Bushy-Eyed and Blurry-Tailed

I popped in for the opening session of yesterday's final day of the first 2007 CCS summer workshop, arriving in time to assemble and trim my own copy of the amazing World War Awesome comic we created, and for Robyn Chapman and James Sturm to snap some class photos (hey, Robyn and James, send me copies, I'll post 'em here!). World War Awesome is sweet, sweet creative chaos, and I enjoyed reading it again and again yesterday.

I enjoyed the first hour of James's session, then had to head out -- expecting to pick up Henrik earlier in the day. Continental Airlines had other plans!

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Our friend Henrik Andreasen arrived -- at last! -- at about 11:20 PM last night, after a day of plane delays (starting in Copenhagen) ensuring his Friday the 13th lived up (or down) to superstitious expectations many harbor about said day.

Still, he arrived safe and sound, nary a bit of luggage lost or damaged, so all is well. We drove under starry skies and through a bit of fog, got to Hacienda Bissettios around 1:30 AM this morning. Though Henrik hadn't slept in two days, we ended up talking all the way back, finding Marge still awake upon our arrival here; greetings, helped Henrik with his luggage up to his room, Marge showed him the lay of the land thereabouts and then we were all off to bed. Not in one big bed, wiseass -- Henrik has the guest room, we have our room.

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Killing time while Henrik's departure from Newark was delayed again and again, I ducked into a cinema to catch Live Free or Die Hard, the one movie in town Marge had no interest in seeing with me (and I'm saving Transformers to see with Jon-Mikel later this week). It proved to be a completely efficient and engaging time-waster aided immeasurably by the fellow in his 60s sitting about four seats away from me on my right.

He and I both began to laugh heartily at the film's most outrageous action setpieces, which became outrageous almost instantly after the fairly believable opening act. The shared high hilarity proved contagious and appropriate to the film. By the time Bruce Willis was cranking an eighteen-wheeler while targeted by Air Force firepower, we were in hysterics and practically crying with laughter. A fine time had by all, and a woman sitting in the stadium seats above us thanked us on the way out for improving her evening: "you guys got me in the spirit, I wouldn't have enjoyed it nearly as much as I did without you in the theater!" Better than having someone punch us in the collective nose, mind you.

With Harry Potter's latest opus also playing in the same cineplex, parking and getting to and from the ticket counter and then popcorn was a lengthy process. Still, all went well, time was duly killed, and then I was off to the airport for the final leg of the journey.

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Monday kicks off the second 2007 CCS Create Comics Workshop, which runs from July 16th to the 20th, with Robyn Chapman helming alongside visiting cartoonists and teachers -- extraordinary in both capacities! -- Alec Longstreth and Aaron Renier.

Alec, Aaron and Robyn are comic-making dynamos individually: as a team, they are more formidable than Bruce Willis in Live Free or Die Hard.

And I ain't shitting ya.
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Have a great Saturday, one and all!

World War Awesome is Here!

Yesterday was the penultimate day of The Center for Cartoon Studies first July 2007 workshop -- and it was a beehive of comics creativity, as we all cranked ourselves up and over the work needed to complete our collaborative 48+ page comic, World War Awesome!

Yep, that's the title the group voted onto the cover masthead of our massive collaborative comic scrimmage between the group's menagerie of characters.

I drew the final confrontation (three pages) between the last survivors, Spork and Wolor Burtle. I also re-introduced a character from the first round, due to a narrative loophole the storytellers of that particular page left dangling (and didn't notice until I pointed it out yesterday morning, much to their consternation). I also drew the cover, inked the back cover and Robyn Chapman's beguiling four-panel "L'il Sally meets Surly Snail" (originally intended to be an inking demo piece, nothing more -- hope it made the final editorial cut, but I won't know until I see the book myself), and typed up the credits page. Just doing my part, with Robyn jumping in and helming the afternoon session of intensive production which spilled well into the evening -- and will spill into this morning! Robyn Chapman and James Sturm are handling this morning's session, which will wind up this amazing whirlwind week of creativity, drawing and publishing in style.

It's been a lot of work and a lot of fun. It's been a pleasure to get to know and work with all the Create Comics 1 students -- Matthew Loiosa, John Woods, Liberty Roach, Rebecca Miller, Lee Williams, Dominick Cariddi, Ellen Langtree, Daniel Matthews, Michel Valdes, Nick Langley, Emily Kelly, Brendan Cornwell, Kyle Warren, Jonathan Gorga, Joseph Worthen, Tom Laurent, Dave Remillard and Cory Daniels (ages 16 through various stages of adulthood, including three teachers/professors). Kudos, one and all, and happy trails -- it would be my pleasure to see you and draw with you again.

We couldn't have done it without our stellar summer interns, Jon Chadurjian, Simon Reinhardt and Ellie Manny, who juggled many tasks all week and still contributed characters to World War Awesome! Simon played a critical role, coordinating the final cartography of clashes to ensure we arrived at the correct final face-offs in World War Awesome (and in a timely manner), a tall order given the plethora of characters and tag-team nature of the enterprise -- thanks, Simon, for keeping it all in order! I can't wait to hold a copy of World War Awesome in my hot little hands -- what a zine, what an accomplishment for this group!

