March 2: My Will Eisner Week Lecture at Northwestern University Library

Will Eisner Week, celebrated the week of March 6 each year, promotes graphic novels, literacy, free speech awareness, and the legacy of legendary cartoonist Will Eisner. I'm happy to be participating this year by giving a talk at Northwestern University Library on Wednesday, March 2, at 5:00pm:

Will Eisner: Pioneering Cartoonist, Visionary Educator 

Widely regarded as the "Father of the Graphic Novel," cartoonist Will Eisner spent his entire career chasing the Next Big Idea - and usually finding it. With a body of work encompassing some of the earliest American comic books, The Spirit Sunday newspaper supplements, U.S. Army preventative maintenance manuals, one of the very first graphic novels, and a small library of books on comics theory and practice, Eisner influenced several generations of artists and educators. 

Comics historian Gene Kannenberg, Jr. will present an illustrated look at Eisner's work and legacy: The development of comic art into both a literary form and a tool for education.

We also have a small Eisner-centric display in our New Book Nook, including both books to check out as well as rarer items from my own personal collection.

The display wall in the New Book Nook

The Spirit

More works by Eisner

Books about Eisner and his role in American comics

See the Northwestern Events Calendar or the Facebook Event listings for more information. I'm proud that my employer is supporting Will Eisner Week this year, and I hope to see you there!

Great Comic Book Typography (Lecture): September 17, Type Directors Club, NYC)

Here's the announcement of an upcoming lecture by "Friend of the Blog" Arlen Schumer. I'm really hoping to attend, not least because I have a professional interest in the topic. Plus, Arlen's lectures are always mind-blowingly illustrated. So if you're in the neighborhood on September 17, come on down!

Great Comic Book Typography
A VISUALECTURE
by Arlen Schumer
Comic Book Historian
(The Silver Age of Comic Book Art, Collectors Press 2003)
September 17, 2009
Type Directors Club, 347 W 36 NYC
WWW.TDC.ORG

An overview of some of the best typography in comic book history -- hand-lettered balloons, ads and logotypes -- and the impact it has had on Schumer's own comic book-styled illustration for the advertising and editorial markets over the past 25 years.

June 22 at The Met - Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy

More information on the "Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy" exhibit can be found here. And ComicsResearch.org's information on the exhibit's accompanying book can be found here.

Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy
Sunday at the Met
Sunday, June 22, 2008

All programs are in The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium
and are free with Museum admission.

This all-day event of lectures and panel discussions brings together leading international scholars, critics, and designers to discuss the world of costumes and comics. Themes include the appropriation of the uniform, the adaptation of superhero costumes for the screen, the creation of modern mythologies, and the role of the superhero as metaphor in contemporary society.

LECTURES

10:00
E Pluribus Unitard: Notes toward a Theory of Superhero Costuming
Peter Coogan, director, The Institute for Comics Studies

10:30
Writers Panel
Danny Fingeroth, author, Disguised as Clark Kent: Jews, Comics, and the Creation of the Superhero; Richard Reynolds, author, Super Heroes: A Modern Mythology; and Paul Levitz, president and publisher, DC Comics

11:45
The Boys in the Hoods: The Costumed Vigilante as Urban Dandy
Scott Bukatman, associate professor, Department of Art and Art History, Stanford University

2:00
Costume Designers Panel
Geoff Klock, assistant professor, Borough of Manhattan Community College; and Adi Granov and Phil Saunders, illustrators and concept Designers, Iron Man

3:00
Artists Panel
Alex Ross, comic artist; Stanford Carpenter, assistant professor, Visual and Critical Studies, School of the Art Institute of Chicago; and Arlen Schumer, comic book art historian, The Dynamic Duo Studio, Inc.

4:00
The Gods of Greece, Rome, and Egypt Still Exist—Only Today They Wear Spandex and Capes!
Michael Uslan, executive producer, The Dark Knight

The exhibition and its accompanying book are made possible by Giorgio Armani.

Additional support is provided by Condé Nast.