June '09 Archives

June 23, 2009
Below is an excerpt from the Comic Books Resources review of ASTERIOS POLYP. To read the full review, click here. The “about the author” blurb on the inside back cover of “Asterios Polyp” says only this: “David Mazzucchelli has been making comics his whole life. This is his first graphic novel.” That last sentence seems wrong, doesn’t it? How can this be his first graphic novel if many of us — most of us — have volumes on our shelves with his name along the spine? Though originally serialized, “Daredevil: Born Again” is surely a graphic novel. So is “Batman: Year One.” They may be genre graphic novels, but that doesn’t mean they should be disqualified. Yet, those two collaborations with Frank Miller are decidedly different than what we get in “Asterios Polyp.” And if the “about the author” blurb was written by Mazzucchelli himself, which is highly likely, than it’s telling that he would boldly differentiate between what he’s done in the past, “making comics,” and this hardcover “graphic novel.” But “Asterios Polyp” is different, and as Mazzucchelli’s first major solo project, it deserves to be treated differently. It is, undoubtedly, a major work of graphic narrative. A true graphic novel in a way that so few comics-with-spines really are. I don’t want to get into the old debates about the inaccuracy of the term “graphic novel,” because everyone knows that it’s used to mean anything from a thick collection of “X-Force” comics to “Maus” I and II. But if “graphic novel,” as a concept, bears any resemblance to the idea of a literary novel, then very few would actually qualify. If we exclude the graphic memoirs, what are we left with for great true graphic novels? Graphic novels that don’t rest comfortably inside the confines of “genre fiction”? “Jimmy Corrigan”? “Bottomless Belly Button”? “Stuck Rubber Baby”? It’s a small list indeed. “Asterios Polyp” deserves a spot on that list, and after reading it a second time, I’m convinced that no matter how you define the term “graphic novel,” Mazzucchelli’s first graphic novel is one of the great comics of all time. To order a copy of ASTERIOS POLYP, click here….

June 22, 2009
CBLDF Launches “Conversational Comics,” a Summer Speaker Series at Union Pool, Brooklyn The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund proudly presents Conversational Comics: a new summer speaker series taking place on three separate Saturday afternoons at Union Pool in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Join them for lively panel discussions with artists currently changing the face of comics, all moderated by comics critic Bill Kartalopoulos. Then stick around to get a book signed, hit the taco truck, and sip a summer drink with the featured cartoonists. All events take place at 2:00 pm in the back room at Union Pool. Union Pool is located at 484 Union Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11211, one block from the Lorimer-Metropolitan G and L stop. June 27 @ 2:00 pm Autobiography: My Life in Comics David Heatley (My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down, Kramers Ergot), Lauren Weinstein (Girl Stories, The Goddess of War) and Julia Wertz (Fart Party) will discuss the process, pleasures, and problems of making comics based on their own personal lives and observations. July 11 @ 2:00 pm Telling Stories: Fiction in ComicsJessica Abel (Artbabe, La Perdida), Jason Little (Shutterbug Follies) and Matthew Thurber (1-800-Mice, Kramers Ergot) will talk about the nature of narrative and fiction in comics. We’ll consider forms of storytelling that comics can adapt, and others that comics can generate. August 15 @ 2:00 pm Lines on Paper: Drawing and Cartooning Austin English (Windy Corner, Christina and Charles), Lisa Hanawalt (Stay Away From Other People, I Want You), and Dash Shaw (Bottomless Belly Button, BodyWorld) will discuss the relationship between image-making and drawing for comics. How do pictures work differently in comics than they do on gallery walls? Suggested donation for each event is $5. All proceeds go to benefit the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Bill Kartalopoulos teaches classes about comics and illustration at the New School. He is a Contributing Editor at Print Magazine, where he frequently writes about comics. The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund was founded in 1986 as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of First Amendment rights for members of the comics community. For additional information, donations, and other inquiries please visit www.cbldf.org Enjoy!…

June 18, 2009
Watch this video of Josh Neufeld discussing the transition from web comic to printed comic:…

