Monday, August 29, 2011

PR: Library and Small Press Expo Establish Independent Comic-Art Collection

Here's an excellent piece of news...

Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave. SE
Washington DC   20540

August 29, 2011

Press contact: Donna Urschel (202) 707-1639, durschel@loc.gov
Public contact: Sara Duke (202) 707-3630, sduk@loc.gov
                             Warren Bernard, Small Press Expo (301) 652-6645

 

Library of Congress Announces Agreement with Small Press Expo
For Acquisition of Independent Comics and Cartoon Art

The Library of Congress today announced an agreement with Small Press Expo that will allow the Library to acquire independent comics and cartoon-art forms—material that it does not receive through copyright deposit.

The Small Press Expo (SPX) is an annual festival in Bethesda, Md., for alternative comic creators.  The festival brings together more than 300 artists and publishers to meet their readers, booksellers, distributors and each other.  SPX also hosts the annual Ignatz Awards, which recognize outstanding achievement in comics, cartooning and graphic novels. 

"I am extremely excited about this partnership," said Sara W. Duke, curator of popular and applied graphic art in the Library's Prints and Photographs Division.  "Small Press Expo offers talented young newcomers, as well as established artists, the opportunity to showcase their limited-edition and small-run publications.

"The Library of Congress was collecting comic books and original cartoon art before most collectors took it seriously as an art form.  The Small Press Expo Collection will enhance the Library's existing holdings and allow future researchers to see the full spectrum of cartoon art that is available today."

The Library's comic-book collection, housed in the Serial and Government Publications Division, is the largest in the United States.  It contains more than 120,000 pieces and grows by 200 issues every month, in large part due to copyright deposit.  Many small presses and self-published creators, however, do not avail themselves of the opportunity to deposit copies of their publications at the Library.

During the past two decades, the content of comics has shifted away from superheroes and depictions of the fantastic toward the wide variety that is represented in text-based literature: history, travel, science, autobiography, social science, and fiction.  While many areas of the publishing industry have experienced a decline, the artistic realm that uses cartoon art has exploded.

"By working with Small Press Expo, the Library will tap into this dynamic and creative expression in a more proactive way," said Megan Halsband, a reference librarian in the Library's Serial and Government Publications Division.

According to the agreement, the Library will receive the Ignatz Award nominees in the various print categories, as well as other selected comics and cartoon art.  The Library also will receive SPX posters, banner ads and festival ephemera.  In addition, selected websites—including the winner of the Ignatz Best Web Comic, sites that document the activities of SPX and those of recognized online comic creators—will be reviewed for the Library of Congress Web Archiving Collection, to allow collection of work that is only presented digitally.

Small Press Expo was founded in 1994, and the Ignatz Awards started in 1997.

"Small Press Expo is proud to be able to partner with the Library of Congress to establish this important collection.  The opportunity to preserve and make available to researchers the great work being done in the independent comics field as part of the Library of Congress holdings is an honor for SPX and its community of creators," said Warren Bernard, executive director of the Small Press Expo.

The Library of Congress has comics and cartoon collections in the Prints and Photographs Division, the Rare Book Division, and the general collections, in addition to the Serial and Government Publications Division.  The Library has been collecting original cartoon art for more than 140 years.

The Library of Congress is a major center for cartoon research, with holdings of more than 128,000 original cartoon drawings and prints. These works, housed in the Prints and Photographs Division, span five centuries and range from 17th-century Dutch political prints to 21st-century contemporary comic strips.  The division also holds the largest-known collection of American political prints, the finest assemblage of British satirical prints outside Great Britain and holdings of original drawings by generations of America's best cartoonists and illustrators that are unequaled in breadth and depth.

# # #

PR11-157
8/29/11
ISSN: 0731-3527

 

 

Sunday, August 28, 2011

PR: The “Hoxwinder Hall Limited Edition Printed Collection”!

From: Daniel Boris 


I'm Raising funds for a quality, hardcover, limited edition printed collection of my strip. The book will not only contain the first 30 days of Hoxwinder Hall strips, but also lots of production sketches, and interview (and more).

 

(There is a hefty Printer set-up fee, so if I don't reach my target (or at least clear $1000) I won't go forward with project.)

People can give as little as $1, and as much as $100. If they give at least $35, they get a free signed copy of the book. All funds will be returned if I do not at least clear $1000 by the end of the drive.

 

Click on the link for details:

http://www.indiegogo.com/Hoxwinder-Hall-a-printed-collection?a=234587&i=emal

USA Today on DC comics reboot

DC Comics prepares for a 'sea-change' digital moment
By Brian Truitt, USA TODAY August 28 2011
http://www.usatoday.com/life/comics/story/2011-08-28/DC-Comics-prepares-for-a-sea-change-digital-moment/50169134/1

DC Comics turns a new page this week
By Brian Truitt, USA TODAY August 28 2011
http://www.usatoday.com/life/comics/story/2011-08-28/DC-Comics-turns-a-new-page-this-week/50166706/1

Frank Cho interview on CBR-TV

Weiland, Jonah.  2011.
CBR TV @ CCI: Joe Keatinge, Frank Cho talk "Brutal," Guns and Dinos".
Comic Book Resources (August 26): http://video.comicbookresources.com/cbrtv/2011/cbr-tv-cci-joe-keatinge-frank-cho-talk-brutal-guns-and-dinos/

Cul de Sac and Reply All pick up papers

Congratulations, friends!

