Wednesday, August 03, 2016

Aug 12: Animezing! with Special Guest: MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM III Encounters in Space



Join us for the epic conclusion of the SUMMER OF GUNDAM at the JICC!
Join us for the epic conclusion of the SUMMER OF GUNDAM at the JICC!
JICC Logo
The JICC is excited to present the epic conclusion of the MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM Movie Trilogy!
And don't miss a special pre-film presentation by JAXA! 
With the conflict between the Federation and Zeon nearing an end, the battlefield moves to space. Gundam pilot Amuro Ray begins to realize his Newtype abilities, but first he must face off against the formidable Char Aznable and experience a fateful encounter with the mysterious Lalah. Who will be left standing? The stirring finale to this historic series!
Japanese w. English Subtitles | Not Rated | 1981
Note: There will be a brief recap of the first two films at the beginning of this film. Recommended for ages 13+
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
Is Gundam Our Future? How far have we come?
A Special Pre-Film Presentation by Isao Kotani of JAXA, Washington DC

Isao Kotani, the Deputy Director of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in Washington DC, will be joining us for a special short presentation before the epic conclusion of the MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM trilogy. He will be discussing technological advances related to GUNDAM in the real world.
Prior to coming to Washington DC, Isao Kotani was a research engineer at both the Tanegashima and Tsukuba Space Centers. There he worked on development on the H-IIB, Epsilon, and H3 rockets, as well as working on ground facility design for assembly and launch. 
The film will begin at 6:30PM. The pre-film presentation will begin at 6:00 PM. Please join us for this unique opportunity! 
You are invited to
Friday, August 12th, 2016
from 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM (EDT)
Japan Information and Culture Center, Embassy of Japan
1150 18th Street Northwest
Suite 100
Washington DC 20036 US
REGISTER HERE!
Event venue map
This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. 

*** When registering you may receive an email asking you to "Activate your Eventbrite account" if you have never used Eventbrite before. It is NOT necessary to activate an account for you to attend this event and you may ignore this email from Eventbrite. ***

In the event of a cancellation, please contact us at jicc@ws.mofa.go.jp.

The pre-film presentation begins at 6:00 PM. Film screening begins at 6:30PM.
No admittance after 7:00PM or once seating is full.

Registered guests will be seated on a first come, first served basis. Please note that seating is limited and registration does not guarantee a seat.
Featured Events
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1150 18th Street NW, Suite 100 | Washington, D.C. 20036-3838
TEL: 202-238-6900 | FAX: 202-822-6524 |
jicc@ws.mofa.go.jp

© 1991-2016 Japan Information & Culture Center, Embassy of Japan




Aug 17: J-Film: Sue, Mai & Sawa

Join us for a free film at the JICC!
Join us for a free film at the JICC!
JICC Logo
The JICC and the Japan Commerce Association of Washington, D.C. are excited to present this heartwarming drama based on Masuda Miri's comic strip series!
Su-chan, Mai-chan, and Sawako-san once worked part-time together. Their friendship has remained unchanged for over ten years, but now they are in their thirties and harbor anxieties about where their futures will lead. Sue, Mai & Sawa offers a tender depiction of three women as they struggle with their careers, love lives, and more. 
Japanese w. English subtitles | Not Rated | 2013 | 106 Minutes | Drama/Comedy | Directed by Osamu Minorikawa
Starring Kou Shibasaki, Yoko Maki, and Shinobu Terajima
- WOMEN IN CINEMA HIGHLIGHT - 
Sachiko Tanaka, Screenwriter
Sachiko Tanaka studied at Tokyo University of the Arts where she apprenticed under film director Kiyoshi Kurosawa. In 2007 she received the Kido Shiro Award for her screenplay Natsu no Tabi. In 2008 for Tokyo Sonata, along with Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Max Mannix, Sachiko Tanaka received the award for Best Screenwriter at the 2008 Asian Film Awards and was nominated for Best Screenplay at the 2009 Asia Pacific Film Awards. [read more...]
You are invited to
Wednesday, August 17th, 2016
from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM (EDT)
Japan Information and Culture Center, Embassy of Japan
1150 18th Street Northwest
Suite 100
Washington DC 20036 US
REGISTER NOW!
Event venue map
This program is presented in cooperation with the Japan Commerce Association of Washington, D.C. and the Japan Foundation.
This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. 

