Pose Maniacs!

Like posers? If you like to figure draw, you love girls and guys who are posers. Here's a blog with so many anatomical poses, it'll make you want to grab your pencil and get back to drawin'!

This Looks Like fun: The Big Blog of Kids' Comics

Heidi at The Beat thought this was a fun blog for readers to notice. I thought so too.

Kill Bill: Willy D. Shakes to Get Graphic Novel Treatment with a Twist!

Kill Shakespeare is coming! Here's a note from the authors:

“Kill Shakespeare” is going to start as a 12-issue comic-book series. IDW (the third largest comics publisher right now) is publishing the first issue in April. Then we plan to collect the series in two six-issue trades and one “Absolute” collection.

So what is “Kill Shakespeare”? Well think of a “Lord of the Rings” style action-adventure but with The Bard’s characters. In our story Shakespeare’s greatest heroes are pit against his most menacing villains in a race to save, or kill, Shakespeare himself. The short comics pitch is “The Justice League of Shakespeare”, but I prefer “League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” meets “Fables” with a dash of “Northlanders” tossed in.

In our story Hamlet is banished from Denmark and the Pirates attack his ship just as they do in the play, but in our world instead of ending up in Elsinore he ends up in another place – one where everyone he meets is a Shakespearean character. There he meets Richard III who makes him a bargain: if the Dane will seek out a reclusive Wizard and take the source of his power, Richard will return Hamlet’s Father from the dead.

The name of this reclusive Wizard? William Shakespeare.

On his journey Hamlet meets Falstaff, Juliet (who has survived her ordeal with Romeo) and Othello (also alive, but Desdemona is dead). They tell him Shakespeare isn’t a Wizard, but the Creator and that Hamlet is fated to meet and save Shakespeare – not kill him (in effect triggering a literary “Second coming”). They tell him that Richard is an oppressive “King” and that Hamlet is their land’s best hope to depose the King and his evil associates – Lady Macbeth and Iago.

Kill a Wizard and save his Father? Or save a God and rescue a land….? (and dare we mention Juliet and Hamlet’s growing love and what happens when Romeo shows up????)

Sounds fun, eh? Publisher's Weekly thinks so too. Of course, the yummy irony is that a project with a murderous title might actually help bring the Bard to life for students.

_Stitches_ Among National Book Award Finalists

David Small's graphic novel joins Gene Yang's American Born Chinese as theo nly two ever GN's ever nominated for the award.

Comics-And-Literacy-Related Programming Announced for Miami Book Fair

I was asked about doing something for this year's Miami book Fair but felt I couldn't swing it due to other travels interfering with my teaching schedule, but there are going to be some excellent speakers talking about graphic novels and education November 13-15.

They include the unstoppable John Shableski of Diamond, James Sturm of the Institute for Cartoon Studies, Alex Simmons, and UNF professor Katie Monnin, who has a book on teaching comics in the ELA classroom debuting this December. It should be some great programming at a great conference!

Parent Complains about Dragon Ball Z Manga; School Library Removes Book

Here's a link to the article in the local paper. The Beat reports this happened in a school library in Salisbury, Maryland. What is it with the Mid-Atlantic states lately? Maryland now, Connecticut a year or so ago. Is there a push to get another coastline for Alabama or something???*

(*reference to Corville's humorous claim that Pennsylvania is nothing but Pittsburgh and Philadelphia with Alabama in between)

2009 Harvey Award Winners Announced

The Beat has the scoop. Click the title to this post for more info.

Blogger Celebrates Banned Book Week with Look at SOTI Comics

Great blog post that offers downloadable links to many of the comics mentioned in Wertham's Seduction of the Innocent as attributing the delinquency of American youths.

Oregon Librarian Talks about Getting Spanish-Language Comics in Her Stacks

This excellent op-ed is part of this week's update at GraphicNovelReporter.com.

SASSY Mentioned in October 6, 2009 NCTE Inbox

From the Inbox e-mail newsletter:

Reading the Gallery for Teen Read Week

On October 20, 2009, right in the middle of Teen Read Week, the National Gallery of Writing will open and teens will be able to join readers of all ages to enjoy the selections each of the gallery writers (3,822 as of today) has chosen to submit. The gallery will remain open until June, so if you haven't submitted yet, or if you know others who would like to participate, there is still time to submit your favorite compositions for display.

