FLOG! Entries tagged 'Peter Kuper'

MAD Day in NYC

TheJenVaughn

It was a mad, Mad afternoon when Robin McConnell, MK Reed and I dropped into the Mad Office. Assistant Art Director and comics consumer Ryan Flanders reluctantly fell for my charms and agreed to a tour even though their deadline loomed large a few days later (hey, we don't want to impede a dying medium, right?). Even the guards had a cute shtick that took 5 minutes of my life and a humorless person would have left. Luckily, that's not me.

Ryan started off the tour by showing us his first office at MAD, it's near the door, pretty cold but looks a bit similar to mine at Fantagraphics.

The MADtropolitan Museum of Art showed off some of the best and brightest of recent hilarious paintings, complete in their gold gilded plastic frames melted down from the plastic noses and vintage glasses frames of the cancelled shows The Real Housewives of Jersey and Williamsburg.

The props display case was amazing from Gutrot which I've definitely drank and Spy vs Spy toilet paper. Photoshop ain't got nothing on printed, folded and glued cardboard.

Everyone else in the office was just as charming, waiting for the day their piles of tchotchkies bury them. Art Director (and a cartoonist himself) Sam Viviano showed off some amazing original artwork and Sculpey sculptures created for photo-shoots. Check out that DREW FRIEDMAN drawing over Ryan's shoulder.

The Wall of Artists is tagged anytime a Mad-contributing creator stops by the office. Nate Neal (who created Sanctuary) was on the board. Many of our creators worked at or for MAD like Al Feldstein, Jack Davis, Will Elder, Harvey Kurtzman and Noah Van Sciver to name a few.

One of my favorite props was an actual headstone used as a support structure in the office created for a back cover thanks to a Feldstein/Gaines joke.

Ryan's new office turned out to be a nightmare, so well organized I made a mental note to courier him a spring-loaded box of trash upon my return home.

Like any good office the mail room is actually where all the good stuff is located (at Fantagraphics, our fridge is in there). Snuggled among packing materials and one hell of a cutting board are sexy flat files full of Al Jaffee, Tom Bunk � EVEN a Tom Fowler, internet friend.

LOOK at this Al Jaffee fold-in drawing. My dream is to have one printed SOMEDAY, SOMEHOW instead of lamely attaching my fold-in to the magazine and tricking my friends into thinking it was actually printed in the magazine.

Jewish Batman, you slay me. That utility belt must have some tasty kosher deserts near the back. (by Al Jaffee)

One beautiful Jack Davis drawing that was REJECTED from the magazine (or Davis decided to redraw) blew me away. The best part was the tattoo "My Mom Loves Me" is infinitely better than Mother tattoos of the world.

In gorgeous ink and the now-illegal duoshade/duotone. Please place your drinks down, Fantagraphics and MAD magazine are not responsible for your spittle shorting out your keyboard.

Despite the slow decline of the magazine industry, MAD magazine has lived on, able to pay cartoonists for their work (wow-za!) and maintain a staff. By raising prices and creating a Mad reading app, they stay current and accessible. MAD's first audience may be a bit gray in the face now as they celebrate their 60th anniversary but continue to wow audiences. As a kid, I didn't have much access to the magazines but my grandmother would buy any books at any yard, church or library sale. Three rooms in their house were lined with built-in-books shelves and in the ‘humor' or comic sections lay the trade paperback editions of MAD (often with the cover ripped off). Ryan was kind enough to explain that most of those were unused comics and many have not been reprinted to this day due to copyright ambiguity. Sounds like something for a legal intern to help them figure out.

As long as parents send kids care packages at camp, people stay overnight in the hospital and Hollywood makes bottom-feeder television and convoluted movies, MAD will reign supreme. Thanks again to Ryan Flanders for the tour, Robin McConnell for some of the photos (there are MILLIONS more here) and MK Reed for the company.

Guests for MoCCA Fest 2011 announced

mike

Convention season is getting into full swing and after Emerald City ComiCon this weekend our next stop is the 2011 MoCCA Fest in New York City, April 9-10. The festival announced the lineup of guests and we've got Peter Bagge, Michael Kupperman, Ted Stearn, Leslie Stein and (pending confirmation) Gahan Wilson hanging out with us at our table, with several other old friends of ours in attendance as well (including but not limited to Peter Kuper, who designed the official festival poster above). We're also pleased that Al Jaffee will be presented the 2011 Klein Award. Stay tuned for more details from us; in the meantime, check out the official festival announcement here.

