In Which Graeme McMillan Says Some Awfully Flattering Things

"If I had to make a claim for the new Stan Lee – and it’s my column, so why not? – then I admit that I’d have to choose Larry Young, of AiT/Planet Lar fame. He’s a creator and a salesman, with a love for both positions and – perhaps more importantly for this particular comparison – a reputation for both, as well. He’s someone who understands what it takes to effectively sell your own work to an audience that isn’t already eating out of your hand, which alone makes him different from the heads-of-comics-juggernauts mentioned above (and similar to Stan Lee, way back before he was 'Stan Lee' with a trademark after the name), as well as someone who isn’t afraid of a little self-mythologizing along the way. Give it ten years, and he’ll be doing voiceovers for the Saturday morning cartoon version of Astronauts In Trouble and some younger comic pundit on whatever the Internet of tomorrow is will be arguing that whatever Editor In Chief of the latest indie publisher is the new Larry Young. They'll be wrong, of course."

And, now: a Demonstration of our Continuity

"If there’s something to distract you from the brooding undercurrent, it would be Cloonan’s artwork. Handling the art chores masterfully, Cloonan adapts her style to each story, so drastically, in fact, that it’s almost as if 12 different artists worked on the project. It’s a feat few artist can replicate, and is even more of a draw to this book than the stories themselves. Even in black and white Cloonan can provoke the senses through use of negative space, digital shading, or even old-fashioned zip-a-tone."

++++

"In an attempt to poke holes in the conventional wisdom, AiT/Planet Lar arch-huckster Larry Young has released two versions of a free PDF preview of the upcoming graphic novel Continuity - a 25-page sample of the opening act, and the complete, unabridged comic. It's an audacious move, to be sure, for it opens the whole work up to critical scrutiny. Fortunately, the novel is really rather good."

The Return of Joshtimus Prime

I still function!

Like Larry said, I spent all of yesterday morning resting up and then spent the rest of the day chilling with artist Josh Boulet. We had a blast, maybe a little too much of one though since I still feel like I need another day to recover. But forget that! Rest is for the weak. Crom laughs at your slumber, and demands you Make Comics Better.

If you want a recap of what went down on my end, this freshly baked Trenches will fulfill that need.

****

Jason McNamara is on a PR roll, this time tackling The Pulse with his craziness. In this article, Jason goes a little more in-depth on the creative process he went through in writing Continuity.

And no, it doesn't involve transsexual midget equestrians... I think.

****

And lastly, I want to thank everyone that came by the booth to say "Hi" or chop it up this weekend. I had a really great time talking to everyone and sharing the mutual love for funny books. You rock!

Now, I must return to the Good Work™, because images just don't color themselves. Until tomorrow!

--Josh

Now! With Headlines! Because *you* (OK, well, Heidi MacDonald) Demanded It! Don't Say We Don't Give The People What They Want!

The Monday after a con, everybody gets the day off. Especially so at APE, where we're like DC at San Diego. Holy smokes, was that a good show. No crests and troughs, no lulls in the crowd, no calm-before-the-storm. Just a steady surf of love for the AiT books, eight hours straight, for two whole days. Man, I love this show. Every single person there is attending because they love comics.

So Richardson is getting some well-deserved sleep, and later hanging out with pre-famous artist Josh Boulet today; I'm putting away the con fixtures and finishing up some work I promised Ken. But I have some time to link to a couple things:

"Sky Ape, another AiT/Planet Lar success story, is... a clever knee-slapper of a comic with gags flying at a hectic pace... But there’s not much plot connecting the scenes of the story or a rip-roaring showdown between the good guy and bad guy. And there’s no characterization. But all of that is intentional. This book is meant to make you laugh, not to tell a story."

+++++

My good pal James Sime has a new Comic Pimp up, this time spotlighting Southern California wundershoppe Secret Headquarters. And since "The Comic Pimp" isn't just the name of his column but a way of life, James hits the Continuity pdf gong one more time with a link and a nod: "If there's one book I have been looking forward to the most the past six months, it's this one: Jason McNamara and Tony Talbert's Continuity. And, seriously, only Larry Young would have the gonads to put an entire graphic novel on-line for you to download and read. Very, very cool."

+++++

Also, this went up on Friday, but we were a-sellin' comics all weekend, so I didn't have a chance to have this go up: crazy-ass Jason McNamara is interviewed by the stalwart Chris Arrant over at Newsarama. Choice cuts include: "I think retailers will definitely have a lot more confidence in an AiT/Planet Lar book than a self-published book by a couple of borderline alcoholics they’ve never heard of."

and

"Back in 2004 a local television show decided to spotlight the best in Bay Area Cartoonists. It featured interviews with big shots like Batman writer Judd Winick, AiT/Planet Lar publisher Larry Young and… us. We were supposed to go on before Larry Young. But Tony and I got super nervous and had to stop off for a bottle of Gentlemen’s Jack first. We showed up ninety minutes late completely hammered. I nervously called Larry Young 'Larry King' like fifty times. We mumbled and cursed our way through the interview, hit on the host and then left to go to work at our day jobs. Larry must have thought we were people he could work with because shortly after he asked me to pitch him something."

I love Jason, that crazy mofo.