Sat. Open Studio, Jan. 12, noon – 4 p.m.

Saturday Open Studio
Start the new year right!
Sat., Jan. 12, noon to 4 p.m., MCBA

Please join the gang at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts for the Saturday Open Studio. If you can’t find us in the MCBA building, ask the friendly person working in the MCBA bookstore. This is an open studio for all cartoonists, so come and and draw.

Minnesota Center for Book Arts
(Just down the street from Big Brain Comics)
1011 Washington Ave S, Suite 100
Minneapolis, MN 55415
Phone: 612-215-2520

Upcoming Sat. Open Studios:
Feb. 9 – in the lower level print studio
March 15 – in the flexi space
April 5 – in the Bindery (the high tables!)

Inspiration: Golden Age Comic Book Stories blog

If you are in the mood to see some amazing classic artwork you need to check out Mr Door Tree’s Golden Age Comic Book Stories blog. Here posts included samples of artist like Winsor McCay, N. C. Wyeth, Burne Hogarth, Franklin Booth, Frank Frazetta, and Maxfield Parrish. The classic illustrations featured on the blog are the stepping stone that lead to comic strips and comic books as we know them and are sure to make many an artist drool over some of the beautiful work.

As being the start of the new year 2008 this illustration by Winsor McCay seems to be appropriate.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2008!

DOWNLOAD THE LUTEFISK SUSHI VOLUME C SUBMISSIONS DOC

Above: A rendition of the Conspiracy Logo Fiend by Lutefisk Sushi Volume C featured artist Kevin Cannon from the Big Time Attic Blog. Click it to download the submission info.

You can download and print the Lutefisk Sushi submission info here.

If you don’t have software for viewing a word document, you can get high-quality, free office software at openoffice.org.

LUTEFISK SUSHI "C"

IT’S COMING!!!!!

LUTEFISK SUSHI VOLUME C CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

The third Cartoonist Conspriacy organized Lutefisk Sushi event, Lutefisk Sushi Volume C will be happening at Altered Esthetics in May 2008 (the month of Art-A-Whirl!).
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the previous events/compilations, you can see more about them here and here.
We need submissions!
The focus of the show will again be around a big ol’ fancy hand-serigraphed box of mini-comics with a cover by featured artist Kevin Cannon.
It will be limited to 150 copies… every participant will receive one.
To participate:
1) You must live in Minnesota.
2) You must provide us with 160 copies of your comic.
Not 161, not 159, not 2,364. 160.
Your mini-comic can be no larger than 5.5″ x 8.5″, or it won’t fit.
It can be any format and length. For the first set we even had a scroll hand-silkscreened in invisible ink. Please only submit one title, as space is limited.
3) You may also include other comics or other items you wish to have sold at the gallery. Make sure your name is in the comic somewhere and put a price on the cover. Also include a folded 3×5 card with the name of the comic and the price on it for each comic you are selling. If we do not have an obvious way of telling how much your comic costs, we will not sell it (note when pricing that the gallery gets 30% of the sales price).
We will do our best to be fair about the limited display space we have for various items… if you submit a lot of items, we may not have room to display them all.
4) You must matte, frame, or otherwise make presentable and hangable any originals you intend to have displayed. If you don’t do this we will not hang your work… frames can be purchased cheaply easily enough at thrift stores and other places. It is not required that you display originals, but it is encouraged. Put your name and the price of the piece on the back of the piece (note when pricing that the gallery gets 30% of the sales price).
5) You must submit everything by no later than March 15, 2008.
6) You must include the form with your submission. Submissions without forms will not be included in the show.
7) Every participant will receive a bento box. You must show up on opening night to pick up your Bento Box, or you must make other arrangements before then if you plan on getting one.
8) You must pick up your remaining original artwork, unsold comics and money (if any) at the end of the show. Any money or artwork not picked up by the artists will be kept by the gallery to do with as they please.
9) While it is not required, your assistance would be greatly appreciated collating the Bento Boxes at the collating party. We will also be looking for many volunteers to hang out and draw jam comics during art-a-whirl. You’re also encouraged to suggest and organize other related activities for the month.
We intend to include in the box all submissions that meet ALL these criteria.
Please read the criteria carefully before submitting, as it takes a LOT of our time and resources to go back and hassle people for items they are missing.
Entries not meeting ALL of the above criteria will NOT be included in the box.

No previous comic book making experience is necessary to participate.

