Shirts For A Cure, a project started by the Syrentha J. Savio Endowment to raise money in their efforts to provide financial assistance to underprivileged women who cannot afford breast cancer medicine and therapy, sells exclusive shirts for various bands and musical artists on their site. And they’ll be at the New York Comic Con this weekend selling shirts created by artists like Mike Cavallaro (his design is shown above), Molly Crabapple and Brian Ewing.

In addition, Wonder Woman artist Cliff Chiang will hold a signing at their booth Friday at 4 p.m., where you can get one of the last 50 of his limited edition Wonder Woman print.

And even if you can’t attend the con, go check out their site … they’ve got some cool shirts for a great cause.

Organizers also posted a nice, juicy interview with Crabapple on the SXSW site, which includes the news that she and John Leavitt are collaborating again:

We just sold a new graphic novel, Unwanted Carnival, to First Second Books. First Second does beautiful books that win awards. We kind of wonder why they’re hanging with a pair of guttersnipes like us. Me and John are probably going to spend most of 2011 and 2012 hunched over a drafting table scribbling comics and devolving into a sibling troll language.

The two previously worked together on Scarlett Takes Manhattan and The Puppet Makers.

Comic Book Resources also spoke with Crabapple this week about Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School and a recent Transmetropolitan-themed event to raise money for a Transmetropolitan art book that will benefit the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and The Hero Initiative.

The Amazing Spider-Man #1

Comics | A July house fire in Minneapolis that killed homeowner Gary Dahlberg spared his meticulously preserved comic-book collection, which experts say could be worth $1 million. The comics, which includes first issues of The Amazing Spider-Man, Fantastic Four and Daredevil, will be sold at auction on May 5 by Heritage Auction Galleries, with the money going to Dahlberg’s estate. “To go for the really big money they have to be really perfect, and that what these are,” says Barry Sandoval of Heritage Auction Galleries. “The comics look like they just rolled off the printing press and nobody’s ever touched them.” [KSTP TV, with video]

Crime | A 17-year-old boy accused of attempting to rob Fun 4 All Comics & Games in Ypsilanti, Mich., on Monday has been arraigned on charges of assault with attempt to rob while armed and attempted larceny. Police say the teen, wearing a blond wig, bandanna and dark glasses, gave an employee a list of merchandise — “most, if not all, of it Yu-Gi-Oh! cards” — then opened his coat to reveal what appeared to be an improvised explosive device. The boy allegedly threatened to detonate the bomb if he wasn’t given the merchandise. When the employee yelled for the owner to call police, then teen said he was only joking, then bought some inexpensive items and left the store. The sheriff’s department later arrested the teen in his car in a Burger King parking lot. The Michigan State Police bomb squad responded, and determined the potential explosive device was inert. [AnnArbor.com]

Clowntime

Comic strips | Two years after Washington City Paper eliminated its syndicated comics amid massive budget cuts at its parent company, the alternative weekly is bringing back its comics page. The new lineup, debuting in this week’s issue, includes Derf’s The City, Shawn Belschwender’s Clowntime, Michael Kupperman’s Up All Night and David Malki’s Wondermark. [FishbowlDC]

Creators | Alex Carr interviews Guy Davis, Dave Stewart and John Arcudi during at last weekend’s Emerald City Comicon. [Omnivoracious]

Creators | Kurt Busiek, Austin Grossman, Gerard Jones, Sean McKeever and Gail Simone offer advice on “how to create your own original superhero from scratch.” [io9.com]

Creators | Howard Buck reports on a recent visit to Washington State University Vancouver by Josh Neufeld, creator of A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge. [The Columbian]

Creators | Collaborators Molly Crabapple and John Leavitt discuss their “Blade Runner meets Dangerous Liaisons.” clockwork murder mystery The Puppet Makers. [Guerrilla Geek]

Noah Van Sciver

Creators | Noah Van Sciver talks about Blammo, Four Questions and his upcoming graphic novel about Abraham Lincoln’s life in Springfield: “Blammo drew me to it. I was doing a short story on his duel with James Shields. As I researched it, I became more interested in Abraham Lincoln in his time before the Civil War. He’s my favorite president—he just seems like a cool guy. There’s not a lot out of there about Abraham Lincoln at that point in his life. I was interested in him because of his depression, and also because he came from nothing. I feel a kinship to people who come from nothing, because I come from a very large, very poor Mormon family. I’m trying to do that in comics — come from nothing and achieve something, which I guess is stupid, but it’s what I’ve got.” [The A.V. Club]

Creators | The Center for Cartoon Studies has launched a blog dedicated to its visiting artists. [CCS Visiting Artist Blog, via The Comics Reporter]

Comics | Matt Wilson counts down “10 Major Comics Events that Actually Mattered.” [Topless Robot]

Comics | Jason Serafino looks at “The 10 Lamest Batman Villains of All Time!” [Complex]

"The Puppet Makers" character designs, by Molly Crabapple

Back in mid-May, Molly Crabapple and John Leavitt launched their latest project, Puppet Makers, at Zuda Comics. When Crabapple gave me the head-up about the project a few weeks back, I immediately recalled our enjoyable last interview (August 24, 2009), and decided to go for another round of questions. Here’s the official synopsis on the project: “Versailles 1685, France has industrialized centuries before her neighbors but focuses on creating exquisitely ornate robotic shells for the aristocracy called, DOLLIES. Towering, lavishly expensive, and run on electricity provided by damming the Seine. Only the court elite wears Dollies, but their upkeep is beginning to bankrupt France. During the king’s birthday party, his Dolly explodes but is found to be empty. Rumors fly, blaming THE SMASHERS, a ring of Luddite terrorists who may lurk within the palace. The church’s cardinal sends a neophyte priest, JEAN JAQUES, to uncover Smashers at court. Amidst the contrary, conniving and self-indulgent upper class, Jean is thwarted at every turn. As he begins to uncover the truth behind the king’s disappearance, he finds that decadence and deceit may be a greater threat to the throne of France and his own life than her missing monarch.”

