Closing Out A Banner Year

I know.  It's not even December.  But this weekend wraps up a year of pushing myself creatively, participating in some stellar festivals and celebrating the last two of the 5 or 6 comics publications that I've participated in that were printed in 2016.

Future Forward:  Extruder 2 Party and Kissing Coyote Goodbye

The cover of Extruder 2, by Ben Horak.

I am  excited to have been invited to participate in Seattle's own Extruder.  Extruder 1 was put out as a sort of "Best Of" anthology from former Seattle free comics paper, Intruder,  and presented as the cream of the crop of Seattle alternative comics.  Intruder sun-setted after 4 years, but a few affiliated artists put together an Extruder 2.  There's a different stable of artists with some cross over, and I think it's REALLY a good, fun sampling of Seattle cartooning! 

You can get a copy at the Extruder 2 Release Party this Friday, November 11th at Push/Pull Art & Comix.  Push/Pull is located at 5484 Shilshole Ave NW in Ballard.  I created a one-pager for the anthology and will be at the party, which runs from 7 - 9.  A lot of Seattle's finest fringe creators will be there, and the copies of Extruder 2 that I had for Short Run literally flew of my table.  You'll have a good time if you come, and you'll leave with a great comic.

Love fresh takes on Fairy Tales and myth?  I'll be returning to Push/Pull just two days later, on Sunday, November 13th to celebrate the publication of Coyote and Butterfly Woman at Anne Bean's Modern Tales Party. This will be a more intimate affair, celebrating the comics written by Anne Bean, funded by Artist Trust, and illustrated by artists such as Ben Horak, Ted Closson and Laura Graves.

Cover art for Coyote and Butterfly Woman.

My own contribution to Anne's Modern Tales is the art for Coyote and Butterfly Woman.  I've already posted about it A LOT.  I did not know how all-consuming of a project it would be.  Not only did I become obsessive in my research for the story, I pushed really hard to create a cleaner, highly-graphic look to the story.  I've never focused so much on the spaces in-between the lines as I did with Coyote.

It's been great to work with Anne and I feel like I learned a lot in the process of drawing her vision.  We also sold a ton of these at Short Run.  So, it's a "Hello" to the world for Coyote and Butterfly Woman!  But I am somewhat sad to say goodbye to the story. 

If you are interested in the book, but can't make the party, you can purchase it on my ETSY at https://www.etsy.com/shop/NoelFranklinArt

Recap:  Rocking Short Run 2016

 

It's been a busy few months!  I'm grateful to everyone who came out to the Rock Is Not Dead party at Fantagraphics on October 22nd.  The anthology has been a long time in the making, and it was great to see my 5-page collaboration with Mark Campos in print.

Special thanks to Amy Denio for the music, Cait Willis for the inspiration and to Larry Reid, Lilly Beaty and Fantagraphics for hosting the party.

Anne Bean and yours truly at our table at Short Run.

Of course, the big event this month was Short Run Comix and Art Festival 2016.   I don't even know where to begin, except to say that it was hands-down the best tabling event that I've attended to date - including past Short Runs.  The exhibitor list was diverse and wildly talented, there was a steady stream of attendees throughout the day and everyone seemed to have brought their wallets. 

Truthfully, sales were so brisk that I barely was able to leave the table.  But every time I did, something wonderful happened.  Jonathan Horn handed me contributor packs for my drawing of Mirabai for his Supramystic Saga - Luminaries trading card sets.  The Ghosts of Seattle Past revealed the t-shirt they printed using a panel from one of my comics as part of their fundraising efforts.  Cullen Beckhorn delivered some art I left at BELCAF on accident. 

Fine cartoonist Annie Murphy, eating a donut, and
rocking my "Seattle, you have left me for a
wealthier woman" t-shirt design.
The sign to her right reads:
"God knows when you don't tip."

Looking at everyone's photos of the event, I sometimes ask myself if I was even there.  I'm seeing photos of friends and special guest artists that I would have loved to run into, but didn't even see.  I'm grateful to the friends like Margaret Ashford Trotter, Annie Murphy, Henry Chamberlain, Jennifer Daydreamer and other great cartoonists who came to the table to say hello, because I couldn't get away for more than a second.

Kudos to Kelly Froh, Eroyn Franklin, the board, advisory board and volunteers who make up the festival implementation team.  They make it look seamless, but I know how much work goes on behind the scenes.  What a great year!

Shout Out To The Press Peeps

 

There were a couple of great articles and blog posts that supported the flurry of activity this Fall.  Thanks to Paul Constant for publishing an interview in Seattle Review of Books (Talking with cartoonist Noel Franklin about her new award, Short Run, and her next book) and working with Kelton Sears to cover the Rock Is Not Dead show in Seattle Weekly (This Weekend, Seattle Cartoon Overload).  Gratitude to Henry Chamberlain for the ink in his Short Run recap for Comics Grinder (Short Run 2016: The Big in the Small) and to the Fantagraphics FLOG (What’s in Store: Rock is Not Dead). Much love to Sarah Galvin and City Arts for the listing.

Girl On The Road posts about comics, publication and community on Tuesdays.

Zine as F*ck

Poster art by Amanda Blix.

How can I NOT write about the Portland Zine Symposium? 

