Award-winning children's author Kenneth Kit Lamug weaves a fairytale classic in his new picture book, The Stumps of Flattop Hill.
A dark tale for children in the tradition of the Brothers Grimm, it calls to mind the provocative illustration style of Edward Gorey. Scary and entertaining, this book challenges the idea of what children's literature can be. This unique story unfolds visually as well as literally.
Readers are taken on a twisty journey that pushes the imagination of all. They dared Florence to enter the haunted house on top of the hill. She is frightened, but Florence musters the courage to go inside. As she makes her way up to the top, she finds many ghastly things along the way. Will she make it back out or be trapped forever? The Stumps
of Flattop Hill is a macabre tale of a little girl who enters the town's legendary haunted house in the face of fear.
Read the full article here:
http://www.horrorsociety.com/2016/01/21/stumps-flattop-hill/
On this interview episode, Derek talks with Tom Manning, whose most recent work, Runoff, was released late last year from One Peace Books. They discuss the genesis of the project — how it began as a self-published serial and then eventually evolved into a massive 450-page tome — and its ambitious scope. Tom describes it as a mashup of genres and styles where he wanted to exploit the full range of the comics medium. Runoff is a horror sci-fi mystery set in small Washington state town resembling the one that Tom grew up in, and it's equal parts dark, humorous, and head-scratchingly confounding. Manning employs an ensemble cast of eccentrics, reminiscent of Berke Breathed's Bloom County, but who reside within a Lovecraftian landscape. Indeed, the cthulhu of this narrative is an enigmatic floating obelisk or headstone-looking entity with moe type eyes. And if that's not disturbing enough, you have a vigilante group of monsters by way of the Universal lot, but whose zombie member is a polite soul who goes by the name of Mr. Pickles. Ghosts become a central part of the narrative, and these spirits exercise their right to vote. And then there's the inter-dimensional bleeding — Edwin A. Abbott, anyone? — that turns into an inter-dimensional feeding. If this sounds like a weird, whacked-out comic, that's because it is, a style that Tom describes as ¡Ègothic American surrealism.¡É As he explains to Derek, he wanted to see where his story would go, what narrative tributaries carried him to the most interesting effects, and the result is quirky book that that could easily find its way into a Syfy series.
Listen to the interview here:
http://comicsalternative.com/comics-alternative-interviews-tom-manning/
When my kids were small I used to read to them a lot, usually in an effort (doomed) to get the little blighters to go to sleep. I'd let them choose a pile of picture books from the box and the deal was that once the books were all read, they would settle down for the night. It rarely worked out that way, but what I did achieve from all that reading aloud, if not some peace, was a keen appreciation for what kind of stories my kids really enjoyed.
Read the full article here:
https://vulpeslibris.wordpress.com/2016/02/01/the-stumps-of-flattop-hill-by-kenneth-kit-lamug/
Welcome to Range, Washington, an inland island — a body of land surrounded by rivers on all sides — that's half Snoquomish Indian Reservation, half small-town America, and 100% unbridled madness. Range's mayor has been running unopposed and ruling the town for half a century, like his father and grandfather before him, and the town's sheriff is a drunk in the early stages of alcoholic dementia, both of whom come quickly into play after a series of grisly murders takes place in the idyllic town. Not to mention, the citizens and those passing through suddenly realize that nobody can leave the city limits. [Cue The Twilight Zone music here.] Fingers point to Mort Carver as the murderer, a serial killer of brutal proportions who's been granted asylum on the Snoquomish Reservation, which is only the start of an accelerating series of oddities to occur within Range's boundaries into the fever pitch of its staggering conclusion. And so goes Tom Manning's wormhole of a horror graphic novel Runoff, in all its carnivalesque glory.
Read the full article here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sezin-koehler/a-cabinet-of-curiosities-americana-style-tom-mannings-runoff_b_9014044.html?utm_hp_ref=books&ir=Books
Cassy wrote a nice review of our recent publication American Spun on her blog “knit the hell out.” Excerpt below:
“Overall this book is very elegant. The aim is to highlight American yarn manufacturers, fifteen in all, with patterns created with those yarns in mind. I was especially curious to learn more about Brooklyn Tweed, Jill Draper Makes Stuff, Spincycle Yarns, and Pigeon Roof Studios. There is a short biography about each yarn manufacturer including what might inspire their process and yarn making. One of my favorite features of the book was the list of abbreviations available printed on the inside of the front cover. I haven't seen that in a knitting book before, but it I can see myself flipping easily to it in the middle of a pattern, rather than flipping through pages that would take me away from my place in the pattern.”
Read the full article here:
http://knitthehellout.com/2016/01/09/a-review-of-american-spun-20-classic-projects-exploring-homegrown-yarn/
American Spun is a collection of 20 timeless patterns, as well as an introduction to American Yarn and the people who produce it. Filled with gorgeous photography, classic projects, and a directory of the most exciting yarn producers working in America today, American Spun makes a handsome addition to the hobby knitter's bookshelf.
See the post here:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/american-spun-20-classic-projects-exploring-homegrown-yarn/patterns
Buy your copy of The Rising of the Shield Hero Volume 1 and 2 for Kindle here!
Volume 1
http://tinyurl.com/o33q6at
Volume 2
http://tinyurl.com/nhsezhg
Runoff was just listed as Amazon's Best Books of the Month for Comics and Graphic Novels for December!
View the list here:
http://tinyurl.com/oucv37q
Shouji Kawamori's Sousei no Aquarion franchise has always been typified by its odd hybrid of enigma and humor. The Aquarion Evol manga adaptation's third volume plys both characteristics in equal measure. The volume is rather light on action, choosing instead to focus heavily on developing supporting characters.
Read the full article here:
http://www.animenation.net/blog/2015/11/18/examining-aquarion-evol-volume-3/
Here's an event that you don't see very often at Umami Mart — a comic book party! We are so excited to celebrate the release of Runoff by Oakland-based artist and our good friend Tom Manning. Published by Japanese comic book house One Peace Books, Runoff is an intricate, dizzying work by Tom which made its debut in 1999. After years of serialized self-publishing, Runoff is now available as a complete compilation, thanks to One Peace Books.
Join us, together with Tom on November Friday the 13th from 6-9pm. We'll have plenty of books for purchase and to have Tom sign, along with raffle prizes — namely the original drawing for this event!
Umami Mart
815 Broadway
Old Oakland, CA
BART: 12th Street
Original post here:
http://blog.umamimart.com/2015/11/upcoming-event-runoff-book-release-party-with-tom-manning/
