Comics Workbook

An online magazine for comics makers

Posted in The Diaz ArchiveTagged 2014, Alvin Buenaventura, CREEP HIGHWAY, Dylan Dockstader, Eli's Mile High Club, Marc Arsenault, Michael DeForge, Naming Gallery, Patrick Kyle, simon hanselmann

Chris Anthony Diaz

Posted on May 23, 2016June 9, 2016

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05/09/2018

Juan FernándezMay 9, 2018los Cómics / NewsWomen Write About Comics, Vanesa R. Del Rey y Jordie Bellaire, Judith Gociol, Sindy Elefante, Daniel Jiménez, Klari Moreno y Lorenzo Montatore —————————————— Los cómics y las noticias que me han llamado la atención esta semana: ~ en Español y “sometimes in English” ~ —————————————— Worth your time (& money): Women Write About Comics are raising funds to solve some tech issues. @womenoncomics is important for comics criticism and not a voice I’d like to see disappear. If you have a few spare dollars, I’m sure they’d appreciate them. The cost of moving WWAC to a new host, including all the background work to transfer seven years worth of archives, is more than we can handle on our own, so we’re asking for your help to get us over that initial hump. Our transition will also involve designing a layout that can handle the site. Donate today. —————————————— ¿Ya escucharon la cuarta entrega de #Womansplaining? Es sobre el papel de la mujer en el cómic colombiano y latinoamericano y tiene como invitados a Judith Gociol, Sindy Elefante, Daniel Jiménez – una conversación super, pero super enriquecedora. Tal vez uno de los nichos más permeados con la percepción de que eso “es cosa de hombres” es el cómic. Tal vez porque para muchos las historietas se limitan al universo de los superhéroes, o porque la idea del “comiquero” es la de un chico que se reúne con sus amigos a dibujar y a tomar cerveza. Sin embargo, desde hace algunos años, nombres como Power Paola, Sindy Elefante o Sofía La Watson han comenzado a sonar dentro de la escena editorial, no solo local sino también internacional. En este capítulo de Womansplaining hablamos con Sindy Elefante, autora de la novela gráfica Elefantes en el cuarto, con Judith Gociol, coordinadora del archivo de cómic de la Biblioteca Nacional de Argentina y con Daniel Jiménez, director de Entreviñetas sobre las diferentes maneras en las que la mujer hace parte del mundo del cómic. Una conversación sobre la rabiosa Helga, la esposa de Olafo, la hipersexual Yayita, la idea de que los cómics hechos por mujeres solo pueden ser autobiográficos y el importante papel de la mujer dentro de un universo en donde la autogestión es fundamental. Escúchenlo AQUI. —————————————— Muy informativa e interesante esta reseña sobre Redlands de Vanesa R. Del Rey y Jordie Bellaire en español, échale un vistazo: Tres brujas. La historia de todas las mujeres desde la Antigüedad. Sangre. Fuego. Venganza. Justicia. La sociedad contemplando su propio retrato de Dorian Gray. Establecido, pues, que las mujeres son las grandes destructoras y desestabilizadoras del mundo de los hombres, entramos por fin a hablar de Redlands, el primer tebeo guionizado por la colorista Jordie Bellaire (apoyada para desarrollar la historia por la ex-editora y amante de los batidos Heather Antos), e ilustrado por la dibujante cubana y valor en alza Vanesa R. del Rey. Desde las primeras páginas de esta serie queda establecido que las autoras han abrazado por completo todos los prejuicios y afrentas históricas contra la mujer y les han dado la vuelta para transformarlas en literales fuerzas de la naturaleza, encarnadas en tres mujeres muy diferentes. Léanlo todo AQUI. —————————————— En Revista Cactus 29, Klari Moreno se transmuta en Lorenzo Montatore en su entrevista dibujada. Estupendo. 100%. Léanlo la entrevista AQUI. —————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 5-9-2018 – by Gabriella Tito Share this page: [...]

