Catching up on the last few days of links:

§ There’s what sounds like an excellent exhibit of webcomics up in Seattle, curated by Sarra Scherb.

§ A brief look at some comics from Thailand.

§ NPR is looking for people who helped Mike Meyer, the young man whose comics got stolen last year.
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§ Frank Santoro travelled the nation and collected weird comics which if we had them would look merely weird, but somehow when someone else has them, looks mysterious and alluring.

§ A long interview with comics scholar Charles Hatfield is up at The COmics Reporter on the occasion of his new book on Jack Kirby:

Once, in an interview, Kirby countered [Fredric] Wertham’s argument (in Seduction of the Innocent) that comic books would ruin children for gentle, quiet reflection by saying that children are not about gentle, quiet reflection in the first place. That they, we, are creatures of emotion, feeling everything with a terrible urgency that comics like his could express. That tells you a lot about his mindset. Kirby had a revved-up sense of life, based in conflict. Of course he did, given where he came from. That’s why he was able to throw himself into superheroes without condescension. He was never patronizing toward that material, or that audience. I think it jibed too well with his experiences.

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§ Cute round of of picture books by J. Caleb Mozzocco. BTW the Sarah Dyer mentioned is NOT the same one who works with Evan Dorkin.

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§ From last week, Ron Marz interviews the polymath Rafael Kayanan on his work on a long ago movie version of John Carter.

§ Ohio State’s The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library now has a blog which perhaps defines “promising.”

§ CBR’s Kiel Phegley attended a recent tribute to Jerry Robinson:

Gro Robinson spoke to the many personal details of her husband’s life, but also how his work ethic and ideas carried over from the comics and into his personal and business dealings no matter where he went. “I’m in awe of being in the presence of so many of the creators and lovers of the comics — the most vital part of Jerry’s world,” she said. “Although I lived with Jerry for more than half a century, I have much to learn about this part of his life…Jerry’s life was a triumph. His death was not a tragedy. He lived a long and fulfilling life, doing what he loved to do. He achieved most of his lifetime goals, and past New Year’s day, he would have been 90, and we would have celebrated our 54th wedding anniversary.”

§ Last week there was another local TV station that proclaimed comics are unfit for the kidlies, and by comics we mean Catwoman #1.Rob Madeo found the report risible:

If your local TV station is working extra hard lately, that’s because it’s February sweeps. When I toiled in the business of marketing TV news, I used to love sweeps and all its sensational over the top stories. It made my job fun. And though it meant more work, it was work that came easy to me. I’ve seen it all, some of it good journalism and some of it tawdry and awful — and some of it very, very flimsy — like WNYT’s story on the dangers of comic books.

§ Not to sounds stupid, but we’re amazed that Blizzard had an extra 600 people to layoff. That is a lot off grinding.

§ Finally, the death of Andrew Breitbart is a cautionary tale for the internet lifestyel:

In the new 24/7 mediaverse, in a brutal, unending culture war, with the web unleashed and news and opinion flashing every few seconds, you can very easily lose yourself, and forget how and why you got here in the first place. There have been times writing and editing this blog on that kind of insane schedule for more than a decade when I have wondered who this new frantic way of life would kill first. I do not doubt that Andrew tried to keep a balance, and stay healthy, but like the rest of us, became consumed with and overwhelmed by this twittering, unending bloghorreic chatter. It takes a much bigger physical, emotional and spiritual toll than most realize, and I’ve spent some time over the years worrying it could destroy me. Here I am, after all, at 9.30 pm, still blogging, having just filed another column, and checking the traffic stats, and glancing feverishly at every new item at Memeorandum.

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