Roger Langridge's Blog, page 281

What's This? Free Comic Books?

This Saturday is Free Comic Book Day. That's right - I said Free Comic Books! To celebrate this most worthy event, I will be appearing at Gosh! Comics (in London's glittering West End) doing drawings with the kids, possibly painting in their window and other shenanigans. I'm down for their 2pm-2:30pm slot, between Louis Roskosch and Karrie Fransman, but I expect I'll hang about a bit longer, as is the way of these things. Full details here!
  
In other news, the first Snarked! collection, Forks and Hope, hit stores yesterday. It collects issues #1-4 of the series, plus the preview issue - a great way to get up to speed. Those of you who have been waiting for the collection before checking it out now have no excuse. None at all! I have spies everywhere. Amazon US link here, Amazon UK link here, or direct from Boom! Studios here.

And last but not least, the Kickstarter for The Graphic Textbook is ongoing, and needs your support! Yes, YOU! Not you at the back - oh, what the heck, yours as well. And yours. You too, madam, if you can get your hand out of that jar of pickled eggs for a moment. Go here - or just click through the card floating in the sidebar to your right. Comics in schools - what could be better?

And more stuff!

More stuff, you say? Very well! Let's rattle off a few more!

• Team Cul-de-Sac - this is the fund-raising book to benefit Parkinson's disease research based on Richard Thompson's comic strip. The book is coming out in June, but the original art auction is already up and running - and you can check that out here. My piece is in there somewhere, I've no doubt.
• T-Shirts! Launching sometime today is a new venture called ComicStripTees, which will feature new web strips and sell t-shirts based on those strips. I'm informed that one of my efforts will be up fairly early on - so if you've ever wanted the world to know how much you like a pig wearing a fez, now's your chance!
• My art show! This one's for Londoners - this Friday I'll be at Orbital Comics from 4pm to 6pm, signing IDW's new Popeye comic book (and anything else you care to waggle under my nose). They've got an exhibition of my work up in the store, starting from Friday and running until May 25th, so take a look at that while you're there, or indeed at any other time for the next month or so. Some of them are even for sale.
• The Graphic Textbook - this one's still looking for backers. I'm currently thumbnailing my contribution and I'll most likely be posting a glimpse or two of my progress over the next few days, but in the meantime, please check out the Kickstarter page and see what you can do.
• New Releases! - And, as if all that weren't enough, it looks like not only is Popeye #1 out in stores today, but so is Snarked! #7! I should start charging for this stuff! Oh, wait a minute, I do.

I thank yew.

Stuff stuff stuff!

A few things!

First, I'm delighted to report that I'll be returning to HeroesCon this June - definitely one of my favourite US shows. They've just officially announced that here.

Next, there's some more info on the very worthwhile Kickstarter fundraiser for The Graphic Textbook, which I'm contributing a story to, at Publishers Weekly. Check that out, and please, please, please consider contributing to the fundraising appeal.

And thirdly, there's a piece on IDW's new Popeye series, which I'm writing, at USA Today. There's the usual mangled quotes you get in any newspaper article - I've never yet seen one about me that's 100% accurate - but it's a pretty solid piece all the same. And I believe the book itself is out any day now! Huzzah!

The Graphic Textbook

Do you like comics? Do you wish you'd been able to read comics in school when you were a kid? Well, an outfit called Reading With Pictures is trying to make that happen. They're putting together an anthology called The Graphic Textbook that, in their words, will make you smarter! I'm contributing a story to it - a Doctor Sputnik adventure in which the eponymous Doctor, with the help of his idiot sidekick and Isaac Newton's head in a jar, explains Newton's Laws of Motion through various practical demonstrations (like a rocket launch and the occasional car crash). Such fun! The goal is not only to educate through the comics medium - a worthy goal in itself, I'm sure you'll agree - but also to encourage a comics-reading habit in the next generation of readers.

