The Graphic Underground (Director’s Cut)
All images courtesy of the Contemporary Culture Collection of the Special Collections Research Center at Temple University. Recently, I was invited to participate at a Temple University conference devoted to the influence of comix in the liberal arts. Not only was I asked to be on a panel (blush) but I was also invited to curate a special […]
Graphic Medicine: Comix Pathographies
For the last few years, each February I have made the journey to Middletown, PA. There’s no train station in Middletown, just a yellow painted wooden platform and an awning with a bench underneath. The train tracks run directly over an old overpass that stretches west towards Harrisburg. There’s usually snow on the ground when […]
See What I Mean: A Review Mostly With Words & A Few Images
Kevin Cheng’s new book, See What I Mean: How to Use Comics to Communicate Ideas (published by RosenFeld Media) is part how-to, part case study of using comics in interaction design and marketing. See What I Mean (SWIM) is a great resource for anyone looking to make comics for the first time, or for designers […]
2012 Fall Book Tour for Not The Israel My Parents Promised Me
Autumn is here, which means mean it’s time for my fall book tour to kick into high gear. So far, many of the reviews of the graphic novel have been positive. While a few zingers are out there, I am glad that the book is finding an audience at last. In September I attended Baltimore […]
Eisner’s PS Magazine: Comics as Usability Asset
During World War II Dr Seuss created public health infographics to inform soldiers of the dangers of malaria transmitting mosquitos. From 1951-1971, Will Eisner produced 227 issues of PS Magazine for the US army. In the preface of the gorgeous new Abram’s book, PS Magazine: The Best of Preventive Maintenance Monthly by Will Eisner, his […]
Thoughts about San Diego Comic–Con 2012
Ed Brubaker, Eisner Award winning comix author said last week at Tr!ckster, “It’s not really Comic-Con anymore, it’s IP-Con!” Oh no, not another blog post lamenting the “good ol’ days” when San Diego Comic-Con was an intimate affair of a few thousand geeks?! Indeed, SDCC is not the comic book convention you once knew. Artist […]
Not The Israel My Parents Promised Me Promo Tour
After four years of development and the passing of my collaborator and friend, my second graphic novel is about to drop. On July 3rd, 2012 the book will be available to all. It’s a bittersweet time that also marks two years since Harvey’s passing, so it’s a strange mix of pride and sadness. I hope […]
Comix and UX Interaction Design
In 2008 when Google introduced the world to its new Internet browser, Chrome, they asked Scott Mccloud, revered sequential art scholar, to explain what their product was using a comic book. Over in the UK, Andrew Park built a small design empire using his scribing skills to illustrate head-scratching topics on dry erase boards. […]
I am a Horror Vacui-ist!
It was recently pointed out to me by a new friend that I am an artist in the school of Horror Vacui. Ever since grade school, I have been obsessed with doodling and filling in the margins of my notebooks with drawings. In fifth grade I got hooked on graph paper. Then Todd McFarlane blew […]
The Best Comix of 2011
I’m a pretty selective comix reader. I have been for (yikes) 30 years. Some books I read in trade paperback, others as ongoing monthlies, while some I even special-order online. Here’s my list of top picks for 2011. The biggest surprise is the dominance of Image comics, which has been putting out some really wild stuff. […]