Glasses Are In, Borders and Quebecor Are -- Out?

Hmmmm, this revamped blog is a mixed blessing. Bear with me, folks, we'll smooth out the bumps and red typeface in the weeks to come.

Morning, all... links and blinks:

* Center for Cartoon Studies folks made the grade at the SPLAT comics event in Manhattan this past week, and CCSers also made The New York Times fashion pages! I always knew you were cool, CCSers, but here's cultural proof. Yep, glasses are 'in' -- and being a cartoonist with glasses puts you on the cutting edge of 2008 style.

The New York Times SPLAT slideshow "Life is a Runway: Must-Have Glasses" is here, check it out --

-- and note that slide #2 is our current CCS fellow Bak, and slide #5 is CCS pioneer class alumni Caitlin Plovnick. Looking good!

* Get The Flock outta here, before the Flock eats you! The carnivorous Pleistocenian phorusrhacid Titanis walleri -- the 'terror bird' -- got a pop culture shot in the arm with its appearance in Roland Emmerich's fun 10,000 BC (best sequence in the movie, to my mind), but Bob Smith was there before Roland.

I reviewed James Robert Smith's (aka Bob Smith to his pals) recent novel The Flock on Myrant earlier this year as one of my fave books of the year,

and artist Mark Masztal glommed on to a copy and has been posting art inspired by Bob's book on his blog. Check 'em out, and here's hoping Bob and Mark can make it happen.

* The US dollar is at a historic low, the recession Washington keeps wishing away is hitting us all at the gas pump and in the grocery stores daily. It's about to nail the writing and comics community harder than it thus far has.

Bad news for book lovers and comics creators and publishers:

"Book retailer Borders Group Inc on Thursday suspended its quarterly dividend and said it may sell itself..."

Though the chain bookstores have been behaving like corporate phorusrhacids, Borders as much as any, this will be a major blow to many who work at Borders, to book lovers whose only local access to product is via a Borders, and to publishers, authors and creators who will lose vast income in those unsold books.

These kinds of losses devastate the creative community, and the comics community is already facing a crisis from the other end of the food chain via

the troubles at Quebecor, printer of almost all of Marvel and DC's comicbooks; this from January 14, 2008 (link compliments of Rick Veitch)

when "the struggling commercial printing giant... accepted the $400 million rescue financing proposal saying it is 'in the best interests of the company and its stakeholders.'..."

Then, Rick Veitch sent me the following article as email text on January 17th of this year, saying, "...I think one of their core problems is they negotiate five year contracts with guys like DC and Marvel. Then when the dollar drops out they are screwed." And oh, has the dollar dropped out since (another gift of the Bush Presidency, dedicated to devastating the US economy for their own economic gain). Here's the January announcement:

Quebecor World fails to obtain new financing
Wed Jan 16, 2008 10:57am EST

MONTREAL, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Quebecor World Inc said on Tuesday it failed to obtain $125 million of new financing required under waivers from its banking syndicate and missed a debt payment on $400 million of notes.

The struggling commercial printer, which is working on getting bank approval for C$400 million of rescue financing from its parent, media group Quebecor Inc, and a private equity fund managed by Brookfield Asset Management, said it did not make the $19.5 million payment of interest due that was due on Tuesday on its $400 million 9.75 percent Senior Notes due 2015.

The company said the failure to obtain the $125 million of new financing or make the interest payment on the notes do not result in an immediate default on its debt.

(Reporting by Robert Melnbardis; Editing by Renato Andrade)

Now, that was written when $1 US = $1.01 Canadian; our dollar has taken a beating since then, further debilitating Quebecor's fortunes.

This past week, Quebecor was in the Canadian news again:

"The Montreal-based holding company, which was forced into creditor and bankruptcy protection after its banks rejected a rescue plan in January, warned last month that it expected to take a hit of up to $779 million resulting from the difficulties of its Quebecor World printing subsidiary."

This will have a terrible impact on the comics industry, so hang on to your hats and pay off those credit card debts ASAP, cartoonists.

* On a cheerier note,

Hey, Ma, I made it to the front page of the Brattleboro Reformer!

The photo, BTW, was clicked by my sweet, sweet wife Marjory.

Have a Super Saturday, sap-suckers --

Monday Myrant Milk!

