Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Monday, June 29, 2009

Someone in a French-speaking country reviewed my first book, Tragic Relief, here. I took French in high school and college...but hardly retained any of it. I hope they liked it.

Many thanks to Alec for sending me the link!

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Book Release Party

For Immediate Release

Contact: Colleen Frakes
Email: ColleenFrakes@gmail.com
URL: www.iknowjoekimpel.com
Phone: (802) 356-2972

FIRST FRIDAY BOOK RELEASE PARTY

WHERE: Revolution, 26 North Main Street, White River Junction VT, 05001

WHEN: Friday July 3rd, 6pm-9pm

DEBUTING FOUR NEW COMICS:

Woman King by C. Frakes $7
5.5 x 5.5", 88 pages, perfect bound

Woman King

A story about a girl raised by bears and the cyclical nature of war.

"(Frakes') lines are confident and vivid, her backgrounds are lush, and she knows how to apply dry brush strokes in a really effective, elegant way." Sarah Morean, Daily Crosshatch




Monsters & Girls: Amelia Part 2 by Denis St. John $5


Monsters and Girls!

36 pages of Twisted Terror!
Amelia faces creatures and horrors both real and imagined in this strange book that brings new meaning to the term "body horror", for mature audiences only!
The first issue will also be there, and free glow in the dark eye balls!

"Monsters and Girls? What else is there?"-Gilbert Hernandez

Indestructible Universe Quarterly 2, by Morgan Pielli $5
8.25 x 6.75 20 pages


Indestructible Universe Quarterly

Apoplectic aliens. Harmonious hadrosaurs. The ghastly grin of God. Morgan
Pielli’s anthology series Indestructible Universe Quarterly explores the
edge of the human experience by way of the strange and the surreal.

“These are just the kind of books that you hope you'll come home with...
Really cool, beautifully done, and in turns interesting, exciting, and
inscrutable.” –Jim Ottaviani, Two Fisted Science, Suspended in Language

and

Don't Hate, Menstruate by Jen Vaughn $5
5 x8 1/2" 24 pages

Don't Hate, Menstruate

A 24 page comic made in 24 hours focusing on one girl's trials and errors (and more errors) with different feminine products.

"Bloody Good Comics. Period." -Dennis Pacheco of Neon Girl

"These comics are good...it's about time a woman came in and did a little menstruating on the place, ya know?" -Liz Baillie of My Brain Hurts


ABOUT THE LOCATION

Revolution is open Seven Days a Week - Mon-Sat, 10am-7pm, Sundays 12pm-5p

Revolution is a dynamic independent boutique featuring eco-chic apparel & ultimate gear for men and women.

Established in 2002, founder, Kim Souza modeled Revolution after urban thrift legends including, Eva B's (Montreal), Beacon's Closet (Brooklyn) and The Garment District (Cambridge).

In 2007, Kim partnered up with mother-daughter team, Ann & Simi Johnston, to reinvent Revolution to become the most radical shopping experience in the Upper Connecticut River Valley region of Vermont and New Hampshire.

Mixed with a core of pristine vintage clothing, you'll now find a series of collections from local independent designers, a vast selection of reconstructed apparel, 7th Avenue designer surplus, accessories & housewares made from recycled & vintage materials, all blended with new merchandise which meets our standards of a sustainable ethic of production

Contact us via: info@shoptherev.com or 802.295.6487

Free Food and Drinks at the Event!

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Circus Comic

I'm still behind on paintings.

They're coming! But in the meantime, here's a comic I've been working on:




The final version of this will be out in color for SPX. I'm hoping to paint it, but we'll see what time allows for.

I like the circus. I also find them to be pretty creepy.

Speaking of pretty, wasn't Celesta Geyer beautiful?

More to come...

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Book Release Party


We're having a book release party!

First Friday, June 3rd at Revolution in White River Junction, starting at 6pm.

New comics from Jen Vaughn, Denis St. John, Morgan Pielli and myself.

