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Thursday, January 31, 2008The Cartoonist Conspiracy Invades ItalyThe Cartoonist Conspiracy just got its first foothold in Europe... the Aviano Cartoonist Conspiracy (Aviano Air Base, Italy)! Benvenuto! Può il vostro flusso dell'inchiostro come un fiume. Hopefully that means what babelfish says it does!
Labels: cartoonist conspiracy Monday, December 17, 20075 Highlights of 5 Years of The International Cartoonist Conspiracy It's somewhat difficult to believe five years have already passed since our first monthly jam meeting in Minneapolis in December 2002... it still seems like we are just getting started. Five years! The first meeting was pretty small, but awfully promising for a first meeting... my recollection is that Danno Klonowski (Dank), Ken Avidor, Mike Toft, Andy Singer and Roger Lootine were all there. Organized initially via flyers posted around Minneapolis and a much less ambitious version of this website, the Conspiracy has grown exponentially, and we now have 21 cells around North America in ALBERT LEA, MN, CALGARY/EDMONTON, CHICAGO, IL, DECORAH, IA, KANSAS CITY, MO, LANCASTER, PA, MILWAUKEE, WI, MINNEAPOLIS, MN, MONTREAL, NH, VT, and Western MA, NORTH CAROLINA, PHILADELPHIA, PA, RICE, MN, SACRAMENTO, CA, SAN FRANCISCO, CA, SANTA FE/ALBUQUERQUE, NM, SIOUX FALLS, SD, SPRINGFIELD, IL, SPRINGFIELD, MO, ST. PAUL, MN, and, as of this week, COLUMBUS, OH! Besides getting together to draw jam comics the first Thursday of the month in Minneapolis (and many other times and places around North America), we do a lot of other things. I thought I'd take this opportunity to go over some highlights from the last five years. Please share your personal highlights from the history of the Conspiracy in the comments, if you have any to share! My memories are obviously Minneapolis focused, since that is where I live... I'd love to hear more about things that have happened with our other cells. Highlight #1: 24 Hour Comics Day The first year was crazy... we had 12 participants at two locations. 24 Hour Comics are the equivalent of extreme sports or flagpole sitting for cartoonists, and we made it ridiculously extra-difficult on ourselves the first year. First of all we had two locations... we started today at a rented space at a downtown hotel, and halfway through, we deliriously moved from there to Grumpy's bar. Even dumber than that, though... I decided that since April 24th was 24 Hour Comics Day that year, we should draw from midnight to midnight, so most of us had little or no sleep starting after working all day Friday. I have no idea what I was thinking. On top of all of that and printing all of the completed comics the next morning as an almost 200 page book at Kinkos to sell at MicroCon the next day, it was really 48 Hour Comics Day in Minneapolis. Astoundingly, some really good comics were still produced, including Kevin Cannon's fantastic first 24 Hour comic, The Next 24 Hours. Kevin since then has gone on to pioneer the 288 Hour Comic (a 24 hour comic once a month for a year, to make a 288 page graphic novel), and in the process has most likely done more 24 hour comics than anyone else in the world. He is currently done with over 288 pages of Far Arden, and it will easily be one of the best graphic novels of the year next year when it is published. In subsequent years, we have continued our practice of collecting the comics after the event... now we use the much easier box set method. This is the first year we haven't collected them the day after the event... we must be getting old.
Year one coverage by Shad Petosky (April 24, 2004): part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 Year two (April 24-25, 2005) (coverage again by Shad Petosky). Year three (September 23-24, 2006). (Note that this one didn't occur on the actual date of 24 Hour Comics Day, so it was actually a >23 and <25 Hour comic event) Year four coverage (October 20th to 21st) by David Steinlicht. Highlight #2: Lutefisk Sushi Volume A and B
Above, Mike Toft navigates the packed house at the Lutefisk Sushi Volume A show at Creative Electric Studios. We have done two Lutefisk Sushi shows so far, and both of them have been tremendous successes by any gauge (Lutefisk Sushi Volume C will be happening this May at Altered Esthetics). Both events centered around an enormous box set of mini-comics produced by Minnesota cartoonists. Lutefisk Sushi Volume A Website Lutefisk Sushi Volume B Website Highlight #3: The Schmapples Tribute Our comrade Eric "Schmapples" Lappegard tragically passed away from complications after a car accident in July 2007, leaving behind considerable medical expenses. In a little over a month, we (along with some of Eric's other friends) put together a benefit show for Eric's family at Altered Esthetics. We had a gallery show featuring an overview of much of Eric's wonderful work, as well as work by cartoonists who wanted to help. In addition to the show we printed two publications... a complete collection of Eric's online strip Schmapples, and a 100 page anthology of strips by cartoonists who knew Eric or just wanted to help. The theme for the anthology was bikes, cats and ninjas... all subjects dear to Eric. The show ended up making over $4000 for Eric's family. The Conspiracy has done a lot of work I've been proud to be a part of... I've never been prouder of our group than with our work done for this benefit. Highlight #4: The Publications
