Cartoonists killed in France

If you've been listening to the news, then you know that twelve people at the satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo were killed today. They included five cartoonists, including the magazine's editor. At least eleven others were wounded.

The cartoonists were Charb (editor Stéphane Charbonnier), Cabu (Jean Cabut), Georges Wolinski, Tignous (Bernard Verlhac), and Honoré (Philippe Honoré).

Wolinski received the Grand Prix of Angoulême in 2005. There's a great article about him, and about cartooning in France, here. I didn't know about him. According to a quick Google search, his cartoons seem to be mostly just really racy.

The always-edgy magazine took pride in knocking over revered figures of all stripes, but its treatment of Islam is probably the most controversial. In 2012, the magazine courted outrage among Muslims by publishing cartoons of Muhammad, causing France to close embassies and schools in over 20 countries out of fear of reprisals (and causing the editor to be guarded by a police officer, who was also killed today). The cartoons were derisive, insulting and in at least one case obscene. And even if they hadn't been, just depicting the face of Muhammad is not done by observant Muslims.

But injunctions like that are to Charlie Hebdo like a red rag to a bull -- particularly where Islam is concerned. France (the white part, that is) has a long and problematic relationship with Islam and Muslims (see "The Battle of Algiers" and the entire 20th century).

The shooting has done little to stir sympathy for anyone offended by the cartoons. Both the French and American governments have condemned the shooting as an act of terrorism and as a doomed attempt to stifle free speech. Thousands of people have chanted or posted "Je suis Charlie!" ("I am Charlie!") in solidarity.

There's a big conversation we could have about the role of cartoonists in liberal democracies. Is a cartoonist meant to knock down anything that someone else puts on a pedestal, out of spite for pedestals? Or does there need to be more to it than that? If a cartoonist doesn't take a swing when she sees an opening, even or especially when it would cause an outcry, is she allowing herself to be censored?

Without excusing the slaughter in any way, I think that Charlie Hebdo (and before them, the Dutch magazine Jyllands-Posten) acted in a childish and oppositional way. Someone said "Don't draw Muhammad," and so they drew the most disgusting cartoons of Muhammad they could think of. Yeah, it's their right, but it's happening in a larger context of French people saying Muslims suck, and that French Muslims aren't altogether French. You don't have to hurl insults in someone's face to establish your freedom of expression. And publishing the cartoons didn't exactly advance the conversation between moderates and extremists -- in France or anywhere else.

But that's academic now. Now, things have gone tragic. Now, twelve people are dead -- including four cartoonists. The world is poorer without them.

Cartoon Crossroads Columbus "Launch Event" in 2015

Happy 2015! There's not a lot of information out there yet about Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC), but here's what I've been able to glean from CBR and their own Tumblr:

CXC will be a four-day festival of comic strips, comic books, editorial cartoons and animation -- pretty much everything you can describe with the word "cartoons."  The organizers are Tom Spurgeon, Jeff Smith, Lucy Caswell and Vijaya Iyer. Smith is the president and artistic director, and Spurgeon is the festival director. Spurgeon is moving to Columbus to help organize the event.

Although the festival starts in 2016, they're having a two-day "launch event" this fall, on October 2nd and 3rd. The first day will be hosted at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum, and the second day will be at the Columbus Cultural Arts Center. The second day is a comics expo, with up to 35 exhibitors. Sounds pretty small to me! (Comics creators, I can only imagine that those 35 slots will go pretty fast.)

When Smith spoke about the festival at ICAF, he talked about how most comics conventions happen in a windowless room in a hotel, which the attendees and exhibitors never leave, and how it could be in pretty much any city in the world. He contrasted that with the Angoulême Comics Festival, where the city gets involved and kind of makes it a civic event. He said he'd like Columbus to have something like what Angoulême has. That's a high bar, but the four people behind this know how to get stuff done.

In the initial CXC press release, Smith says he wants to "bring a first-class comics festival to Columbus." There's certainly that the city has to offer, including the Billy, the film theater at the Wexner Center, the Cultural Arts Center, CCAD, and all the comics creators we know and love.

ICAF Retrospective

This past November, the Billy Ireland Cartoon Art Library and Museum hosted the 2014 International Cartoon Arts Festival. This amazing festival happens in a different place every year, and it was so great to see it in Columbus this year: to be able to walk out my back door and attend some amazing lectures and talks.

ICAF has their own "ICAF 2014 in Review" page, so this post is really about my own recollections. I attended some very academic lectures: about the influence of Rodin's "Gates of Hell" on Hellboy, the portrayal of women's bodies in Jaime Hernandez's half of Love & Rockets, different kinds of post-apocalypse stories in comics (including why Y the Last Man sucked), and a really cool comic book about an Arab-French kid with polio, Petit Polio by Farid Boudjellal. And that was just Saturday morning! Work kept me from being able to go on Thursday or Friday. Who knows what I could've seen.

