"Reading Pictures, Burning Comics": Sept. 25 at Columbia University

This event was announced today on SHARP-L, the discussion list for the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading, and Publishing. I'm very pleased to see a topic on comics as part of this distinguished lecture series!

Reading Pictures, Burning Comics:
New Perspectives on the History of Graphic Narrative

Panel discussion with:
David Berona, Plymouth State University
David Hajdu, Columbia University
Mike Kelly, New York University

September 25
Columbia University
523 Butler Library, 5:30-7 pm

The publication of two recent books -- Berona's Wordless Books [our info] (2008) and Hajdu's Ten-Cent Plague [our info] (2008) -- inspired this panel discussion. Moderator, comics scholar, and rare book curator Mike Kelly will lead a discussion with Berona and Hajdu on current scholarship, historical perspectives, and a consideration of the place wordless books, graphic novels, and comics hold in both contemporary culture and the History of the Book.

Inquiries to: Gerald W. Cloud, Librarian for Reference and Research, Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Columbia University Libraries, 535 West 114th Street, New York, NY 10027. (Ph): 212-854-8481

WIRED 15.11: Manga, Manga and More Manga

The November 2007 issue of WIRED magazine has a bunch of manga-related content, with on-line extras as well. Here are direct links to what's at the website:

• Japan, Ink: Inside the Manga Industrial Complex
• Manga Does Shakespeare
• How Manga Conquered the U.S., a Graphic Guide to Japan's Coolest Export
• This Is Your Brain on Manga
• Manga 101: Enroll Now
  

Of particular interest is How Manga Conquered the U.S., a ten-page article from the magazine, told using manga itself. The web page offers a flash-enabled version - a bit small, although it does include a "magnify" feature. They also offer a downloadable PDF (1.9 MB), which I find easier to read. Hint: Choose "Facing" page layout from the View menu in Acrobat to see the pages side-by-side. You'll need to jump to the end of the document first, as the article's done in the Japanese right-to-left format. And don't miss Manga 101, an interactive info source on manga, including a timeline, frequently asked questions, a short glossary, and more.

If you're interested in manga, be sure to take a look at the magazine. (I've let my subscription to WIRED lapse, sigh, so I'll need to pick up this issue soon.) And don't forget ComicsResearch.org's own manga information!

(Thanks to this BoingBoing post by Cory Doctorow for pointing out the PDF.)

Black Ink Monday

The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists has declared today "Black Ink Monday":

Over the last 20 years, the number of cartoonists on the staff of daily newspapers nationwide has been cut in half. In the last month alone, the Tribune Company (owner of the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and a half-dozen other prominent papers), has forced out well-known and award-winning cartoonists at the LA Times and Baltimore Sun, eliminating their positions entirely. [...]
In an open letter to Tribune CEO Dennis FitzSimons, AAEC President Clay Bennett recently wrote: "There are few journalists in a newsroom who can define the tone and identity of a publication like an editorial cartoonist does. By discarding those who make a newspaper unique, you rob it of its character. By robbing a newspaper of its character, you steal its spirit."

You can view 100 editorial cartoon protests at this page of the AAEC website.

Why should you care about this? Some might put it this way: "It's the First Ammendment, Stupid." Others might note that this "downsizing" trend is happening throughout America; as corporations continue their absorptions, mergers and monoplies, lining their CEOs' pockets by demandinge more work from fewer workers for less cash, the next position to be eliminated could be your own. Still others might take an historical approach, noting that editorial cartooning played an important role in the founding of this very country:


That, of course, is Benjamin Franklin's famous "Join, or Die" cartoon from the May 9, 1754 edition of Franklin's newspaper, The Pennsylvania Gazette. It's considered the first editorial cartoon in what would eventually become the United States. By trampling on the editorial cartoon tradition, the Tribune Comany tramples on a fundamental piece of what makes America, America.

Here's a story about the recent acquisition of an original print of this cartoon by none other than Steve Geppi, President and Chief Executive Officer of Diamond Comic Distributors. Insert your own joke about monopolization here...

Update: Curiously, there's nary a mention of Black Ink Monday in today's Houston Chronicle; after all the complaints I've heard in Houston about how "liberal" the Chronicle is, I was hoping to see some coverage. They didn't forget to include the Editorial Page's daily "Bible Verse," though. (Curiously, the Bible Verse seems to be just about the only portion of the paper not reproduced on its website. Hmmmm...)

Update Nummer Zwei: For more background on the reasons for Black Ink Monday - and to learn that editorial cartoonist Paul Revere understood the power of revision - check out this animated editorial cartoon by past AAEC President Milt Priggee. It takes a few minutes to watch/read, but it's worth it to get a sort of panoramic view of the current situation. And be sure also to read the enlightening essay "In Defense of Editorial Cartooning" by Chris Lamb (entry for December 9 at Daryl Cagle's blog). Thanks to the Ever-Amazing Elena Steier for telling Milt Priggee about the Blog Machine!