Trees & Hills Comic Group

THIS IS THE OLD TREES AND HILLS BLOG!

2008-05-01T21:04:00.000-04:00

This is the old "Blogger" version of Trees and Hills. For current news and links, you should visit our current site:

The Shop Is Back

2008-03-22T22:37:00.004-04:00

The Trees & Hills Distro is back online! Sorry the renovations took so long; it wasn't too much work, but some personal matters tore my attention away for a while. Anyway, now the world may once more purchase the minicomics of our fair region from one convenient online location.

New features!
- A Store Finder listing shops that have been known to carry our work.
- Comments - Post reviews of the minicomics!
- Artist List in menu, so you can see who we stock & what we have by them more easily.
- Individual product pages so you can link to a specific item you want to tell someone about instead of hoping they find it on the site.
- Bigger cover images! Well, actually they're still pretty small, but as I scan and upload new comics, you'll be able to click the thumbnail for a larger view.

The distro's website has lagged behind what we actually have in stock for some time, but now those items are finally finding their way to the site. The first "new" items in stock are Booty #20 by Anne Thalheimer and A Taste Of Paradise by Megan Baehr. Yay! More comics will be joining the online stock in the weeks to come.

You may notice that some items are marked "out of stock" - why the heck did I bother posting them? Well, after I got the site back up, Hub Comics in Somerville, MA ("the comics shop for NPR listeners") ordered a bunch of minis! Which caused some things to run out, and made me realize some thing were already gone (whoops!). Anyway, if you live near Somerville, definitely check out Hub Comics, because they clearly love good comics. Thanks, Hub!

The main site here is next up for an overhaul. I'm planning to take a single day to do most of the work, though, so it shouldn't be a lingering process.

Trees & Hills drawing party at CCS from Feb. 23

2008-03-04T17:52:00.003-05:00

Cat Garza of White River Junction, Vt. works on the latest installment of his "Year of the Rat" comic as he snacks.

Here's a view of the main teaching room at the Center for Cartoon Studies.

Megan Baehr of Putney, Vt. colors one of her comics.

Trees & Hills/ CCS drawing party Feb. 23

2008-02-17T00:14:00.001-05:00

Cartooning Party at CCS
with Trees & Hills Comics Group

Saturday February 23rd, 1-5pm

Join the Trees & Hills comics group and students from the Center for Cartoon Studies for a social cartooning party at the White River Junction, Vt. school. Bring your art supplies and come ready to draw!

This event is co-hosted by the Trees and Hills Comics Group, a collective of cartoonists and other comic creators from New Hampshire, Vermont, and Western Massachusetts. CCS is a two-year college dedicated to the study of comics and visual narrative.

The event is open to the public, although we ask that you be over 18 years of age and RSVP. The school can be found at 94 South Main Street in WRJ, Vt. Please contact Roby Chapman at chapman@cartoonstudies.org or (802) 295-3319 to RSVP.

Light snakes and refreshments will be served at the party and we ask that you help out our hungry bellies by bringing something tasty to share too.

For more information on Trees & Hills, visit www.treesandhills.org

First wave of Hourly Comics highlights

2008-02-02T10:51:00.000-05:00

Hourly Comics Day has come and gone! I'm lazy and I haven't scanned my comics from yesterday in yet. And Colin Tedford will hopefully be posting his soon too. Until then, here's a few hourly comics from Trees & Hills folks and a few other we like a lot.

(The art above is from Tim Hulsizer's comic this year)

Tim Hulsizer (NSFW)

Lucy Knisley

Dean Trippe

Box Brown

John Campbell

Hourly Comic Day

2008-01-29T00:49:00.000-05:00

It's time once again for Hourly Comic Day! On February 1, cartoonists around the world will draw a journal comic for each hour they are awake. Here's the skinny from Hourly Comic inventor John Campbell:

"THE GUIDELINES:

-for every hour that you are awake on february first (that's february first for whatever time zone you happen to be in), you make a comic describing something about the past hour. maybe you ate some cereal? maybe you used the restroom?

-say you wake up at 7am. make a comic some time before it becomes 8am! then after 8am, make a comic before it becomes 9am! it is pretty simple.

-when you are done, scan the comics in and post them on the message board (this year's will be HERE, and previous years went HERE and HERE.) , so we can all look at each other's days. i think that will be neat!"

Free Stuff Maybe We Can Use

2008-01-25T20:54:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to post a few FREE tools that have come up recently, since they might be of use to hard-working (penny-pinching) comics creators:

http://bananalbum.com/ = A graphics portfolio tool currently in vogue with the Cowboy Orange gang. It gives a lovely smooth presentation of your graphics, but is it searchable by other sites?
http://www.digication.com/ = Online portfolios, mostly used by art schools and for some other educational applications. Potentially good for clear, simple, easily navigable graphical presentations.
http://www.google.com/analytics/ = This is some really cool site traffic software! You sign up, add some code to your site's pages, then sit back and watch your visitors crawl around... They'll also help you set "goal" pages that you want to make sure people tend to visit. Intriguing for the online promotion biz! (Alec Longstreth blogged it recently, so you know it's the real thing.)
http://www.google.com/calendar/ = I just have to mention this, too. Colin's right. It's awesome.

I'm interested in these sorts of tools, because they could be really useful for community groups and schools and kids who want to promote and publish their grassroots comics efforts.

What are some other tools out there that we should know about?

Hilary Price Book Event; Website Reconstruction

2008-01-18T18:53:00.000-05:00

Western Massachusetts cartoonist Hilary Price will present her new book Pithy Seedy Juicy Pulpy at Broadside Books in Northampton, MA at 7pm on Tuesday, January 22. The book compiles many of her syndicated Rhymes With Orange strips, along with a mighty multitude of extras.

The Trees & Hills Comics Distro is under reconstruction; unrelated troubles caused some delays, but I'm hoping to have it finished and up to date soon (maybe within a week or so). When that's done, I'll begin work on the main site. Marek Bennett has been bubbling and frothing (so to speak) with blogging ideas, so the new, not-yet-entirely-settled-upon look will be more of a change than originally planned. If you have any suggestions, send them to treesandhills at gmail dot org.

Megan Baehr also recently redesigned her website, hopping on the WordPress bandwagon. Where will this madness end?!

Happy New Year!

2008-01-02T12:56:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone is having a nice 2008 so far. Marek Bennett has redesigned his website around the popular Wordpress blogging platform, and now has individual feeds for Mimi's Doughnuts and his comics workshops. You may notice several of those entries in the trusty T&H Blogwatch Box right here; that's because sometimes when you add a new feed to Google Reader, it treats all the existing posts as brand new. C'est la vie...

The Trees & Hills website is due for a makeover as well. I'll be working on this, also using Wordpress, and hope to have it done this month. I think I am going to convert the distro first, then the rest of the site. As with any construction project, things may go wonky for a little while, so please bear with us. It'll be much nicer in the end, though!

Sketches From The Stars & Skulls Craft Fair

2007-12-10T22:18:00.000-05:00

The Stars & Skulls Crafty Craft Fair (in Holyoke, MA Dec. 2) was fun, and I sold a decent amount of comics. Nice people fed me weird chocolates, and other nice people fed me soup. I saw three mohawks, two of which appear below (the little kid wandered off too quickly). Here are some sketches from that day, for those of you who weren't there:

New Stars Release Party Sketches

2007-12-09T23:19:00.000-05:00

I don't have a camera, but I've finally starting sketching from life somewhat regularly, so here are some drawings from the New Stars release party at Comic Boom. We have: pastries Dan Barlow brought (sent by Phayvanh Luekhamhan), Marek Bennett making music, the Sputnik pinata, and Comic Boom owner Corey Milotte doing important work.

"New Stars" Launch Party Photos

2007-11-20T21:05:00.000-05:00

Presenting some unofficial PHOTOS from the event!

Here, Colin & Megan deal with a big crowd around the display table...

And here, the chief architects of the Trees and Hills Sputnik Project reveal their handiwork to the press. The elegant basketball-sized device boasts a gleaming aluminum coating, and a core of unknown composition, possibly enriched candy.

Thanks to Keene's own COMIC BOOM for hosting the event!

Next Appearance: Stars & Skulls Craft Fair 12/1

2007-11-20T14:58:00.000-05:00

Moving on from the release party (though photos & sketches should appear at some point), Trees & Hills will have a table at the Stars & Skulls Crafty Craft Fair Saturday, December 1 from 10am-5pm at the American Legion Hall, 162 Russell St., Hadley, MA. Anne Thalheimer and (I think) E.J. Barnes will also have tables.

T&H Sputnik Moves to Launch Pad

2007-11-14T23:31:00.001-05:00

Technicians used a complex system of home-made cat toys to hoist this ponderous device into position for Saturday's launch.

Trees and Hills Build Satellite

2007-11-11T17:21:00.000-05:00

Here are some photos of confirmed Trees and Hills operative Dr. Colin Tedford, hard at work in an undisclosed laboratory location.

Authorities believe Dr. Tedford is constructing some sort of satellite for next weekend's New Stars Release Party!

An anonymous source within the Trees and Hills command hierarchy insists that Dr. Tedford's aims are "totally, totally peaceful... Well, okay, maybe he's gonna fill the satellite with treats and have someone whack it with a stick, but otherwise, TOTALLY peaceful." The same source later confided that Dr. Tedford had contracted with several agencies to purchase Papier Mache technology, and that Trees and Hills agents had collected scrap newspapers from local grocery stores.

How much more evidence do we need?

NEW STARS Release Party!

2007-11-10T13:05:00.000-05:00

Come on out and celebrate our newest anthology at Keene, NH's newest comic shop this coming Saturday!

Also remember to check out our calendar for all the other cool doings, like the monthly Pioneer Valley Comic & Cartoon Schmooze coming up November 13.

In other news: I redesigned my website! Trees & Hills is next.

LitGraphic Exhibit in Stockbridge, MA

2007-11-03T18:22:00.000-04:00

Hey, everybody! While you're cruising all the big art exhibit openings in Massachusetts on Saturday, November 10th, you can cruise on over the the Norman Rockwell Museum!

