Rebus Books was founded by Bill Kartalopoulos to publish books of comics and other works of visual exposition that implicitly explore and reveal the expressive possibilities of the comics form. Rebus Books' first publication is Barrel of Monkeys by Ruppert and Mulot. See previews and order online at rebusbooks.net.
2015 MoCCA Arts Festival Announces Screening of Charlie Hebdo Documentary, Followed by Q+A with Françoise Mouly and Art Spiegelman
The Society of Illustrators is proud to announce a special screening of the Charlie Hebdo documentary Tough Being Loved by Jerks, taking place at the SVA Theater on 333 West 23rd Street on Friday, April 10th at 7pm. The screening will be followed by a Q+A with New Yorker Art Editor Françoise Mouly and Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Art Spiegelman, moderated by Best American Comics Series Editor Bill Kartalopoulos. The event is part of a series of events surrounding the 2015 MoCCA Arts Festival.
Brisk, witty, informative, thoughtful, complex and deeply relevant, Tough Being Loved by Jerks (2008) offers a real-time account of one of the most fascinating trials in the 21st century. Following the 2006 re-publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad in the pages of Charlie Hebdo, the weekly’s editor Philippe Val was brought to court in 2007 by the Great Mosque of Paris, the World Muslim League and the Union of Islamic Organizations of France. Director Daniel Leconte covered this extraordinary trial as it occurred, aiming at deciphering the international political, ideological and media-related stakes with the key participants. Given new relevance after the January 7, 2015, attacks at the Charlie Hebdo offices, which left 12 dead and 11 wounded, Tough Being Loved by Jerks also features candid interviews (and rarely seen behind-the-scenes moments) with acclaimed Charlie Hebdo cartoonists, such as Cabu, Charb, Tignous and Wolinski, who died on January 7. The film is being distributed in the US for a new theatrical run by Kino Lorber.
Rebus Books will exhibit at this year’s MoCCA Arts Festival on April 11 and 12, sharing Table 226 with Domino Books and Spider’s Pee-Paw. In addition to the critically acclaimed Barrel of Monkeys Rebus will carry a selection of imported international books, many in extremely limited quantities. These include Yuichi Yokoyama’s Baby Boom. Never published in the US, this wordless, full-color book is comprised of a series of shorts and is Yokoyama’s funniest work.
The French edition published by Éditions Matière has been printed with intense color separations utilizing multiple Pantone colors to precisely reproduce the appearance of Yokoyama’s loose marker drawings.
Other books in stock will include the first edition of Olivier Schrauwen’s first masterpiece, My Boy;signed copies of Richard’ McGuire’s P + O; and issues of the bilingual (French/English) Collection Revue including the new 4th issue, in a redesigned oversized format and featuring new interviews with Daniel Clowes (conducted by Bill Kartalopoulos) and Leon Sadler, among many others.
Once again, all of these books are available in extremely limited quantities. Rebus Books is not accepting reservations for these books in advance.
Rebus Books will also host Ilan Manouach and Gea Philes. Manouach will have with him a sample board from Shapereader, his 57-plate graphic novel for the blind and visually impaired.
Copies of books by Manouach will also be available, including his book Écologie Forcée, the détourned comic Riki Fermier,and MetaKatz, chronicling the publication of Katz. A privately owned copy of Katz will also be available for on-site viewing.
Gea Philes is a Chilean-born, multidisciplinary artist based in New York. Her work encompasses drawing, painting, illustration, comics, photography, and film, including music videos for Momus and Jeffrey Bützer. Philes’s new zines, including I Sold My Soul to the Devil, will preview her forthcoming art book from Toulouse-based publisher Timeless Editions.
Finally, submissions for The Best American Comics 2016 will be accepted at the Rebus Books table. Any new, North American work published between September 1, 2014 and August 31, 2015 is eligible for The Best American Comics 2016. If Series Editor Bill Kartalopoulos is not present at the table, material can be given to anyone working Table 226 and it will be included with BAC 2016 submissions.
Table 226 is located on the second floor of Center 548.
