Showing posts with label GLAAD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GLAAD. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Fun Home Might Find Its Home on Broadway


Fun Home is a work by Alison Bechdel, creator of Dykes to Watch Out For. Described as a family tragicomedy the story is actually a memoir of Alison dealing with her dysfunctional family life. Alison lives with her family at her father's funeral home. As she is struggling with her sexuality she discovers that maybe the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. It covers difficult topics like sexual orientation, gender roles, and suicide. The complex content has proved troubling for some. It was removed from a Missouri public library and challenged in Utah and South Carolina for its use at the university level.

At 240 pages, the graphic novel was originally published 2006 in hardcover format, quickly topping the New York Times’ bestseller list. Months later, was serialized in France by Libération newspaper and then released as a whole by Éditions Denoël . Fun Home was an official selection at the Angoulême International Comics Festival but did not win the award. Italian, Portuguese, German, Hungarian, Korean, Polish, and Chinese translations followed since its release.

It won the GLAAD Media Award, Stonewall Book Award, and an Eisner Award for Best Reality-Based Work. It also appeared on many best of the year, decade, century book lists- further closing the gap between novels and graphic novels.

A theatrical adaption, “the first mainstream musical about a young lesbian” opened Off-Broadway at The Public Theatre on Sept. 30, 2023 until January 12. 2014. The script and lyrics were written by Lisa Kron(Well) and the score is by Jeanine Tesori (Shrek the Musical).  Beth Malone stars as Alison Bechdel (Sydney Lucas and Alexandra Socha play younger versions in the flashback scenes). Michael Cerveris plays Alison’s father Bruce and Judy Kuhn, her mother, Helen.

The musical has won the Critics Circle Award for Best Musical and the Lortel Awards for Best Musical. Cervaris won the Lortel Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his portrayal as Bruce.
The musical is now being shopped for a run on Broadway.


A sequel to Fun Home: Are You My Mother? : A Comic Drama, focuses on Alison’s relationship with her mother, Helen, was released in 2012. 

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

(Comics) Award Season

GLAAD announced the now defunct Young Avengers (by Kieron Gillen) as the recipient of the Outstanding Comic Award at the 25th Annual GLAAD Media Awards. See Culture of Comic's run through of the nominees.


The 2014 Eisner Award nominees were announced today. The Eisners celebrate the finished, released product (Short Stories, single issues, limited (mini) series, and ongoing series) as well as the people who help create the medium: writer, artist, painter, penciller, inker, coloring, and lettering. Best graphic novel, reprint, anthology, and archived collection and webcomic showcase the variety in the releases.

As comics try to find their roots with young audiences once more, some successes were pointed out: TOON Books, Dark Horse, First Second were nominated for their early reader books, Kids (8-12) and Teens (13-17) have their own categories. Eisner, a believer of comics as a studied art form, would be happy with the Comics-related book category and best scholarly/academic works (about comics). The prestigious award also celebrates U.S. editions of international works (Asia and elsewhere).  The Awards will be announced at San Diego Comic Con International on July 24-27. A new inductee will be announced for the Eisner Hall of Fame, as well.






Best Short Story

· “Go Owls,” by Adrian Tomine, in Optic Nerve #13 (Drawn & Quarterly)
· “Mars to Stay,” by Brett Lewis and Cliff Chiang, in Witching Hour (DC)
· “Seaside Home,” by Josh Simmons, in Habit #1 (Oily)
· “Untitled,” by Gilbert Hernandez, in Love and Rockets: New Stories #6 (Fantagraphics)
· “When Your House Is Burning Down, You Should Brush Your Teeth,” by Matthew Inman, theoatmeal.com/comics/house


Best Single Issue (or One-Shot)

· Demeter, by Becky Cloonan (self-published)
· Hawkeye #11: “Pizza Is My Business,” by Matt Fraction and David Aja (Marvel)
· Love and Rockets: New Stories #6, by Gilbert Hernandez and Jaime Hernandez (Fantagraphics)
· Viewotron #2, by Sam Sharpe (self-published)
· Watson and Holmes #6, by Brandon Easton, and N. Steven Harris (New Paradigm Studios)


Best Continuing Series

· East of West, by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta (Image)
· Hawkeye, by Matt Fraction and David Aja (Marvel)
· Nowhere Men, by Eric Stephenson and Nate Bellegarde (Image)
· Saga, by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (Image)
· Sex Criminals, by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky (Image)


Best Limited Series

· The Black Beetle: No Way Out, by Francesco Francavilla (Dark Horse)
· Colder, by Paul Tobin and Juan Ferreyra (Dark Horse)
· 47 Ronin, by Mike Richardson and Stan Sakai (Dark Horse)
· Trillium, by Jeff Lemire (Vertigo/DC)
· The Wake, by Scott Snyder and Sean Murphy (Vertigo/DC)


