Comics Workbook

An online magazine for comics makers

Posted in NewsTagged comicon, Frank Santoro, naples, national archeology museum of naples, pompei, pompeii

Frank Santoro

Posted on April 18, 2018May 14, 2019

Explore

03/09/2018

Sally IngrahamMarch 8, 2018NewsSally here with Katie Fricas, Eleanor Davis, Fiona Smyth, Karabo Poppy Moletsane, and a lot more! ————————————————————————————————— Katie Fricas has a new comic that is being serialized on Spiral Bound via Medium. The comic is called Checked Out and is about “library life”, a.k.a. her observations and experiences at work, and so far I love everything about it! The subject matter is very relatable for me, and I always enjoy her lines and use of color. I appreciate that she’s using the grid with this comic as well – it makes for a very nice rhythm to each story, and provides some structure for her to hang the wild drawings on. (This comic finally made me sign up for a Medium account, and I may just cough up $5 a month so I can keep up with this story and the numerous other comics that appear in the Spiral Bound section of the site – learn more about this publication HERE.) ————————————————————————————————— Eleanor Davis‘ new book Why Art? is reviewed on The Red & Black, by a reader who also attended a slideshow presentation by Eleanor Davis on the book, in Athens, GA. Eleanor has been on tour doing a lot of these presentations with this book, and getting really good turnouts. The author of this particular piece, Lara Strydom, writes: “Probably one of the most thought-provoking moments was during the introduction, when the various purposes of art are described and the novel reveals that sometimes art will remind us of things that we’d rather forget. We often reject what we don’t want to hear or see because of the way it might make us feel. This idea is then represented by a completely blacked out page in the book, almost as if it is representing how we shield our eyes from unwanted emotions or ideas.” Strydom spoke to other folks who attended the presentation, and got their thoughts on the work. ” “ that whole cyclical idea of ‘We create our own lives and destroy our own lives, we create our own worlds and destroy our own worlds,’ and there’s this constant cycle of birth and destruction,” said Melissa Link, an audience member and Athens resident.” Read the rest of the article HERE. In his piece for the Copacetic Comics website on Why Art?, Bill Boichel mentions “a surprising – and intriguing – twist that longtime comics readers will recognize as a thematic recapitulation of the late-’50s/early-’60s work of Steve Ditko(!).” Get a copy of the comic HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Here’s your reminder to keep up with Fiona Smyth‘s weekly strip CHEEZ. The most recent piece is above – the rest are HERE. ————————————————————————————————— In celebration of International Woman’s Day yesterday (March 8th, 2018) the Google Doodle featured 12 comics by women from around the world, including familiar names like Tillie Walden and Anna Haifisch. You can see the archive of the project HERE, and check out the work of the other women featured. Of the artists who were new to me, I particularly liked the work of Karabo Poppy Moletsane. She is from Johannesburg, South Africa, where she does mostly illustration and graphic design work. However, as you can see above, she has made a few zines and comics as well, and I hope she does more in the future! You can check out the rest of the “Sho’t Left” zine HERE. ————————————————————————————————— Paste Magazine talks to Cecil Castellucci about why Shade, the Changing Girl grew up recently (as seen above). Read the interview HERE. Pam Wye’s third installment in her Water I’ve Loved graphic memoir is up at MUTHA Magazine – read it HERE. New comics by Jessica Campbell and Katie Fricas are up on Hyperallergic – read American Artists Have No Shame (Campbell) and take a look at the Jayne County retrospective (Fricas). The Comics Beat has a review of Speak: The Graphic Novel by Laurie Halse Anderson with artwork by Emily Carroll. Read it HERE. Jessica Abel is offering a free online workshop on March 9th – How to carve out space in your life to achieve your big, deadline-free creative goals. Check it out and sign up HERE. Anya Davidson is staying on top of her weekly podcast with impressive regularity – last week she spoke to Margot Ferrick and this week Tomi Parrish was at the mic. Keep up with Mindkiller HERE. Whit Taylor was the guest on Episode 27 of Comic Book Decalogue on The Comics Journal. Listen HERE. Also on The Comics Journal, an interview with Taneka Stotts. ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 3-9-2018 – by Gabriella Tito Share this page: [...]

Charles Forsman at Comix Experience

Chris Anthony DiazJanuary 31, 2018The Diaz ArchiveCharles 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.) Share this page: [...]