*** When registering you may receive an email asking you to "Activate your Eventbrite account" if you have never used Eventbrite before. It is NOT necessary to activate an account for you to attend this event and you may ignore this email from Eventbrite. ***

In the event of a cancellation, please contact us at jicc@ws.mofa.go.jp.

Program begins at 6:30PM. No admittance after 7:00PM or once seating is full.

Registered guests will be seated on a first come, first served basis. Please note that seating is limited and registration does not guarantee a seat.
Featured Events
Facebook Instagram YouTube
1150 18th Street NW, Suite 100 | Washington, D.C. 20036-3838
TEL: 202-238-6900 | FAX: 202-822-6524 |
jicc@ws.mofa.go.jp

© 1991-2016 Japan Information & Culture Center, Embassy of Japan








PR: TODAY - $3 Silver Age Comic Sale! Wednesday, August 3rd - Beyond Comics Frederick




$3 SILVER AGE COMIC SALE!
Beyond Comics
TODAY!
Wednesday, August 3rd
Frederick Location Only!
2pm to 6pm
Don't miss this sale!

Tens of thousands of Silver Age comics available from $3.
Don't miss this chance to fill in gaps or check out new gems at a great price.

One Day ONLY and then they're Out!
Also Featuring A Selection of 
High Demand Silver Age Comics!
(And no, these are not just $3)
Beyond Comics
5632 Buckeystown Pike
Frederick, MD 21704
301-668-8202
www.beyondcomics.com
 
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Rep John Lewis a living example of civil rights heroics

The Rachel Maddow Show 8/2/16

Rep John Lewis a living example of civil rights heroics

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/rep-john-louis-sets-civil-rights-example-737114179596

Rachel Maddow shows Congressman John Lewis' leadership during the recent House Democratic sit-in over gun legislation, and extols the virtues of Lewis' "March" graphic novel trilogy. Duration: 5:50

Tuesday, August 02, 2016

One More Page Books remembers Richard Thompson

The kind, generous and very talented cartoonist and artist Richard Thompson (Cul de Sac, Richard's Poor Almanac) passed away last week due to the effects of Parkinson's disease. Richard was one of the first authors to appear at OMP - so early that the store was not quite open - and since then he has been a generous, gracious and wonderful friend to us. We can't put into words how much we'll miss his humor and friendship and many of you have shared the loss you feel. Our thoughts are with Amy, the girls, his family & his many, many, many friends.

If you'd like to help others with Parkinson's in honor of Richard, you can donate to Team Cul de Sac, part of the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.

One More Page Books 
2200 N. Westmoreland Street, #101
Arlington, VA 22213
703-300-9746    Visit our website
Mon-Sat: 10 am - 8 pm; Sun: noon to 5 pm

(excerpted from their August 2, 2016 newsletter)

PR: SPX 2016 Announces Special Guests Hanawalt, Brown, Burns and Glidden




For Immediate Release
Contact: Warren Bernard
Email: warren@spxpo.com
 
Small Press Expo Announces Lisa Hanawalt, Jeffrey Brown, Charles Burns and Sarah Glidden as Special Guests for SPX 2016
 
Bethesda, Maryland; August 2, 2016
Media Release - Small Press Expo is proud to announce Lisa Hanawalt, Jeffrey Brown Charles Burns and Sarah Glidden as special guests for SPX 2016. These guests are in addition those previously announced for the 40th Anniversary of Fantagraphics celebration; Daniel Clowes, Carol Tyler, Jim Woodring, Drew Friedman, Jaime & Gilbert Hernandez, Ed Piskor, SPX first timer Trina Robbins, and a rare festival appearance by Joe Sacco.
 
Hot Dog Taste Test serves up Lisa Hanawalt's devastatingly funny comics, saliva-stimulating art, and deliciously screwball lists as she skewers the pomposities of foodie subculture. From the James Beard award-winning cartoonist and production designer/producer of Bojack Horseman, Hot Dog Taste Test from Drawn & Quarterly dishes out five-star laughs, as Hanawalt keenly muses on pop culture, relationships, and the animal in all of us.
 
Jeffrey Brown is the bestselling author of Darth Vader and Son as well as the Jedi Academy series from Scholastic Books. He began his comics career with Clumsy and other autobiographical comics that chronicled everyday awkward and intimate moments from life. His new book, Lucy & Andy Neanderthal from Random House Kids, is a heavily researched middle grade story about prehistoric cavemen kids. He lives in Chicago with his wife and sons.
 
