More Censorship: This Time Global

Thanks to The Beat for drawing my attention to this story about a Belgian trying to censor Herge's Tin Tin in the Congo by having it banned in Belgium due to its racist imagery.

While I can't defend how Africans and blacks have been portrayed in comics at times, these comics are very important artifacts, and it seems to me that removing them from view is more about controlling people's collective sense of themselves rather than giving them the opportunity to face historical facts, their faces and the faces of their artists.

"It makes people think black people have not evolved," said the Belgium.

Wrong. It reveals that you think readers are too stupid to realize the text is situated in a specific time and takes on a specific assumption set that, as appalling as it may be to many of us now, was prevalent for a few hundred years.

Another complaint is about an African woman bowing to a white man and saying, "White man great! White mister is big juju man!"

Here's a comment that will make me unpopular: White man is great. White man has had and still has big juju.

Black man is great too. So is brown man and yellow man and whatever. Each has had their imperialistic moments. Each has contributed great goods and great evils to society throughout history (to channel my inner Johnny Cochran, my point is that "Good and Great do not always Equate!"). Even if one confronts versions of power and realities in texts that one has the right not to read if one so chooses, censoring evidence of these facts is just plain stupid, like what Herge's characters and contemporaries might have thought about the intelligences of Africans-level stupid.

REMINDER!: Saturday, May 1, 2010: Free Comic Book Day

Look for gratis grabbies featuring Shrek, Mouse Guard , Archie, Disney, G.I. Joe, Iron Man and more!

I Know the Teacher of the Year!

Sarah Wessling is the national teacher of the year! She just met Obama! She helped organize the Iowa Council of Teachers of English conference even at which I was a featured speaker a few years ago. I am not at all surprised to see her honored.

If yer lissnin or readin, Sarah: CONGRATS!!! :)

Campfire Books (Steerforth) Releases Time Machine, other Adaptations

If I'm not already on record as being worried about the recent spate of graphic novel adaptations of canonical texts, I need to establish the fact here: I feel their accessibility makes it too easy for teachers to cop out on considering graphic novels, allowing educators to limit their research on the form and focus only on supplemental titles at best rather than finding the true quality stand-alone original narrative gems that really set the medium apart.

However, I have a soft spot for H.G. Wells' The Time Machine in traditional and pictoral form for several reasons. When I was in college, I found a great illustrated pamphlet version of the text, which it appears I've lost now, much to my regret. As well, in the only time I was ever able to teach upper classmen exclusively, which was during my student teaching in Pisgah, NC, I taught the novel to a group of mostly male reluctant readers, and we loved it. We drew pictures of what we thought the time machine looked like. We considered memories as time travel. I got to share with them a not-so-subtle penis joke. (Curious aren't you? Well, after the Time Traveller seems to have developed some feelings for Weena and has come to depend on her as a lifeline of sorts, he loses her and feels utterly alone and scared. To iterate this point, I dramatically exclaimed, "Imagine the loss he must feel! The sense of isolation! After all, can there be anything worse than to be a man without a Weena?!?") Everybody laugh. Curtain fall down.

So when Steerforth sent me an adaptation of this title from their new Campfire series of graphic novels, which cover classics, mythology, biography and originals, I took note. Lewis Helfand adapted the text serviceably, but the art (pencils by Rajesh Nagulakonda) was exceptionally striking, especially the coloring (by Manoj Yadav). The morlocks looked more like Golem than they did the hulking, hairy monsters I'd envisioned, but that was the only major flaw I found in this adaptation, which could be used to frontload a reading of the print text or as a quick-read supplement to thematic units on Imperialism, -topias, Science vs. Conscience, etc.

The adaptation also featured a bio of Wells and some information about technologies being developed in the Wells era.

Kudos to Campfire for such a fun effort with such a fun story. With 33 other titles hitting the market over the next two years, distribution through Random House, and brilliant art in each based on the previews I've seen, I expect Campfire to become a major player in the graphic novel market.

Archie Series introduces Gay Character

The "Hot New Guy" in the Archie books won't be interested in Betty and Veronica, not romantically anyway. In yet another move to make the Archie comics more contemporary, an openly gay character is being introduced in Riverdale.

Kevin Keller is not the first gay character in comics, nor is he the first to be openly gay, as some headlines seem to suggest. So, Keller's sexual orientation might be new to Jughead (or it might not. Keller is the first out of the closet gay guy in the series), but not to those who keep up with comics in general. Sadly, no one has told Veronica yet, as this image makes abundantly clear.

An article in the local paper (thanks, DM!) suggests these books might soon be influenced by the "reality" series "Jersey Shore" and that other pop culture flashes in the pan might also be an influence in the comics.

My suggestion? Start inserting those little voice boxes that come in certain greeting cards, fill them with music, and start working on a "Glee"-inspired Archie book. Imagine a rendition of "Ol Man Riverdale" or the "I Want Your Sex" number in the "tribute to George Michael" issue, where Kevin is revealed to have been that transfer student back in elementary school who performed a silly pop song at the talent show wearing blue and white short-shorts, then disappeared for a while, yet no one put two and two together until he resurfaced years later going solo and unclosetted himself.




OK, OK. I'm being silly. I admit to wanting to title this post "Archie Just Got More Fabulous." In all seriousness, though, this is a big step towards freshness for these comics titles, and equally serious: here's hoping that "Jersey Shore" idea flops in editorial.

The Lovely Bone!

According to a District 196 representative, Bone will stay on the shelves of the district's local school libraries!!

The secret ballot vote in favor of the decision was 10-1. The voters consisted of five parents, three teachers, two media specialists and a principal.

The source tells me that media specialists used some quotes from my letter to the district as well as a personal letter from Jeff Smith (cool!!!) to help make the case for keeping the books. The complainant was also able to make a presentation.

The entire process was described as respectful and professional, which is nice to know as these things can get ugly quickly.

So, while we can, let us bask in this victory for the graphic novel and for freedom of choice and access in public schools!

UPDATE: We probably broke this news first, but now others are catching up. Here's the link to the story in the MN paper. And click here to see what the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund had to say about the decision. Tom Spurgeon covers the story too.

UPDATE UPDATE: ICV2 covers the story as well!

April 27, 2010: Fate of Bone Series in MN School District 196 Decided Today

After a parental complaint, officials have met to prepare their respective cases, and by the end of the night, we'll know whether Jeff smith's critically-acclaimed series of graphic novels Bone will remain on the shelves of a certain elementary school. Will district 196 blow the text a Bone-crushing defeat, or will they throw the almost-all-ages series and its interested readers a Bone? Will they take some sort of middle ground and move the books to a middle school library? Will that be a victory?

We'll know soon enough.......

Free Comic Book Day Is May 1, 2010!

The annual event returns!

News Broadcast on Comics and Literacy, circa 2008

With the decision on Bone's future in District 196 due by tomorrow night, I thought it might be nice to post some pro-comics-and-education videos found over at YouTube.




You go, Mr. Wales and students!

p.s. "Like the Peanuts" gets me every time!!!

Ray Bradbury Learned to Read and Write Through Comics

(from the San Diego ComiC Con, 2009)

In a Move that Should Surprise None..

The Los Angeles Times Book Prize for graphic novels has been awarded to Asterios Polyp, perhaps the best graphic novel of the last 5 years, maybe the best of the aughts.

YouTube Video of Stumptown Comics Fest 2010's Teaching Comics Panel

This is an interesting video, though I'm not sure why. I think it tells me two things: 1. Oregon seems to be a good place for comics studies, which is important information for me as I learn whether some of my goals at UTEP can be met. 2. There are folks thinking about comics and education at the college level, but not so much about the pedagogy as much as on the very fact that people are teaching comics-related classes at the college level. (to be fair, perhaps the direct pedagogy talk just didn't make it in this video).

