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Jaime Hernandez, Johnny Ryan, Sammy Harkham: Three men who know some shit about comics.

Barbara "Willy" Mendes, Sharon Rudahl and John Thompson bask in the adulation.

By now the legend of the Art in Time L.A. event at Cinefamily has probably not reached you. Basically, thanks to Cinefamily and Sammy Harkham, I gathered a pantheon of great cartoonists under one roof for an early evening gab fest and book signing. Johnny Ryan interviewed Lawrence (Real Deal) Hubbard; I interviewed John Thompson, Sharon Rudahl and Barbara “Willy” Mendes, and Jaime Hernandez screened the fabulous A Letter to Three Wives, after which Sammy briefly interviewed him. Books were signed, beer was consumed, and after all that I ate an enormous corned beef sandwich at Cantor’s. But! It was not without its moments, best of which was a fairly intense exchange between Hubbard and Mendes. Anyhow, lucky for you, dear readers, I recorded the whole thing the first two panels in a single take. There’s a brief dead zone between the Hubbard/Ryan panel and the Art in Time panel, but let it roll. It’s worth it. The recording picks up with Johnny introducing Lawrence. Enjoy.

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Johnny Ryan interviews Lawrence "Real Deal" Hubbard.

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Not in Art in Time: L.B. Cole. He was awesome. And! John Stanley's editor in the 1960s.

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Wait, New Comics Day is Thursday this Week? Shit!

Erstwhile internet pest Brynocki C also goes by the name Brian Chippendale. And it is under the latter guise that he is opening a solo exhibition of new work at Cinders Gallery in Brooklyn, Friday, June 4. Reception begins at 7 pm. Come see him and be sure to ask him about Master of Kung Fu. On a lighter note (sort of) Chipps has finished If ‘n Oof. 800 pages of sheer joy coming your way in September. We swear!

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It'll be Like This

L.A. denizens:

This Sunday I’m having an afternoon book launch for Art in Time, featuring conversations with both contributing and like-minded cartoonists. We will be covering everything from Real Deal to Illuminations to Love and Rockets. Come on down — I promise a very unusual event.

Sunday, May 30
5 pm – 9 pm

Cinefamily
611 N Fairfax Avenue
Los Angeles, 90036
$10

Adventurous Cartoonists & Far-Out Comics

In celebration of his new comic anthology Art in Time: Unknown Comic Books Adventures, 1940-1980, art director/editor Dan Nadel will present an afternoon of book signings and conversations with notable cartoonists about the impact of adventure comics on popular culture. First, Dan will begin with an overview of adventure comics — from crime to cavemen, and back again! Next up, “Angry Youth”/”Prison Pit” author (and Cinefamily cover artist) Johnny Ryan interviews Lawrence Hubbard, co-creator of the raw ‘n riotous comic series “Real Deal”, set against the backdrop of a crime-ridden South Central. Later, join underground greats Sharon Rudahl, John Thompson and Barbara (Willy) Mendes in a panel discussion on their work, and on the milieu of 1960s subversive comics! Wrapping up the show is “Love And Rockets” co-creator Jaime Hernandez presenting a screening of the 1949 Joseph L. Mankiewicz classic A Letter To Three Wives, followed by a discussion with Jaime on the film, moderated by cartoonist Sammy Harkham.

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Matt Fox’s work (of which you can see more in Art in Time) has many virtues, not least among them his inking. Here’s a very nice scan (snagged from Heritage) of a page from Journey Into Mystery 101 (1964). This is Fox inking over Larry Leiber. Nothing against Leiber, but his work was never terribly distinctive. Fox takes a pretty generic set of panels and amps them up to operative heights. Look at that final panel — it’s grotesque and visceral. Something I’m struck by in his comics work is that he seemed to be drawing without thinking about reproduction; there’s a tremendous amount of detail here — textures, shadows, volumes — that would simply disappear in the printed piece. And while someone like Basil Wolverton compensated for his inkiness with broad comedic compositions, Fox just crams in the detail — each panel it’s own complete picture. This makes sense, as Fox came from the pulps, but it certainly is an awkward meeting of sensibilities. Fox was of the same generation as Virgil Finlay, and was coming at comics with a distinctly “old world” sensibility. I wish I knew more about him. I’ve heard his family is somewhere in the tri-state area, but I’ve never been able to locate them. If you’re out there, do drop me a line! And for you, dear readers, here’s some more Matt Fox. Bhob Stewart has the only recollection of the man himself that I’ve ever read, and there is tons of great art here.

