Comics Workbook

An online magazine for comics makers

Chris Anthony Diaz

Posted on July 24, 2018July 25, 2018

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07/12/2017

Juan FernándezJuly 12, 2017los Cómics / NewsEmpezamos el día con Jaime y Gilbert Hernandez; Amanda Mijangos y Armando Fonseca en La Polola;Klari Moreno; Cornet; Begoña García-Alén; E. Muñoz y CuCo 8; y los tebeos de Cómics Workbook! ————————————————————————————————— Punk, Latinidad, & Reviving Their Seminal ‘Love and Rockets’ Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez talk shop over on Remezcla: It’s like people were waiting for it. Latinos have been thirsty for that kind of representation. What I don’t understand is why, after 35 years, representation is still a problem. Do you have any ideas about why that is? Jaime: I think there’s a hell of a lot more Latino creators than I knew about back then. They’re doing it their way, some differently than I would. Which is cool. Everyone’s got their own view. I think the problem is still when money is involved. Whenever money is involved there’s going to be stereotypes. Everything is going to be done to please whitey. Money is going to steer you toward the money – and who is the 1%? You find out that the people in control of the TV studio or the movie studio or whoever is paying the check for this art – they don’t care. They don’t care about other cultures. When they find out that, “Oh well golly! Lots of Latin people spend money on our product” they don’t know what to do! The bottom line is when money is involved someone is going to get shorted. You’ve said, “The more ethnic I am, the more attention I get.” Why do you think that is and why does it work? Gilbert: I think I become more truthful when I get closer to who I am and where I’m from. I can tell a more truthful story and even a funnier and darker story because I’m just reflecting who I am. There’s a small element though, I hate to say, is it’s safe for non-Latino readers. It’s on paper. The characters are drawings. They’re not a threat. When it becomes a pop singer or actress or actor, they’re in your face. That’s a real person there. I think are a little tougher to take for some people. ————————————————————————————————— Cómics y noticias que me han llamado la atención esta semana: Jueves 3 de Agosto – Evento para recaudar fondos para el 2do Encuentro de Fanzineras. Santiago de Chile/Metro Irarrázabal. Organizado por @Comiqueraschile . Sol Díaz Castillo y Marcela Trujillo tienen una nueva edicion de La Polola Podcast! Las chicas conversan con Amanda Mijangos y Armando Fonseca, dos talentosos ilustradores Mexicanos. Hablan acerca de su trabajo, la importancia de buscar una mirada propia en la ilustración, la experimentación, la relación con los editores, sus proyectos personales y el proyecto que los trae a Chile, la obra de teatro “Risas de Papel” que estará en cartelera en Teatro Ictus, donde ellos hacen ilustración en vivo que dialoga con el actor. Un toquecito de historia: Cornet, Dibujante Catalan del siglo XX, fue uno de los artistas más populares que se formó en ‘¡Cu-Cut!’ – Humoristan.org les ofrece un vistazo a su vida en imagenes! Véte de cañas con Klari Moreno en Madrid con su entrevista en Segundo Premio. Moreno: «Defiendo la autoedición como acto político» Hay nuevo número de el espectador de Begoña García-Alén. El mejor de la serie, sin duda! E. Muñoz les ofrece un tronco de ensayo en CuCo 8:“El cómic como lenguaje visual híbrido y su vigencia en la era digital contemporánea”. ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 7-11-2017 – by Sally Ingraham ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 7-11-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

