September '09 Archives

September 30, 2009
Watch a rare video of David Mazzucchelli, author of the “haunting and beautiful” (Los Angeles Times) Asterios Polyp, as he discusses his writing process and inspiration for the graphic novel that has the world buzzing….

September 24, 2009
REMINDER! Thursday, September 24th at 7:00 p.m. Josh Neufeld event happening tonight in Brooklyn! Be sure to stop by Bergen Street Comics (470 Bergen Street, Brooklyn NY 11217) for your chance to chat with Josh and buy a copy. Josh will be signing books and refreshments will be served. Donations to benefit Common Ground Relief would be appreciated, but are not mandatory. Limited-edition giclee prints will be for sale, with all proceeds going to Common Ground. Hope to see you all there! For more info on Bergen Street Comics, click here…

September 24, 2009
Coming soon from Pantheon: THINGS WE DIDN’T SEE COMING, the debut story collection from Steven Amsterdam set in a not-too-distant dystopian future is one to keep a close eye on. Amsterdam has already received fantastic praise in Australia and the Aussies are so fanatical about the book, they recently named it The Age Book of the Year (A major honor)! Random House’s own Field Rep, Ann Kingman, raved about the book on Booksonthenightstand.com: “I began a new book the other night, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it….I can’t seem to get the landscape out of my head….There are moments of light and humor in this book even amidst the bleak, and perhaps that is why I can think about it as I go about my day. I’ve been rationing my reading: a story a night. I’m savoring it as it haunts me.” Richly imagined, dark, and darkly comic, these nine stories follow the narrator over three decades as he tries to survive in a world that is becoming more savage as cataclysmic events unfold one after another. In the first story-set on the eve of the millennium, when the world as we know it is still recognizable-we meet the then nine-year-old narrator fleeing the city with his parents, just ahead of a Y2K breakdown of the grid, signaling the world’s transformation and decline. The remaining stories capture the strange- sometimes horrific, sometimes unexpectedly funny-circumstances he encounters in the no-longerso- simple act of survival. Yet, in each story, we see that despite the violence and brutality of his days, the narrator retains a hold on his essential humanity. Send the words “DIDN’T SEE IT COMING” in an email to pantheon@randomhouse.com and the first 3 responses will receive an early galley of the book! THINGS WE DIDN’T SEE COMING will be available in stores on February 10, 2010, but in the meantime, preorder your copy here….

September 23, 2009
Watch David Heatley’s (author of MY BRAIN IS HANGING UPSIDE DOWN) new music video “Suburban White Girls”. It features the work of 34 artists from all over the world. The song is from my “My Brain is Hanging Upside Down” EP, released by WonderSound Records in 2008 on iTunes. The original song was written when Heatley was 19 years old and recorded on a 4-track tape recorder in his bedroom in Teaneck, NJ….

September 17, 2009
Check out this trailor for Dash Shaw’s new graphic novel BODYWORLD, a darkly fantastical graphic novel about a small town, a lowlife botanist, and a mysterious plant with strange powers. You can read the original webcomic here. Or preorder your copy here Nominated for a 2009 Eisner Award and with a bold, innovative design, BodyWorld is a mind-blowing blend of science-fiction, classic high school drama, and futuristic what-if. It is at once funny and fearless-and sure to be the graphic novel event of the year….

September 15, 2009
SAVE THE DATE: October 28th, 6:30-9:30 at Saint Vincent’s Hospital Have fun. Raise Funds. Help benefit uninsured and underinsured women AND get to meet the CANCER VIXEN herself: Marisa Acocella Marchetto If you’d like to buy a copy of CANCER VIXEN before the event, click here…