Tim O’Shea: What is the core appeal of steampunk fiction for you as a creator?

Molly Crabapple: I started drawing steampunk pictures in college. A teacher assigned me to design a skateboard deck, and, rebellious thing that I was, I thought it would be hilarious to imagine kateboarding as the sport of trussed Victorian ladies. I drew a board titled “Lady Etheldrina’s Wheeled Conveyance”, which shows a bouffant haired aristocrat on a skateboard, which is then being hauled by her maid.

I like working in the steampunk genre because I get to imagine the horrifying and hilarious ways technology would distort my favorite time periods.

O’Shea: Maybe I’m wrong, but it seems like the opening panel of your story must have been hell to draw. Was it?

Crabapple: Yes! Oh yes it was.

O’Shea: How many weeks is Puppet Makers running–and how frequently will it be updated?

Crabapple: Puppet Makers should run to 240 pages, and is updated every Wednesday

O’Shea: Given that Kevin Colden’s  I Rule the Night is a mature content story at Zuda, I was surprised to see you did not develop a mature content tale yourself. Care to explain your thinking on not going for a mature content tale?

Crabapple: I had a few reasons. First, me and John feel like we’ve been pigeonholed as the people who make the  comics about sexy sexy sex, and while we like boobs as much as anyone, doing only boobs causes people to overlook your other talents. Second, I hate content filters with a fiery passion. The world isn’t childproof- if you don’t want your kid to see the organ they came out of, keep them away from a computer. Not that that will work anyway.

O’Shea: When you’re steampunking history as you are with this story, is there still an amount of research to be done on the front end? Do you or collaborator John Leavitt do the bulk of the research (or is the load shared)?

Crabapple: When you steampunk up a time period, you actually need to know more about it than if you were doing straight historical drama, because you have to know their design grammer and societal norms well enough to imagine how anachronistic tech would change them.

Luckily, me and John are both history junkies. We’ve spent years intrigued by the machinations of Versailles- how Louis XIV’s perfect trap for the nobility eventually led to the French revolution. We gobble up biographies and design books. I’ve been memorizing Baroque: Style in the Age of Magnificence.

O’Shea:  How did John first come up with an idea of a soundtrack for Puppet Maker (which includes the range of “Celebrity Skin – Hole; The Infanta – The Decemberists; Rip Her To Shreads – Blondie; and Queen Bitch – David Bowie) Did you have any input on the soundtrack as well?

Crabapple: John’s a music genius. The soundtrack is all him. Though Celebrity Skin is one of my favorite songs

O’Shea: Do you approach your layout or pacing differently when creating for Zuda versus an ACT-I-VATE project, or do the slightly differing interfaces have no bearing on your approach?

Crabapple: I can be more fancy pants on Zuda because I’m getting paid. Act-i-vate was more of a fun side project. Also, Zuda is a horizontal page layout, which just makes more sense on a computer screen.

O’Shea: Have you already gotten an iPad, or are you holding off until the first round of bugs are sorted out? As a creator, how maddening is it to try to  stay on top of every new app that might be the new “best” way to present your webcomic?

Crabapple: I’m probably not going to get an iPad (Apple’s shitty attitude towards scantily clad pictures and indie developers is a major turnoff). However, Scarlett Takes Manhattan is available on the ipad and iphone via the Comixology app. As far as I’m concerned, they’re the best app out there for displaying comics on mobile devices.

O’Shea:  Given your obvious love of theater, any temptation to adapt one of your webcomics to a play?

Crabapple: We’re talking to one of my heroes about doing Scarlett as a play. God knows, he’s a busy gentleman, so perhaps it won’t happen. But there are murmurings

O’Shea: How goes the world of Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School?

Crabapple: Busy! We did Sketchy’s at MoMA several months ago, and we’re bringing it to the Brooklyn Museum in August. We’re at over 120 branches, are beta testing a new website, and throwing a splendiferous warehouse party called The Art Monkeys Ball on June 12.

"The Puppet Makers" character designs, by Molly Crabapple

Following up on this morning’s announcement, Zuda Comics has released some of Molly Crabapple’s character designs for The Puppet Makers, her upcoming webcomic with frequent collaborator John Leavitt.

The series, described as everything from a “Rococo steampunk murder mystery” to “Blade Runner meets The Other Boleyn Girl,” is one of those rare instant winners in the Zuda competition, joining the likes of Jeremy Love’s Bayou, Dean Haspiel’s Street-Code and Kevin Colden’s I Rule the Night.

