PR: Japan Society Announces Manga Artist-in-Residence for Kuniyoshi Exhibit

If anyone's interested in reviewing the exhibit, let me know.

For Immediate Release

Japan Society Employs First-Ever Mangaka-in-Residence

Artist/Illustrator Hiroki Otsuka to Create an Original Japanese-style Comic Book Based on the Spring 2010 Kuniyoshi Exhibition

New York, NY – Japan Society taps internationally acclaimed visual artist and professional illustrator Hiroki Otsuka as mangaka (comic book illustrator) artist-in-residence in conjunction with the Society's spring exhibition Graphic Heroes, Magic Monsters: Japanese Prints by Utagawa Kuniyoshi from the Arthur R. Miller Collection, March 12-June 13, 2010.

The first residency of its kind in the U.S. in terms of content, scale and breadth of public engagement, Hiroki Otsuka will create an original full-length manga (comic book) inspired by the work of Kuniyoshi—often working onsite visible to visitors. In addition, Otsuka lends his talents to an array of related activities, including illustration workshops for the general public and New York City high school students, devising and judging an international manga competition, blogging about his work and experience at Japan Society, and creating original Kuniyoshi-inspired artwork to be made available to the public. Otsuka will also participate in Japan Society's food-themed all-day festival j-CATION (April 10), and the Society's second annual cosplay event, Cosplay Play 2.0 (May 15), for which he will create promotional artwork.

"Kuniyoshi's love of complex narrative, his busy, frenetic style, his powerful characterization, his inventive use of space, and his mass-market appeal all mark him as a grandfather of contemporary manga," says Joe Earle, Director of Japan Society Gallery and organizer of Graphic Heroes, Magic Monsters. "We are underlining the parallels between Kuniyoshi’s work and contemporary manga by asking Hiroki Otsuka—an outstanding manga artist living in New York—to serve as our mangaka-in-residence, inspiring visitors by creating his own meta-narrative about Kuniyoshi and his work."

 

Otsuka's yet-to-be titled original manga, which begins production on the March 12 opening of Graphic Heroes Magic Monsters, centers on a teenager who comes to Japan Society's exhibition as part of a school group. The student literally gets drawn into the artwork as a Kuniyoshi-inspired warrior and is called on to save New York City from the multitude of monsters marauding throughout Kuniyoshi's prints.

 

Earle notes, "What we particularly liked about Otsuka was his sympathy for Kuniyoshi's skillful circumventions of official rules and regulations—for example the 1843 Earth Spider triptych which viewers of the time interpreted as a satire on Japan’s weak ruler and his ministers, with the demons representing those who suffered under the oppressive reforms. In the same way, Otsuka's work will incorporate commentary on contemporary America."

 

A new episode of Otsuka's manga will be made available weekly online. Visitors to Japan Society Gallery will have the opportunity to observe Otsuka working onsite on Friday evenings 5-9, and Saturdays and Sundays 11 am-5 pm.

 

In conjunction with the residency, Japan Society offers the public manga workshop Brutes, Beauties & Beasts: Drawing Inspiration from Kuniyoshi with Hiroki Otsuka. With Otsuka as a guide, participants bring their art to life choosing from one or more of the five themes from Graphic Heroes, Magic Monsters: Warriors, Theater, Beautiful Women, Landscapes, and Humor. The 2-hour workshops take place amidst bamboo gardens and an indoor waterfall in Japan Society’s Murase Room. [For ages 16 and up, single sessions take place Saturdays, March 13, March 20, March 27, April 24, May 22, May 29, June 5, June 12, 11 am–1 pm. Tickets are $30 per person including materials and free admission to the gallery. Parental permission slips required for children under 18. For more information and to register call 212-715-1224.]

 

Otsuka will visit The High School of Art and Design and The Brooklyn Friends School as part of the Japan Society Education Program's Responding to… student outreach series, which pairs high school groups to participate in a multi-part, intensive study of Japan Society exhibitions. In Responding to Graphic Heroes, Magic Monsters: Japanese Prints by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (April-June), students explore exhibition themes and make connections to contemporary culture in a manga project led by Otsuka. The program culminates in a special exhibition of the students' artwork at Japan Society and a reception for students, teachers, and parents. [For more information call 212-715-1224.]

 

To further celebrate Kuniyoshi's impact on contemporary manga, Otsuka will serve as guest judge for Japan Society's first annual manga competition, MANGA MADNESS! (March 19-May 1). Participants are asked to submit previously unpublished manga artwork, and the top three winners’ will be displayed at Japan Society. [Beginning March 19, send complete applications to submissions@japansociety.org. Digital scans are preferred but photocopies may be mailed to Japan Society, 333 East 47^th Street, New York, NY 10017, ATTN: MANGA MADNESS! Please DO NOT mail original art as hardcopy submissions will be discarded after the competition. Entries must be emailed or postmarked by May 1, 2010. Full contest information and rules will be posted at www.japansociety.org in March.]

 

Finally, each week Otsuka will select a print from Graphic Heroes, Magic Monsters and create a work of art inspired by the print on paper or canvas. The completed artworks will be made available for sale after the exhibition closes. [For sales-related inquiries call 212-715-1252.]

 

About Hiroki Otsuka

 

A professional comic book illustrator since 1994, Brooklyn based Japanese artist/illustrator Hiroki Otsuka honed his craft drafting and inking comic book cells for a variety of projects, and illustrated for a number of major Japanese publications through 2004. "I grew up reading manga like all youngsters in Japan, although I was completely obsessed with submerging myself in their realm of imagination," says Otsuka. "Since then, I have devoted a great deal of time studying manga. Through drawing manga, I like to open doors for readers to share my imaginative world. I use personal experiences, or experiences and stories from my friends to inspire my work. I create drawings, paintings, and manga whose underlying themes are entertaining and convey something of the essence of living freely, easily and vividly."

 

In 2005, Otsuka's focus shifted from graphic to fine arts, working predominantly with traditional sumi ink used in Japanese calligraphy. Otsuka's debut solo show at Brooklyn's Stay Gold Gallery in 2005 prompted The New Yorker to write that his works "push the populist youth quotient through the roof." Since then, his work has appeared in galleries throughout the United States and Japan, and has been featured in international art fairs in New York, Tokyo and Basel, Switzerland. He's been exhibited at major art institutions such as The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (Nothing Moments, 2007) and in academic settings such as Pittsburgh University Art Gallery (Making Faces: Depiction of Women in Japan from Edo to Today, 2009). In 2007, Otsuka was featured in Japan Society’s centennial exhibition Making a Home, curated by Eric C. Shiner, that highlighted 33 Japanese contemporary artists living and working in New York. Berlin's Kunstraum Richard Sorge held a major exhibition of Otsuka's paintings and murals in 2009 entitled Everything to More. Most recently, Otsuka provided the integrated illustrations for choreographer Jeremy Wade's critically acclaimed multimedia dance there is no end to more, a Japan Society commission which had its world premiere in New York in December 2009.

