I really enjoyed this chat with Zak Sally. If you are not already reading his work, you will want to after listening to this. Check out his new stuff from Fantagraphics, Like a Dog and Sammy The Mouse 1,2. We also discuss some of the stuff he publishes under La Mano 21 including an exclusive on his next big publishing project. It sounds really exciting and I can’t wait to get my hands on it. Most of the music on this show is from his solo album Fear of Song.

I don’t normally post this kind of thing, but Robin Konstabaris was an integral part of getting this show together and one of my favorite people in the local comics community. Please come and support event if you can, and if not, try and do something nice for Robin, she is good people!

and for fun, read her wonderful blog, documenting the cross country adventure undertaken by Robin and her special fella.

Friday, 05 February 2010 at 23:15
The New Revue Stage on Granville Island
1601 Johnston Street, Vancouver

Presented by the Vancouver Theatresports League this promises to be an evening full of laughter. Come out and show your support! Please share this event with your friends.
The suggested donation at the door is $10.00 the proceeds will go to Robin Konstabaris. Thank you to the Vancouver Theatresports League and their very talented artists for supporting this wonderful event.

About the artist:

Robin Konstabaris has been active in the Vancouver arts community for over 20 years, at various times a fine artist, author (Scrambled Brains), and modern cartoonist. She has exhibited in numerous galleries across Canada, and is most well known for her comic strip Clip ‘n’ Save, which appeared weekly in Vancouver’s Westender from 1998 until 2005.

On Christmas Day, 2009, her studio containing most of her life’s work as well as over 2 decades of accumulated equipment and inventory was destroyed by fire. A fraction of the work, including some colour documentation and most of the Clip ‘n’ Save originals, were eventually and miraculously recovered from the rubble but require professional restoration.

“I am forced to rebuild my studio from scratch,” says the artist, “beginning with finding some affordable space. Once I do that there is quite a bit of required equipment to get up to even the bare minimum of a functional space, including a desk, chair, cutting mat, squares, rulers, pencils, pens, pastels, charcoals, tracing paper, rag paper, illustration board, and other various odds and ends. It all seems like little things but it really adds up.”

The emotional aspects have been hard to deal with, the artist admits, but the situation has been made easier by the help she has received from the community, for which she is deeply grateful.

As most of the world knows, the Olympics start in two greuling weeks. Travelling within Vancouver is going to be an unheard of hell, with much of the city locked off like some kind of terrible version of Escape from New York. With the upcoming madness, I have decided to take a little ’studs break for the last two weeks of February. I am a little overwhelmed right now with work, school(finally finishing in August), The inkstuds book, which i will need to sit down and read well over 300 pages of and edit and plan out artwork.

I do have show’s planned out for the next couple of weeks, but after that, I need to shift gears temporarily and hopefully return renewed.

So, during the break, what to do? Christopher Butcher had the great suggestion of fill-ins. If you are interested in doing a fill-in, shoot me an email with a proposal. You can find me at inkstuds@inkstuds.com or on the old twitter that everyone seems to love @inkstuds.

Amy Lockhart came on to discuss her new book from Drawn and quarterly, Dirty Dishes, the Dizzler, her animation work, including the excellent Walk for Walk and her zine making days in Nog A Dod.

“Logging Sanjay” is atmospheric autobio that combines two pillars of the genre: guilt and humor. Two friends decide to freak out a third, and up the ante with each attack. The victim’s family mistakes the disjointed efforts of the boys to be threats, and I like that you can sense that the author’s younger self thinks that his is pretty cool, despite the fact that it made his friend’s life kina fucked up for awhile. Yost captures the reality of a mundane topic–stupid things kids do—and uses detail to put us in the moment.

The final three stories, “All Is Forgiven,” “Roadtrip,” and “Running Away With the Circus/Running Away From the Circus,” focus on cruelty to animals and question how we can ignore suffering in beings so much like ourselves. “All Is Forgiven” is the best, and the panel that makes it so shows a cat with something mechanical glued to its head (presumably from experimentation) licking the hand of the man who inflicted the gash when he is crying over a lost relationship. Balancing preachy and poignant in “issue” comics is difficult and Yost pulls it off better than most.

Old Man Winter and Other Sordid Tales is another example of why the Xeric folks’ seal of approval actually means something to me, unlike other awards which shall remain nameless.

Bryan Lee O’Malley joined me for a chat his books Scott Pilgrim and Lost at Sea as well as other topics of comicky goodness. I really appreciate Bryan taking the time out of his hectic schedule for my humble little show, while he finishes off his epic series.

I have been a big of Barron Storey for quite a while. Chatting with him about his work was a highlight for me on the show. He recently released a new edition of his long out of print Marat/Sade Journals. This new edition is a lush as one can hope. David Mack, an artist whom I am honestly not much of a fan of at all, offers a really thoughtful and personal introduction. Mack describes the work as “finely, delicately, and expertly orchestrated into the rhythm and meaning of the word-play”. The narrative of Storey’s work, weaves together a series of different writings that are able come together in a unified interplay of dialogue.

The art is equally complex and compelling, using the words as an integral part of the Barron’s visual work. Barron has an expectation with his comics, they aren’t easy and they aren’t simple. The artist has a job to push beyond the old word balloon and gutters and each page has several stories to tell on several different levels. I think it’s too bad that more of the alt comics sect don’t take the time to look at Barron’s work, there is a lot to be learned from with this master. Stylistically, Barron’s contemporaries range from Dave Mckean to Kent Williams, but I think there is something that links him to Gary Panter in the usage of a formalist style.

Your link of the day is Barron’s own blog of journal work. There is a never ending supply of influence to check out on.

Jason T Miles wears several hats in the comics world. He is a Fantagraphics staffer, Comics Comics contributor, Mini-comic distributor and last but not least, comics maker. This was a really great conversation that probably could of gone on for another couple of hours.

I really enjoy this memoir blog that Skip Williamson has been doing. The man is one of the underground originals and has a million stories to share. Not only was he a major force in the underground scene, but he was also art director at Playboy for several years in the 70s, which can be a fountain of mad stories in itself. I hope to interview him at some point. We were talking about doing something, I just need to be better with my emailing. This particular story about Jack Cole is very touching in a small way.

I am really enjoying this interview that Brian Heater did with Inkstud regular, Frank Santoro for the Daily Crosshatch. Go read it. I think a lot of what Brian has done with the Daily Crosshatch and we seem to have a similar set in comic values.

Luke Ramsey came on the show a couple of years ago. His residency program has been home to many great comics related folks, including Ron Rege jr, Theo Ellsworth and Matt Furie. If you explore through the Islands Fold site, there is a great selection of work to take a look at. While what Luke does, isn’t comics, it still skirts close enough to be worth checking out. The residency program produces some really amazing looking limited edition zines, and each of them feel like a little piece of art in themselves.

Today’s link comes courtesy of Al Columbia. It’s a cover he did of House of the Rising Sun. I seem to keep forgetting to go back to Al’s site. He is constantly updating with new and interesting music videos. I think he has been doing the videos for a couple of years, and it is neat to see how he is developing his videography skills.  Al is certainly an auteur that excels at whatever he sets his mind to. Explore his site for some more videos and various objects d’art. And go and buy Pim and Francie, if you know what’s good for you!

I thought I would point you kind folks in the general direction Seattle’s very own Profanity Hill blog. Jason T Miles, Kelly Froh, Eric Reynolds and other talented folks have some really great mini’s that i have enjoyed and I think others would enjoy too. It’s nice to see a focus on the print angle. Props to Poop Sheet, Global Hobo and Secret Acres, who also have great stuff, I just feel a connection to the close proximity to Seattle.

Corinne Mucha joined me today to discuss comics, Alaska and roomates. I really enjoy her work. She has a whole bunch of mini’s as well as the Xeric grant winning, My Alaskan Summer. She has a unique take on comics and is one of my favorite young cartoonists right now. Check out her blog for more comics.

I can’t say how much I love Aron Nels Steinke’s comics. He has a really great fresh voice that flows through the pages. His comics are the kind that you can’t help but read, which is probably the best compliment I can give.  Check out his mini-comic series Big Plans and his new book from the fine folks at Sparkplug, Neptune.

My personal early days in comics, was very influenced by Dean Motter’s work. I love whatever Mr. X stuff I could track down and when Terminal City came out, I inhaled that with gusto! His new collection, Condemned, continues the fine tradition. Dean Motter is someone I have wanted to talk to for a while, and it was a great talk that we had.

I never really do best of lists, so please don’t consider it a best of list. I did this for the Daily Cross Hatch. The work on the list is more like a list of stuff I like and I think people should check out. There is a lot of other comics that I have enjoyed immensely, and if you want more suggestions, email me or just listen to some of the 200 interviews here. The image above is provided by the wonderful Noah Van Sciver. I plan on looking like that on New Years Eve.

