Aron Nels Steinke

Bozo the Teacher page 22

2012-01-28T16:16:00.000-08:00

Neptune de Ca et La

2012-01-26T18:32:00.000-08:00

I went to my P.O. box today to see if there was anything and low and behold a package from France. What do you think is inside?

How easily my mood is influenced.

Colored end pages! Hardcover! And a font made from my own handwriting that looks better than my own handwriting. I couldn't be happier with this book.

Thank you Serge, Helene Duhamel, Celine Derouet, The Slovenian Printer and everyone at Ca et La!

Bozo the Teacher page 21

2012-01-24T21:11:00.000-08:00

Bozo the Teacher page 20

2012-01-22T11:17:00.000-08:00

I experimented this weekend with this comic. I don't think I'll ever do that again. I drew this one twice as large as normal and used a traditional nib pen to ink it. In the end the lines are NOT the way I wanted them and it took me twice as long to draw. The goal of doing this strip was to produce as many as I could each week so I'll go back to drawing smaller and using the uniball pen I was using before. I may just re-draw this and edit the post at a later date.

Bozo the Teacher page 20

2012-01-16T17:47:00.001-08:00

Correspondence

2012-01-15T17:47:00.000-08:00

About a month ago I sent Pascal Girard a copy of Big Plans 5. Pascal Girard is the author of Bigfood, Reunion, and Nicholas, published by D&Q. I really like Pascal's work. He and I are both similar in age and I feel, probably influence by similar creators. Anyway this is what Pascal sent me in return. A gorgeous pamphlet comic called L'appartement Numero 3 published by the Belgian publishing collective
l’employé du Moi. I had fun translating the French with my wife who speaks the language.

I love the way Girard draws comics sans borders. This book is a little 24-hour comic Girard originally drew in 2009 and redrew in 2011 for this edition. He also included a tiny radiograph and watercolor comic on a small 3x3 inch square piece of bristol. This makes me think of his comics journal diary strip he did several months back. Thanks Pascal! And thanks for giving me a reason to keep my P.O. Box.

Bozo the Teacher page 19

2012-01-15T13:24:00.000-08:00

Bozo the Teacher page 18

2012-01-15T12:18:00.001-08:00

Bozo the Teacher page 17

2012-01-13T18:36:00.000-08:00

Neptune at Angouleme

2012-01-11T21:27:00.000-08:00

My French publisher just sent me this image of the new French hardcover version of Neptune. I'm afraid when I get my copies It'll be hard to get me to stop staring at them. Beautiful. Seriously. It'll be premiering at this year's Angouleme festival. I'd like to go there one day. It's supposed to be the size of comic-con, but only people actually go there to buy comics and not just dress up like idiots and buy toys. To each his own. I choose France.

More in news about me, Publisher's Weekly put The Super-Duper Dog Park as an honorable mention for this year's Best of Comics list. And Justin Giampaoli gave it a pretty awesome review, winning the approval of his 5 year old daughter. Comics are the best tool for early reading. I know. I'm a teacher. Click here if you'd like to preview the book. Now that I am far enough removed from it I really think this book is one of my best. The artwork is certainly my best. All for now. New Bozo comic soon.

Bozo the Teacher page 16

2012-01-07T14:49:00.000-08:00

Bozo the Teacher page 15

2012-01-06T20:26:00.000-08:00

Justin Giampaoli reviews Big Plans 5!!! YES!

2012-01-04T20:39:00.000-08:00

Read it right here folks. This review has given me life. After trying to get this book out there for months finally there is some recognition. Working on the new Bozo the Teacher comic has been fun but I just realized that I've been working on a several hundred page autobio graphic novel. I will have to work on both at the same time. comics!

Bozo the Teacher page 14

2012-01-01T19:07:00.000-08:00

So I went to check my P.O. box last week expecting that there'd be nothing. I had a check. Yes. And two letters. Double Yes! So this is a big shout out to Ben Baker in Brooklyn, and James Kochalka. Thanks for the letter Ben! James, thanks for knowing I exist!

8 Favorite Comics of 2011

2011-12-31T13:12:00.000-08:00

Hello everybody. I usually stray away from making a "best of" list but for some reason I'm not this year. Looking through my books to compile this list I realized how disappointed I was this year. There were some big titles from some of my favorite creators this year but when I look back in all honesty I didn't really enjoy them that much. Enjoyment is my #1 concern. Some books got me angry and some books got me thinking but overall that doesn't mean that the book was a success. They will just have to stay off this list and you'll just have to guess which books those are. Some of these books that I wanted to like more were collections of comics that just worked better as single issues. Or maybe I enjoyed them less because I'd already read them and spent so much time admiring them in their pamphlet infancy. One caveat to my list is that I didn't read every book put out this year of course. Jim Woodring's Congress of the Animals is one I, if I'd read it, would have added to this list. But there must be a reason why I didn't buy it. Another caveat is that some of these books that did make my list are collections from much older work that have been re-published or collected in 2011. Update: I just read John Porcellino's King Cat #72. That should have been on my list.

8. Papercutter #17. Edited and published by Greg Means of Tugboat press, this issue is probably one of my favorite issues of this anthology. Unusual for this anthology, one writer, Jason martin, provided all the stories. seven cartoonists: Jesse Reklaw, Corinne Mucha, Francois Vigneault, Calvin Wong, Sarah oleksyk, Hellen Jo, and Vanessa Davis were employed to turn those stories into comics. Jason Martin's stories provide a nice framework for the artists in a way that allows easy comparison to Pekar's American Splendor.

7. Blammo #7. Noah Van Sciver continues to make good comics. Each issue has several stories and I'm often pleasantly surprised by the way Noah Van Sciver ends a story. Usually, punctuated in a way that makes you feel uneasy and with more questions than answers. Looking forward to his book, The Hypo, about a young Abraham Lincoln.

6. The Incal. Written by Alexandro Jodorowsky and illustrated by Moebius, this is a collection of the classic comic that the duo created in the early to mid eighties. It took me a while to read this book I must admit. The font is very tiny and hard to read. That combined with stiff dialogue and a sprawling science fiction tale continued to make this book less enjoyable to me. It was fun to pick out ideas in this book that influenced a range of films and books but often it seemed as if Jodorowsky and Moebius was being influenced by obvious sources as well. All in all, Moebius's artwork and his colorists' coloring is the reason to pick up this book. Gorgeous to say the least.

5. Mister Wonderul. Daniel Clowes was certainly my gateway into comics as an adult. First, with the film Ghost World and then with back issues of Eightball. Mister Wonderful is a nice expanded collection of comics Clowes drew for the New York Times Magazine. I enjoyed the story and the characters much more than Clowes' other recent book, Wilson, and I'm not interested in the new slick version of The Death Ray. I already own the $7.00 over-sized pamphlet. That printing is a work of art.

