March Cartoonist-in-Residence Weekend:
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MariNaomi, author and illustrator of Estrus Comics
Saturday, March 21st, 1 pm to 3 pm
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Jimmy Gownley, creator of Amelia Rules!
Sunday, March 22nd, 1pm to 3 pm


The Cartoon Art Museum hosts MariNaomi, author and illustrator of Estrus Comics, on Saturday, March 21st followed by Jimmy Gownley, author and illustrator of the popular comic Amelia Rules! on Sunday, March 22nd as part of its ongoing Cartoonist-in-Residence program. Museum visitors will be offered the chance to talk to the artists about their comics and watch them at work.

About MariNaomi:

Currently residing in San Francisco, MariNaomi was born in Texas and raised in Northern California. Her comics were first published in Action Girl Comics in 1998. That same year, MariNaomi published her comic art in the form of a zine called Estrus Comics. Now a series, Estrus Comics is an autobiographical collection of stories chronicling, among many other subjects, relationships, sex and coming of age. MariNaomi’s comics have also appeared in many national and local publications including The Comics Journal’s Women in Comics issue, and the Storytime Anthology.

MariNaomi has also found success as a longtime painter. Her works have been featured in group and solo exhibitions throughout the Bay Area and beyond, including multiple live paintings/exhibits at the de Young Museum and an exhibit entitled TV of Tomorrow at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Her work has also appeared in galleries such as SomArts, 111 Minna Gallery, and at events like Ladyfest Bay Area as well as WonderCon. MariNaomi’s prints along with her Estrus Comics and some original works are currently available at Artist Xchange as well as the Femina Potens Gallery in San Francisco.

For more information about MariNaomi’s works and upcoming events, please visit http://www.marinaomi.com

About Jimmy Gownley:

Jimmy Gownley was born and raised in Girardville, Pennsylvania where he began creating and distributing his own comics in high school. Gownley now resides in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania with his wife and twin daughters.

Gownley’s first success in the comic world came at the age of 15 when he wrote and published about 100 copies his comic book, Shades of Gray. He soon produced twelve more additions of the comic as well as a graphic novel and the distribution turned nationwide with over a thousand copies circulated.

In 2001, Gownley became recognized as a force in the comic industry when he created Amelia Rules!, a comic aimed at and about children. As an advocate for children’s’ comics, Gownley co-founded Kids Love Comics, an organization that promotes literacy and education through comics and graphic novels. Joined by other comic creators, publishers, and educators, Gownley travels to schools, libraries, and events to promote the distribution of high-quality kids’ comics. Gownley has received seven nominations for the Eisner Awards, a prize given for achievement in American comics. In 2008 alone, he was nominated for four of the awards, tying him for the most nominations of an individual that year. In addition, Gownley recently won the Pennsylvania Library Associations One Book Award.

To learn more about Jimmy Gownley and Amelia Rules!, please visit www.ameliarules.com <http://www.ameliarules.com>. If you are interested in Gownley’s organization Kids Love Comics, more information is available at www.kidslovecomics.com <http://www.kidslovecomics.com>.

This event is free and open to the public.

The Cartoon Art Museum hosts professional cartoonists in its galleries as part of its Cartoonist-in-Residence program. Museum patrons see cartoonists and work on their latest projects and learn everything they ever wanted to know about cartoonists – but were afraid to ask. Past featured Cartoonists-in-Residence include Paul Madonna (All Over Coffee), Keith Knight (K Chronicles, [th]ink), Paige Braddock (Jane’s World), Michael Jantze (The Norm), and Grady Klein (The Last Colony) among many others.

Small Press Spotlight on Briana Miller

Cartoon Art Museum Exhibition: August 16 – November 30, 2008

Opening Reception Thursday, August 21, 7:00-9:00pm



Beginning on August 16, 2008, the Cartoon Art Museum's ongoing Small Press Spotlight will feature the art of Briana Miller.

