Tatsumi is here! Tatsumi is here!

Tatsumi-sensei has arrived, swine flu be damned! Today is the free Pen event, Saturday is the one you pay for (but you get A LOT of comics for your money). Come say hi!

Pen World Voices Literary Festival, NYC

Thursday, April 30th, 2009, 4:30 PM
Yoshihiro Tatsumi and Kathrin Röggla: Modern Day Salarymen

Saturday, May 2, 2009, 4:30 PM
Revolutionary Writers: Yoshihiro Tatsumi in Conversation with Adrian Tomine

Toronto Comics Arts Festival, Toronto

Friday, May 8, 2009, 7:00 PM
Harbourfront Reading Series with Adrian Tomine and Seth.

Saturday May 9th and Sunday May 10th
Various signings at the D+Q booth at the Toronto Comics Arts Festival.

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RONNY REGE!!!

Thank ye, Thanky! All you Richmond residents be sure to check out Ron Rege's show, opening tomorrow from 6-9. Thanky is an art space that is to exist for one year only (September 2008 to August 2009) so be sure to make it out if you're able to! They've got good work up and it sounds like a great place!

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Speakeasy

R. Sikoryak spoke about his new book among other things on WFMU's The Speakeasy with Dorian the other night. Listen to it all go down here.

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Woah FREE COMICS!

This Saturday May 2nd is the official and widely anticipated Free Comic Book Day. D&Q will be offering a John Stanley double feature: Melvin Monster and Nancy back to back, sharing pages and AND hilarious anecdotes! Go and get your very own copy at 211 Bernard...

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Wright rediscovered

It's Christmas in April! That big shiny red hardcover that just arrived in many book and comic stores in recent days is a massive 240 page monograph on one of the best mid-20th century cartoonists. For most readers, this book will likely be the first time they've ever laid eyes on any of Doug Wright's comics and that's because Wright's strip ran only in Canada decades ago and has never really been properly collected since. So think of it this way - it would be like discovering the work of other noted mid-century cartoonists like Kurtzman or Crumb for the very first time - Wright really was that good.



The book is as much a tribute to the man's life as much as it an overview of his masterful work. Wright's strip can be read as a narrative of family life at the dawn of suburbia (with Lachine filling in for Levittown) and he used everything around his newly-built surroundings - from kids and their toys to the archetypal '50s bungalows - for reference and inspiration. Look at this photo above, taken in front of Wright's house, and compare to this strip:



Then there's this photo of Wright and his oldest son, Bill (evidently the first generation of suburban homes came with unfinished lawns and the new owners had to do all of the work)...



...and here's a similar looking scene from below:



I'm not exactly sure if the above strip would be interpreted in the same way today, but this was the 1950s, so let's keep it at that!



And then there's this set of father and son photos - I almost want to cry just looking at it, there's something so sweet about this scene. Here, Wright is reading to his son, Bill, and the interesting detail is that he's reading from his own strips that he carefully clipped and pasted each week into a scrapbook.



Now here's that same scrapbook pictured in the D+Q office about a mile away and over half a century later. Wright's family (who consulted with us on the book) were kind enough to lend this to us and it proved to be an invaluable source for piecing together each weekly strip.



And if a comprehensive overview of one of the century's greatest comic strips isn't enough, there's a lot more in here. Wright was also one of the best newspaper and magazine illustrators of his time and this book features generous reproductions of some of his finest material, like these covers above and below:

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Is 272 pages of Marc Bell even enough? (HOT POTATOE!!)

Okay, so I've mentioned it a few times already because I've been working on this book for what seems like FOREVER except now it's almost done and I'm trying my best to create an other-publishers-should-be-jealous-and-comics-buyers-need-to-start-saving-their-disposable-income seris of posts this week--Marc Bell has a 272-page monograph of his fine art and fine aht and foin ART and even some comics coming out soon. Is Marc Canada's finest young artist working today? Of course, he is! Eat your heart out, Marcel Dzama.

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Katsumata's Red Snow

As a follow up to Tom's Sakabashira post from yesterday, here's more news regarding our upcoming Gekiga books. This September we'll be publishing Susumu Katsumata's collection of short stories, Red Snow. These are beautiful, poignant stories, and we're reminded again just how far ahead of the game cartoonists in Japan were in comparison to their peers in the West (the material in this book was written and drawn between 1976 and 1980).

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Oh, and there's this (MOOMIN!!!)

Have we mentioned the fact that we're starting a children's book line? Well, we are. But don't expect an onslaught of stories where penguins learn to just be themselves. Rather we'll start with a few classic Moomin picture books (like the above) and slowly release a mix of lost classics and new soon-to-be classics. Oh, the line is called "D+Q Enfant."

