Jeff will deliver the Commencement Speech to The Center for Cartoon Studies’ Class of 2009! Please join in at the Northern Stage Theater in the Briggs Opera House, White River Junction, Vermont.  Commencement begins at 11am, with a Thesis Reception following at 12pm

This ceremony, which will be held this Saturday May 16, 2009, is free and open to the public!

You can visit their website at www.cartoonstudies.org

Alec Longstreth and Joe Lambert did a special 2 page spread for 7 Day’s, which is Vermont’s Alternative Weekly paper. Here is just a sample from their strip. You can see the full strip here.

The first four issues of RASL were 32 pages and were published on a fairly relaxed 3 issue-a-year plan. When I came up with this format, I thought the extra pages would make up for a slower release schedule, but the demand for more issues gets louder every time a new chapter comes out. I think everyone I heard from liked the extra pages, but they’d rather have less time between issues.

So, starting with RASL no.5, the black & white comic books will be 24 pages, and in the Fall begin a bimonthly schedule.

I have to admit it makes sense to me too, especially at deadline/crunch time when instead of dealing with18 to 22 page stories which is standard, I suddenly found myself wrangling an extra 10 to 14 pages which almost made my brain explode!

I still have to make room for some scheduling conflicts this summer (for a couple of projects that I’m not ready to announce yet,) but, here’s the schedule for the next few issues:

RASL no.5  July
[secret project over the summer months]
RASL no.6 October
RASL no.7 December
RASL no.8 March 2010

 The Ohioana Festival takes place in Columbus, Ohio this week May 6-9, 2009

Here are the details of Jeff’s appearances:

Tomorrow, Wednesday May 6, kicks off with a WOSU Interview hosted by Fred Anderle with fellow authors Ann Hagedom, and Phil Brady from 11am-12pm. You can stream it live by clicking here.

Thursday May 7, 2009: Signing at Barnes and Noble Lennox Town Center from 6:30pm-7:30pm

Saturday May 9, 2009: Panel Discussion with fellow author Erin McCarthy at the Board Room of State Library of Ohio from 11:30am-12:15pm

A Conversation with Jeff Smith at State Library of Ohio from 2:00pm-2:45pm followed by a booksigning / meet & greet at 2:45pm-3:30pm

Just got a pile of these postcards from the Wexner Center. They are showing two documentaries about cartoonists next month, Night Music: The Art of P. Craig Russel on May 12, and The Cartoonist: Jeff Smith, Bone, and The Changing Face of Comics on May 22.

The documentary about me and Bone has been in the works by filmmaker Ken Mills for over a year and half now. It has some great  interviews with  fellow cartoonists including Harvey Pekar, Terry Moore, Paul Pope, Colleen Doran, and Scott McCloud. I’ll post more information about the film over the next few weeks.

I don’t know much about the Craig Russel movie, but I’m big fan of his and I will be at the showing. I’ll be there for the screening of The Cartoonist, too.

You can read about the events and buy tickets here for The Cartoonist and here for P. Craig Russell’s Night Music. Hope to see you all there.

Ready for RASL to start back up? Here is a preview of the first six pages… You can click on each page and then use the magnifying glass to enlarge them.

Be sure to pick up RASL #4 on Wednesday April 29th at your local comic book shop, or in our online store!