Kate Beaton's Blog, page 10

Hark, a Vagrant: Wuthering Heights pt 1

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I had just about given up on ideas for Wuthering Heights until the other day when I stumbled upon a beautifully illustrated version of the book by Fritz Eichenberg. It was two dollars! Unbelievable. His evocative woodcuts spurred me into action!







Because this is such a busy time, and such an intense book to cover, I am breaking the comics into smaller updates! That way you won't be waiting so long for them while I run around town and do all that fancy press and tour stuff.


Speaking of fancy stuff, there are some interviews and articles coming your way! Here is an interview from Salon, and here is a review from the NPR blog. We're picking up steam, ladies and gents!









The book is available for order on Amazon! So many exciting things happening.









Did you know that the actual book launch is very soon? It's this Tuesday, September 27 here in New York, at Housing Works! Here are some details over at the New Yorker!










The tour update is here! So much stuff going on!



BROOKLYN Sunday Sept 18th

http://www.brooklynbookfestival.org/B...

At Brooklyn Book Festival, 1PM



MANHATTAN Tuesday Sept 27th

http://www.housingworks.org/locations...

http://www.desertislandbrooklyn.com/

At Housing Works with Desert Island, 7PM



SAN FRANCISCO Saturday Oct 1st & Sunday Oct 2nd

http://www.comic-con.org/ape/index.php

At APE



BOSTON Saturday Oct 15th

http://www.bostonbookfest.org/bookfes...

At the Boston Book Festival, panel: "Far Out Fiction," 4:30pm



VANCOUVER Friday Oct 21st

http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/

At the Vancouver International Writers Festival, panel "Conversations with Bill", 10 AM



PORTLAND Saturday Oct 22nd

http://www.livewireradio.org/

During Live Wire at Alberta Rose Theater, 7PM



LOS ANGELES Sunday Oct 23rd

http://www.skylightbooks.com/

Signing at Skylight Books, 5PM



TORONTO Saturday Oct 29th & Oct 30th

http://www.readings.org/?q=ifoa

At the IFOA



MONTREAL Tuesday Nov 1st

http://211blog.drawnandquarterly.com/

At our very own Librairie Drawn & Quarterly, 7PM



HALIFAX Wednesday Nov 2nd

http://www.strangeadventures.com/

At Strange Adventures, 7PM

Hark, a Vagrant: Danton

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Back with more French history!



Robespierre is the real star of the French Revolution but Danton is the one who always fascinated me. Robespierre's idealism and cruelty was strange and lofty and alien, while Danton is so much more agreeably flawed and human, and he understood the nature of people better, and yet he still remains just out of reach. Would it have killed the man to write something down? He brought on terrors and he tried to stop The Terror, and then he lost his head for it. He loved working up crowds with speeches, and he was good at it, with a roaring voice that suited well since he looks rather like a lion.



I'm just talkin' and talkin' so I'll wrap up, do yourselves a favor and watch Andrzej Wajda's "Danton," it's great and it's part of the Criterion Collection. Here is a clip from Danton's trial, marvelous! And who can resist Depardieu? Well, it's always a good idea to quote someone who knows what they are talking about, so I will pull up JM Thompson's popular summary: "Not a great man, not a good man, certainly no hero; but a man with great, good, and heroic moments."





The book is still available for preorder on Amazon! So many exciting things happening.









Did you know that the actual book launch is very soon? It's September 27 here in New York, at Housing Works! Here are some details on Time Out New York!




I got a great review with Publishers Weekly, very proud!


Come see myself, Michael Kupperman, Keith Knight and Jennifer Hayden this Sunday at the Brooklyn Book Festival!







My good friends Emily and Tim are running a project called Border Town that you should check out there is also a Kickstarter with info and a chance to get involved! You know Emily of course from the wonderfulA Softer World.





The tour update is here! So much stuff going on!



BROOKLYN Sunday Sept 18th

http://www.brooklynbookfestival.org/B...

At Brooklyn Book Festival, 1PM



MANHATTAN Tuesday Sept 27th

http://www.housingworks.org/locations...

http://www.desertislandbrooklyn.com/

At Housing Works with Desert Island, 7PM



SAN FRAN Saturday Oct 1st & Sunday Oct 2nd

http://www.comic-con.org/ape/index.php

At APE



BOSTON Saturday Oct 15th

http://www.bostonbookfest.org/bookfes...

At the Boston Book Festival, panel "Funny Ha-Ha: Comedy in Comics", 1PM



VANCOUVER Friday Oct 21st

http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/

At the Vancouver International Writers Festival, panel "Conversations with Bill", 10 AM



PORTLAND Saturday Oct 22nd

http://www.livewireradio.org/

During Live Wire at Alberta Rose Theater, 7PM



LOS ANGELES Sunday Oct 23rd

http://www.skylightbooks.com/

Signing at Skylight Books, 5PM



TORONTO Saturday Oct 29th & Oct 30th

http://www.readings.org/?q=ifoa

At the IFOA



MONTREAL Tuesday Nov 1st

http://211blog.drawnandquarterly.com/

At our very own Librairie Drawn & Quarterly, 7PM



HALIFAX Wednesday Nov 2nd

http://www.strangeadventures.com/

At Strange Adventures, 7PM

Hark, a Vagrant: Napoleon's height

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Napoleon is something of an unofficial mascot to this comic, so sometimes I think I ought to throw him in more. He is at least the character whom I have pared down into a certain design over the years. However, as you can see, my depictions don't really help his uh, Napoleon Complex problem. As a person who is 5'2" myself I would tell him it ain't so bad down here, but then, if people made my height as big a deal as they did his and got it wrong anyway, I'd probably have a word or two to say about it.



