AiT/Planet Lar: Making Comics Better

2010-04-29T09:25:00.000-07:00

I'll be rockin' into STL for that lecture I wrote about down below, and I can't wait to go to Star Clipper to finally meet Ben and AJ and see their world-class shop. I'll be there officially from 11 am to 1 pm on Saturday, but that place is so cool and there's so much going on there on Free Comic Book Day that I'm sure we'll soak up more of the scene. Pictures will be taken.

2010-04-27T16:14:00.000-07:00

From: Laura Griffith/LCCC
Date: 04/27/2010 10:52AM
Subject: Comic Writer and Publisher Featured as Guest Speaker April 30

For Immediate Release
April 27, 2010

Comic Writer and Publisher Featured as Guest Speaker April 30

Godfrey, Ill. � A special guest lecture on comics, featuring renowned comic writer and publisher Larry Young, will be presented at 1 p.m. on Friday, April 30 in the Ann Whitney Olin Theatre, inside the Hatheway Cultural Center.

Lewis and Clark Assistant Professor of English Steve Higgins will sit down with Young, of AiT/Planet Lar, to discuss comics.

"We'll be talking about why he loves comics, what makes comics a unique medium of storytelling, how he got his start in the industry, and many other topics of interest," Higgins said. "If you like comics, if you like to write, if you want extra credit, then come on down and listen to the lecture."

As a publisher, Young goes beyond the creative end of comics to deal with the design, production, and marketing aspects as well. He also has several properties in development for movie projects, continuing a recent trend in Hollywood of adapting comics into films, and he will be discussing these issues as well.

This event is free and open to the public. A book signing will follow.

For more information, contact Higgins at (618) 468-4785 or through e-mail at shiggins@lc.edu . Check out the Facebook event page at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=113649001994643

Learn more about AiT/Planet Lar at http://ait-planetlar.com/
# # #

Laura Griffith
Web editor/Media specialist
Lewis and Clark Community College - FO 2522
(618) 468-3255
lgriffith@lc.edu

2010-04-05T20:53:00.000-07:00

Dunno if you know this, but I hold comic book industry impressario Rich Starkings in the highest esteem. I don't just admire him for inventing comic book lettering via the computer; but that alone would qualify him in my dodgy film of estimation. Dang, we'd give him a slide just for his love of the Planet of the Apes TV show, alone. But Rich is a mate, the kind of guy you can count on, and there it is. A solid citizen. And in the fullness of time, Rich and I have become pals, and when he comes to my city; these hallowed shoals we live upon... Rich and I have breakfast at Louis' Restaurant. We have the eggs and hash browns whenever he visits, but we like to make it a date when Wondercon rolls around, for sure.

So there we are, the Monday after Wondercon, discussing how we see comics are going, and the what-goes-where, and we find out our restaurant is under the gun. We are so typical of the usual folks sitting in the booths that they use us as props:

...and I hesitate to ask you to give a click to the petition, because chances are you do not live anywhere about San Francisco proper, but, there you go:

Let Larry and Rich keep eating at Louis' Restaurant every Monday after Wondercon.

I dunno. It might help. You never know.

2010-03-14T18:59:00.000-07:00

Back from a week-long vacation in Florida, although I did do my new Lost observations.

This is my son's first rainbow; hope you have many more, pal.

2010-03-02T22:57:00.000-08:00

Here it is, out for the world to see: 11:00 pm Tuesday March 02, 2010.

WALT IS THE "WALLACE" MENTIONED AT 108 OF JACOB'S LIGHTHOUSE WHEEL.

Thus endeth the lesson.

2010-02-25T19:22:00.000-08:00

I've been doing some LOST commentary on my separate pop culture blog Spectacularry.com. I've pretty much figured it all out, so you can tell Jeff Jensen to go back to writing graphic novel intros. Nice try, Jeff.

2010-01-18T21:06:00.000-08:00

Mike: Hao! Dai ye! We won again! This is good, but what is best in life?

The rest of YMB: There's no best-in-life! Michael Bay sucks; Brett Ratner sucks. Everyone who's ever directed a movie sucks! I keep going to movies, even though they suck! I keep buying comics, even though they suck! Megan Fox not wanting to play Wonder Woman sucks! That spider motivational poster thing sucks! Everything sucks.

Mike: Wrong! Larry! What is best in life?

Larry: To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women... as you buy a ticket to another CONAN MOVIE! YAYYY! FUCK YEAH!

Mike: That is good! That is good.

