Krampus's Little Helpers 2016

Because kids really do love Krampus. Happy Holidays - ALL of them - to you all! Because we can't have enough parties.

Stinz Volume One Repair Download

First of all, even though I proof these pdfs to death, there's always a page or two that get away from me. In this case, the new Stinz Collection volume 1 has a missing page - page five of "Hair of the Wolf."

So - for those of you who bought Volume 1 of the new Stinz collection, this is what I did for my OWN copy. 

You can't get these un-improved versions, any more, either. I fixed 'em on the Amazon link. I love Print-On-Demand - no more tearing our hair after a huge, expensive print run comes out. When an alert reader emails a correction, we can - correct - it!

Print this jpeg - either on your own printer or your library's - and tip it into the book, either plain or glued. You see this sometime in old books - this is proof it still happens, when a book gets as big and complex as these collections do.

And if I see you at a convention with one of these, you get a color sketch - for free. It's like a coupon.

Isatope Comics Signing in San Francisco

Donna Barr, Mike Phillips, Twin Peaks

On the weekend after Halloween, 2015, Roberta Gregory and I were flown down to San Francisco to be interviewed as part of the film project by Mike Phillips, Secret Identities - LGBT documentary comic book film. I can't wait to see this film, full of everybody in the LGBT community and allies. It's going to be great.

On the first day after arriving, we were taken by our host, Mike Phillips, to see the Twin Peaks. What a view! Ravens - my totem bird and always a good omen - greeted us overhead.

Mike interviewed us in the rooftop garden of his apartment building, with some more beautiful views all around. Later, he picked up some more words from me

Blue Knight, me and Mike

at the carousel in Golden Gate Park - a place that has sweet personal memories for me. If you look very carefully behind the glass you can see my favorite horse, Blue Knight. 

We stayed with lovely folks in San Francisco, and all I can say about what part of town they live in is - Mummy Cat! Let's just say that when I first went to Baghdad by the Bay, I was walking to Hallowe'en in the Castro, and did a double-take at a mummified cat and mouse in a window. I never talked about this, until, walking the final block to the flat, I stopped short - there was Mummy Cat, with his mouse, again! Strange spooky weekend, including weird nostalgia.

A royal welcome.

The flat where we stayed is a writer's cooperative. They welcomed us royally with a banner - and a writer's evening of Chinese food and wine and readings. We were well-nourished, body and soul. 

Can I say enough about the signing at the Isatope Comics Lounge with Roberta Gregory, Saturday, the 7th of November? James Sime, the owner, must have gotten the word out everywhere, because the whole evening was filled up with fun people coming in to see us. Even old friends Don Simpson, a wonderfully creative artist on DeviantArt, and long-time colleague and comics historian Trina Robbins.

Roberta, Gnometown author, Me

Mexican mural and me.

Mike toured us around the city every day, stopping in every vegetarian Thai restaurant there is, and marking down some new ones for the future. During the tour, Roberta got this shot of me in front of a Mexican restaurant, featuring one of the many murals of San Francisco. 

Thank you, Mike, thanks to all his friends, thank you Isatope, thank you San Francisco. This trip will be long remembered fondly - and with anticipation for the new film.

Desert Peach Coloring - Afterdead

On this page, I asked if anybody wanted to color one of my pages.

And this is what I received from Maurine Starkey! I'm using it. It's too gorgeous.

2016 Clallam Bay Comicon Special Guest

Marko Gets a Puppy, 
by Anna Gjenero and
Mary Gjenero Bilich (Ampersand, Inc.)

Our Special Guest is Canadian Leanne Franson, classic LGBT minizine author, and successful children's book illustrator. 

Among her many other works, she  illustrated the book "Marko Gets A Puppy" book, which just won a Moon Gold award in the Pets/animals category at the 2015 Moonbeam Children's book Awards.   



She is best known for "Liliane," a series of minicomics (later collected) that outline the everyday life of a nice Bi girl. 

But let's read it in her own able words:

"Hi!

