SATRAPI ON EBADI, IN PICTURES
The December 10 New York Times ran a comic strip by Marjane Satrapi titled "The Diary of a Nobelist," commenting on Shirin Ebadi's acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize. Satrapi served as Ebadi's translator at a press conference following the award announcement, as depicted in the strip.
INFO: The New York Times
posted by Egon on Thursday, December 11, 2003

COLE, ELDER, KURTZMAN UP FOR BID
The New York Times reports on "Playboy at 50," a selection of Hugh Hefner's memorabilia to be auctioned by Christie's on Wednesday, December 17. According to Christie's website, the auction includes "cartoons by Jack Cole, Eldon Dedini, John Dempsey, Erich Sokol and Shel Silverstein." Also up for bid are several pieces of original art from Harvey Kurtzman and Will Elder's "Little Annie Fanny." One lot includes a typed letter from Kurtzman to Hefner discussing possible approaches to the strip along with six ink-and-pencil sketches. The auction additionally includes a gag cartoon by Hefner from an early issue of the magazine. According to the Times: "Asked if he ever regretted not remaining a cartoonist, [Hefner] and several other people in the room burst into laughter. 'I know what the life of a cartoonist is like,' he answered, 'and I know what my life is like.'" All items up for bid can be viewed on Christie's website.
INFO: The New York Times
INFO: Christie's
posted by Egon on Thursday, December 11, 2003

JOHN McLENAN IN COCONINO WORLD
The latest issue of the Coconino Webdo includes "Mr. Slim's Adventures," a sequential, captioned picture story by John McLenan that ran in Harper's New Monthly Magazine in 1855. According to Thierry Smolderen's announcement to the Platinum Age Comics mailing list, "John McLenan drew quite a number of sequential comic strips in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, between 1855 and 1863 (Frank Bellew being the other artist doing that kind of stuff)." The Webdo also runs artwork by Harry Grant Dart and Lyonel Feininger, among other pieces.
INFO: Coconino Webdo
posted by Egon on Thursday, December 11, 2003

HOYA SAXA COMIX
Georgetown University's School for Summer and Continuing Education will offer "Examining Comic Books as Literature" as a weekly evening course running February 3 through March 30, 2004. Instructor A. David Lewis plans to "employ literary theory, psychoanalytical theory, myth criticism, industry studies, and the possibility of visiting professionals" in a study of comics as literary texts. Class registration is open to the general public.
INFO: The Caption Box
posted by Egon on Thursday, December 11, 2003

NACAE POSTS BRUNETTI'S SYLLABUS
The National Association of Comic Arts Educators' website has been updated with new material including the syllabus for Ivan Brunetti's "Cartooning," an eight-week course the artist developed for Columbia College Chicago's Continuing Education department. In addition to the text of Brunetti's syllabus, the website makes available an archive of graphics used in the class as visual illustrations. Other additions to the NACAE's website include two teaching excersises by Ellen Forney, one on "Expressive Lettering and Balloons" and another titled "Iconographic Language in Comics."
INFO: NACAE
posted by Egon on Wednesday, December 10, 2003

ANGOULÊME PRIZE NOMINEES NAMED
Nominations for the 2004 "Prix d'Angoulême" awards, formerly the "Alph-Art" awards, were announced yesterday, December 9, as reported by BDNews.net. Awards will be given January 22 at the Festival International de la BD in Angoulême, France. The complete list of nominees follows:

Meilleur Album (Best Album)
- "L'Ascension du Haut Mal Vol. 6" by David B.
- "Blonde Platine" by Adrian Tomine
- "Broderies" by Marjane Satrapi
- "Le Combat Ordinaire" by Manu Larcenet
- "Lupus Vol. 1" by Frédérik Peeters
- "Daredevil Vols. 4 & 5" by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev
- "La Vie de Ma Mère" by Thierry Jonquet and Jean-Christophe Chauzy

Meilleur Scénario (Best Story)
- "Caravane" by Jorge Zentner and Olivié
- "Cuervos Vol. 1" by Marazano and Durand
- "La Grippe Coloniale Vol. 1" by Appollo and Huo-Chao-Si
- "Planètes Vol. 3" by Makoto Yukimura
- "La Ligue des Gentlemen Extraordinaires Vols. 3 & 4" by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill
- "Mémoires d'un Commercial" by Morvandiau
- "Sandman Vol. 4" by Neil Gaiman and various

Meilleur Dessin (Best Art)
- "Blacksad Vol. 2" by Juan Diaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido
- "Le Commis Voyageur" by Seth
- "Hulk Vol. 2" by Brian Azzarello and Richard Corben
- "Les Contes du Septième Souffle Vol. 2" by Eric Adam and Hugues Micol
- "Le Curé Vol. 2" by Laurent Lacoste and Christian De Metter
- "Leviathan" by Jens Harder
- "Ping Pong Vol. 1" by Taiyo Matsumoto

Meilleur Premier Album (Best First Album)
- "Betty Blues" by Renaud Dillies
- "Hector Umbra Vol. 1" by Uli Oesterle
- "Kuklos (Coll. Latitudes)" by Sylvain Ricard and Christophe Gaultier
- "Ludologie" by Ludovic Debeurme
- "Palaces" by Hureau
- "Soupe froide" by Charles Masson
- "La Tendresse des Crocodiles" by Bernard F.