4. Americus. Another book edited by Greg Means, Americus' first chapter debuted in an earlier issue of Papercutter. Written by MK Reed and illustrated by Jonathan Hill, Americus is a solid book. The storytelling is well structured and compelling enough that I read it in one morning straight through after several months of not being ready to read it. It's a very good book for a middle schooler or someone in high school.

3. Garden. Yuichi yokoyama has been a favorite of mine for some time. I like to call his work, "Future Comics." As compared to some of his previous books, Garden begins to employ dialogue as characters comment on the many amazing and absurd situations they bare witness to. At the beginning, when they are told the garden is closed, hundreds of these people sneak into this garden/theme park and pass by grass mazes, ball-waterfalls, rock cars, and many many strange physical features and odd phenomena as they try not to get caught by security personnel. I'm not interested in his newest, Color Engineering. I prefer his comics to his paintings.

2. Approximate Continuum Comics. This book collects several issues of Lewis Trondheim's autobio comic The Nimrod. Trondheim has been a huge influence on me, just as the Norwegian cartoonist Jason, for drawing animal comics. I love Trondheim's humor and what I love too about this book is Trondheim working his family, business (co-running La Association), and his comics aspirations. I don't care for Trondheim's more recent diary strips, Little Nothings, because they amount to little more than a laundry-list of superficial anecdotes. This book, however, provides a much more in-depth look at a person and I really enjoy the partying and inner-fighting at La Asso., which is now legend.

1. A Zoo In Winter. Jiro Taniguchi has made a handfull of books. Half of them I love, and half of them bore me out of my mind. Walking Man, A Distant Neighborhood vol. 1 and 2 and this is one are the ones I like. This book reads as a memoir of the young cartoonist, similar to the recently published, A Drifting Life by Tatsumi. Being a cartoonist, nothing is more thrilling to read then how great cartoonists broke into their field, especially the Japanese masters with their furious work ethic. It is thrilling to read as Taniguchi, almost unaware, falls into the position of assisting one of the manga stars during the late 1960s. I have a feeling that this book was overlooked more than a little. I loved it.

Bozo the Teacher page 13

2011-12-29T21:57:00.000-08:00

Neptune Editions çà et là

2011-12-23T17:56:00.001-08:00

Above is the French hardcover cover of Neptune. Below is the original English language version. I ended up re-drawing the cover a few days ago because it needed some specific changes. You can download a pdf preview of the French version from my publisher. Also, did you know that Neptune was listed as a notable book in this year's Best American Comics.

Bozo the Teacher page 12

2011-12-22T17:30:00.000-08:00

Bozo the Teacher page 11

2011-12-21T20:20:00.001-08:00

Bozo the Teacher page 10

2011-12-20T18:50:00.000-08:00

Bozo the Teacher page 9

2011-12-18T16:27:00.001-08:00

Bozo the Teacher page 8

2011-12-17T17:22:00.001-08:00

Bozo the Teacher page 7

2011-12-16T15:48:00.000-08:00

Bozo the Teacher page 6

2011-12-13T19:42:00.001-08:00

Bozo the Teacher page 5

2011-12-12T18:35:00.000-08:00

Bozo the Teacher page 4

2011-12-11T12:06:00.001-08:00

Bozo the Teacher page 3

2011-12-10T18:19:00.000-08:00

Thank You Johnny!

2011-12-05T19:15:00.000-08:00

Bozo The Teacher

2011-12-04T18:50:00.000-08:00

This is the first of a webcomic I'm starting. It's called Bozo The Teacher. I'm sick of working on stuff and people not seeing it. I'm working on new kids book projects along with a big autobio book. This is a chance for me to experiment. So far I'm enjoying the quickness of this project.

Big Plans 5 at Buyolympia.com

2011-11-12T17:42:00.000-08:00

Big Plans 5 is now available from Buyolympia.com. They take some pretty awesome pictures of my books, I must say.

Also, Big Plans 5 is now for sale in Portland at:

Reading Frenzy
Cosmic Monkey
Floating World
Herbivore
Bridge City Comics
Powell's (Hawthorne)
Powell's (downtown)

More coming so soon.

Big Plans 5 Release Party!

2011-11-02T20:20:00.001-07:00

Come to the Big Plans 5 Release party at Floating World Comics! Also, Big Plans 5 will be at MIX at the Sparkplug Table with Virginia Paine. It's my biggest Big Plans yet.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=171004862990214&ref=notif&notif_t=event_admin

The Super-Duper Dog Park Release Party!!!

2011-09-22T19:42:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone. First of all I have to say thank you to everyone who helped me promote and back my Kickstarter project. It was successful!!!!! I can't believe it... Now I'm just waiting the mandatory 14 days before Amazon allows me to access the funds, then I can print. Until then, keep in mind I'm having my new kid's book release party at Green Bean Books over on NE Alberta in Portland, Oregon. Please come.

Dylan Williams

2011-09-18T11:47:00.000-07:00

This post is long overdue, I know. But I needed time.

Dylan Williams, my friend, neighbor, and publisher, died last week. My wife got the phone call from Emily on Saturday. About five minutes later, I got a call from my friend Greg Means who was attending the Small Press Expo in Bethesda Maryland. He asked me if "it" was true. Rumors of Dylan's death started circulating the festival very quickly.

I prefer not to say that Dylan "passed away," but rather that he "died." Passed away implies an expectation of death and also the deceased having lived a long and full life. Dylan did accomplish a lot in a short while, but he had so much more to do and give. I know he had plans. Also, while Dylan did have cancer none of us expected it to take him so quickly. He beat it before.

I first met Dylan in 2006 at The Portland Zine Symposium... Or maybe it was Stumptown. My friend Jeremy Tiedeman introduced me or maybe I introduced myself. I knew who he was an I was inspired by the work he did. He had read my book and was kind to me. He gave me a stack of Reporters. I was humbled by his openness and generosity to someone whom he'd never met before. Soon after that I was invited to Comics Drawing night at Jesse Reklaw and Andrice Arp's house. I had just put out my first mini comic at this time so I had very little confidence to carry me through conversation and drawing on those nights. Everyone was so nice though.. Dylan would stroke Jesse's cat, Littles, over and over and over.

One night I received an email from Dylan writing to all of his friends saying that sometime in the future he might need something like a bone marrow transplant and that we should all get tested to figure out if we were a match. I didn't do this because I didn't really know him too well at the time. I wish I had. I may be totally wrong about the details but it was the first time I heard that he'd been sick.

I never really learned too much about his condition over the years because he didn't exactly offer the information up easily. Dylan's cancer was always with him and it was always on my mind. Dylan got healthier and healthier. He became vegan and gluten free. He'd do Tai Chi and stick fighting at a local martial arts gym. I'd very regularly see him running through my neighborhood. I'd usually speed run up to him and shout to scare him, hoping to get a laugh.

