See you @ EXPOZINE 2008 | Sat Nov 29 & Sun Nov 30

So I'm going to be at Expozine, along with much of the alternative comix scene for Montreal and many from all over Canada and the US!

Expozine has evolved into the biggest zine fair in Canada now, it's been amazing to watch; I've attended every year so far.

This year I have lots of books. Not as many copies of Therefore Repent as I'd have liked it looks like, just 10!

Ordered more but unless they show up Friday I think they got held up with thanksgiving in the US.

That kind of sucks because i can probably sell 3 times as many as I have. But what you going to do?

I will have other books though, lots of RevolveR's, a few copies of Comic Boot Tattoo, Sea of Red, old jam zines and some other older books i've done. Also going to bring a long box of old books from my personal collection, stuff i'd like to start divesting myself off. Also, i had some cool new 1" pins I had made up too, hear they come out well, going to pick them up tomorrow!

The books are above, bellow is the art from the pins! See you at the show! Drop by and say hi if you read the blogs. :)

Matrix Magazine Review of THEREFORE REPENT!

Montreal's cool hipster art and lit mag Matrix Magazine reviewed us favorably in issue 80.

The full text is now online here, and added to my big ol' virtual scrap book on my blog. :)

I like this Vincent guy, will have to track him down and get him a drink...

THEREFORE REPENT! A Post-Rapture Graphic Novel
by Jim Munroe and Salgood Sam
in [ Reviewed in Matrix 80 ]
Read by Vincent Tinguely

The glory of science fiction and fantasy is the "what if?" factor. In Therefore Repent!, the authors gleefully explore one deceptively simple premise: "What if the Rapture actually happened?"

The graphic novel has a fairly obscure geneology, beginning with a comic book originally conceived as the invention of a couple of characters in his previous (non-graphic) novel, An Opening Act of Unspeakable Evil. A 24-page comic was conceived and written by Munroe, rendered by Michel Lacombe, and posted online. Having invented the post-Rapture scenario for this project, Munroe was interested in pursuing an expanded narrative about the comic book characters, Raven and Mummy, and the strange world they find themselves in. When Munroe was ready to go ahead with Therefore Repent!, Lacombe was no longer available to do the graphics, but Salgood Sam, who'd collaborated previously with Munroe on other small projects, was eager to take on the task.

The result is a sumptuous feast for the eyes (all in black and white), and a pleasingly complex plot that takes its sweet time in unfolding. Munroe lends the fantastic notion of the Rapture a believable texture by introducing the no-less fantastic "reality" of earthly magic, telepathy, transmigration of souls, inner visions, shape-shifting, prestidigitation, and talking dogs. In a sense, he's taking on a very real anxiety - that the most powerful military industrial complex on earth is currently controlled by people who believe in fundamentalist quackery - and proposes that the power of such a belief system isn't as monolithic and indestructable as it might sometimes seem.

Salgood Sam's drawing skills never flag over the epic sweep of the tale, and he feels free to try any number of innovative framing and sequencing techniques. The characters, bizarre as they might seem - a woman with a bird head and a man who goes about wrapped in bandages like a mummy - become fully-rounded in the course of the story, and even the minor characters feel believable to the reader. The result is a spectacular graphic novel, full of angels, demons and unclassifiable creatures, with a brainy subtext that never interferes with the fun.

Home again home again, jiggidy jig

The 9th Rendez-vous international de la BD was lovely, Paul and friends go out of their way to make the guests feel welcomed. Also met some very cool people, made a few new friends. I've posted photos from the trip here.

In Toronto I got some work done , roughs for Work, and started on a new Bread and Butter project that's proving to be off to a fun start. Will talk more about that later but for now you can see the art here>>.

I had a short interview with Dalson Chen of The Windsor Star, that ran the week before BookFest Windsor here. Came out well I think. Made me laugh when he asked about graphic novels, there was a national post article just before on the same theme that made me roll my eyes.

BookFest Windsor was a pleasure for the most part, including the funny social drama around the final night's party, but I'm getting the impression this goes with the small book festival circuit a bit. Booze + Writers and Poets + Travel? :)

I have a few photos and stuff to post from that shortly.

Also spent a great and somewhat inebriated Halloween with my old friend George, roaming about the town checking out costumes and snapping shots. I made a bit of a video of that here.

Attending Book Festivals in Gatineau & Windsor

Hey, how was the Turkey?....

So later this month I'll be on the road again, seems like i've been doing that a lot, and i won't be even as much as half what i had planed to in the spring! Man, doing support touring for a book is crazy, or maybe I'm getting old. - Nawwwww......

From the 23rd to the 26th of October, I'll be hanging around the Canadian Museum of Civilization - O_o

...attending the

9th Rendez-vous

international

de la BD

de Gatineau!

I'll be joined there by 9 other creators, some of who's stuff is eye popping! ; Philippe Aymond, Johanna, Daniel Bosshart, Thierry Coppee, Delaf & Dubuc, Michel Falardeau, Sandra Breault, and Craig A. Taillefer, who i have to thank for getting invited!

The Program and other details are here, in french, and posted here on Sequential in English.

AUTOGRAPH SESSIONS & APPEARANCES

Thu 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm
Fri 11:00 am to 12:30 pm
& 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Sat 10:00 am to 11:00 am
& 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm
Sun 11:30 am to 1:30 pm
& 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm

They have me booked for something called 'Masters at Work' 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm on Thursday.

And from 11 to 11:30 am for 'Live illustration with Salgood Sam' on Saturday.

Basically in both cases it looks like they want me to draw live in front of people! Going to be needing the antiperspirants there. All of that's @ the main venue, The Canadian Museum of Civilization - Level 2 / Foyer of the Museaum's Theatre [100 Laurier Street]

Looking forward to this. Hope the live show goes well, and if nothing else, getting to spend whatever spare time i have checking out the Museum will be cool!

After that i get on a train - have a few days to kill in Toronto - then I'm booked to attend...


Where I'll be spending some time with an old buddy of mine, George Rizok, one of the lifers' at Rogues Gallery and resident loon on The Comic Book Syndicate [YouTube page].

Saturday at 1pm till 3pm I'll be on a panel discussion:

It's a Bird, it's a Plane, it's a Book!

....ok, corny name i know, but i promise to do my part to make sure it's interesting! We'll be in the Studio Room, with Mary-Lou Gelissen, Tony Gray, & George!

I'll also be available for signings and stuff, in the main space of the book festival with the other authors, and Friday I'll be at the Rogues Gallery comic shop as well from 6pm on.

Going to bring some recent art with me, which I'll be selling maybe but probably not on sight, at least not in Gatineau anyway - but you'll be able to look at it and arrange for something if you seem something you like.

Believe books at both events will be supplied, for sure Therefore Repent! will be on hand, and I'll be making up a batch of RevolveR One's for the occasion, maybe a little something else too, just for the trip!

Also, Expozine has JUST been announced, going to go over to the site now and register, so see you THERE too!

Notable Noting

Ted at IDW just sent us some scans of Best American Comics 2008, where Therefore Repent was listed as one of the "Notable" books to read of 2007!

Pretty cool, I'll have to pick up a copy - looks like it's worth it anyway, some impressive names in it. :)