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What am I working on right now? (SAKABASHIRA!!)

{Right! I know! This is just a short sequence that appears in the middle of the book, The Box Man due out this Fall as part of our ever expanding Japanese comics line.

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NPR likes A Drifting Life

"This is an artist looking back at the beginnings of his career and trying to untangle — for himself and for history — the forces that shaped him into the mangaka he has become. It's a fascinating history lesson for those unfamiliar with manga, an entertaining peek behind the scenes for those who know the form. And for just about anyone, A Drifting Life provides an engrossing tale of how one artist came to know himself and his medium."–NPR Books We Like

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"Go find these damn comics and save them from oblivion"

Have you seen this spotlight on Seth in The Walrus? It's one of the most in-depth and interesting examinations of a cartoonist/designer that I have seen in recent memory. Some highlights are the parallels it draws between It's A Good Life If You Don't Weaken and Seth's editorship of The Collected Doug Wright, and its comparison of Wright's depiction of burgeoning suburbs and the existential voids of Peanuts.

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New, New Yorker!

New illustration by Adrian in The New Yorker

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projection show!

Save the date...R. Sikoryak will be hosting a night of projections called Carousel at New York's Dixon Place on Thursday, April 30th featuring: Brian Dewan, Dean Haspiel, Tim Kreider, Josh Neufeld, Jim Torok, Kriota Willberg, R.S., and more...Sounds fun!

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Adrian in Nylon!

Take a look at the May 2009 issue of Nylon magazine, featuring Adrian and some hard hitting questions concerning the evolution of Optic Nerve & 32 Stories. Granted, the text size featured above may prohibit you from taking a proper look, but isn't it time that you went to one of these?

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Feel the excitement

I love early reviews! Can you feel the excitement in the air for Seth's upcoming book GEORGE SPROTT debuting at TCAF next month?

Novelist Miguel Syjuco reviews George Sprott, and provides a marvelous overview of Seth, Drawn & Quarterly and even throws in a plug for TCAF! It all aired on Radio Canada International, click on the first part of the program link and tune in around the twelve and a half minute mark.

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Nancy sneak peek

That hair, those eyes...
We just received a sample of the case for the forthcoming first volume of our Nancy comics collection, part of the John Stanley Library series. Series designer Seth scores with another clean and classic design. Plus: foil!

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Inspiration

Vanessa Davis won the Maisie Kukoc Award for Comics Inspiration this past Friday April 17th during the Stumptown Comics Fest in Portland! Her website may be down for the moment but not to worry, you can check out her show up at 211 Bernard right now or even buy artwork from our website. Go and see it!

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Set the dial

Adrian Tomine will be on PRI's The World tonight discussing A Drifting Life. You should be able to listen to the podcast on the site after 5:30 EST today. For the public radio station closest to you, check here.

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Tatsumi Wins!

Yes, this just in, the Japanese edition of A Drifting Life has won the Osamu Tezuka Cultural Award, awarded by the newspaper Asahi Shimbun. Talk about full circle.

(The above image was taken by Calvin Reid at SDCC 2006 when Tatsumi was awarded an Inkpot!)

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Less George Sprott, More Wimbledon Green

But maybe more Joe Matt? The National Post profiles several people about their collections including Maurice Vellekoop and Seth.

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Anders Art Opening in Chicago Tomorrow the 18th!

Anders has a show, Pictures of Dirt and Glass, opening at the Home in Chicago tomorrow. Can't make the opening at 6:00 PM? Then don't miss the closing brunch on 12:00 PM on May 3rd.

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Upcoming Lynda Barry Events!

Get ready to see the one-and-only Lynda Barry, coming soon to a town near you!

04/20, 5:30pm	Johns Hopkins	Baltimore, MD
04/30, 5:30pm	Manitowoc Public Library	Manitowoc, WI
05/06, 10:45am	Massachusetts Public Library	Springfield, MA
07/11-17	Omega Institute	Rhinebeck, NY
08/07-8	Eugene Public Library	Eugene, OR
10/08-9	Grand Valley State University	Grand Valley, MI
11/05	Chicago Humanities Festival	Chicago, IL

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Gabrielle Bell On Tour!!!!

These events are not-to-be-missed! The reviews of Cecil and Jordan in New York have been pouring in, and we're all very excited! Have you seen the excerpt that appeared on NY Mag's Vulture blog yesterday? Anthem's review from last week? Gabrielle Bell never disappoints, and Cecil and Jordan truly showcases some of her strongest work to date.

