Comic-Con International Recap – We’ll Be Back!

July 26, 2011 Leave a comment

As an independent book publisher in the West with mostly nonfiction titles, there’s never been a reason for us to go to Comic-Con International. Until now. Last weekend I had the privilege of being Fulcrum’s first-ever representative at San Diego Comic-Con International 2011. Aside from witnessing the spectacle and the cosplay of the show (it’s like Vegas meets Halloween meets Saturday morning cartoons meets BEA on crack), I was there to support Fulcrum author Matt Dembicki, editor of Trickster: Native American Tales.

Trickster Cover, Native American graphic novel

Comic-Con San Diego

Matt and Trickster contributing artist Andrew Cohen both made the trip out to San Diego for several reasons. One was a signing at an event across the street from Comic-Con called, coincidentally, TR!CKSTER.

Trickster Signing

Of course, another big highlight was walking the show floor and seeing an endless, chaotic parade of crazy costumes and talking to creators, fans, and publishers. Take a look at Matt’s blog for more pics of the show and his personal rundown.

Snoopy at Comic-Con International

But our main reason for attending Comic-Con was an Eisner Award nomination for Trickster in the anthology category. The ceremony was Friday night, and while we lost out to Mouse Guard, the three of us still walked away feeling extremely honored by the nomination and the chance to attend the gala with some of the industry’s finest.

Eisner Awards at Comic-Con

This honor became even more evident as I walked the show floor on Saturday. I ran into a few people I recognized from the awards gala and said either “Congrats on the Eisner” or “Congrats on the nomination last night.” They’d inevitably ask who I was with and what book we’d been nominated for, and after I’d explain, they’d still have a blank look on their face, or rather a look saying, Who the hell is Fulcrum? So I’d jump in and say that Trickster was our first foray into comics/graphic novels, that we’re not at all known in that world. One guy’s reaction to this really gave me some perspective: “This is your first graphic novel and you got an Eisner nomination? Ahhh, screw you guys.”

Yep, it’s our first, but it won’t be our last. Matt’s hard at work on a new anthology, tentatively slated for Fall 2012, and it’s going to give Trickster a run for its money.

Filed under Awards, Beyond Books, Events, Our Books Tagged with , ,

Fulcrum Friday Round-Up

July 22, 2011 Leave a comment

Fulcrum’s editorial and production manager, Haley Berry, is headed to San Diego this weekend to attend Comic-Con International 2011 and TR!CKSTER. She’ll be there supporting Fulcrum’s Trickster: Native American Tales at both a Comic-Con-sponsored event (Eisner Awards) and a TR!CKSTER-sponsored even. For comic buffs, Comic-Con San Diego is one of the most important and exciting weeks of the year. We are honored that Trickster can to be a part of the festivities with an Eisner Award nomination. Here’s what Haley will be up to this weekend (besides geeking-out on all the amazing exhibits):

Friday, July 22, 7:30 pm

Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards ceremony. Trickster, edited by Matt Dembicki, is up for an award in the anthology category, so keep your fingers crossed!

Saturday, July 23, 12–2 pm

Trickster: Native American Tales signing with editor Matt Dembicki and contributing artist Andrew Cohen, located at TR!CKSTER, a comics gallery and symposium spot across the street from Comic-Con.

Check back next week for photos and ramblings from the show and, most importantly: did Trickster win the Eisner?

Another event that we’re excited about this weekend is the Harvest Days cooking demo hosted by the Denver Public Library. Head over to Fresh City Life, the DPL’s blog, to learn more about this great summer event, but it includes sampling some delicious food (beet green and walnut pesto and roasted Kohlrabi with Parmesan Cheese), a mini-farmers market, and a giveaway for a CSA Season’s Egg Share and one Veggie Box pickup. I’m there!

Enjoy your weekends, and don’t forget to check back next week to hear more about Comic-Con!

