Shine or rain

The view from the stage about halfway through our panel at BKBF

Thanks on behalf of Jessica, Josh, Nick and myself, to any and all of you who sat through our lively and increasingly rainy panel at the Brooklyn Book Festival last weekend!

This was my second panel as moderator on the International Stage and it's a task I I think I'll stick with for a while. And who knows, maybe next year we'll get an actual fur'ner! (I have my hopes set on Jacques Tardi...)

There have been at least two write-ups of our panel. Here's one that offers a very thorough, you-are-there account of our talk (and yes, it would be great if we could show images but that's tough on the outdoor stage), and here's a more equivocal overview (be sure to read the dialogue between me and the blogger in the comments). Read more...

Moderating Josh Neufeld, Nick Abadzis, and Jessica Abel at the Brooklyn Book Festival, Sept. 12

from A.D.: New Orleans after the Deluge, by Josh Neufeld

The Brooklyn Book Festival is this coming Sunday, September 12, and I'll be moderating a panel starting at 2PM on the International stage featuring Nick Abadzis, Josh Neufeld, and a very talented lady named Jessica Abel.

Here's the description from the program:
 The International Graphic Novel: Drawing from Life: Three acclaimed cartoonists, whose work takes on social and political themes, talk about the on-the-ground research and background work they have all done in preparation for creating their books: Nick Abadzis (Laika), Josh Neufeld (AD: New Orleans After The Deluge) and Jessica Abel (La Perdida). Moderated by Matt Madden (99 Ways To Tell a Story).

And at 4PM be sure to catch the other comics talk on the program:
Comics and Form: Is the Medium Still the Message?: Do comics change when they are released from their traditional print medium? And how? Creators, publishers and developers will combine to discuss the expanding boundaries of the comics format. Robert Berry (Ulysses Seen), Ben Katchor (Julius Knipl: Real Estate Photographer), Jillian Tamaki (Skim). Moderated by Columibia University librarian Karen Green.

If you watch the gif slide show on the BKBF home page you can catch a slide of me with Peter Kuper, Sarah Glidden, and Guy Delisle.
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fall semester is almost here

Students at this summer's Comics Seminar

The new school year is about to start. I'll be at SVA teaching my undergrad ink drawing class and co-teaching a sophomore Storytelling class with Jessica. I'll also, as usual, be teaching my two continuing education classes: Comics Storytelling and, with Tom Hart, Independent Projects Seminar: Comics. Tom and I will be at an open house THIS Thursday evening, Sept 2 if you want to learn more.

On Tuesday nights I'll be offering my Comics Storytelling Class. It's really a catch-all class, not really for rank beginners but a little experience is all you  need. We do some short comics that are a little experimental and then spend the second half of the 12-week course working on short comics. 
Three Saturdays during the semester (9/25, 10/23, 12/04), Tom Hart and I will be offering our Seminar class, a chance to work independently on comics and bring in work for periodic feedback. (Note that the October date has been changed from 10/16 to 10/23 since I have been invited to France that former weekend. More on that here soon.)
There are lots of other great classes on offer including a few new ones I've never heard of. I would particularly point you to Tom's comics class, Sequential Art: Expanding Your Vision and also Lauren Weinstein's new class, Design & Build Comics, which deals with making comics for specific formats like broadsheets, cubes, and so on.

There will be an Open House Thursday night

Illustration and Cartooning
Thursday, September 2
6:30 pm-8:30 pm
209 East 23 Street, room 311, 3rd floor
Moderator: Keith Mayerson


>more info here.

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