Category Archives: mn

Please Consider Demanding Matt Dean Publicly Apologize to Neil Gaiman

mn

I just sent the below email to Minnesota House Majority Leader Matt Dean, regarding his attack yesterday on author Neil Gaiman. I encourage you all to do the same. You can contact Dean here: rep.matt.dean@house.mn

Mr. Dean:

I’m a Minnesota resident. Your attack on author Neil Gaiman is utterly inappropriate, immature and reprehensible. Publicly saying you hate any private citizen, and calling them names, is completely out of line. That you are doing it to one who has so greatly contributed to the state’s renown as a hotbed for the arts is particularly unfortunate.

Please note that ALL of the money Gaiman made from the speaking engagement in question was donated to charity. Gaiman regularly speaks for free around the state. The prices he is paid for speaking engagements is high because he is in such great demand that he prices them high to avoid getting a lot of them. This would be an example of free market economics in action, which is a concept you presumably believe in. It is not an example of “theft” as you disingenuously claim.

You can and should read more of Gaiman’s thoughts on the speaking engagement in question here:

http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2010/05/political-football-in-teacup.html

and

http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2011/05/opinions-of-pencil-necked-weasel-thief.html

You should be ashamed of yourself. Grow up and stop acting like a playground bully. Be a man, and give the man a public apology.

Sincerely,

Steven Stwalley
Webmaster, The International Cartoonist Conspiracy, cartoonistconspiracy.com

UPDATE: Gaiman has also responded in City Pages.

UPDATE 2: Dean has apologized for the name-calling (thanks for passing that on in the comments, Charles), but not for completely misrepresenting the situation. So, he still needs to be hassled. My email bounced (hopefully because his email box is filled up with angry letters about this), but I will try and send it again later.

Come to the Art? Show at Altered Esthetics This Friday and Read the Minneapolis Mini-Comics Day Mini-Comics

Altered Esthetics, gallery show, mini-comics, Mini-Comics Day, Minneapolis, mn

If you’re curious what people made locally for Mini-Comics Day, you can read the comics this month at Altered Esthetics as part of their Art? show. The show opens this Friday, May 6th.

Above: Carlos Merino’s Mini-Comics Day mini-comic. Click to visit his site for the full Spanish version… the English version will be available to read this Friday at Altered Esthetics.

The featured Mini-Comics Day comics are by:

Alex Bodine
Talia Carlton aka Talonman
Douglas Cox
Susan Cox
Athena Currier
Ryan Dow
Earl Luckes
Lupi McGinty
Carlos Merino
Dan Murphy
Erik Nelson
Pedal
Jamison Penny
Bill Prendergast
David Steinlicht
Steven Stwalley
Mike Toft
Lance Ward

More info about the Art? show can be found here.

Psychic Cartoons at AE’s 7th Anniversary Party This Friday!

Altered Esthetics, event, Events, Good Causes, Minneapolis, mn

We will be drawing cartoons to raise funds for Altered Esthetics, the wonderful non-profit community gallery we collaborate with, at their 7th anniversary party next Friday. For a suggested donation of $5, we’ll peer into your soul and give you a drawing of one of the following:

Psychic Readings
Dream Interpretations
Fortunes
Spirit Animals
Inner Demons

Thanks to everyone who volunteered to participate in this!

Read more about the event here.

Pictured above: Local Hero Kevin Cannon’s fantastic art donation to the Altered Esthetics fundraiser. See a gallery of other donated artwork here.

Mini-Comics Day 2011 in Minneapolis

event, Events, Mini-Comics Day, Minneapolis, mn

See our fun photo gallery from the Minneapolis event here.

We were welcomed to The Open Book this morning with our event up on the marquee.

The covers to the comics finished today can be seen in the photo gallery.

Two of of our participants already have their mini-comics not only printed, but online:

Lance Ward

Maxeem Konrardy

The winner of the Stapler prize for The Best Local Mini-Comic of the Day went to Dan Murphy for his mini-comic Elle Cirka. Along with the stapler, Dan won a copy of the book Newave! The Underground Mini Comix of the 1980s, courtesy of Big Brain Comics, a Lutefisk Sushi box set and a copy of BIG FUNNY courtesy of Altered Esthetics, and a Cartoonist Conspiracy patch shoved in the back of the book that I forgot to tell him about.

