Tag Archives: Education

December 2, 2014 · 8:35 pm

Retro Movie Review: François Truffaut’s FAHRENHEIT 451

Oskar Werner as Guy Montag in François Truffaut’s “Fahrenheit 451”

François Truffaut, the champion of children and misfits, was the perfect writer/director to lead the way in bringing Ray Bradbury’s classic, “Fahrenheit 451,” to the screen. If Bradbury had tapped into the anxiety and conformity attached to the dawn of the television age with the publication of his novel in 1951, then by 1966, Truffaut was making the case with all the more evidence. To make the point in a fresh way, for the time, we begin with various close-ups of TV aerial antennas superimposed upon brash colors.

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Filed under François Truffaut, Movie Reviews, movies, Ray Bradbury, Sci-Fi, science fiction

Tagged as Book Banning, Books, dystopian fiction, dystopias, Education, Entertainment, Fahrenheit 451, François Truffaut, Guy Montag, Julie Christie, Movie Reviews, Movies, Pop Culture, Ray Bradbury, Sci-Fi, Science Fiction, Social Commentary, The '60s

November 7, 2014 · 8:24 pm

Review: ‘Moonhead and the Music Machine,’ published by Nobrow Press, by Andrew Rae

The opening scene in “Moonhead and the Music Machine,” Andrew Rae‘s new graphic novel, reminds me of a short story by P.G. Wodehouse about a boy who struggles with always being late for breakfast at his boarding school. Too bad he couldn’t have used such an excuse as having a moon for a head. However, Joey, our main character in this fabulous work of comics does have a moon for a head! The panels with Joey’s moonhead catching some more winks while his body trudges off to high school is pure comics magic. It turns out that Joey can tune out the world at will and have an out-of-body experience any time he likes. This might have been a bit too much for Wodehouse to process in his day but he probably would have approved.

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Filed under Andrew Rae, Comics, Graphic Novel Reviews, graphic novels, Nobrow Press

Tagged as Andrew Rae, Art, arts, Books, Education, Entertainment, graphic novels, High School, Nobrow Press, P.G. Wodehouse, Pop Culture, Publishing, Young Adult

September 25, 2014 · 5:29 pm

Interview: Bill Kartalopoulos and THE BEST AMERICAN COMICS 2014

It is a pleasure to chat about comics, especially with someone as well-versed on the subject as Bill Kartalopoulos. For this interview, the occasion is the 2014 volume of “The Best American Comics,” which Bill takes over as the new series editor. I thought I’d take the opportunity to ask him about his thoughts on the term, “alternative comics,” since he led an interesting panel discussion on that topic at SPX back in 2012 entitled, “Life After Alternative Comics.” This was a way to frame the conversation.

Bill Kartalopoulos is a great observer of, and participant in, today’s comics scene. Part of his impressive resume includes being the program coordinator for the Small Press Expo as well as the program director for the MoCCA Arts Festival. Both of these events are essential barometers of prevailing trends. So, if Bill suggests that alternative comics are dead, I listen. Of course, he doesn’t really suggest that, at least not as you might think. But, let me continue…

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Filed under Alternative Comics, Art Spiegelman, Bill Kartalopoulos, Comics, Education, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Independent Comics, Indie, MoCCA Arts Festival, New York City, SPX, The Best American Comics

Tagged as alternative comics, Art, Art Spiegelman, Art. Education, arts, Bill Kartalopoulos, Books, comics, Education, Entertainment, graphic novels, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Media, Mini-comics, New York, New York City, Pop Culture, Publishing, Scott McCloud, webcomics

September 8, 2014 · 4:35 pm

Review: ‘Make Comics Like the Pros: The Inside Scoop on How to Write, Draw, and Sell Your Comic Books and Graphic Novels’

“Make Comics Like the Pros,” really cuts to the chase with common sense advice on how to join the ranks of the professionals. Start with the golden rule: Treat others as you would want to be treated. It’s a pretty simple rule but an essential one. It’s time to get over yourself because the comics industry involves a multitude of skills, including people skills. You’ll need them not just to pitch your project (hold on, don’t get ahead of yourself) but to create your project in the first place as this business of creating comics is very much a collaborative activity.

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Filed under Comics, Education, Fred Van Lente, Greg Pak, writers, writing

Tagged as Art, Art. Education, arts, Batman, Books, comic books, comics, DC Comics, Education, Entertainment, graphic novels, Marvel Comics, Movies, Pop Culture, Publishing, Spider-Man, superheroes, Superman, Television, The Incredible Hulk, Writers, Writing

August 27, 2014 · 8:54 pm

Review: FOUNDATIONS IN COMIC BOOK ART: Fundamental Tools and Techniques for Sequential Artists

Wow, what a book for anyone who is passionate about becoming a cartoonist! “Foundations in Comic Book Art: Fundamental Tools and Techniques for Sequential Artists” is a compressed version of what you can learn at the Savannah College of Art and Desgin (SCAD). John Paul Lowe, an art professor at SCAD, guides you through the main principles of comic book art: seeing and interpreting (observational techniques); and creating (constructive techniques). In a very concise and lively manner, you get a solid grounding in what’s involved in becoming a comics professional.