BEST OF 2009

Pim and Francie by Al Columbia–This book shows what happens when you allow a cartoonist to do the work that they want to do, with out interference. I really think the world of Al’s work. Some of his Mome stuff has been amazing and he show’s no sign of slowing down or letting up.
A Drifting Life by Yoshihiro Tatsumi–Meeting Tatsumi at TCAF was a highlight of the year. The man was getting some well deserved attention and in turn, he was extremely generous with the folks there. My sketched in copy is a prize of the Inkstuds collection.
Spot 12: The Story of a Birth by Jenny Jaeckel–This is probably removed from everyones radar. I bought this off a friend that was selling it for her at a small comic convention in Vancouver. This Xeric grant winning book is an autobio story in the tradition of amphromphsizing the story to really boiled it down to the basic properties. I had no idea this comic even came from Vancouver!
You Are There by Jacques Tardi–I have been a fan of Tardi’s for a very long time and when I heard that Fantagraphics was going to start reprinting work, I was was pretty stoked. Both You Are There and West Coast Blues are fantastic. West Coast Blues serves a great purpose of showing all those guys doing cheesy crime comics, how it’s really done. You Are There on the other hand, really stands out to me even more, because of the way that he is able to play with the medium and push the comics to a point of no return.
Complete Jack Survives by Jerry Moriarty–A fine work that could have been lost to obscurity but thanks to the devotion of Alvin Buenaventura and Chris Ware, Jerry Moriarty’s masterpiece sees the light day for a new generation of cartoonists to learn from. This book works on a couple of different levels. First of, it’s cartooning or as Jerry refers to himself, paintooning at its best. Secondly is to understand how Jerry is able to  break comics down into a way that hearkens to Bushmiller’s Nancy. Jerry is able to express so much with minimal activity, providing a snapshot of a point in time and a visceral experience at the same time. Buy this book!

BEST OF THE 2000’s

Journal #45 Life After Black by Barron Storey—I can’t say enough about how important Barron is. It is really a shame about the high price of the book and its limited print run. Barron is doing something in this comic that stretches the expectations of what one can do with a traditional narrative and beating it with a very large stick.
Louis Riel by Chester Brown—This book makes me proud to be a Canadian. Not only is Chester Brown a national cartooning treasure, but his take on the life of one the more formidable figures in Canadian history is unapolagetically honest and succinct. It’s an odd book, because in one way, Chester is the only cartoonist that makes war look so boring, but that seems to be his purpose. There is no glorification of events and hero making. Chester is more involved in deconstructing some essential Canadian myths.
Kramers Ergot #4 by Various—This is like the art comic equivalent of NWA’s “Straight Out of Compton.” Sammy Harkham and company put together a really amazing collection from beginning to end. For a lot of people, this was there first exposure to some of the more interesting art comics folks producing work. I don’t think that any of the previous Kramers have really stepped up the game as much as this book. It seems like the later volumes seemed to try and and create to follow the mold, but whole point of KE 4, was that they broke the mold.
Don’t Go Where I Can’t Follow by Anders Nilsen—Heart breaking and beautiful.
Notes for a War Story by Gipi–Where the hell did this guy come from! Amazing. i wish comics were always this good.
Black Hole by Charles Burns—I don’t know if i can add anything new that hasn’t already been said about this book. One of the master’s of comics creating his masterpiece.
Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Kim Deitch—It is no secret that I am a huge fan of Kim’s work. This book show’s that he is at the top of his game. He seems to get better with time and with each book better than the last, but this is the one that sticks out to me, as really breaking through and making a strong impact beyond his the underground roots.
Jimbo in Purgatory by Gary Panter—I don’t know if i can really do this book justice in describing why it’s important. Panter is able to weave several stories through a dizzying complex of illustrated narratives. This book can be a challenge to read, but well worth it, once you start to explore the parts that create the whole. It’s a shame that this is so out of print now, I think of all the academic work that is being done around comics, this is probably the most deserving and essential. Each page comes carefully notated at the bottom, citing the literary sources that he uses. It creates this interesting blend where in one part you have original canto by Dante as the theme and the dialogue is an amalgamation of Classical, Biblical and Renaissance literature. With all this fancy literature, Panter places images of modern pop iconography and somehow it all makes sense, especially once you dig deep and understand how the narrative and context in each quote works together.
Schizo #4 by Ivan Brunetti—Dear Ivan, please please put out another issue. I love the anthologies you do, but I think its time for some more comics.. In an interview I did with him a couple of years ago, Ivan mentioned that he was working on a strip about Jeff Magnum from Neutral Milk Hotel. I would be happy with just that. Please Ivan, make an Inkstud happy.
Acme Novelty #19 by Chris Ware—It’s really hard for me to pick my favorite work by Chris for the decade. Acme #19 is probably the most evolved and dynamic of his output. I am sure there are a million and one reviews of this book, written by better writers than myself, so i will just say that I really liked it and you should too.

Thanks to everyone that has supported and enjoyed the show. I tried to pull myself together and get this years card out, but the money just isn’t there. But I really want people to see the fabulous card that should have gone out, by one of my favorites, Jordyn F Bochon. She really created a wonderful image and she’s the best. 2010 will be a great year for the show. We are going to see the release of the Inkstuds book from Conundrum press and a large Art show at Grace Gallery in Vancouver.

This is the somewhat annual Inkstuds discussion show, where I am joined by people smarter than myself to talk about the comics that have stood out over the previous year. This year i am joined by a bevy of prominent comics bloggers. Timothy Hodler is a member of the always enlightening ComicsComics, Sean T Collins has his own blog, Attentiondeficitdisorderly Too Flat and lastly Robot 6,Chris Mautner. The work we decided to cover, doesn’t necessarily make up a definitive best of 2009 list, but instead, is a grouping of work that we would like to discuss more closely.

Asterios Polyp - David Mazzucchelli
George Sprott - Seth
You Are There - Jacques Tardi
20th Century Boys - Naoki Urasawa
Multiforce - Mat Brinkman
Pluto - Naoki Urasawa
The Photographer - Emmanuel Guibert
You’ll Never Know - Carol Tyler

Regardless, the book will be really great. There are some great folks that have been confirmed. I can’t wait to have everything confirmed so I can spill more beans.

Stuart Hample joined me for an entertaining conversation about his new collection of Woody Allen comic strips and his own personal history in cartooning, including some great stories about Al Capp.

Kevin Cannon joined the Inkstuds for a discussion about his Canucksploitation epic Far Arden. Be sure to check out his site, he has tons of great mini’s on there to read.

and here is the newspaper that Kevin mentions during the interview.

Time for return to the Mixtapes. Many thanks to Liz Prince for making the mix that Rocks! I love Liz’s comics. They make me very happy.

Here is what Liz has to say about her mix:

While contemplating what I should put on my inkstuds mixtape, I found myself looking through the mixtapes I have gotten over the years. Man, there were some great songs on those mixtapes; I thought, why not make a playlist of my favourite songs from mixtapes that have been given to me?  So, without further adieu, I give you my best of mixtapes mixtape.

01: Grey Area - Reminder
02: The Riverdales - You Know You Do
03: The Copyrights - She Turns it Up
04: Fifteen - The End of Summer
05: The Bouncing Souls - Gone
06: Ben Weasel and His Iron String Quartet - Got My Number
07: Chinese Telephones - Back To You Again
08: The Stereo - 300
09: Dillinger Four - One Trick Pony
10: The Ergs - Million Perfect Dub
11: The National - Slow Show
12: Torche - Vampyro
13: Lifetime -  Somewhere in the Swamps of Jersey
14: Lemuria - Length Away
15: King Khan & BBQ - Waddlin’ Around
16: Dead To Me - Special Professional
17: The Marked Men - Wait Here, Wait For You
18: The Methadones - Bored of Television
19: Dear Landlord - High Fives
20: The Queers - Definitely
21: Kevin Devine - Just Stay

This week, we look at the harder side of cartoonists making music.

Zak Sally - St(r)utter
Swirlies - Bell
Swirlies - Untitled (Ron Rege jr segue)
Discombobulated Ventriloquist - Untitled(drone tape by Ron Rege jr)
Mindflayer - Zorthians Grazel Time(Mat Brinkman and Brian Chippendale)
Forcefield - Endless Dribbler(members include Mat Brinkman and Leif Goldberg)
Lightning Bolt - Birdy(Half of the group is Brian Chippendale)
Black Pus - land of the lost(Brian Chippendale)
Al Columbia - Alfred’s grandmother
Gary Panter - Tornado to the Tater(you can check out his newer music here)
Mary Lou and the Tards - Mlk and Chz(early Tom Neely project)
Mary Lou and the Tards - Rape me Amadeus
Self Indulgent Werewolf - werewolf fugue(very recent Tom Neely project)
Kites - Peace Trials(CF project)
Les Georges Leningrad - Supa Doopa(Check out the art in Ganzfeld 4)
Bjork - Declare independence(Black Pus remix - aka remixed by Brian Chippendale)

This weeks show is a little different. I played music by different cartoonists. It’s a pretty interesting and varied list. This week was the more poppy week and next week will be more um, loud….

