Notable Links for 03/08

Man, this was a pretty slow news day, all things considered. I just wish that certain news syndicates wouldn't keep running to Garry Trudeau for two-second sound bites, because the word "cartoonist" invariably brings up a match on Google News. Yes, I know that Trudeau thinks Bush is funny, no, I don't think its newsworthy, sorry.

* "Damon Hurd, the Eisner nominated creator of My Uncle Jeff and A Sort of Homecoming, has begun a drive to raise funds for the indicted Mayor of New Paltz, NY, USA. On Febuary 28 Mayor Jason West officated 21 gay weddings in protest of state law forbidding same-sex marriages. Mayor West was indicted on 19 charges of misdemeanor charges. This has since sparked a nation wide debate over the issue." Go to Hurd's website here to see how you can help. Link courtesy of Silver Bullet Comics.

* The Austin Chronicle reviews James Kochalka's latest release, "Peanutbutter & Jeremy's Best Book Ever!", here.

* The Shelby Star reports on a recent uproar in North Carolina over the popular manga "Love Hina" - apperantly its got sexual innuendo. Oooh, scary. Read more here.

* The Baltimore Sun weighs in on the recent legal battle between Todd McFarlane and Neil Gaiman here.

* This weekend saw a cartoon and comic-art festival in Imphal, India, organized by the All Manipur Working Journalist Union (AMWJU) and World Comics India (WCI) at the Manipur Press club. Read all about it here, courtesy of E-Pao.com.

* Silver Bullet Comics has a talk with "Clumsy", "Unlikely", and "Be A Man!" creator Jeffrey Brown here.

* The Albany Times-Union takes a brief look at the history of the comic strip here.

* Yesterday - March 7th - marked the 37th anniversary of the first performance of "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown." The play would run Off-Broadway at Theatre 80 St. Marks Place for 1,597 performances, before retiring to a successful afterlife of perpetual junior-and-regular-high school production. Read more here (scroll down a bit) courtesy of Playbill.

* Barb Lien-Cooper defends Mark Millar's faux-controversial funny animal satire "The Unfunnies" here, link courtesy of Silver Bullet Comics.

* Singapore Graphic artist and cartoonist Lee Chee Chew took the Award of Excellence for Special Coverage from the annual Society for News Design. Read more here, courtesy of the Straits Times.

* Here's a very interesting piece on the connections between William Blake and comics. I've always thought that was an area ripe for more exploration myself. Link courtesy of X-Tra Online (and thanks to BT at the Comics Journal messageboard for pointing it out!).

* Newsarama takes an interesting look back at DC's ill-fated but fondly remembered "beginner" comics line, Impact, here.

* This is kinda-sorta a press-release type thing, but I think its a worthy cause nonetheless: Aardwulf continues to show their appreciation for the comics greats of yesteryear with their new anthology "God's Fifteen Minutes". Read more here, courtesy of Silver Bullet Comics.

* "Their art is often seen but rarely recognized. It adorns the covers of countless books and the pages of world newspapers and magazines. It stars in today’s most popular animated films. And yet, top illustrators -- such as Jack Davis (Mad Magazine), Peter deSeve ('Finding Nemo') and Mark Alan Stamaty ('Washingtoon' comic strip) -- remain virtually anonymous. 'People ask what I do and when I tell them I’m an illustrator, they smile and nod, but I can tell they are confused,' Davis said, laughing." Read more here, courtesy of the Herald Online.

* "If you don't think "fun" and "modern art" belong in the same sentence, take a look at the American art that exploded on the scene in the 1960s in "Pop! From San Francisco Collections" at the S.F. Museum of Modern Art. It explores how mass culture turned the art world on its head with Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup can, Roy Lichtenstein's super-enlarged romance comic strips and Wayne Thiebaud's candy machines." Read more here (scroll down a few days), link courtesy of the Contra Costa Times.

* This is funny. Apperantly, a recent negative review of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" recieved a slew of negative reaction for the Richmond Times-Dispatch... but apperantly the reaction was nothing compared to the reaction when that same paper pulled "Mary Worth" recently. Makes you think.

* Peter Conrad of the UK Guardian examines Tintin's appeal here.

* Courtesy of my wife: here's an article about the famous Czechoslovakian animator Zdenek Miler on the 50th anniversary of his most famous creation, Krtek (or, the "little mole".) Courtesy of the New York Times.

* David Giffey of Wisconsin's Capital Times takes a look back at the ill-fated 1952 presidential campaign of Mr. Pogo Possum here.

* The Honolulu Star-Bulletin reviews Tokyopop's "Smoke and Mirros" here.

* A recent Pat Oliphant cartoon on the subject of Mel Gibson evoked the ire of many nun-loving readers who just didn't get the point. Link courtesy of Boston.com.

* "On the night of March 3, the Irvine Conservative Student Union invited Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist and UCI alumnus Michael Ramirez to speak to students on topics of politics and journalism." Read more about the speech here, courtesy of UC Irvine's New University.

* The fallout from the recent "racist" cartoon published by Columbia University satire paper "The Fed" continues here, link courtesy of The Hilltop.

* "Shaquille O'Neal had always had a thing for Superman. He has Superman bed sheets, a Superman motorcycle helmet and two giant flowerbeds shaped like a Superman logo in his front yard. Now O'Neal and 39 other NBA players are getting to play superheroes in four NBA-licensed comic books. As a member of the Ultimate Sports Force, players such as Shaq, Allan Houston, Stephon Marbury and Jason Kidd find themselves fighting to protect the world's resources instead of their playoff positions." Read more here, corutesy of New York Newsday.

* More James Kochalka: his subconscious mind is his own worst critic.

* Someone seems to have been inspired by the sterling career of Lex Luthor. Write your own pith, folks. Courtesy of U-Redlands.