What is up with that Ron Rege, Jr?

Well, it seems like Ron's rock and roll side project Lavender Diamond is about to release their debut LP any time now. They will also be touring Europe with the Decemberists in February. This might have you thinking that we won't see any more comics from Ron while he circles the globe again and again, but nothing could be further from the truth. Look for not one but two Rege books from D+Q next year. One will be called Scituate Heart and the other will be Against Pain. Exact ship dates etc will appear here someday.

Future Stars in Showcase

I'm kind of excited about the next issue of Showcase because it will present a couple of young female cartoonists who will be new to most North American readers. The above image is by Amanda Vahamaki. She's had stuff appear regularly in the Canicola anthology. I believe she's Finnish but living in Italy. We are currently enamored of female Finnish cartoonists evidently.


The second is Anneli Furmark and she just sent us a blind submission that we loved. She is Swedish and that is all I know about her. The above panel is from her forthcoming story.

I'll keep the third member of this volume a secret for now.

Moominmania on BBC's The World

Patrick Cox of the PRI program BBC's The World traveled to Finland in December and interviewed Tove Jansson's niece Sophia, as well as author Shelley Jackson in the US, to explore the worldwide Moomin phenomenon that has lasted for fifty years framed around the release of our Moomin series. A great piece, too bad to find out that we may be waiting a little longer for a Moomin movie. Listen here.

YALSA's "Great Graphic Novels for Teens"

I certainly wish that when I was a teenager, a librarian was armed with a list of comics in which to coax teens into reading, especially a list that includes Charles Burns' Black Hole, Seth's Wimbledon Green, Guy Delisle's Pyongyang, John Porcellino's Perfect Example, Lauren Weinstein's Girl Stories and many others.

For the first time, YALSA has compiled a list of "Great Graphic Novels for Teens"

Rutu Modan's first book...

Rutu Modan may be already known to some North American comics readers for her short stories with the Israeli comics collective Actus Tragicus --and D+Q published her before in Drawn & Quarterly volume 5. After that story was published in 2003, I asked her if she would consider writing and drawing her first full length graphic novel. The result is Exit Wounds , a remarkable book recounting an eager female soldier and reluctant cab driver's search for information on the cabbie's estranged father who they believe may have been killed in a suicide bombing. It'll likely be among the best graphic novels published this year considering the advance praise it's already received. Both Joe Sacco and Etgar Keret call Rutu one of the best cartoonists working today, and Booklist and the Jewish Daily Forward both weigh in with strong reviews. It should be noted that this is also the first book by a new author that we've sold U.K. rights to (it will be published in England by Jonathan Cape), and there will likely be French, German, and Spanish editions coming soon.

Our edition will arrive in stores this June ,check back here for regular updates and previews.

Sunday Morning Headlines

The Toronto Star's "Small Print" children's book column , reviews our Moomin series praising: "The eccentric twists of Jansson's imagination are wonderful in their weirdness."

There is a wonderful feature in the Los Angeles Times on James Sturm and the Center for Cartoon Studies.

Last week's NYT article on reprint comics spotlighting Walt & Skeezix and Joe Matt gets picked up in the San Francisco Chronicle.

The World According to Kevin

An interview with Kevin Huizenga by Dan Epstein at Newsarama.

New Louis Riel Comic

Yesterday's Regina Post reports that in a few years "a Metis organization plans to present the controversial history of Louis Riel in a colour comic that is every bit as colourful as Riel's personality." Now before you start huffing and puffing like a certain publicist who immediately called the author of an already-published graphic novel on Louis Riel only to be reminded that in issue #8 of the comic book series, the author calls attention to a comic on Louis Riel published in 1990 by the author of the upcoming book. Confused? Read the Regina Post article, refer to Chester's notes in issue #8 to the right, and read the one page comic here which was also reprinted in the back cover of issue #8.

Mumford in Atlanta

Baghdad Journal Artist Steve Mumford will be in Atlanta tonight for the opening of his show "Baghdad and Beyond" at the SCAD Museum of Art. The Atlanta weekly Creative Loafing has the story. Steve was on the Today Show over the holidays after coming off a well-received show at Postmasters Gallery in NYC in the late Fall with praise from New York Magazine, Time Out New York, and The New York Times. Steve was in Boston earlier this Fall for a show at Tufts which drew praise from the Globe thrice here, here and here. And twice from the Phoenix here and here.

Charles Burns' One Eye

It's been mentioned in at least a couple of other places but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that there's an excerpt of Charles Burns' One Eye photography book in the Virginia Quarterly Review along with a glowing intro from Chris Ware.

Lynda! Barry! Rules!

