My apologies for taking last week off!

News/interviews/reviews:

• Backers help comic book creator fulfill dream – Cathy Jett, Freelance-Star/Fredericksburg.com
• Exhibit peeks into psyche of underground comic book artist – Virginia Terhune, Gazette.Net
• DCJCC showcases some wonder women of underground comics – Mark Jenkins, Washington Post (also mentions Rafer Roberts’ exhibit)
• Comic Creator Delves Into Self-publishing and D.C.’s ‘Unconventional History’ – Chris Jessen, InfoZine/Scripps Howard Foundation Wire
• District Comics Tells Unconventional Stories Using Unconventional Means – Martin Austermuhle, DCist
• ‘District Comics: An Unconventional History of Washington, DC’: Q&A With Artist And Anthology Editor Matt Dembicki – Arin Greenwood, The Huffington Post
• ‘CUL DE SAC’: Amid Parkinson’s battle, Richard Thompson ends beloved comic – Michael Cavna, Comic Riffs/Washington Post
• Six by 6 | My six favorite Cul de Sac characters – Chris Mautner, Robot 6
• On Richard Thompson and Cul de Sac – R.C. Harvey, TCJ.com
• “He Was a Good Man … “ – Stacy Curtis
• SPX Spotlight 2012: The DC Conspiracy and Magic Bullet 5 – Rob McMonigal
• SPX Spotlight 2012: Katie Omberg and Gay Kid 4 – Rob McMonigal
• SPX Spotlight 2012: Andrew Cohen – Rob McMonigal

Announcements:

• Small Press Expo’s slate of programming
• Full Sanction opened an online shop

Event/con reports:

• Curls Studio on District Comics signing at One More Page Books (Curls Studio’s photos)
• go flying turtle: district comics signing at one more page books, arlington, va
• District Comics Signing at One More Page, August 19th, 2012 – Rob McMonigal
• Mike Rex signing at Big Planet Comics

Kickstarter:

• BLOOP: Part One – Deluxe, Oversized Hardcover
• WatchGuard + Teen Force 5

Upcoming releases:

• Mr. Big: A Tale of Pond Life, Carol and Matt Dembicki, Sky Pony Press. Sept. 1.
• The Lost Art of Heinrich Kley, Lost Art Books, Sept. 14 (Small Press Expo)
• Remake: 3Xtra, Lamar Abrams, AdHouse Books, December 2012.

Events:

• Through Sept. 2: “Graphic Details: Confessional Comics by Jewish Women” at the Ann Loeb Bronfman Gallery, Jewish Community Center, Washington, D.C.
• Through Sept. 8: Fever Dreams of Organic Machines: The Comic Book Art of Rafer Roberts, Common Ground Gallery, Rockville, Md.
• Sept. 8-9: Baltimore Comic Con, Baltimore, Md.
• Sept. 14: Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez, 7 p.m., Politics & Prose, Washington, D.C.
• Sept. 15-16: Small Press Expo, North Bethesda, Md.
• Sept. 15: Justin Jordan Team 7 Launch Party, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Third Eye Comics, Annapolis, Md.
• Sept. 22:Raina Telgemeier signing at Big Planet Comics Vienna (11 a.m. to 3 p.m.) and Big Planet Comics College Park (3 to 5 p.m.)
• Sept. 22-23:National Book Festival with Raina Telgemeier, Craig Thompson and Hope Larson (comics-related events are on Sept. 23)

Housekeeping:

If you are a D.C. area creator who will be at Small Press Expo, let me know! I’m putting together a list that I’d like to have up next week and I don’t want to miss anyone!

Have comic news or events related to the D.C. area to share? Email me! Submit no later than Monday at 9 p.m. for inclusion each Tuesday, but the earlier, the better! More information is here.

Moe: Piotr Nowacki
In this wordless comic, a dog is antagonized by a shapeshifting black blob. The dog ends up in jail, in the clouds and underwater. Piotr Nowacki’s art is open and cartoony and he conveys exaggerated movement and expressions with delightful skill. While I think Moe basically pushed its simple concept to the limit, this is still inventive and fresh. I’m interested in what Nowacki will do next.

The Turtleneck Dialogues: Turtleneck Boy Volumes 1-5: Suzanne Baumann and others
The title character of Turtleneck Boy is a goateed young man, who, yes, wears a turtleneck. In Baumann’s comics, his conversations with the other characters here are mostly quick little jokes — simple misunderstandings and light-hearted social awkwardness — in her loose, playful style. The comics here that aren’t by her don’t always work as well for me, although I enjoy the community spirit in which they were done. Turtleneck Boy is basically a blank slate, after all, and so he can be put into just about any situation. It was a fun, surprising little book.

Blaster Al Ackerman’s Tales of the Ling Master #1: E.J. Barnes
This is trio of stories based on Al Ackerman’s writings veers almost immediately into the surreal and bizarre, but E.J. Barnes’ crisp, precise art makes it work. She takes joy in illustrating the weirdness of these stories through intentionally disproportionate faces and inventive layouts. While the subject matter isn’t to my taste, I couldn’t help but be enthralled by Barnes’ ability in bringing these stories to the page.

Suggestion Box #1-2: Katie Omberg and Matthew Smith
We’ve all worked retail at one point or another, haven’t we? We’ve all dealt with stupid customers or coworkers, people who are too chatty, people who’ve demanded too much of our attention and then don’t buy anything. Suggestion Box is all too easy to relate to. The first issue, written and drawn by Katie Omberg, is about a customer in a frame shop who is a little too impressed with her own meager photography skills. Issue #2, written by Matthew Smith, involves the vague, dumb questions people shopping in music stores tend to ask. Both are borderline cruel in their criticism of people, but we’ve all been there and it’s all too easy to relate. Omberg’s sketchy, free art is great at illustrating the mundane interiors of retail stores (it’s all shelves and counters and racks of goods, after all). It’s a fun idea that’s executed well. And also makes me glad to not be working retail anymore.

Lucky Girl #1: Terrance Hanley
Lucky Girl is a young superheroine who is — you guessed it — lucky. She’s also brave and resourceful, too, and this allows her to get to the bottom of crimes. These crimes are pretty innocent — the first story is about the theft of some Uma Thurman dolls and the next is about a missing instrument — but Terrance Hanley brings plenty of noir-ish drama to these proceedings. His art is full of crosshatched shadows and menacing angles. Lucky Girl herself is cute and plucky, though — she’s adorable in her bulky sweater and black mask — and she definitely brings a lightness to these two tales. I hope there are more Lucky Girl stories — this isn’t quite enough for me.

Review copies of Moe and Lucky Girl provided by the creators.