CITY POINT EXHIBITION

This past weekend, I wad tipped off to the fact that there is an exhibition of my work in Albee Square, in downtown Brooklyn. The photos are all a part of a campaign I worked on during the spring of 2011 with the award-winning branding agency, Co-Op. The project was to brand the soon-to-be developed City Point, a high-end mall in downtown Brooklyn.

The concept of the campaign was to cast real Brooklynites to represent the future shopper at the mall, and to shoot them in real Brooklyn locations. The project was right up my alley, since I co-authored the book, The Brooklynites, where I photographed over 300 real, live Brookynites, and having worked on several Brooklyn-centric projects over the years, I can confidently refer to myself as an “expert” on the borough where I was born, raised and proudly reside.

After several rounds of casting, the subjects were narrowed down to 24, including; singer/songwriter Maya Azucena, poets Caits Meissner and Tishon Woodcock, stylist Belinda Martin, DJ Jason Jinx and many, many more great subjects including some old friends and even my god-daughter.

I love that my photos are being exhibited in a very public space in Brooklyn. I’ve long believed art should be available to everyone--every man and woman on the street--and this display does just that.

If you happen to be in downtown Brooklyn, please have a look at my work in Albee Square, at the edge of the Fulton Mall, on Decalb Avenue, just off Faltbush Avenue.

Get a closer look at the photos here.

Jay Leno - Hollywood Reporter

I'm proud to have my photo of Jay Leno grace the cover of the current issue of The Hollywood Reporter.  I made this photo about 6 years ago, and I say "made" because I consider it a "photo-illustration.  Yes, I took the photo, but the photo I took does not exactly resemble the final product.  I initially photographed him in very ordinary surroundings, and the concept of the final image was something I dreamed up.  It's been on my website for years, but it's never been published, until now.  I always knew there would be a place for this image I created, but I never knew where.  So, the fact that it ended up on the cover of The Hollywood Reporter feels very satisfying.

FOREVER DUSTY: A FOTOCOMIX EXPERIENCE

Just a quick note to draw your attention to a cool new project I just completed.  I teamed up with writer Jonathan Vankin to make a photocomic out of a "deleted scene" from FOREVER DUSTY, the new musical theater production about the life of Dusty Springfield, which he co-wrote with Kirsten Holly Smith (who also stars and sings 20 of Dusty's best tunes).  We photographed Kirsten and the cast of the show acting acting out Jonathan's script, and with cartoonist's Dean Haspiel's help, we laid it out into a photocomic.  See it now at TRIP CITY and please go see the fantastic stage production here in NYC. 

FOREVER DUSTY: A FOTOCOMIX EXPERIENCE

Written by Jonathan Vankin, Imagery by Seth Kushner, Layouts by Dean Haspiel
Starring Kirsten Holly Smith, Christina Sajous, Ashley Betton & Michael Thomas Murray
FOREVER DUSTY is a 90-minute musical packed with 20 of Dusty’s most memorable songs including “Son of a Preacher Man,” “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me,” “The Look of Love” and others that still resonate today. The show tells the story of how a shy, awkward Irish-Catholic schoolgirl named Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O’Brien transformed herself into the first great female superstar of the rock and roll era. Without Dusty slashing a path through the music biz jungle, there would be no trail for Adele, Lady Gaga or even Madonna to follow.

Dusty’s journey was never easy. She not only took on the male-dominated pop music establishment, she faced down the apartheid government of South Africa by refusing to perform for segregated crowds until the authorities arrested and held  her for three days. She put her reputation the line by conceiving and hosting the first Motown TV special in the UK, at a time when soul and R&B were taboo forms of music by the powers-that-be. And later, she was the first major celebrity to “come out” about her sexuality.

But her greatest struggles were always against herself.

Read it here> http://welcometotripcity.com/2013/03/forever-dusty-a-fotocomix-experience/

FOREVER DUSTY runs through April 7 at New World Stages, 340 W. 50th St. For a special TRIP CITY discount, use the code FDHVOLT12 at BroadwayOffers.com

In addition to co-writing the book for FOREVER DUSTY, Jonathan Vankin has written numerous comics and graphic novels for DC, Vertigo, Image, IDW and others. He is also the co-author of the popular GREATEST  CONSPIRACIES book franchise.

See more of Seth Kushner's Fotocomix in his new independently-produced and self-published FORCE FIELD FOTOCOMIX VOL.01

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN project

I was recently contacted by the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership to work on their latest campaign advertising my home borough, Brooklyn.  I've worked with them previously, two years ago, and I was happy they thought of me again.  