Best New Series

· High Crimes, by Christopher Sebela and Ibrahim Moustafa (Monkeybrain)
· Lazarus, by Greg Rucka and Michael Lark (Image)
· Rat Queens, by Kurtis J. Wiebe and Roc Upchurch (Image/Shadowline)
· Sex Criminals, by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky (Image)
· Watson and Holmes, by Karl Bollers, Rick Leonardi, Paul Mendoza et al. (New Paradigm Studios)


Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 7)

· Benjamin Bear in Bright Ideas, by Philippe Coudray (TOON Books)
· The Big Wet Balloon, by Liniers (TOON Books)
· Itsy Bitsy Hellboy, by Art Baltazar and Franco (Dark Horse)
· Odd Duck, by Cecil Castellucci and Sara Varon (First Second)
· Otto’s Backwards Day, by Frank Cammuso (with Jay Lynch) (TOON Books)


Best Publication for Kids (ages 8-12)

· The Adventures of Superhero Girl, by Faith Erin Hicks (Dark Horse)
· Hilda and the Bird Parade, by Luke Pearson (Nobrow)
· Jane, the Fox, and Me, by Fanny Britt and Isabelle Arsenault (Groundwood)
· The Lost Boy, by Greg Ruth (Graphix/Scholastic)
· Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard, vol. 2, edited by David Petersen, Paul Morrissey, and Rebecca Taylor (Archaia/BOOM!)
· Star Wars: Jedi Academy, by Jeffrey Brown (Scholastic)


Best Publication for Teens (ages 13-17)

· Battling Boy, by Paul Pope (First Second)
· Bluffton: My Summers with Buster, by Matt Phelan (Candlewick)
· Boxers and Saints, by Gene Luen Yang (First Second)
· Dogs of War, by Sheila Keenan and Nathan Fox (Graphix/Scholastic)
· March (Book One), by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell (Top Shelf)
· Templar, by Jordan Mechner, LeUyen Pham, and Alex Puviland (First Second)


Best Humor Publication

· The Adventures of Superhero Girl, by Faith Erin Hicks (Dark Horse)
· The Complete Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes and Rob Davis (SelfMadeHero)
· The (True!) History of Art, by Sylvain Coissard and Alexis Lemoine (SelfMadeHero)
· Vader’s Little Princess, by Jeffrey Brown (Chronicle)
· You’re All Just Jealous of My Jetpack, by Tom Gauld (Drawn & Quarterly)


Best Anthology

· Dark Horse Presents, edited by Mike Richardson (Dark Horse)
· Nobrow #8: Hysteria, edited by Sam Arthur and Alex Spiro (Nobrow)
· Outlaw Territory, edited by Michael Woods (Image)
· Smoke Signal, edited by Gabe Fowler (Desert Island)
· Thrilling Adventure Hour, by Ben Acker, Ben Blacker et al. (Archaia/BOOM!)


Best Digital/Webcomic


· As the Crow Flies, by Melanie Gillman, www.melaniegillman.com
· Failing Sky, by Dax Tran-Caffee, failingsky.com
· High Crimes, by Christopher Sebela and Ibrahim Moustafa (Monkeybrain), www.monkeybraincomics.com/titles/high-crimes/
· The Last Mechanical Monster, by Brian Fies, lastmechanicalmonster.blogspot.com
· The Oatmeal by Matthew Inman, theoatmeal.com


Best Reality-Based Work

· A Bag of Marbles, by Joseph Joffo, Kris, and Vincent Bailly (Graphic Universe/Lerner)
· The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story, by Vivek J. Tiwary, Andrew C. Robinson, and Kyle Baker (M Press/Dark Horse)
· Hip Hop Family Tree, vol. 1, by Ed Piskor (Fantagraphics)
· March (Book One), by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell (Top Shelf)
· Today Is the Last Day of the Rest of Your Life, by Ulli Lust (Fantagraphics)
· Woman Rebel: The Margaret Sanger Story, by Peter Bagge (Drawn & Quarterly)


Best Graphic Album—New

· Bluffton: My Summers with Buster, by Matt Phelan (Candlewick)
· The Encyclopedia of Early Earth, by Isabel Greenberg (Little, Brown)
· Good Dog, by Graham Chaffee (Fantagraphics)
· Homesick by Jason Walz (Tinto Press)
· The Property, by Rutu Modan (Drawn & Quarterly)
· War Brothers, by Sharon McKay and Daniel LaFrance (Annick Press)