Reminder: You! This Sunday! Northwestern University! Graphic Novel Presentations!

Click here for more information!

Review: _The Road to God Knows..._

Marie Levesque is a pudgy, awkward Canadian teenager in love with a pair of tag-team wrestlers, barely keeping up with her school work, and dealing with a difficult homelife with few who understand her circumstances.

Her mother is schizophrenic, depressed, and suffering from a trauma only alluded to. As her mom goes in and out of "good days" and in and out of the local mental ward, Marie tries to get a sense of her mother's current and future life while working to figure out her own place. Thank goodness she has Kelly, her one friend who tries to help her through, but even this relationship has its trade-offs, as her schoolmates tease the two for possibly being lesbians.

Part The Tale of One Bad Rat, part Ghost World, Von Allan's graphic novel The Road to God Knows... is not a masterpiece -- it often lags through exposition during mundane moments only to give too little time to poignant ones -- but it is a worthy book that takes on the subject of mental illness and how it affects those living with it and young people living around it. Even the unbalanced punctuated equilibrium I mention in critique serves the purpose of illustrating that moments of reprieve are often to be savored and moments of real happiness are often too short for kids who must navigate such uncertain terrain.

The title suggests not knowing, a gawky journey with no clear end, and Allan's overtly ungainly poses for Marie -- whether she's walking, standing, or sitting -- work to further illustrate a certain floundering that permeates the characters and themes of this text. A happy ending means the mom pulls out of her "slump;" Marie finds a niche; everybody succeed. Everybody happy.

But that's not the reality of mental illness or adolescence; certainly not the unquestioned reality of the two combined. In the end, we do get a happy moment: Marie and Kelly have worked to earn money to attend a wrestling event featuring the pair Marie has a crush on. The girls seem to woot in delight as the action starts. But this end is just a reprieve, no end at all, really, as any adolescent who reads it and is living under similar circumstances will know.

Yet, the lesson is that moments of happiness are OK. Kids need breaks from life and deserve joy just like anyone. There's no shame in enjoying one's self. It doesn't change anything about one's character or how much one loves their struggling parent.

The Road to God Knows... works well as a young adult novel. It has its slow spots in plot and stumbling points in page layout and art that keep it from genius, but it has a utility that makes it a worthy read and a facility with dealing with a tough subject to talk about for many young people that makes it a title that teachers, guidance councilors, and students should know. This graphic novel is adroit enough to offer points of contact and conversation for young readers who may be experiencing similar feelings and realities as Marie.

Hope Larson Adapting _A Wrinkle in Time_

Hope, you better get it right! That's one of my favoritist books ever, babe! From one North Carolinian to another, represent that thang, girl!

Anyway, funny how things sometimes come in bunches. The first part of the week saw me lamenting a lack of comics censorship cases for selfish reasons, only to unearth a bevvy of them. Today, it seems the theme is comics adaptations of prose work of all kind.

Page 100 Project

Thanks to Tom Spurgeon for giving this internet phenomenon some face time. The idea is to do a comics page adaptation of the 100th page of your favorite prose novel. Sounds very cool.

Commentary on Baby-Sitters Club Graphic Novel Series

Jaime Hernandez Featured in Village Voice

How many uppity VV readers in El Paso will read the article and say, "This guy sounds pretty cool and important. Bet he'd never come to El Paso."

Sigh.....

Boy finds Boob in 23 yo Comic

Damn. When it rains, it pours. Here's a great story (thanks, Richard from UNL!) about a parent reacting to finding a comic with implied nudity in it not by calling the store where the comic was purchased, but by immediately calling a news crew.

You gotta read the story linked to in the title of this post. It even has video! From the article:

"I seen the naked lady and I got mad." Ten year old Sheldyn Conley loves comic books but knew something was wrong when he opened "The Spectre." He says, "I just turned the page and I seen the naked ladies so I handed it to a grownup and said, 'Look at this.'"

While the parent may have been right to have worried about the nature of the comic in question, which she bought for her 10 yo son and wouldn't have been able to preview without taking it out of its packaging, why not go to the store rather than the local media, right? That's what the news crew did, and the manager of the store where the comic was purchased pulled the comics and said she'd alert her bosses about the problem.

Kudos to the kid for seeing something he didn't know how to deal with and seeking out adult guidance on the issue, though.

Side note: my oldest son is 4; my youngest is 2 and hasn't been weened yet. Their response to seeing the "naked lady," who had her "naughty bits" covered by steam, would not have been anger, rest assured. But, they are their father's sons. ;)

Press Release from District 196 (Bone Censorship Case)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press InquiriesTony Taschner, communications specialist
April 13, 2010
651-423-7775
tony.taschner@district196.org

Committee will hear request to remove book series from elementary libraries

ROSEMOUNT, Minn. – A District 196 Reconsideration Review Committee will meet April 27 to consider a request from a resident to remove a book series from the district’s elementary school libraries. The public is welcome to attend and observe the meeting, which will begin at 4:15 p.m. at the District Office in Rosemount.

An Apple Valley resident submitted a written request that the “Bone” series of books by Jeff Smith be removed from district elementary schools that currently have them as part of their library collections. The resident believes the books are not age appropriate due to references regarding drinking, smoking and sexual innuendo. Twelve of the district’s 18 elementary schools have at least one of the “Bone” books in their library. The books are available for students to check out but are not used for instructional purposes as part of classroom work.

District policy provides that a district resident, parent or guardian of a district student, adult student or district employee may request reconsideration of any instructional resource. If the person challenging the material requests that the resource be excluded, restricted or included for students other than his or her own children, it is reviewed by a Reconsideration Review Committee. The committee, which is assembled when needed, includes three teachers, five parents, an elementary principal, an elementary media specialist and a middle school media specialist. The committee will be facilitated by Steve Troen, director of Teaching and Learning, and Renee Ervasti, elementary curriculum coordinator.

Committee members will review the “Bone” books in advance and will discuss the series at the April 27 meeting, taking into consideration criteria used to select instructional resources for students and the quality of the material as a whole. At the meeting, the resident making the request and a district media specialist will each be given 15 minutes to present their positions on the reconsideration. After discussing alternatives, the committee will decide the acceptability of the book for elementary school students.

###

District 196 serves approximately 27,500 students in early childhood, K-12 and special education programs combined, and offers community education programs for residents of all ages. District 196 includes all or part of Rosemount, Apple Valley, Eagan, Burnsville, Coates, Inver Grove Heights, Lakeville and Empire and Vermillion townships. For more information, visit www.district196.org.

The Graphic Novel Institute at Northwestern University

Remember that IRA pre-conference institute on the graphic novel that I was part of that got cancelled? Well, after I had cancelled my hotel reservations and flight, the event got reorganized and will now be held on the campus of Northwestern University. While I won't be there, I hope anyone in the area will think strongly about attending the new iteration of the event.

Details below from Josh Elder of Reading with Pictures:

Reading with Pictures
Presents:

The Graphic Novel Institute at Northwestern University
"Teaching Reading with Graphic Novels"

10 AM-4PM
Sunday, April 25th 2010
Northwestern University
Evanston Campus
Annenberg Hall

The explosive growth of the comics medium and the graphic novel format is providing a unique opportunity to explore their use as an 'alternate route' in achieving literacy. This program is designed to provide an overview of how this has occurred, how it works and how the format can be applied and defended in the classroom environment.

Come join us for a day of insightful and invaluable conversation with the educators, media specialists, academics and authors willing to share their perspective and experience.

Academic presenters include Dr. Michael Bitz of Columbia University, Prof. David Rapp of Northwestern University and Prof. William Ayers of the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Comic creators and graphic novelists in attendance include Jane Yolen (Foiled), Josh Neufeld (A.D.: New Orleans), Geoffrey Hayes (Benny and Penny), Jerry Craft (Mama's Boyz), Aaron Renier (Spiral Bound) and Josh Elder (Mail Order Ninja).

