[event:comix] COMICA FESTIVAL IN LONDON JUNE 27-JULY 6
ICA, The Mall, London SW1Y 5AH
Friday June 27th - Sunday July 6th.
"The graphic novel is... not literary fiction's half-wit cousin but, more accurately, the mutant sister who can often do everything fiction can, and just as often, more." Dave Eggers,
The New York Times Book Review
The ICA launches the first of a new annual 10-day festival featuring the most critically-acclaimed international comic book creators as well the very best of the next generation. The festival opens on Friday June 27th in the ICA bar with comic artists Charles Burns (
Black Hole,
Big Baby, Iggy Pop album cover), John Bagnall, Marc Baines, Ed Pinsent and Woodrow Phoenix DJing in the bar – comic image VJing by Exceeda. A chance to get to meet the talent in an informal environment.
The talks programme includes Chris Ware (
Jimmy Corrigan: Smartest Kid in the World, Guardian First Book Award winner) in conversation with Alex Garland (
The Beach) on July 1st, Joe Sacco (
Palestine) on the 2nd and Charles Burns in conversation with Jonathan Ross on June 30th. Sophie Crumb (
Ghost World film illustrations), daughter of comic giant Robert, and rising comic star in her own right, will talk about her work and demonstrate her love of tattooing on a willing member of the audience on July 4th. On Saturday 5th Frenchman Frederic Boilet, now resident in Tokyo, will discuss his elegant hybrid of European and Japanese sensibilities as manifested in his erotic autobiography that is being hailed as "la nouvelle manga".
The hot new Japanese anime film
Cowboy Bebop: The Movie will be showcased at the ICA, screening daily from June 27th onwards throughout July. With its story of deadly chemical warfare in modern cities, it strikes a particularly timely chord. Directed by Anime legend Watanabe, one of the directors of the new
Animatrix films released in conjunction with
The Matrix Reloaded. On July 6th there will be a surprise Comica film premier that illustrates the rich connection between films and comics.
On the 4th of July cult outsider comic artist and musician Daniel Johnston, beloved of the likes of Kurt Cobain, Beck and Harmony Korine, will be performing material from his latest album in this alternative Independence Day celebration. Support DJing by Everett True of
Careless Talk Costs Lives and Savage Pencil.
The OuBaPo: Potential Comics Exhibition at the ICA (opening June 27th) will launch the British branch of OuBaPo (Ouvroir de Bande Dessinee Potentielle or 'Workshop for the Potential of Comics'). A team of artists including Tom Gauld, Test-Tube Comics, Les Cartoonistes Dangereux, as well as guests, will experiment with the comic format in an evolving, wall-sized, multi-pathed artwork (online at
www.oubapo.com). Plus a capsule exhibition exploring the history and legacy of American underground comics. Expect surprise big name contributors.
From the 25th June to the 6th July, the WebComica exhibition will run in the ICA Digital Studio. This work provides an insight into the many possibilities of the exciting new area of comics on the web, and proves to their paper cousins that webcomics have become a vibrant medium in their own right. This award-winning work displays an impressive range of tone and style. The Digital Studio will also host the OuBaPo: Potential Comics Exhibition Online throughout the Comica festival. On the 25th of June at 7pm new media artist and lecturer Daniel Merlin Goodbrey, curator of the WebComica exhibition, takes the audience on a tour of the selected material. On the 28th of June at 4pm in New Practices, New Comics, Paul Gravett, John Barber and John Dunning will discuss how new media tools are changing the form of comics.
On Sunday June 29th there will be an afternoon of Comica Conversations including: DIY Comics: Online vs Offline, a discussion by independent comics creators that straddle the small press and internet, including Tom Gauld (
Move to the City,
Time Out). Warren Ellis (
Transmetropolitan) and Mike Carey (
Lucifer) discuss the part of British writers in revolutionising the comic book form. In Alan Moore: An Extraordinary Gentleman artists Melinda Gebbie (
Lost Girls), David Lloyd (
V for Vendetta) and Oscar Zarate (
A Small Killing) reveal the secrets of their collaborations with writer-magician Alan Moore. In The Great Escape Paul Gravett, co-editor of the seminal publication
Escape magazine reunites contributing creators to hear about their latest output in print, music, film and animation.
Selection of Useful Web Addresses:
OuBaPo:
www.oubapo.com
Chris Ware:
www.fantagraphics.com/artist/acme
Joe Sacco:
www.fantagraphics.com/artist/sacco
Charles Burns:
www.fantagraphics.com/artist/burns/burns
Daniel Johnston:
www.museumoflove.com/,
www.hihowareyou.com
Tom Gauld:
www.cabanonpress.com
Frederic Boilet:
www.boilet.net
For more information contact the Box office on 0207 930 3647
www.ica.org.uk
[
Thanks to Bugpowder ]
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