This week our Cool New Book is Frank Viva’s A Long Way Away. This beautifully illustrated, inexorably charming book is readable in two directions, so you get two great books for the price of one!

A Long Way Away comes out from Little,  Brown Books on April 2nd, so look out for it in a book store/internet near you.

Emerald City ComiCon is on the horizon and we’re ecstatic to have so many special guests this year with fantastic new books, guests, panels about the books, cartoonists, the biz and even one on Fantagraphics’ fantastic book design! Washington State Convention Center is the place to be on Friday, March 27th - Sunday, March 29th you can find all of the great comics at booth 308! Our debut books include the following: Wuvable Oaf by Ed LUce! Angry Youth Comix by Johnny Ryan, Violent Girls by Richard Sala, Emperor’s New Clothes by Jonah Kinigstein, Willard Mullin’s Casey at the Bat and Walt Disney’s Donald Duck “The Pixilated Parrot”, Sheriff of Bullet Valley both by Carl Barks. Grab a copy of these before they sell out!

FANTA SIGNING SCHEDULE

Friday
11-12 Lucy Knisley
12-2 Ed Luce
2-3 Don Rosa
5-6 Ed Piskor (after panel)

Saturday
12-1 Ed Piskor
1-2 Don Rosa
3-5 Ed Luce
5-6 Lucy Knisley

Sunday
11-1 Lucy Knisley
1-2 Don Rosa
3-4 Ed Piskor

Fantagraphics is proud to be on a sh&*#$&(ton of panels at ECCC this year. Here they are in all their glory.

FRIDAY PANELS

High Res and Lo-Fi: Music and Comics
Friday, March 27th 3:50pm
Hall E (TCC 303)
Cartoonists Ed Piskor (Hip Hop Family Tree), Ed Luce (Wuvable Oaf), Love and Rockets publisher and editor Eric Reynolds plus local radio station’s book blogger Chris Estey will talk about the relationship between music and comics: rhythm, timing, style, zeitgeist, and more.

Carl Barks and Don Rosa: Duck Tales
Friday, March 27th, 6:00pm
Hall C (TCC 301)
Join Fantagraphics’s Gary Groth, J. Michael Catron, Mike Baehr as they talk about Carl Barks and Don Rosa, WITH Don Rosa, who created characters and adventures that have thrilled and delighted audiences of all ages, worldwide, for more than half a century.

SATURDAY PANELS

Harvey Kurtzman: The Man Who Created MAD
Saturday, March 28th 4:30pm        
Hall B (WSCC 602-603)
Bill Schelly has written the first biography of the creator of MAD magazine, Harvey Kurtzman. Kurtzman is not only a seminal figure in American humor a major influence on The Simpsons, Stephen Colbert, Judd Apatow, Conan O’Brien, and many others. Publisher and editor Gary Groth (Fantagraphics, The Comics Journal), book editor Kristy Valenti and Schelly will have a discussion about Kurtzman’s legacy, his life, and the new book. *Panel attendees will receive a coupon for Harvey Kurtzman for in-store purchase at our Georgetown store!

SUNDAY PANELS

Comics Education: The Past Ten Years
Sunday, March 29th, 11:50AM
Hall E (TCC 303)
2015 will be the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Center for Cartoon Studies. In that time Institute graduates have gone on to become educators themselves, and new comics education programs have popped up across the country. CCS Alumni Melanie Gillman, Beth Hetland, Jen Vaughn and Colleen Frakes will discuss the current state of comics education, the pros and cons of a degree in comics, as well as the program options available across the country for interested students and teachers.

Hire Me! From Comics Fan to Comic Professional
Sunday, March 29th at 12:30pm.
Hall D (TCC 302)
Every day, behind the scenes people like editors, designers, marketers, even programmers work hard to make sure the comics you love get from the creator hands to your hands. Now’s your chance to learn how these comics luminaries and tastemakers got their start. Join David Steinberger (comiXology co-founder and CEO) and a panel of outstanding comics professionals like Hank Kanalz (SVP Vertigo & Integrated Publishing at DC Entertainment), Michael Martz (Executive Editor at Marvel Comics), Jacq Cohen (Fantagraphics Books, Director of Publicity & Promotions), Jen Vaughn (Fantagraphics Books, Marketing and Events Manager) and Christine Dinh (BOOM! Studios Brand Communications Manager) as they impart the knowledge you need to get your foot in the door and become a comics industry rock star.

Bad Ass Business Lady
Sunday, March, 29th 2:10PM
Hall G (TCC 305)
You did it! You became a business lady! Now join a panel discussion of becoming your true form: a bad ass business lady. Leveled up comics pros Marissa Louise, Georgia Webber, Jen van Meter, Jen Vaughn and Gwendolyn Lynch will discuss saying ‘no’ and meaning it, how to stop fearing the IRS, special deductions, promotions and benefits, effective self promotion, and the ultimate topic: work life balance.

By Design: Fantagraphics Books
Sunday, March 29th 4pm
Hall C (TCC 301)
Seattle’s Fantagraphics Books (The Complete Peanuts, Ghost World) is world renowned for its innovative (and often imitated) book design. Publisher Gary Groth,graphic designers Jacob Covey, Tony Ong, and Keeli McCarthy will talk about the challenges inherent in visually interpreting narrative art, translating archival comics into today’s marketplace, and more.

See you there!

I’ll be in Sweden this weekend for the Stockholm International Comics Festival, May 16-18 at the Kulturhuset Stadsteatern. 

Representing Conundrum Press with me will be the great Philippe Girard, author of Obituary Man, Killing Velazquez, and Ruts & Gullies. We’ll be selling books and discussing our work on a panel or two,

In addition to some Conundrum books, I’ll also have copies of recent projects such as Hollow in the Hollows and the Irene anthology. 

Canada is the featured country at this year’s Festival, so I’m looking forward to eating food in the same room as folks like Seth, Kate Beaton, and Faith Erin Hicks. 

I hope to see you there too.