Spoilers: Bluto still be a jerk; Olive Oyl, skinny.
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Tags E.C. Segar, IDW, King Features, Popeye

The Tom Taylor-penned indie comic The Deep: Here Be Dragons is coming in August from Gestalt Publishing. The book—featuring art by James Brouwer—follows the adventures of a family of aquanauts, the Nektons, and they traverse the globe’s oceans in search of adventure and new species. Taylor is no stranger to comics, having written for Dark Horse’s Star Wars: Invasion with upcoming DC work on the horizon.

I’ve had the opportunity to read the first 24 pages of the 88-page OGN and I have to say that it’s pretty impressive stuff thanks to Taylor’s simple and clear take on the Nekton family combined with the wonderful cartoon-style art by Brouwer. It strikes just the right balance between smart, funny, and menacing with the family element being present and a major throughline but never reducing what I read to sitcom material.

Gushing aside, here’s what Taylor had to say about his book in a recent e-mail after the break.

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Tags Gestalt Publishing, James Brouwer, The Deep, Tom Taylor

The Society Of Illustrators, whose Museum of American Illustration is located in New York City at 128 East 63rd St., will be celebrating the life and work of famous "underground" comic artist Robert Crumb. "R. Crumb: Lines Drawn On Paper" will be held from March 23, 2011 to April 30, 2011, and feature a 90-piece exhibit including original art from ZAP, Arcade, Weirdo and many more. Read on for more details on this retrospective on one of the most influential and important artists in the history of comics:

Official Press Release:

R. Crumb: Lines Drawn On Paper
A Retrospective of the work of R. Crumb
March 23 - April 30, 2011
Opening Reception: Friday, March 25, 7:00pm, VIP Reception 6:00 - 7:00pm

NEW YORK, NY (2011)— The Museum of American Illustration at the Society of Illustrators is proud to present “R. Crumb: Lines Drawn On Paper,” a diverse exhibition of work spanning the past four decades by the inimitable R. Crumb. This 90-piece exhibit showcases rare and seminal examples of original art including covers and interior pages from ZAP, San Francisco Comic Book, Head Comix, Bijou Funnies, The East Village Other, Snatch Comics, Motor City Comics, Your Hytone Comix, Big Ass Comics, The People’s Comics, Despair, Black & White Comics, Arcade, Hup and Weirdo. This exhibit features such counter-culture icons as Fritz the Cat, Mr. Natural, Shuman the Human, Bo Bo Bolinski, Lenore Goldberg and Her Girl Commandos, Horny Harriet Hotpants, Boingy Baxter, Angelfood McSpade and a special guest appearance by the ol’ pooperoo himself—R. Crumb. Works will be on display for six weeks, beginning March 23rd through April 30th in the Museum’s galleries in New York City’s Upper East Side.

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Tags R. Crumb, Robert Crumb, Society of Illustrators

By Nick Nadel

While not quite on the level of New York City or Portland, Vermont is fast becoming a major hub of the comic book community. Creators such as Rick Veitch and Alison Bechdel call it home, while The Center for Cartoon Studies, an intensive, two-year cartooning school located in White River Junction, is a hotbed of up-and-coming talent. Now the state has their own Cartoonist Laureate, in the form of indie comics superstar/rock musician James Kochalka (“American Elf,” “Super-F*ckers”).

Kochalka, a native of the state, will be appointed Vermont’s first Cartoonist Laureate on March 10th, in a day-long celebration with events taking place in Burlington, Montpelier, Springfield, and White River Junction. "I love being a cartoonist and I love being a Vermonter,” Kochalka said. “I am honored to be able to combine the two." Appropriately, Kochalka addressed the honor in the form of an amusing comic strip on his long-running autobiographical Web diary.

Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin endorsed Kochalka’s appointment, saying, “A cartoonist laureate is the kind of thinking outside-the-box that Vermont supports. Cartooning promotes literacy and literature, two things we can’t have enough of.” In addition to his work with the Center for Cartoon Studies, Kochalka has been a driving force in teaching comics in schools, bringing CCS students to elementary school classrooms to share their love of sequential storytelling.