The assignment was to photograph the owners of two companies who recently moved their offices to Brooklyn.  I was excited when I heard one of the subjects would be of Bre Pettis of Makerbot, (above) since I've long been interested in his company and I've wanted to photograph him.  When I arrived, I knew the beautifully designed space and stunning view of Manhattan would work well.  The item on the left is Makerbot's amazing 3D printer, which we of course had to incorporate into the shot.

The second shot of Bob Blumberg, of Blumberg (below) proved to be a bit of a challenge because his space was still under construction.  We decided to shoot by a window to showcase the view and downplay all the exposed ceiling, beams and rubble.  I also cleaned up the surrounding a bit in post.

Thanks to Vivian Liao and Luis Gutierrez from Downtown Brooklyn Partnership for being such hands-on clients and to Katie and Kristy of K2 Creative Management for all their help with arranging the shoot.

FORCE FIELD FOTOCOMIX Vol. 1

I’m very excited to announce my brand new independently-produced, creator-owned project, FORCE FIELD FOTOCOMIX Vol. 1.  It’s a deluxe, oversized book, 8.5×11, 32pp on heavy stock matte paper, limited edition of 300 copies.   This was designed to be a unique art object, and something that could only exist in print.

My “Photocomix” have roots in the Fumetti on Europe, the Fotonovelas of Latin America and in Harvey Kurtzman’s “Help” and Robert Crumb’s “Weirdo” in the US, as well as the “Photo Sequences” of artist/photographer Duane Michaels.

I first cut my teeth on this format with my long-running online profile series CulturePOP Photocomix, and now I’ve turned my attention to telling fictional stories told in a unique and cinematic style, using photographic imagery and the language of comic books/graphic novels.

FORCE FIELD FOTOCOMIX Vol. 1 is an anthology of five short stories, all photographed by me. The book features:

COSTUMED CHARACTERS in ‘The Hall Of Just Us.”
Written by Kushner and Dean Haspiel
Featuring Katelan Foisy, Christopher Irving, Ron Scalzo and Haspiel
A comic book superhero parody with two low-rent male heroes, Fission and Duplicato, vying for the attention of The Tarot, who’s super-powered cards help her decided which costumed character to go home with.
4 pages.

SPIDERS EVERYWHERE!!
Written by Chris Miskiewicz
Featuring Cat Cabral, David Blatt and Miskiewicz
A horror tale of a young woman terrorized by an outbreak of millions of creepy crawling spiders.
6 pages.

UNDERSTANDING PHOTOCOMIX
Written by Seth Kushner
Kushner’s memoir of how he first discovered comics and photography and how he came to meld his two loves into the photocomic format. Featuring a plethora of work from Kushner’s career, including photos of; Michael Moore, Jonathan Ames, Moby, Marc Maron, Harvey Pekar, Neil Gaiman, Martin Laundau, Woody Harrelson, Jena Maone, Miranda July and more.
8 pages.

COMPLEX: Luv_Underscores_You
Written by Kushner, Chris Miskiewicz and Dean Haspiel
Featuring Katelan Foisy and Miskiewicz
A sci-fi drama about a reporter and a superstar DJ where everything is not what is seems.
4 pages.

THE PERFECT WOMAN
Written by Kushner
Featuring Darlene Elkanick and Christopher Irving
A noir tale of one man’s obsession over “The Perfect Woman.”
6 pages.

UNDERSTANDING PHOTOCOMIX originally appeared in the July/August 2012 issue of American Photo Magazine and COMPLEX originally appeared in Creator Owned Heroes #7 from Image Comics. All other stories are making their print debut in this book.
FORCE FIELD FOTOCOMIX Vol. 1 is available for $10 now at Etsy.

Mayor Ed Koch R.I.P.

As a child growing up in NYC during the 1980s, it's hard not to think of Ed Koch as a celebrity.  He was a staple of the 5 o'clock new that played on a 13" TV during my family's weekday dinners.  I remember being at a community board meeting with my parents when I was around 7 or 8 years old and Mayor Koch spoke.  I sat and drew a portrait of him from my seat and ran up and handed it him on his way out and he thanked me.

I took the above warts-and-all portrait in 2008 for a project I was working on for the non-for-profit organization, CAMBA.  I only had a few minutes with him in his Midtown Manhattan office, so I hardly got to know him, but I found him engaging and affable.

Mayor Ed Koch was more then just the Mayor, he was a true New York character.

