FLOG! Entries - May 2009

Mahler & Newgarden talk Funny

mike

At the Austrian Cultural Forum NYC, on Weds. June 3 at 6:30 PM (note that this overlaps with Jason's Low Moon signing at The Strand in NYC):

6:30 PM WHAT IS "FUNNY" ANYWAY?

A comics conversation with award-winning cartoonists Nicolas Mahler and Mark Newgarden.
Moderated by Mark David Nevins.

Join us for a lively and visually rich conversation with Nicolas Mahler and Mark Newgarden, in which we will explore how comics work, the marketplaces for graphic humor, where these cartoonists get their ideas, and, yes, the answer to the eternal question, "What is 'Funny'?"

ACFNY
Reservations required.

The Ephemerist has more details. (Via The Comics Reporter.)

Gahan for the Day 3

covey

As a Turner myself, this gag more than any other makes me love the genius that is Gahan Wilson.

Daily OCD: 5/28/09

mike

Once more, Online Commentary & Diversions goes on vacation tomorrow.

• Profile/Review: Cincinnati Magazine talks to C. Tyler about You'll Never Know Book 1: A Good and Decent Man, calling it "a dense, triangulated tale (war and madness; father/daughter coming-of-age; familial reconciliation) made accessible by Tyler’s detailed yet straightforward storytelling and impeccable renderings... Switching artistic styles to connote the passage of time, Tyler’s graphic narrative deftly moves between her childhood and her father’s war experiences, between dream sequences, real time, psychology, and family lore. The book transcends mere documentation; it is a valentine sealed in genealogy, footnoted in history."

• Interview: At SuicideGirls.com, Alex Dueben talks with Bob Fingerman about his latest projects, including Connective Tissue (and Bob slides in some great plugs for Peter Bagge's Everybody Is Stupid Except for Me and John Kerschbaum's Petey & Pussy)

• News: Here's an announcement about Mike Vosberg, the artist of our forthcoming RIP, M.D. series of kid-oriented graphic novels

Luba: Collectors Edition update

mike

If you're one of the first 10 people who ordered the exclusive Luba: Collectors Edition (signed, numbered, and sketched in by Gilbert Hernandez, with a special deluxe cloth binding), your copy is on its way to you this week. Gilbert is sending them back to us in batches of 10, so the next 10 orders will go out as soon as we get the next shipment from him. Only 30 copies exist and they are nearly all spoken for, so if you've been on the fence about ordering it, get off that fence and make your order now! It's the ultimate collectible for the elite Beto fan, available ONLY direct from Fantagraphics.

600-page black & white 7" x 10.25" hardcover • $100.00
SOLD OUT

Feiffer at Cinefamily in L.A. 6/21

mike

Appearance by Jules Feiffer 6/21! Poster by Johnny Ryan! So much great comedy I weep explosively for not living in L.A.! Info/tickets here. (Via event co-sponsor The Sound of Young America.)

Fantagraphics MoCCA 2009 Signing Schedule

mike

Start yer plannin'! These are all subject to last-minute change; we'll try to give advance notice of any changes if we can. We'll have more MoCCA-related announcements in the coming days so stay tuned.

FANTAGRAPHICS MoCCA SIGNINGS

SATURDAY SIGNINGS

11:00 am - Noon • Paul Hornschemeier, Dash Shaw & Derek Van Gieson (Mome - just added!) (Unfortunately Nate Neal, previously scheduled for this time, won't be able to make it to the Fest.)

Noon - 2:00 pm • Jason & Michael Kupperman

2:00 pm - 3:00 pm • Paul Karasik & Bob Fingerman

3:00 pm - 4:00 pm • Lilli Carré, Miss Lasko-Gross & Ted Stearn

4:00 - 5:00 pm • Arnold Roth & Al Jaffee

5:00 pm - 6:00 pm • John Kerschbaum & Dash Shaw

SATURDAY PANELS

3:00 pm - 3:50 pm  • AH, HUMBUG! Arnold Roth and Al Jaffee in conversation

4:00 pm - 4:50 pm  • Scandinavian Comics 101, With Steffen P. Maarup, Thomas Thorhauge and Ib Kjeldsmark (From Wonderland with Love)

5:00 pm - 6:00 pm  • Paul Karasik on the Twisted Genius of Fletcher Hanks

SUNDAY SIGNINGS

11 am - Noon • Steffen P. Maarup, Christoffer Zieler, Ib Kjeldsmark, Allan Haverholm, Thomas Thorhauge, Simon Bukhave and Søren Mosdal (From Wonderland with Love)

