New “Drawing Funny” Podcast Episode: Episode 74 – “Diamond’s In The Rough”

Show notes: Of course on the day I posted my last episode the news broke about Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. filing a Chapter 11 petition for bankruptcy, and TikTok went dark just before I could finish this episode.

Earlier this week I sat down with my business major and comics fangirl wife Nicki to talk about how this all could affect the comics industry in both negative and positive ways. Continue reading

“Drawing Funny” MSCA 2024 Review Pt. 1 & 2

Happy New Year! Two new Drawing Funny” podcast episodes are now available, and they are the first episodes of 2025! Episode 71 – “MSCA 2024 Review Pt. 1” is the first part of my 2024 year end wrap-up review conversation with Mid-South Cartoonists Association/MSCA president Kevin L. Williams. Kev and I grabbed some dinner after work, and then discussed the very busy year our local cartooning association experienced in 2024. We had a full two and a half pages of notes to go over, so I broke it into two episodes and am releasing them back to back. You can find the second half of our 2hr toon talk on Episode 72 – “MSCA 2024 Review Pt. 2”. Continue reading

MSCA On Display In Hernando

Kevin L. Williams and I stopped by the First Regional Library in Hernando, MS on Saturday, September 1st to set up the Mid-South Cartoonists Association 35th Anniversary display.
It was tricky trying to represent the 3 and a half decades of MSCA history, but hopefully this will get the word out about our cartooning group!
The display cases are full of original art, printed comics and zines, newsletters, promotional materials. art show invitations, and more from the club’s 35 year existence in the Memphis area…
…and includes some production art and tools of the trade from back when art was literally cut and paste- wow, how times have changed!!! (The pen with cork is the same that Charles Schulz used to draw the “Peanuts” strips. Greg Cravens brought Kevin and I both one from the Schulz museum in Santa Rosa, CA.)
The displays also show some of the conventions and events we’ve been a part of. We helped start Artists Alley at the Superman Celebration in Metropolis, and have a brick in front of the Noel Neill/Lois Lane statue. Our original one (in photo above) was broken and later replaced. We got to keep the original and Kevin had it glued back together.
Our own Con-Sequential is also represented, as is our involvement with Rock103 and their former morning show, The Wake-Up Crew.
The displays are in the west lobby of the library and are open to the public to see during business hours (see below).
There is a large two sided case on the left side of the hallway…
 
Inside are some of our art show invites like the Drawing Inspiration process show we did with the DeSoto Arts Council, and original art including our Are Cartoons Art? Askew Nixon Ferguson show , NWCC Peanuts/Schulz tribute show, and So Scary It’s Funny/So Funny It’s Scary Halloween show we had at Overton Square.
We would love to do another display to spotlight the MSCA and cartooning in the future- maybe have some original comic pages and the printed comics they’re from, and an art demo by members at the library.
Definitely interested in doing more there. (That’s a pic of Greg Cravens and the late Bob Bindig at the Ohio State Festival Of Cartoon Art, their sketches of Shoney Bear and Big Boy done at the event, and one of Greg’s “Shoney Bear” comics.)
Honestly, there was so much more of the MSCA we wanted to showcase but ran out of room!
If you get a chance to stop by after Labor Day it will be up for the month of September, and will be followed by a Ghostbusters display by us. Oh, and I heard a LEGO display by Kevin Thorn is coming up in December..!
If you can’t make it by, you can see more pics on the MSCA Facebook page, and a few more will be added as soon as I get the pics Kevin took while we were there.
Thanks to head librarian Jesse Pool and his staff. Nicki and I have always enjoy getting to curate different displays at our local library (Batman, DC Comics, Harry Potter, hockey, Star Wars, comics/animation), and hope the folks who visit the library enjoy experiencing them.
It’s great to get to share our collections with others, and love getting to discuss them with the people passing by as we’re setting the displays up.


I hope you get a chance to come out and see it all!

Lin


First Regional Library
(Hernando Public Library)
370 W Commerce St
Hernando, MS 38632
www.firstregional.org

established 1950

HOURS:
MONDAY  9:30-7:00 (Closed Labor Day)
TUESDAY 9:30-7:00
WEDNESDAY 9:30-7:00
THURSDAY 9:30-7:00
FRIDAY 9:30-5:30
SATURDAY 9:30-5:00
SUNDAY CLOSED