PRIX BÉDÉLYS 2003
Univers BD reports winners of the 2003 Bédélys awards, four juried Quebecois prizes administered by the "Promo 9e Art" organization. The "Bédélys d’Or" and the "Bédélys Découverte" both went to Jiro Taniguichi for volumes of "Quartier Lointain." The "Bédélys Jeunesse - Bibliothèque de Montréal," given to a book for youth, was awarded to Édith for "La Maison Jaune." The "Bédélys Québec" was given to Leif Tande for "Motus!"
INFO: Univers BD
LINK: Promo 9e Art
posted by Egon on Friday, February 27, 2004

CARAN D'ACHE CASHES CHECK
Coconino World latest update runs "Carnet de Chèques," an 1892 picture story by Caran d'Ache. Other newly-added material includes work by Peggy Adam, Dominique Bertail and Rémi Cattelain.
INFO: Coconino World
posted by Egon on Friday, February 27, 2004

EYE ON THE JAM
Guy Leshinksi covers the Toronto Comic Jams in his "Panelist" column for Toronto's weekly "Eye." Organized by Dave Howard, the monthly jams are currently featured in an interactive exhibit at the offthemapgallery space.
INFO: Eye Weekly
posted by Egon on Friday, February 27, 2004

TIME FOR TUESDAY
Andrew Arnold reviews "Tuesday" by Henrik Rehr in his regular "Time.comix" online column. Arnold calls the series a "group portrait of New York sophisticates, [which] reads like the movie Woody Allen hasn't made in years."
INFO: Time.comix
posted by Egon on Friday, February 27, 2004

POST RUNS CHARTIER OBIT
The February 25 issue of Canada's National Post ran a full-length obituary of the late Albert Chartier (incorrectly named "Arthur" in the piece). The Post characterizes Chartier's style: "But Chartier's style wasn't small-town hokey; rather, he employed modernist lines to calm a biting sense of humour. Growing up amid the jazz bars and cabarets of 1920s Montreal, Chartier had little difficulty injecting risque commentary and lascivious double entendres into the comic-strip medium. 'I really wanted to record specific expressions and a way of talking that you hardly hear anymore,' said Chartier." Drawn and Quarterly's Chris Oliveros opined: "It's sadly typical of Canadian culture that a lot of people don't find out about such great talent until the person dies."
INFO: National Post
posted by Egon on Friday, February 27, 2004

ICAF & SPX TO UNITE, NOT DIVIDE
As alluded to in a recently revised call for papers, the International Comic Arts Festival (ICAF) will once again occur in conjunction with the Small Press Expo (SPX) this year. Last year's ICAF took place at Georgetown University in Washington, DC; this year the event will return to Bethesda, MD to run alongside SPX. "As in past years, ICAF and SPX are coordinating their schedules to allow visitors to get the most out of both events. All are welcome to attend ICAF panels. Admission to ICAF is free, although there is a small entrance fee for SPX." The announcement was made via a press release carried by Comicon.com's "Pulse" website, among other news outlets. ICAF takes place September 30 through October 2; SPX runs October 1 through October 3.
INFO: Comicon.com: The Pulse
LINK: ICAF
posted by Egon on Tuesday, February 24, 2004

TALKING WITH TOMINE
The San Francisco Chronicle speaks with Adrian Tomine about the recently-published ninth issue of Optic Nerve. Tomine discusses his current serial, his upcoming art-book, and the awkwardness of book signings.
INFO: San Francisco Chronicle
posted by Egon on Tuesday, February 24, 2004

OPPER: MOTHER HUBBARD'S DOG
Coconino World's latest update includes Frederick Opper's picture story "Old Mother Hubbard and Her Wonderful Dog," excerpted from an 1899 book of illustrated children's verse.
INFO: Coconino World
posted by Egon on Tuesday, February 24, 2004

HEY KIDZ, POLITIX!
Soft Skull Press lists among upcoming books "Hey Kidz! Buy This Book," a children's book by former Comics Journal editor Anne Elizabeth Moore with illustrations by Megan Kelso. The book, subtitled "A Radical Primer on Corporate and Governmental Marketing Tactics and Artistic Activism for Short People," is due in July 2004.
INFO: Soft Skull Press
posted by Egon on Tuesday, February 24, 2004

ALBERT CHARTIER DEAD AT 91
Quebecois cartoonist Albert Chartier died February 21 at the age of 91, the "Sequential" comics news website reports. According to Lambiek.net's Comiclopedia, Chartier "turned to comics after studying fine arts. His first comic was the daily 'Bouboule', which appeared in La Patrie from 1930." Chartier's best known work is "Onésime," a monthly, full-page strip that appeared in "Le Bulletin des Agriculteurs" from 1943 until 2002, according to a piece written by Jeet Heer for the National Post. Chartier was recently the subject of a retrospective feature in Drawn & Quarterly Vol. 5.
INFO: Sequential
INFO: Lambiek.net: Albert Chartier
INFO: Jeet Heer: Albert Chartier
posted by Egon on Monday, February 23, 2004

EISNER DEFUSES PLOT
The New York Times speaks with Will Eisner about "The Plot," his in-progress graphic novel about "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion." "The Protocols" is an anti-Semitic document forged by the Russian czar's secret police at the the turn of the twentieth century. "I was surfing the Web one day when I came across this site promoting 'The Protocols' to readers in the Mideast," Eisner told the paper. "I was amazed that there were people who still believed 'The Protocols' were real, and I was disturbed to learn later that this site was just one of many that promoted these lies in the Muslim world. I decided something had to be done."
INFO: The New York Times
posted by Egon on Monday, February 23, 2004

CFP: COMICS AS POP CULTURE
The South Atlantic Modern Language Association's Popular Culture division solicits papers on the subject of comic books for the SAMLA's annual meeting, to be held November 12 - 14, 2004 in Roanoke, Virginia. "Abstracts are invited that discuss aspects of comic books as popular culture (heroes, villains, gender, art, audience, history, impact, violence, etc.)." Abstracts no longer than 500 words are due to Area Chair Dava L. Simpson by March 15, and can be submitted via e-mail: davallyn@yahoo.com. Proposals must include a brief vita, contact information, and equipment requests.
INFO: SAMLA
posted by Egon on Monday, February 23, 2004

SPIEGELMAN SPEAKS, SPEECHES AHEAD
San Jose's Mercury News interviews Art Spiegelman in advance of his February 24 lecture at the University of California, Berkeley. Spiegelman calls comics' entrée into broader American culture "a done deal... But," he adds, "there's a Faustian price to pay." Topics Spiegelman briefly discusses include "In the Shadow of No Towers," the literacy value of comics, and the political and social ramifications thereof. Spiegelman will also speak at the University of California, Los Angeles on February 25.
INFO: Mercury News
posted by Egon on Sunday, February 22, 2004