Noon - 1:00 pm • Paul Karasik, Sara Edward-Corbett (Mome) & Ted Stearn

1:00 pm - 2:00 pm • Dame Darcy & Dash Shaw

2:00 pm - 4:00 pm • Jason & Michael Kupperman

4:00 pm - 5:00 pm • Bob Fingerman, Paul Hornschemeier & Miss Lasko-Gross

SUNDAY PANELS

11 am - 11:50 am  • Kent Worcester and Tom Kaczynski in conversation

Noon - 1:00 pm  • The Astonishing SVA Roundtable with Dash Shaw

3:45 pm - 4:45 pm  • Gary Panter and Frank Santoro in conversation

WHAT:
 2009 MoCCA FESTIVAL

The 8th annual art festival celebrating comics and cartoon art.

WHEN:
 Saturday, June 6th and Sunday, JUNE 7th 
11:00am - 6:00pm each day

WHERE:
 The 69th Regiment Armory 
68 Lexington Avenue at Lexington Avenue at 25th Street 
New York City
By subway: 6 Train to 28th Street Station

Daily OCD: 5/27/09

mike

Your daily dose of Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Profile: The Oklahoma Gazette dedicates a cover feature (pictured above) to native son Boody Rogers, talking to Yoe, Nadel and Spiegelman about his work. Of our collection of his comics they say "Boody: The Bizarre Comics of Boody Rogers reprints 13 of Boody Rogers' comic-book stories between 1948 and 1950. Although they have fallen into the public domain, publisher Fantagraphics has restored the color and images to its typical standards of quality ... not to mention standards of unapologetic weirdness."

• Review: "...Terr'ble Thompson is... playful fun... [Gene] Deitch’s upbeat mangling of the English language and silly twists will keep readers of many ages entertained." - Michael C. Lorah, Newsarama

• Things to see: Bookforum commissions illustrations from such notables as Paul Hornschemeier, Tony Millionaire, Dash Shaw, Chris Ware and others for their "Fiction Forward" feature (there's a bunch of fiction excerpts to read, too)

• Things to see: Dick Cheney's gonna get that wascally new Pwesident. By Drew Friedman, for The New Republic

Low Moon Glows on New Jason Print

LarryR

International comics star Jason will appear at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery in Seattle on Saturday, June 13 to launch his Low Moon collection with a signing and exhibition of original art. To commemorate the occasion, Fantagraphics graphics beast Jacob Covey designed a sweet Jason silkscreen print. A signed edition of 75 posters will be exclusively available at the bookstore beginning June 13 for the insanely affordable price of $20. See you all there.

IFC.COM & Fantagraphics Team up for Next Dash Shaw Project

Eric

IFC.COM TO PREMIERE ANIMATED WEB SERIES OF
DASH SHAW'S NEW BOOK
THE UNCLOTHED MAN IN THE 35TH CENTURY A.D.

THE UNCLOTHED MAN IN THE 35th CENTURY A.D., by DASH SHAW, will be promoted at the 2009 Book Expo America in New York City, May 29-31, with an appearance by the author on Friday, May 29, at 1:00PM at the Fantagraphics Booth and 4:00PM in the Autographing Area.

New York, NY - May 27, 2009 - IFC.com announced today that it will premiere an original animated web series based on graphic novelist and comic book artist Dash Shaw's latest book The Unclothed Man in the 35th Century A.D., set for release mid-November, 2009 with the web series following. Shaw's animation has been widely praised for its eclectic style, innovative design and emotional depth.

Each short episode of this five-part web series chronicles Rebel X-6, a man who works for a well-funded anti-droid organization. The fifth episode will provide behind-the-scenes footage of the making of the series. The premiere on IFC.com marks Dash Shaw's first animated series and will be based on a story line he has developed for several years. Seattle's Fantagraphics Books is set to publish a book by the same name and characters.

"Dash Shaw is a known entity in the comic book realm with a cult following. We're excited to bring him, his art and his fans to IFC.com, a platform that recognizes and broadens the reach of up-and-coming, independent content makers," said Craig Parks, vice president of digital media at IFC. "Shaw's work on IFC.com will offer a fresh and completely unique take on the animation genre; the type of approach that defines our brand."

The series features an animated hero, Rebel X-6, and his quest to bring out change in the 35th century A.D.. Rebel X-6 works for an anti-droid organization that opposes the use of droids in all sectors of modern society. An artist guild that opposes the use of droids in art class hires Rebel X-6. They believe living people should model for life drawings. Rebel X-6's assignment is to enter Art School 46 posing as "Model-Droid #343." Model droids appear life-like but do not laugh, cry, swear or exhibit other human shortcomings. His mission is to subvert the school's ban on drawings of real humans by tricking the students into drawing him.

