Kate Beaton's Blog, page 9

Hark, a Vagrant: Peasants #2

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I have been obsessing over Medieval history in the past while. It only seemed natural to come back to the world of our old friends. I like the idea of recurring characters in this strip, and that's why you're seeing more of it! Though we might take them from 15th century to 14th century. The 14th century is just so.. gloriously Medieval.



I like a good old mix of funny history with a lil' anachronism thrown in the mix. For allergies, I'll be honest: I have no idea what people thought then. And I've been looking at medical Medieval image catalogues like nobody's business. I should really make a tumblr or something to record research travels on the internet, because I just want to share everything with you! There is so much great stuff out there! We'll see. But anyway, back on track re: allergies-



I once read that it's possible Jean Paul Marat suffered from a gluten intolerance which led to him being confined to his bath, which led to him being murdered, which led to him being painted Pieta-style with a bathtub instead of the Virgin Mary. Can you imagine, an old timey French dude just chowing down baguettes every day and wondering what the heck was the matter while all the doctors bang their heads on the wall? C'est tragique. But in a funny way.



Weren't we talking about Middle Ages stuff? Well, read all about it in my new book, How to write jokes about topics that are unrelated.




And for heaven's sake, watch Terry Jones' Medieval Lives and do it now- you won't find a more charming, intelligent host anywhere. Terry, if you're reading this (you're not, but just in case you are), you're the best.

Hark, a Vagrant: velocipede

Happy New Year everyone!



Just playing around with drawing pictures.



The greatest thing about the invention of the bicycle and ladies starting to ride them is: everything. The clothes! The bikes! The attitude! But perhaps especially: the scads of satirical cartoons made at the time that were supposed to make women look shocking and inappropriate but just makes them look super stylish and badass instead. I just can't get over the cigarette in the cartoon I used though, and the splayed legs as she rumbles willy-nilly down the street. God, is there anything better than cartoons?




Incidentally, 'velocipedestrienne,' not a word I made up. You're looking for page 89 of this very informative contemporary read. I enjoyed the chapter very much. You would not believe how many words they manage to birth out of the word 'velocipede' in that book. If you notice the date you'll see that I stuck a phonograph in the cartoon about ten years too early and well that is just because I can do what I like around here.

Hark, a Vagrant: Holiday Sketches

I'm headed home! Here are some holiday drawings before I go. Ken in the Nativity Scene is there just because I remember both owning Hollywood Ken (he had stars on his pants and the word HOLLYWOOD on his t-shirt) and trying to play with the figures in Mom's Nativity scene. I mean let's face it: they're dolls right? Amirite. The problem was that they were all puny next to the Barbies and that is a problem, because no doubt Mary would consider a man-about-town like Hollywood Ken to be the foster father of her miracle child, but she only went up to his hip, so Joseph was a more reasonable choice in the end.




As for Hunks, you may remember this twitter comic I made about meeting my neighbours:





I had to make a comic out of it in some way right! Here are some things that will always be funny to me:


butts


hunks and babes


people lying on the floor


top gun



And that is the secret to anything I have ever made.



Will you be in New York between Christmas and New Years?



Then come to the third Crime Stoppers Club, a show put on by Michael Kupperman and myself, this month featuring the great talents of Julia Wertz, Anthony Devito, Mitch Magee, Julie Klausner and MARK TWAIN!



That's December 27th, at Luca Lounge in the East Village! Clicka that link hey why not



Oh yeah one more!



If you're back in Cape Breton for Christmas like me, I'm going to do a little signing or meet and greet sort of thing on Boxing Day in my hometown, Mabou. It's at the museum - An Drochaid, the Gaelic and Historical Society building - at 7:30pm. Be sure to drop by and say hello before the dance starts, hmm?

Hark, a Vagrant: Wuthering Heights pt 3

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It's interesting to go this far with a book, over more than one update. I have re-read so many parts of Wuthering Heights in the last while that all the characters are swimming around in my brain like .. brain fish.



Nelly, I AM Heathcliff!




Amazing news! Hark! A Vagrant was named one of the top ten fiction books of the year by Time magazine. I'm bowled over.



Come in here close now, I have a secret: Did you buy my book as a gift for someone this holiday season? If you are in New York on Friday (the 16th), come to Community Bookstore in Brooklyn, and I will sign it to them for you. I'll be there from 7-9pm. I'm trying to keep this event pretty low key, a nice little holly-jolly thing, not too many "I bought this as a gift for myself!" if you please. There may be cider!