Kurt Ankeny on CXC 2016

Kurt AnkenyOctober 22, 2016Festivals and ShowsEditor’s Note: Kurt Ankeny came to CXC as one of Comics Workbook’s workshop leaders. Comics Workbook hosted four sessions over the course of the festival, and Kurt presented on his work and on modifying your tools and materials to suit the story. He had an engaged audience who dug into the exercise he led after the presentation, which was right out of Ohio’s history of comics correspondence schools – a riff on the comic gag spinner. And now, the rest of Kurt’s CXC experience in his own words. Well, I’m back from Cartoon Crossroads Columbus, and caught up enough to sit down and write a few words about the experience. MUCH thanks to Frank Santoro for funding the vast majority of our trip out there as part of the Comics Workbook crew! THIS IS THE START OF SOMETHING BIG. The show being created by Jeff Smith, Tom Spurgeon, Caitlin McGurk and the staff of the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum is still in its nascent stages. But if the project that they are all working towards comes to fruition, this is going to be a major event on the comics schedule, and may even put indie comics on the national media radar in much the same way that San Diego used to for mainstream comics. It’s exciting to think of how this show might grow. BY, FOR, and OF THE ARTISTS. Shows are not always necessarily about the sales. There are money-maker shows that cartoonists need, certainly. But there are also shows that cartoonists love, because those shows feel, as Kevin Czap put it in his acceptance speech for the Most Promising Talent Award, “like a big family reunion.” SPX is one of those shows. In only its second year, CXC is becoming another. The really special thing about CXC is the programming that happens before the market opens on Saturday. The academic discussions of comics by smart people who love what we do, the peer workshops that convey useful info to working cartoonists, the in-depth evening interview events, all create an atmosphere that is so rare at a con: one of relaxation and appreciation. It is hard to put into words the acceptance I felt being surrounded by so many people who love the form, not just as makers, but also as readers and academics and archivists. THOSE are the people we do this for, and as cartoonists we so rarely get to see those who really care about the work we do. THESE ARE THE PEOPLE IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD. Wow, it was really great to put names with faces and add IRL time to my relationships with Alyssa Berg, Juan José Fernandez, Sally Ingraham, Caleb Orecchio, Sacha Mardou, and Emil Friis Ernst! Tabling with the lovely Whit Taylor was a treat. It’s always good to have some time to talk to Ben Passmore and Kevin Czap, meet Caitlin McGurk, have a conversation with a nearly catatonic Tom Spurgeon at about midnight on Sunday, and have Ben Katchor stop at my table for a good 15-20 minutes to chat about the State of Comics. In other words, I had a pretty good time. ————————————————————————————————— Kurt Ankeny makes comics in Salem, MA – his most recent book is In Pieces: Someplace Which I Call Home. For the rest of our complete CXC coverage check out the special “round up” report HERE. Share this page: [...]

