In Which We Heartily Endorse This Product and/or Service

Our pal Lefty Brown is giving away a copy of a Clash Japanese import and a $25 iTunes card to a reader who delivers him the most complete scavenger hunt items on a list he's provided. Along with "one red sock" and "cardboard Starbucks heatguard with the word 'Sucks' written under the logo," I have to say my personal favorite is "Picture of AiT/Planet Lar head honcho Larry Young (bonus point if picture has you in it with him)" for obvious reasons.

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H at The Comic Treadmill digs on Continuity: "One thing nearly all AiT/Planet Lar titles share is a catchy concept. And this book is no exception. Every time high school misfit Alicia falls asleep, the world changes to reflect her dreams – and her dreams aren’t sunshine and flowers – they reflect the insecurity, resentment and “be careful what you wish for” type of things that nightmares are made of. It’s a story that would make a great modern day Twilight Zone episode."

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"Every day a new Tony Talbert original added."

The countdown to retrogress: July 6.

--Larry

In Which We Show You How It's Done

Chief Keeper of the Faith, John Parkin, over at the Blog@Newsarama, hips you to the Continuity art show at the Isotope, in honor of being able to go into a comics shop today and finally pick up a copy printed on actual dead trees, like Stan and Jack intended.

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Joshua is prepping Rock Bottom and arranging creator triage on a couple of upcoming projects, so you'll be getting me for the foreseeable future. Four short weeks before San Diego...

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"That everything is built from a teenager's dreams is maybe the canniest of the book's moves - how many of us wouldn't cook up a world of loving outsiders and wicked adults if our minds were let loose? ...the very ending of this book is pretty effective, wrapping up writer McNamara's theme of life being constructed of personal impressions quite neatly, and with not a lack of cleverness." says Jog, the Blog, about Continuity.

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Mark Fossen seemed to really get where Jason and Tony were going: "But what really makes Continuity shine is a relentless focus on the personal. The book's opening seems like we've see it before: explodo satire of American consumer culture. The genius here lies in keeping that world as setting, not as subject. The point of Continuity isn't the high-concept of a dream that rewrites reality, that's just a devious hook to explore a very complex character who's reality reflects her own fears and desires. Alicia stands at the center of her reality - as do we all - and it's her dreams and nightmares that shape the book."

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Interestingly, both of these reviews mention the context under which Continuity has been published, which gives me hope for online comics criticism, it does. Jog mentions the .pdf release: "Time will tell how this latest Larry Young strategy will pay off in terms of sales, though the publicity surrounding the event did keep the book’s title in my personal mind’s eye in the weeks leading to its release." While Mark nods to it and amplifies: "Distribution and marketing methods aside, Continuity is a fascinating OGN that moves a step past AiT's 'HBO Of Comics' high-concept domain while still holding on to enough of that 'new mainstream' energy to provide an interesting blend of the best in comics."

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...and a couple of nice shout-outs, today. Noted Wrecker of Fun, Dennis Culver, is interviewed at Newsarama, in fine style and in good hands by Chris Arrant, and lets slip that he's got a "Tales of The Black Diamond" back-up piece coming this fall. Come see us at the usual San Diego booth #2001 for a sneak peek of issue one of The Black Diamond by me and Jon Proctor and for a look at Dennis' fine work.

Also, my pal Chris Pitzer throws some love to True Facts while saying "I think Larry Young did a great job in creating his True Facts book. Unfortunately, I still haven't read it, but I'm sure it's full of all types of information that is useful. Along the way, I've picked up knowledge from Larry, Jeff Mason, Ted Adams and a whole bunch of others that I'm sure I'm forgetting."

Such is the power of that mighty little book, that it imparts its tips without actually needing to be read..

--Larry

In Which We Point You To a Gallery Show

Three Weeks in Reverse
The Continuity Art Show

Like the time you decided to grab your turntable and spin your best album backwards to find out what strange and new sounds your favorite band made, the Isotope is going to be challenging your perceptions with a unique take on traditional galleries when we (and when they say "we" of course I mean "they," having shamelessly ripped James' purple prose here for my own nefarious ends) present our first retrogressive art show in honor of Jason McNarama and Tony Talbert's upcoming graphic novel.

The tale of a suburban misfit girl living in a futuristic pharmaceutical police state whose dreams rewrite, reconfigure, and erase reality, Continuity stands as an innovative and unique original graphic novel that is sure to twist your senses.

So in true reality-warping fashion the Isotope (326 Fell Street, San Francisco) will, like Alica herself, be inverting reality and turning sedate art gallery conventions on their ear, re-sequencing the chain of events, and building to a landing rather than a launch. Starting next week visitors to the Isotope will be able to experience a three week long comic art gallery showing presented in reverse order with new pages of Tony Talbert's art being added daily... and cumulating in a glorious art closing on Thursday, July 6th.

Join us, won't you?



The Continuity Art Show
June 20th - July 6th
Closing reception Thursday July 6th
8pm - Midnight

In Which I Admit My Love For Seth Godin Is Not a Secret

Seth gets a bad rap for being well-known in marketing for "merely" saying the obvious. I always figure that if no one else is saying "the obvious," how do people know it's obvious? I mean, really.

In a quick mention on his blog, in an entry entitled My Breakfast Was Right, Seth codifies my thinking on interaction with the comic book community:

"Room service just arrived, and my insanely complex OCD breakfast was exactly the way I ordered it. This was possibly a first.

"Then I discovered the reason. The person who brought it to my room was the very same person who assembled it.

"Boy that was obvious."

You know? Taking responsibility for the experience.

So this is going out to all the folks making comics who say things to me like, "I can't remember the last time I cared about what anyone said on the Internet about comics."

We do. And we listen.

This has been a public service message from your pals at AiT.