Sunday, November 11, 2012

NW Tour Recap: Portland!

On October 25, Frank and I gave a reading and signed copies of our book at the world's greatest little store, Reading Frenzy, in Portland, Oregon.

 
(photo by Corin See)

We had a great turn-out, Reading Frenzy sold all its copies, and I even sold the five I'd brought along with me. Thank you, Portland Comics Scene for representing!  It was great to see old friends, and meet some new old friends. 


During the Q&A, someone asked how long the project took.  We explained that it all began in 2002, when our friend Ilse was playing recorded music to her baby, in-utero.  She played a CD of hillbilly music, and suggested to me that some of those old hillbilly musicians might have some good stories.  That got the ball rolling toward me asking Frank if he knew anything about The Carter Family.  I was able to point to the back of the room and tell everyone that Ilse's baby is now a ten year-old boy...

(Thank you, Gary and Arlo, for coming to see us!)

It was especially nice to have Beth Harrington present.  We showed a clip from her Carter Family documentary-in-progress, "The Winding Stream."  She was kind enough to sing Carter Family songs, a capella, during our reading of the Bristol Sessions chapter.  She's been a wonderful supporter of our book, and we can't wait to see her film!!

(Beth and husband Andy)

Thank you, Chloe and the staff of Reading Frenzy for fantastic event!!! 
All of my photos from the reading are posted here.

How do you read "The Carter Family"?...

Starting today, we invite you, the reader, to send us a photo of yourself reading "The Carter Family: Don't Forget This Song." 

Filmmaker Ron Austin read his copy while on vacation, in an easy chair next to a fire...

 
Thank you, Ron, for allowing us to re-post your photo!  This is also a good moment to point out that Ron is at work (with Louise Amandes) on a documentary about cartoonists in the Pacific Northwest that includes footage of me (David Lasky) at work on a page from the Carter Family graphic novel!  It's called "Bezango, WA."  Learn more, and possibly support completion of the film, at its Kickstarter page... 



(At the $90 level, the thank you gift is a Carter Family giclee print by yours truly.)

Where to find "The Carter Family: Don't Forget This Song"

In San Francisco, it has been spotted at (the historic) City Lights Books!


(thank you, Haley Stocking, for the photo!)

Thursday, November 8, 2012

CBR Robot 6

A thoughtful piece about portraying sound in comics, and some of the visual expressions of music in "Carter Family" was just posted to Comic Book Resources.

The Forward

Paul Buhle reviews "CARTER FAMILY: DON'T FORGET THIS SONG" for The Jewish Daily Forward!
http://blogs.forward.com/the-arty-semite/165015/comic-books-and-country-music/

More nice mentions

Frank and I used to work for Fantagraphics (at different times, and in different jobs).  They had us sign at their store recently (photos coming soon), and posted a very sweet mention on their blog (thank you, Janice!)...

Old time music afficianado Byron Marshall wrote a really nice review on the Cartoon Simple blog...