Lutefisk Sushi Volume C: Box Art Unveiled!

Hopefully everyone out there is writing, drawing, or at least thinking about their Lutefisk Sushi minicomic! In the meantime, here is the artwork that will appear on the bento box and the promotional materials. Enjoy!



[ click for larger image ]

The top image is just a digital mock-up of the box. The REAL DEAL will be printed by our friends at Puny Entertainment.

And no, I haven't seen Cloverfield, but this image MAY have been influenced by Danno's review of said film.

DOWNLOAD THE LUTEFISK SUSHI VOLUME C SUBMISSIONS DOC

Above: A rendition of the Conspiracy Logo Fiend by Lutefisk Sushi Volume C featured artist Kevin Cannon from the Big Time Attic Blog. Click it to download the submission info.

You can download and print the Lutefisk Sushi submission info here.

If you don't have software for viewing a word document, you can get high-quality, free office software at openoffice.org.

LUTEFISK SUSHI "C"

IT'S COMING!!!!!

LUTEFISK SUSHI VOLUME C CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

The third Cartoonist Conspriacy organized Lutefisk Sushi event, Lutefisk Sushi Volume C will be happening at Altered Esthetics in May 2008 (the month of Art-A-Whirl!).
For those of you who aren't familiar with the previous events/compilations, you can see more about them here and here.
We need submissions!
The focus of the show will again be around a big ol' fancy hand-serigraphed box of mini-comics with a cover by featured artist Kevin Cannon.
It will be limited to 150 copies... every participant will receive one.
To participate:
1) You must live in Minnesota.
2) You must provide us with 160 copies of your comic.
Not 161, not 159, not 2,364. 160.
Your mini-comic can be no larger than 5.5" x 8.5", or it won't fit.
It can be any format and length. For the first set we even had a scroll hand-silkscreened in invisible ink. Please only submit one title, as space is limited.
3) You may also include other comics or other items you wish to have sold at the gallery. Make sure your name is in the comic somewhere and put a price on the cover. Also include a folded 3x5 card with the name of the comic and the price on it for each comic you are selling. If we do not have an obvious way of telling how much your comic costs, we will not sell it (note when pricing that the gallery gets 30% of the sales price).
We will do our best to be fair about the limited display space we have for various items... if you submit a lot of items, we may not have room to display them all.
4) You must matte, frame, or otherwise make presentable and hangable any originals you intend to have displayed. If you don't do this we will not hang your work... frames can be purchased cheaply easily enough at thrift stores and other places. It is not required that you display originals, but it is encouraged. Put your name and the price of the piece on the back of the piece (note when pricing that the gallery gets 30% of the sales price).
5) You must submit everything by no later than March 15, 2008.
6) You must include the form with your submission. Submissions without forms will not be included in the show.
7) Every participant will receive a bento box. You must show up on opening night to pick up your Bento Box, or you must make other arrangements before then if you plan on getting one.
8) You must pick up your remaining original artwork, unsold comics and money (if any) at the end of the show. Any money or artwork not picked up by the artists will be kept by the gallery to do with as they please.
9) While it is not required, your assistance would be greatly appreciated collating the Bento Boxes at the collating party. We will also be looking for many volunteers to hang out and draw jam comics during art-a-whirl. You're also encouraged to suggest and organize other related activities for the month.
We intend to include in the box all submissions that meet ALL these criteria.
Please read the criteria carefully before submitting, as it takes a LOT of our time and resources to go back and hassle people for items they are missing.
Entries not meeting ALL of the above criteria will NOT be included in the box.

No previous comic book making experience is necessary to participate.

While we plan on having all entries meeting the criteria included in the Lutefisk Sushi Volume C Bento Box, if we get a lot of entries, we may have to cut it off somewhere- we'll let you know if the limit is getting close on the conspiracy website.
We had around 50 participants last time, and the box was packed to overflowing. First come, first served, so get your submissions in early.
In addition to the boxes, there will also be a lot of original artwork from the participating cartoonists on the walls. Using the artwork from the comic you submit to the Bento Box is preferred, although it is not required. ALL artwork should be priced for sale... let's make the gallery some money. Submitting multiple items for display is fine, although we can't guarantee we will have room for everything.
In addition to the main show, there will also be a "sideshow" featuring the art of Kevin Cannon.
Profits from the originals and comics will be split with the artists and gallery 70 (artists)-30 (gallery).
Profits from the Bento Boxes will go first to reimburse our miscellaneous production expenses, and then to the gallery (which is a wonderful non-profit organization we are thrilled to be involved with).
Lutefisk Sushi Volume B is being sponsored and organized by The International Cartoonist Conspiracy (www.cartoonistconspiracy.com), Altered Esthetics (alteredesthetics.org) and Big Time Attic (www.bigtimeattic.com).