8/22/2016

Juan FernándezAugust 22, 2016NewsJuan here with the latest over here at CW: Hernandez Brothers’ Rowhouse Residency Benefit Auction; Gabriella Tito’s HOMESICK; PORTRAITS by Connor Willumsen pre-orders; MORIYAMA’S DOG by Berliac; Sloane Leong’s MAPS TO THE SUN; Julia Gfrörer BLACK IS THE COLOR back in print; new STREET ANGEL from Jim Rugg; Ben Sears’ print sale. ——————————————————————————————————————— Los Bros Hernandez Benefit Auction You heard it hear first, folks, thee great Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez have generously donated art and comics to benefit the Comics Workbook Rowhouse Residency! Our auction runs through Saturday August 27th at 3pm. Get in on it while you can! ——————————————————————————————————————— Gabriella Tito revisiting Homesick I’m happy to announce that we are featuring Gabriella Tito’s Homesick on the site this week. Tito made Homesick for the first issue of Zona (Comics Workbook, January 2016), channeling her considerable drawing chops into a story of quiet exploration in black and white. During her recent Comics Workbook Rowhouse Residency, Gabriella revisited her comic in a unique way. She decided to color it, experimenting with different mediums ranging from airbrush to pencils, taking this burst of new energy directly to the printed pages of Frank Santoro’s personal copy. The results are quite amazing. We are thrilled to share those pages HERE! ——————————————————————————————————————— Portraits by Connor Willumsen Comics Workbook is very pleased to present a new book from Connor Willumsen – Portraits. Available now for pre-order – get your copy HERE! Connor is one of our original CW samurais. He will be joining Frank Santoro at The Lakes International Comic Arts Festival this fall, teaching workshops and sharing his process. Look for him there! ——————————————————————————————————————— Moriyama’s Dog – Berliac Berliac‘s got a new comic up on Vice! The printed version of Moriyama’s Dog was originally published Kus! #25: “Gaijin Mangaka”. ——————————————————————————————————————— Maps to the Sun – Sloane Leong Sloane Leong‘s got a new one for ya. It’s a short comic about two girls during a hot whirlwind of a summer. Leong knows how to make a comic breathe. Check it out, it’ll make your heart heavy. ——————————————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————————— Black is the Color: Back in Print It’s true, Julia Gfrörer‘s Black is the Color is back in print from Fantagraphics Books! – to celebrate we have a review by Bill Boichel up on the site. Check out the video above for an in depth discussion from 2014 between Julia Gfrörer & Tucker Stone on Black is the Color at The Strand in NYC. ——————————————————————————————————————— Ben Sear’s Printsale Ben Sears’ is having a print sale on his site to cover some unexpected expenses. Here’s your chance to pick up some of his delicious prints for that special someone. For discounts, enter “printsale” at checkout. There’s so much to choose from when it comes to Sear’s art! ——————————————————————————————————————— until next time! JF Share this page: [...]

05/24/2016

Aaron CockleMay 23, 2016NewsBerliac Week Continues at CW; Venn Diagram Panel; Kirby Gridz; Safari Festival 2016; Dueling Book Release Parties; Henry Darger at the American Folk Art Museum; Juan Fernández Comics ————————————————————————————————— Featured this week: Gwai-Lo of the Heart by Berliac. Made for Comics Workbook in 2015. ————————————————————————————————— Venn Diagram Panel from MoCCA Festival 2016 Painter and cartoonist Keith Mayerson once called his 1996 graphic novel Horror Hospital Unplugged “too arty for comics” and “too comics for art.” The boundary between those two fields, however structural and arbitrary, may be weakening, but is it happening quickly enough to accommodate the rapidly growing number of artists who are now so productively working in this seam? Moderator Bill Kartalopoulos will investigate these questions and more with three leading lights of contemporary artcomics: Austin English (Gulag Casual), Aidan Koch (After Nothing Comes), and Blaise Larmee (3 Books). ————————————————————————————————— Via Micheal Oeming’s Facebook page. ————————————————————————————————— Safari Festival: New waves in contemporary comics and art. 11am to 6pm, 27 August 2016 Protein, 31 New Inn Yard, London EC2A 3EY safarifestival.tumblr.com | @safarifestival | info@safari-festival.com Safari Festival is a celebration of the new wave of alternative and art comics from the UK and beyond. Taking place over one Saturday at the end of August, the festival is an opportunity for a curated group of cartoonists and publishers to exhibit and sell their artwork, prints and, primarily, comics, and for attendees to experience the best of UK comics’ avant-garde. The artists exhibiting have been selected for their innovative, fearless, diverse approaches to making comics; approaches to cartooning that Safari intends to champion. The festival will be free to attend, and will take place at Studio 2, the Shoreditch gallery space of London-based creative agency, Protein. ————————————————————————————————— Thursday, May 26, 7-pm in Providence and/or NYC ————————————————————————————————— Henry Darger at the Folk Art Museum ————————————————————————————————— I Can See the Birds by Juan Fernández 5.5″x8.5″, Color & Risograph, $6 postpaid (International Shipping). This one is my Yo La Tengo comic on the shoulders of the poetry giant, Mary Oliver. The words are excerpted from her poem, Wild Geese. All drawings are first takes on location here in Pittsburgh. ————————————————————————————————— Share this page: [...]

