Biography

2009 Alternative Press Expo and CCA Unite!

Wed, 2 Sep 2009 22:59:06 -0700

After last year’s successfully relocated fall show, the Alternative Press Expo and the California College of the Arts are back together again this October 17th and 18th!

The Alternative Press Expo has always served as a launching point for new comics talent and this year looks to be no different. It’s where I got my start and it’s a wonderful way to see the best and the brightest of the independent comic book scene.

If you can make it to this year’s show, make sure to stop by Table 152 and check out new comics by students attending my classes at the CCA. And just down the hall at Table 348, you’ll find my crew of fellow creators showing their wares underneath the WRITERS OLD FASHIONED banner!

Click on the floor plan below for a close-up view of the convention floor:

Hope to see you there!

Other APE Weekend Highlights:

Bring Your Best for the Seventh Annual
Isotope Award for Excellence in Mini-Comics

SAN FRANCISCO (August 11th, 2009) San Francisco comics retailer James Sime, proprietor of Isotope - the comic book lounge, announced today that submissions for the 2009 Isotope Award for Excellence in Mini-Comics will be accepted until October 1st at midnight. "It's our seventh annual award, and I've got a feeling we're going to be especially lucky and help discover an amazing new talent this year!"said Sime, "In 2009 one mini-comic creator's career will be forever changed, so fire up your xerox machines and get ready to submit your minis!"

The five comic professionals who will serve as this year's Isotope Award judges include:

Brett Warnock- Co-publisher and art director of the amazing Top Shelf Books. Brett's great taste in comics and enthusiasm for the artform are legendary. His shrewd eye for discovering new talent has played no small part in unearthing and introducing some of indy comics greatest talents to the industry. We love Brett, don't you?

Tom Spurgeon - The editor of The Comics Journal during its best years (1994 to 1999), Tom has gone on to become the industry's most esteemed comics scholar, historian, and journalist. Often referred to as "the smartest man in comics" by at least one comic book retailer, there simply is no better place for interviews and news from the world of independent comics than on Tom's website www.comicsreporter.com.
(Tom will, no doubt, disagree with some, if not all, of the above statements. But it would prove to only make him that much more endearing)

Eva Volan - Supervising children's librarian for the Alameda Free Library in Alameda, California, the chairperson of the ALA/YALSA 2010 Great Graphic Novels for Teens committee, a former judge of the 2008 Eisner Awards, and also a writer for www.graphicnovelreporter.com. She is amazing!

Kirsten Baldock - The Isotope's Special Projects Director, acting manager of the Oakland Main Library's Magazines and Newspapers Department, and Kirsten is also the author of the warring-gangs-of-cigarette-girls graphic novel Smoke & Guns.

James Sime - Proprietor of Isotope - the comic book lounge in San Francisco.

The award, which comes with a particularly dangerous-looking carved ebony fossil stone and satin silver trophy by famed designer Frank Crowe, has been instrumental in bringing attention to mini-comic creators the world over and launching the professional comic careers of Daniel Merlin Goodbrey (ASTONISHING TALES: IRON MAN 2020), and two Eisner Award Nominated cartoonists Joshua Cotter (SKYSCRAPERS OF THE MIDWEST), and Danica Novgorodoff (SLOW STORM).

Entry to this competition is five copies of your mini-comic sent to Isotope's address (326 Fell St. San Francisco, CA 94102) before the October 1st deadline. The award will be given out at a grand ceremony during APE AFTERMATH at the Isotope in conjunction with San Francisco's ALTERNATIVE PRESS EXPO. The APE convention has been a forum for small and independent publishers in the industry for many years. Because of the nature of this award, the winner will be contacted in advance and must be present at the Isotope at 9 PM on Saturday, October 17th for the award presentation ceremony.

"I consider each year's winner of this award to be the Isotope's Miss America for the year and always love helping to get their work under the noses of the entire industry!" Sime said, "Oh... and speaking of which, don't forget to place your preorders for two previous winners of this award who both have new original graphic novels coming out this September, Danica Novgorodoff's Refresh, Refresh from First Second and Joshua Cotter's Driven By Lemons from AdHouse Books!"

For more information contact the Isotope at (415) 621 - 6543 or at isotopeaward@gmail.com

2008 Alternative Press Expo Report

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 10:46:53 -0800

With the show’s move from the spring to the fall, there were a lot of unknowns going into this year’s Alternative Press Expo. I also upped the ante a bit by trying to help organize TWO tables and run THREE events at Isotope. Somehow, someway, EVERYTHING managed to work out. Don’t know if I can really write up a coherent convention report. I think I’ll have to stick to a random list of memories this time around. And, of course, if you want to skip my ramblings altogether and cut right to the pictures, scroll down to the bottom of this post and click the link!

For a more comprehensive set of reports, Tom Spurgeon has done his usual smashing job of collecting all the links associated with the show!

Had a wonderful time teaching my Thursday afternoon graphic novel seminar thanks to special guest, Julia Wertz. Lots of great shop talk with the students during class. The evening ended with beer and pizza at Lanesplitters with Julia and Serena. Really nice way to start off the weekend.