We never really had the long conversations I hear many people talk about having. Sometimes it'd tap out at 30 minutes. We didn't listen to the same music at all, and his adamant dislike for Kurosawa made it hart for us to truly bond over movies. But one thing's for certain, we both loved old Jack Nicholson movies like Michelangelo Antonioni's The Passenger and Bob Raphelson's Five Easy Pieces. We both liked Yasujiro Ozu. I got him to appreciate John Cassavetes. That was a triumph for me. How do you influence someone who has such clearly defined opinions and who has already seen everything and has decided not to see what they haven't.

Dylan was the first person and one of the only people to buy a piece of artwork from me. With my outright begging and help from his wife, Emily, he co-published a book of mine. Dylan was always a supporter and it felt good. I know he liked my first book. I'm not exactly sure what he thought about my kid's comics but he always made me want to share everything I did with him.

Dylan was an incredibly humble man. If I regret anything, I regret not talking to him more about his own comics. His comics were incredibly personal to him and I think he probably craved more dialogue with others about them. Having re-read all of his books in the past two weeks before he died I was ready to. I was ready for him to get better and right this wrong. We never got the chance.

This is the part that I'm afraid to talk about but I feel I need to. Exactly one week before Dylan died I had a dream. It was the most realistic dream I've ever had.

In my dream I was at a party and everyone was there. Dylan was there but being Dylan he had lots of friends and he was making the rounds. Famous people were there too. It was in a house and there were several levels. At one point I ended up noticing that Hayao Miyazaki was there. No, it was not Miyazaki but Charles Shulz. No, Osamu Tezuka.

I ended up talking with Maurice Sendak. Sendak was talking with me and asked where Dylan was. I said that I knew Dylan was here but he was probably making the rounds and that Sendak would have to look for him. I remember Maurice Sendak clearly, lovingly shouting, "Where's that sunuvabitch Williams? Where's that sunuvabitch Williams?" It made me laugh.

Later, during the party I ran into Dylan. Dylan was sick but he was standing with another person at the end of a hall next to a staircase that descended. I could tell he was sick because of his spirit. He asked me where "he" was. The "he" person he was referring to was the Sendak/Tezuka/Shulz/Miyazaki composite. I told Dylan that "he" wanted to meet him but that "he" couldn't find him. "Where is he Aron!? Where is he?!"

Dylan look so gravely at me. He was disappointed that I didn't bring Sendak/Shulz/Tezuka/Miyazaki to meet him. I felt that Dylan was implying that there wasn't much time left and that he'd missed his opportunity to meet this person/people. Dylan did at least seem pleased at my impression of Sendak saying, "Where's that sunuvabitch Williams..." It kind of softened the blow of not meeting those guys, I felt.

Because of Dylan's sickness I started to feel really bad for him and I went down the stairs. I started feeling really sad. The lighting was kind of dim and warm like in a bar. I went and slumped down on the ground next to an empty sofa chair. I curled up and started to cry. I tried to control it and did a little. I didn't want anyone seeing my face so I put my arm in front.

Dylan came into the room. Dylan was exactly himself and no combination of any other people. No misunderstanding. This was the real Dylan. He had been working on some drawings upstairs on large crinkly sheets of paper. He handed one off to someone sitting at a booth in front of me. It was meant for that person. He made it for them.

Next, Dylan turned and came towards me. I felt his presence and it made me feel loved. He came to me and unfolded a sheet of paper. I knew it was for me. It said my name in the corner with black pastel scribbled letters. He came to me with this sheet of paper and when I reached out for it he pulled back. He pulled back slowly and revealed that the paper was constructed to have 3-d parts coming off of it. He put his hand through the middle to reveal that it was like a hand-puppet plane. He handed it to me. I wondered if Pixar was going to do a lame movie about planes next or if it was up to me to make a lame book.

Dylan's present to me felt like a parting. I started to feel really bad. I thought how could this be a parting if he was still alive. Is it that he knows he's dying? Then I started to lift off the ground and everything started filling with a white wash. A printed program was coming into focus front and center of my field. It said on it, "Dylan Williams Memorial Service." Dylan was now dead. I knew that there was to be a coffin and service later. I started to feel really sad, because he had known he was dying and had arranged this party for everyone to be with him before it happened. So he could say goodbye.

After the dream, I woke up and immediately started sobbing and shaking. The clock read 5:26. I thought Dylan had actually died in real life. I stayed up crying all morning. I checked Facebook to see if it was true. I wrote Emily a letter saying that we'd like to visit him in the hospital if he'd let us. It was my way of asking if he was still alive. Fact was, Dylan was still alive. He was getting better even.

I got my wish to see him in the hospital. I felt like an idiot for having that dream and for freaking out. We visited him on Labor day and the hospital was eerily empty. I told him about my dream, minus the part about him dying of course. He said, "whoa!" We talked about food. We talked about my new kid's book which I gave him a copy of. I tried to talk to him about an issue of Reporter but I think I misinterpreted it. We talked about his various stages of hair and facial hair. We talked about people in their twenties trying to figure things out for themselves. I was lamenting friends who'd moved away. Friends who were instrumental at bringing people together. Friends like Dylan. But, not exactly, because I feel like Dylan could have moved away and he'd still be there.

A few days ago, when I attended Dylan's real funeral, Emily related to us a story. About how after Dylan had his last surgery, a surgery that he might not have woken up from, he woke up and told her that he had been in a place where he felt everyone's love. It was really positive. I like to imagine that this happened at the same time as my dream. That my dream was more than just my uncontrollable fear of losing my friend.

The three photos here are the only ones I have that really relate to me and Dylan. The first was taken by Sarah Oleksyk at SPX in 2007. It was a lot of fun. I dove in-between a bed and Dylan jumped on top. The second was taken by Greg Means. Alec Longstreth was in town and luckily we all could meet up. The third was taken by Dylan himself on my computer when I was reading at Powell's. His little joke that I didn't discover for a few weeks after. That's all I have.

The comics community I knew and loved has been changed forever by this and many other blows this year. It'll never be the same. I hope we can learn something from Dylan's incredible gift of connecting and communicating with people and make something new and amazing. I'm trying.

Goodbye my friend.

Buy Some Sparkplug Books Already.

2011-08-25T15:52:00.000-07:00

Dear reader, recently my friend and publisher, Dylan Williams, of Sparkplug Comic Books has taken ill and it has been a hard time for both him and his wife Emily. I'm glad somebody started a fundraiser to help them out financially while they deal with medical costs.

How does the fundraiser work you ask? Buy some comics and help Dylan and Emily. Go here to browse some of the best comics being published today and help my friends out. Not only can you help them out you can also get some awesome books while you're at it. While there are many great Sparkplug titles, some of my favorites are the following:

Sausage Hand by Andrew Smith: - Beautiful artwork and bizaare stream-of conciousness style comics. Usually I'm not a fan of gross-out comics, but this is much, much more.

