Comics Workshop

Poster: THE ARTS MAKE US STRONG!

Marek — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:32:16 +0000

Here’s a new Arts Advocacy poster in support of public arts funding; click on any of the links/images below to download & view the full-size file:

THE ARTS MAKE US STRONG! Poster
Downloads:
small JPEG (online use) | large PDF (print @ 11″x17″) | 2-page PDF (print @ 11″x8.5″)

NOTE: Permission is granted to distribute these comics for educational & advocacy purposes, as long as you:

maintain the copyright notice, and…
credit Marek Bennett, and…
post a link to www.marekbennett.com from any online use.

We should also point out that linking directly back to this page (INSTEAD OF posting your own copy somewhere else) gives you access to the latest updates.

Sources: NHCFA, NHSCA (specifically FY2010 reporting data)

JANUARY 2012:

The relevant bills before the NH state legislature are HB 1274: “AN ACT abolishing the department of cultural resources,” and HB 1275: “AN ACT repealing the state art fund.”.
~~Public hearings are scheduled for 12 January in Concord, NH.~~
11 Jan: Public hearings are being rescheduled due to wintry weather…

…see NHCFA.org news page for more info!

Northwood, NH: CLiF Author Visit

Marek — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 15:23:50 +0000

Here are some images from a recent CLiF Author Visit to Northwood School:

Kindergarteners learn the basics of creative autobiography in comics.

A special break-out character design drawing session meets in the library around lunchtime...

Between assemblies, COMICS WORKSHOP visits a first-year Spanish class for a Spanish-language presentation of comics by students in Nicaragua.

At the end of the day, a kindergarten teacher showed me some interesting comics pages her students had pencilled after the presentations. Take a look at how these kids are using word-play…

And slow multi-panel zooms, from outside the house, into the christmas tree, and ultimately up the a single present (all the while controlling level of detail and showing emotional significance through anthropomorphizing inanimate objects)…

And then this one, which pulls together several techniques we discussed in our presentation, and ends with a beautiful moment of retrospection, and the main character turns to look back at the house…

Thanks to CLiF and all the teachers of the Northwood School for making this possible!

ELL Comics: Holidays Around the World

Marek — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 03:26:30 +0000

Adult ELL students in a NH classroom recently spent a COMICS WORKSHOP drawing short stories about holidays in their countries of origin… The comics format gave them a chance to sequence out their ideas and share some of their culture with the class, even at a very basic level of English language experience.
Click to view each file:

Christa McAuliffe Technology Conference Workshop

Marek — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 19:21:33 +0000

Here are some links for our 1 Dec. workshop at the Christa McAuliffe Technology Conference!

CREATING COMICS

Basic tools (low-tech & easy to order)
COMICS WORKSHOP: ABOUT page = information and materials for setting up your own Comics Workshop residency…

BOOKS, TEXTS, ETC.:

Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud = an excellent starting point for students and teachers alike! (Also see McCloud’s technical manual, Making Comics)
For the Love of Comics and Your Comics Will Love You Back by Alec Longstreth = detailed descriptions of the technical skills, attitudes, and practices involved in modern comics self-publication.
“Graphic Novels & State Standards” by Maureen Bakis (also see Maureen’s new book, The Graphic Novel Classroom)

PROJECTS

Coffee+Dumpling+Komiks = Marek’s latest comics culture & history project… (comics & culture, storytelling technology, blog-based publication)
HSR Comics Exchange = Students exchange comics between schools NH and Northern Nicaragua (email, website, online translation)
Weeks Act Centennial Comics = recent AANNH programming, uniting arts, history, environmental science, social studies… and ukulele music?!?!
“Graphic Novels, the Middle East, and Muslim Communities” = recent workshop series @ Harvard’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies

SITES & SOFTWARE

NH State Council on the Arts = grants for schools and community organizations!
Arts Alliance of Northern NH (AANNH) = grants and programming for the North Country

Other websites:

MCPop! Graphic Novels & Comics Group = just one of many useful modern culture & technology groups in this huge NING network
Graphic Novels & High School English = another NING, administered by Maureen Bakis
TeachingComics.org = The National Association of Comics Art Educators
COMICS WORKSHOP: SELF-PUBLISHING = Marek’s page of basic resources, including blog sites…

Some FREE software to try:

GIMP = Free graphics editing program!
TUMBLR.com = simple graphics-based blogs
WordPress.com = more elaborate blog-based site hosting

POSTER: Multiple Intelligences in Comics Ed

Marek — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 18:32:00 +0000

Here’s a pair of multiple intelligences posters I designed for the NECAC anthology earlier this year:

[CLICK TO VIEW & DOWNLOAD EACH IMAGE]

As with other COMICS WORKSHOP posters, I’m posting these w/ my permission to reproduce them as you see fit, provided you maintain the attribution & copyright notice (and website URL) on them.

