Ken Burns' "Country Music" highlights the Carter Family

I caught the first episode of "Country Music", the new epic documentary by Ken Burns, and thoroughly enjoyed it. The Carter Family was prominently highlighted, as well as Leslie Riddle. It was gratifying to see some of the historic moments that I'd drawn in the Carter Family graphic novel chronicled in the Burns style with old photos, voiceovers, interviews, and of course: music.

Positive reviews are appearing, and for anyone who missed it, I believe the episode can be viewed online here.

-David Lasky


#CarterFamily
#CountryMusic
#KenBurns

PASTE!

It's so nice to see "Carter Family: Don't Forget This Song" in such good company on Paste Magazine's list of Five Great Musical Biographies as Graphic Novels. 

The Carter Family is Part of "The Best American Comics of 2014!"

We're delighted and excited to be a part of the newest installment in this venerable series of books. Critics are already raving about this 2014 edition.

Paul Constant of The Stranger has said: "...I find myself declaring to you that The Best American Comics 2014 is the best edition of The Best American Comics to ever be published." He adds:

The end result is a book you can hand anyone as an overview of where comics are as an art form in the year 2014. In fact, I may even take my earlier hypocritical claim one step further and call this the best book I've ever read in the whole Best American series. It's informative, funny, surprising, and a satisfying reading experience on its own. This should be the book that every Best American guest editor aspires to emulate in years to come.

Click HERE to read a witty and informative interview of Scott McCloud by the Washington Post's Scott Cavna.

Bill Kartalopoulos, the series editor for this project, discusses his work on the anthologies in THIS INTERVIEW. These books are invaluable for making the more adventurous byroads of comics art accessible to the average reader--the person or persons who would blanch at the thought of entering a typical comic book shop, but who might peruse this book in the more dignified setting of a bookstore or library.

An unusual chapter from the Carter Family graphic novel was chosen for this book. "The Program is Morally Good" (pp. 79-83 in the GN) attempts to capture the atmosphere of the original Carter Family in live performance. It was one of many challenging moments in which David Lasky and I had the task of bringing the feeling of music to the silent printed (and drawn) page.

I enjoyed coloring this sequence, as it gave me several different lighting sources to influence my palette--from the pale pre-dawn that opens the chapter to the claustrophobic, humid lamplit scenes of the Carters in concert. David's atmosphere of the performance panels really brings this interlude to life.

We're just one facet of this book, which features sequences from Chris Ware's blockbuster Building Stories, Ben Katchor, Charles Burns, R. Crumb and Aline Kominsky, Adrian Tomine, Tom Hart, Ron Rege Jr., The Hernandez Brothers and many other notables. It's a great honor to be in such esteemed comics company. David and I encourage you to check out this new volume, which will give you a strong taster of what's going on in the diverse, challenging and enriching world of today's comics and graphic novels.

La Famille Carter: A French Translation of Our Graphic Novel!

THIS LINK will take you to La Pasteque's page announcing the imminent publication of their French-language version of Don't Forget This Song, our Eisner-winning graphic novel on the Carter Family!

David and I are curious how the book's rural dialects will parse into the French language. We hope this book will reach a wider audience, as people are more hep to good comics in France than they are in the U.S.

We're delighted with the news of this French version. Unfortunately, their webpage only has one very small interior page. It appears to have its dialogue in French.

I assume we'll get some copies of this edition. When that happens, we'll reproduce some pages here! More news soon...

A.P. Carter's birth anniversary / Happy holidays!

Today, December 15th, being the anniversary of the birth of Alvin Pleasant (A.P.) Carter, we felt it was a good day to reproduce the Christmas page from our book, in which A.P. is walking his children over the mountains so they can spend the holiday with their aunt and uncle, and their estranged mother, Sara...

Click on each strip to enlarge the view:

 

 

 

It's been an amazing year since the book came out.  Frank and I are grateful to everyone who's read it and come out to see us at signings and conventions and told us how much they enjoyed it.  That's meant a lot to us. 

Happy holidays!

2013 Harvey Award nomination for Best Original Graphic Novel!

We just learned that our book is nominated in the Best Graphic Album Original category for the 2013 Harvey Awards. These awards are creator-chosen, so this is a heart-warming nod from our fellow comics-makers... thanks to everyone who cast their vote for our book!

Don't Forget This Song Receives Two Eisner Award Nominations! Yahoo!

