The Small Press Expo runs Saturday and Sunday, and Scott A. Rosenberg has compiled a quick guide to recommended books that are really new or debuting at the show, as well as some top picks among the panel discussions and a hat tip to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.
CAN'T MISS NEW OR RECENT BOOKS:
» "Essex County Volume 3: The Country Nurse" by Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf)
» "Burma Chronicles" by Guy Delisle (Drawn and Quarterly)
» "Local" by Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly (Oni Press)
» "Crogan's Vengeance" by Chris Schweizer (Oni Press)
» "Sulk Vol. 1: Bighead and Friends" by Jeffrey Brown (Top Shelf)
» "Labor Days" by Phil Gelatt and Rick Lacy (Oni Press)
» "Uncle Slam Fights Back" by TJ Kirsch (Oni Press)
» "Too Cool to be Forgotten" by Alex Robinson (Top Shelf)
» "The Lagoon" by Lille Carre (Fantagraphics)
» "Fuzz & Pluck: Splitsville" by Ted Stearn (Fantagraphics)
» "Man of Rock: A Biography of Joe Kubert" by Bill Schelly (Fantagraphics)
» "Petey & Pussy" by John Kerschbaum (Fantagraphics)
» "American Presidents" by David Levine (Fantagraphics)
» "Popeye Volume 3" by E.C. Segar (Fantagraphics)
» "Godspeed, President Meal Ticket: Some Guy With a Website's Final Chance to Cash In On the Bush Administration" by August J. Pollack (self-published)
» "Lil' Bluey" by Chris Pitzer and Sam Millen (AdHouse Books)
» "Spadefoot" by Matt Dembicki and Andrew Cohen (Three Crows Press)
» "Swallow Me Whole" by Nate Powell (Top Shelf)
» "The Night of Your Life" by Jesse Reklaw (Dark Horse Comics)
» "Against Pain" by Ron Rege Jr. (Drawn and Quarterly)
» "Fight or Run" by Kevin Huizenga (Buenaventura Press)
WHEN BRYAN LEE O'MALLEY first appeared at the Small Press Expo in Bethesda in 2004, his second graphic novel, "Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life," had just been released and hadn't really taken off.
When O'Malley returns to the convention this weekend, he'll have four books from the ultra-popular "Pilgrim" series completed and there is a film in production (which O'Malley unfortunately is not able to speak about), starring the new it-nerd Michael Cera of "Superbad" and "Juno" fame (and he's returning to theater's this Friday with "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist"), and "Sean of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz" director Edgar Wright is at the helm.
Needless to say, when O'Malley makes his way to the Maryland suburb, he'll be one of the favorite creators at the convention, which caters to the more indie-favorite creators of the comic industry.
This year's event features some high profile guests, including Ben Katchor ("Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer"), Jason Lutes ("Berlin"), Tom Tomorrow ("This Modern World"), Raina Telgemeier ("The Baby-Sitter Club"), Lauren Weinstein ("Goddess of War"), Keith Knight ("The K Chronicles"), O'Malley's wife, Hope Larson ("Chiggers") and, making an incredibly rare stateside appearance, Dutch cartoonist Joost Swarte, who's work is recognizable from the cover of the New Yorker.
O'Malley spoke with Express about his comics and the convention.
Continue Reading "Pilgrim's Progress: Bryan Lee O'Malley on 'Scott Pilgrim'" »
BARRY'S MAGIC SHOP was a longtime fixture in Wheaton. When Montgomery County pushed forward on plans to spruce up and redevelop Wheaton's commercial district, the magic emporium, one of the only such shops in the area, was scheduled to be demolished — a move that sparked a public outcry.
As The Post's Lori Aratani reports today, the magic shop has reappeared on Nicholson Lane near the White Flint Mall. The move was made possible with $260,000 in financial assistance from the county.
And the shop's co-owner says Barry's is thriving in its larger location, which has a 40-seat performance space in addition to its retail spread. Susan Kang tells The Post: "I have to pinch myself. We're so lucky."
» "No Disappearing Act Here" [WaPo]
File photo of Barry's Magic Shop co-owners Susan Kang and Barry Taylor by Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post
Transit Is Central to New MoCo Planning Guidelines
Map It:
Bethesda Grosvenor
Rockville Twinbrook
Silver Spring Wheaton
White Flint
EXPECT MONTGOMERY COUNTY'S transit corridors to get a lot more crowded in the coming years: The county council last week approved new planning rules to encourage development in places already served by public transportation.
That means Bethesda, Silver Spring, Wheaton and Metrorail stations in the Rockville Pike corridor will likely see more dense development as the decades wear on.
Reports The Post's Miranda S. Spivack:
In the next 20 years, Montgomery faces several challenges as it tries to absorb the expected arrival of thousands of new residents and jobs already approved and plans for the proposed expansion of the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda. And the open land available for development is almost used up.Taxes on new construction in the county will increase from 70 percent to 125 percent, depending on the location and type of development.