More news to come.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Woman King Reviews and New Studio

Sorry I've fallen behind on posting weekly paintings and comics. A group of us just moved into a NEW STUDIO! Moving is hard work. I'll catch up on scanning this weekend.


In the meantime, here's some nice things to read on other websites:

From the Daily Cross Hatch:
Frakes has come a long way since her earlier mini Tragic Relief (which was later re-drawn for the Xeric-funded release). Her lines are confident and vivid, her backgrounds are lush, and she knows how to apply dry brush strokes in a really effective, elegant way. Attending the Center for Cartooning Studies has clearly had a huge impact on how she works.

From Rob Clough at High-Low:
Frakes' work reminds me a bit of Eleanor Davis in the way she works in myth and allegory, putting a modern spin on it...Like Davis, there's a sensitivity in her line that borders on fragility, informing the actions and gestures of her characters.


From Henry Chamberlain at Newsarama:
Colleen Frakes' Woman King, a continuation on her take on fables and myth. Since her Xeric winning Tragic Relief, her work has gotten sharper and the scope of her storytelling keeps getting more complex. A recent graduate of the Center for Cartoon Studies, Frakes finds herself coming into her own with Woman King giving us a distinctive style and vision.

And a nice mention from Brett Warnock at Top Shelf:
I got her awesome book Woman King, too, but in mini-comic form only. I saw at MoCCA that it's out now as an a beautifully designed "real" book.

Woman King cover

Buy a copy for yourself here!

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Hey! Seven Days!

My friend and roommate, Penina, has a comic in this week's Seven Days, Vermont's free independent weekly. If you're not a Vermonter, you can check out her comic here. Yay!

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

MoCCA 2009 Report

I went to New York!

I don't think there's much I can say about this year's convention that hasn't already been said by people far more eloquent than myself. So I'll keep it short:

This year, because of the Xeric book, I did more conventions than I ever have before: SPX, APE, Stumptown, MECAF and MoCCA. Of those, MoCCA was easily the most expensive, but sales were about the same as any other convention. And, the MoCCA staff did less for the exhibitors. The website was a mess, we had a hell of a time getting our badges Saturday morning, and with all the heat, I couldn't even find water. At Stumptown and MECAF, volunteers brought water around to all the exhibitors!

From what I've read, prices for MoCCA tables are going to $400 next year. If that's the case, I doubt I'll attend as an exhibitor. There's just no way I can break even with tables that expensive.

Okay, enough complaining.

My book, Woman King, debuted at MoCCA, and I've been really happy with the reception so far!
A few early reviews have already come in. Here's word from Henry Chamerlain at Newsarama, and Rob Clough at High-Low. I'll post more as they come in. You can pick up a copy from I Know Joe Kimpel.

I also had work in two anthologies that debuted at MoCCA this weekend!
Awesome 2: Awesomer from Indie Spinner Rack and Top Shelf! I was really honored to be invited to be a part of this. Some of the profits from the book go to the CCS Scholarship fund.

First Harvest from Trees and Hills is a collection of work from the first four minicomics anthologies the group put out.

But enough about comics. MoCCA is also about seeing friends!

More photos here.

Monday, June 8, 2009

The System is Down

My internet connection is down.

Last time this happened, I spent hours and days on the phone and had to yell and cry before they sent a very nice young woman to the house to fix it. She accidentally saw my roommate in his underwear.

I don't know if I'm up for this again.

Also just got back from MoCCA a few hours ago. Feeling kind of ill, but I got a lot of comics, saw lots of friends, and ate a cannoli.

More (with pictures) to come, when both systems are working again.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

I KNOW JOE KIMPEL at MoCCA

I KNOW JOE KIMPEL will be at tables 803 and 802.5 (the .5 is me!) at MoCCA this weekend, June 6th and 7th, at the Lexington Ave Armory. Doors open an 11am!