This just announced: our Carter Family graphic novel is nominated for two 2013 Eisner Awards, according to Comic Book Resources' website (click on the link to see their article.)

The book is nominated for Best Reality-Based Work (and is up against stiff competition from Ellen Forney and Carol Tyler) and for Best Writer (Frank M. Young, who shares this nomination 50/50 with co-creator David Lasky). Again, we're up against a big name--Ed Brubaker--but we're the only non-mainstream figure in that category, so who knows what'll happen?

Receiving these nominations is an enormous honor, and gives us a strong sense of "thumbs up" from our contemporaries in the comics world. Whether we win or not, this is a big deal to us--thank you so much to everyone who voted for us!

(And, since this post bumped David's recent announcement--if you are in the SF area and would like to meet David and get your book signed, please read the posting immediately below. David will be in SF on Thursday, along with legendary underground cartoonist/musician Robert Armstrong. Show your love for David, San Francisco!)

Hear David and Frank Talk About "Don't Forget This Song" with Fretboard Journal's Michael John Simmons!

You've read several interviews about our graphic novel on the Carter Family... now you can hear we two chat with Fretboard Journal's delightful Michael John Simmons about Don't Forget This Song.

Just click on the graphic below and you'll go to the webpage pictured! If you're a guitar or stringed instrument enthusiast, FJ's website (and their print magazine) are a must!

The Cash Sisters

Back in late August, Leeann and I were excited to journey down to Portland and meet two of Johnny Cash's daughters, Tara and Rosanne (and show them an advance copy of the book, which they kindly posed with)...

 

I complimented Rosanne on her heartfelt and gorgeous-sounding album, "The List," which is a selection of songs from the list of 100 essential Country songs that her father wrote for her when she was a teenager.

The occasion was a reception for Kickstarter backers of Beth Harrington's Carter Family documentary "The Winding Stream."  Rosanne spoke passionately about the Carter Family and about the importance of supporting what looks to be the definitive documentary about the Carter and Cash Families, featuring interviews with Johnny Cash, Rita Forrester, Janette Carter, Joe Carter, Mike Seger, and countless other people who figure strongly in American music.  The movie is in post-production and Beth is looking for supporters to help complete this 10+ year labor of love. Go to the Winding Stream website for details!

(Here is Beth, excited to see the book for the first time, with Leeann & me.)

So... TIME Magazine

If you subscribe to TIME Magazine, or pick it up at the newsstand, or maybe have a doctor or dentist appointment coming up...  check out the books page, and read about the Carter Family graphic novel...

I know, right?  Pretty awesome! Actually, it's really really awesome.

Thank you, TIME and Douglas Wolk!

I also want to point out to all reviewers that Frank Young did all the colors in the book, and deserves mention when you talk about the art.  This wasn't just a "this guy wrote and that guy drew it" kind of thing, it's a truly collaborative project.

Single Girl, Married Girl

Today, as pages are posted from the Bristol Sessions chapter, we come across what is maybe my favorite page in the book: Sara and Maybelle recording "Single Girl, Married Girl."

Here's a larger version...

In a separate post, I will talk about the page and show the stages of its evolution.

My Research Trip

Ten years ago, in the fall of 2002, my father and I drove from Alexandria, VA, down to Bristol VA/TN (it's right on the border).  It was something like nine hours of driving, across the state of Virginia.  It proved to be one of the best road trips I've ever taken. 

We went to the Carter Family Fold, saw and heard a great concert, and I had Janette Carter autograph a copy of her memoir, "Living with Memories."  (Thanks John Maeder, for taking this photo.)

 Near the CFF, there was a small (but concentrated) Carter Family museum, housed in the building that was once A.P. Carter's store.  We also made it to the church where the Carters' worshipped, and where A.P., Sara, and many other family members are buried.  I wanted to make comics about the Carter Family, because I had wondered where this beautiful, heartfelt music had come from, and who had made it.  It was very exciting to be in the place where they lived and worked.  I took photos.

We also visited the Birthplace of Country Music Alliance, whose museum was in the Bristol shopping mall at that time.  I'm excited to see that they are working on a Cultural Heritage Center. 
http://www.birthplaceofcountrymusic.org/

Thanks, Dad, for taking me down to Maces Spring and Bristol!

Beginning today: "The Storms Are on the Ocean" a full chapter online

Starting today, Frank and I will be posting one page a day from the longest chapter in the book, "The Storms Are on the Ocean," in which the Carter Family travels to Bristol (on the VA/TN border) to record their music for the first time. This is our way of counting down to early October and the release of the book. 

