Preston Smiling
Vijaya and I took Preston downtown to the North Market to pick up our veggies. It was hot and sunny. Summer’s finally here! Happy Summer Solstice!
Publishing News on Wednesday…
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The whole staff of Cartoon Books went down to Old Man’s Cave a few days ago (if you’d like to see some pictures visit Steve’s blog ). The purpose of the trip was… well, come back this Wednesday, June 28th, and Vijaya will tell you. We have a publishing announcement to make… the first of many this year, I think.
Comics!
I recently traded comics with James Kochalka and Craig Thompson. Both had some new comics I hadn’t seen.
James K. and pal Jeffrey Brown made a second Conversations mini, and it’s good. The way these two play off each other is what makes these stream of consciousness “conversations” about art and artists’ motivations interesting. Also, I’d never seen Kochalka’s Super F**kers before.
It’s a colorful riff on teenage superheroes that made me laugh out loud. Kochalka must have read a load of Legion of Superheroes comics when he was a kid. If you know Kochalka's work, you know that sometimes it's kid friendly, sometimes not, so beware, and just in case the title doesn’t make it obvious, Super F**kers is an adults only book.
Craig Thompsom has switched publishers and he sent me Pantheon’s new binding of Good-Bye, Chunky Rice as well as a beautiful travel sketch book called Carnet de Voyage which is published by Top Shelf.
Although Craig’s masterpiece may turn out to be Blankets (see Time Magazine’s list of The Ten Greatest Graphic Novels of All Time ), Chunky Rice is still my favorite, and this new printing is exquisite.
Not Comics!
“Not comics” is the phrase Tom Spurgeon over at The Comics Reporter uses on non-comics related stories to, as he puts it, keep him honest. I’m swiping it so I can show you these pictures of my neighbors watching the World Cup match between Italy and The Chech. Republic last week.
I was invited by Alessandro Siciliani, conductor of The Columbus Symphony Orchestra and Musical Director Emeritus, to come watch the game and sip Prosecco. We gathered in the kitchen with his friends and watched the tiny TV in the corner while Alessandro’s son, Giacomo fixed us omelets. Italy won 2 to 0, thanks in part to Alessandro’s lucky charm, which he is holding up here. Note the Italian flag in the doorway.
Italy scores the second goal at the 88th minute! It’s not comics, but we have to keep our priorities straight. As soon as I finish typing this, I’m heading back over to watch the match between Italy and Australia. You haven’t watched an Italian World Cup match until you’ve watched it with a few Italian friends! Ciao
The purpose of the trip was probably to get some ideas of how to colour Old man’s cave in book 6, right?
-Tanner
PS: Preston is cute
Comment by Tanner Hayes — June 26, 2006 @ 1:14 pm
Old Man’s Cave is gorgeous! It reminds me a lot of my family’s farm and many the state parks here in Iowa. Our farm is in a valley and the hills surrounding the house have a lot of bluffs and large rock formations. There’s also a state park nearby called Maquoketa Caves that has large caves like Old Man’s Cave; it’s very neat one of the caves is well under ground. If you’re ever by this way stop by and see some of Iowa’s state parks I think you’d really enjoy them.:)
My favorite photo of yours is the one of the trees growing over the rock, its unreal looking! Someday I’ll have to make a trip to Ohio to see Old Man’s Cave in person.
Comment by Jeanette — June 26, 2006 @ 10:59 pm
“Carnet de Voyage” is great, almost as good as “Blankets”… A must read for any Thompson fans, or anyone who likes to read ridiculously candid and personal anecdotes… I mean, it’s a travel sketch book but so much more, revealing intimate personal details that few artists would consider sharing with their audience. It’s not the “next novel”, but it is a sequel to “Blankets” and continues the high marks for excellence that “Blankets” established. I like it better than “Chunky Rice”, which is saying something…
Comment by Ben — June 29, 2006 @ 6:43 am
Hey! Italy won the world cup!
-Tanner
Comment by Tanner Hayes — July 12, 2006 @ 9:38 am
Thanks to your post I’ve just bought “Goodbye Chunky Rice” and I hope it’s as good as you said! Why don’t you suggest more comics to read?
Comment by Stefano (Italy) — August 8, 2006 @ 8:04 am