* CCS freshman Lucy Knisley arrived with a graphic novel already in print -- the succulent French Milk from Epigraph Publishing, a lovely chronicle of her Paris experience (and jam-packed with savory food and drink to accompany every waking day, so keep munchies in reach while reading!).

We gleefully open this morning with a hearty congratulations to Lucy,

whose graphic gem is on Salon.com's list of top twelve graphic novels of 2007!

Congrats, Lucy, may it be the first of many, many more... and thanks to CCS senior Denis St. John for bringing this to my/our attention.

* Madman Marek Bennett -- how does he do it? Marek teaches full-time, teaches comics workshops all summer in New Hampshire and New England, writes, draws, colors and publishes his comic Mimi's Doughnuts (which appears in color every Sunday in our local paper, The Valley News), and still he keeps coming up with new creative endeavors.

2 Teachers and a teacher -- Marek Bennett -- at a recent “Teacher Tuesday” Comics Workshop at the Sharon Arts Center.

So, it's important to note this solstice season that

Mimi's Doughnuts Zine #13 is out,

MDZ-13 shipped to subscribers with the lovely Mimi's Doughnuts 2008 Calendar, reprinting choice strips from the very earliest days of Mimi's -- and you can see about getting your own calender here,

Marek has revamped his website, now more easily browsed and explored,

as is Mimi's site

and Marek's Comics Workshop site --

-- speaking of which, note that registration is now open for the Winter season of Comics Workshops (here's the calender and link)! Give a gift for Christmas to someone you know who might love to attend and participate, folks.

Whew... Happy Holidays, Marek. Now, relax for at least a day somewhere in there.

* And speaking of New England cartooning pals,

check out Mark Masztal's Barkings updates -- hey, he won that page of Bissette/Perry Bizarre Adventures "Dracula: The Blood Bequest" page!

* I hear Mitt Romney's sons are banging on doors for Dad's campaign in the Presidential primaries. My sole question, if they banged on my door: "If your father is so intent on backing the war, why aren't you and your brothers serving in the military?" End of conversation, I'm sure.

* The storm came, the storm went. Many slept in airports, many were stranded on highways. I can't offer any succor for the latter, but for those whose flights were delayed or canceled and/or slept as best they could on terminal floors or chairs or didn't sleep at all, I offer the following.

It's a memorably tasteful take on a beloved old song, for all who were stranded in airports this weekend... enjoy.

* You think you've got it rough? I've got an old friend who just pulled off his own toe with a pair of pliers, another who survived a potentially-fatal car accident this week, and friends and relatives with medical woes up the ying-yang. Financial agonies plague many this time of year, along with seasonal depression antagonized by all the holiday madness around them. But, still, it could be worse... as Doc wrote when he sent this link my way, "You want to feel better about your own minor afflictions by taking a look at someone with a truly bizarre one? Yikes!"

However tough things might be for you this season, take heart -- you could be 'the tree man.' Check this out, and count your blessings, my friends...

* For the rest of you, take heart:

Even the rednecks have had enough of Bush! 2008 is looking up...

* And finally, an early Christmas gift solution for some of you. The photo came my way via Megan Viereck, brewer of the original Tyrant beer back in '94 and sister of my old friend Tim "Doc" Viereck (whose interview resumes with the New Year, here on Myrant!); we've no idea where the photo originates, and I welcome any commenter who can properly credit the creator/photographer. The text was scribed by Doc, and with his permission I post it here for you Monday morning bemusement...

My dear friends and family,

Somewhat embarrassing to admit, I'm not getting an annual bonus and Christmas is tight this year. I will be making bedroom slippers for you all as gifts Please let me know your sizes. You'll most likely agree that it's a splendid idea, and should you wish to do the same, I've included the instructions below:

How to make bedroom slippers out of maxi pads:

You need four maxi pads to make a pair.
Two of them get laid out flat, for the foot parts.
The other two wrap around the toe areas to form the top.
Tape or glue each side of the top pieces to the bottom of the foot part.

Decorate the tops with whatever you desire, silk flowers (this is most aesthetically appealing), etc.

These slippers are:
* Soft and Hygienic
* Non-slip grip strips on the soles
* Built in deodorant feature keeps feet smelling fresh
* No more bending over to mop up spills
* Disposable and biodegradable
* Environmentally safe
* Three convenient sizes: Regular, Light and Get out the Sand Bags.