Charles Burns is renown for his epic graphic novel Black Hole, for which he won the Eisner, Ignatz and Harvey Awards. In addition to work in set design, posters and advertising, he has worked for such periodicals as Raw, The Believer and The New Yorker. SPX 2016 will see the debut of Last Look from Penguin Random House, which presents the Nitnit Trilogy of the previously published X'ed Out, The Hive and Sugar Skull in one volume.
 
Cartoonist Sarah Glidden accompanies her two friends—reporters and founders of journalism non-profit—as they research potential stories on the effects of the Iraq War on the Middle East and, specifically, the war's refugees. Joining the trio is a childhood friend and former Marine whose past service in Iraq adds an unexpected and sometimes unwelcome viewpoint, both to the people they come across and perhaps even themselves. The group travels across Turkey, Iraq, and Syria, with Glidden's observations resulting in her latest book, Rolling Blackouts, that will debut at SPX 2016 is published by Drawn & Quarterly.  Glidden (How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less) records all that she encounters with a sympathetic and searching eye. Painted in her trademark soft, muted watercolors and written with a self-effacing humor, Rolling Blackouts cements Glidden's place as one of today's most original nonfiction voices.
 
In the next few weeks, SPX will announce the international guests coming from all over the world to attend the show, the 2016 Ignatz nominees and a full slate of programming.
 
SPX 2016 takes place on Saturday and Sunday, September 17-18, and will have over 650 creators, 280 exhibitor tables and 22 programming slots to entertain, enlighten and introduce attendees to the amazing world of independent and small press comics.
 
Small Press Expo (SPX) is the preeminent showcase for the exhibition of independent comics, graphic novels, and alternative political cartoons. SPX is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit that brings together more than 650 artists and publishers to meet their readers, booksellers, and distributors each year. Graphic novels, mini comics, and alternative comics will all be on display and for sale by their authors and illustrators. The expo includes a series of panel discussions and interviews with this year's guests.
 
The Ignatz Award is a festival prize held every year at SPX recognizing outstanding achievement in comics and cartooning, with the winners chosen by attendees at the show.

As in previous years, profits from the SPX will go to support the SPX Graphic Novel Gift Program, which funds graphic novel purchases for public and academic libraries, as well as the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF), which protects the First Amendment rights of comic book readers and professionals. For more information on the CBLDF, visit their website at http://www.cbldf.org. For more information on the Small Press Expo, please visit http://www.smallpressexpo.com.



Comic Riffs on Suicide Squad comic book

There's a lot of sample pages of President Obama.

The Post on the Simpson's endorsement of Clinton

'The Simpsons' predicted a Trump presidency, but they won't be voting for him


Washington Post August  2 2016
, p. C2
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/08/01/the-simpsons-predicted-a-trump-presidency-but-they-wont-be-voting-for-him/

Mike Rhode on Richard’s Poor Almanac(k) by Richard Thompson (2011)

This is excerpted from Craig Fischer's Team Cul de Sac fundraising zine, Favorites (2011). I was just asked for a copy, so I'll put here for those interested. Since I wrote this, Andrews McMeel scanned all the original drawings Richard had in his studio (and he'd given away a decent amount of them before the scanning) and began running them on Go Comics.

Mike Rhode on Richard's Poor Almanac(k) by Richard Thompson

When I was young, I had favorite comics.

As I grew a bit older, I had favorite comics and creators.

As I dash into middle age, I have almost no favorite comics or creators. Because I find the world opened to me far more than I ever expected it could have, and I've read thousands of comic books, tens of thousands of comic strips and millions of words. And I've liked a lot of them. So I've picked one by someone I know.

To you, I'll recommend a comic (and book) that tens of thousands of Washingtonians enjoyed for years, but one that you may not have seen—Richard Thompson's Richard's Poor Almanac (or Almanack as it later became). From 1997 through 2009, Thompson did a weekly cartoon for the Washington Post about whatever struck him as amusing that week. Which may have included Saddam Hussein bobbleheads, the Dillinger Wing of the Smithsonian Institution, county fairs, potholes, closed restaurants, ambiguous toys, or cherry blossom lore. Many of these strips were tinted with watercolor, a technique never seen in comics anymore, because it takes too much time. But boy, did it look lovely, even when applied to a red-faced "Spring [who] became irritated when asked about her vivid outfit, a flowing, low- cut gown that barely contained her fertile figure," which led her to threaten, "Watch it or I'll put 3 feet of water in your basement!" as her first public appearance ended.  In four panels, Richard mocked the overly-familiar Washington press conference, zinged the local fixation on Cherry Blossom timing, and noted the change in seasons with tongue firmly in cheek. This cockeyed take on the world, in this case the arrival of spring, is typical of his Alamanc(k) strips, and leads to a large part of the enjoyment of the strip.  If you're curious about "Our Fireworks Heritage," seek out the 2004 collection of the panels and glory in "12 Months of Misinformation in Handy Cartoon Form."

