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Stumptown Comics Fest 2013 Review: THE STRUMPET #2

THE STRUMPET #2 Cover by Jeremy Day

THE STRUMPET #2 Cover by Jeremy Day

What’s THE STRUMPET about, you ask? Well, it is a collection of comics showcasing female cartoonists. It follows in the footsteps of WHORES OF MENSA, an anthology that set the bar high on quality. Not only that, it brings together new talent from around the world. THE STRUMPET #3 is in the works and is currently seeking submissions with a deadline of September 1, 2013. Visit THE STRUMPET website HERE.

Let’s place our attention squarely upon the current issue, THE STRUMPET #2. It is edited by the multi-talented Ellen Lindner and Jeremy Day. All the cartoonist talent here bring together a cohesive and compelling collection with a travel theme in mind. What does travel mean to you? When was the last time you were on a trip? Just a few hours ago at your desk at work whilst you daydreamed? My word, did you think there was only one way to travel?? If you did, then catch yourself please because you’re due for an adventure and an education. Let the ladies from THE STRUMPET encourage, engage, and entertain you on all manner of thought and conjecture regarding the subject of travel.

This collection is 21 cartoonists strong: Patrice Aggs, Rachael Ball, Badaude, Juhyun Choi, Marguerite Dabaie, Jeremy Day, Shamisa Debroey, Lisa Rosalie Eisenberg, Karrie Fransman, Robin Ha, J Homersham, Kripa Joshi, Emily Ryan Lerner, Ellen Lindner, Tanya Meditzky, Kat Roberts, Alison Sampson, Maartje Schalkx, Julia Scheele, Nicola Streeten, and Myfanwy Tristram.

Did I miss anyone? Well, I certainly hope note. I feel like this is a very special endeavor and everyone contributed to make it so.

Let me share with you some of the work in this wonderful anthology.

"Mr. Murray" by Ellen Lindner

“Mr. Murray” by Ellen Lindner

Ellen Lindner’s wry sense of humor is spot on in this tale about the search for the seemingly elusive Mr. Bill Murray.

"Trenitalia" by Robin Ha

“Trenitalia” by Robin Ha

Robin Ha is full of wanderlust on this adventure on an Italian train.

"The 171 Bus Route" by Julia Scheele

“The 171 Bus Route” by Julia Scheele

Julia Scheele immerses us in this richly detailed look at a bus commute through London.

"Deaf" by Patrice Aggs

“Deaf” by Patrice Aggs

Patrice Aggs has a hilarious story to tell in this comedy of errors.

"Homesick" by Lisa Rosalie Eisenberg

“Homesick” by Lisa Rosalie Eisenberg

Lisa Rosalie Eisenberg’s “Homesick” is a deliriously wild ride that floats, flies, and dreams its way through to charming results.

"The Next Life of Ruzzell" by Kat Roberts

“The Next Life of Ruzzell” by Kat Roberts

Kat Roberts gives us a most inventive take on the concept of travel. It is full of magic and whimsy.

"Miss Moti Can Go Places" by Kripa Joshi

“Miss Moti Can Go Places” by Kripa Joshi

We end with the back cover by Kripa Joshi. She’s an engaging artist and this next issue’s co-editor with Ellen. We look forward to what results.

And be sure to pick up your copy of THE STRUMPET #2 which you can find HERE.

Stay tuned. There’s more to come from the Stumptown Comics Fest held in Portland, Oregon, April 27-28. That includes video interviews with Ellen Lindner and Robin Ha.

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Filed under Alternative Comics, Art, Comics, Comix, Ellen Lindner, Illustration, Independent Comics, Kickstarter, PDX, Portland, Publications, Publishing, Robin Ha, Self-Published, Stumptown Comics Fest, The Strumpet

The Return of AMAZING STORIES

First Issue of "Amazing Stories," April 1926

First Issue of “Amazing Stories,” April 1926

In some respects, the idea of “Amazing Stories” is more engaging than the actual publication. But that would be just looking at things too harshly, wouldn’t it? We are talking about science fiction and that requires a special sort of suspension of disbelief. It can be of the most sophisticated kind, mind you, since quality science fiction can hold its own with any literary form.