I Want Everything To Be Okay by Carrie McNinch: This book, published by Tugboat Press (Sparkplug not only publishes but also distributes for many artsits and other small presses) is one of the best autobiographical comics ever. This is true. I should go back and read it again. Check out any of her comics.

Department of Art #1 by Dunja Jankovic: Rendered with a painter's eye with what looks like graphite, charcoal, and paint, this book is a surreal trip to read over and over. The flow from panel to panel, and the uniqueness of this work is what stands out to me. Dunja's made a sequel to this comic which is great too.

Watching Days Become Years by Jeff Levine: Each issue in this series acts as visual poetry. I love the way Levin's line work breathes life and effortlessness into the pages. I really enjoy the slow, moody, and self-reflective stories.

Eschew by Robert Sergal: Rarely does anyone's linework look as flawless as Robert Sergals in this comic series. I have to say I feel sort of an affinity with Robert's work as far as his design aesthetic and story pacing, plotting, etc. Really nice comics and from what I can tell, extremely underrated.

I Was Born But... by Emily Nilsson: Emily knows how to write! Also, I have an illustration in this zine. Emily has more work out there but you've got to try hard to find it.

Reporter by Dylan Williams: Dylan publishes and makes comics too!! Yes, it's true. A fellow Xeric grant recipient, Dylan has created a set of stories that support one another yet can stand by themselves. Number 5 is my favorite right now... Reporter feels like a film noir from the 50s.

Passage by Tessa Brunton: The most recent of Sparkplug Books... I haven't read it, but I saw the mini-comics. This is the book I'm buying.

So that's it for now. I'd recommend more but there's too many. Then I'd have to explain why I left certain ones out!

There you have it. I can't recommend Sparkplug Books anymore. They truely are some of the best comics being published today. Dylan is a great friend and a pillar of the comics community. Someone once said, "nicest guy in comics" and I can't think of anyone better to recieve that title. I hope you can help him out.

My Kickstarter Project is Up.

2011-08-22T09:01:00.000-07:00

Yes indeed. You can personally help to see Big Plans 5 in print. check out my video pitch and the project here.

Big Plans 5!

2011-08-16T08:44:00.001-07:00

I'm posting this image twice, because I love it so much. I have this insane idea of doing the whole comic in color. It'd be prohibitively expensive, I know, but the thought is nice.

Big Plans 5 on Kickstarter?

2011-08-15T18:27:00.000-07:00

Hey ya'll. I'm just waiting to hear from Kickstarter if they'll let me do a project or not. What I want to do is a 112-page issue of Big Plans. It will be full-color with a printing limited to 700. I can't really ask for any more money. Big books cost a lot. And my distribution is dismal. So, anyway, I want to put this up so you can get a sense of how the color cover will look. This is the spread, including the spine, which will go well with Neptune. Not sure if the cover price will be 10 or 12$. We'll see how much $ I get or don't. I'm really scared the project won't get funded. It's up to you to make it happen! Spread the word. Well, when the word is out. It's not yet. Check for updates.

Big Plans 5

2011-08-13T17:57:00.000-07:00

Big Plans 5 is officially done. That is, I'm working on the last minor Photoshop edits. Tomorrow is the InDesign stage and I'm getting quotes from the printer. It's 112 pages, and will probably be perfect bound. I'm thinking I'm going to do this as a Kickstarter project. Keep your ear out for updates.

New Letters Column

2011-07-20T20:12:00.000-07:00

I'm now accepting new letters for a letters column in Big Plans 5. If you want to write to me you can email me at 2d46aron@vfs.com or just post a comment. Please give me your full name and city, state, country.

Animator in a previous life.

2011-06-09T19:21:00.000-07:00

Back in 2005, I storyboarded and did some animation on this Shin's music video. I'm posting it now because I had a conversation with my wife's step-dad the other day about matching live action with animation. Halfway through the conversation I realized that I have actually matched animation with live action before. The video itself is not my favorite, but you can skip to the 3:53 or the 4:26 marker to see the little bit of animation I'm talking about. It isn't perfect, but I'm still proud of it in some way.

Home Alone

2011-06-04T21:11:00.001-07:00

This is a comic that I started largely as an experiment. I had an extra sketchbook I didn't have a use for so I just decided to start a story without knowing where it was going. It ended up chronicling one of my many trips to the convenience store for late night beer.

Another old comic

2011-05-27T20:40:00.001-07:00

I just found this comic today in my folder of old unfinished stuff. I remember I drew it as a response to the horrible feeling I felt after receiving some hate mail after I published Big Plans #1. I stopped drawing it because I didn't want to give the hater a response. Now I think this strip is funny. Wish I had finished it. Maybe I will. For comfort after this I talked to a friend of mine who'd written for newspapers for years. She said, "Oh back when I wrote my first article I received death threats all the time." After that I got over it.

Big Plans 4.5

2011-05-08T18:10:00.000-07:00

To read this story start at the top page and work down. This story was originally drawn a year ago, back during that whole mid-term election crap. Anway, I thought I'd post it online since it was just collecting dust. Originally I submitted it to MOME and it kept getting pushed back and pushed back and now that MOME's getting canceled I know it'll never get published with them. I wanted to give this story at least a little bit of life, so here it is for you dear reader. By the way, currently I am working on a looooooong big autobio book about really interesting stuff. That's what's up. Enjoy!

Pre-order Super-Duper Dog Park

2011-04-15T09:03:00.000-07:00

You can pre-order The Super-Duper Dog Park today if you want. It should be interesting now that Random House is going to distribute Blue Apple Books. I'm excited to have this book out. It seems like I'm averaging a book a year.

MoCCA was great! Nice to be in NY when it's not sweaty and cranky. Stayed with my friends Thom and Kate who live in a ridiculously nice brownstone in Harlem. Thom works for Blue Sky Studios where he animates. Their new film is called Rio which you probably have heard of. Thom made me some Intelligentsia Coffee, my first time. Probably the best cup of coffee I've ever had. And I'm used to Stumptown.

One update I can tell you that developed out of MoCCA is that I'm going to have a French version of Neptune published next year. It seems pretty concrete but I'll wait to tell you more when I've signed. I finally have an excuse for my wife and I to attend the Angoulême Festival.

I am going to be at Stumptown this weekend where I should hopefully have a rare xeroxed version of Big Plans 4 1/2. It's a short story that I made a while ago that I'm going to print about ten or twenty copies of. If all goes I'll fill out a new story and put them in a book called Big Plans 5. We shall see.

MoCCA this weekend!