Update: io9.com now has the official description for The Puppet Makers:

Dangerous Liaisons meets Blade Runner. The Puppet Makers is a mystery set in an alternate historical Versailles. Versailles is run by clockwork and aristocrats wear robotic suits, or Dollies, to go through the elaborate rituals that proscribe daily life. When the king’s Dolly explodes, it is revealed that he’s long since vanished. A young monk’s investigations into the king’s disappearance draw him into the dark secrets of the court.

No debut date has been given.

Jimmy Palmiotti

Splatterman

I am personally excited about what changes are coming at both DC COMICS and MARVEL COMICS. Most people look at change as a negative thing, but looking at the projects coming from both companies and the amount of multi-media projects coming our way, I cant help become excited to what the future holds. I think all these changes will help bring brand new readers to our industry and deliver some exciting projects to the loyal fans as well. see? a lot of positive vibes…there really is no reason to fear change. I believe in embracing it.

As far as what I have coming up… well , that would take a while, but the first thing that is coming to mind is the Image Comics one shot Justin Gray and I have in the works for this spring called Splatterman. Originally we were going to make this a few issues , but decided to go the graphic novel way and put it out as one book. It features beautiful artwork by Giancarlo Caracuzzo and Paul Mounts with a stunning cover by award winning artist, Tim Bradstreet. It’s the story of two comic creators [not us, lol] that create the ultimate horror comic character that comes back to haunt them. It’s crazy adult comics the way they were meant to be told. Anyone that enjoyed our Friday the 13th series and The Last Resort will understand what i mean.

Jimmy Palmiotti has done it all in the comics industry –writing, drawing, inking, editing — on titles for all sorts of comic companies. Some of his most recent writing, much of it with Justin Gray, includes Jonah Hex, Power Girl, The Last Resort and Wednesday Comics. Heck, just go look at his Amazon search listing …. it goes on for pages and pages. He’s also worked in video games and done some Hollywood stuff. And he blogs over at Blog@Newsarama.

David Gallaher

First, name something that you aren’t personally involved with that has you excited.

With the prospect of a new publisher on the horizon, I’m excited that 2010 could usher in a new digital era for DC Comics.

Also, I can’t wait to see the THOR trailer!

And second, if applicable, name something you are personally working on that has you excited.

The seventh chapter of BOX 13 debuts in January. It opens like this:

Box 13

Things only get worse from there.

And HIGH MOON SEASON FOUR concludes early this year – answering many questions about our hero and his place in the world. This is something we’ve been building to for a long time … it’s going to be incredible!

In addition to the projects David listed above, he also recently wrote the Winter Guard special for Marvel. He guest blogged with us last year, and also has pitched in on our Six by 6 feature.

Chris Schweizer

Set to Sea

I was a little bit worried a couple of years ago. I was in graduate school, trying to learn as much as I could about my chosen profession, and I had just landed a multi-book deal with Oni Press. The first book in the series was to be a pirate story.

Now that, of course, was wonderful news to me; the problem came when my friends at SCAD introduced me to THEIR friends. Incredibly nice guys, excellent cartoonists, folks whose work I was instantly drawn to, guys like Drew Weing, Chris Wright, and Aaron Renier. The worry came from these encounters, when I discovered that each of these wonderful artists was himself working on… that’s right… a pirate story.

I’d just begun work on mine; it was clear that I was going to be the last one out of the gate, a real Johnny-Come-Lately in the forthcoming indie comics pirate subgenre.

Well, it didn’t exactly happen that way. My book, Crogan’s Vengeance, hit shelves in 2008, and the books from these three gentlemen have yet to find their way into my library. Renier’s book switched publishers, Weing took a break from the project to ink wife Eleanor Davis’s awe-inspiring Secret Science Alliance, and Wright’s meticulous hatchwork simply results in a long gestation time. Nonetheless, rumor has it that all of these books are slated for 2010.

Drew Weing’s Set to Sea is a story about a brawny poet who is shanghaied and finds himself working on a clipper ship, fighting pirates and inclement weather. He’s been serializing it on his website and the art is just beautiful. Many folks have commented on the aesthetic similarities to Segar in this project, and it’s an apt comparison; the characters would look right at home in Sweethaven, but the inkwork is truly in a class by itself. The story is charming, but for me, the excitement I feel for this book’s release comes from the chance to pour over Weing’s pages, trying to figure out how he draws water so darn well. It’s coming out in July from Fantagraphics.

Aaron Renier’s Spiral Bound (Top Shelf) is one of my very favorite graphic novels, so I’ve been eagerly anticipating his new book, The Unsinkable Walker Bean. From what I can gather, it’s a story about a kid whose grandfather knows about a treasure, that there may or may not be sea witches, and that it might be the first in a trilogy. Vague details, I know, but given Renier’s nuanced ability to capture the essence of childhood so well I can’t help but be excited for this one. It’s colored by mini-comics mainstay Alec Longstreth, and is coming out from First Second Books, though I’ve been unable to find a shelf date.

Lastly, Inkweed cartoonist Chris Wright has a book that, according to Tom Devlin, should be out from Drawn and Quarterly this fall. Wright’s been working on this for years, and if you see his originals it’ll be clear as to why the slow trek. He might lay down a hundreds of lines in a square inch – no exaggeration – and the effect is truly remarkable. I only hope that D&Q have the good sense to print it as big as they can afford – the only complaint I ever read about Inkweed was that the art seemed to lose Wright’s fine detail when shrunk to print size.