UPDATE: He's not on the official Festival guest list but we've got Stephen DeStefano too!

UPDATE #2: Gahan Wilson is now confirmed! Yay!

Steve Brodner: Society of Illustrators Gold Medalist

mike

Congratulations to Steve Brodner, who reveals on his blog that he's been awarded a Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators for his above editorial illo for The New Yorker. Our pal Peter Kuper also picked up a Silver Medal in the Books category. The award ceremony takes place on Friday evening, and Steve and Peter appear on a panel discussion titled "Artists Against the War" on Feb. 10. More info at the preceding links.

GRAPHIC RADICALS: 30 Years of World War 3 Illustrated

mike

Opening December 7 at NYC's prestigious Exit Art gallery, GRAPHIC RADICALS: 30 Years of World War 3 Illustrated, curated by World War 3 Illustrated co-founders Peter Kuper and Seth Tobocman along with Susan Willmarth. This exhibit includes artwork from Peter Bagge, Steve Brodner, Sue Coe, Spain Rodriguez, Joe Sacco, Art Spiegelman, and many, many others. For complete exhibit details and information on the opening reception and schedule of artists' talks, see the full press release after the jump.

GRAPHIC RADICALS: 30 Years of World War 3 Illustrated
December 7, 2010 to February 5, 2011
Opening Tuesday, December 7 / 7-9pm

NEW YORK – Graphic Radicals is a 30th anniversary retrospective of World War 3 Illustrated, an independently published political comic magazine foundedin 1980 by artists Seth Tobocman and Peter Kuper. Comprised of original comics, drawings and paintings, posters, commissioned murals, documentary film, animation and a complete set of issues, Graphic Radicals will be the largest World War 3 exhibition to date and will highlight the history that World War 3 has scrutinized, documented, and participated in for three decades.

World War 3 Illustrated was first established in response to the Iran hostage crisis and impending election of Ronald Reagan and since then has confronted social and political issues ignored by the mainstream press. The magazine is an annual publication produced by a collective of artists with each issue addressing a particular theme. WW3 has covered topics as diverse as the Tompkins Square riot, homelessness, first-person accounts of 9/11, the prison industrial complex, a teachers’ strike in Mexico, Hurricane Katrina rescue efforts and, in the upcoming issue, the food chain. Critic Lucy Lippard wrote of World War 3 Illustrated that its “ecological and social prophecies are coming to pass, and the apocalyptic vision that gives WW3 its desperate force and unique identity is the present.”

ARTISTS
As of November 1st artists included in Graphic Radicals are: Mumia Abu Jamal, Penny Allen, Peter Bagge, Isabella Bannerman, Rosie Bottom, Steve Brodner, Zenzele Browne, Leigh Brownhill, Christopher Cardinale, Sue Coe, Scott Cunningham, Brian Damage, Eric Darton, Eric Drooker, Kate Evans, FLY, Susan Greene, Ethan Heitner, Chris Heneghan, Paula Hewitt, Mirko Ilic, Ryan Inzana, Melissa Jameson, Sandy Jimenez, Sabrina Jones, Kathy Kelly, Tom Keough, Stephen Kroninger, Peter Kuper, Irene Ledwith, Tom McDonald, Mac McGill, Rebecca Migdal, Naji-Al-Ali, Ursula O’Steen, Maddalena Polleta, Kevin Pyle, Carlo Quispe, Corinne Rhodes, Spain Rodriguez, James Romberger, Joe Sacco, Nicole Schulman, Susan Simensky Bietile, Erin Sinefit, Chuck Sperry, Art Spiegelman, Tenesh, Seth Tobocman, Teresa Turner, Lawrence Van Abbema, Anton Van Dalen, Edwin Vazquez, John Williamson, Susan Willmarth, Samantha Wilson, Leah Wishnia, David Wojnarowicz, WW3 Arts In Action, Micah Ian Wright

Organized by Peter Kuper, Seth Tobocman, and Susan Willmarth.

ABOUT THE CURATORS
Peter Kuper is the co-founder of World War 3 Illustrated and remains active on the editorial board and as a cartoonist. His illustrations and comics have been featured in Time, The New York Times, and MAD Magazine, for which he has written and illustrated SPY vs. SPY every issue since 1997. He has produced over twenty books including, The System, an award-winning comic adaptation of Kafka’s Metamorphosis and Diario De Oaxaca, a visual journal of two years in Mexico. He was the 2009 gold medal recipient at the Society of Illustrators for sequential art. He has been teaching courses in comics and illustration at the School of Visual Arts, NY for over two decades.

