Appearance: Mill Valley Public Library

Bay Area (and especially Marin County) Friends! This Thursday, July 24, I'll be talking about "A Fire Story" at the Mill Valley Public Library at 6 p.m. I don't have many public events coming up on my calendar, so if you want to say Howdy this would be a good opportunity! 

Event information is HERE. The library is asking folks to register. I'm sure they'd still let you in if you just showed up, but it'd be polite to give them a head count. Thanks!

Tuesday Zoom: Cape Cod Sierra Club

Here's a Zoom event I'm doing tomorrow afternoon: the Cape Cod Sierra Club is talking about wildfires and I will be one of two speakers. I was invited by my friend Chris Powicki, with whom I did science writing here in California before he moved back east and became one of Massachusetts's go-to experts on ecology and renewable energy. I have a short presentation planned, and then some Q&A. 4 p.m. Pacific/7 p.m. Eastern.

Click on that link above or here to register. It should be good!

Two Things

Two unrelated things I did/will do:

This morning I preached the gospel of Graphic Medicine to a group of about 70 physicians and faculty of New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. Dr. Rachel Kowalsky, who has more titles before and after her name than I can list, contacted her old friend, Editor Charlie, to ask if he knew anyone who could speak on the topic. Turns out, he did!

I was invited to Zoom in for 45 minutes during grand rounds, during which I gave a rousing overview of graphic medicine, with examples from "Mom's Cancer" and many others, as well as a quick comics-making workshop! It was a lot to cover in a short time, but the docs seemed very engaged and I think it went great. 

ALSO: On April 1, I'll be at the Schulz Museum talking about Popeye and Fleischer Brothers cartoons, on which I've become a bit of an expert what with making a graphic novel based on a Fleischer cartoon and all. I'm excited to be on a panel with film restorer Mauricio Alvarado, Max Fleischer's granddaughter Jane Fleischer Reid, and curator Benjamin Clark. How cool is that? (Answer: "Very.")

I'll be sure to mention that one again closer to the date!

On the Same Page in Claremont

We arrived early, to find lawn signs ringing the community center! Yes, of course I took one (or three) home.

I'd say yesterday's talk and book signing capping off the Claremont (Calif.) Friends of the Library's "On the Same Page" program went great! The Friends chose "A Fire Story" as their community book of the year, and in the past several weeks hosted related events on fire safety and disaster preparedness. About 70 people came out on a lovely southern California Saturday to hear my story. Knowing that this was the first graphic novel many of them had read, I also made my best case for comics as a respectable literary medium. May have made a few converts.

A good overview of the room and crowd as my talk got started.

Explaining--maybe even evangelizing--about why on earth someone would tell the story of a firestorm in the form of a comic. I am passionate on the subject.

Signing books afterward. The library had distributed dozens of copies throughout the community in advance of my talk, so a lot of people brought theirs along to sign. The Friends also sold a few at the event.

My sisters Brenda and Lis live not too far from Claremont so they got to come, along with Lis's boyfriend Randy, which was very cool. It was also an opportunity to meet some Facebook friends in real life, including Susan Kullmann, who moved to Claremont after losing her home in the same fire I did, and comics writer and editor Barbara Randall Kesel, who I wish I'd had more time to talk shop with. Also got to know Chris Sayler and her husband Dave, who know my Dad! It was Chris who brought my book to the attention of the Claremont folks in the first place. All terrific.

The Friends of the Library seemed satisfied with my efforts and were as welcoming and kind as could be. Their hospitality extended to a wine bar after the event, which was a nice chance to wind down and get better acquainted. There are no better people on the planet than people who love books. Many thanks to them!

Later at the wine bar. A fine opportunity to relax and get to know people. A wonderful group of Friends.

Toon Talking at the CAM

Hey, look who's doing a Toon Talk and book signing at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco next Saturday! Spoiler: me! At 1 p.m. I'll be speaking about The Last Mechanical Monster, then hanging around talking to folks and signing books until 3 p.m. 

Best of all, it's free and open to the public, so if you just want to say "Howdy!" it won't cost you a dime. However, an ice cream sundae at the nearby Ghirardelli Chocolate shop will set you back $14 or $15, so keep that in mind as you budget for the trip.