Like most of Wright’s work, you can expect it to be heady, very much in the vein of Conrad or Melville, with layers of symbolism and a plot that brings out questions about the nature of life, the soul, original sin, etc. Like Weing’s, this pirate story features an academic shanghaied into nautical service, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Wright uses his ostensible protagonist as a pair of eyes for us to follow the behavior and grandeur of his captain, in the same manner that we meet Kurtz through Marlowe or Wolf Larsen through van Weyden. Wright’s book is called Blacklung.

As for me, I’m biding my time ‘til these books are released by researching for the third book in the Crogan Adventures series, Crogan’s Loyalty, which takes place during the American War of Independence. The second book, Crogan’s March, just came out in the final days of 2009. It’s a French Foreign Legion story, and, as far as I know, is NOT the first of some sort of indie comics foreign legion subgenre, though Craig Thompson IS doing that Moroccan book.

Tim interviewed Chris Schweizer last year about his Crogan Adventures series. He also designed my iGoogle theme.

Molly Crabapple

I’m incredibly thrilled to be working with comics legend Annie Nocenti on a sordid Typhoid Mary tale for Marvel’s Girl Comics. Nocenti is one of the giants of the industry, and its a true honor she chose me to bring to life her creation.

For projects I’m not involved in- dear lord but I cannot wait to see the Runaways. Kristen Stewart as teenage Joan Jett in all her swaggering rebellious babydyke glory- be still my aching heart. I’ve watched the trailer 50 times in preparation. This is going to be feminist anthem legend. March 19 cannot come soon enough

Molly Crabapple‘s graphic novel Scarlett Takes Manhattan hit shelves this past year, and Tim spoke with her about it back in August. She also contributed to 2009′s Activate Primer, an anthology by folks who contribute to the webcomic collective that ran her webcomic Backstage.

Mike Dawson

Troop 142

There are two comics coming out in 2010 that I’m eager to purchase. First up is Jim Rugg and Brian Maruca’s AFRODISIAC, which I believe is due out right in the beginning of the year, January 14th, from AdHouse books. I love Jim’s drawings, and the Afrodisiac stories are always a lot of fun. The other book I’m looking forward to, though I don’t know a lot about it, is Dan Clowes’ WILSON. It feels like it’s been a while since there’s been a new book from one of my favorite cartoonists.

As for myself, I’m currently focusing on two main projects: The Ink Panthers Show!, which is a weekly podcast hosted by myself and the cartoonist Alex Robinson. I’m looking forward to having new guests crouching in The Panther’s Lair with us, something we’re hoping to do a lot more of in 2010. And, I am also serializing a new book-length comic online, TROOP 142, set at a Boy Scout summer camp in 1995. This is updated pretty much as much as I’m able, which is normally at least once or twice a week.

In addition to the above, Mike Dawson is also the creator of Ace-Face: The Mod with the Metal Arms, Freddie & Me, and Jack & Max Escape from the End of Time. Tim spoke with him about his various comics projects earlier this year.

Andrew Farago

There’s a lot to look forward to in 2010. Personally, I’d say that I’m most excited about IDW’s upcoming King Aroo reprint series, plus the launch of Rick Marschall’s Rosebud Archives, and the continuation of great reprint collections from Peter Maresca’s Sunday Press, Fantagraphics, Drawn & Quarterly, and some unexpected gems from Marvel and DC.

I know that’s already more than one answer, but I’ll also mention that I’m looking forward to the convention season, especially San Francisco’s WonderCon and APE, Portland’s Stumptown Comics Fest, and the San Diego Comic-Con. No matter how big and crazy these things get, it’s always fun catching up with friends and colleagues at cons. And I’m just a little bit worried that some years I’m more likely to bump into Peter “Chewbacca” Mayhew and Herbert “Boomer” Jefferson than some of my closest friends and relatives, and that no longer seems like a strange thing.

As far as personal projects go, I’m writing The Looney Tunes Treasury for Palace Press, due for a fall 2010 release. If you’ve seen that great Hanna-Barbera Treasury that they released a couple of years back, this will be pretty similar in terms of replicas and reproductions. It’s my first book, so I’m really excited about it. I also contributed a couple of essays to Palace Press’s 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons, which will be available in May 2010.

On top of all that, I’m putting together a lot of exciting exhibitions for San Francisco’s Cartoon Art Museum, including spotlights on Batman, Ed Hannigan, Beetle Bailey, Jewish women cartoonists and a pretty wide array of other subjects, too.

Andrew Farago is the curator of the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco, Calif. When he isn’t doing that, he also makes comics of his own. Tim spoke with him about the museum earlier this year.

Donna Barr

Thank you for thinking of me! So pleased. Happy New Year!

Okay, scratching head. I have to warn you, I’m all wrapped up in my own stuff, and most of my reading is reference material, including cookbooks. Movies are whatever I find in the library stacks or on the return cart. I’m a simple soul, and not picky.

KIND of want to see “Avatar” (I like anime, a lot), but Dan’s described it as “Dances With Space Aliens.” (He also said, “Henry James chewed more than he bit off.” He calls the wireless modem “Oz” because it’s a little black box hiding in the shadows controlling the show.). Another wimpy American attempt to deal with our own invasion history BUT NOT REALLY because then we’d have to face it and who could afford all those Native American holocaust memorials? — but that’s the political side and you know what I’m like. I want to see it anyway.