I designed this new postcard for the event (don't ask me what I was thinking. The answer is probably sleep deprivation), and here's the press release that Emily sent out:

I Know Joe Kimpel at the MoCCA Art Festival!


If you're reading this newsflash you probably already know that the MoCCA Art Fesival 2009 will take place next weekend, June 6th and 7th, at the Lexington Avenue Armory in NYC. The I Know Joe Kimpel crew is ready, or almost ready, with some great new releases.

Woman King by Colleen Frakes

Woman King!

Xeric award winner Colleen Frakes will be debuting Woman King, a story about a girl raised by bears and the cyclical nature of war. Woman King is a hefty 88-pages and is perfect bound, with b+w interiors, full color cover, printed on FSC Certified paper stock. Check the IKJK store for more from Colleen!


"Amelia by Denis St. John

Monsters And Girls! What else is there?"
-Gilbert Hernandez

That's right, Gilbert said it first. And you know if Gilbert said it, it must be true! Denis St. John will be representing this year with the debut of Monsters & Girls: Amelia part 2. Denis will also have copies available of the first part of the Monsters & Girls: Amelia saga, so don't miss out! As always, copies of Denis' book are also available at the IKJK store.




Huck & the Indians

Huck & the Indians

Emily Wieja will presenting a new book, Huck & the Indians, part one of a two part story which echoes the style and format of her previous books The End of the World and Huck and the Snake. In this book imaginings of Huck Finn's departure from civilization are expressed through raw renderings of landscape and emotion. Visit Emily's page at I Know Joe Kimpel for more books.


Trivial Anthology

"Sharp work... a cut-above collection"
- Newsarama

The 3rd 4-Square anthology from IKJK, Trivial, will also be available at MoCCA. Trivial features the works of Xeric award winning cartoonists Alex Kim (Wall City) and Alexis Frederick-Frost (La Primavera / Adventures in Cartooning), Sean Ford (the highly-acclaimed self-published Only Skin mini-series) and A.L. Arnold. Be sure to pick up a copy of this highly-rated anthology!


Other I Know Joe Kimpel artists who will be joing the fray are Mario van Buren, of Girls Don't Poop fame, who will be debuting a book called Prune Hands. How the hands got pruny, we're not sure. Mario says it's a surprise. There've been rumors circulating about Girls Don't Poop t-shirts too...

Bob Oxman will be journeying to MoCCA from the wilds of New Hampshire, bringing with him Smuttynose 2, the eagerly aniticpated follow-up to Smuttynose, a tale of murder and betrayal on the turbulent Maine coast.

We also have a new book on the site from Morgan Pielli, the first issue of his fantastic Indestructible Universe Quarterly. Morgan will have his own table at MoCCA as well so be sure to stop by and say hi to him, and check out his awesome blog in the meantime.

Hope to see you all at MoCCA!



Wednesday, June 3, 2009

New Books to buy at MoCCA part 1


Stephen Bissette was kind enough to do a quick write-up of my new book on his blog this morning, as well as listing new releases from some of my favorite cartoonists.
Thanks, Steve!



Breakfast at Mimi's! A Xeric Award winning collection of Marek Bennett's Mimi's Donuts strips. Local, sweet and homemade comics.


Love is a Peculiar Type of Thing by Box Brown.
A Xeric Award winning collection of his Bellen! comics. They are great and you should read them.


First Harvest from Trees and Hills!
The book contains reader favorites from Trees & Hills’ first four mini-comic anthologies, published between Fall 2006 and Summer 2008, along with new work by creators in the New England region. Contributors include industry legends such as Stephen R. Bissette and Mark Martin and up-and-coming talent like Colleen Frakes and Marek Bennett.

Monday, June 1, 2009

It's Here!

No painting this Monday. This morning Jon Chad and I drove over to Lebanon to pick up copies of my new book:


It'll be debuting at the MoCCA Art Festival this weekend!
5"x5", 88pgs, b+w interiors and full color cover, $7.

And there's a 30-page preview of the book here.