Tag: MSCA

Happy Half A Century Birthday, Mike Norton!

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Yep- our old pal Mike Norton is officially old. Hey, he said it on his Instagram account today.

Mike is originally from the Selmer/Jackson, TN area, but went to college at Memphis State and got his start in comics while living in Memphis and doing advertising work back in the late ’90s. He was also a member of the MSCA back in the day before moving to Chicago to become the art director for Devil’s Due Comics, and then on to drawing for DC Comics, Marvel, and more.

Mike has worked for just about every comic book company out there (and some that aren’t anymore), and has done both licensed properties and a lot of his own creator owned work.

Mike usually gets back to town each year for the Memphis Comic Expo (DonnieCon at the Aggi’cenner!) to see friends, family, and fans of his comics.

This month Mike made it out for the inaugural Memphis Libraries Comic Con at the mail library on Poplar Avenue. That day was also Free Comic Book Day, and Norton was joined by fellow comic con guest, writer John Ostrander. They both were interviewed by our own Nicki Workman. You can hear that interview here.

Keep an eye out for his net graphic novel due out this summer!

Happy birthday, Mike!

New “Drawing Funny” Podcast Episode- Memphis Libraries Comic Con And MSCA Event News

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New “Drawing Funny” podcast episode is available for downloading/listening. You can find it on podcast platforms like Spotify or get it directly from the source by clicking here. ✏️🎧🎤

Nicki Workman interviewed comic creators Mike Norton (former MSCA member) and the legenarywriter John Ostrander at the innagural Memphis Public Libraries Comic Con on Saturday, May 6th (Free Comic Book Day)- plus I share some upcoming Mid-South Cartoonists Association (MSCA) event news.

Such as our upcoming May Drink-N-Draw this Wednesay...

…and our June Sat-Art-Day – both at 901 Comics East on Macon Road in Cordova.

We had a great time at the comic con at the library, and many nfolks stoppe by the MSCA table as well as the many MSCA members’ tables around the library con floor.

You can see lots of pics on our MSCA Facebook page.

 

Another upcoming MSCA event is…MSCA ART DAY IN MAY AT WFH!

Sunday, May 21, 2023, from Noon-4 our friends at the Woodruff Fontaine House Museum have invited the Mid-South Cartoonists Association to come draw at the museum. It’s a great time to practice drawing architecture, still-life, portraits, flowers, photography, and more, inside and out.
The museum is at 680 Adams Ave, Memphis, TN 38105
https://goo.gl/maps/Jr1TGEcyGLAmLY2v5
ABOUT WOODRUFF FONTAINE HOUSE MUSEUM
This Victorian era mansion was completed in 1871, has been through the Woodruff and Fontaine families, seen multiple wars and pandemics such as Yellow Fever, and once even served as the first version of the Memphis College of Art. After having been reconstructed by the Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities it has become the beautiful place presented today!
You can find out more about the Woodruff Fontaine House Museum at
https://www.woodruff-fontaine.org/
ENTRY FEE AND ART SALES
Free entry for MSCA members this day only (donations to the museum are welcome). When you arrive, just let them know you’re with the MSCA. Art created this day can be sold as prints (or originals) by the house on a consignment (25% to the museum), so we hope to offer the museum a few of our pieces that they can sell – they are a 501c3 for tax-minded people.
{General admission is typically $16 (membership for the year is only $30).} The Woodruff Fontaine House has been good friends to the Mid-South Cartoonists Association (and I’ve served on the board and am a long-time member of the museum). I think you’ll enjoy all the art opportunities you can find there in its many beautiful details!
HOUSEKEEPING RULES
Keep in mind, the furniture, flooring, everything about the property is vintage Victorian, so we want to be sure we’re super-duper respective of the property and keep it as clean as possible. We can’t sit on the furniture, but we can sit on the floors (small stools or camping chairs are OK). Also, because it is a living museum with regular operating hours, be sure to position yourself in areas that tourists can easily navigate the halls and rooms of the museum.
Indoors, feel free to bring your sketch books and sketch pads, pencils, colored pencils, ink pens/brush pens, Copics, markers, cameras, tablets, and erasers (keep the eraser dust cleaned up, please). Inside, we don’t want to use inks, brushes, paints – nothing that can stain, spill, or splatter.
Outside, feel free to set up your easels, canvases, paints, ink and brushes, pastels, but if you use paints/watercolor bring along a drop cloth/tarp to work on and be cautious of your surroundings.
Don’t forget- our next dinner meetin will be the first Tuesday next month, June 6th from 6-8pm, but we are skipping July because of July 4th/Independence Day. We’ll be back to our regular schedule with the following meeting  on August 1st.
Hope you can make it out to one or all of our events!

