Category Archives: event

Mark Your Calendars… April 9th, 2011 is MINI-COMICS DAY!

April 9th, 2011 is the date for the first annual Mini-Comics Day, celebrating the art of cartooning and creating hand-made comic books.

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.

Mini-comics have been democratizing the art of making comic books since the 70’s or earlier… with the popularization of photocopiers, it became apparent that anyone with an inclination and some spare change could print a little comic book. Wildly varying in both form and content, mini-comics are a wonderful synthesis of cartooning and hand-made art objects.

Guidelines: To participate, create a mini-comic from start to finish on April 9th, 2011 (including writing, drawing and printing it). You can make your mini-comic by yourself or with other artists.

Format: Your mini-comic can be any size, length and format you desire. A standard mini-comics size would be eight 4.25″x5.5″ pages (which can be made from one 8.5×11 sheet of paper printed on both sides).

Help: For more information on how to make a mini-comic, see the Cartoonist Conspiracy’s mini-comic tutorial How to Make Mini-Comics. More resources can be found here.

Submit: Optionally, you can post information and/or images from your comic on the Mini-Comics Day blog. Contact for an account to post here.

Bonus points: If you are working with a group of cartoonists, you may want to consider collecting your mini-comics together to distribute as a set. Bags, rubber bands, or boxes all work great for this purpose.

Also, you may want to consider trading copies by submitting some to the Mini-comix Co-op.

Events: There will be two kinds of events related to Mini-Comics Day:

Cartooning Events, where cartoonists meet to work on their mini-comics around their peers.

Mini-comic Swap Events, where cartoonists can trade and sell their minis.

If you would like to organize an event, contact us at so we can promote your event and add it to our event listing.

About The International Cartoonist Conspiracy: Founded in Minneapolis in 2002, The International Cartoonist Conspiracy is a loosely organized group of cartoonists with cells all over the world. The Conspiracy has been responsible for many collaborative projects, including anthologies, gallery shows, and numerous jams every month. Any cartoonist anywhere can start a cell, and anyone with a desire to draw comics is encouraged to participate.

Mark Siegel of First Second Books to Speak at The Loft February 26th

The Loft is hosting Mark Siegel, the editorial director of First Second Books, in a special Q&A session this February 26 from 10 a.m. to noon at Open Book. You can learn more here (PDF).

About Mark Siegel:

In 2006, Mark Siegel launched an ambitious collection of graphic novels in every age category, in a wide range of themes and styles, with talent from all over the world. In its first year, American Born Chinese became the first comic ever nominated for a National Book Award, and soon afterwards, the first to win the coveted librarians’ Printz Award. Many be­loved indie cartoonists make up First Second’s stellar author line-up, from Sara Varon to Scott McCloud, Jessica Abel to Paul Pope, Eddie Campbell to Joann Sfar, and many others— including seasoned talents and newcomers, with projects in fiction and nonfiction, for children and for adults. In addition to First Second, Mark Siegel has a number of projects of his own, has illustrated several award-winning pictures (Seadogs, Long Night Moon, To Dance) and is currently serializing an adult graphic novel online (www.sailortwain.com).

Brittney Sabo, Anna Bratton and Lars Martinson Signing at Big Brain this Saturday, December 4th!

Some fantastic Twin Cities cartoonists are signing their new graphic novels at Big Brain. They just got A-Listed by the City Pages, so read all about it here. I’ve already had the pleasure of reading Britt and Anna’s Francis Sharp in the Grip of the Uncanny! Chapter One, and it is a gorgeous and fun read… you won’t want to miss it.


Big Brain Comics 1027 Washington Ave. S. Minneapolis, MN
Sat., Dec. 4, 4-7 PM

Andy Singer’s Fruit Sticker Art Show

Conspirator Andy Singer has a show coming up this weekend of his Fruit Sticker Art… here’s the info:

I will be in a small show of Fruit Sticker Art at The West 7th Street Mississippi Market Coop From November 14th until December 14th. The show includes work by 3 artists– myself, Andrea McCormack and Richard Carlson. It’s a fun show, made entirely of fruit stickers.

Mississippi Market is located at–
1500 West 7th Street (near Otto)
Saint Paul, MN 55102
and is open daily from 8am until 9pm.

There will be a brief “buy-your-own-food” opening reception where you can meet and eat with the artists from 2-3pm, Sunday, November 14th.
Come eat some fruit!

