SACCO IN RAFAH
The July 6-dated New York Times magazine includes a four-page piece of comics reportage by Joe Sacco. "The Underground War in Gaza" relates Sacco's investigation of residential demolitions in the refugee camps of Rafah, justified by the Israeli army as strategically necessary eliminations of "military positions." The selectively colored comic is available as a slideshow on the Times' website.
INFO: The New York Times
posted by Egon on Saturday, July 05, 2003

THE VOICE OF FANTAGRAPHICS
The Village Voice's Joy Press reflects on the rise of Fantagraphics as both a publishing concern and as a subcultural phenomenon in light of the company's recent financial crisis. Press chats with publishers Gary Groth and Kim Thompson about various perceptions of Fantagraphics and the Comics Journal. Groth laments the current state of comics criticism in an atomsphere of creeping congeniality: "It's like some big Andy Hardy movie where everyone's pitching in and being supportive of each other—even if the other guy is doing dreck. People aren't going to get better at what they do if they live in this cocoon of reciprocal backslapping."
INFO: Village Voice
posted by Egon on Friday, July 04, 2003

MOCCA'S PRESS RUN
The New York Press covers the recent MoCCA comic arts festival and chats with guest of honor Art Spiegelman, who optimistically surveys the state of the medium: "It's nice... I can hate three-fourths of what's around today and still love comics. It used to be you had to pledge allegiance to everything because there was so little happening… If there was a future, I'd want to be in it."
INFO: New York Press
posted by Egon on Friday, July 04, 2003

PROFESSOR GLOECKNER
Comicon.com's "Pulse" website carries a short interview with Phoebe Gloeckner, who discusses reaction to her "Diary of a Teenage Girl." After citing Dostoevesky and "God" as influences, Gloeckner comments on upcoming projects: "I'm working on a screenplay of The Diary of a Teenage Girl, and I'm thinking about my next book. I was offered a faculty position at The University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and hope to start teaching there in the Spring or Fall of 2004, if everything falls into place."
INFO: Comicon.com: Pulse
posted by Egon on Friday, July 04, 2003

TCJ UPDATE: MAN AND MOUSE
The Comics Journal's website now features an excerpt from Jordan Raphael and Tom Spurgeon's forthcoming book, "Stan Lee and the Rise and Fall of the American Comic Book." The Journal's audio archive has also been updated with nearly an hour of excerpts from Arn Saba's 1978 interview with Mickey Mouse newspaper cartoonist Floyd Gottfredson.
INFO: The Comics Journal
posted by Egon on Friday, July 04, 2003

TRACK 16: LE DERNIER CRI
Los Angeles' Track 16 Gallery hosts "Le Dernier Cri," an exhibit of work from a host of artists published by the Marseilles-based press. "The exhibition will feature prints, paintings, drawings, animated films, and a selection of [the publisher's] 145 different publications will be displayed and will be for sale." The show opens with a reception on July 9 and runs through August 16.
INFO: Track 16 Gallery
LINK: Le Dernier Cri
posted by Egon on Thursday, July 03, 2003

DITKO AUDIO
Blake Bell's Steve Ditko website now features a streaming audio recording of "The Art of Steve Ditko," a panel Blake moderated at the 2002 Comic-Con International in San Diego. Panelists Gary Groth, Batton Lash, John Romita and Paul Smith discuss Ditko's art and career.
INFO: Ditko Looked Up
posted by Egon on Thursday, July 03, 2003

PALESTINE PRAISED AGAIN
IslamOnline runs a review of Joe Sacco's collected "Palestine." Writer Amy Feigely calls the format "the perfect way to tell stories that are wrought with emotion as one box fades into another or one thought is emphasized with graphics that give life to stories that would otherwise be lost in a sea of words."
INFO: IslamOnline
posted by Egon on Thursday, July 03, 2003

THE CONNECTICUT CONNECTION
The Hartford Courant traces the material link between Connecticut publishing and the early American comic book industry in light of an exhibit organized by the Connecticut Historical Society on that topic. The Society recently purchased a copy of "Funnies on Parade," held to be the first modern American comic book and "published in 1933 by Eastern Color Printing in Waterbury," Connecticut.
INFO: The Hartford Courant
LINK: Connecticut Historical Society
posted by Egon on Wednesday, July 02, 2003

SAVAGE PENCILS
West Hollywood's New Image Art gallery hosts "Lead Poisoning," a collection of pencil art by over sixty artists, through August 16. Artists on show include Brian Chippendale, Richard McGuire, Gary Panter and Souther Salazar. Several sample images are available on the gallery's website; the show's close will be marked with a reception at the gallery.
INFO: New Image Art
posted by Egon on Wednesday, July 02, 2003

MCCLOUD'S NUMBER THEORY
Scott McCloud has launched his online graphic novella "The Right Number" via his website. Testing McCloud's hypothesis that online "micropayments" offer a viable means of supporting digital comics, each of the story's three parts will be available for a 25-cent charge. McCloud describes "The Right Number" as "a spooky, psychological drama about math, sex, obsession and phone numbers. Each panel is embedded in the previous panel -- you zoom through to read it." Three of the first chapter's fifty-seven panels can be freely previewed.
INFO: scottmccloud.com
posted by Egon on Tuesday, July 01, 2003

BELL RINGS TRUE
Guardian cartoonist Steve Bell recounts his trip to the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists' annual convention in Pittsburg, PA for today's edition. Bell traces the editorial cartoon's dual, transatlantic roots to James Gillray and Thomas Nast before pointing out a divide in the current American sphere evidenced by arguments in Pittsburgh. "One of the most enjoyable debates is a stylistic one between the 'Alties' (ie: the alternative new wave) represented by [Ted] Rall, and the 'Nasties' (ie: those working in the tradition of Thomas Nast) represented by Steve Kelley of the New Orleans Times-Picayune." Ultimately, Bell laments pervasive timorousness in the American press.
INFO: The Guardian
posted by Egon on Monday, June 30, 2003