Blog Post
May's Books to Film
by muffy
The Avengers (PG-13) is based on the Marvel comic series by Stan Lee, first published in 1963 and remains a bestseller. A Super Hero team featuring iconic Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow must face an unexpected enemy that threatens global safety and security. With Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, and Samuel L. Jackson.
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (PG-13) follows a group of British retirees who decide to “outsource” their retirement to less expensive and seemingly exotic India. Enticed by advertisements for the newly restored Marigold Hotel and bolstered with visions of a life of leisure, they arrive to find the palace a shell of its former self. Though the new environment is less luxurious than imagined, they are forever transformed by their shared experiences, discovering that life and love can begin again when you let go of the past. The script is based on a novel by Deborah Moggach, previously published in the UK as These Foolish Things.
Starring Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Dev Patel, Tom Wilkinson, and Maggie Smith, it is my pick for our girls' night out.
What to Expect When You’re Expecting (PG-13) is adapted from Arlene Eisenberg's (written with her daughters Heidi Eisenberg Murkoff and Sandee Eisenberg Hathaway) perennial bestseller. It is a hilarious and heartfelt big screen comedy about five couples whose intertwined lives are turned upside down by the challenges of impending parenthood. Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Elizabeth Banks, Chace Crawford, Brooklyn Decker complete the cast.
Blog Post
Celebrate Free Comic Book Day with the Family Comic Jam
by K.C.
Saturday, May 5 -- 9:00 a.m.-Noon -- Downtown Multipurpose Room -- All Ages
Work as a family to make your own comics story!
In this hands-on workshop teaching artist Jerzy Drozd will show you how a cartoonist uses shape, size, and line to write with images. Then each family or group will divide up into a team consisting of a writer, artist, and letterer, switching between jobs with every page. The result is an improvisational cartoon story you create together.
This event, for all ages, coincides with Free Comic Book Day and Vault of Midnight will be donating comics to give away.
Blog Post
Australian / American Cartoonist Exchange in AA
by K.C.
Monday, May 7 -- 5-8 PM -- Roos Roast -- 1155 Rosewood St Suite B Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Local cartoonists and writers, here’s your chance for a little international comics exchange at the first ever KRCC Cross-Cultural Exchange hosted by Kids Read Comics Celebrations! A group of Australian cartoonists will be passing through the SE Michigan area, and they agreed to make a stop in Ann Arbor to meet up with area cartoonists for some drawing and conversation. We’ll be joined by:
· Pat Grant
· Ben Hutchings
· David Blumenstein
· Sarah Howell
· Gregory Mackay
· Michael Hawkins
· John Retallick
Roos Roast has generously offered us their studio space for the meetup. It’s the best coffee in town, and a terrific meeting space, so a good time is sure to be had!
Bring your favorite drawing supplies and let’s make some comics international style!
Blog Post
Comic Artists Forum with Cartoonist Gale Williams
by K.C.
Sunday, May 6 | 1:00-3:00 PM | Downtown | 4th Floor Meeting Room
Gale Williams, cartoonist and creator of the weekly webcomic "Patbird and Galesaur", will demonstrate how to flat comics in Adobe Photoshop, and share tips and tricks to speed up your coloring process.
Join the Forum to get fresh ideas for your next comics or graphic novel creation. Drawing supplies will be provided, so drop in to draw, learn, share, and network with other cartoonists.
This event is for adults and teens (grade 6 and up).
Blog Post
Whedon Rises Again!
by pkooger
Joss Whedon, writer, director, producer, cult favorite and god of the geek pantheon, is going to have a good month. His highly-anticipated thriller, The Cabin in the Woods, opens today. In two weeks his Marvel comics blockbuster, The Avengers, will explode into theaters everywhere. Both films have already received exalted critical praise. Converts to Whedon’s fandom must wait to see the second of his films, but you can revel in his other works right now.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Whedon’s first and perhaps greatest work. Seven seasons on the air, and one season in graphic novel form.
Angel – A part of the Buffyverse, this avenging vampire was certainly not the first of his kind, but he is one of the best.
Firefly – An interplanetary smuggler and his ragtag crew try to survive in the wild black yonder.
Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog – NPH is a mad scientist trying to win the heart of Penny, but how is he to do it when he is thwarted at every turn by that disgustingly handsome Captain Hammer?
Dollhouse – La Femme Nikita meets The Pretender in this short-lived espionage series.
Runaways – A group of teens who have inherited their supervillain parents’ legacies decide to run away and live apart from the traditionally defined good guys and bad guys.
Blog Post
The case against Sacco and Vanzetti
by K.C.
History comes to life under the capable hands of graphic novelist Rick Geary. In the latest installment of his “Treasury of XXth Century Murder” Geary meticulously lays out the April 15, 1920 robbery and murder and outlines the evidence for and against the accused Nicolo Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. He also provides details of the trial of these two Italian immigrants. He discusses both men’s lives, the times in which they live,and why this case had worldwide impact. Geary provides the facts with impartiality. After reading The Lives of Sacco and Vanzetti you get to decide whether these two men were villains or victims.
Blog Post
Comics Are Great! Wednesday with Brianne Drouhard and Dan Mishkin
by jerzydrozd@gmail.com
This Wednesday at 12:30 pm we hope you'll join us for the live Comics Are Great! show, produced in the AADL Netcast Studio!
We will be joined by Brianne Drouhard, storyboard artist, character designer, and animator whose credits include Teen Titans, Transformers: Animated, and Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Also on the roundtable we'll have Dan Mishkin, co-creator of Blue Devil and Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld.
Together we'll tackle the topic of writing adventure fiction for girls. What are the special considerations one must face when creating an action-oriented story for girls? Is it important to refer to current styles and technology, or does that make your story less "timeless"? How is writing adventure fiction for girls different than writing the same for boys? Or are they essentially the same?
You can join us in the chat live at Comicsaregreat.tv, participate via the #comicsaregreat Twitter hashtag, or by posting some comments here. What are some of your favorite adventure stories made for girls? What, if anything, made them different from similar stories made for boys?
Blog Post
Comics Writer Paul Storrie at Comic Artists Forum
by K.C.
Sunday, March 4 | 1:00-3:30 PM | Downtown 4th Floor Meeting Room
Comics writer Paul Storrie will talk about the importance of clearly conveying to the artists, letterers, & colorists what you want to see on the finished page so their already Herculean task isn't any harder than it has to be.
Beyond the basics of formatting and terminology for comic book scripting, Paul will also cover some of the most common mistakes made and how to avoid them.
Paul is the writer of the Twisted Journeys graphic novels that lets the reader control the story. He also is the writer of a number of heroic tales like Yu the Great: Conquering the Flood a Chinese legend.
Join the Forum to get fresh ideas for your next comics or graphic novel creation. Drawing supplies will be provided, so drop in to draw, learn, share, and network with other cartoonists.
This program is for teens (grades 6-12) and adults.
Blog Post
Mini-Comics Day at the Duderstadt Center
by K.C.
2nd Annual Mini-Comics Day | 10 a.m.-6 p.m. | Saturday, March 10, 2012
If you like making comics and meeting other cartoonists, here's your chance to complete a mini-comic, photocopy it, and swap with fellow artists all in a day. You can work alone or with others. Your mini-comic may be any number of pages. If you've never made a mini-comic before, no problem, come and find out what it's all about. For more details check the Mini-Comics Day FAQ.
Registration is now open-- send email to minicomics-2012@umich.edu to sign up!
Blog Post
Meet the Creators of nemu*nemu at Comic Artists Forum
by K.C.
Sunday, February 5 | 1:00-3:00 PM | Downtown Library | Multipurpose Room | Gr. 6-Adults
Welcome cartoonists Audra Furuichi and Scott Yoshinaga from sunny Honolulu, Hawaii (via Skype), as they discuss how they work together to create comics and run their business.
Audra and Scott are the co-creators of nemu*nemu, an original, online comic that has been running since 2006. Not only are they inspired by anime and manga, but the duo also strives to bring a touch of Saturday morning cartoons and Sunday funnies with a good dose of “small kid time” nostalgia to everything they do.