04/26	Booksoup at LAT Book Fair	Los Angeles, CA
04/26, 7pm	Family*	Los Angeles, CA
04/28, 7pm	Booksmith*	San Francisco, CA
05/09-10	TCAF	Toronto, ON
05/17	Maine Comics Fest	Portland, ME
05/18, 7pm	Ada Books	Providence, RI
05/19, 7pm	The Strand~	New York, NY
06/6-7	MoCCA Fest	New York, NY

*- w/Ariel Schrag
`- w/Miss Lasko-Gross

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Next Up: George Sprott

When thinking about the New York Times Magazine gig, perhaps the highest profile gig a graphic novelist today can have, what I find really interesting is to see how each cartoonist handles the format, which I would imagine is pretty challenging. Here you may have the biggest audience you'll ever have, and you have one page each week for over 20 weeks to tell your story. And then how do you collect 20-pages into a book? Well, if you're Seth, you take those self-contained 20-odd chapters of the aging newscaster, George Sprott into 96 pages, and then you literally expand the comic so that the book measures 12" x 14"!

In this interview with Newsarama, Seth delves into the editorial process behind the Funny Pages, as well as the process of expanding the strip into a book. It's a must read.

Julia Keller, the Chicago Tribune's Cultural Critic (love that title) has declared George Sprott a must read stating the book is haunting and exquisite.

D+Q is launching George Sprott at the Harbourfront Reading Series with his cartooning peers Adrian Tomine and Yoshihiro Tatsumi on Friday, May 8th to kick off TCAF. Seth will then be touring in June with Adrian all over the US, I will post dates soon I promise!

{Tom, I will post pictures later, @#$%* blogger won't let me!}

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Hard Copy, Front Page, Above the Fold, Sales Rise

It's interesting to see that we have reached a point in comics, where a front-page of the Arts section review in the New York Times gets a perfunctory link from the pundits, or maybe none at all. I'm not complaining, being in my tenth year of comics, (!) I actually find the blase reaction fascinating. And it makes us just have to up our game.

But really let's take a look at the actual copy of today's New York Times, shall we?


Ooooo, front page, above the fold, I like, I like.


Ooooweee! Even more art on the inside, I like, I like, I like.

Wait, what's this? How can they squeeze even more art into the article? Ahhh, they can tease the online excerpt on page A4 with more art and an intro.



And if anyone has any doubts the Grey Lady can move numbers, oh she can! Yesterday, A Drifting Life was in the 3000s on its first day on Amazon.

Today, behold:

Am I gloating? Is this not polite? I don't want to detract from the fact that the Times said A Drifting Life is among this genre's signal achievements and that Tatsumi is finally getting the recognition and respect he deserves.

Besides, we all know that it is only a matter of months, before I get the old ego check when a certain someone tells me that we still don't sell as well as he thinks we should. Gotta love comics. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

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Have I Mentioned Doug Wright?

You may have seen the photos teases of our Doug Wright book, which is -appropriately- as red and shiny as a new Radio Flyer wagon.

Unfamiliar with this man, Doug Wright? Somehow missed the news of these Doug Wrights Awards the past couple years? Then check out this superior CBC slide show.

I must say that the CBC has fantastic slide show software.

Also, have you checked out the line up that Brad Mackay has lined up for the awards? Don McKellar? Stuart McLean? The Art Gallery of Toronto? It's mind boggling. What am I going to wear? How do I get my dress to Toronto for the ceremony at the AGO without Dagwood spitting up on it?

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Manifesto of a Comic-Book Rebel

The NY Times agrees with the Onion:

It's a book that manages to be, all at once, an insider's history of manga, a mordant cultural tour of post-Hiroshima Japan and a scrappy portrait of a struggling artist. It's a big, fat, greasy tub of salty popcorn for anyone interested (as Americans increasingly are) in the theory and practice of Japanese comics. It's among this genre's signal achievements.

Check out Dwight Garner's thorough and thoughtful review of A Drifting Life in today's New York Times.

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Good News! New Arrivals!

Moomin Book Four and George Sprott the latest from Seth have arrived in the office!
They both look really great and also appear to be a pleasure to hold! Be sure to seek them out in in the coming weeks...

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Our deepest condolences

D+Q extends our deepest condolences to the family of Derek Weiler and the staff of Quill and Quire, where Derek was the editor. Under his editorship, Quill and Quire was a thoroughly professional, thoughtful and intelligent magazine on the Canadian publishing industry. Derek, you will be missed, rest in peace.

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