comics

Press Release Coming Soon.

NY Comics Artist, Jerry Ma has always had our back. I’m less interested in the super hero aspect, but more into the process and concept. I also got included. I enlisted graphics designer Sara Saedi to do an illustration for a short tiny idea I wrote out. My story is about a Robot which was built by the Japanese American inmates in the Concentration Camps during World War II. I wish I can expand that more. Great work, folks. (Washington Post – Shattered)

“Where I was in Brooklyn, I don’t think I would have even known that there was a major storm happening,” says Adrian Tomine, the artist of next week’s cover, “Undeterred.” He continues:

So I spent the whole night glued to the Internet and watching everything unfolding, just being shocked that this kind of dramatic destruction was happening just miles outside my home. And I started thinking about how it would affect the election. This is a first for me in terms of doing [a cover] that’s topical with a quick turnaround; and somehow, these two significant events just came together into that one image for me.

Tomine adds:

For all its really horrible effects, I feel like the storm has made real a lot of issues in the election that were hypothetical, that were thrown around as debate topics—global warming; and “Is Obama enough of a leader to handle a natural disaster?”; and do we need FEMA? It’s really interesting, and in a way useful, to see a lot of these things become actual issues that are right at hand.

Read more http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2012/11/cover-story-sandy-and-election.html#ixzz2B73WkdWx

Obviously influential to many artists everywhere. Chris Ware is one for sure. Here’s a little more information about McCay at (Huffpo – Windsor)

There are plenty to check out all broken down by topics from inspiration to Manga. He’s a legend and here’s an easy way to get to know him. (Discover Nikkei – Stan Sakai)

The word is finally out that PictureBox will be publishing the result of a collaboration between three GR friends, Anne Ishii, Graham Kolbeins and Chip Kidd all to honor and share the work (almost all of it never-before-translated into English)  of Gengoroh Tagame.

Vastly different in content, context and audience than yaoi (boys loving on boys) manga, this collection could significantly impact the current generation of American comics creators exploring subversive and erotic themes. Tagame’s work is known now in the US in small circles to express a masculinity and sexuality that is rarely represented. I love, on so many levels, that this project has been undertaken, and it will be interesting to see how PictureBox, a pretty hetero outfit on the whole, moves forward with it. Graphically and thematically, it’s a big leap for them.

Keep it on your reading wish-list. Graham has been passionate about Tagame’s work for several years now, and has always had an eye for the quirky but sincere. The proof is in his film projects, and in his Future Shipwreck pudding. Anne couldn’t be a better translator/producer of this project. She’s the smartest gay man that I know. Chip Kidd brings his clout, his design sensibility, quality control, and his passion for the hidden comic genre. All in all, this is a dream team that’s been assembled. Very stoked to see this go from conception to birth announcement!

Spring 2013. Save your lunch/bondage gear/Butt Magazine money and buy this.

Mr Dave Kiersh, a man I’ve been calling “Indie Comics Hero” who’s a huge Afterschool Special fan made a quick stop at Giant Robot on sunday to talk a bit about his book and actually have folks live through what he’s into. Aside from reading a story, he showed an episode of an Afterschool Special episode starring Chad Lowe! It turns out the nostalgia of the shows is something that inspires his stories. Hope he stops through again. It’s one thing to just work on a publication and be into it, but this man lives through it all. If you ever meet him, ask him for his Afterschool Special collection! Or… ask him about indie publishing. He still does it all himself.

We have the new book at GR.

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Afterschool Special by Dave Kiersh comes with a print. We’ll also get it signed for you!  The event is this sunday at Giant Robot. Yes, as we’ve said, indie comics hero. Come see him, he’ll show some videos and he’ll even read. It’s a presentation and signing. (GR - Kiersh Book)

Theo Ellsworth at GR2
July 28 – August 15, 2012 

Reception: Saturday, July 28th, 6:30 – 10:00 p.m.

GR2 2062 Sawtelle Blvd

Los Angeles, CA 90025 gr2.net (310) 445-9276

Giant Robot is proud to present The Sudden Amplification of Certain Senses, an art show featuring new works by Theo Ellsworth.

Theo Ellsworth draws obsessively detailed drawings and self-publishes comics, mini comics, and zines about imaginary people and places. The cosmic imagery, subtle geometry, and implied animism in his works recall the epic, heroic, and odd imagery of Jean “Moebius” Girard, Mayan ruins, and the Nazca lines, filtered through the jam-packed and often psychedelic lens of underground comix from the ’70s. (Ellsworth’s first “real” book, Capacity, was weird, wordy, and wonderful, and published by Secret Acres in 2008.) Taking part in art shows affords the Portland, OR-based artist opportunities to experiment with color, explore larger frames, and let his imagination fly–or spelunk or dive, depending on his mood.