» "New Montgomery Growth Policy Formalizes Focus on Public Transit" [WaPo]
Montgomery Officials Likely to Scrap Parking Plan
Map It: Bethesda Silver Spring Wheaton White Flint
IF THERE'S ANY TOPIC that stirs the passions of Montgomery County residents, it's parking. And their voices are being heard: After a deluge of complaints, county officials are now backing off a plan, initially OK'd in May, that would have hiked parking fees and extended metering hours.
The plan, which was to go into effect July 1, was part of an effort to make parking regulations uniform across the county — a move that was expected to generate nearly $700,000 in new revenue. However, as The Post's Miranda S. Spivack reports, business owners worried that raising parking prices in up-and-coming Silver Spring and Wheaton to the levels seen in already prosperous retail districts like Bethesda and White Flint could stem emerging areas' economic growth.
"We are in the infancy of this revitalization," Jackie Greenbaum, owner of Jackie's Restaurant in south Silver Spring, told Spivack. "Silver Spring is not Bethesda. We don't have the affluence yet or the rock-solid business community. It would not take much in our view to knock it back five years."
County Executive Isiah Leggett, who delayed implementation of the new parking plan, is urging members of the county council to scrap the idea when they meet later in the month.
»"Montgomery Parking-Fee Increase Unlikely" [WaPo]
» EARLIER: "Montgomery Co. Adds New Bethesda Parking Rules" [Free Ride/Express]
Photo by Preston Keres/The Washington Post
Stand-Up Comics
Map It: White Flint
AT THE SENSORY-OVERLOAD extravaganza that is the San Diego Comicon, a guy like Ted Rall might get overshadowed by the person drawing "X-Men," the new writer of "Batman" or some woman dressed up as Wonder Woman. But when Rall arrives at the Small Press Expo, everything changes.
"At many comics conventions, there would be a certain class of cartoonist, particularly those who are doing mainstream superhero comics who would be stars," said the political cartoonist, "whereas someone who might have just a zine or a Web site would just receive very little attention. SPX turns that over on its head."
The 12th annual SPX returns to Bethesda this weekend, where you'll be able to meet Rall and more than 300 artists and publishers, and discover for yourself the next big thing in the independent comic world.
Here you'll find anything from thick alternative graphic novels to hand-stapled, photocopied mini comics. The intimate setting of the show, now in its new location at the Marriott Bethesda North, allows you to rub elbows with your favorite creators, talk art, see some of the most inventive comics available and attend any number of panel discussions.
FOR SOME RED LINE COMMUTERS — those whose final stops are White Flint, Twinbrook, Rockville or Shady Grove — encountering a train with a final stop at Grosvenor-Strathmore can be frustrating; it means somebody else's wait for a train is over, but theirs isn't.
The thinking behind these Grosvenor turnbacks is that there are more Red Line riders inside the Capital Beltway, rather than beyond it, so there's not as big a need for trains servicing the outer portion of the Red Line. But try telling that to those outer portion commuters, especially the thousands of new residents in the greater Rockville area who use Metrorail.
As part of a Metro pilot program, some of the Grosvenor turnbacks will be eliminated starting this Sunday. The $2.25 million program is being funded by the state of Maryland and will provide full Shady Grove service for all Red Line trains on the weekends and during mid-day weekday periods. That means some relief — at least until the 18-month program ends.
» GET DETAILS ON THIS WEEKEND's Metro track work and service changes after the jump.
IN A YEAR OF RIDERSHIP RECORDS, Metro has hit another milestone: 200 million rides in one fiscal year, the transit agency reported yesterday. (Metro's fiscal years run from July 1 through June 30.) That means that Metrorail ridership has been increasing for 10 consecutive years and that for the past year, the average daily weekday ridership is just shy of 700,000 rides. So this afternoon during your ride home, raise a glass to toast Metro — as long as it's empty.
» "Metrorail Eclipses 200 Million Passengers for the First Time" [WMATA]
» WHITE FLINT: This is the view of the back of Hank Dietle's Tavern on Rockville Pike. The front isn't any more impressive. It's one of Montgomery County's last true roadhouses — if not the last. While high- and mid-density redevelopment has taken root up the pike, Hank Dietle's stands next to the campus of Georgetown Prep lost in time, stuck somewhere between 1949 and 1975. When we visited last week, we felt as if we were transported to an odd country convenience store on the shores of Lake Michigan. The wooden floors moaned and the establishment's aroma reminded us of grandfather's basement. The beer is cheap and the last-place and second-to-last place Hank Dietle's golf league photos on the wall are real, as were the old men drinking beer and snacking on Utz chips, which can be bought at the bar.
