Words and Pictures

  John Callahan was the most unlikely of cartoonists, a quadriplegic who was only able to grip a pen after extensive physical therapy.  Yet he became a comics phenomenon, transforming personal and cultural demons into abrasive yet hilarious single-panel gags that earned hi... Read more

  Sculptor, composer, and animator John Frame last talked with S.W. Conser in 2012, when the Portland Art Museum hosted his exhibition Three Fragments of a Lost Tale.  Now, Frame has returned as production designer for Charles Gounod's Faust, a co-production of Portland Op... Read more

  In this extended conversation with artist and animator John Frame, we learn more about his design work for Charles Gounod's Faust, a co-production of Portland Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago.  John talks about his fascination with the centuries-old characters of Doctor ... Read more

Craig Thompson took the comics world by storm in 2003 with his epic graphic memoir Blankets, a poignant recollection of young love and lost innocence, and cemented his literary reputation with 2011's Habibi. Now, Craig has re-issued his 2004 sketchbook travelogue Carnet de ... Read more

  Portland alt-comics heavyweights Barry Deutsch (Hereville) and Becky Hawkins (French Toast Comix) have teamed up to create SuperButch, the adventures of a lesbian superhero and the citizens whose lives she transforms.  Set in the 1940's when many gay Americans led double... Read more

  Portland animator Paul Harrod has built sets for Pee-Wee's Playhouse, sculpted California Raisins for Will Vinton, and directed episodes of the breakthrough animated TV series The PJs. During a recent trip to the Burning Man arts festival, Paul answered a call from film... Read more

  In this extended conversation with Portland animator Paul Harrod, we hear more about his adventures working with filmmaker Wes Anderson, as well as the likes of Lily Tomlin, Eddie Murphy, and Larry Wilmore. During a recent trip to the Burning Man arts festival, Paul answ... Read more

  Gail Noonan's short films celebrate human relations and the natural world with a sweeping range of artistic techniques, from collage to stop-motion animation.  Her work cuts against the grain with humor and heart, tackling themes of justice and liberation, poetry and sex... Read more

  In this extended conversation with animator Gail Noonan, S.W. Conser asks about the early artistic adventures with the Winnipeg Film Group that helped spark Gail's four-decade-long career in the world of Canadian independent film and led to her recent retrospective at Po... Read more