As you may know our site was down all last week so I wasn't able to post our official Lynda Barry announcement which has all of us at D+Q doing cartwheels with excitement. Please excuse the formality:

As reported in this week's issue of Publishers Weekly, Drawn & Quarterly has announced plans to publish seven titles by the acclaimed and legendary cartoonist Lynda Barry, starting in 2008 through 2011. The publishing plan includes new material, collected material and plans to reprint the complete seminal strip "Ernie Pook's Comeek" which was created in 1979, and has been syndicated for more than two decades. The deal includes world english rights.

Barry's first book What It Is will be comprised of completely new material and will be published in early 2008. Following What It Is in Fall 2008, is the first of a five-volume hardcover reprint collection of "Ernie Pook's Comeek." Each of the five volumes in the reprint series will have an introduction penned by Barry herself, complete with visual ephemera. Also planned is a new collection of Barry's freelance work for various magazines over the years. In May of 2007, Drawn & Quarterly will publish a "Free Comic Book Day" issue with all Lynda Barry material.

"Lynda Barry is one of the world's most influential, inventive and ground breaking contemporary cartoonists whose fans stretch well beyond the comic book medium," said Chris Oliveros, President & Publisher of Drawn & Quarterly. "To borrow a word from Dave Egger's New York Times Book Review of Lynda's comics, her 'oeuvre' should always be in print, and Drawn & Quarterly is thrilled and honored to be the company that gives her work the publishing treatment that it deserves."

More Oh Skin-nay!

Look at that poor sap. Another amazing set up from Briggs. Who doesn't remember this kind of public humiliation set up by a well meaning parent? The kid's posture in this drawing is just so right on--all rigid and nimble. And he's being teased by a two-year-old for cryin' out loud.

FP's Best of 2006 List...

Forbidden Planet is one of the best comic establishments in the world, one of the nicest retailers to sell to, from Jeff Ayers in NYC to Kenny Penman in the UK where they have a zillion locations. Kenny sent us his "Best of 2006" list which is a great list, he spotlights Curses, Shenzhen and Acme Novelty Library #17, but he also selects the New York Times Magazine, which I think is pretty smart, the magazine did have three of the best original comics to appear last year by Chris Ware, Jaime Hernandez and Seth, the latest installment of George Sprott can be found here.

Sunday Morning Headlines

There's a fantastic article in the Sunday New York Times Arts section about the current renaissance of vintage comic strips. Journalist Ben Schwartz interviews everyone in the industry including Joe Matt on Gasoline Alley!

The Ottawa Citizen reports on current graphic novels, interviews Guy Delisle and reports on his newest english release Shenzhen. The report also includes quotes and a "best of 2006" list from the Beguiling.

Also, check out these interviews on Bookslut and Memoirville with Gabrielle Bell and her new release Lucky.

Back up!!

It looks like we are back online in all ways. Just in time to ignore emails for the weekend.

Technical difficulties

Things are slowly coming back up to working order on the D+Q website but don't be surprised if your emails bounce or you can't purchase anything for a day or two. We'll be back up running soon and we'll let you know here.

Mark Your Calendars!

Roll My Tassaba!

Next month we will be publishing the graphic novel AYA by Marguerite Abouet and Clement Oubrerie, the first three trade reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist and Library Journal are in, and things are looking rosy for the book that already won the first album award at the Angouleme Festival just one year ago.

PW says: "A multifaceted romantic comedy that would satisfy even without any political agenda behind it... capturing the country's brief flicker of postcolonial peaceful prosperity before descending into the modern maelstrom of corruption and violence we know only too well."

Library Journal says:"Based on Abouet's remembrance of her childhood in Abidjan ... the story, along with French illustrator Oubrerie's artwork, brings to life an Ivory Coast not seen before--a place overflowing with vibrant, rich textiles, new words, music, food, and lively characters filled with humor, love, and the hope for a better life. Starred Review."

Booklist says: "Set in late 1970s Ivory Coast, this accessible, engaging story features a relatively simple plotline--smart girl frustrated by less-forward-thinking friends and family--and delightfully thorough characterizations that resound with emotional universality as they manifest the particulars of a time and a place American readers otherwise rarely glimpse. Starred Review."

The book was originally published in France by Gallimard as part of Joann Sfar's Bayou collection, which are graphic novels for both young adults and adults. AYA is a light hearted comedy of coming of age in the 70s Ivory Coast, which is similar to coming of age in any suburb in the US, an association not usually made with Africa. It's the story of the frustrating teenage years of being a daughter and your own person, trying to find your way in the world filled with parental expectations and peer temptations.

The book showcases the culture of the Ivory Coast, with a glossary, recipes on how to make "gnamankoudji" or ginger juice and peanut sauce and instructions on how to wear your "pagne" and how to move your "tassaba" which is slang for your butt!

Preview here.

Tatsumi and Huizenga Make Time's Best of 2006

The astute Andrew Arnold of Time adds to the "best of 2006" accolades Yoshihiro Tatsumi and Kevin Huizenga have been receiving for a few months...