CAM is a great institution that's been very good to me, and is always worth a stop even when I'm not sitting in it. Which I will be, next Saturday.

We Have Liftoff!

My daughters Laura and Robin drove up for the event, which meant a lot to me.

The Last Mechanical Monster got a terrific launch last night at Copperfield's Books in Santa Rosa! About two dozen people came--many friends, of course, but also some other fans and curious readers. I think we nearly sold out the store's stock, plus a smaller stack of Fire Story copies. 

For my first time giving this particular talk, I think it went very well! Very good questions about the story and process of creating a graphic novel. I did a reading, during which I discovered a print error that had snuck through, which I thought was hilarious. It doesn't really hurt the story but I'll fix it in the second edition, if there is one, which will make this first edition *unbelievably* valuable. Better buy it now!

My friend and Kid Beowulf cartoonist Lex Fajardo came, much to the delight of a young fan who ran and bought two of Lex's book so he could sign them for him. Man, that kid was happy!

Explaining how original art gets turned into a book. Apparently I had to shout to get my point across.

Good turnout, nice people. What more could you ask?

Thanks to Copperfield's and to all my neighbors and friends from many jobs and times in my life, as well as the complete strangers, who showed up. You gave my book a very happy birthday.

(Photos by Karen.)

Nine Hours in WimpyWorld

[Updated with corrections from Editor Charlie, who thinks I still need editing. He's right.]

I have seen the hardest-working man in literature and am in awe.

My pal Jeff Kinney, author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, brought his new book tour through my county yesterday. First stop was 3 o'clock at a good independent bookstore called Copperfield's in the town of Petaluma, California, about half an hour from my home. Second stop was 7 o'clock at the Charles M. Schulz Museum & Research Center in Santa Rosa, about five minutes from my home. I tagged along.

I know Jeff because we have the same editor and publisher. I was at the 2006 New York Comic-Con the day Jeff handed his proposal to Editor Charlie, and Jeff's been gracious enough to say that he did so because my publisher Abrams had put out Mom's Cancer (I actually heard Jeff's side of that story for the first time yesterday; modesty forbids me from repeating it, but it made me feel good). Before Jeff's first book came out, Editor Charlie got Jeff and me together so I could give him the honest straight dope about being an author. I impressed upon him that getting a book published would not change his life and the money truck would not be dumping piles of cash at his front door. Although solid advice for 99.7% of authors, it was spectacularly wrong for Jeff. He hasn't held it against me.

In 2009, I blogged about accompanying Jeff to a signing in support of his fourth Wimpy Kid book, and compared it to being backstage with the Beatles. Now, in support of his eighth Wimpy Kid book (eighth?!), it's more like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir at Woodstock. Jeff has upped his game.

Four years ago, Jeff's entourage consisted of him and Publicist Jason. Bookstores were encouraged to come up with activities like scavenger hunts to keep the waiting kids occupied, but that was up to them. This time around, Jeff brought the entertainment with him, and the entourage consisted of Jeff, Publicist Jason (still!), two terrific employees of Jeff's named Anna and Shaelyn, plus a DJ, a fortune teller, a photo booth operator, another guy who did I don't know what, and enough equipment to open a small carnival, all in keeping with the "Hard Luck" theme of the new book (8 balls, wheel of fortune, games of chance, etc.). All that gear travels in a separate van that accompanies Jeff's rock-and-roll tour bus from town to town. He was also accompanied on this leg of the tour by Editor Charlie himself, who explained to me that the activities were Jeff's idea, all with the goal of keeping his young readers entertained.

At Copperfield's in Petaluma, the DJ and other activities set up before Jeff arrived to keep the kids happy and busy while they waited. Later, as Jeff's signing line wound down, they disassembled and raced ahead to set up at the next location.

The Fortune Teller was a really great guy. He's a former school teacher and counselor, and so has a knack for sizing kids up and delivering a fortune that was sometimes eerily appropriate for them.

The Big Bus arrives, pulling in behind the van that'd already delivered the entertainment. That's my daughter Robin watching an impressive parallel parking job.

Talking with Jeff on the Big Bus as I signed a WHTTWOT for him. Anna at right wore a leopard cowl and cat make-up for one of the activities.