LUTEFISK SUSHI VOLUME C PARTICIPATION FORM

Name:

Address:

Phone Number:

Email Address:

Name of the work you are submitting to the Bento Box:

Indicate prices of any originals included here (and on the backs of the originals):


Indicate prices and titles of any comics you are selling here (and on the books.. also include a folded 3x5 card with the name and price of each book you are giving us to sell):


I am aware that The International Cartoonist Conspiracy, Big Time Attic, and Altered Ethetics do not insure or agree to be responsible for any theft, damage, or loss of any article. I freely choose to exhibit in Altered Esthetics and I agree to accept any and all loss, theft, or damage resulting directly or indirectly from registrant's participation in these activities.
In return for the benefits I will receive from participation, I agree to not sue or to hold the organizers, their directors, officers, employees, agents, and volunteers responsible for any loss, theft, or damage connected with registrant's participation in the exhibition.



SIGN HERE




Send this form along with your submissions and the standard Altered Esthetics exhibition contract (http://www.alteredesthetics.com/2008ExhibitionContract.pdf) to:

BIG TIME ATTIC
1618 Central Ave. NE Suite 216
Minneapolis, MN 55413
(612) 521-7423
Questions? Contact Danno at staplegenius at yahoo.com

The CBLDF and the Ellison Vs. Fantagraphics Lawsuit

I'm sending this letter off to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund tomorrow along with the final funds from the Lutefisk Sushi Volume B show from last year, and I wanted you all to be aware of it's contents.

It addresses what I see as serious problems with the CBLDF's current stance on the Harlan Ellison vs. Fantagraphics lawsuit. If you have an opinion you want to share on this subject, please let me know what you think in the comments below, or contact me directly.

You can get more information about Fantagraphics dilemma here, and find out more about how you can help them to win their case (note that they are taking art donations for ebay auction).

Hi there,

Enclosed please find checks totaling $350 made out to the Comic Book Legal Defense fund. These are a second round of proceeds from the Lutefisk Sushi Volume B show of minicomics by Minnesota cartoonists that the Minneapolis Cell of the International Cartoonist Conspiracy put on last year (we sent $876 last year for the first round).

As with Lutefisk Sushi volume A (where the Conspiracy donated over $1000) all of our profits are going to the CBLDF. With Volume B, instead of a direct donation, we have been splitting it up into memberships for some of the cartoonists who participated in the event (we had just over 50 cartoonists participating in the show this time).

Enclosed you’ll also find a list of the relevant information for the 7 remaining participating cartoonists who have requested memberships (we got 35 memberships with the first round). The remaining funds after that are just a straight donation.

For more information about last year’s Lutefisk Sushi show, please direct your web browser to http://www.cartoonistconspiracy.com/sushi

I also wanted to take this opportunity to express my deep disappointment that you are not assisting Fantagraphics with their legal defense in their lawsuit with Harlan Ellison. This is clearly a first amendment issue, and it is being fought by the what is arguably the finest publisher of comics in the world. If they lose, they face potential bankruptcy, which I believe would be disastrous for the artform. To me, it seems unbelievable that you have not risen to their defense.

Mr. Brownstein's defense of this inaction, as seen in a recent posting on Heidi MacDonald's The Beat blog (http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2007/05/09/cbldf-makes-a-statement) is ultimately unsatisfying. Mr. Brownstein claims that it is not appropriate for the CBLDF to support Fantagraphics in this case because the lawsuit is not over a piece of comic art, but journalistic prose. Mr. Brownstein points out in the comments:

“Likewise, we wouldn’t spend (our supporters) money defending a retailer who was fined for selling a copy of a violent video game derived from a comics property, or a video store who was sued for renting a copy of the Crumb movie, or a cartoonist who was arrested for a work of performance art with no comics in it whatsoever.”

