SWANN FOUNDATION'S SIREN SONG
The Library of Congress' Caroline and Erwin Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon is offering a graduate fellowship for caricature and cartoon for the 2003-2004 academic year. Applications for the annual fellowship, which includes a $15,000 stipend, are due by February 14, 2003. According to the press release, "an applicant must be a candidate for an M.A. or Ph.D. degree in a university in the United States, Canada or Mexico; working toward the completion of a dissertation or thesis for that degree; or engaged in postgraduate research within three years of receiving an M.A. or Ph.D." Further information and application forms are available online.
INFO: Library of Congress
posted by Egon on Tuesday, August 27, 2002

X-RAY SPX
The past weeks have seen a deluge of information regarding the upcoming Expo: SPX 2002. Ignatz Award nominees have been announced, as have accepted contributors to the SPX 2002 anthology. The 352-page book, with a biographical theme, features a front cover by David Mazzucchelli and a full color back cover strip by James Kochalka. A complete table of contents and five sample strips are available on the Expo's web site. The book will debut at SPX and will be available in comic book shops in September.
INFO: SPXpo.com
posted by Egon on Tuesday, August 27, 2002

REX MD'S RX
Rex Morgan, M.D., one of the funny pages' remaining continuity strips, is taking a stand on subsidized health care, the Globe and Mail reports. Woody Wilson, the current caretaker of the long-running strip, has initiated a new story in which a character loses his job and is subsequently unable to pay for cancer treatment. In the aftermath of the character's death, his wife becomes suicidal and his daughter turns to drugs. "All because they couldn't afford health insurance," Doc Morgan observes. "We've never made people laugh; we're about informing and entertaining," says Wilson. The strip's position on health care "is going to be a recurring theme for years to come." Rex Morgan, M.D. runs in 300 newspapers and reaches 30 million readers.
INFO: The Globe and Mail
posted by Egon on Tuesday, August 27, 2002

PORTUGUESE FAN O' MOORE
The extensive and frequently updated Alan Moore Fan Site reports that Alan Moore will be the subject of a major retrospective at the Amadora Comics Center (CNBDI) in Portugal. The exhibit, featuring an extensive selection of original pages, artwork and scripts, will begin on September 20 and is being held in conjunction with Amadora's annual comics festival, the FIBDA (Festival Internacional de Banda Desenhada da Amadora). David Lloyd and Kevin O'Neill will be on hand for the opening of the Moore exhibit; other Moore collaborators, including Rick Veitch, Melinda Gebbie and Oscar Zarate will appear later during the retrospective, on display at the CNBDI's gallery through December.
INFO: Alan Moore Fan Site
posted by Egon on Monday, August 26, 2002

MAULDIN IN NEED
A columnist for the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reports on Pulitzer Prize winning editorial cartoonist Bill Mauldin's current situation. Mauldin, a favorite of Charles Schulz, rose to fame for his World War II era cartoons satirizing army life. The 80 year old cartoonist lives in a California nursing home, incapacitated after a household accident. Rheta Grimely Johnson writes: "Gordon Dillow, a columnist for The Orange County Register, heard about Mauldin's predicament. At the request of family members, Dillow has organized a schedule for World War II veterans to spend a few minutes with the famous Bill Mauldin. The visits from vets seem to cheer him." Additionally, Dillow continues to solicit greeting cards. Cards and letters can be sent to Mauldin in care of the following address:
Gordon Dillow
P.O. Box 11626
Santa Ana, CA 92711-1626
INFO: Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal
posted by Egon on Monday, August 26, 2002

OUT OF CENTRAL CITY
Comicon.com's "Pulse" reports that Will Eisner's next graphic novel will be "Sundiata, the Lion King of Mali." The full color African folk tale is the latest in a series of classic stories and fairy tales published by NBM. The graphic novel will be available in November and will be followed by Eisner's biography of "Oliver Twist's" Fagin.
INFO: Comicon.com
PREVIEW: NBM Publishing
posted by Egon on Monday, August 26, 2002

SERIAL KILLER APP
Tom Hart has begin beating the hype drum hard online, building advance buzz for the latest iteration of the Modern Tales webcomics-for-money publishing model. Serializer.net will be a new online comics anthology edited by Hart and set to debut October 1. Anchored by "Trunktown," a daily collaboration between Hart and online cartoonist Shaenon Garrity, the site will also feature weekly strips by Nick Bertozzi, Jasen Lex, Lauren Weinstein, Sam Henderson, Ethan Persoff, Howard Cruse, Erik Milliken, Thor Jensen, Matt Feazell and others. Subscriptions to the site will cost $2.95 a month, or $1.95 per month for current Modern Tales subscribers.
INFO: Serializer.net
LINK: Trunktown.com
LINK: Modern Tales.com
posted by Egon on Monday, August 26, 2002