small press expo – Comicsgirl https://www.comicsgirl.com Thu, 24 Jul 2014 22:55:03 +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 small press expo – Comicsgirl https://www.comicsgirl.com 32 32 59683043 Review: Through the Woods by Emily Carroll https://www.comicsgirl.com/2014/07/24/review-through-the-woods-by-emily-carroll/ https://www.comicsgirl.com/2014/07/24/review-through-the-woods-by-emily-carroll/#comments Thu, 24 Jul 2014 22:52:08 +0000 http://www.comicsgirl.com/?p=4147 Through the WoodsIt can be terrifying to be a woman. Don’t get me wrong — there are so many great things about it, too. It’s not like all women live every moment in fear.

But there is an underlying current of danger for so many women. Is this street safe? Should I ride in the elevator with this man or wait for the next one? Is this person my friend or just waiting for an opportunity to take advantage of me?

Nevermind that women live in bodies that are often confusing. We ache, we hurt, we feel emotions we don’t always understand. We bleed and want. But women just live with these things for the most part. I know I don’t give them too much thought. It’s just part of my daily life.

I thought about these things while reading the gorgeous collection of Emily Carroll’s stories, Through the Woods (Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2014). It’s not that all of these stories are about these specific issues, but even in the more horrific stories, there’s an undercurrent of this just being what life is like.

The five stories here (plus an introduction and a conclusion) take us deep into the world Carroll has created. It’s one part Shirley Jackson, one part Grimm’s fairy tales, one part Junji Ito, but so much more. Part of Carroll’s gift is how she transforms her influences into something completely new. In Carroll’s world, everywhere is haunted; everything means you harm.

Much of Carroll’s power is in what goes unseen. In the first story, “Our Neighbor’s House,” the protagonist narrates her sisters seeing a mysterious stranger before they each disappear, leaving her alone to face what’s to come. There’s no overt horror in this tale, but the tension is in the waiting, in the inevitable fate of our narrator. Carroll does creeping dread like no one else working in comics.

But when Carroll wants to show us actual horror, she’s unafraid, and her visions are as beautiful as they are terrifying.

In the elegantly paced “A Lady’s Hands Are Cold,” her twisting page layouts, poetic language and art saturated with bright blues and crimson reds lead the reader down a frightening path that turns in unexpected places. In the book’s final story, “The Nesting Place,” the quiet distress builds to outright horror. While Mabel’s distrust of her brother’s fiancée never feels out of place, the reveal feels both shocking and earned.

Carroll never feels like she’s pushing her metaphors about women’s bodies and lives being in control of forces outside themselves. The subtly of how she conveys her themes is skillful and lovely. Bottom line, these are all just wonderfully scary horror stories. That there is some subtext just feels like a bonus.

If you’ve read Carroll’s work online, you know she enjoys playing with form and format. Her layout switch wildly to suit her stories — unconstrained and open one moment, quiet and formal the next. Her unique style seems to be influenced by everything — children’s books illustrations, manga, indie and European comics, animation, video game artwork — but she filters it into a singular vision. It feels hauntingly familiar but also foreign, much like a nightmare.

The design of Through the Woods is also incredible. The full-bleed pages are engrossing and the glossy paper shows off the pure black and rich, vivid colors. It translates the power of Carroll’s online work into book format perfectly.

Emily Carroll is a comics creator people are going to study generations from now. She’s that good. Through the Woods is a masterpiece collection of comics. And I hope it’s only the first one of many.

Copy of Through the Woods provided by Big Planet Comics. Carroll is also one of Small Press Expo‘s special guests, so come tell her how awesome she is Sept. 13-14.

]]> https://www.comicsgirl.com/2014/07/24/review-through-the-woods-by-emily-carroll/feed/ 2 4147 33 for 2013 https://www.comicsgirl.com/2014/01/06/33-for-2013/ Mon, 06 Jan 2014 23:17:21 +0000 http://www.comicsgirl.com/?p=4042 This is my list of the 33 things that happened in the comics world in 2013 that made me happy. They’re in alphabetical order.