This seems like a reasonable statement. However, this defense seems inconsistent with the CBLDF's actions in some previous cases, notably the Stu Helm (King VelVeeda) vs. Kraft Foods case, as Dirk Deppey pointed out in his Journalista! blog (http://tcj.com/journalista/?p=353).

I should note that I have respected Mr. Ellison and his strong stands on free speech issues in the past, and I have enjoyed some comics he was involved with (I read most of his Dream Corridor series). Thus I am very dismayed and puzzled by his recent litigation, which is so blatantly a direct attack on the first amendment. It is sad that he puts less value on maintaining his reputation as a voice for free speech than he puts on his misguided attempt at legal revenge.

Mr. Ellison is suing Fantagraphics partially over them using his name on the cover of a book an interview with him appears that he admits Fantagraphics owns the rights to. What kind of precedent does that set if he wins the lawsuit? Could you have a more cut and dried first amendment case?

I assume if the CBLDF took part in an amicus brief, as mentioned in the Beat post, it would be on Fantagraphics' behalf? I wonder if Ellison supporters reading the Beat post assume that you would do so on Ellison's behalf?

I think the CBLDF should take a public stand on this case regardless of whether or not they intend to participate in the legal proceedings. Those who support Mr. Ellison based on his previous reputation as a free speech advocate and CBLDF supporter may not be aware they are on the wrong side of a first amendment battle. If the CBLDF publicly sided with Fantagraphics, the bad publicity for Mr. Ellison could go a long way towards making him decide it was prudent to try and resolve this unfortunate lawsuit quickly.

I assume the CBLDF is within its mandate to publicly condemn any attacks on the first amendment regardless of the media involved in the attack, since this presumably costs nothing?

I would also hope that the CBLDF would consider actively using its relationships with both parties to offer to formally or informally help attempt to mediate a resolution to this conflict before it gets to another courtroom. Perhaps this has already been pursued?

As a result of the CBLDF's inaction on this issue, I will be encouraging the Cartoonist Conspiracy to help fund Fantagraphics' legal defense rather than the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund in any future fund raising efforts we may pursue until Fantagraphics' legal issues are resolved.

It should be noted that the donation of funds by the Cartoonist Conspiracy on a particular project is not my decision alone, but the decision of the participating membership in whatever project is being pursued, so it is possible donations will still go your way in this time period. I could certainly be outvoted.

I sincerely hope the CBLDF will reconsider its current stance on this divisive issue.

Thanks much for listening, and for your continued efforts in protecting our first amendment rights.

Best wishes,

Steven Stwalley
Webmaster, The International Cartoonist Conspiracy
www.cartoonistconspriacy.com

More Great Press for Lutefisk Sushi

The Lutefisk Sushi show and box got a great review from Peter Scholtes this week on page 39 of the current issue of the City Pages (dated March 29th). Unfortunately, it hasn't made it online at this point, so you'll probably have to seek out a print copy yourself to read it.

Lutefisk Sushi Opening Overview

Well, the Lutefisk Sushi Volume B opening was a roaring success... we had a great turnout, lots of fun, and a lot of sales. Best of all, we put together a fantastic box set of comics... you should all be proud. When you tell folks about it, make sure to mention that they can still check it out on Saturdays until April 21st from 11-4, or by appointment with the gallery.

We had a great write up in Minnesota Monthly... we were also written up in the Pulse and we were mentioned in the Pioneer Press, the Star Tribune, on the front of mnspeak.com, on a City Pages blog, on the Comics Reporter, and on the Minneapolis public radio station The Current by Mary Luccia on Thursday (and on the MPR website calendar)... and probably some other places. If you know of other press that we received for the show (or have any clippings you want to give me, including of the stuff mentioned above), please let me know about it.

Also, I encourage you all to send your digital photos from the opening my way so we can put them on the website... suggested captions encouraged, in case we don't know who is pictured in the photo. You can view some photos from the opening by Shad here and by Nik Arnoldi here.

Participants can pick up their boxes at Big Time Attic any time (make sure you cross your name off the list when you get it)... if you haven't made it over by April 6th, that is a good time for it, since the monthly Cartoonist Conspiracy meeting will be taking place at Diamond's Coffee in that building that evening.

