I was very fortunate to meet graphic novelist Miriam Katin on the tour for her first major work, We Are On Our Own, a few years back. I greatly enjoyed talking with her about the book, and the book itself was a very strong, personal recounting of tragic events surrounding The Second World War. I’m delighted that, according to an e-mail that just landed in my inbox, Katin’s follow-up graphic novel Letting It Go is due from Drawn and Quarterly in February. I’ve reposted the cover and solicitation information below, I hope you’ll look for it when it comes out.

Letting It Go
By Miriam Katin 
Hardcover / 7.5″ x 9.75“ / 160 pages, full color
$ 24.95
978-1770461031

Miriam Katin has the light hand of a master storyteller in this flowing, expressive, full-color masterpiece. The world of Holocaust survivor and mother is turned upside down by the news that her adult son is moving to Berlin, a city Katin has villainized for the past forty years. As she struggles to accept her son’s decision, she visits the city twice, first to see her son and then to attend a Museum gala featuring her own artwork. What she witnesses firsthand is a city coming to terms with its traumatic past, much as Katin herself is. Letting It Go is a deft and careful balance: wry, self-deprecating anecdotes counterpoint a serious account of the myriad ways trauma inflects daily existence, both for survivors and for their families. Katin’s first book, We Are On Our Own, was a memoir of her childhood, detailing how she and her mother hid in the Hungarian countryside, disguising themselves as a peasant woman and her illegitimate child in order to escape the Nazis. The stunning story, along with Katin’s gorgeous pencil work, immediately garnered acclaim in the comics world and beyond. With Letting It Go, Katin’s storytelling and artistic skills allow her to explore a voice and perspective like no other found in the medium.

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- Chris

Just got a reminder e-mail from the good folks at ICv2, reminding NYCC-goers to register to attend their conference. The expert panels, not to mention Milton’s very informative white paper, are really excellent looks at the comic industry, deeper and more nuanced than the general blog chatter that passes for same. Seriously, it’s smart stuff, and if you’re looking to ‘figure out’ comics and graphic novels, and maybe try to glean where the industry is headed, I recommend them.

http://www.regonline.com/Register/Checkin.aspx?EventID=1014166

Hopefully I’ll see you there!

- Christopher

Hey folks.

A busy summer has given way to a very busy fall, and I’ve got a bunch of travel on the horizon. I’m still writing about comics, but usually those thoughts are expressed on Twitter or through one of my other jobs. I actually have a post written about the nature of comic book stores, that I’m going to post this week for Little Island’s first anniversary, once I give it another pass. Oh, and I took on a small comics writing job that will be announced at some point too, which I’m having fun with.

Anyway, in case you’re looking for me, you can find me at the following events and place. Let me know if you want to hang out.

New York

October 10: ICv2 Conference, Javits Center
October 11-14: New York Comic Con, Javits Center

Tokyo

November 11: Design Festa (Just attending!)
November 18: Kaigai Manga Festa, Exhibiting for TCAF
November 25: Flying back to Toronto

Toronto Comics Events:

October 18: ZANTA Book Launch, The Central
October 21: Canzine (Day) Triple Threat Launch (Night)

Thanks for continuing to check out this blog! I personally feel that one day I will be back up to posting daily, I’m just not there yet.

Best,

- Chris

Hey folks!

I got a note from Justin Hall, Editor of the excellent new queer comics compendium No Straight Lines, letting me know that the application deadline for Prism Comics’ Queer Press Grant is coming up fast–October 1st!

With the recent cessation of Peter Laird’s excellent Xeric grant, the Queer Press Grant has become the last indy publishing grant, and one that I feel is entirely necessary and has supported some excellent projects. If you’re eligible for the grant (see the complete PR below) apply now at http://prismcomics.org/grant.

Indy publishing is pretty easy to marginalize to start with, and in my experience queer voices trying to compete in the larger marketplace tend to have an especially tough go of it. Authors talking about gay/lesbian/bi/trans/queer experiences tend to only find audiences within those communities, with a few notable exceptions (I’m thrilled for Alison Bechdel’s success as a queer graphic novelist and memoirist, but it’s not like she has a lot of contemporaries). Again, my experience has been that even well-meaning readers tend to assume a queer experience isn’t a universal one until proven otherwise… and nothing could be further from truth. This grant has helped to fund some great projects, and bring some important voices to the fore.

If you’ve got it in you to support great queer creators and projects and help grow the QPG, Prism Comics accepts donations year-round at http://prismcomics.org/donate.php.

Full press release for the QPG follows:

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Prism Comics’ Queer Press Grant 2012: Application Deadline is Oct. 1st!

Both Applications and Donations for the Grant Are Being Accepted Now

There’s only one month left to apply for this year’s Prism Comics Queer Press Grant (QPG)! The QPG, the only grant today specifically awarded to independent comic book creators, was established by Prism to assist in the publication and promotion of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) comics. The submission deadline for the QPG is October 1st, 2012, with the recipient announced during San Francisco’s Alternative Press Expo (APE) taking place from October 13-14th. Applicants can submit online now at prismcomics.org/grant.