Program Schedule will consist of two presentations, followed by four unique breakout sessions, and then a Meet the Authors event and catered reception. Attendees do not have to attend all the scheduled programming and can arrive or leave at any point during the day.

*Admission is free, but seating is limited. Please confirm your seat via RSVP to info@readingwithpictures.org

Another Strange Censorship Case

According to ICV2, the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance wants Bluewater to withdraw their bio-comic on Ellen DeGeneres because proceeds from the book might go to the American Human Society.

Top 10 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2009

Comics White Paper Reveals Stats

Milton Griepp has released his "status of the industry" white paper. According to his figures, graphic novels sales no longer account for the sole area of publishing seeing gains. In fact, sales have declined 6% for 2009.

Now, with past years' showing growth of 12 and 15% , that's not necessarily a sign that graphic novels are a "fading trend." After all, we are in a national recession. Though, GN sales did decline more than general book sales, which fell 3%. Again, though, no need to sound any alarms. Watchmen sales have dropped off since they hit a high point (even becoming Amazon's #1 seller for a while) along with the release of the movie, so the declining numbers are a bit skewed.

Further, there are signs that point to good numbers in future quarters/years, such as the Twilight graphic novel and possibilities that Kick-Ass movie-goers might spur sales of the graphic novel version of that title.

One very interesting tidbit to come from the report: "sales of of Kids and YA-related graphic novels were up over 50%....." Looks like publishers' efforts to hit that k-12 market hard now that so many of us are talking about comics and education are paying off.

MN Parent Complains About Bone

I hate to admit it, but due to a certain project I've got in the works, I've been waiting on a good comics censorship story. To date, 2010 has been pretty dull regarding libraries and schools and comics being questioned. But now? Now comes word that -- of all series -- Jeff Smith's Bone is being called into question.

Yes, the same Bone that me and many other educators feel is a great entry-level series for just about anyone old enough to read.

Ramona DeLay feels the graphic novel is not appropriate reading for her son, who attends Southwest Elementary and checked out the book from the school's library. DeLay wants the book withdrawn from the library because she feels the imagery, use of tobacco products, sexual tension between characters, gambling and alcohol use make the book too mature for her son.

No word on whether DeLay then went home and let her child watch the Shrek movies.

What is known is that on April 27, a review committee will meet to decide the fate of the title in this little Minnesota town. If the book can't be removed, DeLay would like to see some sort of rating system in place in her library, which mean she probably hasn't looked over the book as well as she's implied. Certainly, she doesn't seem to have checked out any of the many online and print sources that not only recommend the book but suggest audience levels as well.

To the credit of the school system, no one seems to be panicking. There are procedures in place, and no one is rushing to remove the text simply to placate the parent. Indeed, there seems to be some knowledge about Bone's reputation as an exemplar text, which is refreshing.

Tom Spurgeon has some commentary on the topic here.

I need to decide if I'm going to write a letter to the school board. I often do in cases of comics controversies in the schools. At the very least, it looks like I need to keep an eye on this and update the introduction for a certain CD-Rom project regarding censorship and graphica that should be available in the fall of 2010......

Kick-Ass Movie, Well....

..kicks ass!!!!

I am less than thirty minutes removed from seeing the last credit roll, and I am pretty impressed. There are many critics out there calling this movie a satire of the super-hero genre. The joke's on them, and on anyone who buys into their misunderstandings. The awesome thing about Kick-Ass the movie is that it might appear to be satirical because it overtly tropes so many conventions of the capes and cowl films, but the references are so clear -- heroes are mentioned by name and their mythoi explained or critiqued in script -- that it really is more of an homage to the genre than a satire.

Anyone who looks at teen super-heroes, cracked-out villains, predictable origin stories that set up a sequel, and bloody violence in this film and suggests it all pokes fun of the genre is missing the point that the movie is still a stellar exemplar of the genre.

Sure, the film takes on the question of "what if people tried to be super-heroes in real life?" but don't be fooled: you're still entering a fantasy world. That's the big trick of Kick-Ass: it tricks the tricksters, pulls the wool over the eyes of the folks who want to make us all feel they're the smart ones keeping our eyes sheep-hair free. It's a straight up bad-ass super-hero movie, make no broken bones about, and it lives up to its name.


** This commentary relates to the film only, as I've still not read the GN. :(

**** I still think the guy who plays Kick-Ass looks like senior-year-of-high-school-Bucky-Carter. ;)

Graphic Novel Reporter Updates

Graphic Novel Reporter has some great entries in its latest update. Comics-friendly English and Drama teacher John Weaver talks about how he used comic book elements in conjunction with a production of Faustus at his Pennsylvania high school. There's a feature on the new non-profit outfit Reading With Pictures (of which I am somewhat associated), and former "El Paso in the Comics" keynote speaker Jaime Hernandez is interviewed by Peter Gutierrez about the new book The Art of Jaine Hernandez, which reminds me that I need to follow up on some things....

Minority Representations in Comics

This video is a good resource about how minstrel figures, picanninies, yellow-skinned demons and other non-white characters have been represented in comics.

Once I teach another comic course, I'll probably use this video. I often ask students to visit the Grand Comic Book Database and look at minority representations in old covers of Captain America, Luke Cage, Tarzan, etc. It's an eye-opening experience.

Scorsese on Hugo Cabret Film Project

Yep, you read right. Coming at you in 3-D too, sometime 2011.

Kick-Ass Reaches 100K Mark, EP Bookstores Still Suck

The Beat has this article on how the Kick-Ass graphic novel has sold over 100,000 copies. The argument: those that say comics aren't anything but story boards for films might be right. That's a little silly and over-stating things, of course.

Me? I've been scouring my local Barnes and Noble for the last few months waiting for this title to be available. Either they're selling out faster than I can get to them, or this is another piece of evidence that my local chain ain't all that great. Of course, with no Borders or Books-A-Million around for competition, why strive for excellence? Sigh......

Fat People Unite!

Hear me, my brethren! In ye above title is yon post to a tale most befitting our stupendous waistlines and how the evil sky dragons treat us!

Teaser: Middle-Aged Anthropomorphic Mechanically-Inclined Tourtoise (and Son)?

Review: _Prime Baby_

Gene Yang's Prime Baby, recently collected into graphic novel form after being serialized in The New York Times, is a cute, clever, and endearing story about young Thaddeus' childhood megalomania and how it connects him to his family, especially his new baby sister, who just happens to be an interdimensional portal for peacenik aliens intent on bringing smiles and happiness to the Earth.

In Thaddueas one can see a deep-rooted sense of sibling rivalry dueling with the desire to be loved. He's at once a disturbing little boy with an alarming adolescence-level egocentricism and someone with whom anyone with brothers and sisters -- anyone who has ever wanted to be the center of the universe, really -- can relate easily.

This undercurrent of allegorical depth (in Prime Baby, wrapped in the tension of Thaddeus as exceptional while also archetypal "everychild") in otherwise seemingly mundane stories is beginning to be part of Yang's signature. It's certainly apparent in The Eternal Smile. Yang is adept at taking the ordinary and giving it a little symbolic "umph!" While no other work he's produced has been as multifaceted or as meaningful as American Born Chinese, which is beginning to stand as the exception rather than the rule in his repertoire as Yang publishes more work to a wide audience, it is comforting to know that Yang is established enough now that we can see braided threads in his storytelling. I'd rather see more of the complexity inherent in ABC than the essentially playful, "oh, isn't that interesting to note" levels of relevance in the rest of his opus (that I've read to date), but it is important to point out that Prime Baby represents earlier work from the artist rather than an evolution of his craft.

Fun, relatable, worth reading, but not life-changing or particularly exceptional, Prime Baby offers hints of complexity in a storyline otherwise relatively innocuous.