03/29/2017

Juan FernándezMarch 29, 2017los Cómics / NewsEmpezamos el dia con Katherine Supnem;Roberto Massó; Borlocomix; Emma Ríos; Fabian Rangel Jr y Alexis Ziritt; Amaru Distro; Desiree Rodriguez; Berliac; Sol Díaz Castillo y Marcela Trujillo; Manu Garrido y los tebeos del día! ————————————————————————————————— Cayo Cæctus nos presenta Katherine Supnem en Sacapuntas.cl (…) lo fundamental es comenzar a cambiar nuestras propias vidas autoconvocándonos y organizándonos junto a otras mujeres. Necesitamos grupos espontáneos de cómics y grupos dirigidos con una finalidad específica para el radical cambio cultural. Tengo las esperanzas puestas en los nuevos hombres, niños, niñas, mujeres, lesbianas, trans, intersexuales, queers, para una cultura no sexista, ni machista. El trabajo de Lady’s cómics es a punta de cañón, obteniendo recursos desde la propia autogestión, donaciones colectivas y fondos del estado para llevar a cabo este proyecto que rescata la cultura y la historia de las autoras de cómics de Brasil y latinoamérica. Si grupos/colectivos/eventos de este tipo no son imitados, vamos a perder nuestra historia y siempre será el relato de las vencidas (como los relatos de toda América Latina, que parten desde la derrota contra los españoles), siempre seremos las otras, las segregadas, las marginadas de la historia universal del cómic y para que esto no suceda, se debe rescatar con mente y acción arqueológica. No dejemos que se pierda la historia de la historieta hecha por autoras de cómics, por ello es necesario crear eventos bajo la tutela de mujeres. – Katherine Supnem sobre el 2° Encuentro de Lady’s Cómics – Belo Horizonte Brazil ————————————————————————————————— Roberto Massó presenta un nuevo cómic mural e inédito sobre la ciudad de Madrid inaugurando así la tercera exposición de la quinta temporada de La ciudad en viñetas. Massó presenta una visión múltiple de un día en Madrid, desde el subsuelo al cielo pasando por el asfalto, poniendo de relieve detalles y acciones, algunas imperceptibles y otras que siempre están ahí, pero nos pasan desapercibidas. Edificios, tráfico, gente, rótulos… todo se conecta en su particular visión de la ciudad. La inauguración será el próximo jueves 6 de abril en la 4ª planta de CentroCentro Cibeles a las 19h, y la exposición se podrá visitar de forma gratuita hasta el 2 de julio de 2017. ————————————————————————————————— “Si alguien me pregunta quien es el mejor dibujante de comics Venezolano mi unica respuesta es Carlos A. Etcheverry . Los demas son puros mamaguevos!” – Alexis Ziritt Eric Colón Moleiro entrevista a Carlos Etcheverry, dibujante venezolano feroz en Los Angeles: La película porno perdida que hizo su tía María Conchita en los años setenta, la supuesta homosexualidad oculta de su padre Robert, la leyenda de la hacienda Daktari y las razones que lo han llevado a renegar de su apellido. Carlos (Alonso) Etcheverry es venezolano y vive en California desde hace más de 15 años. Es artista plástico y autor de un comic que ha visto la luz gracias a la editorial R-ev inspirado en torno a un personaje surreal, suerte de arlequín perverso con ropa del altiplano llamado Borlo y asegura -en este entrevista exclusiva que es tan arriesgada como sus historietas- que en su casa se habla mal de Chávez, de su papá y de María Conchita también, por supuesto ————————————————————————————————— Cómics y noticias que me han llamado la atención esta semana: Entrevista con Emma Ríos – Emma Ríos comparte sus experiencias como creatriz de MIRROR and PRETTY DEADLY con Nadia Alamah de ComicsVerse. All new Space Riders is out!!! Hoy en EEUU!!! Coming at you full force via Blackmask Studio’s dynamic duo, Fabian Rangel Jr, Alexis Ziritt. Want to get your hands on this high voltage galactic transmission? Find your local comic shop using Comic Shop Locator or if you don’t have a local spot because you live on the moon, here’s more options: Black Mask Store + ComiXology. En 2014 Amaru Distro emprendio una gira vía tierra por Suramerica,con el objetivo de dar a conocer el trabajo de creadoras y creadores del fanzine de Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Perú, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Brasil y Paraguay, ellxs cuentan como es la movida fanzinera en este lado del continente, desde su orígenes, contexto social y cultural, hasta la actualidad. Esta semana Amaru Distro compartió un teaser de documental, Fanzinogamia. Desiree Rodriguez interviewed by Greg Anderson-Elysee. Columnist and Editorial Assistant for Lion Forge‘s Catalyst Prime, Rodriguez has written for outlets such as: The Nerds of Color and Women Write About Comics in detail on diversity in comics and pop culture, Latinx representation, feminism, and sexuality. She is currently working as an Editorial Assistant on Catalyst Prime for Lion Forge Comics, coming out in May. Dig in! Berliac‘s got some new comics on Vice – Asian Food Store Junkies – S01-E05 This week’s all about secret origins… Fabian Rangel Jr.‘s new comics series “Helena Crash” gets a micro-review. It’s pulse pounding, caffeine fueled, sword swinging, machine-gun firing, car crashing sci-fi adventure comic. You know the type. Sol Díaz Castillo y Marcela Trujillo tienen una nueva edicion de La Polola Podcast! En este capítulo las chicas conversan nuevamente con Katherine Supnem, esta vez de su participación en el reciente festival de historieta que organizaron las amigas Chicks on Comics en Argentina. Taiyo Matsumoto o el placer de dejarse abrazar por un cómic. A good Spanish appreciation of the singular mangaka by Manu Garrido. ————————————————————————————————— La gran Vanesa R. Del Rey le ha dado permiso a Comics Workbook para publicar unas selecciónes de sus cuadernos de bocetos. Hemos diseñado esta publicación para que parezca uno de esos libros de de artistas los años 80. Arte y Entrevista. El texto es una transcripción de la entrevista que hicimos con Vanesa cuando visito la Residencia Rowhouse en 2016. Vanesa es un artista impresionante y inigualable. Puedes comprar una copia AQUI. Sigan a Vanesa por Instagram – @vrdelrey – y http://vrdelrey.com/ ————————————————————————————————— Blinkers – 3-29-2017 – by Jack Brougham ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 3-29-2017 – by Gabriella Tito ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 3-29-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