12/01/2017

Sally IngrahamDecember 1, 2017NewsSally here with comics by November Garcia, Lina Ghaibeh, Emil Friis Ernst, and much more! ————————————————————————————————— Emil Friis Ernst spent last autumn here in Pittsburgh with us at the Comics Workbook Rowhouse Residency and abroad on his own in the city. He was on loan from The Animation Workshop in Denmark, and he got to spend nearly 3 months making comics and exploring our strange American culture. He recently published the comic he made during that time – Disconnector – which you can view in full on his website, HERE. The comic is about a lonely inventor and his robot (drawn and painted on this lovely grey paper that I remember well from when Emil was here!) Take some time to check it out, as well as some of his other comics which you can also find on his website. ————————————————————————————————— Ryan C. reviews November Garcia‘s Malarkey, the series of auto-bio comics made by this terrific Filipino cartoonist, over on Four Color Apocalypse. I’m with Ryan when he says that November is bound to break through in the near future, and having met her in person at SPX this year I couldn’t be more delighted to have this talented and funny comics maker in the scene. About Malarkey, Ryan writes: “Simply put, Garcia’s varied-length strips are every bit as familiar to somebody who “speaks comics” fluently as they are to someone who’s “comics illiterate.” Her figure drawing is efficient, practical, and betrays more than a hint of warmth and, dare I say it, innocence, while her stories tend to revolve around daily-life complexities that, in the hands of a less-attuned artist, would be depicted in a matter ten times more grim : neuroses (insecurity being first and foremost on the list), family dysfunction, doomed relationships, and alcoholism. There’s no way this stuff should be fun, but in Malarkey, God help me, it is.“ Read the rest of the review HERE and get copies of issues 1 and 2 over at Spit and a Half Distro. ————————————————————————————————— Lina Ghaibeh shares a comic about growing up in Syria during the Assad regime on The Nib, titled An Education in Fear. Read the whole thing HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Also, also There’s a new comic by Glynnis Fawkes up on Mutha Magazine titled Can You Play Now – see it HERE. Hilary Brown interviews Leslie Stein and talks about her new book Present and what it means to her to live in the present – HERE. Sarah Glidden is the guest on Episode 59 of Process Party – they talk travel, journalism, and how cartooning fits into both. Check it out. On The Comics Beat Alex Lu interviews Alisa Kwitney about the female friendships at the heart of her series Mystic U (from DC Comics). Read the interview HERE. Sophie Goldstein talks to Alex Dueben of Smash Pages about House of Women and more – HERE. RiLY features Nicole Georges – and her dog – on Episode 243 – listen HERE. ————————————————————————————————— 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 – 12-1-2017 – by Sally Ingraham ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 12-1-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

