Craig Thompson's Blog, page 12

porpoise driven life

HABIBI is finished, but this blog isn't. Thank you, readers, for your outpouring of support (eclipsing the hundred comment mark!) and for your

big patience during the seven week hiatus. I spent three weeks in Florida for the Atlantic Center for the Arts graphic novel residency,

accompanied by Master Artists Paul Pope (left) and Svetlana Chmakova (center) and an incredibly talented group of 25 Associate Artists.

Also pictured, a snippet of my travel diary (playtime with dolphins) and the beach in New Smyrna. The trip was bookended by visits to NYC

to meet with my publisher Pantheon Books and map out the production and release of HABIBI. Within a month, I should be able to reveal

the exact release date. In the meantime, I'll conjure some goodies for the blog without too many spoilers. What do YOU wanna see?

IT IS FINISHED!

Chapter eight and everything else! Almost seven hundred pages! Thank you, blog-readers, for all your support.

Thank you, too, for your patience during the blog's summer hiatus. I was waiting for finality to post. And secretive of process

(to avoid spoilers) as we neared the finish line. Plus, there were some summertime distractions; including, but not limited to:

There's still plenty to keep me busy in the upcoming months. Edits / redraws / design / production / getting the book to press.
I'll ...

an end to all wars

Fábio leaves today, so we committed to one last posting between last-minute visits to Powell's Books and Voodoo Donuts.

Instead of more outdoor adventures, we spent most of our time nerding out with Portland comics folks, including a Dark Horse-centric BBQ

at Tim & Carli's. (We also ate lots of good food during the visit.)

So there you go. A message of peace! Safe travel to Fábio. And to his twin brother Gabriel on his way to Bolivia today. Watch for the
collected trade of their DAYTRIPPER...

glacial flour

Thanks for your patience! It's almost impossible to experience things (jump over rocks) and post in the same day.

Yesterday, Fabio & I & editor Sierra Hahn & painter Dan Attoe hiked through the surreal terrain carved by Mt. St. Helens' eruption.

Above, the interior view. Check Fabio's blog for the grand landscape!

And wait… there's more! A drawn tribute by Dan Attoe. Click back to Fabio's for a CLOSE-UP VIEW.

crossover event of the summer

"BLOG WAR" might not be the best title. More like a "blog crossover". Brazilian cartoonist Fábio Moon is visiting Portland, and we'll try to

document some of our activities in a back-and-forth dialog between the two blogs — blending our sketches, inking each others' drawings, etc.

Yesterday, after consuming much coffee, we attended the in-store album debut for Menomena MINES. Our evening continues at Fábio's blog… HERE.

SPECIAL NOTE: By now, the Atlantic Center for the Arts ha...

SPECIAL NOTE: By now, the Atlantic Center for the Arts has notified applicants of my Associate Artist selections for the October residency.

I just wanted to thank everyone who submitted proposals. There was so much amazing work that it made the selection process challenging

and frustrating, but also bodes well for the future of the comics medium! Keep working on those projects!

Below, piles of preparatory sketches for HABIBI pages.

celebratory cigar

The last page of HABIBI was completed today. It's a bit anticlimactic, because though chapter nine is wrapped up, I still need to tackle chapter eight.
Theo Ellsworth was over drawing with me, and we listened to the touching tribute to comics-great Harvey Pekar on Fresh Air.
All this is happening in the midst of almost three weeks of out-of-town guests in the house, including Laëtitia and Frédéric
and their kids (as seen in CARNET DE VOYAGE) visiting from Lyon, France. Above, Dan Attoe and the ...

mines

My buddies in MENOMENA are releasing a new album in about a month. With their last album, FRIEND&FOE, I contributed album art, and

joined them for part of their European tour (and the Grammy's). This time around, their MINES album cover made an appearance in a

HABIBI panel — a studio full of idols being smashed to smithereens. It's an amazing new album, by the way. Support them and preorder at Barsuk.

mines

My buddies in MENOMENA are releasing a new album in about a month. With their last album, FRIEND&FOE, I contributed album art, and

joined them for part of their European tour (and the Grammy's). This time around, their MINES album cover made an appearance in a

HABIBI panel — a studio full of idols being smashed to smithereens. It's an amazing new album, by the way. Support them and preorder at Barsuk.

crumb

Just as Kirk mentioned, I'll be doing an "artist demo" at the Portland Art Museum on June 19th, 2-4pm.

It's all part of the museum's summer-long exhibition of Robert Crumb's Illustrated GENESIS. For those in town, I'll be drawing live

and projected while simultaneously giving a talk. For those out of town, do pick up a copy of Crumb's amazing adaptation

if you haven't already. Here's a couple of comparative panels of the deluge.

PS — work on Habibi is progressing well. Happy summer, everyone!