Looking back, I can hardly believe how much the Minneapolis cell has published in the last five years... Panelfesto V.1 #1: The Journal of The International Cartoonist Conspiracy (October 2003, collection of jam comics from the Minneapolis cell of the Cartoonist Conspiracy)
24 Hours (April 2004, collects 9 24-Hour comics from 24 Hour Comics Day 2004)
Includes (in the below order): Panelfesto V.1 #2: (2004, collection of jam comics from the Minneapolis cell of the Cartoonist Conspriacy)
Lutefisk Sushi Volume A (September 2004, Box Set of 35 Mini-Comics, box design by Vincent Stall (King Mini), limited edition of 100 numbered copies, produced for the Lutefisk Sushi Volume A event)
Includes (in alphabetical order by artist): Panelfesto #3: Jam Packed (2005, 4 16-page mini-comics, wrapped in red band, limited edition of 200)
24 Hour Comic Day: 24 Hours 24 Pages: A Comics Marathon 2005 (April 2005, Box Set of 24-Hour Mini-Comics from from 24 Hour Comics Day 2005, Box cover by Zander Cannon, limited edition of 100)
Includes (in alphabetical order by artist): Mission Accomplished: The Minneapolis and Rice, MN Losing Entries to the Comics Jam War (April 2006, comics produced for the Comics Jam War event)
Includes (in published order): Lutefisk Sushi Volume B (September 2006, Box Set of 50 Mini-Comics, box design by Ken Avidor, limited edition of 150 numbered copies, produced for the Lutefisk Sushi Volume B event)
Includes: Weiner Roast/Avidor Roast (September 2006, produced in conjunction with the Lutefisk Sushi Volume B event, collecting comics by and about Ken Avidor aka Ken Weiner, Flip Covers by Ken Avidor)
Includes:
Includes (in alphabetical order by artist):
The Cartoonist Conspiracy Li'l Library Volume One: How to Make Mini-Comics (February 2007, 16 page free guide on how to make a mini-comic, downloadable and printable mini-comic pdf here)
City Pages: The Comix Issue (July 18, 2007, Comix issue of Minneapolis newsweekly City Pages, comics on the theme of "True Tales of the Twin Cities" can be seen online here)
Includes (in alphabetical order by artist): Schmapples by Eric Lappegard (September 2007, memorial collection of Eric Lappegard's webcomic Schmapples)
The Minneapolis Cartoonist Conspiracy and Friends Alley Cat: Cats on Bikes (with Ninjas): A Tribute to Eric Lappegard (September 2007, memorial tribute anthology to Eric Lappegard, cover by Roger Lootine)
Includes (in alphabetical order): 24 Hour Comic Book Day 2007 (October 2007, Box Set of Mini-Comics, Box cover by Danno Klonowski (Dank) (with art by Sean Tenhoff & misc from previous years' events), limited edition of 100)
Includes (in alphabetical order by artist): Highlight #5: Comrades!
Above, a group shot of most of the Conspirators who participated in Jam War 2006... Avidor, Steinlicht and Toft had already wisely hit the bar... It's amazing what can be accomplished with the right group of people, and I think the Conspiracy is definitely a testament to that. For me, our numerous accomplishments are not the best part of being in the Conspiracy, though. Far and away the biggest highlight for me in being a member of the Conspiracy is all the wonderful friends and collaborators I've had the opportunity to meet. Through the monthly jams, the monthly open studio at The Minnesota Center for Book Arts (which graciously donates space to us each month), the 24 hour and other events, and the gallery shows, I've had the good fortune to meet some of my best friends. Thanks to everyone who has participated in this grand experiment for making the Conspiracy the lively and active group it is today... I look forward to many more years of conspiring with you all. Labels: cartoonist conspiracy, News Tuesday, September 04, 2007A.L. Show Art Pick-UpThanks to everyone for helping to make "Panel, Line and Letter" (The Albert Lea comic art show) a big success.
I have returned the art to the Big Time Attic space with the great help of some quick footwork from Kevin. If you'd like to pick up your work, please call Big Time Attic during office hours and see if they are in, so you can pick up your great stuff. By the way, Will Dinski's 'effenheimer' was revealed at some point by a bold patriot of the arts, and so it seems censorship just got a little dimmer and a little weaker in old A.L. Another triumph brought to us by comics!! Thanks again to everyone who contributed. It was truly a great show and received countless compliments from strangers and visitors. At some point, I may scan and post the pamphlet that I made and which eased in many of those foreign to the comic world with the help of some interesting descriptions of the artists. Labels: albert lea, cartoonist conspiracy, gallery show, show Tuesday, August 28, 2007Rice, MN -- Jam Rescheduled! Because of the Rice Arts & Craft Fair and and the Eric Lappegard Tribute, the Rice Cartoonist Conspiracy will not be meeting on September 8th. We will be meeting on Saturday, September 15th at 7:00 pm, instead. Thank you and sorry for any inconvenience! As always, free pizza, tea and weirdness. - Vas Technorati Tags: cartoonist conspiracy, rice, mn Labels: cartoonist conspiracy, mn, rice |