Blue is the Warmest Color

 

]]> 4042 The D.C. Area Comics Scene for Oct. 1 https://www.comicsgirl.com/2013/10/01/the-d-c-area-comics-scene-for-oct-1/ Tue, 01 Oct 2013 22:32:32 +0000 http://www.comicsgirl.com/?p=3957 DC Conspiracy
Comics Making Studio with Members of the DC Conspiracy at the Artisphere, Sept. 21

News/reviews/interviews: 

Event coverage:

Multimedia:

Debut comic:

Kickstarter:

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.

]]> 3957 SPX thoughts & The D.C. Area Comics Scene for Sept. 17 https://www.comicsgirl.com/2013/09/17/spx-thoughts-the-d-c-area-comics-scene-for-sept-17/ Tue, 17 Sep 2013 22:36:52 +0000 http://www.comicsgirl.com/?p=3940 I hand Ulli Lust her Ignatz Award. Photo by Instagram user billhanna
I hand Ulli Lust her Ignatz Award. Photo by Instagram user billhanna

I really only have a couple of things for this week (I won’t collect every single link about Small Press Expo, after all) but I thought I’d take this space to talk a little bit about Small Press Expo 2013.

It was, as always, exhausting and amazing. I really didn’t get to spend as much time walking the floor as I would’ve liked nor did I get to see so many people I wanted to see. But I’m kind of resigned to the fact that this is how the show goes for me now. I was already pretty wiped out on Saturday (but astonishingly, actually managed to eat three meals, mostly because Greg Bennett made sure of that. I am incredibly grateful for that).

The entire process of the Ignatz was pretty intense this year. I don’t think a lot of people submitted until after table registrations happened. But then the books just kept coming. And coming. And coming. I know none of us expected to get so many books. I know I didn’t.

But I think the strength of the nominees really showed the depth of the titles we got. There were many a few usual suspects but I know the jurors were extremely thoughtful in their choices. So many of the categories were tough choices for me.

And yes, I was clearly delighted when all the Outstanding Graphic Novel nominees were women. That just happened organically and all of those books absolutely deserved to be there.

And speaking of that, I was so thrilled Liza Donnelly agreed to host this year. She’s spoken at the United Nations! When she said she was thinking about having all the presenters be women, I basically said “I would love that.” While we both worked to pick a good list of presenters, she definitely gets all the credit.

The whole ceremony and experience meant a lot to me. In my earliest days of reading and writing about comics, I never thought I’d get to do something like this. I’ve had a rough couple of years and so it felt satisfyingly wonderful to be able to be a part of something so amazing.

(I was so happy Ulli Lust won! Today is the Last Day of the Rest of Your Life is amazing and I loved it so much. And I am so jealous of my friend who got to hang out with her quite a bit. When he said “You two are on the same page about so many things,” that really didn’t help.)

Onto your regularly scheduled and short D.C. Area Scene.

News/reviews/interviews: 

Kickstarter:

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.

]]> 3940 The D.C. Area Comics Scene for Sept. 3 https://www.comicsgirl.com/2013/09/03/the-d-c-area-comics-scene-for-sept-3/ Tue, 03 Sep 2013 21:38:47 +0000 http://www.comicsgirl.com/?p=3935 News/reviews/interviews:

New 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.

]]> 3935 The D.C. Area Comics Scene for June 18 https://www.comicsgirl.com/2013/06/18/the-d-c-area-comics-scene-for-june-18/ Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:30:21 +0000 http://www.comicsgirl.com/?p=3838 News/reviews/interviews:

Publications:

New releases:

  • Emotional Distance #2, Zach Mason (Purchase)
  • Cartoon Picayune Summer 2013: The Hard Work Issue, edited by Josh Kramer (Purchase)

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.

