Ted Rall Live in Columbus

I’ll be speaking about graphic storytelling at this year’s triennial Festival of Cartoon Art, sponsored by and held at Ohio State University. Here’s the schedule of this worthy event.

I go on on Friday, October 26 at 2 pm. My talk was originally supposed to be a panel discussion with Guy DeLisle (graphic novelist of “Pyongyang”), and I had originally asked Joe Sacco (“Palestine”) to participate. As it turns out, it will be just little old me.

The last time around, I think in 1996 or thereabouts, I made an ass out of myself, ranting about how old-style editorial cartoons suck while asserting that the only worthwhile political cartoons appeared in the alternative weeklies and were drawn by artists like, well, me. (Mainly, I was right. But I exaggerated big-time. Lots of great mainstream editorial cartoonists work at daily papers.) After this inspiring presentation I headed to the men’s room to take the dump I should have taken there instead of verbally, I heard several people walk in and say comments like “Can you believe that asshole?”

Normally I discount such comments. This time, they were right. Hopefully I’ll do better this year.

Anyway, this won’t be a political rant but rather a 45-minute overview of comics journalism in the modern era. I’ll be projecting images of other artists’ work, including that of absentees Sacco and DeLisle, culminating with my own current projects and a sneak peak at my upcoming graphic novel, scheduled for publication in 2008. I always save lots of time for the Q&A period.

Tickets are still available for this year’s festival, so snatch them up!