02/20/2017

Sally IngrahamFebruary 20, 2017NewsJuan and Sally tag teaming it this morning with the goods: Ron Wimberly at Copacetic Comics; 2nd biennial Queers & Comics conference, the QC Travel fund; Simon Reinhardt on Anya Davidson; PEN World Voices Festival; Matthew Thurber; Cynthia Rose on Andre Franquin; Sam Alden; Sophie Goldstein; Wayne Wise on Herriman. ————————————————————————————————— Ronald Wimberly is coming to Pittsburgh this week to check out the Comics Workbook Rowhouse Residency, the Andy Warhol Museum, The ToonSeum, and Copacetic Comics! He will be doing a signing on Wednesday at Copacetic: “Please join us from 6:00pm to 8:00pm on Wednesday, February 22 to welcome Ronald Wimberly and celebrate his latest release, Black History in Its Own Words. Wimberly will be coming through town straight from wrapping up his Graphic Novel Residency Exhibition at the Columbus Museum of Art. The Copacetic Comics Company is located on the third floor at 3138 Dobson Street, Pittsburgh PA 15219.” Be sure to check this event out, meet Ron, and get some copies of his books if you are in the area. ————————————————————————————————— Juan here, San Francisco’s California College of the Arts is hosting the 2nd biennial Queers & Comics conference on April 14-15 2017 with Keynotes Mariko Tamaki and Gengoroh Tagame. Queers & Comics features two days of discussion panels, workshops, readings, and comics galore, along with a multitude of off-site events. This year the conference will spotlight international and emerging LGBTQ cartoonists, the role of the San Francisco Bay Area, and the future of queer comics. It should be great. As people gear up for the conference, there are still some creators and presenters who need your help. Traveling to these important spaces for conversations is hard and costs a good deal of $$. Not everyone who needs to be part of these conversations has that $$. That’s where you come in, dear reader. A small band of creators have joined together with Prism Comics to create the QC Travel Fund. With your help they will raise the necessary funds to help creators in need reach their destination at the Queers & Comics conference in San Francisco at CCA on April 14-15, 2017. The fundraiser can be found here: https://www.generosity.com/community-fundraising/queers-comics-conference-travel-fund/x/16025161 Pitch in what you can! ————————————————————————————————— This morning I’m passing the mic to Correspondence Course graduate, Simon Reinhardt. He’s got some great thoughts on Anya Davidson’s latest books. Quick comics thoughts just how I like them. Essential, enticing and illuminating. 2016 Comics: Anya Davidson-Lovers in the Garden/Hypatia’s Last Hours I’ve been a fan of Anya Davidson for a while, but these two pieces–which function very well as companions–felt like a breakthrough to me. There’s always been an emotional intensity to Davidson’s work, and here it is turned all the way up. Both of these stories deal with the moments before a disaster, ending abruptly when that disaster arrives. We see the protagonists’ hopes get dashed but, crucially, the stories clearly highlight how important and worthwhile those hopes were despite ultimately not being fulfulled. In both works, the cartoony, lively figure drawing fleshes out the world of the characters and communicates a depth beyond what can be explicitly foregrounded in relatively short form work. Devastating stuff. -Simon Reinhardt Lovers in the Garden is available from Retrofit Books. “Hypatia’s Last Hours” was included in Kramers Ergot #9, available from Fantagraphics. ————————————————————————————————— Dots and Dashes The PEN World Voices Festival (May 1-7th 2017) will spotlight gender and power this year, and unlike in years past, it will feature a lot of cartoonists. The Comics Beat has the details – but just to throw some names around, the lineup will include Simon Hanselmann, Roz Chast, Gabrielle Bell, Rokudenashiko, and Meg Lemke among other panelists! There is an interview with Matthew Thurber and an excerpt from Art Comic, his ongoing serial, over on Bad At Sports – check it out HERE. Cynthia Rose writes about Andre Franquin over on The Comics Journal – was he in fact comics’ greatest draftsman? The Strand is hosting a cartooning focused panel: I’m Drawn This Way: Cartoonists on Cartooning (March 13) featuring Pénélope Bagieu, Natalie Andrewson, Katie Skelly, Julia Gfrörer, and Whit Taylor moderated by the great Meg Lemke of the Brooklyn Book Festival, PEN America, and MUTHA Magazine. Part 2 of Sam Alden‘s Sledgehammer is up on Hazlitt – “Okay, never mind. Go back to destroying the house.” Sophie Goldstein announced that her comic House of Women will be collected by Fantagraphics this fall. Congrats! Pittsburgh’s Wayne Wise reviews George Herriman: A Life in Black and White. ————————————————————————————————— Announcing the Spring Semester of the Santoro Correspondence Course for Comic Book Makers! Frank Santoro here. I’ve decided to give this semester a rolling start date. I realize that everyone has spring break at different times, and that’s always a good time to start a comic – so I will officially kick off the course March 7th but will continue taking applications past that date. I will make it work for your schedule. Just apply! Applications received by February 26th will get 100 bux off! The course is 8 weeks long – payment plans are available. Many more details can be found HERE plus the answers to all your questions (hopefully). Email santoroschoolATgmail to apply Santoro School Application guidelines: – 3 figure drawings done on blank 3 x 5 index cards – 3 landscape drawings done on blank 3 x 5 index cards – 3 still life drawings done on blank 3 x 5 cards – draw in a contour line style –think Matisse – no under-drawing – draw directly in ink – just send me small jpgs of images – dont post to your blog pls – send specific url links to any comics work you have done. If you haven’t done comics before that is not a problem. Send applications to: santoroschoolATgmail Thanks xo Frank ————————————————————————————————— Blinkers – 2-20-2017 – by Jack Brougham ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 2-20-2017 – by Gabriella Tito ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 2-20-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio ————————————————————————————————— Cozytown – 2-20-2017 – by Juan Fernandez Share this page: [...]

