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Oct. 13-19
Each week, Times features writer Brandon Oland provides a list of must-see entertainment events for the week ahead.

At the Movies

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Thursday, October 13, 2011

best

Straight from the funny pages

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BY BRANDON OLAND
TIMES STAFF WRITER

Reviews for Footloose and The Skin I Live In C4

SUBMITTED PHOTOS

CARROLL COUNTY
Molasses Creek in concert

McDaniel exhibit to feature history of comics

large comic strips used to be, he said. Prior to World War II, the Sunday comic strip occupied a single page with 12 to 16 panels. Lemieux said paper rationing during World War II has a significant affect on comic strip artists. Everything started to shrink, he said. Comics never did return to their original size. For decades, comics have appeared mostly as one panel or threeor four- panel entities on pages alongside several others. Since 1950, Mort Walkers Beetle Bailey has been one of them in many newspapers. The comic follows the travails of the freckled, goofoff Beetle, who continues to soldier on in the Army in newspapers after originally joining during the Korean War. Walkers son Brian, who contributes gags to Beetle Bailey, is one of four comic experts taking part in The Serious Side of Comics Speaker Series taking place in conjunction with the art exhibit. Brian will speak at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at McDaniel Lounge in a discussion that is free and open to the public. Please see Exhibit, C2

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Molasses Creek will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Carroll Arts Center in Westminster. What: The bluegrass group has recorded 11 albums and features Gary Mitchell on guitar and vocals, fiddler Dave Tweedie, dobro and bass player Lou Castro, and mandolin and bass players Marcy Brenner and Gerald Hampton. When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday Where: Carroll Arts Center, 91 W. Main St., Westminster Admission: $15 for adults, $13 for Carroll County Arts Council members, students and seniors Information: 410- 848-7272 or www.carrollcountyartscouncil.org
Westminster Lions Club presents 1st Annual Country Gospel Bluegrass Show

What: This concert features Darren Beachley and HeartTown with all proceeds benefiting the Lions Club community. When: 1- 5 p.m. Sunday Where: Westminster Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 467, 519 Poole Road, Westminster Admission: $15 Information: 410- 848- 9250 or 410-795-3585

IN THE REGION
WPOCs Sunday in the Country

ost semesters, McDaniel College associate professor Robert Lemieux teaches a freshman seminar course about comic strips and how they affect culture. His students are most familiar with Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus and Snoopy from Peanuts and the fat cat Garfield. But long before Lucy tormented Charlie Brown and Garfield ate lasagna, comics enjoyed a considerable role in newspapers, entertainment and pop culture. Lemieux said he hopes to shed light on the history of the art form in Kings of the Pages: Comic Strips & Culture 1895-1950. The exhibit opens Wednesday at McDaniel Colleges Rice Gallery inside Peterson Hall in Westminster. The exhibition features 28 original, hand- drawn panels and early newsprint pieces on loan from the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum at Ohio State University. The exhibit was designed by graduate students at the Corcoran College of Art & Design in Washington, D.C. Successful early strips from Blondie to Krazy Kat to Pogo are included in the exhibit, which also features Peanuts as well. The beautiful part of it is its kind of an easy sell, Lemieux said. Even though you might not read comics still, almost everybody has a connection to comic strips, having read them at some point. Lemieux spent hours reading and studying comics during visits to Ohio States museum in Columbus. He delved into the collection of 450,000 original cartoons and 2.5 million comic strip clippings and tear sheets there. He picked out strips that he said had to be in the exhibit because they were central to the history of the American comic strip. They had to meet two criteria: be visually appealing and have quality, preferably funny, content. He whittled his choices down to 50 then painstakingly selected 28 during the four- month process in the summer of 2009. People will be surprised about how

OSCAR-ANIMATED SHORTS
The Carroll County Arts Council will be screening a compilation of the 2011 Academy Award nominated animated short films at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Oct. 21. The program was chosen to complement McDaniel Colleges art exhibit. Admission is $6 for adults and $5 for Carroll County Arts Council members, students and seniors. McDaniel College students and faculty will be admitted for free. For more information, call 410- 848-7272 or www.carrollcountyarts council.org.

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Josh Turner is headlining Sunday in the Country, which starts at 11 a.m. Sunday at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia. What: Josh Turner, former Carroll County 4-H & FFA Fair act The Band Perry, Easton Corbin, Steel Magnolia, Frankie Ballard and Hunter Hayes take part in this years country showcase put on by 93.1 WPOC-FM. When: 11 a.m. Sunday Where: Merriweather Post Pavilion, 10475 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia Admission: $40-$75 Information: 410-715-5550 or www.merriweathermusic.com
Bush, Chevelle & Filter in concert

SERIOUS SIDE OF COMICS

A speaker series is taking place in conjunction with Kings of the Pages: Comic Strips & Culture 1895-1950. All events at McDaniel are free and open to the public. The Richard Thompson lecture at Corcoran College of Art & Design is $10- $20. For more information on the Thompson lecture, call 202- 639-1770 or visit www.corcoran.org/ calendar.
Brian Walker

What: After an eight-year hiatus, front man Gavin Rossdale rejoined altrockers Bush in 2010 and the group resumed touring. When: 6:30 p.m. Monday Where: The Fillmore Silver Spring, 8656 Colesville Road, Silver Spring Admission: $41.50 Information: 301- 960- 9999 or www.fillmoresilverspring.com

and Lois and a writer for Beetle Bailey. Both strips were started by his father Mort, who continues to work on them at the age of 88. He was the curator of the Museum of Cartoon Art for 18 years and has taught courses on comics at Fairfield University and the School of Visual Arts in New York City. When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday Where: McDaniel Lounge, 2 College Hill, Westminster

and is the creator of the self- titled, syndicated cartoon, Bliss. He is also a childrens book illustrator who worked on Diary of a Worm, Diary of a Spider and Diary of a Fly by author Doreen Cronin. When: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 26 Where: McDaniel Lounge, 2 College Hill, Westminster
Richard Thompson

Where: Corcoran College of Art & Design, Frances and Armand Hammer Auditorium, 500 17th Street, Washington, D.C.
Kevin Kallaugher

About: Walker is a Harry Bliss prominent cartoon historian and a second- generaAbout: Bliss is a cartion creator of the strip Hi toonist for the New Yorker

About: His comic strip Cul de Sac has gained national recognition. He was the 2011 recipient of the Reuben Award, given to the nations top cartoonists and illustrators. When: 7 p.m. Nov. 1

About: He is a political cartoonist for The Economist. Hes created more than 4,000 cartoons and his work at The Economist includes more than 120 illustrated covers. When: 7:30 p.m. Nov. 8 Where: McDaniel Lounge, 2 College Hill, Westminster

Source: McDaniel College