In every corner of New England this week, comics are being created. I know CCS graduates Colleen Frakes and Adam Staffaroni are working in various comics camps -- Colleen is somewhere in New Hampshire this week, filling in for N.E.'s busiest cartoonist Marek Bennett, who (click here) is busy with another comics camp in Keene, NH!

The buzz is in the air, the ink's on the fingers, and the images and word balloons are spilling off the pages.

If you've the inclination and energy, join the beehive -- and if not this summer, next summer. We've already had four returnees (Dan, Liberty, Tom and Simon were part of prior CCS summer workshops, happily back for more), and I've no idea who or what next week will bring.

Looking forward to the people, the energy and the comics next week...
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It has arrived!

Dr. Ulrich Merkl's massive, marvelous Dream of the Rarebit Fiend has arrived -- and what an incredible book it is.

This hefty, lavishly-produced and bound book boasts 464 glorious pages and over 1000 illustrations, with the first 135+ pages alone dedicated to a rigorous overview of McCay's life, work and career; the precursors to, and imitators of, McCay's pioneering Dream strip; the influences of Dream on the pop culture (with many delicious frame blow-ups from the films and animated cartoons placed side-by-side with the relevant McCay panels), from Salvador Dali and Luis Bunuel's L'Age D'Or to Walt Disney's Dumbo and beyond -- and then, the strips themselves! Over 300 pages of the Dream of the Rarebit Fiend strips, beautifully restored and reproduced, showcased in their original chronological order, footnoted and indexed for handy cross-referencing (based on associative content, imagery, etc.).

Do you have a shelf big enough for this book? Trust me, you do!

Simply put, this is the comics archival book of the year, an essential text for all comics fans, creators, historians and archivists; for all Winsor McCay fans; for all libraries; for -- well, for you. Yes, it's pricey ($114 plus shipping, from NJ), but it's worth every penny of its price, and a bargain at that. It's also an absolutely essential companion to Peter Maresca's Little Nemo in Slumberland: So Many Glorious Sundays! in every way.

I first wrote about Dr. Merkl's book this Monday (click here to revisit that post),

and am conducting an email interview with Dr. Merkl (as I did with Peter Maresca about his 2005 masterwork Winsor McCay's Little Nemo in Slumberland: So Many Splendid Sundays!) to post next week, with more info on the man, the dream, the dreams and the tome.

But I urge you all not to wait for that post to get excited. This is a simply stunning book -- and there's only one place to order your copy -- now! -- and that's here, at Dr. Merkl's website. Note he is generously offering discounts for bulk purchases (two or more), so find someone to order with you. Whatever you do this month, set aside the $114 (plus shipping) needed for this book, and get your copy now!

FYI, this is not an ad -- I get nothing from this, and bought my own copy, mind you. This is an enthusiastic recommendation from a fellow reader of the book, and devoted McCay and comics scholar.

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The entire deck enclosure is now framed, the roof going on -- good progress from our contractors in just two days. But we'll miss today's efforts -- we're off this morning to pick up our incoming guest from Denmark; he's flying into Burlington at some point today (alas, his arrival is already delayed due to a canceled flight from Copenhagen, but he'll still be here before midnight!), and we'll be there to pick him up.

I don't know what the rest of Friday the 13th has in store for us here, but I hope it's nothing but roses for all of you --

Have a Great Friday, and a fantastic mid-summer weekend!

Makin' Comics!

Contractors Bill and Mike Trombley are hammering and nail-gunning outside, getting the roof of the deck on; I was up and had my morning chores completed by 6:30, just in time for Bill and son Mike's arrival.

They got a lot done yesterday, despite the rains; the vinyl siding removed from the work area facing, the walls framed and up, and a bit more. I lugged the scraps down to put out with our garbage this morning, and today promises to be a sunny day all day, so it'll be interesting to see how much goes up today. Marge is overjoyed this is all happening, and we're looking forward to enjoying the new addition to the home by the end of next week.

Dave Gabriel will be back up next week, sheet rocking the rest of the basement at last (he's had to wait for me to clear the last of my boxes from that end of the basement area; it's about done) -- then, the rest of the shelving and the small office area will go in. I still have to paint the rest of the basement floor, too, between now and two weekends from now -- it'll all get done.

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Thursday AM, Day Four of this summer's first Center for Cartoon Studies summer workshop. Yesterday was a heady day of drawing, coordinating and keeping everyone on task (not a hard job) as the rain and lightning came and went outside.

The magnum opus of this first workshop (the second, separate workshop next week will have its own epic comic creation marathon) is a variation on a mega-battle comic assignment James Sturm had cooked up for his freshman Cartooning class this past spring. To ensure a multitude of imaginary participants, and the full participation of everyone in our class (18 students this time around; we aim for 20-25, so this is a great quorum), the exercises leading up to this two-day-comic-creation/publishing marathon included (a) creating 'composite creatures,' a pair of 'em, from which each student chose their favorite and named it; (b) creating two additional characters, a hero/protagonist and villain/protagonist.

