Inside Jacket

Let me introduce you. He failed his K-9 exam and now works as Bernie's partner in the Little Detective Agency chasing down perps, searching for missing people and eating the occasional cruller. From his thoughts on people and wine-spice, pear, oak–don't get me started these people have no idea what they're talking about–to his ever present optimism when Bernie get's into a funk about his son, his ex-wife, or the ever diminishing aquifer, Chet's running commentary makes this series. Check out Dog On It by Spencer Quinn. Thereby Hangs a Tail is coming in January. –Sheri

Josh Neufeld’s A.D. NEW ORLEANS AFTER THE DELUGE Book Launch Party and Benefit in commemoration of the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina:
All are invited!

Date: Tuesday, August 25th
Time: 6-9 pm
Location: Idlewild Books (12 West 19th Street, NYC, 212-414-8888)
Featuring: Live music starting at 7pm by Mary McBride, cold drinks & snacks, limited-edition Giclee prints for sale (to benefit Common Ground Relief)
Cover charge: $5 (to benefit Common Ground Relief)

CALLING ALL DAVID MAZZUCCHELLI FANS!

You will have just 2 chances to meet David and hear him talk about his new graphic novel, ASTERIOS POLYP:

TONIGHT:
Thursday, July 16–NYC
7:00 pm — Event at MoCCA with Dan Nadel. Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art, 594 Broadway, Suite 401.

Wednesday, August 19–NYC:
12:30 pm — Graphic Novels and Comics from Every Angle panel. Featuring Chip Kidd, David Mazzucchelli and two more TBD. Moderator: Danny Fingeroth. Bryant Park Reading Room, 42nd Street, between 5th and 6th . Rain Venue: Library of the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen, 20 West 44th Street (between 5th & 6th Avenue).

The rave reviews continue to pour in:

“So … we can all stop reading comics now, because David Mazzucchelli’s crafted the ultimate comic book statement. Just take everything on your reading pile right now and chuck it out. Asterios Polyp is the new standard bearer. Mazzucchelli has somehow managed to jam just about everything great about comics into 340 pages of humanity, soul-searching, graphic design, philosophy and humor.” ~ News-a-rama

“Asterios Polyp is crammed with big ideas and classical allusions (in fever dreams, Asterios is imagined as both Odysseus and Orpheus), but the book never feels overstuffed. Mazzucchelli’s masterwork is by no means an easy read – there is so much to process here, the mind verily reels – but it is a transcendent one.” ~ Austin Chronicle

“As Polyp struggles toward reconciliation and redemption, his backstory is gradually revealed, and Mazzucchelli employs every artistic tool in his well-outfitted kit to illuminate his quest for self-knowledge. It’s a remarkable, bravura achievement – funny, harrowing and thought-provoking.” ~San Francisco Chronicle

“The amount that Mazzucchelli hurls at his protagonist–and, by proxy, his readers–is staggering. What’s even more impressive in the frequency with which his trials and experiments succeed. Asterios Polyp is the work of a veteran artist firing on all cylinders, who, despite having worked his way through the sequential art ringer for a few decades now, has managed to craft something remarkably fresh. Something that is sure to be borrowed from the libraries of plenty of self-appointed graphic novel ambassadors.” ~ Daily Cross Hatch

Ok readers….Here is your ONE chance to win a FREE COPY of ASTERIOS POLYP – don’t blow it! Send your answers to the 3 questions below to pantheon@randomhouse.com and if you’re the first to reply with the correct answer, I will let you know. Please note: this contest is only for US residents. And no googling answers allowed!

The questions:

1) At what school did David Mazzucchelli receive his BFA?
2) What is the name of the four-issue series that Mazzucchelli worked on with Frank Miller?
3) What is the name of Mazzucchelli’s own independent anthology?

BONUS question just for fun: What city is Asterios Polyps apartment located in? (the one that goes up in flames)

Respond ASAP! This is the most in demand graphic novel right now. According to Newsarama, “we can all stop reading comics now, because David Mazzucchelli’s crafted the ultimate comic book statement. Just take everything on your reading pile right now and chuck it out. Asterios Polyp is the new standard bearer. Mazzucchelli has somehow managed to jam just about everything great about comics into 340 pages of humanity, soul-searching, graphic design, philosophy and humor.”

Check this out: this Saturday!