First Second Books - Doodles and Dailies

First Second: Now on Twitter

So! 

We decided to get into this 'social media' game and try out twitter.  We knew that you couldn't possibly be being deluged with blog posts and e-mails from us enough, so clearly the thing to do was to find another way to communicate EVEN MORE with you people who read our books and are interested in our company.

You can find us on twitter at @01FirstSecond -- we'll endeavor to be funny, interesting, and possibly even mention cute things, our books, and baked goods every so often!  And there will even be the occasional photographic glimpse inside our offices, which means you can see all of our thrilling desktop plants (alas, no venus flytraps amongst them)!  And maybe even eventually the Official Water Cooler.

Comics Are Great!

I'm only halfway through the current episode of this podcast, but Jerzy Drozd calls Laika "one of the finest comics I've ever read."  How could it get any better?

But seriously: if you've been itching to hear/see either Nick Abadzis (author of Laika) or Jim Ottaviani (author of Feynman) be interviewed for an hour on the topics of graphic novels, science, and more, this is the place to go!

SFAR MOVIE SCREENING

FREE GIVEAWAY!

We have FIVE PAIRS OF FREE INVITATIONS to the New York City private screening of GAINSBOURG: A HEROIC LIFE—Joann Sfar's first feature-length movie!

WHEN: Wednesday, August 24^th @ 7 PM

WHERE:  New Museum — 235 Bowery (between Stanton + Rivington), NYC

 This is a private, invitation-only event. IF YOU ARE ONE OF THE FIRST FIVE TO RESPOND (in comments, below) you will receive an invitation for yourself + a companion. Be sure to leave your name in your response.

*

(A Serge Gainsbourg-Brigitte Bardot scene)

 GAINSBOURG: A HEROIC LIFE opens in NYC on Wednesday, August 31^st at Film Forum.

 

Mario Vargas Llosa on Literature

from last night's Nobel Lecture

[photo ganked from here]

"Thanks to literature, to the consciousness it shapes, the desires and longings it inspires, and our disenchantment with reality when we return from the journey to a beautiful fantasy, civilization is now less cruel than when storytellers began to humanize life with their fables. We would be worse than we are without the good books we have read, more conformist, not as restless, more submissive, and the critical spirit, the engine of progress, would not even exist. Like writing, reading is a protest against the insufficiencies of life. When we look in fiction for what is missing in life, we are saying, with no need to say it or even to know it, that life as it is does not satisfy our thirst for the absolute – the foundation of the human condition – and should be better."

[full text here]

A juicy comics treat: HAMSTER AND CHEESE

When she's not designing books for First Second, Colleen Venable's secret lives include being an author. This first in a delicious new series, HAMSTER and CHEESE introduces a new Private Eye to reckon with: a guinea pig named Sasspants and the case of the stolen sandwich. 

Stephanie Yue's world-in-a-loony-pet-shop is visually irresistible, and Colleen's story shines with its hilarious dialog and timing. Anyone six and up deserves to discover this gem. 

Move over Miss Marple, never mind the #1 Ladies' Detective Agency, here's the real mistress of the whodunnit. She's sharp. And she's furry. This one's a keeper. 

(Published by Lerner, for their Graphic Universe, where editor Carol Burrell is a breath of fresh air and fresh vision.)

 
 

 

EDDIE CAMPBELL's ALEC magnum opus in stores

It's here! It's massive! It's wonderful!

And here's the word from the good folk at TOP SHELF (blurbs well worth reading; links well worth clicking; book wholly worth buying) :

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EDDIE CAMPBELL'S OMNIBUS, ALEC: THE YEARS HAVE PANTS,IS NOW IN STOCK AND HITTING STORES THIS WEEK!