 

Discussing his process, Otsuka says, "I always begin by drawing the pictures on a sketchbook just using a black pen, which is a basic manga technique. As simple as this sounds, so much information can be conveyed with just one line. The spontaneity of lines is my identity. It shows how I have been inspired and mirrors my state of mind and energy flow. Lines are the most significant aspect of my works, even more important than what I draw."

 

Related Japan Society Events

 

Japan Society's spring 2010 exhibition Graphic Heroes, Magic Monsters: Japanese prints by Utagawa Kuniyoshi from the Arthur R. Miller Collection (March 12–June 13, 2010) examines the career of print artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798–1861), whose vivid scenes from history and legend, wildly popular 150 years ago, feature giant spiders, skeletons, and sea creatures; Chinese ruffians; women warriors; haggard ghosts, and ferocious samurai. His prints include familiar themes such as landscape, kabuki theater, beautiful women, as well as less well-known subjects like religion and folklore of Japan, China and other Asian countries, and exotic experiments with foreign subject-matter and European techniques. In Graphic Heroes, Magic Monsters, Japan Society presents 130 dramatic images by a graphic genius whose work is a major influence on today’s manga and anime artists. Organized by the Royal Academy of Arts in collaboration with Arthur R. Miller and The British Museum. [$12/ $10 students and seniors/FREE Japan Society members and children under 16; Admission is free to all on Friday nights, 6-9 pm. Japan Society Gallery hours: Tuesday through Thursday, 11 am-6 pm; Friday, 11 am-9 pm; Saturday and Sunday, 11 am-5 pm; the Gallery is closed on Mondays and major holidays. Docent tours are available free with admission Tuesday-Sunday at 12:30 pm.]

 

Japan Society offers a taste of everything Japan with j-CATION (Saturday, April 10, 1 pm-1 am), a one-day open house festival taking over the Society’s theater, gallery, lounge and classrooms. The first-annual j-CATION centers on the theme of Japanese food. Participants are invited to feast their eyes on films with culinary themes in an afternoon of Edible Cinema, drool over innovative bento box creations and "how-to" demonstrations, savor tastings and dig in to talks given by star speakers. While authentic and unusual drinks and bites satisfy curious cravings throughout the day, the evening explodes into a smorgasbord of music with the delicious sounds of Brooklyn-based dream-pop band Asobi Seksu and a guest DJ’s sweet beats rocking into the night. [$5 suggested donation.]

 

Following the massive success of Japan Society's KRAZY! Cosplay Party in 2009, the Society hosts its second annual cosplay event, Cosplay Party 2.0 (Saturday, May 15), in conjunction with the exhibition Graphic Heroes, Magic Monsters. Fans are invited to create and showoff costumes of their favorite characters, and share their enthusiasm for anime, manga, and video games. Cosplay Party 2.0 includes an anime film premiere in Japan's Society's big screen theater; a costume competition with special appearances from Uncle Yo, World Cosplay Summit Team USA girls, and manga artist Hiroki Otsuka; prizes from Kinokuniya Bookstore; musical entertainment; a photo booth; free admission to Graphic Heroes, Magic Monsters; and more. [Time and ticket price TBA. Only costumed individuals are eligible for the competition.]

 

About Japan Society

 

Established in 1907, Japan Society has evolved into North America's major producer of high-quality content on Japan for an English-speaking audience. Presenting over 100 events annually through well established Corporate, Education, Film, Gallery, Language, Lectures, Performing Arts and Innovators Network programs, the Society is an internationally recognized nonprofit, nonpolitical organization that provides access to information on Japan, offers opportunities to experience Japanese culture, and fosters sustained and open dialogue on issues important to the U.S., Japan, and East Asia.

 

Japan Society is located at 333 East 47th Street between First and Second Avenues (accessible by the 4/5/6 and 7 subway at Grand Central or the E and V subway at Lexington Avenue).  The public may call 212-832-1155 or visit www.japansociety.org for more information.

 

#  #  #

 

 

_____

Shannon Jowett, Director of Communications

(p) 212-715-1205  (f) 212-715-1262  (e)  sjowett@japansociety.org

Japan Society |  333 E. 47th St. | New York, NY  10017 | www.japansociety.org

 

View Japan Society's full Calendar of Events

Join Japan Society on Facebook

Follow Japan Society on Twitter

Visit the U.S.-Japan Innovators Network

Visit About Japan: A Teacher's Resource

 

 

 

IJOCA - reviewer wanted for Paul Gravett's Moomin exhibit in Belgium

UPDATED - I've got a reviewer for this, thanks.

On the Comix-Scholars listsever, Paul wrote:

 I have just curated an exhibition at the Belgian Comics Centre in Brussels, Moomin: Tove Jansson's Dreamworld. Over 70 originals, including 12 sets of "synopsis" drawings for her comics restored and shown for the very first time to the public. On till Aug 29. More info on my site www.paulgravett.com and here:

http://www.comicscenter.net/en/news/158-moomin

If anyone's interested in reviewing it for IJOCA, let me know.

Mike Rhode
exhibits editor

Comic Art, 2005-2009: A Global Bibliography available now

IJOCA 11-3 is actually Comic Art, 2005-2009: A Global Bibliography, 626 pages of citations on comics compiled by John Lent and Mike Rhode. And it's got a special cover drawing done for us by Richard Thompson. You can buy it as a stand alone issue by sending $15 to John Lent. This is an addendum to John's previous 10-volume series of comics citations, and is a bargain because a set of those will cost you well over $1000.

Here's a sample from the 2010 version I'm working on now - the new citations for 2010 are marked with *:

Comic Book Sales
Flage, Karon. 2001. Ranking and List Position [comic book sales]. Sequential Tart 4 (2: February): http://www.sequentialtart.com/
Gustines, George Gene. 2009. Graphic Books Best Seller List: May 9. New York Times Art Beat blog (May 15): http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/graphic-books-best-seller-list-may-9/
Gustines, George Gene. 2009. Graphic Books Best Seller List: June 6. New York Times Arts Beat blog (June 12): http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/12/graphic-books-best-seller-list-june-6/
*Hibbs, Brian. 2010. Looking At Bookscan: 2009. Comic Book Resources' Tilting at Windmills (February 12): http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=24818
Miller, John Jackson. 2007. Comic Sales Analysis: January 2007 – Snows, fifth week spur big month. Comics and Games Retailer (182; May): 26-27
Reid, Calvin. 2009. February Comics Bestsellers. Publishers Weekly’s PW Comics Week (February 3): http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6634161.html
Reid, Calvin. 2009. June Comics Bestsellers. Publishers Weekly (June 15): http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6665433.html
Sheriff, Amanda. 2008. Comic Sales Figures Circulate. Scoop (December 5):
http://scoop.diamondgalleries.com/public/default.asp?t=1&m=1&c=34&s=268&ai=77604
*Unknown. 2010. Graphic Books. New York Times (February 4): http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/books/bestseller/bestgraphicbooks.html

IJOCA 11-3 out

Due to the snow on the East Coast, I haven't seen a copy yet, but IJOCA 11-3, the all-bibliography issue has made it to London. Any comments or suggestions or feedback would be appreciated.