02/21/2018

Juan FernándezFebruary 21, 2018los Cómics / NewsJuan empieza el dia con Las chicas del lápiz, y más! ————————————————————————————————— Ilustradoras Colombianas: las chicas del lápiz Semana gives us a grand survey of many of the women shining in Colombia’s comics and illustration world. Obviously, this is only a sampling, but it serves to show he fertility of contemporary comics making and illustration in Colombia. Las ilustradoras, historietistas y dibujantes colombianas están conquistando públicos a manos llenas. Powerpaola presentará la película “Virus tropical”, basada en su primera novela gráfica, en la Berlinale. Los libros de Amalia Andrade se han convertido en fenómenos de masas. Y detrás de ellas vienen muchas más. SEMANA habló con algunas de ellas. Hop on over to and get hep to likes of La Watson, Lady Bíonica Mariana Gil Rios and company: ————————————————————————————————— El Colectivo de Autoras de Cómic trabaja por la justa valoración de autoras e ilustradoras en la esfera pública: Por todo lo anteriormente apuntado, así como por lo especificado en la Ley de Igualdad*, que apoyamos la iniciativa del Grupo parlamentario Unidos Podemos-En Comú Podem-En Marea para presentar una proposición no de ley (PNL) sobre ilustradoras y autoras de cómic, tebeo y novela gráfica para su debate en la Comisión de Igualdad. El objetivo es instar al Gobierno, en colaboración con las Comunidades Autónomas, a la creación de un plan de visibilización y un plan de lucha contra la precariedad de las mujeres profesionales del sector del tebeo, el cómic y la ilustración, en particular; y abrir el debate sobre la situación del citado sector, en general. ————————————————————————————————— Los cómics y las noticias que me han llamado la atención esta semana: ~ en Español ~ El último #FanzineMagazine está dedicado enteramente a Arséne Schrauwen, obra del belga Olivier Schrauwen editada por Fulgencio Pimentel. Escúchalo aquí:. Elizabeth Casillas escribe “Sobre contextos, libertad de expresión y el noviazgo entre artista y espectador” en Revista Cactus. El historietista argentino que triunfa en Europa y fue prohibido en Canadá – Berliac charla con La Nacion y da una gran entrevista con Fantastic Mag. ————————————————————————————————— 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 – 02-21-2018 – by Gabriella Tito ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 02-21-2018 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

Frank Santoro in Naples Italy 2018

Posted on April 18, 2018May 14, 2019 by Frank Santoro

There are over 30 pages from Pompeii by Frank Santoro on display at the National Archeology Museum of Naples, in an exhibition which is being held in conjunction with Frank’s appearance as a special guest at the Naples Comicon (April 28-May 1 2018).

The show opened yesterday (April 18th) at MANN and will continue until May 31st 2018. More details on the show can be found HERE.

During Comicon Frank will be participating in a panel with Blutch, whose graphic novel Peplum also takes a look at Ancient Rome. Details on the panel are HERE.

If you’re in the area, be sure to attend Comicon and meet Frank, and don’t miss the exhibition at MANN!

…

The Naples Comicon Instagram account was buzzing on May 18th, as famed Italian paleontologist Alberto Angela was caught at the National Archeological Museum of Naples looking at original artwork from Frank Santoro’s Pompeii (above).

Alberto Angela is a popular TV presenter and commentator for science-based programs. He is the author of A Day in the Life of Ancient Rome, among other texts, and has lectured on the tragedy of Pompeii. He seemed taken by Frank’s depictions, or as the Naples Comicon put it, he “could not resist the charm of the show“.

…

There were two Italian news stories upon the opening of the show, with the director of MANN talking about Frank’s work and the exhibition.