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Filed under Comics, Education, Savannah College of Art and Design, SCAD, Sequential Art

Tagged as Art, Art Instruction, Art. Education, arts, Books, Comic Book Art, comic books, comics, Education, Entertainment, graphic novels, John Paul Lowe, Pop Culture, Savannah College of Art and Desgin, SCAD

August 25, 2014 · 7:50 pm

Review: WORDS FOR PICTURES: THE ART AND BUSINESS OF WRITING COMICS AND GRAPHIC NOVELS

Art by Walter Simonson

Have you ever thought that you could write a comic book script if you had the opportunity? Well, here’s a book that not only demystifies the world of comic book writers but provides great food for thought for any writer or any creative person, for that matter. It’s by Brian Michael Bendis. You will know the name if you’re into comics.

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Filed under Art books, Brian Michael Bendis, Comics, Education, Marvel Comics

Tagged as Art, Art. Education, arts, brian michael bendis, comics, Education, Entertainment, graphic novels, Illustration, Marvel Comics, New York, New York City, Pop Culture, Publishing, School of Visual Arts, Spider-Man

June 17, 2014 · 8:20 pm

Image Comics Presents HOWTOONS, A DIY Guide For Kids

Image Comics presents DIY for a new generations of makers in HOWTOONS: TOOLS OF MASS CONSTRUCTION. Kids build a world of fun, comic-book-style, with this 360-page book of discovery. Celine and Tucker, the brother-and-sister heroes of HOWTOONS, are kids who see the potential for play everywhere. When their mother challenges them to make something other than trouble, their adventure begins in an adventure-DIY graphic novel from Image Comics. It arrives in comic book stores on July 23 and bookstores on August 5.

HOWTOONS will be getting a moment in the spotlight at the first-ever White House Maker Faire on June 18, hosted by President Obama, where co-creator Saul Griffith will be a guest. Griffith will be presenting HOWTOONS at the event, which “will feature Makers, innovators, and entrepreneurs of all ages who are using cutting-edge tools to bring their ideas to life.”

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Allen Rubinstein’s Comics Juice Celebrates The Graphic Novel

Allen Rubinstein, over at Comics Juice, has created a special tribute to the graphic novel. He is not only a longtime supporter of the graphic novel. In 2005, Mr. Rubinstein founded the Los Angeles Graphic Novel Book Club, which has grown to a membership of 200. He is doing his part to spread the word to the world at large about the multifaceted world of graphic novels. This had led to his website, Comics Juice, which includes a dazzling display of 1,000 graphic novel covers.

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Filed under Comics, Comics Juice, graphic novels

Tagged as Allen Rubinstein, Art, Art. Education, arts, comic books, comics, Comics Juice, Education, Entertainment, graphic novel, graphic novels, Los Angeles Graphic Novel Book, Pop Culture

June 4, 2014 · 7:32 am

Review: THROUGH THE WORMHOLE WITH MORGAN FREEMAN Premiere Episode, Season Five, Wednesday, June 4 at 10PM ET/PT

We love science. We love Science Channel. And we love Morgan Freeman. So, what can be better than a whole new season of THROUGH THE WORMHOLE WITH MORGAN FREEMAN? To launch the fifth season, we explore the question, “Is Poverty Genetic?”

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Review: ‘Wide Awake in Slumberland’ by Katherine Roeder

Winsor McCay with Gertie the Dinosaur

What will today look like one hundred years from now? In the world of comics, we have no choice but to include DC Comics’ upcoming “Teen Titans #1” in a time capsule, filed under “sexism.” Many of us today see through a glass darkly. But not all of us. One hundred years ago, Windsor McCay was at the top of his game as America’s preeminent cartoonist. Attempting to see what McCay’s world was like one hundred years ago could provide some interesting perspective.

There were certainly other big name cartoonists and plenty of newspapers but there was only one Winsor McCay. He could dazzle his audience. He was part of the zeitgeist. Much like Chaplin, he did what he did with far more distinction than his competitors. In a new book that attempts to place McCay in context, we get some insights about Little Nemo, Gertie the Dinosaur, and Dream of the Rarebit Fiend, and how they reflected the American dream. And, among the findings, we confront a problematic character named, Impie.

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