During his three-year term, Kochalka will commemorate significant Vermont events in comics form and serve as a general “ambassador of comics.” (Kochalka is only the second artist to earn the title of Cartoonist Laureate, after Alaska’s Chad Carpenter in 2008.) Hopefully Kochalka’s love for monkeys battling robots will spread across the Green Mountain State and beyond.

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Tags American Elf, James Kochalka, The Center For Cartoon Studies

Bookcourt's bi-annual, "pic-lit" anthology, Cousin Corrine's Reminder #2 has hit the shelves of finer comic shops and book stores everywhere, featuring the Dean Haspiel-curated ComixBlock section with work by Jen Ferguson, Michel Fiffe, Tim Hamilton and Joan Reilly.

If you haven't yet snatched up the first issue of this indie anthology, Cousin Corrine's Reminder #1 is still available and features work from Mike Cavallaro, Jen Ferguson, Michel Fiffe, Tim Hall, Jennifer Hayden, Jonathan Lethem, and Kat Roberts in the ComixBlock section with is curated by Dean Haspiel as well.

For more information, check out: http://www.cousincorinne.com/

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Tags Bookcourt, ComixBlock, Cousin Corrine's Reminder, Dean Haspiel, Jen Ferguson, Joan Reilly, Jonathan Lethem, Kat Roberts, Mike Cavallaro, Tim Hamilton

Press Release

Edited by Troy Wilson and hosted by ACT-I-VATE, a new ongoing anthology called Panels for Primates will feature new primate stories or strips by different creators or creative teams every Wednesday, all to benefit the Primate Rescue Center in Nicholasville, KY. Readers will be able to view the ever-growing archive of primate stories absolutely free, but will be encouraged to swing over to http://www.primaterescue.org and donate what they can. They should specify that their donations are Panels for Primate donations.

Writer Stuart Moore and artist Rick Geary have kicked off Panels for Primates with "Ilya's Back Pages", a fun story about what really happens when you shoot monkeys into space. Panels for Primates will offer an eclectic mix of creators and content, with the only common denominators being high quality and primates. The stories/strips will range in length from one page to ten pages. Panels for Primates will run until at least April; no definite end date has been set.

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Tags ACT-I-VATE, Panels for Primates, Rick Geary, Stuart Moore, Troy Wilson

By David Paggi

After the depressing demise of independent-art-comics-powerhouse Buenaventura Press earlier this year, folks were wondering what would become of some of the series they had been in the middle of publishing – Ted May’s Injury Comics, Eric Haven’s Aviatrix. Well it looks like two fan favorites finally have a new home. Matt Furie’s exceptionally funny Boy’s Club and Lisa Hanawalt’s Ignatz Award winning I Want You, which also happens to be exceptionally funny, will have new issues debuting at Alternative Press Expo from Pigeon Press.

Not a lot of info is available regarding Pigeon Press, though former Buenaventura publisher, Alvin Buenaventura, posted the announcement over at Blog Flume, so he might have a part in Pigeon. Whatever the case may be, this is great news as both of these comics rule. You can check out Matt’s and Lisa’s respective websites for examples of their work if you need to, but you can also just take our word for it and track down Boy’s Club #1-3 and I Want You #1. Believe us when we say: these comics changed lives and squeegeed third eyes.

Also, Matt recently lent his art to a video game called Return of the Quack. I guess it’s like Galaga seen through a Matt Furie lens. The game comes packaged with the most recent issue of Giant Robot (issue #67), but you can play a bonus level at the official website.

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Tags Aviatrix, Boy’s Club, Buenaventura Press, I Want You, Injury Comics, Pigeon Press, Return of the Quack

By David Paggi

After recently dropping the amazing Werewolves of Montpellier on American audiences via Fantagraphics, Norwegian cartoonist, Jason, has posted the cover and an interior page from his newest, Isle of 100,00 Graves, due out next year. On Isle Jason will be teaming up with writer Fabien Vehlmann (Who actually worked with Sean Phillips on 7 Psychopaths for BOOM! Studios recently).

