News and Updates
by Dan Nadel
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Painting by Ben Jones
I realize it’s quite crass of me to only post here when I’m promoting, but as those who know me will tell you, I’m a crass jerk. So, that said, I’ll sprinkle in some appropriate content with my promotional text.
For example: Favorite comic taken home from SPX: Or Else #5. Post-SPX realization: Elektra Assassin is only good because of the art. And man, that is some fine, inspired cartooning. He was never better. I think Miller really is saved by his artists. It’s not that different in tone than his recent drekky stuff, but so beautifully imagined. Also, Ivan Brunetti’s new Yale anthology is just brilliant from top to bottom. I can’t help but smile at what he go away with: basically making a highly personal anthology for a major publisher. It’s so wonderfully indiosyncratic. I love it. Also, the complex and funny cover by Clowes reminds me why he’s so damn good, and that I can’t wait for whatever he does next. Plus, Ivan’s book finally gave me the little inspirational boost I need to get going on Art Out of Time 2, which at this point is so late it’s not even funny. Gee, what else… does anyone read Achewood? I’ve never read it. Maybe I’ll do that now. None of the above is actual, substantive writing, but, well, at least it’s something, and now on to the shameless promotion:
1) The Ganzfeld 7 is out now and will be in stores this week or next. 10 stores only or online. No Diamond, no bookstore distro. Edition of 1000. They are going very, very fast. Surprisingly so.
2) We’ve reduced prices on lots of stuff in the store again. All comics and zines especially. Poke around and you’ll find some deals/steals. Also, all King Terry stuff is back in stock.
3) Non-comics: Norman Hathaway has created a fantastic blog for Overspray: Riding High With the Kings of California Airbrush Art. Most PictureBox fans should check this out. I’m hugely proud of this book.
4) Also non-comics, but a little comics, since Michel, after all, did a comic:
Promoting his new book, You’ll Like This Film Because You’re In It, Michel Gondry is out on tour! Go see him!
Los Angeles:
Oct. 21, 7 pm: Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire, L.A. (A conversation and book signing)
Oct. 22, 7:30 pm: FAMILY, 436 N. Fairfax Ave., L.A. (book signing)
New York:
Oct. 25, 12-5 pm: NY Art Book Fair (PictureBox Booth I3), 450 West 15th Street at 10th Avenue, 3rd floor, NYC (Book signing)
Oct. 26, 2-5 pm: NY Art Book Fair (PictureBox Booth I3), 450 West 15th Street at 10th Avenue, 3rd floor, NYC (Book signing)
Oct. 27, 7 pm: The Strand, 828 Broadway, NYC (A conversation and book signing)
Well, that’s all I have for now, I think. Bye!
Labels: Bill Sienkiewicz, Daniel Clowes, Elektra, Frank Miller, Ivan Brunetti, Kevin Huizenga, king terry, Michel Gondry, One-of-a-Kind Online Shopping Opportunities, or else, PictureBox, self-loathing, shameless promotion, SPX, The Ganzfeld
I really like the Yale anthology also and not just cuz i’m in it.
Was visiting Providence this weekend. Christopher Forgues was reading it when I stopped by to have lunch. Ben Jones was reading it when I went by his house for dinner. And of course Chippendale had it on the kitchen table when i went by his cavernous treehouse later that night. They’re all in it, contributor copies had arrived earlier that week. Pretty funny.
Dan, is one of the stores getting The Ganzfeld 7 my new local store, Atomic Books in Baltimore, Maryland?
Achewood… I don’t get it. It is obscenely popular. It must be really funny, I guess. I just can’t look at it. I’m really sorry. I find the cut and paste (In a ‘the same image repeated’, not a collage way) look of the ones I’ve seen and the way the character is drawn totally repulsive. The cold computer line of it creates further distance. I’m sorry I feel that way. And then I feel bad that I feel bad, but I know that ultimately there is a person putting some work in on this day in-day-out. Achewood, that dinosaur strip and Wondermark I just cannot engage with, because as an artist, I want to see some art in a comic strip. I want blood sweat and tears applied in ink by a human hand.
The Chris Ware parody strips that Achewood did are good for a few yucks. Wasn’t enough to convert me to a regular reader though…
Comics on paper forever!!!
http://www.achewood.com/index.php?date=01112008
The lack of artfulness in Achewood put this reader off for years, but the character writing in Ray’s Place and the blogs helped me break through it, and I’ve been enjoying it for many more years now. Onstad really does try hard within his limitations – it’s not just c+p’d talking heads.
Perhaps it helps to think of him as a digital Thurber.