Blueshammer - Cotton Pickin’ Blues(written by Daniel Clowes)
The Action Suits - Fun Flies(members include Peter Bagge and Eric Reynolds)
Can You Imagine - How Did I Get Home(members include Peter Bagge)
The Francies - Hey Psycho(performed by Al Columbia and friends)
Extravagant Bachelor - BYOB(mystery disc sent to show)
Kupek - St. Clair(Bryan Lee O’malley project)
100 damned guns - I Ain’t That Bad Anymore(members include Dave Sherrill)
Crumb Family - Little Buttercup(it’s Robert, Aline and Sophie)
Lucylou - Song for Disconsolate Friends(Lucy Knisley)
Archer Prewitt - Leave It Alone(also features Chris Ware on Piano)
Walt and Skeezix Theme Song(performed by Chris Ware)
Arks - Maginot(singer is Paul Hornschemeier)
Daniel Johnston - Casper
Lavender Diamond - Open Your Heart(Ron Rege jr on drums and the video has a cameo by Jordan Crane with his daughter)
Wannabe Texans - Rich Girl(members include J Bradley Johnson checkout all the flyers he did)
Wigbilies - Party Time(Mary Fleener!)
Art Break - Asymetrical girl(Chip Kidd’s band)

The book opens with “Legends of Chance Oxblood: A Travel Journal,” a series of illustrated sections from a the fictional lost journal of an unfortunate “adventurer-explorer.” Each page has three parts: the entry, the pictures and a small, mystery-laden item below. Between the introduction and suggestive glimpses into the life and times of Oxblood, we know that he did not come to a happy end, but perhaps a fitting one. I like the mystery imparted by his heavy use of black in this story and the pane-within-pane construction of the panels.

The second story charts the last year in the life of a fallen giant of the gas variety. Pluto, after being fired from the solar system, lives his life in a Chicago-like city, seemingly content with his earthbound life until his ancientness catches up with him. This mostly-wordless story is packed with expository details that don’t weigh the lightening quick story (one panel per month) down but only enrich it.

The “Black Forest Hymn” was the most visually arresting tale of the bunch and almost pulls off the aint-life-brutal allegory it strives for. Instead of you and me wandering, breeding and dying, we get silent humanoid creatures with a single arm instead of heads roaming in the state of nature. I liked the dangerous woodiness of the setting and the expressiveness Reynolds was able to pull from the figures, but the last two pages lacked the urgency felt in the rest of the story.

“You Are My Heart” is a nightmarish take on finding oneself cast as the sacrificial lamb, or in this story’s case “the chosen one.” I like how Reynolds uses two styles to evoke the need of the townspeople with the need of the monster. The woman to be given to the monster is torn from a dream that looks tellingly like that of her fate, but where she is a mermaid instead of wet bait—I thought using the same style to depict both was an elegant way to show the powerlessness of the unnamed woman in the face of other people’s desires.

The final story, “Where the River Meets the Sea,” returns to the format of “Legends of Chance Oxblood,” and is this time used to tell a somber tale of trading one fixation for another for the sake of other people. I found the words lyrical and the art fittingly moody—there are many storms to bear and whirlpools to avoid here. I think Reynolds captured the surreal feeling of striving to become someone else, however destructive the self you are trying to shed was.

*This mini was published by a large indie printer, but I am still going with that moniker for this book, both because of its size and content. Ok? Ok.

Jason Leivian isn’t really a cartoonist, but he is a really great supporter of comics. His store in Portland, Floating World Comics has had lots of great events including a plethora of fundraising artshows. He also puts Diamond Comics, which is up to its 4th issue and gets better with each issue.

1.  Madlib - Anthenagin’ (?)
2.  Javelin - Tu Machina
3.  Low Motion Disco - Things Are Gonna Get Easier
4.  Double Fantasy - Heartbreaker (Rub-N-Tug edit)
5.  Prince - Strange But True
6.  Syclops - Nelson’s Back
7.  DJ Babu - Veetee
8.  Discodeine - Tema Di Gamma
9.  Irsol - Anthem
10.  Siouxsie & The Banshees - Skin
11.  Gang Gang Dance - Dust
12.  Stalker - Radios Et Announceurs
13.  Mac Dre - Too Hard For The F@#kin’ Radio
14.  Thomas Bangalter - Unplugged
15.  El Remolon - Vem Que Tem
16.  Atlas Sound - River Card
17.  LL Cool J - Two Different Worlds
18.  Moondog - Lament 1 ‘Bird’s Lament’

Back for more 4 years later, after being my first guest ever, Seth and I seem to start right where our previous conversation left off. I am a really big admirer of Seth’s work, and this interview was very enlightening in new ways that I was not familiar with him before. Be sure to check out George Sprott, it’s pretty great.

Inkstuds regular Jeet Heer and UBC English Professor Paul Stanwood, joined me for a discussion of Robert Crumb’s adaptation of the Book of Genesis. Each of the guests bring a unique expertise to the table that really adds to an understanding of the work. Here are some more comments from Jeet in regards to the work here and here.

Sully is one of those fine hidden Canadian gems that i love coming across. Sully is doing some really great and interesting stuff in Montreal and his creative energy shines through in his book, Hipless Boy.

Ball Peen Hammer illustrator, George O’Connor and I discussed his latest book and as well as his work in children’s books and his future in the world of the Olympians.

It’s hard to believe that I have been doing the Inkstuds Radio show for 4 years now, to the day. At first, I had no idea what I was doing, or even why I was doing this. Early shows were a painful mix of dreary dialogue and a more than sufficient amount of umms and ahhhs. When I decided to focus on doing interviews, some people asked me how long I could go without repeating guests, and obviously it has gone on a lot longer than those folks expected. While there have been some guests that have made multiple appearances on the show, I would have them on as often as they would let me talk to them, when you are talking folks like Eddie Campbell, Peter Bagge and others.

Going into this  new year of Inkstuds is very different from the past. Things have been better than ever. I have been able to interview dream guests like Jerry Moriarty, Gary Panter and Ralph Steadman, and have plans to chat with some equally exciting underground legends. I am currently in the process of archiving the old interviews with the help of a very generous transcriber. Some of those interviews are going to hopefully be in a book that I am putting together. I don’t want to say too much as it is, since it’s still a year away. There are also talks of putting together a larger art show in conjunction with the book, but once again, still too soon to say too much.

To commemorate this mild landmark, I will be posting a different Interview or Mixtape each day of the week. To top off the bonus programing, will be an interview I conducted a couple of weeks ago with Seth.

Seth was the first guest that I have ever interviewed. He was very generous with his time 4 years ago, and the same now. The Canadian identity is very important for me in respect to coverage with the show and something that I am going to make more of an attempt to be proactive with.

Thanks so much for listening and please keep support your local comickers. I am sure there is some mini-comic worth checking out at your local comic store. And if your comic store refuses to sell mini’s, then don’t shop there.

The story focuses on the characters surrounding the making and distribution of food for the homeless and hungry (aka the “camping”) in San Francisco. The characters include a stressed Susie learning the ropes, Raj, the skill-less coordinator, the salt-crazy chef and a host of other volunteers and soup eaters from the community. The comic also includes a funny, nicely illustrated recipe for the titular soup that says more than all the pages in the comic put together about Cagle’s feelings on her time doling out food for San Francisco’s hungry. I wish the rest of the comic had been so focused. Instead, it feels very much like what it is, the first part of a longer story. We don’t get any background on the Susie character and only a little on her motivation for joining FnB, and when her reasons are abruptly swept aside by Raj, we don’t get to see her reaction. We don’t know anything about what she does when she’s not cooking. I want to care about Susie, but I can’t quite because I only get to see little bits of what she is like.

I wish Cagle had either stuck to her feelings about FnB, like in the excellent one-page nightmare sequence, or really explored the stories of the people eating, even if that meant going fictional. I understand that a glimpse is the most she gets of these people’s lives, a hand reaching out for a paper cup, but the comic suffers from the author’s slight characterizations.

Cagle’s cartooning is really fun to look at. Her style is a little cartoony, but detailed enough to feel realistic. I love how she draws the FnB crew’s jobs and facial expressions during a cooking session. They all seem a little grim. And the Susie character has such a great face and posture—she looks like a girl whose bike you could get hit by and not care because she’s so nice. I want to see what happens next in the world of Nine Gallons, I only hope some of the characters rise to the top of the broth.

My good friend and awesome cartoonist, Mike Myhre pulled together a fine mix of music. Lots of good stuff to listen to and get into!

J Bradley Johnson has a handfull of comics out there, but if you can hunt them down, they are great. His work can be found in great anthologies like Kramers Ergot, Snake Eyes, Hotwire Comix, and Ivan Brunetti’s first Graphic Fiction anthology.

