Check out this fantastic archive of (free) Government Comic Books–the topics range from space travel to eyepatches to the story of inflation. Some nice reading for a hot summer afternoon. Thanks to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln library for creating this rad resource. Here are a couple other highlights, but definitely check out the whole collection. Enjoy!
Adjunct Faculty and Illustration Alum R. Sikoryak has new book coming out in September and Time Out NY gave a sneak peak slideshow awhile back. Above and below are a couple of choice visual excerpts and here is the official description of the book:
Masterpiece Comics, a new book that reimagines classic literature in the style of well-known comics (including Shakespeare’s Macbeth in the style of old newspaper strip Mary Worth)
You can see the whole slideshow here–it’s worth it! Additionally, Bob was interviewed on WFMU back in April You can listen to the podcast over in the WFMU Speakeasy archives. He talks about his new book as well as his work with Carousel, a ongoing series of cartoon slide shows & other projected pictures presented by a glittering array of artists, performers, graphic novelists, & other characters.
Congratulations, Mr. Sikoryak–can’t wait for the book!
Bill Kartalopoulos & Mark Newgarden Present:
COMIC STRIP SERENADE
Please join us on Sunday, June 7 for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hear forgotten songs inspired by unforgettable comic strip characters!
For one night only, the fabulous Jalopy theater will host a live performance of vintage compositions based on Krazy Kat, the
Katzenjammer Kids, Barney Google, Smokey Stover, Li’l Abner, and more, featuring lyrics by Milt Gross, Rube Goldberg, Walt Kelly, and other cartooning and pop music legends.
These songs are lively (and funny) artifacts from the days before television, when comic strips were the dominant form of daily visual entertainment, and from the days before radio, when new songs –published as sheet music — were routinely performed by families and friends in America’s living rooms and parlors. Hundreds of songs based on comic strip characters were published during this fertile period, and co-curators Bill Kartalopoulos and Mark Newgarden will present some of the very best — as well as some of the most wonderfully obscure!
Many of these comic strip songs were never recorded, never filmed, and most have never been publicly performed in the decades since their original publication. The event will also feature some later, post-war songs, including a selection from Broadway’s Li’l Abner and Walt Kelly’s memorable Pogo songs. The archival sheet music used for this special performance was provided courtesy of Mark Newgarden’s longtime collection.
A stunning line-up of celebrated musicians will bring these unearthed gems back to life, including:
Doug Skinner (The Regard of Flight, White Knuckle Sandwich)
Peter Stampfel (The Holy Modal Rounders, the Bottlecaps, the Fugs)
Meg Reichardt (Les Chauds Lapins, The Roulette Sisters) with Kurt
Hoffman (Band of Weeds, Les Chauds Lapins)
Robin Goldwasser & Chris Anderson (The Last Car)
John Keen (Ragtime pianist extraordinaire)
…and many more surprises!
Join us after the MoCCA comics festival ends in a relaxing Brooklyn venue for this very special celebration!
Show starts at 9:00 pm
$10 cover
Jalopy
315 Columbia Street
Brooklyn, NY
http://www.jalopy.biz
Subway Directions: F or G train to Carroll St. (first car if coming
from North/West). Walk 1 block up Smith St to 1st Place. Make left.
Walk down past highway to Columbia St. Make left to 315 Columbia.
Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art Festival 2009
June 6th & 7th
Parsons Illustration will have a strong presence at the Comic and Cartoon Art Festival this weekend–Stop by and talk to Steven Guarnaccia, the chair of the program, or visit with some students and look at their work! Interested in Illustration? We’ll have info about the program and Parsons in general.
The Village Voice calls the MoCCA Festival “”the best small-press nexus (anywhere!)” Now BIGGER than ever! An incredible weekend of comic and cartoon art exhibitors, panels, lectures, sketches, autographs, and more! Thousands come every summer to meet and purchase works from some of the world’s best cartoonists, animators, and graphic novelists.
Where?
69th Regiment Armory
68 Lexington Avenue, between 25th and 26th Streets
When?
June 6th and 7th, 11am-6pm
Cost?
$10 per day
$15 per weekend
MoCCA Members: $10 per weekend
More information available here.
James Sturm and two of his former students, Alexis Frederick-Frost and Andrew Arnold, have created Adventures in Cartooning: How to Turn Your Doodles Into Comics. Here’s the official description:
In this action-packed cartooning adventure, kids will have as much fun making comics as reading them!
Once upon a time . . . a princess tried to make a comic. And with the help of a magical cartooning elf, she learned how – well enough to draw her way out of an encounter with a dangerous dragon, near-death by drowning, and into her very own adventure! Like the princess, young readers will discover that they already have the drawing and writing skills it takes to make a comic – they just need a little know-how. And Adventures in Cartooning supplies just that.