Illustration Show

2007-11-02T18:39:00.001-04:00

Anthology Lead & Free Photocopiers

2007-11-01T00:53:00.001-04:00

I've just received word of a new quarterly quarter-size anthology called Candy Or Medicine, edited by Josh Blair - not produced in our region, but looking for submissions. Deadline for the next issue is December 10; submission guidelines are here, and you can order Volume One here.

In other news, if you feel you have space for a photocopier, check out the free ones in this NH Craigslist listing, or email me (colintedford at gmail dot com) about the one I rashly got on Freecycle that's too big for my tiny living space. Makes me wish we had a Trees & Hills studio!

Vermont cartoonist Ed Koren honored by state leaders

2007-10-28T12:12:00.001-04:00

I had a great time Friday evening at the ceremony to honor New Yorker cartoonist Ed Koren.

October 27, 2007

By Daniel Barlow Vermont Press Bureau

MONTPELIER – Amid a stream of congratulations, playful verbal jabs and thunderous applause, Edward Koren became the first cartoonist to be given the Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts Friday evening.

Koren, a Brookfield resident who has drawn cartoons for the New Yorker magazine for four decades, was praised at the Vermont Statehouse by Gov. James Douglas, U.S. Rep. Peter Welch and others for his ability to poke fun at modern life in Vermont in his single-panel creations.

As Koren prepared to take the crowd of nearly 200 people gathered in the House chambers through a sampling of his rustic cartoons, he noted that he has always been suspicious of awards that involve the words excellence and the arts.

"That is, until right now," he quipped.

Presenters and speakers mined Koren's talent of drawing hairy and furry monsters in his cartoons and his strong civic mind, including his ongoing stint as a member of Brookfield's volunteer fire department.

Margaret "Peggy" Kannenstine, the chair of the Vermont Arts Council board of trustees, joked that she was happy to "honor the most renowned firefighter from Brookfield."

She went on to mention that Koren is part of the growing community of cartoonists who call Vermont home, noting that two years ago the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction opened its doors.

"It feels good to have welcomed Mr. [Garry] Trudeau to Vermont in the same week that we are honoring Ed Koren today," Kannenstine said, referring to the Doonesbury cartoonist who held a fundraiser at Junction opened its doors.

"It feels good to have welcomed Mr. [Garry] Trudeau to Vermont in the same week that we are honoring Ed Koren today," Kannenstine said, referring to the Doonesbury cartoonist who held a fundraiser at CCS on Monday.

Letters from Vermont's two U.S. senators were read by staff members to congratulate Koren. Sen. Patrick Leahy's letter noted that Koren is "clearly the most talented artist in the Brookfield Fire Department." Sen. Bernard Sanders' letter called him a "cartoonist of the first order."

Welch, Vermont's freshman representative, attended the event and noted that he was proud to hang a Koren original in his Washington, D.C., office, which was given to him soon after his election to the office last year.

Welch, without describing the cartoon, said that it is "provocative and politically incendiary" and that anyone who wants to see it is free to "come down and take a look."

He then praised Koren's cartoons for giving people a "greater understanding of who we are together."

Tunbridge filmmaker John O'Brien, a close friend of Koren's, upped the humor ante in his remarks, which included showing off early nudes that Koren had drawn at the dawn of his career and reading from a paperback science fiction novel that shares its title with Koren's last name.

In his remarks just before Koren was awarded the prize, Douglas, who picks the winner based on recommendations from the Vermont Arts Council, noted that he was "no stranger to cartoons," especially those that satirize him and appear in local newspapers during legislative sessions.

When he discovered there was a cartoonist among the award candidates, he prepared his "trusty pair of scissors" to remove him from the list, Douglas joked – until he found out that cartoonist was one of Brookfield's most famous residents.

"Ed's work is a classic reminder of what it means to live in Vermont and be a neighbor," Douglas said.

Koren, who read punch lines from more than a dozen of his cartoons that were displayed on an overhead screen in the House chambers, spoke very little during the ceremony.

But he beamed with pride and smiled strongly as he and his wife, Curtis Koren, sat near the speaker's podium.

"I don't think I would be here today if I was an editorial cartoonist," he told the crowd, which, as expected, exploded with laughter.

Koren joins other luminaries who have received the Arts award since it was first offered in 1967, including writers David Mamet, Grace Paley and Howard Frank Mosher, and filmmaker Jay Craven.

Contact Daniel Barlow at Daniel.Barlow@timesargus.com

A Few Quick Notes of Interest

2007-10-25T23:04:00.000-04:00

Burlington artist Gregory Giordano – who did that fantastic NEW STARS cover for us – landed the cover of Seven Days this week, Vermont's large alternative weekly, with a Halloween-themed cover. Giordano went the extra mile to get a mention of the Sputnik-theme anthology comic and the Trees & Hills comics group in his bio that the paper published! These are just a few of the reasons we love him.

Congratulations to CCS grad Colleen Frakes , who returned to Vermont from SPX last week to discover that she has been awarded an Xeric Grant. Frakes plans to use the grant to publish a collection of her awesome mini-comic TRAGIC RELIEF for MoCCA 2008.

In case you didn't hear: Doonesbury cartoonist Garry Trudeau came to the Center for Cartoon Studies! Here's the Associated Press story about him speaking to the students there and here's my story for the Rutland Herald and the Times Argus on his lecture he gave that evening to a sold-out crowd of 250.

Keene, N.H. Cartoonist Tim Hulsizer, the fine artist of the first issue of $ELL OUTS, first issue out in March 2008, has posted rare strips that Calvin and Hobbes creator Bill Watterson did for his college newspaper. His find has been linked by Heidi MacDonald's The Beat, BoingBoing and others. But we all know Tim is really just upping the ante for me to post the Frank Miller high school newspaper strips that I have.

There's a few Trees & Hills members that also appear in the new DEAD MAN'S HAND anthology ,published by Tree Fort Press, a new publishing group that has formed in the CCS community in the White River Junction, Vt. area. The square-bound book looks great and is shock full of western comics, including a new story by Stephen R. Bissette. Other notable contributors include Morgan Pielli, Cat Garza, Bryan Stone, Colleen Frakes, Megan Baehr and a story written by myself and drawn by Bill Couture!

If you meet Edward Koren, you may end up in The New Yorker

2007-10-25T20:48:00.000-04:00

Between the publication of NEW STARS and my trip to SPX, I totally forgot to post my recent profile of Vermont cartoonist Edward Koren.

For 40 years, Koren has been one of the most popular NEW YORKER cartoonists to draw comics in a small single box. He's receiving the Governor's Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of, er, I mean the Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts at the Statehouse in Montpelier, Vt.

I'll probably be covering that ceremont tomorrow night too. Anyway, this was published in the Times Argus and the Rutland Herald on Oct. 7. Ed left me a nice message a few days after it ran, saying the profile was "more flattering than [he] deserves."

By DANIEL BARLOW
Vermont Press Bureau
Photo: Stefan Hard

Edward Koren's little creatures – furry, monstrous things with horns, large teeth and wide eyes – are all over his home in the quiet, off-the-beaten-path village of Brookfield.

They're printed on the tiles of his kitchen counter and they hang in numerous portraits on the walls.

He's drawn them on scraps of paper that are now stuffed in the corners of his busy art studio and has carved them from wood, giving these little monsters a three-dimensional, lifelike quality.

"They're extreme, they're aggressive, they're horripilations," Koren says with a sharp smile when asked to describe the unidentifiable creatures that often pop up in his single-panel cartoons.

Just don't call them cute.

"I hate the word 'cute,'" he says, adding that he sees the creatures as extreme and fierce representations of regular people. "It's a quick read of a subject that is far more nuanced. They're not cute, they are complex."

Despite his contempt for the blandly endearing, Koren – who has spent 45 years drawing cartoons for The New Yorker – is a chatty, likable and polite man whose comics, although satirical and pointed, could hardly be considered mean or menacing.

Koren, 71, started his career as a cartoonist in New York City, but nearly 30 years ago moved to a spacious 19th-century home in the heart of Brookfield, a central Vermont town of about 1,200 that is known mostly for a floating bridge rather than as the inspiration for one of the most celebrated cartoonists working today.

That geographical move has infused Koren's work with characters and quirks inspired by his new surroundings. Astute readers will notice Montpelier-area restaurants as settings or the name of a local school or community group on a character's shirt.

Koren will be honored for his artistic contributions when he is given the 2007 Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts this month.

"He really loves Vermont," says Mark Singer, a longtime New Yorker writer who befriended Koren more than 30 years ago. "Everyone knows that when you go to Vermont, you have to visit Ed. It's a state that he was really drawn to."

Koren was born in New York City and attended the private Horace Mann School and Columbia University, where he honed his cartooning skills while drawing for the college's humor magazine, a sort of 1950s version of the famous National Lampoon periodical.

At the time, Koren aimed his wit and pen at what he and some peers decided was the greatest threat to the academic institution: the college president's plan for students to volunteer part of their time in the community as a requirement for graduation.

Koren believed that would distract the students from their academic work, which he considered their mission there at the college.

"The proposal had the campus in an uproar," Koren remembers. "They had to shelve those plans, although I can't attest to the fact that we were responsible for that."

But his outlook on that issue has clearly changed over the years.

"I can see now that it was a very narrow vision that I had," he says. "Wisdom has caught up with me."

Today, Koren exemplifies the ideal Vermont citizen. For 19 years he has been a volunteer with the Brookfield Fire Department, including several years spent as its captain. He helped raise money to renovate the community's historic town hall and often donates art for fundraisers by organizations including Vermont Public Radio.

"Joining the fire department was one way of doing something for the community and getting to know the people here," he explains. "I've become friends with people I would probably have never interacted with in New York."

Koren got his artistic break in May 1962 when The New Yorker accepted one of his cartoons. This one featured a sloppy-looking writer, cigarette dangling from his lips, sitting before a typewriter. Printed on his sweatshirt is one word: Shakespeare.

