Cartoonists

So Darwyn Cooke got caught on video saying that superhero comics should "...stop catering to the perverted needs of forty-five-year-old men." He called out rape, children being forced to eat rats, explicit sex, foul language, and a lack of new characters. And now some people are getting upset. Oh come on, like you've never thought any of that. Unfortunately the whole thing got derailed by his swipe at turning Batwoman into a lesbian, which came off as rather homophobic to some. Personally, I have to admit, I read it more as the character continuity issue of a man who likes his Bronze and Silver Age comics, which is somewhat humorous, given that he's complaining about comics being ruled by the whims of forty-somethings, but he is large, he contains multitudes. (To which I say, Darwyn, it wasn't "overnight". She may have been around since 1956, but she hadn't made any significant appearances since Crisis on Infinite Earths which basically changed everything. SEE? I can be as big of a geek as you are.) So let's break this down from the point of view of someone who is not forty five or male -- me.

The great fantasist/cartoonist Jim Woodring has only raised 49 percent of the $4500 he needs to construct a Giant Steel Dip Pen and Penholder which he will use to demonstrate art, cure cancer, open a portal to Vhoori, save Social Security and make kittens fly out of rainbows. In this dimension, Woodring's plans for the giant pen are equally noble:

Wow, shit gets very, very personal in this installment.

Cartoonists Ted Rall, Mat Bors and photographer Steven Cloud are in Afghanistan to tell "the people's story" and send back cartoons. They've been uploading them as often as possible using satellite phones.

Jordan Crane's great storage room of comics, WHAT THINGS DO, posts What Am I Doing Here? by Abner Dean, a lovely mid-century comics collection....

Jillian Tamaki And Gabrielle Bell -- this one is an EPIC. We could have SWORN there was a third...but can't find it now. Readers?

Could this be a cover subject for CLInT Magazine? And why is Mr. Millar wearing ear goggles? Developing.

Both of artist Colleen Doran's sites -- A Distant Soil and Colleendoran.com -- have been hacked, she confirmed in a phone call. Luckily, all...

Canadian artist James Stokoe (ORC STAIN, WONTON SOUP) tweeted a warm-up drawing of Galactus, seen full-size here. Holy crap. (Via Robot 6)

On August 25th CAPS, The Comic Art Professional Society is hosting a benefit auction on August 25 in Burbank to support veteran comics artists...

Take one part Kanye West's completely solipsistic Twitter feed. Add in one part abstruse New Yorker cartoons. Result: comedy.

Happy anniversary, Shaenon T. Garrity! It was July 31, 2000 that she launched Narbonic, one of the first prominent webcomics by a woman. Since then she's launched several other webcomics, including Skin Horse, won the Lulu of the Year award, worked as an editor and creator in both traditional comics and manga, and become one of the liveliest, most insightful comics commentators on the web. She's a treasure, that's what.