Today's the day

Read more at the Cartoonists of Color Draw-In web page. I've posted several links to articles, and a couple mp3's of interviews I and the other guys have done regarding the action.

February 10 comics page demonstration mentioned in Newsweek

The upcoming February 10 minority cartoonists demonstration was mentioned in the January 28 issue of Newsweek, on page 14. Check it out or see the brief interview online.

Reader accuses Candorville of RAPE joke

It takes a certain kind of person to read today's Candorville strip and conclude I'm joking about rape. It takes the kind of person who can read Candorville for any length of time and still conclude that its author would find something like rape funny. It takes the kind of person who thinks the words "rape" and "pillage" are interchangeable (if they were, the usual phrase describing the horrors of war wouldn't be "rape AND pillage").

It takes this kind of person:

Hey.

Funny strip most the time. Racial commentary and all that.

But todays strip (12-20-07) appalled me. Unless I am reading that wrong, it seems to be a blatant and casual reference to rape. Who calls that humor? Rape is not something that should be include in anything labeled as “comic”.

I’m sure you are aware of racist issues. Try to be aware of sexist issues. They are not that far apart.


JW

I can't believe anyone who's read Candorville for any length of time would even entertain the notion that its author would find rape funny. If any other readers out there jumped to that same outlandishly offensive conclusion, please don't bother me with it. I spend hours each week going back and forth with irate or confused readers about the topics I raise in Candorville, and I do it gladly. I love that part of this job. But this misinterpretation is just way too insulting to comment on any further.

"Stephanie Miller Show" goes slumming with Candorville's Darrin Bell

For some unknown reason, Elayne Boosler, guest hosting the Stephanie Miller Show on Jones Radio Network (& aired on many Air America affiliates), decided to spend a few minutes interviewing yours truly this morning. I didn't post about this beforehand or tell friends or family because it would scare the hell out of me knowing that people were actually listening to me live. "They" say most Americans fear public speaking more than they fear death, and for a cartoonist who's used to spending his days alone, half-naked in a tiny studio with only his characters to keep him company, death would be #3. #2 would be having to wear pants.

Still, I sit for interviews whenever I'm asked because, hell, this is a dream come true for me -- creating cartoons that strangers (who don't owe me anything) spend a few precious, irretrievable seconds out of their days to read -- and when someone asks me to talk about that on the radio or TV or a panel discussion, it's a reminder that it's actually happening, that that little kid who "wasted time" drawing Optimus Prime and Snoopy in his textbooks actually became what he wanted to be.

Here's the interview. Behind this buffer of time, it isn't so scary. From today's Stephanie Miller Show:

Jay Kennedy is Dead

Woke up to find this in my inbox:

King Features has the sad duty to announce that Editor in Chief Jay Kennedy died yesterday in a drowning accident while on vacation in Costa Rica.

We do not have the full details yet, but wanted to be in immediate communication with the cartooning community. We will notify you when funeral arrangements have been completed.

When I was just starting out, Jay was one of the big, important, untouchable editors who took the time to write me a personal rejection letter and to talk on the phone with me, give me pointers, and encourage me to keep trying. He was the head of the largest syndicate with the most iconic features (Popeye, etc.), but he took time out of his day to talk to people nobody had ever heard of before. And he was just the same in person. I first stood in the same room with him in 2003 at the San Francisco NCS convention. He introduced himself, told me was sad about being too late to get Candorville (he'd been out of town when I sent him the submission, and wrote to me about it a few days after I'd already signed with the Washington Post Writers Group). And then we just talked for a while. One of the nicest, most genuine pony-tail wearing guys I've ever met. What a loss.

New Candorville book, collector's edition available here!

The new Candorville book, "Another Stereotype Bites the Dust," isn't in stores yet, but I have managed to get my grubby hands on a few dozen copies, so you can get it today from the Candorville website!

Book 2 picks up where the first one left off. Lemont's recent disastrous date with the Crazy Vegetarian Chick and his constant rejection by the New Yorker have him feeling down, but Lemont is maintaining, and things are looking up. Clyde decides to become his own boss, Susan's on the fast-track for promotion, and Lemont finds a new reason to keep on writing, the New Yorker be damned. Amidst failed love connections, voter disenfranchisement, a nosy neighbor with a big secret, and a surreal and cathartic visit from a long-lost relative, Lemont, Susan and Clyde keep on keepin' on. And contrary to popular conspiracy theories, they keep all their civil liberties -- at least according to the notes, videotape, and transcribed e-mails compiled by Federal Agent Murph.

"Another Stereotype Bites the Dust" chronicles the second nine months of Candorville. While the strips stand on their own, they really shine in book form, and that's because "Candorville" is a story that has a beginning, it'll have a middle, and, ultimately, an end. The larger story will take 50 years to tell, but within that super arc are dozens of roughly nine-month long chapters (not coincidentally, each book contains nine months of strips). Get in on the ground floor with the first two books.

You can buy "Another Stereotype Bites the Dust" from your local bookstore soon, or you can order it from them now. You can also pre-order it from Amazon.com. Or, you can buy it today right here. For the collectors out there, if you buy the books through the Candorville site, they come autographed, numbered, & with a sketch of either Lemont, C-Dog, or Susan. So you're guaranteed to get at least 1/3 of your money back when you re-sell it on eBay.*

Lastly, you may have noticed that Candorville.com has been completely redesigned in honor of the new book. Please let me know what you think, whether there are any glitches (pages not working, pages inavdvertently written in Swahili, etc.), or if you have any bright ideas about how to make it even jazzier.

*By "guaranteed," we mean "not guaranteed." Candorville books have not been approved by the Federal Government, and have been known to cause insomnia, laughter, and bouts of questioning the dominant paradigm.

Candorville book sells out (sort of)

Thanks to those of you who still had a little money left after your job was outsourced and Exxon-Mobil mugged you on your way to the unemployment office, I've just sold my last copies of the Candorville: Thank God for Culture Clash book! A new batch should arrive tomorrow, so if you ordered a book in the last few days, you should be receiving it by the end of the week.

Although the book's doing well, and a second one is coming out in just a couple months, this book needs to do a little better in order to ensure a third one with full-color Sundays. So if you haven't yet bought the Candorville book, now's the time. You can get them from the Candorville website (where they're defaced with an autograph and a sketch), from Amazon, or better yet, you can ask for it at your favorite local bookstore (if they don't have it in stock, they'll gladly order it for you).