Comics Workbook Composition Competition 2017

Frank SantoroJuly 24, 2017Santoro Schoolthee SANTORO CORRESPONDENCE COURSE and thee Comics Workbook Rowhouse Residency presents thee COMICS WORKBOOK COMPOSITION COMPETITION 2017 ———————————————————————————————— 1st place – A week-long Comics Workbook Rowhouse Residency (valued at $500 – travel and expenses not included) 2nd place – $250 credit at Copacetic Comics 3rd place – $100 credit at Copacetic Comics plus four $50 honorable mention prizes from Big Planet Comics ———————————————————————————————— Create a 16 page signature comic book narrative to the specifications below ———————————————————————————————— DEADLINE: Tuesday, September 5th 2017 at 11:59 pm NYC time ———————————————————————————————— HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE are last four years if you haven’t heard of the contest. HERE are all of the 2016 contest entries. This isn’t a scam, silly. ———————————————————————————————— Here are the 2017 composition competition specs: Contest take 1 from Frank Santoro on Vimeo. PAY ATTENTION! Watch the video above! Take an 11×17 inch piece of paper and cut it down to 10 1/4 x 13 1/2 inches. Fold this piece of paper in half. Measure in 3/8ths of an inch from the top and the sides, and 3/8ths of an inch in on both sides of the center fold. Measure in 3/4s of an inch from the bottom. This will make two 6 x 9 inch live areas on your 10 1/4 x 13 1/2 inch paper – as you can see in the example below. Watch the video for clarity. Make three equal “landscape” oriented tiers on each live area. Make copies of this “spread”. Do your layouts at this size. PAY ATTENTION! ***Draw your original artwork at 10 x 15 inches. Use 11×17 inch paper – make a 10×15 inch live area on the paper. Measure in 1/4 inch on each side and a 1/4 inch from the top to situate your 10×15 inch live area within the 11×17 inch paper. See video. The top tier and the bottom tier must have two 5×5 panels. The center tier may be open completely to make one 5×10 inch panel or two 5×5 inch panels. Again see video for clarity. The top tier and the bottom tier MUST have two panels. The center tier may have one panel or two. You may use the 6-panel grid throughout the entire 14-page story but one of the pages MUST have an open center panel. All of the pages may have an open center panel. Each page will have either 5 or 6 panels. Watch THIS video and THIS video for context. Pay attention to the parts about opening up the center. Also read Layout Workbook 1 and 2 for more info about traditional North American comic book proportions. You may break up your panels like this: 14 pages and two covers. Meaning seven spreads and a front and back cover. A 16 page signature. Work may be in color OR black and white – OR – a combination of both. International students must use the same specs. No complaining. It is recommended that you draw the pages on 11×17 paper with a 10×15 inch live area. It is recommended that you print your comic at traditional North American comic book size – which is 6 3/4 x 10 1/4. Again, see video. THE STORY MUST BE COMPLETE. SERIAL INSTALLMENTS of a longer narrative ARE NOT ELIGIBLE. THE STORY MUST BE NEW. IF YOU REPURPOSE AN OLD STORY THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN PUBLISHED YOU WILL BE DISQUALIFIED. Consider this an exercise in short story writing. I think the 16 page signature is ideal to contain a short story. Adaptations of existing works are not eligible. Like, you can’t copy a sequence from a movie. To submit your comic to the composition: Photograph or scan your pages and post them on your tumblr AS SPREADS. If you don’t have a tumblr – make one just for this contest. No exceptions! No complaining! Post the front cover as the lead image and the back cover as the final image and put your name and the title of the work in the text field and that it is for the Comics Workbook Composition Competition 2017. Email me – santoroschoolATgmailDOTcom – that you have posted your entry to your tumblr and give me a direct link to the post – and I will reblog it on to the comicsworkbook tumblr. I will be posting them – reblogging them – on comicsworkbook as they come in. The good, the bad, and the ugly. I will, however, only be posting stories that stick to the RULES. If you don’t follow the rules, I will not reblog the story and you won’t be eligible for the prizes. I will reblog them as quickly as I can and keep the list of entries updated – if you do not see your entry right away do not panic – I will make every effort to keep the list up to date but as long as you get your entry submitted correctly via email before the deadline your work will be in the competition. Last year we had over 100 entries and near the end things were hectic – so be patient. Any questions about the competition – please email me – do not leave a comment on this post – I will not reply here. Just email me. The competition is open to all. You do not have to be a former student of mine. Former students of mine ARE eligible to compete, as are winners of previous competitions. Again, if you have any questions about the rules please ask. Better to ask and be safe than to be mad when I disqualify you over some missed detail. Seriously. Work may be in color OR black and white – OR – a combination of both. You MAY have panel gutters. You MAY work digitally. And you MAY work as a team. Remember! Email me – santoroschoolATgmailDOTcom – that you have posted your entry to your tumblr – I will reblog it. DEADLINE is Tuesday, September 5th 2017 at 11:59 pm NYC time Winners will be announced the following week. Please share this announcement GOOD LUCK! signed Frank Santoro Share this page: [...]

