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Archives - May 2010

Interview: Eric Wight, author of Frankie Pickle and the Closet of Doom

May 18, 2010

Somewhere between chapter books and comics lies Frankie Pickle. The engaging new books from Eric Wight are perfect for beginners and capture the spirit of graphic novels. Here, Wight talks about his inspiration for Frankie and why he created him for a whole generation of young readers.

Interview: Alex Jansen, author of Kenk

May 4, 2010

Igor Kenk became one of Canada’s (and the world’s) most illustrious thieves when he was arrested for stealing nearly 3,000 bicycles in Toronto in2008. It was a strange case that immediately took fire and made Kenk a celebrity and antihero of sorts. It also inspired the beautifully depicted new graphic novel Kenk, by Alex Jansen (publisher of Pop Sandbox), Jason Gilmore, and Nick Marinkovich. The wildly inventive art style combines with the oddness of Kenk’s story (and Kenk himself) to create an intense and vivid portrait of a very interesting man. Already published in Canada, Kenk was named a Best Book of 2010 by Quill & Quire, Canada’s top literary magazine, and has been a bestseller in Canada. We talked to Jansen about creating the book.

Interview: William Ayers, author of To Teach: The Journey, in Comics

May 1, 2010

Ryan Alexander-Tanner is the artist behind Dr. William Ayers’ words in a new comic book called To Teach: The Journey, in Comics. A brilliant addition to the field of comic books and graphic novels, the collaboration between Ayers and Alexander-Tanner is magical and is surely one of the best comic works of the year. In my humble opinion, it’s mandatory reading for both in-service and pre-service teachers alike.

Interview: Andrew McGinn, author of The Legacy

May 1, 2010

If you’re a fan of the daily comic strips that appear in newspapers everywhere, you may want to move on to a different article. Chances are Andrew McGinn hates every strip you love. In fact, you can bet on it. But if you too bemoan the state of the strip, you may be interested in what McGinn has to say. And if you’re just in the mood for a truly entertaining, often hilarious look at comic strips and the people who create them, you’ll want to know about The Legacy, McGinn and artist David Neitzke’s new book about a young man named Chas who inherits a comic strip from his father—and does his level best to lose it as fast as he can. Try as he might, though (and he certainly tries), he just can’t seem to get rid of it, which makes for some very entertaining reading and a biting satire of the world of comic strips. Here’s what Chas’s creator had to say about it.