Everyone who participated in the event got free supplies and paper courtesy of Wet Paint Art. Big Time Attic provided paper for the copier. Big Brain Comics put fifty bucks towards copier use, which made it so most of us got to print comics for free.

Thanks much to our extremely generous sponsors The Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Big Brain Comics, Wet Paint, Altered Esthetics, and Big Time Attic!

Thanks also to Britt Aamodt, Michael Drivas and Jamie Schumacher for judging the Best Local Mini-Comic of the Day!

Thanks to everyone who participated! I look forward to reading all your comics!

Complete coverage of Mini-Comics Day around the world can be found at minicomics.org.

Behold! The Stapler!

event, Events, mini-comics, Mini-Comics Day, Minneapolis, mn

To add a little extra excitement to our Mini-Comics Day event in Minneapolis tomorrow (Saturday April 9th), we are giving out a prize for The Best Local Mini-Comic of the Day… also known as The Stapler.

In addition to The Stapler, the winner will get some cool prizes from some of our sponsors. The prizes will include a copy of the book Newave! The Underground Mini Comix of the 1980s, courtesy of Big Brain Comics, two Lutefisk Sushi box sets full of Minnesota mini-comics (volumes C and D) and a copy of BIG FUNNY courtesy of Altered Esthetics, and possibly some other goodies.

For all the info about our event in Minneapolis go here. To find an event near you go here. And, of course, you can just participate at home or your local copy shop if you don’t have an event happening near you.

Mini-Comics Day just stared in Indonesia! Hopefully we will have lots of posts from around the world as the day commences at the Mini-Comics Day blog.

Mini-Comics Day is Tomorrow! (Saturday, April 9th)

Cartooning Projects, event, Events, mini-comics, Mini-Comics Day, Minneapolis, mn, Opportunities, St. Paul

Mini-Comics Day is tomorrow (April 9th)! On Mini-Comics Day, participating cartoonists from around the world will write, draw, and print copies of a mini-comic, completing the entire process from start to finish in a day or less. Anyone in the world can participate.

We currently have sixteen sites listed around the world planning events for Mini-Comics Day. If you are interested in hosting an event, let me know… email me at webmaster(at)cartoonistconspiracy.com.

Here is the scoop about the Minneapolis event:

As with all our events, it is free and open to anyone who wants to participate. Table space is provided on a first-come, first-served basis. We hope to be getting started at 10:00AM sharp.

The copier on site, provided by our generous hosts at The Minnesota Center for Book Arts, will be available for use for a $5 donation… however, Big Brain Comics is giving us $50 to put towards this fee, so the first 10 people to use the copier will have their fee covered. Obviously, there will be a lot of demand for the copier at certain times of the day, so please be courteous of others and don’t bogart the machine. You’ll want to bring a $5 bill if you plan on using the on-site copier.

Wet Paint will be providing some free supplies, and will have useful items for sale for part of the event.

Big Time Attic will be donating some paper.

The Cartoonist Conspiracy will be providing some copies of our How to Make Mini-Comics mini-comic for folks to assemble and refer to.

We’ll be having an after party, where we will be giving out the prize for the Best Local Mini-Comic of the Day. This will be a block away from Book Arts in the side room at Grumpy’s Downtown (1111 Washington Ave. S.) from 5:30 to 9:00PM. We’ll clear out of the side room at 9:00 (a band will be taking over the space), and the fun will continue until whenever in the main room of the bar.

There will be a prize given out for the Best Local Mini-Comic of the Day. The prize will include a copy of the book Newave! The Underground Mini Comix of the 1980s, courtesy of Big Brain Comics, a Lutefisk Sushi box set and a copy of BIG FUNNY courtesy of Altered Esthetics, and probably some other goodies.