With the clear worthiness of such a project in mind, might I ask you to consider contributing something to the book's Kickstarter project, full details about which can be found here. There's a killer lineup of talent involved; I encourage you to click through and read all about it, and then perhaps make a pledge if you're so inclined. Every little helps.

Muppet Show "Four Seasons" will be published!

In Italy, that is - although I read on the interwebs this morning that Marvel will be reprinting it. I haven't heard anything from Marvel about that, though, so you know as much about that as I do. But yes! I've been working with Disney Italy on a few things they wanted tweaked (they needed Gonzo's nose redrawing), so presumably that's where Marvel are getting it from. I'm not sure yet when the Italian edition is being released, but Marvel's English-language version will be coming out in July, according to the (totally-unconfirmed) news reports I've seen.

If anyone from the appropriate department of Marvel is reading this, I can send you my scripts if you want, rather than translating from Italian back into English. (I remember reading British Disney comics as a kid where Carl Barks' dialogue had been totally rewritten and it made my teeth hurt.)

Eisner Time Again!

Very, very pleased to announce that Snarked! has been nominated for an Eisner Award in the "Best Publication for Kids" category. I honestly wasn't expecting something without the high profile of The Muppets or Thor to get a nod, so I'm extremely proud that something I actually originated myself has been recognised. Of course, I haven't a snowball's chance of actually getting to the awards at this late hour (even if I could afford the trip, I think you have to register when you're a foetus these days) but still. Very nice all the same.

Hither and Yon

A few things!

ITEM • That nice man Nate Cosby has posted a teeny weeny preview of my story in COW BOY, the book he and Chris Eliopoulos did for Archaia, which looks pretty wonderful. Anyway, I did a two-pager for it. First couple of panels are visible here.

ITEM •  I gots me an exhibition! It'll be at Orbital Comics in London, kicking off on April 28th with a signing and carrying on until May 25th. More details here.

ITEM • There's a preview online of Snarked! #6, which should have come out earlier this week I believe.

ITEM • And I've just been asked by those lovely folk at Gosh! Comics in London to appear on Free Comic Book Day in their store and be nice to the kiddies. That'll be on May 5th; more info when I know the schedule and whatnot.

ITEM • I've just done a cover for an upcoming issue of Boom Studios' new series, Fanboys versus Zombies, which should grace the front of issue #5 I believe. 

ITEM • Popeye #1 is out this month! (Just wanted to throw that in there.)

Currently reading: Leo Baxendale's amazing Willy the Kid books from the 1970s. By golly, Baxendale knew how to do kids' comics. Making me re-evaluate everything I do in that arena. Check them out if you can, I managed to find Book 1 on eBay for three quid.

I think that's it - do let me know if I've forgotten anything, won't you?

It Speaks!

So, I did an interview with The Hourly Planet recently, and they've just put it up on their site here. Bit of a rambling one, not actively promoting anything for a change, so that was nice. And darned if they didn't find, to accompany the piece,  a Barney Google strip I don't have - after me bragging I had most of 'em!

Help the CBLDF!

Just a quick shout-out about some eBay auctions for a good cause. Here's the deal: Ultimate Comics are auctioning some Muppet sketch covers by me and other Muppet artists, the proceeds of which are going to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. The link for those auctions is here. Do your worst and bid, bid, bid like the maniacs I know you are!

Sailors and Snarks

Couple of things for yez. First of all, it looks like the amazing Tom Neely will be illustrating a couple of my Popeye scripts, which is frankly terrific news. Tom and I have been talking about working together on something for a couple of years now; that it turns out to be Popeye is so much the better. Between Bruce Ozella's Segar-esque penmanship and Tom's perfectly in-tune cartooning style, this is going to be one beautiful looking book. (And both Bruce and Tom are lettering their stuff by hand! I can't tell you how happy this makes me.)

 
Next squib for your delectation: that unscrupulous ratbag, Wilburforce J. Walrus, has hijacked my Blogger account and uploaded a frankly libellous process post to the Snark Island blog. It may be of interest to those of you who like to see the nuts and bolts of how a comic book cover is put together. Also to my lawyers.