boatfire

NEW WEBSITE

2012-01-18T22:20:00.002-05:00

and blog....

Here's the LINK

Doodle (Steinberg's Condo)

2011-10-26T07:19:00.001-04:00

Doodles (Pedestrian and Driver)

2011-10-24T23:33:00.004-04:00

Take What You Can Carry Release date

2011-09-26T11:50:00.004-04:00

March 13th, 2012. (It just showed up on Amazon, which always kind of exciting.) You can preorder HERE or wait for one of the release events.

July 7th at ISSUE PROJECT ROOM

2011-07-05T12:05:00.002-04:00

THE BEACH BENEATH THE STREET
The Everyday Life and Glorious Times of the Situationist International

Join McKenzie Wark and Kevin C. Pyle at ISSUE Project Room in Brooklyn for an event to launch Wark's new book, The Beach Beneath the Street: The Everyday Life and Glorious Times of the Situationist International.

Readings, Q&A, and exclusive projections based on the book's fold-out jacket, Totality for Beginners—a collaborative graphic essay featuring text selected by McKenzie Wark with composition and drawings by Kevin C. Pyle.

Thursday July 7th, 7.30pm

ISSUE Project Room
at the Old American Can Factory
232 3rd Street (at 3rd Avenue), 3rd Floor
Brooklyn, NY 11215

For detailed directions to the Old American Can Factory, visit the ISSUE Project Room website.

Free event, open to all. Books will be on sale.

http://www.versobooks.com/events/192-the-beach-beneath-the-street

The Graphic Classroom

2011-07-05T11:45:00.003-04:00

This is a great site for teachers interested in using graphic novels in the classroom (and I thought so even BEFORE they reviewed my book.) LINK HERE

Final, FINAL cover.

2011-06-13T11:13:00.002-04:00

The fine designers at Henry Holt improved this a bit and here it is. Due out in Winter 2012.

The Beach Beneath the Street book release

2011-06-05T15:15:00.004-04:00

McKenzie Wark presents his new book The Beach Beneath the Street: A Fresh Historyof the Situationist International (Verso, 2011) on Wednesday night, June 8 at 8PM,Spoonbill & Sugartown, Booksellers, 218 Bedford Ave., Brooklyn 11211. Telephone 718-387-7322. Admission is free.

Ken and I collaborated on a comic that is incorporated into the foldout poster/jacket of the book.

Zombie chase

2011-05-16T10:08:00.008-04:00

Here are some sketches for a section cut from the next book. I don't want to say too much about the project right now but the context for this comic is that it follows a discussion of why fairy tales have some gruesome elements in them and how that type of material may function positively in a child's development. OR how maybe it's just fun to be scared.

Final Cover for Take What You Can Carry

2011-05-09T21:37:00.003-04:00

Still working out the back copy type but the cover is approved!

The Beach Beneath the Street

2011-04-11T14:08:00.005-04:00

A few years ago I started collaborating with the scholar McKenzie Wark (Chair of Culture and Media at the New School) on a "graphic essay" about the Situationist International, the European revolutionary art movement. The idea was to "détourn" some the writing (selected by Ken) with comics. One manifestation of our efforts, focusing on the Letterists, is now appearing as a nifty fold out poster on the back of the jacket for Ken's new book, "The Beach Beneath The Street: The Everyday Life and Glorious Times of the Situationist International" published by Verso. I designed the jacket as well, nodding a bit to Ken and my mutual affection for the design of the Zone books of years ago.

Final Cover Sketch

2011-03-01T23:31:00.003-05:00

"A Secret Mercy" has now become "Take What You Can Carry" and the cover sketch and design is approved. I like the new title much better. It will hit the stores next winter.