I was recently informed that there is a park in Queens named after a great-uncle of mine.

Here is info on the park - http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/Q217/

and here is the location of the park on google street view - http://tiny.cc/Yn2wJ

I would be very grateful if somone in New York, could take a pic of monument, for my own curiousity, and maybe pour out some Olde English for a fallen homie.

Abby Denson joined me for a chat about her book Dolltopia and the wonderful world of cupcakes. Abby will be in Vancouver on Saturday for an event at Elfsar Comics and then on Sunday, she will be doing a reading at Emily Carr

I don’t particularly need to know what happened to the World of Tomorrow, but I’d be curious to know why it ended up so boring. There’s nothing in this book that shouldn’t be riveting—it’s a nostalgic look at the way we (as a culture) have viewed the future over the past 70 years or so, starting with the New York World’s Fair and proceeding up to the present. It’s chock full of really interesting commentary on the various eras and epochs as told through the eyes of a boy and his relationship with his father (as well as the the styles of the various comic books of each age), but unfortuantely the commentary just sits there, failing to connect the reader with either the material or the boy and his father.

To further confuse things, the boy ages extremely slowly, progressing from nine or ten around the start of the book, to his late teens by the end. I’d postulate that this is a metaphorical aging, representing the changes that our society has weathered in order to reach the more mature, realistic vision we have now, but if that’s the case, we are once again left behind by a concept that leaves the average reader behind. My wife, casually picking up the book and interested in the material, couldn’t figure out the metaphor in the aging and put it down, mildly frustrated. That’s not the right reaction when you’re trying to evoke nostalgia and wonder.

I’d like to like Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow—I’d certainly like to read the author’s conclusions and points of view in essay-form—but as a graphic novel, the pieces don’t quite mesh together and in the end one is left with the feeling that sometimes the future is better off without us making a big production of searching for it.

Will Dinski just got some props during APE, by receiving the Isotope award. He really deserves the accolades. His comics are all constructed like fine pieces of art. Not only do they look pretty, but they also read great.

Britt Wilson is a supertalented lady out of Toronto. Her comics are well crafted little slices of enjoyment. She really shines when she does her painted work. Britt is still pretty young, so I suggest you get to know her stuff now, before she is some big name fancy shmancy artist, and then you will have some weird bragging rights. I bought all of the mini’s she has listed here and love them.

Australian Pat Grant, sent me an awesome drawing of me interviewing Satan. It made me happy. He also does some great comics too. I love how comics are so international.

Dutchman, Joost Halbertsma has been producing some really interesting work that is a little on the more experimental side. I think he has some good drawing chops and hopefully you do to.

I really enjoy Jason Overby’s stuff and I think he is really developing a nice unique style. He has a nice piece in the Abstract Comics collection. His work comes from the Gary Panter school and wears it well.

Steve Lafler brings us a fine mix of rock n’roll from his compound in Mexico.

1. Hank Williams, I’m so Lonesome I could cry
2. Iggy Pop, The Passenger
3. Wreckless Eric, Whole Wide World
4. Sam Cooke, Let the Good Times Roll
5. Grateful Dead, It’s All Over Now Baby Blue
6. Cracker, Take Me Down to the Infirmary
7. Jonathan Richman, Egyptian Reggae
8. Dwight Yoakam, Carmelita
9. The Cramps, Mule Skinner Blues
10. Dead Kennedy’s, Stars & Stripes of Corruption
11. Hasil Adkins, She Said
12. Beatles, Baby’s In Black
13. Rolling Stones, Let Me Go
14. Thelonious Monk, In Walked Bud (thanks to Austin English for that great tune)
15. Del McCoury Band, 1952 Vincent Black Lightning

I totally forgot to post this sooner. I am hoping i can make it.

The University of British Columbia Rare Books and Special Collections (RBSC), the School of Library, Archival and Information Studies (SLAIS), and the Alma Mater Society (AMS) Art Gallery

cordially invite you to an informal reception for the opening of the exhibition:
DRIPPYTOWN: VANCOUVER LIFE THROUGH THE EYES OF INDEPENDENT CARTOONISTS–Selected Comics and Cartoons from UBC Rare Books and Special Collections, designed by the students of the UBC SLAIS “Visual Arts and Performing Arts Special Collections” course.

Featured Artists: Ken Boesem, Julian Lawrence, James Lloyd, Josué Menjivar, Jason Turner, Colin Upton

WHERE:
UBC School of Library, Archival and Information Studies, Suite 470, Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, 1961 East Mall, Vancouver.

WHEN:
FRIDAY, October 23, 2009, 12noon-1:30 p.m. Please R.S.V.P. (by October 22nd) to Francesca Marini at fmarini@interchange.ubc.ca

The Exhibition is Free and Open to the Public in Two Locations on the UBC Campus:

October 23, 2009-January 31, 2010
UBC Rare Books and Special Collections (RBSC)-Reading Room
Irving K. Barber Learning Centre-First Floor, 1961 East Mall, Vancouver
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday, 12 noon-5 p.m. Closed on Sundays and Holidays; special hours over Christmas Break. When accessing UBC Rare Books and Special Collections, please check bags and coats at the entrance.

October 26-November 3, 2009
Alma Mater Society Art Gallery; 238F Student Union Building (SUB); 6138 SUB Boulevard, Vancouver. Opening Hours: Monday to Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Closed Saturday and Sunday.

Jill Thompson and Evan Dorkin joined me for a lively discussion of their Beasts of Burden series. Evan and Jill are really great guests and have always have a lot to say about their work. The second issue of Beasts is probably some of Dorkin’s strongest writing, and a far step away from the Dork that we are used to.

Manga Kamishibai from Abrams, is an interesting look at the Japanese Paper Theatre that is a kind of precurser to the development of Anime and Manga. It is a really goergous book and Eric Nash has done a fine job in documenting this unique artistic legacy.

R Sikoryak’s Masterpiece Comics was one of my anticipated reads of the year, and it did not disappoint. Sikoryak is able to create a blend of classical literature mixed with the finest of styles of some of the greatest cartoonists. I have been a fan of his work for years, and am pleased as punch to have it all in one book.

Marc Bell is one of my favorite people in comics. Not only does he do great work, he is also a really swell guy. He has been a really influential supporter of the development of more experimental work in comics and has proved to also be one of the best at it. Marc will be in Vancouver on Monday the 19th to launch his new Fine Awt Bouk at Lucky’s Comics - 3972 Main st. I will be there drinking it up, and so should you.

Christopher Butcher of The Beguiling comic store in Toronto and Dustin Harbin from Heroes Aren’t Hard to Find out of Charlot, North Carolina, joined me for a discussion on comics retailing. There were two talking points that we covered, firstly, a talk on getting small press work into comic stores and the second part looked at the changing dynamics of the retailing biz. They are both very knowledgeable about comics retailing and bring countless years of experience to the table.

Jason Turner went full on and did a 24 hour comic based on his mixtape(it actually ended up taking 103 hours). I don’t know if anyone will meet his level of commitment, but it is a fine mix to listen to. Jason is one of Vancouver’s finest talents. His True Loves comics have been one of those rare examples of a comic set in my home town.

Many thanks to Jeffrey Brown for putting together not only a fine mix, but also for providing an awesome comic to go along with it. The mix really reflects his own work in a nice way. Here is a link to the art at full size.

Kim Thompson joined the Inkstuds for a chat about the work of Jacques Tardi. Fantagraphics has started on an ambitious reprint project, translating a selection of Tardi’s fine work for North American audiences. I have been a big fan of Tardi for a long time, after seeing his work in Raw, Drawn and Quarterly and a whole bunch of other anthologies. I highly recommend checking out West Coast Blues. It really stands out among the recent amount of Noir work that has been seeing print lately. It is strong compelling work that avoids a reliance of the standard tropes of detective pulp.

The Abstract Comics collection edited by Andrei Molotiu is probably one of the more interesting and ambitious anthologies that I have seen in quite sometime. The concept is pretty simple, but at the same time it isn’t. Andrei has scoured high and low for abstract comics and created a fine book that seems to straddle the line between another comics anthology, to really inserting into a more art book type of area. The book deserves a lot more of a dialog than i am able to  provide here, but hopefully our conversation captures some of the  idea’s  that come up.  Be sure to check out the Abstract Comics blog, which has been really continuing and expanding on the idea.

Josh Neufeld’s AD - New Orleans After the Deluge has been getting some great much deserved praise. He has been able to take his experience under the tutelage of Harvey Pekar in to a whole different level of understanding other people stories. His recounting of the events of Huricane Katrina don’t rely on shock and awe, but more on the understated humanity within the event. We had a really good talk about the social reality and the values needed in understanding such an undertaking. Please go read his book.

