May 10, 2016 – Roland Kelts – The Hybrid Roots of Manga

7-9 PM

Room M 101 (Bark room), 66 Fifth Ave., lobby level

How the influx of American and other Western cultural artifacts after World War II evolved into a form of expression whose visual and narrative characteristics are today considered distinctively Japanese. Roland Kelts is the author of the critically acclaimed and bestselling Japanamerica. His articles, essays and fiction are published in The New Yorker, Time, the Wall Street Journal, The Village Voice, Newsweek Japan, Vogue, Cosmopolitan and The Japan Times, among others. He is also a frequent contributor to CNN, the BBC, NPR and NHK. He is a visiting scholar at Keio University and contributing editor of Monkey Business, Japan’s premier literary magazine. His forthcoming novel is called Access.

May 3, 2016 – The Waking Life of Winsor McCay

7-9 PM

Room M 101 (Bark room), 66 Fifth Ave., lobby level

An in-depth look at lesser-known comics by legendary artist Winsor McCay Kirsten McKinney will discuss the importance that Winsor McCay’s work for adults, specifically A Pilgrim’s Progress by Mister Bunion, plays in the oeuvre of this celebrated artist. Revered as an innovator in both comics and animation, McCay’s New York Evening Telegram comics are often overlooked but were filled with social commentary and telling personal references, shedding light on the man behind the legend. Kirsten A. McKinney is a graphic designer in Richmond, VA who has researched Winsor McCay’s work for adult audiences including Dream of the Rarebit Fiend, A Pilgrim’s Progress by Mister Bunion, and Poor Jake. She has compiled a complete catalog of A Pilgrim’s Progress by Mister Bunion, including scans from The New York Evening Telegram and full transcriptions.

April 26, 2015 – Kirk Demarais on Novelty Advertising in Comic Books

7-9 PM

Room M 101 (Bark room), 66 Fifth Ave., lobby level

Author Kirk Demarais will explore novelty advertising in comic books, examining the artwork and revealing the products behind the sensationalized ads. The presentation will include a focused look at the pioneering prank and magic manufacturer, S.S. Adams. Kirk Demarais is the author of Mail-Order Mysteries: Real Stuff from Old Comic Book Ads, and Life of the Party, a visual history book of the S.S. Adams prank and magic company, whom he also designed for. He is a freelance designer, illustrator, and writer who has created content for clients such as Hallmark, Warner Bros., The LA Times, The Weinstein Company, The Onion AV Club, Comic Art Magazine, BoingBoing.net, and Archie McPhee. Kirkʼs pop surrealist art is regularly featured at Gallery 1988 of Los Angeles. Heʼs also an adjunct professor at John Brown University where he teaches the history of art, advertising, and design.

April 19, 2016 – Gulag Casual with Austin English

7-9 PM

Room M 101 (Bark room), 66 Fifth Ave., lobby level

English will talk about the different stories collected in the book, Gulag Casual, which is an overview of 5 years worth of cartooning. Austin English is a cartoonist and painter living in New York. He has published many books, including Christina and Charles and The Disgusting Room. His most recent effort, Gulag Casual published by 2d Cloud, debuts in April 2016.

April 12 – Sam Gross, on his career of producing non-politically correct cartoons

7-9 PM

Room M 101 (Bark room), 66 Fifth Ave., lobby level

Sam Gross was born in the Bronx and attended DeWitt Clinton High School, which at the time was an all-boys school. He attended City College, starting as a business major, transferring to accounting major, and finally majored in advertising. Gross ended up taking a lot of art and history courses. He began cartooning in 1962. His cartoons have appeared in numerous magazines, including Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Good Housekeeping, Harvard Business Review and The New Yorker. He was cartoon editor for National Lampoon and Parents Magazine. Gross also became involved in electronic publishing ventures with cartoons playing an important role.

April 5, 2016 – Paul Buhle on “TEN YEARS OF NON-FICTION COMICS”

7-9 PM

Room M 101 (Bark room), 66 Fifth Ave., lobby level

My notion of where I began and have done, touching on work with the 1970s Bay Area oldtimers, WW3, new generations, etc. co-editor of DRAWN TO CHANGE (Between the Lines Press). Publisher of Radical America Komiks (1969), and editor of several journals with an interest in comics, Paul Buhle will explore the phase of nonfiction comics from his own re-entry in 2005 and a dozen volumes since. Harvey Pekar, Howard Zinn, Spain Rodriguez, Sharon Rudahl, Peter Kuper, Sabrina Jones, Nick Thorkelson and even Ben Katchor among others are part of this story. His books include: From the Lower East Side to Hollywood: Jew in American Popular Culture, The Beats: A Graphic History (with Harvey Pekar), Wobblies!: A Graphic History of the Industrial Workers of the World (with Nicole Schulman), The Art of Harvey Kurtzman: The Mad Genius of Comics (with Denis Kitchen), Marxism in the United States: Remapping the History of the American Left, Tender Comrades: A Backstory of the Hollywood Blacklist (with Patrick McGilligan), Encyclopedia of the American Left (with Mari Jo Buhle and Dan Georgakis), Dangerous Woman: The Graphic Biography of Emma Goldman (with Sharon Rudahl and Alice Wexler), Lincoln for Beginners (with Sharon Rudahl and Eric Foner), History and the New Left: Madison Wisconsin, 1950-1970, The American Radical (with Mari Jo Buhl, Harvey J. Kaye and Eric Foner), Blacklisted: The Film Lover’s Guide to the Hollywood Blacklist (with Dave Wagner), Students for a Democratic Society: A Graphic History (with Harvey Pekar), Jews and American Comics: An Illustrated History of an American Art Form, A People’s History of American Empire (with Howard Zinn and Mike Konopacki), Radical Hollywood: The Untold Story Behind America’s Favorite Movies (with David Wagner), C.L.R. James: The Artist As Revolutionary, Taking Care of Business: Samuel Gompers, George Meany, Lane Kirkland, and the Tragedy of American Labor, FDR and the New Deal For Beginners (with Sabrina Jones and Harvey Pekar), Hide in Plain Sight: The Hollywood Balcklistees in Film and Television (with Dave Wagner), The Immigrant Left in the United States (with Dan Georgakas), A Very Dangerous Citizen: Abraham Lincoln Polonsky and the Hollywood Left (with Dave Wagner), Marxism in the USA: From 1870 to the Present, (editor), Jews and American Popular Culture (editor), Images of American Radicalism (with Edmund B. Sullivan), Robin Hood: People’s Outlaw and Forest Hero: A Graphic Guide (with Chris Hutchinson), Insurgent Images: The Agitprop Mural of Mike Alewitz (with Mike Alewitz and Martin Sheen), C.L. R. James’s Caribbean (with Paget Henry), Labor’s Joke Book, Tim Hector: A Caribbean Radical’s Story, Working for Democracy: American Workers from the Revolution to the Present (with Alan Dawley), and From the Knights of Labor to the New World Order: Essays on Labor and Culture.