Random Comics News Story Round-Up

* the cartoonist Scott Adams is non-apologetic about promoting his business through his comic strip. Thirty years ago, my newspaperman father would have immediately canceled any strip that did this, even Peanuts, but we live in very different times now and I imagine there will be little fallout except for grousing. Needless to say, however, suggesting that comics have a commercial role within the newspaper to justify temporarily exploiting that platform on behalf of one's own business seems bizarre and almost hateful to me, but I have never made significant amounts of money so it's hard for me to criticize the strategies employed by someone that successful.

* at ActuaBD.com, David Taugis has a report on the comics at the Louvre show and a schedule for where the exhibit should appear over the next few years: Lausanne, Belo Horizonte, Montreal, Angouleme (for the 2010 festival), Brussels, and Tokyo.

* not comics: I take it back, please let the New York Times die. Note to editor: if you can imagine the article being introduced by Mary Hart, it's probably not worth publishing. I know this makes me sound a cranky old person, but that article made me feel horrible after reading it, like I'd just had my time wasted by someone's unpaid commercial in the guise of arts coverage.

* the New York Times might disappoint, but at least we can take comfort in the fact that the practitioners of the dying art of editorial cartooning are focused on the important things. You know, like Gordon Brown thinking they draw him too fat and the collective wail that President Obama isn't as easy to make fun of than the last guy who was president. Okay, never mind.

* not comics: re-considering New Jersey

* hey, let's run a press release! I caught this in Buenaventura Press' news section:

Buenaventura Press with Chris Ware, Adrian Tomine, and Daniel Clowes at the Angouleme International Comics Festival, January 29 - February 1, 2009.

Next week we will be in France, exhibiting for our fourth consecutive year at the Angouleme International Comics Festival. We'll be traveling with the festival's special guests Chris Ware, Adrian Tomine, and Daniel Clowes, who have not appeared in Europe for over five years. Along with our own Buenaventura Press titles we'll have the latest by these celebrated cartoonists including: ACME Novelty Library #19 by Ware, Shortcomings by Tomine, and Ghost World: Special Edition and 20th Century Eightball by Clowes.

This also marks the final stop of the international tour for Kramers Ergot 7, the most acclaimed art comics anthology of the last two decades, and the following contributors will be signing copies throughout the festival:

Conrad Botes
Daniel Clowes
Joe Daly
Jerome Mulot
Florent Ruppert
Souther Salazar
Adrian Tomine
Chris Ware

Check back soon for our signing schedule, and look for us in the "Place New York."

That's as good a reminder as any that it's Angouleme time, and this year features what seems to me a more impressive American presence than usual, as well as a precarious economic backdrop. We'll have a preview of the festival on Thursday, and will comment on the bigger news throughout the weekend. Bart Beaty will be in attendance, which we hope will mean columns. If anyone else is going over there to set up for business, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

* finally, Chris Sims draws attention to a portion of a fondly-remembered Despero plot-line from an issue of Justice League International. It's fun to see Adam Hughes' art at that early stage in his career. What I remember about re-reading a bunch of those comics a few years ago is that it was a fairly effective monster heel rampage plotline of the kind that superhero comics overuse now, or at least don't seem to be able to set up properly. The fact that JLI was kind of a jokey book gave this sudden appearance by a significant, scary bad-ass and the sight of him beating on things until they died a lot more oomph. You don't see those shifts in tone anymore, mostly because there's so much pressure to maximize sales on every single comic book. (thanks, Sean)
 
posted 6:30 am PST | Permalink
 

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