I’m Leanne Franson, children’s illustrator and creator of Liliane Bi-Dyke! I was mostly active in the heyday of DIY photocopied zines, producing 43 minicomics during the 1990s, mostly semi auto-bio tales of liliane, my bi-dyke heroine. I also contributed to countless other zines and books, some of which were collected by Slab-o-Concrete press in the UK in two trade paperbacks. In 2003 I was invited to share a table at APE in San Fran, and wrote the comics for my third trade paperback, and kept up my production momentum afterwards by producing 3 years of daily comics. The archives are at http://liliane.comicgenesis.com/archives.html

My production dropped off when I became a single mom by choice, but I continued doing a story a month for Rainbow Rumpus, an online magazine for kids with lgbt parents.

My work has appeared in such places as Gay Comics, Dyke Strippers, Anything That Loves, Action Girl, Real Girl, and several collections by Roz Warren.

I am excited to be the guest cartoonist at the 2016 Clallam Bay Comicon, and would love to share with you my propensity for bringing minimal facial features to life! Alison Bechdel once wrote: “I never cease to be amazed by the dizzying range of emotions Leanne Franson can squeeze out of a noseless face with dots for eyes”. Join me in pushing your mastery of dots and lines!

Illustrations: http://leannefranson.com
Comics (not updated but see archives, books and comics):http://liliane.comicgen.com
NEW EMAIL! Please update your address book to:Leanne@leannefranson.com
Nouveau Courriel! SVP mettre vos contacts à jour:Leanne@leannefranson.com

Clallam County "Comicon" a Good Try. And Fun!

On Friday, 24 July, 2015, the North Olympic Library System featured the Clallam County Comicon.

While it wasn't actually what's been referred to traditionally as a "comicon," it was certainly a lot of fun.  It was actually a children's and teens' reading summer reading event.

Being in a library system, which is funded by public taxes, it couldn't allow sales by individual authors or companies - and unlike a sci/fi or fantasy convention, the dealers' area has always been the heart of a comicon. Let's call it a "meet," because everybody, including me, enjoyed meeting the authors and martial artists and cosplayers.

The Library went all out, offering tables covered with activities, including a working electronics-construct model I had a great deal of fun learning. A kid joined me, and we took turns placing the pieces as outlined in the informative booklet. We made LEDs light up and even hooked up a microphone that allowed the LED display objects to respond to our voices.

Of course, the first thing the boy learned from me was: REAL electrical systems can kill you - and burn your house down. Don't worry; kids can take it. He wisely nodded. The other important thing is: put all the pieces back in the box! Losing pieces while working on a project is a major cause for adult swearing (well, okay, I'm the plumber in the household, and LEAKS after fixing are the major cause of adult swearing). 

A little girl came along who wanted to do the next diagram, and I said to the boy: "Okay, I taught you - now you teach her." They looked a bit bemused, but I already know that's the best way to drive lessons into a kids' head. And I'd help, of course. But we didn't have time to do that - the meet was starting!

Wow. Look at all the costumes. A warrior from "Game of Thrones," carrying off the whole attitude that made his cheap materials work, a plausible Dr. Who, and a pirate and fairy in matching green-and-black. That must have been from "Pirate Fairy." 

It WAS a very genre-oriented event, but that would be how librarians think: they need to be able to shelve things. and it's comics' own fault that we don't list our stuff as "adult fiction" and such, so they know where to put it. Right now they manage American graphic novel vs. Manga. One librarian in the NOLS system I met a few months ago thought ALL graphic novels were read right-to-left because she only knew Manga. I don't blame her - it's a huge and growing art form. 

The first event was the martial arts demonstrations. A tall blond man in black turned out to be the dad of the family - and was hilarious, as his wife and kids all demonstrated how a bigger attacker can be made to end up on the ground. It was the best and funniest demo I'd ever seen, and the lessons stuck in my head, anyway. Best of all, they emphasized NOT fighting and NOT hurting the other person - and don't try pressure points on your friends, relatives or pets.

My old friend Dave Lasky was up next on a panel about the Carter Family graphic novel he did the art for, along with Mathhew Holm. Here's the official listing: Matthew Holm (Baby Mouse, Squish) and David Lasky (The Oregon Trail, The Carter Family) will discuss how they became professional comic book artists and authors, and offer insider tips.