Drink, Draw, Eat, Repeat…Our Upcoming Monthly MSCA Events

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Hey, gang- lots of opportuniities for you to attend an MSCA event over the next few weeks.

First up is the Sat-Art-Day at 901 Comics East out on Macon Road in Cordova.

We’ll be meeting in the back gallery room this Saturday, April 22nd from 10am – 2pm. This is a free/open to the public drawing event. Bring your latest art project to work on or sketchbook to draw in.

We’ll also have art supplies available for anyone who needs them- lots of markers, pens, pencils, paper, and more will be on hand.

All ages are welcome, but if you aren’t old enough to drive yourself to the event, have a parent bring you and hang out as well.

The following Wednesday, April 26th, we’ll have our next Drink-N-Draw at 901 Comics East.

It’s another free and open to the public drawing event, but if you’d like a beer (on tap or in cans), soda, water, chips, or pizza those all will be available for purchase fro 901’s “Bar With No Name“.

Again, we’ll be meeting in the back gallery room, but there’s plenty of room in the baming area and at the bar.

Then on Tuesday, May 2nd we’ll have our monthly dinner meet-up at Garibaldi’s Pizza near the U of M.  We’ll be there from 6-8pm in the bog dining room on the right.

You don’t have to be a member to attend any of our events like this or the ones at 901 Comics East, but you might want to bring a sketchbook and a few bucks to order off the menu.

Lots of great pizza, pasta, salads, and beverages available. We always meet on the first Tuesday of each month, but will pass on the July meeting which lands on the 4th.

Not one of our monthly meetings, but one of the upcoming events we’ll be a part of is the innagural Memphis Public Libraries Comic Con at the main library on Poplar Avenue. We’ll have an MSCA promo table at the evernt, and several of our members will have their own tables there as well.

The library comic con will have specialo guests artist and former MSCA member Mike Norton and comic writing legend (and “The Suicide Squad” movie star) “Uncle” John Ostrander.

It happens on May 6th, which is also Free Comic Book Day so the library will be giving away loads of comics, trade paperbacks, and graphic novels. Free Comic Book Day is the best day of the year, where comics from publishers like DC Comics and Marvel Comics are given away absolutely free to people at local comic shops. The comics aren’t free to the retailers, so if you can afford to buy something at one of the shops please do. Many stores will be having sales and other rewards for purching items that day.

All comic shops in the Memphis area (Comics & Collectibles/Poplar Ave., The Cellar/Barlett Blvd., 901 Comics/Cooper-Young, and 901 Comics East/Macon Rd.) participate in FCBD. To find a comic shop in your area check out FCBD’s comic shop locator here.

901 Comics East will have the Red Power Ranger, Steve Cordenas, in-store for a signing on FCBD. Steve stars in the recent “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always” which is currently showing on Netflix.

And don’t forget that MSCA member Peter Melonas currently has a one-man art show at Theatre Memphis in conjunction with their play “Sherlock’s Last Case“.

Oh, and while you’re at it, be sure to mark on your calendar our next group art show at Germantown Community Theatre – “Drawing Blood“. It will be a Halloween/Horror themed art show with bite this Oct/Nov.

Hope to see you there!

Our upcoming May Drink-N-Draw…

…and our June Sat-Art-Day.

Peter Melonas as a one-man show…”Excellent! I cried. “Elementary,” said he.

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Member Peter Melonas has an art show at Theatre Memphis.  See below and attached for more information:

Artists once depended only on galleries to showcase their work and be exhibited, but more venues now are actively seeking and supporting the Midsouth art scene in that role.

If you have walked into Theatre Memphis recently – whether you did so to attend a performance or to view an art exhibition – you may have noticed a type of drawings highlighting a local artist.

A solo performance, by Peter Melonas as a one-man show, which features a Private Investigator and his Inseparable Companion, each image telling a story for the purpose of entertainment. Artists have tended to settle for a hawkish profile for book-cover and magazine artwork but the film studios still seem to feel that virtually anyone can perform as Holmes, so long as they retain the virtual trappings.

I am an artist and not an actor, but if I were to try and showcase an illustration entitled Sherlock’s Last case, I would draw Mr. Holmes on one panel, Dr. Watson on another.

