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LA Times Book Prize Finalist Spotlight – Finder: Voice by Carla Speed McNeil
The Los Angeles Times Book Prizes are a set of awards for excellence in literature held annually since 1980. They are given to books published in the United States within the previous calendar year by a living author(s). Winners receive a citation and $500 for each category. The finalists for each category were announced recently, and the Graphic Novel category, the newest to be added to the prestigious prizes, has an impressive line-up. The Comics Observer looks at each Graphic Novel finalist in the build-up to the award ceremony April 20.
Finder: Voice by Carla Speed McNeil
Carla Speed McNeil‘s latest installment in her long-running “aboriginal science-fiction” series, Finder, is the graphic novel Finder: Voice. Since 1996, McNeil has been building an intricate, fully realized world far in our future but with dribs and drabs of our modern culture. Complex social structures and classes provide a rock solid foundation to the ongoing story of the restless rogue Jaeger and the broken family he’s compelled to help. Finder: Voice focuses on Rachel Grosvenor, the eldest daughter of that family, and her journey through the dark side of town to gain acceptance into a high society clan.
McNeil has been self-publishing Finder under her own Light Speed Press since 1996, but in 2005 she shifted the serialization of the story to the web. Finder: Voice is the first book to contain previously web-only pages, and also the first new publication from McNeil’s partnership with Dark Horse Comics. The online version of the story was completed in late 2008 and won an Eisner Award for Best Webcomic. Prior to that, McNeil won two New Talent awards in 1998 (the Lulu Awards‘ Kim Yale Award for Best New Talent and Ignatz Award for Promising New Talent), and Finder won the Ignatz Award for Outstanding Series two years in a row (2004 and 2005). The black-and-white series as a whole has won tons of rave reviews (Finder: Voice was named one of the Best Comics of 2011 by Comics Alliance), praise from other creators, and has an enthusiastic following which has seemed to only grow since it became a webcomic.
But despite all of that, McNeil and her sci-fi series has only gotten limited recognition outside of the comics world. Will the LA Times Book Prize judges make the bold proclamation to the rest of the world that this is a piece of work worthy of attention? Is it good enough to represent the best in graphic novels and comics in 2011? We’ll find out April 20th.
UPDATE: Congratulations to Carla Speed McNeil for winning the 2011 LA Times Book Prize for Graphic Novel.
Comics Panels announced for LA Times Festival of Books
The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books has announced the program schedule for the event’s weekend of April 21 and 22. Most of the panels and presentations related to comics and graphic novels are front-loaded on Saturday, with some competing against each other in the early afternoon. While the scheduling congestion is unfortunate, it’s indicative of the growing star power of comics at the Festival to get such premium placement.
Highlights include a moderated conversation with Robert Kirkman, writer and co-creator of The Walking Dead comic book series, and an appearance by Jeff Kinney of Diary of a Wimpy Kid fame on the Children’s Stage. DC Entertainment will also hold a panel with co-publishers Dan Didio and Jim Lee to talk up their controversial prequel comics to the acclaimed Watchmen graphic novel, followed by a screening of the movie adaptation. Almost simultaneously there is a discussion panel called Drawing Outside the Lines, featuring acclaimed graphic novel writers and artists Joseph Lambert (I Will Bite You!), Carla Speed McNeil (Finder), and Jim Woodring (Weathercraft), a trio of unique creators who write and draw their own work on their own terms. That panel is moderated by the LA Times’ Deborah Vankin who also wrote the graphic novel Poseurs. The last event for Saturday is a panel on Mythic Stories that features writers Ed Brubaker (Criminal), Adam Mansbach (Go the F**k to Sleep, Nature of the Beast) and Douglas McGowan (Nature of the Beast), with moderator Leslie S. Klinger (The Annotated Sandman). A fourth writer is TBD. The weekend ends with two screenings of the feature-length documentary, With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story.
While admission to the Festival is free, the limited seating of indoor panels requires the necessity of tickets, which go on sale April 15 at 9:00 am. A limited number of tickets will also be for sale during the Festival at booth #463. Panel passes, which reserve 8 tickets per pass, can be purchased now for $30. Tickets for the 32nd Annual LA Times Book Prizes Ceremony, happening the Friday night before the Festival, are also now on sale for $10.
Saturday
10:30 am – Robert Kirkman in Conversation with Geoff Boucher (Panel 1121)
Ronald Tutor Campus Center
12:55 pm – Jeff Kinney, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever
Target Children’s Stage
1:00 pm – DC Entertainment Presents: Watchmen — It’s Not the End, It’s the Beginning.
