stonesoup

Val Takes Revenge!

As many of you know, art often reflects life. Many of my characters are based loosely on real people. So just in case you didn’t already know…there is a real Val.

Valerie J. Brooks has been my closest friend and creative ally for the past 28 years. We met when we both worked at a community college, discovered we both had a desire to begin a new, more creative life, and have been having lunch every Thursday since then to encourage each other in those pursuits.

Val is a writer. In the time I’ve known her she’s completed three novels and many short stories. Her most recent focus has been writing Noir stories, which she plans to offer online.

Revenge In Paris is the first in her Noir Travel short story series. Val gives us a gripping mystery set in the City of Light, and then as a bonus includes travel tips for visiting Paris, a place she deeply loves.

I was one of her lucky early readers, and I just loved this story. I’ll mention here that it’s not really for kids, since I have lots of kid fans. But it is a wonderful, evocative mystery with an enormous twist I did not see coming, and that’s saying a lot. I’m not easily misdirected!

To download your free copy of the first story in her series, visit her Revenge In Paris website!

 

Stone Soup Holiday Events

 Privacy is for Wussies arrived in time for the holidays. There are some wonderful reviews on Amazon, thanks to my fabulous fans. Get your copy online or if you are in the area, come see me at one of these venues:

HOLIDAY EVENTS in EUGENE and PORTLAND

PORTLAND: DEC. 1 • 7-8:30pm • Panel Discussion (and book signing) with Oregon Cartoonists as part of the Oregon Historical Society "Comic City USA" exhibit • Oregon Historical Society

PORTLAND: DEC. 4 • 12-4pm • Holiday Cheer Book Sale and Signing • Oregon Historical Society

EUGENE: DEC. 8 • 4-6pm • Register Guard Author Signing featuring Bob Welch, Dorcas Smucker, Jan Eliot, Bill Sullivan, Jan Roberts-Dominguez, and leigh Anne Jasheway • Register Guard Atrium, 3500 Chad Drive

EUGENE: DEC. 10 • 10-6pm • Author Artists Faire • Lane County Events Center next to the Holiday Market

If you can't attend these events but would still like autographed copies of my books go to Fourpanelpress.com or find me on Facebook and we will make it happen!

Stone Soup Halloween

I love Halloween. No strings attached, just spooks and candy and kids roaming around in costume in the spooky night. Here in Oregon, we are predicted to get our traditional Halloween rain, as usual. Poor, soggy trickertreaters, give 'em two pieces. Or three.

And don't miss Comic City, USA at the Oregon Historical Society!

This fabulous exhibit runs through January 31st, and highlights 13 influential comic artists and writers who have helped Oregon become one of the largest centers for comic production in the country. Who knew?

My work is featured in the exhibit, as well as the amazing work of Carl Barks, John Callahan, Jack Ohman, Joe Sacco, Matt Groenig, Homer Davenport, Basil Wolverton, Mike Richardson, Alex Schomburg, Anina Bennett & Paul Guinan, Cat Farris, Colleen Coover and Dylan Meconis. Oregonians all.

MEANWHILE...

Privacy is for Wussies, my 11th collection, arrived in time for the holidays. There are some wonderful reviews on Amazon, thanks to my fabulous readers.

Upcoming Events in Eugene and Portland:

EUGENE: Nov. 12 • 2pm TALK AND BOOK SIGNING • Eugene Public Library

PORTLAND: Dec. 1 • 7-8:30pm • Panel Discussion (and book signing) with Oregon Cartoonists as part of the Oregon Historical Society "Comic City USA" exhibit • Oregon Historical Society

PORTLAND: Dec. 4 • 12-4pm • Holiday Cheer Book Sale and Signing • Oregon Historical Society

EUGENE: Dec. 10 • 10-6pm • Author Artists Faire • Lane County Events Center

If you can't attend these events but would like autographed copies of my new book (or any of my books) go to Fourpanelpress.com or find me on Facebook and just send me a message and we will make it happen!

Stone Soup events this fall...Woooohoooo!

Book 11 has hit the shelves and I am scheduling events for the fall. I won't be traveling out of Oregon for now, but if you are in the Northwest maybe I will see you at one of these.

Sept. 20 • 7pm TALK AND BOOK SIGNING • Barnes & Noble, Eugene OR

Nov. 12 • 2pm TALK AND BOOK SIGNING • Eugene Public Library, Eugene OR

Dec. 1 • 7-8:30pm • Panel Discussion (and book signing) with Oregon Cartoonists as part of the Oregon Historical Society "Comic City USA" exhibit • Oregon Historical Society, Portland OR

Dec. 10 • 10-6pm • BOOK SIGNING • Author Artists Faire • Lane County Events Center, Eugene OR

If you can't come to one of these events and would like an autographed copy of my new book (or any of my books) find me on Facebook and just send me a message. Then, we'll talk :-)

Comic City USA

On August 14th a cool comics show will be opening at the Oregon Historical Society in downtown Portland.

