Programming schedule!

Programming schedule!

Saturday, May 21:

Portland Public Library Main Branch

5 Monument Square

11:00 am: ANDY RUNTON- "Owly" creator Andy Runton will present an all ages reading from his "Owly" books. This will take place in the children's program area of the library.

3:00 pm: Comics in World History & Cultures

A whirlwind look at comics around the world and throughout human history, featuring specific classroom models to stimulate discussion, facilitate student exploration, and encourage creative synthesis. Experienced teacher and cartoonist Marek Bennett (M. Ed.) presents units on modern Japanese history, medieval European history, ancient Mayan culture and mathematics, local history research, and more, including ways these primary sources engage and develop students' powers of graphic literacy, non-linear reading and synthesis, focused research, and other 21st century skills!

Sunday, May 22

Ocean Gateway, Portland

Maine Comics Arts Festival

Doors open at 10:00 am, festival ends at 5:00 pm

Meet over 100 comic writers, artists, publishers and cartoonists who will be exhibiting all day.

Programming (at Ocean Gateway, lower level)

10:30 am:

Colleen AF Venable is the author of the kids’ graphic novel series GUINEA PIG, PET SHOP PRIVATE EYE illustrated by Stephanie Yue. Join her for a fun interactive reading and hands-on storytelling workshop for kids. Learn how to come up with characters, create your own stories, and make your own comics!

11:30 am:

Meet Lincoln Peirce, creator of "Big Nate".

We will discuss the history of his nationally syndicated comic strip Big Nate and his new series of books, and find out what makes Nate tick.

12:30 pm:

The Center for Cartoon Studies Presents:

The One-Sheet Workshop!

Join us for an introduction to the Center for Cartoon Studies and a discussion of some quick, easy and inexpensive ways to publish your own comics. Participants will create an 8-page minicomic using only one sheet of paper!

1:30 pm:

Portfolio reviews from the Center for Cartoon Studies:

Robyn Chapman and Jon Chad from the Center for Cartoon Studies will provide artists with reviews of their portfolios.

2:30 pm: Rick Parker's 1 Hour Crash Course in Cartooning:

Rick Parker is widely known as the artist of "MTV's Beavis and Butt-Head Comic Book" and also draws the Introductory Pages of "Tales From The Crypt" and the graphic novels "Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid" and "Harry Potty" for Papercutz. Join him as he teaches what you need to know about drawing the human figure as a cartoon character.

4:00 pm: A live reading/ performance from AudioComics!

"What if someone crossed The Munsters with The Addams Family— and dumped this crazed creation in a place where monsters are normal, bad is good, and ugly is in demand? You’ll find out this spring, when The AudioComics Company records its first full-cast audio comedy for children and creatures of all ages! Meet…The Batsons!

"The Batsons", a backwards bunch of green-skinned ghouls hatched by the demented brains of best-selling children’s book writers Justine & Ron Fontes, are a spooky-kooky family of misfit monsters who reside in Flemme Falls, the capital of Halloween where 'awful is lawful and everyone’s mean.' As a special preview of the forthcoming audio series, Ron and Justine Fontes will be joined by AudioComics director Bill Dufris (the voice of TV's "Bob the Builder") between 4 and 4:30 for a reading of short Batsons stories for kids ages 5 to 105, including The Champ of Camp Damp, The Thingasaur Who Wanted More, and The Terrible Thang About Ying and Yang. Think your family’s strange? Try spending time with The Batsons at the Maine Comics Arts Festival!"