Comic Book Resources

Your Steve Oliff update of the month

Color separation page from 'Akira'

Looking over the new Kodansha version of Vol. 1 of Akira (which, I'm sorry to say, is little more than the Dark Horse version on cheaper paper and the word Kodansha on the spine), I realized how much I appreciated colorist Steve Oliff's work on the series when it was initially serialized by Epic, Marvel Comics' fancy-shmancy line, back in the late '80s and early 90s. I think it's one of the few instances where an already great body of work was actually improved upon in translation.

I'm not the only one, as Ryan Sands at Same Hat! is a big fan of Oliff's work as well. Apparently, Oliff was at APE last weekend selling the color reproduction pages to interested parties, and Sands shares a few pages on his blog.

If you want to know more about Oliff and his work, by the way, check out this interview with Frank Santoro, and this interview by Oliff about his experiences coloring Akira.

Oliff also was featured recently in his local newspaper, the Independent Coast Observer, in a non-comics, rather tragic fashion. According to the story, Oliff came upon a deadly car accident in Manchester, near San Francisco, and attempted to pull the driver from the crash but was unable to do so before the man died.

Straight for the art | Scott Morse shares his APE commissions

Hellboy

Artist Scott Morse shares on his blog several commissions he did at APE last weekend, including this one of Hellboy.

APE '09 | Jamaica Dyer's con report ... in comic form

Jamaica Dyer's APE comic

Over at her blog, Weird Fishes creator Jamaica Dyer shares a report from this weekend's Alternative Press Expo in the form of a comic. The comic covers Saturday, and she says Sunday is coming soon ... and not to spoil the Sunday one, but I hear that Weird Fishes sold out at the show.

APE '09 | The Haul

Some of my APE purchases

I probably spent more at the Alternative Press Expo this year than I have in previous years. It's probably my favorite show of the ones I've been hitting regularly since moving to California a few years back, if only because at just about every single table in the place you have the opportunity to discover a comic you've never seen before. Although living in the Bay Area I have access to shops that not only carry independent stuff, but in some cases also have minicomics, it's nice to have a venue like this where you can find such a wide range of books and talk to the creators directly.

So here's what I came home with ...

Continue Reading »

APE '09 | Some quick thoughts on Saturday

Brandon Graham & Marian Churchland

• After a bout of torrential rains earlier in the week, San Francisco welcomed the Alternative Press Expo with sunshine and warm weather yesterday. APE is one of three shows put on by the folks at Comic Con International. There's San Diego every summer, of course, and San Francisco's WonderCon, which is usually in the winter/spring (next year it's the first weekend in April) and then in the fall comes APE. All the shows have their various charms ... San Diego is, well, San Diego. WonderCon offers a similar type of programming to San Diego without the chaos of being the mammoth event that SDCC is, while APE has a more laid back, intimate feel.

• I got there shortly after the doors opened, when the crowds were still pretty light. They'd grow as the day went on, so it was kind of nice to have a little elbow room. Most of the mainstays were in their regular places, with a few noticeable exceptions -- Fantagraphics, Top Shelf, Buenaventura, SLG, VIZ and Drawn & Quarterly were all where they usually are, but IDW, Oni and AiT/Planet Lar, who have been there in recent years, were missing. (Larry Young told me he wouldn't be there because he didn't want to be setting up for a show on his birthday, which was Friday ... happy belated birthday, Larry!) And while Image didn't have a table, they were represented by some of their creators, such as Richard Starkings, who had his own booth, and Brandon Graham and Marian Churchland, who were at the Neon Monster booth.

Continue Reading »

APE '09 | A few more items to add to your shopping list ...

The Alternative Press Expo, or APE, kicks off at 11 a.m. tomorrow at The Concourse in San Francisco. Here are a few more updates that I almost missed thanks to an overzealous spam filter ... my apologies for not getting these up earlier.

First up is Lee Post, an illustrator who is traveling down here to the Bay Area all the way from Anchorage, Alaska -- the land of "Sarah Palin, meth shacks, and aerial elk-massacres," he said in his email.