About the Creator
Dash Shaw (born April 6, 1983) is a U.S. (Brooklyn, NY) writer and artist of comic books. His comic short stories have appeared in many different anthologies, newspapers and magazines and his graphic novels have received critical acclaim. His breakthrough graphic novel was Bottomless Belly Button which was named Publishers Weekly best graphic novel of 2008, one of Entertainment Weekly's top ten books of 2008, and one of Amazon.com's top ten graphic novels of the year among many other accolades. The Unclothed Man in the 35th Century A.D. will also collect his acclaimed short stories from Fantagraphics' award-winning anthology MOME, and his next graphic novel, BodyWorld, will be published by Pantheon in Spring 2010.

About IFC
Operating under the mantra "always, uncut," IFC (The Independent Film Channel) recommends and creates genre-bending content that indulges the alternative culture obsessions of our influential audience and makes it available across multiple platforms: on-air, online and On Demand. In pursuit of what's new, next and relevant, IFC creates original non-traditional comedies like The Whitest Kids U' Know and Z Rock and irreverent non-fiction such as The IFC Media Project. IFC's original programming airs alongside a comprehensive independent film library of award-winning titles and cult classics, as well as content inspired by music, web, gaming, animation, news, culture and more. IFC broadens the audience for independent culture through its exclusive live coverage of notable film and music events like the Independent Spirit Awards and South by Southwest. The network's On Demand offering, IFC Free, gives audiences the opportunity to watch premieres of all of IFC's original series before they air on the linear network. IFC Media Lab Studios offers financing, professional development and distribution opportunities for aspiring film makers. IFC is a subsidiary of Rainbow Media Holdings LLC.

About Fantagraphics Books
Fantagraphics Books ( www.fantagraphics.com ) has been the world's leading publisher of comics and graphic novels since 1976. The work of artists such as R. Crumb, Peter Bagge, Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez, Daniel Clowes, Joe Sacco, Jason, Chris Ware, Dash Shaw and others has continued to gain commercial momentum and critical recognition over the last 20 years by combining the social relevance of the previous generation of underground comix artists, attention to personal and psychologal veracity, and formal experimentation and innovation.

Rainbow Media Holdings LLC
Rainbow Media Holdings LLC is a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC). Rainbow Media is a leading producer of targeted, multi-platform content for global distribution, creating and managing some of the world's most compelling and dynamic entertainment brands, including AMC, IFC, WE tv, Sundance Channel, LIFESKOOL, SPORTSKOOL, and VOOM HD Networks. Through IFC Entertainment, Rainbow Media also owns and manages the following: IFC Films, a leading distribution company for independent film; IFC Productions, a feature film production company that provides financing for select independent film projects; and IFC Center, a three screen, state-of-the-art cinema in the heart of New York's Greenwich Village. Rainbow Media also operates Rainbow Advertising Sales Corporation, its advertising sales company; Rainbow Network Communications, its full service network programming origination and distribution company; and 11 Penn TV, a company that manages Rainbow Media's NYC studios and post-production facilities.

Webcomics update for 5/26/09

mike

Due to holidays, vacations and conventions, our webcomics posting schedule is a little goofed up these next few weeks; our apologies.

Blecky surfs the social networks in this week's Blecky Yuckerella strip by Johnny Ryan...

It's the big, shocking reveal in this week's installment of Steven Weissman's in-progress pages from "Blue Jay," an epic 51-page story from Chocolate Cheeks, the next collection of the Yikes! gang's adventures....

And this week's Mon.-Fri. batch of Martin Kellerman's Rocky includes advice on dealing with a partner's intimacy-killing habits... and a birth!

Paul Karasik's gruesome babies

mike

Paul Karasik poses with his two "sons," the Fletcher Hanks collections I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets! and what looks like an unbound proof of the forthcoming You Shall Die by Your Own Evil Creation! (debuting at MoCCA 2009). Proud papa.

Daily OCD: 5/26/09

mike

Let's catch up on our Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "...Monologues [for Calculating the Density of Black Holes is] spare and scratchy where [Anders Nilsen's] other work was detailed; loose and spontaneous where his other work was considered; and funny where his other work was melancholy. It's interesting to see the many influences that inform Monologues; there's a bit of absurdists like Ionesco, elements of Tom Stoppard's wit and philosophical musings, stream of consciousness dada in the style of Tristan Tzara, and oblique New Yorker type gags with the scratchy looseness of James Thurber and Saul Steinberg." - Rob Clough

• Review: "...[O]nce again, I’m engaged in Blazing Combat. What a thrill! And the art!... Highly recommended. Don’t argue! Just buy it!" - David McDonnell, Starlog