The Queer Press Grant is awarded to a comics writer/artist or team working on a project with significant LGBT characters and themes, to assist them in publishing a new project or expanding an existing one. Comic books, comic strips, webcomics, and graphic novel projects are all eligible. Entries are judged first and foremost by artistic merit, followed by concerns such as financial need, proposal presentation, and the project’s contribution to the LGBT community. Creators do not need to be LGBT themselves to apply for the QPG. Submissions are reviewed by the Prism Board and past recipients of the Grant, with the larger advisory board brought in when tiebreakers are needed. Grant guidelines can be found at prismcomics.org/grant. Questions about the grant can be directed to Justin Hall at justin@prismcomics.org.

The Queer Press Grant is funded entirely by donations, generally from comic book professionals and readers plus fundraising efforts from Prism members. To donate to the Queer Press Grant, go to prismcomics.org/donate. From these contributions, the standard amount of the Grant in the past few years has been $2,000.

Since its inception, the Queer Press Grant has been awarded to Robert Kirby (2011, for Three), Tana Ford (2010, for Duck), Jon Macy (2010, for Fearful Hunter). Ed Luce (2009, for Wuvable Oaf), Eric Orner (2009 for Storybox), Pam Harrison (2008, for House of the Muses), Justin Hall (2007, for Glamazonia), Tommy Roddy (2007, for Pride High), Megan Gedris (2006, forYU+ME), and Steve MacIsaac (2005, for Shiftlifter).

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Website Links:
Prism Comics: http://prismcomics.org 
Prism Comics Queer Press Grant: http://prismcomics.org/grant
Prism Comics Donation Page: http://prismcomics.org/donate

I know it says as much in the sidebar, but I’m headed off to PAX this weekend. I’ll be at the UDON Booth, #3828, please come by and say hello if you’re at the show. :)

- Chris

So if you follow my online happenings more deeply than just this blog, you might have heard that a thing that I’m helping to make happen is TCAF’s first international exhibition on November 18th. What this means is that TCAF as a festival is going to go and exhibit at a comics event in Japan, in furtherance of its mandate to promote Canadian cartoonists and graphic novels. We’re inviting a bunch of Canadian cartoonists to come with us as well. I go more in-depth about the event and what we’re planning here: http://torontocomics.com/japan/.

Anyway, I just wanted to drop a note here on my blog in case any Canadian TCAF Exhibitors didn’t get our e-mail or otherwise missed the news, and really just to let people know that we’re doing that I think is a cool thing. Maybe it will inspire all y’all to keep doing cool things too?

Best,

- Chris

Just before the San Diego Comic Con (hopefully explaining the delay!) I got a pretty amazing item in the mail, The Malinky Robot “Box of Things”, a limited edition box set of cool items from author Sonny Liew’s Malinky Robot, recently published by Image Comics. This was a lovely gift from Sonny and I’m quite happy to have received it. So in the spirit of sharing, I thought I’d photograph the unboxing for you.

Ooo… opening the box!

Oh, and the back of the box because I forgot to photograph it. You can click on everything to see a larger version…! The blurbs from Mike Carey, Gail Simone, and Mike Mignola are quite nice, but my fav bit is the ingredients list on the back. “DISCLAIMER: Not for comics allergy sufferers. Igredients: PICTURES, WORDS, SEQUENTIAL PANELS, WORD BALLOONS, CPATION BOXES, GUTTERS, MOTION LINES, ENEMATA…” very cool.

Here’s the complete box, unpacked. Clockwise from top: The box, “The San’ya Times” newspaper, a copy of the book (available now from Image Comics!), a mystery bag, a CD!

The inside of the CD booklet is cool, and the CD contains all sorts of neat bonus stuff like reviews, interviews, a digital copy of the newspaper, and a gallery including image like the French Edition cover, as shown here:

Inside the paper package was a fake pack of cigarettes, and a fake 500 yen note, both from the series. Really lovely looking too!

…and inside the cigarette pack are these trading cards from the series, one for each of the main characters and one for each of the stories. Heh! Super cute.

The newspaper is also cool, with some extra comics, blurbs, pointers to Sonny Liew’s other work, and a bunch more stuff. Plus there’s that nifty PDF version on the CD.

And finally, a copy of the book itself… signed and sketched-in by Sonny with a special little bookplate.

All in all this is an amazing little package, and I’m really grateful to Sonny for putting it together and sending it my way. I’ve been a fan of Malinky Robot since its very first appearance, and I’m happy to see it collected, and to see that it’s still something that the creator clearly loves.

You can visit Sonny Liew’s site online at http://sonnyliew.wordpress.com/ and you can buy Malinky Robot wherever better Image Comics trade paperbacks are sold.

- Chris @ The Beguiling

Hey there,

On the Twitters last weekend I was talking about this comics and medicine conference taking place in Toronto, a really important one (that I missed almost all of as I was on vacation). The Beguiling sponsored a reception on the Monday evening as well, which was apparently a nice time.

Anyhow, my friend Jamie saw this article on the event and sent it my way, and since I’d original missed it as well I figured I’d post it here for you to check out.

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/1231183–comic-books-have-something-to-teach-future-doctors

Comic books have something to teach future doctors

In addition to the stalwart Manual of Clinical Oncology, medical students may soon see the comic book Cancer Vixen: A True Story on their required reading list.

Researchers at the University of Toronto are using graphic novels as a teaching tool to communicate the ethical and emotional complexities of illness, disease and trauma to medical students…

More in the link!

- Chris