For those of you who participated in the Weiner Roast, I'm hoping to get those dropped off at BTA very soon as well so you can pick up your ten copies... I have them rubber banded between cardboard with your names on them.

It is possible we may be having a closing party as well, which would be a very good thing to harass people you know that missed the opening to show up for... I'll keep you posted.

And now that we pulled this thing off, some thank yous...

Thanks to everyone at Big Time Attic for their extensive efforts putting things together, in every part of the process... the website, the silkscreening, putting up money for printing Weiner Roasts, collating, making signs and tags, laying out and printing the postcard, helping hang, etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc.... and etc. Shad, Kevin, Max, Zander, Tim, Brett, Brittany and John all did a tremendous amount of work to make the show happen and look great.

Thanks to Ken Avidor for being an exceptionally good sport and letting us further soil his bad reputation with the Weiner Roast, for putting together a fantastic display of his life's work, and for making us all look good with his art for the box and website.

Thanks to Lonny Unitus for doing such a gorgeous job screen printing the boxes with Shad in deep, rich, velvety colors... they really couldn't have turned out better.

Thanks to Danno, as always, for helping make so many of the comics look so much better than they would have without his knowledge and expertise in the zine arts, and for helping with putting together 400 Weiner Roasts!

Thanks to everyone who helped with setup and hanging... Sean, Andrey, Quillan, Bob, Danno, Shad, Kevin, Seamus, Chris, Tim, and anyone else who helped that I'm more than likely forgetting.

Thanks to Sean for putting together his Shitty Art display in the bathroom.

Thanks to Dave, Jenny, Karl and Kurt at Creative Electric for providing such a great venue for our chaos, for helping extensively with setting up, for dealing with the crowd and for manning the sales at the show.

Thanks to everyone who helped promote the show on websites, blogs and through word of mouth. Please continue to do so until it closes!

And, of course, thanks to all the artists who participated in the box and the Weiner Roast and made the whole thing possible.

Help promote the Lutefisk Sushi show part 2

Here is an easy to use animated gif banner for you to post around the web...



And an image of the box...



Link these to http://www.cartoonistconspiracy.com/sushi

Please Help Promote Lutefisk Sushi

We're doing a lot to promote the event (we've contacted a lot of local media, posted on message boards, printed up 1000 postcards which are being distributed all over the Twin Cities, & did some other miscellaneous stuff)...

BUT WE COULD REALLY USE YOUR HELP GETTING THE WORD OUT!

Here are some ways you can help promote the upcoming Lutefisk Sushi show...

If you have a website, you can download a banner for the Sushi show to add to your site here:

http://cartoonistconspiracy.com/sushi/lutefisk_sushi_banner.zip

If you have a blog, please blog about it.

If you have friends, please invite them and tell them to invite people.

If you know journalists, please encourage them to cover the opening.

Also I encourage you to give these threads a "bump" to help with Sushi show promotion...

http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubb/Forum1/HTML/011307.html

http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubb/Forum1/HTML/011304.html

http://comicon.com/index.html

http://www.sequentialtart.com/community/Forum7/HTML/001512.shtml

You could also post the word on other message boards you frequent.

Thanks much for your help!

The Lutefisk Sushi Volume B site is live, and it is gorgeous. Thanks much to Big Time Attic and Ken Avidor for putting this together!

PARTICIPATE IN THE WEINER ROAST!

As part of the Lutefisk Sushi Volume B show, we are featuring the work of Roadkill Bill artist Ken Avidor. We are also doing a mini-comic "roast" of Ken and his work... the Weiner Roast. For those of you who don't already know, KEN AVIDOR, transit-obsessed, sensitive, tree-hugging environmentalist, political agitator and bicycle enthusiast is also KEN WEINER, former Screw art editor, party machine, devil may care ne'er-do-well and alcohol enthusiast.

For Ken's perspective on his duel nature, see this cartoon.

Both Kens plan on making an appearance at the Lutefisk Sushi Volume B show.

To participate in the mini-comic, send your submissions to us at:

Weiner Roast
c/o Big Time Attic
1618 Central Ave NE Suite 216
Minneapolis MN 55413

or email them (as minimum of 300dpi B&W jpgs) to:

cartoonistconspiracy@mn.rr.com

The deadline for participation is January first.

