Smash Pages Q&A: Emma Jayne

The creator of ‘Dreameater’ discusses her process, her minicomics, the importance of music to her work and more.

Emma Jayne made a splash with her graphic novel Dreameater, a queer horror musical thriller that is fun and inventive, but she’s had the biggest impact with a series of slice of life comics like In an Empty City, Pseudo Slut Transmission, and the 2019 Ignatz Award winning minicomic Trans Girls Hit the Town.

Each of these stories can be described in simple ways, with little happening plotwise, but Jayne’s gift as a storyteller is the ability to tell these small stories that manage to encompass and involve so much. In each story, though short, the reader is able to learn and intuit so much about the characters and their lives. It’s done in such a subtle way that some readers might miss just how profound and complex the stories are, and just how perfectly Jayne nails it. The first time I read Trans Girls Hit the Town, I had to immediately reread the comic so that I could see just how she pulled it off.

Jayne is a gifted, insightful storyteller, and I have no doubt that we’ve only begun to see what she’s capable of as an artist. She was kind enough recently to answer a few questions about her work.

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Comics Lowdown: Can Disney stop cops from using the Punisher symbol?

Plus: News on Al Jaffe, Uncivilized Books, awards and more.

With police brutality once again in the public eye, many fans on social media have called out Disney/Marvel to put their litigious muscles to work and prevent cops from using the Punisher logo — a popular emblem with some members of law enforcement, despite the fact that Frank Castle is a criminal and a killer.

First, you can find some history of both the character and its popularity with police here. That piece’s writer, Brian Cronin, is not only a contributor to CBR, but also a lawyer, and he offers his thoughts on why he doesn’t think Disney would have much success in an article titled “There’s Not Much Marvel Can Do About Cops Using Punisher’s Logo.” Cronin writes:

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Tamaki, Valero-O’Connell and more win 2019 Ignatz Awards

Annual awards presented at the Small Press Expo honor excellence in independent comics, graphic novels and minicomics.

The winners of the 2019 Ignatz Awards were announced this weekend at the Small Press Expo in Bethesda, Maryland.

The big winners of the night were Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me writer Mariko Tamaki and artist Rosemary Valero-O’Connell, who took home three awards between them, including “Outstanding Graphic Novel.” The political cartoon site The Nib also continued its recent winning streak, taking home the award for “Outstanding Series.”

The Ignatz, named after George Herriman’s brick-wielding mouse from the classic comic strip Krazy Kat, recognizes exceptional work that challenges popular notions of what comics can achieve, both as an art form and as a means of personal expression. The awards have been presented annually since 1997.

The awards presentations were hosted by cartoonist Keith Knight:

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2019 Ignatz Award nominees announced

The Ignatz Awards celebrate outstanding achievement in independent comics and cartooning.

The Small Press Expo has announced the 2019 Ignatz Award nominees.

The Ignatz Awards have been handed out since 1997 and celebrate the outstanding achievements of independent comics, graphic novels and alternative political cartoons.

The winners will be announced during SPX, which runs Sept. 14-15 at the Marriott North Bethesda Conference Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

Congrats to all the nominees:

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Davis, Ostertag and more take home 2018 Ignatz Awards

Annual awards presented at the Small Press Expo honor excellence in independent comics.

Eleanor Davis, Richie Pope, Molly Ostertag and Carta Monir are among the winners of the 2018 Ignatz Awards, as presented last night at a ceremony held in conjunction with the Small Press Expo (SPX) in Bethesda, Maryland.

Ignatz image by 2017 Promising New Talent winner Bianca Xunise.

The Ignatz, named after George Herriman’s brick-wielding mouse from his long running comic strip Krazy Kat, recognizes exceptional work that challenges popular notions of what comics can achieve, both as an art form and as a means of personal expression. The nominees for the ballot were determined by a panel of comic artists: Mita Mahato, Carolyn Nowak, kevin czap, Leila Abdelrazaq and Taneka Stotts. The votes for the awards were cast by the attendees at the show

The complete list of nominees can be found below, with the winner in bold.

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Small Press Expo announces the 2018 Ignatz Award nominees

The Ignatz Awards celebrates outstanding achievement in independent comics and cartooning.

