So the orders came in and they were very good, basically cleaning us out of all of our remaining copies (we had a thousand copy print-run on this one). It looks like, surprisingly enough, Francois Ayroles’ Key Moments from the History of Comics is a success. Thanks to all of the great retailers out there who ordered and stocked copies for their stores, and have made this book available to readers and fans.
I sincerely hope that anyone who’s been curious about our adorable little chapter book will go and visit their local comic retailer this Wednesday to pick up a copy. Thanks again to D&Q for soliciting the book for us, and to M. Ayroles for allowing it to be published in English.
For those of you that had missed the earlier blog postings, Key Moments is a book that The Beguiling published to coincide with French comics creator Francois Ayroles’ trip to Canada this past May, as a Guest of Honour of The Toronto Comic Arts Festival. It’s a collection of wry gag cartoons about the inception of the comic industry and the beginnings of various creators’ careers, from Eisner to Ware to Schultz to Herge. It rewards readers with broad tastes 🙂
Here’s a gag from the book, and if it gives you a chuckle make sure to look for Key Moments at your local shop this week.
😉
Best,
– Christopher
Hm. Guessing my LCS won’t have one, simply due to the statistical odds of any one shop having copies with <1,000 total printed. Pity… wish I had remembered the preordering deadline before it was past.
Ah well. All respect to all those who were on the ball. This certainly looks like a gem.
Matt- Surprisingly, I just checked and Diamond has exactly 69 copies left. They may have ordered a few extra for damages/shortages. Your local store should be able to get it for you, if they don’t already have it tomorrow. We’ll also have extras for sale at The Beguiling.
Sweet Christmas!
Assuming Carol & John don’t have a copy, I believe I shall have them order one.
Diamond gets a cookie this time.
Go figure: my store HAD copies. I love them. 🙂
Chris – Thanks for posting, and thanks to all of those shops who ordered. You chose as your example the gags that everyone I knew had to explained to them. Apparently, in one of the few publihsed interviews, Herriman was asked “where do you get your ideas” to which he responded, “while doing the dishes”. Most of the gags are not quite as abstruse.
Peter
I ordered my copy. Quite enjoyable. It was the only one ordered, but I couldn’t pass it up, and it looks awesome and read even better!
The fine folks at Diamond have run a nice little preview of the book.
http://previewsworld.com/public/default.asp?t=1&m=1&c=23&s=216&ai=88381&ssd=
– Chris