If you're attending the New York Comic Con this weekend, Al "Mad Fold-In" Jaffee will be on the Arf book panel on Sunday, Room IE03 at 3:00. Here's hoping for a good turnout for Al, who at 87 years young is rarely at cons. Also, a reminder that Craig will be signing the few limited number of the new "Arf" book, Comic Arf at the Fantagraphics booth. They're having a few advance copies flown in from China and the signing will be Sat. 11-1, Sun. 1-2:45. Besides Jaffee, Comic Arf has special art done for the book by R. Crumb, Jules Feiffer, Patrick McDonnell, Art Speigelman, Bil Keane, etc

Here's affable Al Jaffee:

• And if you're in Portland next weekend for the Stumptown Comics Fest, here's some haps you might want to check out, courtesy of Dylan Williams from Sparkplug.

James Kochalka is expanding his American Elf archives in a big way. 2008 marks the 10th Anniversary of James' massive daily diary comic strip undertaking! And while, yes, i'm the publisher of this work, believe me when i tell you, this is some of the most profound comics work anywhere.

• David Chelsea's most recent 24-Hour comic, titled "Now Open the Box" (and which we'll be posting right here on our revamped webcomics section in a couple weeks or so), is based on a New York Times column for which he provided an illustration, by "Modern Love" author Lori Jakiela.

• Finished reading Comic Foundry #2. (The Spring 2008 issue.) Boy i really really dig this mag. I hope their efforts to gain mainstream newsstand acceptance succeed. The feature interview with Matt Fraction was pretty good. In fact, it made me go back and start over reading the first Iron Fist trade paperback that i'd picked up on good buzz, and honestly couldn't get into. (See review below.)

I do like the staccato nature of the contents — understanding the limited attention span of most Americans — but i'd like to see at least a couple more meatier features; whether that be interviews, series overviews, or what have you.

• Sat down then and read the new Immortal Iron Fist tpb mentioned above, titled "The Last Iron Fist Story." First, what i didn't like AT ALL, and the reason i couldn't get into it on the first attempt; Fractions use of voice-over narrative is not just not good, it's horrible. Especially the way that he starts a sentence at the top of one page, and doesn't finish it until 2 pages later or more. Of course, he's not as bad as Jeff Loeb, who uses this cliched narrative device to horrible affect, but really, this is an old comics convention that i think for the most part has served it's purpose, and — except when truly important to the story at hand — should be left alone. (I wonder if this is part of the advice that Ed Brubaker imparted to Matt, as alluded to in the aforementioned Comic Foundry interview.)

That said, i dove in and suffered through the narration, and i can happily say i'm glad i gave this book a second chance, Because overall it kicks some serious ass. The story itself rocks, and utilizes flashbacks to good effect, while the dialog is snappy and fun. I don't know enough of the Iron Fist backstory to know if this is a major ret-con, but it read so clearly that i didn't care.

And the art by one David Aja is simply amazing. Fluid and stylistic, with clear storytelling (something so many of today's HOT artists are clueless about — and shame on their editors for not correcting this), this is one relative newcomer that i'll totally be keeping my eye on. I read recently that a new writer/artist team is taking over on this book soon; i can only hope that Matt, Ed, and David have a chance to wrap up their storyline with a definitive conclusion. (And that the whole run eventually winds up in one of the bitchin' oversized hardcovers Marvel has been doing with popular books.)

• This sounds cool as heck! I wish i was in Seattle this Thursday.
Thursday evening at 7:00 PM, Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery’s resident curator Larry Reid will speak at the Frye Art Museum, 704 Terry Avenue in Seattle. Reid will present a slide lecture on the topic “WEIRDOS: Seattle’s Alternative Comics Culture in the Context of R. Crumb’s Underground.” If you have yet to see the phenomenal Crumb exhibition at the Frye, this represents one of the last opportunities to view this comprehensive collection and explore Crumb’s considerable influence on comics in the Northwest. Admission is free. Reid assures us that you’ll get your money’s worth. More info at 206.622.9250.

• Finally, here's James Kochalka's brand new cover art for a repriint of his kid's book Pinky & Stinky.

In this case... HELL YEAH! Renee French has jumped into the blogosphere. Thus far it's almost exclusively art. And that's o.k., since her work is truly sublime.

Check it out!

longtime pal Steve Ryan sent me a link to a pretty damn disturbing article at Animation World, about a news item that could adversely affect everyone in the comics community. At stake is a piece of pending legislation before Congress about items determined to be “Orphaned Works.”