WW3 30th press

2011-02-05T14:41:00.004-05:00

Today is the last day of the Exit show but it is slated to travel. Thanks to the staff at Exit Art and Peter, Seth and Susan for all the hard work putting together the show. Here's a collection of the press:

New York Times

East Village Local

Comixology

Steve Brodner

Drawger

New York Going

Freedom Funnies

Six Chix (1st article) (2nd article)

Imprint

Drawger

Performance at Exit Art

2011-01-23T18:01:00.002-05:00

I'll be showing slides and speaking at
Exit Art
475 Tenth Ave
New York, NY 10018
Wednesday, January 26, 2011 / 7-9pm
Milk Not Jails
With artist talks by Sabrina Jones and Kevin Pyle
Milk Not Jails is a consumer campaign to mobilize New York residents to support the dairy industry and the long-term sustainability of the rural economy. It advocates for criminal justice and agriculture policy reform to bring about positive economic growth. (LINK)

NYTimes Graphic Radicals Review

2011-01-23T17:49:00.004-05:00

Holland Cotter at the New York Times gave the WW3 show at Exit a fine write up. Here's an excerpt: "Best of all, World War 3 Illustrated, like Exit Art, is still alive and well. A new issue, called “The Food Chain,” is out. As always it mixes newcomers and veterans, emphasizes content over style (but has plenty of style), keeps that content accessible and critical, and pays its printers and distributors but no one else.

If it had nothing more than that kind of dedication to recommend it, it would be invaluable. But it has much, much more."
(LINK)

"A Secret Mercy" to be in color

2011-01-01T23:19:00.004-05:00

My next book, "A Secret Mercy," is turned in to Henry Holt for Young Readers. It has two interlocking stories that take place in two different time periods. I'm excited that they decided to go for color so I could use it as a storytelling tool.

WW3 illustrated Thirty Years Old!

2010-11-20T10:48:00.004-05:00

And there's an exhibit and celebration:
opening: Tuesday, December 7th, 7 to 9pm
Exit Art
475 10th Avenue
New York, NY
(link)

WW3 in B.C.

2010-09-07T15:48:00.002-04:00

Fellow WW3 co-editors Seth Tobocman and Rebecca Migdal and I will be in Victoria, B.C. this weekend doing performances and panels in conjunction with "Graphic Radicals" at Legacy Gallery at UVic.

Graphic Radicals is a themed presentation of the work of World War 3 Illustrated, a New York artist collective, from the 1980s to the present day. The art confronts issues such as anti-war protests, squatting in New York, the tragedies of 9-11, racism, prisons and anarchism. “This is some of the most hard-hitting, socially-engaged art of the last thirty years,’ explains Allan Antliff, Canada Research Chair in Modern Art at UVic. “Simply put, this artists’ collective took illustration to a new level by confronting the important issues of our time in uncompromising terms.

Graphic Radicals includes dozens of works in the form of posters, graphic illustrations, paintings, banners and other media.
(LINK)

While There's Still Some Left.

2010-08-20T14:28:00.008-04:00

It seems my summer was spent in primarily two places: Either in a classroom, teaching comics, or in my studio, drawing comics. Classes ended two weeks ago and I just finished all the tones on my next graphic novel for Henry Holt for Young Readers. It's entitled "A Secret Mercy." and will be out in winter 2012. Here's a peek. Now off to a beach somewhere...

Lab U.S.A. Review

2010-06-14T22:38:00.004-04:00

I have to link to this just-published review on the Graphic Novel Reporter of my nearly ten-year-old "docucomic "Lab U.S.A." The reviewer really understood was I was trying to do and, much to my pleasure, refers to it as a "horror" comic. (LINK)

Marginalia

2010-06-08T10:15:00.003-04:00

I've been rather absent from this blog (and many other things) as I've been drawing and scanning the 170 pages of my next book, "A Secret Mercy." When my enthusiasm for inking the particular page I'm working on wanes, I often do a little drawing in the margin to satisfy the desire to be doing something without preconceptions or definable purpose. As I scanned my pages, I saved a few of these. So here's a collection:

