CRAIG THOMPSON
Monday, September 26, 2011, 7:00 pm
Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Auditorium
2501 Stevens Ave., Minneapolis
Click here for directionsAcclaimed graphic novelist Craig Thompson returns from a seven-year hiatus this fall with the publication of Habibi, an epic romance that investigates the history of religion and storytelling. Habibi is a hugely anticipated release that Thompson says looks at Islam the way his previous graphic novel, Blankets, looks at Christianity. Blankets was once banned from some libraries, and Habibi is expected to be no less controversial and no less enthusiastically received as a watershed moment in the art form of comics.
At this special Twin Cities appearance, Thompson will give a visual presentation and discussion of his work. Not to be missed!
. . . his brilliantly realized artwork transforms whatever potential for triteness lies in his message into profundity. . . . Goodbye, Chunky Rice is a heartfelt masterpiece.
—Rain Taxi Review of BooksBlankets magically recreates the high emotional stakes of adolescence. Thompson has set new bars for the medium not just in length, but breadth.
—Time MagazineCraig Thompson’s previous graphic novels include Blankets (for which he received three Harvey Awards for Best Artist, Best Graphic Album of Original Work, and Best Cartoonist; and two Eisner Awards for Best Graphic Album and Best Writer/Artist); Goodbye, Chunky Rice; and Carnet de Voyage. He lives in Portland, Oregon.
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Help the Soap Factory and MIX
Sarah Morean (one of the main organizers of the MIX festival) recently twittered:
CARTOONISTS! Desperately need six volunteers to create new work for a fundraiser to benefit The Soap Factory and help MIX. DM me for deets!
So, please help out, huh? It is a fun project.
The New Schedule for the Stwallskull Media Empire
After a long break from not posting much on the web, I’ve decided to start posting with appalling regularity. I figured I should start here with some shameless self-promotion.
On Mondays, I will be posting a new Soapy the Chicken strip on the Soapy the Chicken site. (you can subscribe to Soapy the Chicken here… you can read the previous Soapy strips here… or you can buy the collected Soapy in book form here). Click the image below for the first one…
On Fridays, my new collaborative comic with my good friend Ben Zmith, Monkey’s Paw, will be updated. The first four weeks have already been posted, actually. You can see them by clicking on the below images.
You can subscribe to the feed for Monkey’s Paw here.
I’ll also be posting whatever I feel like on the Stwallskull blog, whenever I feel like it. The posts moving forward will mostly be focusing on my personal comic work, rather than stuff relating to the history of comics and animation. You can subscribe to Stwallskull here, if you’re inclined.
Thanks for checking my comics out, if you decide to.
Registration for the Twin Cities Zinefest is Open
Call for Mini-Comics and Mini-Comix Submissions
The below very cool-sounding opportunity was just posted here.
Call for Mini Comics and mini comix submissions
I am looking for mini comic submissions for a new two-volume set of hardbound books to be published by Fantagraphics. This series will cover mini comics from the dawn of time (early 70′s) to the present. Since Newave (1980’s) has already been covered, the main focus will be on the 1990′s to the present although earlier minis will be covered too. The books will be the same size as the original Newave book (only more like 700 pages each) and will only reproduce whole mini comics that are 5 1/2 X 4 1/4 or smaller just like in the Newave book. (If you are concerned about the size of your submission contact me and we can talk about it). No digest sized comics or bigger will be accepted.
The two volumes are to be simply titled “Treasury of Mini Comics†Volumes one & two.
I am looking for contributors. I am looking for the best of the best. Any creator can send me their mini comics, disks, or photocopies to be considered for publication for this project. Or email me and send low-res jpegs to: brownfieldpress(at)hotmail.com.
Please send titles to: Michael Dowers 361 E. Birnie Slough Rd., Cathlamet , WA 98612.
If you want your material returned it is important to enclose return postage. Any mini comics that are kept will be placed in the Fantagraphics collection after the books are published. Also anybody sending actual mini comics will receive comics in trade from Brownfield press.
Terry Beatty’s One-Man Comic Convention This Saturday!
I was sorry to hear the other day that Terry Beatty is leaving Minneapolis… his wife got a new gig in Kansas City, so his family is heading down there. Terry is having sale of some of his large collection of wonderful things this Saturday. Stop by on Saturday and wish him well on his journey, and help him lighten his load. Details here.
Minneapolis Jam and Nordeast Comics Summit #3 This Thursday, June 2nd
Come at 6:00 for the pre-jam Nordeast Comics Summit:
NORDEAST COMICS SUMMIT
TOPIC: Getting Over Self-Promotion Stage Fright
MODERATOR: Ryan Dow
DATE: Thursday, June 2, 2011
TIME: 6 – 6:30 pm
LOCATION: 1618 Central Ave NE, Ste. 216, Nordeast MPLS
More info on the Nordeast Comics Summit website here. You’ll want to check out that site regardless of whether you plan to attend, as it links to a wealth of educational material that Big Time Attic has written.
Follow the Nordeast Comics Summit on Twitter! handle: NORDEASTCOMICS
The Minneapolis Cartoonist Conspiracy meets at 6:30 until 10:00 the first Thursday of every month at Diamond’s Coffee Shoppe in Northeast.
Afterwards, please join us to draw some jam comics, socialize and drink caffeinated beverages. Afterwords, we often have uncaffeinated beverages somewhere else.
The meetings are open to anyone who wants to draw with us, and the results are posted here sooner or later (and sometimes even printed).
Diamond’s Coffee Shoppe
1618 Central Avenue Northeast
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Please spend some money at Diamond’s while you’re there, even if it is just a cuppa coffee… they are excellent hosts, and we wanna stay welcome there.
NightShift: Jim Woodring Performing at the Walker at Midnight on June 4th-June5th!
Rain Taxi is bringing Jim Woodring to town!
Jim Woodring: Artist Talk and Performance
Walker Cinema, Midnight
for directions, click here.A man is drawing with a seven-foot-long pen. The nib is sixteen inches and made of brass-plated, cold-rolled steel. The handle is lathe-turned poplar, painted with black lacquer. The ink is a specially formulated acrylic blend. A large vase functions as the inkwell.
This isn’t a dream but rather a live performance with famed underground cartoonist Jim Woodring. At this special Nightshift event, the author of Seeing Things, The Frank Book and Weathercraft will draw live on-stage at the Walker with his handcrafted Giant Pen—an oversized version of the classic steel dip pen nib and wooden handle used by artists and calligraphers. Woodring will be making large ink drawings (up to 6 feet) while conversing with the audience as he works, and it will all add up to an in-depth tour through his surreal oneiric landscape.
Woodring’s Giant Pen was built with funds raised through United States Artists Special Projects.
See You at SPRINGCON This Weekend!
Zak Sally Funds Sammy the Mouse Book Using Kickstarter! You Can Still Help!
I meant to post information about this a while ago… Zak Sally is seeking funding on Kickstarter to pay for printing a Sammy the Mouse collection. Before I got it posted, it already got funded with 16 days to go! Congratulations, Zak! Note that you can still help fund the Zak’s project beyond the goal and get some cool stuff for doing so.
Kickstarter is becoming a really amazing resource for cartoonists. Just the idea of art made for and funded by patrons rather than corporations is a very liberating prospect.