JUGS & CAPES

Jugs & Capes: American Born Chinese.

jugscapes — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 15:06:00 -0400

For our August Jugs & Capes meeting, we decided to read something light & summery: Printz & Eisner award-winning graphic novel American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang. A majority of the group felt that they “almost loved the book” (<—thanks to Oriana for coining the phrase!) but perhaps Yang’s character of Chin-Kee’s was a bit of a drawback. We wondered whether this over-the-top sitcom stereotype was necessary, much like Long Duck Dong of Sixteen Candles or Mr. Yunioshi of Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and didn’t find his scenes as interesting as the others (ie. first love & monkey kings). Could Chin-Kee have been played more subtly? Realizing this overstated character was created for a purpose, we still wondered if the Young Adult target audience played a part. Most of us also agreed that the ending was a little abrupt, though we did love the art and humor.

And speaking of overstated, ever since our book club moved from weekday nights to Sunday brunch, we have been enjoying some seriously delicious & well-themed food spreads. Special thanks to Amanda Bullock for picking up those yummy dumplings & den den mein at M. Noodle in Williamburg.

One of my favorite pages (below); Jin’s expression is priceless!

Last but not least, this is how we artists drink: Exquisite Corpse games + free shots! Thanks to Sam (of Lady Jay’s) for contributing with me & Miss Laura Lee. The rest are hanging up in the bar. xo, artsparrow

book images © Gene Luen Yang & First Second; food photography © Oriana Leckert & Amanda Bullock

Jugs & Capes @ MoCCA Fest 2012!

jugscapes — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:02:00 -0400

Here are some of us Jugs & Capers at this year’s MoCCA Fest:

(below) Artist & Illustrator Andrea Sparaci o with her published comic in The Gathering anthology.

(below) Writer & Designer Colleen AF Venable (Nominated for an Eisner Award! Best Publication for Kids!) & Marianne Ways.

(below) Artist & Graphic Novelist Laura Lee Gulledge (Nominated for an Eisner Award! Best Lettering) at her MoCCA table.

(below) New J&C member + Photographer extraordinaire Jasmina Tomic (w/ Andrea Sparacio).

For more photos & reporting visit Andrea’s MoCCA Flickr set & blog.artsparrow.com

Graphic Novels, Cartoons & The Comic Book.

artsparrow — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 13:04:00 -0400

artsparrow:

Last night I attended a very inspiring New York Chapter of the Graphic Artist Guild:

“GRAPHIC NOVELS, CARTOONS & THE COMIC BOOK”

the talented panel above, left to right: Mike Dawson, David Matthew Gallaher, Christine Norrie, Nick Abadzis. Check out their links! They’re all super awesome.

Also getting excited for MoCCA! And trying to get back to drawing my own comics (doodled this thumbnail on the subway ride home):

xo, comics.artsparrow.com

Books We've Read. 2010-2012

artsparrow — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 10:51:20 -0400

24. May 2012: Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth, Chris Ware
23. April 2012: Y: The Last Man, Brian K. Vaughan & Pia Guerra
22. March 2012: Aya, Marguerite Abouet & Clément Oubrerie
21. FEBRUARY 2012: American Splendor, Harvey Pekar
20. JANUARY 2012: Habibi, Craig Thompson
19. DECEMBER 2011: Berlin Book One: City of Stones, Jason Lutes
18. NOVEMBER 2011: La Perdida, Jessica Abel
17. SEPTEMBER 2010: From Hell, Alan Moore
16. AUGUST 2011: A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge, Josh Neufeld
15. JULY 2011: Maggie the Mechanic, Jaime Hernandez
14. JUNE 2011: The Complete Essex County, Jeff Lemire
13. MAY 2011: Watchmen, Alan Moore
12. APRIL 2011: Blankets, Craig Thompson
11. MARCH 2011: Preacher Vol 1: Gone to Texas & Preacher Vol 2: Until the End of the World, Garth Ennis
10. FEBRUARY 2011: A Contract with God, Will Eisner
9. JANUARY 2011: Asterios Polyp, David Mazzucchelli
8. DECEMBER 2010: Fables (Bill Willingham et al.) & Bone (second half)
7. NOVEMBER 2010: Bone, Jeff Smith (first half)
6. OCTOBER 2010: Stitches, David Small
5. SEPTEMBER 2010: The Dark Knight Returns, Frank Miller
4. AUGUST 2010: Fun Home, Alison Bechdel
3. JULY 2010: Scott Pilgrim, Brian Lee O’Malley
2. JUNE 2010: Palestine, Joe Sacco
1. MAY 2010: Understanding Comics, Scott McCloud

Congratulations to two of our very own Jugs &...

jugscapes — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 10:27:00 -0400

Congratulations to two of our very own Jugs & Capers!

Colleen AF Venable, Nominated for Best Publication for Kids (ages 8-12):

The Ferret’s a Foot, by Colleen AF Venable & Stephanie Yue (Graphic Universe/Lerner)

Laura Lee Gulledge, Nominated for Best Lettering:

Page by Paige (Amulet Books/Abrams)

Voting has begun on the 2012 nominees for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards. The voting deadline is midnight PDT, June 4, 2012. Vote online here: http://www.eisnervote.com

Best of luck, ladies!!!