“Sherlock’s Last Case” is an intense and suspenseful play filled with betrayal, thrills, and witty humor; this story picks up where the classic stories end. The Game is Afoot as usual, not everything is as it appears, and the plot confronts the great detective with a unique challenge…straight through to its startling conclusion. This is the Holmes and Watson story you never expected.

April 21 – May 7 at Theatre Memphis performing their production of “Sherlock’s Last Case” on Thursday, Fridays, and Saturdays @ 7:30pm: Sundays @ 2pm

Tickets 901.682.8323 or online at WWW>THEATREMEMPHIS.ORG

Adults $25.00 / Student $15 / Military & Seniors $20


Peter Melonas

Peter Melonas has been a professional illustrator, and graphic designer. Along the way, he has built upon the visual language comics artists have been developing for more than a century.

“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see. Many collectors choose a particular area to collect, while others prefer a more eclectic approach and many have a little of everything! I like to break down my artwork into two subsets: Look at my talent and Tell Me what’s on your walls. what is your passion? I want to grab my viewers right away both emotionally and visually. I want my art to produce a positive and unforgettable “first impression. In other words, I try to prompt viewers to want to find out more about me and my work. I want to give viewers the opportunity to step into my world for a few minutes.”

Peter is also a member of Artists’ Link in Memphis.
Website: www.etsy.com/shop/fancifullart
Website: www.artquid.com/artist/fancifullart/peter-melonas

(
(Photo by Steve Roberts)

Theatre Memphis
630 Perkins Extd.
Memphis, Tennessee 38117
www.theatrememphis.org/

Peter will be set up at the Memphis Public Libraries’ Comic Con at the main Poplar Ave. branch on May 6th.

Happy 4/20 Day…Read ’em If Ya Got ’em- Download “Stoned Ninja Comics” For A Buck If Ya Don’t!

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STONEDNINJA.COM 4/20 SALE NOW THRU SATURDAY 4/22!
Any purchase of $10 or more will automatically receive 10% off their purchase.

 

All DIGITAL COPIES of STONED NINJA: A NEW STRAIN OF HERO are ONLY $1 all month long.* http://stoned.ninja/
*while supplies last

 

Stoned Ninja was created by writer Gabriel DeRanzo and artist Greg Cravens. Originally Stoned Ninja was an after hours bar story that Gabe would tell friends, about a ninja who discovers a mystical strain of weed that gives him super human abilities. When they met, Greg brought the character to life by putting a cannabis twist on the classic ninja look. Stay tuned for more exciting stories!

Kazunori Takagi (Kazu) uses a secret mystical strain of cannabis to enhance his ninja skills and become the ninjalante hero known as Stoned Ninja!

If you happen to stop by either 901 Comics locations (Cooper-Young/Midtown or Macon Rd./Cordova) you can pick up physical copies of Stoned Ninja, along with many other locally produced comics.

www.stoned.ninja/

MSCA Members Revealed To Be Pod-People!

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As of this week, two more MSCA members were revealed to be pod-people..! Well, actually they were guests on the “Drawing Funny” podcast.

I recorded two episodes recently while out in the back gallery room at 901 Comics East in Codova, TN.

The first of the two comics conversations was with artist/teacher Katie Jones after the MSCA’s March Sat-Art-Day.

The following day I met back out there with Devin Hodges, the creator of the comic series “The Common Days Of Cade“.

You can check out the episodes on the players above, at www(dot)drawingfunny(dot)com, or on most podcast platforms such as Apple and Spotify.

If you’d like to join us at one of our Sat-Art-Days and/or Drink-N-Draw nights at 901 Comics East please do. All ages are welcome, but if you aren’t old enough to drive please have a parent bring you.

You can bring your own sketchbook and art supplies, or use some of ours.

Lin

 

 

901 Comics East: 8551 Macon Rd, Cordova, TN 38018

The MSCA Will Be “Drawing Blood” At GCT This Fall!

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It’s official- the MSCA will be back at the Germantown Community Theatre this fall and our art show will be “Drawing Blood” – our third show at GCT.

This art show will have “bite” and run in conjustion with their performance of “Dracula: The Bloody Truth” from October 27 – November 12.

The art show will not only be Dracula themed art, but anything horror or Halloween in general- a subject I love and am very familiar with!

We will have a costume optional opening reception in October, so “stay tooned” for more info on it and how to be a part of the art show.