Singer on McCloud's Making Comics

Marc Singer reprints his review of Scott McCloud's Making Comics that originally ran in the International Journal of Comic Art.

Renewal time

It's time to renew for 2010 and the 12th year of IJOCA. IJOCA 11-3 should be coming from the printer this weekend, and going in the mail next week. Higher mailing costs have meant that we've moved into the red so renewals and new subscriptions are drastically needed this year.

3 numbers (issues per year) as of January 2009.
Institutions : US$ 70
Individuals : US$ 45

Payment can be made by international money order personal check (for U.S. subscribers), checks made on U.S. banks, or cash. Sorry, no credit cards.

Subscriptions should be ordered directly from:

John A. Lent
669 Ferne Blvd.
Drexel Hill, PA 19026
USA
or John.Lent@gmail.com

ToonSeum Press Release: January Cartoon Arts Lecture Series

The ToonSeum January Lecture Series
The ToonSeum announces the line up for it's January Saturday Lecture Series.
The series features artists and authors discussing various aspects of the cartoon arts and its history.
The ToonSeum is Pittsburgh's Museum of Cartoon Art. Located in downtown Pittsburgh's cultural district. It is one of only three museums dedicated to comics and cartoons in the nation.


January 16th, 5:30 PM

Rob Rogers

Rob Rogers will be at the ToonSeum speaking about his 25 years as an editorial cartoonist in Pittsburgh and his new book, "No Cartoon Left Behind."

As a editorial cartoonist for the last 25 years, Rob Rogers' cartoons appear regularly in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Newsweek, and USA Today, among others. His "How the Gingrich Stole Christmas" graced the cover of Newsweek's 1994 year-end issue. He received the 1995 National Headliner Award, the 2000 Overseas Press Club Award and has won seven Golden Quill Awards. In 1999, he was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

In his new book, "No Cartoon Left Behind", Rogers recounts his humorous path to cartooning and shares his own personal perspective on the major news stories of the past two and a half decades, covering a diverse range of topics including the Cold War, gun control, smoking, racism, the environment, 9/11 and presidential elections. It is considered as a must-have for political junkies, history buffs, cartoon fans.


January 23rd, 5:30 pm

Finding Calvin and Hobbes with author Nevin Martell

Author Nevin Martell shares his quest to uncover the story behind one of comics most elusive creators, Bill Watterson, creator of Calvin and Hobbes.

For ten years, between 1985 and 1995, Calvin and Hobbes was one the world's most beloved comic strips. And then, on the last day of 1995, the strip ended. Its mercurial and reclusive creator, Bill Watterson, not only finished the strip but withdrew entirely from public life. There is no merchandising associated with Calvin and Hobbes: no movie franchise; no plush toys; no coffee mugs; no t-shirts (except a handful of illegal ones).
There is only the strip itself, and the books in which it has been compiled
- including The Complete Calvin and Hobbes: the heaviest book ever to hit the New York Times bestseller list.

In Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and His Revolutionary Comic Strip, writer Nevin Martell traces the life and career of the extraordinary, influential, and intensely private man behind Calvin and Hobbes. With input from a wide range of artists and writers (including Dave Barry, Harvey Pekar, Jonathan Lethem, andBrad Bird) as well as some of Watterson's closest friends and professional colleagues, this is as close as we're ever likely to get to one of America's most ingenious and intriguing figures - and a fascinating detective story, at the same time.

Only 3,160 Calvin and Hobbes strips were ever produced, but Watterson has left behind an impressive legacy. Calvin and Hobbes references litter the pop culture landscape and his fans are as varied as they are numerable.
Looking for Calvin and Hobbes is an affectionate and revealing book about uncovering the story behind this most uncommon trio - a man, a boy, and his tiger.


January 30th, 5:30 pm

Bill Mauldin: A Life Up Front, Author- Todd Depastino

The program will be an illustrated talk on the great World War II cartoonist Bill Mauldin, an army infantry sergeant who rocketed to fame at age twenty-two with his wildly popular feature "Up Front."  Week after week, Mauldin defied army censors, German artillery, and General George Patton's pledge to throw him in jail for insubordination to deliver his grim depictions of war to "Stars and Stripes" and hundreds of homefront newspapers.

There, readers followed the stories of Willie and Joe, two wise-cracking 'dogfaces' whose mud-caked uniforms and pidgin of army slang and slum dialect bore eloquent witness to the world of combat and the men who lived
- and died - in it.  We have never viewed war in the same way since.

The talk is based on Todd's book, BILL MAULDIN: A LIFE UP FRONT (W.W.
Norton, 2008), a winner of the 2009 Anne M. Sperber Prize for biography.
Todd is also editor of acclaimed WILLIE & JOE: THE WWII YEARS (Fantagraphics Books, 2008), the first complete collection of Mauldin's World War II.

His previous books include CITIZEN HOBO: HOW A CENTURY OF HOMELESSNESS SHAPED AMERICA (University of Chicago Press, 2003) which won a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship. He has a Ph.D. in American History from Yale University and teaches at Waynesburg University.
Currently, he lives in Mt. Lebanon with his wife and two daughters.

Lecture series is included with paid admission to the ToonSeum.

4 dollars for adults

3 dollars for students

www.toonseum.org


For more information visit www.toonseum.org or call 412-232-0199.

Our mailing address is:
The ToonSeum
945 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
 

2009 in The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum

2009 in The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum (formerly the Cartoon Research Library)


This has been a year of exciting changes for us. Our collections, staff, and programming have expanded so much that we have completely outgrown our current location. Thanks to two extraordinary gifts, we’re delighted to report that The Ohio State University has committed to provide a new, larger facility, scheduled to open in 2013.

The lead gift of $7 million was made by the Elizabeth Ireland Graves Foundation in honor of Billy Ireland, the cartoonist for the Columbus Dispatch from 1898 until his death in 1935. At its September meeting, The Ohio State University Board of Trustees approved our new name, the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, in recognition of this very generous gift. This name is particularly appropriate because Ireland was an influential mentor to Milton Caniff, the cartoonist whose collection started the library more than 30 years ago.

We also received $1 million from Jean Schulz, the widow of Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz, to support our new facility. Along with her generous donation, Mrs. Schulz issued a challenge: she will provide an additional dollar-for-dollar matching gift of up to $2.5 million, making the total impact of her gift $6 million.