Comics Camp 2011 @ Currier Art Center

Marek — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 01:51:20 +0000

Comics Camp 2011 at the Currier Art Center brought a big pile of bold new mini-comics by some of our most motivated, focused young artists EVER!

CURRIER COMICS CAMP 2011 Comics include:

The Adventures of Alien Man & the Ghost by Mike
Angel or Devil? by Ashley W.
Buggy & Puggy Meet! by Rio
Fire Fungus by Nate
Garbage Raccoon by Olivia
The Greatest Show Unearthed by Nicole
A Kid’s Business by Jake
Ice Cream Party by Rosalie
Ichimora by Caio
Intense Ping-Pong Battle by Jenna
The Ninja & the Bird by Will
Mount Weeks by Marek
Ninja Femme by Dillon
Samurai Beaver by Killian
Stick War by Minsoo
Teen Justice by Ashley R.

Here are a couple samples of our work (click to enlarge & read):

We also enjoyed the assistance of our Comics Camp intern, Rio Aubry Taylor. Rio’s an MFA student at the Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS) in White River Junction, VT. He shared with us his experiences drawing comics with exotic technical tools, studying with other cartoonists, and designing & publishing semi-autobiographical comics in the CCS lab.

Weeks Act Festival: Lincoln, NH

Marek — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 16:15:45 +0000

BELOW: more artwork & comics created by participants at our Weeks Festival comics tables! Click on each image to view it…

Weeks Act Festival: NH Nature Comics!

Marek — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 04:02:57 +0000

Here’s a fresh batch of comics from our tables at the Weeks Act festivals in NH’s North Country (click on any image to view it fullsize):

First: Zealand Beats TV! by “A.H.”:

Next, “Walk to Camp” by NH’s premier folk storyteller, Becky Rule:

AND NOW: A tale of childbirth along the mountainous byways of Northern NH, by craftsman Greg Glines:

And finally, another one of those imaginary chicken stories by D. Haines:

: Artists young & old draw their stories…

A web of stories grows across the sides of the tent...

A young artist draws while an old cartoonist ponders his next panel.

BIG PAWS performs at the main tent: "That hill is gone, that hill is gone!"

“John Weeks 1911″ Comics+Music Video!

Marek — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 13:07:59 +0000

Here’s a new BIG PAWS video about John Wingate Weeks and the Weeks Act of 1911!

Sing along with this handy printable 2-page comics guide!:

DOWNLOAD: JW-FULLSIZE-DRAFT-www.MarekBennett.com

Comics Camp 2011 at The Orchard School

Marek — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 17:28:23 +0000

The Orchard School hosted its 11th annual Comics Camp last week!

New mini-comics by campers include:

The Almost Complete History of World War II, Vol. I by Jake
The Being from Alpha-Delta 13 by Aiden
Blob by Camden
The Dumb Mr. Snail by Mason Lantz
Eggs ‘n’ Maggots by Marek
The Escape of the Titan: The Greeks Fight Back by Jeremiah
The Escape from the Frying Pan by Lauren
The Funny Shape Trio by Juanette
Harry the Gravestone and the Battle of the Fire Melons by Eli
Hero of the Realm Vol. II by August
Hoo-Hoo the Owl by Kayla
Light VS Dark by Jared
The Lost Robot by Graham
Mind Baby by Brendan
The Pegicorn and the Ninja Mushroom King by Sam
Percy Mushroom and the Lightning Thief by Austin
The Robot Ninja by Mario
Spooky the Lonely Ghost by S. Joy
Super Dudlizza: Super Dudlizza is So Awesome! He Rocks! by Ben
Timmy the Square by Alex
…and many, many more (not yet drawn but definitely in the works)!

We’ll post some samples eventually… hopefully. Stay tuned!