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"My participation in comics originally grew from my personal admiration for the work of Eddie Campbell, both in partnership with Alan Moore (on FROM HELL) and on his own (in the inimitably observant ALEC stories, as well as the irreverent BACCHUS tales). Driven to expose Eddie's work to the widest possible audience, I entered the comics business as Eddie's distributor in the United States, and soon thereafter partnered with Brett Warnock to re-launch Top Shelf. Fifteen years later (!), I'm holding in my hands one of the things I'm most proud of: A gorgeous edition of Eddie's groundbreaking autobiographical comics, collected in a giant 640-page single volume!" -- Chris Staros

A brief description: Brilliantly observed and profoundly expressed, the ALEC stories present a version of Eddie's own life, filtered through the alter ego of "Alec MacGarry." Over many years, we witness Alec's (and Eddie's) progression "from beer to wine" -- wild nights at the pub, existential despair, the hunt for love, the quest for art, becoming a responsible breadwinner, feeling lost at his own movie premiere, and much more! Eddie's outlandish fantasies and metafictional tricks convert life into art, while staying fully grounded in his own absurdity. At every point, the author's uncanny eye for irony and wry self-awareness make even the smallest occasion into an opportunity for wit and wisdom. Quite simply, ALEC is a masterpiece of visual autobiography. 

Available in two handsome editions:

Softcover with French Flaps:

http://www.topshelfcomix.com/catalog.php?type=12&title=618

-- $35.00 (US), Diamond: JUL091081, ISBN 978-1-60309-025-4

Deluxe Hardcover:

http://www.topshelfcomix.com/catalog.php?type=12&title=643

-- $49.95 (US), Diamond: JUL091082, ISBN 978-1-60309-047-6

Or see both (and more) at EDDIE CAMPBELL's webpage:

http://www.topshelfcomix.com/eddiecampbell

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Here's what people are saying:

"ALEC is magic, and even if I knew how all of it was done I'd be doing you a disservice if I pointed out the wires and mirrors. ... It is written by someone who obviously finds being alive an endless source of novelty and conundrum." -- Alan Moore 

"Do you need me to tell you how good Eddie Campbell is? Or that ALEC is probably the best book-length comic about art and wine and midlife crises and families and friends and wine and love and art and saying goodbye and terror there is?" -- Neil Gaiman

"This impressive collection -- a high-water mark in the graphic novel's short history -- confirms that no one else in the medium combines emotional truth, literary intelligence, and formal daring with such adroitness and elegance." -- Booklist (starred review) 

"Witty and thoughtful ... a great and epic comic documentary novel like no other." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

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Comics at the Miami Book Fair

Comics?  At the Miami Book Fair?

If that's what you're saying, clearly you have not read this week's Publisher's Weekly article about the festival's growing comics program. 

Of particular interest to First Second readers: James Sturm will be there, doing a multiplicity of events on Friday and Saturday. 

There are two comics art exhibits up at the festival: one, The Color of Comics, includes art by Gene Yang, from American Born Chinese.  The other exhibit is based on our Spring 09 book The Photographer, showcasing the art and photography that the book combines so well. 

If you're in Miami, you should definitely go and check it out!  You can find a schedule of their events online here.

:01 Around the Internet

First, read an excerpt.  Then, an author interview.  Then, read or listen to some commentary. 

Richard Sala.  "There's nothing on the shelves quite like his work."  [read about it]

Read people talking about Refresh, Refresh. 

"Nothing short of a triumph," says SLJ.  Knights and princesses and dragons and comics triumphant!  Yay!

Plus!  Our editor, Calista Brill, is totally awesome.  How do you know?  The Graphic Novel Reporter tells you so: "Calista Brill doesn't disappoint."  [go, read]

Joann Sfar's GAINSBOURG movie

Appetizing morsels, courtesy of The World of Kane blog — some concept art from Joann Sfar, connected in some ways to his upcoming movie GAINSBOURG... From what I can gather, it's due to release in January, at least in France. I can't wait to see Joann's film directing debut, which promises to add new dimensions in his creative universe.

For French speakers, there's a delightful 15 minute video interview at Le Figaro online which hints at some glorious movie pleasures to come...

Richard Sala and the Cartoon Art Museum

On the list of 'Things to Do If/When You're in San Francisco.'

Richard Sala has a spotlight at the Cartoon Art Museum! 

Andrew Farago, their curator and gallery manager, has been kind enough to send us some pictures.  This show looks wonderful!  And as people who have had the priviledge to actually lay hands on Richard Sala's original artwork, we can testify that it only gets better when you see it in person. 

(click for larger)

(Richard Sala not enough of an incentive to get you to CAM?  The other show they have up now is 'Once Upon a Dream: The Art of Sleeping Beauty.'  It looks amazing!  Richard Sala and Sleeping Beauty -- that has to be a museum-attendance-worthy combination.)