Angoulême Comics Festival This Weekend
The Angoulême International Comics Festival, otherwise known as Festival International de la Bande Dessinée d'Angoulême — the largest comic festival or convention in all of Europe, will run this weekend. Taking place in the historic French town of Angoulême, home of the French national comics museum, the festival has run every year since 1974 and attracts around 200,000 visitors annually. Samples of the comics nominated for the festival’s annual awards can be read online here.
Darwyn Cooke comes to the Smithsonian
Acclaimed comics creator Darwyn Cooke will be appearing at the Smithsonian American Art Museum on January 30 to discuss and sign his bestselling graphic novel adaptation of Richard Stark’s classic noir novel The Hunter. During the presentation, he will read selections from the work, display his art for the graphic novel and explain his adaptation process. Beginning at 4 p.m., the talk will take place in the museum’s McEvoy auditorium. The Smithsonian American Art Museum is located in Washington, D.C. at the corner of F and 8th streets. Tickets to the event are free but limited to two tickets per person, and may be picked up at the G Street lobby an hour before the show. Details are available on the Smithsonian American Art Museum site here.
Diary of a Teenage Girl Off-Broadway Fundraiser with SNL Stars
Pheobe Gloekner’s graphic novel Diary of a Teenage Girl is being made into an off-Broadway show, with the help of a fundraiser January 31 featuring stars of Saturday Night Live. Guests performing at the “Beyond Funderdrome” comedy event include Seth Meyers, Fred Armisen, Will Forte, Abby Elliot and Jason Sudeikis, among others. Tickets are $85 for general admission, $150 for VIP tickets including pre-show drinks with the performers. The event will take place at the 3LD Arts and Technology Center at 80 Greenwich Street, New York, NY. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and the show begins at 8 p.m., with the V.I.P. pre-show drinks scheduled for 6:30 p.m. More details are available on the Diary of a Teenage Girl and the 3LD websites.
Cartoon Art Museum Presents “Batman: Yesterday and Tomorrow”
San Francisco’s Cartoon Art Museum will open its new exhibit “Batman: Yesterday and Tomorrow”, a collection of Batman artwork from various stages of the character’s evolution, on January 30. The exhibit includes art from Batman’s creators Bob Kane and Bill Finger, 1960’s Batman manga creator Jiro Kuwata, as well as influential artists Neal Adams, Frank Miller, Paul Pope and Pepe Moreno. More details are available on the Cartoon Art Museum’s site here. The Cartoon Art Museum is located at 655 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA and admission is $6 for adults, $4 for students and seniors, $2 for children 6-12 and free to children under 6.
Brooklyn Women in Comics
On January 28, the Brooklyn Public Library will host a special panel discussion on Brooklyn Women in Comics featuring locally-based comics creators Jillian Tamaki, Jessica Abel and Gabrielle Bell. Attendees will have a chance to see Abel, Bell and Tamaki show their current projects. PWCW’s own Calvin Reid will moderate the free event, which takes place at 7 p.m. in the Zweck Center of the Central Library, located at 10 Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, NY.
Peter Bagge and Comics Workshop at the Seattle Public Library
Concluding their month-long Comixstravaganza series of cartoon and comics programming, the Seattle Public Library will be presenting an afternoon double-feature of comics-themed events. First, Seattle-based comics creators David Lasky and Greg Stump will teach an all ages workshop on how to create your own comic book at 1 p.m., after which underground comics legend Peter Bagge is scheduled to talk about and sign his work at 3 p.m. Admission to both events is free and more information is available on the library’s website here. Both events will take place at the Seattle Public Library’s Central Library located at 100 4th Avenue, Seattle, WA.
Forbidden Planet Comes to the Internet
Forbidden Planet, the New York outpost of the British-based comics and memorabilia shop, has launched a new, full-service online web-store. ForbiddenPlanetUSA.com opened for business this week and comes complete with a flashy layout, a twitter account, a comics blog and the same extensive inventory as the bricks and mortar Forbidden Planet known by customers for over 28 years.
This Week @ Good Comics for Kids
This week School Library Journal’s blog Good Comics for Kids had the 2009 Good Comics for Kids review index, the ALA’s 2010 Great Graphic Novels for Teens list, a guest-post of recommended graphic novels from literacy expert Peter Gutierrez, a links roundup by Brigid Alverson about Jellaby, Smile and The Olympians.
This Week @ The Beat
This week Heidi MacDonald’s blog The Beat, hosted by Publishers Weekly, looked into the speculation about DC’s new publisher and retailer reactions to Marvel’s controversial Siege vs. Blackest Night stunt, covered the massive demand for the as-yet-unpublished Twilight graphic novel, linked the new Twart art blog featuring art from Francesco Francavilla, Andy Kuhn, Steve Bryant and many more, announced the winners of this year’s SPACE prizes as well as the nominees for the Comicspro Industry Appreciation Awards, links a current events cartoon from Taiwan which turned squabbling late night stars into superheroes,