Best Adaptation from Another Medium

· The Castle, by Franz Kafka, adapted by David Zane Mairowitz and Jaromír 99 (SelfMadeHero)
· The Complete Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes, adapted by by Rob Davis (SelfMadeHero)
· Django Unchained, adapted by Quentin Tarantino, Reginald Hudlin, R. M. Guéra et al. (DC/Vertigo)
· Richard Stark’s Parker: Slayground, by Donald Westlake, adapted by Darwyn Cooke (IDW)
· The Strange Tale of Panorama Island, by Edogawa Rampo, adapted by Suehiro Maruo (Last Gasp)

Best Graphic Album—Reprint

· The Creep, by John Arcudi and Jonathan Case (Dark Horse)
· Hand-Drying in America and Other Stories, by Ben Katchor (Pantheon)
· Heck, by Zander Cannon (Top Shelf)
· Julio’s Day, by Gilbert Hernandez (Fantagraphics)
· RASL, by Jeff Smith (Cartoon Books)
· Solo: The Deluxe Edition, edited by Mark Chiarello (DC)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips

· Barnaby, vol. 1, by Crockett Johnson, edited by Philip Nel and Eric Reynolds (Fantagraphics)
· Percy Crosby’s Skippy Daily Comics, vol. 2: 1928–1930, edited by Jared Gardner and Dean Mullaney (LOAC/IDW)
· Prince Valiant vols. 6-7, by Hal Foster, edited by Kim Thompson (Fantagraphics)
· Society Is Nix: Gleeful Anarchy at the Dawn of the American Comic Strip, edited by Peter Maresca (Sunday Press)
· Tarzan: The Complete Russ Manning Newspaper Strips, vol. 1, edited by Dean Mullaney (LOAC/IDW)
· VIP: The Mad World of Virgil Partch, edited by Jonathan Barli (Fantagraphics)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books

· Best of EC Artist’s Edition, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)
· Canteen Kate, by Matt Baker (Canton Street Press)
· In the Days of the Mob, by Jack Kirby (DC)
· MAD Artist’s Edition, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)
· Will Eisner’s The Spirit Artist’s Edition, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material

· Adventures of a Japanese Businessman, by Jose Domingo (Nobrow)
· Goddam This War! by Jacques Tardi and Jean-Pierre Verney (Fantagraphics)
· Incidents in the Night, Book One, by David B. (Uncivilized Books)
· Today Is the Last Day of the Rest of Your Life, by Ulli Lust (Fantagraphics)
· When David Lost His Voice, by Judith Vanistendael (SelfMadeHero)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia

· The Heart of Thomas, by Moto Hagio (Fantagraphics)
· The Mysterious Underground Men, by Osamu Tezuka (PictureBox)
· Showa: A History of Japan, 1926–1939, by Shigeru Mizuki (Drawn & Quarterly)
· Summit of the Gods, vol. 4, by Yemmakura Baku and Jiro Taniguchi (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
· Utsubora: The Story of a Novelist, by Asumiko Nakamura (Vertical)

Best Writer

· Kelly Sue DeConnick, Pretty Deadly (Image); Captain Marvel (Marvel)
· Matt Fraction, Sex Criminals (Image); Hawkeye, Fantastic Four, FF (Marvel)
· Jonathan Hickman, East of West, The Manhattan Projects (Image); Avengers, Infinity (Marvel)
· Scott Snyder, Batman (DC); American Vampire, The Wake (DC/Vertigo)
· Eric Stephenson, Nowhere Men (Image)
· Brian K. Vaughan, Saga (Image)

Best Writer/Artist

· Isabel Greenberg, The Encyclopedia of Early Earth (Little, Brown)
· Jaime Hernandez, Love and Rockets New Stories #6 (Fantagraphics)
· Terry Moore, Rachel Rising (Abstract Studio)
· Luke Pearson, Hilda and the Bird Parade (Nobrow)
· Matt Phelan, Bluffton: My Summers with Buster (Candlewick)
· Judith Vanistendael, When David Lost His Voice (SelfMadeHero)

Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team

· Nate Bellegarde, Nowhere Men (Image)
· Nick Dragotta, East of West (Image)
· Sean Murphy, The Wake (DC/Vertigo)
· Nate Powell, March (Book One) (Top Shelf)
· Emma Ríos, Pretty Deadly (Image)
· Thomas Yeates, Law of the Desert Born: A Graphic Novel (Bantam)

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art)

