(From left) Michael O’Connell of It's All Journalism, Carolyn Belefski of the Carolyn and Joe Show and Alex Vidales of Pilot Waves. Photo courtesy of O'Connell.
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
‘Pop Goes the Podcast’ at Awesome Con
(From left) Michael O’Connell of It's All Journalism, Carolyn Belefski of the Carolyn and Joe Show and Alex Vidales of Pilot Waves. Photo courtesy of O'Connell.
Comic Riffs calls for support for Iranian cartoonist
Open Call to Artists: #Draw4Atena to support appeal of Iranian artist's 12-year sentence
By Michael Cavna June 10 2015http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2015/06/10/open-call-to-artists-draw4atena-to-support-appeal-of-iranian-artists-12-year-sentence/
Atena Farghadani drew a mocking illustration of Parliament.
Tuesday, June 09, 2015
Comics Alternatives handicaps the Eisners (and asks my opinion)
Commentary: Reactions to the 2015 Eisner Award Nominations
June 9, 2015http://comicsalternative.com/commentary-eisners2015/
UPDATE: I did pretty good on predicting. 7 right and 2 wrong.
Right: Best Continuing Series = Saga; Best for Kids (8-12) = El Deafo by Cece Bell; Best for Teens = Lumberjanes; Best Humor = Compleate Cul de Sac by Richard Thompson; Best Graphic Album = This One Summer by the Tamaki cousins; Best Archival Project = Taschen's Little Nemo; Best Cover Artist = Darwyn Cooke.
Wrong: Lovern Kindzierski for Best Colorist and Comic Book Resources for Best Journalism.
Comic Riffs talks to Stephanie McMillan
Kickstarter of the Day: Stephanie McMillan affirms your anti-capitalism (plus: goats!)
By Michael Cavna June 9 2015http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2015/06/09/kickstarter-of-the-day-stephanie-mcmillan-affirms-your-anti-capitalism-plus-goats/
PR: Artist Peter de Sève Creates 2015 Library of Congress National Book Festival Poster
NEWS from the LIBRARY of CONGRESS
June 9, 2015
Public contact: Center for the Book (202) 707-5221; cfbook@loc.gov
Artist Peter de Sève Creates 2015 Library of Congress
National Book Festival Poster
More Than 150 Authors to Participate Sept. 5
Peter de Sève, an illustrator and character designer for feature films, is the artist for the 2015 Library of Congress National Book Festival poster. De Sève is perhaps best known for his many cover illustrations for The New Yorker magazine, but he has also designed characters for such popular animated films as "The Prince of Egypt," "Mulan," "Ice Age" and "Finding Nemo." In 2000, de Sève received the National Cartoonists Society Magazine Illustration Award. His book festival poster features a young girl intensely absorbed by her book while assuming several contorted positions on an overstuffed chair.
"The poster is absolutely inspired by my two daughters, Paulina, 14 years old, and Fia, 9 years old," said de Sève. "They are both voracious readers and, frankly, my heart swells every time I see one of them curled up with a book, which is basically always. More specifically, the girl on the poster is Fia, whom I have found reading in almost every position you see on the poster. For her, reading is practically an Olympic sport."
De Sève will appear at the festival and will discuss and sign his book "A Sketchy Past: The Art of Peter de Sève." The festival will be held Saturday, Sept. 5, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.
The poster can be seen and downloaded at the National Book Festival website at www.loc.gov/bookfest/. Also today on the website, the Library is kicking off a new National Book Festival blog, which will feature author interviews, schedule updates and other festival news.
This year's festival will be bigger than ever, with more than 150 authors, poets and illustrators participating. Ten authors will launch their books at the festival, and a new International pavilion will feature a session with three contributors to the "Norton Anthology of World Religions." Another session, "Reading Latin America," will celebrate the excellence of Latin American literature and culture.
The National Book Festival (www.loc/gov/bookfest) is funded by private donors and corporate sponsors who share the Library's commitment to reading and literacy. Since 2010, National Book Festival Board Co-Chairman David M. Rubenstein has been the festival's lead benefactor and has pledged funding for the festival for five more years. Charter Sponsors include AARP, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, The Washington Post and Wells Fargo; Patron sponsor, the National Endowment for the Arts; the Contributor-level sponsors are Jacqueline B. Mars, National Geographic, Scholastic Inc. and WAMU 88.5 FM; and, in the Friends category, C-SPAN2's Book TV, Georgetown University's Department of Spanish and Portuguese, the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction, The Hay-Adams, Susan C. Lehrman, the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute with support from board chair Roger A. Strauch, Mensa Education & Research Foundation, the Mexican Cultural Institute, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Embassy of Peru, and Small Press Expo. The Junior League of Washington will also return as the Library's primary partner for volunteer support, a role the organization has played since 2003. Those interested in supporting the National Book Festival can contact the Library at devofc@loc.gov.
Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the nation's oldest federal cultural institution and the largest library in the world. The Library seeks to spark imagination and creativity and to further human understanding and wisdom by providing access to knowledge through its magnificent collections, programs, publications and exhibitions.
The Library's Center for the Book, established by Congress in 1977 to "stimulate public interest in books and reading," is a national force for reading and literacy promotion. A public-private partnership, it sponsors educational programs that reach readers of all ages through its affiliated state centers, collaborations with nonprofit reading promotion partners and through the Young Readers Center and the Poetry and Literature Center at the Library of Congress. For more information, visit read.gov.
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PR 15-100
6/9/15
ISSN 0731-3527
Follow us on Twitter twitter.com/librarycongress | Blogs blogs.loc.gov | News loc.gov/today
Library of Congress | 101 Independence Ave SE | Washington DC 20540-1610 USA | 202.707.2905
Kickstarter: 'First Law of Mad Science' Vol. 1
Watch their Kickstarter video.
Monday, June 08, 2015
July 25: 5th Annual DC Zinefest
My 2015 Reubens Talk by Mark Anderson
My 2015 Reubens Talk
June 5th, 2015
https://www.andertoons.com/cartoon-blog/2015/06/my-2015-reubens-talk.html
A few weeks back I had the honor of speaking at the 2015 NCS Reuben Awards in Washington, DC. It went really well and was well-received, so I thought I'd share it here in case you missed it or weren't able to attend.
New article on Carolyn Belefski
Curl Power
Photo courtesy of Joe Carabeo.
How one Fairfax artist preserves her inner child with comic strips and cartoons.
–Tim Regan
(June 2015)
http://www.northernvirginiamag.com/family/family-features/2015/06/05/curl-power/Comic Riffs on Kenosha Cartooning Festival fundraising
Crowd-funder of the day: Kenosha festival brings comics to the next generation
By Michael Cavna June 8 2015http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2015/06/08/crowd-funder-of-the-week-kenosha-festival-brings-comics-to-the-next-generation/
Comic Riffs on Fun Home play awards
Tony Awards: Alison Bechdel revels in 'Fun Home's' hard-won rise to stage greatness
By Michael Cavna June 8 2015http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2015/06/08/tony-awards-alison-bechdel-revels-in-fun-homes-hard-won-rise-to-stage-greatness/
That Darn Toles
Mixed reviews on a political cartoon [in print as Mixed reviews]
Washington Post June 6 2015, p. A11http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/mixed-reviews-on-a-political-cartoon/2015/06/04/23897118-0948-11e5-951e-8e15090d64ae_story.html
Sunday, June 07, 2015
Saturday, June 06, 2015
Damian Wampler's Sevara comic available online
I'm happy to say that Broken Icon Comics released Sevara issue #0 on Wednesday. And it's only $.99 cents. ComiXology is Amazon's comic book reading app. If you want to check out the art or purchase Sevara to read on your iPad, tablet, phone, or desktop, follow this link: http://bit.ly/1FQ387k
Friday, June 05, 2015
June 6: Broken World launch at Third Eye comics
June 13: Kurtis Wiebe at The Comic Shop
Writer Kurtis J. Wiebe (Rat Queens, Peter Panzerfaust) and colorist Tamra Bonvillian (Wayward, Fantastic Four) appear The Comic Shop on Saturday, June 13, 2015 to sign PISCES!
The Comic Shop
11956L Fair Oaks Mall, Fairfax, VA 22033
(703) 273-4695
Thursday, June 04, 2015
Ruffin interviews Aydin on March
Graphic Novel 'March': Co-author Aydin on Book 2, confirms Book 3 in development
June 5: Dork Diaries author visit to Hooray for Books
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Reply All Lite followup
June 7: March vol. 2 at Politics & Prose
In the eagerly-awaited second volume of his civil rights trilogy, Congressman John Lewis again collaborates with writer Andrew Aydin and artist Nate Powell to put historic events into the immediate context of a graphic memoir. Recounting his personal and political coming-of-age in the segregated South, Lewis picks up the story after the heady days of the Nashville sit-ins, recounting the more dangerous challenges he faced with the Freedom Riders as the group's nonviolent actions were met with beatings and imprisonment. Courage triumphed over brutality, and the book ends as the twenty-three-year-old Lewis is elected to lead the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and prepares for the 1963 March on Washington.