CREEP HIGHWAY & the CANDY BOYZ

Posted on May 23, 2016June 9, 2016 by Chris Anthony Diaz

at the NAMING GALLERY & ElI’S MILE HIGH CLUB

oakland, monday, october 6, 2014

shot & edited by chris anthony diaz

featuring musical performances by michael deforge, patrick kyle, alvin buenaventura, simon hanselmann, marc arsenault and dylan dockstader

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Comics Workbook

An online magazine for comics makers

Posted in The Diaz ArchiveTagged 2014, Alvin Buenaventura, CREEP HIGHWAY, Dylan Dockstader, Eli's Mile High Club, Marc Arsenault, Michael DeForge, Naming Gallery, Patrick Kyle, simon hanselmann

Chris Anthony Diaz

Posted on May 23, 2016June 9, 2016

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06/08/2017

Sally IngrahamJune 8, 2017NewsSam Ombiri on Josh Bayer’s RAW POWER, a Tarantula, and chain-breaking Wonder Woman for your Thursday. ————————————————————————————————— Sam Ombiri here: Raw Power by Josh Bayer is a barrage of one moment after the other, that never ends. Every time I tried reading the book before, it wasn’t so accommodating. I’d try to follow the story, and then as I was going from panel to panel I’d find that my eyes were thrown away from the book. Whenever I read Raw Power, I feel a sense of guilt, because I can’t read with the same energy that it seems to have been produced with. Meanwhile I’ve been reading Kirby and Simon’s romance comics – I don’t feel the same threat when reading Kirby’s comics or for that matter really any other comic artists who are known to have intense drafting. I think it maybe comes from reading the title RAW POWER and seeing the cover. The title almost just flat out says no matter how you read this you won’t possibly match the energy that this was made with. This is regardless of whether the book was drawn with that supposed energy. I remember Austin English talking about Raw Power in a review on The Comics Journal, and saying that it probably wasn’t drawn how it feels, but it exudes this specific energy, which up until the the first issue of Raw Power came out, Austin hadn’t seen in Bayer’s other comics. Despite the dizzy frantic drawing, there’s a really dogmatic nature present in the book. Maybe this surfaces from him being a teacher and the way he talks in interviews, so as I approach reading it, I read it with a dogmatic voice in my head. I’m going to contradict what I previously said, by saying that it IS a very accommodating book. The feeling of the book changed as I was reading it. Reading Raw Power felt more like I had to hang on tight, and not fall off. A real Paper Rodeo. It sometimes felt like Bayer was trying to kick me off the pages, and then invite me back in. I’m experiencing an overload of moments, and a lot is being explored, and the art doesn’t do me any favors in terms of recovering from my dizziness. It’s about obsession with figures who make work that spur to extreme degrees, and then there’s this comic Josh is covering, and he’s bringing for me as a reader interest in what he’s modified, and he managed to wrap a really engrossing story around it. Most of all, it’s great how, despite the extremely fun tirades Josh goes on, it always comes back to the original path it was on and elements resurface with major twists. I think that the most satisfying thing is the story. I truly truly think that. In the end I got my fill. – Sam Ombiri 6-8-2017 – Sam Ombiri ————————————————————————————————— Sally here – I’m eager to get my hands on the new comic by Alexis Ziritt, Fabian Rangel Jr., and Evelyn Rangel – Tarantula (AdHouse Books, June 2017)! It was recently on Paste Magazine‘s list of required reading for the month: “Looking like a vintage pulp novel straight off the dollar racks at your local used book store, Tarantula promises “Satanic noir” from the same creative team that brought the world the psychedelic Space Riders. Artist Alexis Ziritt is a grindhouse force to be reckoned with, channeling Kirby and Dan Brereton in equal parts for this tale of supernatural agents of order standing strong against the forces of chaos. Writer Fabian Rangel, Jr., by now a staple of most non-Big Two publishers, knows how to set Ziritt up for a home run and get out of his way. Adhouse Books is a new home for these two, but the handsome throwback hardcover they’ve produced should sit nicely next to Black Mask’s Space Riders and Rangel and Logan Faerber’s Albatross Funnybooks Vietnam-era lycanthrope tale,‘Namwolf. ” -Steve Foxe Get a copy of the comic HERE. ————————————————————————————————— With all the excitement of the new Wonder Woman film going around, I remembered that Gilbert Hernandez drew a Wonder Woman story in 2014, which appeared in Sensation Comics #3 and #4. Although it may not be the most “wondrous” Wonder Woman tale (Supergirl gets a lot of the glory), it is certainly one of the most powerful depictions of Diana – see more of the comic HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 6-8-2017 – by Sally Ingraham ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 6-8-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

