A lot of fun was had in Minneapolis last weekend for 24 Hour Comics Day… if you haven’t already seen it, go look at the Minneapolis coverage on our event blog here. Ryan Dow, Dan Olson, Kevin Cannon and Zander Cannon have all posted their comics… go here to get the links. We will be collecting the comics as a mini-comics set… go here for more info on how to participate in that. Get some sleep and start mentally preparing now for next year.
The Hot Ink: Comic Art in Minnesota show at the Minnesota Museum of American Art just got a great write up in The Star-Tribune (and Vita.mn). Note that the article is 3 pages you have to click through to read.
From the article:
A populist complaint about the contemporary art scene is that artists today “can’t draw.” More to the point is that those who can draw have probably turned to cartooning. For anyone who appreciates great drawing, this show is a good place to find it.
You can check out some photos from the opening of the event here and here (thanks to Big Time Attic for pointing these photo galleries out… you can see a image of the print version of the article on their site)… please let us know if you see any more we can link to. Also, if someone could save a copy of the print version of the above article for me, I would much appreciate it!
Note also that if you haven’t seen the show, it apparently is going to be up until around March 2008… so you have some time.
The Dow has been crazy these last two weeks, and this time I am not talking about Ryan! Come and forget about your 401K, if you have/had one, and jam with us! Just bring some drawing utensils, an idea for the jam, and a few bucks to get a tasty beverage — the baristas really do appreciate that.
The jam will start promptly at 6:30 and run until…whenever.
To join us come to:
Cosmic’s Coffee Shoppe
189 Snelling Ave N.
St. Paul, MN 55104
(Northwest corner of Snelling and Selby)
Afterwards we will most likely get a jump on the next GREAT DEPRESSION and head on over to grab a brew at:
O’Gara’s Bar and Grill
164 Snelling Ave N
St. Paul, MN 55104
(Southeast corner of Snelling and Selby)
In the meantime, if you have any ideas or just want to chat about the upcoming jam, please follow the link!
Twin Cities & surrounding areas cartoonists… you are participating in our fifth-annual 24 Hour Comics Day event on October 18th-19th, right? Great… you will want to read this to prepare!
Also don’t forget to register, so we know how many people to expect… to register:
Send your name, e-mail address and phone number to mpls24hourcomicday@yahoo.com. Please put put the word REGISTER in the header.
Fallcon is almost here. It’s that magical time of year in the Twin Cities where you can meet all of your favorite local cartoonists and promote your comics. It’s also a good time to plug the Cartoonist Conspiracy and help it grow! Here are some good ways to promote the Conspiracy at Fallcon:
Ask people if they like to draw – This is a great conversation starter because it indicates that you are not trying to sell them something (at least at the moment). If the person likes to draw, let them know about our jam sessions in Minneapolis (First Thursday at 6:30) and Saint Paul (Third Thursday at 6:30). If they don’t like to draw, odds are they have an artist friend who might be interested. Hand out flyers, and don’t forget to mention the upcoming 24-hour comic day!
Tell them about past Conspiracy Projects – The Lutefisk Sushi boxes are great attention-getters. At Microcon people would stop and stare at them, saying, “Lutefisk Sushi? Really?†Exploit their captured attention by telling them what Lutefish Sushi is all about! If they’re still paying attention, you can also tell them about the Eric Lappegard tribute book Alley Cats and the 24 Hour Comic Day box sets.
Hand them a copy of “How to Make Minicomics†– This is a great little manual on what minicomics are all about! You can find a pdf of the comic here. I will be assembling a bunch of these for Fallcon, so stop by my table and pick up a few.
Show your Conspiracy love with style – Wear an official Cartoonist Conspiracy Fez! E-mail Steve Stwally for details at 
. Also, feel free to wear any Lutefisk Sushi, Vegan Ninja, or other Conspiracy-related apparel you may have.
Volunteer at the Conspiracy Lounge – We need YOU! See this post for more details.
Hot Ink: Comic Art in Minnesota is an exhibit opening October 3rd (and staying up until January) at The Minnesota Museum of American Art. Featured artists include a number of folks in the Conspiracy… here is the full list…
Big Time Attic
Kevin Cannon
Zander Cannon
Will Dinski
Tom Kaczynski
Reynold Kissling
Lars Martinson
King Mini
Tyler Page
Evan G. Palmer
Brittney Sabo
Zak Sally
Barbara Schulz
Tim Sievert
Andy Singer
Tom Spence
Steven Stwalley
The opening party is October 3rd. It costs $10 to get in to the opening ($5 if you are a member or student), but is free if you visit another time. For the opening there is a members preview from 7-8PM, and then it is open to the public from 8-10PM.
Minnesota Museum of American Art
mmaa.org
50 West Kellogg Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55102
Well, we didn’t die due to the Large Hadron Collider a couple of weeks ago, so you should really come on down to the St. Paul Cartoonist Conspiracy Jam this Thursday, September 18th, 2008!
You didn’t get sucked into a black hole when they powered it up, right? Well, I have news for you, the first real tests aren’t going to happen for another month or two. So, what is keeping you from showing up? Scared that the economy will crumble? Horsepocky! It already has! Might as well do some drawing before anarchy and/or Doomsday sets in!