Reading With Pictures Anthology

2010-03-31T05:29:00.003-04:00

I'm collaborating with Kevin Sacco (and Calvin Pyle!) on a contribution to a fundraising venture for Reading With Pictures.
Here's their copy:
Help Bring Comics into the Classroom
Reading with Pictures is an educational non-profit organization that promotes literacy and the visual arts through the use of comics in the classroom. To achieve our goals, we’ve recently launched a pledge drive on kickstarter.com (http://kck.st/a2LVJy) to finance the publication of a groundbreaking educational comics anthology. The anthology features a cover by Jill Thompson (The Sandman) and original stories by over 50 all-ages creators including Fred Van Lente (Amazing Spider-Man), Chris Giarrusso (Mini-Marvels), Jim Gownley (Amelia Rules), Jeffrey Brown (Sulk), Scott Sava (The Dreamland Chronicles), and RWP Executive Director Josh Elder (Mail Order Ninja). This limited edition anthology will serve as a proof of concept that comics can be both entertaining and educational, and the only way to guarantee that you get your copy is by pre-ordering on Kickstarter today!
Learn more by visiting us online at www.readingwithpictures.org.
At Reading with Pictures, we’re getting comics into schools and getting schools into comics.

Great Graphic Novels for Teens 2010

2010-01-22T10:54:00.004-05:00

I'm really honored that YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) named Katman as one of the great teen graphic novels for 2010. As if I didn't already love librarians enough. Check out all the great company I'm with (here)

Katman flagged for TMGNRL

2009-12-16T17:16:00.002-05:00

The Texas Maverick Graphic Novels Reading List (TMGNRL) is a recommended reading list developed by public and school librarians from the Young Adult Round Table (YART). The purpose of the list is to encourage students in grades 6-12 to explore a variety of current books. To see the whole list click here.

The Digital Empire of Russell Christian

2009-12-09T16:56:00.004-05:00

Artist and friend Russell Christian has been fervently wrestling with the economic crisis from all angles and mediums on a series of nested blogs that sprout new tangents daily. For that and so much more start at his Bruxist Manifesto, then follow the Bouncy Banker and end in The World of Disarray.

School Library Journal Review

2009-11-24T12:27:00.002-05:00

Here some highlights:

"Pyle's Katman succeeds because of its honesty. He doesn't try to make it an afterschool special kind of story, where the choices are easy and right and wrong are clear."

and

"Katman is a strong story, but a hard read. It's not for readers unfamiliar with the comic medium, but it is also not for readers looking for something quick and easy to breeze through. Pyle requires his readers to think and to do that, they have to pay attention to details in the text and panels. But for readers wanting a realistic story where a teen himself is the superhero simply by doing what he is able to do, they will find in Katman a character to admire."

READ MORE

Nominations!

2009-11-12T11:26:00.006-05:00

I'm honored to join the long list of nominees for two YA lists:

The Cybils (Children and Young Adult Blogger's Literacy Awards): (LINK)

AND the YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) Great Graphic Novels for Teens (LINK)

A great side effect of this honor is that librarians all over the country are reading it and starting to post reviews:

Here's one from Canada: This was a great story. I don't usually go in for teen reality fiction but this story grabbed me right away. Kit is a character that one feels for right away and teens will identify with. The book has a great plot (which I won't give away) that makes the book hard to put down until you've finished. The book is peopled with eccentric characters such as Vinod who belongs to the religion of Jainism, an autistic teen nicknamed Bleep, and the local crazy cat lady. Ultimately, the underlying theme of the book is caring. It sounds kind of corny written down like that but trust me, it's not. The book asks how many people really care these days? Care about something, about someone, about doing something or believing in something? A very powerful story.