…

There is a review and preview of Pompeii in Italian HERE.

…

Share this page:

One thought on “Frank Santoro in Naples Italy 2018”

Richard Fusia says:

April 20, 2018 at 4:24 pm

Most excellent to see. You Rock, brother !!!!
Happy B-day coming up. Continued success !!!

Reply

Comics Workbook

An online magazine for comics makers

Posted in NewsTagged comicon, Frank Santoro, naples, national archeology museum of naples, pompei, pompeii

Frank Santoro

Posted on April 18, 2018May 14, 2019

Explore

Kurt Ankeny on MICE Boston 2016

Kurt AnkenyOctober 31, 2016Festivals and ShowsWell, last night we wrapped up yet another lovely MICE Boston! MICE is my local indie comics expo, and it is the equal of any American event, as far as I am concerned. The staff, led by Shelli Paroline, Dan Mazur, Rebecca Viola (I couldn’t find a website!), Zach Clemente, and volunteers by the dozens, is the nicest and most attentive of any in the country, hands down. As cartoonists, we aren’t used to being spoiled by people coming around, asking us if we need snacks, food, or someone to watch our table while we take a short break. While other indie expos are starting to follow suit (CXC had a set of volunteers that were just as lovely as the MICE staff providing most of the same perqs, and Autoptic and CAKE provide lots of free snacks) I believe MICE was the first to provide this level of courtesy to the exhibitors, and it is the favorite show for lots of cartoonists for that reason. MICE consistently packs in a widely varied crowd, full of people from every age group and background. Part of this is the fact that it is held in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which has one of the most highly educated and diverse citizenries in the nation (it’s home to both Harvard and MIT.) But MICE just has some magic about it. The show has been steadily growing over the past few years. Last year, they broke the 3,000 attendee mark for the first time, and preliminary figures for this past Saturday’s attendance were over 1600, so they seem on par to keep that streak going. People are there to immerse themselves in the comics culture, and to buy, which is always helpful. There was a great representation of different cartoonists at the show. Featured guests included Faith Erin Hicks, the ubiquitous-in-2016 golden-boy-of-the-year Nate Powell, the French husband-wife team known as Kerascoët, local art-and-comics phenom Raúl the Third, Wren McDonald, Sara Varon, Jeremy Sorese, and Drew Weing. Kevin Czap was in attendance, fresh off their amazing weekend at CXC where they took home the Most Promising Talent grant award. Tony Davis of Million Year Picnic was there with his wife and son, selling comics and generally being the hub of the local scene. Nobrow had a table, Neil of Radiator Comics was there, the Boston Comics Roundtable was out in force, alums and current students from the Center for Cartoon Studies were down from Vermont, and several Comics Workbook folks were either tabling or wandering around the show. Comics on parade at the end of a long con season! Saturday was a blast. My new book In Pieces, debuting at the show, was a big hit, and I sold copies to lots of people coming up and telling me how much they had enjoyed the book on Comics Workbook’s Tumblr, and how they had been waiting to buy it! That was a great feeling. I had a great time tabling next to David Marshall, a local comics guy and someone I know from the monthly comics hangouts in Salem. David makes retro-homage superhero comics that are full of nerdy puns, references to UNIX coding, and Doctor Who in-jokes. He knows tons of people from the immediate neighborhood, and spent his time talking them up and accosting the attendees he didn’t know in the most jovial and pleasant way possible. David’s one of those guys who’s the life of the con. Someone truly at home among the comickers. To my other side was the lovely and talented Molly Dean, who makes webcomics and had several printed issues to sell. I waited too late to ask her if she’d like to trade, and she’d already sold out of all of her books! I will see her around though, and I’m looking forward to reading her webcomics at meedean.com. Saturday night, MICE puts on a free dinner for all attendees at Lesley University’s neighboring art gallery, the Lunder Arts Center. (They also provide bagels, cream cheese, donut holes and coffee each morning… I’ll stop talking about the free food.) While I would have LOVED to hang out with everyone, I’d been fighting a sore throat for the last week, and after talking all day, I knew my voice couldn’t handle small talk in a loud and echoing cement room, so I met my wife for dinner in Harvard Square and we had a quiet night. Meanwhile, the party there continued until 9pm, and then the various groups decamped for other venues and watering holes. Much to my chagrin, I missed what Mimi Chrzanowski described as a “magical” night of karaoke at Limelight, near Boston’s Chinatown. I know for sure that Kevin Czap and Cathy G. Johnson were there singing their hearts out. I assume that Dustin Harbin also made it. Sunday at MICE is Kid’s Day, and so the little ones made up a slightly larger percentage of the attendees than on Saturday. Kerascoët frequently had a line as they tag-teamed signing books with full-color sketches as the European cartoonists are accustomed to. I finally got to meet K.L. Ricks, whose illustration work and comics I deeply admire. I got to chat over breakfast with Maria Hoey, who is half of the brother-sister team behind Coin-Op books, and who I’d met for the first time at Autoptic in 2015. Maria’s looking forward to Comic Arts Brooklyn next weekend, and made me regret not taking up Whit Taylor‘s offer of sharing her table there this year. At noon, I was a guest at MICE’s new feature, the Cartoonarium, which is a little table set up to project your drawing to a screen, where people can watch cartoonists work and ask questions about their process. Zach Clemente came around to record a brief Twitter interview. First Cartoonarium of the day! We chat with @kurtankeny about his writing process! pic.twitter.com/bOaDRFRYg5 — MICExpo (@MassMICE) October 30, 2016 Sundays crowds had more ebb and flow to them that Saturday, but the sales were steady and people were engaged and fun to talk to, which is always the best part of a con. Since MICE was on the weekend before Halloween, costumes were in effect more than usual. I counted four girls and women dressed as Kiki from Kiki’s Delivery Service, there was a very well done Daphne and Velma from Scooby Doo, Saga seemed to be popular as I saw at least three separate groups dressed as various characters from that comic, and there were several low-key Steven Universes and even a person dressed as Neil Gaiman’s version of Death, complete with parade of people with rainclouds and a concertina. Thanks again to all involved in making MICE such a smooth and friendly and successful show for everyone! Until next year! Kurt Share this page: [...]