Editor Charlie, me and Jeff. Photo by my daughter Robin, who drove me to Petaluma so I wouldn't have to abandon a car there and could ride the Big Bus home. Thanks, Rob!

A video of the line of people waiting to have their books signed by Jeff, which stretched out of the store, around the corner, down a little pedestrian alleyway, and through to the next block. For some reason I started at the back and worked my way to the front. Watch for a cameo by Editor Charlie doing the reverse at 1:10.

My admiration for Jeff's work ethic and stamina is sincere. Both Copperfield's and the Schulz Museum made 1000 free tickets available for book signing. Bear in mind that 2000 tickets doesn't mean 2000 books. Many of Jeff's fans have the entire series and brought them all. And here's the nub:

I watched Jeff work for four or five hours and he asked every kid his or her name, made sure they each got a moment of his full attention, answered all their questions, posed for all their parents' photos (probably two out of three kids had someone there to take their picture with Jeff), smiled the whole time. I've seen authors with fewer fans shove readers through on an assembly line, no time for chat or photos, one book only, won't sign any books brought from home. Not Jeff. I don't know how he does it and I'm pretty sure I couldn't. It really was extraordinary.

At Copperfield's, a photo with a fan. Shaelyn is getting the title pages open for the next in line.

Another fan, another photo. Multiply by 2000.

Copperfield's table has been autographed by every writer who's come through town so Jeff obliged when his signing was done. Maybe the coolest thing I saw him do all day: the son of the lady standing beside the table really wanted to be there but couldn't because he'd broken his foot. Jeff offered to call the boy, and they talked for a couple of minutes.

After Petaluma, I boarded the Big Bus for the ride north to the Schulz Museum. Because who wouldn't? The carnival crew preceded us and had everything set up when we arrived. My wife Karen met us there, and Jeff ran around to try all the activities before settling in to sign. Again.

Jeff and Editor Charlie inside the "Money Grab." The goal is to find the largest denomination bill you can, which predicts your future annual salary.

Editor Charlie, Jeff and I checking out one of the activities, a Wheel of Fortune spinning thingy.

 

Part of the signing line in the Great Hall of the Schulz Museum (note the Lucy and Charlie Brown mosaic along the back wall, where Jeff sat). Games were dispersed throughout both floors of the museum as well as the back patio. It looks sedate and organized in this photo, but in reality was a pretty raucous zoo.

I was briefly pressed into line duty, making sure people had all their books properly opened and stacked as they approached the signing table. Least I could do.

The DJ booth and dance floor at the Schulz Museum. This was early; things picked up.

Karen found this slip of paper on the ground and perceptively thought to take a photo of it. I don't know the context--if it was a homemade bookmark or something done as part of the event activities--but "Never give up; Education is good for you; Do your best" is solid-gold wisdom.



Karen was unavailable so I did the photo booth with Editor Charlie instead.
Because we are both totally secure in our masculinity.



Eating pizza with some Schulz Museum staffers after the signing. I asked Karen to
bring the beer from home. You're welcome.

After pizza, aboard the Big Bus: Jeff choosing karaoke that he forced his employees to sing to keep their jobs. I'm joking about the jobs but not the karaoke. Keep in mind that it's after 11 p.m. Pacific Time and all these people are on East Coast time (having flown in the day before). This is a level of energy to which I am unaccustomed.

Bidding farewell to the Big Bus and Editor Charlie in the museum parking lot. We shall meet again.
It's not snowing, those're just water spots on the camera lens.

If anyone reading this is a Wimpy Kid fan and wants to go to a Jeff Kinney book signing, I think I can promise you a good time. If not, it won't be for lack of effort. Jeff's assembled a well-oiled machine that knows exactly how long it takes to set up a traveling side show, sign 1000 books and then move on, leaving everyone happy (except maybe the event hosts who don't know what hit them). I've never seen an author work harder for his or her fans.

I have good friends.

Sonoma County Book Festival

I had a terrific time at the Sonoma County Book Festival last Saturday. This is the same festival (though in a new location) at which I participated in a graphic novel panel last year, and which evidently was such a hit they decided to have two graphic novel panels this year. Comics are taking over the world!