Thanks to these significant private investments, Ohio State will undertake a renovation of Sullivant Hall to provide new, upgraded space for the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum. Located at a highly visible location at the historic entrance to campus, the planned renovation will provide 40,000 gross square feet of space that will include a spacious reading room for researchers, three museum-quality exhibition galleries, and expanded storage with state-of-the-art environmental and security controls.

This past summer, we celebrated our acquisition of the International Museum of Cartoon Art Collection with two exhibitions and a special weekend of programming featuring Mort and Brian Walker, Arnold Roth, Jim Borgman, and Jerry Beck. Frank Pauer designed a beautiful exhibition catalogue that was given to attendees. In addition, a popular family day included a screening of The Secret of N.I.M.H. and special activities in the gallery. Kids and adults alike enjoyed printing comic strips on a real press and making authentic newspaper printer’s hats. The Wexner Center for the Arts was a co-sponsor for the IMCA programming.

In addition to the IMCA exhibits, we featured Ronald Searle: Satirist and Light: A Forgotten 19th Century Humor Magazine in the reading room gallery. The Aldus Society co-hosted a well-received lecture on Light by Richard Samuel West and we now have a digital version of this exhibition available at http://cartoons.osu.edu/light_exhibit. Our talented student designer also completed a digital version of our Sam Milai exhibit (http://cartoons.osu.edu/sammilai) and we will have a digital exhibit on Milton Caniff available in early 2010.

We partnered with the Wexner Center to host several film programs: Nina Paley showed Sita Sings the Blues; Wayne Alan Harold and Craig Russell introduced Night Music: The Art of P. Craig Russell; and Ken Mills and Jeff Smith presented the world premier of The Cartoonist: Jeff Smith, Bone and the Changing Face of Comics. In conjunction with our fall exhibit Winsor McCay: Legendary Cartoonist, Oscar-winning animator and McCay biographer John Canemaker lectured on McCay’s ground-breaking animation.

Plans are underway for our tenth triennial Festival of Cartoon Art celebrating cartoons, comics and their creators! Mark your calendars for October 14-16, 2010 and watch for the announcement of our line-up of speakers in January. If you would like to receive announcements about the Festival and our other news and events via email, please go to our website (http://cartoons.osu.edu) and register for our email list. We also have some wonderful exhibits planned for 2010 including a look back at a century of sports cartoons, highlights from our recent acquisitions, and retrospectives of the work of Billy Ireland and George Herriman.

Lucy Caswell & Jenny Robb

2009 in the Comic Art Collection at Michigan State University Libraries.

2009 in the Comic Art Collection at Michigan State University Libraries. <http://comics.lib.msu.edu/>

The International Comic Art Collection continued to thrive in 2009. Some acquisitions highlights were the donation of nearly 1,000 British weekly comic books (Dandy, Beano, Victor) from the 1970s, the purchase of 1,000 issues if the Argentine magazine Tit-Bits (a children's magazine with lots of comics) from the 1940s and 1950s, and a quick buying trip to Mexico City which added 300 items to our still random, but ever larger, collection of over 5,000 Mexican comics. We completed or very nearly completed our runs of the Spanish comics Cimoc, Creepy, and 1984. Other donations continued to arrive, mostly American comic books in quantity. An important local development is the beginning of a studio art class, called Comics and Visual Narrative, which has now been taught for two semesters by autobiographical comics artist and MFA Ryan Claytor. His class is also being taught at the University of Michigan-Flint. The final projects of almost fifty students have been deposited in our collection, and with this it begins to feel like Michigan State is contributing to the future of comics and not just the preservation of comics. A two-day forum on comics was held in March, and was attended by 200 people. Undergraduate use of comics for class work remains strong, averaging one student per day. This has reoriented our priorities somewhat toward recent "mainstream" comic books, as that's what the undergraduates are asking for. We have welcomed traveling scholars from Australia, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, New York, and Ann Arbor, Mich. Two graduate students in the History Department here began their programs this fall by volunteering in the comics collection, and another from the library school at Champaign-Urbana is now doing a three-week stint of volunteer comics cataloging. One big event was the finalizing of a gift of about about three million comic strips in proof sheet format from King Features Syndicate. Three publishers have used this new collection: IDW Publishing has released a volume of Rip Kirby, Classic Comics Press has published The Heart of Juliet Jones, with other titles in the works, and Hermes Press has a volume of The Phantom on the way. The King Features strip collection is almost completely organized and cataloged, and re-housing in acid-free boxes and Tyvek envelopes is under way. SPEC Productions used our scrapbook collection of George Wunder's Terry and the Pirates for a forthcoming reprint. Cataloging in general has gone well this year, with 3,500 new titles added to the library's online catalog.

Randy Scott

Dark Horse Comics archive to Portland State University Library

Here's a good overview article on the 2008 donation of Dark Horse Comics archives to Portland State University Library.

MAD MAGAZINE'S AL JAFFEE TO BE INTERVIEWED BY DANNY FINGEROTH AT COLUMBIA U, WEDS. DECEMBER 9 **FREE**

Nothing to due with IJOCA, but this should be fun.

AN EVENING WITH MAD'S AL JAFFEE, WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 9 AT 8:00 PM AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY.

FREE ADMISSION

New York, November 30, 2009

From Danny Fingeroth:

Comics humor legend AL JAFFEE will be interviewed by writer and critic DANNY FINGEROTH.

"An Evening with MAD Magazine's AL JAFFEE"

If you've ever laughed aloud at AL JAFFEE's world-famous "Mad Fold-Ins" or "Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions," you must not miss this rare opportunity to hear this fascinating figure discuss his incredible life story and the people he met along the way, including other pop-culture titans such as: Harvey Kurtzman, Will Elder, Bill Gaines, John Severin, Stan Lee, and many more.

Audience Q & A to follow.

About AL JAFFEE:
A graduate of New York's High School of Music and Art, JAFFEE worked as an editor, writer and artist for Stan Lee at Timely (later Marvel) Comics during the 1940s. In 1955, JAFFEE joined "the Usual Gang of Idiots" at MAD Magazine, where he's been a mainstay ever since, entertaining generations with his Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions and Mad Fold-Ins. Join us as JAFFEE provides snappy answers to provocative questions about his art and life, including his new book, Tall Tales (Abrams) and his upcoming memoir.

About DANNY FINGEROTH:
Moderator DANNY FINGEROTH, a longtime writer and editor at Marvel Comics, has spoken about comics at the Smithsonian Institution and The New School. He's the author of Disguised as Clark Kent: Jews, Comics, and the Creation of the Superhero (Continuum) and The Rough Guide to Graphic Novels (Penguin). Fingeroth is Senior VP of Education at New York's Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art (MoCCA).