02/25/2016

Juan FernándezFebruary 25, 2016Newsdamn, it’s cold and gray in Pittsburgh. Bummer. Gotta get toasty somehow… thankfully Tara Helfer‘s got a little 10-panel winter ditty for you. Great pantomime of a hungry young troll girl. Interesting, subtle designs that leave you excitedly filling the narrative blanks. It’s the kind of comic that leaves you smiling imagining the before and after of the sequence. Read her comic here. – Jillian Tamaki has a new comic out on Hazlitt entitled Boundless. She glides through the animal kingdom, giving the reader a taste of what life is like for several critters. The comic is a great empathetic exploration of the human in the natural. No panels, just images and words swimming together. Hop on over to Hazlitt.net to read Boundless. – Tyler Landry has uploaded the gory, grotesque glory that is Shit and Piss 3 over on Ello. It’s a glorious, carnal, fetid, sumptuously human 16 pages. Beautifully choreographed action, spliced with strong poetic imagery. Dive into the muck and give it a read. – If you haven’t yet heard through the grapevine, Sally Ingraham and Maggie Umber are hosting a drawing challenge over at the comicsworkbook.tumblr. It’s the Gato Gif Competition. Do you like to draw? Do you like cats? Do you want to win comics books from Comics Workbook and 2dcloud? Then you best get the inside scoop on the Gato Gif Challenge from Maggie and Sally! – Emma Rios and Hwei Lim Reflect on their collaboration for their work on Image’s new miniseries Mirror. It’s a standalone narrative where the duos been collaborating in new and leftfield ways, dipping into the experimental waters with gusto. Rios, known as the artist on Pretty Deadly, here writes for Lim. Sit down with the two of them over at Comics Alliance and learn more about their collaboration. CA: How have you found the collaborative process together? HL: Emma is incredibly open to all my crazy suggestions, and extremely forgiving of my countless silly questions and backtracking and forgetfulness! ER: Beyond the obvious beauty of her lines and colors, Hwei’s brilliant narrative, and her ability to make characters feel, have always stood out from anything I’ve ever seen. She turns everything into twice as nuanced with very little, a glance, a wink, a joke… in a way that looks almost effortless and natural. If you don´t draw it’s hard to imagine how difficult that is but, literally, it’s bringing life to the pages. Analyzing how she is building Mirror, and comparing the result with what I would have done myself is mind-blowing for me as an artist. If I were the one drawing the book, this story would have looked grittier and more disgusting, because I’m rather visceral and sometimes I just can’t restrain myself when drawing violence and similar stuff. But this light she brings … has transformed the story even since before I started writing a single line. It allows us to work on another level, with cuteness and humor, and is taking the tragedy to a whole new level of pain, haha… The eyes she draws are the saddest eyes, and if they belong to a caged animal, man… I don’t even know how I can even deal with it. Actually I’m always apologizing to her each time I send her stuff that is twisted with a, “Sorry, I’m a horrible person” but she seems to enjoy it. There’s a nice interview with Conor Stechschulte at Broken Frontier. They dig into lots of really interesting aspects of Conor’s comics making processes and the evolution of his creative interests from his years studying art at MICA with the Closed Captioned Comics crew to present day. Read all the nitty gritty here. [and you can pick up Generous Bosom 1 and 2 at the Breakdown Press online store here. ;)] With up to 25 panels per page, the pacing of your comics seems very carefully laid out. Do you plan it out carefully? When I get down to planning the pages, I do work a good deal on it. I think a lot about timing and focus, especially on where the page turns fall. I write out dialog, then thumbnail pages, then do a “Scratch” version of the full-size page, then lightbox the finished drawing from there, and I’m making changes at every stage. Share this page: [...]