Marek Bennett’s latest book, documents his travels to Nicaragua while participating in a unique cultural exchange based in the wonderful world of comics. I highly recommend checking out his journal documenting the time he was there. It is a really nice light journey. Marek has also been doing the fun Mimi’s Donuts Zine.

Tony Millionaire joined me for another round of questioning. Tony was on of the earliest guests to appear on the show, so it’s nice to touch base again. His latest book is the incredible Art of Tony Millionaire from Darkhorse. I am honestly blown away by the collection. It is a really good look into the man and his work. We also discussed his Maakies strip, The Drinky Crow Show and more Billy Hazelnuts.

Noah Van Sciver’s mix actually had me hunting pretty hard for some of the tracks, so he gets some well deserved kudo’s. Noah was on the show a couple of months ago to talk about his great comic, Blammo. I like his comics and you should too.

Brad Mackay joined us for a chat about Canadian cartoonist, Doug Wright. Brad is the organizer of the Doug Wright Awards, an award that recognizes the best in Canadian cartooning. More importantly, Brad is one of the three men(along with cartoonist Seth and DQ Chief, Chris Oliveros) behind the Doug Wright collection from Drawn and Quarterly. The collection is a true testament to the passion that Seth, Chris and Brad shared in seeing this important Canadian work in print. Here is what the Doug Wright Awards, have to say about the man himself.

Doug Wright created the long-running comic strip Doug Wright’s Family.

Born in England, Doug Wright came to Canada in 1938.  His cartooning career really began when he landed a job as editorial cartoonist for the Montreal Standard.  In 1948 he took over the reins of Jimmy Frise’s Birdseye Center, retitled Juniper Junction. Signing the strip “DAW”, he continued with it until its end in September, 1968.  Wright created Nipper, a mostly silent comic strip, for the Standard in 1949.  Wright excelled at the depiction of childhood and the daily charms and frustrations of late-20th Century domestic life.  A skilled draftsman, his fluid cartoon figures whirled through meticulously-rendered backgrounds and suburban landscapes.

Nipper was rechristened Doug Wright’s Family in 1967 when Wright moved from Montreal to Ontario.  The strip enjoyed a long run, entertaining a generation of Canadians on a weekly basis until Wright ended it in 1980.  Wright created a number of other strips and attempted to syndicate them, with some limited success, in addition to regular work in illustration and drawing syndicated editorial cartoons for the Montreal Standard and later the Hamilton Spectator.

Ed Choy Moorman was a part of the burgeoning cartooning scene in Minneapolis, but has since moved to Chicago. He recently released the anthology, Ghost Comics. Ed will be joining on the show at some point soon. Here is a PDF of the artwork and instructions to add to your enjoyment.

Song list (plain)

1. PULP – BABIES
2. JAY-Z – DECEMBER 4
3. LAURIE ANDERSON – LET X=X
4. HANDSOME FURS – I’M CONFUSED
5. RANDY NEWMAN – GUILTY
6. THE LANGLEY SCHOOLS MUSIC PROJECT – DESPERADO
7. TOM WAITS – I DON’T WANNA GROW UP
8. THE SHANGRI-LAS – OUT ON THE STREETS
9. LOUIS ARMSTRONG AND HIS HOT FIVE – WEST END BLUES
10. DAVID BYRNE – GLASS, CONCRETE AND STONE
11. THE WALKMEN – EVERYONE WHO PRETENDED TO LIKE ME IS GONE
12. FRANK ZAPPA – UNCLE REMUS
13. NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE – WINTERLONG (LIVE)
14. SUICIDE – DREAMS
15. THE MOUNTAIN GOATS – ALPHA RATS NEST
16. R.E.M. – SHAKING THROUGH
17. WHY? – FATALIST PALMISTRY
18. TOWNES VAN ZANDT – PONCHO AND LEFTY

PULP – BABIES

Jarvis Cocker’s stories sound skeevy, sweaty, and desperate. Of course I identify.

JAY-Z – DECEMBER 4

Jay acts like a star so convincingly, you soak up his swagger. That’s the secret to his success. Morrissey’s taken a similar perspective recently.
Jay-Z: “If you can’t respect that, your whole perspective is wack. Maybe you’ll love me when I fade to black.” – “December 4”
Moz: “You don’t like me but you love me – either way, you’re wrong. You’re gonna miss me when I’m gone!” – “All You Need Is Me”

LAURIE ANDERSON – LET X=X

Anderson married Lou Reed a couple years back.
My friend Abby remarked that you don’t know who to be jealous of.

HANDSOME FURS – I’M CONFUSED

HF are Dan Boeckner from Wolf Parade and his wife, the writer Alexei Perry. Wolf Parade fans tend to prefer its other frontman, Spencer Krug. Krug is cute, literary, and spouts surreal lyrics. He’s fine and all, but as far as I’m concerned, Boeckner’s the man. Example: Boeckner has a six-inch tattoo of a Halloween black cat on his bicep. I know that because he was wearing a cut-off Metallica Kill ‘Em All t-shirt when I saw Wolf Parade. He reminds me of a modern, more anxious Bruce Springsteen.
I felt a story threading through these songs starting here.

RANDY NEWMAN – GUILTY

This man became famous for the Toy Story soundtrack. What a world!
The “warts and all” approach to character is almost dull it’s so common in comics, but it’s still rare in songwriting.

THE LANGLEY SCHOOLS MUSIC PROJECT – DESPERADO

The Eagles song. These recordings come from the classroom of an elementary school music teacher who was a failed musician. He had the crazy idea that kids should be singing popular songs, the songs that they like.

TOM WAITS – I DON’T WANNA GROW UP

I bought a cassette of Bone Machine for a dollar at the Salvation Army across the street from the School of Visual Arts in NY when I toured the school. I had heard of, but never heard Waits. I started the ignition on my mom’s old Dodge and popped it in the deck. I swore there were ghosts in my stereo. I was hooked.
The Ramones covered this in the ‘90s.

THE SHANGRI-LAS – OUT ON THE STREETS

It shouldn’t work. If someone were to tell me about it, I’d think it was probably cornball garbage. But I buy it. All of it.

The story thread seems to end with this one.

LOUIS ARMSTRONG AND HIS HOT FIVE – WEST END BLUES

I heard this in Ken Burns’ Jazz.

DAVID BYRNE – GLASS, CONCRETE AND STONE

My friend J.P. once told me about when he left Illinois for the first time to go to school. He got in his red pickup at 7AM and put in a tape that his childhood best friend, Andrew, had made for him. The tape hissed and Andrew’s voice came from the speaker. Then a ‘click,’ indicating Andrew pressing ‘stop’ on the tape recorder. “Glass, Concrete and Stone” began. Tears streamed down J.P.’s face by the time Byrne reached the chorus.

THE WALKMEN – EVERYONE WHO PRETENDED TO LIKE ME IS GONE

My favorite modern band, easy. I love their textures, and their disaffected tone.

FRANK ZAPPA – UNCLE REMUS

I’ve put this on every mix tape I’ve ever made. Its buildup makes it a great transition. In high school I tried to find out if Zappa made any other music like it. He didn’t.

NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE – WINTERLONG (LIVE)

When I was in high school, I thought that I would like to make a movie that ends with a slow-motion car crash, soundtracked by “Winterlong.”

I probably shouldn’t have told you that.

SUICIDE – DREAMS

I got this off the Open Ends: Musical Exploration in New York 1960-2000 CD from the MoMA store. I stole that from my mom.
Bruce Springsteen covered their “Dream Baby Dream” live.

THE MOUNTAIN GOATS – ALPHA RATS NEST

John Darnielle writes the best sensory details of any songwriter I’ve ever heard. And it’s anthemic enough for a car full of teenagers to wail along with at the top of their lungs.
I consider him a gold standard. Same with Newman.

R.E.M. – SHAKING THROUGH

I love Stipe’s voice cracking during the bridge. Murmur’s my favorite album.

WHY? – FATALIST PALMISTRY

Yoni Wolf writes about sex and death. How could I resist? I’d like to cover this as a country song.

TOWNES VAN ZANDT – PANCHO AND LEFTY

I heard the story is that Lefty got paid to kill Pancho. That’s why Townes says, “Pancho needs your prayers, it’s true, but save a few for Lefty too. He just did what he had to do, and now he’s growing old.”
There’s an old screenwriting dictum that “The audience cries when the characters don’t.” I get that here. Van Zandt’s warmth, subtlety, and empathy for his characters always surprises me, no matter how many times I hear his songs.
Check out the documentary about him; Be Here to Love Me. Tons of crazy stories.

Sam Gaskin joined me for probably one of the most laid back sounding Inkstuds yet. He is a great cartoonist fresh out of the CCS whose work has been developing into an interesting mix of culture jamming meets personal introspection. I highly recommend his sugarcube minicomic. He also has a bunch of music on youtube, that is the kinda thing I like.