I always enjoy picking up comic creators at the airport or driving them around the City when they arrive for events at the store. In the past, I’ve given lifts to industry superstars like Tim Sale and Mark Millar. This time around, it was a quick SFO to pick up old friend Joshua Cotter (Skyscrapers of the Midwest). Josh played a crucial role in making the argument that I could make comics. It was great to hang out and catch up a bit before the weekend really got underway.

And sometime in the midst of the airport run, I stopped by CCA to pick up the last of the student comics created for the Expo table. We ended up selling work by twelve different students at the show. We had fourteen different students working the table in two-three hour shifts and my entire graphic novel class stopped by to check out the Expo floor. I was so proud of all of them. More on this in a bit.

Before the evening festivities were to get under way, we made a quick stop at Isotope to get into costume and to prep the store for the weekend’s events. Josh helped get the supplies ready for the CBDLF live art auction and everyone else pitched in to get ‘Evel’s’ costume ready for the night. For more on that, check out the photo set below!

Then it was off to the Last Gasp warehouse for the official Alternative Press Expo Exhibitor mixer. Saw lots of my favorite people there having a few drinks and checking out the amazing collection of oddities on display at the Last Gasp headquarters. Again, check out the pictures at the end of this post!

Next stop was the Isotope sponsored Triple Cobra concert at Fat City. Lots of costumes. Lots of pictures in the set. I’m really not painting a very vivid picture here. Sorry. Really, the weekend was a kind of strange and wonderful blur. I do know that Emily Stackhouse had a good night. Not only was she debuting her very first comic at APE this year, but she was also a finalist in the costume contest at Fat City. For more on Emily’s weekend, check out her post over at the Writers Old Fashioned Blog!

The Saturday morning set up at the show was a little tricky with the downpour and the Halloween hangovers. Attendance was light. Both the Writers Old Fashioned and the CCA table did well in spite post-Halloween gloom. The Writers Old Fashioned table attracted a nice steady crowd with Emily’s debut book, Brazilianoir and Jason’s recent hit, The Martian Confederacy. By the end of the weekend, we’d paid for our table and then some. Oh, and we even had a last minute mini-comic debut by Danger Bob and one of my students, Jafe Meltesen-Lee! Between both tables, we had a terrific showing over at Newsarama. We were featured in their daily coverage and the CCA table was also at the center of a longer piece about comics and education!

Visited with some of my favorite cartoonists during the show. Congrats to Lost in the Dark Press for five years at APE. I heard some good news from Chris Wisnia. I watched the table for Molly Hahn while she walked the floor. And the lads hawking the Nearly Infamous Zango and Scurvy Dogs never fail to crack me up.

The APE Aftermath at Isotope was a tremendous success. We had an awesome live art show by Josh Cotter and Nate Powell. Top Shelf publisher, Brett Warnock, mixed the drinks. And Jonas Madden-Connor walked away with the coveted Isotope Award for Excellence in Mini-Comics for his book Ochre Ellipse. Lots of shots from the event in the photo set below.

On Sunday, the Expo was greeted by both sunshine and a nice, healthy crowd. It was at this point that my camera ran out of juice. Which is a shame because the Dame Darcy concert at Isotope on Sunday night was something to behold. Antique instruments, sea shanties, murder ballads, and a capella love songs filled the comic book lounge. It was amazing. She brought a tear to my eye. I wonder if anyone noticed. I’m such a crybaby. But seriously, after the last song of the evening there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

So, no more conventions in 2008. I’m happy to have ended on such a good note.

If you are on facebook, check out this weekend’s pictures right over here. Tag yourself if you are lurking in the background of one of the pics!

Otherwise, enjoy the photos in the gallery below!

2008 Alternative Press Expo Weekend Plans

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:56:53 -0700

This year’s APE weekend is almost upon us. I’m running around like crazy getting ready for the show, so I’m going to have to keep this brief! Right now here’s what’s on my plate:

Not one, but TWO tables at the show.

Not two, but THREE Isotope related events.

Not just my usual Thursday afternoon graphic novel seminar, instead we’re having a very special guest speaker this week.

AND there’s an art show opening down I-5 a ways that will feature some of the original art from The Homeless Channel!

One way or another, this weekend’s going to be fun.

Hope to see you there!

2008 SDCC Report

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:37:59 -0700

You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes you might find
You get what you need...

You may have seen the coverage on CNN, USA Today, or in the pages of Entertainment Weekly. But it’s impossible to really capture the madness of Comic-Con unless you’re there in person. I’ll do my best here to recap my weekend. I apologize in advance for any gaps in my memory. I’m pretty sure I was mind-wiped at some point (perhaps when I veered a little to closely to the DHARMA booth.)

Thursday

After taking care of the last of Wednesday’s New Comics Day business over at Isotope, James, Kirsten and I boarded an early flight Thursday morning and made our way to San Diego. Upon arrival, I suggested that I should go and grab the rental car while they waited for their baggage. When it was revealed that I only had my carry-ons, James (dressed, as usual, to the nines in a olive green zoot suit) asks with bewilderment, “but where do you keep all of your shoes?”
I answered, “I have one pair on my feet and one in the bag.”
To which James responded, “But where do you keep all of your shoes?”