Details:
Wednesday, December 9, 8:00 pm
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
ROOM 501, Schermerhorn Hall
New York, NY

[Enter the Columbia Campus at Broadway and 116th Street.
Schermerhorn Hall is close to Amsterdam Avenue, between 118th & 119th streets.]

For more information call:
212-854-2581

**FREE ADMISSION**



                                                       --30--

IJOCA 11-2 table of contents

Vol. 11, No. 2, Fall 2009

 

Indian Cartooning Symposium

Edited by John A. Lent

 

An Illustrated History of Indian Political Cartooning

John A. Lent

3

 

Vivalok Comics: Celebrating All That Is Small in India

Karline McLain

26

 

G. Aravindan's "Small Men and the Big World":

Re- Defining the "Comic" in the Strip

Gokul T. G.

44

 

Making People Laugh:

Toms and K. J. Yesudasan, Premier Cartoonists

in Kerala, India

Shevlin Sebastian

53

 

The Most Popular Polish Comics (1957-1989)

Radoslaw Bolalek

59

 

The Smartest Comic on Earth:

Metafiction in Chris Ware's Acme Novelty Library #16

Paul Cheng

88

 

Lessons My Father Taught Me about Komiks

Clodualdo del Mundo, Jr.

103

 

"Sex and the City":

The Graphic Novel Series Aya

as West African Comedy of Manners

Marla Harris

119

 

The Next Generation of Comics Scholarship

Sandino and Other Superheroes:

The Function of Comic Books in Revolutionary Nicaragua

Bram Draper

136

 

Both Everyman and Other:

"Dilbert" as an Exemplar of Newspaper Comics' Simultaneous Identification and Distance

Julie A. Davis

176

 

Chronicler of Most of a Century:

Cartoonist Ding Cong (1916-2009)

John A. Lent and Xu Ying

195

 

"The Greatest Story Ever Drawn!"

Cleopatra in American Comics

Gregory N. Daugherty

208

 

Press Cartoons in France: A Short History

Jean-Marie Bertin

English translation by Micheline Maupoint and Alex Noel Watson

231

 

Vive la France, Now Who Are We?

Bande Dessinée, the 16 July 1949 Law,

and the Political Re-imagining of Post-World War II France

Joel Vessels

272

 

 

Beyond High and Low:

How Comics and Museums Learned to Co-exist

Kim Munson

283

 

Affect and the Body in Melville's "Bartleby"

and Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki's Skim

Patti Luedecke

299

 

Working Around Words:

Rauf Talishinsky's Azerbaijani Web Cartoons

Interview and Commentary by Alison Mandaville

Translation by Nikki Talishinsky

322

 

Drawn to Distraction:

Comics Reading in Kevin Huizenga's "Lost and Found"

Benjamin Stevens

336

 

From Bumpkin to Blessed --

Comics and National Identity: A Brazilian Case Study

Gêisa Fernandes D'Oliveira

350

 

Comic Book Artists and Writers and Philosophers

Jeff McLaughlin

364

 

An Essay

The Spirit Passes:  The Second Coming

of the Comic Strip's Golden Age

Charles Natoli

372

 

"How to Draw Thinking" Panel,

Small Press Expo, Rockville, MD, Oct. 14, 2006

Isaac Cates

380

 

An Essay

From Cartoon Art to Child Pornography

Murray Lee Eiland

396

 

Hong Kong Manhua after the Millennium

Connie Lam

410

 

Moebius, Gir, Giraud, Gérard:

Self-Visualizations

Maaheen Ahmed

421

 

Political Commentary and Dissent

in the Tapestry and the Cartoon Strip

Jamie Egolf

432

 

The Printed Word

John A. Lent

447

 

<Book Reviews>

Starr Hoffman

Héctor Fernández L'Hoeste

Sol M. Davidson

455

 

<Exhibition and Media Reviews>

edited by Michael Rhode

Ian Gordon

R.J. Gregov

Pascal Lefèvre

 Michael J. Dittman

Ron Stewart

Sarah Lightman

Ariel Kahn

Michael Hill

Michael Rhode

Ofer Berenstein

Peter R. Sattler

Beth Davies-Stofka

Nathan Atkinson

Jose Alaniz

472

 

<Portfolio>

515

ICAF conference seeking new members

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

The Executive Committee of the International Comic Arts Forum, one of
the longest-lived and most respected annual conferences in Comics
Studies, is actively seeking new members:

http://www.internationalcomicartsforum.org/icaf/callforrecruitment.html

We invite applications from academics (including graduate students)
and independent scholars in various fields, including but not limited
to Comparative Literature, English Studies, Cultural Studies,
Communications and Media, Visual Studies, Art History, and Comics
Studies.

The members of the Executive Committee collaborate to plan and present
the ICAF conference, which since its founding in 1995 has been one of
the most important annual events in comics studies. Among the
qualities, backgrounds and/or specialties we are most actively seeking
in candidates are:

  * Web-mastering
  * Grant-writing
  * Fund-raising
  * Cultural diversity/expertise in non-Western comics, pursuant to
ICAF's international focus
  * Conference- or event-organizing

We plan to recruit several new members in academic year 2009-2010.

Applicants should each send C.V. and a 1-2 page statement of purpose
to Cécile Danehy (cdanehy at wheatonma dot edu) by January 4, 2010.

Please send all materials in Word 97-2004 format (with the extension
.doc, not .docx) if possible.

We recommend that applicants consult ICAF's mission statement and past
programs (at our website, http://www.internationalcomicartsforum.org)
to get a sense of ICAF's purpose and character. Commitments to
internationalism and interdisciplinarity are the backbone of ICAF and
we will be looking for prospective colleagues with these qualities. In
addition, we urge applicants to frame their statements of purpose in
not only intellectual but also pragmatic terms, with emphasis on
specialties and skills such as those noted above.

IJOCA 11-2 shipped today, and subscription followups

The new issue shipped today.

Also we don't have have new addresses for the following subscribers and cannot send their copies: David Goldweber, Gigi Hu, Solomon Davidoff, and Bobby Kuechenmeister.

Library of Congress Accepting Swann Fellowship Applications

Library of Congress
101 Independence Avenue SE
Washington DC   20540

November 2, 2009
Public contact: Martha Kennedy (202) 707-9115, mkenn@loc.gov

Swann Foundation Accepting Fellowship Applications
Foundation Supports Research in the Humorous Arts of Caricature and Cartoon

The Caroline and Erwin Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon, administered by the Library of Congress, is accepting applications for its graduate fellowship for the 2010-2011 academic year.  Applications are due by close of business on Friday, Feb. 15, 2010, and notification will occur in the spring. 

The Swann Foundation seeks to award one fellowship annually (with a stipend of up to $15,000) to assist in continuing scholarly research and writing projects in the field of caricature and cartoon.  Depending on the number and quality of proposals, the advisory board may elect to make multiple, smaller awards.