University of Houston Course on Graphic Novels

Making me all the more sad that I hardly ever get to teach a 100% comics-centric course anymore...... (sniff, sniff)

Though with the ignorance being displayed in the response to the article, maybe I'm better off not to teach those once amazingly popular, one student even called them "legendary" comics classes I used to teach at my previous employer (That's a lie and I know it. I'd teach a comics course at the drop if a hat, resistance be damned. Hell, I've done it before... ).

Psy-Op Comics!

You mean the U.S. uses comics as propoganda during war efforts? Get outta here!! All those red, white, and blue- colored heroes and heroines just so happened to gain traction at the start of WWII, right? And even if the gubmit did use comics to build patriotism, advertise rationing techniques, etc., they stopped after WWII, yes? NO???

Thanks to University of Nebraska librarian Richard Graham for drawing my attention to the link embedded in this post's title. The site's a great one to reference.

Thor Meets Little Girl from New York

2010 Eisner Award Nominees List Announced

NPR Blogger Talks Comics and Vocabulary

Glen Weldon has a fun little piece about what comics taught him when he was a 6-year-old in 1974, three years before my existence on the planet earth. Weldon talks about learning words like enigma, heist, nemesis, rogues, mountebanks, yeggs, invulnerable, exoskeleton, cowl, tunic, and a host of other neat-o words from reading super-hero comics.

The comments section is just as intriguing to read as the article. Check it out.

And why might the article have me happy? Well, who is to say I'm not working on a comics-and-vocabulary project as we speak??? ;)

Hugo Award Nominations Posted

May 2010 Booklist focuses on GN's

More Golden Age/Victorian Era Comics Online

http://www.goldenagecomics.co.uk/

http://konkykru.com/earlycomics.html

Digital Comics Museum Launches

Looking for scans of Golden Age comics? The Digital Comics Museum is for you! You'll need a program that will let you read .cbz files. Mac users can use the SimpleComic app. Others may need to look for StuffIt online.

MoCCA Offers More Spring Classes on Comics Making

Press Release:


Press Contact: Ellen Abramowitz eabramowitz@moccany.org

MoCCA ADULT EDUCATION'S SPRING CONTINUES IN APRIL WITH SIKORYAK, WILLBERG, AND FINGEROTH ART AND WRITING CLASSES

New York (April 5, 2010) - The Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art - MoCCA is proud to announce two new offerings from its Education Department. Organized by Senior Vice-President of Education, DANNY FINGEROTH, the department's next amazing classes will be:

(1) ANATOMY FOR CARTOONISTS WORKSHOPwith R. SIKORYAK and KRIOTA WILLBERG and (2) HOW TO WRITE COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELSwith DANNY FINGEROTH

Course details:

(1) ANATOMY FOR CARTOONISTS WORKSHOP

Instructors: R. SIKORYAK and KRIOTA WILLBERG
4 sessions, MONDAYS April 19 & 26, May 3 & 106:30-9:00 pm
$275 tuition $250 for MoCCA members

Understanding the way the body looks and works helps illustrators and cartoonists draw their characters so that the artwork conveys personality. This course will teach students how to create real or imaginary characters-in any style-that are consistent and believable.Through PowerPoint presentations, in-class exercises, and at-home assignments, students will learn to see and draw the structures and tissues that give the body shape and character. Willberg will-literally!-draw on live models to trace muscle groups and bony landmarks. Sikoryak will demonstrate the application of anatomical understanding to any cartooning style. Students will practice drawing from live models in class and learn to apply the lessons to their own characters.

Note: Students will need to bring drawing materials-see MoCCA website for details. This is a life-drawing class; nude models will be employed.

R. SIKORYAK is the author of Masterpiece Comics (D&Q). He's drawn for RAW, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Nickelodeon Mag, The New Yorker, The Onion, MAD, Marvel, DC, and Dark Horse, among other media giants. Sikoryak teaches in the illustration department at Parsons School of Design. He has presented his cartoon slide show series, Carousel, around the United States and Canada.

KRIOTA WILLBERG teaches anatomy for cartoonists and illustrators at The Center For Cartoon Studies, pathology and massage therapy at the Swedish Institute College of Health Sciences, and anatomy in the dance department of Marymount Manhattan College. Willberg is an interdisciplinary artist, a filmmaker, and a lecturer and blogger about film and medicine.


(2) HOW TO WRITE COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS

Instructor: DANNY FINGEROTH
4 sessions, TUESDAYS April 20 & 27, May 4 & 116:30-9:00 pm
$245 tuition $225 for MoCCA members

DANNY FINGEROTH will lead a hands-on workshop in writing comics and graphic novels. This is a four-week class whose aim is to teach students, in a supportive atmosphere, how to structure and write comics and graphic novel stories of professional caliber. Combining lectures, assignments in class and at home, and roundtable critiquing, the class will cover writing for all kinds of comics, including autobiographical, historical, “indy” and superheroes.

DANNY FINGEROTH was the longtime group editor of Marvel's Spider-Man line and the writer of comics including Darkhawk and Deadly Foes of Spider-Man. He has taught comics writing at NYU, The New School, and Media Bistro. Danny created and edited Write Now magazine, the only how-to publication dedicated to comics writing and writers. He is the author of The Rough Guide to Graphic Novels and co-author (with artist Mike Manley) of How to Create Comics from Script to Print. He's also written the books Superman on the Couch and Disguised as Clark Kent. Danny serves on MoCCA's board of advisors and on the board of directors of the Institute for Comics Studies.

And there are still a few spaces available in the third and final session of:

MASTER CLASS SERIES IN COMICS WRITING:
Tuesday, April 13, 6:30-8:30 pm: DENNIS O'NEIL
$40 $35 for MoCCA members

All classes held at MoCCA594 Broadway, Suite 401New York, NY 10012

For more information on all these courses, and to register, call 212-254-3511 or go to http://www.moccany.org/.


And don't forget:

April 10 and 11, 2010
The MoCCA Festival 2010!
69th Regiment Armory
68 Lexington Avenue (between 25th & 26th streets)
New York, NY

Tables are still available!

Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art
594 Broadway, Suite 401,
New York, NY 10012
http://www.moccany.org/
212-254-3511

The Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art - MoCCA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts education organization dedicated to the preservation, study and display of all forms of comic and cartoon art. The museum promotes greater understanding and appreciation of the artistic, cultural and historical significance of comic and cartoon art through a variety of events, exhibitions, and educational programs. The museum is located at 594 Broadway (between Houston and Prince Streets) in New York City. MoCCA is open to the public Tuesdays through Sundays from 12:00-5:00 pm. Suggested donation to the museum is $5 but free for MoCCA Members as well as for children 12 and under (when accompanied by a paying adult). For more information about the museum and MoCCA events, exhibitions and programs, visit the museum's Website (www.moccany.org).

Michael Bitz's _When Commas Meet Kryptonite_ Available Soon!

While ELA teachers might have found some excuse not ot read Bitz's Manga High: Literacy, Identity and Comic of Age in an Urban High School, his second effort to spin out of the Comic Book Project deals more specifically with notions of composition, mechanics, linguistic exploration and awareness, and all sorts of Englishy goodness.

A Must-Read, this book is set for an April 2010 release date, which means you can get When Commas Meet Kryptonite from publisher Teachers College Press any day now!

GNR Interviews TOON BOOKS' Francoise Mouly

Daggnabbit! A day after sending off an academic article in which I mention how TOON BOOKS could do a better job explaining how it determines ratings for its books, Graphic Novel Reporter posts an interview where the amazing Francoise Mouly delivers at least a bit of the answer. Ah well, it's an easy edit/footnote if the article gets accepted.