The jam will be at:
Cosmic’s Coffee Shoppe
189 Snelling Ave N.
St. Paul, MN 55104
(Northwest corner of Snelling and Selby)
Sometimes we get froggy and head on over to grab a brew at:
O’Gara’s Bar and Grill
164 Snelling Ave N
St. Paul, MN 55104
(Southeast corner of Snelling and Selby)
Just bring some drawing utensils, an idea for the jam, and a few bucks to get a tasty beverage — the baristas really do appreciate that. Any pre-jam ideas/topics can be posted here.
Congratulations to the St. Paul Cartoonist Conspiracy Cell for once again creating an entertaining jam comic! Also, thanks to myself for posting it in a timely manner — our brethren across the river have yet to post a new jam comic in a little over a year, I think.
Like Russia and NATO, our uneasy truce with the LARPers* nearly dissolved when one of their members continued to do horrible impersonations of Andrew Dice Clay** — or was it The Fonz***? At any rate, Jon Sloan**** was about to show them, as he termed, “a Live Action Sa-Bom Jim Ass Whoopin”. However, seeing as how he would be the only one of us pansy artists to actually do something about it, he thought otherwise and opted out.
In somewhat unrelated news, the St. Paul cell members are still waiting to hear back from the Cream City cell***** on whether or not they are going to post their jams — or better yet whether or not they actually exist.
I’ve posted our latest jam comic below. This month’s title was “Fact or Fiction at The Minnesota State Fair: AAAAAAAAAYY!” The “AAAAAAAAAYY!” is a contribution from our Andrew Dice Clay lovin’ cross-coffee shop rivals. You can click on the image below, which will link you to the PDF directly.
Want to start up your own cell? It’s easy! Just follow this link: Start a Conspiracy in Your Community. Are you one of the many rival cells that we trash? Maybe you should do something about it and post something here.
Footnotes:
* LARPers – Live Action Role Players – a group of individuals that attempt the craft of socializing by enacting various scenes and, sometimes, dressing up as characters found within a role playing game; in this instance it refers to people who think they are vampires who and horrible at doing impersonations of obscure Jewish actors.
** Andrew Dice Clay – a comedian made famous in the 1980s and early 1990s by a standup routine that consisted of insult humor directed at women, sexual orientation, and ethnicity. “The Diceman” is not somebody I would be really interested in impersonating, but then again I am not obsessed with vampires either.
*** The Fonz – one of the more important characters of the popular sitcom Happy Days, which ran from 1974 to 1984. The Fonz, played by Henry Winkler, was a leather jacket wearing, Italian-American mechanic, who later, was part owner of Arnold’s restaurant, and made residence in Milwaukee, Wisconsin during the 1950s.
**** Jon Sloan is an independent comic creator based in the Twin Cities. Jon creates the comic Sa-Bom Jim, instructs martial arts, and is a real bad ass that shouldn’t be messed with. TAKE NOTICE LARPERS!
***** Cream City Cell – also known as the Milwaukee Cell – AGAIN, who belongs to this cell? Does it even exist, or is it a myth? McCarthy and Amado need to do something about this!
Conspirator Andy Singer has a show of his cartoons up in St. Paul at the Black Dog Cafe along with another excellent looking show of Minnesota poster artists, coinciding conveniently with the Republican National Convention. Here is what Andy has to say about it…
Dear Friends, Editors, Acquaintances, fellow humanoids,
I currently have a show of over 40 cartoons at the Black Dog Cafe and Wine Bar in downtown Saint Paul–
http://www.blackdogstpaul.com/events/news-73.shtmlI am sharing the space with the Minneapolis Poster Offensive who is exhibiting 30 of its posters in the other half of the space–
http://www.blackdogstpaul.com/events/news-13.shtmlThe show(s) will be up through the RNC convention, probably until mid September.
There will be a reception for both of us on Friday evening, August 29th, from 5pm until we all fall down. I will be selling original cartoons, books, and maybe my soul. Come check it out!
For some photos of the show as I set it up, see–
http://www.andysinger.com/rants.htmlPlease forward or post this event anywhere that people might see it.
Thanks,
Andy Singer
www.andysinger.com
More info on the Poster Offensive show happening simultaneously here.
Come one come all to the St. Paul Cartoonist Conspiracy Jam this Thursday, August 21st, 2008!
Just mere hours after the “Great Minnesota Get Together” (a.k.a The Minnesota State Fair) opens its gates a few miles up the road we will be putting together a jam comic. You in?
Oh, you’re going to actually GO to the Fair? On opening day? Hmmm…
Well, if you’ve had your fill of Fried Hotdish on a Stick and are tired of walking past the 4H building for the sixteenth time, come on down, join us, take a load off, and enjoy an iced coffee.
The jam will be at:
Cosmic’s Coffee Shoppe
189 Snelling Ave N.
St. Paul, MN 55104
(Northwest corner of Snelling and Selby)
Sometimes we get froggy and head on over to grab a brew at:
O’Gara’s Bar and Grill
164 Snelling Ave N
St. Paul, MN 55104
(Southeast corner of Snelling and Selby)
Just bring some drawing utensils, an idea for the jam, and a few bucks to get a tasty beverage — the baristas really do appreciate that. Any pre-jam ideas/topics can be posted here.