"My friend Pat Race and I will be coming down from Alaska to take part this year at booth #549," Post writes. "I've been down the last four years, hanging out with Jon Adams of Truth Serum fame, but I've finally made the jump to booth owner this year."

Post will be selling The Best of Your Square Life as well as a new mini-comic he did for 24 Hour Comics Day called In Alaska Everyone Has a Beard. He'll also have this APE-themed print:

Post says that Race is an illustrator from Juneau and is part of the collective Alaska Robotics, who do webcomics, T-shirts, and video shorts, one of which was recently featured on BoingBoing.

*****

Dogtown

Next up is Russ Kazmierczak, Jr. of K.O. Comix, who you can find at table 510. They'll have the self-published Dog Town by Brent Otey, a post-apocalyptic dogs vs. cats western sci-fi epic, and Karaoke Comics #1 by Kazmierczak, an anthology featuring fictional and biographical tales inspired by karaoke -- both hot off the press! Their usual assortment of superhero comics and fanzines will be available, too. Russ has more info on other stuff he'll have on hand at his blog.

*****

And finally, I mentioned the other day that Jamaica Dyer is a special guest and will be hanging out at the SLG table, but she sent over a few more details on what she'll be up to ...

I saw your post about APE, and wanted to say hi! I've been going to APE for about 7 years (a wee teenager when I started) sharing tables with friends to sell my mini-comics. This year is super exciting because my first graphic novel is coming out! I'll be at the Slave Labor booth signing copies of the book fresh-off-the-press and have some home-made wallets and art prints, I'm on a few panels, and I'm a special guest. Very exciting!

I think her email probably encapsulates everything I love about APE -- folks making comics with their friends who go on to be one of the show's special guests.

Here's the trailer for her new book, Weird Fishes, which you can buy at the show tomorrow:

APE '09 | Fantagraphics, Drawn & Quarterly and more

The Unclothed Man in the 35th Century A.D.

The Alternative Press Expo, or APE, is coming up this weekend at The Concourse in San Francisco. The show runs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Special guests include Jamaica Dyer, Phoebe Gloeckner, Dean Haspiel, Batton Lash, Lark Pien, Dash Shaw and Jeff Smith. Here are a few more items of interest if you're attending ...

Fantagraphics | Fantagraphics sent over their signing schedule for the show:

Saturday
11AM - 1PM: Jon Vermilyea (MOME) & Frank Santoro (MOME)
12:00–12:45 Spotlight on Dash Shaw
1PM - 3PM: Dash Shaw & T. Edward Bak (MOME)
3PM - 5PM: John Pham
5PM - 7PM: Renee French (MOME) & Andrice Arp (MOME)

Sunday
11AM - 1PM: Jon Vermilyea (MOME), Frank Santoro (MOME) & Dash Shaw
1PM - 3PM: T. Edward Bak (MOME) & John Pham
3PM - 5PM: Renee French & Andrice Arp

They'll have many new releases on hand: The Troublemakers by Gilbert Hernandez, Conceptual Realism: In the Service of the Hypothetical by Robert Williams, Pim & Francie by Al Columbia, Sublife #2 by John Pham, The Unclothed Man in the 35th Century A.D. by Dash Shaw, MOME Vol. 16 by various, The Great Anti-War Cartoons by Craig Yoe, and Ganges #3 by Kevin Huizenga.

"As an added bonus, Dash Shaw is an official APE guest this year and will be signing copies of his new book, The Unclothed Man in the 35th Century A.D.," writes Eric Reynolds. "For anyone who buys the book at one of his Fanta signings during APE, Dash will do an original PAINTING on the front cover! You will not want to miss out."

Continue Reading »

APE '09 | Exhibit A, NBM, SLG and more

The Alternative Press Expo, or APE, is coming up this weekend at The Concourse in San Francisco. The show runs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Special guests include Jamaica Dyer, Phoebe Gloeckner, Dean Haspiel, Batton Lash, Lark Pien, Dash Shaw and Jeff Smith. I'll be there covering the show, while Matt Maxwell will have a table to sell copies of Strangeways.

And over the next couple days, I'll be posting what various companies and creators have planned for the show. If you'd like to be included, drop me the details on where you'll be, what you'll be selling and all that good stuff.