2011-04-08T11:05:00.000-07:00

Hi folks. I'll be in NYC this weekend, April 9 - 10, for the MoCCA festival. I'll be selling my books: Big Plans 2-4, Neptune, The Super Crazy Cat Dance (hardcover), Papercutter 9, and possibly I'll be selling rough drawings used in the creation of my comics.

I'll be tabling with my friend Lisa Rosalie Eisenberg at table H9 1/2 near Sparkplug and Tugboat Press.

For more about the festival check out this!

I'm also having some original art on display over at the Pioneer Mall in Portland as part of next weeks Stumptown Comics Festival. Other artists in this show include Chris Cilla, Farel Dalrymple, and Barry Deutsch to name a few. Check out Poboyart for more details.

Elementary School

2011-03-23T21:20:00.001-07:00

Last Friday I had the opportunity to go to the Dalle's, Oregon, to speak to about 200 K-2nd graders. It was so much fun. I don't think I've done a reading that has gone so well. The kid's were incredibly engaged the whole time. During the cat book I had to tell the kids to wait to do the cat dance when they go out to recess because some kids were already starting to get up on all fours and growl. Crazy! I also read from my new dog book. Here's some of the amazing thank you cards they sent me. There were many great cards, alas, I could not scan them all.

The Super-Duper Dog Park!

2011-03-12T16:28:00.000-08:00

The Super-Duper Dog Park is almost done. I just need to create a title page and then it should be off to the printer. These pages here are part of a long intro that didn't make the cut, unfortunately. There were at least 10 pages of fully colored pages, just like these, that had to be scrapped. The finished book looks awesome though and I can't wait for it to come out. Look for it this fall.

Do I Care? (updates)

2011-02-10T22:13:00.000-08:00

Do I care about this blog? Well, gee, I don't know. I'm not sure myself. Maybe I've just been too busy to post anything new. Here's some updates for my sake and yours:

1) I work full-time as a preschool teacher. Nuff said.
2) I'm working on finishing a major re-write to a book that was already finished. Yeesh.
3) I'm watching a lot of TV. Good TV. You know what I mean.
4) I did some work a while ago for an anthology and it still hasn't been put out. Here's a few panels to whet mine and your appetite. Obviously it is non-fiction.
5) I'm tired and I'd rather read.
6) I'll be at the MoCCA comics fest (not sure which letters are capitalized or not... Not sure if I care enough to look it up. I almost did but then stopped.) And I'll be at Stumptown this year too! See you soon.

IPRC comics program needs you!

2011-01-07T09:17:00.000-08:00

If I were just starting out in comics and I lived in Portland, I would join this program.

The Super Duper Dog Park

2011-01-02T19:04:00.000-08:00

Here's just a tiny detail from a super huge spread. My new book is called The super Duper Dog Park. To be published by Blue Apple Books, Fall 2011.

Cat Display

2010-11-20T17:36:00.000-08:00

Here's a little display I made to go with my books at Poliwog. Poliwog is a kid's boutique and toy store in SE Portland. I wanted to make this post just to discuss how hard it is for me to make art sometimes. Sometimes it's easy and sometimes it's hard. Just a little display like this took me several tries and in the end the simplist idea worked. Feh.

The Dog Book

2010-11-18T22:12:00.000-08:00

So it is official. I can give you a little bit of news. I am doing a dog book that is a companion to The Super Crazy Cat Dance. I'm going to hold off on showing you any more images until it's sent off to print. The artwork is almost finished and is just needing to be colored. It'll probably come out next fall.

Oh and also you can read a new review of The Super Crazy Cat Dance over at readaboutcomics.com. Are there any kids out there you need to get a gift for this holiday season? If so, you can help me out by buying a copy. It's easily available from buyolympia.com, amazon.com, and powells.com. Or better yet, you can check out your local bookstore.

One More Reason How Diamond is Screwing Your Local Comic Shop

2010-11-11T09:21:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I went over to my favorite comic book shop to see if they had the new Acme Novelty Library by Chris Ware. When I arrived, all of the new shipments from Diamond (Diamond Distribution is practically the monopoly disto.) had been neatly placed on their shelves and I was shocked to find out that the book I wanted wasn't among them. I asked the proprietor when she would expect the book to be in their stores. Once she looked up the book with Diamond's online catalog system she told me that Diamond wouldn't have it available until almost next year, December 27 or something close to that. What!? This is a book that has been available on Amazon since Nov. 9th.

Now there are only a hand full of books that I am too impatient to wait for my local comic book shop to order before I buy it. I remember last year it was Joe Sacco's new book and today it is Chris Ware's beautifully moody Acme Novelty Library #20. The proprietor agreed with my frustration and listed several other books that Diamond doesn't have available yet, which have been selling online at Amazon with deep discounts for the past two weeks. This year's Best Of American Comics, by Houghton Mifflin was among them.

In my weakened state I continued on to Powell's books whom I knew had plenty of copies of the new Acme. I bought the book and although Powell's is local and good to me they do not quite support my community in the way my local friend/owned comic book shop does. I love Powell's and it is far far better than Amazon.com but it is a siphon that often diverts my book dollars with relative ease.

Of course there are ways that comic book stores can get these books that Diamond doesn't deliver quickly, like say, ordering from one of the book-book distros that do like Baker and Taylor or Hatchett or whomever carries it... there are minimum orders to deal with and such and such but aside from all of that it all goes to show how lame Diamond Distribution really is. I have my own problems with the disto which is all subtext you can guess at, and there are a million other reasons why Diamond is bad for everyone, but I just wanted to point out one big flaw with Diamond's inability to get good books to stores on time. Just another good reason to circumvent Diamond and order for other distros... Although this brings up another subject which is too long to get into like, Drawn and Quarterly not dealing with stores directly anymore, or their no longer wanting to deal with small press comics reps. I am getting off track and out of my knowledge area. The short story is, I'm spending less money at my friend's store because Diamond sucks.

Article in the Camas Post Record

2010-11-06T10:05:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I went out to my old hometown of Camas, Washington to talk to an assembly of about 230 sixth-graders. It was pretty crazy. I've never done an event so big but it was a lot of fun reading the excerpt from Neptune where the kids chant, "I hate school!" over and over.

My favorite part about doing readings like this is whenever I have panels with sound effects I choose not to make the sounds and then I can hear the kids from a distance say them to themselves. It's an incredibly satisfying experience. Especially here where the third panel implies a "lock" sound. Kids actually say it even though it's not there.

After the assembly I got interviewed by an eighth grader, Reesab Pathak, for the school's morning bulletin. He was also asked to do a write-up for the Camas Post-Record newspaper about the event. You can read it here, although there was some confusion about my education. To clarify, I got my 2-d animation certificate from The Vancouver Film School and I got my Bachelors in Arts and Letters from Portland State. Reesab I wish you all the best luck. Thanks for the interview.

The Twin Peaks Show Is Going To Be BIG!

