T-Minus reviewed by Todd Klein!

Todd Klein, comics superstar and letterer of (among many, many other things) Top Ten, has reviewed T-Minus: the Race to the Moon on his blog! Thanks Todd! A quotation:

Ottaviani and the Cannons make excellent use of the comics format to tell this complex story in interesting ways. (...) Parts of the story are told simultaneously through the clever use of large panels and small panels on the same pages, each telling a different narrative.

You can check it out, as well as his other reviews, tips, observations, and dissections of the finer points of comics lettering at kleinletters.com.

KFAI T-Minus Radio Spot

In case you missed it, here's the link to download the KFAI radio spot on T-Minus that local journalist and comics historian Britt Aamodt produced.


Britt also produced a KFAI spot on Far Arden, which you can read about here.

Recent Book Reviews

T-Minus: The Race to the Moon on Marty Devine's MAD WORLD, The X-Librarian, Savannah Morning News, and Telegraph-Journal.

Far Arden on Bookforum and School Library Journal.

Stuff of Life on The Johnandjanaverse.

Big Funny on Newsarama

T-Minus in the New York Times Book Review

Zander and Jim and I were thrilled to learn that our latest graphic novel, T-Minus: The Race to the Moon, is featured in today's New York Times Book Review. This is a huge honor and not one we would have ever expected!

Jack Shafer's review is available to read online at NYTimes.com.

Two Far Arden Reviews & One Radio Drama

Thanks to Britt Aamodt and KFAI 90.3 fm for having Zander and me over to the recording studio last week. We chatted about T-Minus: The Race to the Moon and Far Arden, and those conversations have been turned into radio dramas! The Far Arden one went live a few days ago, and the T-Minus one will launch on July 20* (yep, the 40th anniversary of the moon landing).



* (Speaking of July 20th... if you're in or around the Michigan area, stop by Vault of Midnight for Jim Ottaviani's official book release party of T-Minus. Vault of Midnight, 219 S. Main St., Ann Arbor, MI 48104)


* * *

Also, many thanks to Matt Peckham and Brandon Schatz for their recent reviews of Far Arden. Matt calls the book a "glorious pulp throwback" which is a huge compliment.

Simon and Schuster Graphic Novels

If you liked T-Minus: The Race to the Moon, check out previews of some other fine Simon and Schuster new releases:


[ click image to download sampler pdf (37 mb) ]

Two Great Reviews on The Boogle

Check out Mark McGinty's reviews for T-Minus: The Race to the Moon and Far Arden at theboogle.wordpress.com.

Thanks, Mark!

... and don't forget, Far Arden comes out TOMORROW!

Launch Party Reminder!

Remember to mark your calendars for June 13, 2009 -- the launch party for FAR ARDEN and T-MINUS: THE RACE TO THE MOON. Read all the details at:

bigtimeattic.com/launch




Okay, now off to MoCCA...!

Jim Ottaviani T-Minus Interview on The Comics Reporter

Our friend, collaborator, and co-author of T-Minus Jim Ottaviani gives a long and insightful interview about his space race tour de force on The Comics Reporter.  Tom Spurgeon always conducts excellent interviews, and this is no exception.  

Jim Ottaviani T-Minus interview

T-Minus Reviewed on Boing Boing

So Tuesday was officially "All Balls Day" (aka T-Minus 00:00:00) for the launch of Zander's and my latest collaboration with Jim Ottaviani. Unfortunately we haven't received our comp copies from the publisher yet, so we can't tell you about how awesome it feels to hold the book in our hands, but this great review from Cory Doctorow on Boing Boing is just as good:

Boing Boing

Thanks to Steve Stwalley for the link!

T-Minus Twelve Hours...

 
 

Interview with Jim Ottaviani at Yet Another Comics Blog

Friend of BTA and collaborator on two projects (Bone Sharps and T-Minus), Jim Ottaviani is the man to talk to about science comics.  Here at Yet Another Comics Blog, he gives an interview about the process of making T-Minus and has some nice things to say about his co-authors.

Save the Date

Zander and I are having a signing/party at Big Brain in June, the weekend after MoCCA.



For more details, pick up a postcard tomorrow at Microcon, or go to:
www.bigtimeattic.com/launch

T-Minus Featured As Junior Library Guild Selection

Zander and I (and Jim) were excited to learn recently that the Junior Library Guild has picked T-Minus: The Race to the Moon as a Junior Library Guild Selection for Spring 2009. JLG highlights soon-to-be-released books that they believe will provide "excellent reading experiences for children." We know what a great book T-Minus is (because we've been living and breathing it for the last year) so it's exciting that JLG feels the same way!

The recognition from JLG includes a write-up in their monthly magazine:

[ click for larger version ]



I should stress, though, that while the "official" age range for T-Minus is listed as 8-12, the Junior Library Guild recommends it for grades 7-11 (ages 12-17), and we here at the studio feel like there is nothing about the book that skews terribly young.  From the candle-lit sketches of Tsiolovsky to Germany's V-2 rockets to the various disasters and successes of US and Soviet rockets, it's a well-rounded introduction to the space race. And in Jim Ottaviani's capable hands, the whole epic story is seen through the eyes of two NASA engineers, Max Faget and CC Johnson. So don't let the age range scare you away!

Learn more about the Junior Library Guild
Pre-order T-Minus

Kevin and Zander Cannon interviewed on Newsarama about T-Minus!

Michael Lorah interviewed Kevin and me about our upcoming book T-Minus: the Race for the Moon, coming in May from Simon and Schuster's Aladdin Books imprint. Written by Jim Ottaviani, the book covers the US-Soviet space race from a century before Sputnik up to the US moon landing 40 years ago this summer.

Cannons to the Moon: Zander and Kevin Cannon Talk T-Minus

Books Are In!

It's always fun to get back-to-back packages of books in the mail.

The Stuff of Life: A Graphic Guide to Genetics and DNA



First up is The Stuff of Life, the science graphic novel that we illustrated and Mark Schultz wrote. There was a small printing snafu, which meant that the December 23 run of the book had to get pulped! The reprinted version came out officially on January 23. If you're in New York next week, get a signed copy from Zander!

Zander and I started working on The Stuff of Life back in 2006, so it's pretty exciting to finally have the finished product in our hands. Stuff marks the beginning of an era -- it's our first graphic novel drawn entirely with the Pentel Pocket Brush Pen -- and also the end of an era -- it's the last graphic novel we'll do with hand-lettering on the boards. This is due to the publisher's need to be able to make last-minute text changes in InDesign. Our next book, T-Minus (coming out in May) uses several original fonts based on my hand-writing. Our hope is that you, the reader, won't be able to tell the difference.

Hacker's Guide



Next up is Hacker's Guide, a down to earth and very detailed guidebook of every metro-area golf course. Not a graphic novel, per se, but Zander and I created a "Hacker" character, and did the logo, cover design and packaging, and created several illustrations and logos that are used inside the book.

Hacker's Guide may seem like a random project to work on, but it's actually closely connected to the local comics scene. The book is the brainchild of Bruce Stasch, who is an in-law of Lars Martinson. Lars, of course, is an extraordinary cartoonist whose Tonoharu: Part One came out from Top Shelf last spring. Bruce actually offered the Hacker's Guide design project to Lars, but Lars had to turn it down as he is currently globetrotting.

The book will premiere at the Crown Royal Minnesota Golf Show this February. Get your photo taken with a life-size version of the Hacker Guy!

Ordering info:
The Stuff of Life: A Graphic Guide to Genetics and DNA
Hacker's Guide