Reviews for COMPLEX

[The opening to COMPLEX “Luv_Underscore’s_U”]

Writer, inker, publisher, Jimmy Palmiotti invited me and the other curators of TRIP CITY, Chris Miskiewicz, Jeffrey Burandt and Dean Haspiel to contribute to the comics anthology magazine, CREATOR OWNED HEROES #7. COH7 boasts great talent, comix, essays and profiles by Steve Niles, Justin Gray, Darwyn Cooke, Dave Stewart, Scott Morse, Jimmy Palmiotti, Paul Mounts, Jerry Lando, Chris Irving, Steve Bunche, Bill Tortolini + a brand new LEAPING TALL BUILDINGS: INDEPENDENT SPIRITS profile on Evan Dorkin by Christopher Irving and me. 

[Actors Katelan Foisy and Chris Miskiewicz]

 My comics contribution to the magazine is COMPLEX, a photocomic I've been quietly working on developing in my spare time with Chris Miskiewicz and Dean Haspiel.  It's four lost souls orbiting each others lives in an attempt to make a connection that matters before the end of the world.  It's an ambitious project--nearly 200 pages all to be shot like a movie.  I previewed it this past summer with one image in the American Photo photocomix profile on me.  Wanting to experiment further before committing to the long project, I decided we should write and produce a short prologue, which we did the past summer and it ran in Creator Owned Heroes #7 and was met with glowing reviews.

[Me posing with my first actual "officially" published comics work]

  Check out what some of the critics had to say about COMPLEX: Luv_Underscores_U:

“Complex” is the name of the overarching work, while this particular segment is called “Luv_Underscore’s_U”. Both of those names are appropriate for the story, but “Complex” especially.
“Complex” is hard to pin down, Foisy is Jasmine Bendory, a reporter assigned to interview VJ Quid, a VJ who appears to play floating computer image music things. VJ stood for “Video Jockey” in the halcyon days of Downtown Julie Brown, but it doesn’t seem that VJ Quid is standing in front of a camera shouting about Billy Idol, so it probably means something else in this context. It’s a sci-fi comic though at the same time I feel like the ideas being talked about in “Complex” are probably a lot closer to reality than I’m aware of since I barely spend any amount of time in reality as it is and when I am present I’m not looking up tech enhancements. I’m usually just picking up my Wednesday haul at Comics and More.
“Complex” flits through genres, as quickly as it moves, making you wonder if this is actually a science fiction story, or an erotic one, or a fame parable or a character study. It’s all of those things and it accomplishes them in a very small amount of time, and though the work itself is short you can tell that a lot of work and love went into it. It’s a comic that challenges your perceptions not only of the high minded ideas being bandied about, but also your perceptions of what comics should look like. Photocomix are not an easy sell and it’s because it’s so difficult to get them right, to avoid making something that looks like it was thrown together for Wizard Magazine (RIP) filler. You need to have models who can capture the range of emotions demanded by the authors without appearing to be trying too hard and Foisy and Miskiewicz nail it effortlessly. An enticing introduction to a story I hope to see more of soon.

Louie Falcetti, Bleeding Cool

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2012/12/09/review-creator-owned-heroes-7/


Photo-comic COMPLEX: “Luv_Underscore’s_U” by Seth Kushner, Chris Miskiewicz, and Dean Haspiel reminds us that the comics medium is expansive, varied, and should never feel too comfortable. Katelan Foisy and Miskiewicz star in this futuristic psychological landscape where the solid realities of the photo images help readers keep a grip on the otherwise shifting definitions of reality in the narrative. There’s a subtle ambiguity in the nature and future of technology, it’s use and misuse to contribute to human experience, and on the whole the photo-comic not only tells the reader but shows the reader the spell-like suspension of disbelief comics, in the right hands, are still capable of creating.

Hannah Means-Shannon, The Beat

http://comicsbeat.com/creator-owned-heroes-7-a-penultimate-review/


I’m not going to describe this story because words aren’t enough.  You have to pick up this book to see for yourself this compelling, thought-provoking, innovative short.

Julius Freeman, One Geek Nation

http://www.onegeeknation.com/2012/12/04/review-creator-owned-heroes-7/

Look for announcements regarding the future of COMPLEX soon.

[Katelan Foisy poses with the published comic, photo by Katelan]

Ravi Shankar RIP

I was saddened to hear of the loss of Ravi Shankar.  I photographed him back in 1998 for Newsweek magazine.  I barely knew who he was, but I diligently did my research and I learned about how he was India's best known musician and a master of the sitar and about his connection with George Harrison and The Beetles.