Saturday afternoon saw a wonderful conversation between Jeff Smith and Tom Spurgeon. I've been kind of a Jeff Smith groupie since 1994, often hovering around his table or his talks at cons, usually too shy to say anything. This time, I asked a question which he answered in satisfying detail, about the times that Bone's plot got away from him -- in both good ways (the Great Cow Race) and bad (the giant bees in Atheia). He's always an engaging speaker and generous with his time.

At the end of the conversation, Smith and Spurgeon announced their plans for a Columbus-based (and Columbus-themed) comics/cartooning festival in 2016, called Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC). That is super exciting and it deserves its own post -- so more about that later.

Then that evening, Congressman John Lewis spoke about his work in civil rights, starting with his days in the '60s marching to Washington with Martin Luther King. Sweet Honey in the Rock sang. It was inspirational -- but I was also very glad to hear the sweet, self-deprecating Nate Powell say a few words about his process in making the comic book March, a biography of Lewis. He showed some giant slides with his layouts and pencils.

It turns out my wife (who works at OSU) knows Jeremy Stoll, who was involved with ICAF and who created the anthology Dogs! containing work by American and Indian cartoonists. So Saturday night, my wife and I went and had a drink with him. It turned out to also be with a pretty big group of other comics people, including Spurgeon (whom I found out only that weekend is an important part of comics journalism and the force behind The Comics Reporter) and Caitlin McGurk of the Billy. I'm ashamed to say that I spent a good deal of my time letting Jeremy and my wife talk to each other while I eavesdropped on Spurgeon's and McGurk's conversation about what's wrong with comics ... a rambling back and forth that I barely remember now. I hope I wasn't creepy.

All in all, a great day that left me in awe of how much is going on in Columbus. Sometimes this place seems like the place to be for comics. Who knew?!

John Porcellino Documentary

ROOT HOG OR DIE : A JOHN PORCELLINO & KING-CAT COMICS DOCUMENTARY 

Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum Jean and Charles Schulz Lecture Hall (room 220)Friday, September 26 at 7pm

The "king" of small press comics, (and frequent S.P.A.C.E. exhibitor), John Porcellino will be coming to Columbus in support of the new documentary about his life and work in comics, Root Hog Or Die. The film, directed by Dan Stafford, features intimate and candid conversations with John as well as over twenty interviews with his friends, fellow cartoonists, bandmates, admirers, and confidantes.

Root Hog Or Die will be showing in the Jean and Charles Schulz Lecture Hall (room 220) on Friday, September 26, 2014 at 7:00 PM. Don't miss out on experiencing this rare and wonderful opportunity!

For twenty-five years, John Porcellino has been self publishing King-Cat Comics & Stories, a black & white (generally) 32 page comic/zine. His collected stories have been published by Drawn and Quarterly, and his work has appeared in McSweeney's, The Best American Comics, Kramer's Ergot, the Anthologies of Graphic Fiction, and in countless other anthologies and collections.

Say "Hi!" to our NEW *NEW* Monthly Meeting place: The Wild Goose!

As wonderful as it was having a Sunday Comix meeting at The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum in February, and as hopeful as we all were to be able to utilize that wonderful space and fill it with cartoonists and comics creators on a month-to-month basis, alas... it was not meant to be.  The details aren't important. What is important is we have found a new home (and hopefully this one will last): The Wild Goose Creative!

Wild Goose Creative is both a resource and a gathering place (and so much more) for local artists, audiences, and creative people. With a multipurpose creative space at 2491 Summit Street that is sometimes a gallery, sometimes a school, a kitchen table, a living room, a concert hall, or a dance floor, Wild Goose Creative cultivates the creation of excellent and surprising art. Members of Sunday Comix have a history of good experiences with the WGC and we're looking forward to a more engaging and invigorating future together.

Say "HI!" to our new monthly meeting home: The Billy

Yesterday, February 16th was a special day for Sunday Comix-- it was our first meeting held at The Billy Ireland Library & Museum! The turn-out for our inaugural get-together in our new digs was nothing short of spectacular. Over 30 Columbus comics creators and enthusiasts gathered in the Will Eisner Seminar Room of The Billy and got to know each other, talked about comics and some shared works-in-progress or completed comics.

Below are some pics from the meeting and there are lots more on the Sunday Comix Facebook site.

If you make comics in Columbus and want to connect with others who do the same, Sunday Comix at The Billy is the place to be! We're open to all!

Special thanks to Ken Eppstein for helping to guide the meeting in a forward direction and to Canada Keck and Evette Langford for the tasty treats & drinks!

Celebrate Comics in the Short North

I received a pretty awesome email today from my friend, Jean, who works at the Wexner Center. Jean loves comics and she loves Columbus (it's no wonder that she's my friend!). For the past year, she's been working with musician/cartoonist Julian Dassai to put together a pretty cool project called The Weinland Park Story Book. The book is a collection of stories from residents of Weinland Park that have been turned into comics. (The explanation of the project/solicitation for Weinland residents to share their stories is pretty cute.) A few Sunday Comixers are participating as illustrators (myself included).

