Nate Powell's Blog, page 21

IDAHO-- Boise Library Comic Con this Saturday!

I'm excited to be at the Boise Library Comic Con this weekend-- it'll be from 10-5 on Saturday at the main branch (715 S. Capitol Blvd.).

I'll be selling and signing books all day at my table, and doing a panel at 1:15 pm (Marion Bingham Room, 3rd Floor) about my work. Also be sure to check out my comics buds Emi Lenox, Farel Dalrymple, and Theo Ellsworth! 

See you there!

MARCH is an Ignatz Award nominee!

I'm honored to hear that March (written by John Lewis & Andrew Aydin, and drawn by me) is an Ignatz Award nominee for Outstanding Series !

Voting will take place on Saturday, September 19th on-site at the Small Press Expo in North Bethesda, MD, and winners will be announced that evening. The Ignatz Awards are very special to me-- not only were they the first to put my work on the radar in many respects back in 2008, but their voting structure is perhaps the only in comincs to utilize a direct democratic method, and it's always interesting and exciting to see what's happening on the SPX show floor, in real time, as reflected in the awards. Thanks so much again-- it's an honor to be nominated for the coveted brick!

San Diego Comic Con schedule & CBLDF artwork auction!

I'm just about to join 97% of my cartoonist peeps in San Diego for Comic-Con International 2015-- I'll generally be found at Top Shelf's booth (#1721), signing copies of two new books-- You Don't Say and March: Book Two -- along with all the rest.



Here's my schedule of signings/panels/goings-on:

THURS 7/9: at Top Shelf booth all day.

FRI 7/10: at Top Shelf booth most of the day, plus discussing You Don't Say and March: Book Two at the Top Shelf spotlight panel from 12-1pm in Room 23ABC.

SAT 7/11: 
   *March panel (with John Lewis & Andrew Aydin). 10-11am, Room 23ABC.
   * March signing (with John Lewis & Andrew Aydin). 11:15am-1pm, Top Shelf booth (#1721).
   * March signing (with JL & AA). 3-4:30pm, IDW booth (#2743).

SUN 7/12:
   * March signing (with JL & AA), 10:30-11:30am, Top Shelf booth.
   * March event off-site at Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation (w/ JL & AA), 3:30-4:45pm.



I'll also have this page from The Silence Of Our Friends (written by Mark Long & Jim Demonakos; First Second, 2012) up for auction to benefit the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. It'll be Saturday, July 11th from 8-10pm at the Bayfront Hilton. 

See you there!

SWALLOW ME WHOLE in development as a feature film!

I'm excited to announce that my 2008 graphic novel Swallow Me Whole is in early stages of development as an indie film, based on a screenplay I've written, and with my participation and input all the way down the line.

Expect more news in the next few weeks-- in the meantime, you can follow developments for the film on Twitter and Instagram . You can also contact me directly at seemybrotherdance@yahoo.com.

Thanks-- more to come!

Original artwork up for sale through late July-- a rare chance to buy MARCH pages too!

Original signed pages from nearly all of my books are now for sale through late July at my Etsy site-- your support will help me pay off a mountain of hospital bills from the birth of my second daughter, and swim out of debt with the IRS.

CHECK OUT THE SALE HERE.

The sale features work priced from $150 to $1000, and includes pages from March: Book One, The Lost Hero, You Don't Say, Any Empire, Swallow Me Whole, The Silence Of Our Friends, The Year Of The Beasts, In The Dark, Sweet Tooth, Please Release, Sounds Of Your Name, Tiny Giants, and Walkie Talkie. It includes collaborations with writers Scott Snyder, Jeff Lemire, Rick Riordan, Robert Venditti, Cecil Castellucci, Congressman John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, Mark Long, and Jim Demonakos. There are also a few unpublished gems in there, like a 1999 Fantastic Four pinup, a tryout page for The Lost Hero, and an alternate version of a March: Book One page! 

Being a self-employed comic book artist isn't easy or full of job security, especially when trying to support a family with one's efforts-- cartoonists usually don't have a typical means of saving for any retirement or getting employer-based health insurance, and we get absolutely slammed by income taxes as sole proprietors. Career cartoonists are virtually guaranteed to die at their drawing tables, working through old age to make ends meet. I welcome and am prepared for that challenge, and this sale will help bridge a little bump in the road.

