EPILEPTIC: CONSOLIDATED BY PANTHEON
Fantagraphics will not co-publish (with L'Association) David B.'s "Epileptic" Vol. 2 as originally planned, Kim Thompson confirms in a post to the Comics Journal's message board. "The complete EPILEPTIC will be released all in one volume by Pantheon in January 2005," says Thompson. The book will include the totality of "Epileptic" Vol. 1 and what would have been "Epileptic" Vol. 2. "It'll actually be priced about the same as a L'Association-published EPILEPTIC VOLUME 2 would have been, so no one's out any money... the art will be shrunk a bit to make for a smaller, more novel-sized book. (Which will also make it less unwieldy.)"
INFO: The Comics Journal
posted by Egon on Thursday, January 29, 2004

COMICS COURSES AT YALE
Yale University's 2004 Summer Program will offer two comics courses through the English department, Isaac Cates announced to the National Association of Comics Arts Educators (NACAE) message board. Cates will teach "Reading Comics as Literature," described in the course catalog as "a study of the methods and meanings of recent literary efforts in the medium of comics, otherwise known as 'graphic novels.'" Matt Madden will teach "Comics Storytelling," described as "a workshop that introduces the fundamentals of storytelling in comics." "They run from early July to early August, and the two courses are on alternating days," writes Cates. Tuition for each class is $1,800.
INFO: Yale University Summer Programs
INFO: NACAE
posted by Egon on Thursday, January 29, 2004

PEKAR ON SACCO
Harvey Pekar reviews Joe Sacco's "The Fixer" in his regular "Obscurity Knocks" column for the Journal News of White Plains, NY. "His artwork is unique, strikingly grim," writes Pekar. "He has a very good method of making text-heavy panels more readable by dividing the text into a number of separate rectangles, rather than trying to squeeze it into one large caption or balloon. "
INFO: The Journal News
posted by Egon on Wednesday, January 28, 2004

ZAPIRO SPEAKS
MSNBC carries a Newsweek interview with South African editorial cartoonist Jonathan "Zapiro" Shapiro, who joined political cartoonists invited to discuss their work at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Among other topics, Zapiro told Newsweek about a South African exhibit of his work: "Last year I was invited to put on an exhibition for a dialogue between U.S. and South African politicians in South Africa. Among the 56 cartoons I put up, there were some not just about George W. Bush, but also about Bill Clinton. The [Americans] demanded the whole exhibition be taken down. In the end, there was not a good compromise: three of the cartoons were taken down. The South African media reacted to such a huge extent I had more interviews in 24 hours than I'd ever done before. I think there was such a huge response because people saw it as part of something much bigger, which is the United States telling other countries and other people what they can and can't talk about, what they can put up [on display]. It was a very stark example."
INFO: MSNBC
posted by Egon on Wednesday, January 28, 2004

ANGOULÊME PHOTO-REPORT
Fumetti.org runs several dozen photos taken by Laurent Melikian at the 2004 FIBD in Angoulême, France. The pictures include shots of "The Building," a stage-play adapted from Will Eisner's book by la Compagnie Le Sablier.
INFO: Fumetti.org
posted by Egon on Wednesday, January 28, 2004

SPIEGELMAN ON NPR
Art Spiegelman appeared on the January 26 episode of NPR's "Morning Edition" as part of "Intersections," a segment on "artists and their inspirations." NPR's website runs several short clips from the episode. In two separate excerpts, Spiegelman briefly discusses the Underground Comix movement and Ernie Bushmiller's "Nancy." The website also excerpts Spiegelman's own recorded interviews with his father, Vladek Spiegelman, which served as the basis for "Maus." Finally, three audio clips sample the music of the Comedy Harmonists, "a 1930s Berlin sextet composed of three Jews and three Aryans" that served as background music while Spiegelman worked on the book. The website further includes a short slideshow, featuring a "Mad" cover by Basil Wolverton and several "Maus" panels.
INFO: NPR
posted by Egon on Monday, January 26, 2004

COCONINO WORLD INVADES ANGOULÊME
Coconino World's "Station Delta" website features a special section dedicated to this past weekend's FIBD in Angoulême, France. The site, which was updated over the course of the weekend, includes photo albums documenting various Festival events and exhibits.
INFO: Coconino World: Station Delta
posted by Egon on Monday, January 26, 2004

INDY MAGAZINE RETURNS
William Kartalopoulos, proprietor of the "Egon" comics news and information website, has edited a re-launch of "Indy Magazine" as an online quarterly published by Jeff Mason of Alternative Comics. The debut issue includes an Angoulême photo-essay by Jason Little, artwork from upcoming books by Charles M. Schulz and Souther Salazar, and a review of Alan Moore's novel, "Voice of the Fire," among other features.
INFO: Indy Magazine
posted by Egon on Monday, January 26, 2004

FANTAGRAPHICS IN MAY
A press release from Fantagraphics announces books due in May, including "Blood Orange" #1, a new quarterly anthology edited by Chris Polkki. The 48-page black and white debut issue will include work by Rick Altergott, Kevin Huizenga, Ron Regé, Jr., Lauren Weinstein and others. Also due in May are new issues of "Meat Cake," "The Stuff of Dreams," and "Luba's Comics and Stories." The Comics Journal #261 ships that month, featuring a cover by that issue's interview subject, Phoebe Gloeckner.
LINK: Fantagraphics
posted by Egon on Monday, January 26, 2004

TÖPFFER & CO. IN TORONTO
Tandem, an online magazine, covers the "Töpffer & Cie" (Töpffer & Co.) travelling exhibit, currently at the Istituto Italiano di Cultura in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The exhibit includes more than 25 contemporary Swiss artists. "Ultimately, it is an exhibition which ensures the comic will never stay true to a single format, that it will resist always the linear structure of the page, and break open they ways in which we think about narratives, about characters and their movement across the page, about the three-dimensionality of humour." The exhibit runs at the Istituto through February 27.
INFO: Tandem
LINK: Istituto Italiano di Cultura
posted by Egon on Monday, January 26, 2004