The innovative Franco-Belgian publisher Frémok will again be exhibiting at the MoCCA Arts Festival this year at Table 227, directly next to the Rebus/Domino table at 226. One of the two individuals representing Frémok this year is the French artist DoubleBob. His first book, the wordless Le Chat n’a pas de bouche vous aime beaucoup, is drawn in a combination of delicate graphite, marker, and blue line achieved with carbon paper.
His second book, Sous-Sols, includes minimal French text and was drawn entirely in elaborate graphite.
His latest book, La crâne rouge, is a collaboration with Nicole Claude, an artist who works at La “S,” an arts center for adults diagnosed as having mental disabilities.
La “S,” located in Vielsalm, Belgium, was founded by Anne-Françoise Rouche, who will be joining DoubleBob at MoCCA. As part of the year-round activity at the arts center, Rouche has organized frequent collaborations between the artists of La “S” and comics artists associated with Frémok. The first major result of this collaboration is the comics anthology book Match de Catch à Vielsalm, which not only documents the project but is the currently the closest book to a Frémok anthology.
More recently, Frémok has published Knock Outsider!, chronicling more broadly the collaborations that have taken place at La “S” in multiple media. The book is bilingual, with all French text either translated or summarized in English.
This volume launches Frémok’s new Knock Out! imprint, devoted to work originating at La “S.” Rouche and DoubleBob will discuss this work and more on a panel as part of the MoCCA festival’s programming at the High Line Hotel:
“Comics and Disability” Sunday, April 12 at the High Line Hotel 3:30 pm in the Rusack Room The rise of disability studies has prompted a non-hierarchical reconsideration of disability. In parallel, the emergence of “outsider art” has enlarged aesthetic possibilities within art, but not without introducing new category problems. This panel will trace emerging points of engagement between these issues and comics. Ilan Manouach will discuss Shapereader, his innovative 57-plate graphic novel for the blind. Anne-Françoise Rouche is the director of La “S” Grand Atelier in Vielsalm, Belgium, an arts center for persons with mental disabilities that organizes collaborations with contemporary artists. Frémok artist DoubleBob, who has participated in these projects, will join the discussion. Moderated by Bill Kartalopoulos.
Frémok will carry many other books, including new releases and books from their back catalog. Among their recent releases is Paz Boïra’s wordless Les animaux de distance, which interleaves full color paint and monochromatic pencil drawing to meditate upon the mysterious relationship between nature and human civilization.
Other available books will include Eric Lambé’s ball-point pen masterpiece Le Fils du Roi, Frémok’s two Cowboy Henk books, Dominique Goblet & Kai Pfeiffer’s Plus si entente, and many more.
Table 227 is located on the second floor of Center 548.
“Comics and Disability” Sunday, April 12 at the High Line Hotel 3:30 pm in the Rusack Room
The rise of disability studies has prompted a non-hierarchical reconsideration of disability. In parallel, the emergence of “outsider art” has enlarged aesthetic possibilities within art, but not without introducing new category problems. This panel will trace emerging points of engagement between these issues and comics. Ilan Manouach will discuss Shapereader, his innovative 57-plate graphic novel for the blind. Anne-Françoise Rouche is the director of La “S” Grand Atelier in Vielsalm, Belgium, an arts center for persons with mental disabilities that organizes collaborations with contemporary artists. Frémok artist DoubleBob, who has participated in these projects, will join the discussion. Moderated by Bill Kartalopoulos.
All programming events will take place at the High Line Hotel, steps away from our main Festival venue at Center 548. Access to programming on a daily basis is included with the price of admission to the MoCCA Arts Festival. Admission to MoCCA costs $5 per day. To be admitted to programming, attendees must display proof of ticket purchase for that day to the Fest. MoCCA Arts Festival tickets are available online now or at the door at Center 548 the weekend of the Fest, and on-site at The High Line Hotel during programming hours.
Shapereader and Ilan Manouach (A guest post by Bill Kartalopoulos; Shapereader is “a system of forms developed to produce comics for the blind and visually impaired.”)
Rebus Books will not be exhibiting at this year’s SPX festival, but copies of Barrel of Monkeys will be available from Frémok at W69.