Seth Tobocman is the co-founder of World War 3 Illustrated and remains active on the editorial board and as a cartoonist. He is the author and illustrator of five graphic books, including You Don’t Have to Fuck People Over to Survive, Portraits of Israelis and Palestinians, and Understanding the Crash. He has participated in exhibitions at ABC No Rio, Exit Art, the Museum of Modern Art and the New Museum of Contemporary Art. His illustrations have appeared in The New York Times among many other publications. He currently teaches at the School of Visual Arts, NY in the Cartooning and Illustration Department.

Susan Willmarth has been an illustrator for the past 30 years. Her illustrations have appeared in New York Magazine, The New York Times, Essence, Ms, World War 3 Illustrated, AK Press, Writers and Readers, and Verso. She also works as a retail magazine buyer and distribution consultant specializing in fringe, ephemeral and foreign titles for Saint Mark’s Bookshop, Spoonbill and Sugartown Booksellers, The Kiosk (Hudson News Distribution), and Magazine Store (Eastern News Distribution).

EVENTS
Tuesday, December 7 / 7-9pm
Opening Night: Issue #41 Release Party
The opening of Graphic Radicals coincides with the release of World War 3 Illustrated: Issue #41 – The Food Chain. Copies of the issue will be available for purchase and artists from the magazine’s long history will be on hand to sign copies.
Everybody eats … but how do we stop from being eaten? This latest batch of new comics unearths some of the answers and asks the big questions about the food chain, our relationship to it and experiences with it. Featuring work by Jennifer Camper, Sue Coe, Sandy Jimenez, Sabrina Jones, Peter Kuper, Mac McGill, Rebecca Migdal, Seth Tobocman and many others. Edited by Ame Gilbert, Ethan Heitner, Sandy Jimenez, Rebecca Migdal, and Edwin Vazquez.

Friday, January 14 / 7-9pm
Picture the Homeless
With artist talks by Seth Tobocman, Mac Mcgill and Rebecca Migdal and music by Eric Blitz and Andy Laties
Picture the Homeless is a grassroots organization of homeless men and women who fight to impact and change policies and systems on issues that directly effect the homeless population such as housing, police violence, and the shelterindustrial complex. http://picturethehomeless.com

Friday, January 21 / 7-9pm
Time’s Up
With artist talks by Peter Kuper and Susan Simensky Bietile
Time’s Up is a New York City-based direct-action non-profit group that organizes events and educational programs to promote a more sustainable city.
http://times-up.org

Wednesday, January 26 / 7-9pm
Milk Not Jails
With artists talks by Sabrina Jones and Kevin Pyle
Milk Not Jails is a consumer campaign to mobilize New York residents to support the dairy industry and the long-term sustainability of the rural economy. It advocates for criminal justice and agriculture policy reform to bring about positive economic growth. http://mailknotjails.wordpress.com

ABOUT EXIT ART
Exit Art is an independent vision of contemporary culture. We are prepared to react immediately to important issues that affect our lives. We do experimental, historical and unique presentations of aesthetic, social, political and environmental issues. We absorb cultural differences that become prototype exhibitions. We are a center for multiple disciplines. Exit Art is a 28-year-old cultural center in New York City founded by Directors Jeanette Ingberman and artist Papo Colo, that has grown from a pioneering alternative art space, into a model artistic center for the 21st century committed to supporting artists whose quality of work reflects the transformations of our culture. Exit Art is internationally recognized for its unmatched spirit of inventiveness and consistent ability to anticipate the newest trends in the culture. With a substantial reputation for curatorial innovation and depth of programming in diverse media, Exit Art is always changing.

EXHIBITION SUPPORT
General exhibition support provided by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts; Bloomberg LP; Jerome Foundation; Lambent Foundation; Pollock- Krasner Foundation; the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn; Exit Art’s Board of Directors and our members.
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EXIT ART 475 Tenth Avenue (at 36th Street), New York, NY 10018
212-966-7745 / www.exitart.org / A, C, E to 34th Street / Penn Station
Open Tue.–Thu., 10am–6pm; Fri., 10am–8pm; and Sat., 12–6pm.

Gary Groth on the teevee in the early '90s

mike

Thanks to Dash Shaw for sending us this bit of YouTube gold: Gary Groth appearing on the Canadian TV program The Anti-Gravity Room sometime in the early 1990s! Following Gary in this clip: Peter Kuper.

