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Live Sketching & Comics

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2010 September 06

Borderland: Star of the Orient (cont’d)

Part 2 of another comic from the upcoming human trafficking comic, Borderland. Featuring 7 true stories told by human trafficking victims in comics format. Now at 1/3 of our goal! Please order your comic via Kickstarter here – $5 for a digital version, $10 for a hard copy, as well as more luxurious options like signed posters, behind the scenes views of the project’s artwork, and the chance to sponsor a copy for a Ukrainian school or NGO. More news on yesterday’s SF Zine fest journalism panel below.

Report back on the SFZine Fest

My haul from yesterday's Zinefest

I’m glad to say that the panel I was on at yesterday’s Zinefest provoked a predictably lively debate about the future of journalism and print publishing. Shockingly (to me, at least) only about 2 people in the audience had even heard of sites like Kickstarter or Chipin – not what I was expecting from the most creative, indie-minded spirits in the bay area.

To those of you unfamiliar with the fest, I’d say it’s like a more adult version of APE – same DIY/punk spirit, but fewer zombie comics and more socially conscious creators. Highlights from a few laps of the County Fair Building were: the Zines on Toast peeps from the UK, currently on a nationwide comics tour; Susie Cagle, fellow Bay Area comics journalist, whose comics on Food Not Bombs (9 Gallons, see left from my pile) and a recent trip to Israel were must buys; radical stalwarts AK Press, who hopefully will carry the Honduran coup comic (news on that when I have it); and Sparkplug books, who might do too. Rummaging around in various piles I also found some vintage Seth Tobocman (Squatter comics, see left), as well as a vegan cookery zine that looks interesting.

I’ve also been excitedly looking through the online Stanford Uni course catalog to choose my courses for the upcoming year – one of the many myriad perks of being a Knight Fellow. So far I’m leaning towards the Art and Communication depts, though there were a few neuroscience courses that took my fancy…One of the many innovative Stanford-related websites I came across was the Persuasive Tech Lab, which focuses on the interaction between decision-making and technology, and other behavioral connundrums. Currently they’re linking to this amazing audiovisual mashup of a song comprised of various different would-be youtube stars’ voices/tunes. Check it out below, it’s the future of creative collaboration (and music):