Briana Miller is a Berkeley-born, East Bay resident who has lived in almost every city that touches the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay. She created her first comic in 2000 and quickly discovered what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. She has produced at least one hand-drawn, hand-silk-screened comic a year ever since.

Each of Miller's comics is a self-contained story with no recurring characters or story lines. Her stories are often a mixture of whimsy and loss that becomes magical realism in unexpected moments of comic-book maturity. In Walk Like Tall Birds, an old puppeteer at the top of each page tells a story of lost love with his marionettes: a giraffe and an elephant who were once in love. In Catch Me If, a girl walks around town with her best friend, a giant lifeless hand, as a boy watches from afar.

Miller's latest comic, Still, which debuts at the Cartoon Art Museum, is the first instance of a recurring character in her work. It is a prequel to Simple, which told the story of an old man who is strolling home while trying both to remember and forget his lost love. In Still, we look through a small window into this husband's thoughts before his beloved wife died… before he knew he might lose her.

Miller’s most high-profile project to date commences December 22, 2008 on Market Street in downtown San Francisco. The artist and longtime collaborator Thien Pham have been commissioned to create a series of posters for the San Francisco Arts Commission to be displayed on the city’s bus kiosks.

When not creating her comics, Briana Miller is a full-time high school art teacher. She also works as a freelance illustrator and silk-screener, with a focus on posters, postcards, event invitations and shirts. In her spare time, Miller enjoys sewing and being a member of the National Puzzlers League.

Photos from Friday night's opening reception for From Richie Rich to Wendy the Witch: The Art of Harvey Comic can be seen here, courtesy of Harveyville Fun Times editor Mark Arnold.

The Cartoon Art Museum is sad to announce the death of local comics retailer (and global comics legend) Rory Root, proprietor of Berkeley institution Comic Relief, The Comic Bookstore.

Shown below is photo of Rory Root, Cartoon Art Museum Gallery Manager/Curator Andrew Farago, and Understanding Comics author Scott McCloud, taken prior to their speaking engagement at San Francisco's Commonwealth Club in August of 2007.

Small Press Spotlight on Andy Hartzell

Cartoon Art Museum Exhibition: May 10 – August 10, 2008



Beginning on May 10, 2008, the Cartoon Art Museum's ongoing Small Press Spotlight will feature the art of Andy Hartzell.

Andy Hartzell has been spinning stories in a variety of media for all his life.  Some of his earliest memories involve turning empty stamp-books into little comics.  In third grade, he commandeered the school ditto machine to churn out sheaves of single-panel gags for the benefit of his classmates.  But it wasn’t until his college years, when he discovered the work of comics pioneers like George Herriman and Robert Crumb, that he was turned on to the real potential of the medium.

Hartzell is a partisan of cartoony cartoons.  He likes characters that can only function as squiggles on paper.  He likes stories that openly revel in symbols and stereotypes, setting up expectations and knocking them down.  He likes the way cartoon icons can penetrate through layers of rational consciousness to connect with our most basic fears and desires.  And it’s a plus if they’re funny.

Hartzell’s first completed graphic novel was published by Top Shelf Productions in 2007. Fox Bunny Funny is a twisty little wordless fable that pits social violence against secret desire.  It was praised as “a jewel of design and comedy” by the New York Times Book Review and went on to win last year’s Maisie Kukoc Award (along with his mini-comic The Rise and Fall of Yip the Wonder Dog).

Monday, a Garden-of-Eden fantasia, plays out the eternal struggle between Creativity and Control through a brand new adventure starring the world’s oldest characters.  Issue #2 of this ongoing story was nominated for an Ignatz Award.

Hartzell’s work has been featured in a number of anthologies, including Boy Trouble and the most recent issue of Papercutter.  His weekly strip Fool’s Paradise ran in several alternative weeklies during the second half of the 1990s, and his self-published comic Bread & Circuses was a 1995 Xeric winner. 