04/14/2016

HarrisonApril 14, 2016NewsDaily News for Thursday April 13 with poetry, storytelling, and casual. RVA Comics Spotlight: Eric Scott Pfeiffer! Humbly astonishing. Two words that come to mind when thinking of this fine sir. Before we get all gushy on how he great he is just check this out below…. Need I say more? So Eric has been here in Richmond, Va for quite some time. (there’s a whole crew that’s been here just spewing out good shit, but I’ll get to that in later news). He has a remarkable comic under his belt, “Arcadia”. Check that out! Here’s a link to his website, but as your checking that out. Put on some smooth tunes and just be amazed by his marvelous ideas: http://ericscottpfeiffer.com/category/illustration/ Last but certainly not least, follow him on social media because he’s got a couple secret projects worth looking out for! Speaking of tunes, this week will also be very Richmond inspired. I’ve got a joint here for you that no one should pass up. Jefferson Harris (not DJ Harrison, but just as good) and Robilu Gibson. These two do a fusion dance AND form *drum roll* SOLUHHH! (SoLuh). A powerful yet smooth beat-maker and a mesmerizing yet stern poet. Rob has been on television a couple times, so you might know his face. Jefferson has been playing all around Richmond, just killin’ the scene with lovely tunes. Together they create a smooth, striking junction of poem, similes, and beats. But that’s enough yappin’ from me. Check them out below. “Incredible Heat Machines” https://soluh.bandcamp.com/album/incredible-heat-machines As always remember to drink water! Take a break, relax. https://youtu.be/9PcJR5MWrzc Storytelling 202 “But John don’t you think that people make a distinction between a story that is true and a story that is imagined or invented? I’m always struck by the fact that there is a kind of ambiguity in the very notion of storytelling. On the one hand we think of storytelling as a truth telling activity, “Tell me the real story”. We think of stories as bringing information, we think of stories as revealing secrets. But we also think of stories as, “That’s only a story!” or “Don’t tell me stories!”, meaning don’t tell me lies, and don’t you think at the very center of the whole enterprise of storytelling there is the fact that storytelling is an activity that faces in two directions. On the one hand is connected to the idea of truth, on the other hand it’s connected to the idea of invention, imagination, lies. One is thrilled by the story precisely because it describes something that can’t happen, it’s connected with fantasy.” -Susan Sontag. Listening to this discussion twice and still running out of paper for notes, maybe the thoughts can come in handy for other artists as well. Special Announcement: Comics Workbook Rowhouse Residency Fundraiser Auction ebay.com/sch/copaceticcomicscompany/m.html?_trksid=p3692 **PLEASE NOTE: The Copacetic Comics Company is managing this auction on behalf of Comics Workbook.** This is a BENEFIT AUCTION for the Comics Workbook Rowhouse Residency. It is part of the ongoing fundraising campaign to get the Rowhouse Residency up and running and serving students. All proceeds of this auction are going to Comics Workbook to defray the expenses involved in realizing this goal. This auction is a continuation of the now completed Rowhouse Residency IndieGoGo campaign and other fundraising efforts. The eight items donated to The Comics Workbook Rowhouse Residency Fundraising Drive by one Mr. Chris Ware. Each item in this auction has been hand packaged and signed by Mr. Ware and was shipped by him directly to Comics Workbook for the purposes of being auctioned here to raise funds for the Rowhouse Residency. Comics Workbook would like to express our profound gratitude to Chris Ware for his support of the Rowhouse Residency. ebay.com/sch/copaceticcomicscompany/m.html?_trksid=p3692 Featuring Jim Rugg | jimrugg.com/ Video by Michael Pisano | michaelpisano.com Soundtrack | Johann Sebastian Bach // Gott fähret auf mit Jauchzen, BWV 43 – 7. Aria: Er ists, der ganz allein // performed by Michel Rondeau John | McCoy | Jimmy | Elvin Share this page: [...]

Connor Willumsen’s LICAF 2016 Workshops

Comics WorkbookOctober 30, 2016ClassesConnor Willumsen teaching a Comics Workbook-hosted workshop at The Lakes International Comic Art Festival, 2016 Share this page: [...]