The interview is a good one. Worth the read. My favorite line is "Art and I used to say comics aren’t just for kids, we now have to say comics are not just for adults." Take that, ye who say we need to be careful of appropriating "youth culture" for our own purposes when it comes to sequential art!

TOON BOOK is a great line, and FM is certainly a major reason why. If you're not familiar with her place in the comics world, this interview is as good a starting point for you as any. Then head over to http://www.toonbooks.com/ and check that out.

Also in this GNR update: A story on the Texas Library Association's efforts to promote graphic novels via their Mavericks list.

Sebastian Stan to Play Bucky in Upcoming Movie

Plot: After a hard childhood, a wayward North Carolina boy with a steely determination and an iron-clad resiliency becomes the first member of his family to go to college. Ultimately, after shitty jobs and eye-opening life experiences, he gets married, gets fat, gets nut cancer, earns a Ph.D., and becomes a university professor. Then, eventually, he dies from the accumulated weight of his life's experiences, tempered by his blatant, almost autistic honesty and sincerity, which makes him the bane of all who know him (the perfect blend of Linus from Charlie Brown and Linus from Lost, ) or by a heart attack since he just can't put down the burgers. Yeah, probably by heart attack, or stroke. That's a possibility too. Or the cancer. We can't forget the cancer. That gets everybody at least once or twice, right?

Where was I? The link embedded in this post's title is actually about James "Bucky" Barnes, Captain America's sidekick, and the actor who will play him in the upcoming Cap movie. Still, throw in a guest appearance by Steve Rogers in that first description, and, well, you've got a scene about the main character reading comic books...... ;)

IRA Pre-Conference Institute, We Hardly Knew Ye

This April 25, there was supposed to be an all-day preconference institute on the graphic novel at the International Reading Association's conference in Chicago, IL. Katie Monnin organized the event, which featured many leading figures in comics-and-literacy scholarship, such as Michael Bitz, Katie, yours truly, and others, as well as actual comics creators/graphic novelists and leaders from the publishing field.

Alas, after almost all arrangements were made, including flights and hotel room bookings, we received word that the event was cancelled. (Thank goodness I was able to cancel my room reservations without penalty and my university was able to eat the cost of the plane ticket. Others might not have been so lucky).The reason given was low numbers of folks registering.

Only a sign of the economy, something more, or a combination of factors? Who is to say?

I'm sure there will be folks at IRA talking about graphic novels. I hope they enjoy being the representative experts, as I'm sure they will have great things to say and will give wonderful presentations, but nothing on the program regarding the topic could have equalled the combined knowledge and interests of the group Katie assembled. It's a missed opportunity not just for the presenters, but for IRA and its audience at the conference.

Of course, IRA is a selective group (I say everything herein as a current member) , and there seem to be channels to make sure things happen within its influence (this selectivity as it pertains to comics and literacy, might be observed by looking at the works cited lists of the articles on graphic novels that have appeared in JAAL over the last eight months or so. Got some time? Look at the names that are cited over and over, and also apply your knowledge of the arguments being made regarding comics and literacy and who all are making them, and compare who is being noted and who isn't). Perhaps those of us involved just didn't know how to best utilize those channels.


BUT, I can tell you the institute is not dead yet. Not its mission , members, and desires, anyway. Simply reformed. Some members will be at the convention in other capacities. And other plans to keep the collection of talent together to make their points and share their expertise are afoot. More as more develops!



(Picture: According to this paperwork from IRA, which arrived in my mailbox the day after I received the news that the pre-conference session was cancelled, I'm all good to go for my trip to Chicago, where I would have joined perhaps the best single group of comics and literacy scholars ever assembled in one place)

Teaser: How My Girlfriend Became My Wife

TOON Books Launches Revolutionary iPhone Application!

Press Release:

NEW YORK, March 29, 2010 – TOON Books is pleased to announce the release of the second of its comics for beginning readers iPhone application. Parents and children can enjoy award-winning books anywhere with the convenience of an iPhone or iPod touch.

Available for $2.99 at the iPhone App Store, the first iphone TOON Book immediately broke into the top 100. Parents can entertain and educate children with easy-to-read comics. Kids can immerse themselves with words and images while waiting at the grocery store, restaurant or airport.

(image created using Photoshop)

Titles currently available are Jack and the Box by Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Art Spiegelman and Little Mouse Gets Ready, a Theodor Seuss Geisel Award Honor book, by Jeff Smith, author of Bone. “Comics for the Jet Age! It’s exciting to see little mouse available on a new digital platform,” said Smith. Other TOON books will be offered soon.

Unique features of the TOON Books iPhone app include:
• Authors read their work. Children can hear the authors’ voices and see their drawings.
• Designed specifically for young readers to easily use, the pages can be turned automatically or manually.
• Onscreen text and highlighted speech balloons help readers make associations between the words they hear and see. It is the closest experience to being read a book that any app can deliver. As with all TOON Books, repeated use builds reading fluency.
• Narration is available in five languages - English, Spanish, French, Russian and Mandarin Chinese.

“The app takes full advantage of its electronic medium by introducing young readers to other languages,” says Art Spiegelman.

www.toon-books.com/special.php

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/jack-and-the-box-kids-book/id361738578?

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/little-mouse-gets-ready-kids/id364080905?mt=8

This is a collaboration between TOON Books and iStoryTime, a publisher of children’s storybooks for the iPhone. iStoryTime has the largest library of illustrated and narrated children’s books for the phone. iStoryTime books are available in the iPhone App Store in 80 countries.

Editorial Director Francoise Mouly (also Art Editor of The New Yorker) received overwhelming praise for the TOON Books collection, launched in Spring 2008. Vetted by educators and librarians, the books are now used in many K-4 classrooms and are the cornerstone of TOON in… A Comics in the Schools Initiative presented in partnership with the NYC School Library System.

For more information and to see our FREE, LITERARY, ONLINE TOOLS FOR KIDS, please visit: http://www.toon-books.com

The Beat Posts on Boys and Literacy

Got quotes and everything. Neat article exploring gender, gendered readings, boys, literacy, and how comics should/shouldn't fit in with those constructd.

Sequential Tart Interviews Author of _Road To God Knows_

Von Allan is interviewed regarding her new graphic novel featuring a teenage girl coping with being an adolescent while also having a mother struggling with schizophrenia.

Originally published as a webcomic at http://www.girlamatic.com/, Road to God Knows is now available in print.

I'm glad Sequential Tart covered this text, which seems to be flying under the radar but could become an important book in young adult literature circles.

Review: _Resistance Book 1_

Having just been less than kind to Jane Yolen's own graphic novel effort, I find her appraisal of Carla Jablonksi and Leland Purvis' Resistance right-on: "A forceful reminder of both the broad horrors and the small braveries of that period of history, things we should never forget."

Resistance is the story of how pre-adolescents Paul and Marie Tessier come to join their Vichey, France-based family and friends in subverting the efforts of the occupying German army. Paul uses his artistic talent to send messages to others in Paris; Marie uses her ability to memorize (toe-the-line literacy supporters rejoice. But, then again, such folks are probably least likely to accept a graphic novel as good reading material anyway, right?) to interpret crytpics. Their older sister uses her feminine wiles to distract soldiers and hide papers. The kids are able to join their Jewish friend Henri with his parents in Paris, but their success seem small in sight of growing threats.

The well-established novelist Jablonksi and the respected comics artist Purvis, rightly considered co-authors of the text, appear to work well together to integrate plot and symbolic elements. The use of Paul's art as multilayered metatexts (actual images within panels; Paul's drawings of those images -- as drawings -- overlapping the actual images, and the reader seeing the signs as multiple as they read) reveals the complex reader response relationships inherent in graphica that the best comics artists easily manipulate. As well, the severity of the situations of the characters makes caring for them quick and easy, allowing for a fast-paced, deep, but still economic story development.