03/10/2017

Sally IngrahamMarch 9, 2017NewsSally here with comics by Leslie Stein, Tyler Cohen, Anna Krzton, Posy Simmonds, and Martha Thomases, plus other interesting news and events to wrap up your week! ————————————————————————————————— I read Gemma Bovery this week, the comic Posy Simmonds based on Madam Bovery which originally ran as a weekly strip in The Guardian (concluding in 1999, leaving it’s readers inconsolable, apparently.) Simmonds’ way of combining text with comics is quite marvelous, and astonishingly well done. As a reviewer wrote back in 2000: “Simmonds has, in this sense, two kinds of blank paper staring at her every morning, and she should be honoured for filling them so perfectly, with such a combination of daring and what looks like effortlessness.” – Nicholas Lezard for The Guardian The book is wildly entertaining, with wonderful pacing and characterizations – which comes from both Posy’s drawing chops and her storytelling. Read the rest of Nicholas Lezard’s excellent review HERE. I highly recommend this and Posy Simmonds’ other graphic novel, Tamara Drewe (which was also serialized in The Guardian.) I went down a Posy Simmonds rabbit hole after finished Gemma Bovery, and resurfaced with this terrific piece of research and writing about the strip that started it all for her – The Silent Three – which was published weekly in The Guardian from 1977-87. The strip was collected but the collections haven’t been reprinted, despite Posy’s continuing popularity (both her graphic novels were turned into very well received films). It’s nice then that on the blog Sunday Comics Debt there are scans of a dozen of Posy’s strips, and the writer’s thoughts on the development and content of the work. Good stuff – check it out HERE. His only real complaint is that at times the strips are SO British they can be mysterious to an American reader! Here’s a recent interview with Posy Simmonds, now in her 70’s and not slowing down a bit – she was a judge at this year’s Angoulême festival, and is currently working on a new book. Here also is a peak into some of her sketchbooks. And there ends THAT rabbit hole for the moment! ————————————————————————————————— I’ve also been reading Dakota North Investigations this week. It was a short series from 1986 written by Martha Thomases and drawn by Tony Salmons. I’ve gotten a kick out of it – I always enjoy a smart, badass investigator who has rad style, and Martha Thomases script is pretty engaging. She mentions the series much later in her regular column on ComicMix: “Over the years, Dakota North has appeared in a few other comics, most recently in Daredevil. These takes are interesting, but they are not my story. No one has ever really understood what I was trying to do with the character. They see her as another tough broad action figure, and that’s a part of her. I modeled her physically on a friend of mine, who had the height and the hair and the beauty to capture the attention of those in any room she entered. But Dakota’s also a woman trying to win her father’s approval while she pushes him away, that tug-of-war adult children have with their parents.“ Although 20 years passed between her script for Dakota North and the next time Martha wrote for comics, she kept busy with other writing and research. She still writes regularly about comics for ComicMix, and will go so far as to say “Everything I need to know, I learned from superhero comics.“ ————————————————————————————————— Just Indie Comics shares three short comics by Polish cartoonist Anna Krztoń. “These three stories depict only some of the many nuances of her cartooning, starting with the realism we find both in Constant Sorrow and Early Mornings, similar for mood and topic to First Weeks, a self-published mini-comic I briefly reviewed in this Misunderstanding Comics episode (only in Italian, sorry). Room of My Own is instead a different work, less narrative and more impressionistic, an example of a dreamy mood, abstract and naive, that is an essential feature of Krztoń’s comics.” – Gabriele Di Fazio Check out the comics HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Leslie Stein returns to VICE with 1994 – wherein she “falls in and out of love with Green Day, and goes to a barbershop quartet convention.” The first part is above, the rest is HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Tyler Cohen‘s comic Evident Truths is on MUTHA Magazine – it was originally published as part of PEN Illustrated’s State of Emergency feature: #ArtistsResist. Read the whole thing HERE. ————————————————————————————————— High Tide Line Check out this cool event on Monday if you’re anywhere near The Strand Bookstore in NYC – I’m Drawn This Way: Cartoonists on Cartooning – details HERE. It’s the launch of Pénélope Bagieu’s new book, and a discussion with panelists Natalie Andrewson, Katie Skelly, Julia Gfrörer, and Whit Taylor, moderated by Meg Lemke of the Brooklyn Book Festival, PEN America, and MUTHA Magazine. The Comics Journal just published an interview with Sophie Yanow, who is a very busy lady these days – maintaining her status as one of the best non-fiction comics makers while also teaching and doing translation work – more HERE. Disa Wallander has a comics shop, full of her Sparkle zines and plenty of sarcasm – HERE. The Chicago Reader has a nice feature about Trina Robbins and her past and future work – read it HERE. She says the East Village Other strip Gentle’s Tripout created by “Panzika” was her inspiration for making her own comics – after she made the startling discovery that this favorite strip was actually drawn by a woman (underground cartoonist Nancy Burton)! Since we’re on the topic now, here’s an interview from last year with Nancy Burton on The Comics Journal. Santoro Correspondence Course for Comic Book Makers alum Mary Shyne has a comic on The Nib – Trumpian Timekeeping. “ISIS, weirdly, has not been defeated yet.“ Rob Clough wrote about Cathy Johnson‘s Gorgeous recently – review HERE. ————————————————————————————————— We are diving into a busy 2nd year of the Comics Workbook Rowhouse Residency. Gabriella Tito is here this week, already our 4th resident of 2017, and we are starting a wait list for the summer months. It’s amazing and exciting to have these aspiring and professional cartoonists alike come to work on comics in Pittsburgh, plugging into our vibrant local scene, and infusing it with fresh energy. Interested in joining us for a week or more? Email santoroschool@gmail.com to learn how to apply. There are still openings in April and May, with that wait list available for the summer months. After a break for show season we will be picking up scheduling once again in late October. 500 bux for a week and a life-changing experience. Read some of our Residency Reports HERE. Email santoroschool@gmail.com for more info. ————————————————————————————————— Blinkers – 3-10-2017 – by Jack Brougham ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 3-10-2017 – by Sally Ingraham ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 3-10-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio ————————————————————————————————— Cozytown – 3-10-2017 – by Juan Fernandez Share this page: [...]