03/26/2018

Caleb OrecchioMarch 25, 2018NewsCaleb Orecchio here with thoughts on A. Degen’s Soft X-Ray/Mindhunters, and other news. ————————————————————————————————— A. Degen’s work is always enjoyable and fun to look at. The drawing is loose, but not sloppy. The images are dense, but not overwhelming. The wordless narratives are simple, yet not unsophisticated. Soft X-Ray/Mindhunters, from thee Koyama Press (May 2018), continues the trend. Degen’s work often brings to mind Moebius’ Airtight Garage, specifically the element of spontaneity and worlds-within-worlds locations, with a dash of early Tezuka minimalism. In the case of this book, particularly in scenes concerning virtual reality, I sniff a whiff of Frank Miller’s Ronin. Like Ronin, or it’s most famous exploitation, The Matrix, Mindhunters is all about dreams versus reality and the dreams within dreams. I think. It’s a big fat book, weighing in at nearly 400 pages. Would I have preferred if it was serialized over 4 or 5 floppies? Yes. I think the amalgamation of separate-yet-intertwining stories would have benefitted from some time between them, some tension. However, I am painfully aware that a comics publisher is more likely to publish a giant tome, rather than a handful of pamphlets these days. Despite my preferences, the big book delivers the goods. To me, the love for one’s work really comes off these pages and emits a warmth and comfort akin to Brandon Graham’s best comics. Degen’s strengths as a cartoonist is that the work is always consistent and fully developed. I don’t sense that anything has been accidentally left out. Humor and imagination come together to make cotton candy for the eyes. I am seldom let down by an A. Degen book. The work is always worth its salt. Look for Soft X-Ray/Mindhunters in May 2018. ————————————————————————————————— if you don’t know, now you know Tom Spurgeon talks to WonderCon spokesperson, David Glanzer. Rob Clough reviews Present by Leslie Stein at Your Chicken Enemy. Box Brown is the latest guest on Process Party. ————————————————————————————————— Announcing the Spring Semester of thee Santoro Correspondence Course for Comic Book Makers 8 weeks! $500 bux! 10 spots available! Rolling start date because of spring break – start as early as March 30th 2018. Deadline to apply is April 12th. Read all about the course HERE and email santoroschool@gmail.com for more details or to apply. ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 3-26-2018 – by Frank Santoro Share this page: [...]

San Diego Comic-Con International 2018

Posted on July 24, 2018July 25, 2018 by Chris Anthony Diaz

My first Comic-Con ever! So my apologies, I tried my best to take as many photos as possible, but this show is overwhelming, yet a lot of fun. Also, I lugged around too much stuff to get signed, which i brought — yes excuses! Anyways, this is all I ended up with despite going in with a more extensive list of cartoonists I wanted to photograph! Oh well, hopefully next year I end up taking more. San Diego Comic-Con International 2018, downtown San Diego Convention Center Exhibit Hall, Thursday, July 19, 2018

The Love & Rockets banner decorates the Fantagraphics Books table

During his signing time, Jaime Hernandez hijinxs! In Locas moments of mischief and glee, notice how Jaime’s characters take after him here!

Jaime Hernandez: one half of Love & Rockets. The rubber band he fired hit his sister-in-law Carol Hernandez!

My favorite Jaime cover so far of the new version of Love And Rockets, very cinematic and montage-like. Love the wide-screen design of the three panels! (Based on the top panel, I think Jaime could do a nice adaptation of Dune!)

Gilbert Hernandez: one half of Love & Rockets and Assassinistas for IDW Publishing

Gold Sharpie pen looks great on black hardcover of Love & Rockets Volume 15 of the original series!

Comic-Con badge and gift bag area as well as the autograph pavilion

Noah Van Sciver: Blammo, Fante Bukowski, Disquiet, Constant Companion sketchbook, Saint Cole, Johnny Appleseed, The Hypo and Now contributor

Paid sketch in Disquiet of the father character from The Lizard Laughed short story — in my opinion, Noah’s greatest story, which won me over and made me a permanent fan of his comics!

Taken in downtown Columbus, Ohio during CXC 2016, my photo of Noah appears with a cool color tint on the letter page of the newly released Blammo 10!

My photo of Noah taken in downtown Columbus, Ohio during CXC 2016 appears in the French release

Manuele Fior and Noah Van Sciver signing

Manuele Fior: Blackbird Days, The Interview and 5000 km Per Second

Thank you for the awesome painted sketch Manuele!

Sammy Harkham: Crickets and Kramers Ergot anthology

Sammy did a “Tonta” title to go with his Locas pin-up, but it was let off in the final printing for whatever reason. So he did it again here to complete his piece

Sammy finally joined others in the Fanta 40th anniversary book

Geof Darrow: The Shaolin Cowboy, Hard Boiled and Big Guy And Rusty The Boy Robot

A large and affordable original from Geof Darrow, which epitomizes the detail and type of characters in his work

Writer Tini Howard (left) and cartoonist Gilbert Hernandez (right): Assassinistas for IDW Publishing

Tracy Hurren, editor of Dirty Plotte: The Complete Julie Doucet and creative director Tom Devlin of Drawn & Quarterly

Sienna: Blue Hare Comix and Mission: Comics & Art

My very tasty and affordable after Comic-Con dinner at ¡Salud! Barrio Logan

Seconds at ¡Salud! Barrio Logan, this time ceviche and another margarita! See you next year!