Obviously, only comics made entirely on the day of the event will be eligible for the prize. To enter your mini-comic, drop 4 copies of it in the box we will have at the Book Arts event, or bring it before 6:30 to the side room of Grumpy’s Downtown. Make sure to include your name, address, email address and other contact information you think is pertinent with your submission. All submitted comics will also be included in a reading rack at the upcoming Art? show at Altered Esthetics in May.

The submitted comics will be read and a winner will be determined by three local non-cartoonists; author of Superheroes, Strip Artists & Talking Animals: Minnesota’s Contemporary Cartoonists Britt Aamodt, Big Brain Comics proprietor Michael Drivas, and Altered Esthetics founder Jamie Schumacher.

Please do spread the word to everyone you know who likes to make comics! If you use facebook, you may want to check out the Mini-Comics Day facebook page.

The Minnesota Center For Book Arts
1011 Washington Ave S
Minneapolis, MN
April 9, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
(in the Flexispace and Gallery Space)
Copier will be available on site.
Table space will be provided on a first come, first served basis.
We’ll also be having an after party, where we will be giving out a prize for the Best Local Mini-Comic of the Day. This will be a block away in the side room at Grumpy’s Downtown (1111 Washington Ave. S.) from 5:30 to 9:00PM. We’ll clear out of the side room at 9:00 (a band will be taking over the space), and the fun will continue until whenever in the main room of the bar.
Contact: Steven Stwalley
webmaster(at)cartoonistconspiracy.com

Minneapolis Jam This Thursday, April 7th

event, Events, jam, Minneapolis, mn

Come and discuss strategy for Mini-Comics Day this weekend (Saturday, April 9th)!

Micro-Comics sold by Marvel in capsule vending machines in the late 60's

The Minneapolis Cartoonist Conspiracy meets at 6:30 until 10:00 the first Thursday of every month at Diamond’s Coffee Shoppe in Northeast.

Generally, we draw collaborative “jam” comics, socialize and drink caffeinated beverages. Afterwords, we often have uncaffeinated beverages somewhere else.

The meetings are open to anyone who wants to draw with us, and the results are posted here sooner or later (and sometimes even printed).

Diamond’s Coffee Shoppe
1618 Central Avenue Northeast
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Bus info here.

Please spend some money at Diamond’s while you’re there, even if it is just a cuppa coffee… they are excellent hosts, and we wanna stay welcome there.

One Week Until Mini-Comics Day (April 9th)! Minneapolis Event Details! Prize for Best Local Mini-Comic of the Day!

mini-comics, Mini-Comics Day, Minneapolis, mn, Opportunities, St. Paul

There’s just one week until Mini-Comics Day (April 9th)! On Mini-Comics Day, participating cartoonists from around the world will write, draw, and print copies of a mini-comic, completing the entire process from start to finish in a day or less. Anyone in the world can participate.

We currently have sixteen sites listed around the world planning events for Mini-Comics Day. If you are interested in hosting an event, let me know… email me at webmaster(at)cartoonistconspiracy.com.

Here is the scoop about the Minneapolis event:

As with all our events, it is free and open to anyone who wants to participate. Table space is provided on a first-come, first-served basis. We hope to be getting started at 10:00AM sharp.

The copier on site, provided by our generous hosts at The Minnesota Center for Book Arts, will be available for use for a $5 donation… however, Big Brain Comics is giving us $50 to put towards this fee, so the first 10 people to use the copier will have their fee covered. Obviously, there will be a lot of demand for the copier at certain times of the day, so please be courteous of others and don’t bogart the machine. You’ll want to bring a $5 bill if you plan on using the on-site copier.

Wet Paint will be providing some free supplies, and will have useful items for sale for part of the event.

Big Time Attic will be donating some paper.

The Cartoonist Conspiracy will be providing some copies of our How to Make Mini-Comics mini-comic for folks to assemble and refer to.

We’ll be having an after party, where we will be giving out the prize for the Best Local Mini-Comic of the Day. This will be a block away from Book Arts in the side room at Grumpy’s Downtown (1111 Washington Ave. S.) from 5:30 to 9:00PM. We’ll clear out of the side room at 9:00 (a band will be taking over the space), and the fun will continue until whenever in the main room of the bar.