AE on the Town: Come Draw at the Como Zoo October 9th

Kristy from Altered Esthetics asked me to pass on the following invite to you all… sounds like fun.

Looking for opportunities to draw animals in less than natural environments? If so come join us at Como Zoo, Saturday October 9th at 1 pm. Bring sketchbooks and a drawing implement of your choice. Our first meeting spot will be outside the south end of the Primate house. Look for the Ae sign. At this time we will be discussing our game plan and dispersing from there. At 3pm we hope you will stick around for show n’ tell outside Zooper Foods. If you need more information please contact Kristy or Cassie at workshops (at) alteredesthetics.org. We will be there rain, shine or snow “hehe”. Hope to see you at the Zoo!

New Dynamite Pilot for Fall-Con, MPLS

Hey All,

I’ll have a new issue of Dynamite Pilot for Fall-Con. You may ask, what’s new with the series? First and foremost, I’ve gone to ALL COLOR COMICS. No more black and white for me. I’ve even went back and colored Issue #1. The plot? Check out the cover (titillating, no?) and read the book. Pre-orders are being taken; 36 page Graphic Novel bound, full color, $10.

-Spanky Cermak

Dynamite Pilot Issue #2 Cover
Topless girl and a gun?! Sounds interesting...

First Annual Cartoonist Conspiracy Comic Book Swap this Sunday in Minneapolis

I’m having an old-fashioned comic book swap in my back yard this Sunday from 1-3PM. Bring stuff you want to trade and let’s have some fun.

Please bring these varieties of things for trade:

-Comic books
-Books of comics
-Original comic art
-Cartooning-related art supplies
-Other comics or cartooning-related things

Please do not bring anything to trade that has no relation to comics or cartooning.

No money allowed… we are operating strictly on barter, as it is more fun.

I’ll also have a good fairly large CRT computer monitor for free to the first person who can haul it away.

If you don’t know where I live and want to participate, please email me for more info:

Also, don’t forget about the Arty Garage Sale at Altered Esthetics on Saturday from 8-2PM.

Lutefisk Sushi Volume D Opens This Friday! (August 6th)

Lutefisk Sushi Volume D opens this Friday! The show features a limited-edition (150), hand silkscreened, 3D bento box full of mini-comics by over 50 Minnesota cartoonists for only $25! See original art and other work by the cartoonists all over the walls of the gallery, including a bunch of work by featured artist Danno Klonowski (Manly Tales of Cowardice). Also, don’t miss little funny Series II, small boxes of micro-comics sold out of an old cigarette vending machine.

The show has been included in the A-List in this week’s City Pages.

Please tell your friends, blog readers, social networking website compadres, co-workers, parents, cousins, casual associates, and random people on the street of the opening this Friday, August 6th from 7 – 10 PM at Altered Esthetics!

Altered Esthetics • 1224 Quincy St NE, Mpls MN 55413   •   612.378.8888

Promotional materials below.

Postcard Resources!

Postcard front, small jpg

Postcard front, large pdf

Postcard back, small jpg

Postcard back, large pdf

Misc Show Sites

Sushi Website

Facebook Event

LSD – Facebook website

Lutefisk Sushi Artists Potluck this Saturday, July 31st!

The participating artist potluck for Lutefisk Sushi (and little funny Series II) is this Saturday, July 31st from 1-3PM at Altered Esthetics. If you participated in either project, I hope to see you there.

Some things to note:

– You can pick up your contributor Lutefisk Sushi Volume D box at the potluck! Don’t forget to get your name checked off the list when you do.

– This is the deadline to drop off your framed art to hang for the show. Please bring some, if possible. More than one item is great… too much art to fit on the walls is a much better position to be in than not enough! Note that it is not a requirement that the art you display be from your comic in the Sushi box.

– This is the deadline for dropping off your issues of little funny. There is still time to make one! Email me if you need a number:

– Pick up promotional Lutefisk Sushi Volume D postcards to distribute.

– Don’t forget to remind your friends, blog readers, co-workers, parents, cousins, casual associates, and random people on the street that the Lutefisk Sushi opening is Friday, August 6th from 7 – 10 PM! Promotional materials below.

– Bring one item of food… it is a potluck!

Postcard Resources!

Postcard front, small jpg

Postcard front, large pdf

Postcard back, small jpg

Postcard back, large pdf

Misc Show Sites

Sushi Website

Facebook Event

LSD – Facebook website