I'll give you some of James Gilray's caricatures, Gilray really zeroed in on Napoleon's height and I think it's a good example of how powerful cartoons could be with the public imagination! Gilray is one of my favorites anyway, do yourself a favor and look up his work, it's all terribly mean and clever.







You have to admit though, when it came to old political cartoons, nobody got it worse than George IV.







The cheek of that! Haha a cane is going to pull me offstage for that joke. Anyway!



I want to point some friends your way, the first is my old buddy Henry Svec, who has a new album out for which I did the artwork! And you can download the whole thing right off the website, and then you can sit and enjoy it, and then you can be very pleased with your day! This is my plan for you.



The second is another musical friend, the extra talented Greg MacPherson, whose newest album Disintegration Blues is juuusst coming out right now, you can catch some shows in Winnipeg this weekend ( Sept 9th/10th at the West End Cultural Center in Winnipeg )when it does! I've heard the album already and it is the best!



Holy heck, ok more news, speaking of this coming weekend. I am going to be at SPX in Bethesda on Sept. 10th and 11th, it is one of the best comic shows of the year! You can catch me at the Drawn and Quarterly booth. With my new book! For the first time! You gotta come! If it is reasonable for you to do that!



Did you know that I am going on tour with the new book? I am! I even have some confirmed dates for you!





BETHESDA: SPX Saturday September 10 & Sunday September 11th

BROOKLYN: BBF Sunday, September 18th

MANHATTAN: Housing Works with Desert Island Tuesday, September 27th

SAN FRANCISCO: APE Saturday October 1st and Sunday September 2nd

VANCOUVER: VIWF Friday, October 21st

PORTLAND: Live Write Saturday, October 22nd

TORONTO: IFOA SAturday October 29th and Sunday October 30th

Hark, a Vagrant: Shelley and Byron

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"How long do you mean to be content?"



Back again! Can't win em all, you know how it is. Maybe.



These two scaliwags are loads of fun, why didn't I come back to them earlier? Originally it was supposed to be about Byron being kind of grossed out by Shelley's fish eaten corpse but maybe that's not all the barrel of laffs I thought it would be. It's funny how when Shelley, the intense atheist, died, all the newspapers were like THAT SHOWED HIM as if God himself just put his thumb on the boat and pushed down to prove a point. Take that Shelley!



A couple of things have happened, one, my very good friends Meaghan and Adam got married! I love those guys. Guys are you reading this? Kiss kiss kiss this is for you kiss kiss



Also I have an interview up at The Hairpin!



Also, to my great surprise, I won a Harvey Award. Thank you so much to everyone who voted! It was truly unexpected.



Also



Also



The book stuff is picking up steam like crazy, I will have some exciting things to tell you soon, but here is a link to the thing itself on Amazon, I will probably be linking the heck out of this! From now on! Is it finally time to be a good businessman?? (Businesslady??)




Look at these Mad Men portraits that Carly is drawing! I keep dropping links to them like crazy because they are the best. Dropping links like bread crumbs at Hansel and Gretel's house.




Lastly! Oh man. Are you from Cape Breton? Peter is so darn funny. I'm splitting my sides looking at this.

Hark, a Vagrant: Feynman

Today brings us a guest strip, and I am lucky to have it, from the marvelously talented pair Jim Ottaviani and Leland Myrick (written by the former and illustrated by the latter). You'll know them soon, I hope, from the graphic novel biography of the rad scientist Richard Feynman.






It comes out at the end of the month, and I've read it already so I know it's good! And I know I have more than a few readers who wish I made more comics about scientists myself.



Keep your eyes peeled for a few things, I've had an interview with Newsarama, one coming out soon with the Hairpin, one with Quill and Quire and one with the Walrus. There's an illustration in the Walrus too! A lot of activity happening around the book, yes indeed.

Hark, a Vagrant: Nancy Drew 4

Nancy's BACK





What is up with that bagpipes one, did Nancy learn to play the bagpipes for a case? Is she that determined? My sister had to play the chanter for a while in elementary school and that was bad enough. She gave me a hand in writing these, it was fun! She ain't got a website or anything, but she's on twitter as @laureenbeat if you're into that sort of twittering thing.



Right now I am back with the family in Cape Breton. I met with old friends this weekend at Sappyfest in New Brunswick. The best people I know all in one place, and new friends to meet. Who could ask for more? I love you all, I love you all.

Hark, a Vagrant: Tycho redone

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I redrew this one so I wanted to put it up! It was part of but was pretty popular so I did this up. Update after the weekend!



It never felt right without the gold/silver/copper/whatever nose anyway.

Hark, a Vagrant: Fop Gun

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It's so hot outside that I lost my mind and drew pictures in a delirium. If I am passed out on the sidewalk near you, ship me to the arctic.



If I am not fried like a pancake by Monday, I will be doing this show!




My last update was about my book being available at San Diego Comic Con. They Sold out! But did you know you can pre-order copies on Amazon? You certainly can!




Thanks to Olly Moss for Top Pun inspiration

Hark, a Vagrant: Curly's Gold (book update)

my book!



Here is some info!



Here is some more info!

Hark, a Vagrant: Teens and more teens

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The teen world expands a little bit! I spent some doodling time trying to figure Vanessa's character out.

















I just spent a few days reading Wuthering Heights so you should see some comics about that soon, whenever I can get that Kate Bush song out of my mind!




There is some news in the store!



The Mile High poster is for sale!









hot action!!