Meet Lizzie, the latest addition to the Pioneer Press comics page lineup (this is an interview with Donna)
By Molly Guthrey, Pioneer Press 08/27/2011
http://www.twincities.com/life/ci_18763817?nclick_check=1

'Cul de Sac' returns to E-N; Sunday strip that ran on a trial basis in 2008 chronicles the life of a chatty preschooler.
By René A. Guzman
 San Antonio Express-News August 28, 2011
 http://www.mysanantonio.com/life/article/Cul-de-Sac-returns-to-E-N-2141635.php


Warren Bernard's cartoon advertising book Drawing Power

101_1784 Bud Fisher cigars

Drawing Power: A Compendium of Cartoon Advertising talk by Warren Bernard, August 24, 2011. I like this book a lot. Here's more photographs.

101_1807

Baltimore Comic-Con photographs

101_1725 Deadpool and Wolverine

Here's pictures of the Baltimore Comic-Con 2011 show. There's a bunch of local Washington creators in the pictures - check out the photo's name, rather than the captions which I haven't finished yet.

101_1757 Trimpe and Gallant
Shannon Gallant & Herb Trimpe, two G.I. Joe comic book artists.

101_1759 John Gallagher
Buzzboy's John Gallagher.

101_1760
A dedicated cosplayer.

Dave Roman and Raina Telgemeier photos

100_0853

A few weeks ago Dave Roman and Raina Telgemeier were at One More Page bookstore in Arlington, VA. The two gave a fun presentation on the basics of cartooning faceshttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif, prompted by the children in the audience. Here's some more photographs.

PR: Meet John Stanisci, Comic Book Illustrator




The Alexandria Jaycees
P.O. Box 1836, Alexandria, VA 22313
_____________________________________________________________________________
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Amy Tenhouse, amy.alexjaycees@gmail.com
August 27, 2011
 
 
Meet John Stanisci, Comic Book Illustrator
Art Auction Fundraiser, September 24
Meet John Stanisci, a professional illustrator for Marvel and DC Comics for 18 years.  John has worked on characters like Spider-man, The Hulk, and Batman, and most recently Batman Beyond.

 

John will be the special guest artist at an Art Auction Fundraiser hosted by the Alexandria Jaycees and King Street Cats.  All proceeds from the Art Auction will benefit the community activities of these two organizations. 

 

The Art Auction will be held on Saturday, September 24, 2011, at the Durant Arts Center, 1605 Cameron Street in Alexandria.  The event begins with a preview of the art at 7:00pm followed by the auction at 8:00pm.

 

The auction will feature art in all media and price ranges, including a broad collection framed artwork of original oils, watercolors, serigraphs, lithographs, giclees, mixed media and offset lithographs priced at 30% to 50% below normal retail.  Other objects d'art - sculpture, European blown glass, sports and music memorabilia, and home decorative items are also available.  Some of John Stanisci's works will also be available for purchase at the auction. 

 

Tickets are $20.00 per person in advance. To purchase your ticket to the auction, contact Amy at amy.alexjaycees@gmail.com or visit http://www.alexjaycees.org/art.php.  

 

Enjoy a fun evening out while supporting two great organizations – Alexandria Jaycees and King Street Cats.  Purchase your Art Auction tickets today! 



Saturday, August 27, 2011

Evan Keeling draws Weird Western Tales, sort of

Evan Keeling has his take on Weird Western Tales up at DC Fifty-Too! a fan project to have indy artists draw covers of DC's relaunch.

PR: Small Press Expo announces Roger Langridge, Jessica Abel, Keith Knight and Craig Yoe as Guests for SPX 2011


Small Press Expo announces Roger Langridge, Jessica Abel, Keith Knight and Craig Yoe as Guests for SPX 2011

For Immediate Release:                            Contact: Warren Bernard
                                                               
                                                                   E-Mail: warren@spxpo.com

Bethesda, Maryland; August 26, 2011 – The Small Press Expo (SPX), the preeminent showcase for the exhibition of independent comics, graphic novels, and alternative political cartoons, announces that cartoonists Roger Langridge, Jessica Abel, and Keith Knight will be attending this year's festival.

Roger Langridge, who won the 2011 Harvey Award for Best Writer for Thor: The Mighty Avenger and a Special Harvey Award for Humor in Comics for The Muppet Show, has worked for almost every major publisher, including Fantagraphics, Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, and Fleetway. Langridge is the creator for the new series Snarked, and Boom! Studios expects to have on hand at SPX the new compendium of his previously uncollected works, The Show Must Go On.

