Here is another letter from a dad. This went to Kathleen first, who forwarded it to me with the subject headline: “Prepare for cuteness!” Even with that warning, I was not prepared…
Kathleen,
Enclosed you will find the pictures of the hat. Tressley worked really hard designing it, and helping to create the mice, clothes, lettering, and barn. She read Little Mouse Gets Ready to her first grade class while wearing it, and the whole class fell in love with Little Mouse, just like she did.
My daughter has been awe-struck by the proposition of Mr. Smith seeing her hat. When it came time to figure out what she wanted to say, she acted as if she was actually about to meet him, extremely shy. However, she did finally convey to me what she wanted to say, and I have typed her message exactly how she presented it.
Dear Mr. Smith:
My name is Tressely. I love to draw. I think you are a great artist. I love the ending of Little Mouse Gets Ready, because it was like, POOF! No clothes. I really like how you drew the book. The mice are cute. I think the BONE books are funny too, especially the snow that goes WHUMP! and just falls out of the sky. My daddy has a shirt like Phoney Bone. Me and my twin brother hit it and act like we are invincible like when the Mario Bros. get invincible because of stars.
Sincerely,
Tressley Chapman
Thanks again for the honor of letting Tressley convey her love of Mr. Smith’s books. She does love to draw, and his books really inspire her. Well, all of us.
Respectfully,
Richard Chapman.
The honor is mine. Tressley, you are a smart and talented kid. Nice job! Thank you for sharing.
A father sent this e-mail (through the company that made the documentary about me).
I answered it as honestly as I could.
Here is the letter:
Jeff,
My youngest son, Devan is 9 years old, and has been an admirer of your books for a while. He wrote a letter to you and didn’t know where to send it. So I told him I would find an email address and email you his letter.
As his parent, I feel he is too young to have an email address, so here it is.
Dear Jeff Smith,
I don’t mean to offend you, but I do not like it when you swear in your book “Bone” Back from Boneville.
I just want to tell you that I do not believe in swearing.
To tell you the truth, I love your “Bone” books because they are interesting and funny, but I do not like the book when it swears.
Once you are done reading this note, please remember to try and write back.
Devan.
Here is my letter back to Devan:
Devan,
Thank you for taking the time to send me a letter about my comic book Bone.
I’m very glad you like the stories and characters. And I’m sorry the characters used language you didn’t like.
Sometimes what a grown-up thinks is ok, might seem different to a nine year old, so I really appreciate you letting me know.
Personally, I believe some of the mild language that the characters used was very tame and I would have a hard time even calling it swearing, but that’s all right, too – - not everybody has to agree about everything, right?
What is important is that you told me how you feel, and I appreciate that.
Thanks again for writing!
best,
Jeff Smith
****
(The picture at the top is of some original art pages from Bone #1 from my collection)
Sent RASL #14 to the printer this morning! It’s the second to last issue, and even I’m getting excited! RASL #14 should hit stores on May 30. Aand now I have to start packing for this weekend’s trip to Toronto for the Toronto Comic Arts Fest. It’s a great literary/arts comics show and I am looking forward to returning there for the first time in years. Last time I was at TCAF, it was held in tents out in a parking lot. Lots of great guests and panels, so come if you can!
UP NEXT:
TCAF – Toronto Comics Art Festival May 4-6
2012 Toronto Comics Art Festival! Below is the schedule of where I will be this weekend…
Friday:
Panel – Smith, Ba, Moon On Stage – Noir and the Fantastic.
A conversation moderated by Mark Askwith 7:00pm-8:30pm
Signing – 8:30pm-10:00pm (please note only one item per person).
Held at the Toronto Reference Library in the Appel Salon.
Saturday:
Panel – Meet Jeff Smith!
Presentation on Bone 1:00pm-2:00pm
Signing – 2:00pm-3:30pm (please note this is on a first-come, first-served basis).
Held at Owlkids Day at St. Paul’s on Bloor Street.
Sunday:
Workshop – Inking with Jeff Smith Workshop
Special one-time-only interactive TCAF panel! 11:30am-12:30pm
Held at Ristorante Fortuna on Cumberland Street.
Signing – 1:00pm-3:00pm. Held at The Reference Library in Signing Area B1
It’s crunch time. I’m finishing up the inks on RASL #14 so we can send it out next week. That means I’m stocking up on Pellegrino, turkey slices, and jalapenos (my munchies of choice!), so I can power through the next couple of days. This is the second to last issue, so a lot story threads are starting to come together – - that’s why you see so many older issues of RASL strewn around my desk for reference.
The brilliant cartoonist who goes simply by Max, recently posted the above piece on his blog & tumbler. I first met Max in Barcelona at the big comics festival back in the late nineties. Max is a badass cartoonist. He’s done covers for The New Yorker, and made a number of award winning comics albums, mostly published in Europe, but some published here, like Bardin from Fantagraphics.
I love his style, and his stories are smart, fun, and pure comics. You can see some of his titles (like those below) at his blog.
Thanks, Max!
Here’s a link to a short YouTube video of Max conducting a comics workshop.
