FML Comic + Zinefest report!

In case you missed the announcements on various networks, my comic for Fmylife.com went live this weekend!

As a born (sort of) and raised Frenchperson, I've laughed hysterically at many of the stories on the original French site Viedemerde.fr for years and co-opted the acronym VDM for my own personal use. It was therefore a special honor to participate in making a funny for these fine people. After being asked to illustrate a story of my choosing, I perused the site for hours before picking this one, took a few hours during a weekend excursion to thumbnail it and proceeded to pencil and ink it in a total of a week (spread out over other endeavours). 

The site also features an interview in which I confess my longstanding fixation on the Portland comics scene, my preference for cats and my favorite Berlin monument to cycle around.

Trivia time: though the cigarette situation actually happened to an FML contributor, the hug with the hobo was directly inspired by one of Max Dubinsky's blog posts (collected in An Anthology of Madness). Also, the girlfriend in the comic bears a close resemblance to my friend Anne-So of Clairikine Hits Paris fame (but her husband doesn't smoke).

***

I'm pleased to report that Zinefest Berlin was a smashin' good time. I tabled next to wonderful people (see Heimat Zine and Pink Mince for more), made connections and got (among many fascinating objects) the artbook for Tinet Elmgren's comic Driftwood, which makes the WIP junkie in me just squee forever.

I've been busy with freelance comic and not-comic work of late, but I have a couple new (gut-spilling) comics in the pipeline that I drew and inked over the weekend between visitors and that you will get to see once I force them past my conscience. I'm also working on feeding my neglected twins MOS and Noémie. A cartoonist's work is never done, amirite?

[ JD Samson & Men - Making Art ]

[UPDATED] ANNOUNCING: Comics workshop + Zinefest Berlin!

* "So how do you do the bise, exactly?"

"Uhhhh, I have no idea... Couldn't we just shake hands instead?"

UPDATE [18/10/2013]: Due to illness (the organisers', not mine!), the book fair  and the comics workshop have both been postponed to a date which is TBA.

People of Berlin! This fall is going to be happenin', and it's going to be happenin' big.

First of all, the Info-Café Berlin-Paris is holding a comics and book fair on Saturday, October 19* at Molkenmarkt 1 (behind the Rotes Rathaus on the other side of that massive street, the yellow building with the flags).  I will be tabling there from 11 AM to 12:30PM roughly, with Cardialement #1 and #2, Master of Survival #1 and stickers, and I will be offering small postcard sketches!

During the book fair, from 1PM to 3PM, I will also be hosting my third Franco-German comics workshop. This time the topic is "Franco-German friendship from panel to panel." Participants will be paired up in bilingual teams and walked through the process of creating a comic that fits the topic, start to finish.

Signups for this free workshop are currently open - you can sign up by e-mailing cafeberlinparis@dfjw.org. Please note that the workshop will only be in French and German! This kind of workshop can be a great activity for tandem partners.

Secondly, I am insanely excited to be tabling the following weekend at Zinefest Berlin in Kreuzberg on the 26th and 27th of October!

I can only highly recommend this event as I walked in last year with 30€ of cash and walked out with 30€ worth of excellent zines and comics. In addition to the previously mentioned minicomics, stickers and commissions, I will also have a couple surprises. Come on over, say hello, and grab some cake! For there will be cake.

See you there! Clairikine out.

[ Arcade Fire - Reflektor ]

Announcing the "Clairikine Hits Paris" Digital Download!

Hot on the heels of debuting Cardialement Vol. 2 and Master of Survival #1* last Friday comes the Digital Download of Clairikine Hits Paris, my first fundraiser travel comic!

This 17-page-long comic details my 5-day stay in Paris and Noyon, France last February. The France-Germany game   at the Stade de France gets its own 2-page recap, and elsewhere I tell of planes, métros, beers, politics, friends and (adoptive missionary-kid extended) family. The suggested donation is 3€, but if you want to pay more, you can! (If you want to pay less, you also can!) The link to the download is here.