After the panel, I went and bothered them both at their signing, by the table where the library featured their books. Linda Medley, the Author (artist/writer/owner) of "Castle Waiting," had come out, too, and we had lots of fun talking about publishing (It's interesting only if you do it, I might add - and then we can get quite geeky about it. Never ask anybody about publishing unless you REALLY want to know).

There were panels on making creature worlds, and a panel on making comic books based on popular TV cartoons, and all the constant niggling over drawing the characters and working the plots exactly as the editor wants to fit into the TV world. About the latter - because this is a blog and not a "newspaper" report, where we have to leave stuff out that may piss off the people who buy ads - I have to admit I leaned over to somebody I knew and said, "Kill me now." She responded with: "They'd better be getting a butt-load of money!"

I was really unhappy when I had to catch the 5:15 bus back to Clallam Bay, because the event went on another hour, but I took what I could. The whole evening was devoted to costuming, and I was really sorry to miss that.

The event was a one-shot, but it made me think seriously about holding one of my dinky old-fashioned conventions in Port Angeles. Why not? There's plenty of geeks showed up at the library event, and they'd love their own comicon.

Okay - caveats? Trying to hold a "comicon" in a library. One of the organizers seemed a bit upset when things got louder and exciting. Comicons are rowdy. No, we don't push each other around, but we don't get to talk to other geeks and nerds very often, especially up here, and in the surrounding rural areas, where nerds have been bullied. My comicon (see link on this page) is helping with that, and Twilight certainly started the ball rolling. But we get a bit excited when we see our own and try to cram in everything we have in a short time.

Second problem: the library actually planned to put the activity tables outside. This is a paper-based event. This is also La Nina year. The rain forced all the activity tables inside, and further added to the noise.

We've already talked about the lack of artists' sales tables, but that couldn't be helped, because it's a public taxed venue. 

BEST thing that happened: I brought a stack of my Desert Peach comics to the meet, for free distribution. Two girls were riveted, and had a short "panel" with me about becoming a comics author. They learned that the HARDEST way was the path I'd chosen - to NOT use other books as models - to solve artistic problems oneself - to NEVER give up one's copyright - and to never give up. It's the best path, though - because in the end, you own everything you've done, and there's nobody else like you. 

Linda Medley's "Castle Waiting" is another example of the Original Author, as is Roberta Gregory's Naughty Bits. 

Oh - and the fact that my books were about a German officer in WWII didn't hurt with teenage girls. There is a huge fascination among them for German soldiers in World War One and Two. I'd thought this was just because of the interest in the WWII German uniforms displayed in Manga, but I've since found out that many girls almost seem - with emphasis on SEEM - to be reincarnations. They're following the same path I took 40 years ago, when I thought I was alone. They want to know the causes of war, and how to stop it. 

While most of the books at the comics meet were sugar - they were, after all, meant for little kids - these girls wanted meat. 

Remember, parents, when your kids get into comics, they may want to think, and think hard. 

Small But Fierce - 2015 Clallam Bay Comicon Con Report

The press release I sent out to my media list. I know other attendees are going to be putting up reports. Links welcome!

Here's one from Dara Korra'ti - a real beauty, with much better photos. 

Dara Korra'ti, Angela Highland, Charcoal Brown, Roberta Gregory, 

Bruce Taylor, Donna Barr. and Pierre Richard. 

CLALLAM BAY, WASHINGTON - The Fourth Annual 2015 Clallam Bay Comicon was small in size, but intense in spirit.

Held in the Lion's Club hall in Clallam Bay, Washington, July 11-12, with free admission, the convention was constantly abuzz with fans and newcomers talking directly to and buying from authors, or attending round-table panels and art classes.

Friday night - the Soul Ducks add a little
slice of Mardi Gras.

All of the panels were well-attended, and most of them were interactive.

Linda Medley, whose classic and beautiful comics series "Castle Waiting" has continued for many years, graciously allowed other artists and fans to play with her selection of jewel-like ink pens and nibs.

Roberta Gregory, beloved author of "Naughty Bits," offered her "True Cat Toons" book at her table, and taught children and adults how to draw cats.

Breakfast at the convention B&B -
the Winter's Summer Inn.