I learned so much!  Mark Campos and I took the Bolt Bus down and rode the tri-met train from downtown PDX to the convention center.  There I wheeled our 20+ pounds of books and clothes through heat and past a Denny's (Woah, they still exist?) to the convention.

To our left was PsychoNotArt, the main progenerator being quite congenial and selling a space love romantic parody comic plus gooey eyeball art t-shirts.  MJ.  He was funny, laid back and an awesome table-mate.  To the right of us was Nada, a Seattle-based zine, the fearless leader of which compiled art and writing by other people.  His role?  To create beautiful objects out of what they gave him.  Zines with felt patterns, antiquated color Mickey Mouse prints inserted inside, AND


Lovely tiny, precious, rediculously cute match books folded up with a poem inside that says "Don't like it?  Ignite it!".  Reminded me of Lisa Gill putting Haiku inside of Hershey's Kisses the first Alburquerque Poetry Festival I attended. Too sweet.  Everybody melted for them.

Jim Joyce, before the haircut?

It made me think of art as object.  My shiny, flat comics may need a makeover.  Maybe.

At the after party at the Independent Publishing Resource Center (Seattle?  Why don't we have this?)  all of the zinesters were well-fed, well quenched and there was a crazy contingency of Chicago artists who kind of haunted me, since I'll be drawing Chicago into my grapic novel.  One gentleman who goes by Jim Joyce read some powerful prose about catholic guilt.  I tagged him to tell him I once read at the Green Mill as a slam poet, and later said "I think I'm too sensitive."  To which he replied "Not if you held the floor at Green Mill with Marc Smith."


Naw.  Marc "Slampappi" Smith is a sweetie.  Yes, the Green Mill is the birthplace of slam.  Check it out.

Rode home on the Bolt Bus again with Mark Campos and I talking about the graphic novel.  Where is the story about female friendship?  Where is the women's version of On The Road?

Is this my Cindy Sherman Film Still?
Maybe so.
True that, though.

The one story I can fall back on I saw first as a movie.  Julia.  Based on Lillian Hellman's novel Pentimento.  Just that one story.  Amazing.  So, There for the grace of God (or whatever you believe in) go I.

In the mean time, Mark took this shot of me preparing for day 2, lacking lipstick and resorting to Sharpie.  When I arrived I got to connect with several very powerful women comics artists--Colleen Frakes, Amanda Blix and again Annie Murphy.  Also met up with legendary slam poetessa Melody Jordan and had my comics enlisted into the archives of the Whatcom County Library.

I love my community.  Until next time.  I'm off to DUNE.



PS--Huge breakthroughs on the graphic novel.  I'll be writing about that next week.


C-log posts on comics, publication and community that publishes on Tuesdays.

Portland Zine Symposium (PLUS)

This week I had planned on writing about why I continue to publish under the moniker "Gone Girl Comics" when there is a salacious New York Times best-selling novel with the same first name. (Spoiler Alert:  I used it first.)

I'll be slinging Gone Girl Comics
with Mark Campos here.

However, I've been gearing up for the Portland Zine Symposium instead.  Fire up your long-neck staplers, ladies and gentlemen!  We're going south.  You can come find me at the Ambridge Event Center, Table 35C.

Tabling, Festivals, Tabling. . . 

I've been publishing comics for two years, and I've tabled less than a handful of events. I've learned to pack lots of water, a handful of snacks, a "bank" of change--even if you do have one of those credit card readers--and maybe a friend who can break you so that you can check out all of the other awesome cartoonists.

Me and Annie Murphy at
Lineworks NW.  

Happily, my first tabling experience was Short Run.  If you haven't experienced Short Run, Seattle's Comix and Arts Festival, it's worth checking out.  I've written about the event before,.  It was packed, shoulder-to-shoulder, throughout the day and I moved more than 90 minicomics.  Phenomenal.

This year, Short Run occurs on Friday, October 31st, and the organizers have moved it to the Fisher Pavilion at Seattle Center, with ancillary events and special guests abounding.  More information here.

Other festivals I've tabled include the first annual Bellingham Comic Arts Festival (BellCAF) and the Olympia Comics Festival.  I also attended Northwest Lineworks 2015 as a spectator, another Portland event, and came home with stacks of books including some by exceptional artists such as Nicole Georges, Hazel Newlevant, Annie Murphy and SO MANY MORE.

Poster for the upcoming Exterminator City.
Poster Credit:  Bunny Lee.

Exterminator City and Other Events.

One of the most unusual and unusually effective tabling events is Exterminator City, a neighborhood comics market in the Greenwood district of Seattle. Organized by cartoonist Seth Goodkind at Push/Pull Gallery, the event is as grass roots as it gets.  And packed.  And I made a mint at the last Exterminator City I participated in.  OK, over $100, which is not bad when you're selling merch at $5 or less for half a day.

Exterminator City kicks up again August 22nd, 2015 and is still accepting applications until July 31st. APPLY HERE!

While I don't have anything on the books after Portland Zine Symposium, I'm setting my sights on the next CAKE in Chicago and possibly LA Zine Fest 2016.

OK! See you at Portland Zine Symposium!

And tune in next week for Gone Girl Comics: Origins.

C-log posts on comics, publication and community that publishes on Tuesdays.