Rasl #3 is shipping to comic book shops next Wed. Oct. 15, 2008.

I will be posting some panels and preview pages next Monday if you want to take an early peek.

If you want to find a comic book shop in your area, call 1-888-COMIC-BOOK (1-888-266-4226)

or visit the comic book locator website.

I’m still waiting on a firm in store date for RASL #3, but  Oct. 8th or the 15th are currently in the running. It depends on when it arrives at Diamond Comics Distribution, and then when they can turn it around. I’ll check in with them on Monday…

Meanwhile, Paul Pope always has interesting things up on his blogsite Pulphope. The piece above is called Antspur. It might be part of a larger comic or maybe not. In any case, there are really big ants where this girl lives!

Paul’s artwork is gorgeous. It’s always wierd, splashy and full of life. He is one of the cartoonists whose art makes me want to draw! One of my favorite books of his is the dark, futuristic 100%.

Also, I said in an interview recently that Jack Kirby’s Kamandi was one of the inspirations for Rasl’s look…Paul is also a Kamandi fan and here is his version of Kamandi with his pet/mount Klik Klak, the mutated grasshopper.

Fun, huh?

I stumbled across Mike Laughead’s comics after an interview he gave with a website called Stickers and Donuts linked to Boneville. Mike is an illustrator and designer, but he also makes comics. I’ve linked to two below:

Scary Thoughts - the story of  Vampire and a zombie falling in love…

…and Unicorn Girl - another love story, this time between geeks. Very funny.

Mike’s artwork is solid stuff, I could look at it all day. You can find out more about his work on his website or by reading the interview.

Let me know what you think…

It has been a busy summer and I’ve fallen behind in my blogging.  I’ll be back soon with updates on RASL #3 and other projects. To ease myself back into the swing of blog posting, I’ll point you to some comics I like.

A few weeks ago Hope Larson and Bryan Lee O’Malley posted a piece they did together called Bear Creek Apartments. If you haven’t already seen it, check it out. It’s fun and spooky - - and very much a combination of their two kinds of story-telling.

I’m also a big fan of both artists’ work. Hope is known for her thoughtful and beautiful work in Flight, and (my favorite of her books) Salamander Dreams. Hope has also written Gray Horses and her new book is called Chiggers. Bryan’s Scott Pilgrim has taken the comics world by storm. In it, Bryan takes manga and video games and bends them into something original and awesome. O’Malley’s sure-footed pacing and engaging characters remind me why I like comics. A lot of people have been singing the praises of both Hope and Bryan (a couple in real life). If you would like more info on them, or some of their other projects, check out their websites…

Hope:  hopelarson.com

Bryan: radiomaru.com

RASL (played by our friend Mark) stopped by and I took some pics of him in his very first t-shirt!!!

These 100% cotton shirts come in small to XXL, and are made by American Apparel.

*Maya tattoo not included with purchase…sorry!

Thanks to our friend Bob Chapman and Graphitti Designs for producing these awesome t-shirts for us!!!  Get yours today!

Thanks again to the guys for having me on the show!

Last week The Newshour posted a podcast follow up to their interview about the Bone and Beyond exhibit. It’s a regular feature of their show and part of their website allowing viewers to ask questions. This interview is much more in depth than than the television piece.

You can find it here.

You can also see one of the people whose questions was picked here.

A video stream of the original Newshour piece is here.

Posted by Tom.

Hi everyone, Tom here. I just wanted to let you know that we received our reprints of Stupid, Stupid Rat-tails and ROSE. They are now available for purchase in the store.

Stupid, Stupid Rat-tails: The Adventures of Big Johnson BONE, Frontier Hero was written by Tom Sniegoski with art by Jeff Smith. There is also a second hilarious story of Riblet, a baby boar that runs into some rat creatures lookin for a pork lunch. Riblet is also written by Tom and illustrated by Stan Sakai, artist of Usagi Yojimbo.

ROSE was written by Jeff, with beautiful full color illustrations by award winning fantasy artist, Charles Vess.

Both editions are available in softcover only. You can get them by clicking here.

Still, it’s a nice, chunky interview, even if their readers are a bunch of dicks. The first Onion/AV Club Interview I did in May of 2000 is here.

Not too long ago, a team from PBS NEWSHOUR came out to Columbus to visit with me and check out the exhibit at The Wexner Center. The segment is going to air tonight, July 21, 2008 on The NEWSHOUR with Jim Lehrer.

There will also be a live on-line forum next week on Wednesday, July 30 @ 11:30 EST. Check local listings for times.

You can listen to an audio podcast of the segment here and you can watch a video stream here.

From the PBS Newshour site:

COMIC ARTIST

Jeffrey Brown profiles the work of cartoonist and graphic novelist Jeff Smith, best known for his "Bone" comics series.