There will be a prize given out for the Best Local Mini-Comic of the Day. The prize will include a copy of the book Newave! The Underground Mini Comix of the 1980s, courtesy of Big Brain Comics, a Lutefisk Sushi box set and a copy of BIG FUNNY courtesy of Altered Esthetics, and probably some other goodies.

Obviously, only comics made entirely on the day of the event will be eligible for the prize. To enter your mini-comic, drop 4 copies of it in the box we will have at the Book Arts event, or bring it before 6:30 to the side room of Grumpy’s Downtown. Make sure to include your name, address, email address and other contact information you think is pertinent with your submission. All submitted comics will also be included in a reading rack at the upcoming Art? show at Altered Esthetics in May.

The submitted comics will be read and a winner will be determined by three local non-cartoonists; author of Superheroes, Strip Artists & Talking Animals: Minnesota’s Contemporary Cartoonists Britt Aamodt, Big Brain Comics proprietor Michael Drivas, and Altered Esthetics founder Jamie Schumacher.

Please do spread the word to everyone you know who likes to make comics! If you use facebook, you may want to check out the Mini-Comics Day facebook page.

The Minnesota Center For Book Arts
1011 Washington Ave S
Minneapolis, MN
April 9, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
(in the Flexispace and Gallery Space)
Copier will be available on site.
Table space will be provided on a first come, first served basis.
We’ll also be having an after party, where we will be giving out a prize for the Best Local Mini-Comic of the Day. This will be a block away in the side room at Grumpy’s Downtown (1111 Washington Ave. S.) from 5:30 to 9:00PM. We’ll clear out of the side room at 9:00 (a band will be taking over the space), and the fun will continue until whenever in the main room of the bar.
Contact: Steven Stwalley
webmaster(at)cartoonistconspiracy.com

How to Make Mini-Comics Q&A This Thursday, March 24th, at Wet Paint 5:30PM

event, Events, mini-comics, Mini-Comics Day, Minneapolis, mn, Opportunities

Want to participate in Mini-Comics Day, but have no idea how to make a mini-comic? Well, Mini-Comics Day sponsor Wet Paint will be hosting a q&a session with some Conspirators (Zander Cannon, Athena Currier, Danno Klonowski and myself) this Thursday to talk about making mini-comics. We’ll be bringing along examples and we’ll have copies of our How To Make Mini-Comics mini-comic textbook for folks to read and assemble. Hope to see you there!

Wet Paint
Thursday, March 24th 5:30-7:30PM
1684 Grand Avenue
Saint Paul, MN 55105
651.698.6431
email: info(at)wetpaintart.com

Mini-Comics Day Update

awards, event, Events, mini-comics, Mini-Comics Day, Minneapolis, mn

There’s a little over three weeks to Mini-Comics Day (April 9th)!

We currently have twelve sites listed around the world planning events for Mini-Comics Day. If you are interested in hosting an event, let me know… email me at webmaster(at)cartoonistconspiracy.com.

There are some new resources available on the Mini-Comics Day website that event planners and participants may find useful, including customizable promotional posters and flyers.

We also have templates available on that page that you can print or provide to people as an easy guide to lay out their mini-comics with (for 8-page and 16-page minis). Inexperienced mini-comics creators may want to print out the How to Make Mini-Comics mini-comic.

If you use facebook, you may want to check out the Mini-Comics Day facebook page.

For the Minneapolis event we plan to have an after-party event where we will give out a prize for the local “Best Mini-Comic of the Day,” judged by three local non-cartoonists; author of Superheroes, Strip Artists & Talking Animals: Minnesota’s Contemporary Cartoonists Britt Aamodt, Big Brain Comics proprietor Michael Drivas, and Altered Esthetics founder Jamie Schumacher. The prize will include a copy of the book Newave! The Underground Mini Comix of the 1980s, courtesy of Big Brain Comics.

We also hope to also include the comics submitted for judging in an upcoming gallery show at Altered Esthetics… more information about that soon.

Please do spread the word.