Filed under Awards, Beyond Books, Events, Our Books Tagged with , ,

Friday Author Link Love

July 15, 2011 Leave a comment

Happy Friday all! Hope you have some good books to read and some outdoor activities planned. Here is a recap of some of the cool things Fulcrum’s authors and books were up to this week:

Walter Echo-Hawk, author of In the Courts of the Conqueror: The 10 Worst Indian Law Cases Ever Decided (978-1-93621-801-1, Fulcrum Publishing), was recently interviewed by J Kehaulani Kauanui for the radio show “Indigenous Politics.” Check out this podcast to hear the full interview. Walter Echo-Hawk is always a fascinating person to hear speak. http://indigenouspolitics.mypodcast.com

Richard Hetzler of The Mitsitam Café Cookbook (978-1-55591-747-0, Fulcrum Publishing) sat down with Serge the Concierge (blog) at Book Expo America in New York last month. The full interview was just posted on Serge the Concierge’s blog last week, and it’s a fun read! Check out the interview here to learn more about the inspiration for the dishes in the cookbook as well as how Richard adapted some dishes to make them more contemporary, while staying true to Native techniques.

Trickster Cover

We found out this week that Trickster: Native American Tales (978-1-55591-724-1, Fulcrum Publishing) won a Hollywood Book Festival award in the Comics category. Read about the other award winners here: http://hollywoodbookfestival.com/winners2011.htm. Congratulations to Matt Dembicki and the Trickster team! Speaking of Matt Dembicki, he is off to San Diego next week for Comic-Con International, where Trickster is up for an Eisner Award. Matt will also be doing a signing at Tr!ckster on Saturday, July 23rd, from 12pm-2pm. The San Diego Wine And Culinary Center wine bar directly across the road from San Diego Comic-Con will be transformed for one week into Tr!ckster, a 4,500 square foot area for comic creators to launch books or sell limited runs of new books or items with gallery space for display and a symposium spot as well.

Our friends at Indian Country Today magazine recently reviewed Every Day is a Good Day, Memorial Edition (978-1-55591-691-6, Fulcrum Publishing) by Wilma Mankiller. Following is a nice quote from the review: “The endurance of this book owes as much to these women’s resilience as to the staying power of its author. Although she died in April 2010 at the age of 64, Mankiller had survived and indeed surpassed what might be considered more than her share of misfortune. In The Way Home, the chief, a key player in the rebuilding of her nation, wrote, “The question I am asked most frequently is why I remain such a positive person, after surviving breast cancer, lymphoma, dialysis, two kidney transplants and systemic myasthenia gravis. The answer is simple: I am Cherokee, and I am a woman. No one knows better than I that every day is indeed a good day.” “

Have a great weekend!

Filed under Link Love, Our Books Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

Trickster Gets a Nod from the Will Eisner Comics Industry Awards

April 26, 2011 Leave a comment

Fulcrum received some very exciting news last week when we were notified that Trickster: Native American Tales, A Graphic Collection, edited by Matt Dembicki, was nominated for a 2011 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award. Trickster was nominated in the “Best Anthology” category of this prestigious comics and graphic novel industry award. Everyone on the Fulcrum team and the Trickster team is buzzing over this wonderful honor. Named for acclaimed comics creator Will Eisner, the awards are in their 23rd year of highlighting the best publications and creators in comics and graphic novels. The Eisner Awards are presented under the auspices of Comic-Con International, a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to creating awareness of and appreciation for comics and related popular art forms, primarily through the presentation of conventions and events that celebrate the historic and ongoing contributions of comics to art and culture.

Trickster was chosen by a panel of veterans in the comic industry, but the final voting is done by you—comics writers and artists, publishers and editors, librarians, and retail store owners/managers. By voting in the Will Eisner Comics Industry Awards, you have a say in who is recognized and honored. Ballots with this year’s nominees have gone out in packets to Comic-Con’s mailing list. If you’re eligible to vote but don’t think a ballot is headed your way in the mail, a downloadable PDF of the ballot is available on the Eisner Awards website and a special website has been set up for online voting. The results in all categories will be announced in a gala awards ceremony on the evening of Friday, July 22 at Comic-Con International in San Diego.

Ballots are due by June 13th, so vote now if you love Trickster as much as we do!

Filed under Awards Tagged with , , , , ,

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 883 other followers