"Let me explain that one," Koren says. "This was before people had slogans on their shirts. Everyone wore plain shirts."

That comic launched a lifetime freelance relationship between Koren and The New Yorker. After several years of continued publishing, he quit his teaching job at Brown University and devoted himself full-time to cartooning.

Koren says his art started out in a more traditional style. But over the years, in a move he says was more subconscious than intended, he developed the scratchy, etching-like style that he has become renowned for.

"Ed's style is unique, and that's really the only way to put it," Singer says. "No one has even tried, if they were smart, to replicate Ed's style and look."

In an era when cartoonists are now doing much of their work on computers, Koren still draws by hand, using pencil and pen, in his cluttered and darkened studio space on the first floor of the family home. He and his wife are now empty-nesters.

Koren says he is a constant doodler, and his art – drawn on scraps of paper or whatever else was handy at the time – sits in piles on the two drawing tables in the studio. Posters he created for benefit concerts 20 years ago are piled next to the art he drew just last week.

His bookshelf is filled with collections of famous and forgotten cartoonists; underneath his drawing tables are shelves full of his own work, nearly all of which he has kept over the years.

To fix his artistic mistakes, Koren uses an eraser nub and a razor blade, which can scratch out a regretted thin line. He also draws on paper too large to scan into a computer and instead mails his work to The New Yorker.

"I'm a draftsperson as much as I am an artist," he says. "This method has worked for me over my lifetime, and I don't plan on changing."

Koren's early comics focused on upper-middle-class life in the city. They still do sometimes, but his work now has a purely Vermont flavor — beat-up trucks with shaggy dogs riding in the back, overalls and baseball caps.

A 1989 drawing of his featured a suited businessman approaching two anglers by a stream in a beautiful Vermont setting. He asks, "Could you fellas tell me if there's anyplace around here where I could find a fax machine?"

"Ed was part of that whole world of people who moved to Vermont after the late '60s," says John O'Brien, the filmmaker behind the "Tunbridge Trilogy" who met Koren through mutual friends about 20 years ago. "He has really documented that perfectly in his cartoons, and when he skewers people for it, he's also poking fun at himself."

Koren says his cartoons can be appreciated both by the city types who are typical of The New Yorker's audience and his neighbors and friends here in Vermont. Similarly, he finds jokes in both conservative and liberal positions.

Asked about his political beliefs, Koren first describes himself as a "left-of-center Democrat, but not a full-blown Progressive." But he also describes himself as a social conservative.

"I'm concerned about sprawl, about development, about the lack of general education."

Wary of sounding like a cranky curmudgeon, Koren still says he is greatly concerned with what he calls "the general dumbing down of the population." It's disappointing that the younger generations are watching TV or playing video games instead of reading books, the local newspaper or, yes, cartoons, he says.

Although he knows some might still refer to him as a flatlander, Koren sees himself now as a true-blue Vermonter. He still returns to New York several times a year, yet says he doesn't feel at home anymore among the lights of the city.

While the place he calls home has changed, Koren's muse has not. People, as always, are his inspiration.

"What was funny to me then," he says about the subjects of his early work, "is still funny to me now."

Edward Koren will receive the 2007 Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts in a public ceremony Oct. 26 at 4 p.m. at the Statehouse in Montpelier. The award is given each year to a Vermont artist who has achieved national or international stature for advancing his or her art form.

CCS Portfolio Day

2007-10-25T17:28:00.001-04:00

THE CENTER FOR CARTOON STUDIES PORTFOLIO DAY Saturday, November 17, 10am-1pm

Show your portfolio for an admissions review, Learn more about the program and courses, Meet faculty and students, and Tour the campus!

Who should attend? Prospective students, Applicants, High School seniors and graduates, College students.

Location: The Center for Cartoon Studies, 94 South Main St., White River Junction, VT (directions) Questions? (802) 295-3319.

R.S.V.P. Space is limited! Contact Robyn Chapman: chapman at cartoonstudies dot org.

NEW STARS available in the shop!

2007-10-24T00:18:00.001-04:00

Trees & Hills latest anthology NEW STARS is now available for online purchase at Trees & Hills Comix Distro! The anthology debuted at SPX in October 2007, and since that month also marked the 50th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik, we took that as our theme. We're not some kind of fascists, though, so every piece didn't have to be about Sputnik itself - most of them do relate to space in some way, though. This all-ages anthology by the Trees & Hills Comic Group features an eye-popping full-color cover by Gregory Giordano and comics by Daniel Barlow, Marek Bennett, Miles Cota, Colleen Frakes, Cat Garza, Chris Grotke, Jade Harmon, Tim Hulsizer, Matt Levin, Keith Moriarty, Kathie Mullen, Raymond Prado, Matthew Reidsma, Colin Tedford, and Anne Thalheimer. 5.5" x 8.5", 52 pgs. $3.00

24 Hour Comics Day & Other News

2007-10-17T16:42:00.000-04:00

24 Hour Comics Day is coming up this Saturday October 20. If you would like to attempt the venerable challenge of creating 24 pages of comics in 24 hours, then here are the official event hosts (those that have registered at 24hourcomics.com) in our region:
-Artists' Mediums, 300 Cornerstone Dr. Williston, VT 05495 (802) 879-1236
-Center For Cartoon Studies, 94 S Main St. White River Jct, VT 05001 (802) 295-3319
-Modern Myths, 34 Bridge St. Northampton, MA 01060 (413) 582-6973

Time is running short to sign up for E.J. Barnes's non-credit workshop in Editorial Cartooning at Greenfield Community College! It runs We. 10/24 - We. 11/14, 6:30--8:30pm. It's for those who have some cartooning basics and will concentrate on aspects specific to editorial & political cartooning. The cost is $69 and will meet at GCC's Downtown Center in Greenfield, MA. The class code is CSW-183-2. Registrants under 17 require approval of the Dean of the Community Education Program. Registration info is here.

Vermont cartoonist Edward Koren, whose work has appeared in The New Yorker for 45 years, will be presented the Vermont Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts at a public ceremony to be held Oct. 26 at the Statehouse. Congratulations to him! You can read the full article at the Burlington Free Press.

We finally have a devoted Trees & Hills email address: treesandhills at gmail dot com. Also, I've managed to get our online calendar to display in a more sensible fashion, so email us if you'd like to be able to post events on it (also email us if you'd like to be able to post items to this blog).

CCS hosts 24-Hour Comics this weekend!

2007-10-17T11:27:00.000-04:00

Center for Cartoon Studies student Bryan Stone wrote in today to let us know that the school WILL BE hosting a 24-Hour Comic event this Saturday, Oct. 20 in White River Junction, Vt.

Start time is noon Saturday and the whole thing will finish by noon Sunday. I'm sitting this one out (still too tired from SPX), but I'm sure several other Trees & Hills regulars will be over there.

Back from SPX

2007-10-15T21:17:00.000-04:00

This was my first Small Press Expo in Maryland and I gotta say I'm impressed. Smaller and maybe less as quirky as MoCCA, the show still felt like busy, friendly and really, I dunno, happening and hip and other encouraging h words.

Elsewhere on the Internet, you can find all the pictures of gorillas winning Ignatzs and a brief, busy party called the Nerdlinger Awards with a bathtub full of ice and drinks, but these are the images that stick in my head for SPX 2007.

Thursday
Flew out of Manchester, N.H. And into Baltimore with Marek Bennett After a maze of buses and subways, got picked up in D.C. By his friend, Karen, who works over at a famous think tank. After the midnight tour of the city, we called it a night around 1 a.m. That would be the most sleep I get all weekend.

Friday
It was odd at first to be set up by 11 a.m. and then not have people start shuffling in for another three hours (the show, on the first day, began at 2 p.m.). Still, gave me time to say hello to a few people and eat an apple on the grass in the sun.

The Trees & Hills/ Mimi's Doughnuts table was near the front door, the first table in on one of the center aisles. Pretty great location, especially considering I Know Joe Kimball, the collective of Center for Cartoon Studies students and graduates who debuted the Dead Man's Hand western anthology (which I and several other Trees & Hills regulars are published in), were right next to us. The Center for Cartoon Studies was nearby too, along with the SUNDAYs collective, another group that has sprung from CCS.

We were debuting NEW STARS, our new mini-comic anthology with comics inspired by the Sputnik launch 50 years ago this month. Marek had a new copy of his Mimi's Doughnuts Zine, which also featured a story about Sputnik. We did a package deal of the two for $6 and that seemed to seal several sales.

Several times I had people come up to the table because they had heard about NEW STARS and sometime over the weekend Matthew Reidsma
sold out of all but one of his contributor copies because people just saw it at his table and wanted to buy it.

The book sold pretty well, I think, because of the hook of its theme (I'll forever have the pitch, which I probably repeated 1,000 times, stuck in my head) and because of the gorgeous cover image by Gregory Giordano

Tim Hulsizershowed up Friday afternoon with Meagan Frappiea, finally sealing the wonderful fact that I both had a hotel room there to sleep in and my own bed in that hotel room. Tim got me into a great party over in Sara Bauer's hotel room, who thankfully had a corkscrew for the two bottles of wine that I wanted to share with people.

One thing I noticed was the the attendees were mostly looking for square-bound collections of comics or graphic novels. We did well with out self-published mini-comic anthology, but even when I did my buying, it was more for the collected books of creators I know than new mini-comics, which I usually try to do at these events.

There just seemed to be so many cartoonists who last year had minis and this year had professional and beautiful collected books. Great for them and an interesting trend, I think, because I suddenly found myself spending money on say, Julia Wertz's FartParty collection from Atomic Press, than buying an armload of $3 minis from a bunch of great new creators I never heard of.

Saturday
We did great on the second day. Within the first three hours I had surpassed the previous day's sales. I bumped into The Beat's Heidi MacDonald and gave her a copy of NEW STARS. She told me she posted my press release a few days ago – it's right over here. I had no idea because I felt like I hadn't been on the Internet at that point since 1996.

