Lars Martinson's Blog, page 15

Guest Strip by Me @ The Daily Cross Hatch

I have it on good authority that a comic by yours truly will be up at the Daily Cross Hatch today as a part of their weekly "Guest Strip" series.

It wasn't live at "press time" (i.e., when I wrote this entry), but maybe it's up by the time you're reading this. Only one way to find out:

http://thedailycrosshatch.com/

I'll update this entry with a "permalink" as soon as I know it. In the meantime, Happy New Year's, everybody!

KFAI radio piece about me

Certainly there's no better Christmas treat than the gift of my voice, right, dear readers??

Producer/editor extraordinaire Britt Aamodt put together a great little five-minute radio piece about me for KFAI. You can hear it online here:

http://ampers.org/pieces/lars-martinson

Britt Aamodt is editor of the new book Superheroes, Strip Artists, & Talking Animals: Minnesota's Contemporary Cartoonists which you can get on Amazon.com right now!

Happy Holidays, Everyone!

"Tonoharu: Part Two" Media Coverage

I update my twitter account with coverage of Tonoharu: Part Two as it comes in, but I haven't mentioned all of it here on the blog proper. So I thought I'd create an entry that links to all the coverage the book has gotten so far (that I'm aware of).

New/Featured

Sarah Palin's Alaska media blog

Just to clarify, this is the website for Sarah Palin's reality show, not Palin's personal blog or anything. In fact the author of the site's media blog looks to be as far from the right as you can get. But either way, to have my book recommended (along with City Slickers and Green Acres) on a right-wing politician's realty show website makes this the most implausible coverage that I've ever gotten.

Comic Book Bin / Leroy Douresseaux

"Tōnoharu: Part Two, like the first book, is both a unique and engaging read." says Douresseaux in his "A-" review of the book.

Interviews / Profiles

Examiner.com / Justin Tedaldi

David-Wasting-Paper

Hero Magazine / Kris Tigue

MN Daily / Grace Gouker

Gaijin Pot

Reviews

Publisher's Weekly / PW Staff

About.com / Deb Aoki (Review about halfway down the page)

G.B.H. Hornswoggler Blog / Andrew Wheeler

Orbital Comics / Camila (Review 2/3rds down the page)

Page45.com / Jonathan

Le Blog de la Mirabelle / Natja Schon

Geek Week / Henry Chamberlain

Vagabonding / Roff Potts

Previews

Publisher's Weekly

Graphic Novel Reporter

Time.com's Techland Blog

Boing Boing

Metro Magazine (One panel preview of Tonoharu: Part Three" (!))

Offline Coverage

Giant Robot Issue #68 (on newsstands now)

Under The Radar Magazine (In last month's issue, I think?? I never saw it so I can say for sure…)

*****

If anyone knows of any coverage the book has gotten that I'm not aware of (esp. offline coverage, which is hard to track) please let me know!

Get "Tonoharu 1″ in Time for Christmas!

Pictured: Amazon.com's Tonoharu: Part One Page

So here's the good news: Tonoharu: Part One has been selling well enough on Amazon.com that it's temporarily sold out!

The bad news is, they won't be getting new copies in for one to four weeks, and can't guarantee shipment by Christmas.

So I thought I'd take this opportunity that I have copies of the book, and can get them to you before December 25th! I'll even sign & personalize them to whoever you want, and include a little doodle. So if you want to give the gift of Tonoharu for Christmas this year (and who doesn't), please consider making your purchase from my humble little storefront. Thanks!

[Link To My Store]

Lecture at MCAD with Yours Truly

I'll be giving a lecture about my work at the Minneapolis College of Art & Design on Tuesday, February 1st, 2011. I plan on discussing both the artistic and logistics of cartooning/self-publishing. The event is free and open to the public, so come out if you can!

Presentation Details

What:  Lecture at MCAD with Yours Truly

When:  Tuesday, February 1st, 2011 at 1:00pm

Where: Minneapolis College of Art & Design (I'll update later with what building it'll be in, etc.)

I'll update with more details when I know them.

Japanese Calligraphy/Comics Presentation

I'll be giving a presentation about Japanese calligraphy and its relationship to comics at the University of Minnesota on Friday, January 28, 2011. The lecture is a part of a workshop being put on by N-dimensional Japan. The event is free and open to the public, so come out if you can!

Presentation Details

What:  N-dimensional Japan Workshop Series III

When:  Friday, January 28, 2011 · 6:00pm – 9:30pm

Where: University of Minnesota Armory, 15 Church Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455  [Google Maps]

*****

[Facebook Event Page]

I'll update this entry with more details when I know them, so check back!