This chapter is dedicated to Dylan Williams, who died one year ago. I began drawing the chapter the day after returning from his funeral. My main thought was: 'Dylan would want me to keep on drawing.'

In this opening page, we see (my drawing of) the actual newspaper ad that was used to alert musicians in the Bristol area of the recording sessions that were being done by Victor.  These sessions would later be called "The Big Bang of Country Music." Click here for a much larger version of the page.

The Carter Family Live in Concert!

When Frank and I planned our graphic novel, we knew we definitely wanted to attempt to recreate the experience of seeing the original Carter Family play live.  Though there are some great live recordings (made on border radio), there is no film footage of Sara, Maybelle, and A.P. playing music together.  There is not even a photograph of one of their concerts!  So we devoted a whole chapter to showing one of their live gigs, from A.P. hanging promotional posters to Maybelle chatting with the local pickers afterwards.

Here we see some local men helping the group set up in a town's schoolhouse.  The stage is wood placed over barrel drums. The lighting will be provided by coal mining lamps!

On this page, the audience has arrived, the lamps are lit, and the concert begins. You can see the full chapter, of course, when the book comes out in early October...

The background art and hatching for this chapter was inked by Sean Michael Robinson. His background inking assistance was invaluable in helping Frank and I complete the book on time.  Thank you, SMR!

David Speaks-- an excerpt from Ron Austin and Louise Amandes' documentary

David Lasky Sample from AUSTINAMANDES on Vimeo.

Ron Austin and Louise Amandes just posted this preview of their documentary on Pacific Northwest cartoonists. Here, David Lasky talks about how he became a cartoonist, and about the Carter Family graphic novel project. In HD video, the studio where the latter part of the book was created looks better than it did in real life! How do they do that?

Creeping Into Reality... the book bobs up on the pop-culture radar...

Humble soul that I am, I seldom think to Google my own projects and see how they're doing out in the world. A friend of my collaborator David Lasky mentioned he'd seen a write-up of Don't Forget This Song in the Previews catalog (for non comix-nuts, this is the Sears Roebuck catalog of upcoming comics, graphic novels and assorted doo-dads).

This piqued my curiosity, and here are some results of my Googly search.

1. A flattering preview/recommendation from The Library Journal:

2. Abrams Comic Art's page for the book, including this lovely comment by Art Spiegelman...

"What a fine marriage of form and content! Humble and moving—straightforward with occasional breathtaking bravura passages—this book echoes the Carter Family's rough-hewn sounds. It tells of the lives, sorrows, and values of a lost America in short episodes like a giant stack of old 78s. Using the vocabulary of comic strips like Little Orphan Annie and Gasoline Alley, it's as obsessive in its dedication to vernacular craft and hard work as A.P. Carter himself. Frank Young and David Lasky have spun a work of visual music that will replay in your head and heart well after you've finished reading it."

see the page HERE.

3. numerous pre-order sites for the book (including Diamond Previews, the aforementioned mega-catalog)... all these listings basically use the boilerplate promotional description supplied by Abrams. It's a good description, but you'll see it all over the place over the next few months.

Indeed, the book is getting closer to release. We're supposed to get our mitts on an advance copy pretty soon. Abrams' booth at the San Diego Comic Con will have copies of the book for sale (IF the book gets back from the printers by then--a big if at this point!)

If you've seen any random web mentions of our book, please let us know! In the meantime, it's neat to see the book coming up on the horizon of the publishing/reading world...

We will showcase some sequences from the book here very soon. In the meantime, we're excited to share this news with you!
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Help Kickstart the Carter Family Graphic Novel!

David and I have launched a campaign on kickstarter.com, to help us out as we work full-time-plus to complete this elaborate full-color graphic novel! Click HERE to check out our Kickstarter campaign!

There's a five-minute video about DON'T FORGET THIS SONG and its history. It was beautifully directed, and assembled in the Blender 3D graphics program by James Gill (who is my talented improv partner on THE JIM & FRANK PODCAST, which you can sample at Jim's link above).

Thanks for taking a look--and if you can help us out, thanks times ten!

Here's another look at some of our finished full-color artwork from DON'T FORGET THIS SONG. Kickstarter "backers" will get an exclusive online look at our book over the next month.

This Kickstarter campaign ends on October 10, 2011--so be sure to visit the Kickstarter link today!