You can join aour mailing list at midsouthcartoonists (at) gmail (dot) com, follow our social media accounts on Facebook or Instagram, or listen to our “Drawing Funny” podcast at www.drawingfunny.com.

Our recent “SPAMalittle: Knights Of The Drawing Table” art show in their lobby was a huge success, and a few of the pieces sold before the show officially opened!

You can count on this next MSCA art show to be batastic..!

Lin

MSCA Art Day in May at Woodruff Fontaine House Museum

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From MSCA president Kevin L. Williams:

 

Greetings Digital Doodlers, Ink Slingers, Pencil Pushers, Wordsmiths, Collectors and Enthusiasts,

Sunday, May 21, 2023, from Noon-4pm our friends at the Woodruff Fontaine House Museum have invited the Mid-South Cartoonists Association to come draw at the museum.

 

It’s a great time to practice drawing architecture, still-life, portraits, flowers, photography, and more, inside and out.

The museum is located at 680 Adams Ave., Memphis, TN 38105 (near the  medical district and Sun Studios).
https://goo.gl/maps/Jr1TGEcyGLAmLY2v5

ABOUT WOODRUFF FONTAINE HOUSE MUSEUM

This Victorian era mansion was completed in 1871, has been through the Woodruff and Fontaine families, seen multiple wars and pandemics such as Yellow Fever, and once even served as the first version of the Memphis College of Art. After having been reconstructed by the Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities it has become the beautiful place presented today!

 

You can find out more about the Woodruff Fontaine House Museum at:
https://www.woodruff-fontaine.org/

ENTRY FEE AND ART SALES

Free entry for MSCA members this day only (donations to the museum are welcome). When you arrive, just let them know you’re with the MSCA. Art created this day can be sold as prints (or originals) by the house on a consignment (25% to the museum), so we hope to offer the museum a few of our pieces that they can sell – they are a 501c3 for tax-minded people. {General admission is typically $16 (membership for the year is only $30).} The Woodruff Fontaine House has been good friends to the Mid-South Cartoonists Association (and I’ve served on the board and am a long-time member of the museum). I think you’ll enjoy all the art opportunities you can find there in its many beautiful details!

HOUSEKEEPING RULES

Keep in mind, the furniture, flooring, everything about the property is vintage Victorian, so we want to be sure we’re super-duper respective of the property and keep it as clean as possible. We can’t sit on the furniture, but we can sit on the floors (small stools or camping chairs are OK). Also, because it is a living museum with regular operating hours, be sure to position yourself in areas that tourists can easily navigate the halls and rooms of the museum.

Indoors, feel free to bring your sketch books and sketch pads, pencils, colored pencils, ink pens/brush pens, Copics, markers, cameras, tablets, and erasers (keep the eraser dust cleaned up, please). Inside, we don’t want to use inks, brushes, paints – nothing that can stain, spill, or splatter.

Outside, feel free to set up your easels, canvases, paints, ink and brushes, pastels, but if you use paints/watercolor bring along a drop cloth/tarp to work on and be cautious of your surroundings.

This will be a great event for artists to practice with architecture, still life, portraits, photography, and more!

Kevin

BTW – any “Young Rock” fans may recognize this part of the WFH grounds…the Gjelgjuighm coffee shop is the Woodruff Fontaine carriage house!

The MSCA On Display At The Tennessee Valley Museum of Art

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“Pop! The Art of Comics” exhibit at The Tennessee Valley Museum of Art in Tuscumbia, AL.

The exhibit covers comics history and notable comic artists and spotlights works by the Mid-South Cartoonists Association (MSCA) and the late Hanther, a comic artist from McNairy County, TN.

TVMA will hold a number of comics related events over the six-week run of the exhibition, including some movie nights. Be sure to keep track of them to find out more – tennesseevalleyarts.org.

Thanks to Brent Bonds and the Tishomingo Arts Council for getting us involved with the art exhibit (and thanks to Brent for the photos and transporting the art).

Some of us in the MSCA may make a roud trip over to see it if we can work out all the travel arrangements. Keep an eye out for an email about it, or contact MSCA prez Kevin L. Williams at midsouthcartoonists (at) gmail (dot) com.

Below is the press release….

