review by Anne: Another Whit Taylor two-fer!

Grab Bag (2011) 5 x 6, 20 pages, B&W
$2 US, $? Can/Mex, $? world, contact to trade
Whit Taylor
WhitLTaylor@gmail.com
http://whimsicalnobodycomics.blogspot.com

Watermelon…and other things that make me uncomfortable as a black person (2011)
8 x 10, 44 pages, B&W with full color cover
$4 US, $ Can/Mex, $? world, contact to trade
(same info as above)

I was at this year’s Small Press Expo in Bethesda recently and discovered that Whit Taylor was tabling in the same group of tables that I was! How awesome and unexpected! She’s got new work (all of which I think is available through her website) and it’s worth reading. GRAB BAG is this fun mix of random pieces – a trip to the Jerry Springer show, Bad Inventions (they’re really funny), some riffing on Britney Spears (yeah, you know you love it), and some interesting business ideas. WATERMELON has that same sense of fun to it, even as Whit herself says in the introduction that “this comic is my attempt to deal with these issues” – the things that make her uncomfortable. I don’t want to give too much away, but it’s a really well-done personal comic about some very important issues. You get Whit’s perspective, and she’s clear that she’s just speaking for herself, but it’s very well done and tackles some heavy stuff in a way that’s both heartbreaking in places (be sure to read her story about Africa) and at the same time very funny in places. Highly recommended.

Charity Book for Japan

I'm posting this on behalf of Adam Pasion, Sundogs Comics http://sundogscomix.blogspot.com/, via Stuart Stratu. Please check out the website: http://aftershockcomic.blogspot.com/ and if you have questions email Adam at biguglyrobot@gmail.com

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Fellow cartoonists,
As most of you know, I am a cartoonist living and writing about life in Japan. Living in Japan and watching this disaster unfold first hand, I have never felt more helpless in my entire life. Everyday seems to be getting worse, and at times it seems nearly hopeless. My area has not been affected by this disaster, and yet I feel compelled to do anything I can to help. But what can I do? The news and relief agencies give priority to those with experience in search and rescue, medical professionals and logistical experts. What skills do I have to offer? What is the role of an artist in the face of such disaster? I have donated some money, but compared to the overwhelming need it seems like nothing. I have been racking my brain to come up with something more sustainable that will be able to generate support into the foreseeable future, when the spotlight is off Japan. What can we do that will extend beyond when the next disaster strikes somewhere else in the world, when the attention fades and the media coverage dies off? Then an idea struck me.

Arguably one of Japan's greatest gifts to the rest of the world are comic books. How fitting then if cartoonists from around the world can show support for Japan by making a comic book. I want to make a book where various artists make anywhere from a page to a few pages explaining their interactions with Japan, their feelings, their experiences and memories, anything on their heart, and share it with the world. Then a portion of the proceeds, as much as possible, will be donated to continuing relief efforts in Japan. It will take years and years to rebuild things up there and any support we can continue to generate will make all the difference. My planning is still in the infant stages - I literally rushed out of bed when the idea came to me, and am now sending this off to any and all cartoonists I know. If I can rally up enough people to join in, I will start looking for somebody who may be interested in publishing it as well.

Please consider this seriously. The more people we can get on board the better the chance of it materializing into something. Also, my network is quite small, so please consider forwarding this to as many other cartoonists you know. I really hope we can make this happen, at present it seems like the best we can possibly do to help out. Please respond to this mail if this sounds like something you can commit to.

sincerely,
- Adam Pasion
biguglyrobot@gmail.com