• Review: "This collection of the 1965-66 Blazing Combat war comic magazine is a stellar publication... It's a master class on how to tell a short story, and I highly recommend checking it out." - Sandy Bilus, I Love Rob Liefeld

• Review: "Blazing Combat, a new hardcover collection from Fantagraphics, showcases some truly fantastic work from a multitude of comics greats... The collection itself is sharp as a tack... Fantagraphics really packages it nicely..." - Litany of Schist

• Review: "This omnibus of all 11 issues of Humbug is equal parts giddy genius and period piece. The satire is razor-sharp... [T]here are such subtleties here and such rapier wit that the line is clearly visible from the Algonquin Round Table to Kurtzman to Crumb to Ralph Bakshi to Mr. Show to The Colbert Report." - Byron Kerman, PLAYBACK:stl

• Review: "Tales Designed to Thrizzle #5... is really funny." - Tucker Stone, "Advanced Common Sense," comiXology (fast-forward to the "Speed Round")

• Review: "In his way, [Michael] Kupperman's just as concerned with making comics' formal aspects work for him as Chris Ware. In his way he's every bit as effective. Goddammit this book [Tales Designed to Thrizzle #5] is funny." - Sean T. Collins

• Review: "[Beasts! Book 1] is captivating, wistful, funny and truly extraordinary - a Bestiary of the traditionally fantastic for the dreary 21st century where imagination and wonder have been formularised as crypto-zoology... a vivid package of sheer fantasy and artistic excellence..." - Win Wiacek, Now Read This!

• Review: "Now, with Low Moon, [Jason] has clenched his fist around me and won’t let me go - this is easily my favorite of his works to date... Top to bottom, I enjoyed Low Moon very much... A worthy addition to one’s bookshelf." - Marc Mason, Comics Waiting Room

• Review: "[In Abandoned Cars] Tim Lane presents a personal study of what he calls 'The Great American Mythological Drama,' a fog of events / thoughts / dreams / disappointments in music / literature / North American life... Lane leads to something more introspective and extremely sad." - Churrasco la Naje (from Google translation)

• Review: "...[A]lmost nothing is casual in Bottomless Belly Button and almost nothing is superficial in its narrative structure, nor its authorial intentions... [Dash] Shaw's work delves into the interior of the personal relationships of its protagonists, but also in the basic foundations of linear narrative... Shaw transcends the sphere of intellectual narrative to enter the much more epidermal level of physical sensations... Dash Shaw has composed a monumental work, sometimes puzzling, sometimes bordering on melodrama, but always strong and brave, a work full of qualities and findings that will, we believe, be a reference for future comics. His experimentation, his daring and his solutions can't help but remind us of an equally ambitious and dense work, Jimmy Corrigan... Do not miss this." - Little Nemo's Kat (from Google translation)

• Plug: Jonathan Ross gives us ("the company that flies the flag for independent, ground-breaking comics"), and The Comics Journal ("the only widely read and serious publication of comic-book criticism"), a nice shout-out in The Times

• Interview: The Daily Cross Hatch continues their conversation with Michael Kupperman. Sample quote: "I think the artist I feel closest with is Tony Millionaire, because he really lives in those comics. He could never be anything else."

• Profile: The Beat spotlights Eleanor Davis as part of their survey of Russ Manning Award nominees

• Profile: Vice looks at another side of Jim Blanchard: curator of wacky/creepy/sleazy music compilations

• History: The Beat engages in a bit of "Comics Archaeology," discussing several releases from our past (and present: "...it must be said, of all the art comix anthologies, Mome is probably the most perfect distillation. Sometimes evolution works.")

• Things to see: These two sample pages really make me wish that Roger Langridge had landed the Wallace & Gromit gig

...and a MERRY CHRISTMAS

covey

What a Christmas gift it is.

Happy Halloween

Eric

Find out more at BEA.

Dame Darcy has a busy June

mike

Not only will Dame Darcy be appearing at our table at MoCCA, she's got a group art show, a lecture, a doll-crafting workshop, and several musical performances (including on the vaunted WFMU) out on the East Coast (mostly NYC) all throughout the month of June. Check the Dame's blog for the full schedule.

Cartoonists with Crumbs

covey

ERIC REYNOLDS

Cartoonists with Guns

Eric

JIM BLANCHARD

Daily OCD: 5/21/09

mike

No Online Commentary & Diversions tomorrow if I can help it: I'm taking the day off!

• Awards: Congratulations to Mome contributor Eleanor Davis for being nominated for this year's Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer award (given out at the Eisner Awards ceremony at Comic Con International) for her excellent Toon Books release Stinky!

