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The Society of Illustrators will host the “Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream” exhibit.

This program honors the work of the “Little Nemo in Slumberland” comic strip creator, Winsor McCay. The closing date has been scheduled for March 28th.

According to the organization’s website, this art show is “based on Locust Moon Press’ anthology Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream, many of the world’s finest cartoonists pay tribute to the master and his masterpiece by creating 118 new ‘Little Nemo’ strips, following their own voices down paths lit by McCay. Contributors to the exhibit include Paul Pope, Gregory Benton, Dean Haspiel, Yuko Shimizu, Jim Rugg, Ronald Winberly, Andrea Tsurumi, Raul Gonzalez III, and more!” Click here to see samples from the book.

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There’s a CAF (comic arts festival) born every minute! Here’s a new one, the New South Fest in Austin. They have a tumblr and a FB page, and some art…and exhibitor applications are now open. The plan is an outdoor books and comics event to be held June 6th, 2015 at the French Legation Museum in Austin, Texas. “Our goal is to celebrate independent literature, alternative comics, small presses, and print culture. New South will be highly curated, focused, fresh, and irreverent.”

UPDATE: Oops should have dug a little more. This event seems to be run by Danithan Mejia of the Foxing Review, website under construction. And more information is available in this Kickstarter that didn’t make it.

Here’s the three Ws:

WHAT: New South Festival of Literary Arts & Cartooning is seeking exhibitors for its inaugural year. Its goal is to celebrate the best in independent literature, alternative comics, small presses, and print culture. New South is seeking individual illustrators/cartoonists, writers, indie book publishers, alternative comics publishers, literary magazines, and more! To apply, please visit newsouthfest.tumblr.com/apply

New South is a curated event. Due to space limitations, New South’s 2015 exhibitor list will be decided by a committee of organizers. More information for potential exhibitors:

• Exhibitor applications will be open from February 2, 2015 – March 2, 2015.

• Accepted exhibitors will be notified no later than March 16, 2015.

• Remaining applicants will be put on a waiting list for possible dropouts.

• Exhibitor Tables are $80 for a half-table (3’) and $120 for a full table (6’).

WHEN: Exhibitor applications will be open from February 2, 2015 – March 2, 2015.

WHERE: Applications can be submitted at newsouthfest.tumblr.com/apply

The website doesn’t indicate who’se behind this fest, but the logo indicates a little bit of a SXSW feel, and the art by Jim Rugg and someone whose style i don’t recognize suggest that it is already well on its way.

Austin is currently the home of a Wizard World in October and STAPLE, which is coming up on March 6-8.  Staple has good indie cred, and hopefully Austin’s strong maker and literary scene can support two shows.

More to come!

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Speaking of AdHouse, a second printing of Jim Rugg’s classic Street Angel is out today, the story of a homeless girl who fights crime while riding around on her skateboard. It was action packed, sad and beautiful.  Originally appearing in 2004, this book was, along with Scott Pilgrim, an early adapter of the “new mainstream” esthetic whereby comics broke out of both superhero and autobiographical tropes to reach a new, younger audience growing out of the manga boom. Originally published by Slave Labor the book had a cult following beforei being released by AdHouse last year. And now its in its second printing. Rachel Edidin has an overview of the book here.

The new edition has a pink pages and purple ink, making it perhaps the most perfect Street Angel edition of all. And just because I can here’s a preview:

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Another neo classic comic for the hols as Jim Rugg and Brian Maruca’s  homeless crimefighting skateboarder, Street Angel, teams with Santa on a brief adventure to find some missing reindeer in a bad neighborhood.

It’s all courtesy of Boing Boing, which is running new Street Angel comics regularly. And if you don’t have it already, give yourself a present by picking up the recent AdHouse edition of the original Street Angel mini series.

 

 

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Jim Rugg is an illustrator, graphic designer, comics artist, and visual narrative instructor at the School of Visual Arts. He broke into the comics scene in 2004 with the publication of his comic book Street Angel from Slave Labor Graphics, which he created, and co-wrote with friend Brian Maruca. Since that time Rugg has worked on a number of high profile comics projects including The Guild for Dark Horse, The Plain Janes for DC/MINX, and more recently, Adventure Time for Boom! Studios. He’s also contributed cover illustrations for LA Weekly, Sleazy Slice, and IDW’s G.I. Joe Special Missions. In 2009 AdHouse Books published his Street Angel spin-off, Afrodisiac, to much critical acclaim, and next month will see the release of the new Street Angel hardcover collection.

Jim Rugg’s art has been exhibited at Iam8bit, Gallery1988, Mondo, and the Society of Illustrators. His work has been honored with an Ignatz Award for outstanding achievement in cartooning, and AIGA’s 50 Books/50 Covers Selection for best designed books.

You can see more of Jim Rugg’s work on his website.