]]> 3838 The D.C. Area Comics Scene for March 19 https://www.comicsgirl.com/2013/03/19/the-d-c-area-comics-scene-for-march-19/ Tue, 19 Mar 2013 12:00:17 +0000 http://www.comicsgirl.com/?p=3685 minicomicsday13
Krissy Downing, Chris Piers, Jacob Warrenfeltz and Carolyn Belefski hard at work on Mini-Comics Day March 16 in Arlington, Va.

News/reviews/interviews:

Event news:

Event coverage:

Publications:

Events:

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.

]]> 3685 The D.C. Area Comics Scene for Nov. 20 https://www.comicsgirl.com/2012/11/20/the-d-c-area-comics-scene-for-nov-20/ Tue, 20 Nov 2012 13:00:42 +0000 http://www.comicsgirl.com/?p=3515 News, reviews & interviews:

Event reports:

Upcoming releases:

Events:

Housekeeping:

This feature will be taking a break for the month of December so last week is the last one. If you have events in December, get them to me or they won’t get listed.

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.

]]> 3515 The D.C. Area Comics Scene for Oct. 9 https://www.comicsgirl.com/2012/10/09/the-d-c-area-comics-scene-for-oct-9/ Tue, 09 Oct 2012 12:00:06 +0000 http://www.comicsgirl.com/?p=3446
News/interviews/reviews:

Event coverage:

Video/podcasts:

Upcoming releases:

Events:

  • Through Dec. 23: Fall Solos 2012, featuring Warren Craghead, Arlington Arts Center, Arlington, Va. Artist reception Oct. 20 from 6 to 9 p.m. One-on-one with the artists Nov. 10 from 4 to 6 p.m.
  • Oct. 11-14: New York Comic Con, New York, New York. I know at least Rafer Roberts  and Curls Studio will be there, although I’m sure a few others. I may be there on Saturday.
  • Oct. 13: Super Art Fight, Red Palace, Washington, D.C. Doors at 9:30 p.m.; show at 10; $15 and 21 and older.
  • Oct. 26: Bedlam #1 Launch Party with Nick Spencer and Riley Rossmo, Third Eye Comics, Annapolis, Md., 7 to 9 p.m.
  • Oct. 27: District Comics signing at Big Planet Comics, U Street, Washington, D.C., 4 to 6 p.m.
  • Nov. 3: Ben Hatke signing, Big Planet Comics, Vienna, Va., from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Big Planet Comics, College Park, Md., from 3 to 5 p.m.
  • Nov. 3: Grace Randolph and Jerry Gaylord signing at Third Eye Comics, Annapolis, Md., 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
  • Nov. 12: SHATTERED – The Asian American Comics Anthology Book Signing and Launch, featuring editors Jeff Yang and Keith Chow with illustrator Jamie Noguchi. Busboys & Poets, 14th and V streets, Washington, D.C., 6:30 to 8 p.m.

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.

]]> 3446 The D.C. Area Comics Scene for Oct. 2 https://www.comicsgirl.com/2012/10/02/the-d-c-area-comics-scene-for-oct-2/ Tue, 02 Oct 2012 12:00:46 +0000 http://www.comicsgirl.com/?p=3436
News/interviews/reviews:

Event coverage:

Video/podcasts:

Upcoming releases:

Events:

  • Oct. 6: Richmond Zine Fest, Richmond, Va., 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  • Oct. 11-14: New York Comic Con, New York, New York. I know at least Rafer Roberts will be there, although I’m sure a few others. I may be there on Saturday.
  • Oct. 13: Super Art Fight, Red Palace, Washington, D.C. Doors at 9:30 p.m.; show at 10; $15 and 21 and older.
  • Oct. 26: Bedlam #1 Launch Party with Nick Spencer and Riley Rossmo, Third Eye Comics, Annapolis, Md., 7 to 9 p.m.
  • Oct. 27: District Comics signing at Big Planet Comics, U Street, Washington, D.C., 4 to 6 p.m.

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.

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