I’m Really Still Here, Honest

July 12

I’m pretty swamped with Butterfly Mosque edits, AIR and Another DCU Project, so by the end of the day I cannot bear to look at my keyboard anymore. If I owe you an email, this is why you haven’t gotten it. It’s also why I’ve been updating the blog so infrequently. But I am still here, and I hope--I keep saying this--that things will calm down soon.

Quick updates: I’ll be at the San Diego ComicCon starting the afternoon of July 24. I have signings at the Vertigo booth every day, so if you’re coming to the Con and you’d like to say hi, stop on by. Bring your copy of CAIRO, OUTSIDERS, COMIC BOOK TATTOO or whatever else you’d like me to sign. I’ll probably be at the Image booth for the COMIC BOOK TATTOO group signing as well.

Though I’m not blogging a lot, I am still very much On The Internet, so if you’re looking for casual intellectual chit-chat, go to TalkIslam. I participate in the discussions there most every day.

Speaking of COMIC BOOK TATTOO, COMIC BOOK TATTOO! Order your copy now! It’ll also be in big music stores and comic shops. I like my story less now than I did when I wrote it, but it’s a fantastic book, Neil Gaiman writes the intro, and if you like Tori Amos, you’ll never have another chance to experience her music this way. I got my first Tori album at thirteen (fyi, this is too young to be listening to Tori Amos), so I was really excited to participate in this anthology.

That’s about it. More soon. Promise.

Hooray

March 11

I’ve been named the Red Room Rising Star this month. I love that site, and not just because they’ve been awfully nice to me. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen a site claim to ‘bring together the largest and best group of minds in Field X’ and deliver exactly that, no exaggeration necessary. Amy Tan blogs at RR a few times a month, and Barack Obama just signed on. It’s worth checking out if you haven’t already. It’s very probable that at least one of your favorite authors hangs out there. 

Graven Images Press Release

March 07

March 4, 2008 - Boston, MA. As its planners prepare the weekend-long schedule of scholarly presenters, the “Graven Images: Religion in Comic Books & Graphic Novels” conference already has a number of top comic book creators coming to Boston University next month. On Sunday, April 13th, conference attendees will get to take part in a Creator Q&A with Saurav Mohapatra (India Authentic), Steve Ross (Marked!), Archaia Studios Press publisher Mark Smylie (Artesia Besieged), and G. Willow Wilson (Cairo).

The five panelists, representing a wide variety of faiths and works, will join conference co-chair A. David Lewis (The Lone and Level Sands, Some New Kind of Slaughter) in an open discussion of religion, creativity, and the comic book medium. “I’m delighted not only that they’ve all accepted our invitation,” says Lewis, “but that they also represent a wonderful cross-section of spiritualities. They nicely embody the diversity we are eager to explore in the medium with ‘Graven Images.’”

Preceding these panelists, the Center for Cartoon Studies’ co-founder James Sturm (The Golem’s Mighty Swing) will be keynote speaker for the conference on its opening night, Friday, April 11th.

The inaugural conference is enjoying the support of B.U.’s Department of Religion, its Graduate Student Organization (GSO), the New England-Maritimes American Academy of Religion, Caption Box, and the Luce Program in Scripture and Literary Arts. Lewis and fellow co-chair Christine Kraemer expect to release the full conference program in the coming days.