MSCA: Comics Art Exhibition at the TN Valley Museum of Art

The Mid-South Cartoonists Association (MSCA) is proud to announce that member art is on display in the Tennessee Valley Museum of Art (TVMA) from March 18 – April 29, 2023.  The broader display will include pieces of original, vintage comics by Christopher Hanther of Marvel Comics, as well as MSCA members’ finished sequential art and process pieces from published pages of comic books and graphic novels and comic strips, to pieces used to propose projects.

Comics Art Exhibition

MARCH 18 – APRIL 29

This exhibition will explore comic book and sequential artwork. It will feature the comic illustrations of Christopher Hanther, who worked for Marvel Comics and illustrated the long-running comic Tandra. Learn more about Christopher Hanther in this video by the Tishomingo Arts Council: www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1221636025029324

Exhibition hours: Tuesday-Friday 9am-5pm, Saturday 10am-5pm

Admission: $5 for adults, $3 for students, and free for TVAA members

The TVMA is located at 511 W Water Street, Tuscumbia, AL 35674

tennesseevalleyarts.org/events/comics-art-exhibition/
www.facebook.com/TheTVMA
This Tandra comic cover was painted by Memphis artist David Porch. The shirtless guy on the left was modled by the MSCA’s Greg Cravens, and the large alien with the cape was me (Lin Workman). The photoshoot for the reference pics was held in the garage of The Wild Hare on Mt. Moriah back in the ’90s.

Bluff City Life In The 901

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On Thursday, March 9th the MSCA’s Greg Cravens and myself (Lin Workman) stopped by the WMC TV5 studios to record a couple segments for thier show “Bluff City Life” with host Gina Neely.

MSCA president Kevin L. Willams was on “Bluff City Life“ back during the pandemic (3/29/22) to discuss the MSCA’s 35 anniversary with then host Andy Mannis. (You can watch the interview by clicking here.)

We were there to talk about our upcoming events, like our monthly dinner meeting in April at Garibaldi’s Pizza, and our Drink-N-Draw and Sat-Art-Day at 901 Comics East.

I dropped off a promo pizza box press kit to the station the week before on my way out to the “Spamalittle” art show reception at GCT.

We got to the station a bit after noon, and waited up front with Jamie from the Memphis Public Libraries. We met Gina in the lobby, then hung out in the “green room” for a few minutes with the other guest on the show, designer David Quarles IV and his Chasing Paper Wallpaper associates.

It was strange to be in the studio…there were no camera operators on the news floor. The cameras were all operated remotely in the contol room, and Gina and her assistant were in contact with the director via ear buds.

And the studio was a lot greener than the actual green room! This was the big green screen for doing the Action News 5 weather.

While waiting out front Greg did a quick sketch of Jamie who was there to talk about the Memphis Public Libraries‘ “5 Fridays Of Jazz” events.

Greg warmed up a bit before our segment by doing a quick caricature of Gina while sitting off camera.

Greg got his start as a caricature artist at Opryland in Nashville, TN back in the ’80s.

Notice that Greg lettered this comic strip first before drawing in the figure.

Greg did this comic strip of Gina while off camera after our segment so it didn’t make it on the show.

Thanks to Gina and her crew at TV5. We had a lot of fun in the two or so hours we were there. Hope to get to be back on again later.

The show aired on Tuesday the 14th at noon on Channel 5 here in Memphis, and uou can watch on their site by clicking the links below..

Part 1:
https://www.actionnews5.com/video/2023/03/14/bluff-city-life-tuesday-14-march-pt-4-8/

Part 2:
https://www.actionnews5.com/video/2023/03/14/bluff-city-life-tuesday-14-march-pt-5-8/

The following night we had our latest Drink-N-Draw where as you may suspect, we drink and we draw.

The gang were hanging out in the back gallery room at 901 Comics East out on Macon Road.

We had a great turnout again for this event, and the weather outside was nice and were able to draw with the lights on inside this time.

Jake did some more sketchcard mash-ups…

And I did another Muppets sketcard.

First time attendee Jose’ handed out some great promo business cards.

Our next Drink-N-Draw will be on Wednesday, April 26th from 6-8pm. It’s free and open to the public, but bring a few bucks if you’d like something to drink and/or eat.

Our next MSCA monthly dinner meet-up at Garibaldi’s Pizza on Tuesday, April 4th from 6-8pm. Same as the Drink-N-Draw, it’s free to attend but bring your wallet if you’d like to order off the menu.

Our next Sat-Art-Day at 901 Comics East is this Saturday, March 25th from 10-2.

You never know who’s gonna show up at our events!

Lin