The Illustrated Journey is a fascinating project put together by some fine workers in Vancouver. Here is a description from their website - The Illustrated Journey is a community art project that brings together comic book artists and youth who are in the process of settling and integrating to Canada. The youth share their journey through storytelling and illustration, make friends, improve their English language skills and have fun in a safe and welcoming environment. They have put together an event for the release of their latest collection this Saturday.

They say that good things come in small packages. Sometimes they do, but I’m more inclined to believe that small packages contain generally the same ratio of wheat to chaff as anything else in the world. The minicomics from Silber Media are no exception. All of them are tiny (about 1” x 1.25”, give or take) and each page is comprised of a single panel and caption. It’s a tough format to work in, especially if you’re trying to tell a complete story in 40-50 pages, but it does periodically come out a rousing success. More often, sadly, it just kind of comes up flat…

Lost Kisses #7-10 – Brian John Mitchell

I’m going to assume that the narrator of Lost Kisses is a fictionalized version of Brian John Mitchell and not actually autobiographical, because I’m pretty sure no one out there would want themselves portrayed like that. On the surface, Lost Kisses recalls the heights of the zine revolution, when anyone could put a comic out and it didn’t matter if it was just filled with stick men, because it’s what they were trying to say that counts. What this particular comic is trying to say, as near as I can tell, is that the author/narrator is a misanthropic dick who cares little for the feelings of other people and now that he’s indirectly caused the death of one of his ex-girlfriends he can get over his hatred of women and just get on with hating the human race in general. What’s really disturbing, though, are the constant attempts of the narrator to paint himself as not such a bad guy. For instance, he hates women, but doesn’t resort to violence when dealing with them so that makes him okay. It’s like watching a sociopath cheerily justify his behavior while making the case that he doesn’t honestly have any antisocial tendancies. The narrative itself is presented very lightly and is legitimately and intentionally funny in spots, but unfortunately the moments of humour tend not to overpower the moments that make your skin want to crawl right off.

xo #5 – Brian John Mitchell/Melissa Spence Gardner

Watching the misadventures of a teenage drug-dealer cum hitman is one thing, but when it looks like a backup story in an Archie digest, I can’t help feeling that it lost me somewhere along the way. It’s not that Gardner’s art is bad—I rather enjoy it on its own merits—just misplaced. If the focus of xo was a teenage drug-dealer it might have genuinely worked, but the hitman element seems really out of place in nearly every regard. In A Complete Lowlife, Ed Brubaker’s semi-autobiographical main character was an amoral scumbag, but you believed the things that happened to him could honestly occur. In xo, after the narrator’s first target is accidentally dispatched, the narrator quickly tidies up the murder scene, slips the body into the trunk and drives off in the victim’s car, like he’s been doing this kind of thing all his life. I don’t buy it. I almost wish xo had shot a little lower in its plot aspirations, because if this had just been the accounts of a garden variety scumbag’s drug deals gone wrong, I might have genuinely enjoyed it.

Worms #3 & 4 – Brian John Mitchell/Kimberly Traub

I’m always wary when something tells me it’s recommended for fans of H.P. Lovecraft and Franz Kafka, because basically what that means is that it’s weird and creepy, but you won’t get an explanation for the weird creepiness, because that would take away from the creepy weirdness. Worms follows this pattern to a T. Here’s the plot: a woman, after witnessing the death of her father, is trapped in a strange hospital which conducts horrifying medical experiments. Strange and horrifying things include: an IV bag full of worms, an endless hallway, patients in comas and a nurse whose voice can put people to sleep. The art resembles nothing so much as the drug-addled doodles of my friends in Grade Nine art class, which isn’t the worst complement to the story, but doesn’t do it any favours either. Honestly, if you want to read a creepy Kafka-esque book about a hospital, track down Secret Rendezvous by Kobo Abe. Or, if you’re in the mood for disturbing tales of mental illness in comic form, try Tales of Ordinary Madness. Either of them follow through on their (unspoken) promises better than Worms does.

Just a Man – Brian John Mitchell/Andrew White

If the Noir Western exists as a legitimate genre and not just something my head concocted just now, Just a Man is a brilliant example of it—tight script, sparse yet beautiful art, and a complete (and brutal) story in 56 panels. A man comes home from working in the fields to find his house ablaze, his infant son killed and his wife missing. He gets his rifle and goes to deliver what he hopes is justice. A nihilistic haiku of vengeance, Just a Man is probably the best minicomic I’ve read in ages. I don’t necessarily wish for a sequel (that would ruin the perfection of the ending), but I’d like to see more collaborations between Mitchell and White.

On top of the material in the Jack Survives collection, you can also find Jerry Moriarty’s more recent work, including his Sally series in Kramer’s Ergot’s 6 and 7 and Comic Art Magazine 9. And if you really feel like hunting them down, the Jack Survives work was also published in the original run of Raw.

Jerry Moriarty’s Jack Survives has been one of those quietly influential books that has only been available to collectors that were willing to cough up the big dough to find a rare copy. Chris Ware even traded an original piece of his art for a copy of the book back when it was out of print. Bueventura Press has recently reprinted the work in a really nice complete collection. Check out Tom Spurgeon’s review of the work here.

Cayetano Garza Jr is one of those talented folks out of The Center for Cartoon Studies. His work can be seen in the Funny Aminals anthology and his webcomic Year of the Rat.

Hyped-Up Plus Tax - Dabrye
Steeps - Freeworm
Infinite Regression - Quantic
Infesticons (Hero Theme) - Fila Brazillia
I Changed My Mind - Lyrics Born
Nudez (ft. Too $hort & MC Zumbi of Zion-I) - AmpLive
They Can’t Hang - DJ Storm
Face To Face - Daft Punk
Strangers in the Wind - Cut Copy
Burning - The Whitest Boy Alive
Frozen Feet - Tacks, the Boy Disaster
Always for You - The Album Leaf
Searching for the Sun - The Cush
Amsterdam - Peter Bjorn and John
Eastbound - Ola Podrida
Ballad of Big Nothing - Elliott Smith
Into the Next Sun - Soundtrack of Our Lives

Jeff Lemire has been putting on astonishing amount of great work over the last couple of years. Essex County, The Nobody and Sweet Tooth are all very strong works that link together to create a larger piece that link the ideas that Jeff is exploring. Check out the Canadian star.

Billy Mavreas is one Canada’s comic scene gems. He is known for being one of the nicest men, who goes out of his way to connect people and help foster a great community spirit through his Galerie Monastiraki.

Johnny O’Braides-Lee   -  Alan Lomax, w Ewan MacCol, Peggy Seeger 1:39
Old Brown Shoe   - The Beatles 3:20
Drop Down Mama  - Mississippi Fred McDowell 2:52
I Can’t control myself  - The Troggs 3:04
Shimmy Shimmy Coco Bop - Little Anthony & The Imperials 2:10
Motorcycle Irene - Moby Grape 2:17
The American Ruse - MC5 2:31
To Zeimbekiko Tis Evdokias - Loizos / Theodorakis 3:37
Jackknife / The Red Newt - Michael Hurley, Unholy Modal Rounder, Jeffrey Frederick & The Clamtones 3:30
Librarian - My Morning Jacket 4:20
Dirlada - Pandelis Ginnis 3:05
Bobépine - Plume Latraverse 3:57
Knife Edge - Emerson Lake & Palmer 5:04
Hey St. Peter - Flash In The pan 4:20
Thirteen - Big Star 2:34
Dying Crapshooter’s Blues - Blind Willie McTell 3:10
John Barleycorn Must Die - Traffic 6:26
Science Fiction Double Feature - Rocky Horror Picture Show 4:32

Hey folks in Vancouver. A couple of our local talented cartoonists are teaching courses at Emily Carr (page 23)on comicking. Check out Miriam Libicki’s site for more info on what she will be doing.

Robin Thompson will be teaching The Contemporary Comic: An Introduction
Comics bring together the arts of storytelling and illustration. In this course, you will learn about building stories through illustration, dialogue, and character development. Body language, passage of time, flow, perspective, composition, and personal style will also be addressed. Through exercises, projects, and critiques, you will learn to  develop your own ideas from concept to final product.

Sep 19 – Oct 31
Sat 1:30 pm – 4:30 pm
6 Sessions

And Miriam’s course is The Graphic Memoir: An Introduction
From Maus to Persepolis to Blankets, memoirs in graphic novel form are among the most powerful stories being told today. This course offers practical and wide-ranging techniques for translating your life experiences into sequential art. Classroom writing and drawing exercises, as well as take-home assignments, help you develop a creative process from brainstorm to script to layouts and editing. These projects, as well as group and individual critiques, will guide you towards effective storytelling in creating an original graphic memoir.

Oct 28 - Dec 9
Wed 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm
6 Sessions

Paul Karasik joined me for an indepth conversation about his work. Paul’s most recent work, has been editing the Fletcher Hanks collections. In collaboration with his sister, Judy Karasik, produced The Ride Together, which you can find on amazon for ridiculously cheap.