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Comics Workbook

An online magazine for comics makers

Posted in The Diaz Archive

Chris Anthony Diaz

Posted on July 24, 2018July 25, 2018

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10/24/2018

Juan FernándezOctober 24, 2018NewsJuan and Andrew with an invitation to participate in 2018’s #30dayscomics Juan here! November is right around the corner which means that not only will I finally let myself turn on the heat at my apartment in Pittsburgh, but #30dayscomics will soon be upon us! As the weather chills and most of us become indoor creatures in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s good to come together by working on and sharing comics making challenges, connected by the internet. For those who don’t know, 30 Days of Comics is a month-long challenge. The parameters are pretty simple: Make 1 comic a day for the month of November. They can be anything you like, any format, any style, though most people do 1 page or 1 strip. Just do it everyday. This November, I’m excited to be able to allocate some time (likely at work) to working on my esperanza00 series and to see where these neurotrash digital collages of drawings, jpegs, clippings from articles, poems and facebook posts take me. The idea will be to create a 4 panel comic composed of 3-6 colors in this fashion daily: Needless to say, I’m excited. Here at Comics Workbook we’d like to invite you to participate in this year’s comics making journey. With me today is Andrew White to tell you more about a little this year’s #30dayscomics. Take it away Andrew. Starting on November 1st, I’m going to draw and post one comic per day for a month. I’ve done this almost every year since 2012, with varying success in terms of getting to the end of the month and in terms of the work itself. The cartoonist Derik Badman first took on this challenge, which he called 30 Days of Comics, in 2009 and invited others to join him in 2011. Derik describes the month as, “a time for experimentation, exploring short forms, and a great way to produce work.” That sounds about right to me. Often participants work with some kind of constraint, using the month to experiment with different approaches or new materials. See for example Kevin Czap’s A Lesson in Survival (2012), which appropriates text from Joni Mitchell and is visually very different from Kevin’s other work; or Simon Moreton’s set of printed zines produced near-daily; or Alyssa Berg’s Open Letter to Sleep (2016), an extended meditation on a single topic. Making one comic per day is of course a constraint itself. Personally, I’ve found the month most fruitful when I’ve gotten at a topic that I’ve been turning over in my mind for a while, which hopefully means that it will benefit from a rapid outpouring of work. The 30 Days of Comics Tumblr archive is another place to see how others have approached the month in the past. On that note, the community aspect of 30 Days has been essential for me. We encourage each other to keep going, and I’m still happy with the year when I riffed on the work of other participants. I’ve first met some dear friends thanks to 30 Days. Finally, implicit in the call to make comics daily for a month is the idea that making comics daily might not be possible through the rest of the year. We all benefit from a different balance between thinking about comics and making comics – and sometimes that balance is imposed externally by a day job or other life circumstance. We’re all affected, often negatively, by the idea that productivity is essential to our success as an artist, but we might wish we were more productive as well. For me, 30 Days helps with the difficult project of maintaining that balance. One comic per day isn’t too much work, but 30 comics in total is also significant. It’s okay if you miss a day. It’s okay if you aren’t happy with some of your work. This year I’ll be making four panel comics, inspired by people like Juan Fernandez and Madeleine Witt. My strips will be loosely based on this paper in the academic journal Science. I hope you’ll join us, and that you’ll use the hashtag #30dayscomics so that we can all find each other’s work! 10-24-2018 – Fifi Martinez 10-24-2018 – Niall Breen Share this page: [...]

2/17/2016

Juan FernándezFebruary 17, 2016NewsWottaday… Sarah Bowie, Disa Wallander and L. Nichols all have some new comics for you to dig your teeth into! For some messy, honest, social realism, you can take a poke into Wallander’s world through her hourly comics that swallow up any and all documentary images for the sake of comics. Bowie’s got a new short, Saucepan. Image and narration dance together nicely in this nice slice of microfiction for you. And for the more observational stroll through the woods, join L. Nichols up Hunter Mountain in the latest of Nichol’s hiking comics. There’s a cool new video of Steve Oliff reflecting on his coloring work with Katsuhiro Otomo on Akira. In 1989, Oliff, a veteran colorist, was personally selected by Katsuhiro Otomo to color his seminal manga, AKIRA. This video documents their working relationship, including Otomo’s trip to Point Arena, CA to collaborate with Steve on developing the color scheme. Steve hand-painted every page of AKIRA, using some combination of airbrush, gouache, water marker, colored pencil, Pantone film; these original color guides are now available exclusively from Felix Comic Art. John Kelly’s got a killer piece over at the Comics Journal that delves deep into the history of the East Village Eye, an important alt-newspaper back in the day. It’s really an excellent investigation. Take some time and sit with the article. It’ll have you hopping back and forth across the web, over turning loads of stones to learn more about the publication. “The East Village Eye did a lot of the most significant early hip-hop and aerosol ‘graffiti’ art coverage,” said James Romberger, whose strip and events at his art gallery–both called Ground Zero and both done with his partner and collaborator Marguerite Van Cook–appeared in the Eye. “It highlighted that the East Village of the early and mid-80s as a whole was very multicultural and inclusive. The art that people were doing was aggressive and accessible; and the art scene crossed-over at the time with the music, film and club scenes.” And that was the point of the Eye. “My point of view with the Eye was to blur the lines–and try to obliterate the lines–between the kind of popular culture that people took seriously–that the artists took seriously and the media took seriously,” said Eye founder and editor Leonard Abrams. “And I think that we succeeded. We definitely helped push that point of view.” Bill Boichel riffs on Michale Pisano’s camera about the new Michael DeForge’s issue of Frontier. Watch the review. Matt Davis over at Perfecty Acceptable press just announced the Spring/Summer publishing line up. It looks like a really strong line up of deft cartoonists who know how to use color to great effect. New books by: Daria Tessler @animalsleepstories Jim Pluk @jimpluk Talya Modlin @talyamodlin & Inés Estrada @inechi Share this page: [...]