Weekend Webcomics for 9/3/10: Dame Darcy, Stephen DeStefano & Steven Weissman

mike

First a bit of related happy news: Peter Kuper's "Ceci n'est pas une comic" (which Peter generously allowed us to host here following its various print appearances) was selected for inclusion in Best American Comics 2010, edited by Neil Gaiman.

This week we're pleased to bring you a sexy & romantic Flog-exclusive unpublished 5-page story by Dame Darcy, a hilarious new strip by Stephen DeStefano which will run for the next 11 weeks, and our usual weekly visit with the President from Steven Weissman:

"The Tunnel of Love" by Dame Darcy (permanent link):

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Monday's Strip by Stephen DeStefano (view larger)

Originally run as an experiment on Stephen's blog starting in 2008, Monday's Strip is re-presented here starting with this fine how-do-you-do, seen here in color for the first time.

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Barack Hussein Obama by Steven Weissman (view at original size):

Now available: the Blab Bargain Bundle

mike

Blab Bargain Bundle
by various artists; edited & designed by Monte Beauchamp

seven 120-page full-color 10" x 10" softcover volumes • $84.00
More Info & Ordering Details

Monte Beauchamp's annual darling of the graphic design and illustration world is a spectacular collection of cutting-edge comics, illustration, and graphic design. Blab!'s list of contributors past and present reads like a Who's Who of the contemporary visual art world. We're pleased to present the following seven volumes together for one low price: $12 per volume — around 40% off the combined cover prices.

Below is a brief description of the contents of each included volume; click the cover thumbnails for more information about each volume.

Vol. 11: Mark Ryden's spectacular cover is the gateway to this issue's visual feast, starring Spain, Richard Sala, Doug Allen, Stephane Blanquet, Peter Kuper, Drew Friedman, Lloyd Dangle, the first part of the Jonathon Rosen sketchbook, and much more!

Vol. 12: Blanquet, Walter Minus, Peter Kuper, Peter Hoey, Spain, Doug Allen, Matti Hagleberg, Greg Clarke, Drew Friedman, Baseman, DEVO's Mark Mothersbaugh, vintage French nudie photos, Krampus cards, plus covers and a story by the Clayton Brothers!

Vol. 13: Peter and Maria Hoey, the Clayton Bros., Sue Coe, Peter Kuper, Drew Friedman, Marc Rosenthal, Spain, Laura Levine, Baseman, Walter Minus, Blanquet, David Goldin, Christian Northeast, Johnson & Smith novelty ads, and a cover by George Eisner!

Vol. 15: Covers by Pop Art virtuoso Lou Brooks, Christian Northeast, Sue Coe on the so-called bird flu, Matti Hagelberg's undead President of Finland, Jeffrey Steele on the Black Dahlia, Peter Kuper's Little Nemo-inspired fantasy, Baseman, and Kilroy.

Vol. 16: Geoffrey Grahn, Laura Levine, Peter and Maria Hoey, Sue Coe, Judith Brody, Sergio Ruzzier, Mats!, Spain, Peter Kuper, Marc Rosenthal, Gary Baseman, The Clayton Brothers, Bob Staake and more. Covers by Tim Biskup.

Vol. 17 Cover by Jonathon Rosen, Shag!, Bazooka Joe, Sue Coe, Greg Clarke, Drew Friedman, Peter Kuper, Mark Landman, Max Vesta, Lou Brooks, Peter and Maria Hoey, Tim Biskup, Gary Baseman, Fred Stonehouse, Marc Rosenthal, Spain, Mats!, and Sergio Ruzzier.

Vol. 18: Paco Alcazar, Ryan Heshka, Skip Williamson, Steven Guarnaccia, Xavier & Helge, Mark Frauenfelder; newbies Travis Louie, Nora Krug, Travis Lampe, Mark Zingarelli, Richard Bears, Randall Enos; regulars Baseman, Biskup, Coe, Kuper, Shag; more!

"Always, always, always worth your consideration." – The Comics Reporter

New Peter Kuper comic

mike

Thanks to Peter Kuper for providing us with his recent award-winning 2-page strip "Ceci n'est pas une comic" (originally published in the Virginia Quarterly Review and elsewhere around the world) to post in our Online Comics section. The last 8 years certainly did seem surreal, didn't they? Click here to read.

Sketchbook #37

Eric

Courtesy Peter Kuper: