Judging weekend

The North Central bunch gathered in the metropolis of Johnston, IA (a 'burb of Des Moines) to judge the Greeting Card category of the 2011 Reuben Awards. Before I forget, the info packet for reservations and registration for the Reubens have been mailed out. If you haven't received yours, contact Phil Pyster in Maitland, FL (phil@crowsegal.com or latish@crowsegal or lois@crowsegal ... whew!) and he can get you signed in. Have your credit card at the ready. Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, we gathered to do our duty for the NCS and the Reuben Awards. First, we found the hotel, Stoney Creek Inn whose style put me in the mood to go fly fishing... lots of logs, moose light switch plates, and stuffed animals on the beds. (I had a raccoon. I think Fell had a Sasquatch.) John Hambrock, always the first to arrive, met us at the door then followed us to our rooms. I think John was out of beer and was hoping to get a free one (or two). Then we drove to the Jones' house where Bucky and Kim entertained us with a house FULL of cartoon artwork, and not all of it was Buck's, some rather unusual toys and collectibles from Bucky's toy chest (I'd say more but this is a family website), more beer, wine for the ladies, and plenty of munchies to keep even this carnivorous lot satisfied. Eventually the guys from the Minnesota area arrived and joined in the fun. All in all, we had a good turnout for the party. The Fell's, Paul and his lovely bride Arlene (she who must be obeyed) left early, because, well she must be obeyed. The rest of us partied on until around 11:00-ish. Then back to the hotel.
Next morning we met for breakfast in the lavish and swank hotel dining den ... if you were there you know what I'm talking about. A quick bit to eat and it was upstairs to the Pine Room (conference room) where we laid out the entries and the judging began. I had the room reserved from 9:00 am until 1:00 pm. We found ourselves telling stories, drawing funny cartoons (after all, that's what we do) for the kids of a friend of Buck's who joined us AFTER the judging was done and everything was put away, and talking about the pranks we'd be pulling in Las Vegas. Oops! I wasn't supposed to say that. Just ignore that one, please.
The judging went very, very quickly. I'm sure it had little to do with my fabulous pre-planning and organizational skills. Even so, we finished quickly, checked out of the hotel and then had lunch at the Okiboji Grill, just a hop-skip-and-a-jump from the hotel. A good time was had by all.
See you in Las Vegas! :-)

While you're in Las Vegas...

I received this email from Bill Kellogg, yesterday. He thought some of us might be interested.


Greetings Fellow NCS Members!

Chad and I (Tundra cartoonist & Tundra marketing guy) hosted a seminar in Vegas a year or so ago on how to make money with comics and it went over extremely well. Now, due to popular request, and the fact that it gets really cold in Alaska in February, we're going to do it again.

If you (or anyone you know) would like to learn how to make more money with your comics, join us in Las Vegas this February 24th, 25th & 26th for the 2nd annual Success in the World of Comics seminar. Syndicated cartoonists are welcome too. There will be fourteen speakers over two days, sharing their knowledge on how to make money with comics. Topics include: How to get syndicated, self-syndicating, web comics, producing & marketing products, licensing, animation, building a Facebook following, and much more. There will be social get-togethers each night too with free beer, wine and snacks so you will have plenty of time to talk one-on-one with the speakers and other guests.

This Years’ speakers are:

Chad Carpenter & Bill Kellogg – (Tundra Comics)
Jack Newcombe – (President of Creator’s Syndicate)
Tom Gammill – (The Simpsons)
Mell Lazarus – (Momma and Miss Peach)
Rob Tornoe – (Editorial and Sports cartoonist. Editor and Publisher of Punchline magazine)
Adrian Raeside (The Other Coast, and writer for children’s shows such as Kid vs. Kat)
Mark Parisi & Lynn Reznik – (Off the Mark)
Mason Mastroianni – (B.C. Cartoonist and Emmy Award winning animator)
Mick Mastroianni – (Writer for B.C., Wizard of Id and Dogs of C Kennel)
John Read – (Publisher of Stay Tooned magazine)
Daniele Corsetto - (Girls With Slingshots – web comic)
Debbra Abeyta – (Newspaper pagination with Vertis)

For more details and information, click here: http://www.tundracomics.com/content.asp?CAT_ID=75

NCS members can attend for just $300 too. That’s $75 off the regular price. Click here to register: http://www.tundracomics.com/content.asp?CAT_ID=120

The seminar will also be covered by Alan Gardner of The Daily Cartoonist. Visit www.dailycartoonist.com and type “seminar” in the search box to see his write-up from the last seminar and read the comments from the attendees.

For questions or more information, please contact Bill Kellogg at 907-441-6882 or bill@tundracomics.com.

Thank you,

Bill

Bill Kellogg
Marketing Director
Tundra Comics
907-441-6882
bill@tundracomics.com

Get your reservations in NOW!

Reuben’s Judging Meeting
February 25, 2012
Johnston, IA

The date and venue are set! Mark your calendars and be sure to let either Paul Fell or myself know if you will or won’t be attending so we know whom to look for.

Our destination is The Stoney Creek Inn in Johnston, Iowa, about 8-miles from downtown Des Moines. The rooms are going for $95 plus tax (thank goodness we’re not in California where the taxes are equal to a mortgage). We don’t have a block so we’re on a first-come, first-serve basis, so get your reservations in SOON!

Call Lynnette Wilson at 515-559-2009 and be sure to mention that you’re with the National Cartoonist Society. You’ll check in the evening of Feb 24 (Friday). If you want to stay Saturday night, too, that’s up to you. The price includes the continental breakfast and use of the pool and workout room if any of you feel the need to work up a sweat.