Further, it is nice to see more sequential art narratives on the Holocaust examining "other" sides of the equation, not just "War-Mongering Germans vs. Hapless Jews." I recently read an article about movies like Inglorious Bastards and books that are revealing a new version of Jewish identity, especially Jewish male identity. As well, graphic novels like the Barefoot Gen series and A Family Secret and The Arrival inform readers about how the war affected different nations and hemispheres as well as more various populations than we often consider in our study of this bleak period of human history.


Resistance fits well with the texts mentioned above, and in terms of quality, would be near the top (but not quite so near The Book Thief). Apparently there are more volumes to come, as this text was published as Book 1. I hope Jablonski and Purvis can keep up thier mojo in future continuations of the story, and perhaps one day we'll be looking at a tome-sized version of Resistance like we do the collected Maus.

Review: Jane Yolen's _Foiled_

Jane Yolen's new graphic novel Foiled is about a teenage girl who is a skilled fencer (not the Tom Sawyer kind; the kind with swords, or weapons, as they're called in the text) and uses her knowledge of parrying and thrusting to explain her relationship with a certain young boy. Sounds hot and heavy, but it isn't.

The story is basically a jumble of mixed metaphors and underdevelopment of everything, with some bad magic thrown in that conveniently develops in the third quarter of the book when the main character puts on her fencing mask -- something she's done thousands of times before with no wizards or trolls -- in Grand Central Station while waiting on a date.

I will say I admire the effort. Certainly Yolen has proved herself a capable writer in other forms. This one, to continue the fencing language, simply misses the mark. What it reveals to me is that while it is great to see writers in other genres or mediums, not all of them will have smash hit-level successes with their efforts. I actually see this as a compelling actuality, in that it shows how difficult it is to create an exemplary graphic narrative. Not every author from other forms will be able to make a coherent story or work with an artist (not an illustrator, as Mike Cavallaro is called on the book's cover) such that what needs to be said is fully said and what needs to be conveyed through images is what gets conveyed as such.

When otherwise skilled writers struggle to do well and have their struggling efforts published in sequential art narrative, I celebrate the effort and the affects: helping us all see how complex and difficult comics can be, and thereby engendering more respect for those who do them well.

So, while not a great read or an inspirational graphic novel, I can't say Foiled should remain shrinkwrapped.

Twilight GN Breaking Records, According to Publisher

Swiped from The Beat:

Via PR, The Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1 (The Twilight Saga) adaptation released last week sold over 66,000 copies, which publisher Yen Press claims is a record for single week GN sales in the US. The sales success comes in the face of generally bad reviews from the comics press, especially for the bizarro lettering. Yet despite these flaws, the target audience....

Click this post's title to link to the full story, with comments!

Katie Monnin's Teaching Graphic Novels in the Secondary Classrooms Nominated for Foreward Magazine's 2010 Book of the Year in Education

You go, Katie!

Michele Gorman Profiled at GNR

Graphic Novel Reporter has an OP-Ed up by Michele Gorman, a Charlotte, North Carolina-based (if only I'd known!) librarian who has been working with graphic novels for years. I'm super-excited to see her get some recognition, as her book Getting Graphic!: Using Graphic Novels to Promote Literacy with Preteens and Teens, was one of the very first resources I learned about when starting my graphic novels-and-education love fest.

Alas, she and I seem to be in the boat of good works on comics and education that continually go uncited, but perhaps this write-up will get her more of the attention she deserves.

Ball State To Honor Jim Davis

Garfield's creator is getting some love from his hometown university. Also, if you're not familiar with Professor Garfield, you're missing out on some great comics-and-education applications joining BSU and everyone's lovable orange feline.

Scholastic to Publish GN with 1 Million Copy Initial Print Run!

That's a one with six zeros behind it, folks. "Scholastic is planning a million-copy first printing of the first Captain Underpants graphic novel," says the article, available b y clicking the title of this post.

ICV2 Reveals Top Ten Kids Graphic Novel Properties for 2009

Neat list. Glad to see Bone making the top 10. If you want to visit the main site, they also have a list of top 10 super-hero properties for 2009.

Ooligan Press's Classroom Publishing Guide Available!

Ooligan Press has released Classroom Publishing: A Practical Guide for Teachers, 2nd edition. The main website can be accessed in this post's title, and the press has a title-specific blog here.

What's this have to do with comics and education? My past exploits as a secondary teacher are detailed along with many other familiar names. My section deals with making and publishing comics, of course. :)

I have an advance copy, and I have to say, while I was a little dubious when I was being interviewed for the project a while back, I really do think the book is a good resource for current and future teachers. I'm thinking about adding it to some of my classes and suggesting it to colleagues. It is thorough, chocked-full of real-life examples, and takes on a broad definition of publishing appropriate to "best practice" thinking.

Kids' Graphic Novel Section at Alameda Free Library Gains Attention from ICV2

Swiped from the article (Click the title to this post to go to the rest of the story):

When we saw a picture of the new children’s graphic novel collection at the Alameda Free Library in Alameda, California in a tweet from Supervising Children’s Librarian (and ICv2 reviewier) Eva Volin, it looked to us like the kind of place where new comic readers were being created on a regular basis. We were intrigued and asked for more information. Here are Volin’s answers, giving some great info on the kids’ graphic novel collection and how it’s developed....

In Homage to the Spurge: If I Were in Arkansas....

I might go to this:

1st Annual Comic Expo. “Comics On the Wall” April 1st- 3rd 2010

According to Robert N. O'Nale, Jr, this "is a Comic-Con type event to be held at the Artchurch Studio, Hot Springs National Park urban arts studio and gallery on April 1-3- and sponsored partially by Hot Springs High School and Henderson state University."

He continues, "This event is geared primarily for educators and students, but does have some open-to-the-public events such as gallery showings at the Downtown Gallery Walk the evening of Friday, April 2. I'll be delivering a history of comics lecture that day as well--no word on whether this lecture is open to the public or if registration is required."

"TO TEACH" Being adapted into Graphic Format

Italics swiped from The Beat (link embedded in post's title):

Before he was a polarizing figure in the 2008 US presidential election. Professor William Ayers was also a respected educational figure with many books to his credit. Now he’s bringing his thoughts on the teaching life to comics with a graphic novel adaptation of TO TEACH: THE JOURNEY, IN COMICS, illustrated by Xeric Grant winner Ryan Alexander-Tanner.



Next on my wish-list of comic book adaptations of teacherly texts:
* Savage Inequalities
* Ghetto Schooling
* Basics of Qualitative Research

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Graphic Novel

Yes, this exists. Graphica adaptations of contemporary texts is the new "thing" right now. Still no word on when the Harry Potter comic books series will debut.......

Teaser: You'll Never Even Know It When it Hits You....

But when it hits you, it will knock you on your arse!

Hint: This Trans-Phat can be good for you.

Graphic Novel Reporter Updates

Some intriguing stuff in this week's edition:

* A roundtable discussion on black issues and comics
* News that the Los Angeles Times has added a graphic novel category to their Book Prizes.
* Lisa Coxson teaches comics to ninth-graders in the Bronx.

And the Congregation said "Amen!": The Spurge weighs in on Equating All Comics with Super-Hero Comics

Kudos to Comics Reporter's Tom Spurgeon for taking to task a blogger's perhaps well-intentioned post of the most important "gay moments" in comics. The problem? Every single entry came from super hero comics. Spurge's complaint, and a pet peeve of mine as well? The embedded assumption from the writer that super hero comics are the only genre that count, if not the only genre that exists.

Spurgeon calls for a a simple solution: If you're doing best-of lists or articles that focus solely on super hero-genred comics, say so.

"Amen!"

Barn Stomin', Award-winning Goodness!

Matt Phelan's The Storm in the Barn has been awarded the 2010 Scott O'Dell Award for nonfiction. Yay GN's!