Here’s what Booklist has to say about it:
Not quite a how-to book, as the cover might suggest, this is rather a stupendous new high for children’s graphic novels, spearheaded by comics maestro Sturm (Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow, 2007). Ostensibly, this is the adventure of an eager knight, a sweet-toothed horse, and a magic elf hunting down a gum-chewing dragon, and those reading for the adventure itself will not be disappointed, filled as it is with humor, action, and a great girl-empowering twist. But along the way, lessons in the language of sequential art are woven seamlessly into the narrative, explaining the basics of how elements such as panels and word balloons work, while concluding bonus features offer specifics on terminology (like gutters and stems) and common symbols (like speed lines). Newcomers Andrew Arnold and Alexis Frederick-Frost, using varying page compositions to keep the sizable volume visually captivating, have constructed a tale that works just as well as a read-aloud for the very young as it does a lesson for everyone from fans of the form to the wholly uninitiated. As an examination of the medium, it’s a supremely worthy spiritual legacy to Scott McCloud’s seminal Understanding Comics (1993). As a straight-up graphic adventure, it may be the best of the year.
Grab a copy for your little one (or yourself) here.
WHEN: SATURDAY, MAY 2
WHERE: The Great Hall, Cooper Union, 7 East 7th Street, NYC
1-2:00 p.m. Neil Gaiman: Coraline, Sandman, Books and Imagination
Join Neil Gaiman, the creator of the enormously popular Sandman series of graphic novels, Coraline (recently adapted to the big screen), and a dizzying array of novels, short stories and films — with World Voices Festival director Caro Llewellyn for a discussion on imagination, inspiration and creativity.
2:30-4 p.m. 1,000 Words: The Power of Visual Storytelling
Participants: Emmanuel Guibert, David Polonsky, and Shaun Tan. Moderated by Jonathan Ames. David Polonsky (Israel) illustrated the horrors of the Israeli-Lebanon war in Waltz with Bashir; Shaun Tan (Australia) has imagined the experience of immigration in The Arrival; Jonathan Ames (U.S.) has depicted the life of a failing writer in The Alcoholic; and Emmanuel Guibert (France) has documented war in Afghanistan and in Europe.
4:30-5:30 p.m. Yoshihiro Tatsumi in Conversation with Adrian Tomine
Yoshihiro Tatsumi — widely credited with starting the gekigastyle of alternative comics in Japan some 40 years ago — is joined by Adrian Tomine, the acclaimed author of Shortcomings, for a conversation on the evolution of comics in Japan, the U.S., and around the world. Cosponsored by Cooper Union.
$10/$8 PEN members The three sessions: Only $25/$20 PEN members www.smarttix.com or 212.868.4444
20% DISCOUNT for STUDENTS: $8 for one session, $20 for three sessions. Use code: pen303
=====
Yoshihiro Tatsumi will also appear in… Working for the Weekend: Modern Day Salarymen
WHEN: THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 4:30–5:30 p.m.
WHERE: Austrian Cultural Forum, 11 East 52nd Street, NYC
Participants: Kathrin Röggla and Yoshihiro Tatsumi
From Kafka’s Gregor Samsa in The Metamorphosis to Richard Ford’s Frank Bascombe in The Sportswriter, writers have explored the everyday realities of working life to tell larger stories. Yoshihiro Tatsumi began depicting the lives of Japanese working people in his comics more than four decades ago, while Kathrin Röggla’s docu-novel We Never Sleep describes the working experience of her European contemporaries. Join them for a discussion about writing the working lives of everyday people—East and West. Cosponsored by the Austrian Cultural Forum.
FREE and open to the public. However, reservations are required. Please call ACF’s reservation line at 212.319.5300 (ext. 222) or email reservations@acfny.org.
=====
All of these events are presented as part of PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature. 160 writers from 40 countries take the stage at venues across the city for a week of conversations, performances and readings. New York City, April 27-May 3, 2009. For complete schedule of events (including a ton of other literary-centric delights), go here.
Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art -MoCCA
594 Broadway, Suite 401 (Between Houston and Prince st.)
New York, NY 10012
Admission: Donation Suggested / Free for MoCCA Members
Featuring multi-media presentation of art by:
PETER KUPER
MAC McGILL
SETH TOBOCMAN
PAULA HEWITT AMRAM
SABRINA JONES
ERIC DROOKER
KEVIN PYLE
CHUCK SPERRY
REBECCA MIGDAL
and many others!
with an animated film by Onur Tukel
live music by
Eric Blitz, Steve Wishnia, Andy Laties, Breeze and more!
World War 3 Illustrated #39
Edited by Peter Kuper and Kevin Pyle
With all this talk about a picture being worth a thousand words and so much chatter in the news, but little being said, World War 3 illustrated presents our first wordless comics issue. It features comics and illustrations by Eric Drooker, Mats!?, Geoffrey Grahn, Rebecca Migdal, Matt Mahurin, Carlo Quispe, Ryan Inzana, Seth Tobocman, Peter Kuper, Felipe Galindo, Mac McGill, David Sandlin, Barron Storey, Onur Tukel, Sabrina Jones, Andy Singer, Santiago Cohen, Kevin Pyle, Gerard Conte, Paula Hewitt , Edwin Vasquez, Terry Laban, and an article on picture novels by scholar David Berona.
