This is the end of the chapter and the last page of Smithson for the time being.

www.smithsoncomic.com

'Bye, everybody.

Okay, okay. There's also a new and unsettling installment in The Chronicles of William Bazillion!

And, of course, an Overlooked Manga Festival Special Event!

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Smithson be here:

www.smithsoncomic.com

Of course I don't manage to get to the lesbian sexual tension until, like, a week before putting the comic on hiatus. That's so me.

There's a new Li'l Mell, too. You know who is not making good life decisions? Sergio.

Oh, and Andrew's got a new installment of The Chronicles of William Bazillion up! This is such an excellent plot development. Bonus points to anyone who can work out the common factor between all the clones.

I've also got a new "All the Comics in the World" column up at Comixology.com. It's about Marty Links. Not only that, but Jason Thompson's new Comixology column, "Manga Salad," just debuted. Go read it!

Tomorrow, this Saturday, I'll be doing my Artist in Residence at the Cartoon Art Museum from 1:00-3:00 PM. If you're in the area, stop in, watch me drawing Skin Horse strips, buy Narbonic books, and enjoy the museum and its currently perfect lineup of shows.

Okay, on to the Overlooked Manga Festival!

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And a new installment in The Chronicles of William Bazillion! This one is...I don't know what to say. Words fail me. I'm just so proud to be married to that man.

In this week's Li'l Mell, Old Sergio makes a very, very dumb move.

And in this week's Smithson, we finally get some damn romantic tension. Sorry about the black and white; color will follow shortly.

By the way, if you enjoy any of these comics, and you write or draw a webcomic (as who doesn't?), please consider nominating them in the Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards. The nomination round is going on now. Go! Nominate webcomics!

With all that said, I regret to announce that, once the current chapter ends, Smithson will be going on hiatus for a while. Brian is expecting a kid and needs to focus on paying work, something I can certainly appreciate, and Smithson doesn't make a silver dime. I haven't decided yet what to do with Smithson, but I do have a lot more of the story to tell. I mean, a LOT. It's kind of ridiculous.

Also, in a few weeks I'm planning to put the Overlooked Manga Festival on hold too. I think I'm finally nearing the end of the list of obscure manga I really like and can get copies of (which is why I haven't done Daigo of Fire Company M, incidentally--believe it or not, the Viz offices are missing a whole bunch of volumes). But I know there are still plenty of overlooked manga out there. That's why I've decided to turn to you, the reader, for the final OMF. If you have a favorite obscure and little-loved manga that I haven't talked about yet, write up a brief recommendation and send it to me at narbonic at sbcglobal.net. I'll run all the Reader OMFs on the last week.

After that, I dunno, maybe I'll get drunk and watch more "Star Trek."

Okay, Overlooked Manga Festival time!

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Li'l Mell's up, a day late but still rad. Neil draws some great rage.

www.girlamatic.com/comics/mell.php

Aaaand there's a new Smithson! With caring and sharing.

www.smithsoncomic.com

Also, I hope you didn't miss this week's Chronicles of William Bazillion, featuring the continually unfolding horrors of the Doomsday Seed Project in Svarbald.

Man, that's a lot of webcomics. Would you like even more webcomics? I've joined a new little cartoonist collective, The Couscous Collective. It's, um, me and my friends. But with links to all our stuff!

I don't know if you've been following my All the Comics in the World column on Comixology.com, but, like so many people deluded into thinking their opinions are interesting, I've been doing a 2007 wrapup. Part Two is up today. You can read Part One here.

Okay, it's a new year, the holidays are over except in Japan (where New Year's means a week of partying), and I'd better get back to the Overlooked Manga Festival. And what better way than with an Overlooked Manga Festival Special Event?

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Yeah, there's a new Li'l Mell this week:

www.girlamatic.com/comics/mell.php

Aaaand a new Smithson. I know, I know, it's not the most original favorite song choice:

www.smithsoncomic.com

And I hope you haven't missed this week's Chronicles of William Bazillion!

That's all from me for now. I'm still out of town, and all I have to offer are webcomics.

Christmas comes early this year!

Smithson isn't in color yet, but I hope you can feel the passion nonetheless.

And over on Li'l Mell, the generous application of more time travel absolutely fails to solve anything.

There's a new William Bazillion this week, too. This installment involves the Doomsday Seed Bank in Svarbald, so you know it's chock-full of excitement.

What with the holidays and whatnot, I'm putting the Overlooked Manga Festival on hold until 2008. Sorry, but even I have to take the occasional manga break.

It is just. So. Emotional.

www.smithsoncomic.com

The 2007 Marvel Holiday Special, featuring a story written by Andrew Farago and myself, goes on sale Wednesday. So keep an eye out for that.

This Saturday, Andrew and I will be doing sketches at Al's Comics in San Francisco, as part of the first annual Al's Comics Holiday Sketch-A-Thon and Rent Fest. Many tall inkers will also be there. If you're in the area, stop in, say hi, and support Al.

