This Friday...

“Drew Friedman isn't just a brilliant artist. He takes you to a place. He takes you back in time. He makes you smell the stale cigarettes and cold brisket and you say thank you for the pleasure.” — Sarah Silverman

Join cartoonist DREW FRIEDMAN for a special exhibition of original art and objects, along with a book signing in conjunction with the release of More Old Jewish Comedians.

Drew Friedman is among the most notorious illustrators and cartoonists in America. According to Entertainment Weekly, “He holds a marvelously warped lens up to crusty politicians and debauched celebrities. A good-natured misanthrope with an obsessive style and a sardonic tongue, Drew Friedman is one of the country’s sharper political artists.” Friedman will appear in New York for the first time since his legendary Friar’s Club Book-warming in March (as written about by Lillian Ross in The New Yorker’s “Talk of the Town”) for a book signing and exhibition of his original artwork on Friday, May 16 at 8:00 PM.

Friedman’s illustrious career has included comics work published in Art Spiegelman’s RAW, R. Crumb’s Weirdo and MAD Magazine, and frequent illustrations in National Lampoon, The New York Times, The New York Observer, among countless other publications. He was the recipient of the 2001 Reuben Award for newspaper illustration. Friedman’s work has been collected by Seattle’s Fantagraphics Books in The Fun Never Stops!: An Anthology of Comic Art 1991 - 2006, Old Jewish Comedians, More Old Jewish Comedians, and Warts and All.

More Old Jewish Comedians is the sequel to 2006's wildly popular Old Jewish Comedians, and has earned raves from Jerry Lewis, Howard Stern, Jimmy Kimmel, Sarah Silverman, The Believer, Entertainment Weekly and many others. The book includes the famous (Woody Allen, Joan Rivers, Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Soupy Sales, etc.), the less-famous (Jerry Stiller, Zeppo & Gummo Marx, Larry Storch, Zero Mostel, etc.) and the largely unknown (Molly Picon, Herbie Faye, Jan Murray, etc.). The Reuben Award-winning Friedman presents a thorough visual history of the 20th Century's greatest Borscht-Belt comedians in 34 full-page, liver-spotted portraits.

A reception for the artist will begin on Friday, May 16 at 8:00PM. Admission is free to the public of all ages. The exhibition continues though June 4, 2008.

Trivia Winner April '08

Inaugural Trivia Champ John Chaneski shows off his prize: A Rocketship shirt for his super-cute toddler daughter!

Congratulations to our first monthly Trivia Winner! John not only got every weekly question correct, he managed to connect Snoopy's Sopwith Camel to Batman's Dog, in true puzzle-fiend style. (World War I Flying Ace the Bat-hound)

Good show, old bean!

More From Free Comic Book Day

I forgot to mention that we had a Special Guest appearance from BULLY! Bully (the Little Stuffed Bull) is a great blogger (and fellow Wodehouse fan!), and it was cool to finally meet him (if only very briefly)...

Check out his fun Flickr set of FCBD right here!

Only One Week Left to Donate! D&D for Brooklyn Kids!

As I mentioned in this post, myself and some Rocketship Regulars will be playing D&D for a worthy cause here in Brooklyn.

If you want to donate, it is tax deductible, and you can do so quite easily right here.


This is me, or you can donate to Friends o' Rocketship Joe, Mike, Owen, or Gen. It all goes directly to 826NYC!

Just a few days until Zero Hour, so help out if you can!

Thanks!

FCBD Wrap Up

Big Thanks to Matt and Fred, who braved the crowds and signed piles of books for neighborhood comic fans.



Matt has posted a report (with pictures) here, and Friend o' Rocketship Brian Cronin live-blogged the event for Comic Book Resources here and here.

All in all it was a lot of fun, and great to see everyone, regular faces and new. We have a few books left over (but not many), so there's still a chance to get some Free Comics, including two of my favorites:

The Fantagraphics IGNATZ sampler, and HELLBOY, with three (3!!!) new stories!

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY News!

This Saturday, May 3rd, on top of giving away big piles of excellent free comics (see examples here), we will also be hosting two spectacular All Ages Signings!

First up, signing from 11:00 to 1:30, is MATT LOUX, creator of the new adventure book SALTWATER TAFFY! (check out a preview!)


Then, from 1:30 to 4:00, we will have FRED VAN LENTE, writer of IRON MAN, POWER PACK, THE FANTASTIC FOUR, and all sorts of other great books!



So stop by, pick up some FREE COMICS, and meet the creators of some fantastic All-Ages Comics!

Help Raise Dollars for 826NYC!

What could be better than playing Dungeons & Dragons?

Playing Dungeons & Dragons... FOR THE KIDS. Yes, an event much like a Walk-A-Thon, except with less walking, and more sitting and slaying imaginary orcs!

This fundraiser benefits the terrific 826NYC (aka BROOKLYN SUPERHERO SUPPLY Co.), which is a learning center and writing workshop for Brooklyn kids.

Anything you can donate goes directly to the non-profit program, and will help local children "ages 6-18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and help teachers inspire their students to write."

I think it's a good cause, and if you do as well, you can donate right here, and keep Ruprecht Redwine (me) up to his pointy ears in fictional gold. Or you can donate to Chock, played by Joe Rice, aka Miss Rocketship 2005. Or you can participate yourself! It doesn't really matter, all the money goes to the same place: 826NYC!

Big Thanks to Jeffrey and Ariel!

The Lovely Ariel Schrag, and the Charming Jeffrey Brown...

Huge thanks to Ariel and Jeffrey, whose reading and signing last night was a total blast. There was a huge turn-out, with fans packed in wall-to-wall to see these two talented folks read, and to get books signed.

Jeffrey "re-enacted" scenes from LITTLE THINGS live, complete with impromptu props and audience participants. Here he is swatting flies in the woods, while on a hike...

Ariel had more of a THIS AMERICAN LIFE vibe; sitting behind a mic, moving slides, hitting musical cues, and getting belly-laughs and sincere sighs in equal doses. It was really terrific...


It was a great time! Big thanks to everyone who came out!