TRANSLATING TSUGE
The Daily Yomiuri runs an account by Kosei Ono of Yoshiharu Tsuge's English-language publishing history. Ono served as a go-between for the two Tsuge translations that ran in Raw Magazine as well as the recent English-language version of "Nejishiki," or "Screw-Style," that ran in The Comics Journal's 250th issue. Says Ono, "One thing I am not too happy about with the English version of Nejishiki is that the pages are printed in reverse so that they can be read from left to right, not from right to left as Japanese manga are supposed to be read. That will not be the case with the French version of Tsuge's book-length work Muno no Hito (Nowhere Man), which is being prepared for publication later this year."
INFO: Daily Yomiuri
posted by Egon on Friday, May 30, 2003

FANTAGRAPHICS CRUNCH COVERED
Fantagraphics' economic travails are covered by a piece in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, as spotted by the Comics Journal's "iJournalista!" website. Reporter Dan Richman speaks with publishers Gary Groth and Kim Thompson as well as several Seattle area cartoonists whose work is published by Fantagraphics. In addition to issues associated with the 2001 bankruptcy of former distributor Seven Hills, Groth and Thompson attribute their shortfall to recent overprinting undertaken in response to brisk initial sales through new distributor W. W. Norton. "I think we overcompensated," says Thompson. In a separate article run by Comicon.com's "Pulse" news website, Groth discusses overpaying and overprinting as constituent elements of the current financial crisis. He tells Heidi MacDonald, "We just need x amount of dollar to get us through this the next 30 days and at that point we should be okay. We're going to be paying debt off for probably the next year but once we get past this hurdle and the system of checks and balances kicks in. Every book that's at the printer, we have carefully scrutinized in relationship to advance sales. It will become manageable."
INFO: Seattle Post-Intelligencer
INFO: Comicon.com: The Pulse
posted by Egon on Friday, May 30, 2003

STEVE CANYON GETS CHECKERED
The Checker Book Publishing Group announces an upcoming series of volumes collecting Milt Caniff's "Steve Canyon," beginning in September. "Each Checker edition will contain several of Caniff's gloriously illustrated Canyon adventures, along with contextual and interpretive material, and will run roughly 200 pages. Checker plans to release its collections quarterly." The first volume "will contain strips from January 13 through November 24, 1947."
INFO: Checker Book Publishing Group
posted by Egon on Thursday, May 29, 2003

FAIR WEATHER
The L. A. Weekly runs a two-color strip by newly-minted Los Angelino Joe Matt in its May 30 - June 5, 2003 issue. The piece is available online via the Weekly's website.
INFO: L. A. Weekly
posted by Egon on Thursday, May 29, 2003

AL HARTLEY MOURNED
Flat Earth columnist Steve Wintle joins the chorus of those remembering Archie cartoonist Al Hartley, who died recently at 81. According to an Associated Press report, Hartley "spent nearly three decades illustrating the 'Archie' comic strips" and spent time working for Marvel Comics. "Hartley is probably best known for his line of Christian comics, published by the Spire group," writes Wintle. "Many of these comics featured Archie and the rest of the Riverdale gang." Flat Earth links to sample comics available online.
INFO: Flat Earth
posted by Egon on Thursday, May 29, 2003

FANTAGRAPHICS' DIRE STRAITS
Ain't it Cool News, a website largely given over to film fandom and gossip, reports that Fantagraphics Books faces a desperate financial situation and that the publisher has issued a plea for immediate support from sympathetic readers. Difficulties trail Fantagraphics' relationship with Seven Hills Distribution, according to the statement run by Ain't it Cool News: "Our former and now bankrupt book trade distributor went out of business owing us over $70,000 — which we will never see... This unexpected shortfall necessitated taking out a couple loans which have now come due... Put simply, we need to raise about $80,000 above our usual sales over the next month, and the only way to do that is to convert books into cash. We already sell books by mail, so, as clichéd as it sounds, we really do have operators standing by." Orders of $500 or more will be rewarded with a personal telephone call of thanks from publisher Gary Groth. (Update: This information has since been confirmed by Fantagraphics' Dirk Deppey via a post to the Comics Journal's message board.)
INFO: Ain't It Cool News
INFO: The Comics Journal
LINK: Fantagraphics
posted by Egon on Thursday, May 29, 2003

A MOMENT WITH MARJANE
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer briefly interviews Marjane Satrapi in anticipation of the graphic memoirist's upcoming reading at The Elliott Bay Book Company.
INFO: Seattle Post-Intelligencer
posted by Egon on Thursday, May 29, 2003

STORYARK BOARDS IN BROOKLYN
Tom Hart announces a summer cartooning program for children, planned according to the "StoryArk" curriculum of comics pedagogy developed by Hart and Lauren Weinstein. Hart says, "Beginning June 9, Lauren Weinstein and myself are teaching a 5 week workshop in cartooning to kids in the Cypress Hills area of Brooklyn. If you're between the ages of 11-14, stop on by!"
INFO: StoryArk
posted by Egon on Wednesday, May 28, 2003

CAROUSEL IN JUNE
R. Sikoryak's "Carousel" program of narrated slideshows returns to New York's Marquee theater on June 2 with presentations by Patrick Hambrecht, Jason Little, Arlen Schumer, Sikoryak and Lauren Weinstein. The program will be followed by a screening of "Grasshopper," a short film including Sikoryak in its cast. The program of events begins at 8:30; admission costs $12.
posted by Egon on Wednesday, May 28, 2003

SPLENDOR LAUDED AT CANNES
"American Splendor," the film based on Harvey Pekar's autobiographical comics, was given an International Critics' Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
INFO: Cleveland Plain Dealer
posted by Egon on Wednesday, May 28, 2003

REUBEN ON WRY
The San Francisco Chronicle covers the National Cartoonists Society's annual Reuben Awards Weekend, talking with participating cartoonists at a picnic hosted by Jean Schulz in Santa Rosa, CA. The piece also provides a complete list of the weekend's award recipients, including Stan Sakai in the "Comic Book" category.
INFO: San Francisco Chronicle
posted by Egon on Wednesday, May 28, 2003

GROENING GIVEN REUBEN
The National Cartoonists Society has given Matt Groening the 2003 Reuben Award, naming him "Cartoonist of the Year," the Associated Press reports. The award was given Saturday as part of the organization's annual Reuben Awards Weekend.
INFO: ABC
LINK: National Cartoonists Society
posted by Egon on Monday, May 26, 2003