Hotel Information:
STONEY CREEK INN
5291 Stoney Creek Court
Johnston, IA 50131
www.stoneycreekinn.com
lynnette.wilson@stoneycreekinn.com

STONEY CREEK INN is just off I-80, Wynnsong Cinema is directly across from the Inn. Restaurants and bars within very short walking distance of Inn.

And remember, while everyone is invited, you MUST be a voting member of the NCS and not entered in the Greeting Card category in order to see the entries and vote on them. See you next month.

February Judging Meeting

We have a slight change of plans ... as it turns out, the weekend of February 18 happens to be the Iowa State Wrestlemania weekend. We're toast! There isn't a hotel room to be had and the ones that are, we wouldn't want and cost more than plastic surgery.

So it's on the Plan B — Bucky is coordinating rooms and rates for the following weekend, February 25. We'll run in on Friday night. Then Saturday morning start the judging. Those who want to stay another night can work that out with Bucky and the hotel. Otherwise, after lunch there may be a small meeting to discuss upcoming Chapter stuff as well as NCS stuff, including the Reubens Award Weekend in Las Vegas.

As details begin to firm up I'll post them on the blog and send you emails. If I miss anybody, my apologizes and please tell them to go to the blog or call (or email) me.

See you soon.
Your fearless leader,
ME

Fall Chapter Meeting

Granted, it's only January, but with a stroke of good luck our Fall Chapter Meeting is starting to come together. Mark your calendars now — October 5-6, 2012, Sioux Falls, SD. Our host, Ken Alvine, is working his fingers to the bone to make this a truly memorable gathering. Details will follow in the coming weeks and months but just to whet your appetite, we already have a block of hotel rooms, we'll have a Meet The Cartoonists/book signing, open to the public, at Zanbroz's. He's working to line up Augustana, and we already have our guest speaker onboard. A giant in the industry.... Want to know who? Stay tuned. :-)

Remember, Saturday, October 5-6 but you may want to arrive early...

A Merry Christmas to all...

And to all a "good night."

The CARTOON CRIER

Dear Cartoonist,

We’re writing to invite you to contribute to "The Cartoon Crier," a special collaboration between the Center for Cartoon Studies and the National Cartoonists Society (made possible through a generous grant from the NCS Foundation).

“The Cartoon Crier” is a one-shot tabloid newspaper that will explore the relationship between humor and sorrow in comics. The content will consist of comic strips, gags, articles, and illustrations created by NCS members as well as the students, alumni, and faculty of CCS. The release date is March 2012 and the paper will be distributed for free at comics conventions and colleges. The editors hope that "The Cartoon Crier" brings together great work from across the cartooning landscape.

We’re looking for contributions that explore the myriad ways that cartoonists deal with sorrow and loss, from finding relief in humor to wallowing in poetic self-pity. The strips can be new or previously published work. The dimensions of your submission should be approximately daily newspaper cartoon size. Single-panel gags can be approximately square.

There may be some other opportunities for larger strips (half-page and full-page comics). If you are interested in contributing a larger piece, please let us know. If you only have time to draw one panel of a/your cartoon character crying, we'll take it!

The deadline for confirming your participation is January 15, 2012. Final artwork is due on February 28, 2012.

Our budget is limited, so we regret that we cannot pay for print rights, but we will send you copies of the finished paper. Please know that your contribution to this project helps spread the word about the NCS.

Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns: cartooncrier@cartoonstudies.org

Thanks very much!

Your humble editors,

Cole Closser
coleclosser.com
http://coleclosser.com

R. Sikoryak
rsikoyak.com
http://rsikoyak.com

James Sturm
cartoonstudies.org
http://cartoonstudies.org

Wishing everybody the happiest of holidays

WELCOME OUR NEWEST MEMBER

I received confirmation today that our newest member, Mr. Kelly McNutt, is now a member of the NCS. Congratulations and welcome, Kelly. We're happy to welcome you aboard.

In recognition of Mr. McNutt's "making the grade", check out one of his latest projects...

ON THE AIR for the BBC.

Kelly did the 2D bits while Club Cocanut Animation Studio (FL) did the 2D character setup and rigging and Flickerpix in Belfast did the stop-motion/claymation. Check this out... its really cool.

In the meantime, when you have a minute, send Kelly a warm welcome to the NCS and the North Central Chapter.
Welcome brother!!!

Your fearless leader,
ME

JAY KENNEDY SCHOLARSHIP deadline

I received this message from Rick Stromoski a couple days ago.
For your consideration....

It is about a month to the December 15 deadline for the Jay Kennedy
Memorial Scholarship and we'd like your help to get the word out. If
you have a website or blog, we would appreciate it if you'd put up
some infomation and art pertaining to the scholarship so that possible
applicants might see it. The info block and the link are below and the
art is attached. (It's a great piece done by John Martz.)

Thanks in advance,
Rick Stromoski
President, National Cartoonists Society Foundation
John Kovaleski
Chair, Jay Kennedy Memorial Scholarship

------------------

Do you cartoon? You could win a $5,000 scholarship and a trip to Las
Vegas to meet the top names in cartooning. Don't delay - the deadline
is December 15.

Applicants must be students at a 4-year college in the United States,
Canada or Mexico who will be a Junior or Senior during the 2012-2013
academic year. Applicants do not have to be art majors to be eligible
for this scholarship.

For more information and an application, please visit:
http://www.cartoonistfoundation.org/

The annual Jay Kennedy Memorial Scholarship, in memory of the late
King Features editor, was funded by an initial $100,000 grant from the
Hearst Foundation/King Features Syndicate and additional generous
donations from Jerry Scott, Jim Borgman, Patrick McDonnell and many
other prominent cartoonists. Submissions are adjudicated by a panel of
top cartoonists and an award is given to the best college cartoonist.
The recipient is feted at the annual NCS Reuben Awards Convention
attended by many of the world's leading cartoonists.