After laying dormant for far too long, I’m touring again – this time to South Korea for the Bucheon International Comics Festival (their twentieth year!) July 19th-23rd, 2017, and a store event at Book By Book in Seoul on July 22nd, and plenty of promotion for the Open Books/Mimesis editions of my books. Hope to see some of you there!
One last SPACE DUMPLINS event on the docket: Free Comic Book Day at the Federal Bar in North Hollywood, Saturday, May 7th. This is a fundraiser for LA Children’s Hospital, LA+USC Children’s Hospital, City of Hope Children’s Cancer Unit and Elizabeth’s Canvas organized by Blastoff Comics.
After that, I’m moving on from “all-ages” to work again on “serious”, “literary”, “adult” “graphic novels”.
In the meantime, the release valve for my silly, cartoony energies is a platform of spontaneous, collaborative animations cooked up with my little brother, Phil, called TRACTORBEAMS. Check out the soft launch at instagram and tractorbeams.tv. (“TV”, not “.com”… couldn’t get that one.)
Fans of BLANKETS may recognize “Eyebrow Fairy”…
This snow sculpture of Radcliffe perfectly merges SPACE DUMPLINS with BLANKETS and CARNET DE VOYAGE. The sculpting is courtesy my friends and translators, who hosted me at that chalet in Argientières in the French Alps in 2004. (Thank you, Laetitia, Frédéric, Anne-Julia, Walter, and kids!)
In less than a week, I leave for a 6 week book tour in Europe. Details coming soon!
Just a reminder to all my loyal readers and retailers that BLANKETS is now published by DRAWN & QUARTERLY. I couldn’t be happier working with them!
Paperbacks and hardcovers available here: <https://www.drawnandquarterly.com/blankets>
One of my favorite comics growing up was USAGI YOJIMBO. Its creator Stan Sakai is humble, hardworking, and perhaps the kindest person I’ve met in this industry. His wife has been suffering serious health issues, so an art auction fundraiser has been organized to aid the family with medical expenses.
Here’s my tribute – crafted this snowbound weekend in Portland. The inspiration was 1) the unrequited romance of Usagi & Mariko from the earliest 1987 issues of the book, along with 2) the tradition of Ukiyo-e woodblock prints (specifically “Two ladies conversing in the snow” & “A village in the snow” by Hiroshige), and finally 3) the snow-dappled tree framed by my studio window as the neighbor kids sled down their front yard.
To learn more about the fundraiser and the other artists involved, please check out the Cartoon Art Professional Society’s Paypal.
The work will also be colored by the amazing Dave Stewart and see print in THE SAKAI PROJECT book to be published by Dark Horse and Bongo Comics (July 23rd release).
After getting home from three weeks in LA, I have a couple events unfolding in the Portland area.
1) The local launch for First Second’s FAIRY TALE COMICS with cartoonist (and Laika storyboarder) Graham Annable at GREEN BEAN BOOKS. 1 PM on Saturday, September 28th (1600 NE Alberta Street, Portland). More on that anthology – a sequel of sorts to NURSERY RHYME COMICS – here.
2) A two-way stage conversation between Gene Yang and I to scour the crossover themes of our coming-of-age memoirs (AMERICAN BORN CHINESE) and historical, religious epics (BOXERS & SAINTS) at the WORDSTOCK literary festival. 3 pm, October 5th, Oregon Convention Center.
Hope to see you locals there!
Thanks for your patience with the confusion and delay around the art auction to raise funds for flood relief in the Philippines. The fund raiser is finally active on eBay and bids close in a week. Here’s the link:
Hello, Blog-Readers, and thanks as always for your patience. As you certainly can relate, the summer months are chaos.
First off, it was a treat to see many of you at San Diego Comic-con, and thanks to the comic industry for awarding HABIBI an Eisner for Best Writer/Artist. Here’s a con photo with a great group of fans from the Philippines.
The Philippines have recently been hit hard by monsoon season flooding, and members of the comics community have started a fundraiser for aid, relief, and medical assistance for the hundreds of thousands of displaced people. As part of this, the original cover artwork for the new edition of BLANKETS has been donated. Details HERE.
As all of you know, I never sell original artwork, so this a rare exception that any piece is available. 14’x17″ India ink on Bristol board. If I have a chance, I’ll personalize a note on the back to the donor. Please, look into bidding to help raise funds for this crucial cause. Thanks!
Continuing on the themes of last week’s post, you’ll find a link to my acceptance essay for the PNBA award which explains the Hokusai
wave graphic. Here’s a shot of the award, and the man who presented it — noteworthy fantasy author & gentleman Terry Brooks.
On a Valentine’s note, OPRAH named BLANKETS one of the greatest love stories of all time. (?!?) (Bless her soul!)
And Aussie buddie Pat Grant released a new book named BLUE that I’m quite fond of.
Also, overlooked in that last post was a recap of London and Angoulême tour. London, as you know, is a charming city full
of deliciously polite folks. As for Angoulême, Drawn & Quarterly and Sarah Glidden do a great job of summarizing the festival.
Here’s myself with two of my favorite French cartoonists – Dupuy & Berberian!