It wasn’t long before we found ourselves at James and Kirsten’s home-base for the weekend. The first order of business was to find a name fitting the total sweetness of the condo!

Long story short, welcome to the SkyPad. Oasis. Epicenter of contemporary living. And for the duration of the Comic-Con, a second home.

After a quick bite- hold on, I should give this meal a little extra shout out. Brunch consisted of a pumpkin-belgian waffle that was crispy on the outside and tasted like pie on the inside. Thank you, Cafe 222. Just awesome. Okay, back to the story...

Check-in at the convention took about thirty seconds. And it was smooth sailing from there. I decided to take off on my own for a bit and walk the floor. I quickly ran into old friends Chris Wisnia, JK Parkin, Christopher Mitten, Jose Cabrera, Jacq Cohen, and Molly Hahn. These are all people that I tend to only get a chance to see at conventions and I never seem to get to spend enough time with them at the shows either.

Before long, I was settling in at the AiT/Planet Lar booth for a signing with Kirsten and Daniel Merlin-Goodbrey. The entire convention floor was packed and we had our fair share of visitors. Saw pages from Daniel’s upcoming Marvel project and Kirsten’s Smoke and Guns still sells like hot cakes. I hope her book gets another big round of attention thanks to the fact that her artist, Fabio Moon, and his brother, Gabriel Ba, stole the show at the Eisners!

Here’s a picture my friend Sonia snapped of the signing!

Next stop: the “So You Want to Do a Graphic Novel” panel. It was really a privilege to get to speak to the packed crowd upstairs at the convention center- wait, the packed crowd? That’s right. When we first arrived at Room 3 and saw the line leading away from the entrance and around the corner and down the hall and then looping back around on itself we were a little skeptical. Surely, there was a mistake. I walked up to one group camped out in line and asked who they were there to see. The girl with the pink dreadlocks replied, “Not sure, but we want to make comics.”

Now, that, I thought, was cool.

So, we were super-hyped for the panel. We had a packed house and it was our job to rally the troops. I was really happy with the results. Lots of opinions and ideas and stories about getting off your butt and making comics from industry veterans (Steven Grant), superhero superstars (Adam Beechen), and newcomers like me and Kirsten. Larry Young tied the whole event together with his casual, yet effective, moderating.

Ended the evening with drinks back at the SkyPad with James, Kirsten, fellow SkyPad residents, Whitney Matheson and her friend Amanda, and a gaggle of other friends: Jim, Adrienne, and Angela. I excused myself from the Hyatt after-hours festivities to head over to Serena’s cousin’s place where I was staying for the weekend.

Solid first day. That’s for sure.

Friday

Met up with James and Kirsten on the floor for a bit. Talked with the iFanboy gang. They had their hands full this year covering the Con and acting as hosts at Darwyn Cooke’s booth. Here’s a shot of James doing his hosting thing and Ron doing his interviewing thing during the Grant Morrison signing at the table!

Man, I’ve got cool friends. Next up, I gave the Hollywood section of the convention a once over. I’ve got to admit, as skeptical as I am about the movie adaptation of The Watchmen, Nite Owl’s ship was a pretty cool:

Soon it was time to gear up for another signing at AiT booth. We were treated like kings by Ash and Pat who ran the booth like clockwork. AiT also shared some space with Starkings’ Active Images this year. Gave me lots of time to chat with letterer and design superstar John Roshell. He’s the guy who makes all the comic books you love look so damn good.

Then the weirdness started. First, one of my college buddies from my undergrad years in the education department at the University of Illinois randomly stopped by the table. That was a really fun reunion. Then the Hollywood people began flowing past the booth. I’ve never seen so many producers and P.A.’s in my life.

“Which one of these would make a good movie?” they’d ask.

“All of ‘em,” I’d respond. Apparently, that’s what they wanted to hear. So, then they’d start buying copies of them all. Oh well. Whatever. We’ll have a party when we have tickets in our hand for The Homeless Channel premiere. Until then, it’s a lot of hot air.

Friday also brought panel No. 2: Teaching Comics. I had a super fun time talking shop with Douglas Wolk, Steve Lieber, James Sturm, and Phil Jimenez in front of a room full of educators and students. Very cool. Big thanks to James, Kirsten, and Serena for cheering me on.

My other Friday mission was a complete failure: Operation Find Mike Romo. Mike’s one of my favorite guys in the world AND he happens to be the star of my next comic book (much more on that in the weeks and months to come.) Mike and I kept missing each other as we made our way in and out of panels and signings on the convention floor. Here’s what Mike was up to while I was trying to track him down!

And then there were the Eisners.

No, I didn’t win. But that’s just fine by me. As far as I’m concerned, Chuck BB’s Black Metal was one of the coolest books that hit the shelves last year and deserves all the attention it gets. For a pretty comprehensive recap of the ceremony, check out The Beat.