Below is a trailer for the book. I'd be happy to review it if anyone wanted to send me a copy, cough cough.

Graphic Novels on Tap for Ya Lit Course This Summer

I'm mixing it up this summer by adding different titles to my typical reading list in YA Lit. American Born Chinese is still on the list, but now so are the Twilight Graphic Novel and Bayou, volume 1. The first new title will allow me to discuss two or three phenomenons at once (the graphic novel, the vampire craze in pop culture, and the Twilight hysteria) and the latter will help me mix up my selections of graphic novels and African American literature. I'm looking forward to teaching these books along with 11 more traditional print-based books during first session this summer.

MINER BALL!

UTEP MEN'S BASKETBALL = C-USA CHAMPIONS!

Hey, I'm a native North Carolinian. Loving good college basketball is in my blood. Also congrats to my Western Carolina University Catamounts on a 20+ win season there in cozy Cullowhee!

_Zig and Wikki_ Passes the Son Test

TOON BOOKS' latest hardbound kids comic comes from Nadja Spiegelman (yes, that Nadja Spiegelman!) and Trade Loeffler and is the tale of two aliens on a mission to complete a late homework assignment when they discover a big ol' ball of blue called Earth. Wikki, a walking database, helps Zig learn about native wildlife as the two try to capture a species for class.

I have trouble evaluating TOON BOOKS' titles because I've never taught elementary school and don't really see myself as good with gauging the interests of kids under ten.

Luckily, my oldest son is just shy of 4, and his reactions to the texts typically tell me all I need to know since the goal of the company is to get young gals and guys interested in comics texts and in reading in general.

While my son was not as riveted with this text as he was with Little Mouse (but, to be fair, that book talks about underwear, a topic of absence in the Spiegelman and Loefller collaboration), I've never heard him guffaw with laughter quite like he did with this book. He loved the chase scenes and all the different animals. He also asked questions about the animals the two main characters chased. Each animal was one step up in the food chain, and he seemed to make the connection enough to ask why one critter was trying to eat the other. So, he was actively engaged with the text and clearly interested. I'd say that signifies "mission accomplished."

I asked him to tell me if he liked it outright, but he just looked at me wide-eyed and put his finger over his lips as if to say, "I'll never tell!" This leads me to believe that he may be on to the Son Test.

After all, most of these TOON BOOKS have a similar look. Perhaps he knows what's coming. I can't read his mind, but I'd say that means to him that when daddy brings home a thin hardbound comic, it means he's in for a good time and a good read.

_Building Literacy Connections with Graphic Novels_ Gets YouTube Review!

Thanks, cangermeier!

New York Times Talks Upcoming Comics Adaptions of Popular Novels, Significance Thereof

Thanks to Graphic Novel Reporter for the link to this article which features graphic adaptations of Stephenie Meyers' and Janet Evanovich's works.

Graphic Novel Reporter: More Teachers Talkin' Graphic Novels

"Teacher Frances Jagielski [Toledo, Ohio] explores the ways in which graphic novels can elevate kids' educations and provides books, websites, and other materials that teachers can start using now. "

"Teacher Leigh Brodsky [Warren, NJ] takes you through her graphic novel course, explaining how she teaches the books that are the foundational pieces in the format."

Links to Bookscan Numbers for past Several Years

Wanna see how well your favorite graphic novel sold? Well, it might be in these numbers and it might not. I got my reasons for posting this link, but for other folks, Bookscan attempts to examine how much of what sold when, though there are weaknessess in the data....

EPIC II A Success!

Thanks to all the creators and a special thanks to Jaime Hernandez for the great work and collegiality shared at yesterday's events. While many media outlets decided not to give us due coverage, we still had large crowds for both the round table event and the keynote, which was interactive and really showed that Jaime and the studios are impressing those willing enough to learn about their work.

Maybe for EPIC III we'll finally get more middle and high school students involved and the student newspaper might even give us some attention. The El Paso Times gave us a quick little blurb, but not the full-page story from last year, and we got a very nice write-up from another local print outlet, for which I am grateful. The rest of EP needs to wake up, though, 'cause they missed an important and engaging event!

Comics Reporter Showing EPIC II Some Love

Click the link to see Silver city's own Tom Spurgeon, comics reporting guru, list El Paso in the Comics II as part of his on-going "If I were in [insert name of town here], I'd Go To This" list of posts. Thanks for the shout-out, Spurge!

* also thanks to Phi 3 for informing me that "El Paso in the Comics" equates to "E.P.I.C." I totally missed that, but it will be an acronym of use in the future, to be sure! :)

It's On!: Awesome is Today!

Countdown to Awesome: 1 Day Until El Paso in the Comics II!

Join 656 studios, Adversary Comix, Archie Comics' Tom Moore, Broken Tree Comics, and Phi 3 Comics for a creator's roundtable from 4-6:00 p.m. on February 23. Go to Templeton Suite 313 in the UTEP Union.

Then, grab a quick bite and return to the Union to hear Jaime Hernandez of Love and Rockets, Locas, Whoa, Nellie! and Penny Century speak at the Union Cinema from 7-9:00p.m. I mean, really, can it get any better than this without having multiple Hernandez Bros? I don't think so!!!

Countdown to Awesome: 2 Days!

Yes, the event is Tuesday. Yes, I'm bad at basic math! Yes, the event will totally rock!

Countdown to Awesome: 4 Days!

Countdown to Awesome: 5 Days!

Countdown To Awesome: 6 Days!

El Paso in the Comics II will be here in 6 days!: 656! Adversary! Phi3! Archie! Broken Tree! Jaime Portillo! Jaime Hernandez! Jaime Carter! (OK, so I'm really a "James," but who can blame me for wanting to get in on the fun?)

2009 Cybils Awards Nominees Feature Graphic Novels

That's "Children's and Young Adult Blogger's Literacy Awards" for all you Cybill Shepherd geeks. ;)

Glyph Award Nominees Announced

The Glyph awards honor comics creators who are "of color" or comics that portray people "of color." That's not my phrasing, so don't get angry at me. I'm taking my off-beige self on to the next post....

OT: "The Big Lie"

Thinking about getting that Ph.D.? Read this article, OK? It's sometimes hard to find folks who "tell it like it is" from the inside out, so I'd definitely pay attention.

Jorge Baeza's "El Paso in the Comics II" Poster

Click image for larger copy.

See more of his amazing work at pixelcreatures.com.

Upcoming Event: El Paso in the Comics II, February 23, 2010!

On February 23, 2010, UTEP will host the second-annual “El Paso in the Comics” event, following the great success of last year's packed house.

"While last year’s event featured local comics creators and a keynote address by Blue Beetle writer Jai Nitz focusing specifically on how El Paso and the Border Region influence their works," says event organizer James Bucky Carter of the UTEP English Department, "this year’s event will expand its theme to 'The Southwest in the Comics,' but will still feature much local flavor."

The UTEP Union Templeton Suite will be the site of a creator’s roundtable from 4:00-6:00. During this time, the public can interact directly with comics creators from El Paso and Juarez. Scheduled to appear are Julian Lawler of Broken Tree Comics, award-winning graphic novelist Jaime Portillo, Adversary Comix studio, and Juarez’s 656 Comics studio.

"The event will be highly interactive. We want anyone and everyone from the community to feel welcome on campus for the event," says Carter. "Last year's crowd was very diverse, with parents bringing their children, high schoolers, college students, and folks from both sides of the border in attendance."

Lawler’s comics explore El Paso via the super-hero lens, whereas Portillo’s graphic novels, such as Gabriel, for which Portillo won a prestigious Xeric Foundation Grant, examine violence in the borderland through the horror genre and play with local folklore. Adversary and 656 recently pooled their talents to create the Infestacion series, which culminated into the massive allegorical graphic novel Infestacion: The Mythology, which chronicles an invasion into the United States from undead zombies from Juarez, Mexico.