01/24/2017

Aaron CockleJanuary 23, 2017NewsAaron here today with Sophie Yanow on the ground in DC; what we talk about when we talk about Chinese Comics; Paper Jazz Festival; Frank Johnson; some light reading (courtesy of The New Inquiry); Dr Seuss, political cartoonist. ————————————————————————————————— Dispatch from D.C. Intrepid reporter Sophie Yanow was at this past weekend’s U.S. presidential inauguration. ————————————————————————————————— The 174th meeting of the NY Comics & Picture-story Symposium will be held on Tuesday, January 24, 2017 at 7pm at Parsons School of Design, 2 West 13th Street, in the Bark Room (off the lobby). Free and open to the public. Orion Martin on The Largest Comics Industry Ever: China’s Pulp Comics Beginning in Shanghai in the 1920s, a vibrant culture of mass produced comics developed in mainland China. These pocket-sized comics, called lianhuanhua, became one of the most popular forms of entertainment in the country and were printed in tremendous quantities. In 1985, the peak year of lianhuanhua production, more than eight billion comics were printed in genres ranging from historical parables to adaptations of Star Wars. Demand for the comics has decreased since the 1980s, but hundreds of thousands continue to circulate in antique stores and online. R. Orion Martin is writer and translator based in Brooklyn, New York. He writes about comics, art, and the ways new understandings of comics can make them more meaningful to our lives. His work has been featured on Hyperallergic, The Comics Journal, and The Hooded Utilitarian. You can find him on Tumblr or Twitter. Here’s the Spring 2017 Symposium schedule as well, if you are interested: ————————————————————————————————— Paper Jam is now Paper Jazz Rising like a phoenix from the ashes, or like Jean Grey/Phoenix, or whatever, The Paper Jazz Festival has emerged as a replacement for the much-loved and now-defunct Paper Jam Festival. We do this in recognition of free-to-table/free-to-attend (or donation-based) fairs that have been running as long or longer than us like Pete’s Mini Zine Fest, NYC Feminist Zine Fest, Zinefeast, Locust Moon, Etc. We will also continue to never repeat exhibitors, which was inspired somewhat by the Toronto Comic Arts Festival’s policies. Our fest has always been a collective of influences, we want everyone in the zine/small press/comics/chapbook/editions community to feel welcome and appreciated. With this rebrand we want to emphasize safer spaces, inclusivity, accountability, and transparency. We encourage folks to reach out to us on tumblr or paperjazzfest@gmail.com. ————————————————————————————————— Frank Johnson, Outsider Cartoonist The Outsider Art Fair was held this past weekend at the Metropolitan Pavilion in NYC, and one of the highlights was the Dan Nadel-curated work of Chicago cartoonist Frank Johnson (1912-1979) at the Chris Byrne booth. From Nadel’s curatorial statement: From as early as 1928 until 1979 he filled 28 notebooks, totaling approximately 1800 pages, with a continuous comic strip detailing the adventures of a fantasy group of friends, “Wally’s Gang”, and completed approximately 100 cartoon drawings. This work was found by his widow after he died. Neither she nor anyone else knew that he drew them, and there is no record of his having published anything or even corresponded with any cartoonists. Nadel’s been aware of Johnson’s work for some time, and wrote an essay about it in the Summer 2005 issue of Folk Art: The American Folk Art Museum Magazine, pages 57-63. ————————————————————————————————— A reading list created by a group of Black, Brown, Indigenous, Muslim, and Jewish people who are writers, organizers, teachers, anti-fascists, anti-capitalists, and radicals. WE studied and pursued methods for revolutionary social change before Trump came to power, and our core focus remains the same: abolishing the ever-enlarging systems of hierarchy, control, and environmental destruction necessary to sustain the growth of capital. With the ascendance of White nationalist ambition to the upper echelons of empire, we have given special attention to struggles waged and endured by marginalized people for whom the fight against capital has always been a concurrent fight against Anglo-Saxon supremacy. Via The New Inquiry ————————————————————————————————— ‘… and the wolf chewed up the children and spit out their bones… but those were foreign children and it really didn’t matter.’ As always, Dr. Seuss provides us some vital context for these times. More of his political cartooning work has been posted as part of the UC-San Diego digital collections. ————————————————————————————————— Look into Donald’s eyes – look DEEPLY. ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 1-23-2017 – by Sally Ingraham Suzy and Cecil – 1-24-2017 – by Sally Ingraham ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 1-24-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio ————————————————————————————————— 1-24-2017 – by Juan Fernández Share this page: [...]