#upcomingevent
Wednesday, June 03, 2015
June 4 - July 3: July Essa Neima's (Touch me not) Wounds of Palmyra
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The Post on Disney's new high-tech toys
Disney's high-tech wearable "Playmation" toys could lead to the best game of dress-up ever [in print as With Playmation toys, Disney unveils a new kind of play for kids]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2015/06/02/disneys-high-tech-wearable-playmation-toys-could-lead-to-the-best-game-of-dress-up-ever/ATMTC's World Premiere of Garfield: The Musical with Cattitude by Jim Davis, Michael J. Bobbitt, and John L. Cornelius, II
Their Big Nate adaption was excellent - Mike
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 21 2015
ADVENTURE THEATRE MTC ANNOUNCES THE WORLD PREMIERE OF GARFIELD: THE MUSICAL WITH CATTITUDE
BOOK BY JIM DAVIS, MICHAEL J. BOBBITT AND JOHN L. CORNELIUS, II
GLEN ECHO, MD – Adventure Theatre MTC hates Mondays all summer long with its world premiere production of Garfield: The Musical with Cattitude based on the characters created by Jim Davis. The musical was written by Jim Davis and Michael J. Bobbitt with music by John L. Cornelius, II (Mirandy and Brother Wind, Three Little Birds). Directed by Nick Olcott (Three Little Birds) and announcing Evan Casey as everyone's favorite feline, this production runs June 19-August 23, 2015 and is recommended for lasagna-lovers of all ages.
Garfield, a chubby and sarcastic tabby cat fantasizes about having the most amazing birthday in the history of birthdays. He deserves it for being the best cat ever! But, it seems that all his friends – Arlene, Odie, Jon and even his nemesis, Nermal, have forgotten. Feeling rejected, Garfield ventures out to find adventure, but quickly learns that "home is where the heart… and the food is."
"When Michael first approached me about a new show, I turned him down… twice," says Jim Davis, creator of Garfield. "I'm certainly glad that the third time is the charm. I always enjoy seeing how Garfield has become a part of people's lives, and with each new generation, a new kind of relationship with Garfield forms. We have welcomed working with ATMTC into the history of Garfield, and cannot wait to see this finished production in their intimate space."
"I've loved working with Jim Davis and Paws Inc. on this production," says Michael J. Bobbitt, Producing Artistic Director of ATMTC and co-writer of Garfield: The Musical with Cattitude. "Garfield has been around for over 37 years and it's amazing to be able to bring a character that grandparents, parents, and kids all love to Adventure Theatre MTC's stage."
Tickets to Garfield: The Musical with Cattitude are $19.50 each, with group and field trip rates available, and can be purchased through the box office by calling 301-634-2270 or online at www.adventuretheatre-mtc.org. Children under the age of one are free.
All performances will take place at Adventure Theatre MTC, 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo, MD, 20812 in the historic Glen Echo Park.
"GARFIELD: THE MUSICAL WITH CATTITUDE" FACT SHEET
June 19 – August 23, 2015
Based on the characters created by Jim Davis
Book by Jim Davis and Michael J. Bobbitt
Music and Lyrics by John L. Cornelius, II
Directed by Nick Olcott
Starring Evan Casey
Recommended for All Ages
CAST (IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)
Garfield................................................................................................ Evan Casey
Jon........................................................................................................ Joshua Dick
Odie...................................................................................................... John Sygar
Arlene................................................................................................... Emily Zickler
Nermal................................................................................................. Isabella Brody and Eli Schullman
Garfield U/S......................................................................................... Joshua Dick
Jon U/S................................................................................................. Michael Windsor
Odie U/S………………………………………………………………Sean McComas
Arlene U/S…………………………………………………………….
