally IngrahamMay 26, 2017NewsSally here with work by Gloria Rivera and Vreni Stollberger, a reality check from Hannah Berry, an update on the Resist! and Comics 4 Choice anthologies, and wisdom from Hellen Jo and Jessica Abel. ————————————————————————————————— Hellen Jo is interviewed on Giant Robot Media. She talks about making comics vs paintings, moving away from being an animator, Korean ghosts, and the political climate’s effect on her work. “GR: Can you tell me where the strong women aspect of your work comes from? HJ: When I started self-publishing comics, I was disturbed by how little representation of Asian and Asian American women I could find in comics that I could really get behind. Nearly every character I came across was either hyper-kawaii-infantile-cute, or dragon-lady yellow fever sexualized. Where the hell were the strong minded butch girls and tomboys who were gross, dirty, mean, violent, powerful? When I was a young adult, I desperately needed to see that kind of characterization; it was my aspiration, my purest personal desire, to become that type of woman, and if I wasn’t gonna find it anywhere, I was determined to build it myself. Selfishly, I also made this art to help me express this desire and to grow into this cooler version of myself; it’s a work in progress but so far so good, I think.“ Read more HERE. ————————————————————————————————— The L.A. Zine Fest is this Sunday, May 28th, from 10-6 at the California Market Center. Comics Workbook student and comics maker-extraordinaire Gloria Rivera will be tabling – find her at 34B. She will be debuting her comic We come from a desert (above) at the festival. She drew some of this comic while in Pittsburgh, PA, for her Comics Workbook Rowhouse Residency in March of this year. ————————————————————————————————— Michael Cavna’s Comic Riffs on the Washington Post checks in on the progress of the second issue of Resist!, the political zine that was “co-founded by New Yorker art director Françoise Mouly to spotlight female creators and issues they view as important” following the election of President Trump. Instead of simply being a free newspaper to pass out at the Women’s March in Washington, Resist! quickly became part of a growing movement. ” “While everywhere else there may be protest fatigue, from our standpoint it seems to be an exciting moment of rebirth for comics as political activity,” Mouly tells The Post’s Comic Riffs. “It feels like a return to the Charlie Hebdo of my youth in May 1968,” during the Paris student riots. Mouly underscores the publication’s embrace of star cartoonists and young unknowns alike. “What’s unique to Resist! is the way it mixes the voices of librarians and young girls and accountants together with that of Roz Chast, Cathy Malkasian, Miriam Katin, Daniel Clowes and Art Spiegelman,” she says.“ The second issue, which received even more submissions than the first, is due to be released on Independence Day. Read more about it HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Here is an interesting piece by Hannah Berry (which I found through The Comics Reporter) – it ties into something that I’ve been thinking about and having conversations about a lot recently. Hannah writes that her recent graphic novel Livestock may very well be her last, and details her precarious financial situation and the hopeless reality/impossibility for most of making a “living” from being a working cartoonist. You can read more of Hannah’s thoughts HERE (scroll down a little bit). One cannot doubt that her heart is in the right place: “Comics are the most sublime form of storytelling, and I will never, ever stop making them. They offer such a perfect balance of narrative freedom and restrictions, of clarity and subtlety, that whenever anyone asks me why I make comics I wonder if they shouldn’t be asking all other writers and filmmakers why they’re not, the cuckoos. Comics are everything.“ Hannah, who has been published several times and won arts council grants in the UK, and managed to gain enough traction to pick up small supporting side-comic/art jobs…is one of the lucky ones. And she is STILL tempted to quit. You just can’t make a living doing this. Her solution to the problem is to raise a clamor and demand more funding and attention for work like hers…and mine…and ours… And I agree – but in the reality I face here in the United States, where funding and support of the arts is actually dwindling visibly…I don’t see that as a solution any more viable than us all going out to dig holes at the bottom of rainbows. I’m tired of talking about money. Most of us are never going to make any. And most of us didn’t get into this industry to do so – we did it because “comics are everything.” So let’s go with that. In the face of capitalism, to do something “for the love” is radical. We can create spaces, build an audience, be a community of organizers so that no one person is expected to find the funding. We can incubate, we can plant seeds. I think we have to stop demanding support from a limping industry propped against a broken capitalist system. We have to be better, more inventive, more giving, more dangerous than that. ————————————————————————————————— There is an excerpt from Vreni Stollberger‘s comic Nothing Feels Real on The Nib – see it HERE. You can see the rest of the story in the upcoming collection Comics for Choice: Anthology for Abortion Rights, edited by Hazel Newlevant. The collection will be about 250 pages, made by 60 writers and artists and featuring 41 stories. Learn more about the project HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Jessica Abel is offering a free online workshop this Sunday, May 28th 2017 – you can register HERE. Jessica’s line these days is that “being creative is not a state of mind” – her latest project is a book about finding/developing focus in your creative life. Check it out HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Just a few days left to apply for the summer semester of thee Santoro Correspondence Course for Comic Book Makers! The course starts June 1st. 8 weeks – $500 bux – the best comics coaching around. More details HERE or email santoroschool@gmail.com to apply. ————————————————————————————————— Blinkers – 5-26-2017 – by Jack Brougham ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 5-26-2017 – by Gabriella Tito Share this page: [...]

