jobnik! and more

ITEM: Wow, this is a hell of a press release. I was excited about the Isotope party tonight anyway, but now I'm totally hyped up. Can't wait! If you're not in San Francisco and think the party can't do anything for you, check out the link anyway. Seriously, take a minute.

ITEM: Just like Joe, I usually hate those internet jokes that get passed around in intra-office e-mails and however else... but this is just funny as hell. I gotta track down my old Texan buddy's e-mail and send it to him, he was a big Chuck Norris fan. Seriously, take a look at this one.

ITEM: My attempt to stir up thoughtful controversy is met with some rolled eyes over at Millarworld, perhaps because it's been said before. Still, I think creators need every bit of encouragement they can get to focus on their own, personal projects, and I don't mind repeating that once in a while.

ITEM: Here I am, getting tired from all the work I've had lately and worrying that maybe the blog is losing steam, when all of a sudden some hugely kind words (prefacing one of the best stories ever) from blogging favorite Jason Rodriguez give me a good kick in the ass, especially doubled up with some more kind words from Millarworld scholar and gentleman Franck Mars, who's been spearheading the Indie Solicitations thread with verve and doing some incredible work spreading the gospel to those hungry masses, finding previews and bringing the true indie comics love. Both fellows whose opinion I really respect, giving me that encouragement just when I needed it. Cheers, gents.

ITEM: I've had the pleasure of meeting Miriam Libicki a couple of times - once at APE last year and again when she came back to the city and visited the Isotope. I remember her stopping me as I strolled down the aisles at APE with a smile and a "hello" and throwing me the most bitchin' comics pitch I'd heard in a long time, for her book, jobnik!:

"It's about when I volunteered in the Israeli army. I had an office job, mostly just filing and stuff."



What a combination of concepts! My mind began to race with speculation and questions. Was she trained to properly defend herself if The Worst should happen? Did she know people who died or lost friends or family in combat? How did it feel to be on the sidelines while other folks were put at "real" risk? What kind of real risk did she face herself? After all, I've heard all kinds of horror stories about suicide bombers and such attacking Israel - you don't have to be a combat soldier to deal with danger in Israel, right? What was it like to be an American in Israel? What inspired her to volunteer in the first place, when living in America is so much safer?



All kinds of complications. And, as befits the material, the book is sometimes ambiguous and versatile; parts of it are funny, parts of it are about conflicting feelings of acceptance (stranger in a strange land, getting in touch with her roots?), parts of it are about being afraid... there are some slippery relationships and a subtext of self-doubt and unease.

In short, it's autobiographical comics and many of the things that suggests, with such a unique spin that I can't wait for more... and to see how everything turns out.

Visit realgonegirl.com to check out several preview pages and some of Libicki's other work. Sista's in the comics army, now.

Enjoy the weekend, everyone.