2010-01-01T00:09:00.000-08:00

2009-12-17T14:14:00.000-08:00

My good pal Stephenny Godfrey has outdone herself, with the production of Panorama, a written-and-illustrated, hand-assembled rumination that is all the things I like about comics in one place. While her true-life tale of a young woman's journey from Perth to Utah has no narrative overlap whatsoever with the last thoughts of a dying spaceman in the first Astronauts in Trouble minicomic, all the love of the form (from words to pictures to printing to trimming to binding) comes through loud and clear.

I particularly liked her listing of materials: "hand-cut two-sided matte photo supreme paper, linen tape, pencil, bristol, ink, computer, scanner and listened to the lady in the water dvd until i could not anymore and had to switch to signs"

Here's a link-to-purchase on etsy...

...and here's a link to the creator's work on her own website.

2009-12-02T21:23:00.000-08:00

Very pleased that Adam Beechen and Manny Bello's Hench made Tony Isabella's 1000 Comic Books You Must Read list, but the icing on the cake is that Harlan Ellison said of Hench: "I have read and slamdunk recommend unequivocally" the book which fills me with a parental pride. The sort of pride a parent might feel when one of his children does good and the grandfather gives his nod. Like that.

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Super comics retailer/editor/journalist Matt Price, upon occasion of Matt Fraction's birthday, weaves a bit of song-and-dance in praise of Last of the Independents: "While Fraction's a big-shot Marvel writer these days, my favorite work of his is the heist drama Last of the Independents from AiT/Planet Lar." Price named LOTI his top graphic novel from 2003, and the scuttlebutt of the time was that it'd have been Eisner-nominated if not for Melony Crawford Chadwick, so turn your brickbats thusly. Click the link to see Price's Top Ten Fraction works, of which LOTI and The Annotated Mantooth are Numbers 1 and 3, respectively.

2009-12-01T08:54:00.000-08:00

The always erudite Greg Burgas continues his unbroken string of good taste by directing your attentions to Necessary Monsters: "...Daniel Merlin Goodbrey's latest graphic novel. I saw a bit of this a few years ago, and it looks really, really cool. It's a horror comic, and Goodbrey has a twisted sensibility that will probably work well in making it something different." Those of you ordering through your local shops may like to know the order code is DEC09 0641.

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Savage Critics' Jog the Blog makes me feels old with this mention in an article about manga: "Here in 2009, in North America, manga functions as a full-blown alternative mainstream of comics; not the 'real mainstream' Oni Press or AiT/Planet Lar pondered earlier this decade -- i.e. something akin to entertainments or artworks popular outside of the comics sphere -- but a 'pure comics' mainstream positioned apart from the English-language way of things, with its own set of values and tropes and genres; a setup where foreignness can be a virtue."

Earlier this decade. Makes a man feel old.

2009-11-21T15:45:00.000-08:00

Sorry for missing most of November; have been gearing up for 2010. Got a great email from Art Robinson of the Fourth Wall podcast; he'd read True Facts and Come in Alone and found them "absolutely life changing."

Even allowing for hyperbole, that's an excellent thing to read; and that's not even counting his sign-off that he "loved Black Diamond." Ol' Art sure knows how to turn a girl's head.

2009-10-31T22:55:00.000-07:00

Little Dude wanted to go out and walk around, so he geared up in his pirate/construction worker tools, and Daddy grabbed his South Beach Leather Rocketeer jacket and Master Replicas lid and called it done. Mommy noted that he could have gone out in his SHIELD T-shirt he was already wearing and called it done as well but Daddy wanted to make an effort.

2009-10-29T09:48:00.000-07:00

Listen to Dan Shahin and me have some laughs.

2009-10-28T12:44:00.000-07:00

When Mimi and I were off for the anniversary/birthday/Adobe shutdown, Our Man in LA, Adam Beechen did an interview with Matt Adler on Broken Frontier wherein he discussed the Hench sequel. There's some excellent preliminary art of Manny's Quitely-esque style:

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... and I'm going to be on The Dan Shahin Show at 9 pm tonight (KSCU 103.3 FM), talking comics and making with the quips.

2009-10-22T15:03:00.000-07:00

I haven't seen this reported elsewhere, but renowned comic book colorist Steve Oliff was first on the scene at a tragic car accident a few weeks ago in Manchester, a few hours north of San Francisco:

2009-10-15T16:37:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while I come across something I actually have forgotten I did. Looks like when The Black Diamond #1 first came out, Chris Beckett asked me a bunch of great questions. Here's his set-up:

In 1999, Larry Young first came to prominence in the comics community with the publication of Astronauts in Trouble: Live from the Moon, which he created with artists Charlie Adlard and Matt Smith. Young initially shopped the idea for AiT, as it has come to be known, to a number of comic publishers but they all passed. So, confident in the strength of the work and wishing to get it out to the masses, Young published it himself. Naming his publishing house AiT/Planet Lar (you can figure that one out), Young eventually published two more chapters in the astronauts' lives: Space 1959 and One Shot, One Beer. With the success of these books, Young decided to start publishing books by other creators like Brian Wood, Matt Fraction, Joe Casey, Becky Cloonan, Warren Ellis, Kieron Dwyer, and Fabio Moon with titles that include The Couriers, Giant Robot Warriors, Badlands, and Come in Alone.