I drank wine at the Ignatz Awards (Dead Man's Hand was nominated for the debut comic award!) and met comics writer Matt Rhodesand his wife, Shannon, with whom I would later spend a good part of the evening with chatting about Alan Moore, Amsterdam, tattoos and the nature of the universe. Somehow I ended up in Kevin Dixon's hotel room talking about Fats Domino and Alf.

Sunday

With a flight scheduled for the early evening, I only sat in on on the day's first panel on media and comics, which distributed vital info on things like sending your comic to a magazine to be reviewed or how long your press release should be. Already being in that biz, little was knew to me, but I did catch a glimpse of my Internet dream girl Whitney Mattheson, the blogger behind USA Today's Pop Candy.

SPX felt more social and even communal than MoCCA, mostly because this show is much smaller and is held in a hotel, where most of the exhibitors are staying too. It's also a really energizing convention; Marek and I chatted on the way home Sunday about future plans, both for our comics and the Trees & Hills comics group.

I know I'm going to forget people, but shout-outs to Dave Kender, the founder of The Boston Comics Roundtable and Bellen's Box Brown, two people I was hoping to spend more time with.

Next year: camera, blogging during the conventions, more comics for sale and a vow that I will go to bed at a decent time one of the nights.

Message from SPX

2007-10-13T18:59:00.000-04:00

ZZZZZZZZZTTTT!

Colin! Emergency! NEW STARS selling out!

KKKXXKKK-ZZZZTTT!

Huge crowds... milling about... must talk to every customer...

KKKKKKKKKKTTTT!

CCS Alumni holding our right flank... Much mob interest in their work, too... "Dead Man's Hand" nominated for Outstanding Debut Award...

Boston comics group also here in force... Must get to their table...

Dan going back to hotel room for reserve copies of anthology...

ZZZT!

"Field Guide" anthology also sold out! Marek sold out of ADULT MEDIUM T-shirts!

SEND REINFORCEMENTS BEFORE IT'S TOO LA---------

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZK****

First Reports

2007-10-12T23:17:00.000-04:00

Daniel Barlow has called in to report the good vibes so far at SPX - I imagine he'll have a full report when he returns. In the meantime, here's a look at the cover and table of contents of the NEW STARS anthology:

That eye-popping cover is by Gregory Giordano of Burlington, VT. If you're near Bethesda, drop in and pick up a copy at SPX! Otherwise it'll be available online next week, and at finer local retailers as we get it to them.

In honor of the new anthology, plans are afoot to revamp this site to make it easier to use and maintain, so we can keep it updated better; click here for a preview.

Off to SPX soon!

2007-10-10T16:28:00.000-04:00

I'll be at the Trees & Hills table at the Small Press Expo in Bethesda, Maryland Friday and Saturday. Mimi's Doughnuts' Marek Bennett will be there too.

NEW STARS, which is printing right now, will be available at table G1 for only three bucks. We're near the front doors, so hopefully you can find us!

Cat Garza in space! page two

2007-10-07T20:37:00.001-04:00

Cat Garza's space tale continues! Read the rest of the story - and more than a dozen others - in the NEW STARS anthology from the Trees & Hills comics group. On sale this week at SPX!

Cat Garza's space visions

2007-10-06T11:12:00.000-04:00

Here's page one of Cat Garza's contribution to NEW STARS, the Trees & Hills comics group's new anthology of work by New England creators inspired by the launch of Sputnik 50 years ago this month!

You can read the whole thing in NEW STARS, on sale next week at the Small Press Expo in Maryland. Only $3!

CCS' James Sturm talks about his new baseball comic

2007-10-05T13:27:00.000-04:00

Newsarama has an interview with Center for Cartoon Studies co-founder James Sturm about Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow, his new comic with Rich Tommaso. You can read it right here.

NEW STARS on sale at SPX next week!

2007-10-04T12:40:00.000-04:00

The final page of the NEW STARS anthology story by Dan Barlow, Keith Moriarty and Tim Hulsizer, the team that brings you $ELL OUTS. More than 50 pages of cartoons by New England folks inspired by the launch of Sputnik 50 years ago. On sale next week at SPX!

More weird space comics from the Trees & Hills comics group

2007-10-02T22:02:00.000-04:00

Page two of "The Cosmic Cocktail Conundrum" by Dan Barlow, Keith Moriarty and Tim Hulsizer. This is just one of more than a dozen comics that will appear in NEW STARS, a new mini-comics anthology published by the Trees & Hills comics group that will debut at SPX.

Trees & Hills previews NEW STARS anthology

2007-10-01T16:44:00.000-04:00

Just back from camping and I thought I'd post the first page to "The Cosmic Cocktail Conundrum," the story that will be printed in the new Trees & Hills anthology, NEW STARS, which we're publishing in time for the Small Press Expo later this month.

NEW STARS is our third anthology book and our first themed one. Full on promotion to begin this week. Tons of comics inspired by the 1957 launch of the Sputnik satellite, which kicked off the space race.

Other contributions to the book include Matthew Reidsma, Cat Garza, Marek Bennett and a host of others. 52 pages of comics by people from New England for only $3!

This comic is brought to you by the $ELL OUTS team of myself, Keith Moriarty and Tim Hulsizer. Two more pages to follow later. And for the comic smart people out there, yes, we did do that; letters of apology have been sent to Stan Lee and the family of Jack Kirby.

Local 24-Hour Comic events next month

2007-09-23T10:46:00.000-04:00

There is still no word yet if the Center for Cartoon Studies will be hosting another event, but if they don't here are a few that will.

Massachusetts:
Comicopia in Boston
That's Entertainment in Worcester
Modern Myths in Northampton

New Hampshire:
Double Midnight Comics in Manchester

Vermont:
Artists' Mediums in Williston

James Kochalka talks about comics, children's book and rock music

2007-09-22T13:14:00.000-04:00

I sat down with James Kochalka (American Elf) earlier this month at his home in Burlington, Vt. Here's the result, which ran in the Sunday Times Argus/ Rutland Herald on Sept. 16.

Cartoonist mines daily grind for new book, comics
September 16, 2007
By DANIEL BARLOW
Vermont Press Bureau
Photo by Jeb Wallace-Brodeur
BURLINGTON – "Squirrelly Gray" may not be the first book James Kochalka has written and drawn for children.

It may, however, be the first he's authored that will be read almost exclusively by kids.

"I think my other books intended for children were mostly read by my adult fans," said Kochalka, a popular indie cartoonist and musician from Burlington. "But I think this book will actually make it into the hands of kids."

The 40-year-old Kochalka, who has spent the last nine years drawing a daily cartoon diary about his life called "American Elf," has long straddled the creative line between entertainment for children and subversive adult humor.

But Kochalka had Eli, his 4-year-old son, in mind when he created "Squirrelly Gray," his first children's book, published last month by Random House. He was appalled by the limited number of books that held his son's interest.

"They're all too safe," he said. "Kids like a little danger and excitement."

More right here.

Trees & Hills announce details of new space-themed anthology!

2007-08-01T21:45:00.000-04:00

MONTPELIER, Vt. - On October 4th, 1957, the Soviet Union shot an object the size of a basketball into space. And the world was never the same again.

To celebrate the historic launch of the Sputnik satellite, the Trees & Hills comics group of Vermont, New Hampshire and western Massachusetts will publish a mini-comics anthology featuring cartoons inspired by the event that kicked off the space race.

The anthology book, the second one published by Trees & Hills this year, will be released in time for the 2007 Small Press Expo in Bethesda, Maryland in early October. The deadline for submissions is Sept. 19th and anyone interested should soon contact the group co-founders, Colin Tedford and Dan Barlow.

We're also looking for someone to arrange an awesome cover image for the book, which would obviously be eye-catching and cosmic. There is a strong chance that the cover will be screen-printed this time too! Anyone interested in drawing the cover, please let us know.

The size of the mini-comic anthology will be 5.5 x 8.5 inches and it will be black and white. We are mostly looking for work that would appeal to people of all ages, so if there is a question about content or style in your cartoon, please just ask us first.

All contributors will receive one copy of the comic per page of their work we publish and can buy further copies at cost. It will be for sale at conventions, on-line and at various retail outlets in the three states.

Also, please do not send original art! High-quality scans of the cartoons can be e-mailed to either Dan Barlow at barlowdaniel at gmail dot com or Colin Tedford at colintedford at gmail dot com. Snail mail photocopies can be sent to Colin Tedford, PO Box 645, Winchester, NH 03470 or Dan Barlow, 182 Main Street #2, Montpelier, VT 05602.

The Trees & Hills comics group formed at a 24-Hour Comic challenge in Brattleboro, Vt. nearly two years ago. Since then, the group has published two anthologies featuring new work by regional creators such as Stephen R. Bissette, Cat Garza, Marek Bennett and Colleen Frakes.

“Field Guide to Cartoonists,” the latest anthology, was released in June 2007 at the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art Festival in New York City. For more information, including the time and location of the group's next drawing party, please visit www.treesandhills.org

Another party + more MoCCA fallout

2007-07-27T00:13:00.000-04:00

Howard Cruse is launching a new free publication on August 1 - click the image for details on that day's launch party, sure to be remembered as a historic event! Read more about the origin of the Perp at Howard's blog.

While you're reading cartoonists's blogs, check out Marek Bennett's ongoing series chronicling his whirlwind summer teaching comics to kids over at his blog. Then head over to comics podcast Indie Spinner Rack to hear Marek interviewed during their MoCCA coverage. He's about an hour in, a ways after noted Vermont cartoonist Alison Bechdel (herself a prolific blogger, as you know if you've been watching our blogroll down to the right).

In case you missed it: The Trees & Hills release party

2007-07-22T22:21:00.000-04:00

The Trees & Hills anthology release party on Saturday was a blast! We took pictures the old-fashioned way, so it will be a few more days before they go up here on the site. But until then, here's a video of cartoonists Cat Garza and Marek Bennett jamming on the back porch of the Main Street Museum. They closed out the party!

OMG! Trees & Hills party is this Saturday!

2007-07-19T20:38:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone!

I just wanted to remind you about the Trees & Hills 2007 anthology release party at the Main Street Museum in White River Junction, Vt. this Saturday, July 21.