Artists Yvan Alagbé and Dominique Goblet will represent Frémok, and will bring with them a number of new releases. These include Plus si entente, a gorgeous new avant-garde work produced collaboratively by Goblet and Kai Pfeiffer; École de la misère, Alagbé’s new meditation upon intertwined legacies of colonialism and desire (recently reviewed on The Comics Journal); Histoire de la Belgique (pour tous) a brand new Cowboy Henk book by Kamagurka and Herr Seele that offers a hilariously absurd false history of Belgium presented in comics and surreal paintings; and Dernière bande, the self-proclaimed final graphic novel by “the Pope of Frémok," Alex Barbier.
Other titles on hand will include Frémok’s Cowboy Henk anthology, an instant sell-out at MoCCA; Eric Lambé’s ball-point-pen masterpiece, Le fils du roi; Stefan Van Dinther’s CHRZ; other works by Alagbé and Goblet; and many more fascinating and exquisitely produced titles.
Alagbé and Goblet will appear in conversation with Bill Kartalopoulos on Saturday at 1:30 in the White Flint Auditorium:
The Roots of Frémok: Yvan Alagbé and Dominique Goblet
Yvan Alagbé and Dominique Goblet are foundational figures in the poetic comics movement represented by the the avant-garde publishing house Frémok. Alagbé’s work expresses in harsh lines and soft tones his narratives of mysterious desire and explosive cultural conflict, as in his most recent book, École de la misère. Goblet’s work troubles the distinctions between fiction and autobiography, and between narrative comics and poetic image-making. Her new graphic novel Plus si entente was produced collaboratively with Kai Pfeiffer to test the possibilities of narrative within the comics form. Moderated by Bill Kartalopoulos.
Frémok’s presence at SPX represents a still-rare opportunity to learn more about the history of this unique and significant publisher, and to explore their backlist and latest publications.
Rebus Books will be sharing table G4 with Domino Books at the MoCCA Arts Festival. In addition to the critically acclaimed Barrel of Monkeys, Rebus will carry copies of Ruppert & Mulot’s latest book Un Cadeau, the incredibly innovative comic that literally must be dissected to be read. These are the only copies of this unprecedented book that are available in the United States. In addition, Rebus will carry copies of Hillary Chute’s just-released book Outside the Box, collecting her interviews with major cartoonists from the pages of The Believer and elsewhere. Rebus will also be hosting Julia Gfrörer, who will have a new edition of her comic book “Too Dark to See,” with a new cover, and other comics including “In Pace Requiescat” and “Black Light.” Finally, Rebus Books will, as always, carry a selection of imported international books, including the following:
Issues of the leading international journal of comics and drawing, Collection Revue, featuring heavily illustrated interviews with artists including Yuichi Yokoyama, Gary Panter, Benjamin Marra, David Shrigley, Moolinex, Fabio Viscogliosi, and many more. All text is published in both French and English.
Soft City by Pushwagner
P+O by Richard McGuire
DaCapo by Fabio Viscogliosi
2wBOX Set I: Featuring miniature silkscreened comics by Richard McGuire, Lauren Redniss, Blexbolex, and others
Issues of Collection Dans la Marge’s “Cahiers de dessins contemporains” series spotlighting rare work by Nine Antico and Blexbolex.
Most of these books are otherwise unavailable in the US. Many are in extremely short supply and will imminently be out of stock.
Typically, Rebus has also carried distro items by the groundbreaking Belgium-based publisher Frémok at festivals and events. However, we are pleased to note that Frémok will be exhibiting at the MoCCA Festival at the neighboring table, G3, and we are even more excited to note that influential artist Frédéric Coché will be appearing with Frémok and as part of the Festival’s programming. This weekend presents a unique opportunity to meet Coché and to discover Frémok’s backlist and latest publications.
Finally, submissions for The Best American Comics 2015 will be accepted all weekend at the Rebus Books table. All new, North American work published since Sept. 1, 2013 is eligible for consideration for The Best American Comics. Please label all submissions with contact information and date of publication.
In James Collins’ grimly comic piece Let Me Count the Days, for the NYTimes Opinionator series Private Lives, the author recalls the moment that brought him face-to-face with his own mortality: an encounter with a box of staples. Realizing that he owns more staples than he can possibly use…
New York Times Art Director Alexandra Zsigmond discusses her selection of Ruppert and Mulot to draw a comic for the paper’s “Private Lives” blog.