As for me, everyone was so sweet and supportive during the entire event.
First, James and Kirsten took me out to an incredible dinner at Oceanaire (known by Top Chef fans as the joint where Brian Malarkey serves as Executive Chef). Some of my friends were bringing picnic type eats to the Eisner ceremony itself. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to eat during the show in the minutes leading up to my category being announced. But once they handed out the award, Darwyn Cooke’s lovely partner-in-crime, Marsha, arrived with an astonishing array of treats for me and my table. She was soon followed by good friends, Storm and Kirsten, who came bearing more food and drink by the armload. The mood stayed festive as former AiT artists racked up the awards and visited the table to say thanks to Larry for giving them their first big breaks in the industry.

We ended the evening with some drinks after a chance encounter with some of our favorite Bay area peeps.

I’m pretty sure someone snapped a picture or two of Serena and I before the evening was over. I’ll post them up as soon as I get my hands on them. In the meantime, here’s one of Eisner presenter, Samuel L. Jackson, because, well, he’s cool.

Saturday

My last full day at the Con was all about meeting up and visiting with old friends, introducing myself to artists who I admire, buying comics... lots of comics. Purchases I’m most excited about: Slow Storm by former Isotope Mini-Comics Award winner, Danica Novgorodoff, Jamilti by Rutu Modan, and this full-color Scott Pilgrim comic. Oh, and I love Val Hochberg’s Kick Girl. Got a copy of issue two from her in the small press section of the Con. Saturday also offered us a chance to visit our friend, Josh Richardson, at the LucasArts booth where he was showing off the game he’s spent the last year of his life working on: The Force Unleashed. Amazing graphics, amazing gameplay, and it looks like an amazing story. Bravo, Josh!

Spent a really fun hour at the “Comics: Across Every Medium” panel. The talk featured USA Today’s Whitney Matheson along with Paul Feig (creator of Freaks & Geeks), David Goyer (Batman Begins), Chip Kidd (The Learners), and Brad Meltzer (The Book of Lies). I’m a huge Chip Kidd fan and it was a real honor to meet him after the panel was over. Here’s a picture I snapped of Whitney and Chip before I took off for my final signing of the weekend:

Speaking of Whitney, we all headed over to her Pop Candy Meet-Up at Altitude on the top floor of the Marriott at the end of the day. Whitney’s become such a cool friend over the last couple years. I wish I had more chances to hang out with her. Fortunately, she’s a huge comic book fan and we get to see each other at conventions. This year’s meet-up was an extra-special event for me because it featured one of the coolest door prizes I’ve seen in a long time: an exclusive comic based on some of her twitters from the last year. I was asked to do some of the art and it’s available for viewing at USA Today’s website right now! Click on the screen shot for an explanation of the comic over at Whitney’s blog:

To get a real feel for the party, I’d either head over here or check out what the San Diego Union Tribune had to say about the event! Lots of pictures at the first link and I’m even quoted in the second one.

After partying at the top of the hotel, it was back down to the bottom of San Diego where we picked the bar with the slowest service since humankind first conceived of the restaurant as a potentially effective food delivery system. Fortunately, I was among some of my very best friends and we had a great time none-the-less. And after a weekend of wall-to-wall comics, it was nice to talk literature for a bit with Whitney’s friend Amanda. I’m going to have to dust off that novel manuscript again one of these days. : )

Here’s a couple pictures from the night:

Sunday

Saturday night didn’t end with dinner. Serena and I headed back to visit some more with family and then hit the bed with a thump knowing we’d be up for an early flight the next morning. We got home safe and sound and then we promptly fell right back asleep again. It was an exhausting, bizarre, inspiring, incredible weekend. I might just go back and do it again next year.

One final thanks to everyone who was so kind to me both before and after the big Eisner nomination. And since I didn’t get a chance to say it on-stage, thank you to everyone who has supported my crazy dream to make comics. It means the world to me.

Matt

2008 San Diego Comic-Con Schedule

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:50:50 -0700

For all the details of my Comic-Con schedule (including panels, signings, and parties) head right over to the work blog!

It looks like it’s going to be an incredible show this year. I can’t wait to fly down to sunny San Diego and celebrate comics for four big, crazy days and nights!

Hope to see you there!

The Homeless Channel Nominated for Eisner!

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 10:51:20 -0700

The 2008 Eisner Award nominees were announced this morning and in a fantastic turn of events, I received a nomination in the Special Recognition category!

For the official press release and complete nominee list, I recommend checking out Tom Spurgeon’s post as he has linked all the nominees to their various websites on-line.

The Eisners are often affectionately called “the Oscars of comics” and are given out each year during the San Diego Comic-Con. This is a real honor and I’m terribly grateful to everyone who helped me get The Homeless Channel off the ground and out into readers hands.

Congratulations to all the nominees!

Here’s how I’ll be spending my day. ; )

Now, if you want to get right to the goods, here’s a copy of the Eisner committee’s press release in its entirety:

- - - - - - - - - -

“The nomination list for the 2008 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards represents the most diverse slate of titles and creators in the 20-year history of the awards (considered the "Oscars" of the comic book industry). The nominees range from literary Japanese graphic novels to comics based on popular TV series, from massive hardcover collections of classic comic strips and comic books to cutting-edge anthologies, from goofy humor titles to works about the Soviet space program, a Chinese vaudeville magician, and the Negro Leagues. In fact, the nominations are so varied that it is difficult to summarize any trends.