Then again, I loved “Kung Fu Panda” because it was a send-up of “Kung-Fu Hustle” and the “Chocolate” ads had us on the floor: “Real fighting! REAL INJURIES!” My movie tastes are strictly High Concept + Low Brow. My favorite internet shows are Mr.Deity.com and BusPirates. Whadaya gonna do? You don’t want me to review anything because I have ABSOLUTELY NO TASTE.

Right now I’m just excited MY CAT MAY MAKE IT TO NEW YEARS‘.

Um… Other projects I’m not associated with…. um…. er…. I can get all of “Red Green” on DVD, now?

My own stuff:

Starting to collect stories for “This Mortal Coil.” I will never have enough to pay, just want a few lines of dialogue or ideas, people get to be anonymous or represent. Have had to tell one comics artist that his drawing the story is too much to ask for, for no money, but he wants to do it anyway, and I’m not going to stop him.

A lot of long-term slogging projects. Getting ready for that big world-wide publishing crash/leap that’s coming soon (was 5 years a year ago, so….).

I AM going to get all The Desert Peach up at http://www.desert-peach.com AND at Indyplanet.com and Comicsmonkey.com (search: Desert Peach).

IF I work very very hard I may actually get all the Stinz up, too.

AFTERDEAD running at Webcomicsnation.com (under “Alternate History”).

AFTERDEAD 2 finally re-loading at Createspace/Amazon

All of the Desert Peach on IPod at Comicsxp.com

Then I will start looking for agents for my prose books up at http://www.lulu.com/desertpeach

For more, check out the home site at http://www.donnabarr.com (Bookstore link very helpful).

Somebody hire me to write a mystery/novel/whatever of this area because now I have all the dirt. What? Huh? Who said that?

I better quit listing links. I may hurt somebody.

Donna Barr is the creator of Afterdead, Desert Peach and Stinz, among other books. You can read Tim O’Shea’s interview with her from last March right here.

Laura Hudson

What am I most excited about for 2010?

The project I’m most excited for in 2010 is whatever Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams III continue to do with Batwoman. My personal preference would obviously be an ongoing series, but since there’s been no formal announcement, we’ll just have to wait and see what we get. I hope, selfishly and unselfishly, that Rucka and Williams stay with this character for as long as they possibly can, because they are in the midst of creating a classic, and heaven help any creator who has to pick up the Batwoman baton after their definitive run.

So much of the last several decades has involved superhero comics slouching towards maturity in all the wrong ways, but this arc of “Detective” – which I’ve found myself just calling “Batwoman” – was the grown-up superhero comic I’d been waiting for. Or maybe on some level it’s the comic I stopped waiting for. Reading it felt kind of like falling in love after you’ve had your heart broken and stopped believing it’s ever going to happen for you again. It’s a book that makes me feel as breathless now, as a critical, cliche-weary adult, as I used to feel reading superhero comics when I was 12.

I can’t wait to see what they do next.

My own projects:

I run this site called ComicsAlliance? Probably I will write a bunch of stuff there.

In addition to being editor and lead blogger at ComicsAlliance“>ComicsAlliance, Laura also used to edit Comics Foundry magazine and contributed a piece right here at Robot 6 last year, “I ♥ Finder.”

Johanna Draper Carlson

After taking a break last year from most big conventions, I’m excited to go back to them in 2010, especially C2E2 and Heroes. After some time away, I think I’ll better appreciate the fun and excitement, and I’m looking forward to finding out about new comics and projects, seeing old friends, and meeting cool people involved in comics.

As for my own projects, I’m planning to keep on covering as many diverse comics and manga as I can.

Johanna Draper Carlson reviews and talks about comics, manga, the industry and lots of other stuff over at her blog Comics Worth Reading. She also told us what she was reading back in May.

David Brothers

The book I’m looking forward to the most is IDW’s release of Enrique Abulli and Jordi Bernet’s Torpedo in fancy-pants hardcovers, with translations coming courtesy of Jimmy Palmiotti. I love Bernet’s art, but I’ve never managed to check out one of his best-known works. Being able to pick up the series in nice hardcovers is just icing on the cake. I expect big things, but judging by the excerpts I’ve seen in various books about and by Bernet, I won’t be disappointed. Crime comics are my favorite genre, with war comics coming a close second. Considering that this year is going to feature Torpedo and Garth Ennis continuing his stellar Battlefields series… 2010 already rules.

On a person project note, I’m honestly elated that 4thletter! is celebrating its fifth anniversary this March. Sometimes I sit and think about it and it just blows my mind. We’re coming off the best decade in comics ever, with art and story and presentation and design all reaching incredible highs, and I’m looking forward to reading and analyzing the works to come. Being able to co-judge the Glyph Comics Awards is an honor, as well.

David Brothers runs the blog 4thletter!, where you can read a lot of great commentary on comics and related items. He did a guest post for us right after Comic-Con about his experiences at the convention. He also let us rerun some of his 4thletter! posts in February that he did for Black History Month.