04/16/2018

Caleb OrecchioApril 16, 2018NewsCaleb Orecchio here with John Porcellino’s recent stop in Pittsburgh, and other news. ————————————————————————————————— He has seen but half the universe who has never been shown the house of Pain. –Ralph Waldo Emerson This past Friday, John Porcellino stopped by Copacetic Comics here in Pittsburgh while on tour for his book, From Lone Mountain, a collection of his King-Cat “comics and stories” from 2003 to 2007, published by Drawn and Quarterly. This was the first signing at Copacetic I’ve attended since I moved to Pittsburgh this year. It was great. Porcellino did his song and dance at Kaibur Coffee (same building as Copacetic but two floors below) by taking us, via slideshow, through excerpts of his book and giving background details and tangents revolving around the events therein. John laid bare his soul during his presentation as he does with every annual release of King-Cat. Pain and Joy are one, and the audience often found ourselves laughing in hindsight at the misfortunes along with our hero. After the presentation and rather intimate audience Q&A, we hiked up to Copacetic where books were signed and comics were talked about. It was great. Not only could you chat with John Porcellino, but you could also hangout with the Pittsburgh crowd: Sam Ombiri, Sally Ingraham, Juan Fernandez, Jenn Lisa, Audra Stang, Nate McDonough, and many others. I showed Sam my favorite King City gag, while Juan waxed different ways to read and comprehend information with Audra and Sally. I clumsily talked about Pittsburgh roads vs every other American road system with John P as he signed my copy of his book. I asked Bill Boichel (Copacetic proprietor) if he agreed that Red Nails was Barry Windsor-Smith’s best work, and I think he did. Then we started talking about Kaluta. Lots of things seemed to be going on. The hours went by quickly. It was a beautiful day. Only several days before, the city was snow-capped, but today it felt like how I imagine California feels on its best days. On the Copacetic Balcony, you could see the beautiful old buildings over the hills that run through the city and the purple dusk. Thanks to John P. for coming to Pittsburgh and thanks to Bill Boichel and Copacetic Comics for hosting. ————————————————————————————————— if you don’t know, now you know TCJ.com launched a bi-weekly column called “Retail Therapy.” Every other week will evidently feature an interview with a comics retailer. First up, Portland’s Floating World Comics. Who, will be publishing Zack Soto’s debut The Secret Voice graphic novel. Your Chicken Enemy has the scoop on upcoming Uncivilized Books titles. TCAF 2018 is right around the corner! It will be here before you know it! Eddie Campbells limited weekly strip ended. Did you see it? ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 4-16-2018 – by Gabriella Tito ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 4-16-2018 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