Gloria Rivera – Rowhouse Residency Report

Comics WorkbookApril 2, 2017Residency Reports / School UpdatesGloria Rivera is a comics artist from Canyon Country, CA. An alum of the Santoro Correspondence Course for Comic Book Makers, and a member of the CW Roller Derby League, she joined us in Pittsburgh for a Comics Workbook Rowhouse Residency March 23rd-29th 2017. Here are Gloria’s thoughts about her experience, in her own words. ————————————————————————————————————— The Quick List of What Happened: 22 pages completed, drawing to color w/lettering – comic 1 6 complete pages (B & W) – comic 2 Yona Harvey and Ed Piskor lecture at the Harris Theater Visit to the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Copacetic Comics visits various nature walks, incidental birding with Sally Ingraham I had no expectations for my residency when I had arrived – only to work. I had followed Frank Santoro’s online presence for a few years prior and had taken his online correspondence course, but really couldn’t say that I had any idea of what kind of a teacher Frank was in person, or how much of a gift being in this space could be, not only referring to the Rowhouse, but to Pittsburgh – a town constantly working its bellows to support its comics scene. The first day I had arrived, I met Sally Ingraham. I was really blown away by Sally, who works as a coordinator for the Rowhouse Residency and holds various responsibilities for Comics Workbook. She is exhaustively knowledgeable, hardworking, and compassionate. She asked me what I had come to Pittsburgh to work on, and we sort of agreed that this first day I would work in solitude on my comic that I had started half a year earlier, until I felt I had gained some momentum, and then we would go from there, gauging if/when I wanted outside conversation. For the majority of my stay, the rhythm I kept to was non-stop working until a personal moment was offered (whether it be a walk, dinner with Frank and Sally, or short trips through the city), taking those moments, being present, and then continuing my work. Any time spent with other cartoonists (Frank, Sally, one of Sally’s 9-yr old students, cartoonists in a lecture, a.k.a Ed Piskor) was used to further my stride into my work. On the second day of my residency I met Frank. We had dinner at his house, where he was working on his new book. He is spirited, purposeful, mindful, and has endless passion for his work. He told a brief history of Pittsburgh, intertwined with his own of growing up, leaving and returning. It’s a story of dedication and belonging which I think not many people of MY generation are comfortable with, as many seem to be constantly striving for “better”, but without knowing, really, what “better” is. Aside from the stories Frank told about the city, he also gave me insight into the reality of living as a comics maker, which I would not have been privy to, and which until then I really was only guessing at. Some may be disheartened by these sort of conversations, but I am excited by how real it made things for me, despite it being a gauntlet. Topics for the week were: comics making process, the value of comics as a physical object/printing, the strengths of the avant-garde (non-narrative) against those of the narratively structured comic (two very different modes of storytelling), visual literacy, and comics community (inclusive of audience, publishers, comics friends, and family). The talks were long, but the time passed quickly. I tried my best to respect both Sally and Frank’s personal time to work, as they had mine. When Frank approached my work for advisement he was very objective, and I wanted his worst, so that I could do my best. Still, I think he saw my being in the work, and was courteous with his critique. Before coming to Pittsburgh I had half of my comic completed – 25 pages – and I completed the remaining 22 there. I completed as much as I did from August to November of 2016 in a week at the Rowhouse! I won’t say it was easy, but provided with the time to concentrate and motivation from the community, I was happy to put in any amount of time that my work demanded. Any formal education I had before comics was always for painting, and the more serious I allow myself to become about comics making, the more I see they are not so dissimilar. Frank is really great about sharing his knowledge and relating it to that which you came with. He was generous in his talks, while asking me to be accountable for the information I did know. One night Frank had casually presented me with some reading material; recommendations – mostly comics (Yuichi Yokoyama, Rich Buckler) – and among them two catalogues of Philip Guston paintings (it turns out that Frank is not only a comics expert, he is well versed in art history as a whole). Although in the past I have kept Guston as a sort of painting mentor (through books and image), I was surprised when I was presented with these catalogues – to be looking at his work during this comics residency. Phil Guston was a painter who understood the politics associated with images, but always kept a personal relationship with his visual library. Imagine your images are made of characters, places, things, each one a word, a letter, all making up your language. You hold this close to you. This is comics. What follows is an excerpt from a book of collected writings on Phil Guston: “Now, I think the original revolutionary impulse behind the New York School , as I felt it anyway, and I think my colleagues felt it, in the way we talked all the time, was that you felt as if you were driven into a corner against the wall, with no place to stand, just the place you occupied. And it’s as if the act of painting itself was not making a picture, because there are plenty of pictures in the world. Why make more pictures, clutter up the world with more pictures? But it’s as if you had to prove to yourself that truly the act of creation was still possible. Whether it was possible.” (Guston 58) I never expected to have felt this myself, to be able to talk to a group of people about images in such an earnest way – always internal conversation, now externalized. Frank and Sally offered their criticism, and experience, and questioning. I am working everyday to be worthy of comics as my form, and regardless, I put the pen to the paper – but over time I’ve forgotten to ask the big questions. Now I am more than willing to report that while the uninterrupted work time, the comics lectures, and accessible reading material was what whipped me into completing my goal, what I am bringing home with me – more than another book done – is a sense of what true community is, and the importance of holding your peers to standards that will benefit them in the longer run. It’s with great enthusiasm that I support the agenda of Comics Workbook, and the Residency program, and look forward to furthering my involvement with them to make better work (my own and that of others). ————————————————————————————————————— Check out more work by Gloria on her website, follow her on Instagram, and look for her new comic soon! For more information about the Comics Workbook Rowhouse Residency visit this page or email santoroschoolATgmail Share this page: [...]