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It’s a beautiful Saturday and you know what you need to do? Buy stuff from us! In the last 24 hours celebrity operators have been adding items like crazy! The PictureBox funpacks are online. You can have 3 graphic novels for just $20! Or 2 fancy coffee table books for $25. Not to mention issues of Comics Comics, and a promo poster, for $10. Here are some highlights:

Matthew Thurber drawings!

$75!

Large drawing! $125.

And 3 more on eBay!

More Dash Shaw art, like this beauty, below.

Western Art by Dash Shaw. $140.

We’ve got an ultra rare copy of Kramers Ergot #4, signed and with a drawing by Sammy Harkham.

$100 for a customized copy of the best single issue of an anthology ever published?

For just $50 Jason T. Miles promises to send you a package like this containing a wealth of rare zines and ephemera from his Profanity Hill project!

Profanity Hill pack!

So what are you waiting for, kind readers? Some have asked us, “why do you need this money, this filthy lucre?” And we say, so we can pay ourselves back for our expenses and initiate new Comics Comics projects. Also, let’s face it: Looking this good costs money. You think Santoro rolls out of bed looking that handsome? Or Dash just happens to have such good hair? I think not. We need your help. You can buy stuff or just donate if you feel that you don’t want any more material goods in your life.

Thanks!

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Now let's REALLY talk comics...

Here I am in Switzerland lecturing about Art in Time. Are you tired of hearing about Art in Time yet? I’m flogging it hard. Anyhow, listen below to hear me flail about as a I try to explain things to foreigners! Allow the intro music to vibe with you, man.

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Also! Yet another book release event: Come join me at Desert Island in Brooklyn on Friday, May 21st, 7 – 9 pm.

Desert Island
540 Metropolitan ave
Brooklyn NY 11211
(718) 388-5087

I will be signing books and the esteemed critic Richard Gehr will be grilling me about all things Art In Time! All of this beginning at 7 pm.

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Last Sunday at TCAF (aka the best comics festival in North America) I had the pleasure of moderating a panel with Jeet Heer, Seth and Evan Dorkin on the ins and outs of editing/designing/publishing/consuming comics history. It begins with Evan lamenting the lack of proper old radio fandom. Note: I forgot to ask one crucial question: Complete editions vs. “Best of” editions. Not to late to chime in, gents. Anyhow, audio is below. Enjoy.

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I couldn't agree more.

Well, a little bit of news and some bragging.

First of all, please join me and Chip Kidd at The Strand (NYC) on Wednesday, May 12 at 7 pm for a lively discussion, slide show and signing for Art in Time.

And, I’ve received some very nice reviews from Entertainment Weekly (A-!), The Onion A.V. Club, and The Jewish Daily Forward, and have managed not to embarrass myself too badly in an interview with Publishers Weekly.

Ok, now go about your business. But don’t forget to come to The Strand!

UPDATE 5/15/10: New interview at Robot 6, where I really gab “deep nerd” with Chris Mautner, and book excerpts at the LA Times.

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Silkscreen, edition of 100. Available online soon from The Kirby Museum. All proceeds benefit the Museum.

Since I’m procrastinating a bit here on another rainy day in Lucerne, getting ready to pack up and head out to Toronto tomorrow, I thought I’d add a few more thoughts on Fumetto and the festival.

Ben Jones opened a very fine exhibition last week, consisting of large cardboard sculptures, some paintings, and a couple of wall drawings. It’s a good way to see what Jones is up to these days. We did a talk together on Saturday afternoon, walking through the show and tossing around arguments about form and hierarchies. I’ll post it when I’m back. Ben took off for Athens yesterday for yet another art show. Busy boy.

Anyhow, Kirby:

What has struck me about the current show is how much can be told even without displaying some of his “iconic” pieces, as has been noted elsewhere. For this, and for any audience really, it’s almost more important to see the work as work, rather than as propping up iconic properties. It’s easier to take in as comics qua comics, or in the case of his collage and pencil drawings: as highly personal mark-making.
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