June 18, 2009
According to Dave Eggers, “A.D. is one of the best-ever examples of comics reportage, and one of the clearest portraits of post-Katrina New Orleans yet published. An essential addition to the ongoing conversation about what Katrina means, and what New Orleans means.” Make sure to pencil these special dates into your schedule if you’d like to meet Josh Neufeld: A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge Book Tour (times and dates are subject to change) Wednesday, August 19: Josh commemorates A.D.’s release with a presentation and signing in Austin, Texas, @ Book People. 603 N. Lamar, Austin, 7pm. Thursday, August 20: A.D. presentation & signing with Josh @ Domy Books in Houston, Texas. 1709 Westheimer, Houston, 6 pm. Friday, August 21: A.D. hits New Orleans. Release party with Josh and some of the book’s subjects, live and in person! Plus an art show, live music, and refreshments. The Canary Collective, 329 Julia Street, New Orleans, 7pm. Saturday, August 22: Josh signs books at the Maple Street Book Shop, 7523 Maple St, New Orleans, 1pm. Tuesday, August 25: A.D.’s New York release party @ Idlewild Books, co-sponsored by Teachers & Writers Collaborative and Smith Magazine. Live music, refreshments, and an art auction to benefit New Orleans relief organizations. 12 West 19th St., New York City, 7pm Friday, August 28: Josh presents A.D. and signs books @ The Book Cellar, in Chicago. 4736-38 North Lincoln Ave., Chicago, 7pm. Saturday, August 29: Katrina’s fourth anniversary. Josh will be doing an author coffee @ Writers Workspace Chicago. 5443 N. Broadway St., Chicago, 11am. Wednesday, September 16: Josh, Pantheon editor Lisa Weinert, and SMITH comics editor Jeff Newelt discuss the evolution of A.D. from web to print. McNally Jackson Books, 52 Prince Street, New York City, 7 pm. September 26-27: A.D. hits D.C. for the annual Small Press Expo (SPX). Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, 5701 Marinelli Road, North Bethesda, Maryland. October 8-11: Josh will be a guest of Portland’s Wordstock Literary Festival, “the largest celebration of literature and literacy in the Pacific Northwest.” Oregon Convention Center, Portland, Oregon. November 14-15: Josh will appear at one of the biggest book festivals in the country, The Miami Book Fair International: http://www.miamibookfair.com/…

June 15, 2009
Some Highlights from MoCCA 2009: David Mazzucchelli was the hit of the show. He was there on both Saturday and Sunday signing early copies of his new graphic novel, Asterios Polyp, and chatting with fans. We sold out of 100 advance copies so quickly that people were offering us huge sums of money just to “book” their copy before the signing. Apologies to anyone who wasn’t able to get their hands on a copy, but the book will be out in stores on 7/7 and you can preorder a copy here. Also, the retrospective is still happening at the MoCCA site and they are selling one-of-a-kind, signed ASTERIOS POLYP posters! Josh Neufeld stopped by and signed early galleys of his new graphic novel A.D., which is due out in stores 8/18! Preorder a copy here. Charles Burns visited our booth, as promised, and signed a bunch of copies of BLACK HOLE. I bought a copy of TRICKED by Alex Robinson - one of my favorite graphic novelists!…

June 4, 2009
Check out the 6/10 issue of Entertainment Weekly, in which David Mazzucchelli’s new graphic novel ASTERIOS POLYP receives a rave review. Here’s a taste: “When we first meet the brilliant and bullheaded professor Asterios, just before his New York City apartment is destroyed by fire, he’s glumly watching sex tapes of himself and his ex-wife. He flees the building and heads out of town as flashbacks show him, 20 years earlier, blithely tossing off obnoxious cocktail-party bons mots and sleeping with students. His youthful self’s slicked-back hair and ever-present smirk recall one of Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy villains, and the stuffy middlebrow conversations that swirl around him bring to mind Woody Allen’s favorite targets. …Elegant, deceptively simple line work and nearly subliminal color symbolism make everything go down like candy. The narrative comes back to earth for a profoundly satisfying climax, but you’ll want to keep turning pages — all the way back to the beginning, for another read.” My personal favorite quote from the review: “it’s as if John Updike had discovered a bag of art supplies and LSD.” Go Asterios (and David)!…

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