Celebrate The Spirit of Giving this holiday season by gifting signed and personalized books & comics by famous authors from Comic Book Legal Defense Fund! When you do, The Will and Ann Eisner Family Foundation will make a contribution of $2 for every donation and gift order placed on the CBLDF's Website by December 12th. In addition, they will contribute $10 for each new membership and $5 for every gift membership made from now until December 31st! Now, we’re mentioning this offer here because Chip Kidd has two books for offer there ( Batman: Death By Design and Shazam: The Golden Age of The World’s Mightiest Mortal ). but it’s important to note that there are many other books and Graphic Novels offered and some of the other Authors/Artists include: Paul Levitz, Rebekah Isaacs, Dave Roman, Chris Burnham, Larry Marder, Evan Dorkin, Jeff Smith, Terry Moore, Raina Telgemeier, Alan Moore, Bryan Wood, Brian K. Vaughan, Jason Aaron, Howard Cruse, and Cliff Chiang.

Here's How The Personalization Works

When you place your order with the CBLDF for these holiday premiums, you can have each of the offered books personalized to one or two names, and the artist will sign and personalize the book on a high quality CBLDF-branded bookplate. When you place your order, please indicate how you want the book personalized in the comments section. Please include the personalization request, such as: For Will, For Carl & Nancy, or To The Groppers! Sorry - artists will not be able to provide sketches or other messages.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT SHIPPING

All books will be personalized the week of December 5, and will be mailed the week of December 12. If you have questions about whether a book will reach you in time for a specific day, please email Alex Cox at info@cbldf.org

International donors, please note, we are happy to ship anywhere in the world, but due to extended international shipping times and potential customs delays beyond our control, we cannot guarantee these personalized items will arrive for Christmas delivery.

Please be sure to click the LINK button here or down below to enjoy the latest KCRW “Bookworm” Podcast where Reporter Michael Silverblatt interviews Graphic Novelist Chris Ware about his latest publication, BUILDING STORIES (Pantheon). Of course this Graphic Novel is way more than a book, it’s a very large box that houses an eclectic gathering of colorful pamphlets, tabloid comics, and a fold-out game board, and more! BUILDING STORIES intimately details the people and happenings of a fictional building somewhere on the north shore of Chicago.

To hear this amazing interview please CLICK HERE and then when you get there just click on the dark-blue “Listen” button.

CULT #MTL ( Montreal, Canada ) just posted an extremely intense interview with the Comic book Artist and Graphic Novelist, Charles Burns. Of course everything Mr. Burns does is intense, but this dialogue between him, and the Reporter Emily Raine, really gets into the nuts and bolts of creating comic books. They discuss Art Styles, Plot Points, the History of Comics and the inspiration/influence of Herge’s Tintin Books on this trilogy. Yes, it’s cool!

Please CLICK HERE to check out this awesome Interview with Charles Burns ( Thanks Emily! )

COMIC BOOK RESOURCES recently posted a very interesting interview with Chris Ware. The topic? Ware’s latest Graphic Novel known as BUILDING STORIES. Published by Pantheon Books, this “book” has been touted as more of a “Book in a Box” by the New York Times. Most of the reason for that is because this product is made-up of many different components: Books, Booklets, Pamphlets, Posters, Maps, etc… all stored inside a “box”.

CBR Staff Writer, Alex Dueben, does an excellent job at asking the tough questions. Then Chris Ware, as always, answers in a most thought provoking way. It’s a great interview. Please go see for yourself, just CLICK HERE! ( Thanks Alex! ) Also, We wanna ask all the readers of this site to please share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, or anywhere!

Since this website is Chip Kidd’s Official Blog we knew we totally have to mention that Universal Pictures is going to be re-releasing the Classic JURASSIC PARK Movie ( Directed by Steven Spielberg ) soon and it will be in 3D!! The Release Date is set for April 5th, 2013. Yes, here’s a chance to view this film on the big screen again but this time the Dinosaurs will be jumping out at you, literally! Up above is the One-Sheet Movie Poster ( that features the JP Logo designed by Chip Kidd ). Then, please be sure to view the video of the new movie trailer we placed here, down below.

Also, as a special treat, here is Chip Kidd’s original artwork for the Michael Crichton Book Jacket Cover, which later became the logo for the movie. Wow, we can’t wait to see this film again!!