SPX welcomes Jessica Abel back for her first visit to the festival in five years. A teacher at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, Abel is the creator of the graphic novel La Perdida, which explores the complexity of Mexican-American identity, and co-author of the graphic novel Life Sucks (with Gabriel Soria and Warren Pleece), and Drawing Words and Writing Picture (with Matt Madden). She will participate in two panel discussions on Saturday: "Stories of Cultural Identity" explores global multiculturalism and the representation of cultural identity in comic, and "The Secret History of Women in Comics" which also features Heidi MacDonald and Diane Noomin, among others. Information on these panels and SPX programming is online at: http://www.spxpo.com/programming.

Washington Post Sunday cartoonist and hip-hop musician Keith Knight will be on hand with copies of his latest book, Too Small to Fail, a collection in the (th)ink series featuring his post-Bush Presidency editorial cartoons. Knight is best known for his popular comic strips The K Chronicles and Knight Life.

Craig Yoe is the Co-Creative Director of Yoe Books, an imprint of IDW. Yoe Books has produced such well designed and informative books such as The Art of Steve Ditko, Felix the Cat, and Popeye: The Great Comic Book Tales by Bud Sagendorf.  He also the author of the historically ground breaking book, Secret Identity: The Fetishist Art of Superman's Co-creator Joe Shuster. Yoe's new books include, Krazy Kat and the Art of George Herriman: A Celebration, Archie's Madhouse, and Carl Bark's Big Book of Barney Bear.

Interviews may be available. Please contact the SPX press office at the number above.

About SPX

SPX is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit that brings together more than 300 artists and publishers to meet their readers, booksellers and distributors each year. Graphic novels, mini comics, and alternative comics will all be on display and for sale by their authors and illustrators, as well as a series of panel discussions and interviews with this year's guests.

As in previous years, profits from the SPX will go to support the the SPX Graphic Novel Gift Program, which gifts graphic novels to public and academic libraries, as well as the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF), which protects the First Amendment rights of comic book readers and professionals. For more information on the CBLDF, go to their website at http://www.cbldf.org.

The hours for SPX 2011 are 11am–7pm Saturday, September 10, and 12–6pm Sunday, September 11. Admission is $10 for a single day or $15 for the weekend.

For more information on the Small Press Expo, please visit http://www.spxpo.com.



Thursday, August 25, 2011

Frank Cho's new French comic album series

Joe Keatinge will be working on the book with Frank Cho and has the details.

Comic Riffs on SPX book donations

SPX 2011: Small Press Expo launches Graphic-Novel Program with book gift for libraries
By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog August 24 2011
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/spx-2011-small-press-expo-launches-graphic-novel-gift-program-with-books-for-libraries/2011/08/24/gIQAG32QcJ_blog.html

As an addenda to this, the Library of Congress and SPX have agreed to establish an SPX collection. More details to follow...

Post blog on attack on Syrian cartoonist by thugs

Syrian security forces break hands of political cartoonist Ali Ferzat
By Elizabeth Flock
Washington Post's BlogPost August 25 2011
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/syrian-security-forces-break-hands-of-political-cartoonist-ali-ferzat/2011/08/25/gIQAmF9idJ_blog.html

Bernard's advertising and cartoons book featured in Express

Sketchy Characters: In 'Drawing Power,' historians look at the crossroads of 'toons and advertisements.
 by Express contributor Paul Stelter
Express  August 25, 2011
http://www.expressnightout.com/content/2011/08/sketchy_characters.php

 

Tonight:: Warren Bernard and comic ads at Politics and Prose

I'll be there.

Warren Bernard - Drawing Power: A Compendium of Cartoon Advertising
Aug 25 2011 7:00 pm

The comic strip has its roots in advertising as well as in art. In the first book-length study of these dual sources, Rick Marschall, founder of Nemo: The Classic Comics Library, and Warren Bernard, a prolific commentator on and extensive collector of cartoons as well as the Executive Director of Small Press Expo, look at work from the 1870s to 1940, documenting how popular cartoon characters like the Yellow Kid, Little Orphan Annie, and Popeye have figured in advertising campaigns, and how their creators were highly sought-after pitchmen, selling products alongside the best movie stars in Hollywood. As part of his presentation, Bernard will have on-hand select original ads and other advertisting items from the era.

In anticipation of Small Press Expo (SPX) 2011 - being held September 10-11 in Bethesda, MD - a complimentary one-day pass to the show will be available with the purchase of Drawing Power at Politics and Prose on the night of the event. More information about SPX 2011 at www.spxpo.com.

PR: JOHN G. FANTUCCHIO CANCELS HIS SHOWING AT GLEN ECHO

Approximately a week ago you received an invitation to view John G. Fantucchio's two paintings to be shown at the 41st Annual Labor Day Art Show at Glen Echo in Maryland.  Due to unexpected circumstances, John and his paintings will not be there.  He's still in pretty good health.  Glen Echo's still a great place to visit and have a picnic and view the paintings of other artists.  Sorry if this is an inconvenience; but the good news is John's paintings will be at the Del Ray Artisan's exhibit for the month of September, beginning September 2 – October 2, 2011.  John G. Fantucchio will be there for the reception, and will also make a special appearance on Sunday, September 18, 12:30 – 3:30.  Looking forward to seeing you there.