Donna Barr, known for "The Desert Peach" and "Stinz," did an instructional on the correct drawing of horses. This panel and Gregory's were filmed by Pierre Richard, for later sharing on the internet.

Dara Korra'ti, of the band "Crime and the Forces of Evil," bravely used the comicon to launch recently-composed songs - "I wrote this one last Thursday!" - much to the enjoyment of the whole hall.

We almost lost Dara at the parade!

She also offered a panel on starting the kind of geekmusic festival she launched at the long-running sci/fi/fantasy convention Norwescon. This very busy and energetic woman added a third panel on writing music, specifically the very entertaining supervillain songs.

Angela Highland taught a fun and informative panel on how to self-publish a manuscript.

Portfolio review by industry professionals helped new artists channel their future work and polish their work habits.

The Saturday night fish-n-chip blowout.

The show-goers enjoyed events at Clallam Bay/Sekiu Fundays, including a fair, parade and Saturday's spectactular annual fireworks in Sekiu. They also enjoyed fish-n-chip feasts at the Clallam Bay Inn. Attendees even bought fresh-caught salmon at Jack Mackerel's Fish Company, to take back home after the show.

Here's Dara Korra'ti's film of Donna Barr, setting off one of the little rockets she found earlier buried in their package at the Slip Point beach with July 4th fireworks debris.  See what you get if you clean beaches? GOODIES!

Peach Flambe - in her fancy new Unique Junque jacket - sets off one, too.

Saturday fireworks. Dara Korra'ti © 2015

Note to fireworks attendees - the ashes of the recently deceased whose families want to honor them are placed in one of the fireworks. That giant, gorgeous gold burst with the lavender and white after-bursts? That was the one. What a way to go. 

We were far enough away not to get cordite and - other things - in our hair. That's what happened at the following week's Quileute days. I don't know if folks in LaPush put people remains in their fireworks. That may just be a Sekiu thang; I WAS under the fireworks the first time they did that, so me and the whole town got touched by the deceased owner of the Breakwater Restaurant. 

I'd like to thank Pierre L. Richard for the film of me showing everybody how to draw a horse. The link is at the right there, but here is is again, embedded from the YouTube Site:



Even better is Roberta Gregory's How To Draw Cats, also filmed by Mr. Richard:



Speaking of films: admittedly, the film festival kind of fell apart - you can't do films along with everybody going to fireworks. We're not big enough for overlapping events, yet. Somebody started to show a film with Alan Arkin and Christopher Lee as superhero/villain: "The Return of Captain Invincible." I need to get that from the library - or request it. They've got Osu's films, so why not this? Well, darn, they don't. Gotta get it into the system!

The Three Sisters Art Gallery featured bands each night. After traveling in, nobody had the gumption Friday night to really dance when the beloved Soul Ducks - "Down and dirty mud-wallow blues" - hit the floor. Well, the Canadians, after days of travel, blew into town and still wanted to party, but Canucks are hard to stop. Saturday night was the bluegrass band "Loose Gravel," but we were all over stumbling around on the beach in the dark, watching fire in the sky.

Always good to patronize local businesses: The Sunsets West Co-Op offered health-conscious foods for attendees with health concerns. Unique Junque sold inexpensive and warm and fashionable sweaters and jackets to attendees who had come in from much warmer places, and needed cozy clothes on this rainy summer weekend.

General notes for next year: The Clallam Bay Comicon is a classic comicon -  concentrating on independent productions of books, music and film. It has hopes that a small independent film producer may have DVDs at the show in 2016.

Steve Strout's comicom in Chimikum, and the North Olympic Library System's free mini-con on July 24 in the Port Angeles library main branch, are just two examples of small conventions that are building what is affectionately known as "geek culture" on Washington State's Olympic Peninsula.

The 2016 Clallam Bay Comicon is already in the works. Details available soon in full at the link at www.donnabarr.com - which encourages people who would like to run the same kind of show to use this model. There is no charge for using or sharing the model.

Original show links: 2015 Clallam Bay Comicon

Full Link: 

http://donnabarr.blogspot.com/2014/07/2015-clallam-bay-comicon.html

Clallam Bay Comicon SCHEDULE

SATURDAY SCHEDULE:

10:00 am: Show opens for Set-up. 