07/14/2017

Sally IngrahamJuly 14, 2017NewsSally here today with Rachel Masilamani, Joyce Farmer, Eleanor Davis, Zoe Taylor, Katie Fricas, and much more news and comics! ————————————————————————————————————— Rachel Masilamani offers a new comic on the LA Review of Books, one of a series of 20 ” “literary addresses” commissioned by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center and the Association for Asian American Studies, as part of the Center’s 20th anniversary celebration and its July 2017 Smithsonian Asian American Literature Festival.” It’s pretty gut-wrenching, swiftly bringing into focus the realities of an interracial family in a post-Trump world. Read the rest of the story HERE. ————————————————————————————————————— The incredible Joyce Farmer joined the Virtual Memories show recently and talked about her experiences as an underground comics legend – “The ’60s were a time of explosive interaction and learning of radical ideas. The thing was, I thought they were sensible, not radical.” She’s been involved in comics since 1972, and was instrumental in game-changing works like Abortion Eve, and Tits and Clits Comix. Always controversial but uncompromising, Joyce talks about her adventuresome life and her latest comic, Special Exits – listen HERE. ————————————————————————————————————— Eleanor Davis has been working with the Bronx Freedom Fund (which pays bail for folks who can’t afford it) and StoryCorps, adapting interviews with some of the BFF’s clients into comics. You can see the rest of the story above and two other stories she did HERE. ————————————————————————————————————— Philippe Leblanc reviews Zoe Taylor‘s Joyride on The Comics Beat – “I loved how this comic made me work to untangle its mystery, how I had to read it multiple times to make sense of its ambiguity, its ending and its meaning. It’s like watching a David Lynch film and piecing it’s meanings only to have it crystallized on a second viewing. It’s about escaping, multiple types of escapes, whether from the personal, the social or the emotional. Our protagonist flees from herself, flees the constricting social norms of a party, flees friendship. It’s about finding something through that escape, revenge, love, or a purpose. There’s also an exploration of how time flows in a moving vehicle and how this can be displayed in comic format. There’s a lot to unpack in this comic. This comic looks gorgeous. Taylor’s art is minimalist, using only a handful of lines are enough to depict a woman, or a car and yet, it’s all you need. It’s enough details to give you all the details you need, a woman’s slight look of disdain, the party guests look of confusion, the tears of a woman after an accident. The paper stock also contributes to this minimalist style. It’s a very lightweight paper, not quite newsprint, but not much heavier either. It gives the whole book a feeling of lightness.“ Read the rest of the review HERE. ————————————————————————————————————— Katie Fricas reports via comics on Rei Kawakubo’s new show for Comme des Garçons – “possibly the punkest show ever put on by the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute.” Check it out on Hyperallergic – HERE. ————————————————————————————————————— Also On the Spider Web Alex Hoffman of Sequential State has been speaking to Laila Milevski this week about Enter, Holy Pilgrim, her comic with Ley Lines, and other work – more HERE. Francoise Mouly and Nadja Spiegelman are on Episode 222 of the RiLY podcast, talking about Resist!, the importance of print, and forging your own kind of patriotism – listen HERE. Vanessa Davis has a new comic on Topic, titled Customer Service – read it HERE. Keiler Roberts talks Sunburning with Smash Pages – HERE. Tom Spurgeon via The Comics Reporter keeps turning me on to new comics makers – just yesterday, Margreet de Heer, and Nicky Minus. ————————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 7-14-2017 – by Sally Ingraham ————————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 7-14-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

03/24/2017

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

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