Photo by Michael Grass/Express
» ECKINGTON: According to a neighborhood message board, the Emery homeless shelter has been "downsized to 100 beds and no longer serves as emergency housing." That's a good thing, writes Mari, the blogger behind In Shaw, because it removes homeless residents — which apparently includes three sex offenders, according to residents — from the residential neighborhood and the adjacent recreation center and school. [In Shaw]
» FAR, FAR SOUTHWEST: Now, this is just cruel. Vandals — or perhaps scrap metal thieves — stole the aluminum benchtops from the bleachers at the Fort Greble fields where the Ballou Senior High School baseball team plays. The Post's David Nakamura reports that the bleachers were part of ballfield renovations by Major League Baseball and the city. Fort Greble, for those who don't know (it took some time for us to locate it) is way down in the portion of Southwest that's near D.C. Village and the Blue Plains water treatment plant, near Elmira Street SW and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. [WaPo]
Notes From Around Town: Whither Mies' Library
Map It: Dunn Loring Gallery Pl-Chinatown Silver Spring Waterfront White Flint
YOU MIGHT NOT immediately recognize the view here, but that is the reflection of the Old Patent Office Building in the windows of the District's Ludwig Mies van der Rohe-designed public library, named in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The building, just 34 years old, has been neglected and in many ways, the library is hampered by the structure's inadequacies. Some people love the building and appreciate the fact that neoclassical Washington can boast it has an edifice designed by one of the big three architects of the 20th century standing downtown on G Street NW between 9th and 10th streets NW. Others want it torn down. D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams wants to kick the library out of the building and lease the structure to an as-of-yet unnamed tenant who would help pay for a new library that would rise at the old Convention Center site.
At a public hearing back in April, Williams never elaborated on his vision for what he would do with the Mies building, only vaguely saying that he "appreciates" the International style used by the great architect and wants the building to "contribute to the vibrancy of 9th Street." Benjamin Forgey, The Post's architecture critic, takes Williams to task for treating such "a significant work of architecture as if it were a trifling leftover." Says Forgey:
Resurrecting a moribund planning department just happens to be one of the tremendous accomplishments of the Williams era. But if the city persists in ignoring the historical and aesthetic values of one its most important public structures, Williams will be leaving on a sad note.Photo by Michael Grass/Express
» "Through Glass Darkly: D.C.'s Poor Vision for Library" [WaPo]
» "D.C. Diary: Diving Into Library Rhetoric" [Free Ride]
» "D.C. Diary: Great Architect Says District Is Dull" [Free Ride]
SILVER SPRING: Over at 8045 Newell St., flat-screen television sets are apparently flying out windows of the condo building. [Silver Spring, Singular]
WHITE FLINT: Heads up: The 13-foot-by-17-foot cabin that inspired Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin" will be open for tours the weekend of June 24-25 as part of Montgomery County's Heritage Days. The cabin is located on Old Georgetown Road just south of Tilden Lane, near the White Flint Metrorail station. [WaPo]
WATERFRONT: The Anacostia Waterfront Corp. has narrowed the list of potential developers for D.C.'s 47-acre Southwest waterfront. A final decision is expected by the end of the summer. The revamped waterfront will boast new mixed-use development featuring retail, parks, housing and potentially a hotel. [WBJ]
PALISADES: Talking head/MSNBC host Tucker Carlson is buying a $4 million house upriver from Georgetown. Now that the bow tie is gone, he'll fit in more with the casual crowd at Black Salt on MacArthur Boulevard. It's too bad the place is so loud that he won't be able to hear himself talk. Imagine that. [Reliable Source/WaPo]
DUNN LORING-MERRIFIELD: At a Marriott Residence Inn off Gallows Road south of the Dunn Loring-Merrifield Metrorail station, Fairfax County police broke up an illegal Texas Hold 'Em gambling operation last Friday. Nobody from the hotel was involved. [Examiner]
Yellow Line to Be Extended in Pilot Program
Map It: Columbia Heights Fort Totten Georgia Ave-Petworth Grosvenor Mt Vernon Square Rockville Shady Grove Shaw-Howard U Twinbrook U Street-Cardozo White Flint
WHAT A DIFFERENCE a change in leadership can make. If you remember last fall, Metro's then-chief executive, Richard White, was very much against any sort of extension of the Yellow Line from its terminus at the Mount Vernon Square-7th St.-Convention Center station through the Green Line's rapidly developing Mid-City corridor to Fort Totten. 
That was despite calls from residents in the U Street and Columbia Heightsneighborhoods. Mr. White's response, via a DCist post last November:
Such an extension of service would be exceedingly expensive, both from an operating cost perspective, as well as from a capital cost perspective. An additional 8 trains would be required to extend the Yellow Line. At 6 cars per train, the additional 48 cars plus spares would exceed 100 million dollars.Flash forward to today's Metro Board meeting with Metro's new interim general manager, Dan Tangherlini. Voila! As part of an 18-month pilot study starting in January, the Yellow Line will run during weekday off-peak and weekend hours all the way from its Virginia terminus at Huntington to Fort Totten in the District, increasing the number of trains serving the Georgia Ave.-Petworth, Columbia Heights, U St.-Cardozo and Shaw-Howard University stations -- at a frequency of every 7 1/2 to 10 minutes.
Continue Reading "Yellow Line to Be Extended in Pilot Program" »
Addison Road