Thus, Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, I created a 'game chart' featuring combos of every character, using the creatures as villain 'sidekicks' or minions -- choose your poison. This ensured a lively mix of characters, and ensured too we could make sure no one worked on a character they'd created (hence, had a stake in ensuring survived), as I assigned the initial matches. It was up to each team of two whether the characters assigned were in conflict, harmony, clashing or simply meeting -- all that mattered is that they determined which character or characters survived the encounter to make it to the next level.

Some teams were surprisingly productive, getting through two (even three!) laps by lunch, others creating more than one page for each encounter; others took their time with their page or pages, focusing on care and quality over quantity. Everyone has done a tremendous amount of work, and the results are very cool.

By the end of the day, we had two teams of 4 and one of 5 ready to leap into major matches of long-surviving characters to kick off their work this morning, and one more team of two to turn in their second effort. Lively fun, all the way around! By 4:30 PM, when class ended, we had 32 completed pages on the wall and a student-penciled back cover (by Brendan, and it's a good one) I've inked this morning.

Thus far, Jumbo Arachnopian, Insecta Bear, Mechanical Menace, Ligleish, Purepeace and Apewolf, Mrs. Wasp and Cuddles, John Glenn (the aging astronaut), Sloppy Joe, Captain Cannon, Bobby Foliage, The Lobbyist, Kirk the Alien, The Businessman, Robert the Shy Ninja of Good, Zog the Destroyer, Dr. Deathskull McDeathyDeath, Babrar, Stickfigure Satan and The Meep, Louis (from the planet Omega-Dufin), The Bear Guy, Sticky Monktil and Vortor have snuffed it -- and that was just the first round. More have bitten the virtual dust since, while diehards like Wolor Burtle, Beekeeper and Beelock, Jenkins & Wade and the minimalist but tough-as-nails One Bad Mother are riding high, but that all changes for most of 'em this morning.

It's going to be a wild morning! We also vote on our comic's title from a list of potential names posted in front of the classroom all day yesterday -- then we get cooking on the cover title logo, cover, and other components.

This afternoon, Robyn Chapman supervises the publishing workshop, turning the raw material into a completed, printed, saddle-stitched 8 1/2" x 11" comic zine: the product of the entire class's work together. Everyone goes home with a copy of the comic they had an active hand in, featuring their characters: a real high for many of these young and young-at-heart cartoonists!

Robyn wrote and penciled a four-panel, one-page humor strip, ostensibly for my inking demonstration -- but now that it's done, I'm hoping we can incorporate the strip into the final zine as our sort-of Murray Boltinoff 'gag' comic page. We'll see. Whatever shape the final comic takes, I'm looking forward to it...

OK, off to work. Have a Great Thursday, one and all!

Deck the Halls --

Well, actually, Deck the Deck. This morning at 6:30, work began on Marge's outdoor screened-in porch, constructed on the house's back deck. This has been Marge's key construction project for our new Windsor home, as work continues on my basement library/office through July and August. We're here, but we're getting there.

Lightning and thunderstorms hammered our neck of New England all day yesterday; at one point, the rain was coming down so hard, the CCS summer workshop students broke from drawing and dashed to the front of the CCS Colodny Building to watch the spectacle of the downpour. By the time I headed home for dinner, a fire hose was dangling from the flat roof of the venerable Coolidge Hotel across the street, drooped down over two stories and spurting water in rhythmic bursts, like an artery. Hartland, betwixt White River Junction (home of CCS) and our home in Windsor, suffered heavy wind, hail and lightning damage, splintering trees, downing power poles and lines, and basically trashing the burg. Luckily, no one was hurt.

We're still resetting clocks and checking the damage around our digs. So far, a little water in the basement (nothing of consequence, and nothing structurally wrong) and swelling of the front door frame seems to be the only issues here -- we've lucked out thus far. More storms are predicted for today, with sunny weather tomorrow, and a respite.

The big local news is Springfield, VT winning 20th Century Fox's Simpsons movie premiere competition, beating out Springfield IL (second place) and my pal Marty Langford & his crew, who produced a corker short campaigning for Springfield MA (placing fourth) -- hmmmm, did Senator Kennedy's appearance and email for votes help -- or hinder?

Off to CCS for day three of the summer comics creation workshop. Having laid the groundwork, we're going great guns into making comics all day long, with Robyn Chapman supervising the hands-on production & publication of the comic itself tomorrow. Wish us all luck!

Have a great Wednesday, one and all.

Short Stuff

Having soared through yesterday on just three hours sleep, I crashed early last night and slept almost 12 hours. Whew! Feeling well rested this AM!

We had a great first day for the workshop; started a bit slow, but by the afternoon I think most of the students were feeling their sea legs and we were cruising. Over a half dozen (of 18) showed up last night to construct the cardboard city for today's morning exercise, and that was fun -- I was there for about half of it, but too pooped to participate fully, though we enjoyed conversation as the construction excellerated (two heliports!).

Day Two of the CCS summer workshop ahead, and no time to post this morning, save for this -- so, have a great Tuesday, and I'll try to make up for it tomorrow.