An opening reception for Ellsworth will take place from 6:30 – 10:00 on Saturday, July 28th.

For more information about Ellsworth, GR2, or anything else:
Eric Nakamura

Giant Robot Owner/Publisher

eric@giantrobot.com

(310) 445 9276

Dylan Williams started Sparkplug comics. It’s always been quite indie. He passed away and the company is still going. The three books he was working on when he died are still not complete. The fundraiser will help. I’m not posting each Kickstarter or Indiegogo project that comes my way. I get alerted to 5 a week. Each has their merits, well, almost. Some have very little. I’m only posting the rare ones that I have a personal attachment with. I can’t help everyone, but I can help the ones I most want to help. I’ve written about him in the past here at GR. (Dylan Williams)

All photos by Dean Gojobori.

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Graphic Novels are back! Slowly especially with the adults who want something “mature” and not youthful manga for furries. There’s always space for great graphic novels in everyone life, as there’s space for novels. Yet in this article published in Newsweek Daily Beast section, it’s still mostly about retro comics. In the GR world and among our peers, we know this and it’s not talking about 2012 or even 2011, but more so the past 10 years or even more. Spiegelman’s Maus and Satrapi’s Persepolis inevitably get mentioned. Either way, it’s a great primer for those are aren’t caught up in the genre. (thedailybeast – graphic novels)

5000 years of China via comics in 125 pages?! How? In an interview with the Global Times, The opening line of the book is, “After 17,434 natural disasters, 3,791 massive wars, 663 emperors and 95 dynasties, the 5,000-year civilization lives on.” Comics artist Liu Jing explains his thought process and hopefully it’ll be a book that’ll teach and entertain at the same time. (Global Times – Liu Jing) (danwei.com  - Liu Jing)

Adrian Tomine talks about his comic, Optic Nerve #12. The latest installment. He talks about the changes in his own life and the changes in his new stories. Some thing you can’t run away from even when he tries to make things different. Tomine mentions that his stories might be him spread throughout the characters and not just the one who looks like him. He talks a bit about Shortcomings and also the new characters. (Optic Nerve 12) (scpr – Tomine)

Thanks to Dean Gojobori

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Eleanor Davis is a cartoonist and illustrator who’s work has appeared in Fantagraphics compilations, graphic novels for kids, and at art exhibitions. Her work is the type of work that you can see, be puzzled by, and then come to enjoy. We’ve hosted in her numerous exhibitions, and her pieces in the Robots exhibition are monochromatic portraits of Robot people.

Below is this beautiful print with girls and horses! It’s available here. Davis has two websites where you can see his works. Doing-fine and her blog is here.

Junko Mizuno is a manga artist from Japan now living in San Francisco. We interviewed her for Giant Robot magazine years ago at a time when she hardly spoke English. Now, she speaks English without issues and is busy exploring her comics and artwork. For GR2′s Robots exhibition, we have original pages of a special Japanese edition of Pure Trance. They’re all drawn by hand with some Zipatone added for shading. We have some of these pages available here.

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Photos by Joshin Yamada. Chris Cilla, Reklaw, Dylan Williams, Tim Goodyear, and Andrice Arp at the Stumptown Comics Festival in 2007.

That’s Andrice Arp at bottom right with our friend and late Dylan Williams at her left. Arp is an indie comics publisher and illustrator. She’s quietly appeared in numerous Giant Robot exhibitions and demands little, but always produces something fun and interesting. She paints meticulously and has a character style that’s all her own. Some of you will recognize her work from the bookmooch.com website. That illustration is below. Recognize her work now?

Her piece in GR2′s Robots exhibition, Robot Kitten sold, however we do stock issues of Mome at the low price of $8 where she contributes her comic work. Arp sells a variety of her work both handcrafted, printed, and painted on etsy as well. This is her page.

It was great to see Hellen Jo and Calvin Wong. We talked about the passing of Sparkplug’s Dylan Williams. Evidently, it was his wake in Portland literally at the same time last night. It took place at a comics shop which was fitting for a guy who spent a lot of time in the indie industry. Hellen and Calvin mentioned that they wanted to be there, but couldn’t so it was fitting that we were able to reminisce about the goodness Dylan brought. Dylan published Hellen’s first comic, Jin and Jam and was generous the entire way. While at a convention in Portland, Calvin said he sold a few of his comics throughout the day, but Dylan picked up 30 copies for distro at the end. We talked about Dylan’s generosity, his great eye, some publishing milestones and great attitude. A conversation is just one thing, and really, the least we could do to commemorate the guy. We had our own wake. At the end of the night, Hellen said, “Thanks for talking about Dylan.”

Zak Sally remembers Dylan Williams of Sparkplug. It’s here.