It is not necessary to participate in the Sushi show to participate in the Weiner Roast. Ken encourages us to be brutal with these, although I'm not sure which Ken.

LUTEFISK SUSHI VOLUME B CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

LUTEFISK SUSHI VOLUME B CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

While we don't have an official date yet, Lutefisk Sushi Volume B will be happening, with the opening at Creative Electric Studios some time early next year. For those of you who aren't familiar with the previous event/compilation, you can see more about it here.

We need submissions!
The focus of the show will again be around a big ol' fancy hand-serigraphed box of mini-comics with a cover by Roadkill Bill artist Ken Avidor. It will be limited to 150 copies... every participant will receive one.

To participate:
1) You must live in Minnesota or be Doug McNamara or Jesse McManus. It has something to do with the Mc, apparently. Persons named Andy Singer will also be accepted.
2) You must provide us with 160 copies of your comic. Not 161, not 159, not 2,364. 160. Your mini-comic can be no larger than 5.5" x 8.5", or it won't fit. It can be any format and length. Last year we even had a scroll hand-silkscreened in invisible ink.
3) You may also include other comics you wish to have sold at the gallery. Make sure your name is in the comic somewhere and put a price on the cover. Comics that have no price on the cover or somewhere obvious will not be sold.
4) You must matte, frame, or otherwise make presentable and hangable any originals you intend to have displayed. Kevin still has papercuts from last year. It is not required that you display originals, but it is encouraged. Put your name and the price of the piece on the back (remember the gallery takes a cut when pricing).
5) You must submit everything by no later than January 1, 2006.
6) You must include the form with your submission.
7) You must show up on opening night to pick up your Bento Box, or you must make other arrangements before then if you plan on getting one.
8) You must pick up your remaining original artwork, unsold comics and money (if any) at the end of the show. Any money not picked up by the artists will be kept by the gallery to buy beer... and any artwork or comics left behind will be peed on by feral, unneutered, violent cats in heat.
9) While it is not required, your assistance would be greatly appreciated collating the Bento Boxes at the collating party. Hopefully we'll only have to collate them once this time.

We intend to include ALL submissions that meet ALL the criteria in the box. Entries not meeting ALL of the above criteria will most likely NOT be included in the box, and we will make our best attempts to be cold-hearted bastards about this. No previous comic book making experience is necessary to participate. While we plan on having all entries meeting the criteria included in the Lutefisk Sushi Volume B Bento Box, if we get a whole hog slaughter of entries, we may have to cut it off somewhere- we'll let you know if the limit is getting close on the conspiracy website. We had 35 participants last year, and the box was packed to overflowing. We will use a bigger box this year.

In addition to the boxes, there will also be a lot of original artwork from the participating cartoonists on the walls. Using the artwork from the comic you submit to the Bento Box is preferred, although it is not required. ALL artwork should be priced for sale... let's make the gallery some money, they have a mortgage to pay. Submitting multiple items for display is fine. Due to limited space, we may not get all artists in the box represented on the walls, but we'll give it a shot.

In addition to the main show, there will also be a "sideshow" similar to the King Mini exhibit last year. This year we are featuring Ken Avidor (creator of Roadkill Bill). As part of this we also plan to produce a mini-comic featuring Ken's work and works submitted by participants that are inspired by, satirizing or commenting on Ken's work or Ken. Think of it as a comic "roast." This comic will be included in the boxes. Everyone is encouraged to contribute a page to this comic, although it is not required.

Profits from the originals and comics will be split with the artists and gallery last year it was 60 (artists), 40 (gallery)- it hasn't been negotiated yet but it will most likely be in that neighborhood this year as well. Profits from the Bento Boxes will also be split with the gallery, and our part will go into covering supplies and other miscellaneous expenses, including the collating/decorating/hanging Afghani party pizza... remaining funds will be donated to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund in the form of paid memberships for participants- we hope to get memberships for all participants, but in the event we don't make enough money to do this we'll draw the appropriate number of names at random.

Lutefisk Sushi Volume B is being sponsored and organized by The International Cartoonist Conspiracy (www.cartoonistconspiracy.com), Creative Electric Studios (www.creativeelectricstudios.com) and Big Time Attic (www.bigtimeattic.com).

DOWNLOAD THE SUBMISSION FORM HERE