Next week, why not encourage your students to submit some writing about the books they're reading during Teen Read Week? Several of the 1,392 galleries live at this writing invite just such submissions: SASSY: Sequential Art Stories Submitted by Youths!, A Lifetime of Reading, International Reading Association, and Memories about Libraries and Bookjoy.

Get "SASSY" With Your Bad Self!

Comics Gallery Now Available through NCTE's National Gallery of Writing!

I herein formally announce the creation of the "SASSY: Sequential Art Stories Submitted by Youths!" virtual gallery.

SASSY is one of the online galleries associated with NCTE's National Gallery of Writing, but SASSY is unique in that it features graphic narratives (comic strips, comic books, and graphic novels) exclusively!

Here's the formal description:Gallery Description: Sequential art narratives -- comic strips, comic books, and graphic novels -- involve advanced writing and composing skills too! This gallery features works of comics art submitted by young people and by those young at heart.

Anyone can submit a work of sequential art to the gallery, but, as curator, I am especially interested in works from students and from classes or programs where comics composing is being taught.Please spread the word about this gallery.

Tell local teachers; share it with your students; encourage talented comics creators in your classrooms to submit. They might just see their work published for the world to admire!

Buzzati's _Poem Strip_ Gains Critical Attention

Thanks to several readers for sending along this link about Dino Buzatti's book Poem Strip: An Explanation of the Afterlife, which has been translated from the Italian by Marina Harss.

Get Your Graphic Novel Degree at Napier University

"Edinburgh’s Napier University will become the first university in Britain to include comic books and graphic novels on a Masters level Creative Writing course," reports Emma Towers of The Journal.

Dundee University has also added a comics course to their English degree, according to the story.

So, comics studies programs are building steam overseas. Maybe information like this can help those of us who want to see CSP's here in the states as well. I just had a student e-mail asking about comics-related coursework at UTEP and had to tell him that we were working on it but that it may or may not ever happen. I recently read a book on academic life that quoted a Cornell professor as saying the academy's mantra is "never be the first to do anything." That's probably going hold true for folks like myself in the states who would like to see CSP's, but I'm happy to let our European brothers and sisters take the lead, because another line of old school thinking is "If Europe is doing it, we should too." So, we may see some "trickle down" effect from this. :)

Thank You, ICTE!

Thanks to Jonelle, Blas, Brandon and everyone in Boise for having me as a keynote and for helping me feel like part of the crowd. Not only did I see several great sessions on graphic novels, but I once again got to spend time with some very dedicated English teachers. And I even got to see the Smurf Turf at Boise State!:)

"Comic Book Literacy" Documentary/Website

This looks AWESOME! My only question: Why wasn't I interviewed for the documentary? Looks like most folks are comics creators rather than scholars, and it has been years since my script writing days at Outcast Studios.com (not that I'm not currently scripting on interesting projects, hint, hint, wink, wink)



The website, available through clicking this post's title, offers more information about who is involved in the project, who is interviewed, etc. Here's some info from the FAQ section: "Comic Book Literacy is an independent documentary film that showcases the utilization of comic books to promote literacy and education. Throughout the film educators, researchers, writers and artists give commentary in both an historic and contemporary context on a variety of subjects related to the topic."

Also according to the FAQs, the film is in post production and will be screened at film festivals in 2010.

I'll See Ya in Boise!

Wednesday sees me leaving for Boise, Idaho, where I'll give a keynote address to the Idaho Council of Teachers of English. It's gonna be meaty, gooey graphic novel goodness, like butter n' bacon on an Idaho 'tater!

Coming Soon!: _MLA's Teaching The Graphic Novel_

As advertised in the recent PMLA, Teaching the Graphic Novel will be available in late 2009. I'm happy to have a chapter on teaching Watchmen in the collection, which has been in production for some time and will include some great work by some excellent comics scholars.