• Review: "The biggest surprise might be how good these stories are, even if they failed to take off in the way that, say, Superman did... [T]he Notes section at the end, written by editor Greg Sadowski, ...is truly fantastic... His studious efforts are worth the price of the book alone... These stories deserved another look and more attention. Sadowski has done an admirable job of making Supermen! The First Wave of Comic Book Heroes 1936–1941 not only reverent, but exciting and fun as well." - John Hogan, Graphic Novel Reporter

• Review: "I might say [Michael] Kupperman is one of the greatest satirists of our time, if I could figure out what he's satirizing. The basic facts: this collect[ion] of... Tales Designed to Thrizzle... featur[es] dozens of short pieces done on a chaotic array of subjects in so many styles much of it comes across as found art, and almost all of it's hilarious. Any attempt to summarize things like 'Mentally Ill Gangster Comics' or 'Crime Is Pushing the Limits' would miss the point completely. Except to say this is media culture put through the grinder. Top-notch." - Steven Grant, Comic Book Resources

• Interview: Ladies and gentlemen, the Inkstuds interview with Bob Fingerman

• Good news: The Comics Reporter reports that Amazing Facts... and Beyond! with Leon Beyond by Kevin Huizenga, Ted May & Dan Zettwoch will be returning to the pages of the weekly Riverfront Times

• Things to see (and buy): New Jim Flora print

Fantagraphics at BEA

Eric

Fantagraphics is on it's way to the Big Apple next week for Book Expo America 2009 (Stand #3422 in the W.W. Norton "pavilion") and we're bringing in tow a slew of previews of new Fall titles as well as hosting several signings:

KIM DEITCH (signing Friday from 2-3:00 in our booth 3422 and 4-4:30 in autograph area table 7)

MICHAEL KUPPERMAN (signing Friday from 12-1:00 in our booth 3422 and 4-4:30 in autograph area table 8)

DASH SHAW (signing Friday from 1-2:00 in our booth 3422 and 4-4:30 in autograph area table 25)

MONTE SCHULZ (signing Saturday from 2:30-3:00 in autograph area table 9)

We will also be giving away galleys of Monte Schulz's novel THIS SIDE OF JORDAN, issues of TALES DESIGNED TO THRIZZLE, MOME, and ZERO ZERO (featuring Deitch's THE SEARCH FOR SMILIN' ED), as well as our Free Comic Book Day titles from the last few years.

We'll be promoting our summer and fall lines in particular, with advance previews of books like PIM & FRANCIE by Al Columbia, PRINCE VALIANT by Hal Foster, YOU SHALL DIE BY YOUR OWN EVIL CREATION! by Fletcher Hanks (edited by Paul Karasik), LOVE & ROCKETS NEW STORIES #2 by Gilbert & Jaime Hernandez, YOU ARE THERE and WEST COAST BLUES by Jacques Tardi, RED MONKEY DOUBLE HAPPINESS BOOK by Joe Daly, PRISON PIT by Johnny Ryan, BACKWOODS HUMORIST: THE ART OF NORMAN PETTINGILL, and many more.

BEA isn't open to the public, unfortunately, but if you're an attending bookseller, fellow pubisher, journalist, or otherwise sneaky badge-getter, please stop by and say hello to myself, Jason Miles and Fearless Leader Gary Groth.

World Exclusive Jason preview!

kimt

(Click for larger version)

Jason's latest book, Low Moon, has not even been released yet in the U.S. (look for it to premiere at MoCCA, as well as to-be-officially-announced June events at the Strand in NYC, Portland OR, and our very own bookstore), and our hard-working Norwegian has already completed his next opus, another full-color 48-pager in the same format as the Eisner-Award nominated The Last Musketeer and the Eisner Award-winning The Left Bank Gang. Here is an exclusive preview of the first page from Werewolves of Montpellier, scheduled for release next summer. (In between, we will be releasing a Low Moon-format omnibus collection of several out of print Jason books, including Meow, Baby!, Tell Me Something, and You Can't Get There from Here, titled Almost Silent.)

Jason's regular colorist Hubert will soon be applying his magical hues to Werewolves. And in fact this seems like as good a moment as any to offer our heartfelt apologies to Hubert for forgetting to include his credit in the printed edition of Low Moon. Hubert has colored every full-color book of Jason's since Why Are You Doing This?, done an exemplary job every time (in fact, he was Eisner nominated too, for The Left Bank Gang), so I'm sure most regular Jason fans will automatically know that he was the man behind Low Moon's typically stunning chromatics, but we're still embarrassed. We hope Low Moon will sell out quickly so we can rectify this in a future edition.