While Chip Kidd was having fun partying at this week’s 2013 San Diego Comic Con (OK honestly, he was probably working like a dog) he was kind enough to share a few fun photos he took while running around.

The first one is of him standing in front of the Booth for Pantheon Books. Hey, take a notice of the banner in the background with the new “Pantheon Graphic Novels” logo!

Next, Chip ran into some super-awesome famous people. The 1st pic is none other than Neil Gaiman (The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Make Good Art Speech, & soon, Sandman Overture for DC Comics) and then we get to see the Fantasy Author, George R. R. Martin (The Game of Thrones). That’s cool!

Then, last but not least, he dropped by the HOT TOYS Toy Booth to see the brand-new Classic 1966 BATMAN TV Series Figures and Batmobile. These are coming out later this year and they are insanely beautiful…. actually, Masterpieces of ART!

In a recent post over at the official blog for the New Orleans University Public Radio Station (89.9 WWNO) Heller McAlpin wrote a very heart-felt, lovely and well thought out, Book Review for David Radkoff’s latest book titled, “Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die, Cherish, Perish: A Novel“ (Doubleday).

This book is out now and should be on everyone’s current reading list. Hey, if you CLICK HERE and read the review, you’ll agree

Presented here, for your viewing pleasure, is an extremely in-depth interview recently conducted at Penn State University by the Host, Patty Satalia. She delivered a lovely, and very well researched, conversation with Book Cover Designer Chip Kidd. They talked about the History of Graphic Design, the Future of Books in General, and What are Some Important Issues Facing Publishers Today. They also discuss the importance of Penn State University on his life and work, especially his first novel, “The Cheese Monkeys, A Novel In Two Semesters”. Don’t believe us? Well, here’s the video to prove it, check it out!

Also, Please visit Patty Satalia’s official website CONVERSATIONS FROM PENN STATE because, there, they have a few more videos of “Conversations with Chip Kidd” that are well worth listening to. Also, while you’re there, you might check out some of her other interviews with other guests too. We promise, they’re ALL very interesting and really good stuff!! Just CLICK HERE!

Hey! We have a bunch of abbreviations here so please let us explain that real quick, ha! First, SDCC is the “San Diego Comic Con”, which starts on July 18th (Thursday) and runs until Sunday. Then, the CBLDF is the “Comic Book legal Defense Fund”. They’re a non-profit group that helps support Comic Book Retailers and Creators. They also work to SAVE FREE SPEECH. Whew!

OK, the good news is that the Book Designer Chip Kidd will be appearing at the 2013 SDCC with the lovely Japanese Translator Anne Ishii. They will be making multiple appearances, both separate and together, at different times of the event. Also, Chip Kidd will mainly be appearing to sign available copies of Batman: Death by Design, Neil Gaiman's Make Good Art, and The Passion of Gengoroh Tagame.

So far the schedule looks like this:

THURSDAY - Chip Kidd will be signing books at the CBLDF Booth (#1920) at 5:00pm.

FRIDAY - Chip Kidd will appear with Anne Ishii for a Lecture and Book Signing at 12:00pm.

SATURDAY- Anne Ishii will have a performance at 12:00pm.

Of course the CBLDF will have many other Creatives, Authors, Writers, Cartoonists, and other Artists as well. For more information and a complete list of events, please CLICK HERE!

In a recent interview on The Leonard Lopate Show (WNYC Radio) Ira Glass, from THIS AMERICAN LIFE (NPR), spoke about his collaboration with Author David Rakoff on creating the Audiobook for Rakoff’s brand-new book titled: Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die, Cherish, Perish (Doubleday). Of course the regular format of the book is being released today, July 16th, and has already received a ton of praise and great book reviews. Please be sure to look for it on your next visit of your favorite bookstore. You’ll be glad you did. (We also want to mention that Chip Kidd designed this book’s cover and contents).

The audio we have here is the interview with Ira Glass. He was interviewed by Guest Host, Martha Plimpton. She did an amazing job and they both covered the book, and David’s life, extremely well. Please give it a quick listen!

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) will be in San Diego for the 2013 Comic-Con International (SDCC). You can find them at Booth #1920 and you’re going to NOT want to miss them because they will have a bunch of exciting things going on!