“Amazing Stories,” with its strange cover art, was fated to be a strange creature. While the publication had a history of uneven and inconsistent quality, such is human nature. It was a grand experiment and, through the years, it would reach its potential splendidly. Launched in April of 1926 by Hugo Gernsback’s Experimenter Publishing, it sought to combine entertainment with education. Sales fell short of expectations, and within a couple of years, the magazine was set on its checkered path going from one publisher to another. But it would see the greats of science fiction grace its pages, it had the distinction of being the first magazine of its kind, and it helped pave the way for what was to come in the brave new world of sci-fi. As a lasting testament to its pioneer publisher, the prestigous Hugo Awards carry his name and carry on the promise of a unique literary genre.

The new "Amazing Stories"

The new “Amazing Stories”

Comics Grinder salutes the return of “Amazing Stories” after an uncertain future. Steve Davidson has stepped in as the new publisher after the last publisher, Hasbro, allowed the trademarks to lapse. You can keep up with “Amazing Stories” at its blog. You will find there a most beautiful cover for the new issue by Frank Wu. This is his homage to the magazine’s original artist, Frank R. Paul.

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Filed under Amazing Stories, Entertainment, Magazines, pop culture, Publications, science fiction

GOODBYE, NEWSWEEK; HELLO, NWDB

Newsweek will cease print publication at the end of this year.

There’s no two ways about it, it is sad news to say goodbye to the iconic and venerable print magazine, Newsweek. I’m sorry but it is saying GOODBYE. It is not simply saying hello to new opportunities on the internet. It is a simple fact: Newsweek, the magazine as it has been known for 80 years, is gone. It is also a fact that we are all moving on. Why would you want to continue to have an expensive print version of your product when you want to invest in digital? Two years ago, The Daily Beast bought out Newsweek and, with the help of Newsweek content, The Daily Beast has soared. When you think of Newsweek now, it’s “Newsweek and the Daily Beast” or “NWDB” for short. And that’s the reality of things. The main reason to stop print is the high cost of print and distribution. That is what the comic book industry is definitely grappling with. The new digital version of Newsweek will be known as Newsweek Global, one world-wide digital version that you can only read through paid subscription with some content available on The Daily Beast website for free. That, like it or not, is a model for the future.

I recall, even as a kid in the ’70s, that Newsweek had more of a kick than Time. The headlines were usually more direct and the color was more saturated. The writing was bolder. The layouts were more robust. It had everything you could want in a weekly news magazine plus it had just the right amount of “eye candy,” a term that I believe originated in the ’70s in response to what was seen by some critics as the coming scourge of infotainment ushered in my this brand new candy-coated television program, “20/20.” But Newsweek wasn’t eye candy! It had style and it knew how to use text and image in more compelling ways than its competitor, Time. You could say that Newsweek was already, to a certain degree, hip to the look and feel of the internet before there was an internet.

That said, it really is too bad to say goodbye to the print version. I found it handy to tuck an issue under my arm and then read it on the bus. I also have an e-reader but I prefer to keep that for reading books, not magazines. The fact about e-readers: If you want to experience reading that is easy on your eyes, then you want the black and white e-ink type reader. If you want color, then you’re reading it off a bright screen which is not terribly eye-friendly. Here in Seattle, in 2012, there is a healthy number of tablet and e-ink readers on the daily commute. Among readers, there is also a similar number of people reading actual books and magazines. I’m not sure that we, the reading public, have reached the “tipping point” of reading everything on a gadget but, perhaps, advertisers have calculated it is time to make a greater investment in digital.

At some point, perhaps in another five to ten years, tablets will be as commonplace as cell phones. But will the internet become more accessible to everyone? No, probably not. All you have to do is go to any public library and see how heavily used the public computers are. People who use public computers can only use them for limited amounts of time, hardly enough to let themselves get caught up in too many articles from what the traditional Newsweek of yesteryear used to offer. That type of accessibility will be lost. What you get for free is The Daily Beast site and, for less fortunate readers who even bother to look on a public computer, that amounts to a few bites of info, gossip and world-class content along with your chance to enter the boxing ring with the animation of a bikini clad babe, or some such advertisement, that will pop up and share your reading space. So much for eye candy. But these readers are not really NWDB readers and hardly Newsweek Global readers. Anyhow, more serious readers, even impoverished ones, can always find a way to get what they need.

You can check out what NWDB Editor-in-Chief, Tina Brown, and NWDB CEO, Baba Shetty had to say about the Newsweek shakeup here. The conclusion that NWDB has reached is that the company can not lose itself in the “romance of print” and it must “embrace the all-digital future.” The last print issue of Newsweek will be for the week of December 31, 2012.

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