This new issue leaps beyond language barriers — sort of a Tower of a Babel, minus the babble. All of us speaking one language again — through pictures.
Peter Kuper was interviewed awhile back for Newsarama–he talked about the collaborative nature of the project and his challenges as an editor. Here’s a taste:
“Every time I try to stop doing it, something happens that pulls me back in … it’s like the Mafia, there’s no escape!” Kuper observed of working on the magazine, which is in its 28th year of publication. “Over the years when my enthusiasm for dedicating the enormous amount of time and energy it takes to put out an issue starts to wane, there’s a riot in Tompkins Square park, a war in Iraq (the first one) or 9/11, and I rediscover the importance of maintaining a forum that doesn’t rely on outside financing or exert some form of censorship.
“To be clear, World War 3 is very much a group effort (I certainly haven’t edited every other issue) and wouldn’t exist if a large number of people didn’t keep pulling together to make it happen. If there hadn’t been we would have burned out by now.”
The artist further explained the need for WW3, adding, “There have been many points when WW3 was the only place to publish certain ideas. This was true during Reagan’s presidency, but especially true after 9/11 when even artists like Art Spiegelman found the mainstream press completely closed to work like what ended up being In The Shadow of No Towers and turned to WW3 to get it published. Last issue I did an eleven-page piece on my experience in Mexico during a teachers strike. WW3 was the only place I could find for a piece of that length.”
As issue 39 will be entirely wordless, Kuper was asked about the reasons for publishing an all-silent issue. “I have always been a fan of wordless storytelling from Lynd Ward to Eric Drooker, and after eight years of Bush I’m speechless!” he laughed. “Also I had the kooky notion that it would be easier to edit a wordless issue. I had it completely backwards; it has taken twice as long and required much more hands-on editing with each piece, down to sketching out suggestions. Thankfully I was able to hoodwink Kevin Pyle (Blind Spots) into helping me with the editing duty.”
WW3 Illustrated #39 will be “90% comics, 5% fat-free illustrations and a great article on Wordless books by the #1 scholar on the subject, David A. Beronä,” Kuper explained. Previous issues of the magazine have made room for political and social essays to run alongside the magazine’s cartoon commentaries.
You can read the complete interview here. And to see more art, animation and info about World War 3 illustrated visit the official site.
Dixon Place presents…
CAROUSEL
Cartoon slide shows & other projected pictures presented by a glittering array of artists, performers, graphic novelists, & other characters.
Hosted by R. Sikoryak (Parsons Illustration Alum and Adjunct Faculty!).
Featuring:
Brian Dewan
Dean Haspiel
Tim Kreider
Josh Neufeld
Jim Torok
Kriota Willberg
R.S.
and more!
Thursday, Apr 30, 2009
8:00 PM (door opens at 7:30 pm)
at the NEW
Dixon Place
161 Chrystie Street
New York, NY 10002
Tickets:
$15 (general)
$12 (students/seniors w/ valid id) or TDF
2 tickets for $25 with postcard (see attached jpeg)
Advance tickets & more info:
www.dixonplace.org
(212) 219-0736
What: Mini Mini-Comics Workshop!Come learn about comic conventions, the comics industry, self-publishing, and constructing your own zines, artbooks, and mini-comics. A great introduction to those considering submitting work to this year’s MoCCA Festival! Some people think these conventions are only about comic-comics (pictures in panels), but Jillian has amassed a huge collection of books at these types of festivals that run the whole gamut of arty, comic-y, narrative, non-narrative, silkscreen, photocopied, etc. etc. She will also talk about her experiences making her first mini-comic and how she did it SOOO wrong. She’ll talk about how to construct these things in a non-painful way. Plus, she’ll answer any other comics industry related questions!
Don’t miss this truly great opportunity to meet with Jillian and get the benefit of her experiences!
New York Public Library – Cullman Center presents
A Checkroom Romance by Ben Katchor and Mark Mulcahy
Wednesday, May 13, 2009 at 7pm SOLD OUT
Just added: Friday, May 15, 2009 at 7pm TICKETS AVAILABLE!
5th Avenue and 42nd Street
New York, NY 10018
In this new, musical tragicomedy by cartoonist Ben Katchor and musician Mark Mulcahy, one man’s casual obsession with the architecture and culture of coat checkrooms ensnares him in a desperate struggle between employment agents, maitre ‘ds, lovesick podiatrists, low-budget contractors, and paraphilic playboys.
A Check-Room Romance was commissioned by the Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers.
Order tickets online here or call 212.868.4444.
Tickets: $15 general admission/$10 Library Donors, Seniors and students with valid ID.