HANG DAI Editions launch

Benton, Haspiel and Kushner launch HANG DAI Editions.

HANG DAI Editions was founded in Brooklyn, NY by Gregory Benton, Dean Haspiel, and Seth Kushner over their mutual dedication to comix art. The imprint focuses on limited edition comix, graphic novels, and art books, with an emphasis on personal interaction at events, conventions, and signings.

The three principals each have long histories with traditional publishing venues and have now decided to take on the challenge of publishing independently, under the HANG DAI Editions imprint, in order to retain full ownership and control over select personal creations.

The HANG DAI Editions line will debut at Comic Arts Brooklyn on November 9, 2013 with three limited edition comic books. Benton unveils his man vs. nature tale, FORCE OF NATURE, Haspiel brings forth his one-man anthology, PSYCHOTRONIC COMIX, and Kushner collects three shorts from his autobio web-series in SCHMUCK COMIX.

The three New York City based creators, who share a studio in Gowanus, Brooklyn, plan to evolve the line into self-financed and crowd funded hardcover books, and are actively seeking distributors with which to partner.

HANG DAI Editions - creator owned, independently-produced signature works.

Read an interview with Benton, Haspiel and Kushner about the new imprint at Bleeding Cool, by Hannah Means-Shannon

www.HangDaiEditions.com
Follow us on twitter: @hangdai_comix

Gregory Benton has been making comix since 1993. He cut his teeth on the political anthology World War 3, moving on to writing and drawing stories for Nickelodoeon, Vertigo, DC Comics, Disney Adventures, Watson-Guptil, Entertainment Weekly, as well as contributing to numerous alternate-press comix anthologies. A graphic novel, Hummingbird, was published by Slave Labor Graphics in 1996. Gregory has also produced numerous limited-edition mini-comix. Hopefully you have some. His illustrations have appeared in The New York Times, The Village Voice and Fortune, among others. Most recently, his book B+F was awarded the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art’s inaugural Award of Excellence at MoCCAFest 2013. An expanded version of B+F has been released through Adhouse Books (USA) and Editions ça et la (France). GregoryBenton.com

Emmy award winner and Eisner Award nominee Dean Haspiel created BILLY DOGMA, and THE RED HOOK, illustrated for HBO's "Bored To Death," was a Master Artist at the Atlantic Center for the Arts, is a Yaddo fellow, and occasionally teaches comic book storytelling. Dino has written and drawn many superhero and semi-autobiographical comix, including collaborations with Harvey Pekar, Jonathan Ames, Inverna Lockpez, Stan Lee, and Jonathan Lethem. He's currently collaborating with writer Mark Waid on THE FOX for Archie/Red Circle Comics. DeanHaspiel.com

Seth Kushner is an award-winning photographer and writer.  His photography has appeared in The NY Times Magazine, Time, L’Uomo Vogue, Sports Illustrated, The New Yorker and more.  His published books include Leaping Tall Buildings: The Origins of American Comics, (2012, co-authored with Christopher Irving) The Brooklynites (2007, co-authored with Anthony LaSala) and the recently released, self-published fumetti anthology FORCE FIELD FOTOCOMIX VOL.01. and his semi-autobio comic SCHMUCK Comix #1. Seth's comics work can be seen at TripCity.net and for more info, visit SethKushner.com.

SPEAKEASY SURPRISE 40th BIRTHDAY

This past Saturday night, My lovely wife Terra concocted an elaborate scheme to surprise me for my 40th birthday.   I'd been feeling kinda bummed about my birthday for a while because I was trying to think of something different to do this year, but couldn't come up with any ideas.  Also, it'd been a bit of a tough year and I hadn't been great at keeping in touch with many of my friends, so I wasn't sure everyone had such positive feeling towards me.  So, I was truly touched that so many frineds, some of which I hadn't seen in a long while,  traveled from far away, got sitters, came pregnant, dressed in 1930s garb and devoted their Saturday nights to surprising me on my birthday.  I've never felt more loved.


Thanks to Cynthia Von Buhler for opening her incredible Speakeasy Dollhouse to us and pretending to hire me to take press shots as a ruse to get me there.  I highly recommend seeing Cynthia's fascinating family history played out as immersive theater.  We saw the show once before, last year and it's brilliant.



A special thank you to my wife, Terra, who somehow planned this whole shebang in secret, got me the best and schmuckiest birthday cake ever, (thanks for the awesome image, Gregory Benton!) feigned an ankle injury on the way there so we wouldn't arrive too early, and for just being an all-around wonderful wife.

Thanks to Carlos Molina for taking photos.  A full gallery of photos by Carlos Molina can be seen here.
 
Also, thanks to Hannah Means-Shannon, who will be reportied on the event for one of my favorite websites, bleedingcool.com in her beautifully written article, "New York’s Immersive Theatre Speakeasy Dollhouse Wows Comics Folks on Seth Kushner’s Birthday."
Here's an excerpt: "I run up the subway steps with only two minutes to spare until my appointment. Turning the corner, I start looking for some indicator of where I’m going but don’t expect to find any since the place isn’t really on any maps. But then I see an unusual number of people on the street trying to look casual about a block away. I mentally “tsk” them—not very subtle. If we get raided tonight it’ll ruin Seth’s birthday. The one he doesn’t know he’s having. Unless he sees all these people. I thought everyone was supposed to go around the back.  But the problem, I realize as I get closer, is that there are too many people. Seth has too many friends. And they are all here being unsubtle. Thankfully, his wife has noticed too, just in time, and faking a sprained ankle, has slowed things down. I cut the line to ask a bootlegger in the know what’s what. A fine lady in a very pale lace gown with an even paler complexion asks if my name’s on the list. I say some magic words, jumping the list. Suddenly everyone’s moving quickly. I keep getting pulled by the elbow, come this way, come that way. It’s getting confusing already until I’m not even sure how we got inside. It’s dark. We try to be quiet, but every so often there’s a solid metal thunking on the door and someone has to open it or Cynthia, who’s trying to keep us all in hand, says, “Don’t open it!” in sternest tones."
 Read the rest of the article here.
 