I have two shows coming up! The first is The Moon's year-end celebration, on Dec 19 in Tribeca! It features myself, Michael Showalter, Julie Klausner and Andrea Rosen, plus The Moon regulars! Pretty rad!


The second is the third Crime Stoppers Club, hosted by myself and Michael Kupperman! It's Dec 27, at Luca Lounge in the East Village, 7pm. More details to follow!




Felipe Galindo gave me his book recently, and it's a real charmer! Put that on your list for your Mexican-American friends.




My comrades at Pizza Island have also been busy.







Time is runnin' out for Christmas!


The store has three new shirts! It's been a while. But here they are!










The book is still available for order!








Topatoco is selling it, along with a reissue of the first book! There is a pretty good combo deal there.

Hark, a Vagrant: Wonder Woman

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Oh Wonder Woman, I love you, not even secretly. I really do find her fascinating, along with creative and fan based world around her. We just want her to be great, what's wrong with that? Maybe she wants to be great too.




You want to see some videos of me drawing our nemesis friends from the last update? I put them here and here. It's a little weird when you're holding an iphone above the paper but hey, drawing!












The store has three new shirts! It's been a while. But here they are!










The book is still available for order!








Topatoco is selling it, along with a reissue of the first book! There is a pretty good combo deal there.

Hark, a Vagrant: Nemesis

buy this print!

Pirates!!



Do you remember these guys? I brought them back for their own comics. I always had a soft spot for 'em. I threw the original comics in so that anyone new to the characters would have an idea about them!





You know what one of the funnest parts of my job is? Research! I don't usually show you guys research, but for anyone curious, here are some of the things I've used for this one:




When I found this guy last year, I wanted to draw him, and he became Nemesis.


Great clothing reference! There is also this one, and many out there like it. The internet is amazing.


This collection of prints turns up in a lot of places.


I guess the other guy was a surgeon, somehow.


How did they hold one of those things anyway? Ah.


Flintlocks


What's looking at Napoleonic naval images without a few stills from Master and Commander, I ask you?




Anyway, I always have a load of that stuff up, a million tabs open. Good times all around.





By the way, the CBC Q interview I had is on youtube now! Thanks Jian!






The store has three new shirts! It's been a while. But here they are!










The book is still available for order on Amazon!










Other buying options for the book? Topatoco is selling it, along with a reissue of the first book! There is a pretty good combo deal there.

Hark, a Vagrant: Gorey Covers Part 5

Goreys!



I looove calling back old jokes. haha!




Many of the articles I read about the book cited the Gorey/Nancy book cover business as the best work I do, which I am uncertain how to take (artists! amirite) but hey, if it's your favorite it's your favorite right? I think that the really good thing about them is that they don't need nor are made better by any previous knowledge of anything else coming in, so everyone reads them the same way. I like that! History and comic book things are fun but it's nice for everyone to be on the same page too.




anyhow



A Halifax illustrator friend of mine, Sydney Smith, finally made himself a thing on the internet so add that on to your tumblrs and et ceteras.





My pal Lizz Lunney has a new book, it's right here, she's a mini comics star but if you ain't heard of her because of her being all the way over in Britain, I forgive ya. That situation is easily repaired by simply clicking links! Isn't the internet grand?







The store has three new shirts! It's been a while. But here they are!










The book is still available for order on Amazon!










Other buying options for the book? Topatoco is selling it, along with a reissue of the first book! There is a pretty good combo deal there.

Hark, a Vagrant: Nancy's Halloween Special

The tour is OVER!



It was long but it was fun and good to meet people! Thank you everyone who came out, and to the organizers and to Drawn and Quarterly. As usual, I got sick as soon as I came home, but at least it didn't pop up until the end of the tour, not so much during, though thank you to those understanding people in Toronto who were very gracious when I had to cut the line. I'll see you at TCAF I hope!




This comic was just a sketch in my book, I had intended to make a big ol' Halloween comic out of it, but since it's been so long since the last update and I'm not 100% yet, I thought I'd just open my sketchbook for you! I'm pretty worn out by comics you guys, I've spent a lot of time talking about and presenting my comics in the past couple of months to the point where I hardly want to look at 'em, but I'm excited to get back into it, back to normal, like. Nancy is up to her old tricks. Regular updates should be happening soon. I have some costume sketches too, when this comic was more ambitious:








Now here is an exciting thing:



The store has three new shirts! It's been a while. But here they are!








