9/30/07 - "Back to School Special " Meeting/Workshop Today!

Today we are having our "Back to School Special" Meeting/Workshop at the Beaumont Branch Library here in Lexington. Hopefully everyone knows to watch our CCG Calendar for keeping track of our events and regional comic/illustration/animation events.

This is a special meeting because we are actively recruiting new members who are new or returning to the area for college, high school or middle school. We will have some small door prizes and may have a raffle for some bigger items. All proceeds will go toward operating expenses or for future expenses. So don't wait, come on down and join the fun! This will be a great time for checking us out or joining in!

09/16/07 - College Newspaper Looking for Cartoonists

The student run University of Kentucky newspaper, the Kentucky Kernel, is looking for cartoonists for it's editorial page. Posted is an example from the Friday August 28th edition of this year. They pay the whopping sum of $7 for each piece they accept.

Here is the contact info if you want to submit something :

Chad Reese, Opinions Editor opinions@kykernel.comPublish Post

09/06/07 - Gallery Hop & CCG Sketch

Hey! It's that time of year again, the city-wide gallery hop is coming up Friday September 21, 2007. Several of us enjoyed hanging out at the coffeehouse last June so much we've decided to do it again! Come join us - learn about the CCG and see what we're currently working on. Bring your sketchbook or journal and join in on the merriment!

2nd CCG (Lexington KY Comic Creators Group) Gallery Hop Event

WHY:
In an effort to expose and promote our group while being able to create art in a different, inspirational and hopefully collaborative atmosphere, we have been trying to find a place for some of us to draw comics or just sketch in a public environment. Maybe this will even draw out some of you closet extroverts to come to a CCG event! Please send us feedback on this...

WHAT:
Some of the possibilities....

* Sketching
* Large scale comics
* Interactive comics (leave panels, word balloons, thought balloons, or captions empty and invite participation by visitors)
* Immersive comics (including passersby or actual events in the story)
* Big group jam page (strawberry is really good, oh no not that kind of jam) think jazz music, improvisational and collaborative...
* Big group doodle page (no stress here - just go to town or be laid back - whatever!)

HOW:

* Contact Jonathan (email: lexkyccg@gmail.com, phone 276.5528) or Wolf (cell: 859.749.6430) if you are interested (or just show up if you are a commitment-phobe!) and to get more info.
* Think BIG and BRING your own supplies ...just in case we don't have your favorite marker. You may consider white foam core board if you want to work big on a wall. Sharpies are cheap but bold. If your ideas are more modest sketchbooks are always a good idea!
* PLEASE - nothing TOO MESSY! (We want to be able to keep coming since we like the place!)
* We should have a large table so the regular scale paper and supplies should be OK too.
* Bring photocopies of your work if you want a red line critique.
* Be ready for something different - you can do it the same old way at home!


WHERE: (subject to change call there or the contacts to be sure)

* Common Grounds Coffee House, 343 E High St, Lexington, KY 40507, (859) 233-9761 Upstairs "conference room"


WHEN:(subject to change call there or the contacts to be sure)

* Friday September 21st 2007, 6 - 9p and beyond?

09/05/07 - See You in the Funny Papers?

The attention diverting image on the left will link you to a great blog on comics by Steve Duin of The Oregonian. Nice that they value the medium enough to have a regular columnist assigned to cover it! You can read a review about Craig Voe's mag there as well.

Meanwhile, our local paper, the Lexington Herald-Leader, is running a request on their website for input about the comics they run in the paper. Stop by and enter your votes. This is great that they are asking, but the ballot system they are using seems a little restrictive.

How about we look at the big list of comic strip options? There a lot of great strips that don't get much attention: Liberty Meadows, Spiderman, Little Orphan Annie, you can probably remember some that you thought had gone away or are no longer produced. Here is a link to some of the best comic strips you have never heard of. Below is a partial list (let me know what I have missed) of the offerings from some of the comics syndicates:

• King Features: http://www.kingfeatures.com/features/comics/comics.htm
• United Media: http://www.comics.com/
• Tribune Media Syndicate: http://www.comicspage.com/
• Creators Syndicate: http://www.creators.com/comics.html
• United Features: http://www.unitedfeatures.com/ufsapp/home.do
  

Oh, and while we're at it let's look at Editorial Cartoons - do you think they want our input on that? Here's some links to some of the leaders in that form of cartooning:

• The Washington Post Writers Group: http://www.postwritersgroup.com/edtoons.htm
• Tribune Media Syndicate: http://www.comicspage.com/ed_comics.html

I encourage all readers of this blog to contact your local paper and let them know you are interested in what they run, how they choose to display it (have you noticed the comics page space just keeps shrinking?) and that you want local content as well as the syndicated stuff!

For local area blog visitors, I don't have specific names or emails (yet!) for you all to send your messages to - in the meantime here is a link to the contact us web form for the Herald-Leader. Let them know what you want to read! Start a list here as a comment - we can summarize the suggestions and forward on to the powers that be. Viva La Revolucion!

09/03/07 - Labor Day, What's It Really About?

Well Happy Labor Day! Don't get sunburnt or eat too much at the picnic. But is that why we celebrate this holiday? Who is this celebration for? Why is it important to celebrate the working man and woman? The modern labor movement is responsible for the minimum wage rate, the eight-hour work day, the forty-hour work week, overtime, child labor laws and lot's more we take for granted.

Comic creators and cartoonists are most often freelance artists and writers. Without the confines of the 9 to 5 grind they work their magic in basement or attic studios far from the hum of neon track lighting and carpet covered cubicles. Until sometime in the 1980's many artists were considered "work for hire" and did not get their original art back - even more disturbing is the fact that many pages of original art were shredded or cut up into pieces just so no one could try to republish the work.

Many of the folks who inspired us as readers (if you were born in the sixties as I was) are now approaching retirement age. Most of them have worked for years without benefits (life insurance, health insurance, sick time or vacation days) and now have nothing but the dubious comfort of Social Security. Mark Alessi, the controversial and abrasive former owner of CrossGen Comics did a lot of classy things (in my opinion) while at the wheel of that company. He tried to be on time with his books, he started the Bridges Educational Outreach Program for bringing comics into the classroom and he brought back the studio concept. But one of his most significant actions was to help start an organization now called The HERO Initiative. That organization originally called ACTOR (A Commitment To Our Roots) started around 2000.

Here's the HERO website if you would like to learn more about this charitable organization that offers confidential "monetary assistance to former comic book creators requiring supplemental health, medical, and quality-of-life assistance.."

How To Help: You can help with money, material, and time, or something special.

09/02/07 - Apex Digest Day at Joseph-Beth

Come Spring and Fall we here in the bluegrass are blessed with a bounty of activities: conferences, seminars, festivals and workshops. But with that blessing often comes a burden, the burden of choosing between conflicting events that happen to fall on the same day or close to one another. September (just check the CCG Calendar link), looks to be an interesting month - choose well my friends.



Apex Science Fiction and Horror Digest is a local success story - they have fought and scraped their way to develop a loyal readership while presenting a high standard for writing and graphic design. The CCG is proud to have friends and and active members on staff with this homegrown wonder. Congratulations to them and the local author friendly, independent, bookstore Joseph-Beth on the celebration of the
2nd Annual Apex Digest Day.

• When: Saturday September 22nd 2007, 2-5pm
• Where: Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Lexington Green
• What: Author Signings, artist Signings, Apex Editor Harassment, story Readings, artist demonstrations
• How: Just show up or check this website for more info.