From the earliest Oregon cartoonists to those of us working in the industry today, Comic City, USA highlights 13 influential comic artists and writers who have helped Oregon become on of the largest centers for comic production in the country. Stone Soup will be included in this show.

We lost Richard Thompson, creator of Cul de Sac, this week. A great light in the cartoon force was extinguished. I will treasure my acquaintance with him, and all his wonderful books.

Mike Peters will be honored with his very own day by the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library in Columbus Ohio, Saturday Nov. 12 (Their website still says Nov. 5 but they told me they've changed it...) The exhibit of his work will run through March 12, 2017. Mike is an AMAZING cartoonist and hysterically funny guy, so if you ever get the chance to hear him speak, DO IT.

Finally, my newest book is shipping to retailers as we speak. Officially it's an August 1 release. If you can't order it yet, you can pre-order it and it will come to you very soon. I hope you like it! It's a good one.

Happy Summer to all! ---Jan

Summer!

I love summer. I love writing Stone Soup strips about summer. I can get lost in Alix's undersea world and forget about politics and shootings and all the other miserable things that happen in the real world.

Over Memorial Day I attended the National Cartoonists Society Annual Reuben Awards and since it was held in Memphis this year I visited Graceland. A strange, wonderful place.

I was lucky enough to spend time with my cartoon pals Lynn Johnston (whose wonderful friend Paul got us a backstage tour at Sun Studios), Ann Telnaes (political cartoonist), Sandra Bell-Lundy (Between Friends), Jeff Smith (Bone), Jeanne Schultz and many many others, plus I met Eddie Pittman (Red's Planet) and lots of other great folks. Sergio Aragones was among the speakers (as was I) and it was amazing to hear his history with Mad Magazine. Think your life has been rough? Sergio spent his first night in the US on a bench beside New York's East River. A year later he was a regular with Mad. Lots to be admired there.

My new book is hitting the shelves, and it's a good one! If you are ready to add book 11 to your Stone Soup collection, the time has come.

I took the cover image from this strip...

 

Happy summer, all! Make sure you read your funnies every day to balance the more complicated parts of life!

 

New Stone Soup Cartoon collection out soon!

By popular demand, Book 11 will be released in September 2016. Thanks to all the wonderful readers who make these books possible! You can pre-order it online if you like.

After 20 years of daily publication I am enjoying my new once-a-week schedule. I spent 9 weeks back in Cape Town, my home away from home, and I have new creative projects in the works.

If you are missing Stone Soup dailies and want to read it every day, you can start from the beginning here— Stone Soup Classics

Sending love to all my fantastic fans!

You're The Best

 

Everything I Know About The Writing Life I Learned From A Comic Strip

Sheila Bender of Writing It Real interviewed me on KPTZ Radio in Port Townsend, Washington, for their program "In Conversation: Discussions on Writing and the Writing Life." Port Townsend is a hub of creative types and creative activity, just across the sound from Seattle. 

The interview aired this week and is now archived both at KPTZ (go to Podcasts and scroll way down to "In Conversation") and Sheila's website Writing It Real and available for a listen. Sheila was terrific to talk to, and we had a great conversation about my 20+ years of writing Stone Soup, about the writing life in general, about my new incarnation as a Sundays-only cartoonist, about women in cartooning...

You will notice that Sheila also interviewed Ken Doctor, my very first newspaper editor (circa early 80s) when he ran the Willamette Valley Observer. Fun to think how far we've both come from those early early days.

Thanks, Sheila!

Love Stone Soup? Read it again from the beginning!

2015 is rushing to a close. This year I decided to go to Sundays-only publishing of Stone Soup. I know that I disappointed more than a few readers with my decision, but I'm so grateful you are all out there following the strip on Sundays. The story continues!

Meanwhile...remember that you can read the WHOLE SAGA from the beginning on GoComics. What happened to Joan's first husband? When did Wally come onto the scene? How did Gramma end up upstairs? How have they all changed over the last 20 years????

Find out here...

Stone Soup Classics

Yowza, 20 years of Stone Soup today!

Today's the day...Stone Soup is officially 20 years old. 

Universal Press has posted some fun stuff. Links below. 

What my editor has to say about working with me (are we ready for that?)... 

GoComics blog

And some fun free stuff... 

GoComics giveaway

And then they asked me to pick my 20 favorite strips. Out of more than 7000??? Yikes. But these are definitely strips I love.    My Top 20

Thank you all for making it possible! Without my wonderful readers I'm just a cartoonist talking to herself in a small room. You saved me from that!

#gocomics