Newsarama talks to Kim Deitch about his new book, Deitch's Pictorama, debuting at Comicon this summer. 

Check out Day 0 and Day 1, and then read on for the final day of the MoCCA Art Festival for 2008.

Sunday was a bit mellower than Saturday at the Festival... at least until the now-infamous fire alarm evacuation! Our first signer of the day was Leah Hayes, seen here, seated, with the just-arrived Ted Stearn and Dash Shaw:

[Read more...]

Courtesy Kim Deitch, oh yeah: 

Reviews and commentary found 'round the Web this week:

• ComicMix on the latest volume of The Complete Peanuts

• Occasional Superheroine and The Comics Reporter on Dash Shaw's Bottomless Belly Button — the latter's Tom Spurgeon enthuses "Bottomless Belly Button reaches so high and executes so much of what it does so well that it shames you into reconsidering every other book you may have praised recently."

• Newsarama on The Last Musketeer by Jason

• Comics Worth Reading's Johanna Draper Carlson explains why she named Linda Medley's Castle Waiting one of the "Best of 2006"

• Sequart on Willie & Joe: The WWII Years by Bill Mauldin

• Sequart again on Ellen Forney's Lust

• Sexuality in the Arts and Noah Berlatsky each comment on the Schulz feature in The Comics Journal #290 (the former via Uncivilsociety.org)

• Dick Hyacinth places Jessica Farm Vol. 1 by Josh Simmons and Ganges #2 by Kevin Huizenga on his "Halfway point (more or less) best of 2008" list

• The Star Clipper Blog on R. Kikuo Johnson's Night Fisher

Bonus! Here are some non-review links:

• My Year Online reports on Martin Kellerman's appearance at the Oslo Comics Expo

• Our pals at WFMU are auctioning a copy of the first printing of Love and Rockets #1 with Fantagraphics co-founder Mike Catron's business card stapled to the cover

• A fan report from last weekend's Shag event at our storefront

• What happens when you read too much Daniel Clowes

• Art Speculum and Kim Ditch?

• Speaking of Kim Ditch Deitch, here's a portrait of him (and Waldo the Cat) by photographer Seth Kushner:

Learn all about Gene Deitch 's Terrytoons days, including his reflections on a young Ralph Bakshi ("a minor cel painter, and not a very good one"), over on his site dedicated to "How to Succeed in Animation."

Above is an obscure 1957 CBS promotional photograph of Gene drawing Tom Terrific (or Terr'ble Thompson if you use your imagination) with his young sons Kim and Simon. Wotta family!

We've put a handful of preliminary pages from Deitch's Pictorama (due to debut in July at Comic-Con in San Diego) up on our Flickr page — browse manually or view a slideshow!

It was a lively scene down at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery on Saturday evening for our special Friends of the Nib Comics Jam with special guest of honor Kim Deitch and emcee Jim Woodring. We've got lotsa more photos right here at this link.

A happenin' crowd: 

 Kim signs books:

 Presenting a world premiere preview slideshow of Deitch's Pictorama:

 "Dial M for Monster"!

You're all invited to join a stellar group of accomplished cartoonists in the "Friends of the Nib Comics Jam" at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery this Saturday, March 8 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. Celebrated cartoonist and visual artist Jim Woodring will preside over the activities, which will include a guest appearance by New York underground comix legend Kim Deitch. Aspiring cartoonists of all ages are encouraged to participate in this lively session, which will include a rare screening of Deitch's 1960 short film "Dial M for Monster."

Friends of the Nib is an informal cartoonists' solon formed by Woodring that meets weekly at Café Racer in Seattle's Ravenna neighborhood. Acclaimed artists such as Ellen Forney, David Lasky and animator Bruce Bickford regularly attend to mentor emerging cartoonists and network with their peers. Kim Deitch is among America's most prominent and influential alternative cartoonists. The astonishingly sophisticated animated and live-action film short "Dial M for Monster" he created as a teenager with his friend Tony Eastman has become legendary among Deitch fans; it was never released, and has only been shown a handful of times in small venues. Prior to the 7:30 screening, he will introduce the film with a brief media presentation.

Admission is free to the public of all ages. Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is located at 1201 S. Vale St. in Seattle's Georgetown industrial arts district. Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM. Phone 206.658.0110. The "Comics Jam" coincides with the monthly "Georgetown Second Saturday Art Attack." Over 30 galleries, studios, nightclubs, boutiques, and cafes participate in this colorful showcase of Georgetown's creative diversity.  See you then.

FRIENDS OF THE NIB COMICS JAM WITH SPECIAL GUEST KIM DEITCH AT FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKSTORE & GALLERY ON SATURDAY, MARCH 8.

The public is invited to join a stellar group of accomplished cartoonists in the "Friends of the Nib Comics Jam" at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery on Saturday, March 8 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. Celebrated cartoonist and visual artist Jim Woodring will preside over the activities, which will include a guest appearance by New York underground comix legend Kim Deitch. Aspiring cartoonists of all ages are encouraged to participate in this lively session, which will include a rare screening of Deitch's 1960 short film "Dial M for Monster."

Friends of the Nib is an informal cartoonist's salon formed by Woodring that meets weekly at Café Racer in Seattle’s Ravenna neighborhood. Acclaimed artists such as Ellen Forney, David Lasky and animator Bruce Bickford regularly attend to mentor emerging cartoonists and network with their peers. The “Comics Jam” on March 8 will feature more than a dozen artists cartooning on-site while offering casual encouragement to public participants.

Kim Deitch is among America’s most prominent and influential alternative cartoonists. The (astonishingly sophisticated) animated and live-action film short "Dial M for Monster" he created as a teenager with his friend Tony Eastman has become legendary among Deitch fans; it was never released, and has only been shown a handful of times in small venues as part of Deitch's multimedia presentations; see below for a two-page comic strip by Deitch about the film. Prior to the 7:30 screening, he will introduce the film with a brief media presentation.

Deitch's work has been featured in Art Spiegelman's RAW and R. Crumb'sWeirdo anthologies. In a recent review of Deitch's Shadowland graphic novel, New York Times book critic John Hodgman observed, "Few underground cartoonists deserve that subterranean title so fully as Kim Deitch. He was there at the beginning of the movement, drawing for The East Village Other in 1967, and his work retains much of that psychedelic, R. Crumb-like earthiness." In addition to Shadowland, Fantagraphics Books has collected Deitch's work in Beyond the Pale and published comic book series including The Stuff of Dreams, Mishkin File, and Waldo World.

Admission is free to the public of all ages.

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is located at 1201 S. Vale St. in Seattle's Georgetown industrial arts district. Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM. Phone 206.658.0110.

The "Comics Jam" coincides with the monthly "Georgetown Second Saturday Art Attack." Over twenty-five galleries, studios, nightclubs, boutiques, and cafes participate in this lively showcase of Georgetown’s creative diversity.

LISTING INFORMATION

"Friends of the Nib" Comics Jam with special guest Kim Deitch
Saturday, March 8, 6:00 – 9:00 PM*
("Dial M for Monster" film screening at 7:30 PM)

Free admission

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery
1201 S. Vale St. (at Airport Way S.)
Seattle, WA
206.658.0110

Open Daily 11:30 – 8:00 PM. Sundays until 5:00 PM

*It's the inaugural Georgetown Second Saturday Art Attack!
Festive openings, performances and related events throughout the neighborhood