The webcomics blog about webcomics

Across An Anxious Nation, Smile Mania Continues Unabated

Dateline: Webcomicstan!

You need to read that title out loud, in the voice of a newsreel announcer; click the picture for an example and then try to get that voice out of your head. When you’re done listening to the news of yesteryear, stick around YouTube for a moment and check out the video trailer for Raina Telgemeier’s SMILE, which is due for release so soon that I can barely stand it. Yes, I keep bringing this book up. No, I’m not going to apologize. It’s terrific and the world must know.

  • As long as we’re playing with A/V capabilities, let’s take a listen to a podcast: The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe is a creature after my own heart — ruthlessly rational, determined to shine the light of reason on pseduo-science of all sorts, and not above a bit of snarkiness in the pursuit of those goals. Show #236 features Jon Rosenberg, who’s been known to address skeptical audiences from time to time … something about writing a webcomic that settled the answer of the existence of God definitively by having two characters eat him. It’s a pretty general-purpose interview, not so much about the webcomic, more about science, influences, and Rosenberg’s worldview. Jon, for his part, comes across as reasonably normal, which makes me wonder how much he drank from the bottle of Scotch Baio prior to the interview.
  • Got a double dose of Scott Kurtz news for you — in about two weeks time, those of you in NoCal will have two opportunities to see him do the formal talk thing, at a pair of fairly prestigious venues. To start, he’ll be at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco on Thursday, 11 February from 7:00 to 9:00pm for a talk and signing. It’s free, but it’s a museum, and the suggested donation of $5.00 isn’t going to break you. Give ’em $10 if you can.

    Two days later, Kurtz will head up to Santa Rosa and the Schulz Museum; that would be the museum devoted to Charles ‘Sparky’ Schulz, the most wildly successful, influential, and vaguely depressing strip cartoonist the world has ever known. I’m going to go out on a limb and guess this is about the most exciting possible invitation for any working cartoonist.

    On Saturday, 13 February, Kurtz will be speaking and teaching. The fun kicks off at 10:00am with a 1.5 hour Master Class for Adults, then continues as Kurtz becomes the latest Cartoonist-in-Residence; he’ll be talking from 1:00pm with meet/greet and signing to follow. The Master Class requires registration and a fee, which can be arranged by calling (707) 284-1263. For the general presentation, ten bucks gets you in the door, five if you’re a kid.

  • Oh yeah, then there’s this: the Android (Operating System) Android (mascot). Andy Bell first dropped hints to me about these guys way back at SDCC 2009, and I’ve been anxiously waiting to see how they would turn out. Answer: Awesome. As the owner of an Android phone, I want one.

[…] a final followup: Andy Bell’s Android figures? Twelve designs blind-boxed in cases of sixteen, dammit. Pricing and purchase info to be announced […]

[…] Bell’s Android figures were much anticipated by me. Then they went on sale and disappeared in minutes, leaving me a sad camper. Then Bell brought a […]

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