The Comics Reporter

May 24, 2013

Carmine Infantino Would Have Been 88 Today

posted 1:05 am PST | Permalink

Happy 65th Birthday, Alan Zelenetz!

posted 1:00 am PST | Permalink

Happy 53rd Birthday, Wimbledon Green!

posted 1:00 am PST | Permalink

May 23, 2013

The Never-Ending, Four-Color Festival: Cons, Shows, Events

By Tom Spurgeon

* looks like Motor City was something of a hit. It's a good time for cons, in nearly all of their various incarnations.

* it's ICAF and Phoenix and Vancouver this weekend. Keep an eye on Vancouver... that's a town everyone should want to visit, and could potentially begin to draw major arts- and alt-comics traffic from Portland and Seattle. I know I'd love an excuse to visit in future years. I also thought their space last year was really cool.

* here's an ICAF preview.

* and here's a Fantagraphics Photo Set From TCAF. Still collecting those links.

* finally, kudos to MECAF on their fifth anniversary show last weekend. Here's a report from José-Luis Olivares.

posted 5:00 am PST | Permalink

If I Were In Portland, I'd Go To This

posted 4:30 am PST | Permalink

If I Were In Portland, I'd Go To This

posted 4:30 am PST | Permalink

If I Were In Phoenix, I'd Go To This

posted 4:30 am PST | Permalink

Forthcoming Comics-Related Events, Through June 2013

Go, Look: Gengoroh Tagame Tour Photo Set

posted 3:00 am PST | Permalink

Random Comics News Story Round-Up

* Gary Tyrrell passes along word from Fred Gallagher that he's feeling better after a recent surgery to correct a general condition.

* Sean Gaffney on Negiho: Mahora Little Girls. Sean T. Collins on the superhero comics of Kate Beaton.

* when I was a kid, the anti-Batman was Superman.

* here's a list of 42 webcomics you need to read.

* it's always fun to look at a gallery of mainstream comic book images. There are always about five or six pretty good ones in such an array.

* the writer Matt Fraction takes a look at Bob Kane's grave. There's a funny story someone told me once that I can't quite remember about Stan Lee being at another funeral and walking around trying to find Kane's last resting place.

* the Library Of American Comics site has a longish piece up on the "Moon Maid" contests.

* I've seen people talking about a Jason mural but I've never gone to look at it until now and whoa. Yeah, that's nice. I really like the space Jason has carved out for himself in North American comics; I don't have a sense of how he does in any of the European markets

* holy crud, what a great episode of SMMA.

* Matthew Brady has been writing about One Piece in short bursts at his site. I'm glad when someone writes about that comic because it's super-popular and I don't quite understand it.

* so I guess Comics Observer runs suggestions for new readers based on the comics that come out every Wednesday...? That's nice. I wish I'd thought of that. It's always tricky to find that balance between comprehensive coverage and focused recommendation.

* finally, I greatly enjoyed this piece on sometimes comics artist Ray Houlihan, and would have even if he weren't at times a comics artist. The visuals are lovely.

posted 2:00 am PST | Permalink

Happy 62nd Birthday, John Bolton!

posted 1:00 am PST | Permalink

Happy 50th Birthday, Mike Deodato!

posted 1:00 am PST | Permalink

May 22, 2013

Go, Look: Glorious Jack Kirby Art From Captain America #210

posted 8:55 am PST | Permalink

Your 2013 Glyph Awards Winners

This year's winners of the Glyph Comics Awards were named last weekend in conjunction with Philadelphia's East Coast Black Age Of Comics Convention. The nominees slate was very independent-comics oriented, which to my memory was a break with how previous years broke down. It's always nice to see veteran Jerry Craft pick up an award.

Winners in bold:

STORY OF THE YEAR
* The Call; Steve Broome
* KOBK; C. J. Johnson, SMACK!
* Monsters 101; Muhammad Rasheed
* Shadowlaw; Brandon Easton and Scott Kester and Ryo Kawakami
* Ultimate Comics Spider-Man; Brian Michael Bendis and Chris Samnee and Kaare Andrews and Mark Bagley

BEST COVER
* Indigo: Hit List 1.0; Richard G. Tyler ll
* Jaycen Wise; Richard G. Tyler ll
* Night Stalker; David Miller
* Shadowlaw; Scott Kester and Ryo Kawakami
* Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #6; Kaare Andrews and Mark Bagley

BEST WRITER
* Steve Broome, The Call
* Brandon Easton, Shadowlaw
* C. J. Johnson, KOBK
* Keith Miller, Tri-Boro Tales
* Muhammad Rasheed, Monsters 101

BEST ARTIST
* Jacob Newell, Origins Unknown: Point Of Authority
* Jerry Gaylord, Fanboys Vs. Zombies #1-9
* Charlie Goubile, Corsairs
* Chris Samnee, Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #6
* Richard G. Tyler ll, Jaycen Wise

BEST MALE CHARACTER
* Bomani, H.O.P.E.; Raymond Ayala and Rafael Desquitado and Jacob Elijah Hallinen and Kim Jacinto
* Dashawn, KOBK; C. J. Johnson and SMACK!,
* Miles Morales, Ultimate Comics Spider-Man; Brian Michael Bendis and Chris Samnee and Kaare Andrews and Mark Bagley
* Mort, Monsters 101; Muhammad Rasheed
* Jaycen Wise, Jaycen Wise; Richard G. Tyler ll