12/15/2017

Sally IngrahamDecember 14, 2017NewsSally here to finish the week with work by Kyung Me, Gabrielle Bell, Nnedi Okorafor, and more! ————————————————————————————————— Kyung Me is having a solo exhibition at Selena Gallery in Brooklyn, NY. It opens tomorrow, December 16th, 7-10pm (34 Troutman St #3.) “Kyung Me’s intricate, hypnotic drawings map out puzzled narratives revealing a mysterious cat and dream like scenery that dismantle linear time. For this exhibition, the artist will present her new original drawings focused around her reinvention of the Cheshire cat. Kyung Me’s invented characters operate as stand-ins for herself, as a means of understanding relationships with herself and others. In her latest autobiographical series, Copy Kitty, the artist explores the perverse qualities of obsessive romantic relationships. Through sensitively rendered graphite drawings, Kyung Me creates an immersive world full of dread and humor that both satirizes and eulogizes the naïveté of an immature, paranoid, yet earnest love.“ Some of Copy Kitty – {Prelude} – appeared here on Comics Workbook in May – see the comic HERE. Also be sure to check out Kyung Me’s Bad Korean, and other comics and art on her website. ————————————————————————————————— Brian Nicholson wrote about Gabrielle Bell‘s Everything is Flammable, and E.A. Bethea’s Book Of Daze recently on his blog Longbox Coffin. He wasn’t blown away by either, but I think the reviews are pretty fair to both works. I liked one note he made regarding creators of autobio comics: “You have to be a certain kind of person to make an autobio comic: Introverted and removed enough to be observing the people around you for being strange, outgoing enough to know those people are interesting, capable of deadpan wit, possessing enough free time to tell the stories of things that have transpired while they’re still fresh in your mind. … If you were reading straight prose, or poetry, the author’s voice would distinguish itself from others more, but comics can use their visuals to achieve a sort of leveling effect. The narrator is a witness, to give events a throughline, but less of a defining presence in their own right. If they were more overbearing, and dominated their surroundings, they would want to dominate the reader as well, and so would write fiction.“ Read the full review, and Brian’s thoughts on Book of Daze as well, HERE. ————————————————————————————————— I read a lot of comics, mostly alternative and small press stuff of course, but I dip into mainstream comics occasionally too. I keep tumbling into the world of Black Panther – especially after local Pittsburgh poet Yona Harvey joined the creative team for a minute last year. The series has been struggling against any number of foes in the industry and market, but Marvel is trying again this week with a digital version of the comic, available exclusively through comiXology. The reason I’m genuinely excited for this release is because Black Panther: Long Live the King is written by one of my favorite sci-fi novelists – the Hugo/Nebula/World Fantasy award-winning Nnedi Okorafor. The Comics Beat has a write-up on the series, and they share some thoughts from Nnedi Okorafor: ” “I had a lot of questions about Wakanda, so I brought the lens deep into it… You’ll see the Black Panther interacting with tech-hacking village kids, vibranium-affected wildlife, and off-grid communities in Wakanda known as “mute zones”. Not only is this a deeply personal story about T’Challa, you’ll also see a side of the African country of Wakanda that no one’s seen before. Oh and there’s a mysterious monster in the countryside causing problems for everyone.” “ Nnedi Okorafor’s novels combine African locales and characters with supernatural events and weird science in a way that is truly mind-bending, spooky, and often beautiful, so I have high hopes for her ability to channel some bonkers/brilliant new energy into Black Panther. Fingers crossed. Read more about the series HERE. ————————————————————————————————— The Rum Punch Meg Lemke takes over as the Graphic Novels Review Editor at Publishers Weekly. Heidi MacDonald held the position for 14 years, and now cheerfully hands over the baton to Meg, as her focus shifts full time to The Comics Beat (after its recent acquisition by Syndication Comics). Read more about it HERE – and congratulations to Meg! Frank Santoro writes about Lala Albert‘s new comic Wet Earth – here on The Comics Journal. Jessica Campbell has a new comic up on Hyperallergic – A Gallery Worker’s Glimpses of Art Basel Miami Beach. Emil Ferris is the guest on episode 25 of Comic Book Decalogue – listen HERE. Whit Taylor picks a comic by Carta Monir to feature on Illustrated PEN – see it 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. 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 – 12-15-2017 – by Sally Ingraham Share this page: [...]

