I enjoyed working on this cartoon for Group! The spread and take-outs, below...

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I enjoyed working on this cartoony spread for Group! The spread and some take-outs, below…

 

 

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Check my Let's Make Stuff page for directions on how to make a paper campfire with your young friends and family members.  Very cute and you can use it as a fire starter when you go camping.

It's KBWT!  I'd like to feature Kathy Ross' website as the Kids Book Website for today.  Kathy has written slews and slews of books about making crafts with kids, or about kids making crafts.  Her crafts often use items that other people will toss away.  Some of her crafts are SO clever and SO easy that I am speechless with wonder.  To be completely unbiased, I have to admit that a few of her crafts do not appeal to me.  But every single one of her books has several crafts that I wish I had thought up first.

So many craft books for kids result in "cute" things that are really more about technique and/or about keeping the kids busy than they are about making something useful.  Kathy Ross' crafts often have a play or gift component.  The Comet Balls from her book Crafts for Kids Who Are Wild about Outer Space are a good example. (Sadly, the book is no longer in print.)  We made those last week for the Stories in the Schools.  They are simple aluminum foil balls with ribbon tails that allow children to toss the balls and catch them by the tails.  So easy to do.  So cute.  Have I been effusive enough?  Check out the website.  Look for Kathy's books at the bookstore or library tonight!

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February has only 28 days, but is jam-packed with lots of great graphic novels and related titles!

Warning… looking at what appears so far on BarnesAndNoble.com, the rest of 2011 is going to be just as amazing! Click this link

to discover more!  (Sweet Kirby Crackle! Corto Maltese, in English, from Rizzoli?!) Better start shopping for bookshelves now.

Since this list takes a lot of work, I will not be adding hyperlinks to the publishers or BN.com.  Most browsers allow you to search directly just by highlighting a term, or feel free to cut and paste into whichever web browser you prefer.

As always, I work for Barnes & Noble, but do not speak for them.  These are titles which caught my interest, and are worth a closer work.  I have not read any of these books (perhaps a comic here or there) so do not endorse any specific title on this list.  My tastes are not yours, so please recommend other titles below in the comments!  Also, the information below is subject to change.  Covers, publication dates, prices, formats… all data are subject to changes.

The Last Unicorn
by Peter S. Beagle, Peter Gillis, Renae DeLiz (Artist), Ray Dillon (Artist)

• $ 24.99
• Pub. Date: February 2011
• Publisher: Idea & Design Works, LLC
• Format: Hardcover, 152pp
• ISBN-13: 9781600108518
• ISBN: 1600108512

Stolen Hearts: The Love of Eros and Psyche
by Ryan Foley, Sankha Banerjee (Illustrator)

• $ 11.99
• Pub. Date: February 2011
• Publisher: Steerforth Press
• Format: Paperback , 88pp
• ISBN-13: 9789380028484
• ISBN: 9380028482

Lady Vivian Hastings: Long John Silver Volume 1
by Xavier Dorison, Mathieu Lauffray (Illustrator)

• $ 13.95
• Pub. Date: February 2011
• Publisher: Cinebook, LTD
• Format: Paperback, 56pp
• ISBN-13: 9781849180627
• ISBN: 1849180628

Zita

9 Comments on Coming Attractions: February 2011, last added: 1/31/2011

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Kurt Busiek said, on 1/30/2011 8:27:00 PM

I hope that new edition of CORTO MALTESE has a new translation — the last time I saw Corto Maltese in English, the translation was crummy. I’d love to read a well-done edition.

And has anyone seen any Hermes Press books? This is the 4th time I’ll be buying those early STEVE CANYON strips in hopes of good collections that last long enough to get all the strip’s best stuff collected. Kitchen Sink’s done the best job so far, but even their run didn’t last long enough…

Kurt Busiek said, on 1/30/2011 8:32:00 PM

Whoops! That Hermes STEVE CANYON is a collection of the comic books, not the strips. Never mind.

hikaru go said, on 1/30/2011 10:58:00 PM

I haven’t read any of Hugo Pratt’s work…I need to correct that, even if only from artist’s perspective.

Is it merely coincidence that an Ayn Rand adaptation is followed by “Age of Reptiles?”…hmmmmm

Size matters said, on 1/31/2011 8:19:00 AM

And to think Fantagraphics got flack for announcing Barks at 90% and then it was “no, wait, it’s more like 95% or 97%”.

They should have learnt from this ballsy guys: Hugo Freakintg Pratt in shitty comic-book size.

6-5/8 x 10-1/4

When the original standard edition is 8.6 x 11.6

And there’s even an “Absolute” edition at 13 x 16.5:
http://bd.casterman.com/albums_detail.cfm?id=2762

Torsten Adair said, on 1/31/2011 8:41:00 AM

Yes. Purely coincidence.
I thought of creating a classic “Six Degrees of Steven Grant” linkage, but decided it was too much work.

As for Ayn Rand, yes, Steve Ditko was asked to draw, but he declined.

Yes, the Europeans produce some beautiful archive editions! Some are being imported (Gottfredson via FB, Flash via DC) but there’s a lot I drool over!

Joe Helfrich said, on 1/31/2011 9:44:00 AM

Is this one of those Last Unicorn projects that Beagle actually gets money for, or not?

harokin said, on 1/31/2011 10:29:00 AM

I really did not realize Ayn Rand did Zelda fanfic. Is Anthem set before or after Majora’s Mask?

Also, this is like the 10th time there has been a publisher’s Corto Mal-tease. I’ll believe it when the books are on my shelf. And really, there needs to be a whole Pratt collection.

Kurt Busiek said, on 1/31/2011 10:46:00 AM

The LAST UNICORN rights were licensed from Beagle, yes, and he does make money from it.

kdb

Joe Helfrich said, on 1/31/2011 10:54:00 AM

Thanks Kurt. I know there are (or at least were) some issue with the movie, and didn’t know how far that went.

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I have gone to a sort of a VERY MYSTERIOUS weekend camp, at which everyone I had ever wanted to meet is just sort of hanging out and some of them are doing presentations, and chatting is happening, and it is all very wonderful and unlikely.

...

Also, a reminder, as it is now out in paperback in the USA: you can watch (or listen) to me reading the entirety of The Graveyard Book for Free at http://www.mousecircus.com/videotour.aspx

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Here I am again posting winter-themed paintings in the middle of the summer. Perhaps it's more wishful thinking on my part. I'll have to see if this trend continues over the next few years...
This piece was another private commission which came together in an interesting way. We started with about five loose thumbnail sketches all quite similar and based on the idea of a winter campfire. My client picked out the characters she liked best and then we arranged them into one cohesive scene. Amazingly, all the chosen characters fit together quite easily and required only minimal adjust to make the scene work.

I really enjoyed painting the snowy background in this painting. One thing I especially like to paint is moonlit clouds. Somewhere along the way I began referring to moonlit clouds, both real-life and painted, as "Buehner clouds" as I think illustrator Mark Buehner is the master of moonlit clouds.

Getting back to summer and a brief update on our swallow neighbors (see previous post) - the pair successfully raised five baby birds all of whom have since left the nest. We feel so privileged that we got to watch them grow up:What's really surprising to us is that almost as soon as the babies left the nest, the mating pair started on a new family. The nest is up too high for us to peek into, but with the use of a mirror we could see the new eggs:
2 Comments on Around the Campfire, last added: 6/24/2010