A Conversation with Jim Lee and Dan Didio, moderated by Geoff Boucher
2:00 pm – Watchmen Screening
School for Cinematic Arts
1:30 pm – Graphic Novel: Drawing outside the Lines (Panel 1113)
Joseph Lambert
Carla Speed McNeil
Jim Woodring
Moderator: Deborah Vankin
Taper Hall (THH 101)
3:30 pm – Graphic Novel: Mythic Stories (Panel 1044)
Ed Brubaker
Adam Mansbach
Douglas McGowan
TBD
Moderator: Leslie S. Klinger
Salvatori Computer Science Center (SAL 101)
Sunday
11:00 am & 3:00 pm – “With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story” screening, presented by EPIX
Located in the Ray Stark Theater
School for Cinematic Arts
Los Angeles Times Festival of Books 2012 announces Graphic Novel Finalists for Book Prize
The LA Times Festival of Books is ramping up for this year’s event, one of the country’s largest free outdoor book fairs. Last week, a press release announced the finalists for the 32nd Annual Los Angeles Times Book Prizes, which are given out on the eve of the Festival. Last Friday, the Festival’s website and social media once again came to life to announce that the 17th Annual Festival of Books will be held April 21 and 22 on the campus of the University of Southern California. The Book Prizes award ceremony will be held in USC’s Bovard Auditorium on Friday night, April 20.
The LA Times Book Prizes have been awarded every year since 1980, but it wasn’t until 2009 that a graphic novel category was added. This third year of the graphic novel category has the following five finalists:
- I Will Bite You! And Other Stories by Joseph Lambert (Secret Acres Books)
- Celluloid by Dave McKean (Fantagraphics Books)
- Finder: Voice by Carla Speed McNeil (Dark Horse Comics)
- Congress of the Animals by Jim Woodring (Fantagraphics Books)
- Garden by Yuichi Yokoyama (PictureBox)
Finalists and winners of the LA Times Book Prizes are selected by a panel of three judges per genre. The panels are made up of writers who specialize in each genre. Tickets for the Book Prizes ceremony will be available for purchase at 10 a.m. Monday, March 26. Once again Geoff Boucher of the LA Times’ Hero Complex blog will be presenting the Book Prize for the Graphic Novel category. Look for more on each of the finalists here at The Comics Observer in the weeks and months leading up to the ceremony.
The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books began in 1996 and typically attracts about 140,000 people every year. Just as comics and graphic novels have been embraced by libraries and book stores over the last decade, so too has their presence increased at the Festival. This year will surely include plenty of writers, artists and other comics creators and publishers. A list of authors attending the Festival has already been posted and will be updated as more are confirmed. Already spotted are writers Cecil Castellucci (The Plain Janes and the upcoming The Year of the Beasts) and Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead), and writer/artist Jim Woodring (Congress of the Animals, Weathercraft)
Best Comics of 2011 – A List of Lists for the Listophiles
Whether published as comic books, graphic novels, manga, web comics, digital comics, or some other form of sequential art, comics published this year continues a fantastic renaissance in the art form that brings more creativity and innovation. Barely able to contain their excitement, several outlets have already released their lists for the year’s best. And since we’re now knee deep in the holiday shopping season, let’s see what has won the attention of critics and reviewers in 2011.
I’ll add to the list as more are released. Check out the artists own webpages and check out the publisher links for more info on each book. Select quotes are taken from the site/publication, visit each for more.
First, here are some Black Friday shopping guides that are still worth consulting and will no doubt influence those site’s final Best Of lists:
- San Francisco Chronicle
- The Comics Reporter
- Comic Book Resources
- GeekChicDaily
- LA Times’ Hero Complex
Also of note is the Washington Post’s Comic Riffs blog sending out an open call for nominations for this year’s Best Webcomics. Let me know if I’ve missed a Best Of list worth reading. OK, on with the lists!
Amazon.ca – Best Books of 2011: Comics & Graphic Novels (published November 28, 2011) [mostly the same as Amazon.com's list below except for 4 items]
- Habibi by Craig Thompson, published by Pantheon Graphic Novels, $35.00
- Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton, published by Drawn and Quarterly, $19.95
- Mister Wonderful by Daniel Clowes, published by Pantheon Graphic Novels, $19.95
- Pogo: The Complete Daily & Sunday Comic Strips Volume 1: Through the Wild Blue Wonder by Walt Kelly, published by Fantagraphics Books, $39.99
- Love and Rockets: New Stories Volume 4 by Los Bros Hernandez, published by Fantagraphics Books, $14.99
- Green River Killer: A True Detective Story by Jeff Jensen and Jonathan Case, published by Dark Horse Comics, $24.99
- Kill Shakespeare Volume 2: The Blast of War by Conor McCreery, Anthony Del Col and Andy Belanger, published by IDW Publishing, $19.99
- The Death-Ray by Daniel Clowes, published by Drawn and Quarterly, $19.95
- Joe the Barbarian by Grant Morrison and Sean Murphy, published by Vertigo, $29.99
- One Soul by Ray Fawkes, published by Oni Press, $24.99
Zahra's Paradise by Amir & Khalil
Publishers Weekly – Best Books 2011: Comics (published November 7, 2011)
- Zahra’s Paradise by Amir and Kahlil, published by First Second Books, $19.99
“An Iranian blogger goes missing and his family enters a hellish twilight zone of obfuscation in a story that captures the uncertainty of living under religious dogma.”
- Daytripper by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá, published by Vertigo, $19.99
- Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton, published by Drawn and Quarterly, $19.95
- The Influencing Machine: Brooke Gladstone on the Media by Brooke Gladstone and Josh Neufeld, published by W. W. Norton, $23.95
Host of NPR’s On the Media, Gladstone uses a cartoon persona to take the reader on a thoughtful and entertaining excursion through the history of the media from ancient Rome to the rise of digital technology.
- Love and Rockets: New Stories Volume 4 by Los Bros Hernandez, published by Fantagraphics Books, $14.99
- Infinite Kung Fu by Kagan McLeod, published by Top Shelf Productions, $24.95
- Finder: Voice by Carla Speed McNeil, published by Dark Horse Comics, $19.99
“In this epic work of science fiction, Rachel Grosvenor, an outcast in a world ruled by a complex network of clans, looks to find a place for herself by attempting to join a very exclusive clan.”
- Big Questions by Anders Nilsen, published by Drawn and Quarterly, $44.95
- Farm 54 by Galit Seliktar and Gilad Seliktar, published by Fanfare / Ponent Mon, $25.00
- Habibi by Craig Thompson, published by Pantheon Graphic Novels, $35.00
Habibi by Craig Thompson
Amazon.com – Best Books of 2011: Comics & Graphic Novels (published November 8, 2011)
- Habibi by Craig Thompson, published by Pantheon Graphic Novels, $35.00
“Habibi, Craig Thompson’s intricate and moving fairy tale about familial and romantic love, one’s relationship to their environment, the shared roots of Christianity and Islam, and the effects of industrial modernization, tops our list of the best Comics & Graphic Novels of 2011.”
- Mister Wonderful by Daniel Clowes, published by Pantheon Graphic Novels, $19.95
- Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton, published by Drawn and Quarterly, $19.95
- Big Questions by Anders Nilsen, published by Drawn and Quarterly, $44.95
- Pogo: The Complete Daily & Sunday Comic Strips Volume 1: Through the Wild Blue Wonder by Walt Kelly, published by Fantagraphics Books, $39.99
- Batman: The Black Mirror by Scott Snyder, Jock and Francesco Francavilla, published by DC Comics, $29.99
- Love and Rockets: New Stories Volume 4 by Los Bros Hernandez, published by Fantagraphics Books, $14.99
- King of the Flies Volume 2: The Origin of the World by Mezzo and Pirus, published by Fantagraphics Books, $18.99
- Green River Killer: A True Detective Story by Jeff Jensen and Jonathan Case, published by Dark Horse Comics, $24.99
- Daytripper by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá, published by Vertigo, $19.99
The New York Times – Holiday Gift Guide: 100 Notable Books of 2011 (published November 21, 2011)
- Big Questions by Anders Nilsen, published by Drawn and Quarterly, $44.95 (New York Times review)
“In this capacious, metaphysically inclined graphic novel, a flock of finches act out Nilsen’s unsettling comic vision about the food chain, fate and death.”
The Gender Inbalance of Comics
House of Night #1 (cover art by Jenny Frison)
The issue of gender in comics has been getting a lot of attention over the last few months. One of the recurring criticisms is the lack of female creators. The grassroots anthology Womanthology proves that there is an abundance of very talented comic book creators ready and willing to work, and that there is a very enthusiastic audience ready and willing to pay for such material. And yet most comics publishers still have a significant minority of female creators. Or in some cases, none whatsoever.
To get a better understanding, I’ve taken a look at nearly 25 comic book publishers and the products they are planning to release this November.
The only publishers that have an even split or majority of female credits are manga publishers Viz Media, Yen Press, Go Manga/Seven Seas, and Digital Manga Publishing. Publishers with a more literary or alternative focus, such as Fantagraphics and Drawn & Quarterly, have 1/3 female creators. Of the major comic book publishers, proportionally Dark Horse probably has the best female representation, but still a minority. Despite criticism leveled against DC Comics for the lack of women creators in their New 52 marketing blitz, they are not the worst of the larger publishers. Archie Comics surprisingly has only one female writer.
Jenny Frison appears to be the busiest with 7 credits, mostly for cover art, such as the image here.
What does all of this prove? Manga captured a greater female readership for a reason. It’s a lesson that the rest of comics could stand to learn, just as it was learned by the producers of the sitcom Community. Despite all of the numbers, it’s not a quota. Hitting an exact 50% or more really isn’t the goal or the point. The idea is that if you want to speak to a demographic, you hire that demographic. And it works.
This doesn’t mean that men can’t produce work that appeals to women or that they shouldn’t be hired. There are plenty of examples and reasons why that doesn’t hold water. There are enough comics (and jobs) for everyone, especially if more people are reading comics because of the increased diversity.
And of course the other lesson is that real diversity and experimentation often happens first outside of structured publishers. That’s why there are so many fantastic female creators making web-comics with varying levels of financial success. The establishment will eventually catch up.
For a great look at how the industry got to this disparity, see this excellent Comics Alliance article. And for some great solutions, read Shaenon K. Garrity’s column at Comixology.
Click through if you want all of the nitty-gritty numbers. Corrections welcome. Read the rest of this entry