A fellow is required to be in residence in Washington, D.C., for a minimum of two weeks, use the Library's extensive collections and deliver a public lecture at the Library on his or her work.  Each fellow must also provide a copy of his or her dissertation, thesis or postgraduate publication upon completion, for the Swann Foundation Fund files.

Guidelines and application forms are available through the Swann Foundation's website www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/swann-fellow.html, by e-mailing swann@loc.gov or by calling Martha Kennedy in the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library at (202) 707-9115.

To be eligible, an applicant must be a resident of the United States and a candidate for a master's or doctoral degree at a university based in the United States, Canada or Mexico.  The applicant must be working toward completion of a dissertation or thesis for that degree or be engaged in postgraduate research within three years of receiving an M.A. or a Ph.D.  Individuals who are not U.S. residents but who otherwise meet these academic qualifications may also apply and be considered for a fellowship, contingent upon their visa eligibility. 

The applicant's research must be in the field of caricature and cartoon.  There are no restrictions on the place or time period covered.  To encourage research in a variety of academic disciplines, any university department may oversee a project proposed for the fellowship, provided the subject pertains to caricature or cartoon art.

Requirements for the fellowship applications include a statement of qualifications, a one-page abstract of the proposed project, a project description that specifies research needs and a budget, two letters of reference and official transcripts.

The Swann Foundation Fellowship in Caricature and Cartoon is one of a small number of scholarly fellowships that provide direct support for continuing graduate research in the field.  It has supported groundbreaking research on caricature and cartoon that focuses on a variety of subjects and topics such as the Cold War; representations of race, class conflict and disease; and the early origins of caricature and political satire, and the cultural and social forces that have influenced the development of prominent cartoonists' work.  For a list of research projects, visit www.loc.gov/rr/rint/swann/swann-fellowslist.html.

The Caroline and Erwin Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon is overseen by an advisory board composed of scholars, collectors, cartoonists and Library of Congress staff members.  The foundation's activities support the study, interpretation, preservation and appreciation of original works of humorous and satiric art by graphic artists from around the world.  New York advertising executive Erwin Swann (1906-1973) established the Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon in 1967.

# # #

PR09-225
11/2/09
ISSN: 0731-3527

Canemaker on McCay at OSU

John Canemaker: The Art and Life of Winsor McCay

Tue, Nov 3, 2009  |  7:00PM
Film/Video Theater

TICKETS

$5 members
$7 general public
$5 students
$5 senior citizens

Acclaimed filmmaker and animation historian John Canemaker returns for a special presentation on pioneering cartoonist and animator Winsor McCay.

McCay is best known for his groundbreaking comic strip Little Nemo in Slumberland and animation milestones Little Nemo (1911) and Gertie the Dinosaur (1914). Canemaker's lecture will be punctuated by film clips and cartoon images and will provide insight into one of the most important popular artists of the 20th century. The lecture is in conjunction with the exhibition Winsor McCay: Legendary Cartoonist at the Cartoon Library & Museum through December 31.

Cosponsored by the Ohio State Cartoon Library & Museum.

ToonSeum Press Release:The New ToonSeum Opening in Downtown Pittsburgh November 14th!

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: The ToonSeum PR <joe@toonseum.com>
Date: Sun, Nov 1, 2009 at 8:46 AM



-The ToonSeum, Pittsburgh's Museum of Cartoon Art, is excited to announce its move to Pittsburgh's Cultural District.
At 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009, the ToonSeum will open its doors at 945 Liberty Ave. The ToonSeum's new home is located in the Bruno Building, Downtown, just blocks from the David L. Lawrence Convention Center and a stone's throw from other stellar cultural institutions and Downtown attractions.

The ToonSeum is one of only three museums in the nation dedicated exclusively to the cartoon arts. The ToonSeum has been hosted for the past two years by the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh. Its new location will more than triple the ToonSeum's current space and allow for expanded exhibitions, educational programs, a permanent gallery and a space dedicated to local and independent artists. The move is made possible by a grant from the Grable Foundation.

"We're thrilled to welcome The ToonSeum to the Cultural District, as the organization adds a new dimension to the diverse programming in downtown Pittsburgh," said J. Kevin McMahon, president and CEO of The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. "Their exhibits and hands-on, educational programs provide a unique opportunity to engage the community and to celebrate the art of cartooning."

The ToonSeum will feature new exhibitions every two to three months, beginning with "Enchanted Drawings: A Century of Animation." The exhibit will feature original art from Gertie the Dinosaur to Spongebob and more. On display will be rare artifacts, including an original animation director's desk from one of Disney's early studios.
The ToonSeum will present exhibitions of local and independent cartoonists. The first featured local artist will be Ed Piskor. Piskor has worked with writer Harvey Pekar on projects such as "Macedonia" and "The Beats." His independent work includes the popular series "Wizzywig."

The ToonSeum has established an ambitious exhibition schedule for its first year, including one of the largest exhibitions of original art from the anime classic "Akira." Other exhibitions for 2010 will feature cartoon canines, Ziggy by Tom Wilson, and a chance to explore the social impact of the comic arts through "The Montgomery Story," a controversial civil rights comic. The ToonSeum also will present an ongoing lecture series and workshops for all ages.
"This new location is part of our continued growth," says ToonSeum founder and Executive Director Joe Wos. "We are honored to be a part of the Cultural District and look forward to a greater exposure in the community and a chance to bring pop culture to the Cultural District."

The expansion, while only a little more than 1,000 square feet, includes a gift shop operated by Copacetic Comics. The ToonSeum's archive of more than 1,000 pieces of original comic and cartoon art is housed in Guardian Storage's climate-controlled facility in the Strip District.

The design of the new space is being headed by ToonSeum board member Dan Vitalie of Denham-Vitalie Design Associates, and the ToonSeum's signage and branding is being created by ToonSeum board Vice President Harold Behar of Behar-Fingal.
Advance tickets for the opening weekend are available at https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/87269.
Admission is $4 for adults and $3 for children ages 5 to 17. Children younger than 5 are free.
Visit us online at www.toonseum.org.

ToonSeum
945 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Phone:412-232-0674
email:joe@toonseum.org
website:www.toonseum.org

Hours of Operation:

Monday-Closed
Tuesday-Closed
Wednesday10am-3pm
Thursday- 10am-3pm
Friday-10 am-5pm
Saturday 10:00am-5pm
Sunday 11am-4pm

Closed
New Year's Day, Easter, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day (Sept. 7),
Thanksgiving Day,Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day

For interviews contact Joe@toonseum.com
Or 412-760-1896
Joe Wos
Executive Director
The ToonSeum

PR: Fellowship applications being accepted by Swann Foundation

The Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon, administered by the Library of Congress is accepting applications for its graduate fellowship, one of the few for scholarly work in the field, for the 2010-1011 academic year. Deadline for receipt of applications is February 15, 2011. Please email swann@loc.gov or call (202) 707-9115, if you have questions. For criteria, guidelines, and application forms, please see:
http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/swann-fellow.html

Thank you for the opportunity to post this notice. My apologies for cross listing.