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Jim Rugg is an illustrator, graphic designer, comics artist, and visual narrative instructor at the School of Visual Arts. He broke into the comics scene in 2004 with the publication of his comic book Street Angel from Slave Labor Graphics, which he created, and co-wrote with friend Brian Maruca. Since that time Rugg has worked on a number of high profile comics projects including The Guild for Dark Horse, The Plain Janes for DC/MINX, and more recently, Adventure Time for Boom! Studios. He’s also contributed cover illustrations for LA Weekly, Sleazy Slice, and IDW’s G.I. Joe Special Missions. In 2009 AdHouse Books published his Street Angel spin-off, Afrodisiac, to much critical acclaim, and next month will see the release of the new Street Angel hardcover collection.

Jim Rugg’s art has been exhibited at Iam8bit, Gallery1988, Mondo, and the Society of Illustrators. His work has been honored with an Ignatz Award for outstanding achievement in cartooning, and AIGA’s 50 Books/50 Covers Selection for best designed books.

You can see more of Jim Rugg’s work on his website.

You can read more about other great artists working in comics at my website here.

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Holy moly. How superb does this new Jim Rugg project from AdHouse Books look? I’d heard (or read) of its announcement here and there, but only recently got around to actually checking out the preview pages Adhouse have up on their site.  A glossy, 4-colour, magazine format book, it weighs in at a good 56 pages and is due to release in May (my birthday month- just saying).

I cannot tell you how envious I am of you citizens of the US, unaffected as you are by colossal shipping charges to our cold and quirky little island, and thus easily able to get your mitts on such fantastic stuff.  The price hikes in overseas postage has -much to my great frustration- really curbed my spending on comics from the US,  where a good deal of my favourite indie creators hail, with prices now more than double the cost of the actual book being purchased. So do me a favour and buy this so I can live vicariously through you- and because by all accounts, it seems bloody fantastic.

Here’s a little snippet on exactly what it’s all about (sort of), as well as some preview pages:

‘SUPERMAG is Jim Rugg’s latest print project… a glossy, magazine-format collection of “narrative collapse.” It showcases his interests in genre, irreverent humor, graphic design, drawing, and typography. SUPERMAG features new work as well as collecting the best of his recent anthology contributions.’

I’ll just be in the corner plotting the violent demise of whoever’s in charge of the US postal system.

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Jim Rugg does an alternate cover for Tom Neely’s comic about Henry Rollins and Glenn Danzig as a bickering old married couple. A new volume Henry and Glenn Forever & Ever is upcoming.

This is the kind of variant we can get behind!

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adhousebooks:

Notebook
by Jim Rugg.
Published by AdHouse Books

“Last year I started drawing again. For the first time in 15 years, I drew for reasons other than work. I make drawings out of the trash culture that I grew up with – superhero comic books, cartoons, straight-to-video genre movies, pro wrestling, and MTV. Like most marketing, that escapist fare usually promised more than it delivered. But those lurid video covers and melodramatic comic books fueled my imagination. As a result, the tone of my work vacillates between celebration and satire.” – Jim Rugg on Notebook

details:
48 4C pages
8 ” x 10.5 ” Spiral Bound
$30 US funds
ISBN 978-1-935233-20-6
Shipping June 2012
AdHouse Books Exclusive Limited Edition (300)

I saw this in the flesh at HeroesCon, and it was amazing. What you might be missing here is that it looks exactly like a spiral bound notebook that someone’s idly drawn on the cover of during class. Then inside are a TON of ballpoint-pen drawings by Jim Rugg, many from his recent gallery show. Kudos not only to Jim, but to Chris Pitzer, one of the most undersung publishers, in terms of technical prowess and quiet attention to detail, in comics. 

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danhacker:

Drive | Jim Rugg

Another phenomenal peice by Jim Rugg, done only with ballpoint pens and spiral notebook paper. The Notebook Nerd exhibition by Jim Rugg is on display at iam8bit in Los Angeles, California. 

Jim Rugg has been on some kind of wild tear lately. If you can’t get to the iam8bit show, there’s always this Flickr set of his bananas pen drawings. Plus his new podcast, Tell Me Something I Don’t Know, which he cohosts with artist Jason Lex. 

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jimrugg:

Go read Afrodisiac, tell your friends. 

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pacman turntable (by Jim Rugg)

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This month, readergirlz are discussing The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci, art by Jim Rugg.

Read the July issue of readergirlz. There's a playlist for the book, plus book guide questions and party ideas.

Drop by the readergirlz blog to discuss the book with other readers, ALL MONTH LONG!

LIVE CHAT:
Join our hour-long chat with both Cecil and Jim at the readergirlz blog on Wednesday, July 22nd at 6 PM PST/9 PM EST.

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Well, grades have been posted, so it looks like I will graduate this weekend! Wahoo!

And now here are reviews of 3 of the final 4 Minx titles. I haven't read Token yet, and that's the last one. (But, um, if someone wanted to hook me up with a copy of that, I wouldn't complain. My library doesn't have it yet and the library that does won't ILL it to me. :( )

Emiko Superstar Mariko Tamaki and Steve Rolston

It's shaping up to be the most boring summer in history for boring geek girl Emiko. Her friends are off at camp and she's spending all day babysitting a small drooly baby for the all-American picture-perfect couple. *yawn* Then she discovers Freak Show, a variety cabaret that she might be a little too normal to be hanging out at, but it's the most exciting thing going on. Maybe... maybe she could perform, too? Be a little freaky? Then when she finds the diary of the woman she's working for and starts to see that maybe the couple isn't as perfect as they look. With that information, Emiko has an idea...