BEST FEMALE CHARACTER
* Christina, KOBK; C. J. Johnson and SMACK!
* Larue Dalcour, Corsairs; Daniel McNeal and Charlie Goubile
* Dyana, Night Stalker; Orlando Harding and David Miller
* Indigo, Indigo: Hit List 1.0; Richard G. Tyler ll
* Tia & Zari Jenkins, Surpurbia; Grace Randolph and Russell Dauterman

RISING STAR AWARD
* Raymond Ayala, writer, H.O.P.E.
* Steve Broome, writer and artist, The Call
* Brandon Easton, writer, Shadowlaw
* Sharean Morishita, writer and artist, Love! Love! Fighting!
* Willie Smith, writer and artist, Blackguard: Psycho Therapy

BEST COMIC STRIP OR WEBCOMIC
* Ant; Julian Lytle
* Blackguard: Psycho Therapy; Willie Smith
* Blackwax Boulevard; Dmitri Jackson
* The Call; Steve Broome
* Mama's Boyz; Jerry Craft

FAN AWARD FOR BEST WORK
* Ascended: The Omega Nexus; Roger Reece and Jerry Reece
* Origins Unknown: Point Of Authority; Victor Dandridge and Jacob Newell
* Shadowlaw; Brandon Easton and Scott Kester and Ryo Kawakami
* Ultimate Comics Spider-Man; Brian Michael Bendis and Chris Samnee and Kaare Andrews and Mark Bagley

*****
*****

posted 8:50 am PST | Permalink

OTBP: New Comics #1

posted 8:45 am PST | Permalink

Catching Up With Syrian Cartoonist Ali Ferzat In Norway

There's a profile of the exiled Syrian cartoonist Ali Ferzat up on CNN here. It's kind of a odd article in that some of the flourishes confuse -- I'm not sure if you see a bloody man on the side of the road in the early morning you would process him as someone out of favor with the state for his cartoons before deciding "no thank you" on a pick-up -- but there are some details there I'm not sure I knew. For instance, the article says that Ferzat left the country not out of general political concerns but mostly for therapy, and that it was Kuwait that he went to first (some reports had Egypt).

I'd love to know what Ferzat thinks of some of the current particulars in that country's horrifying internal struggles, but I can understand why a profile would stick to the cartoonist and gallery owner's own, compelling story.

posted 8:40 am PST | Permalink

OTBP: Murray The Bird

posted 8:35 am PST | Permalink

Billy Ireland Cartoon Library Confirms Current Location Closing Dates, This Fall's Big Festival

The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum has posted its official closure dates in anticipation of their move into nearby Sullivant Hall, a fine reminder that this is about to go down. I think that's a big deal as the new space is like 10 billion times more impressive and roomy and geared towards the public. It's basically a shut down of all satellite program immediately, limited access for scholars by appointment through mid-summer, and then a full shut down until mid-September. The big coming out party is in November, and I urge comics fans looking for something to do in the Fall that were maybe going to go to Brooklyn to think about that one. We should all go pay respect to Lucy Shelton Caswell in some way, I think.

posted 8:30 am PST | Permalink

Go, Look: The Jake Wyatt Riot

posted 8:25 am PST | Permalink

Not Comics: David Simon Explains Journalism's Fall

Jonathan Korman pulls a David Simon quote out of a comments thread on his own site and presents it as a mini-primer on the fall of journalism. I certainly agree with its basic sensibility, that the pursuit of maximum profits has made that field more difficult and certainly much more depraved. Then again, no one really liked the journalism story arc on The Wire.

The difficulties facing newspaper publishing are of interest to comics fans because of the newspaper strip's role within that wider enterprise.

posted 8:20 am PST | Permalink

Go, Look: A Pair Of Bad Girl Comics

posted 8:15 am PST | Permalink

Gold To Paola Rivera, Silver To David Petersen In Comics Category Of Spectrum Fantastic Art Awards

The Tor blog has the results up for this year's Spectrum Fantastic Art Awards, held in Kansas City in conjunction with the recent Spectrum Live event.

In the comics category, Paola Rivera was listed as having won the Gold for Daredevil #10, while David Petersen was cited for the silver for page 19 of Mouse Guard Black Axe #4. The category was rounded out by offerings from Jennifer Meyer, Joao Ruas and Rivera again. Other names familiar to comics fans, including Charles Vess and Sam Bosma, received awards at the ceremony in non-comics categories (book illustration and editorial art, respectively).

posted 8:10 am PST | Permalink

Go, Look: Vintage Bob Powell

posted 8:05 am PST | Permalink

By Request Special: Jack Kirby Book By Jeremy Kirby

Here. It's close to being funded, but it hasn't been pushed over the top yet. The author is Jack Kirby's grandson, and the book sounds like it would be an enormous book solely from the amount of unpublished direct material to which it potentially has access.

posted 8:00 am PST | Permalink

Go, Look: More From Boulet In New York

posted 5:30 am PST | Permalink

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