After Watchmen, What's Next?

From Fantagraphics website :
"Public confusion surrounding the overwhelming critical regard that the WATCHMEN graphic novel continues to be held in amongst those who haven't read the book but paid good money to see the feature film is rampant. "Wait, are comics for kids, or aren't they?" many have asked. Now that these people have seen WATCHMEN the movie, how do they erase it from memory and avoid wantonly dismissing the entire medium from which it sprung? We're here to help. Point them in the right direction with Fantagraphics Books' new "AFTER WATCHMEN, CLEANSE YOUR PALATE" program.. Please visit our homepage for more information on these fine "essentials" from Fantagraphics Books, perfect for anyone who sees WATCHMEN on film and can't believe that comics are worth taking seriously."

LZS ‘09

Another reminder for the LONDON ZINE SYMPOSIUM, Sunday 3rd May 2009, 12pm-6pm, at The Rag Factory, 16-18 Heneage Street, London E1 5LJ. Bringing together zines, comics and radical writers to celebrate DIY and zine culture. Although not strictly a comics event, it's arguably the most exciting day in the UK comics calender.

Robert Crumb interviewed by Al Goldstein

The actual interview starts 45 seconds in. I tried to edit out the anti-Sean Penn rant, but it didn't work.
I'm guessing this is from the late 80's.

Achewood

The April 13, 2009 edition of Chris Onstad's Achewood.

YOW! Two Generations of Kids Comics

There's a neat article by Andrew D. Arnold about Little Lulu and Nickelodeon Magazine, over on time.com

Xaime stuff

Jaime Hernandez interviewed on Inkstuds Radio.

Also : Warped Reality has a lecture given by Jaime in 2007, which you can download on this page.

AND here's another Jaime Hernadez Inkstuds interview, this one being from 2006.

Kenny Penman on Panel Borders

Alex Fitch interviews Kenny Penman who runs Blank Slate books, the new British publishing company that's been around for just under a year. Alex and Kenny talk about what factors decide the choice of books he publishes, the travails of finding a market for new graphic novels in the middle of a credit crunch and how his history as one of the founders of Forbidden Planet International has helped his new career as a publisher.

(From Trains Are... Mint)

Vice THE COMICS ISSUE

Vice Magazine's comics issue is still online. It's not that great to be honest, but amongst the many comics included are strips by Robert Crumb, Pete Bagge, Sophie Crumb, Rick Altergott, and .... me! (I wish they'd sent me a copy).

Harvey Pekar on Letterman

Easter Greetings 2

Robosexuality

From Out Of This World #12, March 1959 (and found on againwiththecomics.blogspot.com).

Easter Greetings

"The Marvel Superheroes", 1966.

Introduction.


Closing credits.

Dan Clowes

There's a nice Dan Clowes interview over on L'autre bande dessinée.



Also : download Clowes' great Mister Wonderful comic from the New York Times Funny Pages.

Electric Baby

I was happy to be given a copy of Jimi Gherkin's new zine "ELECTRIC BABY" at last month's Web & Mini Comix Thing. I don't know much about zines, but if they're all as good as this, then the zine scene must be the place to be! Well, I call it a 'zine', as that's how Jimi himself describes it, but there's plenty of cartooning included, so to me it feels as much like a comic as a zine. Within it's pages, Jimi uses a very clear comic-strip sequence to show us how to screen print at home (something I didn't know about), lays out his views on religion, and numb complacency vs positive action, and in my favourite sequence, takes the history of life on Earth back to the Big Bang - to remind us just how amazing it is we exist at all. Everything is shown in a well designed, pleasing manner, clearly lettered, with a drawing style that makes me think of a more upbeat Dennis Worden.
Anyway, this lil' mag is so damned optimistic and good natured, that I'd recommend anyone to pick it up. It'll put a smile on your face.



www.myspace.com/jimigherkin
comicsandzines.wordpress.com

Crumb's Genesis is finished

"Robert Crumb has finished the Genesis project. It's 201 pages. He has also finished the Cover, the Introduction, the commentary (for the back sleeve) and also the Map, which will be in the beginning of the book. The book is soon going to production and it's planned to be released this fall." - rcrumb.blogspot.com

From boingboing.net :
"The long-awaited publication of Robert Crumb’s Book of Genesis, an adaptation of the Bible story, which Norton will be publishing in Fall 2009. I had the privilege of seeing some of the pages in France two years ago, and the scope of the work has haunted me ever since. I’m sure the religious right will be all up in arms with cliché horror that a quote unquote “cartoonist” has defamed their sacred cow, but Crumb is taking this work very seriously, and Genesis is some of his best work."

According to The Guardian, the book will be published simultaneously in the US and the UK on 19 October.



A sketchbook page from The R. Crumb Handbook.

And finally, an entertaining Crumb interview with Robert Hughes from 2005, when the Genesis book was in it's early stages.

Kirby Covers Of The Month

From 1962.

"Graphic Novel"

Oh, how I hate that term. Emi Gennis explains.

Donald McGill

Art by Donald McGill, The King of the Saucy Postcard. Between 1904-1962 McGill produced an estimated 12,000 designs of which an estimated 200 million were printed and sold.



McGill's trial and censorship under the Conservative government of the fifties.

The censored postcards.

A McGill exhibition at Chris Beetles Gallery (from 2006).

George Orwell's essay on Donald McGill

Batman intro (1966)

Can't stop watching this.