I took his portrait in a midtown Manhattan hotel room.  He was here on tour with his daughter Anoushka and I shot photos of them together too and with their sitars.  This was back before digital and unfortunately, the above photo is the only one I had scanned.

I was only about a year into my photography career and I remember Ravi Shankar to have been a kind and patient subject.  I am happy to have captured his fascinating and wizened face and proud to have this iconic figure as part of my body of work.

LEAPING TALL BUILDINGS @ NY COMIC-CON

powerHouse Books is pleased to announce

THE ORIGINS OFLEAPING TALL BUILDINGS
FINDING NEW WAYS TO DOCUMENT THE CREATORS BEHIND THE COMICS
FEATURING CHRISTOPHER IRVING, SETH KUSHNER, & ERIC SKILLMAN

Hosted at this year's
2012 NEW YORK COMIC CON
Thursday, October 11, 4:00PM - 5:00PM
Javitz Center, NYCC Comics Studies Conference 6, Location: 1A07

Hannah Means-Shannon (Georgian Court University) leads a discussion with the creators of Leaping Tall Buildings: The Origins of American Comics writer Christopher Irving, photographer Seth Kushner, and designer Eric Skillman on the strategies they developed to create this unique and significant book on American comics for everyone, from casual reader to scholar. For more infomation visit the New York Comic Con website here.

Leaping Tall Buildings: The Origins of American Comics outlines the history of comic books through the creators, documented in Irving's interview-based essays and Kushner's photography. The Wall Street Journal calls Leaping Tall Buildings "a living history," while The New York Times considers it "a great survey of many of the talented men and women behind the characters." Publisher's Weekly calls it "nearly as epic as the field's history itself," while Huffington Post refers to Kushner's photography as "remarkable."

Christopher Irving is a pop culture historian with a concentration in the American comic book. A veteran of comics history and journalism magazines like Comics Buyers Guide and multiple Eisner Award-winning Comic Book Artist (where he served as Associate Editor), Irving combines new journalism with comics history to create personality essays on comic book creators. Leaping Tall Buildings is Irving's fifth book on comic books. Irving currently edits digital comics magazine The Drawn Word. www.thedrawnword.com

Seth Kushner's portrait photography has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Time, Newsweek, L'Uomo Vogue, The New Yorker and others. He is a three-time winner in Photo District News magazine's Photo Annual Competition. Seth's first book, The Brooklynites, (with Anthony LaSala) was published by powerHouse Books in 2007. Currently, Seth is profiling real-life characters in his series CulturePOP Photocomix and writing Schmuck, his semi-autobio "comix neurotica", both at TripCity.net, a Brooklyn-filtered literary arts salon, which he co-founded and co-curates. www.SethKushner.com

 

Eric Skillman is a graphic designer and art director best known for his work with The Criterion Collection and the (infrequently updated) design process blog, Cozy Lummox (ericskillman.blogspot.com). He also writes comics: his debut graphic novel, LIAR'S KISS, with artist Jhomar Soriano, was published by Top Shelf in 2011. Upcoming projects include the digital anthology series EGG: HARD BOILED STORIES, and SUCKERS, with artist Jorge Coelho, which will be launching soon at Trip City. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and newborn daughter.

For more information about Leaping Tall Buildings: The Origins of American Comics please click here. Or visit the Graphic NYC page here.

For more information, please contact Nina Ventura, Publicist
powerHouse Books, 37 Main Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Tel: 212-604-9074 x118, Fax: 212-366-5247, email: nina@powerHouseBooks.com

© Copyright 2012 powerHouse Books

SETH KUSHNER'S UNDERSTANDING PHOTOCOMIX

Last spring, I was asked by American Photo magazine to to produce an 8-page meta “photocomic” about myself making photocomix, something I’ve been doing in my “spare” time for the past two-years as the series, CulturePOP Photocomix, where I've profiled such fascinating subjects as; Chuck Klosterman, Moby, Jonathan Ames, Stoya, Reggie Watts, Marc Maron and others.

I decided to title the piece “Understanding Photocomix" (a nod to Scott McCloud) and I used my own words and photos to tell the story of how I first discovered photography, first started working freelance for magazines, how I produced my book The Brooklynites (with Anthony LaSala), how Leaping Tall Buildings came about, and how I learned to combine my loves of comic books and photography into a wholly unique form. I had only a week to put it all together, and it was amazingly challenging, but I am proud of the results which ran in the July/August issue of American Photo Magazine.

Please have a look at the piece, which not only acts as a discussion of a form, but also serves as a "highlight reel" of my career.  View it here:

Seth Kushner's UNDERSTANDING PHOTOCOMIX

WALTER SIMONSON @ JIM HANLEY'S UNIVERSE

Join us on Wednesday, September 19th at 6PM at Jim Hanley's Universe Manhattan location for Comic Book Legend Walt Simonson, in a panel discussion hosted by Leaping Tall Buildings writer Christopher Irving, followed by a signing. Walt will be promoting his new DC Comics original Graphic Novel The Judas Coin,  a time tossed tale of how one of the coins paid to Judas to betray Jesus had a lasting effect in shaping the DC Universe.

Please note that in order to participate in the signing, customers must purchase at least one of the following books between 9/12/12 and 9/19/12:

Avengers 27, Avengers 28, Avengers 29, Avengers 30, Alien:TPB: The Illustrated Story, The Judas Coin, or any selection from the JHU Exclusive 'Walt Simonson Classics Grab bag' (*See Front Counter for details*).

Jim Hanley's Universe

4 West 33rd Stree, NYC
September 19th, 6PM

Facebook event page

Baltimore Comicon

I'll be at Baltimore Comicon next weekend sharing a table with Dean Haspiel, Joe Infurnari and Reilly Brown.  We will have a bunch of cool stuff for sale, including;

 Seth Kushner will be selling and signing copies of his book, LEAPING TALL BUILDINGS: The Origins of American Comics, limited edition LTB prints by me, Peter Kuper, and Becky Cloonan, to benefit the CBLDF [Comic Book Legal Defense Fund], CulturePOP Photocomix limited edition book collecting four installments of Seth Kushner's web series featuring; bootleg toy designer Sucklord, aerialist Lisa Natoli, Bronx Flavor TV host Barron Ambrosia and graffiti artist/sculptor Carlos 'Mare 139' Rodriguez, and debut his very first mini-comic, SCHMUCK: Bush, Boobs, + Brooklyn Edition, collecting two episodes of Seth Kushner's autobio "comix neurotica" drawn by Ryan Alexander-Tanner and Pierce Hargan. 

The Last Romantic Antihero By Dean Haspiel Color / 24-pages Ten Dollars [$10] While living through a modern apocalypse sparked by apathy and indifference, love titans Billy Dogma and Jane Legit are sent a message from the future and learn they have to “make the new love.” “Pekar meets Tarkovsky” – Douglas Rushkoff “Masterful cartoons from comics’ greatest epic-poet” – Nick Bertozzi BALTIMORE COMICON, Sept 8th - 9th http://baltimorecomiccon.com/ In Baltimore, I will be sharing my table with Seth Kushner, Joe Infurnari, and Reilly Brown, and I will be presenting at The Harvey Awards. Joe Infurnari will be selling and signing copies of Marathon [written by Boaz Yakin], and MUSH! Sled Dogs with Issues [written by Glenn Eichler], and will have advance copies of TIME F#CKER. 

 
Time F#cker By Joe Infurnari In the Oven Press $8 Regular (Limited to 200 copies) $15 Deluxe Edition (Limited to 100 copies) incl. limited edition 1.25" button and original sketch! Sal Ghesboro has just found Thomas Edison’s Peepshow Time Machine and he knows exactly what he’s going to do with it. He’s going back in time to impregnate the moms of his greatest detractors before they were born; Time F#cking them out of existence. And who is his first victim? His very own brother, of course!

 
Reilly Brown will be selling prints, sketches, and SKETCHES, THE ART OF REILLY BROWN: Volume One, while hawking his digital comix; Power Play, and AvX Infinite, and holding up the fort drawing commissions.

Plus, we'll have copies of the TRIP CITY Visitor's Guide 2012.  See you there!

LEAPING TALL BUILDINGS @ MIDTOWN COMICS

It’s the Midtown Comics Book Club! Join us for Midtown's monthly Graphic Novel book club at their Downtown store. This month’s book will be Leaping Tall Buildings The Origin of American Comics, and the creators Christopher Irving and Seth Kushner along with designer Eric Skillman will be there to discuss the book with the club! If that’s not enough to entice, free donuts will be served!

Don’t have the book yet? Save 25% off cover price at any of our three stores (in-store only). Just mention the Midtown Comics Book Club at the cash register! The Book Club will meet on Friday August 31st at 6:30PM at Midtown Comics Downtown. SEATS ARE VERY LIMITED!

RSVP ON FACEBOOK HERE!
 See you there!

August 31, 2012 @ 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Midtown Comics Downtown
64 Fulton St New York, NY 10038 

Leaping Tall Buildings: The Origins of American Comics outlines the history of comic books through the creators, documented in Irving’s interview-based essays and Kushner’s photography. The Wall Street Journal calls Leaping Tall Buildings ”a living history,” while The New York Times considers it “a great survey of many of the talented men and women behind the characters.” Publisher’s Weekly calls it “nearly as epic as the field’s history itself,” while Huffington Post refers to Kushner’s photography as “remarkable.”

LEAPING TALL BUILDINGS @ Greenlight Bookstore this Thursday

CulturePOP Photocomix: STOYA

My web series CulturePOP Photocomix is back with new episodes at TripCity.net, the Brooklyn-filtered literary arts salon.

This all-new episode profiles pornstar STOYA.  The profile, titled "No Secrets" focuses on Stoya's use of social media to dispel myths about pornography and women's body image, her philosophy on working in porn and much more.  On all topics, Stoya is brutally honest.

See it here - STOYA: NO SECRETS
http://welcometotripcity.com/2012/08/culturepop-stoya/

As an added bonus, be sure to listen to my candid 30-minute audio interview with Stoya, embedded below the profile.

Also, please view remastered versions of all 31 episodes of CulturePOP, including recent installments; JONATHAN AMES: BROOKLYN PHALLACY, MARK MARON: FUNNY FOR HAPPY,  MOBY: MOVING ON,  JAMES HASPIEL: THE ONE AND ONLY and CHUCK KLOSTERMAN: WRITING WITH YOUR MIND at TRIP CITY.
http://bit.ly/CulturePOPphotocomix

CulturePOP PHOTOCOMIX: STOYA

LEAPING TALL BUILDING AT JIM HANLEY'S UNIVERSE

On Wednesday July 25th at 6PM, Jim Hanley's Universe hosts LEAPING TALL BUILDINGS: THE ORIGINS OF AMERICAN COMICS authors Christopher Irving and Seth Kushner, plus an assembly of top notch comic book creators who are featured in the book; Chris Claremont (X-Men) Larry Hama (G.I. Joe), Dean Haspiel (TRIP CITY), Kevin Colden (The Crow), Joe Infunari (Marathon), Simon Fraser (Nikolai Dante) and  Matt Madden (Mastering Comics).

There will be a panel with all the aforementioned creators as well as a book signing where creators will be signing Leaping as well as their own works.

Jim Hanley's Universe
July 25th at 6PM
4 West 33rd Street
New York, New York 10001

Visit the Facebook event page

Leaping Tall Buildings: The Origins Of American Comics, a love letter to the comic book industry, tells the  history of comics through 50 creator profiles including; Art Spiegelman, Al Jaffee, Dean Haspiel, Chris Ware, Denny O’Neil, Becky Cloonan, Brian Micahel Bendis, Josh Neufeld, Joe Simon, Jessica Abel, Frank Miller, Gene Colan, Grant Morrison, Harvey Pekar, Jill Thompson, Jimmy Palmiotti, Larry Hama, Michael Kupperman, Mike Allred, Neal Adams, Neil Gaiman, Paul Pope and many more.

The book has been garnering strong reviews:

Publisher’s Weekly posted a nice interview / article and of the book says, “A new book about the comics industry is nearly as epic as the field’s history itself.”

Flavorwire says of Leaping: “You may think you know the men and women behind your favorite superheroes, but of course, there’s yet another man behind Clark Kent — his creator.”

Wired.com featured Leaping Tall Buildings, along with interviews with Kushner and Irving and a gallery of images from the book by Kushner, and noted that “Leaping Tall Buildings: The Origins of American Comics gives the writers and artists who create them a chance to shine.”

Huffington Post featured a gallery of Kushner’s photos and says, “A major part of the book is the art of photographer Seth Kushner, who has captured remarkable images of some of the biggest living names in comics.”

The New York Times calls the book “a great survey of many of the talented men and women behind the characters.”

The Wall Street Journal refers to Leaping as “a collection of brief and beautifully illustrated profiles of comic-book artists.”

Be sure to preview some of the Kushner’s photos from the book at Photo District News’s Photo of the Day gallery, Real Life Comic Book Heroes.

Listen to Seth Kushner (along with Dean Haspiel) on John Siuntres’s Word Balloon Podcast.

Read an interview with Seth Kushner at SciFiPulse.

NEAL ADAMS & DENNY O’NEIL IN CONVERSATION AT HOUSING WORKS, NYC

powerHouse Books is pleased to announce
LEAPING TALL BUILDINGS
NEAL ADAMS & DENNIS O'NEIL IN CONVERSATION
Housing Works Bookstore Cafe 126 Crosby Street, New York, NY 10012

The legendary creative team of artist Neal Adams and writer Dennis O'Neil reunites for a special panel on "Social Relevance in Comics" at Housing Works Bookstore on July 17th, moderated by Christopher Irving, writer of Leaping Tall Buildings: The Origins of American Comics (powerHouse Books). Leaping Tall Buildings gives a historical survey of the comic book medium through photographer Seth Kushner's unique portraits and Irving's interview-based essays. The pair are celebrating the book's release through this benefit panel at Housing Works.

"Through their revolutionary work on both Batman and Green Lantern/Green Arrow, Adams and O'Neil literally redefined the superhero, pushing the genre into wider social acceptance and more mature themes," Irving, a Housing Works member, says. "When you think of what they each did on their own, and then look at their combined efforts, it's mind-blowing. Getting to moderate the two of them together is beyond an honor for me--it's a once in a lifetime opportunity."

"When thinking about who to feature at an event for Housing Works, Adams and O'Neil immediately sprung to mind," says Kushner. "Their Green Lantern/Green Arrow work broke new ground in social consciousness in comics and we're thrilled to be reuniting them for so great a cause."

The panel will cover the use of social relevance in the O'Neil/Adams issues of Green Lantern/Green Arrow from the early 1970s and will also touch on their milestone work on the Batman comics during that time. Their Batman run redefined the character for the post-television generations by restoring the character's status as "The Dark Knight," while their GL/GA run brought mainstream media attention to the then-underappreciated superhero genre.

Neal Adams brought an unprecedented sense of realism to superhero art in the 1960s. His work on X-Men, as well as his dynamic cover and interior art for DC Comics, redefined the look and dynamism of the superhero genre for generations. Currently writing and drawing the limited series Batman: Odyssey, Adams is gearing up for The First X-Men, a mini-series that he will be drawing and co-writing with Christos Gage.

Dennis O'Neil continued to bring a real world gravitas to superheros through subsequent decades, with stints as writer and then editor of Daredevil at Marvel Comics (where he edited Frank Miller's iconic run). O'Neil returned to DC Comics in the 1980s as editor of the Batman titles where he masterminded the creation of Batman villian Bane, who serves as the villian in this month's film The Dark Knight Rises.

Housing Works is a New York City based non-profit organization that provides support to victims of HIV/AIDS and works to end the dual crises of AIDS and homelessness through relentless advocacy, the provision of lifesaving services, and entrepreneurial businesses that sustain our efforts.

Leaping Tall Buildings: The Origins of American Comics outlines the history of comic books through the creators, documented in Irving's interview-based essays and Kushner's photography. The Wall Street Journal calls Leaping Tall Buildings "a living history," while The New York Times considers it "a great survey of many of the talented men and women behind the characters." Publisher's Weekly calls it "nearly as epic as the field's history itself," while Huffington Post refers to Kushner's photography as "remarkable."

For more information about Leaping Tall Buildings: The Origins of American Comics please click here.

Read the GRAPHIC NYC profiles on Neal Adams here and Dennis O'Neil here, by Christopher Irving and Seth Kushner, a version of which appears in their book, Leaping Tall Buildings: The Origins of American Comics.

Read the GRAPHIC NYC profiles on Neal Adams and Dennis O'Neil, by Christopher Irving and Seth Kushner, a version of which appears in their book, Leaping Tall Buildings: The Origins of American Comics.

For more information, please contact Nina Ventura, Publicist
powerHouse Books, 37 Main Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Tel: 212-604-9074 x118, Fax: 212-366-5247, email: nina@powerHouseBooks.com

© Copyright 2012 powerHouse Books

ERNEST BORGNINE R.I.P.

I had the honor of briefly meeting and photographing Ernest Borgnine last year.  He struck me as a sweet and gentle man.  As a child I knew him from Disney's The Black Hole, and as an adult I marveled at his iconic performance as the lovable loser in Marty. Watching the film last year I was amazed at his naturalistic performance as a real New York character.  He hardly seemed to be acting, but instead inhabiting this guy from the Bronx who was looking for love.

Ernest Borgnine was one of the greats.

UNDERSTANDING PHOTOCOMIX IN AMERICAN PHOTO MAGAZINE

I was asked by American Photo magazine to to produce an 8-page meta "photocomic" about myself making photocomix, something I've been doing in my "spare" time for the past two years as the series, CulturePOP Photocomix.  I decided to title the piece "Understanding Photocomix (a nod to Scott McCloud).  I managed to use words and photos to tell the story of how I first discovered photography, first started working freelance for magazine, how I produced my book The Brooklynites (with Anthony LaSala), how Leaping Tall Buildings came about,  and how I learned to combine my loves of comic books and photography into a wholly unique form.

I had only a week to put it all together, and it was amazingly challenging, but I am proud of the results which can be seen at magazine stands and bookstores now

CulturePOP Photocomix: Chuck Klosterman

CulturePOP Photocomix is back with a new episode at TRIPCITY.net, the Brooklyn-filtered literary arts salon.

This all-new episode profiles CHUCK KLOSTERMAN, author of The Visible Man, Killing Yourself To Live, Fargo Rock City, Sex, Drugs And Cocoa Puffs and others.  The profile, titled "Writing With Your Mind" focuses on Klosterman's philosophy and style of writing.

See it here - CHUCK KLOSTERMAN: WRITING WITH YOUR MIND

The text comes from quotes taken from Ron Scalzo's interview with Klosterman for the TRIP CITY Podcast, which debuts today as well, and can be heard here - TRIP CITY PODCAST 16: CHUCK KLOSTERMAN

Also, please be sure to view remastered versions of all 30 episodes of CulturePOP, including recent the installments JONATHAN AMES: BROOKLYN PHALLACY,  MARK MARON: FUNNY FOR HAPPY, JAMES HASPIEL: THE ONE AND ONLY and MOBY: MOVING ON at TRIP CITY-
http://bit.ly/CulturePOPphotocomix
 

PDN PHOTO ANNUAL 2012

 

I was chosen as a winner in the 2012 PDN Photo Annual in the websites category for my portrait of writer/director/actress Miranda July. I'd been selected twice previous, in 2001 and 2006, and it's always a great feeling to be recognized for my work.

The photo was shot for the TRIP CITY Podcast.  Miranda was an interesting subject.  She seemed very uncomfortable, which seemed a bit off to me, since I pride myself on making my subjects feel comfortable, but gladly the awkwardness led to what I believe is a compelling portrait.

SethKushner.com Update



I recently did a major update on my website, www.SethKushner.com.  You'll find recent photos of Martin Landau, Henry Rollins, Marc Maron, Reggie Watts, Michael Moore, Miranda July, Jonathan Ames and many more.  Plus, see recent shoots for City Point for Co-Op, an 800 portrait project for Rosetta, a book I produced for the non-for-profit CAMBA and more.

CREATOR-OWNED HEROES

Yesterday saw the release of the first issue of Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray & Steve Niles's new comics anthology CREATOR-OWNED HEROES.  The 46-page book (a bargain for only $4) features the super cool new comics TRIGGERGIRL 6  by Palmiotti & Gray, with art by Phil Noto, and AMERICAN MUSCLE by Niles, with art by Kevin Mellon.  Plus, the there's toms of magazine-style back matter featuring an  interview with Neil Gaiman, a sexy cosplay feature, words from the creators,  and a full page feature on ME, focusing on LEAPING TALL BUILDINGS, CulturePOP, TRIP CITY and SCHMUCK.

Though distributed by Image Comics, the book is self-financed.  "What we have been doing for the past few years is is putting aside money that we make off our regular work and every once in a while get enough saved so we could publish something new that we would own the rights to", says Palmiotti in his welcome page.

In this day and age of corporate ownership of properties, it's great to see creators taking a chance to put out their own works.  This is an important and inspiring project to support.

KELLY BENSIMON FOR NEW YORK FAMILY

One misty Saturday morning at the crack of dawn, myself, my assistant Kathleen Ching and the New York Family Magazine crew, including Editor & Co-Publisher Eric Messenger, Senior Editor Whitney Casser and Art Director George Widmer, ventured to Coney Island for a cover shoot with Real Housewives of New York reality TV star / author /model Kelly Bensimon and her daughters Sea and Teddy.

Though it was chilly and rainy I used my lighting to brighten and saturate the colors to give the illusion of a care-free summer day.

Photo by Kathleen Ching