Thank you so much for your support and understanding, and for spreading the word-- now back to work!

Next week-- limited original artwork from all books for sale!

Hi-- I'll be putting some pages of original artwork up for sale in the next few days in order to pay for hospital bills, car problems, and swim out of my debt dungeon with the IRS.

This includes pages from SWALLOW ME WHOLE, ANY EMPIRE, WALKIE TALKIE/ SOUNDS OF YOUR NAME, PLEASE RELEASE/ YOU DON'T SAY, THE SILENCE OF OUR FRIENDS (w/ Mark Long & Jim Demonakos), THE YEAR OF THE BEASTS (w/ Cecil Castellucci), TWELVE REASONS TO DIE (w/ Ghostface Killah & Matthew Rosenberg), IN THE DARK (w/ Scott Snyder), THE LOST HERO (w/ Rick Riordan & Robert Venditti), SWEET TOOTH (w/ Jeff Lemire), and the only two pages from MARCH that will ever be available for sale in the forseeable future.

Stay tuned-- Probably putting them up Monday, remaining available through the end of July. Thanks for your support and faith!

New interview up at Paste/ YOU DON'T SAY out tomorrow!

Here's a very in-depth interview up at Paste, covering all kinds of topics!

My new book You Don't Say will be in stores everywhere TOMORROW-- here's some love from the folks at 13th Dimension :

"Nate Powell is one of those comics creators who doesn’t get the credit he deserves. Now, before you start sputtering to yourself about his countless awards and his recent television appearances to promote the March series he draws with Rep. John Lewis, let me clarify. Powell is one of those people whom I almost never hear anyone discussing. His work is liked and respected, he is awarded and rewarded left and right, but no one seems to talk about how powerfully evocative his line is, how intensely personal and emotional his writing is, and how easy he switches between any color on the emotional spectrum in the course of just a single page. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you need to pick up this collection of the last nine years of Powell’s shorter work. And if you do know what I’m talking about well, you were already going to buy it."

New interview at CBR

Here's a new interview I did at Comic Book Resources for the stories in my book You Don't Say (out May 20th from Top Shelf/IDW). Soon after doing this phone interview, I realized that the last few months of sleep deprivation had taken a toll on my ability to convey thoughts clearly-- sorry if it's a bit rambly or cloudy. Email interviews only for the next couple of months..!

You can directly pre-order signed, sketched copies of You Don't Say from me here, and I'll send them out as soon as they arrive.

YOU DON'T SAY signed + sketched direct pre-orders now open!

My comics collection You Don't Say will hit stores May 13 from Top Shelf/IDW, so I'm opening up pre-orders for signed, sketched copies directly from me as well!

ORDER HERE.

Thanks!

Team MARCH on The Rachel Maddow Show, and elsewhere in NYC!

Thanks to Rachel Maddow and her fantastic team for having us on her show a few days ago to discuss March: Book Two ! Here's our segment , though I highly recommend first watching her previous segment about Gandhi's methods and tactics influencing a young John Lewis, perfectly setting the stage and context.



Afterwards, one of the producers snuck us in for a quick tour of the Saturday Night Live set! I managed to sneak on the band stage for a moment, absorbing the weight of both friends and musical heroes who've shared that platform. Absolutely mind-shredding!



We also did a discussion & signing at the Federal Reserve (!)-- here's a photo of Andrew Aydin ruling the school, tying ever-increasing student loan debt to further disenfranchisement of adults from activism, risk, homeownership, entrepreneurship, and generally moving forward as a people, citing the Fed's own report:



We also spoke to a few hundred talented students in Brooklyn-- and in a trip highlight, our opener was this band of elementary school students, slaying to a cover of The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army":



That evening, we did another great discussion and signing at the Brooklyn Central Library, where I had the good fortune of running into old friends Aaron Cometbus and Joshua Peach. Thanks, everyone, for coming out to listen and discuss-- I really wish I could've stayed longer!