Michael Avolio

@michaelavolio.bsky.social

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Silver Spring, MD

Indie cartoonist making comics.
Autistic and in constant physical pain.
Former theater artist. Forever cinephile.

Buy my comics and paintings at michaelavolio.etsy.com. Support my comics work at patreon.com/michaelavolio.

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Michael Avolio

Giclée art p̶r̶i̶n̶c̶e̶ prints of my paintings, original art, comics, and more! Follow this l̶o̶n̶k̶ link: michaelavolio.etsy.com

"Coronavirus infections are likely growing in 44 states and territories as of June 25, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention." Gift article, no paywall: wapo.st/45N8pxn

A covid summer uptick is underway as FLiRT and LB.1 variants ascendwapo.st Covid infections are growing in nearly all states -- with the sharpest increases in the West, according to CDC data. The FLiRT and LB.1 variants are most common.

Francis Ford Coppola got his friend Robert Towne to write the big scene between Vito and Michael for The Godfather. Marlon Brando didn't know who Towne was but was grateful for the scene:

Shopworn is a solid showcase for early Barbara Stanwyck, who plays a character with some autobiographical elements, alternatively tough & vulnerable. Worth seeing for her work & for the harsh truths about the wealthy & powerful. My Letterboxd review: boxd.it/6NcKB1

Review of ‘Shopworn’ (1932) ★★★boxd.it Barbara Stanwyck brings a deep authenticity and strength to one of those roles that relates somewhat to her own difficult life and upbringing. In some ways, this feels like a trial run for the…

My copy of The Nancy Show arrived from @fantagraphics.bsky.social! This is the exhibition catalogue of the Ernie Bushmiller show currently running at The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum. Several essays, ~70 pages of original art, & ~40 pages of scans of color Sunday pages from newspapers!

Matt Zoller Seitz: "this one decision certified and even codified a Puritan-about-everything-but-violence tendency that had always existed in the United States and that was very briefly challenged for an approximately 15-year window late in the twentieth century." www.rogerebert.com/mzs/some-mat...

Some Material May Be Inappropriate: The PG-13 Rating at 40 | MZS | Roger Ebertwww.rogerebert.com How the PG-13 rating changed American cinema for the worse.

Twice Two is a hilarious 20-minute comedy short in which Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy play characters with their usual personas who have married each other's sisters, & the sisters are also played by the two. Fun premise & execution. My Letterboxd review: boxd.it/6MBt4Z

Review of ‘Twice Two’ (1933) ★★★★½boxd.it Twice Two is a hilarious comedy short in which Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy play characters with their usual personas who have married each other's sisters, and the sisters are also played by the two…

Donald Trump made over 30,500 false or misleading statements during his presidency. If a family member or coworker lied to you on average more than twenty times every day for four years, would you trust them? www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/pol...

Analysis | Tracking all of President Trump’s false or misleading claimswww.washingtonpost.com The Washington Post’s ongoing database of President Trump’s false or misleading claims.

Wow! With this @scottmccloud.bsky.social & @goraina.bsky.social collaboration using the premise of a group of kids creating their own comics, The Cartoonists Club might drive a lot of the youngest generation into becoming cartoonists themselves. Exciting! www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel...

Scholastic’s Graphix Announces the Cartoonists Club by Bestselling Comics Legends Raina Telgemeier and Scott McCloudwww.webwire.com Scholastic, the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books, announced the publication of The Cartoonists Club — a one-of-a-kind graphic novel from #1 New York Times bestsellin...

Plague Journal page 68 from January 20, 2021. So many people died or got long-term illnesses from covid because Trump mismanaged the US response to the worldwide pandemic, spreading lies to make himself look better to his cultist followers.

The new Blu-ray of 1934's Black Moon has some color! Color tints & tones were prevalent during the silent film era, but I've never seen the technique used in a talkie. This piece discusses the topic: chicagofilmsociety.org/2013/09/03/the-true-story-of-tinted-talkies-an-interview-with-anthony-labbate

My Letterboxd review of the 6-minute, experimental, nonlinear 1991 student film Here, based on the 6-page 1989 Richard McGuire comic later expanded into a graphic novel which is being adapted into the next Robert Zemeckis film starring Tom Hanks and Robin Wright: boxd.it/6KxMzB

Review of ‘Here’ (1991) ★★★boxd.it A short student film based on a short experimental comic, in which we see a nonlinear jumble of brief snippets of numerous time periods without changing our viewpoint. We stay fixed looking at a…

Here by Richard McGuire was a short. 6-page comic published in 1989 in Raw magazine, the groundbreaking anthology edited by Art Spiegelman & Françoise Mouly. McGuire later expanded Here into a 2014 graphic novel. This is a 1991 short film based on the short comic version: youtu.be/57hR44mB5u0

Here (1991)youtu.be A short film about a series of events in time that happen in one point of space: the corner of a room in a normal house. Student-produced at the RIT Dept. of...

Excellent news. Hopefully these generative "A.I." companies will be sued until they stop creating this plagiarism software. www.reuters.com/technology/a...

Music labels sue AI companies Suno, Udio for US copyright infringementwww.reuters.com Major record labels Sony Music , Universal Music Group and Warner Records sued artificial intelligence companies Suno and Udio on Monday, accusing them of committing mass copyright infringement by using the labels' recordings to train music-generating AI systems.