11:00 am: Fun Days Parade

Noon: Show opens

5:00 pm: Hall closes 

6:00 pm: Fish-n-chips-n-beer feast at the Clallam Bay Inn. 

Dusk: Fun Day Fireworks, in Sekiu. On the beach between Clallam Bay and Sekiu.

SUNDAY SCHEDULE:

11:00: Hall opens for set-up.

12:00: Show opens

5:00 show closes. Dealers please put away tables and chairs and clean the Lion's club.

2016 Clallam Bay Comicon

2016 Souvenir Sticker/Badge

July 9-10: During and after Clallam Bay/Sekiu Fun Days 10:00 am - 5 pm both Saturday and Sunday. 

EVERYONE WELCOME. If it's pretty or they can eat it, bring it.

ADMISSION for public: free. 

Facebook Events Link HERE. Use to organize events and exchange information.

DEALER TABLES:  $25 (27.00 through Paypal). Contact at: donnabarr01 at gmail dot com.

PANELS AND EVENTS

Dealer and panelist contracts: THIS PAGE. Payment cancellation deadline is May 1, 2016. You are expected to know your professional and licensing obligations for food sales or use of fire. Parents, please note your obligations. Panels held at front of the hall in round-table format. Participants will clean and straighten hall after show closes Sunday; keep the Lion's club happy.

Special Guest Leanne Franson 

EXHIBITORS at the convention for 2016:

1: Donna Barr's A Fine Line Press AND Clallam Bay Comicon Central.

2. Special Guest Leanne Franson.

3. Page Birmingham

4. Roberta Gregory. The classic Northwest artist will be here!

The newly renovated building - nice job, Lions!

WHERE:

Clallam Bay/Seiku Lion's Club

90 Bogachiel Street

Clallam Bay, Olympic Peninsula, Washington State, United States 

AWARDS: Your fans are your award. We don't get to say.

Special guests: all we can offer you is a deductible beach vacation, at the kind of old-fashioned con where the author/fan/friend were - and are here - the first priority.

OFFICIAL CONVENTION B&B: Winter-Summer Inn Bed and Breakfast 360 963 2264 The 3 lower rooms are being held for the convention. The deadline is February 11. Tell Owner Sandy Tsiang you are with the comicon, or you may be turned away. The upper suite is available to anybody, and there is no deadline on reserving it.

OTHER ACCOMADATIONS. 

FOOD AROUND TOWN

COMICON EATS: Dealers and panelists: we have a kitchen, with stove and refrigerator. You're welcome to use them. Keep it clean. Potlucks welcome.

HOW TO GET HERE: Airline: Kenmore Air Airporter: Olympic Bus Lines from Seattle. 

Once in Port Angeles: take the Forks bus to the the Clallam Bay connection at Sappho; Bus details at Clallam Transit. 

From Seattle: Ferries, drive to Port Angeles, then either highway 101 (113-112) or 112 to Clallam Bay. 

Carpooling: organize on the Facebook page.

BUSSES IN-COUNTY:  Schedules, etc.

WI-FI is 24/7 at the library, right around the corner, also at various businesses and the Visitors' Center.

FACILITY CARE: No tape of any sort on the wall. Respect the Lion's Club's wall displays. We all chip in to clean up at the end of the show. It don't take long.

LEGAL NOTES: Donna Barr is the ONLY Comicon staff. No one else has any access to official comicon decisions.

Parents and/or guardians are legally 100% responsible for their children and/or wards. Everyone else is legally 0% responsible for those same people.

For the archives:

The 2013 Comicon Report

The 2014 Comicon Report.

The 2015 Comicon Report

Seattle Pride 2015 - the Flaming Torch

Bremerton Ferry, fairies, and allies.

Last week, Lady Liberty was carrying a Flaming torch. 

Of course, there are a lot more pages with great photos from Seattle's 2015 Pride Parade, but here are mine, from my IPod. My selfies were the best ones, so you're stuck with me. I haven't included moments with friends, just a general report. 