2010-10-28T19:54:00.000-07:00

This appeared on the front page of the Oregonian's "This Week" paper, which appears on every doorstep in Oregon whether you want it or not. Craziness. I should have made better artwork. I don't understand the Gus Van Sant part but what the hell. I guess they have to try and connect it with as many Portland references as possible.

Twin Peaks Art Show This Friday!

2010-10-28T07:06:00.000-07:00

I'm going to have a few pieces up for this show which will be on display for the month of October at Guapo Comics and Coffee. But really you'll want to attend the opening night because we'll be screening the pilot episode. Sean Christensen wrote the following about the show.

October--that magic month of costumes and candy, uneasy walks, and late night fear is upon us. The oncoming cold and colorful fall leaves blowing through the air evoke thoughts of death and rebirth, of the layers of the world, and the secrets behind everything, how the world has many disguises as do the people in it. The spreading darkness and growing damp is part of the soul of the Northwest. Nothing better evokes this sense of thrilling mystery, eerie magic, and melancholy abandon than that great, iconic TV show of the Pacific Northwest, David Lynch and Mark Frost's Twin Peaks; Agent Dale Cooper and his need for a "damn fine cup o' coffee," sultry Audrey Horne, the Log Lady, and a murdered homecoming queen. It's a TV series that exudes all of the colors, smells, mythos and wondrous alien forests of our little corner of the world.

Guapo Comics has gathered together some of the Northwest's best and brightest cartoonists and artists to celebrate Twin Peaks and its intensity, fear, joy, and humor in an art show.

Ghostwood Forest debuts Friday, October 29th at 7pm. Free themed snacks and drinks will be available. And of coarse costumes are encouraged! At 9pm, the feature length Twin Peaks Pilot Episode will be screened.

Twin Peaks Art Show

2010-10-10T14:14:00.000-07:00

My buddy Sean Christensen is curating a Twin Peaks themed art show which will be held at Guapo Comics and Coffee later this month, two days before Halloween. This is the first thing I've made for it. Viva la gouache. I am soo in love with gouache now. I can't see why I never used it much before.

Apartment Therapy and Drawn and Quarterly

2010-09-24T22:58:00.000-07:00

So a couple weeks ago I received two posts that I wanted to tell you about. The first was a Super Crazy Cat Dance review from the super cool apartmenttherapy.com The second was from the D & Q Bookstore that Ariel and I stopped by during our Montreal trip back in July. That's Ariel's drawing by the way.

Funny article about my brother and Me in The Columbian

2010-09-11T23:03:00.000-07:00

So you may not have ever heard of it but in the burbs, Vancouver WA, they have this paper called the Columbian. I grew up reading it and they've did an article about me in the past on my animation career back in 2001. That sure didn't pan out.

Anyway, I got a phone call last week to answer some questions and here's the post about me and my brother.

The funny thing about this article was that the day it was published I immediately got a phone call from my old middle school art teacher. It was pretty amazing and great to reconnect with her. And she wants me to come talk at my old school about my work.

2010-09-04T18:07:00.000-07:00

My Brother's New Show!

2010-09-01T21:24:00.000-07:00

Hey folks. Tomorrow I will be at 903... 903 is a new gallery in downtown Portland, Oregon that my brother, Jeremy Steinke, has some new paintings up at. The address is 903 NW Davis, pretty close to the Pearl Bakery. You might know the space as the home of the old Lawrence Gallery. This new gallery is already ten times better because my brother is showing there. Stop by and support "mi hermano". Plus my brother's paintings are incredible! Even Joe Sacco's girlfriend has one.

Portland Zine Symposium This Weekend!

2010-08-24T10:28:00.000-07:00

This is where I will be. Please stop by and say hello. And if you're interested I'll even give you a preview of my newest book because I will be working on it during the show.

Super Crazy Cat on goodreads.com

2010-08-21T14:48:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody. It'd be a big help for anyone and everyone to help me out with reviews and ratings of my new book. You can review it on Amazon and also over at goodreads.com. Every word helps.

My book is out!

2010-08-18T07:22:00.000-07:00

I just got a box of my books two days ago. My book is out. You can get it on amazon or other places like Powell's Books. I will have copies at the Portland Zine Symposium later this month and I am planning a release party and reading in early September.

New Neptune Review

2010-08-10T10:16:00.000-07:00

Rod Lott reviews Neptune along with a few other Sparkplug titles at bookgasm.com. It's been a year since Neptune was first published and it takes a review like this to remind me how proud of this book I am. It took me two and a half years to draw, and several more when you count the fact that I first tried to make it into an animated film back in 2004. The band Explosions in the Sky was set to make the soundtrack for it, if you can believe that. I sure dropped the ball on that one... but did I really want to live in my parents house slaving away for years to see it completed and then just put up on youtube? The whole time when I was drawing Neptune I didn't even have any idea if it'd even see print. But as luck has it it did, and if you haven't read it yet I highly encourage you to. Go buy it from Sparkplug or check it out from the Multnomah County Library if you live in Portland.

Whirlwind East Coast Tour

2010-07-23T10:57:00.000-07:00

Our first stop on our east coast vacation was Montreal. And to be honest we wish we could have spent much more time there. Montreal is by far and away Ariel and my #2 favorite city right after Portland. If it weren't for the harsh winters It'd be too close to call.

We at at a cafe called Cagibi which had one of the biggest zine collections I've ever seen. It also had a copy of Zine Arcade #1 which I had a small comic strip in.

There was also a small mini comic by Marc Bell and Owen Plummer that I enjoyed finding.

The cafe and stack of zines also appeared as background in the film Les Amoures imaginaires which we saw and recommend.

In Montreal the best way to get around are the bixi bikes which you can rent for 5$ for 24 hours. Each trip you take you have 30 minutes to return the bike to one of a bazillion bike stations. There are bike stations on almost every two blocks. The weather was great and so was the biking even when we got soaked by a surprise rainstorm.

We went to the Drawn and Quarterly store where I picked up a copy of Dave Kiersh's Xeric book, Dirtbags- Mallchicks and Motorbikes. We also met the friendly Rory who invited us out to a show that night. This is Ariel's rendering of Rory and the store.

We ended up taking the Greyhound to Burlington VT where we rented a car and drove through White River Jct. where the Center for Cartoon Studies is located. Alec Longstreth was gracious enough to say hi even though he was in the middle of teaching a summer workshop. Robyn Chapman gave us a tour of the school along with the Charles Schultz Library where Chuck Forsman was working. We picked up copy of his newest issue of Snakeoil called WOLF along with his girlfriend Melissa Mendes's book Freddy. Both books were great of course. That's Robyn and Chuck.

We then went to New York.

We did a lot in NY but we were both grumpy because of the heat and how long we had to spend transferring trains in the subway. We did eat some amazing food of course and here is the best vegan crepe I've ever had courtesy of Atlas Cafe.