I've attached a photo [below] of the first pair I made so that you can see the nifty slippers for yourself....

Awaiting your response. It's crucial that I get the right size for each one of you.

Sunday Spinnings

Yesterday morning I finished reading my friend Mike Dobb's new book Escape! How Animation Went Mainstream in the 1990s -- this morning, I finished reading my friend Tim Lucas's truly massive, moving Mario Bava: All the Colors of the Dark. Today, I'll be continuing work on a book project as a writer, The Neil Gaiman Companion, which coauthors Chris Golden and Henry Wagner brought me into in the eleventh hour. Mike and Tim's books are an inspiration, to say the least, and I'll blog about both books later this week -- but today, I've got to keep the clock ticking on the Gaiman book.

Lorraine a' Malena, again. Again.

More of Lorraine a' Malena's music is spinning in my head this morning, and now on my player as I work on the book project. One tune in particular strangely fits the process Chris, Hank and I currently are steeped in -- reading, re-reading, and autopsying Neil's body of work:

"I've been dissecting all the letters that you sent me,
Slicing through them looking for the real you,
Cutting through the fat and gristle
Of each tortuous epistle
Trying to work out what to do..."

- from Postmortem on Our Love (lyrics by Neil Gaiman, music by Lorraine Garland)

That said, though, it's a tune that I still associate with Van Morrison that I hit 'replay' on a couple few too many times:

"I'll tell me ma
When I get home,
The boys won't leave
The girls alone
They pull my hair,
They steal my comb,
But that's all right,
Till I get home..."

Lorraine a' Malena's website is where you can purchase their new CD Mirror Mirror -- Gaiman fans, take note.

You need this CD.

Thanks again, Lorraine, for gracing the week with the copy you gave me!

Today and tomorrow I'll be working through Hank's weekend torrent of chapters, amid transcribing the five hours of interview tapes I came home with; we'll be at this till it's done in the next couple of weeks. Wish us luck!

At last, a photo of the CCS/Bissette booth in the Antique Mall in Quechee, VT; photo by Mark & Kathy Masztal

A few things I didn't get to this week, as yet:

* My old cartooning amigo Mark Masztal and his wife Kathy were in the area this past weekend, and Marge and I managed to join them for breakfast on Tuesday morning at our favorite Windsor eatery Stub & Laura's.

Mark and Kathy were on their second honeymoon, and whilst in the area visited the CCS/Bissette booth at the Quechee Gorge Village Antique Mall -- here's Mark's account of their trip and his plunder.

* I'll use this opportunity to shamelessly plug once again The Center for Cartoon Studies/Bissette booth -- Dealer #653 -- in

said Quechee Gorge Village Antique Mall,

and note this is a perfect shopping spot for Christmas, folks.

The booth is literally jam-packed with one-of-a-kind signed CCS and Bissette collectibles, including signed copies of Sarah Stewart Taylor's mystery novels (sold two more of them yesterday!), James Sturm's graphic novels, Peter Money's poetry tomes, Cayetano 'Cat' Garza original art, Bissette-illustrated ceramics (see Mark's blog, linked above, for a shot of him with his Bissette Quechee Coffee Zombee mug!), lots of CCS student comics/mini-comics/comics packs, and tons of outstanding and curious vintage comics, factory-sealed DVDs, outsider LPs, and much, much more.

Colleen Frakes's Xeric-Award-winning series Tragic Relief is there, complete -- including copies with Colleen's original art packaged with the comics! -- along with almost everything listed here from the CCS Class of 2007! If you can't shop in Quechee, though, click on this link and shop here --

--and here's the online venue for comics and minis from the class of 2008, almost all of which is in the Quechee booth, too, signed and waiting for you.

* While I don't play favorites at CCS, I do want to note among my readings this past week was a most enjoyable re-reading of the first two issues out thus far of Sean Ford's excellent Only Skin: New Tales of the Slow Apocalypse, which is likewise on sale at the booth.

But don't take my word for it -- here's one of the most expansive online reviews of Sean's first issue, check it out.

Then quit dawdling and buy both issues -- while you're at it, get two sets: it'll make a great Christmas gift for some unwary comics-loving soul.

Have a great Sunday...