East Coast Black Age of Comics, Part 2: Convention Photos

Keith Knight ("The K Chronicles"), Masheka Wood ("Not Just Knee Deep"), Mikhaela Reid ("The Boiling Point") and Ayo ("Little Garden")

Photos from "Having Our Say: Black Women Discuss Imagery": Cheryl Lynn Eaton (Digital Femme, The Ormes Society), L.A. Banks (Vampire Huntress) and Rashida Lewis ("Sand Storm")

Joseph Wheeler III ("New Art Order"); Masheka Wood with underground comics pioneer Larry Fuller (Larry had just purchased Masheka's awesome new book, Deep Doodle); the cover of the excellent book "How to Draw Afrakan Superheroes"

Stylish ECBACC apparel; Dwayne McDuffie ("Static Shock")

On May 19, Masheka and I made our second comics-fun-filled trip to the annual East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention. Above are some more of the photos (click on any one for caption info and a slideshow). I'm embarrassed to say that Keith was the only one of us to remember his Cartoonists With Attitude T-shirt. Oops!

I already name-checked and reminisced about most of the fantastic cartoonists we got to hang out with, but I'd like to take a moment to spotlight one you're probably not familiar with, our table buddy, Brooklyn-based cartoonist Ayo (see top photo), who draws the mini-comic "Little Garden." I could try to describe his beautiful linework and wonderfully drawn characters (who tend to be adorable girls with lizard tails and extra eyes and Medusa snake hair) and excellent use of mood and setting and blah de blah, but instead I'm just going to show you:

Please check out Ayo's awesome art and leave some praise.

See "East Coast Black Age of Comics, Part 1: The Glyph Awards" and "ECBACC Photo Outtake" for more extensive commentary and notes on attendees. Coming up in Part 3, photos and commentary from the panel "Having Our Say: Black Women Discuss Imagery."

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ECBACC photo outtake: Keith Knight helps Mikhaela sell comics in her sleep

Keith Knight helps Mikhaela sell comics in her sleep
Originally uploaded by M1khaela.

The convention was 9 hours long, and I got a bit tired. Thankfully Keith (who not coincidentally, gave a workshop at ECBACC on the business of comics) made a "please buy my comics" sign for me and I sold two books in my sleep. Thanks Keith!

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Mikhaela makes a cameo in a depressing Ted Rall cartoon

(click here to view)

Ted Rall Universal Press Syndicate May 19, 2007 EditorialCartoonists.com

A few weeks ago I had lunch with Ted Rall in Manhattan. We were walking down the sidewalk in the midst of a typical wonky political cartoonist conversation about Iraq or Alberto Gonzales or some such when I suddenly saw a woman lying under a wool blanket in broad sunlight. Our conversation became the Ted Rall cartoon for 5/19. Note: I don't actually have pink hair, but I do have a bright orange jacket.

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WAMtastic!

The women of CWA

Freelance writer Courtney Martin, Feministing executive editor Jessica Valenti, freelance political cartoonist Mikhaela Reid (me!) and Feministing editors Samhita Mukhopadhyay and Vanessa Valenti

Full set of photos here.

Last weekend the three women of Cartoonists With Attitude (Jen Sorensen, Stephanie McMillan and Mikhaela Reid) spent the weekend in Cambridge, MA at the Center for New Words' fabulous annual Women, Action & the Media (WAM) conference. We attended fantastic panels and hang with/meet fabulous women such as the editors of Feministing.com, Bitch magazine, Campus Progress, In These Times, The American Prospect and other assorted fine publications. And we did our panel thing with a slideshow called Resistance Through Ridicule, which even featured a surprise guest, cartoonist/illustrator Jennifer Cruté.

The overall experience was, in Jen's words, completely "Wamtastic!" As you can see from these photos.

I should note that we also had drinks with the one and only creator of Big Fat Whale, CWAer Brian McFadden, but I neglected to capture him on digital film.

I will concur with Stephanie that it only took five minutes of being in the same room before Jen, Stephanie and I found ourselves talking about fonts and PhotoShop. Oh, cartoonists!

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Bay Windows Interview With Ted Rall about Ann Coulter

Bay Windows (my longest-run newspaper comics home!) has an excellent interview with my good buddy and fellow Cartoonist With Attitude Ted Rall about why he disagrees with the HRC campaign to get Ann Coulter's column dropped over her use of the word "faggot" in a recent speech. (Remember: Ted despises Coulter and even considered suing her for lies she told about him in a previous speech. But he has also been the target of successful right-wing campaigns flooding editors with fake "I'm going to cancel my subscription unless you drop that evil Ted Rall" letters).

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Updated: Mikhaela, Jen, Stephanie and Feministing's Jessica Valenti at WAM 2007!

WOMEN, ACTION & THE MEDIA 2007
March 30 - April 1, 2007
Stata Center, MIT, Cambridge

Keynote Talks by Ellen GOODMAN & Thenmozhi SOUNDARARAJAN

Over 60 featured SPEAKERS & PANELISTS, including: Cynthia ENLOE, Loretta ROSSm E.J. GRAFF, Sonali KOLHATKAR, Lyn Mikel BROWN, Caryl RIVERS, Jessica VALENTI, Liza FEATHERSTONE, Gloria FELDT, Rita HENLEY JENSEN, Rebecca TRAISTER and more.

Over 30 PROGRAM SESSIONS, including: Making the Most of Digital Media, Why Journalism's Ethos Distorts News, Packaging & Selling Out Girls, Feminist Action for Media Accountability & Justice, The Freelance-Editor Relationship, Becoming a Citizen Journalist, The Web as a Site for Black Girls' Resistance, Making Documentaries for Social Change, Big Coverage, Big Cash, Women Using International Media, Sell a Book Proposal Without Selling Out, Promoting Justice Through Hip-Hop, and of course...

• Resistance Through Ridicule: Cartoons & Humor in Activism.
  Sunday, April 1 @ 10 a.m., featuring Mikhaela Reid, Stephanie McMillan ("Minimum Security"), Jen Sorensen ("Slowpoke") and moderator Jessica Valenti (of Feministing fame).

  Humor can be serious stuff. Last year cartoonist Stephanie McMillan turned anti-choice politician Bill Napoli's support for a near-total abortion ban against him by encouraging women to call him for help with the most minor of decisions; her "Call Bill" cartoon became so popular she auctioned it off to raise money for a reproductive health clinic. Subversive women cartoonists are claiming space in male-dominated alternative and daily newspapers, and using their cartoons to help make change. The popular blog Feministing mixes anger with irreverence, turns a familiar symbol inside out with its logo of a busty mud-flap girl making a rude gesture, and got props from a mainstream magazine for making feminism "fun again."

  Can humor and cartoons make activism accessible and reach audiences that might otherwise might be apathetic? How can writers, bloggers, activists and editors use humor and art as political tools? Are art and humor a form of activism? Cartoon-filled slideshow and discussion, anger & laughter guaranteed.

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Welcome new CWA member Ruben Bolling!

The latest addition to the Cartoonists With Attitude crew is the elusive genius Ruben Bolling, of "Tom the Dancing Bug" fame.

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