 

This past year had its challenges, but I've got lots of good things in the works for the upcoming one, so I'm feeling positive and looking forward to making 40 the new 39!

WRESTLER PORTRAITS

Sgt. Slaughter

I was a huge wrestling fan when I was a kid. I even wrote an essay about it recently, called Wrestling With Big Fat Freddy.  I spent many a Saturday morning following the colorful, soap opera-like antics of the larger-than-life men seen in these photos.

Throughout my photo career I've always try to photograph the things that interest me, whether it be comic book creators, people from Brooklyn or indie film personalities.  This modest series of mostly close-up portraits of wrestlers has been something I've been pursuing these last few years whenever I've been at an event like Comic-Con or Chiller Theater, where wrestlers are appearing.  I took the photo above of Sgt. Slaughter and the one below of Mick Foley at New York Comic-Con this past weekend.  While I've posted the others in various places previously, I though these new addition gave me a good excuse to present the series all-together.  

My concept for this series is simple.  I want to take photos of these cultural and familiar icons from the past and present them as they appear today, in an honest way.  I'm hoping to shoot more soon.

Mick Foley

Bruno Sammartino

Ric Flair

Iron Sheik

Jerry "The King" Lawler

Nikolai Volkoff

George "The Animal" Steele

Greg "The Hammer" Valentine

DES COMICS ET DES ARTISTES

The French edition of LEAPING TALL BUILDINGS is here! Christopher Irving and I are proud to have our book published internationally. Thanks to Nicolas Forsans and Muttpop for doing a great job.

Great review here:
http://www.bedecine.fr/2013/09/coup-de-projecteur-comics-sur-des-comics-et-des-artistes/

"From Google translate:
This is the French version of Leaping Tall Buildings, a book of 240 pages written by Christopher Irving and portrays fifty major artists Comics universe and to discover or rediscover those who did and continue to the American comics.

More than just a compilation of interviews and portraits quickly brushed the author is here accompanied in his work by photographer Seth Kushner, and quite honestly his work gives a real character to the whole.
Whether portraits of various artists or iconic New York City, Seth Kushner manages to create a real atmosphere and it is more than just
"Big Apple" (birthplace of Comics) in either case.

Christopher Irving then narrates a History of Comics through the ages and distilled to our delight many revealing anecdotes with privacy, modesty and enthusiasm the report Comics encountered by different authors.

No need to sugarcoat it is neither more nor less than a Great Book.
In summary it is a beautiful and essential for all lovers of the great writers and Comics at large book.

A great success and a real favorite in our case!"

WADE DAVIS FOR SPORTS ILLUSTRARED

Back in July I was assigned by Sports Illustrated to photograph former NFL player Wade Davis for the article, "Gay in the NFL."  I wasn't given a whole lot of direction other than to "make a beautiful portrait."  

I met Wade in Astor Place in Downtown Manhattan at the end of the day when the light is beautiful and golden.  I was glad when Wade arrived a stylishly attired and willing subject.  The published photo was highly cropped to fit layout, so I'm happy to be able to show my favorite images from the shoot here.

 

Dean Haspiel and I will be at Baltimore Comic-Con on Sat & Sun, Sept. 7-8 at the Baltimore Convention Center. We'll be tabling with cartoonists Reilly Brown and Christa Cassano at table 2207. Come on by and get our new comix! 

   

Aunt Rose on her 100th birthday

The photo above is very different from the work I usually post.  It's stripped bare of lighting, retouching and any and all artifice.  It's shot completely with natural light.  It's a very personal photo and I wanted nothing to get in the way between photographer and subject and photo and viewer.

The woman in the photo is my great aunt Rose and it was taken this past Sunday on the occasion of her 100th birthday--a momentous occasion, which my family and I were honored to attend.

I hadn't seen my great aunt in over a year. The last time, she was noticeably frail but still walking and still basically herself.  When I first approached my family's back porch, where she was sitting surrounded by loved ones who were all there to celebrate with her, I wasn't sure it even was her.  Maybe it was another older women attending the party?  But as I got closer, I knew.  I was a bit shocked at first because she now sits in a wheel chair and she is totally blind. 

Aunt Rose is my father's aunt and my grandfather's sister.  They're both gone, but I'll always remember how close my grandfather was to her, and how much my father loved her.  I was basically hardwired to love her, but regardless of my programing, as I grew up and got to know my great aunt, I got to love her on my own for the the kind, patient, creative and remarkable woman she is.

At one point during the day, I sat down with my Aunt Rose and talked with her.  I was so happy and relieved to find she is still relatively sharp, especially for 100-years old.  She clearly knew who I was and we talked about my father and grandfather and about how much she misses them.  She mentioned the extreme heat of the day (92 degrees, still less degrees than she has years) and about how in her day there were no air conditions and people slept on their fire escapes for relief.

I was upset when I arrived at the party, but my great aunt Rose made me feel better.  After we talked for a bit, I told her I wanted to take a beautiful photo of her.  I came prepared with my "real" camera, not just the iPhone I usually use at family events these days.  I snapped about 40 frames quickly and I chose the above image to show because it looked and felt the most like her to me.  Other frames were caught moments, but in this one she is aware of me and the camera.  She was being a subject and thanked me after I was finished.

I like to think I caught something "real" in the photo of a beloved family member on her 100th birthday. 

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

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