The NY Times on March vol. 3

'March' Graphic Novel Revisits Civil Rights Movement in Rich Detail

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/02/books/for-younger-readers-march-revisits-civil-rights-movement-in-visual-detail.html

Charles Hatfield tribute to Richard Thompson

A third tribute by Charles Hatfield has been added to the Comics Journal page at http://www.tcj.com/tributes-to-richard-thompson/ , adding to those by Warren Bernard and Craig Fischer.

Andrew Aydin interviewed about March

Monday, August 01, 2016

The Post interviews Roz Chast

What's in Roz Chast's bag? A new ending to her best-selling book. [in print as Her need for closure no longer remains].


Washington Post August 1 2016, p. C1
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/whats-in-roz-chasts-bag-a-new-ending-to-her-best-selling-book/2016/07/31/8f3bac3c-54ce-11e6-b7de-dfe509430c39_story.html

Comic Riffs on Jack Davis

RIP Jack Davis, legendary sports cartoonist and MAD magazine artist


Washington Post Comic Riffs July 29
2016
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2016/07/29/rip-jack-davis-legendary-sports-cartoonist-and-mad-magazine-illustrator/

Anti-Trump designs by Auger

Looks like local cartoonist Michael Auger has designed a few more anti-Trump T-shirts.

 

Studio Ghibli film fest at Angelika at Mosaic


Yesterday I watched Tales from Earhsea at the Angelika Film Center, in the Mosaic District in Fairfax, VA. The film was part of the annual Studio Ghibli Film Festival, which happens every summer. I was fortunate to learn about this seasonal event last year, allowing fans like myself to view their favorite Studio Ghibli movies on the big screen. As in the case with yesterday, it was the first time I saw Tales from Earthsea, a film that is absolutely stunning on the big screen. One of my all time favorites - a Studio Ghibli classic and early Miyazaki film, was Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind - one I own on Blu Ray, but was able to fully appreciate after seeing and hearing it in a movie theater earlier this summer, at Angelika. It's good to note that last year, they didn't show Nausicaa, so I'm glad they decided to mix things up this time around!

As the schedule goes, each week they'll play a Studio Ghibli film twice, once on Saturday mornings at 11:00am, and again on Wednesday evenings at 7pm. On Saturdays, they'll show the English dubbed version, and on Wednesdays, for a film's second showing, they'll show the original Japanese version, with English subtitles. So, if I wanted to see Earthsea again, I could go this Wednesday evening and watch it in its original, Japanese form.

Sadly, this summer's line-up is almost done, however there a still a few more to see through August. If you're a fan of Studio Ghibli films, or great animation, or great movies in general, then get on over to the Angelika Film center at Mosaic before it's too late!

                                                                                                                  -Steve Loya

Flugennock's Latest'n'Greatest: "#DNCleaks"

From DC's anarchist cartoonist, Mike Flugennock:

"#DNCleaks"
http://sinkers.org/stage/?p=2010

At last report, there is absolute zero evidence that the Russians had squat to do with the recent Wikileaks dump of Democratic National Committee emails detailing the program of fraud and sabotage against the Sanders campaign. Still, that hasn't stopped all manner of Liberal Democratic mouthpieces like MSNBC shrieking at full throat about how "the Russians did it".

Actually, I think it's too bad that the Russians didn't do it, because ma-aan, would that have been some poetic justice.

Catholic University's Treasure Chest collection

Associate Archivist W.J. Shepherd has written a few articles:

The Archivist's Nook: Hark! The Digital Angel Comes!

The Archivist's Nook: Treasure Chest – Your Own Virtual Jesus


The Archivist's Nook: A Merry Treasure Chest Christmas to All!


Smithsonian American Art Museum on Pokemon

Pokémon Go: Games, Art, and Open Spaces at the Museum
July 13, 2016


http://eyelevel.si.edu/2016/07/pok%C3%A9mon-go-games-art-and-open-spaces-at-the-museum.html

Tributes to Richard Thompson

Tributes to Richard Thompson