Borderland Zombie Violence!: Announcing _Infestacion_

Here's a press release from some local comics creators whom I beleive will be joining me February 23, 2010 as part of the "El Paso in the Comics II: The Southwest in the Comics" event. :) As you'll see, these local folks are creating interesting comics and engaging in social commentary.

THE SOUTHWEST IS ENGULFED IN AN APOCALYPTIC EPIDEMIC AS THE DEAD WALK! EL PASO AND JUAREZ IN RUINS! ZOMBIE PLAGUE RUNS RAMPANT ACROSS THE BORDERLAND!

WHEN THERE’S NO MORE ROOM IN HELL PASO, THE DEAD WILL WALK THE EARTH!

INFESTACIÓN: THE MYTHOLOGY is a 372 page graphic novel that collects the highly sought after first 6 issues of INFESTACIÓN, the first 4 issues of HELL’S PASS and the one-shot ROAD TO NOWHERE along with extra stories, the origins of the INFESTACIÓN, pinups, series covers, and commentary by all the creators involved.

Adversary Comix is proud to announce the premiere of El Paso/Juarez’s newest comic book horror series: INFESTACION: HELL’S PASS!

We are using “the Border” and the “undead” as social commentary canon to showcase the problems we as Fronterizos are faced with. The divide between ethnicities, the divide between social classes, the growing violence and fears that it may spill unto our streets in the US, and ultimately, using zombies as the biggest divide of all, the segregation between life and death, or un-death as the situation presents itself.

INFESTACION: THE MYTHOLOGY will arrive in comic book stores on Halloween, October 31st having its premiere at Asylum Comics.

But it doesn’t end there; the originators of the story and direct from Juarez, México, 656 Comics will also be on hand at the singing to relate their tales of zombies on the border land!

Book Specs:

Hard cover with dust jacket, 6x9 (digest size), 372 pages, black and white.Pre-order price: $35 ONLY AT ASYLUM COMICS located at 5360 N Mesa St El Paso, TX 79912-5872, PH (915) 875-8600. Shipping of the books will begin late October. In addition to the graphic novel, we’ll be giving away a free 6x9 original sketch from one of the artists featured in the book!

ABOUT THE GRAPHIC NOVEL
INFESTACIÓN: THE MYTHOLOGY is a ground breaking graphic novel set on the border between Mexico (Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua) and the United States (El Paso, Texas), where a zombie plague has taken over both cities and all they have to survive is each other. A border that has now become one between life and death, or un-death.

This area is very conducive to this type of story because it plays on all the fears that we as a people have living in this part of the country. The borders, the different races, the traditions, the growing threat of violence, the land itself, we’re in the middle of a desert here where all we have is each other, but how can we trust one another if we fail to accept the differences we all have?
Of course, its all there, the racial tension, the problems that Chicanos, and Hispanics, and Mexican Americans have fitting in. we also have the social commentary in the form of how we are all separated by these silly social classes that make no sense, how we choose to separate our selves and subjugate our own people, because of our own fear of each other. We don’t know our neighbor, so we’ll keep him at arms length, but as soon as he turns into a zombie, you know who we’ll be putting a bullet into their heads at a moments notice!

IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING THE UN-DEAD RULE!!!!!

This has never been done before where a series has been collected in this manner- two different publishers working together on one tale. INFESTACIÓN or INFESTACIÓN: THE MYTHOLOGY, as it is now referred to, is a 372 page graphic novel that collects the highly sought after first 6 issues of INFESTACIÓN, the first 4 issues of HELL’S PASS and the one-shot ROAD TO NOWHERE along with extra stories, the origins of the INFESTACIÓN, pinups, series covers, and commentary by all the creators involved.

The border has always been considered a no mans land, where the rest of the country turns a blind eye on its problems; INFESTATION takes this premise to the extreme and shows us exactly how people can adapt and grow even in the most adverse situation and in some cases even find happiness.