We also saw a great flick called Alamar at the Film Forum which helped us escape the midday heat and suffocation of people everywhere.

My fourth trip to New York and I finally got to go to the MET. I think Tim Burton stole a lot from the African and Polynesian exhibitions. This strange statue is from New Caledonia. I finally know where that is.

This drawing Ariel made pretty much sums up our thoughts on New York this time out.

One of the best parts of our trip was staying out in Chester New Jersey where the trees outnumber the people 10000 to 1. We then drove back to Maplewood to visit my super cool publisher, Blue Apple Books. Their offices were so inspiring. I wish I had taken more pictures to show you. This is a display they made for the Balloon Toon series The Super Crazy Cat Dance is in.

We spent a day in Baltimore where we saw Inception (which was pretty good) and I got to acquire some issues of Blammo and Derf's Punk Rock and Trailer Parks at Atomic Books. The center book is actually a Yuichi Yokoyama book that I found at the Kinokuniya bookstore in NY. I'm nore sure if Picturebox has any plans for publishing it but they should. You actually don't need it translated because the only words are sound effects.

The end.

Los Gatos Bailando

2010-07-01T10:39:00.000-07:00

Es la verdad.

Click on the link to the right if you'd like to pre-order copies from Chronicle Books. You can also get it from Amazon with a big discount. But you know what that discount means to your local bookstore. So better yet, you should pre-order it with your local bookstore instead.

Animal Rights Benefit and Art Auction

2010-06-14T21:57:00.000-07:00

So I was asked to donate art to an auction to benefit the 3rd Let Live Foundation Animals Rights Conference this month. Here's a blurb for the actual auction... Sad, they do not cite me... I am one of the "others":

Saturday night, June 27th / 7pm-2am / After-Party Benefit Art Show

"Join us Saturday night after the conference at Portobello Vegan Trattoria (1125 SE Division Street, at the corner of 12th and Division) for delicious food, great music, and lovely art. Aaron and the Portobello crew will be serving up the eats, DJ E3 will be selecting the tunes, and a dozen or so artists will have work on display. Artists include Kurt Halsey Frederiksen, Tom Neely, JT Yost, Nicole Georges, and others. The art will be for sale in a silent auction, the proceeds will help us pay the bills for the conference. The event will start at 7 p.m. and will go as long as you can!"

The real hook should be that the auction is at Portobello, hands down the best vegan restaurant in Portlnad. If you've never eaten there, you should. The polenta is to die for. For more information about the festival itself go here. Here are some drawings I am very sad to give up to the auction... Unless people actually pay a lot and want them... then I will be happy.

New Comic Soon!

2010-06-13T19:35:00.001-07:00

Sorry for not posting anything lately. I am now a Master... That is I just got my masters in Teaching degree so maybe that will help excuse my lateness in posting stuff. Here are some drawings from a new story I just finished. I'm going to try and get it into an anthology and if that doesn't work, it might just be Big Plans 5. These drawings are from a story bout a mall shooting I witnessed.

Crumb's Genesis at the Portland Art Museum

2010-05-22T15:52:00.000-07:00

This show at the Portland Art Museum was made possible by the persistent efforts of one assistant curator. Unfortunately, I can't remember her name. My uncle helped in the effort as well and I was happy to see free tickets to the opening night arrive at my door yesterday. This should be a great show and it sounds like this is the first time the Portland Art Museum has curated a show on comics.

new ideas

2010-05-20T07:43:00.000-07:00

I've been kicking around some new ideas for another early reader comic. Here's just a couple drawings for one of the ideas I'm liking the most. It's called Boris and Jasper. Or Boris and Jasper are Brothers.

I'm also doing a new autobiographical comic based on my relationship to guns and why I hate them so much. I recently reread Big Plans #1 and I was laughing the whole time I read it. I was also impressed by my early drawing ability. I had a lot more detail and thinner lines. I will try to capture this energy again with these new comics. Smaller panels and more detail. This comic will probably be done in a month or two. I don't know what I'll do as far as publishing yet.

L'âge dur drawing

2010-05-09T19:19:00.000-07:00

I just did this drawing for Max de Radiguès and a new issue of his comic l'âge dur. The drawing is supposed to be of some random teenagers but they somehow ended up looking like me and Ariel again.

Ever since Max started as a fellow at the Center For Cartoon Studies he's been crankin' out the comics. Check out his site to read his most recent comics from The Stumptown Comics Fest, which includes hanging out with Alec Longstreth's beard and admiring the tall bikes. My French is weak so I'm not sure if this is correct. My apologies to Alec and the obvious beard joke.

Thanks Theo!

2010-05-06T19:27:00.001-07:00

Earlier this week I asked the creative genius behind Capacity and Sleeper Car, Theo Ellsworth, if he'd come to my class to do a reading and guest lecture. Theo did a great job with the kids. The whole time he was reading they were mesmerized. I'm not sure if they've ever seen anything like his work before.

After a Q and A session we asked him if he'd make a drawing for us on the white board. Here it is. After that all of my students began to hound Theo for his autograph and to take pictures of his drawing. Thanks Theo!

If you've never been exposed to Theo Ellsworth before then I don't believe you. Either way you should still go here!

Neptune Review

2010-04-25T19:29:00.000-07:00

This year's Stumptown Comics Festival was probably my favorite yet, despite the fact that I lost my voice a day early due to a cold. Good weather and great people! Today I returned home to find a very kind review of Neptune by the Poopsheet Foundation's Justin Giampaoli. Click here if you're interested.

Stumptown Comics Festival

2010-04-24T08:53:00.000-07:00

This will be my 5th Stumptown convention I've tabled at and each year seems to get better and better.

This year's Stumptown Comics Festival is held today, Saturday, April 24th and tomorrow, Sunday, April 25th from 10 am to 6 pm at the Lloyd Center Doubletree Hotel in Portland, Oregon.

Come check it out if you never have. The image above comes from the extremely talented Theo Ellsworth who made this year's poster.

Wowee Zowee!

2010-04-18T14:10:00.000-07:00

You can pre-order copies of The Super Crazy Cat Dance from Chronicle Books now. Blue Apple Books is my publisher but Chronicle does the distribution. Go here to pre-order. Oh and the logo and the hand-lettering on the spine was all done by yours truly.

Comics Reading at Herbivore with Tom Neely

2010-04-09T11:00:00.001-07:00

Hey guys, this is the poster I made for a show Tom Neely and I are doing at Herbivore on Earth Day, the week of the Stumptown Fest. Be there! We might even have a draw-off.

Just bragging

2010-03-29T18:18:00.000-07:00

Ariel and I returned from our honeymoon to finally open our presents. We got many great gifts from friends and family but I must admit that this here was the gift we were hoping for but did not expect. Wow! Nicole Georges! Thank you so much!

