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Comic Arts Brooklyn (Or CAB as it soon to be known) released a schedule of events including art shows and panels and what not and it all sounds horribibly wonderful if you like good comics. CAB replaces the departed Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Fest on the indie circuit schedule, and takes place November 9 in Williamsburg.
Comic Arts Brooklyn (“CAB”) features over 100 artists and publishers, reincarnating the well-regarded Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival which ran for four years. Most of the publishers are smaller houses hellbent on raising a ruckus rather than imitating a previously profitable trend, with a focus on creative expression through small runs and self-publication. Admission to the festival is free to the public.

Comics festivals are no longer geek-fests with fanboys arguing over back-issue bins about who is faster: Superman or The Flash. Today the most exciting comics are being produced by young people who show their devotion to their medium by twisting it, turning it on its head, slamdancing it through the retina, and jitterbugging it around the cerebral cortex.

While this year’s featured artist list grows daily, confirmed guests include author Paul Auster, Paul Karasik (The New Yorker, RAW), David Mazzucchelli (Asterios Polyp), Paul Pope (Battling Boy), Jeff Smith (Bone) Art Spiegelman (Maus), and Adrian Tomine (Optic Nerve).  Past world-renowned guests have included Lynda Barry, Charles Burns, Roz Chast, and Chris Ware.

Programing Director Paul Karasik offers a strong slate of panel discussions and artist spotlights, including: “City of Glass: It Was A Phone Call That Started It,” “Cartoonists Under 30: What We Like,” and “Jeff Smith: Pulled Apart.”  Off-site festival programming includes an art exhibition by Charles Burns (Black Hole) at Desert Island, a screening of rare Japanese animation by Dash Shaw (Bottomless Bellybutton) at Spectacle Theater, and an art exhibition by Heather Benjamin at Mishka.

Our full programming schedule:

Charles Burns exhibition
Desert Island, 540 Metropolitan Ave, opening Thursday November 7th, 5 – 7 pm, free
Charles Burns presents original cover artwork from Nitnit issues 1-10, along with other rare self-published books and ephemera.  The Nitnit comics spring from Burns’s ongoing series of graphic novels,“X’ed Out”, featuring the hero, Nitnit, an alternate-universe Tintin character.

Dash Shaw and Limited Animation
Spectacle Theater, 124 S. 3rd St., Friday November 8th, 8 pm, $5
Cartoonist and animator Dash Shaw (New School) presents an evening of “limited” aka “low budget” animation.  He’ll show and discuss some of his own work, like the “Sigur Ros” video and Sundance selection “Seraph”, the “fast slideshow” “Blind Date 4”, and others, plus a bonus cartoon that’s inspired him: the “best episode” of the anime Robotech!  Come watch some cartoons on a Friday night.  This is not to be missed!

Comic Arts Brooklyn
November 9
Book sales and signings, 11 AM to 7 PM
Mt. Carmel church, 275 N 8th St, free

City of Glass: It Was A Phone Call That Started It
The Knitting Factory, 361 Metropolitan Avenue, Saturday November 9th, 11 AM , free
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the comics adaptation of Paul Auster’s novel City of Glass, Paul Auster, Paul Karasik (The New Yorker), David Mazzucchelli (Asterios Polyp), and Art Spiegelman (Maus) will come together for the first time ever to discuss the genesis of the adaptation of the book into illustrated form. The panel will be moderated by Bill Kartalopoulos.
With 20 foreign editions, this graphic novel has been cited by The Comics Journal as one of the “Top 100 Comics of the 20th Century.”  The story of how it came to be is filled with odd coincidences and connections not unlike a novel by Paul Auster, himself. Secrets about the book’s translation into comics will be deconstructed and revealed.

What We Like
The Knitting Factory, 361 Metropolitan Avenue, Saturday November 9th, 12:30 PM, free
Moderated by Columbia University’s librarian for ancient and medieval history and comics Karen Green, four upcoming artists–Michael DeForge, Lisa Hanawalt, Joe Lambert & Katie Skelly–discuss specific works that inspired them to become cartoonists.

Jeff Smith: Pulled Apart
The Knitting Factory, 361 Metropolitan Avenue, Saturday November 9th, 2 PM, free
Jeff Smith, whose graphic novel Bone set the world-wide gold-standard for all-ages comics,  deconstructs his comics to explain and illustrate his working process–from script to sketch, to breakdowns to pencils to finished ink work. Examples will include original pages from Bone, RASL, and a never-before seen premiere page from his mysterious new project: Tuki Save the Humans!

Jeff will also give a live old-school style inking demonstration. This drawing will then be auctioned-off on the spot as a fundraiser for the Comic Book Defense League, of which Jeff is a board member.

Heather Benjamin exhibition
Mishka Store, 350 Broadway, Saturday November 9th, 7 – 10 PM, free
Benjamin’s work is rooted in the darker recesses of your mind — and it shines a light on that darkness. Mishka is celebrating her work with an exhibition and exclusive shirt.

CAB Official After Party
Union Pool, 484 Union Ave, Saturday November 9th, 9 PM, $5
Blow off some steam after the show with live music by Jeff Lewis, The Marcellus Hall Band, and the mellow rockabilly sounds of the Susquehanna Industrial Tool and Die Co.

Additional featured artists include: Kim Deitch, Renee French, Simon Hanselmann, Sammy Harkham, Dean Haspiel, and Jonny Negron.