Upcoming Katman Events

2009-10-21T16:06:00.003-04:00

Oct. 22nd, 4:00 pm
New York Public Library
Countee Cullen Branch
104 West 136th Street [near Lenox Ave.], New York, NY 10030-2695.
Call us at (212) 491-2070

Oct. 27th, 7:00 pm
Watchung Booksellers
54 Fairfield St
Montclair, NJ 07042
973 744-7177

Nov. 3rd, 4:00 pm
Queens Library
89-11 Merrick Boulevard
Jamaica, NY 11432
(718) 990-0700

Opener sketch

2009-10-15T11:17:00.003-04:00

I'm starting to draw the next book (still untitled) for Henry Holt for Young Readers. Here's an almost final sketch of the opening page.

Creator "Subverts Young Adult Cliches" in New Indy OGN (Newsarama interview)

2009-09-23T18:23:00.002-04:00

By Michael Lorah

Cartoonist Kevin Pyle’s latest graphic novel, Katman, is the story of Kit, a teenage boy with a complicated family situation and an antagonistic social life. In search of a place to belong, Kit winds up caretaker of the neighborhood’s other disenfranchised population – the growing population of stray cats.

“Katman is about a teen, Kit, in an economically-depressed town who finds himself at loose ends when his scholarly older brother pushes him out of the house in order to study for his college exams. Out of boredom and reasons he doesn’t entirely understand, Kit falls into feeding stray cats,” Pyle explained. “This action attracts the derision of a group of metal kids who hang out behind the kwickie mart. Among them is a more punk girl, Jess, who is intrigued by what he’s doing and a tentative friendship forms. Jess is into drawing manga and she ends up creating a character, Katman, inspired by Kit. Her friendship with Kit strains her relationship with the group and as events unfold she’s forced to make a choice. Meanwhile Kit has to work out how far he’s willing to go in ensuring the well-being of these abandoned creatures. Even though it’s called Katman, the story really follows two people’s struggles with the consequences of committing to something or someone outside themselves.” (READ MORE)

Comic Book Resources Interview

2009-09-21T11:10:00.003-04:00

I love that the interviewer, Alex Dueben, asked about Jainism and The Planet of the Apes!

--------------------
KEVIN C. PYLE'S STRAY CATS AND SUPERHEROES

by Alex Dueben, Guest Contributor

Kevin C. Pyle probably isn’t a name most comics fans are familiar with, but he’s been working in comics and illustration for many years. Pyle’s received the Silver Medal from the Society of Illustrators and has contributed to the long-running anthology “World War 3 Illustrated,” and co-edited the most recent volume, issue #39, which was released earlier this year.

In 2007, Pyle released “Blindspot,” a graphic novel that he dedicated to “Mom, Dad and Sgt. Rock,” about a young boy and the war games he plays with his friends. It showed Pyle as an artist interested in the relationship between fantasy and reality and how they reflect and influence each other, in drawing realistic teenage characters who are trying to make sense of themselves and their lives and as an artist, and also demonstrated Pyle’s considerable skill at establishing a sense of place. An excerpt of “Blindspot” was included in 2008’s “The Best American Comics” edited by Lynda Barry.

Pyle’s new graphic novel “Katman” is one a tightly plotted story that balances multiple story and thematic elements. It’s the story of a teenage boy who starts feeding stray cats in his neighborhood, and what starts out very simply becomes a very powerful story about fighting for something that matters and the refusal to remain cynical and detached from the world.

CBR News spoke with Kevin C. Pyle about “Katman” and his body of work. (READ MORE)

Local Press

2009-09-16T11:05:00.005-04:00

Baristanet, THEE Montclair/Bloomfield/Glen Ridge blog, has a nice piece on the local landscape and imbedded in Katman.

"There's a new graphic novel out by Bloomfield artist Kevin Pyle, about a boy who feeds stray cats, and it's full of places Bloomfielders will recognize, from the Bloomfield train station to the inside of the Bukowski Animal Shelter. "Katman," released Sept. 1, was inspired partly by a "little cat village" where someone leaves food for stray cats, which Pyle discovered near the Bloomfield train station.