SMITH magazine's Harvey Heads

Harvey Pekar, the irascible, inimitable observational writer whose slice-of-life series American Splendor has been a cornerstone of alternative comics for decades now, turned 70 yesterday. (That’s right, he’s only seemed like a lovably grumpy old man until now.) To celebrate Pekar’s big Seven-Oh, SMITH Magazine–already the home of Harvey’s current comics outlet, The Pekar Project–has commissioned over 90 artists and counting to draw Pekar portraits for its Harvey Heads gallery. Contributors so far include Jeff Smith, Jim Mahfood, Jeffrey Brown, Alison Bechdel, Renee French, Molly Crabapple, Bryan Talbot, Bob Sikoryak, Peter Kuper, Josh Neufeld, Joshua W. Cotter, The Quitter‘s Dean Haspiel, longtime American Splendor artist Gary Dumm and many, many, many more. Click the link and soak up the splendor.

Scarlett Takes Manhattan

Molly Crabapple is a successful entrepreneur (as the founder of the Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School) and storyteller. After a recent book tour to support her new Fugu Press book, Scarlett Takes Manhattan, she indulged me in a quick email interview. Her graphic novel is described (on the book’s back cover) as “A young woman orphaned in tragic circumstances (by a pair of copulating circus elephants) rises to become the foremost burlesque performer of her era: Scarlett O’Herring.”

Tim O’Shea: How did the book land at Fugu Press?

Molly Crabapple: Years ago, I did a catalog cover for a company owned by Christophe (big cheese at Fugu). When he decided to found a comics publishing company, he asked if I had any ideas for graphic novels. The rest, history…

O’Shea: You clearly love to explore the art of sexuality through your work. In those terms, what was the most enjoyable or challenging scene to convey in Scarlett Takes Manhattan?

Crabapple: I actually loved the scene where Scarlett is working as a dock prostitute and is able to avoid an unpleasant client with the help of a watermelon. Sadly, a watermelon was worth more than a blowjob in 1884.

O’Shea: From your perspective, why do you and your frequent collaborator John Leavitt work so effectively together? How does a typical collaborative creative process breakdown for you two–does he come to you with a completed plot and script at the outset of the project, or does it evolve in a more organic manner?

Crabapple: Me and John have been best friends and co-trouble makers since we were 18. From doing two issues of an anti-FIT student newspaper to sleeping on pool tables when locked out of dorm rooms, we’ve been through a lot. John is brilliant and witty, and by far my favorite person to work with. His script notes are the stuff of legend.

When we work together, we have a caffeine and hookah fueled rap session where we flesh out the plotting/characters. John then goes home, scripts the beast, we talk endlessly on the phone, and he sends me a stick figure storyboard. Working from that, I make the finished art.

O’Shea: How hard was it to convey fire in the way it was used in the story–was there some trial and error with that aspect–or was it more straightforward for you to execute?

Crabapple: I had some experience with fire in Backstage, but it’s always been difficult for me to render realistically in my style. I ended up going with Japanese stylization.

O’Shea: You grew up knowing the challenges of an artist’s life, given that your mother is an illustrator. Do you pursue efforts like Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School (and companion book) so that you have more than one iron in the creative fire at one time?

Crabapple: I think I’m just too all over the place to do the most profitable thing for an artist, which is sitting down at a table and doing increasingly refined versions of the same painting until you die. Ron English once said in an interview that he wanted his life to be a “grand artistic adventure” and I’m of the same school of thought.

O’Shea: How hard is it to juggle the logistical demands of Dr. Sketchy’s (lining up models, arranging the events) with your work as an illustrator?

Crabapple: Sleep is a distant memory to me. Also, I have a great crew! Thanks to all the Sketchy’s/Molly Crabapple interns and organizational overlord Melissa Dowell (who’s a brilliant artist in her own right).

O’Shea: Not every illustrator can claim they once appeared on a German interview show, as you did promoting a Dr. Sketchy event (here’s the YouTube of it). What was that experience like?

Crabapple: It was surreal! I’ve always found TV hosts, with their stylized way of speaking and shaved knuckles, rather odd to sit besides. The host and I also had some linguistic misunderstandings. But overall, it was insanely fun to sit on the talk show couch next to my glamorous, sparkly friends.

O’Shea: How beneficial was it to work with Dean Haspiel and the gang of ACT-I-VATE (they are included in your thanks for the book) in terms of honing your storytelling skills?

Crabapple: I owe a huge debt to Dean and the crew at Act-i-vate. The germ of Scarlett Takes Manhattan is the webcomic, Backstage, I did for them for most of 2007. Backstage began its life as a rejected Zuda proposal, and without Dino’s support, it might very well have remained in larval stage.

O’Shea: You recently went on a book tour, what’s been the response to the book in the trenches so far?

Crabapple: I’m an unusually lucky creator when it comes it tours. Because of Dr. Sketchy’s, I can count on an enthusiastic local response from Columbia to Singapore. On tour, I visited San Diego, LA and SF. I cherish the opportunity to meet my West Coast fans, and want to particularly thank Meltdown Comics, who, in addition to being a blast to work with, brought me the world’s most sinful cupcakes

O’Shea: How was the panel you were part of at San Diego Comic-Con?

Crabapple: The DC webcomics panel was pretty damn slamming! I got to share it with the always excellent Kwanza [Johnson] and Ron [Perazza] from Zuda, as well at Kevin Colden, one of the most staggeringly talented comics creators working. We got to chat marketing and mobile devices.