Required Reading: Aya de Yopougon | Bitch Media

artsparrow — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 13:45:00 -0400

Required Reading: Aya de Yopougon | Bitch Media:

Marguerite Abouet’s graphic novel Aya of Yopougon makes great required reading for all the wrong reasons.

Set in “Yop City,” Cote d’Ivoire, and ostensibly centered on a young woman named Aya, the comic book seems ready to follow Aya’s battle to become a doctor (likely villainous obstacles: money problems, distracting friends, and a father who thinks marriage is more appropriate than medicine).

Aya would be a great hero and role model. She has witty retorts for street harassment. She’s wise and also kind, dispensing good advice to all her neighbors and still finding the time to braid her sister’s hair. She is beautiful. She doesn’t go parking with boys.

See where I’m going? Aya has all the problematic virtuousness of your typical 20th century Disney heroine: intelligence and ambition are justified by the unlikely combination of incredible sex appeal and virginal purity. An ability to conform to male fantasy while checking boxes off a progressive list is just dull tradition in the genre of stories about young women.

Luckily, author Marguerite Abouet dispenses with all that med school and straight-edge stuff in the beginning pages, and soon reveals that the story isn’t much about Aya. The real action lies with Aya’s flawed friends Bintou and Adjoua…continue reading article here

Husband & wife dynamic duo!! Clément Oubrerie...

jugscapes — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 13:03:18 -0400

Husband & wife dynamic duo!! Clément Oubrerie (illustrator) & Marguerite Abouet (author) of AYA series. Swoon.

A behind-the-scenes look at Chris Ware’s home and amazing...

jugscapes — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 21:31:30 -0500

A behind-the-scenes look at Chris Ware’s home and amazing comics/toy/miscellaneous “junk” collection. We have yet to read Ware, but he’s on the list.

Jugs & Capes are currently reading Aya de Yopougon, written...

jugscapes — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 15:54:00 -0500

Jugs & Capes are currently reading Aya de Yopougon, written by Marguerite Abouet & illustrated by Clément Oubrerie.

whoislauralee: This month at Jugs & Capes we read AMERICAN...

jugscapes — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 15:51:27 -0500

We're making curmudgeonly Pekar faces

from American Splendor

whoislauralee:

This month at Jugs & Capes we read AMERICAN SPLENDOR by Harvey Pekar!

I wrote a DISCUSSION GUIDE based on our conversation…

1. Pekar’s stories were drawn by a variety of artists. Which ones did you like the most? How did different artists portray him? What do you think about his experience with R. Crumb?

2. Which of the stories did you like the most? (We dug the opening comic, the honeymoon/lost voice, the old Jewish lady in the grocery store…) Were the longer stories more engaging?

3. Pekar’s stories are about everyday life, so do you find it merely banal or was he successful in a providing a deeper meaning?

4. How do you think his work holds up today? Is it dated? Do you think it would be better to read it as it originally came out (in smaller sections) rather than collected all together?

5. What’s your take on Pekar’s portrayal of women? Is he chauvinistic or respectful?

6. This was a text-heavy comic, basically talking heads. Did you find this tiring/boring/intense to read? Did you find his long-winded sections self-indulgent or simply more riveting and in-depth? And would it be successful if it was just writing? What did you think about the use of dialect/slang? What other comics are text-heavy?

7. Harvey Pekar is a bit of a polarizing character, in fact, our group was pretty divided on American Splendor. So did you love or hate being inside his neurotic head? Have you encountered other characters similar to him in comics? (The”working class intellectual.”) What makes him unique?

8. Did you find him bravely honest because he never idealizes himself and he doesn’t seem to care what others think of him? Or did you find him arrogant, whiny, and with a sense of entitlement because he’s desperate for other people to respect him?

9. We recommend watching his appearance on Letterman as a group, and then discussed how his personality on paper and in real life compare. Do you find it almost painful to watch him?! Also check out the Pekar Project.

10. If he was getting his start now, how would his work be different? (We called his work “illustrated live journal.”) Would he do a webcomic or would he simply write? Or would he just get lost buying records on ebay??

For our next Jugs & Capes meeting we are reading American...

jugscapes — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:00:08 -0500

For our next Jugs & Capes meeting we are reading American Splendor by Harvey Pekar. For something to tide us over until mid-February, here is The Pekar Project!