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this one. It's quiet on the surface--Minx novels are pretty short after all, but there is SO MUCH going on underneath. Just the right amount of angst. Emiko is a believable character that made believable choices and I never once wanted to whack some sense into her. My favorite Minx title. I must go find a copy of Tanaki's Skim!

Janes in Love Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg

The P.L.A.I.N. Janes are back, and still trying to save through art. Our main Jane is caught between Damon, Miroslaw, or her new secret admirer. All the other Janes also have their romantic issues, trying to catch their interests’ eyes in their own ways—Theater Jane’s romantic letters, Polly Jane’s direct frankness, and Jayne’s scientific analysis. There are other love stories, too.

But there is the negative—Damon has community service hours to serve after New Years, and Officer Sanchez still thinks P.L.A.I.N’s art is vandalism. What’s even worse is the state of the world. Terrorism is still rife in Metro City, and an anthrax attack kills a friend of Jane’s mother. After the attack, Jane’s mom won’t leave the house, and leaves the mail on the lawn, too afraid to open it.

I thought the first Janes novel tried to do too much, and would have worked better as a regular novel as opposed to a graphic novel. This one, however, fits in the comics medium better. Fans of the first novel will want to check this one out.

The New York Four Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly

Riley lives her whole life attached to her PDA Blackberry/iPhone thing, to the point where she lacks interaction with the flesh and blood humans in her life. After starting college and reconnecting with her estranged sister, Riley realizes she has to have some human contact, but it’s hard.

An interesting story with an ambiguous ending—and I am a fan of those. There are a lot of loose ends with the other characters that could have turned into serious subplots in a longer novel. I wish that this would be the first of a series, and we’d get a total of four books—one for each of Riley’s group of friends, but with the demise of Minx, it doesn’t seem likely. I'd be really into this if it were the first in a series, but as it will end up being a stand-alone, I'm a little disappointed.

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I'm still processing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Between that and the fact that First Among Sequels: A Thursday Next Novel is currently sitting on my doorstep (well, Dan's probably home from work and I sure he moved it into the house) AND! I'm seeing Jasper Fforde tomorrow at Politics and Prose the book part of my brain is more than a little... preoccupied.

Anywho... this spring, DC Comics launched the Minx line of comics. Unlike most of DCs other stuff-- which tends to be the serialized comic book (DC's imprint Vertigo publishes Fables which regular readers know I love. Also ooo! New Jack of Fables available for pre-order!) But I digress.

Back on Topic. Minx is a series of one-off graphic novels, aimed at teenage girls (although there are a surprising few number of girls writing and illustrating these books.) These aren't the 'high literature' type of graphic novel I tend to associate with one-offs (think Maus or American Born Chinese) but they're still very good-- the art is more "comic booky" than "manga-y" and there's no color. Color would be nice.

The first one published was The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg.

Jane's parents move her from Metro City to Surburbia after she was injured in a terrorist bombing. As the country becomes more and more scared by more and more frequent attacks in large cities, Jane tries to fit into her new small town life. The cool girls want to be her friend, and once upon a time, before, she would have accepted. This time though, she eschews them to form a band with the other Janes, social misfits with a common name. They're not overly eager to accept her either.

Once they do, they form a group called PLAIN (People Loving Art in Neighborhoods) that do random art attacks. But then these art attacks (like putting hats on parking meters) are deemed terrorist attacks and things unravel... (no pun intended.)

At the same time, Jane is writing letters to a John Doe coma victim from the terrorist bombing she was a victim of. Writing to him becomes her way of processing every thing that has happened to her.

This received generally rave reviews from the blog world. What Mary's Reading, Pink Ray Gun, The Last Book I Read, Big A little a for a mere spattering...

I really enjoyed it, but I agree most with Emily Reads's Haiku... I wanted more to the story and more to the characters-- I think the story was too much for the format and would have worked better in a more standard novel setting.

That said, I can't wait to read the rumored sequel.

Next up in Minx's August offering (out August 1st) is Derek Kirk Kim and Jesse Hamm's Good as Lily. Kim has written graphic novel's before, so his story is a better fit.

On Grace Kwon's 18th birthday, she gets whacked in the head with a pinata and the next thing she knows, she's surrounded by her 6, 29, and 80 year old self. She doesn't want any spoilers about her future but obviously, there's something each of them has to figure out before they can go back to where they're supposed to be.

Meanwhile, funding's been cut for the school play (in which Grace has the lead) so they need to find a way to save the play and to stop the other Graces from ruining current-Grace's life!

Overall, I do like this imprint and want to read the other titles in the series, but with a new one coming out every month at $10/pop (not a bad price, but it adds up) I can't be buying them, so I need to get my local libraries to get on this... Clubbing, especially, looks good.

Full disclosure: Both titles reviewed were given to me by the nice people at the DC Comics book at ALA.

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