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Happy Birthday, Rose O’Neill!
Rose O’Neill, one of the most important and influential cartoonists of all time, was born today in 1874. Her creations “The Kewpies” were a worldwide sensation. At a time when women weren’t even able to vote, Rose O’Neill was one of the top illustrators in the world, and a prominent suffragette. O’Neill’s charming and feminine works are largely ignored by comics pundits today. Here are two previous articles I’ve written for this site about Rose O’Niell. This one tells the tale of Rose’s career and her marriage to one of the men who helped create the first moving pictures. And here is the tale of her creation of The Kewpies.…
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Colleen Doran 2026 Appearance Schedule
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Remembering David Alan James Rathkey
David Alan James Rathkey, a United States resident since 1981, was born in 1954 in Eton, England and raised in Maidenhead, Berkeshire. A thirteen-year resident of Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, he was the father of twin sons Matthew and Ian, and a beautiful daughter Emma. He was also a soccer player on a team for people over the age of 40, and soccer coach for his daughter’s team the Mountain Lakes Electrics. An IQ Financial Systems sales executive, previous employers include Digital Equipment Corp, and Arbat Systems, the company where he met his lovely, intelligent wife Julia. “David has had an impact on our lives, he was truly a remarkable…
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Colleen Doran 2026 Appearance Schedule
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R.I.P.Dwayne McDuffie
News just coming in that Dwayne McDuffie, who was my boss on the Technique miniseries at Milestone, has passed away due to complications from surgery. Denys Cowan, me, Dwayne. About 1994. Dwayne was incredibly cool to me at Milestone. Nothing about the demise of the series was Milestone’s fault in any way. I was not only treated with respect and kindness at every turn, but the publisher paid me a very fair kill fee. I really liked the people at Milestone, and Dwayne sent me a wonderful letter about my work on the project, which I treasure. I scanned and sold the remainder of the unpublished art recently, and had…
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Colleen Doran 2026 Appearance Schedule
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This is Not 0’s and 1’s
This is not cochineal, and lapis lazuli, and Indian lac, and alum, and linseed oil. The human being who made this image is not chlorine, and carbon, and magnesium, and sulfur. This is not 0’s and 1’s. The copy of this art is not 0’s and 1’s. The extraordinary human experience of art is not 0’s and 1’s.
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Colleen Doran 2026 Appearance Schedule
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Guest Blog: Sarah Beach on The Metaphysics of Creativity
THE METAPHYSICS OF CREATIVITY About a month ago on another website, there was a discussion about fanfiction and professional writing, and the distinctions between them. Some of the posters contended that it was a matter of the quality of the writing, in terms of craftsmanship. Me, I think that’s a mistake. Some professional writers can be sloppy craftsmen, while some fanfic writers have exceptional talent. Colleen and I (we’d both followed the discussion there) continued a conversation spun from this discussion. Our conversation led into other territory, and it seemed to me it would make an interesting guest blog topic. So, here’s some wandering on where my thoughts went. Professionalism…
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Colleen Doran 2026 Appearance Schedule
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An Irish Blessing for Thanksgiving
UPDATE 11-21-12: To the many, many people who come to this blog, please be advised that the Irish blessing is in the SONG and not in my little prayer here. I made that up. That is not a traditional Irish prayer. I am glad you like it, but if you are looking for a traditional Irish prayers from the auld sod, this ‘aint it. I now see it on blogs and all over the place, and people have started using it in religious services. This is NOT a traditional Irish prayer. I wrote it. Glad you like it. Here’s wishing you and all of yours a beautiful day full of…
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Colleen Doran 2026 Appearance Schedule
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10 things to do with those pesky green tomatoes
It’s the end of the growing season, and perverse wench that she is, Mother Nature sent a cold blast last week which gave the garden a big bite of frost. And this week it’s a beautiful 70 degrees. I picked as many green tomatoes before the frost as I could. If tomatoes are hit by air colder than 40 degrees, they will have no flavor, and even our row covers did not save them this time. (By the way, never store your fresh tomatoes in the fridge.) This sad situation resulted in a post so popular, even the Executive Office of the President popped in for advice. No, really. Here’s…
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Colleen Doran 2026 Appearance Schedule
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Tolkien Art and Artists
A short list of Tolkien inspired/related books, which I recommend in my Tolkien art lectures. Not all of these are directly related to The Lord of the Rings, but feature artists closely associated with the work. For example, Alan Lee, who is widely regarded as among the greatest of all Tolkien illustrators, has very few works in print. So, I’ve included some of his other books which I hope you will enjoy. I’ve been asked to repeat this lecture at future appearances, so I will let you know when and where. J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator by Christina Scull, Wayne G. Hammond J.R.R. Tolkien Mariner Books; 1st Houghton Mifflin Tolkien’s…
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Colleen Doran 2026 Appearance Schedule
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Colleen Doran 2026 Appearance Schedule
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Guest Blog: David Lloyd at the Funchal, Madeira Book Fair by Roberto Macedo Alves
Roberto Macedo Alves is on a one-man mission to bring comics to the Portugeuse island of Madeira, which is one of the loveliest places I have ever been. Incredible scenery, very friendly people, and many enthusiastic comics readers! An absolute delight. Roberto began bringing comics creators to the Funchal Book Fair a few years ago, and this year’s guest was David Lloyd, artist of V for Vendetta. Roberto’s shop is Setima Dimensao, and his blog is here, where you can see more pictures of the event. David Lloyd’s website is here. I’m sorry, but had no luck finding a direct link to artist Marco Avoletta. If anyone has that info,…
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Colleen Doran 2026 Appearance Schedule