First Panel 11

injurycomics2, originally uploaded by sugarfreak.

From Injury Comics #2.

I wonder if they're arm wrestling for pie?

Free Comic Book Day

fcbdsale, originally uploaded by Mobtownshank.

Free Comic Book Day is this Saturday, May 3!

To celebrate, on Saturday we'll have 50% off all bagged & boarded back issue comics (yes, including the smut)!

Tons of graphic novels for sale at just really stupid prices!

And a box of .99 comics, for those nostalgic for the days when comics cost less than a buck. (7 for $5!)

And yes, the free comics. While supplies last.

The sale is in-store only. (Sorry, interwebs.)

Get crazy!

Festival Check 2008

It's around this time of year where you may be making your Summer plans - to visit Baltimore. Well here are the festivals to keep in mind:

This weekend alone:
May The Intertribal Powwow
May The Sheep & Wool Festival
May The Maryland Film Festival & Videopolis

Then the rest of the Summer:
May SoWeBo Festival
May Maryland Deathfest
June Honfest
July Artscape & Whartscape
August Otakon
August Virgin Mobile Festival

Into the Fall:
September Baltimore Comic Con
September Hampdenfest
September Baltimore Book Festival
September (usually) High Zero Festival
October Small Press Expo

And when you're in town, we have a handy list on our links page. And here are some suggestions by John Waters.

Derby, Cake!

derbycake, originally uploaded by sugarfreak.

The CCRG were on Ace of Cakes last night. Did you see Maggie yelling?

Baltimore, Derby, Cake!

This is for Geoff fans (because, really, who isn't?).

First Panel 10

ryanskkk, originally uploaded by sugarfreak.

Psst! Klassic Komics Klub is in!

MD Film Fest 08

MD Film Fest 08 Poster, originally uploaded by Mobtownshank.

We'll be set up at the MD Film Festival Tent Village, May 2nd and 3rd! Check out the festival, swing by and say hello!

Here are some highlights of the festival by two of the festival's programmers, Eric and Skizz.

New Season, New Arena For Roller Derby

We've got tickets.

And our Charm City Roller Girls will be on Ace of Cakes this week! A viewing party is happening at Della Rose's in Canton.

ETA: Change of location! Now the viewing party will be at the Claddagh Pub, 2918 O'Donnell Street!

420 on 420

Dude!

Home Libraries - A Growing Trend

"In this digital age, it may surprise you to read that more people want libraries than cinemas in their homes."

Oh, wait. They're talking about the UK.

Baltimore Curious?

Oddly, Rolling Stone named Baltimore as the Best Scene in their Best of Rock issue this week.

We carry all the best of the sounds, writing, filmmaking, comicking and designing of the city in an easy to peruse format (if we're missing anything, don't fret because we're still working on this category).

Get a drink and dig in, it's a lot to go through.

Murakami @ Brooklyn Museum

Murakami Opening at the Brooklyn Museum, originally uploaded by minicloud.

Just in time for the exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum, we got Superflat back in:

But What I Really Want Is Pie

dooooonuts, originally uploaded by sugarfreak.

Did you eat a donut today?

We certainly did (from New System Bakery - awesome).

But my true love is pie. And my wish has come true! Dangerously Delicious Pies is opening a location in Hampden. Right off the Ave, on Chestnut, in the the now closed Finnerteas location.

They hope to be open by Honfest!

First Panel 9

papercutter7, originally uploaded by sugarfreak.

Yay! A new Papercutter!

Wholphin 5

wholphin5, originally uploaded by sugarfreak.

It's finally in!

Always a good read watch.

Triple Belly Band Threat!

When I see a belly band or a die cut cover I just groan inside. It's just asking to be damaged as soon as it hits the shelves.

But yeah...it's beautiful.

Oh, we hate white covers, too.

Monday Review - All Comics, All Benn

Cramhole #2
by Billups Allen / various

I didn't realize how much I missed Cramhole until this second issue came in (here's hoping Billups increases his frequency). This is the sort of comic/zine that used to be common at punk record stores but has, sadly, largely vanished (sort of like record stores). As a result, Cramhole feels downright refreshing as the main character Frank shows how he is difficult to live with, talks about old jobs, struggles with his resume, and generally, grumpily goes about life. The art is tackled by several people, including Amy Shapiro and Dorothy Gambrell (Cat And Girl), and it's all deft. But you don't read these sorts of comics for the art alone - the real charm of Cramhole is the character of Frank, the aging punk, and his life.