Martha H. Kennedy
Curator, Popular & Applied Graphic Art
Prints and Photographs Division
Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave. SE
Washington, DC   20540-4730
Ph.: 202/707-9115     Fax: 202/707-6647

PR: ToonSeum Press Release:The ToonSeum to Open in Pittsburgh's Cultural District

Date: Fri, Oct 23, 2009 at 4:17 PM


-The ToonSeum, Pittsburgh's Museum of Cartoon Art, is excited to announce it's move to Pittsburgh's Cultural District.
At 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009, the ToonSeum will open its doors at 945 Liberty Ave. The ToonSeum's new home is located in the Bruno Building, Downtown, just blocks from the David L. Lawrence Convention Center and a stone's throw from other stellar cultural institutions and Downtown attractions.

The ToonSeum is one of only three museums in the nation dedicated exclusively to the cartoon arts. The ToonSeum has been hosted for the past two years by the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh. Its new location will more than triple the ToonSeum's current space and allow for expanded exhibitions, educational programs, a permanent gallery and a space dedicated to local and independent artists. The move is made possible by a grant from the Grable Foundation.

"We're thrilled to welcome The ToonSeum to the Cultural District, as the organization adds a new dimension to the diverse programming in downtown Pittsburgh," said J. Kevin McMahon, president and CEO of The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. "Their exhibits and hands-on, educational programs provide a unique opportunity to engage the community and to celebrate the art of cartooning."

The ToonSeum will feature new exhibitions every two to three months, beginning with "Enchanted Drawings: A Century of Animation." The exhibit will feature original art from Gertie the Dinosaur to Spongebob and more. On display will be rare artifacts, including an original animation director's desk from one of Disney's early studios.
The ToonSeum will present exhibitions of local and independent cartoonists. The first featured local artist will be Ed Piskor. Piskor has worked with writer Harvey Pekar on projects such as "Macedonia" and "The Beats." His independent work includes the popular series "Wizzywig."

The ToonSeum has established an ambitious exhibition schedule for its first year, including one of the largest exhibitions of original art from the anime classic "Akira." Other exhibitions for 2010 will feature cartoon canines, Ziggy by Tom Wilson, and a chance to explore the social impact of the comic arts through "The Montgomery Story," a controversial civil rights comic. The ToonSeum also will present an ongoing lecture series and workshops for all ages.
"This new location is part of our continued growth," says ToonSeum founder and Executive Director Joe Wos. "We are honored to be a part of the Cultural District and look forward to a greater exposure in the community and a chance to bring pop culture to the Cultural District."

The expansion, while only a little more than 1,000 square feet, includes a gift shop operated by Copacetic Comics. The ToonSeum's archive of more than 1,000 pieces of original comic and cartoon art is housed in Guardian Storage's climate-controlled facility in the Strip District.

The design of the new space is being headed by ToonSeum board member Dan Vitalie of Denham-Vitalie Design Associates, and the ToonSeum's signage and branding is being created by ToonSeum board Vice President Harold Behar of Behar-Fingal.
Advance tickets for the opening weekend are available at https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/87269.
Admission is $4 for adults and $3 for children ages 5 to 17. Children younger than 5 are free.
Visit us online at www.toonseum.org.

For interviews contact Joe@toonseum.com
Or 412-760-1896
Joe Wos
Executive Director
The ToonSeum
www.toonseum.org

IJOCA 11-3 sample

IJOCA's special 3rd issue this year will be a bibliography of combined work by John Lent and Mike Rhode, using the arrangement schema that John developed over 10 volumes of Comic Art Bibliography, and his citations, combined with the citations I've been compiling for my Comics Research Bibliography. Here's a sample from the US - Comic Book section. We won't be remotely complete, and I'll be adding new citations as soon as I turn the mss over to John. If this is popular, we'll do an issue a year; if not, I'll go to Print-on-Demand. 

ANTHOLOGIES, REPRINTS

  Arnold, Andrew D.  2002. Comix Cornucopias: TIME.comix on four new anthologies. Time.com (September 20): http://www.time.com/time/columnist/arnold/article/0,9565,353101,00.html

  Vasseur, Richard.  2009. Josh Blair, Editor & Publisher of Candy or Medicine [anthology]. Jazma Online (July 5): http://jazmaonline.com/interviews/interviews2009.asp?intID=404

              Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons and True Stories (Yale)

  Brunetti, Ivan.  2008. An Anthology Of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons & True Stories, Vol. 2. Yale University Press

  Evans, Bryn.  2009. An Interview with Ivan Brunetti. Bookslut (February): http://www.bookslut.com/features/2009_02_014141.php

  Mautner, Chris.  2008. Blog@ Q&A: Ivan Brunetti [on Yale anthology]. Newsarama (November 20): http://blog.newsarama.com/2008/11/20/blog-qa-ivan-brunetti/

  McConnell, Robin.  2008. Ivan Brunetti. Inkstuds (December 11): http://www.inkstuds.com/?p=400

  Moss, Wil.  2006. Ivan Brunetti's Idiosyncratic 'Best-of'. PW Comics Week October 24): http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6384214.html?nid=2789

  O'Shea, Tim.  2008. Ivan Brunetti on An Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons, and True Stories: Volume 2. Talking with Tim blog (December 23):

http://talkingwithtim.com/wordpress/2008/12/23/ivan-brunetti-on-an-anthology-of-graphic-fiction-cartoons-and-true-stories-volume-2/

  von Busack, Richard.  2009. It's a Scrawl World: Ivan Brunetti's new anthology of comics and graphic fiction is a wide-ranging stroll through risky territory Metro Active (April 1): http://www.metroactive.com/metro/04.01.09/arts-0913.html

  Wild, Peter.  2008. Ivan Brunetti. Bookmunch: http://bookmunch.co.uk//view.php?id=1985  

              Best American Comics

  Feran, Tom.  2008. Rich sampling in "The Best American Comics," edited by Lynda Barry,  leaves readers hungry for more. Cleveland Plain Dealer (November 12). Online at http://www.cleveland.com/books/index.ssf/2008/11/rich_sampling_in_the_best_amer.html

  Gehr, Richard.  2008. Pulp Fictions: Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons & True Stories Volume Two and The Best American Comics 2008. Village Voices' Pulp Fictions blog (October 22): http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/archives/2008/10/pulp_fictions_a_1.php

              Flight

  Maury, Laurel.  2008. Books We Like: Beautiful, Graphic 'Flights' Of Fantasy. NPR.org (August 13): http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93525756

              I Live Here

  Kirshner, Mia.  2008. I Live Here [Joe Sacco and Pheobe Gloeckner stories]. New York: Pantheon