For anybody not familiar with his work, Jason (Yup, just Jason) draws in a signature anthropomorphic, deadpan style that delivers both humor and pathos in ways most cartoonists only dream of. He has won Eisner awards for his comics The Left Bank Gang, which re-imagined the American literary expatriates in France as bank robbing cartoonists, and I Killed Adolf Hitler, a poignant tale of a time-traveling hit man. His quirky western, Low Moon, which replaced shootouts with chess games, ran in the New York Times Magazine and was collected with other original short work in a book of the same title from Fantagraphics. In addition to Isle, in the next year or so, Fantagraphics will be releasing another collection of shorter work as well as collection of older and out of print work called What I Did. Keep an eye on Jason’s blog, Cats Without Dogs for more news, art and incredibly entertaining movie reviews.

Check out the preview:

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Tags 7 Psychopaths, Boom!, Fantagraphics, Isle of 100, Jason, Werewolves of Montpellier

PRESS RELEASE

Where does a promising comics writer find the perfect artist? Where does a talented comics artist find the right script to illustrate? The answer may be at the Alternative Press Expo (APE), the country’s largest alternative and independent comics convention, being held on Saturday, October 16 and Sunday, October 17 at The Concourse Exhibition Center (635 8th Street, San Francisco).

APE today announced its Comics Collaboration Connection, an initiative matching writers and artists with their creative counterparts. In two-hour sessions split into 15-minute rotations, writers and artists can talk one-on-one with potential collaborators about each other’s ideas and skills. Those interested in furthering the conversation with a particular artist or writer can place their contact info (name and email address) in an envelope supplied for each participant.

“Many of those who attend APE each year are budding comics creators,” commented David Glanzer, director of marketing and public relations for the Alternative Press Expo. “It is our hope that this new program will foster working relationships that will benefit those creators and, ultimately, their audience.”
For Saturday’s session (4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.), writers will be stationed at large tables while artists rotate through. On Sunday (3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.), the roles reverse. Those interested may register in advance by emailing programs@comic-con.org, with “APE Comics Collaboration Connection” in the subject line. Registrants are asked to indicate if they are writers seeking artists or vice versa. Registration will also be accepted onsite. (Please note: All participants in APE’s Comics Collaboration Connection must purchase a single-day ($10) or two-day ($15) membership to APE).

More information on the Comics Collaboration Connection, along with new details on attendee pre-registration, is available at Comic-Con.org/ape . The APE 2010 programming and workshops schedule, which includes presentations on the history of the Bay Area Comics Scene, an Indie Comics Survival Guide and advice for aspiring comics creators, is also now live on the site.

Tags Alternative Press Expo, APE, Comics Collaboration Connection

By David Paggi

The Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Fest has announced a date, a new venue, guests and posted an AWESOME poster by Anders Nilsen (Big Questions, Dogs and Water). The second annual festival will be held on December 4^th this year, at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church in Brooklyn, New York – a bigger space than last year to accommodate bigger exhibitor demand, according to the show. That’s hardly surprising. The show last year was a huge success in the eyes of this attendee, and natural growth is welcome.

The announced guest list is pretty jaw dropping. Lynda Barry, Charles Burns, Jordan Crane, Renee French, Sammy Harkham, Anders Nilsen, Paul Pope, Johnny Ryan, Gabrielle Bell, Jillian Tamaki and more.

Keep an eye on their website for updates and programming news. If you’re in the tri-state area this is definitely something you should check out. Admission is FREE (really!), the neighborhood is awesome and guests/exhibitors are great. Hell, I think it’d be worth it to fly in. See the city — make a vacation out of it!

The Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival is a curated comics fest produced by Brooklyn’s Desert Island Comics, PictureBox Inc. and Bill Kartalopolous.

Tags Anders Nilsen, Bill Kartalopolous, Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival, Charles Burns, Desert Island Comics, Gabrielle Bell, Jillian Tamaki, Johnny Ryan, Jordan Crane, Lynda Barry, Paul Pope, PictureBox Inc., Renee French, Sammy Harkham