But it's also inspired by all the boarded-up storefronts that resulted from Bloomfield's..." (READ MORE)

Publisher's Weekly Review

2009-09-15T11:35:00.004-04:00

Katman Kevin C. Pyle. Henry Holt, $12.99 paper (144p) ISBN 978-0-8050-8285-2

This great coming-of-age tale promotes nonconformity as well as responsibility (and young love, too, but to a lesser extent). It's the summer break, and lacking friends or funds, teenager Kit is hanging around the house too much. Wandering aimlessly through his low-income neighborhood in Brooklyn, Kit takes pity on the stray cats he sees. He feels as abandoned as they are, and is soon feeding them, first from his mother's pantry and then by stealing. But by caring for the kitties, the boy begins a journey of growth and maturity, meeting people like the “crazy” cat lady (who was once involved in radical politics); the shopkeeper who catches Kit stealing and teaches him about Jainism; and most importantly, Jess, a cute punk rock girl with artistic ambitions. She's impressed that even though Kit is not sure why he's doing it, unlike her so-called friends he's doing something selfless and refuses to waver from his beliefs under peer pressure. Jess further encourages Kit by creating Katman, a manga-like superhero alter ego. Pyle's loose, vibrant art brings an immediacy to this story that often reads as if we're peeking into Jess's notebooks. (Sept.)(LINK)

High-Low review

2009-09-14T10:11:00.007-04:00

The always insightful Rob Clough posted a review of "Katman." Of course my favorite line is: "...the character of Kit wound up being enormously compelling, precisely because he was so difficult to pigeonhole." since I was trying to explore but also subvert what one might see as stock "YA" characters. Also, I'm glad he got the "existentialist's dilemma" and how the story is another angle on the relationship between fantasy life and reality explored in "Blindspot." (READ MORE)

Brooklyn Bookfest Panel

2009-09-06T16:59:00.002-04:00

I'm going to be on a panel this upcoming Sunday the 13th. It's at the NY Comic Con Pavilion at Brooklyn Bookfest.
More info:

Fact vs. Fiction in Action-Adventure Comics
11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Comics artists and writers Matt Loux, Fred van Lente, Chris Giarruso and Kevin Pyle discuss how they are inspired by real events, scientific research, and even math and physics to come up with action-packed adventure stories. They'll answer Q&A from the audience and give a behind-the-scenes look at the process of creating comics. For kids of all ages. Moderated by Alex Simmons.

Autographing:
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Autographing Table 3

Katman released today!

2009-09-01T22:59:00.001-04:00

And it feels odd to be on vacation.

KATMAN preview

2009-08-18T09:59:00.003-04:00

KATMAN releases September 1st

2009-08-07T10:35:00.004-04:00

From Henry Holt for Young Readers

Here's the back text:

Expelled into the hot, empty streets, fifteen-year-old Kit takes to feeding the stray cats that haunt the forgotten and unseen spaces of his town. There he also meets Jess, a manga-loving punk stuck with heavy-metal headbangers. But the pack can only hold for so long once she creates Katman, a ferocious shape-shifting stand-in for Kit’s quiet version of heroism. Not that he thinks of himself as a hero. After all, heroes don’t typically lie, steal, and hang out with crazy people.

Exploring themes of abandonment, reluctant responsibility, and the transformative power of art, KATMAN tells the story of two people forced to make a choice: Is it cooler to care about something, someone, or nothing at all?

WORKSHOPS

2009-08-07T10:22:00.008-04:00

EDUCATIONAL WORKSHOPS-

Comix Journalism
Built on an investigative project-based education model, this workshop teaches basic journalism techniques of research, interviews and reportorial narrative and applies them to producing non-fiction comics on a specific subject of academic interest. Students learn basics of sequential story-telling and comic construction. Examples of successful non-fiction comics are presented and analyzed for visual strategies.
(see Prison City Comix)

Visual Storytelling
Basic tools of comics such as word balloons, panel composition, sequential transitions are presented. Examples from published works are presented and followed by exercises. Subject matter of exercises can be curriculum specific or purely fictional.