While we plan on having all entries meeting the criteria included in the Lutefisk Sushi Volume C Bento Box, if we get a lot of entries, we may have to cut it off somewhere- we’ll let you know if the limit is getting close on the conspiracy website.
We had around 50 participants last time, and the box was packed to overflowing. First come, first served, so get your submissions in early.
In addition to the boxes, there will also be a lot of original artwork from the participating cartoonists on the walls. Using the artwork from the comic you submit to the Bento Box is preferred, although it is not required. ALL artwork should be priced for sale… let’s make the gallery some money. Submitting multiple items for display is fine, although we can’t guarantee we will have room for everything.
In addition to the main show, there will also be a “sideshow” featuring the art of Kevin Cannon.
Profits from the originals and comics will be split with the artists and gallery 70 (artists)-30 (gallery).
Profits from the Bento Boxes will go first to reimburse our miscellaneous production expenses, and then to the gallery (which is a wonderful non-profit organization we are thrilled to be involved with).
Lutefisk Sushi Volume B is being sponsored and organized by The International Cartoonist Conspiracy (www.cartoonistconspiracy.com), Altered Esthetics (alteredesthetics.org) and Big Time Attic (www.bigtimeattic.com).

LUTEFISK SUSHI VOLUME C PARTICIPATION FORM

Name:

Address:

Phone Number:

Email Address:

Name of the work you are submitting to the Bento Box:

Indicate prices of any originals included here (and on the backs of the originals):

Indicate prices and titles of any comics you are selling here (and on the books.. also include a folded 3×5 card with the name and price of each book you are giving us to sell):

I am aware that The International Cartoonist Conspiracy, Big Time Attic, and Altered Ethetics do not insure or agree to be responsible for any theft, damage, or loss of any article. I freely choose to exhibit in Altered Esthetics and I agree to accept any and all loss, theft, or damage resulting directly or indirectly from registrant’s participation in these activities.
In return for the benefits I will receive from participation, I agree to not sue or to hold the organizers, their directors, officers, employees, agents, and volunteers responsible for any loss, theft, or damage connected with registrant’s participation in the exhibition.

SIGN HERE

Send this form along with your submissions and the standard Altered Esthetics exhibition contract (http://www.alteredesthetics.com/2008ExhibitionContract.pdf) to:

BIG TIME ATTIC
1618 Central Ave. NE Suite 216
Minneapolis, MN 55413
(612) 521-7423
Questions? Contact Danno at staplegenius at yahoo.com

St. Paul Cartoonist Conspiracy December Jam Comic

The last St. Paul Cartoonist Conspiracy jam comic for 2007 was finished nearly three weeks ago.

Turns out that traveling during the holidays takes a lot out of a person and their desire to do anything. Thus, three weeks later, you are presented with “Krampus Returns.”

The St. Paul Cartoonist Conspiracy meets every third Thursday of the month at Cosmic’s Coffee Shoppe, which is located at the northwest corner of Snelling Ave. and Selby Ave.

Meanwhile, our crosstown rivals, the Minneapolis Cartoonist Conspiracy meet every first Thursday of the month (TOMORROW!) at Diamond’s Coffee Shoppe from 6 – 10 PM. See the following post for more details.

The Super Secret Last Jam of the Year in San Francisco CA

The fine folks of the Cartoonist Conspiracy San Francisco met one last tine this last Thursday to Comic Jam a bit before the new year arrives. The Jam was last minuet and not publicized due to the busy week we (I) was having…so sorry to anyone in our group who missed it.

The Jam was low key and fun and we have photos (on Flickr) to prove it. These were taken by my friend Adam Abrams who is visiting from Vancouver Canada. Enjoy.

Oh Yeah…COMICS!!!

Since David Steinlicht(allsmall.net) foolishly encouraged me (danno) to write more film reviews for the site, I’m going to keep that up (fortunatly, I don’t hit the first-run theatre that often).

David however remembered the site is called CARTOONISTconspiracy.com and actually made a comic inspired by the SWEENEY TODD review below.

Enjoy Davids cartoon at allsmall.net

Also, be sure to check out the book “Seed Queen: The Story of Crop Art and the Amazing Lillian Colton” by Colleen Sheehy that David did the cover for.
He also does cartoons and designs for some newspaper for some city no one cares about.

SWEENEY TODD–Bloody…well, bloody.

So, given the choice X-MAS morning of seeing SWEENEY TODD with my wife and daughter, or going to ALIENSvsPREDATOR 2 by myself, I sucked-up my hatred for musicals and relied on my love of Tim Burton/Depp/Etc and saw Sweeney.

Hindsight being 20/20, I should have saw the space monsters.

SWEENEY had playful musical numbers that bored me to tears, and more gallons of fake blood than a after-school club for vampire lovers.

Speaking of vampires, I knew I was in trouble when a third of the way in, Sasha “Borat” Cohens awesome turn as an Italian uber-barber was upstaged–in my mind– by a cameo from Anthony Stewart “GILES from Buffy” Head. Head had one line. And I was more excited by that one line than anything else in the movie.

I should note, if you’re a goth, its practically porn, so….hope you’re goth!

I could be wrong about Burtons labor of love, but I think I’m right in saying that drop for bloody drop SWEENEY TODD has little to offer entertainment-wise to the masses.
Or as my wife put it-
“I really liked that…but i NEVER need to see it again.”