9/2/2016

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

11/09/2016

Juan FernándezNovember 9, 2016los Cómics / NewsJuan con un poquito sobre: GRAF Madrid; Chicks on Comics;Animal Collective. Nuevas iniciativas en el cómic europeo; el Festival Furioso de Dibujo; the 2016 FUERZA Awardees. ————————————————————————————————— ⚡ Antes que todo, quiero compartir unas buenas noticias: I’m extremely honored to have been chosen as one of the 2016 FUERZA Awardees here in Pittsburgh! I’ve been here doing my best to make Pittsburgh a city where self-publishing and comics making foster an equitable and inspiring community. It’s really nice to feel that others are feeling the impact of what we’re building here. Para ustedes que no vivan en Pittsburgh, The FUERZA Awards bring visibility to the Pittsburgh Latinx leadership. “The 2016 FUERZA Awardees reflect a true dedication to culture, to pride, to hard work and to the possibility of creating a community that reflects our values, our identities and our histories. Latinx have never been one to shy away from challenges. And we are here, contributing to make the Pittsburgh region a more vibrant, a more equitable and more just place for all who call it home.” If you’re in town next week, Come celebrate with me and the rest of the awardees next Friday NOV. 18TH, 5-8PM at ALLOY 26 – there’ll be food, n dancing, n zines! en español y ingles! https://www.facebook.com/events/989303767862057/ ————————————————————————————————— ⚡GRAF – Madrid Es este fin de semana! Sera el punto de encuentro con el cómic de autor y la edición independiente. Ya puede consultarse la programación y el listado de expositores de #GRAFMadrid2016 que tendrá lugar del 11 al 13 de noviembre de 2016 en Madrid. talleres, musica, encuentros, feria de libros… es obvio que el equipo Mireia Pérez, Iñaki Sanz, Borja Crespo, Gerardo Vilches y Pedro Toro estan montando un monstruo de comics y fanzine fest… GRAF Madrid 2016: 11,12 y 13 de noviembre en @MuseoABC ————————————————————————————————— ⚡ Por primera vez se presenta en Proa el colectivo “Chicks on Comics”, integrado por Bas, Clara Lagos, Delius, Julia Homersham, Maartje Schalkx, Powerpaola y Sole Otero, siete mujeres historietistas de la Argentina, Colombia, Holanda y Nueva Zelanda, quienes desde 2008 exploran los recursos narrativos del cómic como medio de comunicación e intercambio, utilizando plataformas virtuales el grupo produce diálogos, publicaciones y exhibiciones para dar visibilidad a mujeres historietistas y promover el intercambio y el diálogo entre las disciplinas afines a la historieta y sus diversos públicos. Te digo que va a ser increíble! Diciembre 2016 – Marzo 2017 Fundación PROA Av. Pedro de Mendoza 1929 La Boca, Caminito Buenos Aires Argentina ————————————————————————————————— ⚡ Mireia Pérez ha compartido su impresiones de la nueva exibicion, Animal Collective. Nuevas iniciativas en el cómic europeo en Centro Centro, Madrid. Léelo y visitálo! Se me ocurre que el cómic puede tener más que ver con la danza que con la literatura. Especialmente el que se aleja de las estructuras narrativas más convencionales y se acerca a lo abstracto. Lo secuencial aporta una nueva dimensión al dibujo y la composición gráfica juega un papel importante en cuanto al ritmo. El texto (o el gesto), cuando sucede, termina de dotar a las obras con un significado dramático humano directo. En el prólogo de Best American Comics 2015, el crítico y editor Bill Kartalopoulos agradece especialmente la participación de Raymond Pettibon en dicha antología con piezas que, por su forma, se han calificado como cómics. Encajan así en una categoría inventada por el propio Kartalopoulos de forma privada y bautizada como “paracomics” donde también entraría la obra de artistas como Sol Lewitt, Ida Applebroog, Jennifer Barlett, Keith Haring, Duane Michals o Joe Brainard. Explica también que durante décadas los cómics y sus creadores han trabajado en paralelo al mundo del arte contemporáneo mientras que hoy muchos jóvenes autores, con las lecciones del arte de los siglos XX y XXI digeridas, están produciendo cómics que tienen más parentesco con los “paracomics” que con muchas de las obras que históricamente han caracterizado al medio. ————————————————————————————————— ⚡ Entre ayer y el viernes se realizará en Plataforma Lavardén una nueva edición del Festival Furioso de Dibujo,. Una muestra colectiva sobre ciudades imaginadas, mesa editorial de sellos y autores rosarinos, charlas y talleres a cargo de reconocidos ilustradores esperan ser descubiertos. Ayer salio una nota sobre el festival en el diario Diario La Capital – Rosario esta toda la información de las actividades: El festival surgió en 2014, cuando un grupo de dibujantes o más bien de gente a la que le interesaba el dibujo comenzó a reunirse más o menos regularmente. “La idea del festival, justamente, es reunirse, aunque sea una vez al año, intercambiar experiencias, tomar talleres, ver el trabajo de otros y mostrar el propio y discutirlo, pensamos el dibujo como un punto de encuentro y en eso tratamos de que el espacio que brindamos sea lo más amplio posible”, explica Vane Saucedo, una de las organizadoras del festival junto a María Luque, María Victoria Rodríguez García, Romina Biassoni, Giselle Feuillade, Pipah, Jazmín Varela, Alina Calzadilla, Flopa, Lucía Seisas, M. Luz Preumayr y José Sainz. ————————————————————————————————— ⚡Echale 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 proxima! Juan Share this page: [...]

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