· Andrew C. Robinson, The Fifth Beatle (Dark Horse)
· Sonia Sanchéz, Here I Am (Capstone)
· Fiona Staples, Saga (Image)
· Ive Svorcina, Thor (Marvel)
· Marguerite Van Cook, 7 Miles a Second (Fantagraphics)
· Judith Vanistendael, When David Lost His Voice (SelfMadeHero)


Best Cover Artist

· David Aja, Hawkeye (Marvel)
· Mike Del Mundo, X-Men Legacy (Marvel)
· Sean Murphy/Jordie Belaire, The Wake (DC/Vertigo)
· Emma Ríos, Pretty Deadly (Image)
· Chris Samnee, Daredevil (Marvel)
· Fiona Staples, Saga (Image)

Best Coloring

· Jordie Bellaire, The Manhattan Projects, Nowhere Men, Pretty Deadly, Zero (Image); The Massive (Dark Horse); Tom Strong (DC); X-Files Season 10 (IDW); Captain Marvel, Journey into Mystery (Marvel); Numbercruncher (Titan); Quantum and Woody (Valiant)
· Steve Hamaker, Mylo Xyloto (Bongo), Strangers in Paradise 20th Anniversary Issue 1 (Abstract Studio), RASL (Cartoon Books)
· Matt Hollingsworth, Hawkeye, Daredevil: End of Days (Marvel); The Wake (DC/Vertigo)
· Frank Martin, East of West (Image)
· Dave Stewart, Abe Sapien, Baltimore: The Infernal Train, BPRD: Hell on Earth, Conan the Barbarian, Hellboy: Hell on Earth, The Massive, The Shaolin Cowboy, Sledgehammer 44 (Dark Horse)

Best Lettering

· Darwyn Cooke, Richard Stark’s Parker: Slayground (IDW)
· Carla Speed McNeil, Bad Houses; “Finder” in Dark Horse Presents (Dark Horse)
· Terry Moore, Rachel Rising (Abstract Studio)
· Ed Piskor, Hip Hop Family Tree (Fantagraphics)
· Britt Wilson, Adventure Time with Fiona and Cake (kaBOOM!)

Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism

· Comic Book Resources, produced by Jonah Weiland, www.comicbookresources.com
· The Comics Journal #302, edited by Gary Groth and Kristy Valenti (Fantagraphics)
· Comics and Cola, by Zainab Akhtar, www.comicsandcola.com
· Multiversity Comics, edited by Matthew Meylikhov, www.multiversitycomics.com
· tcj.com, edited by Dan Nadel and Timothy Hodler (Fantagrapahics), www.tcj.com

Best Comics-Related Book

· Al Capp: A Life to the Contrary, by Michael Schumacher and Denis Kitchen (Bloomsbury)
· The Art of Rube Goldberg, selected by Jennifer George (Abrams ComicArts)
· Co-Mix: A Retrospective of Comics, Graphics, and Scraps, by Art Spiegelman (Drawn & Quarterly)
· Genius, Illustrated: The Life and Art of Alex Toth, by Dean Mullaney and Bruce Canwell (LOAC/IDW)
· The Love and Rockets Companion, edited by Marc Sobel and Kristy Valenti (Fantagraphics)

Best Scholarly/Academic Work

· Anti-Foreign Imagery in American Pulps and Comic Books, 1920–1960, by Nathan Vernon Madison (McFarland)
· Black Comics: Politics of Race and Representation, edited by Sheena C. Howard and Ronald L. Jackson II (Bloomsbury)
· Drawing from Life: Memory and Subjectivity in Comic Art, edited by Jane Tolmie (University Press of Mississippi)
· International Journal of Comic Art, edited by John A. Lent
· The Superhero Reader, edited by Charles Hatfield, Jeet Heer, and Ken Worcester (University Press of Mississippi)

Best Publication Design

· The Art of Rube Goldberg, designed by Chad W. Beckerman (Abrams ComicArts)
· Beta Testing the Apocalypse, designed by Tom Kaczynski (Fantagraphics)
· Genius, Illustrated: The Life and Art of Alex Toth, designed by Dean Mullaney (LOAC/IDW)
· The Great War: July 1, 1916: The First Day of the Battle of the Somme: A Panorama, by Joe Sacco, designed by Chin-Yee Lai (Norton)
· Little Tommy Lost, Book 1, designed by Cole Closser (Koyama)

Friday, January 31, 2014

GLAAD Announced Five Outstanding Comic Books that Showcase the LGBT Community

The 25th Annual GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book will be awarded in New York on May 3rd. According to the website “The GLAAD Media Awards recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the issues that affect their lives.”  Nominated this year are: Batwoman (DC) , Live with Archie(Archie), Husbands(Dark Horse Comics), Fearless Defenders(Marvel) and Young Avengers(Marvel). LGBT characters in comic books have a long and complex history (Seduction of the Innocent, anyone?)…but have recently been more accepted in the comic book community.
Collected in Batwoman: Elegy by DC Comics

