Counterculture Comics and the Semiotics of Disney Icons: A workshop with Shary Flenniken

Join us for an afternoon of cartooning and conversation led by Shary Flenniken, a longtime member of the underground comics collective the Air Pirates, and Larry Reid, curator of Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery. In the first part of this two-hour workshop, they will discuss the Air Pirates’ colorful and contentious history with the use appropriated imagery, and the semiotics of such cultural icons as Disney’s Mickey Mouse. In the second part of the program, Flenniken will lead a drawing exercise based on adapting imagery from pop culture to create satire.

Seattle cartoonist Shary Flenniken began as a member of the Air Pirates, and subsequently joined the staff of National Lampoon, where she served as an editor from 1979 to 1981. She has contributed to Mad, Details, and American Lawyer, as well as several book collections.