Meilleure Série (Best Series)
- "20th Century Boys" by Naoki Urasawa
- "Bételgeuse" by Léo
- "Bouncer" by François Boucq and Alexandro Jodorowsky
- "Black Hole" by Charles Burns
- "Donjon" created by Joann Sfar and Lewis Trondheim
- "Sambre" created by Balac and Yslaire
- "Stéphane Clément" by Daniel Ceppi

Prix du Patrimoine de la BD (Best Historical Reprint)
- "Ayako" by Osamu Tezuka
- "L'Anthologie A.B. Frost" by Arthur Burdett Frost
- "Clifton" by Raymond Macherot
- "Coups d'éclat" by Yoshihiro Tatsumi
- "Lycaons" by Alex Barbier
- "M Le Magicien" by Massimo Mattioli
- "Social Fiction" by Chantal Montellier
INFO: BDNews
posted by Egon on Wednesday, December 10, 2003

FOUR FRANCOPHONE PRIZES GIVEN
The winners of four French-language comics prizes have been named, BDNews.net reports. The Association des Critiques et Journalistes de Bandes Dessinées (ACBD) has given the "Prix de la Critique" to "La Grippe Coloniale Vol. 1: Le Retour d'Ulysse" by Serge Huo-Chao-Si and Appollo. The sixth volume of David B.'s "L'Ascension du Haut Mal" (the first three volumes of which were translated into English as "Epileptic Vol. 1") received the town of Geneva's "Prix International," with the "Prix Rodolphe Töpffer" going to Guillaume Long for "Les Sardines Sont Cuites." Finally, the "Prix Goscinny," given annually to a writer of comics for youth, was given to Riad Sattouf for "Les Jolis Pieds de Florence." The "Prix Goscinny" is overseen by René Goscinny's daughter, Anne Goscinny.
INFO: BDNews
posted by Egon on Monday, December 08, 2003

KARIKATUR ADDS SIMPLICISSIMUS
John Adcock has added images from early issues of Germany's "Simplicissimus" magazine to his budding "Karikatur" website. Eckart Sackman provided some background on the magazine to the Platinum Age Comics mailing list: "The satirical magazine 'Simplicissimus' was founded by Albert Langen in 1896. The same year saw the birth of another German magazine, 'Jugend', which gave its name to the 'Jugendstil' ('art nouveau'). Much of the artwork in 'Simplicissimus' was very up to date Jugendstil, ornament and flowing lines. At the same time, 'Simplicissimus' employed artists who came from the old tradition of 'Fliegende Blätter', still (and still for a long time) the flagship of German humorous drawings." Adcock, who is scanning the work from bound library collections, described his initial findings: "From the beginning the two prime artists were Thomas Theodor Heine, Schulz, Reznicek, and J. B. Engl. The Paris artist Willette contributed to some of the later issues. All drew covers, huge single-panel work and sequential comic pages, sometimes wordless, sometimes with captions. Wordless was the preference. Simplicissimus was not a comic journal, like Punch or Judy, it was more of a satirical magazine, and closer to the sensibility of fine art and caricature." Images posted include a silent, full-page sequential comic by Schulz (no first name given), from an 1896 issue.
INFO: Karikatur: Schulz
INFO: Yahoo Groups: Platinum Age Comics
posted by Egon on Monday, December 08, 2003

COCONINO: WALLACE MORGAN &c.
Coconino World has launched a new website dedicated to sketch artist and illustrator Wallace Morgan. Morgan, who lived from 1873 to 1948, was a New York artist whose work was noted for faithful naturalism. Early in his career, Morgan "would go out with reporters and detectives on stories so as to be able to present the scene and the characters in it as he knew them to have been, not as he might imagine them after reading the reporter's story," according to biographical material included on the website. Morgan illustrated stories by writers including Somerset Maugham and P.G. Wodehouse, but excelled in graphic reportage. "With the writer Julian Street, he travelled all over America, sketching mill towns, New Orleans Creole scenes, Mississippi floods and plantations." During World War I, Morgan "was one of a group of artists who went overseas with the Amercican forces. He sketched noted battles on French soil, and was often under fire during his year in France." He provided illustrations to prominent magazines for the remainder of his career. Coconino World has also posted a new Coconino Webdo, including 19th century sequential comics by Bahr and H. M. Wilder, along with contemporary art and comics.
INFO: Wallace Morgan
INFO: Coconino Webdo
posted by Egon on Monday, December 08, 2003