WOW, it’s November and you know what that means… it’s time again for the 2012 MIAMI BOOK FAIR!! Yes, this year they plan on having 468 Authors and a ton of Book Sellers & Publishers, it looks like another great event! Of course Pantheon Publishing will be there and they have a special event lined up to promote their new line of Graphic Novels. The event is located at the Center for Literature and Theatre at Miami Dade College (Florida). It opens on Nov. 11th and runs for one whole week, ending Nov. 18th. For more information, please CLICK HERE!

We should note that Chip Kidd, Charles Burns, and Chris Ware will appear together in a special lecture on Saturday, November 17th, at 3:30 p.m., in the Batten ( Building 2, 1st Floor, Room 2106 ). Of course they are there representing Pantheon Books and their main focus will be Chip Kidd’s New Book ROUGH JUSTICE: THE DC COMICS SKETCHES OF ALEX ROSS, Chris Ware’s award winning BUILDING STORIES and the latest awesome Graphic Novel by Charles Burns, THE HIVE. Oh wait, we also need to mention that this event is totally FREE!!

At Norman Rockwell Museum
November 10, 2012 - February 24, 2013

Heroes & Villains is the first museum exhibition celebrating the artwork of Alex Ross, today's foremost comic book artist. Ross, acclaimed for the photorealism of his work, is often referred to as "the Norman Rockwell of the comics world." Heroes & Villains features over 130 paintings, drawings, photographs and sculptures from Ross's personal collection. The pieces range from a crayon drawing of Spider-Man that he created at the age of four to paintings from his early career on projects like Marvels and Kingdom Come through to his more recent work on Flash Gordon and Green Hornet. This exhibition outlines Ross's career of redefining comic books and graphic novels for a new generation of followers of Superman, Batman, Spider-Man and other classic comic book superheroes.

Showcasing the strong influence of American illustration and Pop Art on Alex Ross, original works by Norman Rockwell, Andrew Loomis, J.C. Leyendecker, and Andy Warhol are included. Artworks by Ross’s mother Lynette Ross (a successful commercial illustrator in her own right) are on display as well. A selection of comic books and related paraphernalia collected by Warhol throughout his life are showcased within the exhibit.

Heroes & Villains is the first museum exhibition of Ross's work and comprises four galleries. Ross has graciously prepared an original artwork for Norman Rockwell Museum which is available to the public in poster form exclusively at The Museum Store, and online, in November. Ross will also make a rare appearance for the opening celebration on November 10, 2012. This night ( Nov. 10th ) is also a great opportunity to get your ROUGH JUSTICE: THE DC COMICS SKETCHES OF ALEX ROSS Art Book signed by Ross!!

For more info just CLICK HERE!

In the most recent issue of Publisher’s Weekly Magazine they do a cover story about the “Best Books of 2012″ and, because Pantheon Book’s “Building Stories” Graphic Novel made the list, they chose Chris Ware to illustrate the cover! Wait, there’s more!! One important thing to notice about this magazine cover is that they have a brand-new logo and this is the very 1st time in their publishing history to feature a fresh one… that’s so cool!!

I hope they keep this new one, I completely love it! Down below is an example of the one they have had for a long time. Yeah, it’s iconic, but this new one is so modern & cool. Please keep it PW!!!

Yes! Very Cool!! Over at the ESTETICA DA COMUNICACAO website they recently wrote a very excellent blog post which is a BOOK REVIEW for Chris Ware’s brand-new Graphic Novel titled, BUILDING STORIES ( 2012 Pantheon Books ). The piece was written by Pedro Silva and he seems to have really got what this book, and the experience of reading it, is all about ( Thanks Pedro & Good Job ). So, please give it a quick read, we think you’ll enjoy it too! Hey, just CLICK HERE. Also, please feel free to share this post on Facebook or Twitter. Thanks!

What’s new in the world of Opera? Well, this weekend, the SARASOTA OPERA will be performing a brand-new Youth Opera titled, “Little Nemo in Slumberland”. The story is inspired by Winsor McCay’s Newspaper Comic Strip of the same name, which ran from 1905 to 1914. This new Opera was written by librettist J.D. McClatchy (see photo down below).

For more information please be sure to visit the Sarasota Opera Blog by clicking HERE or you can also visit their Website by clicking the link down below. The Sarasota Opera is located in Florida.

Tickets are going fast for the world premiere performances of this glorious new opera. Performance dates are Saturday, November 10th, at 5:30pm and Sunday, November 11th, at 12:30pm. To secure your seats today, go online at SARASOTAOPERA.ORG or call the box office at (941) 328-1300.