Lars Brown and I sat down for a proper conversation while he was in Vancouver for a comic convention. He had previously appeared for about 5 minutes on another interview, but that wasn’t enough for me. Check out his book Northworld, the third book will be out from Oni in November.

Many thanks to Gilbert Hernandez for providing this truly stellar mixtape. If you aren’t familiar with Gilbert’s work, I am a little shocked and disappointed. He has been continuing to put out strong work after strong work, with no chance of slowing down.

1–LOVE OF THE COMMON MAN- TODD RUNDGREN
2–LIVING WITHOUT YOU- MANFRED MANN’S EARTH BAND
3–I DROVE ALL NIGHT-ROY ORBISON
4–MAMBO SUN–T REX
5–ROCK BOX–RUN DMC
6–COMPLETE CONTROL–THE CLASH
7–CONTACT HIGH–IKE AND TINA TURNER
8–DISTURBANCE–THE MOVE
9–SUCH A NIGHT–ELVIS PRESLEY
10–SHE WAS HOT–THE ROLLING STONES
11–LIVING SIN–EMERSON, LAKE AND PALMER
12–THE DAY MY BABY GAVE ME A SURPRISE–DEVO
13–SMOOTH DANCER–DEEP PURPLE
14–AVENUE A–THE DICTATORS
15–CAROL BROWN–FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS
16–GIRLFRIEND (REMIX)–AVRIL LEVINE W/LITTLE MAMA

46 Million Art Auction

Inimitable Cartoonist and Fine Human Being Anders Nilsen has pulled together some great artwork for an even greater cause: health care reform. The participating artists are:

John Porcellino, Genevieve Elverum, Chris Ware, Ivan Brunetti, Dan Clowes, Phil Elverum (Mount Eerie), Jeffrey Brown, Paul Hornschemeier, Todd Baxter, Sonnenzimmer Print Studio, Adam Henry, Kevin Huizenga, Jay Ryan (The Bird Machine Print Studio), Lynda Barry, Lilli Carre, David Heatley, Kyle Obriot, Stephen Eichhorn, Buenaventura Press, Sammy Harkham and the organizer, Anders Nilsen.

The proceeds will go to Democracy for America Now, a national advocacy group running television ads to push the Public Option in democratic swing districts and offering support to congressional members who take a stand for the policy.

My art for the auction (from Beasts Volume 2) is here.

And you can (and should) see all the artwork up for auction by searching for 46 Million on eBay.

Please bid on something. If you’re feeling really generous, feel free to buy me that Todd Baxter photo. It’s amazing. But nowhere near as amazing as people finally having affordable health coverage. So bid now and bid often.

The Fart Party herself, Julia Wertz, took time for a lively discussion of all things Julia. I really love reading Fart Party and you should too.

Tom Neely’s contribution to the Cartoonist Mixtape Project, is probably the most thoroughly thought out yet. Tom has provided art work for people to print off for and use as the cover for a mixtape. Follow his careful instructions at the end of the posting here. Here is a high quality PDF of the cover art, which should be printed on legal sized paper. Please make note, that there are 2 separate audio files, Side A and Side B.

Side A:
1. intro - pussy galore
2. fucking viva - trap them
3. faction of dystopia - word salad
4. ground zero - ground zero
5. lesser animal - pig destroyer
6. like weeds - his hero is gone
7. why you gotta be like that? seriously. - hinges
8. castrating till the break of dawn - transient
9. reanimator - naked city (john zorn)
10. white trash headache- circle of dead children
11. hellspawn the rebirth - morbid angel
12. electrodes dictating - cripple bastards
13. burnt to death - chainsaw to the face
14. free at last - today is the day
15. where eagles dare - pajo

Side B:
1. little demon - screamin’ jay hawkins
2. this close - 7000 dying rats
3. nazarene decomposing - havohej
4. empty - corrupted
5. dagdad - ruins
6. rated X - miles davis
7. polygraph - cursed
8. edifice comples - swallowed up.
9. ghosts - severed head of state
10. la traición - brujeria
11. reevaluate life! - exit 13
12. pistol whipped - karp
13. the only cure, the only remedy - ludicra
14. dark - low
15. outro - corpus christii

Instructions for listening to this Mix-tape:

1. Get a 90 minute blank cassette tape.
2. Download “Corpsegrinder” from Inkstuds.com
3. Plug a computer into your walkman.
4. Record “Corpsegrinder! side A” onto side A of your cassette.
5. Flip the tape and rewind to the beginning of side B.
6. Record “Corpsegrinder! side B” onto side B of your cassette.
7. Unplug the computer from your walkman.
8. Flip the tape and rewind to the beginning of side A.
9. Print out cover.
10. Trim and fold cover to fit into cassette case.
11. Put on your headphones.
12. Press Play.
13. Sit in your room and draw pictures of skulls and devils while
banging your head.

Brandon Graham, James Stokoe, Marley Zarcone and Lars Brown joined me in the studio today to discuss their latest books. All three of these boys will be apearing this weekend at Vancouver’s very own Comix and Stoies festival.

The wonderful Kate Beaton joined the inkstuds for a second dose of my inane questioning. Her comics still continue to fill me with joy and wonder.

Jaime Hernandez is truly one of the industry greats. It’s really great that he is taking part in this humble little project.

Stay - Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs
Hang On Sloopy - The McCoys
A Whiter Shade of Pale - Procol Harem
Get Up (like a sex machine) part 1- James Brown
Sunday Morning Comin’ Down - Johnny Cash
Everybody Loves Me, Baby - Don McLean
Then Came the Last Days of May - Blue Oyster Cult
Sweet Jane - Mott the Hoople
Come and Get Your Love - Redbone
Do We Still Do It? - Slade
Teenage Kicks - The Undertones
I Wanna be Sedated - The Ramones
Party Train - Gap Band
Looks That Kill - Motley Crue
Here Comes Your Man - The Pixies
Straight Outta Compton - N.W.A.
I Will Always Love You - Dolly Parton

Hello People,

This week, I have a couple of interesting things going on, on the old Inkstuds Hour of Power. On Thursday August 20th at 2pm pacific time, Kate Beaton will be live on air, and listeners can call in ask Mz Beaton questions. The phone number for the station is 604-822-2487. If you want to listen live, go to www.citr.ca

Kate will only be on from 2-245. After that, from 245 -330, I will be joined in the studio by a group of degenerates, better known as Brandon Graham, James Stokoe and Lars Brown. The reason for the different programing this week - Vancouver’s very own Comix and Stories small press day of fun.

Hey Everybody, if you are in Vancouve, go check out my good friend Guillaume’s art show. I will be there.

The whole book is black and white, colored only by bluish shades of watercolor grey, highlighting the passages of Sprague’s words. Murphy’s rendering of faces and natural details are quite bewitching, making the reader stare into the staring faces of 19th century Americans, ravens and ornate gravestones alike, except in the case of drawing herself, where she just looks like a hastily sketched cartoon stand-in. Each page is laid out differently, giving the sense of a sprawling, illustrated poem in some places and a history or autobio comic in others. This method was a bit disjointed, but effective enough to tell the parallel stories of Murphy and Sprague.

The uneasy coexistence of the two stories is what undermined my enjoyment of I Still Live. From the cover depicting Murphy engaged in the Spiritualist practice of automatic writing, channeling this comic from the faces of the dead above her, I expected something more united in theme, a focus on one story or the other, or a more detailed look at both. Murphy sells her own story short by giving us only a sketch of her motivations and methods, and also gives short shrift to her subject by mainly illustrating her words instead of interpreting Sprague’s message for today’s audience. I am still left to wonder what was so personally compelling to Murphy about Sprague that she decided to do this project—disappointing in the face of Murphy’s obvious enthusiasm.

Brandon Graham is one of Vancouver’s best kept secrets right now. He has a bunch of new comics set to come out from Oni and Image over the next couple of months, not to mention putting together the excellent MeatHaus SOS, which came out last year. He also helped design the Inkstuds T-shirt, which I will be posting information about in the coming weeks.

The 18th letter-Rakim
Dollar Bill- Screaming Trees
I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry-Hank Williams
So What-Miles Davis
What?-Tribe called quest
Fubba U Cubba Cubba -Eminem
South Bronx 2002-KRS ONE
Time’s Up-Jadakiss Feat. Nate Dogg
Pulls Me Back-Rhymefest
Me and Jesus the Pimp in a ‘79 Granada Last Night-The Coup
Stripsearch-Faith No More
313-Eminem
Only the Truly Lost-Charles Bukowski

Michael Kupperman stopped by the Inkstuds to discuss all things Kuppermany. His new collection, Tales Designed to Thrizzle Volume One, is a great good times companion.