O’Shea: What else is on the horizon for you creatively–and is there anything you’d like to discuss that I did not ask you about?

Crabapple: Me and John are working on a number of promising but top secret comics projects. In October I’ll be a guest at Baby Tattooville, the limited edition art collector’s retreat, and will be speaking at the Pixel Art Show in Sao Paulo. I’ll also be producing a special Dr. Sketchy’s for MassArt’s EventWorks program. As usual, my caffeine addiction will continue unabated

July 17

Multiple cities | Watchmen returns to theaters with additional footage for a limited run in Los Angeles, New York City, Dallas and Minneapolis. Details can be found here.

July 18

Baltimore | Geppi’s Entertainment Museum hosts Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology editor Keith Chow, art director Jerry Ma, artist Alex Tarampi and writer Larry Hama from noon to 4p.m. for a presentation, discussion and signing.

Portland | Cosmic Monkey Comics hosts a 24-hour zine challenge beginning at 10 a.m. and ending, naturally, at 10 a.m. the next day.

Jeffrey Brown's Hulk

Puyallup, Wash. | Comic Evolution will host a March of Dimes benefit that includes a silent auction and several artists doing sketches for donations, including Paul Gulacy, Clayton Crain and many more.

San Francisco | Isotope Comics hosts a signing and party for Geoff Johns, writer of Blackest Night, Green Lantern and various other titles. They’ll have free buttons and a selection of Lantern Corps. cocktails. The signing begins at 4 p.m. and the 21+ party begins at 7 p.m.

July 19

San Francisco | Comix Experience hosts Neil Gaiman for a signing, Q&A and reading. This is a ticketed event.

July 21

New York | The Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art hosts a Scarlett Takes Manhattan book release event with Molly Crabapple and John Leavitt, starting at 7 p.m.

July 22

New York | Celebrating the 600th issue of Amazing Spider-Man, Dan Slott signs at Jim Hanley’s Universe, 4 West 33rd St. starting at 6 p.m.

San Francisco | The Comic Outpost hosts a Spider-Man #600 exhibit where they will display all 600 issues of the title. They’ll also host a raffle that benefits the Hero Initiative.

July 23

Brooklyn, N.Y. | Paul Karasik and Dan Nadel will be at Desert Island from 7 to 9 p.m.for the book launch of You Shall Die by Your Own Evil Creation!

San Diego | The Chuck Jones Gallery at 232 Fifth Avenue will kick off a Jim Lee art exhibit with a visit from Lee from 7 to 9 p.m. RSVP required.

July 22-26

San Diego | The sold out 2009 Comic-Con International returns to the San Diego Convention Center. Keep an eye out on Robot 6 and CBR for coverage of the con.

More in July

July 28 | Stuart Moore at the Comic Book Club in New York

More in August

Aug. 1 | WASFEn Con 3 in Wausau, Wisconsin

Aug. 8 | Jeff Smith in Toronto

***

If you’d like to submit an event for inclusion, please email them directly to JK Parkin. Please include the venue, city and state, start time, event details and any related websites where we can send folks for more information. Virtual events, like online creator chats, are also welcome. The next ComicsLive will likely be delayed a few days due to the San Diego Comic Con, but it will run … so please send in your submission!

The 2009 MoCCA Festival poster, illustrated by Molly Crabapple

While I did not attend Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art (MoCCA) Art Festival 2009, held back on June 6-7, I was struck at the amount of constructive feedback that came out of people’s reports after the festival. It goes without saying that almost everyone thought the new venue (the 69th Regiment Armory) needed air conditioning and many folks were understandably dismayed with the logistical challenges and delays that occurred at the festival’s start. While reading a great deal of reactions from attendees and exhibitors, I was curious to get a lessons learned perspective from the organizers. Fortunately, Karl Erickson, MoCCA Director, was willing to take my email questions. In his answers, Erickson seemingly made it clear he was open to constructive feedback. While my questions aimed to cover a great deal of various concerns, I welcome folks to chime in with additional thoughts in the comments section. My thanks to Erickson for his time.

Tim O’Shea: The first question has to be–did you explore the possibility of air conditioning this year? Was it deemed just too cost prohibitive? If you’re staying at the Armory, do you intend to have air conditioning in 2010?

Karl Erickson: We did explore air conditioning for the Armory, but, yes, it was just too expensive. As far as staying at the Armory we are looking at dates earlier in the spring to help alleviate the heat.

O’Shea: Can you speak to what happened to cause the hour-long delay on Saturday and logistical challenges (like delayed book deliveries, only one trashcan on the show floor [by some reports], names missing from the guide book)–and are you establishing measures to try to minimize these situations next year?

Erickson: The delay was due to a few different factors, the major being a severe miscommunication with the trucking company that was to deliver not only many of our exhibitor’s books, but all of our supplies for the festival, not least being our cash registers and other check-in essentials. Of the problems that we did have, having one trashcan for the entire show floor was not one of them. We definitely had many trashcans.

We are certainly taking steps to contain and minimize the mistakes of this year, the most important of which is getting a much earlier jump in the planning and execution of the Festival. This includes a lengthy review of the 2009 Festival with practical solutions suggested. These include moving the Festival earlier in the spring (as this is not the first year we have had heat problems, AC or no), starting on every aspect of the Festival earlier, and creating a new MoCCA website that will deliver information much more effectively to exhibitors and attendees.