First, the CBLDF will have a few Exclusive items you can only get at this event. One such item is a brand-new T-Shirt with the face of EC Comics/Mad Magazine Creator, William Gaines. The shirt also has the motto, “Bill Gaines Was Right”, which relates to the censorship of comic books and supports free speech. Right On!

They will also have some exclusive variant-cover comic books, really great stuff like:

Adventure Time #18, with art by the amazingly talented Chrystin Garland!
Liberty Variant of Quantum and Woody #1, with a cover by Tony Millionaire!
Comics Code Variant of Lazarus #1, by the Creative Team of Rucka, Lark, and Arcas!
Also, don’t miss their authoritative guide book on Manga Art titled, Manga: Introduction, Challenges, and Best Practices!

Aside from these variants and exclusives, the CBLDF will also have in-booth book signings featuring designer Chip Kidd and translator Anne Ishii, among other exciting appearances! “Chip Kidd” related books on hand will include: Batman: Death by Design (DC Comics), Neil Gaiman's Make Good Art, and The Passion of Gengoroh Tagame. Of course they will have many other Creators, Artists, Writers, etc, as well. For a full signing schedule, CLICK HERE!

Random House of Canada just posted a completely wonderful book Trailer for David Rakoff’s new book titled: LOVE, DISHONOR, MARRY, DIE, CHERISH, PERISH. The book is being published by Doubleday and comes out on July 16, 2013.

LOVE, DISHONOR, MARRY, DIE, CHERISH, PERISH leaps cities and decades as David Rakoff, a Canadian who became an American citizen, sings the song of his adoptive homeland - a country whose freedoms can be intoxicating, or brutal. Here, the characters’ lives are linked to each other by acts of generosity or cruelty. A critic once called Rakoff “magnificent,” a word which perfectly describes this wonderful novel in verse.

We would be remiss if we didn’t mention Melissa Maerz’s extremely well-written Book Review for David Radkoff’s new book titled: LOVE, DISHONOR, MARRY, DIE, CHERISH, PERISH (Doubleday). The article, which can be read by clicking RIGHT HERE, does two things extremely well. First, it gives you a very good idea about what the book is about. Second, it ends in a very heart-felt way about the Author, David Rakoff. You see, this will be his very last book.

David died last year from Cancer and this book was published post-humorously. Now, obviously, knowing about his death does add some slight melancholy to a book that already deals with many of life’s tribulations. One of them being the issue of “dealing with illness leading to death”.

LOVE, DISHONOR, MARRY, DIE, CHERISH, PERISH comes out on July 16th, 2013. Hey, at the time of this writing, that’s tomorrow!

Neil Gaiman seems to be having an amazing year so far. He just recently teamed-up with Chip Kidd to produce a book based on a speech he gave and it instantly became a major hit! It’s titled, “Neil Gaiman’s MAKE GOOD ART Speech” book (William Morrow). This book is available now and it makes a wonderful Graduation Gift. It’s based on a famous YouTube Video that went crazy-viral and it’s extremely inspiring.

Then, Neil Gaiman has another new book, a Novel actually, called “The Ocean at the End of the Lane” (Also, by William Morrow). The reviews on this new novel have been totally amazing so far (whew!) and we’re looking forward to reading it soon. Yeah, sorry Neil, I’ve been extremely busy lately but I swear I want to read this really really bad, ha!

Now the reason for this post. Over at the CURIOUS BOOK SHOP Website they recently posted TWO Neil Gaiman Book Reviews at the same time. They are for the 2 books mentioned up above. They are short but very concise and also very well-written. They give you a really great idea what these two books are all about. So, if you would like to read those then please CLICK HERE!

The CURIOUS BOOK SHOP is a used and rare book store located in downtown East Lansing, Michigan. Originally started in a basement in 1969, the store has since expanded to three floors with over 50,000 well-organized books, magazines, and other paper items. If you would like more information about this famous book store then just CLICK HERE!

This is pretty exciting news! Well, to me anyway… you see, I’m a HUGE fan of both Marc Maron AND Davis Sedaris. So, it’s so ultra cool that Marc interviewed David yesterday and you can hear it all, right now, right here, down below. The weird thing though, David Sedaris has a big book out right now, “Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls” and during the podcast they don’t even mention it but they sure do talk a lot about Marc Maron’s new memoir, “Attempting Normal”. OK, it’s still a great interview, check it out!

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