If you like comics, please consider including The Cartoon Art Museum in your holiday giving. Andrew tells you why here, and I echo everything he says. The museum is a hell of a resource for cartoonists, comics and animation fans, and cartoon-loving kids, and the staff of three and a half employees works hard to make it that way. I've been volunteering there since 2000, and I can't say enough about how much the museum does--or how much it struggles for funding.

Daniel Pinkwater, my mentor and spiritual guide, now has a podcast at Pinkwater.com. So far, it's consisted mostly of highlights from his old NPR commentaries (published in the great essay collection Hoboken Fish and Chicago Whistle, which I happen to be rereading right now), introduced by Webmaster Ed. It's pretty great. No, actually, it's really great. Mr. Pinkwater's essays basically tell you everything you need to know to live well. Also, in the audio archive you can get podcasts of him reading from his book Lizard Music.

Whew, lotta announcements this week. Hey, how about an Overlooked Manga Festival? Let's do an Overlooked Manga Festival!

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Sorry we missed updating last week. Brian had real work to do, which is always such a hassle.

smithsoncomic.com

Also, I've got a new All the Comics in the World column up on Comixpedia. This one's on Lynda Barry, one of my faves.

What with one thing and another, I haven't done an Overlooked Manga Festival since mid-November. Sheesh. Time to get back on the horse!

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www.smithsoncomic.com

And the musical battle continues.

Also, do check out this week's Chronicles of William Bazillion. Andrew's running a special Max O'Millions side story that I wrote and he drew for a minicomic a while back. It's chock full of Franklin D. Roosevelt!

I'm skipping the Overlooked Manga Festival this week, as I'll be busy making and then eating an enormous Thanksgiving dinner. But between Smithson, William Bazillion, and the newly resurrected Li'l Mell, surely there's plenty to keep folks busy. Oh, and spending time with your loved ones and stuff.

www.smithsoncomic.com

Gemma means well, in her own way.

And there is, of course, a new installment in The Chronicles of William Bazillion! Big one this week. Lots of robots.

If you live in the Bay Area, Al's Comics in San Francisco is having a sale this weekend: 50% off backstock, 25% off all other items (except for just shipped items), all T-shirts $10. Al's is a great little store that's had some trouble paying the rent lately, so shoot Al some business if you have the chance.

Thanks to everyone who preordered copies of the Marvel Holiday Special! I'll send them out when our copies show up at Al's.

You know what this calls for? An Overlooked Manga Festival!

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Confidential to Pancha, Elena, Leia, and Jason: With this page, my part of the ancient compact has been fulfilled. May the legendary beast fly forever over rainbows and under waterfalls.

http://www.smithsoncomic.com

Incidentally, Brian and I debated the CD cover for a while last night. In the end, my irrational fondness for "Weird Al" Yankovic won out.

Oh, and of course there's a new Chronicles of William Bazillion!

My second "All the Comics in the World" column is up at Comixology.com. Go read it! In my first column I talked about All-Star Batman and Robin, and in this one I talk about Pogo and Peanuts. I can do that, because I'm covering All the Comics in the World. I don't want to give away any spoilers for my next column, but let's just say a certain birthstone-themed defunct DC universe now widely accessible through quarter bins might be involved.

If you need even more to read, this 2006 profile of Jason Thompson, periodic Overlooked Manga Festival contributor and author of Manga: The Complete Guide, is awful and hilarious. Also, I'm sad to say, very true. After reading about 500 manga series, Jason was getting pretty weird there.

Last call: if you'd like a copy of this year's Marvel Holiday Special signed by Andrew and myself, Paypal $6.00 (the cover price is $3.99, so the extra two bucks ought to cover S&H) to narbonic (at) sbcglobal.net. We're ordering copies from Al's Comics, a good store in our neighborhood that needs a little extra business right now. Oh, and we just got a look at the lettered pages for our story today, and we're pretty darn excited.

What else? Oh, right! Overlooked Manga Festival!

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Just a short page this time, as Brian's had a busy week. He's going to be a FATHER! Everyone congratulate him and his lovely wife, Meg.

www.smithsoncomic.com

Naturally, there's a new Chronicles of William Bazillion. I like how blithely Wiener and Darryl switch teams when presented with a new arrogant kid adventurer to follow. It's so hard to find good sidekicks.

Okay, Overlooked Manga Festival!

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Do college students even have CDs anymore? Probably not, but clicking around on iTunes just isn't as strong a visual. Also, should I have followed the mention of rocksteady with a line about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?

www.smithsoncomic.com

And what's this? Why, it's a new installment of The Chronicles of William Bazillion! Darryl's a survivor.