12/18/2017

Caleb OrecchioDecember 18, 2017NewsCaleb Orecchio here with positive vibes and the usual gang of links to other news. ————————————————————————————————— When my extended family ask about how my comics are going I throw myself into a frenzy of roundabout explanations and unconfident, disconnected thoughts, leaving my loved ones confused and unsure of my life decisions—or I simply change the subject. This weekend when I visited some extended family I brought copies of my book to give to them. Everyone was glad to see and own physical fruit of my–until that moment, to them, theoretical–labors. One of my aunts hugged me, tears welling up. “I remember you drawing since you were little.” I watched my family examine and flip through my book–I have to admit, it was really satisfying. I often think of being an “independent” cartoonist in terms of being a folk singer, and I think this is the closest thing (for me, so far, anyway) to standing in a room of people while playing my version of “Goodnight Irene” or something. I let the “song” speak for itself, and the crowd responded positively. ————————————————————————————————— if you don’t know, now you know Cynthia Rose writes about the French comics festival, SoBD over at TCJ.com. If you are interested in supporting Cartoon Crossroads Columbus–a really great comics festival–consider donating to the cause. More info here from Tom Spurgeon at his The Comics Reporter. Alex Hoffman reviews William Cardini’s great comic, Tales from the Hyperverse, at Sequential Slate. Ben Towle reviews Tristan & Yseult by Agnés Maubpré and Singeon over at his blog, Benzilla.com. Dan Schindel talks Cerebus the Aardvark over at Hyperallergic.com, the remarkable (to few and myself) and ultimately tragic (to most and myself) self-published anomaly. ————————————————————————————————— The Winter Semester of thee Santoro Correspondence Course for Comic Book Makers starts January 16th 2018! 8 weeks – 500 bux – coaching for as long as you need. The course is hard, but Frank will push your comics making practice to a new level, getting you to think about timing and color in new ways. Makes a great holiday gift for yourself – or for a loved one who is interested in comics. Apply by midnight (EST) on Dec. 25th and get $100 off the course price. Full details and how to apply can be found HERE! ————————————————————————————————— Suzy and Cecil – 12-18-2017 – by Gabriella Tito ————————————————————————————————— Joanie and Jordie – 12-18-2017 – by Caleb Orecchio Share this page: [...]

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