From the article:
"An Orphaned Work is any creative work of art where the artist or copyright owner has released their copyright, whether on purpose, by passage of time, or by lack of proper registration. In the same way that an orphaned child loses the protection of his or her parents, your creative work can become an orphan for others to use without your permission."

Read a specious defense of the issue here.

This debate has even far more ramifications for our industry than the “Net Neutrality” from a couple years ago, except that unlike that situation, there is little affect this would have on civilians, and so there’ll probably be little fanfare. Yet one more case of the system working against the cause of the little people, in support of the powerful. Keep your eyes peeled for when this proposed legislation hits the public, true believers, and contact your congressfolks in protest.

• I’ve been a busy little bee lately, as the Top Shelf convention season brings my production cycle into full swing. Timothy Sievert’s That Salty Air has arrived — our first new book of the season — and it's a beauty.

James Kochalka’s Johnny Boo is at the printer in China. Our new Seasonal Sampler for 2008 is ready to roll. Liz’ Prince’s collection of her strips Delayed Replays is at our printer in Montreal. Alex Robinson’s Too Cool To Be Forgotten is also in China on press. Corey Barba’s YAM is almost ready to be put to bed. Nate Powell’s insanely beautiful new book Swallow Me Whole, is almost wrapped up, and my favorite Top Shelf book in years, Veeps, by Bill Kelter and Wayne Shellabarger, is getting it’s final touches done by production guru Chris Ross.

Here's a couple developmental sketches by Nate Powell, for the back cover of Swallow Me Whole.

The April issue of Diamond Previews came out last week, and i wanted to point out a few cool books i'll be picking up. There's no Marvel or DC here, but that doesn't mean i won't be picking some spandex books up — just that they don't need a fraction as much support as these folks do. So pester your local retailer to order these for you, and one (at least) for the rack. If they won't budge, then go strait to the source.

Page 202: Kyle Baker's Nat Turner, by (of course) Kyle Baker. (The publisher is Abrams, i think.) One of the few cartoonists who seems to have a magic touch... i can't think of a single book he's done in a decade that i didn't love. One of the most effective storytellers in comics, his work is not to be missed.

Page 203: Superior Showcase #3, from AdHouse Books. Featuring new work by Jim Rugg (and supposedly his writing partner Brian Maruca, who i think is Jim's alter-ego), Dustin Harbin, and Laura Park. Project Superior is an ideal salve for the conflicted "indy" comics fans who can't let go of their lifelong super-hero proclivities.

Page 232: Freddie & Me, by Mike Dawson. Published by Bloomsbury. I've been witness to this book in progress for years, and i'm chompin' at the bit to read it in its entirety. Mike can draw like a mo-fo, and it's great to see him realize his first full-length graphic novel, after years of paying his dues with numerous mini-comics and unfinished comics.

Page 287: A Fantagraphics Feast! Man of Rock: The Biography of Joe Kubert, by Bill Schelly. The Troublemakers, a new hardcover graphic novel by Gilbert Hernandez. And Uptight #3, by Jordan Crane. For dessert, the Comics Journal #291, featuring an interview with Tim Sale. Even though they have a pretty crappy website, they're still the most important publisher in comics. (Don't tell Staros i said that though...)

Page 291: Drawing Words & Writing Pictures, by Jessica Able and Matt Madden. Published by First Second. A treatise on the form, by two of our medium's foremost formalists, published by one of the shining new stars in the industry's firmament. You can't lose!

Page 304: Scorchy Smith, by Noel Sickles, published by iDW. Editor Dean Mullaney continues his epic fucking cool series of classic reprints with the MUCH anticipated collection of the complete Sickles strip Scorchy Smith, as well as a plethora of dvd-style extras. Whoo hoo... can't wait to this puppy in my hands.

• THIS WEEKEND!! The 24-Comic Challenge!

Here's a photo set from an old challenge at Chelsea's pad.

Here are David's storyboards for the short promo made for the event this weekend.

And here's the video up on YouTube.

• Finished reading Mark Evanier's coffee table monograph of the magnificent Jack Kirby, appropriately titled KIRBY: King of Comics! As one of the world's leading Kirby biographers and personal friend of The King, it reads fine, and is accompanied by loads of great oversized art, all wrapped up with quite tasty book design. I will admit however, i was expecting a meatier history of the man. I thought for sure i'd be reading an in-depth biography, containing many gems about Kirby's life i've never heard before. Alas, there's absolutely nothing here that i haven't read in Comic Book Artist, the Comics Journal, the Kirby Collector, or any number of various magazine articles and/or interviews.

That said, it's still a kick-ass tome, and i highly recommend it. Worthy of any Kirby junky, but particularly useful too for neophytes to the Kirby phenomenon.