September 8, 2009
In his raw and sweeping graphic nonfiction masterpiece A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge, veteran nonfiction comic book writer and long-time artist for American Splendor Josh Neufeld chronicles the lives of six native New Orleanians in the wake of Hurricane Katrina that he met during his time volunteering with the Red Cross. Enter the world of: Denise, a sixth-generation New Orlinean artist and counselor The Doctor, who, while not directly affected by the storm, stays behind to help those less fortunate Hamid and Mansell, who face the storm from the roof of Hamid’s family-run market Kevin, a pastor’s son just entering his senior year of high school Leo and Michelle, a twenty-something couple that grew up in the city. All of whom face the terrifying and increasingly universal reality that home is not an immutable fact, and question what it would mean to stay or to evacuate. With beautiful illustrations, A.D. presents the characters’ stories as they unfold, frame by frame, alongside the building storm, vividly portraying what it means to have to decide to leave everything you know behind. And here’s the best part: Email the phrase AFTER THE DELUGE, along with your mailing address to pantheon@randomhouse.com and you will automatically enter yourself into a drawing to win a free copy of the book! There will be 3 lucky winners selected at random. Please note: U.S. mailing addresses only. Be sure to stop by the following events for your chance to chat with Josh and pick up a copy of the book: Wednesday, September 16, 7:00 p.m.—McNally Jackson, 52 Prince St, NYC. Panel with Josh, Lisa and Jeff Newelt. Thursday, September 247:00 p.m.—Bergen Street Comics, 470 Bergen Street, Brooklyn NY 11217 Visit Josh Neufeld’s website here. And buy a copy of the book here. Praise for A.D.: “A.D. is a sterling example of comics with a social consciousness, and is exactly the kind of thing we need to keep the human dimension of this unimaginable disaster and its ongoing aftermath in the public eye.”— Wired.com “Referring to A.D. as a ‘comic book’ is a bit like calling Schindler’s List a ‘talkie.’” — The Los Angeles Times “A.D.’s … stunning panels … retell the harrowing experience of what it was like to live through the disaster.”—Rolling Stone “[A.D.]’s stirring images are sure to linger in memory, perhaps even longer than hours of news footage already have.”—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution “Josh…

September 8, 2009
For the first time ever, Pantheon will have a booth at the Brooklyn Book Festival this Sunday, 9/13 from 10am - 6pm. Make sure to stop by and check it out (I’ll be working there all day, so come say hi)! To find out more about this year’s Brooklyn Book Festival, click here. You can also follow the Brooklyn Book Festival on Twitter: @bkbf Some panels that may be of interest: 11:00 a.m. The International Graphic Novel. Three acclaimed graphic novelists who tackle big social and political themes in their work discuss what the form can accomplish, from an international and domestic perspective. Featuring Guy Delisle (The Burma Chronicles), Peter Kuper (Diario de Oaxaca: A Sketchbook Journal of Two Years in Mexico) and Sarah Glidden (How To Understand Israel In 60 Days Or Less). Moderated by Matt Madden. NEW YORK COMIC CON AT THE BROOKLYN BOOK FESTIVAL 10:00 a.m. Comics Get Syncopated: Memoir, History, Biography and Reportage in Comics Today. Brendan Burford (editor, Syncopated: An Anthology of Nonfiction Picto-Essays), comics editor at King Features Syndicate, moderates panel with other Syncopated contributors as they discuss how the comic format has opened new doors in nonfiction storytelling. Syncopated collects memoirs, profiles and reports from comics creators in a graphic novel format. 11:00 a.m. Fact vs. Fiction in Action-Adventure Comics. Comics artists and writers Matt Loux, Fred van Lente, Chris Giarruso, Kevin Pyle and Barry Lyga discuss how they are inspired by real events, scientific research and even math and physics to come up with action-packed adventure stories. They give a behind-the-scenes look at the process of creating comics. For kids of all ages. Moderated by Alex Simmons. 12:00 p.m. Sci Fi and Fantasy in NYC. Is there anything hotter than sci-fi and fantasy right now? We don’t think so. Join authors S.C. Butler, Peter Brett, Anton Strout and Dave Roman as they discuss all that is paranormal in NYC. 1:00 p.m. Marvel Writers. How do they do it? Some of Marvel’s hottest writers talk about their work on your favorite comics. Moderated by Jim McCann. 2:00 p.m. Spotlight on Tom DeFalco, Phil Jimenez and Dennis O’Neil. Veteran artists Tom DeFalco, Phil Jimenez and Dennis O’Neil gather to speak about their common influences, current projects and the trends that are shaping the future. Moderated by Danny Fingeroth. 3:00 The ACT-I-VATE Renaissance. There is a comic book renaissance happening in Gowanus, Brooklyn, and members…

October '09 »

« August '09