Little Seen Los Bros Hernandez Covers From The Late 1980s

Chris Anthony DiazJune 3, 2016The Diaz ArchivePeople wonder why i can’t pare down my comics collection in one fell swoop… it’s because i have to cherry pick it for gems like this to keep first before selling the ones that i have outgrown! Share this page: [...]

12/13/2017

Juan FernándezDecember 13, 2017los Cómics / NewsJuan empieza el día con Julie Doucet y John Pham! ————————————————————————————————— Hoy en Revista Cactus Gerardo Vilches publicó su reciente entrevista con la gran Julie Doucet: ¿Qué sientes cuando tantas jóvenes dibujantes se declaran seguidoras de tu trabajo y afirman que eres una influencia para ellas? Es algo muy fuerte, desde luego. Y emocionante. No tenía ni idea de que eso pudiera pasar cuando hacía mis fanzines fotocopiados, con cincuenta ejemplares de tirada. No sabía que algún día me publicarían en una editorial o que inspiraría a otras personas, a otras mujeres, especialmente… Es increíble. Tus primeros trabajos están llegando ahora a un público joven… ¿Qué piensas cuando algunas de esas historias son leídas en clave feminista? Es cierto que, cuando las dibujaba, no tenía ninguna intención como esa. Principalmente, hablaba de mi propia experiencia, ni se me ocurría que alguien pudiera ver eso en mi trabajo. Entonces yo no terminaba de sentirme a gusto como mujer, y mis intereses no tenían nada que ver con los del resto de las mujeres que conocía. Pero pienso que cuando publicas una historia, esta deja de pertenecerte solo a ti. De modo que puedo entender perfectamente que haya gente que las considere feministas. Léanlo todo AQUI. ————————————————————————————————— Breixo Harguindey reseña al flamante ganador del @Puchiaward 2017: J+K de John Pham. Se trata de las peripecias de dos amigas en un universo de colorido eléctrico y resplandeciente. “A medio camino entre Gumball, Hanselmann y los videojuegos.” Aún no ha llegado a los Estados Unidos! Breixo Harguindey: A primer vistazo, lo más llamativo de J+K es su tratamiento del color, eléctrico y resplandeciente, con degradados muy conseguidos. Esta novedad respecto de Sublife proviene del trabajo de investigación de Pham con la técnica de impresión risográfica, una sistema a medio camino entre lo digital y el Offset. El propio autor reconoce la influencia del Norakuro de Suihō Tagawa en este tratamiento cromático. El ascendente del kitai manga, anterior a la Segunda Guerra Mundial, en las últimas hornadas del cómic alternativo se deja igualmente traslucir en el dibujo de Pham, cuyo trazo redondo como de dibujos animados (el autor colabora también en Cartoon Network) nos recuerda poderosamente al maestro del nansensu Shigeru Sugiura. Léanlo todo AQUI. ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 12-13-2017 – by Gabriella Tito ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 12-13-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio————————————————————————————————— 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! ————————————————————————————————— Share this page: [...]

One thought on “Frank Santoro in Naples Italy 2018”

Leave a Reply Cancel reply