As a side note, the notebook I drew this comic in was also sold as part of the fundraiser to help offset my traveling costs. I plan to do more such fundraisers in the near future, so keep your eyes peeled if you want a piece of it :D

Here is a picture of me seeing the comic on an iPad for the first time (courtesy of benefactor and iPad owner Alex Koppel):

Woohoo woohoo woohoo ohmigosh ohmigosh ohmigosh

* P.S. I am currently working on making the Cardialement and Master of Survival minicomics available to order online very soon. Stay tuned!

Comics Market Action! [UPDATE]

(En français ci-dessous)

Hey dudes! I am thrilled to announce that as part of the OFAJ' 50-year-anniversary, I am gonna be tabling at the Info-Café Berlin-Paris' Franco-German Party flea market this Friday starting at 4PM.

For Berlin readers (and other readers!) who have wanted to buy real, solid, hard-copy comics from me, I will be debuting the BRAND SPANKING NEW LONG-AWAITED SECOND AND FINAL VOLUME OF Cardialement*, as well as THE FIRST PRINTED VOLUME OF Master of Survival**! Cardialement Vol. 1 is still in stock as well and will be present. I am also offering a limited amount of commissions (Barney Stinson fans, this is your chance).

Also present from 4 to 5 PM will be the witty and talented Sarah Ehrenholz, who, I am extremely pleased to announce - for those of you who recall the Franco-German music-and-comics project I mentioned last fall - is officially my partner in multimedial crime! She will have CDs of her sweet folksy music and we will be very happy to talk about our project, entitled "Noémie hin und zurück / Noémie aller-retour", for which we are currently setting the narrative and musical foundations. Hooray! (More info on Noémie will come soon.)

In addition to the actual flea market, there will be live music,  circus and theater performances as well as crêpes, good food and a Biergarten! It is all followed by a massive party at 8PM with Mr. Bondy, La Marche, Rolando Random & The Young Soul Rebels and Son Kapital, followed by DJ Trim. It's basically a huge Franco-German festival of awesomeness, and Franco-German stuff rocks. So make sure you grab a crêpe and a Pilsner and come say bonjour!


En français

Hé les gens! J'ai le grand plaisir de vous annoncer que dans le cadre des 50 ans de l'OFAJ, je tiendrai un stand sur le marché au puces du Bal Pop' franco-allemand de l'Info-Café Berlin-Paris ce vendredi à partir de 16h..

Pour mes lecteurs berlinois (et venus d'ailleurs!) désireux d'acheter des copies dures, vraies et véritables de mes BD, j'ai l'encore plus grand plaisir d'annoncer que je vendrai des exemplaires FLAMBANTS NEUFS ET MEGA ATTENDUS du SECOND ET DERNIER VOLUME DE Cardialement*, ainsi que LE PREMIER VOLUME IMPRIME DE Master of Survival**! Cardialement Vol. 1 est toujours en stock également, et je ferai aussi des dessins sur commande pendant le marché (fans de Barney Stinson, viendez!)

Egalement présente de 16h à 17h sera l'intelligente et talentueuse Sarah Ehrenholz, avec laquelle j'ai le très grand plaisir de collaborer sur un projet franco-allemand musique-et-BD depuis le début de l'année! Le projet s'appelle "Noémie aller-retour / Noémie hin und zurück" et nous en posons actuellement les bases scénaristiques et musicales. Nous nous ferions un plaisir d'en discuter au stand! Sarah vendra aussi sa délicieuse musique folksy. Youpi!! (Plus d'infos sur Noémie viendront prochainement.)

En même temps que le marché, il y aura de la musique live, du cirque et du théâtre ainsi que des crêpes, de la bonne bouffe et un Biergarten! SUITE A QUOI il y aura une méga-teuf à 20h avec Mr. Bondy, La Marche, Rolando Random & The Young Soul Rebels et Son Kapital, suivis par un set de DJ Trim. En gros c'est un énorme festival franco-allemand de ouf, et le franco-allemand c'est super bien. Donc n'oubliez ni votre crêpe, ni votre Pilsner, ni de passer dire Hallo!


* In English/en anglais.
** In English and in French/en anglais et en français.

[ Red Hot Chili Peppers - Give It Away (live) ]