You might not know that San Diego State University’s Love Library has an amazing comics and graphic novel collection. Yes, you read that right, dear reader. Deep in the belly of Love Library with its countless bookshelves and numerous study rooms, these mild-mannered librarians form a not-so-secret society of devout comic-book advocates who are gradually   Read More …

Comic-Con 2015 was a slam-dunk success for artists and attendees alike. Now that the booths are gone and the panel discussions and book signings with your favorite artists and writers are a pleasant memory, you might still be craving more comic-book mayhem. You don’t have to look any further than the free live-drawing event hosted   Read More …

It’s that time of year when the prayers of legions of comic-book readers and pop-culture enthusiasts are finally answered. Of course, I’m referring to the supernova of pop-culture bliss that is Comic-Con International, which gets underway with Preview Night on Wednesday, July 8 before the convention officially opens Thursday, July 9 through Sunday, July 12.   Read More …

This Halloween, readers of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Junot Diaz and Love and Rockets comic creator Jaime Hernandez ‘s respective fan bases can look forward to enjoying their collaboration in the deluxe edition of This is How You Lose Her. There is no question that Hernandez’s monochromatic drawings in this slipcase edition of Diaz’s short-story anthology   Read More …

The clock is ticking. We only have nine days to reach the Kickstarter goal for Comics Are Everywhere! But we can’t do it alone. My collaborators and I need your donations, and there is still a chance to beat the odds and raise the necessary funds through our crowdfunding campaign by the August 17 deadline.   Read More …

Did you ever wonder what makes an avant-garde animator really tick? Author Laura Heit’s new book promises to answer that question by cracking open the door behind the frenzied creativity driving some of the most innovative animators working today. Published by Chronicle Books, the epic, 320-page tome is appropriately titled Animation Sketchbooks offering an insider’s   Read More …

The 2013 Comic-Con International was a pop-savvy magnet for artists, writers, and pop-culture fans alike. While throngs of people flocked to the massive lines for Hall H to catch a glimpse of their favorite celebrity, many others rushed the Exhibit Hall in search of cool comics and other cool artifacts to add to their collection.   Read More …

Finally, the day has arrived when the Kickstarter page for Comics Are Everywhere is Live!!! And the timing couldn’t be more perfect as the documentary-in-progress’ Kickstarter page hit the Web on July 18, 2013, the opening day of Comic-Con International! Now the real work begins. We have roughly one month to reach our goal of   Read More …

      San Diego, CA. - COMICS ARE EVERYWHERE, a feature-length   documentary about comics, kicks off the summer in style with the launch of its Kickstarter campaign, set to go live on July 18th to coincide with the opening of the 2013 Comic-Con International. Contributors can expect to receive movie and comic-book paraphernalia ranging from autographed postcards, and   Read More …

Large portions of today’s audiences are sadly out of touch with topical issues impacting the world at large. And too often, viewers choose to simply look away and ignore the more disturbing aspects of the contemporary life. Ironically, social media can act as a cocoon insulating individuals inside a narcissistic balloon where things like poverty,   Read More …

One of the greatest pleasures of working as a lecturer is when you see a former student blossom into an artist and make his or her dream into a reality. Such is the case with filmmaker/ writer and SDSU alum Alex Dandino who took both my ENGL 577: Techniques in Screenwriting course and my ENGL   Read More …

As a gift to myself, I recently broke down and, finally, purchased comic creator Chris Ware’s 2012 magnum opus Building Stories. Upon opening the massive box and peering inside, the book proves to be a lovely gift to any reader who loves the art of storytelling with pictures that transcend the limitations of prose. Comics   Read More …

If you aspiring comic-book artist or writer, there is an abundance of resources available at your fingertips. Or, at the very least, at a local book store near you. If you’re in San Diego, you’re in luck! Ocean Beach’s Little Fish Comic Book Studio is making waves as word continues to spread about this small   Read More …

Happy Valentine’s Day! Every once in a while, you hear a genuine, heartwarming story of a chance meeting that leads to something meaningful and true. Case in point, the back story behind the making of the popular viral music video “I Have Your Heart” sounds like something out of a romantic comedy. But this particular   Read More …

There is no question that comics creator Art Spiegelman has done more than anyone to raise the bar of what comics can do as a serious, artistic medium on par with literature and the other visual arts. So, it comes as no surprise that the Centre Pompidou in Paris is among the international arts institutions   Read More …

Part of the journey of making my first, feature-length documentary, Comics Are Everywhere is studying the documentary genre to see what else is out there. And there is no better place to do this kind of research than going to film festivals. Case in point, I went to the 2013 Sundance Film Festival to see   Read More …

Anyone who has ever seen comics creator Renee French’s exquisite, graphite drawings never forgets the delicate, nimble touch of her black-and-white visions. While French’s ’90s comics, Grit Bath is grounded in a nightmarish netherworld of barely restrained violence, her new work evokes an odd tenderness underscored with bursts of unspoken uncertainty. Ricocheting from one extreme   Read More …

It’s that time of year again. The dog days of 2012 are quickly dwindling with 2013 waiting in the wings. And the critics are beginning to look back at the past year to see what films, music and books made a deep, lasting impression. And comics and graphic novels are getting more and more acknowledgment   Read More …

Great writers find inspiration from any number of sources – music, visual art, movies and, of course, in the pages of books pulsing with narrative possibilities. Pultizer Prize-winning writer Junot Diaz is no exception. Best-known for the critically acclaimed and award-winning 2007 novel The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and the 1996 short-story collection,   Read More …

So, you want to be a comic-book artist? You might be asking yourself “Where do I start?” In terms of reference guides, you don’t need to look any further than the upcoming I Draw Comics book project that is generating a considerable buzz on Kickstarter. The project’s cool and fast-paced trailer clues you into what   Read More …