Luckily, there's more than enough cartooning talent in the region to populate two panels. Fantastic comic book artist Brent Anderson ("Astro City") is our ringleader, so he did both. Also on the morning panel were my pal Lex Fajardo ("Kid Beowulf," modern "Peanuts"), Emily C. Martin (Megamoth Studio and Deviant Art star), and Karen Luk (lots of stuff including some good-looking Steampunk work). I don't know Emily and didn't meet her, but enjoyed meeting Karen when I arrived to do my panel in the afternoon.

Sharing my p.m. panel with the ubiquitous Mr. Anderson was Paige Braddock ("Jane's World," "Martian Confederacy," and modern "Peanuts"). I listed "modern Peanuts" as credits for both Paige and Lex; what I mean by that is that in addition to their own projects they both work at Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates as stewards of Mr. Schulz's legacy, a responsibility I know they take very seriously. Both morning and afternoon panels were moderated by Steve Alcorta, our county library's graphic novel buyer. I sucked up as best I could.

The festival was scheduled to happen around the grounds of Santa Rosa Junior College, a beautiful oak-studded campus. Hard rain overnight sent organizers into a tizzy, and in the early morning hours everything was relocated into the campus student center. Considering the panic that must've accompanied that effort I thought the festival went very well, with many attendees. My panel drew probably 25 or 30 people, which was just fine.

Pics or it didn't happen:

Way up at the front of the Main Stage is noted author Dorothy Allison (Bastard out of Carolina--that's the name of her book, not my opinion of her) who was a funny, charming, polished speaker, and a good "get" for our local fest.

Lex Fajardo (standing) and Brent Anderson shared a sales table; Karen Luk is just out of frame to the right.

Me, Paige, Brent, and moderator Steve during our panel "Novel Storytelling: The Art of the Graphic Novel--Chapter 2."

Me, Paige and Brent just before the fist fight erupted.

With Paige. She's nice. My "Abrams ComicArts" shirt was a gift from Editor Charlie and seemed appropriate for the event. However, I think it inadvertently gave some authors in the dealer's room the wrong impression; a few of them eagerly gave me their entire sales pitches that I hadn't really asked for, and I was puzzled until it occurred to me they might've thought I was actually from Abrams ComicArts and could get them published. POWER!

Thanks to the festival, author wrangler Julia Cooper, and cartoonist wrangler Brent Anderson. The fun for me is hanging around people like Brent, Paige and Lex, talking with folks eager to tap our brains, and be around book lovers. They (we) are a special breed.

 

More Riverside

Just a few more photos I like from our weekend in Riverside:

A selfie with Karen at the entrance to the Mission Inn

Mission Inn inner courtyard

The Mission Inn pool, with downtown Riverside in the background. The weather was sunny and warm, perfect for a margarita by the pool (so I hear)

 

An open-air rotunda on the Mission Inn grounds.  

The nearby Culver Center of the Arts, where the conference was held.



With Ian Williams just before I went on. I like this because it's a casual candid shot. Just hangin'.

Juliet McMullin introducing me.




Signing books. Arthur Frank is standing; to his right is Ian, to Ian's right is me.

A good angle on the art exhibition on one side of the hall, with the lecture/seating area behind. None of the artwork was original, they were all foamcore posters printed for the occasion. This was a solution we hit on for the Graphic Medicine conferences as well--as much as you'd like to display original art, the care, security, insurance, and other practical details involved in doing so aren't worth it. If one of these easels falls over (and a couple did), nobody panics.

With the fam.

Karen and I at dinner with my sisters on Friday night.

Down by the Riverside

Got home from last weekend's "Medical Examinations" conference at UC Riverside and spent Monday catching up on missed work. Good conference! Especially for the first of its kind. In contrast to the Graphic Medicine conferences I've been involved with, this one dealt with storytelling in a broader sense, with a sort of anthropological academic perspective. Art, theater, history, literature, Native American prayer, comics: it's all good.

