Newsletter: September 7th

Operation: Pizza Jam

Friday, 9/7 • 6:30 PM • Room 703G

Get ready for a fantastic evening this Friday as we start off the new year with free pizza, mingling, and a rad jam comic session!

Continue below the cut for more info, local events, and art credits!

Library Recommendations: Wandering Son

The School of Visual Arts Library is a sanctuary for students and comics lovers. While it's easy to get caught up in our work, it's important that we take advantage of this great resource to find inspiration, get a new perspective on our work, and to take a break and remember why we're working so hard. Join us as the Cartoon Allies recommend stories in our library that captivate and inspire us in these semi-regular Library Recommendations.

Wandering Son by Shimura Takako (published in the U.S. by Fantagraphics) is one of my favorite Japanese comics, and I can safely say it has contributed in changing my life.  The sensitive, well-paced, and down-to-earth storytelling coupled with Shimura's simple yet effective art only touch the surface of the reasons why you should pick up Wandering Son for an afternoon browse. 

From the Frontline: Mark Siegel

The Cartoonist Alliance's campaign in the fight for spectacular comics has been a long and thrilling adventure. In From the Frontline, officers put the spotlight on notable events and meetings our club has organized or been a part of. Be sure to check out our last article, Hayley @ Group Critique Night #1. 

Illustration by Aodhan Cummings

Guest Speaker: Mark Siegel

Two weeks ago, Mark Siegel from First Second Books came to Cartoon Allies as a guest speaker and shared valuable advice from the perspective of both a publisher and an artist. 

If you wanted to know what he had to say but weren’t able to be there to experience it all, read on to find out more about it!  The list isn’t perfect, but we’ve got some important notes down on what most publishing companies are about and good ideas for artists to follow when trying to appeal to editors or publishers.

Meet the Officers

The semester's well underway, and we're off to a great start! It's about time, then, that we formally introduced the intrepid officers behind the Cartoon Allies. We asked the team to summarize themselves and talk about why they think CA is a significant part of our department.

 Hilary Allison
     The President

Hilary is a senior comic-stripper and fourth-year Cartoon Ally... a hyperactive social pollinator with a big mouth and an addiction to projects that induce a sense of purpose. Born on a Friday, five blocks from SVA, she has since bounced through a sundry of addresses and is happy to call Brooklyn Navy Yard her current home.

"It is our mission to foster a spirit of camaraderie between cartoonists of all majors while strengthening ties to the larger cartoonisphere. We promote our art beyond individual capability. And we have a fun time."  

 

Adrian James

     The Admiral (Treasurer & 
     Table Manager)

Adrian is a queer cartooning senior on the lam from reality.

"I want Allies to be a safe space for all realms of cartooning, for it to be a conduit that allows people to meet like-minded individuals and expound, collaborate, and extend the means of comics-making as well as give each other helpful advice so we can grow and advance. CA should provide an alternative to that sometimes awkward experience of being thrown into classes, not knowing your peers, and being held in the binds of quiet academia. I want CA to be a Salon des Comics, where we will entertain ideas, share history, and move forward in our thinking!"

Eric Alexander Arroyo

     The Major (Email & Blog Commander)

Eric Alexander Arroyo (accept no substitutes) is a hot-blooded junior who wears a fedora, digs giant robots, and obsesses over flowing scarves. He's spent his life wandering Florida and Las Vegas, and hopes to find an apartment in the bowels of a volcano. Although he's training to be a cartoonist, he'd rather be a crime-fighting cyborg when he grows up.

"Above all, I want Cartoon Allies to be a valuable resource for everyone who loves comics. CA should be a community through which we can share our knowledge, collaborate, and form bonds that extend beyond this school. Using multimedia tools to help push this organization and our department's amazing artists into the greater comicsphere is integral to that."

Hayley Weber

     Lieutenant (Email Officer & Blogger)

Hayley is a junior cartooning major who hails from the most boring part of New Jersey. To distract herself from this sad fate, she reads and draws girly comic books, watches weird British TV shows, and stalks her favorite bands. 

"I want Cartoon Allies to be a place where everyone feels comfortable speaking up and participating, no matter their year or style, so that it becomes a tight-knit community."

Kou Chen

Agent

Kou is a sophomore cartooning major who comes from Taiwan.  He enjoys movies like The Fall, books like The Book Thief and comics like Black Jack.  His life goal is to overhear someone talking about something he created, because "by all means if my stories are interesting enough to share, I've done my job".  He loves tea and fluffy things... like alpacas.

"I want there to be something interesting in the club for everyone, that Cartoon Allies becomes a destination for cool facts about the comics world and quenches the thirst of curious minds."

Matt Clark

Matt is a cartooning sophomore. He is a golden retriever, woof, woof (...though he would rather not be). He has weird obsessions.

"Cartoon Allies' mission should be to advance the skills of artists while giving them a place of community to expand their networks."

Emily Kay Jolkovski

Sergeant-in-Arms

Emily "Skippy" Kay Jolkovski, a sophomore cartooning major from a small DC suburb in Northern Virginia, was born the year Punk broke and became a werewolf shortly afterwards. She enjoys 80's-90's alt rock and grunge, early swing and jazz, Klezmer music, Mexican Indian and Chinese cuisine, Coen Bros films, magical realism, sharks, controlling peoples' minds, and long walks on the beach after driving a stake into a Vampire's heart.

"I love Cartoon Allies because of the wonderful community it builds between comic artists and comic lovers, and the opportunities it brings to young artists like myself. Cartoon Allies is a great opportunity and I hope to see you there. If you see me, say hi!"

From the Frontline: Kou @ SPX2011

This year's valiant journey to Bethesda, Maryland was a first for me, so may I humbly present to you with the best of my abilities...

Laura Knetzger and Adrian James [front], Eric Alexander Arroyo and Kou [back]

The Cartoon Allies Go to the Small Press Expo 2011