The Small Press Expo (SPX), celebrates the outstanding achievements of independent comics, graphic novels and alternative political cartoons with the annual Ignatz Awards. The Ignatz Awards have been handed out since 1997 and this year will be presented at the gala Ignatz Awards ceremony held on Saturday, September 15.

Ignatz image by 2017 Promising New Talent winner Bianca Xunise.

The nominees for the ballot were determined by a panel of five of the best of today’s comic artists, Mita Mahato, Carolyn Nowak, kevin czap, Leila Abdelrazaq, and Taneka Stotts.

The votes for the awards will be cast by the attendees during SPX, which takes place in Bethesda, Maryland on September 15-16.

The Ignatz, named after George Herriman’s brick-wielding mouse from his long running comic strip Krazy Kat, recognizes exceptional work that challenges popular notions of what comics can achieve, both as an art form and as a means of personal expression.

And the nominees are:

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Ferris, Nowak, Fink and more take home 2017 Ignatz Awards

Annual awards presented at this weekend’s Small Press Expo honor excellence in independent comics.

My Favorite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris continued to rack up accolades this weekend as it took home two Ignatz Awards last night. Other winners at the annual awards presentation included Jess Fink’s Chester 5000, Ben Passmore’s Your Black Friend and Carolyn Nowak’s Diana’s Electric Tongue.

Named after the brick-throwing mouse from Krazy Kat, the awards honor “excellence in independent comics” and are selected by a jury of five creators and voted on by attendees of the Small Press Expo. The jurors for this year’s nominations were Neil Brideau, Glynnis Fawkes, Sara Lautman, Trungles and David Willis.

The complete list of nominees can be found below, with the winner in bold.

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‘March,’ Emil Ferris among 2017 Ignatz Awards nominees

Cathy Malkasian, Anya Davidson, Box Brown, Dustin Harbin, Jillian Tamaki, Ed Piskor, Leslie Stein and many more up for this year’s awards

The Washington Post shares this year’s slate of Ignatz Awards nominees, which are presented annually at the Small Press Expo in Bethesda, Maryland.

Named after the brick-throwing mouse from Krazy Kat, the awards are selected by a jury of five creators and voted on by attendees of the show. The jurors for this year’s nominations were Neil Brideau, Glynnis Fawkes, Sara Lautman, Trungles and David Willis.

Check out the complete list below.

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Ignatz-nominee ‘A Small Revolution’ headed to print

Soaring Penguin Press has announced plans for the English-language publication of A Small Revolution by Boum. Nominated for Outstanding Online Comic in this year’s Ignatz Awards, A Small Revolution follows the young orphan named Florence who joins a revolution she’s too young to fully understand.

A Small Revolution is a story of dictatorship and revolution as seen through the eyes of a little girl, and her love for Boris Vian’s music,” explained Boum, the pen name for Samantha Leriche-Gionet of Montreal, Canada. Continue reading “Ignatz-nominee ‘A Small Revolution’ headed to print”

Walden, Beaton, Hanawalt and more take home Ignatz Awards

Annual awards presented Saturday night at the Small Press Expo in Maryland.

Tillie Walden, Kate Beaton, Lisa Hanawalt, Noah Van Sciver, Meredith Gran, Carolyn Nowak and Sam Bosma all took home bricks last night from the Small Press Expo’s annual Ignatz Awards ceremony.

Walden actually took home two bricks: one for outstanding artist on The End of Summer and one for promising new talent on I Love This Part.

Named after the brick-throwing mouse from Krazy Kat, the awards are selected by a jury of five creators and voted on by attendees of the show. This year’s jury included Tony Breed, Summer Pierre, Keiler Roberts, C. Spike Trotman and J.T. Yost.

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Ignatz Awards nominees announced

Daniel Clowes, Kevin Huizenga, Jason Shiga, Kate Beaton and many others vie for this year’s awards.

The nominees for the 2016 Ignatz Awards have been announced by the Small Press Expo. Named after the brick-throwing mouse from Krazy Kat, the awards are selected by a jury of five creators and voted on by attendees of the show.

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