Mike Brace's caricature of Conan O'Brien

Mike Brace: Moved to West End for a graphics job at the GW Medical Center. He liked the location and the neighborhood, so has remained for 30 plus years. While he enjoyed medical art, he had a greater love for cartooning. After leaving GW, he continued working on his own for a number of years, until he got involved with the DC Conspiracy, a group of DC area cartoonists. He says, “I was excited to participate in the upcoming exhibit because it showcases the local independent publications the group has been working on.”

Andrew Cohen: Moved to DC in 2005, and shortly thereafter started law school at George Washington. In 2006, he moved to Foggy Bottom, initially, he says, so that he wouldn’t have to “schlep my books so much.” Cohen says, “When I graduated, I just stayed put. I liked the neighborhood and the stores, the proximity to the libraries and metros and parks, and the fact that I could basically walk to any place I might want to go within the city.”

“I got into comics when I was about ten, but fell out of them for a period. I kept drawing, though, and enjoying art. And I still loved drawing cartoons – I drew for the school newspaper, and for friends and myself. In college, I got back into comics and discovered that the college library actually
had quite a good collection of graphic novels and historical stuff about comics. I loved reading the histories and the old newspaper strips, and discovering all the cartoonists who were out there, plugging away in the world today. I really dug the variety of stories and styles that was available.

The show at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library was sort of born of that fascination. We’re part of a group – the D.C. Conspiracy – and it’s made up of D.C. area cartoonists. A lot of people don’t realize the comic talent hidden away in the city, and so we look for ways to celebrate comics whenever we can. We contacted the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library with some ideas for a show, and the library was incredibly open. So we decided to do something that would really show off all the work being done in the District’s comic book scene. D.C. doesn’t have the artistic reputation of some cities, and that’s not entirely fair. Hopefully, this show will give people an appreciation for some of the creative spirits that are brewing in the District.

We’ll have original art hanging on the walls, so that people can see the cartooning up close. Hopefully, that will jazz people up to read some comics, and so there will be a comic book reading area. We’ll have spinning racks and book shelves filled with comics that city and suburb folks have put out. There will be literary and literate comics, comics about war and sci-fi, surrealist stuff, children’s stuff… and chairs, so that visitors can grab some ‘toons and enjoy. If all goes well, that will have people thinking that they, too, can make a comic, and so we’re putting on two workshops – July 31, and August 22 – to teach people how to do just that. Each one will be led by a D.C. Conspirator who will instruct folks how to write, draw and put together their very own comic.”

D.C. Conspiracy July 12 – August 27, 2010

(Open during MLK Library hours)
Exhibit of Original Comic Art and All-ages workshops on how to make your own comics: July 31 and Aug 22
Martin Luther King Jr. Library, 901 G Street, NW, 2nd floor, West lobby

For more information about D.C. Conspirators visit www.dcconspiracy.com