| This just in: Stuff About Me |
[May. 5th, 2008|07:47 pm] |
A few quick announcements that I should have posted last week, but I'm so busy rushing around these days that I haven't even had time.
I was mentioned on The Comics Reporter summary of Stumptown! You can read the article, or just the bit they wrote about me: "Vancouver's Jonathon Dalton probably had the closest thing to a buzz book, a full-color work in an accordion-style format that other cartoonists kept promoting." See? Told you I was practically the buzz book.
I was also on Inkstuds Radio for the second time last week. This time the show wasn't all about me, though, I was on the air with Jeff Ellis and it was all about our Vancouver-based comics collective, Cloudscape. I haven't even had time to listen to it yet. Hope I sound okay.
Fingers crossed, I hope to return to a more regular blogging (and comicking) schedule soon. |
|
|
| Sequential Maida |
[Apr. 11th, 2008|10:37 pm] |
I admit it, I regularly google myself. It's a bad habit, I'm sure. As people say more and more about me online I might start to find more things said that I don't like. But then again, how else would I have found the following? I didn't know I was mentioned on Sequential Tart! And quite favourably, too! Here's the excerpt:
Among all the hubbub, I passed by a table where an artist was sitting quietly, doodling in his notebook; on the table in front of him was a small booklet entitled Maida Kilwa and showing a young girl wearing the hijab, standing with her mother. Intrigued, I picked it up and flipped through, instantly enchanted by the rounded, textured artwork as well as the presence of people of colour in the book.
It turned out that Jonathon Dalton (the creator of Maida Kilwa) lives locally in the Fraser Valley but has spent extensive time across Canada, in Taiwan, and in England. This lends a deliciously cosmopolitan feel to his stories, which explore the current-day diasporic nature of identity using characters of different colour, ethnicity, and nationality with an unusual twist: the time-frame is set slightly in the future, and these issues are explored through a lens of sci-fi dislocation rather than a strict focus on "character x is black, and therefore character x has black issues".
The Maida Kilwa book I picked up was just a wee character study, so I picked up his series A Mad Tea-Party as well. I haven't yet had time to read them, but I have no doubt that I'll enjoy them and will be bringing you all a more in-depth interview with Jonathon Dalton as soon as I can!
And the source. She must have written this months ago. How did I miss it? |
|
|
| Raining and pouring, but whatever. |
[Mar. 2nd, 2008|12:30 pm] |
As predicted, there's no update this week. Maybe next week? I've got this commission to square away first and it's almost done.
Most of the reviews I've read so far for Fablewood have been more positive than negative. People seem to sort of like the book. But the reviews for my contribution have been split. I linked a couple of reviewers who really seemed to get what I was trying to do and thought it was cool, but I've since found a couple of others that are decidedly negative and didn't like my story at all. Initially I planned on linking to them or quoting them here in the interest of fairness, but if I did that I'd feel obligated to rebut their arguments and I don't want to do that. I don't need to do that. The work should speak for itself. If it doesn't, so be it. Nothing the reviewers said hit me very hard even though they clearly weren't pulling any punches. Everything they didn't like were the things I liked the most and would seek out in comics to read myself. I have a running list, you see, of things that I don't like about Cloud-Leapers, and they didn't touch on those at all. So. Whatever. Possibly not being able to go to Stumptown has been a much bigger blow to my ego this week. Hopefully Stumptown will find enough space for everyone and then all will be right with the world again.
You can google the reviews if you're really interested. They're not hard to find. |
|
|
| FABLEWOOD IS HERE! (take 2) |
[Feb. 28th, 2008|06:44 pm] |
I bought a copy of my book yesterday!!!!!
Maybe I should take pictures or something? |
|
|
| FABLEWOOD IS HERE! |
[Feb. 23rd, 2008|09:12 pm] |
...But I can't get a copy! There was one copy of the book available in Vancouver this week that I know of for sure, and someone bought it! Someone not me! Grr!
After doing the rounds of the comics shops today, though, I am reliably informed that there will be more copies in more locations come this next Wednesday. I'll keep you posted on specifics after I get MY copy.
I mean I could just sit here and wait for the contributors' copies to arrive in the mail, but what fun is that? I want to walk into a shop and be able to say something to the effect, "Oh-ho, but this seems like a fine publication. Perhaps I shall purchase it? And what is this? My word, it seems that I am in this book as well! Quel suprise!" |
|
|
| Fablewood is imminent! |
[Feb. 17th, 2008|08:07 pm] |
First off I guess my last post wasn't clear? I'm in a book, which I also coloured the cover for, and if you click on the image in the last post you can see a preview of it.
Oh, and Lords of Death and Life just updated. But now let me tell you the real news!
Fablewood will be on comic book store shelves VERY SOON. Possibly as early as the 20th and definitely within the next two weeks. I won't be able to go to a comic store before Saturday, probably, so tell me if you see it before I do!!! Also, I've been mentioned in a few of the reviews of the book. Which is completely awesome.
From J.L. Collins:
Jonathan Dalton closes this collection with The Cloudleapers of Blue Pine Mountain, challenging the reader with a culturally-inspired style and color palette, and a tale of a fantasy empire facing all too real and familiar problems of war, environmental changes, and the loss of ancient traditions that define us. Dalton’s story reminds us that every choice we make affects not just those around us, but the very land we share.
Dang. That's a nice review. Dang.
And from Indie Jones of Ain't it Cool News:
Jonathon Dalton’s “The Cloud-Leapers of Blue Pine Mountain” looks to be taking a lot of inspiration from Japanese ink drawings. This is a beautiful tale of a culture’s sacrifices during a war and what that culture must do in order to persevere. It also has a nice battle between a boy and an albino monkey, so it’s gotta be good.
Again, two out of three reviewers really seem to like the story (the other reviewer talked about other stories but not mine). This is really great. Except that it's a GIRL dammit! Not a boy! *cries* Apparently I can't draw girls or something. Oh well. I'm glad he liked the monkey. The monkey is awesome. |
|
|
![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
jdalton's journal