Austin Murals

2010-03-24T19:00:00.001-07:00

Austin has some pretty cool murals. Here's just some that I came across today. There's the Daniel Johnston one of course and the bottom one is outside of the very rad Domy Books.

Austin, TX

2010-03-23T17:33:00.001-07:00

Married life! Ariel and I have been enjoying Austin post SXSW... That bird is a Long-tailed Grackle and they're everywhere. They also seem to be the most noisy and intelligent birds I've ever seen. That food is from Casa De Luz... probably one of the best meals I've ever had... The best part was the tamale pie with the cilantro sauce and the cauliflower soup. 100% gluten free, vegan, macrobiotic, and cheap! Austin is so cheap for food.

no more edits

2010-03-14T15:43:00.000-07:00

I am officially done with edits to the new edition of The Super Crazy Cat Dance. Yes. Now I can think about my next book. Got any ideas? :)

explode into colors show

2010-03-08T07:58:00.000-08:00

So I finally, last night, got to see Explode Into Colors play at Holocene. It was a really good show and maybe it's just cause I haven't been to a show in ages... The band only has a few 7"s out but their live set is pretty rad.

graduate school

2010-03-07T08:52:00.000-08:00

This is a little story I wrote for my literacy class where we discuss best practice to help kids become better readers and writers. I was going to make a joke about how "this is what you do in graduate school..." but that would be a big lie. This has been the toughest year in my life and this little story is just a little fun thing I got to do. Probably the only real bit of creativity I've had in the past 8 months.
This story is based on our cats and a neighborhood cat named Jake. I changed the name and gender to make it more of a love story but in reality I think my cats want to beat up Jake. I don't know why I keep writing stories about cats. It's just so fun and easy.

As far as my blog goes, I'm finally enabling comments.

glory days of animation

2010-03-03T21:28:00.000-08:00

Sorry folks for not posting ANYTHING in forever. I am full time in graduate school for teaching. I am getting married. I am editing the new Super Crazy Cat Dance Book. I am doing a lot of blank. Here's an episode of Pingu, a Swiss stop-motion TV show that thoroughly inspired me back in the day for it's energy and sheer absurdity. I got the fortunate chance to see it screened at the Annecy Animation Festival in 2004.

New Super Crazy Cat Dance

2010-02-07T18:25:00.000-08:00

I recently finished coloring and expanding artwork for a new edition of The Super Crazy Cat Dance for Blue Apple Books. The artwork here is probably not going to be used but I love it so much I had to post it. We're expecting a release date for fall 2010.

Happy February

2010-02-02T12:16:00.001-08:00

Comics Journal Review of Big Plans 4

2010-01-24T15:56:00.000-08:00

Recently Rob CLough posted this review of Big Plans 4 over at The Comics Journal. This is one of the more interesting reviews I've read about my work.

Inkstuds interview

2009-12-31T19:38:00.000-08:00

I recently did an interview with Robin McConnell and his Inkstuds radio program. My voice sounds much weaker than I thought I sounded. Also I realize how much I sound like my brother. ha.

2009-12-31T19:19:00.000-08:00

Living on the west coast makes me grateful for any snow we can get. This happened a couple of days ago and as I left the house to go on a walk I ended up in an impromptu snowball fight with two other cartoonists.

My gift to me

2009-12-31T19:15:00.000-08:00

Sherman Alexie

2009-12-28T16:18:00.000-08:00

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Sherman Alexie

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

Economy

Watch this interview with Sherman Alexie on the Colbert Report a few weeks ago. Besides being a really entertaining interview, Sherman Alexie talks about why he's against the digitizing of books.

super crazy cat dance

2009-12-25T13:26:00.000-08:00

I've been taking all the original artwork from The Super Crazy Cat Dance and expanding it to fit a new format. I'm having to splice in the original artwork into a new sheet of bristol and then drawing to the new size. The drawing above is actually a bit wider than it will really be when printed. I'll have to crop it. I'm doing all of this for a new printing of the book in full color. It isn't a definite deal yet but it looks like I have a publisher for it. I'll post more later.

Best two zines of 2009

2009-12-25T13:07:00.000-08:00

While the world of self-published comics seems to grow bigger with each new year, I feel like the traditional prose-type zine has become strangled by this new love for comics storytelling. So this is why I'm letting you know that there are some great non-comics zines out there being made today. My two favorite zines this year are Somnambulist 15 by Martha Grover and the newly revamped I Was Born But 2 by Emily Nilsson. Both are excellent.

Somnambulist 15 is my favorite issue so far and deals with the Grover Family meetings where each member of the family airs their grievances, frustrations, and family responsibilities. The dialogue is so honest and true. By the end of the issue we come to know this family better than we could have if it were told any other way. Probably the funniest thing I've read in a while.

I was Born But 2 tells several weird true and almost forgotten stories about mental illness and strange people. From detailed biographies of Opal Whiteley, The Papin sisters, The Gibbons Twins and movie reviews such as the obscure Crispin Glover film What is It?

Oh Theo

2009-12-14T16:36:00.000-08:00

I know people don't really buy physical music anymore but you should because people like Theo Ellsworth are making some pretty amazing artwork. Coming off the heels of the grammy nominated Menomena artwork by Craig Thompson, Brent Knopf of Menomana this time recruited Theo to do his new solo album.

I had no idea Theo was working on this and then today, in front of Music Millennium in Portland, I saw one of those bus stop billboards with Theo's artwork and I was like, "What?!."

Good work Theo!

2009-12-13T18:25:00.000-08:00

cargo bike story

2009-12-07T08:08:00.000-08:00

Listen to this great story on cargo bikes my friend Deena Prichep produced for NPR.

Big Plans 4 Review/Parcell Press

2009-12-06T14:39:00.000-08:00

Here's a review of Big Plans 4 from Optical Sloth! Also, Big Plans 4 is now available from the amazing PARCELL PRESS.

Big Plans 4 at Sparkplug

2009-12-02T22:38:00.000-08:00

Check out Sparkplug Comicbooks. You can order Big Plans 4 along with Sparkplug's newest books by David King and Rina Ayuyang!

an old story revived

2009-12-02T22:22:00.000-08:00

Since I've been in graduate school there has been very little time for me to think about my books let alone draw. I have been searching for my next project and I think I've finally found it. These drawings here are old. This is artwork I made back in 2005 when I was working on a book called ISTANBUL. This project was far too epic for my inexperience to handle so I put it on the back burner. Now that I know what I'm doing...I'm going to go back to my original story and make it better and really script it out before I start drawing this time. I will not use any of my old artwork but I thought it was interesting- all my old labor intensive hatch-marks.

interview

2009-11-25T08:45:00.000-08:00

Here's a short little interview I did with Synthesis Magazine this past week. This comic is from an old sketchbook and has nothing to do with the interview.