When he’s not cartooning, Hartzell writes and designs episodic adventure games for Telltale Games, Inc. 

April Cartoonist-in-Residence: David Crosland

Cartoon Art Museum Event: Saturday, April 19, 2008, 1:00 to 3:00 pm
Free and Open to the public



The Cartoon Art museum hosts David Crosland, artist and co-creator of the comic book Puffed, on Saturday, April 19th from 1:00 to 3:00 pm, as part of its ongoing Cartoonist-in-Residence program. Museum visitors will be offered the chance to watch Crosland at work and chat with him about cartooning.

Dave Crosland enjoys peanut butter, road trips, and samurai flicks. He dislikes yogurt and mosquitoes. Since graduating from The Columbus College of Art and Design in 2000, this delicious youngster's art has appeared in comic books, such as Slop: Analecta, The Popgun Anthology, Puffed, and Scarface: Scarred For Life. He's also done a wide amount of work outside of comics, creating album covers for Gym Class Heroes and hip-hop guru Blueprint, a stage backdrop for Incubus, concert posters, tattoo flash, and designs for indie apparel and panties. Dave has painted live and shown fine art across the country, in places like Gallery 1988 (SF/LA), 111 Minna (SF), Copro Nason (LA), Meltdown (LA), The Metro (Chicago), and Club Deville (Austin). Crosland's clients include IDW Publishing, Image Comics, Atlantic Records, Ride Snowboards, and Mad Magazine. His most recent comics work is the dark comedy/horror series, Everybody's DEAD, a classic "misfit fraternity vs. zombie hordes" tale with a twist.

Crosland currently dwells in New San Francisco with his special ladyfriend and their dog, Yoshimi. For more of his visual vermouth, visit http://www.hiredmeat.com.

This event is free and open to the public.

Comics 4 Comix Benefit
Cartoon Art Museum Event: Thursday, April 10th, 2008, 7:00-10:00pm
Tickets: $25 ($20 for CAM Members)



Comics and comix collide as the funnies meet the funny in the fourth annual fundraiser and silent art auction for San Francisco's Cartoon Art Museum. Join the Bay Area's funniest folk for a night of food, drink, and entertainment, and bid on original art by some of today’s brightest stars in comics. This year Comics 4 Comix takes place on Thursday, April 10th from 7 pm to 10pm at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco. Tickets are $25 per person ($20 for members of the Cartoon Art Museum) and may be purchased in advance at the museum, by telephone or at the door on the night of the event.

The Cartoon Art Museum will host an all-star cast of stand-up comics for this event, with performances starting at 8pm. Hilarity is bound to ensue as the evening offers a variety of stand-up comedians, featuring headliner Robert Mac (coming soon to Late Night with David Letterman) with special guests George Corrigan, returning favorite Mark Silverman, funny lady Erikka Innes, and host Michael Capozzola, comedian and creator of the comic strip Cheap City in the San Francisco Chronicle’s 96hours section. The evening’s featured musical accompaniment will be performed by Jethro Jeremiah.

In addition to getting a dose of high comedy, attendees will have the opportunity to peruse the museum's galleries while enjoying a smorgasbord of delectable delights. Patrons can look forward to sampling noshes from California Pizza Kitchen, Café Madeleine, Arizmendi Bakery, Whole Foods Markets SOMA, and beverages compliments of Schmaltz Brewery, True Sake, Kutch Wines plus more. Please visit our website (www.cartoonart.org ) for additional sponsors as they confirm.

As for comix, partygoers can bid on original comic strip art from popular local and national cartoonists, including Dan Piraro (Bizarro), Phil Frank (Farley), illustrator Eric Drooker (Flood), Tom Beland (True Story Swear to God), Lalo Alcaraz (La Cucaracha), Lynn Johnston (For Better or For Worse), political cartoonist Mark Fiore, Michael Jantze (The Norm) and more.