As with all conferences, the most interesting and valuable stuff happened between the presentations and panels. I got to spend more time with my friend Dr. Ian Williams, who cartoons under the pen name Thom Ferrier, and I was especially happy to get to know Arthur Frank, a sociologist at the University of Calgary who wrote The Wounded Storyteller, one of the seminal examinations of medical narratives. I confess I didn't know his work beforehand but quickly got up to speed after two or three different people e-mailed me to say, "You're going to be at a conference with Arthur Frank?! Wow!" His talk on the theme "When Bodies Need Stories" was my favorite of the conference, and he's a friendly, witty, brilliant gentleman--a highlight of the weekend for sure.

Registration table for the conference at UC Riverside's Culver Center for the Arts. All the talks were given in the large room behind the table (you can just see a slide projected on the far wall behind the bald gent), while artwork was exhibited on easels in the left and right galleries defined by the columns. It was a nice space.

Many of the attendees were grad students and undergrads hopelessly devoted to Juliet McMullin, the UC Riverside professor who organized the conference. Some had contributed to the artwork exhibited along the sides the room, and a lot of them had read Mom's Cancer, which was gratifying.

Best of all, my sisters Brenda and Elisabeth drove over to see me do my thing, which I think was a first for both of them, and share a late birthday dinner with Karen and me. So I had the pleasure of introducing Nurse Sis and Kid Sis to some people who didn't quite seem to believe they were real. That was fun.

With Juliet McMullin. She's the best.

Kid Sis, Nurse Sis and me flanking a page from Mom's Cancer featuring Kid Sis, Nurse Sis and Me. It's like a recursive Escher etching or something. Spooky.

I think my own talk went well. I had three basic goals: make the case that comics are a medium with unique abilities to tell stories in ways no other medium can; talk about the idea of "community" (communities of family, friends, caregivers, humanity) within Mom's Cancer; and introduce the idea of Graphic Medicine as a body of comics work with its own history and value. That's a lot.

As I prepared the talk, I rehearsed bits of it but never really put it all together and practiced it as a whole. I was aiming for about 45 minutes and figured if anything I'd go long. So I was surprised as I neared the end of my talk to check a clock and see I'd only spoken for 30 minutes. Gosh, I must've been motor-mouthing like a madman! I finished a few minutes later, took some questions, left the stage, and went to apologize to Juliet for coming up 10 minutes short. Karen stopped me:

"But you talked for an hour."

"No, I checked the clock. It was like 35 minutes."

"It was more than an hour."

"No way!"

I appealed to Juliet.

"Everybody seemed to be enjoying it so I didn't want to stop you."

I don't know what happened to the time. I don't know how I misread the clock. When Juliet left a comment in my previous post about loving my 240-minute talk, she was only exaggerating a little. All I know is I that started, WHOOSH, and then I stopped. Luckily I was the last speaker of the day so I didn't intrude into someone else's time. I hate those guys.

The very beginning of my talk, approximately the moment I entered a fugue state.

Anyway, that happened, and then we all signed books. Arthur was dismayed because Ian and I were drawing little sketches in ours. Made him look like a chump.

Signing books with Ian Williams and Arthur Frank. Mom's Cancer sold out and I think Ian did well, too. My vision's perfect out to about arm's length so I often take off my glasses for close-up work. That's a fat new Pentel brush-pen I'm trying out; I liked it!

Day Two was relaxing because I'd fulfilled my responsibilities and could sit back and heckle. Ian gave a great talk that dovetailed well with mine, and I think between us we created a few converts to Graphic Medicine.

What I saw of the city of Riverside was swell, and the Mission Inn where we were lodged is pretty fantastic, in all senses of the word. One look at its website convinced Karen she wanted to come along. It's sort of a Spanish-Moorish citadel that covers a city block and reminded both Karen and me of the Winchester Mystery House, if you're familiar with it, in both its rambling randomness and clear signs of having been assembled by a crazy multi-millionaire. Highly recommended.

How Karen spent some of her day.

Good weekend, good event, great people. Thanks to Juliet, Chikako Takeshita, Laura Lozon, Sharon Rushing, Kara Miller, and lots of others for inviting me, organizing everything, and making us feel welcome. Just in terms of logistics, this was one of the best-run conference I've ever been to. I'm especially grateful to all the attendees and students who stopped to talk so we could get to know each other a bit. That's the best part.