I threw myself out of bed in Clallam Bay at 2:00 am on parade Sunday, and headed East at 3:30. It was still dark, and the sun was only hinting a rise as I headed into Port Angeles an hour later. The sky was red and orange and purple and blue and apple green. At Port Angeles, Mount Baker stood out dark purple against orange. At a rest stop on the east side of town, the sun suddenly topped the trees. I turned to look and saw the forests and mountains colored with sunlight bands of gold, pink and yellow. Everything was Rainbow.

Dykes on Bikes

I raced another three hours and a 1/2-hour walk, all the way to the Bremerton ferry. Which filled up with people in their sparkly best. It was like the WTO and anti-war marches, when Bremerton sent its population over to join in. But this time, there was much more joy, and better costumes.

The Dykes on Bikes led the way of course - the Women Came First.

Remember when there were about eight of them in the parade, and about two businesses - and both of them bars? And the whole parade took about 20 minutes by Volunteer park? 

More bikes on 4th.

This time, the businesses and city organizations that showed up made it look like a really fun economics summit. Police, firefighters, sheriff's department, T-Mobile, Starbucks, you name it. Everybody was there. Even the handful of Fundy Haters were wearing glitter and holding up fancy signs; they couldn't help themselves.

I cheered and waved for an hour and a half. Then I had to take a break, wandering down to third to grab a bowl of pho at my favorite little Vietnamese-food shop. After a lot of chicken soup, hot peppers and purple basil, I stepped out onto the street to hear that the parade was still going in.

Taking photo of a photographer.

Hoping to catch up with some of the entries I'd missed, I followed the parade to Denny - quite the feat, ducking around happy celebrants, their dogs, and the food booths and beer gardens. At the end of the parade route, I found an open curb and sat down and enjoyed the rest of the parade, for at least another two hours. WOW.

Intent young man behind me.

Favorite moments: the very cute black Seattle policewoman in her blues and bill cap, looking quite sexy and so happy she could burst, interacting with a crowd that just wanted to hug her. 

Sheriff's department deputy overjoyed to walk down the street in her uniform with her loved one's hand in hers. 

Funniest phrase announcing an entry (the mopeds that followed the BOD): "Vaginas on Vespas!"

As for level of shouting, music and general hoo-hah, I couldn't hear a note from the smartly turned-out Seattle Police Pipe Band. I never thought I'd actually witness a pipe band drowned out.

Most surpised: saying "Happy Pride" to three cops and finding out I was the first one to say it to them.

Our friends the Sex Workers.

Funniest moment: when the cops, directing vehicles from the end of the parade separate holding area from pedestrians, directed the pony players to prance their cart after the trucks and school bus and fire engines ("It has wheels. It's a vehicle"). 

Most enlightening moment: talking to the sex workers. Mindless prohibition always leads to general hell.

Best refreshment: the Episcopal Church's bread and wine at the end of the parade (very nice grape juice and a wonderful chewy, crusty sweet bread). Yes, I drank from the general chalice. Friends can tell you I'll get myself in trouble Joining In The Experience. Nothing but happiness, this time.

I'm sick and exhausted and I have a blister between my toes, but I don't care, I was there. Happy Pride!

Color Afterdead and Win Fame and Acclaim (?)

Download and color!

Talking about the coloring-books-for-adults trends over on Facebook. People said we should post pages for coloring. So I'm posting this one, from Afterdead. Download and/or print and color away! 

Then send me a bitty jpeg or link so we can admire. AND CHANGE THE FILE NAME IF YOU SEND IT TO ME. So I don't replace and erase mine by accident. 

Format the name as:

   "Afterdead Coloring book - Your Name.jpg 

I hearby give you permission to use or share your colored version any way you like, so long as you tell me, and add:

     Donna Barr © Actual Year.

The page is about the long-dead Peach, accompanying the extremely-wounded pilot/teaching aide he's care-taking, to visit the pilot's girlfriend, who is GeStaPo - and therefore, of course, a Vampire. Don't ask why the Reich made that a qualification. It's probably on a par with the State law that makes it a crime to keep an elephant in a basement - somebody did something stupid, or something seemed more convenient.

Explanations welcome. I sometimes think my characters talk to my readers more than to me. Are you buying them beer??