In her mostly one-page stories, Mucha takes a loosely chronological approach to the questions raised by becoming single. In “All By Myself,” after entertaining the non-no thought of dying alone, she considers the merits of being a cat lady vs. being a book lady and decides that living alone with books seems mostly harmless and besides, “maybe by then, [she]’ll have robots.” In “The Connotations of Single,” an informative infographic, she lists single things that by what people think of them, including, in the indifferent category, a single scoop of ice cream, which is rated “deceiving” because there is usually another scoop hiding down in the cone. Her writing is quite jokey, but doesn’t go where you may expect. It’s hard to be funny about such a played out subject, but Mucha’s enviable comic timing underpins each set-up.

All of this rumination works because of Mucha’s expressive art and lettering. Perfect gestures and googly eyes animate her deceptively simple figures. Her broken hearts, mini record players and cow socks are drawn in a cute but somehow edgy style that fits well with Mucha’s wry take on her experience.

Renee French was one of the earlier guests that have appeared the Inkstuds hour of power. It seems like a lifetime ago that she was on. Given that and how supportive she has been to the show over the last several years, I was pretty stoked when she offered to take part in Mix Tape project. It is a very eclectic mix that was lots of fun putting together. And if anyone else wants to take part in this project, just send me an email.

1. The Vandals “DISPROPORTIONED HEAD” (Internet Dating Superstuds)
2. Peggy Lee “IS THAT ALL THERE IS”
3. BO Donaldson and the Heywoods “BILLY DON’T BE A HERO”
4. Elvis Presley “LOVE ME”
5. Sex Pistols “PRETTY VACANT” (Never Mind the Bollocks)
6. Freddy Fender “BEFORE THE NEXT TEARDROP FALLS”
7. John Doe “DYIN’ TO GET HOME” (Meet John Doe)
8. Frank Sinatra ”MY FUNNY VALENTINE”  (Classic Sinatra)
9. David Geddes “RUN JOEY RUN”
10. Anthony Newley “DO YOU MIND” (The Magic of Anthony Newley)
11. The Velvet Underground “AFTER HOURS” (Peel Slowly and See)
12. Rancid “SHE’S AUTOMATIC” (And Out Came the Wolves)
13 Bobby Vinton “I’M MR. LONELY” (The Best of Bobby Vinton)
14 Johnny Cash “DIRTY OLD EGG SUCKING DOG”  (Folsom Prison)
15. Robert Downey Jr. “SMILE” (The Futurist)
16. Don Ho “TINY BUBBLES”
17. Roy Orbison “IT’S OVER” (Black & White Night)

Denis Kitchen joined myself and James Lloyd for a conversation about the work of Harvey Kurtzman. Denis is one of the authors of the incredible book, The Art of Harvey Kurtzman from Abrams Books. Denis was also involved in the recent collection Underground Classics and numerous other projects than I can mention here.

If you want to see more of Kurtzman’s work, be sure and check out Humbug, the recent EC reprint collections from Gemstone of his Two-Fisted Tales work as well as the Mad Archives from DC

This weeks mix comes from Wayno. Wayno provided a great mix of music that will surely delight and surprise. Thanks Wayno for putting this together.

Check out Wayno’s notes on the material he selected here.

1. The Out Crowd :: The Squares
2. Phonograph Records :: Scott-Textor Productions
3. Sentimental Journey :: Esquivel
4. Iena Sequence :: Roberto Pregadio
5. Relax-Ay-Voo :: Dean Martin & Line Renaud
6. Take Me Out To The Ball Game :: Stuart McKay and his Woods
7. Got a Match? :: Frank Gallop
8. On Her Doorstep Last Night :: Roger Ruskin Spear
9. Laisse Tomber Les Filles :: France Gall
10. Powerhouse :: Ernie Felice Quartet
11. Witch Doctor :: Werner Hass
12. The Pirate’s Poop :: Cliff Ferré
13. What’s A Nice Kid Like You Doing In A Place Like This :: Scatman Crothers
14. A Really Big Show Tonight :: Kirby Stone Four (with “boy singer” Ed Sullivan)
15. Mr. Dante Fontana :: Piero Piccioni (featuring Alberto Sordi)
16. Hey Barmaid! :: Jerry Colonna
17. Hawaiian Ungawa :: Homer Henderson and the Dalworthington Garden Boys
18. Hooray, They’re Hanging Father :: The Joy Buzzards
19. Bedazzled :: Peter Cook
20. Eefin’ Alvin :: The Chipmunks
21. Ballad Of Thunder Road (1968 version) :: Robert Mitchum
22. That’s How You Got Killed Before :: Dave Bartholomew
23. Diddy Wah Diddy :: Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band
24. Washingtron :: Tru Fax and the Insaniacs

Jillian Tamaki has been getting some much deserved praise for collaboration with her cousin, Mariko Tamaki, on the great book Skim. Don’t stop there though. I spent hours going through all the great work on her sketchblog as well as the wonderful Gilded Lillies from the good folks at Conundrum.

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned the idea of doing a cartoonist’s mix tape. Well, I decided to give it a  shot. There will be no regular schedule to it, they will just appear out of nowhere.

For the first mix, I thought we should start out with a bang. Trevor Alixopulos does his own radioshow as well as great comics, so he seems to be a perfect mix for what we are trying to do here.

Here is his playlist -

01 Kelly- Van She
02 Cowboy Song - Thin Lizzy
03 Ask the DJ - Mr. Hudson & the Library
04 Millionaire - Kelis
05 My Old Jams Still Slam - Shakespeare and Last Empire
06 September Song - Walter Huston
07 I Wish I Was a Mole in the Ground - Bascam Lamar Lunceford
08 2 Hearts (twelves remix) - Kylei Minogue
09 Fly By NIght - The Glamour
10 Nowhere Girl - B Movie
11 This Modern Love - Bloc Party
12 Rational Behavior - Mount Sims
13 50-50 - Sad Lovers & Giants

Trevor added this comment, “Hey, musical people can catch my radio show this sunday night, 11pm-1am Pacific Time, streaming live on http://www.krcb.org “.

Transcription of the conversation between Dan Nadel and David Mazzucchelli

Gene Yang and Derek Kirk Kim dropped by the Inkstuds to chat about their new book, The Eternal Smile and take part in hurling a couple of kind insults at each other. Take a careful listen for the lovely surefire hit, I Love My Shigacorn.

Troy Little’s Angora Napkin is fine, fun little gem of a comic. Its one of those books where you can tell that the creator is having lots of fun making it. He also has Chiaroscuro, which seems to take on the darker part of Troy’s imagination.

I picked up Caitlin Black’s work after seeing it being nominated for Doug Wright award. I really enjoyed the three books that i pick up and look forward to seeing more work by this new Canadian talent.

It’s been awhile since I laughed this hard in an interview. Lauren Weinstein was a lot of fun to talk to, and I hope you enjoy the interview as much as I did. Lauren’s work includes Girl Stories, Goddess of War, and Inside Vineyland. Lauren brings a unique view to comics that really expands on the artist aesthetics.

Prologue’s story concerns a shy guy at a party. With each unfolding of the comic, a new thought or event occurs in what proves to be a “too good to be true” night for him. Although the whole awkward-guy-finally-meets-adored-girl set up is overused in short story alternative comics, but I wanted to see where Kenan was going to take it and in the end I wasn’t disappointed.

By getting creative with grays, Kenan sets the rollicking party scene and night streetscapes apart from the romantic drama happening in them. His main characters are in richly shadowed black and white, also highlighting the intense quality of their interaction.

Prologue is a good example of form dictating narrative flow. I’d like to see more of these Oubliettes (French for secret dungeons) and how Kenan continues to work with the folded form.

We are introduced to Jam and Hank, two greasy, smoking, kids fucking around outside of a church somewhere in Californialand. When out of the church comes Jin, bored of rabid sermons on sin, long hair flowing and a disapproving remark on her lips, a strange alliance is born between her and Jam. Add Ting and Terng, foul-mouthed conjoined twins with an appetite for fighting, a potato chip beef at the bus stop and the healing power of rock n roll, and you’ve got the first issue of a kick ass fight comic all rolled up.

The story may be slight in this first issue, but the characters are so fully formed that they’re practically heaving with back story. Occasional non-instigatory dialogue bits hint at the kids’ larger worldviews in an effective way that doesn’t break the action:
“Why would they build a playground across from a bar?”
“…So all the kids in town know where they’re going to end up.”

However, all that would be nothing without Jo’s beautiful, intricate, black and white art. Her delicate lines sketch her coarse characters perfectly. There are visual cues to the character’s secrets everywhere, like when Jin meets Jam for the first time, and Jam’s mischievous face is framed by wild and beautiful fish that seem to cloud Jin’s internal controls, signaling confusion ahead. The panels explode with the surreality of teenagedom, where every sound, smell and moment is amplified to an excruciating degree. Jo creatively uses traditional panel structure to animate the fight scenes, using the rigidity to somehow highlight the physicality of her characters in action.

I fell for Jin & Jam after the second reading. Now that I’m hooked I can only hope the next issues deliver more story with the biff bang pow.