This is what Jimmy Palmiotti of DC’s Jonah Hex fame thought of our book “filled with more guts and heartbreak than a butcher-shop in a vegan neighborhood. this is a prime example of a lot of different creators having a blast and making some truly horrific comics that make me smile. its worth it for the energy alone. "

About Adversary Comix
Adversary Comix is a local comic book publishing venture that has been around for years but under different names. In fact, Adversary was the FIRST El Paso based comic book company to set its sights on delivering the best story and sequential art in the form of comic books. Adversary Comix strives to bring to the forefront the best local talent has to offer. With books such as EL VALIENTE and BATTERY ACID, Adversary Comix has a stable of talent that can hold its own in the competitive business of the comic book industry both amateur and professional.

More information about Adversary Comix and its products can be found at http://www.myspace.com/adversarycomix

Copyright 2007-2009, Adversary Comix. All Rights Reserved. All trademarks and titles are the property of their respective owners. The statements contained within this document are considered "forward-looking statements" and may not reflect upon the actual future performance of Adversary Comix.

About 656 Comics
656 Comics, el comic hecho en Cd. Juárez, which literally translates to ‘comics made in Cd. Juárez’. This comic collective have been active since forming in 2003. Composed by writers, illustrators, graphic designers, urban artists and lit majors, who have been trailblazing and filling the borderland with stories of mature characters and unpublished themes about the local scene.
656 Comics have independently published over 20 comics in the past few years and worked with various local newspapers, film makers and musicians. Their two main projects; Infestacion: The Mythology a zombie outbreak on the borderland and Karmesi, an ex cop turned vigilante who tries to clean up the corruption and injustices’ of Cd. Juárez.

656 Comics has been accredited countless times with grants and assistance by various national institutions and organizations (Ichicult, Conaculta, Fechac, Conacyt, Fortes, Tec de Monterrey, UACH, UAM) to help spread comic awareness and workshops to help aspiring writers/artists publish their work in a series of anthologies. Some of those anthologies are: El Comiquero, Feminizando la Historieta and Leyendas: una ventana hacia lo desconocido en la frontera.

For more informationon 656:

Myspace.com/656comics

656comics.deviantart.com
656comics@gmail.com

Two New GN's Focusing on WWII/The Holocaust!

A Family Secret (Eric Huevel) and The Search (Huevel, Ruud van der Rol, & Lies Schippers) are two more graphic novels exploring the Holocaust and WWII.

Jereon is looking for yard sale items in his grandmother's attic as A Family Secret begins, only to find a cache of WWII era letters, clothing, and newspapers. He learns that the life he knows in the Netherlands is vastly different than that of the one known by his grandmother. Helena lived through the German occupation, lost one brother to the war, and, for many years, assumed that she would never see her childhood best friend Esther, a Jewish person, again because Helena's own Nazi-sympathizing father ratted her out. As so often characterizes the WWII era, though, things were not what they seemed, and a happy reunion awaits Helena after Jereon departs her house and just happens to hear a certain guest speaker at an open-air memorial service.

It is revealed that Helena's father wasn't as cruel as Helena might have thought. Instead of giving Esther to the authorities, he helped her escape. The Search is her story.

These books are published with help from the Anne Frank House, the Jewish Historical Museum of Amsterdam, and the Resistance Museum of Friesland. They are marketed as "stories told from the perspective of modern-day children." There definitely seems to be a desire through these books to craft texts that are accessible to younger children, to expand their options for learning about this era in comics form beyond the weighty Maus.

The full-color art appears inspired by Archie and TinTin, and the young people who learn their ancestors' stories seem realistic enough. While the storytelling is simple, it is informative, and what I like most about these books is that they cover the necessary historical information that most of us "know" while also examining countries and situations that we don't think about so much in regards to the war and genocide but that were just as much a part of the era's exigencies. Reading scenes from the Pacific and learning about how neutral countries such as the Netherlands were affected gave me a fresh and broader perspective. Seeing how the South Pacific evolved from a place of sanctuary to a danger zone deepened my sypathies for a people who, for a while, seemed to find no good place that would allow them to live in peace.

I won't say that these texts are as relevant to the comics form as Maus, but I will say that they offer younger readers -- upper-elementary and middle schoolers -- access to information they need to know and offer all readers perspectives that are often glossed over while studying this dark period of human history.