Cartoonists and other comic creators from all over the region will be celebrating the release of “Field Guide to Cartoonists.” The 52-page mini-comic anthology features new work by members of the comics group, including Stephen R. Bissette, Colleen Frakes, Cat Garza, Jennifer Omand and Ethan Slayton.

And everyone is welcome to join us! RSVPs, which are appreciated but not necessary, can be sent to barlowdaniel at gmail dot com

New Hampshire cartoonists Marek Bennett and Colin Tedford will be presenting their groovy musical sounds for everyone's delight, follow-up by a rocking set by Vermont-based Web comic pioneer Cat Garza and Center for Cartoon Studies fellow Gabby Schulz. Don't be surprised if they all just end of rocking the house at the same time.

In addition to having copies of “Field Guide” for sale (only $3) or trade, the Trees & Hills comics group will be announcing the details of their next anthology, which will come out in time for SPX 2007 in October.

The fun begins at 3 p.m. with a potluck. There is a $5 suggested donation at the door for the musicians. White River Junction's amazing and unparalleled Main Street Museum is located at 58 Bridge Street. Check them out at www.mainstreetmuseum.org

The whole darn thing will probably end around 6 p.m., followed by which some of us will retire to a nearby establishment to be merry some more.

The Trees & Hills comics group is a collective of comic creators from Vermont, New Hampshire and western Massachusetts. We formed two years ago during a comic drawing event at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center that challenged creators to draw a 24 page comic in 24 hours!

In addition to hosting monthly drawing parties for cartoonists, the Trees & Hills comics group publishes and distributes comics throughout the three states. The past year has seen the group featured at several comic conventions, including the 2007 MoCCA Art Festival in New York City.

For more information, please visit www.treesandhills.org

Vermont's cartooning school now offers MFAs

2007-07-16T23:00:00.000-04:00

The Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction was given the authority to grant MFA degrees by the state of Vermont. Astonishingly Awesome Reporter Dan Barlow (I think that's me) nabbed the story right here.

CCS student Bryan Stone - check him out at www.bryan-stone.com - drew a nice little cartoon to go with the story. Oddly, my editors asked me to find a student they could pay to draw it. Hopefully this becomes a regular occurance.

Trees & Hills anthology release party!

2007-07-10T20:52:00.001-04:00

WHITE RIVER JUNCTION – Harry Potter who?

To celebrate the release of a new anthology featuring nearly 20 new comics by regional cartoonists, the Trees & Hills comics group will be throwing a party at the Main Street Museum in White River Junction, Vt. on the afternoon of July 21.

Everyone is welcome to join us!

Trees & Hills members and friends will be celebrating the release last month of, “Field Guide to Cartoonists.” The 52-page mini-comic anthology features new work by members of the comics group, including Stephen R. Bissette, Colleen Frakes, Cat Garza, Jennifer Omand and Ethan Slayton.

The book costs only $3 and copies, along with other comics created by local creators, will be on sale.

While the rest of the world is face deep in a new book about some odd little British wizard, cartoonists, comic creators and fans will be partying in Central Vermont, creating and sharing comics and listening to several cool bands!

Performing at the party will be Marek Bennett, the N.H. Creator of the comic strip, “Mimi's Doughnuts.” Following his set will be Hot Hot Pie, a super group of cartoonists attending or living near the Center of Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vt.

The events begin at 3 p.m. with a potluck. There is a $5 suggested donation at the door for the musicians. White River Junction's amazing and unparalleled Main Street Museum is located at 58 Bridge Street. Check them out at www.mainstreetmuseum.org

The Trees & Hills comics group is a collective of comic creators from Vermont, New Hampshire and western Massachusetts. We formed two years ago during a comic drawing event at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center that challenged creators to draw a 24 page comic in 24 hours!

In addition to hosting monthly drawing parties for cartoonists, the Trees & Hills comics group publishes and distributes comics throughout the three states. The past year has seen the group featured at several comic conventions, including the 2007 MoCCA Art Festival in New York City.

For more information, please visit www.treesandhills.org

What the - ? Another blog?!?

2007-07-04T23:35:00.000-04:00

Yes, folks, it's official. I'm starting my own blog. I'm tired of watching all of you have all the bloggy fun! You can find me at http://marekbennett.blogspot.com/, where I'll do my best to keep you posted on all sorts of stuff related to comics and education and comics education. Your comments are appreciated!

On-deck for future posts will be my notes from MoCCA '07 (remember that?).

Trees & Hills makes its MoCCA debut!

2007-06-26T20:12:00.001-04:00

N.H. cartoonist Marek Bennett mans the Trees & Hills / Mimi's Doughnuts table at the 2007 MoCCA convention in New York City on June 23. Thanks to Matthew Reidsma for the photo.

We met a lot of people who previously had never heard of the Trees & Hills comics group. And we sold and gave away lots of comics, including our new 52-page anthology, Field Guide to Cartoonists of Vermont, New Hampshire and Western Massachusetts.

Trees & Hills members walked away from MoCCA 2007 tired and partly bruised, but with open eyes and excitement for the future. Here are a few thoughts, three days after the end of the show.

1)Location: The Trees & Hills/ Mimi's Doughnuts table was located on the seventh floor of the Puck Building, six floors up from the three other MoCCA rooms. This meant we got about one-fourth the traffic that the other floors saw, but the incoming natural light and breathing room turned our floor into a nice island away from the bustle of the convention.

Reviews are a bit mixed on this. Marek Bennett (Mimi's Doughnuts) preferred the location. But he's a true natural with relating to people and sold what appeared to be a good number of comics and a few shirts. Trees & Hills co-founder Colin Tedford and I felt that the access that the downstairs floor would have given us outweighed the nice, upper floor atmosphere.

2)Comics. We got Trees & Hills comics into a lot of fan's hands, including an editor at DC Vertigo, several small press publishers, The Beat's Heidi MacDonald (who later posted a picture of me and listed the anthology title on her blog), Brian Wood (a former Vermonter) and lots of others. This was clearly a success and at least one big indie publisher expressed interest in a graphic novel one of our cartoonists is working on and I was told by a major publisher that I should pitch to them.

3)Vermont Comics. The Green Mountain State was well represented. The Center for Cartoon Studies had two tables at the show and their SUNDAYS anthology sold out on, appropriately, Sunday, and was one of the true buzz books of the show. Rick Veitch (Army @ Love, Rare Bit Fiends) was right around the corner from our table and he had some nice original pages for sale. Alison Bechdel had a huge line for sketches, which nicely occurred directly behind our table.

We did expect to sell more comics. For me, the show did highlight the oddity that – at this level of the comics industry at least – we are almost all operating at a loss. But its the love that keeps us doing it, even if sales are fractions of costs.

Still, the networking and the crackling energy and excitement and the after parties (monsters dancing on stripper poles!) made it all worth every cent. On the second day of the show, I happily put down the $325 to lock in our table for next year.

Comics & Shop update - E.J. Barnes & Some Jams

2007-06-08T23:18:00.000-04:00

Two comics by E.J. Barnes are now available through Trees & Hills Comix Distro:

Tales Of The Ling Master Preview #1: The Bread-Doll Fancier and Tales Of The Ling Master Preview #3: The Squid Boys Of Terra Haute - both adaptations of the stories of "Blaster" Al Ackerman.

Trees & Hills will have a table (S32, upstairs) at the MoCCA Art Festival in NYC June 23-24 and E.J. Barnes will be there, too, selling comics from her own table!

E.J. also organizes the monthly Pioneer Valley Comic & Cartoon Schmooze in western MA (email art at ejbarnes dot com for more info) - you can see a small jam from last month's Schmooze as well as a couple other jams that happened in western MA in the Comics section.

Big Shop And Article Updates

2007-06-05T20:22:00.000-04:00

I'm pleased to announce that Colin's Comix Distro has finally grown into the Trees & Hills Comix Distro, an "official" organ of the group, with T&H cofounder Daniel Barlow of VT and cartoonist & columnist Anne Thalheimer of western MA coming on board - you can check it out via the 'Shop' link on the site menu. In honor of the changeover, I'm bringing the online stock up to date, starting with these comics by Marek Bennett:

The Making Of...24 Hour Comic, Mimi's Doughnuts #9 (Fall 2006), and Mimi's Doughnuts #10 (Winter 2006-7). Read an interview with Marek and a review of Mimi's Doughnuts #10 in our 'Articles' section. Marek will be at the Trees & Hills table (S32, upstairs) at MoCCA June 23-24 in NYC.

Also in the Shop, you can now acquire some comics by Matt Levin:

Matt takes the unique approach of mostly using and manipulating rubber stamp images to make his comics. We have Walking Man Comics Presents Special #34: Myths And Magic, WMCPS #7: New England Patriot, Musicomics #1: Sink Or Swim, Musicomics #7: You Know Who, and Musicomics #13: Saturday Dreams.

There are also more Articles: Stephen Bissette's interviews with Center For Cartoon Studies Fellow Gabby Schulz (aka "Ken Dahl") and CCS graduate Colleen Frakes, plus 2 more Fleen columns by Anne Thalheimer.

It's A Busy June!

2007-06-01T14:34:00.000-04:00

Our next cartooning party will not be on the 3rd Saturday of June, but rather the 2nd - June 9 from 1-5pm at the Center For Cartoon Studies, 94 S. Main St., White River Junction VT. Bring drawing supplies & snacks & prepare for good times! The Senior Thesis Exhibition will still be up, so it'll be a good chance to check the quality work of CCS's first graduating class. For more info or to RSVP, contact Robyn Chapman (chapman at cartoonstudies dot org).

The next monthly Pioneer Valley Comic & Cartoon Schmooze will be June 12 7pm at the Northampton Brewery in downtown Northampton, MA. Schmmoze, eat, drink & maybe draw w/the cool cartoonists & friends of the region! For more info or to RSVP, email E.J. Barnes (art at ejbarnes dot com).

