Victor Kerlow: Everything Takes Forever

Victor Kerlow is debuting Everything Takes Forever, published by Koyama Press, at the Toronto Comic Art Festival (TCAF). You can preorder a copy and get some handmade drawings from Victor, or grab a copy at the official release party at Desert Island on May 16th. From his blog:

"Email me at victormk at gmail dot com with your proof of pre-order and for the first 20 I get, I'll send you a watercolored drawing as thanks for the support. "

An Approach to Tabling by So What? Press

Dave Kelly of So What? Press recently shared with me how he and his partner in crime, Lara Antal, decide which comics fests to attend every year. Dave says, “We were inspired to do this by the band Fugazi who had a similar "code" about when and where to play concerts.”

• Admission must be under $10/day or free.
• Show must be curated - - you want to feel good about being there.
• No more than one fest per month - - unless one is in NYC.
• Table price must include two badges, two chairs.
• Fest cannot run longer than two days.
• Never pay more than $100/half table, $200/full - - and always share whenever possible.

“We break the rules every once in awhile, but they've proven their worth - - and not just monetarily, but in overall positivity of the experience.  The winning combination is always a free, one-day show, in NYC - - you can never go wrong, haha!

The disclaimer: we do break our own rules sometimes and do not put ourselves above any festival.  We know there are logistical reasons why some festivals charge higher table prices.  The ultimate point, though, is that "the rules" have helped inform our decision-making process as well as improve our exposure and performance.”

Reading at Desert Island Tonight

Art by Josh Bayer

Come to Desert Island tonight for a fun evening of comics reading, and to celebrate the release of the third issue of Suspect Device 3. 540 Metropolitan Ave, Williamsburg, Brooklyn. 7pm-9pm. Free music and funny people telling stories.

R I T U A L Show at LaunchPad Thurs 5/9

Check this crazy thing out!

I'll be exhibiting my Medal of Honor series drawings in this powerful group show curated by Diana Ho. I am so honored to share this cool up-and-coming gallery space with such nice people. Please come see this show, it's only up for two weeks, and there's a lot of interesting sculptural pieces, as well as drawing and photography. Gonna be a fun time at the opening!

Zine Feast at SUNY Purchase This Sunday

Dean Haspiel and Seth Kushner invited me to table with them at the Zine Feast this Sunday at SUNY Purchase, here's the info. I heard there will be burritos and comics, not a bad combination. The comics grapevine has estimated the event to be lots of fun. I'll be selling the last few copies of my color edition of veteran stories, as well as copies of Moonshine Sketchbook.

Today in the Studio

Jen came by with some friendly rat friends, and I finished stapling my zines. See you tomorrow at the Brooklyn Zine Fest!

Brooklyn Zine Fest in the New York Times

Matt Carman and Kseniya Yarosh got a nice mention on the New York Times website, about the Brooklyn Zine Fest here. I got a shout out as well--click and scroll down for a link to this blog, where you can then click on the link again and involve yourself in some sort of weird loop. Or just get a copy of today's paper and check out p C29 in the Weekend Arts II section. And please come to the zine fest on Sunday! It's free, so you can devote all of your hard-earned cash to buying interesting ephemera. Come say hello!

Photo courtesy Brooklyn Zine Fest.

Guest Artist Today at Hang Dai

Ingrid Rios stopped by to draw with me in the studio today. It's quiet on Sundays, mostly I don't see any of my studio mates. Dean and Jen came by (with pet rats! Jen says I can draw them anytime). Dean set up his old drawing table for Fred, so it was pretty good timing. Ingrid is super talented and really funny. She is working on a beautiful autobio comic you can read on her blog (click on her name above, or in the caption below).

Ingrid working on her comic, Bare Bones.

Brooklyn Zine Fest Preview

I made some drawings for a zine about my recent trip to Hattiesburg to interview my veteran friend Nathan. I used a Pentel brush that I don't normally use, I love the grey tone and dry brush, it's super fun. Can't wait to print these.

Rumpus Article on CBLDF

You can read the brief article I wrote for The Rumpus about Charles Brownstein's appearance here.
Thanks to Andrea Tsurumi, Paul Madonna, Isaac Fitzgerald, and (especially) Jess Worby for their editing genius, and to Connie Sun and Ben Katchor for making the New York Comics Symposium a great event every week.

I had the good fortune to catch Charles Brownstein's presentation on his work with the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. I had heard of the CBLDF a few years ago at SPX, as they often table at comics expos and events, but I didn't investigate further. Charles is passionate, serious, has a sharp sense of humor, while maintaining a deep appreciation for the absurd and offensive. We are lucky to have such a smart guy to defend the First Amendment in comics. What was most surprising about the 1973 obscenity trial in NYC regarding Zap #4, is that the booksellers, not content creators, were prosecuted and convicted of knowingly distributing obscene material. One of the convicted was a 23 year old Vietnam War veteran.

Ben Katchor hosts weekly panel talks about all things comics at the New York Comics Symposium. Sign up here for his weekly newsletter to see who's in town this week.

Charles Brownstein holds Zap #4.

Breakers Release at Desert Island 4/25

In October last year I was invited to study at a three-week-long residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts. Dave Kelly and Lara Antal of So What? Press have created an anthology of work from the residency, Breakers. I'm very honored to be part of it and will be at the official launch party, hosted by Desert Island on April 25th. From the press release:

The book will have its East Coast premiere at Desert Island, 540 Metropolitan Ave., Brooklyn, NY on Thursday, April 25th at 7:00 pm.  The event is free and open to the public.  Beer and cookies (in the shape of sharks) will be provided.  The book will be offered at a discounted price of $10.00 at this event. 
The book will be available in stores and online the following week.  So What? Press handles all distribution worldwide.  For more information, visit www.sowhatpress.com. 

So What? Press, the new publishing imprint headed by Dave Kelly & Lara Antal, is set to release Breakers, an anthology of comics featuring Ellen Forney, Dean Haspiel, Megan Kelso, and twenty-two other outstanding cartoonists:  Jessica Ruliffson, Gabrielle Gamboa, Gregory MacKay, Lark Pien, Boum (Samantha Leriche-Gionet), Nusha Ashjaee, George Folz, Jp Pollard, Jen Breach, Lara Antal, Rebecca Case, Jean Chen, Julie Condon, Gabrielle Greenlee, Lynda May, K-Fai Steele, Theresa Coulter, Sean Ironman, Christa Cassano, Fionnuala Doran, James Greene, and Meghan Lands.

From the back cover:
In October 2012, twenty-six comics creators descended upon Central Florida for a three-week residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts.  These lost souls were set adrift in an incubator of creativity amidst killer sharks, a local nude beach, and other primordial nature.  Under the tutelage of Ellen Forney, Dean Haspiel, and Megan Kelso, a body of work was generated that interwove many similar themes based on their new found tropical isolation.  What you hold in your hands is a summation of that experience, a document of a wondrous blur of creative freedom, and perhaps an artifact of a comics paradise lost.

Brooklyn Zine Fest at Public Assembly

I'm tabling next to So What? Press at the Brooklyn Zine Fest in Williamsburg this year. Desert Island, DreTime, Suzan Choy, Christa Cassano (Swingin' Meat Comics) will be there, too! Come check it out. One day only, Sunday April 21st, from 11am-6pm.
I'll have a brand-new collection of veteran stories for sale, (IN COLOR!) and a new mini-comic about my trip to Hattiesburg, Moonshine Sketchbook.

Here's a preview page from the latest veteran story I did with Army Reservist veteran, capoeirista, and designer Nichole Marinaccio de Freitas.