No one publisher or creator dominates this year's nominations, which were chosen by a blue-ribbon panel of judges. DC Comics, which has traditionally been at the top of the list, has 11 nods (+ 6 shared) for such titles as Brian K. Vaughan's Y the Last Man (Continuing Series, Penciller/Inker, Writer) and Darwyn Cooke's The Spirit (Continuing Series, Coloring, Lettering). Dark Horse has 12 nominations (+ 4), spearheaded by Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 (Continuing Series, New Series, Writer, Coloring) and Umbrella Academy (Limited Series, Cover Artist, Coloring). Also right up there is Marvel Comics, with 11 nominations (+ 2), with Stephen King's Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born garnering 4 of those (Limited Series, Penciller/Inker, Cover Artist, Coloring). Close behind is alt-comics publisher Fantagraphics, with 11 nominations, including 4 for the quarterly anthology Mome (two in Short Story, Anthology, Lettering) and 2 for the retro Fletcher Hanks collection I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets!

Image Comics has 8 nominations (+ 1) for a wide variety of titles, while AdHouse Books has 6 (+ 1), including 4 for newcomer Fred Chao's Johnny Hiro (Single Issue, New Series, Humor Publication, Writer/Artist-Humor). Oni Press clocks in with 5 (+ 1) nominations, while Drawn & Quarterly has 5 (including 2 for Rutu Modan's critically acclaimed Exit Wounds). Companies with 4 nominations each are Renaissance Press (all for Jimmy Gownley's Amelia Rules!) , Sunday Press, Viz, and Scholastic (3 for Shaun Tan's wordless graphic novel The Arrival). Companies with 3 nominations each are Archaia, First Second, Hyperion, and Top Shelf.

Five creators have 4 nominations each: writer/artists Fred Chao and Jimmy Gownley, and writers James Sturm (3 of them for Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow), Brian K. Vaughan (for both Buffy and Y the Last Man), and Joss Whedon (for Buffy, Astonishing X-Men, and the online Sugarshock!). Only three other creators have more than 2 nominations: artist Jae Lee (Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born), writer/artist Shaun Tan (The Arrival), and writer/artist/editor Chris Ware (Acme Novelty Library #18; Best American Comics 2007).

The judges added one new category this year, splitting the previous Best Title for a Younger Audience category into two: Best Publication for Kids and Best Publication for Teens, to reflect all the great material that is being produced for these audiences. All in all, this year's nominations are the most ever: 148 nominations in 29 categories (not including Hall of Fame).

Japanese comics and creators are particularly well represented on the ballot. In addition to 6 titles (instead of 5) being nominated in the Best U.S. Edition of Foreign Material-Japan category, they can be found in the Short Story (2 nominees), Continuing Series (Naoki Urasawa's Monster), Publication for Kids, Archival Collection-Comic Books, Writer/Artist, and Penciller/Inker categories.

The 2008 Eisner Awards judging panel consists of John Davis (director of pop culture markets, Bookazine), Paul DiFilippo (SF and comics author), Atom! Freeman (owner of Brave New World Comics in Santa Clarita, CA), Jeff Jensen (senior writer, Entertainment Weekly), and Eva Volin (supervising children's librarian for the Alameda Free Library in Alameda, CA).

Ballots will be going out in late April to comics creators, editors, publishers, and retailers. A downloadable pdf of the ballot will also be available online, and a special website has been set up for online voting. Voting is already under way at www.eisnervote.com for one category, Hall of Fame, for which the judges chose the nominees in March. The deadline for voting in this category is April 18. The results in all categories will be announced in a gala awards ceremony on the evening of Friday, July 25 at Comic-Con International.

The Eisner Awards are presented under the auspices of Comic-Con International, San Diego, a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to creating awareness of and appreciation for comics and related popular art forms. primarily through the presentation of conventions and events that celebrate the historic and ongoing contributions of comics to art and culture. Jackie Estrada has been administrator of the Awards since 1990. She can be reached at jackiee@mindspring.com.

More information about the Eisner Awards can be found at http://www.comic-con.org/cci/cci_eisners_main.shtml.