Ben Perez and Matt Rothblatt of Phi 3 Comics will be joining the list of creators at the "El Paso in the Comics II" roundtable. They are the creators behind the comic series Spiralmind, which combines metaphysical mysticism with mathematical logic and super-hero ethos. "Spiralmind is one of the most unique super-hero comics out there right now," says Carter, "and its creators are UTEP alumn. Indeed, many of the creators at the roundtable have connections to the university."

Recently signing up for the creator's roundtable is Tom Moore, famous for his work on Archie Comics!

Later in the evening (7:00-9:00), the event will shift to the Union Cinema, also in the University Union, where independent comics writer/artist Jaime Hernandez will deliver a keynote address.

"Hernandez is one of the most treasured comics artists of our time and has created a host of beloved Latino/a and Chicano/a characters – such as Maggie 'the Mechanic' Chascarrillo, Beatriz 'Penny Century' Garcia, Esperanza 'Hopey' Glass, and Ray Dominguez – in the critically-acclaimed series Love and Rockets," says Carter, who has used Hernandez's The Education of Hopey Glass in his "Teaching the Graphic Novel" graduate course at UTEP. Hernandez will discuss how the Southwest, from California to Texas, and Chicano/a issues influence his work.

The event is open to the public and admission is free. Mature themes and images may be discussed, so parents may wish to accompany young children.

The event is co-sponsored by the English Department, the Dean’s Office in the College of Liberal Arts, the Center for Inter-American and Border Studies, the Sam Donaldson Center in the Department of Communication, and the Art Department.

For more information, contact event organizer James Bucky Carter at jbcarter2@utep.edu or 915-747-6243

MakeBeliefsComix.com Unveils New Features to Help ESL, Literacy Students Write, Read and Tell Stories Online

PR from Bill Zimmerman, Creator of MakeBeleifsComix.com and all-around good guy:

Dear reader,

Some good news to share with you! MakeBeliefsComix.com has launched a new version of its educational comics web site with added features to enrich the experience of students as they write, read and tell comic strip stories online.

.We have increased the number of diverse fun comic characters to 20. Each character has four different emotions – happy, sad, angry, worried --that can be deployed in stories, for a total of 80 different faces and expressions. Users can select the ones they want and write words for blank talk and thought balloons to make characters talk and think.

.We have added a new function that displays 25 objects and environments that can go with the characters as stories are created. These objects include foods, hobbies, toys and sports equipment. In addition, there are trees, flowers, buildings, sun and moon. By adding these objects to the comic panels, students can create more complex, interesting stories and in so doing, practice new words. Seven languages, including English and Spanish, can be used on the site, and a teacher’s guide is provided -- http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/How-to-Play/Educators/.

.We have linked MakeBeliefsComix.com to our other web site, URL=http://www.billztreasurechest.com/, which features many free activities and idea prompts from my books to help reluctant writers express themselves. The activities range from providing subject prompts to encourage story and personal writing, to keeping a diary, to recording family oral histories, to creating paper memory quilts that depict students’ lives and achievements. Also featured are a writer’s prompt blog and many printables and templates for creating comic stories.

Since we launched MakeBeliefsComix.com three years ago, more than 1.6 million people from 180 countries have visited. We were selected by Google and UNESCO as among the world’s most innovative web sites that encourage reading and literacy and won Parents’ Choice Foundation Recommended Award.

Our site is used by educators to teach language, reading and writing skills, and also for students in English as a Second Language programs to facilitate self-expression and storytelling, as well as computer literacy. Some educational therapists use the online comics with deaf and autistic people to help them understand concepts and communicate. Parents and children can create stories together, print them to create comic books or email them to friends. 

Our site is free.

Please try the new features with your students and children and send us your feedback. We want to be the best educational web site we can be for you. We hope you will share what we are doing with your colleagues.

And you HAVE to check out this commentary on the site at work!:

The Beat Moves!

It's a sad day as The Beat, one of my favorite sources for comics news, closes its doors. But, when the comics god closes a door, he opens a window: The Beat will continue to cover comics news, just over at a new server and under a new name: Comics Beat. Unfortuntely, I think all the links I've posted from The Beat will not make the transfer, perhaps proof that when comics god opens a window, he Dutch ovens you a little bit first.....

Interview with Raini Telgemeier

Graphic Novel Reporter has an interview up with the author of the new graphic novel Smile. Based on my initial impressions, think Stitches, with teeth, but not as scary.

Media Literacy and the TeXes ELA Certification Exam

Today in my "Dramatic Modes of the English Language Arts" class we're focusing on media literacy. I'm adding a few new components to the unit this go 'round. We'll overtly discuss the fourth domain of the state certification test for secondary English teachers, which focuses on oral communication and media literacy. We'll also look at websites for NAMLE (National Association of Media Literacy Education) and the Media Awareness Network. These sites will supplement my typically Aristotelian take on how to analyze persuasive messages of all kinds and readings from Christel and Sullivan's cool book Lesson Plans for Creating Media-Rich Classrooms.

OK, OK. I admit it. I just needed a placeholder to keep my hyperlinks so they'd be in one spot, and the blog seemed like as good a place as any. However, as comics and graphic novels are media products, or artifacts, depending on how you look at it, they can and should be viewed through the lens of media literacy -- just not only through that lens, of course.

_SANE journal_ Earns ISSN, Issues First Call for Papers

Wow, online stuff sure does move quickly. I just received the official ISSN number for the journal from the Library of Congress; three prominent scholars have agreed to be members of the editorial advisory and review board (more invitations forthcoming); and that means we can go ahead and get the ball rolling. Here's hoping the momentum keeps up.

Please feel free to post/copy the following Call for Papers to any blog or individual you feel would be interested in it or might help get out the word.

CFP: First and Second issues of SANE journal: sequential art narrative in education
(ISSN 2153-2613)

SANE journal is now seeking submissions for works of research, practitioner-based articles, reviews, and rationales regarding its first two themed issues. Information about this new peer-reviewed, open access interdisciplinary journal covering all things comics-and-education-related, from pre-k to doctorate, can be obtained by visiting http://www.sanejournal.net/. For more information, e-mail James Bucky Carter: jbcarter2 at utep dot edu.

V1.1 (late 2010 release or per article as considered ready by review board): “Comics in the Contact Zone.”

Mary Louise Pratt defines the contact zone as “social spaces where cultures meet, clash and grapple with each other, often in the contexts of highly asymmetrical relations of power, such as colonialism, slavery, or their aftermaths as they are lived out in many parts of the world today” and where those involved in the educational experience may “reconsider the models of community that many of us rely on in teaching and theorizing and that are under challenge today.” Texts are social spaces, of course, and the comic book may be the best indicator of this fact. How do you see comics as meeting, clashing, and grappling with social issues in your classrooms when you teach them? How do comics illustrate contact zone precepts such as speech acts, transculturation, unsolicited oppositional discourse, autoethnography, and safe houses? How does the integration of comics themselves set up contact zones in the classroom? Which texts do you teach to get at notions associated with contact zone pedagogy? How does teaching a comics course set up a contact zone with professional colleagues, departments, university officials, etc? Articles should make explicit mention to contact zone theory and its component concepts. Deadline July 2010.

V1.2 (planned 2011 released or per article as considered ready by the review board): “Teaching the Works of Alan Moore.”

Alan Moore may be the most influential and controversial comics writer of the 20th and 21st centuries. How do you teach his complex, multilayered works in your high schools classrooms, your college courses, etc? What are the challenges associated with teaching his texts or specific texts and how do you and your students address them? Can they be addressed? How does his output “fit” with notions of literature, literary, canon, etc. as you teach them in your courses? Articles may cover several of Moore’s texts or focus specifically on one. Deadline October 2010.