That same night, Alison Bechdel will read from the new paperback version of her graphic memoir Fun Home at the Stowe Free Library in Stowe, VT. Then on June 21 she'll appear at 7pm at Everyone's Books, 25 Eliot St., Brattleboro VT. Don't miss it!

Trees & Hills will have a table at the MoCCA Art Festival indie comics convention June 23-4 11-6pm at the Puck Building, 293 Lafayette at Houston, New York City. The table will staffed by Daniel Barlow, Marek Bennett, and Colin Tedford, with appearances by various other T&H folk, and we'll have a new mini-anthology for sale! E.J. Barnes will also have a table, as likely will other folks from the region.

2007 anthology submission details

2007-04-18T11:04:00.000-04:00

Members of the Trees & Hills comics group (www.treesandhills.org) are proud to announce that we plan to publish a second anthology of work by regional creators early this summer.

Submission details for the new anthology are located near the bottom of this message.

In October 2006, the comics group published the 60-page opus, Trees & Hills & Friends anthology, which featured cartoons by over 20 creators from New Hampshire, Vermont and western Massachusetts.

The mini-comic, which featured work by Stephen R. Bissette, Cat Garza and Marek Bennett, has sold more than 100 copies. This total does not include the copies that we gave to contributors for their work, meaning there may be nearly 200 copies out there in circulation.

The release of that book capped the first year of operation for Trees & Hills, which was formed by NH cartoonist Colin Tedford and VT writer Dan Barlow following a large turnout to a 24-Hour Comic event just more than a year earlier in Brattleboro, Vt.

Publishing and distributing the anthology was the first major expansion for the group, which had since been focusing on holding semi-monthly drawing parties, managing a Web site and tabling at local comic book conventions.

Format: The 2007 anthology – which does not yet have a name – will be 5.5 x 8.5 inches with a one-color cover and black and white interiors. It will be a mini-comic; the same size width and length as the previous anthology.

Content: There will also be a change in the content we are looking for in this publication. This time around we are looking for all-ages contributions, whereas the first publication was a showcase of the talents of the many members of our group.

Now, we are hoping for a comic that children, teenagers and adults will all be able to enjoy.

Details: Every contributor will receive one copy of the book per page published. We’re looking for copies of the content; please do not send original art. If you live in Vermont, please send the contributions to barlowdaniel at gmail dot com and New Hampshire artists can send their work to colintedford at gmail dot com

Creators from Massachusetts can choose either Dan or Colin to send their artwork to.

Photocopies snail mail submissions can be sent to Colin Tedford, PO Box 645, Winchester, NH 03470 or Dan Barlow, 182 Main Street #2, Montpelier, VT 05602.

The submission deadline is Saturday, May 26.

Drawing Party @ CCS 4/7

2007-04-05T23:50:00.000-04:00

This coming Saturday, April 7 we will be having a drawing party at the Center For Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, VT from 1-5pm. There will be drawing, socializing, and snacking, as well as talk about projects and some T&H planning. It promises to be a swell time. The address is 94 South Main St; here's a link for directions. Please RSVP to Robyn Chapman (chapman at cartoonstudies dot org) if you plan to attend.

Extended Deadline / Boston Zine Fair

2007-03-22T13:05:00.000-04:00

The deadline for the Keene Free Comics TV Turnoff Week Special has been extended to the end of this month - email your submission to colintedford at gmail dot com (previously-drawn items are fine, as long as they fit in).

Also, don't forget to come see us and other fine cartoonists and zinesters at the Boston Zine Fair this weekend (March 24-5)!

TREES & HILLS SPRING TOUR

2007-03-12T23:11:00.000-04:00

In addition to the above events, 3/19 is the deadline for the Keene Free Comics TV Turnoff Week Edition, and 3/20 is the Pioneer Valley Comic & Cartoon Schmooze - click over to our fancy new Calendar for details on all these things.

In other news, I'd like to remind people we do have a forum - I wandered by it yesterday to find a February post from a Missouri resident who's assembling a 50-State Jam! Check it out if you'd like to participate (I call NH, though!)

Also, Part Two of the awesome HOURLY COMICS DAY CROSSOVER is up on the Comics page.

Comics & Events 3/2

2007-03-01T23:30:00.000-05:00

A month later, the first installment of the Trees & Hills Hourly Comics Day 2007 Crossover Event is up on the Comics page - more to follow! The strips's author, Tim Hulsizer, has just concluded his Charity Auction, raising enough money to purchase a water buffalo for the needy!

The Western MA Comics Creator's group meets at Modern Myths in Northampton, MA Tuesday 3/6 at 6:30pm - email Scott Sheaffer (kmacalp at aol dot com) for info.

The Fine Toon art show at the Helen Day Art Center in Stowe, VT runs through 3/31 and features art by Alison Bechdel, Stephen Bissette, Harry Bliss, Jeff Danziger, Gareth Hinds, James Kochalka, Edward Koren, Hal Mayforth, Frank Miller, Skip Morrow, Tim Newcomb, Rick Veitch, James Sturm, and more! The next T&H party might be cancelled due to St. Patrick's Day - how about a trip to Stowe instead?

Commons Comics Deadline

2007-02-27T22:32:00.000-05:00

If you are hoping to get your comic into the Brattleboro Commons, you need to get them to Jade Harmon (commonscomics at gmail dot com) by March 1 - see the call for submissions for details.

Hard Questions

2007-02-19T22:01:00.000-05:00

Steve Bissette asks hard questions about Trees & Hills.

CCS Portfolio Day

2007-02-18T23:00:00.000-05:00

The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS)
CCS PORTFOLIO DAY
SATURDAY, MARCH 3, 2007
10am-1pm

(click 'Full Article' below)

Bring your sketchbook!
Show your portfolio for an admissions review
Learn more about the program and courses
Meet faculty and students
Tour the campus

Who should attend?
Prospective students
Applicants
High School seniors and graduates
College students

Location:
The Center for Cartoon Studies
94 South Main Street
White River Junction, Vermont
Directions available online: http://www.cartoonstudies.org/wrj.html
Questions? (802) 295-3319
R.S.V.P. Space is limited!
Robyn Chapman
chapman@cartoonstudies.org.

About The Center for Cartoon Studies
The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS) offers a one and two-year course of
study designed for a small group of dedicated students with a passion and
appreciation for graphic novels, storytelling, writing, comics, and design.
Experienced and internationally recognized cartoonists, writers, and
designers will teach classes. For more information on CCS programs, visit:
http://www.cartoonstudies.org/programs.html

Monthly Drawing Party & More

2007-02-14T21:45:00.000-05:00

The monthly Trees & Hills drawing party (always the 3rd Sat. of each month except under extenuating circumstances) will be happening this Saturday 2/17 at Tim Hulsizer's house in Keene, NH; email Tim (escapevelocity at gmail dot com) for directions and other info.

Anne Thalheimer has a guest column up at Fleen - check it out! She uses fellow Pioneer Valley cartoonist Bryant Paul Johnson's work to discuss reading comics in different formats.

The Granite State Comicon will happen in Concord, NH on March 18; tables are $25, and some T&H folk have applied.

The Boston Zine Fair will happen March 24-25 in (of course) Boston, MA - which is outside our "territory", but T&H folk are applying for tables (a mere $15!).

I have all the Hourly Comics by T&H folk that I'm aware of (by me, Tim Hulsizer, and Anne Thalheimer), so once I've scanned Anne's I'll add those to our comics section. If you've done one I don't know about, let me know! I also still have a batch of artists to add to the links page.

Cartoons For Cats

2007-02-08T10:24:00.000-05:00

Saturday, February 10 (12-3pm) Marek Bennett will be drawing cartoons for the Monadnock Humane Society's cat adoption promo event. Come on by for discounted kitty adoptions (with free cat toys!)...

Brattleboro Commons Assembling Local Comics Page

2007-02-07T13:24:00.000-05:00

The Brattleboro Commons has just
given Jade Harmon the green light to seek out and organize local cartoonists
for a monthly comics page! She's working on the
details & "comics guidelines" now, but would like to start gathering
interest and strip examples/proposals from as many people as soon as possible.

• The paper is still free and very young: thus payment is not
guaranteed, but possible. (It will largely depend on Jade's ability to get
us page sponsors; please suggest any comics philanthropists who come
to mind...could it be You? Such an individual will be loudly
proclaimed on the page.)
• Space is being decided on, but anticipate to work 8" x 3" print size at the least.
• Content must be suitable for children, but not necessarily geared to
children. Gag comics are not necessary. Please see the current issue
of the paper and keep our audience
in mind. Nothing too experimental, please.
• The paper is produced monthly, so serial strips are discouraged at
this time. Comics can have consistent characters, situations, etc, but
should be able to exist on their own.
• Deadline-savvy cartoonists only, please.
• Submissions are sent electronically.
• Please send interest, comic descriptions, and samples to commonscomics at gmail dot com (ASAP)

Coming Events, Call For Submissions, New Comics

2007-02-04T23:04:00.000-05:00

The Calendar is finally updated! This month's events (see calendar for more details):

Tuesday 2/6 (6:30-8:30pm): Western MA Comic Creators' Group every 1st Tuesday (Northampton, MA).
Tuesday 2/6 (8:30-10:00pm): monthly Pioneer Valley Comics & Cartoon Schmooze (Northampton, MA).
Saturday, 2/17 (12-5pm): Trees & Hills Drawing Social every 3rd Saturday (Keene, NH).

Hourly Comic Day was swell. At least 3 T&H folk participated, and we'll show those comics off here when I have all three in hand. In the meantime, there are 2 more jams up in the Comics section.

Tim Hulsizer is running a comic art auction for charity; click here to donate art or money.

Keene Free Comics, long dormant, will walk the earth once more to honor TV Turnoff Week, which this year is April 23-29. This special issue of KFC will be 8.5" x 11", hopefully 12 pages, and will be aimed at a wide audience (including young folks). The deadline for submissions is March 18. (To contribute a comic and/or help print & distribute, contact: Colin Tedford, colintedford at gmail dot com)

Oh, No - Jams!