2008 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award Nominees:
Best Short Story “Book,” by Yuichi Yokoyama, in New Engineering (PictureBox) “At Loose Ends,” by Lewis Trondheim, in Mome #8 (Fantagraphics) “Mr. Wonderful,” by Dan Clowes, in New York Times Sunday Magazine (accessible online at www.nytimes.com/2008/02/16/magazine/funnypagesClowes.html) “Town of Evening Calm,” by Fumiyo Kouno, in Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms (Last Gasp) “Whatever Happened to Fletcher Hanks?” by Paul Karasik, in I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets! (Fantagraphics) “Young Americans,” by Emile Bravo, in Mome #8 (Fantagraphics)
Best Single Issue (or One-Shot) Amelia Rules! #18: “Things I Cannot Change,” by Jimmy Gownley (Renaissance) Delilah Dirk and the Treasure of Constantinople, by Tony Cliff (self-published) Johnny Hiro #1, by Fred Chao (AdHouse) Justice League of America #11: “Walls,” by Brad Meltzer and Gene Ha (DC) Sensational Spider-Man Annual: “To Have or to Hold,” by Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca (Marvel)
Best Continuing Series The Boys, by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson (Dynamite) Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, by Joss Whedon, Brian K. Vaughan, Georges Jeanty, and Andy Owens (Dark Horse) Naoki Urasawa’s Monster, by Naoki Urasawa (Viz) The Spirit, by Darwyn Cooke (DC) Y: The Last Man, by Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra, and Jose Marzan, Jr. (Vertigo/DC)
Best Limited Series Atomic Robo, by Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegender (Red 5 Comics) Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born, by Peter David, Robin Furth, and Jae Lee (Marvel) Nightly News, by Jonathan Hickman (Image) Parade (with Fireworks), by Michael Cavallaro (Shadowline/Image) The Umbrella Academy, by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá (Dark Horse)
Best New Series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, by Joss Whedon, Brian K. Vaughan, Georges Jeanty, and Andy Owens (Dark Horse) Immortal Iron Fist, by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, David Aja, and others (Marvel) Johnny Hiro, by Fred Chao (AdHouse) The Infinite Horizon, by Gerry Duggan and Phil Noto (Image) Scalped, by Jason Aaron and R. M. Guéra (Vertigo/DC)
Best Publication for Kids Amelia Rules! and Amelia Rules! Funny Stories, by Jimmy Gownley (Renaissance) Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures, edited by Jeremy Barlow (Dark Horse) Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 and Mouse Guard: Winter 1152, by David Petersen (Archaia) The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain, by Peter Sis (Frank Foster Books/Farrar, Straus & Giroux) Yotsuba&!, by Kiyohiko Azuma (ADV)
Best Publication for Teens Laika, by Nick Abadzis (First Second) The Mighty Skullboy Army, by Jacob Chabot (Dark Horse) The Annotated Northwest Passage, by Scott Chantler (Oni) PX! Book One: A Girl and Her Panda, by Manny Trembley and Eric A. Anderson (Shadowline/Image) Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow, by James Sturm and Rich Tommaso (Center for Cartoon Studies/Hyperion)
Best Humor Publication Dwight T. Albatross’s The Goon Noir, edited by Matt Dryer (Dark Horse) Johnny Hiro, by Fred Chao (AdHouse) Lucha Libre, by Jerry Frissen, Bill, Gobi, Fabien M., Nikola Witko, Hervé Tanquelle et al. (Image) Perry Bible Fellowship: The Trial of Colonel Sweeto and Other Stories, by Nicholas Gurewitch (Dark Horse) Wonton Soup, by James Stokoe (Oni)
Best Anthology Best American Comics 2007, edited by Anne Elizabeth Moore and Chris Ware (Houghton Mifflin) 5, by Gabriel Bá, Becky Cloonan, Fabio Moon, Vasilis Lolos, and Rafael Grampa (self-published) Mome, edited by Gary Groth and Eric Reynolds (Fantagraphics) Postcards: True Stories That Never Happened, edited by Jason Rodriguez (Villard) 24Seven, vol. 2, edited by Ivan Brandon (Image)
Best Digital Comic The Abominable Charles Christopher, by Karl Kerschl, www.abominable.transmission-x.com Billy Dogma, Immortal, by Dean Haspiel, www.deanhaspiel.com/immortal.html The Process, by Joe Infurnari, www.theprocesscomic.com PX! By Manny Trembley and Eric A. Anderson, www.pandaxpress.com Sugarshock!, by Joss Whedon and Fabio Moon, http://www.myspace.com/darkhorsepresents?issuenum=1&storynum=2
Best Reality-Based Work Laika, by Nick Abadzis (First Second) The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam, by Ann Marie Fleming (Riverhead Books/Penguin Group) Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow, by James Sturm and Rich Tommaso (Center for Cartoon Studies/Hyperion) Sentences: The Life of MF Grimm, by Percy Carey and Ronald Wimberly (Vertigo/DC) White Rapids, by Pascal Blanchet (Drawn & Quarterly)
Best Graphic Album—New The Arrival, by Shaun Tan (Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic) Bookhunter, by Jason Shiga (Sparkplug Books) Essex County, vols. 1-2: Tales from the Farm/Ghost Stories, by Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf) Exit Wounds, by Rutu Modan (Drawn & Quarterly) Percy Gloom, by Cathy Malkasian (Fantagraphics)
Best Graphic Album—Reprint Agents of Atlas Hardcover, by Jeff Parker, Leonard Kirk, and Kris Justice (Marvel) Gødland Celestial Edition, by Joe Casey and Tom Scioli (Image) James Sturm’s America: God, Gold, and Golems, by James Sturm (Drawn & Quarterly) Mouse Guard: Fall 1152, by David Petersen (Archaia) Super Spy, by Matt Kindt (Top Shelf)
Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Strips (The Complete) Dream of the Rarebit Fiend, by Winsor McCay (Ulrich Merkl) Complete Terry and the Pirates, vol. 1, by Milton Caniff (IDW) Little Sammy Sneeze, by Winsor McCay (Sunday Press) Popeye, vol. 2: Well Blow Me Down, by E. C. Segar (Fantagraphics) Sundays with Walt and Skeezix, by Frank King (Sunday Press)
Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus, vol. 1, by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko (Marvel) Apollo’s Song, by Osamu Tezuka (Vertical) The Completely MAD Don Martin, by Don Martin (Running Press) Daredevil Omnibus, by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson (Marvel) I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets! by Fletcher Hanks (Fantagraphics)
Best U.S. Edition of International Material The Arrival, by Shaun Tan (Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic) Aya, by Marguerite Abouet and Clement Obrerie (Drawn & Quarterly) Garage Band, by Gipi (First Second) I Killed Adolf Hitler, by Jason (Fantagraphics) The Killer, by Matz and Luc Jacamon (Archaia)
Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Japan The Ice Wanderer and Other Stories, by Jiro Taniguchi (Fanfare/Ponent Mon) MW, by Osamu Tezuka (Vertical) Naoki Urasawa’s Monster, by Naoki Urasawa (Viz) New Engineering by Yuichi Yokoyama (PictureBox) Tekkonkinkreet: Black & White, by Taiyo Matsumoto (Viz) Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms, by Fumiyo Kouno (Last Gasp)
Best Writer Ed Brubaker, Captain America, Criminal, Daredevil, Immortal Iron Fist (Marvel) James Sturm, Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow (Center for Cartoon Studies/Hyperion) Brian K. Vaughan, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Dark Horse); Ex Machina (WildStorm/DC), Y: The Last Man (Vertigo/DC), Joss Whedon, Astonishing X-Men (Marvel); Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Dark Horse) Brian Wood, DMZ, Northlanders (Vertigo/DC); Local (Oni)
Best Writer/Artist Jeff Lemire, Essex County: Tales from the Farm/Ghost Stories (Top Shelf) Rutu Modan, Exit Wounds (Drawn & Quarterly) Shaun Tan, The Arrival (Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic) Chris Ware, Acme Novelty Library #18 (Acme Novelty) Fumi Yoshinaga, Flower of Life; The Moon and Sandals (Digital Manga)
Best Writer/Artist—Humor Kyle Baker, The Bakers: Babies and Kittens (Image) Fred Chao, Johnny Hiro (AdHouse) Brandon Graham, King City (Tokyopop); Multiple Warheads (Oni) Eric Powell, The Goon (Dark Horse) James Stokoe, Wonton Soup (Oni)
Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team Steve Epting/Butch Guice/Mike Perkins, Captain America (Marvel) Pia Guerra/Jose Marzan, Jr., Y: The Last Man (Vertical/DC) Jae Lee, Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born (Marvel) Takeshi Obata, Death Note, Hikaru No Go (Viz) Ethan Van Sciver, Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps (DC)
Best Painter or Multimedia Artist (interior art) Ann-Marie Fleming, The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam (Riverhead Books/Penguin Group) Eric Powell, The Goon: Chinatown (Dark Horse) Bryan Talbot, Alice in Sunderland (Dark Horse) Ben Templesmith, Fell (Image); 30 Days of Night: Red Snow; Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse (IDW)
Best Cover Artist John Cassaday, Astonishing X-Men (Marvel); Lone Ranger (Dynamite) James Jean, Fables (Vertigo/DC); The Umbrella Academy (Dark Horse); Process Recess 2; Superior Showcase 2 (AdHouse) J. G. Jones, 52 (DC) Jae Lee, Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born (Marvel) Jim Lee, All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder (DC); World of Warcraft (WildStorm/DC)
Best Coloring Jimmy Gownley, Amelia Rules! (Renaissance) Steve Hamaker, Bone, vols. 5 and 6 (Scholastic); Shazam: Monster Society of Evil (DC) Richard Isanove, Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born (Marvel) Ronda Pattison, Atomic Robo (Red 5 Comics) Dave Stewart, BPRD, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Cut, Hellboy, Lobster Johnson, The Umbrella Academy (Dark Horse); The Spirit (DC) Alex Wald, Shaolin Cowboy (Burlyman)
Best Lettering Jared K. Fletcher, Catwoman, The Spirit (DC); Sentences: Life of MF Grimm (Vertigo/DC) Jimmy Gownley, Amelia Rules! (Renaissance) Todd Klein, Justice, Simon Dark (DC); Fables, Jack of Fables, Crossing Midnight (Vertigo/DC); League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier (WildStorm/DC); Nexus (Rude Dude) Lewis Trondheim, “At Loose Ends,” Mome 7 & 8 (Fantagraphics) Chris Ware, Acme Novelty Library #18 (Acme Novelty)
Special Recognition Chuck BB, Black Metal (artist, Oni) Matt Silady, The Homeless Channel (writer/artist, AiT/PlanetLar) Jamie Tanner, The Aviary (writer/artist, AdHouse) James Vining, First in Space (writer/artist, Oni)
Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism Comic Art #9, edited by Todd Hignite (Buenaventura Press) Comic Foundry, edited by Tim Leong (Comic Foundry) The Comics Journal, edited by Gary Groth, Michael Dean, and Kristy Valenti (Fantagraphics) The Comics Reporter, produced by Tom Spurgeon and Jordan Raphael (www.comicsreporter.com) Newsarama, produced by Matt Brady and Michael Doran (www.newsarama.com)
Best Comics-Related Book The Art of P. Craig Russell, edited by Joe Pruett (Desperado) The Artist Within, by Greg Preston (Dark Horse) Manga: The Complete Guide, by Jason Thompson (Del Rey Manga) Meanwhile . . . A Biography of Milton Caniff, by R. C. Harvey (Fantagraphics) Reading Comics: How Graphic Novels Work and What They Mean, by Douglas Wolk (Da Capo Press) Understanding Manga and Anime, by Robin Brenner (Libraries Unlimited/Greenwood Publishing)
Best Publication Design (The Complete) Dream of the Rarebit Fiend, designed by Ulrich Merkl (Ulrich Merkl) Complete Terry and the Pirates, designed by Dean Mullaney (IDW) Heroes, vol. 1, designed by John Roshell/Comicraft (WildStorm/DC) Little Sammy Sneeze, designed by Philippe Ghielmetti (Sunday Press) Process Recess 2, designed by James Jean and Chris Pitzer (AdHouse) Sundays with Walt and Skeezix, designed by Chris Ware (Sunday Press)
Hall of Fame Judges’ Choices: R. F. Outcault, Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson
Nominees (4 will be selected by voters): Matt Baker John Broome Reed Crandall Rudolph Dirks Arnold Drake George Evans Creig Flessel Graham Ingels Mort Meskin Tarpe Mills Gilbert Shelton George Tuska Mort Weisinger Len Wein Barry Windsor-Smith”