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Michael Avolio

Okay, so I'm going to post a thread now about using Clip Studio Paint, about color settings, ICC color profiles, outputting to CMYK, getting 100% K in your blacks, etc. Technical shit. If you're struggling with this, read the thread. I'll reply to myself here, and it'll take a little time... 1/many

Giclée art p̶r̶i̶n̶c̶e̶ prints of my paintings, original art, comics, and more! Follow this l̶o̶n̶k̶ link: michaelavolio.etsy.com

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Michael Avolio

For The Comics Journal @comicsjournal.bsky.social, I wrote an in-depth investigation into Roy Thomas, Len Wein, and the curious case of who created Wolverine. Featuring interviews with many of the key players.

Logan’s Run: Roy Thomas, Len Wein, and the curious case of the Wolverine - The Comics Journalwww.tcj.com Who really did create Wolverine? And just as importantly, why should any of the rest of us care?

Storybox Comics Fair, the small indie comic convention in Silver Spring, MD just outside Washington, DC focused on local comic creators, is 12-5pm tomorrow afternoon (Sunday) at Third Hill Brewing Co. Admission is $10, and there are 18 exhibitors: www.instagram.com/p/C8XCD2Cx-vt/ I hope to attend.

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Michael Avolio

Plague Journal# 2 is back in print! I spent a few hours the other night cutting, stapling, & folding the new copies. $5 for 52 of my one-page pandemic comics combining melancholy poetry, angry satire, & goofy humor. & Plague Journal # 1 is still available. michaelavolio.etsy.com/listing/1566...

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Michael Avolio

New reviews from a happy customer! I love seeing photos of my work framed in people's homes. Buy my comics, drawings, paintings, and more at my online shop: michaelavolio.etsy.com

Washington Post's interactive page about the heat dome, where you can look up your city, getting updated daily. Gift article link, no paywall. wapo.st/45DCIGQ

Where extreme heat will pose the biggest threat: Look up your citywapo.st See in maps how heat waves and dangerous temperatures will affect your city this summer. Track the temperatures and extreme heat wave risk in your area.

Cartoonist M.S. Harkness' report on Nancy Fest for The Comics Journal: tcj.com/nancy-fest-2024-scene-report-brisket-and-bushmiller

Nancy Fest 2024 scene report: Brisket and Bushmiller - The Comics Journaltcj.com What was the first ever Nancy Fest like? M.S. Harkness lays it all out for you.

Donald Sutherland (1935-2024) In addition to his excellent work in films like Don't Look Now, Ordinary People, Klute, and the first remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, I highly recommend the audiobook of Sutherland reading Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea.

Employees' Entrance is hilarious, horrifying, and heartfelt, with one of the all-time great onscreen villains. My Letterboxd review: boxd.it/6H1f4z

Review of ‘Employees' Entrance’ (1933) ★★★★★boxd.it Outrageous! Perverse! Hilarious! Disturbing! Sharp reversals in the plot and deep cynicism softened by wacky comedy. A strong script and an all-timer antagonist performance. It's all business. The…

Hoopla a.k.a. Hoop-La is funny, warm, and entertaining. I hope someone restores it and puts it out on disc! My review on Letterboxd: boxd.it/6Gzsc1

Review of ‘Hoopla’ (1933) ★★★★½boxd.it Fabulous! A fun premise (Clara Bow is paid to make the boss' son fall for her), a solid ensemble, and the engaging milieu of a traveling carnival troupe. There's humor, personality, and heart. An…

The frustration of witnessing the all too believable small town gossip is worth weathering in the ultimately satisfying pre-code film Hot Saturday. My review on Letterboxd: boxd.it/6H0qA5

Review of ‘Hot Saturday’ (1932) ★★★½boxd.it A satisfying pre-code in which the small minded small town folks are frustratingly believable. I'd like to think a film like this teaches gossips and judgemental hypocrites a lesson. Nancy Carroll…

Laughter in Hell is only available on 35mm, not home video or streaming. It's a mixed bag but worth seeing once if you get the chance. My review on Letterboxd: boxd.it/6GNImp

Review of ‘Laughter in Hell’ (1933) ★★½boxd.it Uneven but worth seeing once. I caught this in 35mm today during AFI Silver's pre-code series. The film begins by showing us the protagonist and his two rivals, a pair of bullying brothers, as kids.…

The Story of Temple Drake turns from airy, pre-code froth to an intense horror-noir. My Letterboxd review: boxd.it/6GzHcP

Review of ‘The Story of Temple Drake’ (1933) ★★★★boxd.it A brightly lit pre-code film about a beautiful and fun-loving society gal turns into a gothic horror-noir following a car accident. There's slow dread and excruciating suspense when there are…

Me and My Gal has enjoyably silly comedy, a predictable crime plot, & charming romantic chemistry between a likeable Spencer Tracy & a crackling Joan Bennett. My Letterboxd review: boxd.it/6GyI3H

Review of ‘Me and My Gal’ (1932) ★★★½boxd.it Pretty funny and sweet. There are three jokes right away (one of them is Tracy saying politicians are all crooks just before stealing a banana from someone passing by carrying a bunch of bunches),…