Whatever
by Karl Stevens

This is a collection of comics that were originally published in Boston's alt-weekly, The Phoenix. The subject matter focuses on a group of city-dwelling twentysomethings as they complain about mass transit, drink, smoke dope, hook up, play in bands, deal with roommate issues, etc. While not presented in a traditional straightforward narrative, these stories repeat characters and themes enough that Karl constructs a very real small community of Bostonians whom we easily get to know and either like or allow ourselves to be amused by. And reinforcing the realism of the stories in Whatever is the hyper-realistic artwork done in extravagant and intricate linework. For a sucker of crosshatching like me, Karl's Whatever isn't just a modern collection of realistic twentysomething slacker stories, it's a visual feast.



Capacity #6
Capacity #7
Paper Wasp #3
Thought Cloud Shrines
by Theo Ellsworth

It's a rare comic that I see and just stare and stare and stare at the art and wonder, "How the hell does he do that?" Theo Ellsworth's comics, a mix of fantasy and obsessively constructed (almost architectural) artwork, has me looking at his pages over and over again, wondering just that. There is a Moebius vibe to some of the work here, but, more importantly, there is a sharp sense of humor that is frequently missing from this type of comic. Ellsworth makes minis that are intensely, obsessively drawn - with punch lines.

Tax Time

Taxes make me panic!, originally uploaded by featherbed.

by Laura Park!

Comic Cameo

comicstar, originally uploaded by sugarfreak.

Who wants to be on reality tv when you can be in reality comics?

Bradley Kennedy shows me the page she's on in Jeffrey Brown's latest autobio comic.

Meet Your Printmaker

A handy new blog that lists noteworthy printers around the world and just around the corner.

Hooked On Comics

EW.com asked 15 "graphic storytellers" what comic got them hooked to the format. And then they asked me to post this and to link back to them.

Done.

But it's actually a fun thing to think about. What got me hooked?

It was the Rose of Versailles. Originally published in Japan, a friend of mine had copies in Korean when we were kids and lent them to me. I couldn't read it though, so she told me the basic plot, which was about a woman who was raised as a man and became a Palace officer during the French Revolution, and I tried to make out what was going on just from the illustrations.

I fell in love with the artwork which was all black and white and beautiful line work. Most of the comics I'd read back then were in color.

And I never got to read all the volumes...so it became this illusive comic holy grail that always kept me searching in every comic shop/book store I could find for the impossible get.

What got you hooked?

Flickrkiller

Flickr now has video! You can kind of get an idea of how this works.

First Panel 8

cramhole2, originally uploaded by sugarfreak.

Yay, a new Cramhole! Finally!

To Semicolon Or Not To Semicolon

I wouldn't mind if we lost the semi-colon.

(via Chotda's Twitter)

What Is It About the Number 4?

rollingstonepancake, originally uploaded by sugarfreak.

Just because it's in Rolling Stone's Top Ten doesn't mean you should ignore it. The new Pancake Mountain DVD is in and it's totally fun, for real!

First Panel 7

snakeoil, originally uploaded by sugarfreak.

First Panel AND a review combo:

Benn read Snake Oil #1 by Charles Forsman:

By the end of this first issue, we're not sure of a lot of things in this well-crafted, self-published comic. We don't know why the buffalo men kidnapped Tim in the bathroom. We're not sure what Bob's kid and his friend were smoking. We're not sure where Tim goes when he's unconscious. And we're not sure why the man took Mickey's kid while he was in the bathroom (nor are we sure why Mickey seems to randomly turn into a bird). There are a lot of uncertainties in this comic, presented as a series of short stories (more accurately chapters to a larger whole). But the oddity is engaging in that Like A Velvet Glove Cast In Iron sort of way. Snake Oil promises to be a lot of fun to follow as the narrative elements come together. The screened cover, heavy stock paper, and Forsman's deft illustrations all just add to an already engaging mix.

Reading Clubs

Tonight, Buffy reading club at the Hon Bar, 7pm! There's a new Angel, too.

For April's Shank Reading Club pick we're reading Bust #50 and Bitch #39 (10% off for the month). Compare and contrast session happens the last Wednesday of the month over at POP, 7pm.

Rick Roll Day

rick roll, originally uploaded by Rakka.

Don't you think it should be Rick Roll Day instead of April Fool's?

I would never rick roll you. Serious.