PANTHEON PLANS TÖPFFER BOOK
Pantheon Press will publish Rodolphe Töpffer's "Essay on Physiognomy" and "Essay on Autography" in English-translation as part of a planned volume of Töpffer's work, Chris Ware reveals in an e-mail forwarded by Bob Beerbohm to the Platinum Age Comics mailing list. "The idea is to present Töpffer's work in as close as possible form to the original 'look,' but in English," Ware writes. "Of course, I'm doing all the lettering, so I'm going to have to practice my penmanship." Beerbohm further adds: "This is a project which is slowly gaining steam — Art Spiegelman is spearheading its inception at Pantheon... Chris is going to be doing layouts — and David Kunzle is to be involved." A release date and content list for the book have yet to be announced. Beerbohm forwarded Ware's message to the list with the artist's permission.
LINK: Yahoo Groups: Platinum Age Comics
LINK: Lambiek.net: Rodolphe Töpffer
LINK: Töpffer.com
posted by Egon on Friday, March 26, 2004

THE FATE OF EDDIE CAMPBELL
Eddie Campbell reveals details of his next autobiographical graphic novel in an interview with Comicon.com's "Pulse" website. "The Fate of the Artist," due by year's end, "will be self-published, and the finest thing I've ever attempted," says Campbell. The book "will be an investigation into the disappearance of myself. It's very complicated; in the scenes where I am required to appear, my part is played by an actor. It's the last word in postmodernism."
INFO: Comicon.com: The Pulse
posted by Egon on Tuesday, March 23, 2004

SIKORYAK SPEAKS: MASTERPIECE COMICS
R. Sikoryak has developed a slideshow titled "Masterpiece Comics: Looking at Literature through the Cartoon Medium" with the sponsorship of the New York Council for the Humanities, the artist announces via e-mail. "I'm currently participating in the New York Council for the Humanities' Speakers in the Humanities program," Sikoryak explians. "This means that any not-for-profit (nonprofit) organization in New York State, including high schools, may apply to the program (for a small processing fee). The NY Council will then pay my expenses and honorarium to deliver the lecture." Sikoryak's presentation "explores the intersection of 'high art' literature and 'low art' comic strips. Through the last century, many cartoonists have adapted classic novels and plays; Sikoryak discusses the history of these reinterpretations with images from over eighty years of comic strips and books. They are by turns respectful, hilarious, and revelatory."
INFO: New York Council for the Humanities
posted by Egon on Tuesday, March 23, 2004

SLUG SOUNDS
Ben Katchor and musician/composer Mark Mulcahy appeared today on WNYC public radio's "Soundcheck" program to excerpt "The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island, or the Friends of Dr. Rushower," the duo's currently-running stage production. "Scored for a rock band and featuring Katchor's drawings as backdrops, it depicts the efforts of a New York philanthropist to bring the modern poetry to a group of exploited island workers." Episodes of "Soundcheck" are available online as streaming audio files.
INFO: WNYC
posted by Egon on Tuesday, March 23, 2004

9e ART #10
Publishing house Les Éditions de l'An 2 reveals contents for the tenth issue of 9e Art magazine, due in April. The biannual magazine's latest issue will cover work by Art Spiegelman, Jirô Taniguchi and Yoshiharo Tsuge. Other features will include a history of Garo and the story of Oubapo, told in six specially-created collaborative comics pages. The issue will also profile Lyonel Feininger and Saul Steinberg. 9e Art magazine costs 17.50 Euros.
INFO: Éditions de l'An 2
posted by Egon on Tuesday, March 23, 2004

SCHULZ BIO IN THE WORKS
Newsday runs a feature article on Fantagraphics' forthcoming Peanuts reprint series, speaking with series designer Seth and with Chip Kidd. "David Michaelis, biographer of painter N.C. Wyeth, is at work on an authorized Schulz biography for HarperCollins," the paper additionally reports.
INFO: Newsday
posted by Egon on Tuesday, March 23, 2004

TÖPFFER.COM
Coconino World has launched Topffer.com, an in-progress website dedicated to Rodolphe Töpffer. The budding website includes "Cruikshank & Töpffer: Man on the Roof!", a new essay by Thierry Smolderen. The essay, available in English, posits that one of George Cruikshank's illustrations for Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist" was based upon an illustration from Töpffer's "Mr. Vieux Bois." The website also runs in full Coconino World's 1845 version of the "Histoire de M. Cryptogramme," adapted for wood engraving by Cham and seralized in "L'Illustration" magazine. Coconino World has additionally been updated with contemporary work by Clément Baloup and Rémi Cattelain.
INFO: Topffer.com
INFO: Coconino World
posted by Egon on Sunday, March 21, 2004

HORROCKS' PERFECT PLANET
Dylan Horrocks has posted a new essay titled "The Perfect Planet: Comics, Games and World-Building" to his website. Looking primarily at comic books and role playing games, Horrocks considers narratives focused on "world-building" rather than plot: "What happens when we focus on geographical narrative – the construction of a place – rather than temporal narrative – the construction of a series of events? When we replace plot with landscape as the central organising element? And when, instead of going on a journey through time, we set out to create and explore a space?"
INFO: Dylan Horrocks
posted by Egon on Sunday, March 21, 2004

OLYMPIANS CONVERGE
The Olympia Comics Festival will take place May 29 at the Olympia Center with guests including Dennis Eichhorn, Joe Sacco and Shannon Wheeler. An anthology will be published in conjunction with the festival: "For inclusion, we consider cartoonists who live in Olympia, used to live in Olympia, or at least are visiting Olympia for the festival." More information is available at the festival website.
INFO: Olympia Comics Festival
posted by Egon on Sunday, March 21, 2004

TALKING WITH ANDREW ARNOLD
The Silver Bullet Comic Books website interviews Time Magazine's online comics columnist, Andrew Arnold. "I'm not sure that there are many misconceptions about comics left," says Arnold. "If anything, alternative comics creators and the media that cover them should stop being so insecure about how they are perceived."
INFO: Silver Bullet Comic Books
posted by Egon on Sunday, March 21, 2004