gareth hinds – Comicsgirl https://www.comicsgirl.com Wed, 27 Jun 2018 01:34:49 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.3 https://www.comicsgirl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/cropped-EdenMiller2017-1-32x32.jpg gareth hinds – Comicsgirl https://www.comicsgirl.com 32 32 59683043 Comics at Gaithersburg Book Festival 2017 https://www.comicsgirl.com/2017/05/22/comics-at-gaithersburg-book-festival-2017/ Tue, 23 May 2017 00:04:31 +0000 http://www.comicsgirl.com/?p=4344 The Gaithersburg Book Festival always does well by comics. This year, I was happy to see all the comics-related programming was scheduled back-to-back (although I imagine that made it less convenient for people who wanted their books signed) so I could attend all of it.

Penelope Bagieu discussed her latest book, California Dreamin’: Cass Elliot Before the Mamas & the Papas (2017, First Second), with Michael Cavna from the Washington Post. She said the book was “not a documentary” and that “I’m here to write a story” being clear that it was her version of Cass. Referencing her upcoming Brazen (out in English from First Second in 2018), she said “you never have enough books about strong women doing what they want to do.”

The second panel discussed the process of creating comics. It featured Ru Xu (Newsprints, Scholastic Graphix, 2017), Alexis Frederick-Frost (the Adventures in Cartooning series, First Second) with guidance and moderation by Gareth Hinds (the upcoming Poe: Stories and Poems, Candlewick Press, 2017). Each discussed their own approach to creating comics, showing there was no one way to make a comic or graphic novel. They each attempted to demonstrate of how they worked, which was mostly successful (to be fair, they were all using Hinds’ computer and weren’t the most familiar with it).

The final comics-related panel of the day was about First Second’s Science Comics imprint, edited by Dave Roman (although, as he pointed out, he didn’t edit the two books featured here). It featured Alison Wilgus and Molly Brooks, creators of Flying Machines: How the Wright Brothers Soared (First Second, 2017) and Falynn Koch, creator of Bats: Learning to Fly (First Second, 2017).

After a brief discussion about how much they liked science — Brooks said she was more excited about the idea of science and Wilgus said she was really interested in space — they all talked about how much they had to learn for their books. Brooks said she took the job very seriously because she was “terrified of lying to children on accident.” Koch joked about making bats cuter because there were a lot of “uggo bats” out there. She also has the upcoming Plagues: The Microscopic Battlefield and talked about the challenges of making plagues cute.

They then called up a young cat expert as a volunteer and created a four-panel comic using the information she provided. Wilgus was the writer, Roman was the editor and Brooks and Koch handled drawing duties. It was fast-paced and fun.

Below is a gallery of photos from the event.

michael-cavna-and-penelope-bagieu penelope-bagieu ru-xu-alexis-frederick-frost-and-gareth-hinds ru-xu alexis-frederick-frost gareth-hinds falynn-koch alison-wilgus young-cat-expert-and-dave-roman molly-brooks falynn-koch-alison-wilgus-molly-brooks-and-dave-roman dave-roman-signing alison-wilgus-and-molly-brooks
]]> 4344 Library Con at Petworth Neighborhood Library & Comics by Women https://www.comicsgirl.com/2014/08/03/library-con-at-petworth-neighborhood-library-comics-by-women/ Sun, 03 Aug 2014 18:32:16 +0000 http://www.comicsgirl.com/?p=4161 library-conYesterday, I was a speaker at Library Con at the Petworth Neighborhood Library. It was a small, mostly family-oriented event but well-organized and fun. I am always going to be a fan of events that make comics — of all genres and styles — more accessible to more people.

I first saw Jacob Mazer of Animal Kingdom Publishing discuss his work and the anthology of comics, prose, poetry and criticism he edits. It’s still a young publication, but I definitely think there’s room in the world for more things like this, allowing comics to reach audiences they may not otherwise. Not everything in the second issue is to my tastes, but there is some thought-provoking work in it.

Then I saw Gareth Hinds, whose adaptation of Romeo and Juliet came out last year. He talked about always loving to draw as a child and comics ended up coming naturally to him. He worked in video games for a long time before quitting to create graphic novels full-time. He broke down his process for each book and I was interested to hear he changes techniques and styles for each specific book. He also spoke about the challenges of adapting classic literature.

After that, it was my turn. I talked about comics by women (what else?) and I think it went well for it being such a big topic. My concept was not to give history but offer up titles that people can buy right now. I had a good discussion with the attendees too.

You can download my PowerPoint presentation or a PDF of it, but I’ve also created a list of the creators and titles I discussed below (with links to their websites where appropriate).

I have reviewed some of these books and written more about some of these creators. You should be able to find what you need through the tags.

History/background

 lumberjanesMainstream: Superheroes

Mainstream: Sci-fi/Fantasy

Children and Young Adult Comics

marblesAutobiographical

Manga

  • Kyoko Okazaki: Pink, Helter Skelter
  • Moto Hagio: A Drunken Dream, The Heart of Thomas
  • Takako Shimura: Wandering Son
  • Moyoco Anno: In Clothes Called Fat, Insufficient Direction

UK, Europe and Around the World

  • Mary Talbot: The Dotter of Her Father’s Eyes, Sally Heathcoate: Suffragette
  • Isabel Greenberg: Encyclopedia of Early Earth
  • Julie Maroh: Blue is the Warmest Color
  • Marguerite Abouet: Aya series
  • Rutu Modan: Exit Wounds, The Property

strong-femaleOnline comics

Minicomics & cutting-edge creators

Through the WoodsPublishers, groups and events

Top Picks of Comics by Women for 2014

]]> 4161 The D.C. Area Comics Scene for Oct. 29 https://www.comicsgirl.com/2013/10/29/the-d-c-area-comics-scene-for-oct-29/ Tue, 29 Oct 2013 22:17:18 +0000 http://www.comicsgirl.com/?p=3995 News:

Recent releases:

Events:

Have comic news or events related to the D.C. area to share? Email me by 4 p.m. Tuesday. More information is here.

]]> 3995 The D.C. Area Comics Scene for Oct. 15 https://www.comicsgirl.com/2013/10/16/the-d-c-area-comics-scene-for-oct-15/ Wed, 16 Oct 2013 21:47:21 +0000 http://www.comicsgirl.com/?p=3972 Not a lot here. I haven’t begun to collect NYCC reports from area creators, but if you have one (or photos), please send it along.

News/reviews/interviews:

Events:

Have comic news or events related to the D.C. area to share? Email me by 4 p.m. Tuesday. More information is here.

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