If you missed it, here are a few interview links:


Q with Jian Ghomeshi on CBC Radio

The Sound of Young America with Jesse Thorn on NPR




The book is still available for order on Amazon!










Other buying options for the book? Topatoco is selling it, along with a reissue of the first book! There is a pretty good combo deal there.

Hark, a Vagrant: Kraven the Hunter

Good morning!




First off, I have an interview in The Onion AV Club! Very cool. Also, if you're in New York, you are invited to the first Crime Stoppers Club with Michael Kupperman, myself and guests! This time the guests are Julia Wertz, Ted Travelstead and Sam Grittner, but there is a new show every last Tuesday of the month!




Well, I thought that during this book tour I'd have the time to make comics, but it's been pretty tough. As good as the book business is, I'm pretty tired, and everything I tried to come up with this past week or so has been brain mush. I guess most people on tours don't also have to keep a website going, maybe! I hope they don't, it's too nutty. I asked Marvel if I could share with you some of the comics that I made for Strange Tales, and they agreed! So here is one of my favorites, Kraven the Hunter!


Researching characters for Marvel stories was a real blast, I enjoyed it very much. Kraven was suggested to me by Ryan North, because that guy knows what he is talking about! The book that all of these are collected in is Strange Tales II, it's a great collection! I found some amazing new artists by looking through it too, like Rafael Grampa. That guy is unreal. Bill Crabtree colored this one, though (so you know!).




If you pick up Best American Comics 2011, you'll find me inside with many others to enjoy!



I have some pages in a new book of nursery rhymes. Each rhyme is illustrated by a different cartoonist, the book is published by First Second (who are amazing), and you should keep an eye out for it! It's a real gem. I can share mine with you:




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ok!





My own book is still available for order on Amazon!










Other buying options for the book? Topatoco is selling it, along with a reissue of the first book! There is a pretty good combo deal there.







The tour update is here! Still some dates to go! We added MIAMI!







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/

Librairie Drawn & Quarterly, 7PM



HALIFAX Wednesday Nov 2nd

http://www.strangeadventures.com/

At Strange Adventures, 7PM




MIAMI Saturday Nov 19th

http://www.miamibookfair.com

Hark, a Vagrant: Wuthering Heights pt 2

buy this print!

Wuthering Heights, Part Two! We are keeping this juggernaut on course, and we haven't even gotten to the part where Heathcliff starts breaking into graves yet. They are still children here, it's funny to see movie adaptations with adults playing Catherine and Heathcliff spying in the Lintons' windows.




Book tour and business keeps rolling, I am extremely proud to say that this week Hark! A Vagrant hit the #1 spot on the New York Times bestseller list for graphic books. Thank you everyone who bought it and made this happen. The day before the book was released, I made this little thank you video. It's nice to be a real person sometimes you know? Instead of a twitter account.




There's been a host of interviews and things, be on the lookout for more, including some NPR action!




Some links from friends:



Two of my oldest and dearest friends started a little blog of odds and ends.



My lovely acquaintances Ohbijou have realeased a new album, and boy oh boy is is wonderful.



My very talented Halifax friend Faith Erin Hicks has a new book coming out with First Second, and it's being serialized online! Free, amazing comics? Sign me up! It's called Friends With Boys and it is right at that link. Faith can draw circles around me for sure, she's amazin'



Speaking of First Second, I have some pages in a new book of Nursery Rhyme Comics, with many, many other talented people. It's a sure bet, for kids, just trust me. Here is a preview over at Comics Alliance that includes my contribution.



But also, speaking of KIDS and speaking of BOOKS, I have two more that I want to share with you because they are so great! One is I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen and the other is Zombie In Love, illustrated by Scott C. Both of these guys make work so charming, your kids will have their work cut out for them in not loving every minute of it. I also picked up Wildwood by Carson Ellis and Colin Meloy this week, and I'm in love with it.




ok!





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










Other buying options for the book? Topatoco is selling it, along with a reissue of the first book! There is a pretty good combo deal there.







The tour update is here! Still some dates to go!






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