Interview / Part 3 Preview

Justin Tedaldi asked me a bunch of great questions in his interview with me, over at Examiner.com:

http://www.examiner.com/japanese-culture-in-new-york/interview-with-tonoharu-cartoonist-lars-martinson

Also, Metro Magazine has an exclusive, one panel preview of "Tonoharu: Part THREE" (!!!) up on their website:

http://www.metromag.com/0p178a4466/the-commission-sanjooohashi/

Justin Tedaldi

Book Signing/Release Party Reminder

Hiya Minneapolis Residents–

Just wanted to remind people that my book signing/release party is this Saturday, December 4th, 2010. Joining me will be cartoonists Brittney Sabo & Anna Bratton, who are also releasing a book. Come out if you can!

Book Details

Francis Sharp in the Grip of the Uncanny! Chapter One

By Brittney Sabo & Anna Bratton

http://www.bsabo.com/francissharp/

Tonoharu: Part Two

By Lars Martinson

http://larsmartinson.com/tonoharu2

Signing Details:

When:  Saturday, December 4th, 2010. 4pm to 7pm

Where: Big Brain Comics, 1027 Washington Ave S, Minneapolis, MN, 55415

(612) 338-4390

[Google Maps]

After-Party Details:

When:  Saturday, December 4th, 2010. 7:30pm to around 9:30pm

Where: Grumpy's Bar & Grill, 1111 South Washington Avenue, Minneapolis, MN, 55415 (Just down the street from Big Brain)

(612) 340-9738

[Google Maps]

*****

[Facebook Event Page]

Can't make it? You can order Tonoharu: Part Two right now from my store!

Or you can order Francis Sharp: Chapter One from Brittney's store!

Miami Book Fair 2010

I moved to Japan on April 1st 2008, the very same day that my first graphic novel came out. So I wasn't exactly centrally located to do book signings or attend comic conventions.

Since returning to the US earlier this year, I've tested the waters by participating in a number of local events. I've presented at the Loft Literary Center, and had a table at SpringCon, the Minneapolis Indie Xpo, and the Twin Cities Book Festival.

My first appearance outside of Minnesota occurred the weekend before last, and it was a doozey: the Miami Book Fair.

The organizers of the event were incredible hosts. They flew me down and put me up in a fancy hotel. The author hospitality suite was well stocked so I was never wanting for anything. And then there was the swanky rooftop authors' party, with tasty grub and free booze.

Perhaps someday I'll turn into an obnoxious bigshot that expects this sort of treatment as a matter of course (fingers crossed!) but for now I was quite honored to be treated so splendidly.

I participated in a panel with three other cartoonists.

(Stanford lecturer/writer Adam Johnson also participated.)

Each of us gave a brief presentation and then took questions from the audience.

Pictured: Me, Tracy White, and Sid Jacobson [Photo courtesy of John Shableski]

It was the first presentation I've ever given about my work (the presentation at the Loft was about self-publishing). There are certainly areas for improvement in my presentation & delivery, but for the most part I feel it went quite well.

The Book Fair was also a great opportunity to meet cartoonists (and other publishing industry professionals) from all over the country. It was both inspiring and informative to spend time with so many talented people.

Pictured: Me, cartoonist Barry Deutsch, Diamond Book Distributor sales manager John Shableski, and cartoonists Amy Ignatow & Chris Schweizer

Pictured: Vanessa Davis and I. (She may be standing in a hole.)

Pictured: The Top Shelf Comics booth, manned by Chris Staros and Dean Haspiel

Before the Miami Book Fair, I was sort of on the fence about whether it'd be fruitful to travel across the country to go to distant book shows (on my own dime, at least). Considering all the travel/hotel/convention/food expenses, I think it'd be hard to sell enough books to break even, much less turn a profit.

But meeting people at the Book Fair was so rewarding that I've decided that there are other considerations beyond the bottom line. I'm hoping to go to a least a few conventions/fairs around the country in 2011 and see how it goes. If anyone has any suggestions of good ones, please leave a comment!

My sincere thanks to Lissette Mendez and the rest of the Miami Book Fair staff, and the people who came out to hear my talk!

Scheduling Change

Happy Thanksgiving/Black Friday everyone!

This week's blog entry (about the Miami Book Fair) will be delayed a couple days; just got busy with holiday stuff. Should be up early next week, I would think!