One thing is certain, one can always count on an entertaining and quality read when picking up an AiT book, and this most recent addition... the first color book from the publisher... is no exception.

2009-10-13T19:26:00.000-07:00

Comedian Will Sasso tipped me off to Ever Dream This Man? and it is hilarious/creepy.

2009-10-12T10:28:00.000-07:00

??? ?? ???????? ???? ?? ???? ??? ??????????? review ??? ??? ???? ????????? comic, ?? ????? ????????, ?????? ?????, ??? DVD commentary track ??? ?????. ????? ??? ????? ??? ?? e-merl.com ??? ???????? ?? ????? ??? Daniel Merlin Goodbrey, ? ??????, ????? ??? ?????, ????? ???? ????????????? ?????????????? ?? ???? ??? ? ????? ???????? Hypercomics.

2009-10-11T15:40:00.000-07:00

This isn't exactly AiT related, other than the fact that I personally love Mojo Nixon. People who know me know I'm not exactly a musical aficionado and whatnot, but I know good stuff when I hear it. And Moje is good stuff.

So it turns out you can download 147 Mojo Nixon songs offa Amazon fer the ripe ol' price o' free:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000QKA298/ref=dm_ty_adp_rd?ie=UTF8&parent=B002QEOA9U

And I suggest you do so. Anything offa "Bo-day-shuss," "Mojo and Skid," or "Frenzy" gets my thumbs-up.

2009-10-08T20:52:00.000-07:00

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette posted a video interview with Time Tunnel's Pat Donley about the 24 Hour Comic Day event. Make with the clicky.

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One of the artists who participated, an affable and avuncular gent called Scott Hedlund, posted his pages here. It was a pretty good idea to chronicle the happenings as they happened, I have to say. One thing, though, Scott: ya made me look like Tom Beland:

2009-10-05T22:27:00.000-07:00

Just back home from Pittsburgh and Time Tunnel's 24 Hour Comic Day extravaganza:

More tomorrow as I am pretty worn out from being up nearly 36 hours and then travelling home, but I have to say Pat has an awesome shop and an even more awesome bunch of creative bastards putting pencil to paper over there. Thanks for an excellent time, gents.

2009-09-30T15:49:00.000-07:00

The Forbidden Planet blog lets slip an interesting fact: "Or at least things don't go too well for the good guys. For the reader it's bloody brilliant stuff. Just as cliched (in the best context of the word) as the first couple of issues. A cracking spy-horror thriller, full of nastiness, plenty of gore, rapid action and tremendous setpieces. Just like I'd been expecting... The great news is that Necessary Monsters is going to be collected by AiT/Planet Lar once part 5 is done."

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Chad Boudreau thinks Bad Mojo is a new book, but a compliment's a compliment: "Horror comics are making a comeback these days, but as with horror movies, there are more bad than good. Bad Mojo isn't scary, but it is eerie and, at times, unsettling, possessing an underlying dark wit that makes it entertaining throughout. I would, therefore, place Bad Mojo in the category of good horror comics."

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...and where will you be on 24 Hour Comics Day?

2009-09-24T16:04:00.000-07:00

...just found out that LAST OF THE INDEPENDENTS was named by Wizard Magazine as one of the Greatest Graphic Novels of Our Lifetime. You know what? That's all right. Nice work, Matt and Kieron, and Ryan:

2009-09-18T14:32:00.000-07:00

I ran into Scurvy Dogs' Ryan Yount yesterday on the way to my story workshop, which was great. Even though we talked for maybe 15 seconds, it made me recall fondly those days of making him sandwiches while he slaved like a dog on SILLY PUTTY BOY and we'd kick off early to drink booze and smash furniture in the privacy of my own home. Ah, youth.

Anyway, seeing Ry reminded me that tomorrow's "Talk Like a Pirate Day," and I think I can speak for both him and co-author Andrew Boyd when I say we would appreciate you buying a copy of the Scurv instead of annoying your family and friends with amateur piratical sayings. Scurvy Dogs has done all the research for you, and is obviously an invaluable tool, tomorrow, and for the rest of the year.