O’Shea: Every show has snags, I know, but I was curious if there were scenarios that you know now how to avoid going forward–what are some of the lessons learned?

Erickson: Certainly, and I think I went over a lot of them above. Of course, one of the main lessons is to be in touch with our exhibitors earlier and more regularly.

O’Shea: Am I correct in thinking the dates have not been announced for next year? With that in mind (and please correct me if I’m wrong) how realistic is it to ask exhibitors to make a commitment and pay a $50 nonrefundable deposit for table reservations without knowing MoCCA’s 2010 dates?

Erickson: We are still researching dates for 2010. The Armory isn’t able to commit dates until later in July, the beginning of New York State’s fiscal year, so that is part of the delay in announcing dates. Also, as mentioned, we are also researching dates earlier in the spring.

Nearly 50% of our 2009 exhibitors renewed their tables for the 2010 Festival, which is pretty close to par. As far as the $50 non-refundable deposit: if an exhibitor reserved their table at the 2009 Festival and aren’t able to attend once we announce the date, we are happy to completely refund their money within 30 days of the date announcement.

O’Shea: How much of a priority is it to improve promotions/communications for the MoCCA festival overall and gain a stronger web presence?

Erickson: We feel that promotions for the Festival in 2009 were fairly strong: we had active presences on the Onion, Village Voice, and Time Out NY, as well as strong chatter over blogs and other internet sites. With over 4,000 attendees (our most yet!), we are pleased with the number of people coming to the Festival, though we always want more. As mentioned above, we plan on being more in touch with our exhibitors and other stakeholders earlier in the planning stages, especially through our soon to be launched new website.

We also sent out a steady stream of press releases leading up to the festival, and we look forward to partnering with others to strengthen our press relations. Except for a few key personal, this years festival was put on by a new team at MoCCA, starting nearly from scratch, including having to rebuild our press lists.

And yes, we are in the process of re-designing our website into a much more user-friendly experience, which we expect to have up soon.

O’Shea: While there have been a great deal of complaints about the festival and concerns about the MoCCA Art Festival going forward, it was almost always in the context of “there’s so much I love about MoCCA, but …”. Did you take solace that while people were making negative comments it was frequently in the context of accompanying praise?

Erickson: Yes, we do take to heart all of the positive comments people have made both publicly and privately, as well as the criticisms. We also realize that people are very vocal about their negative reactions because they care very much for the MoCCA Festival. It should also be said that the quality and variety of comics, books, and other great items on view this year were just great.

O’Shea: Enough about the festival’s challenges this year–what were some of the highlights/successes of MoCCA 2009?

Erickson: Well, of course, the brightest highlights are all of the fantastic comics, cartoons and graphic novels! It would take up to much space to list individual favorites and delights! For me, being able to give the Klein Award to Jerry Robinson was pretty special, having Al Jaffee and Arnold Roth on stage was great, comics from Derek Van Gieson, The Moth and the Flame by Joshua Ray Stevens, Sugar Booger, Sara Edward-Corbett, Becky Cloonan, the entire Scandanavian contingent, Hard Comics from Romania, and just everything else was a highlight. Another major positive factor is the dedicated volunteer core that puts the Festival together. The panels were incredible, and very well attended. And the Festival was a successful fundraiser for the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art.

O’Shea: In terms of exhibitors how many did you have in 2009, compared to years past? And how much growth did the festival experience in terms of international exhibitors?

Erickson: We had over 250 exhibitor tables, with more than 750 individual artists, publishers and creators exhibiting. We had 43 artists and creators from Scandanavia, and Ireland, England, Romania, and Japan were all represented. We keep getting more and more from around the world. It is great and a vital part of our Festival to have the international comics community represented.

O’Shea: What were the biggest benefits gained by moving to the Armory (as compared to years past at the Puck Building)?

Erickson: The biggest benefit to moving to the Armory is having all of the exhibitors in one area, no one was hidden away are stashed around a corner. Plus, we were able to have all of our programming on site, which greatly benefit the excellent talks and lectures MoCCA hosted. We understand how attractive the character of Puck Building is to people, however, it is just not available to us, given their rising fees and space redesign. Plus the Armory has a significant bit of history itself, for those into modern art.

O’Shea: What’s on the horizon at the museum this year? I know the Conversation with David Mazzucchelli and Dan Nadel is set for July 16, but are there other events you are busy arranging for in 2009?

Erickson: Immediately upcoming we have the Mazzucchelli/Nadel conversation, we have Molly Crabapple talking about her new book on July 21st. By the time this sees print, we have had an evening with TYPHON and Carousel with Danny Hellman and R. Sikoryak. Upcoming we have shows planned with Archie Comics, romance and love in comics and cartoons, and a whole host of youth workshops. We have on view “Meanwhile… at 594 Broadway: The Art of MoCCA’s Volunteers” as well as the Mazzucchelli show.

O’Shea: Any final thoughts you want to share?

Erickson:  MoCCA would like all of our exhibitors, attendees and press to know that we value them very highly and we are working diligently on making the 2010 Festival the best yet.

We would also like to thank all of the volunteers that make MoCCA and the Festival possible. Neither would exist without their dedication and efforts.