But y'know what?

This post isn't about the book. It's about one particular page of the book titled "Good Morning."  The story is about a family, a little bird and memorable morning. It was written by Naddir and adapted it into a playful comics page by Katie Velaska. (You can buy her utterly sweetastic book, Next Year's Girl, here!)

Okay, but guess what? This post isn't even about that. It's about this:

The Short North Alliance is unveiling a new series of murals that are giant “stickers” (12ft X 10ft) which will be placed (temporarily) on buildings throughout the Short North.  Naddir and Katie's comic page is going to be one of those murals! How cool is that??? The mural will be featured at the corner of 5th and High on the Dress for Success building across from Out of the Closet.

There will be a reception on Friday, February 28th from 5:30-8PM in Ray’s Living Room located at 17 Brickel St (a stone's throw away from Rigsby's Kitchen and Tasi Cafe).  There are a number of other murals to see all around the neighborhood and sponsoring galleries will be open and have snacks and drinks for everyone to enjoy!

Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum - Visiting Via Video

Want to see the World's Largest Collection Of Cartoon Art? If you live in Columbus, it's easy! You can simply get yourself to 1813 N. High Street Columbus, OH 43210 and visit The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum to see all it has to offer (it's got lots and lots)!

Here's a preview of what "The Billy" has in store...










...and, if you don't live here, c'mon and visit!

Videos provided by OSUexperts.

And... for the heck of it, check out these videos from The Billy's Grand Opening Celebration.

Part I: This historic lecture (Ohio State University) by Beetle Bailey artist Brian Walker took place at the opening of the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum.

Part II: Artwork from the opening exhibit at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum at Ohio State. See examples of animation, political cartoons, comic strips, graphic novels and gag cartoons. Artwork from DC, Marvel, and the American's Sunday comics section are on display. Artist such as Will Eisner, Rube Goldberg, Joe Kubert, Walk Kelly, Bil Keane, Windsor McCay, Charles Schultz. And examples of comic strips such as Blondie, Prince Valiant, Brenda Starr, Beetle Bailey, Dick Tracy, Popeye, Steve Canyon,

Videos provided by Lost Art Student

"PANELS IN PINK"--New Comic Art Exhibit At Wild Goose Creative

"Panels In Pink: A Celebration of Female Comics Creators" is a new exhibition  spotlighting the work of several female comics artists and writers, mostly from in and around the Central Ohio area.  The exhibit, produced in co-operation with Sunday Comix and curated by SC member Canada Keck, will be adorning the walls of local arts space Wild Goose Creative, located at 2491 Summit Street, from now until the end of the month.  

Among the creators represented are:

• Lora Innes
• Mari Naomi
• Katherine Wirick
• Suzanne Bauman
• Bianca Alu-Marr
• Katie Valeska
• Alex Heberling
• Maryanne Rose Papke
• Molly Durst
• Crystal Ash
• Brandy Foster
• Sue Olcott
• Caitlin McGurk
• Meg Syverud
• Erin Ash
• KT Swartz
• Lis Huey
• JL Smither
• Kira Keck
• Canada Keck

 An artists' reception, sure to be attended by many of the talented women listed above, is scheduled for April 29 from 6 until 9 p.m.

Petition to make Superman the Official Superhero of Ohio

America's 50 states have all sorts of State symbols that represent our cultural heritage and natural treasures. The official State Tree of Ohio is the Aesculus Glabra (or, as it's more commonly known, the Ohio Buckeye). Our official state bird is the Cardinal and our official flower is the Scarlet Carnation. We also have an official animal (White-Tailed Deer), Insect (Ladybug), Gemstone (Ohio Flint) and reptile (Black Racer). Last week, Mark Butler of the Ohio Historical Society created a petition to get an official State Superhero  on that list of Official State symbols. For any comic book lover, there should be no surprise which one it is-- Cleveland's most famous (adopted) son, Superman.

"Superman was created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio," states Butler in the petition. "Superman is a cultural icon that transcends comic books. We want the State of Ohio to recognize Superman and his creators and celebrate Superman's roots in the Buckeye state."

Mr. Butler is a Project Coordinator in the Educational Partnerships and Outreach Department of the Ohio Historical Society. According to his personal website, Mark "provides fun and engaging teacher training to demonstrate how primary resources can make history come alive. He fell in love with history while visiting the Ohio History Center as a youth. He is happy to share this enthusiasm with educators and students. He also is passionate about comic books, which he, much to the chagrin of his colleagues, also enjoys sharing."

Superman is heralded as the first superhero. Hopefully, with enough signatures, the "Man of Tomorrow" will become the first official state superhero. Those interested in signing the petition can do so at http://www.change.org.