Bone - written by Jeff Smith

Jeff Smith, the author of Bone, was very funny. You can check out his site here.

When he wrote Bone, it wasn’t originally meant for children but as the twelve years went by, that it took him to write it, the kids that had been reading the comic books grew up.

He wrote the book in 55 comic books and at the time only males age 20 to 30 were interested in the story but they grew up and had kids of their own. They began reading the story to their kids and somehow that’s how it transformed into a children’s book, which Scholastic picked up and now it has been translated into 23 different languages.

Stumptown Comic Con Festival in Portland

GUEST BLOGGER: JAKE KASCH
INTERVIEWING JONAH ROSE OF DARKHORSE COMICS
What is the best part of working at Darkhorse?

Uh best part about working at Darkhorse, probably just getting to interact with people who do creative things in the business. I also often get to see things before they get done. Free comics…which is cool, getting to meet people in the business like Camilla, the opportunity to be involved in the great world of comics, especially because we have such a great scene of comics in Portland.

What are some of the more interesting or challenging things that you encounter while working in the comic industry?

Probably the hardest thing is that at any time there is 100 people just as qualified as you who want your job. Everyone wants to work in comics but at least at Darkhorse we have a good group of people who care about you there and take care of each other. Making quotas on the sales side and not just messing up in general because there are a lot of things you have to remember to do. I meant to send someone 7 books one time ended up sending them 70. They were not stoked about that.

Where do you see comic books going in the next 10 years?

I think a lot of people think that comics are going to go digital only. But that’s like when people said that the movie theaters are going to go out of business when vhs came out. There is something about ink on paper that you can’t get from staring at a screen. There is also a issue of mobility that you can’t take with you, well except for the kindle. I think comics need to go back to- children. It seems a lot of the people who read comics now are people who read comics when they were kids. There is a great market for comics aimed at adults but if we don’t have kids reading comics then there aren’t going to be people reading them as they get older.

So… Stumptown, it seems more about the self produced comics. What’s it about vs the other cons out there?

…I think that’s why I like Stumptown more than the other comic conventions that I've been to recently. Portland's comic convention is more like a flea market for comic vendors. I went to Emerald city comicon this last weekend for the first time which was really cool. It had the whole people in costumes, had celebrities there and that was really cool. I did get to meet Ben Templesmith. Really fanboy’d it out…got really nervous. I got to speak to a lot of people that I really respect, which was awesome but I mean Stumptown seems like it is filled with people who are still trying to make it and still really care about what they do…not that any of those don’t… well some of those people seem like they don’t but you know… It's such an event in Portland. There’s the before parties, the draw at Cosmic Monkey, the after parties, Chamilla had a signing at The Compound for a new art show that she’s doing. I think Floating World Comics is doing something along with that and even the Mayor declared April to be “Comics Month” in Portland because we have so much comic stuff going on.

Any parting words?

Be creative. Do something original. Stay hard(core)

(More on Stumptown Comic Fest tomorrow) Like my impressions and some great photos including more like this one of super-talent Jeff Smith (author of Scholastic's Bone)

Great Reads

In Honor of library week, a list of some great books:

The Magicians and Mrs. Quent, by Galen Beckett
Hollows Series, by Kim Harrison (starting with Dead Witch Walking)
The Temeraire Series, by Naomi Novik (starting with His Majesty's Dragon)
Quicksilver, by Neal Stephenson
This is the first book in the Baroque Cycle by sci-fi historical fiction writer Stephenson. The series serves as sort of a historical prequel, not a literal story prequel, to Cryptonomicon. It is fun to read about Isaac Newton with his contemporaries and explore the science and politics of the day.
Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
Travis McGee series, by John D. Macdonald
The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck (or anything by Steinbeck)
The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
The Yiddish Policemen's Union, by Michael Chabon
East of Eden, by John Steinbeck
Classic tale of good and evil.
The House at Riverton, by Kate Morton
Mystery set in the 1920's in England.
Three Cups of Tea, by David Relin and Greg Mortenson
One person's commitment really does make a difference. (Education)
Mountains Beyond Mountains, by Tracy Kidder
Again, one person's commitment changed public health in the world.
The Memory Keeper's Daughter, by Kim Edwards
The consequences of a split-second decision are life altering.
Sweeping Up Glass, by Carolyn D. Wall
Listed as a mystery, it is more a rich novel of an impoverished woman's life. Impossible to put down.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson
The hype was true for this one.
Still Life, by Louise Penny
In Persuasion Nation, by George Saunders
Like You'd Understand, Anyway, by Jim Shepard
The New Kings of Nonfiction, edited by Ira Glass (host of "This American Life")
Small Giants: Companies That Choose to be Great Instead of Big, by Bo Burlingham
The Monkey Wrench Gang, by Edward Abbey
Missing Links, by Rick Reilly
Days Like Floating Water: A Story of Modern China, by Susan Edwards McKee
The Guns of August, by Barbara Tuchman
Founding Brothers, by Joseph Ellis
Charlie Wilson's War, by George Crile
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling
The Blind Assassin, by Margaret Atwood
The History of Love, by Nicole Krauss
In the Time of the Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage, by Alfred Lansing
Touching the Void, by Joe Simpson
Memoirs of a Geisha, by Arthur Golden
The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
The Twilight Series, by Stephenie Meyer
Tribute, by Nora Roberts
The Beak of the Finch, by Jonathan Weiner
The River of Doubt, by Candice Millard
My Father's Notebook, by Kader Abdolah
Godmother, by Carolyn Turgeon
The Last Stand of Fox Company: A True Story of U.S. Marines in Combat, by Robert Drury
Another Day in the Frontal Lobe: A Brain Surgeon Exposes Life on the Inside, by Katrina Firlik
Snowstruck: In the Grip of Avalanches, by Jill Fredston
'Salem's Lot, by Stephen King
Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer
The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman
Me Talk Pretty One Day, by David Sedaris
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, by Joan Aiken
Oh, The Places You'll Go!, by Dr. Seuss
Suffer the Children, by John Saul
All the Oz stories, by L. Frank Baum
All of Poe's stories
Angle of Repose, by Wallace Stegner
Bridge of Sighs, by Richard Russo
The Lay of the Land, by Richard Ford

Stumptown Comic Con Festival in Portland

Mayor Sam Adams plans to declare Portland the City of Comics - at least for the month of April!

If you'd like to read more about it, check out this link.

Here's the skinny: The sixth annual Stumptown Comics Fest will be held this weekend April 18 & 19 at the Lloyd Center Doubletree Hotel.

I will have a guest blogger, post about the comic con and am hoping to have an interview with one of Dark Horse Comic's own staffers.

So stop by during the weekend to check out photos and have a little comic fun!

EARTH FRIENDLY FRIDAY

Spring is here and we've all been doing a little spring cleaning-right?...

Well, even if you haven't, and even if St. Paddy's Day has come and gone, you still have time to wear a little green, all you have to do is buy earth-friendly clothing.

Check out this site to see some cool looking clothes.

And, if it's vegan shoes you're looking for, check out this site.

What about a good bag, check them out here.

And one last tip, as your dog and cat start to shed, put those balls of fur (you find accumulating in the nooks and crannies) outside for the birds to use. They can soften their nests with a little fur from our four-legged friends. And, what a cool way to clean.

ANSWER TO THOUGHT FOR THURSDAY

ANSWER: Nolan Ryan in 1968 he struck out the Los Angeles Dodgers and in 1972 he struck out the Boston Red Sox.

BASEBALL FANS?... Thought for Thursday

The tulips are in bloom, the daffodils have blossomed and the scent of corn dogs is floating in the air - at least the oil is heating up around the dugouts and getting ready for the next BIG game. . . close your eyes and listen:

Hey batter, hey batter, hey batter, hey. . .

Almost nothing is more fun than the feel of the sun on your face on the first warm day of spring, holding a red licorice whip in one hand and a corn dog in the other.

What are we all waiting for. . . ?

That all-time American classic, baseball, apple pie and home made ice cream.

So, let's start the season with our first pitch across the plate:

QUESTION: What baseball Hall of Famer struck out the rival team (twice) using only nine pitches?

Come back around 3:00 p.m. (West Coast time) to see.