Minicomics
Production basics for creating stapled, self-published mini-comic including layout, pagination and assemblage. Photoshop and InDesign can be employed if available.

Place as Character
Using examples from author’s work as well as other established artists, this workshop illuminates the unique storytelling possibilities of landscape in graphic novels and how to achieve them.

Past Workshops

Feb 09
Truth and Fiction, Center for Cartoon Studies, White River Junction, VT
Participants: College age students enrolled in 2 year program.
Consisted of power point presentation of career survey of illustration, "docu-comic" and graphic novel work followed by illumination of visual story-telling tools employed in sequential art. Discussed role of research in non-fiction work and issues unique to that genre. Provided editorial input on current class project and conducted portfolio reviews.

Dec 08
Art Talks to Power, Puffin Cultural Forum, Teaneck, NJ
Participants: Students from Teaneck Middle School
Conducted three hour workshop focused on creating "opinion editorial" illustration on the subject of global warming. Consisted of power point presentation illuminating the use of visual tools like symbols, transformation and scale followed by discussion of specific issue and strategies for representation. Students then each produced an illustration and discussed each other's work in terms of clarity, effectiveness, artistic value and emotional impact.

March 07-May 07
Prison City Comix, The Center for Urban Pedagogy, Heritage High School, NY, NY
Participants: Senior English class.
Conducted a six-week investigative workshop focused on creating a 32 page non-fiction comic about the impact of the criminal justice system on the local community. Presented tools for non-fiction investigation including research, first person interviews and surveys that students then employed to gather content. Presented strategies for visual representation of complex issues and basics of sequential story telling. Arranged for guest speaker and class trip to Harlem Justice Center. Provided drawing instruction, editorial input and digital expertise for production of comic. Facilitated editorial session
for creation of comic cover.

May 05
Interrupted Life, Capacity Youth Art, Columbus, OH
Participants: High school students in community art program.
Conducted all day workshop designed to facilitate production of art installation addressing the incarceration of mothers. Presented working process for researching and creating non-fiction work engaged with social issues. Introduced visual strategies for presenting complex information and discussed the role of materials in installation art. Facilitated discussion of final concept for eventual installation included in traveling art show.

BOOKS

2009-08-07T09:47:00.003-04:00

BLINDSPOT
Included in “Best American Comics 2008,” edited by Lynda Barry
starred review from “Publisher’s Weekly, "A very smart and humane graphic novel."

Dean and his friends enjoy a paradise of freedom in the woods behind their suburban housing development. But the fantasy can’t last. Their paradise is not entirely their own, and soon, through a series of surprising discoveries and dangerous encounters, the adult world intrudes. As the boys adapt to this new more perilous version of the world, fractures widen and alliances shift until Dean is left to struggle with the dark reality of his army fantasy alone.

Set in the childhood worlds of nature and fantasy Blindspot explores the role of forbidden knowledge and imagery during the transition to adulthood.

MORE INFO: http://www.blindspotbook.com/

PRISON TOWN
Paying the Price

Published in 2006
by The Real Cost of
Prisons Project

This comic book tells the story of the ways in which the financing and siting of prisons and jails affects the people of rural communities in which prisons are built. It also tells the story of how mass incarceration affects members of the urban communities that the majority of people who are incarcerated come from. Included in the comic book are alternatives to the current system. Intended as an activist tool, over eighty-five thousand copies have been distributed across the country.

LAB U.S.A.
illuminated documents

Published in 2001 by Autonomedia
Winner of the Silver Medal for Sequential Art from the Society of Illustrators
A docucomic that reveals bad svcience in the language of great art," - Sue Coe
This heavily researched, thoroughly footnoted docu-comic chronicles the history of clandestine racist and ideologically- inspired science and research in America.