I've got a new biweekly column at Comixology.com called All the Comics in the World. It'll appear every other Thursday; on alternate Thursdays, there's a column by the awesome Kristy Valenti, who has been wisely covering mad genius Jason Shiga. For my first column, I talk about the Stumptown Comics Fest, All-Star Batman and Robin, and, of course, Tristram Shandy. Like you can get me to stop talking about Tristram Shandy.

Would you like a copy of this year's Marvel Holiday Special signed by Andrew and myself? Paypal $6.00 (the cover price is $3.99, so the extra two bucks ought to cover S&H) to narbonic (at) sbcglobal.net. We'll be preordering copies from Al's Comics, a good store in our neighborhood that needs a little extra business right now. Deadline for orders is November 10.

Okay, let's get to the Overlooked Manga Festival!

( Read more... )

Brian's back, and this time it's personal.

www.smithsoncomic.com

And of course there's a new installment of The Chronicles of William Bazillion! With spot color!

Okay, Overlooked Manga Festival time.

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Yes, cocoa is going to make this all better.

www.smithsoncomic.com

And don't miss this week's Chronicles of William Bazillion! William Sicilian. Yes. William Sicilian.

As I've mentioned before, I'm a guest at the Stumptown Comics Festival in Portland this weekend. I even drew a comic strip for the Portland Mercury's special one-shot alternative comics page, right alongside a bunch of much better cartoonists. Have a look!

Also, you hell of want to preorder this year's Marvel Holiday Special, featuring a story by Andrew and me. It'll be out this December, and it will include Spider-Man, Wolverine, and cake. Come on, cake!

What else? Oh, right. Overlooked Manga Festival!

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Just four panels this week. But four DRAMATIC panels! That's Micki, the one good cop in Smithson.

www.smithsoncomic.com

Although the real drama begins in The Chronicles of William Bazillion! It's just one insane cliffhanger after another, isn't it?

Another reminder: I'll be at the Stumptown Comics Fest in Portland on September 29 and 30, so stop by and see me if you're gonna be in town.

Right. Overlooked Manga Festival time!

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This week, Brian and I are BOTH out of town. Brian and his wife are still on their cross-country road trip, and I'm in the Midwest for my grandma's 90th birthday. Enjoy another page of Brian's behind-the-scenes sketches and paintings!

www.smithsoncomic.com

Meanwhile, Andrew's posted a brand-new Chronicles of William Bazillion! Poor Weiner.

No Overlooked Manga Festival this week. Instead, I have a research question. For those of you who read romance novels--and I know you're out there--what titles do you recommend for a representative core romance curriculum? I'm looking for a mix of titles that are historically significant (Pride and Prejudice, Pamela, The Shiek), personally significant ("OMG I was totally into Flowers in the Attic in sixth grade"), and representative of a particular subgenre (i.e., Anita Blake or the Black Dagger Brotherhood for dark fantasy romance).

I'm doing research for a project that may or may not actually happen. Thanks!

Well, kind of. Brian and his wife Meg are on a cross-country train trip, so this week he just posted some bonus pencil sketches. Consider this an opportunity to go through the archives and catch up on the whole thrilling story.

www.smithsoncomic.com

Brian and Meg breezed through San Francisco this week, so I got to meet up with them and talk way too much about comics. They toured both the beautiful Cartoon Art Museum and my own wretched, manga-choked apartment, and then they no doubt vowed to get away as quickly as possible and never come back. Also, they brought me cookies!

Oh, and I certainly hope you didn't miss this week's Chronicles of William Bazillion!

One more thing: thanks to everyone who sent me kind words about last week's Edward Gorey pastiche. I drew it strictly for my personal entertainment, and I was bowled over that other people enjoyed it. It turns out that when you combine two things nerds like, such as Star Trek and Edward Gorey, they really dig it! Who knew?

Okay, time for a quick Overlooked Manga Festival Special Event!

( Read more... )

http://www.smithsoncomic.com

Tiny little nerdy guys are always funny, I don't care what you say.

No Overlooked Manga Festival this week. I've been enjoying the newest show at the Cartoon Art Museum, Edward Gorey's Dracula, featuring art and memorabilia from the Gorey-designed 1970s stage production of Dracula. Among the news clippings sent over by the Edward Gorey House and Charitable Trust, I was drawn to this actual article from the Boston Globe:





Take a look at that first paragraph.



Alas, for what might have been!

( Edward Gorey's 'The Trouble with Tribbles.' )

www.smithsoncomic.com

Color coming soon. And come on, who doesn't enjoy being the victim of sitcom-style romantic plotting?

And, as usual, you must not miss the latest in The Chronicles of William Bazillion!

I'm going to be a guest at the Stumptown Comics Fest in Portland on September 29 and 30. Other, more impressive guests include Mike and Laura Allred, Carol Lay, Peter Bagge, Ted Rall, Sarah Oleksyk, and Matt Wagner. Visit me there and alleviate my terrible, terrible loneliness!

Okay, Overlooked Manga Festival time!

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