Tickets can be purchased in advance at the museum, via telephone 415-227-8666 ext. 300, or at the door on the night of the event.

Featured exhibitions include:

April 6 to September 14th 2008: Farley’s San Francisco Chronicles: A Salute to Phil Frank. This is a retrospective exhibition that includes original art from Frank’s nationally syndicated comic strip The Elderberries, panels from Road and Track magazine, his college strip Frankly Speaking, several rarely seen and unpublished works, and his signature comic strip, Farley.

February 9th through June 8th, 2008: Sex and Sensibility: Ten women examine the lunacy of modern love. The Cartoon Art Museum’s latest exhibition showcases work by ten of the funniest female cartoonists in America, eight of whom regularly publish in The New Yorker, along with two Pulitzer Prize winning editorial artists. The exhibition comments on the many humorous aspects of sex, love and everything else that’s amusing about relationships today.

February 2nd through June 8th 2008: Bay Area Spotlight on Creig Flessel. This spotlight includes over 30 examples from Flessel’s creative long career, including original comic book artworks from the 1930s, newspaper advertisement from the 1950s, comic strips from the 1960s, Playboy cartoons from the 1980s and recent commissioned artwork from the 1990s onward.

The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America

Cartoon Art Museum Event: Thursday, March 20, 2008 from 7pm to 9pm

$5 General Public, Free for Cartoon Art Museum Members



The Cartoon Art Museum presents The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America, a presentation and book signing on Thursday, March 20, 2008. Author David Hajdu, the acclaimed author of Lush Life and Positively Fourth Street, is turning his critic’s eye on to the untold story of the rise of comic books and the suppression of them by Congress. In The Ten-Cent Plague, Hajdu offers the missing link in the story of American culture between World War II and the television era and argues that the generation gap first opened over comic books, not over rock-and-roll music or movies like Rebel Without a Cause, a contention that changes the whole way the postwar era and the birth of popular culture are viewed.

In The Ten-Cent Plague, Hajdu once again brings a place, a time, and a milieu unforgettably back to life, drawing heavily on first-hand accounts from more than 150 comic-book artists, writers, editors and publishers, many from those who have since died. Hajdu has also collected rarely seen newsreel footage of kids collecting comics and burning them; footage from the Senate hearings on comics; and a television documentary from the early 1950s that shows kids hiding comics in the woods, reading them together, and then luring one of their friends into the woods where they tie the boy to a tree and torture him with lit matches and sticks.

About the Author:

David Hajdu is the author of Lush Life: A Biography of Billy Strayhorn and Positively Fourth Street: The Lives and Times of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Mimi Baez Fariña and Richard Fariña. He teaches at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and writes for The New Republic and Vanity Fair.

Reviews of The Ten-Cent Plague:

“Fifty-odd years ago Congress held hearings to determine whether comics were destroying America’s youth. Cultural historian Hajdu tells the sweeping, colorful story of the great, if now-laughable, comic-book panic that set the art form back half a century.” —Details

“Not only does Hajdu make a compelling case that it was not music but comic books that precipitated the Teen Rebellion, but along the way he spins a remarkable tale with a fantastic cast of characters and warnings aplenty for our own times.” —Ed Ward, Paste

“David Hajdu’s The Ten-Cent Plague graphically illustrates the era when pop culture popped, and parents, as well as the church and states, struggled to remedy the spread of the Cracked and Weird disease by outlawing and publicly burning comics and holding televised congressional hearings. Fortunately, as Mad-magazine cover boy Alfred E. Neuman proved, the patient lived.” —Vanity Fair

“An ugly and hysterical episode in American history, vividly rendered by a dogged student of the era.” —Kirkus Reviews

“The Ten-Cent Plague is about the best account yet of comics in America, an instant classic of cultural history.” —Geoffrey O’Brien, editor, Library of America, and author of Sonata for Jukebox