Stumptown Comics Fest

Thu, 3 Apr 2008 11:22:42 -0700

The Writers Old Fashioned crew is heading north to Portland in a few short weeks and we’ve love for you to join us! The Stumptown Comics Fest is a fantastic place to simply revel in all that is good about comics and graphic novels. Portland is also well regarded as one of the premiere cities for comic shops and comic studios. On top of that, the parties that start up after Stumptown closes its doors each night are also totally worth checking out. For a trip down memory lane, here’s my write-up for last year’s show.

For show info, click on Craig Thompson’s lovely poster:

Other than visiting us at the Writers Old Fashioned table, there are tons of amazing guests this year. Here’s just a sampling of the all-star line-up:

And finally, here’s where you can find us at table 90 on the show floor:

So, join me and Jason McNamara and Kirsten Baldock and everybody else at the show for a fantastic weekend of comics and festivities!

Work Blog

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:11:42 -0700

I just wanted to drop a quick note here in the NEWS section to announce the newest addition to the website: the Work Blog!

Now that production on the next book is full steam ahead, I thought it might be interesting to document the process and progress along the way. I’ll be doing my best to make several posts a week that will cover everything from production equipment and art techniques to the music that I’m listening to in the studio while I work. I’m also playing with a new comments system over there. So, I hope you have a chance to stop by and say hi!

In Moderation

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:11:35 -0700

I received a nice email from iFanboy’s Conor Kilpatrick the other night pointing out that they had posted some clips from the WonderCon Podcaster Panel that I moderated. While you can watch their footage right here in this post, don’t be shy about visiting the iFanboy page and telling them what you think of their show!

Fanboy Love

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 16:01:56 -0700

Our good friends at iFanboy just published one heck of a nice book review over at their website. It’s worth heading over there for a couple reasons though. iFanboy 3.0 recently launched and the site looks great. They have all kinds of new features like personalized comic book pull lists, fan reviews, and a couple other surprises that I know are launching very soon.

Now... how about some charts?

Looks like we’ve made a post-WonderCon resurgent charge over at khepri.com cracking their top five list for the week. I spent some time with Khepri’s owner and operator, Brian Scot Johnson, at the show and he was as cool and kind as he was online when we talked before the book was even launched last year.

I don’t really a keep digital scrapbook or anything. But once in awhile I’ll snap a screenshot of something that amuses me or I’d like as a keepsake. This one’s a screen capture of Khepri’s homepage from a little while ago. You can click on the image to see it up close. I know it’s sorta silly. I just couldn’t resist.

So, why’s this particular top five list a big deal? It’s just that the other writers on that list - Garth Ennis, Brian K. Vaughan, Warren Ellis, and Alan Moore - are all members of my personal comic book creator pantheon. When I clicked on the Khepri link and saw my book right next to theirs, it brought a little smile to my face.

Speaking of charts, here’s an interesting one. Dick Hyacinth recently took a comprehensive look at all of 2007’s end-of-the-year top ten lists, crunched the numbers, and produced a massive meta-list. Then he did it again, dividing the data lists into two categories: comics focused lists and general interest lists. If you take a peak at the general interest list, you’ll find The Homeless Channel tucked comfortably between Paris and Phonogram. It’s always cool to get recognition from the comic industry and press. It’s also particularly cool to see The Homeless Channel noticed in the mainstream press. I always thought that there was a chance that the book might have an appeal that extends beyond the average group of comic book readers. I guess now I have a little meta-data to back that up!

Okay, I’ve got to get back to work on the next book. Lots to do before I fly to LA at the end of the month for another round of photo shoots!