In the 1980’s I drew the occasional cartoon for the San Francisco Bay Guardian, an alternative weekly newspaper. Trina Robbins, the great underground cartoonist, drew a strip for them, too. We never met until last month at Pittsburgh’s PIX comics convention. Trina is the foremost expert on the history of women in comics. Her newestContinue reading “Pretty in Ink: Trina Robbins Schools Me on Women in Comics”
Category Archives: cartooning
Get Down: BOX BROWN is on a roll
COME SEE BOX BROWN! “How to Make Comics Every Day and Still Be Alive” -Box Brown, Sept 17th Sharadin Arts Bldg. Kutztown U, Rm 120, 7pm. Free! This is the same talk he is giving at the Library of Congress earlier in the week. I met cartoonist Box Brown at MOCCA. He is the creatorContinue reading “Get Down: BOX BROWN is on a roll”
Andre the Giant is BIG!
I was reading multiple great books: a novel set in Mexico; a literary biography; a history of the U.S invasion of Iraq. Then I opened a padded envelope to find a review copy of Box Brown’s Andre the Giant: Life and Legend. Those other books got thrown out of the ring. Looking at theContinue reading “Andre the Giant is BIG!”
The Man from The Thought Cloud Factory
We are all different, but Theo Ellsworth is more different. I met the artist at Pittsburgh’s Toonseum where his enchanting one-man show hangs through April 30. He calls his studio The Thought Cloud Factory. He came to Pittsburgh from his home in Montana to participate in PIX, the Pittsburgh indy press expo. Big Sky countryContinue reading “The Man from The Thought Cloud Factory”
AdHouse at PIX
Went to the PIX 2014 this weekend. PIX is Pittsburgh’s indy press expo of creator-owned, self-published, small-press, and handmade comics. Not the biggest expo I’ve seen, but I had a blast. One of the first people I met at PIX was graphic designer and publisher Chris Pitzer of AdHouse Books. Chris told me he launchedContinue reading “AdHouse at PIX”
SCOM: Man & Monsters in Mexico
SCOM stood in a doorway in Oaxaca and told us some hairy stories of his life as a graffiti artist. He grew up in L.A. His mother came from a remote village in Oaxaca. As a kid, he was George. Sometimes his Mom would bring him to visit family in Oaxaca. One day, his L.A.Continue reading “SCOM: Man & Monsters in Mexico”
Covarubbias, more than a Caricaturist.
You never know where you might find an illustrator. Museo Textil de Oaxaca is a jewel of a museum in the center of Oaxaca. The current exhibition, Gráfica textil de Miguel Covarrubias, focuses on the work of the influential Mexican caricaturist. Born in Mexico City in 1905, Covarubbias journeyed to New York City at ageContinue reading “Covarubbias, more than a Caricaturist.”
Daniel McCloskey, Smiling Artist Missing Teeth.
UPDATE: Dan’s Kickstarter got funded. Thanks. Julie Sokolow wrote a fine article at MichaelMoore.com that really helped. Full disclosure: That’s my boy! Daniel McCloskey is a cartoonist and founder of Pittsburgh’s Cyberpunk Apocalypse Writer’s Project. On Oct 22, Dan was riding his bike when his front wheel fell into a deep, narrow pothole. Dan flewContinue reading “Daniel McCloskey, Smiling Artist Missing Teeth.”
Bak’s Book: Island of Memory
The adventurous graphic novelist T. Edward Bak is coming to Kutztown University to speak about another adventurous explorer from the 18th century. Bak’s ‘Wild Man’ tour includes stops at the Center for Cartoon Studies in Vermont, SAW in Gainesville as well as KU. The KU event is Free. Boehm, Lecture Room 261, Tues. Nov. 19Continue reading “Bak’s Book: Island of Memory”
Paul Pope’s Battling Boy
Battlling Boy arrives to an earth-like place with some baggage, literally. He finds 12 T-shirts packed in his suitcase each bearing the image of a different animal. A smart kid, he realizes, “these were painted with inks made of pulverized moonblood! I am supposed to wear these into battle.” Each T-shirt imbues him with theContinue reading “Paul Pope’s Battling Boy”
Illustration Concentration 