12-16-01
- HAPPY HOLIDAYS -
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Hello everyone! 2001 was a great year for us. Our distribution increased ten fold, and we' re hoping for continued growth in 2002. I commited myself 100% to my artistic vision and slowly but surely, it is paying off. Now, I need a good rest, so I've decided to take a little break from the site (and everything else) until January 5, 2002.
I have a lot of exciting projects planned for next year, and as usual, those who visit the site will be the first to know about them. 2002 promises to be the best year yet, with new books, new comics and lots of unexpected surprises! Thanks to all of you who' ve sent supportive emails. Gagné International could not exist without the fans. Have a great Christmas and happy New Year. I'll be back in a couple of weeks!
P.S. A big thank you to those who showed up at the Golden Apple signing. Judging from the response, it looks like the new book is gonna be a hit!
12-02-01
SIGNING AT GOLDEN APPLE ON DECEMBER 15, 2001
The world premiere of Frenzied Fauna: From A to Z (four months before it's actual nationwide release)! Mark your calendars!
December 15th from 2:00pm-4:00pm at Golden Apple Comics, 7711 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90046
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Zed #3 and Frenzied Fauna: From A to Z are now available! You can order your copies directly from us by clicking here.
If you are in the L.A. area, you can purchase Zed #3 at Golden Apple Comics and Meltdown Comics. They currently have several copies for sale.
Frenzied Fauna can be found exclusively at Golden Apple Comics until December 15.
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Now that Amazon.com has also sold out of A Search for Meaning: The Story of Rex, people have been asking me where they could possibly get a copy. Well, you can always order the book set, which includes all four limited edition books with matching numbers below 100. We have only a few left, so if you're interested, you might want to act swiftly.
If you want to get an individual copy, check out the Last Gasp website. They still have a few available.
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This month's (December) edition of Diamond's Previews features 3 of our limited edition books. I got a small write-up at the front of the catalog titled "Gagné is Guest of Honor" on page 19! The listings have been highlighted as Featured Items (some of the top products in their category), which is really cool. See listings on page 329, 332 and 333. Make sure your comic / book retailers order before we run out!
11-23-01
Just a little reminder about the signing on December 2nd from 2:00pm to 5:00pm at Dark Delicacies, 4213 W. Burbank Blvd., Burbank, CA 91505. It's for a new book called The Altruistic Alphabet, for which I did one of the illustration. All proceeds will go to the Shriners Children's Hospital. Some of the artists who participated in this charity project include writers Peter Straub, Peter Atkins, F. Paul Wilson, Karen Taylor, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, and illustrators Gahan Wilson, Clive Barker, Bernie Wrightston, Jhonen Vasquez, Gak. A lot of them will be present, so if you're in the area, don't miss it.
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Last week (Nov 14 & 15) Pixar flew me over for a couple of days, to consult on Brad (The Iron Giant) Bird's new movie. I sat down with the art director, the technical directors and Brad and talked about designing stylized FX for his new movie. I had a look at the reels and brainstormed with the team. Very busy 2-day schedule. Everyone was super nice. They even gave me a copy of their new book, The Art of Monsters Inc. which is totally awesome. I saw a lot of old friends and familiar faces who seemed quite happy in their new surroundings. Looks like I will be back to Pixar sporatically to design and animate on Brad's picture.
11-12-01
The lecture / presentation at Columbus College of Art and Design went really well. The students were very eager and responsive and everyone made me feel very welcome. The air was filled with enthusiasm as I arrived at the school on Tuesday Nov 5. I talked to a class that evening, and the students were very interested and full of questions.
The next day, the main presentation was in a big auditorium and the place was filled to capacity. When I saw how many people I had to talk in front of, I nearly fainted out of nervousness. Fortunately, Bruce Barnes, a really cool teacher who organized the visit (along with Tim Reitenbach, another cool guy), had brought a bottle of Merlot to help me through this very situation. A couple of gulps back stage, and it was time for me to take the podium. From where I stood, it looked like 1000 people were staring (although the actual number was probably closer to 600). I regained my composure, started speaking, and the next thing I knew, I was on a roll. The adrenaline kicked in, and my nervousness faded away. I showed films and clips, read a couple of my books, projected some of my artworks on the big screen as I discussed the various facets of my artistic journey. The presentation lasted probably close to 2 hours and I believed the students had a great time, as did I.
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A few weeks ago, I received an email from a fan, John Q., who asked me if I would draw a picture of a silverfish (on an index card, if possible), for his collection . Below his name was the web address of his gallery. I clicked on the link and what I found put a big smile on my face. There was, a collection of silverfish drawings by tons of big names in the comic and illustration industry - a sort of Who's Who of the biz (represented by index card drawings). As I browsed through the images, I saw silverfish renditions from Walt Simonson, Dave Cooper, Frank Cho, Dave Sim, Ken Kelly, Mark Ryden, Bill Plympton and many more (over 130 names). And now, my silverfish has just been added to the illustrious collection. Go check it out.
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It had to happen! A Search For Meaning: The Story of Rex is now officially sold out. We have a few copies left for the special book set, and that's it!
11-04-01
Zed #3 is currently solliciting in the November issue of Previews (page 280). Let your comic book retailer know about it and tell him to order a truck load, or a least a few copies. The Zed series can only survive with your support!
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I added a new category under misc called reviews. This is where you will find reviews of my work from various websites and magazines. And to be totally fair, I'll be posting good ones and bad ones. So if you happen to find any reviews out there, let me know so I can add them.
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If you've been in the gallery lately, you've noticed that I've been adding a lot of book illustrations. I'll be posting a lot more in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.
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I also added links to a couple of excellent font sites, Freewarefonts.com and Blambot. I have been getting a lot of my fonts from these two sites. If you're looking for an unusual font for your books, comics or website, don't look any further.
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I'll be flying to Ohio on Tuesday (Nov 6) to lecture at the Columbus College of Art and Design. I'm anxious to meet the students but terrified of flying.
OK, gotta go finish my Powerpuff Girls Movie freelance. Bye.