Batwoman already won the award for Outstanding Comic Book twice. Once in 2010 at the 21st GLAAD Media Awards when she was featuring in Detective Comics and written by her creator, Greg Rucka. Rucka’s stint as writer, collected in the Batwoman:Elegy graphic novel, showed a griping tale of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and how the military brat joined and got kicked out of the military she grew up with. Her journey was illustrated by J.H. Williams who went on to write and co-illustrate with W. Haden Blackman the character in the new52 universe, keeping many of the themes, characters and brilliant artwork of the predecessor. Williams 
and Blackman won another GLAAD Outstanding Comic Book Award in 2011. The team just recently left the book because of DC Mandate: Superheroes, even gay superheroes, cannot be married in this day and age.


Speaking of marriage: Husbands is Brad Bell and Jane Espenson’s online sitcom about, well, husbands. Dark Horse and the creators published a digital first 6 issue miniseries in 2012, released last year in collected hardcover form. The series was nominated for two Geekie Awards for Best Writing and Most Original Concept. Comic Book adaptations are all the rage following DC’s Smallville Season 11,The Vampire Diaries and Marvel’s Once Upon A Time graphic novels. 

Archie's Life With Archie

Archie Comic's "grown up" series Life With Archie is called: The Married Life, written by Paul Kupperberg,really is two series in one, each story is a serial about life after Archie Andrews married Betty(or Veronica). Both alternate futures feature the same cast but sometimes in drastically different situations. Cheryl Blossom lost her signature red hear and is battling cancer. Kevin Keller, introduced to the world in 2010 by creator Dan Parent, is still around in Archie's future. He goes overseas with the military then marries his boyfriend and runs for office. This series, along with Afterlife with Archie, really make these timeless characters fit into any situation and target very different audiences. The Kevin Keller solo series won last year's award.

Astonishing X-Men 51(Marvel)
Never far from the trend comes Marvel's newest newlywed. Jean- Paul Beubier, is the Canadian superhero and part time X-Man Northstar, who publicly came out in the historic Alpha Flight #106 (1992) –the first Marvel character to do so. The X-Men themselves a metaphor for society’s treatment on minorities, more apparent when the fictional Legacy virus rivaled the AIDS epidemic, Jean Paul married his long term boyfriend slash manager , Kyle Jinadu in 2012’s Astonishing X-Men 51, written by Marjorie Liu. The couple, under Liu’s pen, encountered present day issues that LGBT couples face, mainly immigration status under federal equality (Northstar is Canadian, living in New York) and more universal problems like struggling with your partner’s success…or what to do when your partner is a superhero-a bit deeper than the Lois Lane syndrome. 
Young Avengers 13(Marvel)

Also by Marvel: Young Avengers premiered in 2005 with a whole new team loosely related to the Avengers.  In 2006, it won a Harvey Award and a the GLAAD Outstanding Comic Award. The team, originally written by Allen Heinberg, has a gay couple at its heart-Hulking(a green half-breed of warring alien races) and Wiccan(The Avenger's Scarlet Witch's secret son). Heinberg's Volume 1 lasted 12 issues and a special. Volume two(not counting various mini series) just ended with issue 15.The recent series geared towards a whole new generation with tumblr stylized recaps and lots of relationship drama- all written by series scribe Kieron Gillen.


Marvel’s recently cancelled after 13 issues, Fearless Defenders can be seen as the Marvel version of DC’s Birds of Prey-an all woman superhero team kicking butt and taking names. Cancelled for low sales, it does have a strong on-line following and good critical reviews…Marvel NOW is all about titles reincarnating like the Phoenix. Here is a write up on what could be the series break out new LBGT star: Ren Kimura.

The five nominated books come from many demographics- female and teen readers, those who like "married adventures", and the classic superheroes with a new twist. Unfortunately, three of the five comics have already ended at the time of writing-with Batwoman missing its creators that instilled so much heart in the issue. But in any event, 2013 was a monumental year with big steps to inclusion.

Past winners of the GLAAD award include Marvel’s X-Factor(2011), DC’s Green Lantern(2003) and Catwoman(2004), Fantagraphic Books’ Luba(2005),Terry Moore’s Strangers in Paradise published by Abstract Studio(2008), Dark Horse’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer(2009) as well as Alison Bechdel’s autobiographical Fun Home(2007). The winners and nominees come from all different publishers and genres with a variety of protagonists, truly showcasing the budding diversity in comics.