2007-01-30T23:06:00.000-05:00

The jams Anne Thalheimer & I did at the Trees & Hills And Friends release event last Wednesday are now in the Comics section for all to view. If you weren't there, you missed out on fun! And a chance to share germs.

Hourly Comics Day is this Thursday 2/1

2007-01-28T21:25:00.000-05:00

This Thursday February 1 is Hourly Comics Day, when John Campbell encourages all cartoonists to join him in creating hourly comics. The challenge: before each hour of the day passes, make a strip chronicling something about that hour. For more info and examples by John, follow the link above. For one that I did, click here.

We would like to post people's strips, so if you live in VT, NH or western MA and do one, please send scans or a link to colintedford at gmail dot com. Also, we encourage people to have get-togethers so their comics will "cross over". Have fun!

Vermont newspaper looking to hire cartoonist

2007-01-25T23:11:00.000-05:00

Our good friend Jade Harmon informed us this week that the Brattleboro Commons, a fiesty monthly newspaper in the southern Vermont town is looking to hire an editorial cartoonist.

Yes, we said hire. And no, we don't know how much.

The ideal candidate would draw editorial cartoonists based on local issues and some additional art to go along with news stories.

Promoting The Anthology

2007-01-23T17:28:00.000-05:00

We'll be appearing at Modern Myths tomorrow night (Wed. 1/24, 6:30pm) to promote the Trees & Hills And Friends. Come say hi!

Saturday Gathering & More

2007-01-19T12:55:00.000-05:00

Don't forget tomorrow is the Trees & Hills get-together at co-founder Dan Barlow's apartment in Brattleboro, VT. In addition to the usual drawing, chatting & snacking, we'll be discussing plans for future events (release parties, conventions, anthologies, etc.). For directions or other info, email barlowdaniel at gmail dot com.

In other news, I just posted an eccentric and untested productivity tip at Make Comics Forever.

And though not directly relevant to us, I can't resist linking to this item about the new Archie graphic novel.

Tim Hulsizer wants your original art

2007-01-16T21:53:00.000-05:00

Keene, N.H. cartoonist Tim Hulsizer is one of the last remaining participants of the Daily Grind competition, which challenges artists to draw a comic daily every day during the traditional Monday to Friday work week.

To celebrate the two-year anniversary of this grueling dare, Tim wants to raise a little money for charity that buys goats and cows for impoverished villagers in other countries.

And while we can't support Tim's habits of eating fire crackers and wearing thong underwear, we can appreciate his heart in this situation.

So, Tim is looking for original comic art from other folks to auction off on Ebay. Entries are due by Feb 15. There is more information here at his LiveJournal.

Looking for a job in comics?

2007-01-15T14:31:00.000-05:00

Yeah, me too.

I'll race you to the Comic Jobz Web site.

Year In Review

2006-12-31T19:00:00.000-05:00

It's been quite an exciting first year for Trees & Hills: numerous get-togethers at apartments, cafes, food courts, and Centers For Cartoon Studies; the growth of this website from nothing; meeting lots of cool cartoonists; appearances at the Boston Zine Fair in Boston, MA, The Comic Book Show in Nashua, NH, and the Stumptown Comics Fest in Portland, OR; and of course the release of our first anthology, Trees & Hills And Friends (60 pgs with 19 comics by 22 artists). Next year: more events, anthologies, appearances, fun!

Here's a link to one artist's summary of the year (it's just mine, don't get too worked up).

Hope this year was good to you, and that next year is better!

USA Today hearts Robyn Chapman

2006-12-16T23:48:00.000-05:00

Robyn Chapman (Hey, 4-eyes, True Porn), who currently has a fellowship at the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vt., is totally cool. We here at Trees & Hills cub house have suspected this for awhile.

But now there is proof!

Robyn landed spot #99 on Whitney Matheson's Top 100 people list last week. Matheson, for those ignorant of such things, is USA Today's awesome entertainment columnist, who has never hidden her leanings toward all things comic.

Robyn is in great company too. She beats out Bob Balaban. Comes 19 before David Lynch. Comic writer Robert Kirkman is only six spots ahead.

We don't know if we agree with the chronology of this sequence (Lynch maybe), but we do agree that, sadly, Robyn is not as cool as meerkats (#85).

Holiday Interference

2006-12-14T00:51:00.000-05:00

The Trees & Hills 3rd Saturday meetup won't be happening this month due to schedule conflicts, and the same goes for the 3rd Tuesday Creators' Group at Modern Myths. However, next month look forward to another T&H get-together, plus anthology release events, and the new Western Massachusetts Comics Schmooze (date tba).

Things to do this weekend: CCS silent auction

2006-12-08T17:56:00.000-05:00

The Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vt. is having a huge holiday silent auction Saturday from 1-4 p.m. On the bidding table are items signed by Will Eisner, Stan Lee, Art Spiegelman, Chris Ware, Seth, Frank Miller and Scott McCloud.

For more information, jump over to the school's announcement on their Web site.

Best bits of newspapers are usually the cartoons

2006-12-08T00:44:00.000-05:00

Westminster, Vt. cartoonist Jade Harmon (left) gave out free caricatures during the gallery kick-off at the Brattleboro Commons newspaper office on Friday, Dec. 1.

The gallery showing featured work by Harmon and New Hampshire artist Marek Bennett, along with photographs from the first year of the independent community newspaper's publication!

And not only is Harmon a new member of the Commons' Board of Directors, but she also organized the month-long gallery showing.

More Upcoming Events

2006-12-04T13:13:00.000-05:00

Here are some upcoming events:

Tue. 12/5 (6:30pm): Comics Creators' Group meets at Modern Myths, Northampton, MA.
Wed. 12/6 (6pm): Sean Wang signing at Modern Myths, Northampton, MA.
Thu. 12/7(5-8pm): E.J. Barnes art opening at the Amherst, MA Chamber Of Commerce. The show ("Odd Ducks: Avian Art for Cartoons, Comic Books And Animation") runs through December.
Fri. 12/8 (5:30-8:30pm?): Anne Thalheimer's "CHEAP ART!" exhibit closing reception, the gallery at A.P.E. (3rd floor of Thorne's), Northampton, MA. The exhibit runs through 12/11.

More details, calendar listings, etc. to follow; I've been meaning to post these for a while.

Things to do this weekend: Brattleboro art show

2006-11-30T22:11:00.000-05:00

Brattleboro, Vt. just can't get enough of Marek Bennett and Jade Harmon, two Trees & Hills members from New Hampshire and Vermont.

Both had work that appeared in the Trees & Hills gallery showing at the Twilight Tea Lounge in November. And each now has art that appears at a gallery showing for the Commons newspaper in Brattleboro for December.

Bennett's "Mimi's Donuts" and Harmon's "Northminster North" cartoons appear in the monthly independent newspaper.

The gallery showing kicks off Dec. 1 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at 139 Main Street in Brattleboro.

The showing also coincides with Brattleboro's Decemberfest celebration and it's First Friday art work. A press release about the Common's gallery showing can be read here and information on the Gallery Walk event can be read here.

Sean Wang signing next month

2006-11-28T21:44:00.000-05:00

Critically acclaimed writer and artist Sean Wang will be appearing at the New England Comics store in Brockton on Thursday, December 7 from 4 to 6 p.m. The local comic book creator will be signing at the store to promote the release of his new project, MELTDOWN, published by Image Comics.

MELTDOWN tells the story of a reluctant super-hero whose own fire-based powers are killing him, melting him down from within. He has only 7 days left to put his life in order and make amends for a lifetime’s worth of mistakes and regrets.

MELTDOWN is a two issue prestige-format mini-series with issue #1 scheduled to be in stores December 6, 2006.

More information on Sean Wang and MELTDOWN can be found at www.seanwang.com

New England Comics (Brockton store) is located at East Crossing Plaza, 744
Crescent Street, Brockton, MA. Website: www.newenglandcomics.com
Image Comics: www.imagecomics.com

Massachusett's Lowell Sun looking for cartoonists

2006-11-22T19:39:00.000-05:00

The Lowell Sun is putting together a reader comic page and is looking for submissions. Read all about it here.

2006-11-19T21:03:00.000-05:00

James Kochalka Superstar: Britney's Silver Can

This fan video for the Kochalka song is almost as wonderfully tedious as the song itself.

"Just Timberlake, Justin Timberlake ..."

Watch it!

Things to do this month: Burlington comic art show

2006-11-18T10:03:00.000-05:00

The Final Piece!

2006-11-17T22:47:00.000-05:00

The Trees & Hills Comics Page is finally online! The first two strips are both T&H-related things by me, but we'll be adding more strips by various people in the coming weeks.

Although there are still things to do, and in some sense always will be, the site as we envisioned it is now essentially complete!

More Growth

2006-11-17T01:55:00.000-05:00

I'd like to welcome Vermont cartoonist Skip Morrow to our links page, and also announce the unveiling (finally!) of our Articles section - soon to be a flourishing grove of comics journalism.

Cartoonists' Gathering and More

2006-11-15T22:30:00.000-05:00

This Saturday 10/18 there will be a get-together for cartoonists at Trees & Hills confounder Daniel Barlow's apartment in Brattleboro, VT from 12-5pm. We will socialize, draw, discuss plans for our anthology release parties and tabling at MoCCA, and more. For more info (like how to get there), email barlowdaniel at gmail dot com.

In other news, I'd like to welcome Vermont cartoonists Steve Hogan and Matt Reno & Massachusetts cartoonist "Thanatos Omega" to our link list.

Also, I added two items to the Resources page. One is a template for those of you who like writing comic scripts in Word. The other is an excellent blog called Comic Tools, run by MK Reed. Each weekday she posts a response to her survey about what tools cartoonists use. The latest 3 respondents today are Adrian Tomine, Alec Longstreth, and Bryan Lee O'Malley.

Things to do this weekend: Comic workshop

2006-11-10T21:55:00.000-05:00

Marek Bennett of Mimi's Doughnuts fame will be hosting a comics workshop Saturday for elementary-aged children. The session begins at 10:30 a.m. and runs until 3 p.m. at Artworks of Keene in Keene, N.H.

