• Also on Facebook, Bill Griffith posts this one-page story (excerpted above) which was recently published in a new book about Levittown, Second Suburb, edited by Dianne Harris (link goes straight to the image file, since I don't know Bill's Facebook privacy settings, but he posts cool stuff all the time)
• T. Edward Bak is posting several pages from his current serialized Mome story "Wild Man" — for 50 bucks you can purchase an original page and help fund his impending trip to Alaska for field research for the story, so hit that Paypal link on his blog
• Johnny Ryan illustrates a short story by Gary Fairfull for Vice
• Bill Griffith recently posted his "Top 40 List on Comics and Their Creation" on Facebook and it's been making the rounds; you can see the whole thing at Cartoon SNAP
I might have to start posting these art-blog roundups on the weekends too... these Monday updates are outa control...
• Airbrushed Zippy the Pinhead art (artist unknown)! Posting this on Facebook, Bill Griffith says "This is the 2-page spread ad for the 'Zippy Movie' from Variety magazine, 3/29/90. The ad was taken out by the Aspen Film Society (at that time they were the producers of the movie) in hopes of attracting a studio/distributor. Are we in turnaround yet?" More about it (and the likewise never-to-be Zippy TV show series) here
Bill Griffith returned my Facebook friend request just in time for me to catch his post with the original to-be-colored cover art for his next Zippy the Pinhead collection coming later this year.
From ARCADE #4 , winter 1975, edited Al Floogleman & Griffy
"Your violent thrashings stir me. From where are you people pulling the energy? It's a great trick, awareness and buoyancy. Yours is still the art 'that knows not its name,' down and dangerous, some of the only art around still life-impelled beyond its theory (that's decadence). There's a lot of dada ghosts riding their hopes on you; stay as unregenerate as you are."
Six years ago I believed the above quote was just as relevant in 2003 as it probably was in 1975 to what was once commonly refered to as "Underground Comix" and then later commonly referred to as "Alternative Comics."
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.
Bill Griffith will appear for a special book signing at Phantom of the Attic Comics in Oakland, on Saturday, February 21, from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. The book signing is sponsored by Phantom of the Attic and Copacetic Comics.
The ToonSeum is Pittsburgh's museum of cartoon art, currently housed within the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh (10 Children's Way, on the North Side). Entry to the ToonSeum is free with paid admission to the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh (Adults- $10, Children under 18 and Seniors - $9, Children under 2- Free). Museum hours are Monday-Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sunday 12:00 to 5:00 p.m. For more information, please visit www.toonseum.com or call (412)325-1060
Pittsburgh City Paper is the media sponsor for Zippy's Pittsburgh and More.
• Interview: The Comics Reporter's Tom Spurgeon found a video file of Jonathan Lethem interviewing Daniel Clowes at the 2005 MoCCA Festival; he can't remember where it came from but he's posted it anyway
Barely a month after Bill Griffithgraced our emerald city with a fantastic exhibition and book release party, less than a week after he published an homage to our quirky town and his visit, the Seattle P-I has returned the favor by unceremoniously dropping Zippy the Pinhead from its daily print edition, effective this morning. This should be considered an affront to Mr. Griffith, to Seattle's own Fantagraphics, and to all remaining conscious and literate readers of the newspaper. With Zippy gone, enjoy your Funky Winkerbean when you're stuck waiting somewhere with nothing to read but that section of the paper. We would be most grateful if you would consider
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(NOTE: new, better email link added) and asking them to bring back America's -- and Seattle's -- favorite pinhead. We will post updates as we get them.
UPDATE: Better email link added above, and I've also been told fans can voice their complaints by telephone by calling the PI's Reader Representative at 206.448.8007.
This week comics shops across the U.S. are scheduled to receive one new book from us: Zippy: Welcome to Dingburg by Bill Griffith. Hit that link for more info and previews of this brand new Zippy the Pinhead collection.
We have a new duo of downloads with which to decorate your desktop! Just click on the size below that matches your monitor resolution -- find more info (and lots more choices) on our downloads page.