  McConnell, Robin.  2008. Mia Kirshner and The I Live Here Project [Joe Sacco and Pheobe Gloeckner]. Inkstuds (November 20): http://www.inkstuds.com/?p=387 

              Kramer's Ergot (SEE ALSO Harkham, Sammy)

  Gazin, Nicholas.  2009. The Biggest Comic Book Ever: Kramers Ergot Isn't Just "Isn't Just for Kids Anymore" Anymore. Vice (February 18): http://www.viceland.com/int/v16n2/htdocs/biggest-comic-book-ever-608.php

  Gehr, Richard.  2008. Pulp Fictions: Kramers Ergot 7 and The Ganzfeld 7. Village Voice Pulp Fictions blog (November 12): http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/archives/2008/11/pulp_fictions_k_1.php#more

  Harkham, Sammy.  2008. Kramer's Ergot #7. Buenaventura

  McConnell, Robin.  2008. Sammy Harkham [on Kramers Ergot].  Inkstuds (December 1): http://www.inkstuds.com/?p=397

  McConnell, Robin.  2008. Josh Simmons 08 [on Kramers Ergot]. Inkstuds (November 15): http://www.inkstuds.com/?p=386

  Phegley, Kiel.  2009. Sammy Harkham on "Kramers Ergot" 7. Four Color Forum (February 17):

http://fourcolorforum.kielphegley.com/2009/02/17/sammy-harkham-on-kramers-ergot-7/

  Randle, Chris.  2008. Bigger than life: The new, massive edition of comix anthology Kramers Ergot is worth every penny. Eye Weekly (December 10). Online at http://www.eyeweekly.com/arts/books/article/47300

   Stroud, Matt.  2008. An ambitious and controversial new comics anthology is on the road [Kramer's Ergot 7]. Pittsburgh City Paper (December 4). Online at http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A56262

                        Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology

  Website - http://www.secretidentities.org

  Blog - http://secretidentitiesbook.blogspot.com

  Official promotional trailer -  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TuX-xJ4MlI&fmt=18

  Brady, Matt.  2009. Greg Pak: Creating an Asian American Hero with The Citizen. Newsarama (March  27): http://www.newsarama.com/comics/030927-Pak-Citizen.html

  Contino, Jennifer M.  2009. Revealing Chow's Secret Identity [Secret Identities anthology]. Comicon's The Pulse (February 24): http://www.comicon.com/ubb/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=537445#Post537445

  Ishii, Anne.  2009. Secret Identities Revealed. Publishers Weekly's PW Comics Week (March 10): http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6642975.html

  Neubert, Amy Patterson.  2009. Comic book artists reveal their 'Secret Identities' with Purdue visit. Media-Newswire.com (March): http://media-newswire.com/release_1088224.html

  Powers, Rose.  2009. Secret Identities book tour visits UI campus, spreads cultural  awareness. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's Daily Illini (April 1). Online at

http://media.www.dailyillini.com/media/storage/paper736/news/2009/04/01/News/Secret.Identities.Book.Tour.Visits.Ui.Campus.Spreads.Cultural.Awareness-3691171.shtml

  Unknown.  2009. Keith Chow Talks Secret Identities. Scoop (July 2): http://scoop.diamondgalleries.com/public/default.asp?t=1&m=1&c=34&s=265&ai=84746

PR: ToonSeum Press Release: Drawn to the Summit, Cartoonists take on the G20

Drawn to the Summit: A G-20 Exhibition of International Political Cartoons
September 18-October 18, 2009
The Andy Warhol Museum
Co-presented by the ToonSeum, funded by the Pittsburgh Foundation
Opening Reception: September 18, 2009, 6-10PM

Delegates, protestors and journalists will be invading Pittsburgh in September for the international G-20 summit. There will also be another set of voices heard during that week: the voices of the people from the G-20 countries as expressed through editorial cartoons.

The cartoons in Drawn to the Summit will highlight the work of the leading cartoonists from the G-20 nations and will provide an alternative perspective on G-20 themes such as the global economy and its impact on the environment, human rights, world trade, etc. This exhibition offers the public an opportunity to view a diversity of cartooning styles worldwide and see the important role editorial cartoons plays in this global conversation.

In addition, the exhibition will include cartoons by local Pittsburgh artists commenting on what it will be like to have their hometown hosting the world. A computer will be set up in the gallery with an online blog to monitor daily commentaries and sketches by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette cartoonist Rob Rogers and others during the run of the G-20 summit.

The show is funded by The Pittsburgh Foundation, co-presented by the ToonSeum and the Andy Warhol Museum and curated by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial cartoonist Rob Rogers and art historian Sylvia Rhor.

Exhibition is included with paid admission to the Andy Warhol Museum.

For more information or interviews
Joe Wos
(412)325-1060
joe@toonseum.com



Our mailing address is:
The ToonSeum
10 Children's Way
Pittsburgh, PA 15212

Our telephone:
412-325-1060

Reviewer desired: Women in Comics Conference in Cambridge UK

I'm seekng a reviewer for the conference, 'Women in Comics', at Cambridge University on October 25th 2009 for IJOCA. The organizer, Sarah Lightman notes, "With its unique collection of 20th Century Women's Art, The New Hall Art Collection provides the perfect venue for a gathering of practitioners, academics, curators and enthusiasts. Women comic artists will speak about their work, and broader discussion will include the representation of women in comics. The event will run as part of The Cambridge Festival of Ideas week." For more details see http://www.art.newhall.cam.ac.uk/events/comics.html

Smyrl exhibit in Columbia, SC - reviewer wanted for IJOCA

McKissick Museum features exhibit on Jak Smyrl
August 10, 2:25
Columbia History Examiner
http://www.examiner.com/x-8167-Columbia-History-Examiner~y2009m8d10-McKissick-Mu\
seum-features-exhibit-on-Jak-Smyrl
Douglas Steimle

Aragones exhibit in California - reviewer wanted

Here's more info -

Ojai museum fetes Mad magazine's Sergio Aragonés
The cartoonist and co-creator of Groo the Wanderer is honored by his adopted
hometown with 'Mad About Sergio' exhibition.
By Reed Johnson
August 9, 2009
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/arts/la-ca-aragones9-2009aug09,0,61962\
16.story

Fantagraphics exhibit in Seattle - reviewer wanted

Here's details about the show -

'Comics Savants: A Survey of Seattle Alternative Cartoonists' at Fantagraphics
Peter Bagge, Jim Woodring, Ellen Forney and 10 others have work on display in "Comics Savants: A Survey of Seattle Alternative Cartoonists," at Fantagraphics Books & Gallery in Seattle's Georgetown neighborhood.
By Michael Upchurch
Seattle Times August 7 2009
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/thearts/2009620775_fantagraphics08.html?cmpid=2628