Support your local comic book shop during Free Comic Book Day 2016

The annual Free Comic Book Day, a program created to celebrate comic books and readers of comic books, is scheduled for Saturday, May 7, 2016. The comic book industry offers a select group of comics to independent comic book stores at low cost so the stores can give them away for free or as a charitable fundraiser. The organization behind the event states millions of books have been given away around the world since the event began in 2002.

Besides the free comic book distribution, many stores feature in-store guests—local cartoonists who are willing to come in and meet the fans (and make future fans) of their work, gamers or cosplayers. The interaction permits a greater experience than simply purchasing comic books. Better than a big box store or convenience shop, the indie comic book store connects buyers and artists as well as others in the creative community. Other events may include games or prizes for attendees or raffles. Special activities vary by store.

The regularly issued monthly version of a comic book was first released in 1922, although individual bound books had been released as early as 1837. The modern comic book grew out of these early volumes. The industry has grown to sales in the millions of dollars, according to Comichron with 2016 sales of comics and graphic novels through the end of March estimated at more than $129 million.

Find a participating comic book store through the Free Comic Book Day locator or call your local comic book store to determine if they will participate. One of the options for Gulf Coast comic lovers is Three Alarm Comics at 15210 Lemoyne Blvd., Biloxi, MS. The store will feature comic artists such as Andy Childress of BubbaWorldComix and Kevin Hayman of Everywhen Comics, Whovians of the Gulf Coast and many additional guests.

Roscoe (left) and Andy Childress at Three Alarm Comics

Originally appeared 05/05/2016 at http://www.examiner.com/article/support-your-local-comic-book-shop-during-free-comic-book-day-2016

Hurricane Hunters presentation headlines Katrina +10 exhibit at OOMA

Col. Sean Cross, between a video screen showing Hurricane Katrina  and a horse sculpture

Accompanied by slides, videos and a genuine dropsonde, three members of the legendary Hurricane Hunters entertained and informed a crowd of about one hundred visitors at Biloxi’s Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art on Sunday, May 31, 2015 as part of the museum’s retrospective on the Mississippi Gulf Coast’s recovery from 2005’s Hurricane Katrina. The storm chasing 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi moved there in the mid-19703 from Puerto Rico.

The program opened with Lt. Col. Jon Talbot, Chief Meteorologist, describing the mission of Hurricane Hunters.

“We do exactly what pilots are trained not to do—fly into severe weather,” he noted. The information gained from these flights provides forecasters with data on the hurricane which is used to make more accurate forecasts as to strength of winds, potential storm surge and changes in direction. The crews fly WC-130J aircraft specially equipped with digital equipment to collect and transmit data. The sturdy planes are not beefed up structurally for hurricane service; they are already tough birds in their normal configuration.

Talbot explained the 53rd is not large in size compared to other Air Force agencies, but performs a very important task. He shared a great deal of statistical data on Hurricane Katrina, including her ranking as the sixth most intense Atlantic hurricane to date as measured solely by central pressure of 902 millibars (hPa) and the third most intense land-falling hurricane to date (920 millibars (hPa)).

Shots of the interior of the aircraft and views of the eyewall of a hurricane as seen from within the eye gave dramatic testimony to the dangers faced by the fliers. Talbot displayed a dropsonde, a data-collection device dropped by the pilots to parachute into the storm and relay data from the surface.

Lt. Col. John Talbot and a dropsonde

Perhaps the hardest hitting visual came in the form of a time lapse montage entitled “Evolution of a Monster” detailing the growth and path of Katrina between Aug. 24 and Aug. 29, 2015 through satellite imagery.

Major Sean Cross added his first-hand accounts of flying into the storm multiple times over the days they tracked her. What he saw led him to warn family and friends to leave immediately because, he said, the Gulf Coast “is going to be changed forever.” When a friend indicated he would ride out the storm in Biloxi’s Back Bay area, Cross told him to “write your name on your forearm in Magic Marker” so his body could be identified when it was found if he didn’t survive the storm.

Cross stressed the importance of each person who lived through Katrina passing on the stories of the horrors and damage to the next generation so they won’t make the mistake of underestimating an approaching hurricane.

The final speaker, a retired Hurricane Hunter, described the build-up of storm surge prior to the storm’s landfall. He related how the early strength of the storm started a wall of water toward the coastline. Even when the storm weakened, the surge maintained its motion. He labeled Katrina as a “CAT 3 storm that made landfall accompanied by a CAT 5 storm surge.”

Although the Hurricane Hunters program was a one-day special event, the museum has many special events coming up through the duration of the Katrina+10 exhibit. Running from May 21 through September 12, the program includes multi-media presentations by the Miss. Department of Transportation, Miss. Power and Light, the Sun Herald newspaper and WLOX-TV.

Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art

386 Beach Blvd.

Biloxi, Miss.

Originally appeared 05/31/2015 at http://www.examiner.com/article/hurricane-hunters-presentation-headlines-katrina-10-exhibit-at-ooma

New exhibits at Biloxi's Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art welcome visitors

 

OOMA from Hwy 90, courtesy Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art

The Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art in Biloxi, Miss. announces three new exhibits on its tree-shaded campus overlooking the Mississippi Sound. The museum, which celebrates the art of potter George Ohr, will host a public reception on June 28, 2013. Hogan Eye Clinic and Margaritaville are sponsoring the free event.

“Shearwater: The Christopher and Kristen Hogan Collection” greets visitors in the Mississippi Sound Welcome Center. The pottery on loan from the Hogan Collection delights the eye with its shapes and colors, as vases, plates, bowls, cups and figurines catch the eye. Shearwater Pottery, a family business in nearby Ocean Springs, is still in operation. 

The Hogan Collection remains on display through November 30, 2013. Funding was provided by Christopher and Kristen Hogan, Mississippi Arts Council at the state level and the National Endowment for the Arts on the federal level.

“Following the Light - France to Mississippi: Paintings by Frank Janca” features 28 paintings by Biloxi transplant Frank Janca. The paintings hang in the IP Casino Resort Spa Exhibitions Gallery through December 7. A native of Maryland, Janca offers images of both the Mississippi Gulf Coast and southern France done in gentle impressionistic style. Slice of life scenes share the walls with subtle landscapes that might easily illustrate a fairy tale. Funding for the exhibition is provided by R & B Feder Charitable Foundation for the Beaux-Arts.

The Beau Rivage Resort & Casino Gallery holds “Visions: Art Outside the Box” in the Gallery of African American Art. The works of five Mississippi and Louisiana artists are represented in an exhibition of largely self-taught art. Never dull, often visionary, the raw power of the paintings, sculptures and installation art on display will touch viewers in unexpected ways. Enjoy this exhibit by November 30, 2013. Part of the funding for this exhibition came from the Mississippi Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The same building holds the Star Gallery, which features more than 75 pieces by the museum’s namesake George Ohr, the Mad Potter of Biloxi.

With such vastly different styles and so many themes, the exhibits offer something for everyone. With the free public reception on June 28 between 5 and 7 PM, visitors can gain a taste of the delights housed at the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art located at 386 Beach Blvd. in Biloxi.

Originally appeared 6/24/2013 at  http://www.examiner.com/article/new-exhibits-at-biloxi-s-ohr-o-keefe-museum-of-art-welcome-visitors