Archive for February, 2010

This is kind of a funny thing… and if you were born prior to… say 1972… then this little story is going to make you fell old(er). Like me, for example.

As some of you probably know, I post a new comic on Comics.com/Yahoo.com on Mondays. Then on Thursdays, the same comic appears on a lesbian content site, AfterEllen.com. Well, it seems that lots of readers of the AfterEllen site were born after 1972… way after… and have never experienced the joy of all those great sci fi movies from the 80s, like “The Last Starfighter.” So, needless to say, during this current storyline, all those readers have been completely lost… meanwhile, all of us who were around to enjoy those great films from the 80s have been having a good time reminiscing with Jane during her Rylos adventure.

So as not to have my new AfterEllen readers feel left out, starting today, I’ll be posting “Classic Jane” comic strips on Thursdays on AfterEllen. Those of you who read both sites will get a double dose of Jane’s World… new stuff on Monday’s… funny flashbacks on Thursdays. Here’s the comic I did to announce the change. (Does anyone get the inside joke?)

We just updated The Martian Confederacy website with a cover image and synopsis of book 2. Check it out if you get a minute.

I’m just posting one segment of the panel, but to see the entire group of clips go to YouTube.

Many thanks to Xavier (translating from over my shoulder while seriously sleep deprived) and to Jean Paul for hosting the panel. And to Tim, Abby and Patrick for participating.

My publisher in France, Editions Dans l’Engrenage (spear headed by the fabulous Celine Lion), has launched a Jane’s World blog for French readers. Currently there are three volumes of LE MONDE DE JANE and now fans will be able to check the blog for new comic content translated into French.

Also, the rough cover for Jane’s World Volume 10 is finished and I thought I would give JW readers a sneak peak. I think if you compare this cover to the original poster for the movie “The Last Starfighter,” you’ll get a good chuckle.

We arrived in Paris a few days before the Angouleme festival began. As previously mentioned, I did a book signing at LES MOTS A LA BOUCHE and as you can see, I was provided with a sampling of French candy and snacks to keep my drawing hand going. I suppose sugar is a good cure for jet lag.

We ate LOTS of food, including some of the most amazing pastries. We studied the Paris map we had and concluded we walked at least 6 miles each day in Paris so I suppose the pastries came in handy. I was pretty surprised to see how much raw meat the French consume. This was news to me.

Angouleme was energizing, inspiring, fascinating… so much so that I didn’t even bring any books back with me. I was too overwhelmed to choose. Not that I would have been able to read them in French, but the scope and diversity of the comic art I saw was amazing.

Tim Fish and Jeff were incredibly helpful and generous with their time and energy. They made our booth at Angouleme a fun place to be.

Tim Fish and Jeff, in the booth.

On the panel: Tim, a very sleepy and confused Xavier and Me (Not in this photo, but also on the panel, Abby and Patrick and moderator, Jean Paul.)

Jean Paul organized a panel discussion which we delivered to a packed house on Saturday evening. Xavier was kind enough to translate. There was a really funny moment where I felt like maybe we were all being a bit too serious and so I changed the subject to “boobs” and their importance in comics. Poor guy… he wasn’t sure he’d heard me correctly.

We also had a “mixer” on Friday night at a local bar. The building which housed the bar had was built in the 1500s.

There were comic drawings everywhere in Angouleme. Every restaurant, shop, bar… even the exterior of the buildings frequently had comic art.

We took the train back to Paris from Angouleme and it was packed with all ages and genders. As I walked through the train cars to get a sandwich I was amazed that almost every single person on the train, young and old, were reading or sketching comics. I’ve never experienced that before.

I could post a million photos, but I was just trying to share a sampling of our little comic adventure in France. I hope anyone who’s a comic fan can attend Angouleme at some point in their life. It is well worth the trip.

Paige and Evelyn, on the train back to Paris.

Jane’s World books in the window at LES MOTS A LA BOUCHE bookshop in Paris.

Celine, who published JW in French, on the escalator in the Metro in Paris.

(http://www.facebook.com/pages/Editions-Dans-LEngrenage/26981402865)

Francois, who designed JW in French, chatting with Tim Fish and my pal, Susan.

Jeff, on the walk to the entrance to the comic festival in Angouleme.