Zippy's Pittsburgh and More Now Open!

Zippy's Pittsburgh and More is now on display in the ToonSeum. It's a great exhibition featuring Zippy's exploration of Pittsburgh and Pennylvania. Lots of great roadside attractions, odd references to Pittsburgh and much more. The exhibit is curated by Harold Behar and on Display through the end of March.
Above is the strip that inspired the exhibit when Executive Director of the ToonSeum Joe Wos saw a blow up of the first panel on display at the Beehive on Pittsburgh's Southside.

Screening of My Neighbor Totoro at the ToonSeum

Get behind the screen to explore animation, a film genre universally loved around the world. Animate figures and clay like a pro, see real animation cels, meet Kris Boban, animator of the popular children's show Yo Gabba Gabba, and more! Then save room for popcorn and a screening of anime classic My Neighbor Totoro (Japan, 1988), by Hayao Miyazaki. Presented with the ToonSeum.

Bring your siblings, nieces, nephews, or bring some friends to the ToonSeum’s screening of My Neighbor Totoro Reel Fun Workshops The Children’s Museum presents two new workshops to cultivate media literacy through screenings AND activities! Each workshop will engage the whole family in the historical, mechanical and social relevance of movies and viewing in today’s culture. Workshops will be held from 2:00-4:30 p.m. and are free for Museum members, $5 per family with Museum Admission for the public. Registration is required at the Front Desk the day of each event. Space is limited. Feb. 22: Animation Get behind the screen to explore animation, a film genre universally loved around the world. Animate figures and clay like a pro, see real animation cels, meet Kris Boban, animator of the popular children's show Yo Gabba Gabba, and more! Then save room for popcorn and a screening of anime classic My Neighbor Totoro (Japan, 1988), by Hayao Miyazaki. Presented with the ToonSeum.

Zippy's Pittsburgh and More, Opens February 14th!

Zippy's Pittsburgh and More: The Art of Bill Griffith

At The ToonSeum, February 14 to March 31, 2009

PITTSBURGH -- The ToonSeum, Pittsburgh's museum of cartoon art, presents Zippy's Pittsburgh and More: The Art of Bill Griffith, February 7 through March 31, 2009.

Zippy's Pittsburgh and More is an exhibit of Griffith's original comic art, with several strips featuring Pittsburgh landmarks as settings. "Our location at the Children's Museum has a certain surreal quality that lends itself well to Zippy," said ToonSeum Executive Director, Joe Wos. "Giant inflatable ice cream dinosaurs, twenty-foot cranes made of old gas station signs, and of course a museum of cartoon art, all seem to fit quite well in Zippy's world!" The artist agrees, saying "For me, Zippy is funniest when his craziness bumps up against the 'real world', which is why I put him in diners and have him talking to Bob's Big Boy. It doesn't get much more real than Pittsburgh, PA - it's Zippy Country!"

Zippy the Pinhead, one of the unlikeliest daily comic strips in the history of newspapers, initially appeared in underground comix in the early 1970s, and was first published as a daily strip in the San Francisco Examiner in 1985. The following year, King Features picked up the strip for worldwide syndication. Zippy's creator Bill Griffith describes the character as the "wise fool," who "knows nothing at all and everything at once." His twisted response to all forms of high and low culture forces us to take a fresh look at words and images that permeate our consciousness daily.

Comic Kisses

The ToonSeum will have a selection of reproductions featuring romance comic kisses throughout the month of February at Gypsy Cafe on Pittsburgh Southside at 1330 Bingham.
Its a great way to spend Valentine's Day weekend!