Official Press Release

The Cartoon Art Museum is proud to host Webcomic-Con 2009, a single-day mini-convention dedicated to online comics and their creators. Visitors will have the opportunity to meet local webcartoonists and talk with them about their work. The featured artists will sell and sign copies of their comics, draw sketches for patrons, and conduct writing and drawing workshops throughout the day.

Monsters of Webcomics Featured guests include Brian Andersen (So Super Duper, Reignbow & Dee-Va, http://www.sosuperduper.com), Leigh Dragoon (By The Wayside, The Faerie Path Manga, http://www.leighdragoon.com), Shaenon K. Garrity (Skin Horse, Narbonic, http://www.shaenon.com), Karen Luk (Raconteur, http://www.karenluk.net, http://www.girlamatic.com/raconteur/, Betsy Streeter (Brainwaves, http://www.betsystreeter.com), Jason Thompson (King of RPGs, http://www.kingofrpgs.com) and Chuck Whelon (artist and co-writer of Pewfell, http://www.pewfell.com).

NOTE FOR WEBCARTOONISTS: If you are interested in participating in this event, please contact Andrew Farago at gallery@cartoonart.org for more details.

Monsters of Webcomics exhibition: August 8, 2009– January 24, 2010

The Internet has revolutionized all forms of communication, and comics are no exception. The Cartoon Art Museum explores the digital revolution in its latest exhibition, Monsters of Webcomics, a showcase of some of the best and boldest work published on the World Wide Web.

Cartoonists choose to work on the Web for many reasons. For some, it’s an opportunity to reach readers directly without going through editors, publishers, or syndicates. For others, it’s a chance to explore the artistic possibilities of the Web, whether that means working in a format that would be impossible in print, tackling subject matter most comic-book publishers won’t handle, or taking advantage of the rich palette available with digital coloring. Others simply want to share their comics with as many people as possible.

The comics by the ten artists featured in this exhibition run the gamut from four-panel comic strips to full-length graphic novels and include comedy, drama, history, science fiction, and sociopolitical commentary. As varied as this work is, however, it represents only a very small sample of the comics available on the Web. The Monsters of Webcomics exhibition also includes a virtual gallery that will highlight dozens of additional online comics.