Each can expand a study of the modern world (1900-1950s) for virtually any class engaging in study thereof, so anything the books lose in stuffy, simplified storytelling they gain in relevance.

A Family Secret is available now. The Search will be available in October 2009. I recommend reading them both, especially if you work with elementary and middle schoolers or with high school students who need highly accessible texts.

_Teaching New Literacies_ Books Forthcoming!

Teaching New Literacies in Grades 4-6 will be published by Guilford Press in December of 2009. While my buddy Chris Wilson covers comics for this edited collection, I was asked to cover editorial/political cartoons. My chapter is co-authored with my wife and is entitled "No Stripping Allowed," though I promise there's no sort of connection between the first fact and the latter. ;)

Here's what the PR from Guilford says about the text:

DESCRIPTION
Upper-elementary students encounter a sometimes dizzying array of traditional and nontraditional texts both in and outside of the classroom. This practical handbook helps teachers in grades 4–6 harness the instructional potential of fiction, poetry, and plays; informational texts; graphic novels; digital storytelling; Web-based and multimodal texts; hip-hop; advertisements; math problems; and many other types of texts. Twenty-four complete lessons promote critical literacy skills such as comprehending, analyzing, and synthesizing information and using writing to communicate new ideas and pose questions. Snapshots of diverse classrooms are accompanied by clear explanations of the research base for instruction in each genre. Ready-to-use reproducibles are included.

KEY POINTS
> Highly practical: provides 23 complete, classroom-tested lesson plans.
> Timely: states require students to read a growing variety of text types.
> Unique: lessons expose students to a broader range of genres than competing titles.
> Genres covered include biography, newspapers, political cartoons, hip-hop, graphic novels, poetry, and plays.

CRITICAL ACCLAIM
“The book moves beyond the basic curricular model of language arts, embracing authentic, purposeful, relevant areas of literacy that are typically overlooked. Classroom teachers, literacy coaches, and university professors alike will be able to find a place for this well laid-out text and the resources and expertise it provides. Examples of innovative and dynamic lessons will make it easy for classroom teachers to apply their new learning with ease. I was so energized that I immediately began sharing information from the book with my intermediate teachers.”

—Cate Stallmeyer-Gerard, MEd, CAS, Literacy Coach, Barkstall Elementary School, Champaign, Illinois

“A valuable resource for upper-elementary and intermediate teachers. The book provides a wealth of useful, research-based information and lessons that will assist educators in their quest of improving student comprehension and learning in the ever-changing world of literacy. This is a resource teachers can pick up, trust, and utilize immediately.”

—Carrie Wessman, MS, fourth-grade teacher, Bruce, Wisconsin

“Very timely. Inservice and preservice teachers need to know how to help students engage meaningfully and critically with multiple forms of text. Moss and Lapp offer a rich and accessible blend of instructional practices and curriculum integration that will enable teachers and students to expand their understanding of new literacies and connect with current technologies. This book is a comprehensive companion to turn to time and again.”

—Gustave Weltsek, PhD, Department of Literacy, Culture, and Language Education, Indiana University

“A fabulous book! So many upper-elementary teachers have a difficult time engaging students in literacy because they only use trade books and textbooks for instruction. But this book shows that a variety of texts, from comics to hip-hop lyrics to advertisements, can be used effectively for literacy instruction. Teachers will find the lessons in this book easy to use and supported by a strong research base. What is very exciting about the book is its emphasis on content literacy. Any teacher who has wondered how to thoughtfully integrate literacy into math, science, and social studies lessons, and make connections with students’ interests and lives, should buy this book! As a teacher educator, I see this volume as a wonderful resource for the new and experienced teachers in my courses, as well as for professional development workshops in schools. The lessons are very solid and would be useful both for students who need to ‘see’ the inner workings of good literacy instruction and for veteran teachers looking for fresh ideas and texts.”

—Jennifer D. Turner, PhD, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Maryland

Also debuting is Teaching New Literacies in Grades K-3, which will also have a chapter on comics from Chris Wilson and will be worth checking out for those who teach younger students.