Harvey Pekar’s been mining the mundane for magic for more than 30 years in his autobiographical American Splendor comics. Now he has teamed with SMITH and some remarkable artists to create his first ongoing webcomics series—and some of his jazziest work to date. The new stories will appear every other week, with interviews, creator spotlights, and behind-the-scenes goodies, as well as essays and art from Pekar collaborators and inhabitants of the extended Pekarverse.

www.smithmag.net/pekarproject

DC Comics Announces ‘Watchmen’ Prequels. See the...

jugscapes — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:49:00 -0500

DC Comics Announces ‘Watchmen’ Prequels. See the covers & catch the buzz:

forbes.com

shelf-life.ew.com

Author Interviews @ Amazon: Craig Thompson …on his...

jugscapes — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:05:00 -0500

Author Interviews @ Amazon: Craig Thompson

…on his beginning days of comics, drawing process, Habibi, and what’s up next for him:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m3S91D7VAYTJJP/ref=ent_fb_link

"Thompson’s need was not to tell us all about the geographical or political Middle East, either..."

blogtastic — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:51:17 -0500

“Thompson’s need was not to tell us all about the geographical or political Middle East, either of today or yesteryear, but to find a narrative body that would carry him through the next stage of his development as an artist. For me, many years ago, Greek mythology served a similar purpose; I had no special interest in the subject prior to that. I just needed an engine that came ready built with all its interconnecting parts in place, that enabled me to encase stories within other stories right from the kick-off. The theme that commands Thompson in this early phase of his oeuvre is LOVE. He has taken it from the childlike cute of Goodbye Chunky Rice through the ‘first love’ of Blankets. And now a big subject was required, something with epic potential, a grand romance, something bigger than the familiar and the everyday. He sought and found it in the idiom of the Arabian Nights, with its sultans and harems and slaves and eunuchs. But more than a single linear story, Thompson wanted to erect a colossal structure with a baroque encrustation of teeming narratives. To this end he uses the literature of the Middle East, in both subject, using the Qur’an the bible and Arabic poetry, and in form, through the rich calligraphic tradition of the literature. At this point you would have to ask: is this guy nuts? Where did he get the courage to take on all of that?”

- Eddie Campbell, author of Alec and From Hell, on Orientalism, Craig Thompson, and Habibi over at his blog

This month at Jugs & Capes we read “Habibi” by...

jugscapes — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:01:48 -0500

This month at Jugs & Capes we read “Habibi” by Craig Thompson!

We wrote DISCUSSION QUESTIONS afterwards based on our conversation…

1. For most of the book the reader was led to believe it was set in the past, but then we learn it is contemporary. What did you think of this switch and how did it change the story for you?

2. There were many passages where myths, stories, and passages of the Qur’an were woven into the story. Did you think this enhanced the story? Did this method of storytelling work for you?

3. Discuss your take on the environmental undertones and the re-occuring role of water.

4. What were some similarities between Habibi’s storyline/themes/characters and the ones in his earlier work, Blankets?

5. His layouts are amazing, and are all very different. Which were your favorite pages visually? How did he use panels and layouts to direct the pacing? And what about the pages where he left lots of white space?

6. Did you find the use of Islamic patterns distracting or appealing? How do you think his drawing style has been influenced by Islamic calligraphy? Has his style evolved since Blankets?

7. There is a surprising number of dynamic action scenes in this book. How does it compare with other more typical superhero action comics?

8. He included words a lot within his images, especially in the water. Pick an example where you think this was especially successful.

9. As a white male author, how do you think he handled the portrayal of women? And the portrayal of middle eastern characters?

10. What role did words/stories play in Dodola’s life? Do you think they were what kept her strong through all her hardship?

11. The relationship between Dodola and Zam was very complex. (And at times confusing!) Discuss your take on it.

12. Would you consider Dodola a prostitute? What was her relationship with sex? What did you think about her first husband?

13. What was your take on Noah (the man in the boat)…was he a fool, crazy, kind, demented, a good guy, etc?

14. Did you feel emotionally attached to the characters? Like, cringing for them at certain points, feeling suspense when they were in trouble, rooting for them, etc. What were the parts that really got a reaction from you?

15. What did you think about Zam as a character? Was he developed enough? What did you think about his castration?

16. In the end, who saved who? The little girl they buy in the market, Zam, Dodola? Or did they even need saving?

And finally, our two favorite questions…

17. There were drawings of breasts on most of the pages, but no penises. We didn’t even get to see what Zam looked like post-castration. What’s the deal with that?!

18. If you had to pick an image from Habibi to get as a tattoo, which would it be?

Best Graphic Novels of 2011

jenniferharlan — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 10:18:07 -0500

A big congrats to new J&C member Laura Lee in making the best-graphic-novels-of-2011 list with her book, Page by Paige! Super awesome, lady! (#2)

Comics Worth Reading: Best Graphic Novels of 2011

whoislauralee: I just attended my first meeting of Jugs &...

artsparrow — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 22:01:10 -0500

whoislauralee:

I just attended my first meeting of Jugs & Capes, a Brooklyn based all-girl graphic novel book club! (This month we read Berlin: City of Stones by Jason Lutes.)

Comics + baked goods + lady friends + intellectual discourse = happy Laura Lee

theparisreview: The Culture Diary of Joe Ollmann, Cartoonist

blogtastic — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 14:59:23 -0400

theparisreview:

The Culture Diary of Joe Ollmann, Cartoonist

betterbooktitles: Charles Burns: Black Hole

blogtastic — Thu, 19 May 2011 16:22:48 -0400

betterbooktitles:

Charles Burns: Black Hole

New Comics Wednesday! w/ Jugs & Capes very own Andrea...

artsparrow — Wed, 04 May 2011 10:25:38 -0400

New Comics Wednesday! w/ Jugs & Capes very own Andrea Sparacio (artsparrow).