PRODUCTION CREW
Director................................................................................................. Nick Olcott
Playwright/Choreographer............................................................... Michael J Bobbitt
Composer............................................................................................ John L. Cornelius, II
Music Director..................................................................................... William Yanesh
Asst. Director....................................................................................... Tyler Herman
Costume Designer............................................................................. Kendra Rai
Set Designer....................................................................................... Luciana Stecconi
Lighting Designer............................................................................... Dan Covey
Sound Designer................................................................................. Neil McFadden
Props Designer................................................................................... Dre Moore
Stage Manager................................................................................... Donna Stout
Asst. Stage Manager......................................................................... Brittany Truske
Scenic Charge.................................................................................... Karen Deans
IMPORTANT DATES
Production Run Dates – June 19 – August 23, 2015
Pajama Party– June 19, 2015
Press Opening – June 20, 2015 at 11:00 am
Sensory/Autism Friendly Performance- August 15, 2015 at 2pm
American Sign Language Performance – July 11, 2015 at 2pm
Sundays
June 21...................................................................................................................................................... 11am & 2pm
June 28...................................................................................................................................................... 11am, 2pm, & 4:30pm
July 5, 12, 19, 26...................................................................................................................................... 11am, 2pm, & 4:30pm
August 2, 9, 16, 23................................................................................................................................... 11am, 2pm, & 4:30pm
Mondays
June 29...................................................................................................................................................... 10:30am
July 6, 13, 20, 27...................................................................................................................................... 10:30am
August 3, 10, 17........................................................................................................................................ 10:30am
Fridays
June 19...................................................................................................................................................... 7pm
July 10........................................................................................................................................................ 7pm
August 7..................................................................................................................................................... 7pm
Saturdays
June 20...................................................................................................................................................... 11am & 2pm
June 27...................................................................................................................................................... 11am, 2pm, & 4:30pm
July 4, 11, 28, 25...................................................................................................................................... 11am, 2pm, & 4:30pm
August 1, 8, 15, 22................................................................................................................................... 11am, 2pm, & 4:30pm
Tuesday, June 02, 2015
Donna Lewis' Reply All vs Reply All Lite (updated 2x)
This week, the Post switched from Donna Lewis' Reply All comic strip to her Reply All Lite comic panel.
I asked Donna if the panel was a modification of the strip, or all new, and she told me, "All new. Never the same punchline as the strip. It began syndication March 20th, 2013 – after a year on the Internet."
"After I had been doing Reply All comic strip for a while, I began having lots of material I couldn't use at the time. Also, I needed a lot of practice learning to draw so I was drawing a lot of one off bits. At some point, I began posting the single panels for practice and to use material I liked and to build my Facebook audience. We realized in pretty short order that single panels get shared much more than strips, probably because there's no click or major investment of time required for a single panel. I was able to use the single panels to build my Facebook audience and, ultimately, the Lites were a whole lot of fun."
I wonder if you're the only person to do the "same" strip as 2 different offerings. Some cartoonists like Wiley draw them so that the strip can be cut into a panel, but I've never heard of anyone doing it like you are.
"I just have a lot of material. I usually do 14 Lites a week. And, quite frankly, some punchlines are far funnier by themselves. Four panels are really much different (for me) than one panel. No set up puts all the pressure on the punchline. They're really fun to write."
Amy also says "I can’t think of anyone else who’s done two different versions of the same strip at the same time either," but D Heine has suggested Joe Martin's Mr. Boffo.
updated June 4, 2015
DCist on Awesome Con
Photos: In Its Third Year, Awesome Con Finds Its Groove
Words and Photos By DCist Contributor Keith Mathias
June 1 2015
http://dcist.com/2015/06/awesome_con_2015_cool_pics_click.php#photo-1
Tom King's Omega Men
'Omega Men' a bit of risky space business
Brian Truitt, USA TODAY June 1, 2015http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2015/06/01/the-omega-men-exclusive-preview/28331149/
Monday, June 01, 2015
Studio Ghibli Festival
2013 SPX Panel - Funding Comics Projects
2013 SPX Panel - Funding Comics Projects
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8jpYLteRE4
The rise of crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter has created new opportunities for funding comics projects while raising many questions about the issues surrounding network-based fundraising. Additionally, comics artists are increasingly seeking other sources of funding, from sponsorships to grants, to support their projects. Isaac Cates discusses these issues and more with T. Edward Bak, Box Brown, Marnie Galloway, and Spike C. Trotman.
The Post changes 3 comic strips
NY Times editorial opposing Metro's Muhammad cartoon ad decision
Don't Censor My Commute
By BETSY McCAUGHEY
A version of this op-ed appears in print on June 1, 2015, on page A19 of the New York edition with the headline: Don't Censor My Commute.
Comic Riffs on the Montgomery Sentinel's plagiarism
Cartoon plagiarism and the case of the unknown Maryland cartoonist
By Michael Cavna June 1 2015http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2015/06/01/cartoon-plagiarism-and-the-case-of-the-unknown-maryland-cartoonist/