Hey, Kids,
Holidays have been keeping me busy the past few days, and I’m traveling for the next few days – I’ll have the laptop and may be posting, but no guarantees – so I wanted to mention a few cool things.
Biggest news is potentially the restructuring of Macmillan, corporate owners of Roaring Brook, the parent company of First Second. First Second’s head honcho Mark Siegal had this to say:
Today [Dec. 16] a press release [Download Macmillan Press Release ] is coming out from Macmillan, about some major restructuring company-wide. Roaring Brook (our parent company) will now be part of the Macmillan Childrens Group, and from what I’ve gathered so far, it’s all very good for First Second and may well add to our marketing and publicity muscle.
We got off-and-running.
We’ve continued and continue to stay true.
Now we’re coming into the time to broadcast First Second in bigger ways.
First Second made an exceptional showing, critically and financially, this year. We continue to win new ground in bookstores, comics stores, online and in libraries. Adding to the early successes we enjoyed with our titles for children and teens, we’re now breaking through with our adult list—and establishing what was always core to the First Second vision: a collection that truly spans all ages.
Sounds like good news, so let’s hope the new chain of command appreciates what great books First Second’s been putting out.
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In May 2009, NBM Publishing brings back one of the 20th century’s great comic strips. George McManus’ BRINGING UP FATHER is the third and latest in NBM’s FOREVER NUTS series of classic screwball strips.
In 1913, cartoonist George McManus started a comic strip about Jiggs and Maggie, a lower-class couple who came into money. “While the snobbish Maggie and beautiful daughter Nora (referred to various times as Katy and Mamie in the strip’s early days) constantly try to ’bring up’ Father to his new social position,” comics expert Clark Holloway has said, “Jiggs can think of nothing finer than sitting down at Dinty Moore’s restaurant to finish off several dishes of corned beef and cabbage, followed by a night out with the boys from the old neighborhood. The clash of wills that ensued often resulted in flying rolling-pins, smashed crockery, and broken vases, all aimed in the general direction of Jiggs’s skull.”
The publisher blog also has a nice Christmas card illustration by Frederick Burr Opper, creator of Happy Hooligan, recently collected by NBM.
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The Hero Initiative has a report and photos from their HULK 100 event in Los Angeles.
Joe Benitez, Scott Koblish, Aaron Sowd, Joe Rubenstein, BIll Morrison and Tone Rodriguez were among those in attendance. Money raised at the event goes to support the Hero Initiative’s mission, providing financial assistance to economically challenged veteran comic book creators.
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And if you find yourself in Montreal near the offices of Drawn & Quarterly, they have a great rundown of local shops that you have to check out.
Check out hand-made crafts created by local artists, a seemingly great record shop (ooh, vinyl!), a cute vegetarin/vegan deli and a more traditional-food diner. If I ever get up that way, you can be sure I’ll check them all out.
