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§ As you may have heard by now, renowned comics artist Neal Adams left several very valuable sketch books in the back of a cab a few days back, and he would like them back.

Neal Adams, best known for drawing Batman and Green Arrow, forgot to take two portfolio books out of the trunk of a Crown Victoria taxi at about 7:40 p.m. Sept. 4. The books were in a beige tote bag bearing an image of Bucky O’Hare, a cartoon and comic-book rabbit. Adams’ daughter, Kristine Stone, said the sketches in the books are worth tens of thousands of dollars. Each book had about 30 pages. About 100 to 120 sketches were lost.


A reward is being offered for their return. I don’t want to say never put anything in the trunk of a cab, but after a cabbie nearly drove off with my suitcase and I had to bang on the trunk Travis Bickle style to get him to stop, it is always anxiety producing. Oh yeah, I also alway get a cab receipt since it has the cab number on it, which doesn’t really do much good but there it is.

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But, as Scott Edelman points out, it is not the first time Adams lost artwork while availing himself of public transport in New York City.Some 40 years ago, he fell asleep on the subway and lost a portfolio.

The Taxi Commission is trying to help Adams recover the sketchbooks, but if you have seen something, say something by calling 212.869.4170.

§ A nice tribute to the long departed publisher Caliber, which gave many of today’s top cartoonists a start:

The list of A-list creators whose comics debuts were made possibly by Caliber is mind-boggling: Brian Michael Bendis, Stuart Immonen, Michael Lark, James O’Barr, Brandon Peterson, Dean Haspiel, Georges Jeanty and Jason Lutes all made their comics debuts here. In addition, Caliber also was where many budding creators made their first recognizable work; it was at there that Mike Allred created Madman, and Guy Davis blossomed with Baker Street.

§ A nice report on “the Ben Katchor, Miriam Katin, Ulli Lust, Lisa Hanawalt panel from last weekend’s Brooklyn Book Festival.

§ This interview with Chuck Forsman is a good Chuck Forsman 101. Forsman has been doing good comics for a while, but I think The End Of The F***ing World will establish him on a higher, deserved tier

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§ This Vulture piece 100 Pop-Culture Things That Make You Millennial raises a banner on the battlements 1995-2008 nostalgia culture. One of the things included is the cartoon Doug. I keep waiting for Doug to get its second wind and Patti Mayonnaise bulky sweatshirts to break out any day now. Am I wrong?

§ Why do I feel my life is so drab and dull compared to that of the people who work for D&Q? Or Frank Santoro?

§ ANOTHER SPX LINK, this time from Rob Clough’s lengthy and insightful report. Why am I still linking to SPX 2013 reports? Well for one thing people keep writing them, but for another, it was a watershed show in some still not quite defined way. It was the start of some new thing. Like the San Deigo Comic-Con it maxed out its physical space and even the money:

I imagine some artists who got an SPX table hoping to cash in on last year’s sales were disappointed. I am pretty certain that the success of last year’s show led to “Tablegeddon”, and I’m guessing that this will work itself out next year for those cartoonists who lost a lot of money and didn’t find the social interactions worth their time as a form of compensation. While the committee will take a look at the feedback they receive from cartoonists, I’m guessing that the new room is here to stay.


§ Likewise, this link to Lilli Carré’s report on the Helsinki Comics Festival lingered in my bookmarks for a few weeks but this show seems so vital and charming. Indie comics span the world or at least the Atlantic.

§ As I’ve been noting, comic-con backlash is beginning to take root in a few places. This piece on the inaugural Hyderabad Comic-Con in India complains there was More merchandise than comics at comic fest:

Ananya Prasad, a hard core comic book lover who visited the event on the first day, rues, “This was like one big mela for t-shirts and coasters! I’ve been to the Comic Con in Bangalore and there is so much more importance given to comics — there are equal number of stalls for merchandise and comics.”


Dan Wickline issued a defense of the show. It also seems that it was a first time event and they didn’t know how it would turn out. Still, not enough comics at a comic-con is a heartwarming complaint the world over.

§ The director of the beyond-x-rated ‘Blue Is the Warmest Color’ movie says it should not be released because he wet too far filming the leads fooling around. Sure you get to film two beautiful French girls making love and NOW you say everyone can’t watch?

§ Speaking of sex, the Sex Criminals launch party headed by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky was as wild as expected, with Zdarsky daring furries to take him to the limit as he donned a Garfield outfit; Fraction made do with getting a single nipple pierced on stage. Ouch.

The festivities began with an interview conducted by monoymous sex advice columnist and burlesque performer Sasha. Fraction confessed that writing the comic had led him and Zdarsky to share a lot of intimate details about their personal histories. “There are things about me that only Chip and my wife know,” he said. Fraction also admitted, “I wonder if my folks Google me, because I’ve not told them about this [book].” Zdarsky acknowledged that this was less of a problem for him; “My parents are here, so they don’t need to Google me.”

5 COMMENTS

  1. “100 Pop-Culture Things That Make You Millennial”

    Things like this make me wonder why some people extend the Millennial generation back to the late ’70s or early ’80s. I was born in ’80, and there’s not a single thing on that list that I identify with as “resonant.” Hell, half of the stuff they listed I haven’t even heard of.

    What age would somebody need to be to really appreciate everything in that slideshow? 20-28 or so?

  2. I always write the taxi number on the palm of my hand as soon as I sit down.

    That way, if I don’t get a receipt, or the driver runs off, or I’m found floating in the Hudson, there’s a record.

  3. The story I heard a few times about Neal having that portfolio stolen back in the day was that he used it as an excuse every time he had a late assignment. “Oh, yeah, that was in that portfolio.” He had to quit doing that once it was months or years after and the assignments were newer than when he had the portfolio stolen in the first place. It’ll be interesting to see if the same holds true for this bag.

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