More information on the workshop can be found here.

James Owen at CCS

2006-11-06T14:28:00.000-05:00

Cartoonist James Owen visited the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vt. last month and posted this lengthy report, which includes many photos.

Things to do this weekend: Trees & Hills gallery

2006-11-03T11:41:00.000-05:00

Original comic artwork featured in the new Trees & Hills and Friends anthology will be on display at the Twilight Tea Lounge in Brattleboro, Vt. for all of November.

We'll be kicking off the gallery showing tonight at 5:30 p.m. Several members of the group will be swinging by, including Cat Garza, Zach Stephens and Steve Bissette!

We came, we saw, we sold some comics

2006-10-31T00:30:00.000-05:00

Trees & Hills debut at the Comic Book Show in Nashua, N.H. Sunday can be considered a networking success, although probably not a financial one. This is the new Talking Point. Please spread the word.

I think I sold 10 copies of the new anthology. Man, I pitched that thing. I pitched it to middle-aged women, Alan Moore fangirls, superhero nuts, goth kids and fanboys. One woman even asked me to sign my contribution, the first chapter of NUKE TOWN with Keith Moriarty and Zach Stephens.

Next dates for the show: April 1, 2007 and Oct. 14, 2007.

T&H co-founder Colin Tedford, meanwhile, was across the country at Stumptown in Portland, Ore. He checked in via e-mail a day or two ago with this dispatch, "Send guns and ammo. Food too. All dead here. Stay away."

Oops. Wrong e-mail. Sorry. He actually had this to say, "I sold 1 antho & traded 6; sold 14 other comics, traded 11. I was a little disappointed, but things seemed to go
slow for some other folks as well (Julia Wertz, for example, who came over
& traded some minis)."

Finding Trees & Hills in Nashua, N.H.

2006-10-28T17:06:00.000-04:00

We'll be at Table 50 at the Comic Book Show at the Holiday Inn in Nashua, N.H. Sunday. Doors open at 10 a.m. and the show ends at 4 p.m.

Here are directions:
From the South:

Follow Route 3 North to Exit 4.

At the end of the exit, turn LEFT at the lights.

At the next set of lights, turn RIGHT (at the gas station)

Follow that road through the lights until you get to McDonalds, next is THE HOLIDAY INN CONVENTION CENTER.

Use the second entrance (the next entrance to the parking lot after the Holiday Inn sign).

The load in is underneath the overhang.

From the North:

Follow Route 3 South to Exit 4.

At the end of the exit, turn RIGHT at the lights.

At the next IMMEDIATE set of lights, turn RIGHT (at the gas station)

Follow that road through the lights until you get to McDonalds, next is THE HOLIDAY INN CONVENTION CENTER.

Things to do this weekend: Comic Conventions

2006-10-27T16:28:00.000-04:00

The Trees & Hills group are represented at two comic conventions this weekend. The first, Stumptown Comics Fest in Portland, Ore. is already underway. T&H co-founder Colin Tedford is at that one.

And on Sunday Oct. 29, Trees & Hills co-founder Dan Barlow and his frequent comic book co-writer Keith Moriarty will be at the Comic Book Show in Nashua, N.H.

Copies of the Trees & Hills and Friends anthology will be on sale at both conventions. The 60-page book contains 19 comics by 22 creators from NH, VT and western Mass., including Stephen Bissette, Mark Martin, Cat Garza and Marek Bennett.

Scott McCloud hearts N.H. part two

2006-10-25T14:12:00.000-04:00

Did you miss Scott McCloud's presentation at Dartmouth last week?

Good news: McCloud reports on his 50-State Tour Blog that he may be reading next month at Franklin Pierce College in Rindge, N.H.

The whole thing is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 3, but McCloud promises more detailed information soon.

"I'll await confirmation that it's open to the public before posting details, but it looks certain now that we're not done with the Granite State just yet," he wrote.

OMG! The Trees & Hills anthology is printed!

2006-10-24T12:18:00.000-04:00

Much love to Jade Harmon, Chris Grotke, Zach Stephens and - of course - Colin Tedford - who came out Monday night to assemble the first batch of Trees & Hills & Friends anthologies.

This is what you need to know: It's 60 pages, features 19 comics by 22 creators from NH, VT and western MA. Featuring new work by Stephen Bissette and Mark Martin! Other contributors include Marek Bennett, Cat Garza, Megan Baehr and Tim Hulsizer.

Oh, yeah ... it's only $3.

We only have a few on hand at the moment, but more will be printed throughout the week. They can be purchased on-line at Colin's Comic Distro

Scott McCloud at CCS

2006-10-21T15:36:00.000-04:00

You can read about it here.

Things to do this weekend: H.P. Lovecraft festival

2006-10-20T14:00:00.000-04:00

Now, we here at the Trees & Hills secret headquarters know there is probably a large cross-over appeal between H.P. Lovecraft fans and comic fans.

But this festival occuring in Dummerston, Vt. this weekend has a genuine comic book connection: retired cartoonist Stephen Bissette will be speaking Saturday on the famous horror writer's influence on the comic book horror genre.

October's Saturday Meetup Replaced By Monday Fold-N-Staple

2006-10-18T23:02:00.000-04:00

Trees & Hills' monthly 3rd-Saturday meet-up (this coming Saturday 10/23) will be cancelled because it coincides with the Keene Pumpkin Fest, which is the only reason to be in Keene that day unless you really like frustration.

However, join us Monday 10/23 (New Zealand's Labor Day) at co-founder Dan Barlow's apartment in Brattleboro, VT for a Trees & Hills And Friends mini-anthology Fold 'N' Staple Party! Help midwife the birth of our beautiful creation and have fun socializing! The more people show up, the less time we'll spend folding and stapling. You can see a few preview pages here and here.

To RSVP, email Dan at "barlowdaniel at gmail dot com".

Things to do this week: Come meet Scott McCloud

2006-10-18T09:35:00.000-04:00

The very first "professor" of comics and author of three books on the medium, Scott McCloud, will be entertaining students and staff at the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction. Vt. for the next two days.

But the public can come out and meet him Thursday, Oct. 19 at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. He's speaking there at 4:15 p.m.

SPX photo flashback

2006-10-17T15:15:00.000-04:00

N.H. cartoonist Tim Hulsizer had a busy camera this past weekend at SPX in Maryland. In addition to N.H.'s Jennifer Omand (Square Cat Comics) and her boyfriend Matt, Timmy also chronicled the madness, the mayhem and the monsters of indie comics conventions and the after parties.

Be afraid.

Things to do this weekend: SPX

2006-10-13T09:13:00.000-04:00

Small press and indie cartoonists from all over are heading toward Bethesda, Maryland today for the 2006 Small Press Expo. Actually, the show runs from Friday-Saturday, so hopefully most of the 300 exhibitors and cartoonists are setting up as I type!

Anyway, this blogger has it on good word that one or two or maybe even three or four Trees & Hills members may be down there for the event. If anyone wants to send us a brief funny story or a picture or two, we would be happy to run them here.

Please send to barlowdaniel at gmail dot com.

Events Update

2006-10-10T00:45:00.000-04:00

Check out the Calendar for some new listings: twice-monthly creator meet-ups in Northampton, MA; Scott McCloud at Dartmouth on 10/19; 3rd Saturday creator get-togethers in Keene and Brattleboro (depending on the month); and the official BI-COASTAL RELEASE of the Trees & Hills and Friends mini-anthology. Special awesome pages for Comics and Articles are coming soon (really!).

Massachusetts comic networking meeting

2006-10-09T21:58:00.000-04:00

This event is a tad out of the traditional T&H map, but I thought I would pass along the notice anyway.

WANE- Bringing together established and potential comic book creators to meet, motivate, review and promote their comic book dreams.

Greetings writers and artists,

The next WANE event will be held on Monday, Oct. 23 at 7:30 pm at the Allston New England Comics. Hopefully this will give you enough notice to arrange your schedule accordingly.

Bring your scripts, portfolios, questions, networking pants, friendly handshakes and other comic book making ideas to the event. This is a laid back opportunity for you to meet with other comic book creators who both have experience and others who are just starting out.

Call the store with questions at 617-783-1848 or stop by 131 Harvard Ave. , Allston.

Please email me an RSVP if you are coming.

David Lewis has made us a website that you can visit, join and post questions, art, comments, and more. Go there and register and we'll talk more about it at the next event. It is rad and will be more so with more people. Woo!

Go To http://captionbox.net/wane

Pass this along to other like minded people and I'll see ya'll soon!!
Erin
New England Comics
WANE master
wane.nec@gmail.com

24-Hour Comic in Vermont kicks off

2006-10-08T00:14:00.000-04:00

Cat Garza was among the dozen to 20 people who participated in 24-Hour Comic Book Day at the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vt.

No word yet on who has made it this far (it's ten minutes past midnight right now), but there has been conclusive evidence that one writer/ comic group co-founder only made it 10 hours (guess who?).

Cheers to the rest of you. There's more information and photos here.

Things to do this weekend: 24-Hour Comic

2006-10-06T10:21:00.000-04:00

Vermont:
The Center for Cartoon Studies, 94 South Main St., White River Junction, VT 05001. Must be 18 years old or older, reservations required. Email chapman@cartoonstudies.org Start time: 9:00 AM

Massachusetts:
Modern Myths, 34 Bridge St. #4, Northampton, MA, 01060, (413) 582-6973 Start time: noon

Comicopia, 464 Commonwealth Ave., Kenmore Square, Boston, MA, 02215, (617) 266-4266 Start time: Noon

Harvard University, Adams House Art Space, Linden Street, Cambridge, MA. Phone: (617) 218-7908. Restricted to students and faculty of Harvard or local universities. Start time: 9 AM

Metaversal Studios, 236 Huntington Ave. Suite 212, Boston, MA 02118 Phone: (617) 262-9696 Start time: 6 PM Friday October 6th

That's Entertainment, 244 Park Ave., Worcester, MA 01609, (508) 755-4207. Start time: 9:00 AM

More information here.