Exhibit A Press | Jackie Estrada dropped us a note about what Exhibit A Press (table 312) will have at the show, where special guest Batton Lash will be celebrating 30 years of Wolff & Byrd, Counselors of the Macabre.

"He’ll be signing the limited-edition Supernatural Law Tales from the Vault Anniversary Special as well as comics and trades," she writes. "We’ll also have Batton’s 'monster cameos,' one-of-a-kind hand-painted miniatures of everyone’s favorite monsters. Plus: new Graphitti Designs Supernatural Law T-shirt!"

More info at www.exhibitapress.com/pages/index.php

SLG Publishing | Jennifer de Guzman sent over an update on SLG's plans for the show. "Jamaica Dyer will be a special guest, so we will have plenty of copies of her new book Weird Fishes," she writes. "Jamaica will also be on the panel Personal Stories on Saturday at 5 p.m. with Dean Haspiel, Phoebe Glockner, and Dash Shaw. I'll be moderating her spotlight panel on Sunday at 12 p.m."

Things Undone

NBM | Ted Rall and Shane White will be at APE; Rall will have a few copies of The Year of Loving Dangerously, while White will sign copies of the recent release Things Undone (which is sitting on my dresser in my "to read" pile; I should read it before this weekend).

Top Shelf | Brett Warnock posts on his blog that Nate Powell, Grant Reynolds and Jeremy Tinder will be at their booth, along with himself and Leigh Walton. And as always, he'll be at the Isotope party Saturday night.

Creators | Scott Morse will be on hand doing commissions and selling the last few remaining copies he has of The Ancient Book of Sex and Science.

Manga | Deb Aoki rounds up what various manga publishers are doing at the show.

APE is coming

APE Aftermath

The Alternative Press Expo, or APE, will take place the weekend of Oct. 17-18 at The Concourse Exhibition Center in San Francisco. Next week I plan to put together a preview post or two, so if you're exhibiting, please feel free to send me information on your plans -- what you'll be selling, where you'll be ... that sort of stuff.

Also, if you're going to APE and looking for something to do before the show starts or after hours on Saturday, Isotope Comics on Fell Street has events planned both Friday and Saturday night. APE special guest Dean Haspiel will sign copies of the ACT-I-VATE Primer at the store on Friday, while Saturday brings the annual APE Aftermath party and the presentation of the Isotope Award for Excellence in Mini-Comics. Add'em to your calendar!

Isotope accepting submissions for best mini-comic

Isotope Award

James Sime, owner of Isotope Comics in San Francisco, has put out the call for submissions for the 2009 Isotope Award for Excellence in Mini-Comics. Submissions are due Oct. 1 and will be presented at Isotope's annual APE Aftermath bash on Oct. 17, in conjunction with the Alternative Press Expo.

"It's our seventh annual award, and I've got a feeling we're going to be especially lucky and help discover an amazing new talent this year," Sime said. "In 2009 one mini-comic creator's career will be forever changed, so fire up your xerox machines and get ready to submit your minis."

Judges for this year's competition include Sime, Top Shelf co-publisher (and usually the guest bartender at the Aftermath party) Brett Warnock, comics journalist/critic Tom Spurgeon, librarian and former Eisner judge Eva Volan, and comics writer/retailer/librarian Kirsten Baldock.

Entry to this competition is five copies of your mini-comic sent to Isotope's address -- 326 Fell St., San Francisco, CA 94102 -- before the Oct. 1 deadline. The winner will be contacted in advance and must be present at the Isotope at 9 P.M. on Saturday, Oct. 17 for the award presentation ceremony.

"I consider each year's winner of this award to be the Isotope's Miss America for the year and always love helping to get their work under the noses of the entire industry," Sime said. "Oh... and speaking of which, don't forget to place your pre-orders for two previous winners of this award, who both have new original graphic novels coming out this September, Danica Novgorodoff's Refresh, Refresh from First Second and Joshua Cotter's Driven By Lemons from AdHouse Books."

Other previous winners of the award include Rob Osborne, Daniel Merlin Goodbrey, Jonas Madden-Conner and Max Riffner.