He was great in Talking Heads.

The Watchmen adaptation is about as faithful as you could possibly make. I find it quite enjoyable, but that is my favorite comic of all time. The Spirit is absolutely unwatchable and no one should ever let Frank Miller touch a camera again. Then again, is recent comics make me thing no one should let him write anything either.

Not a hotbed anymore--that distinction belongs to Portland, which is choking with cartoonists--but there are quite a few here:

THE HALL OF FAME
Jim Woodring
Peter Bagge
Tony Millionaire

THE REST OF US
Ed Brubaker
Me
Stefano Gaudiano
Justin Norman
Nate Simpson
Brandon Graham did live here but moved to Vancouver
and there are a lot more guys, but for some reason I can't think straight this morning and am only remembering the ones who owe me money.

A lot of people living here who would be working in comics find good jobs working in concept art for games, I think.

For certain? None of them. Rent Ghost World again.

I'm not too up on Byrne these days. He seems to still get plenty of work still but is definitely not a top fan favorite and hasn't been for a long time.

The number of comics each comic shop gives away is determined by the store. They can order as many or as few as they like from their distributor. Most comic publishing companies produce at least one book for FCBD.

The web address that Matt gave is a great resource. Today, ComicsAlliance.composted review of some of the upcoming comics. http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/05/05/free-comic-book-day-2011-fcbd/

There's a list of the comics here:

http://www.freecomicbookday.com/comics.asp

One quick thing--keep in mind that the stores still have to buy these comics they give away (they're heavily discounted, of course, but they're free to US, not to THEM). So try to buy something while you're there, just as a thank you.

In related news, I will be at Comic Stop U-District (aka Zanadu Comics) on 45th by the Neptune from 10-1. I'll be signing and sketching with Justin "Moritat" Norman, and we'd love to see you there.

I know Comic Stop is doing some discounts and stuff, and I'd bet other places in town are too. Arcane in Ballard is a great store to check out, and Comics Dungeon is also just up the street from Zanadu/Comic Stop.

Extremely. There were deviations from the book, but I think it was remarkably faithful--in execution if not in theme. There is a reasonably serious question of our cultural response to authority (and fascism) in the book that I felt was mostly missing in the film, just due to its context and its abundance of badass fighting.

And no, I definitely think comics should not be judged by the movies adapted from them anymore than you'd judge the Eiffel Tower as a piece of architecture just by looking at the photo. A movie is its own thing, and when it's an adaptation of a comic (or play or book), it's only representing a viewpoint on that object. To experience the comic itself is the authentic interaction with the art.

And don't get me wrong--I'm a GIGANTIC movie nut.

Of course not. He's a fictious character. Cartoon characters never have sex...

Spy magazine, the cultural satiric from the late 80s, also used those extensively...in fact, they were often funnier than the articles.

Strangely, a soft-skin magazine called "Stuff" from the 00s (now defunct, sadly) also had that same style of humor and I wonder if the authors/editors were the same/related.

Spy Magazine can now be found online in Google Books and I recommend it to anyone.

Stuff Magazine had better girlie pictures than Maxim. The best ever in fact...

Those are called marginals or Interstitials. I guess...

Tell Aaron I recommend you. Even though I never saw your work (don't tell him) it might help to get him to open your samples.

Simply email samples of your work (or links to it online) to artdirector [at] thestranger.com.

Kotzky was a great craftsman, but I doubt there's a market for THE COMPLETE APT. 3-G. Maybe one omnibus collection, or even better, an ART OF ALEX KOTSKY book. I'd like to see that myself. You might enjoy (I can't believe I'm recommending this) the ongoing series GLAMOURPUSS, by Dave Crazypants Sim. I don't subscribe to most of Sim's personal beliefs but this series is worth it for the half that explicates the styles and personal histories of some of the best cartoonists from this era/style of cartooning, including Alex Raymond, Stan Drake, etc. Fascinating stuff, I have to admit...

I would say "spot illustrations" but I can't say it's a perfect use of the term... The Believer utilizes these, too...

I don't know what they're called, but I love them too.

They've raced a few times; usually as part of convoluted plot lines that lead to them agreeing to a tie. But I'm pretty sure Flash actually beat Supes fair and square at least once. I've got it upstairs in a box somewhere...

Dear Ham,

Of course not! Swee Pea was an orphan found on Popeye's doorstep. Shades of Skeezix Wallet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swee'Pea

ER

And how are they related to Ham Gravy?

"Popeye is the adoptive father of Swee'Pea, an infant foundling left on his doorstep."

from Wikipedia entry under "Popeye"

We would be honored to publish Sfar at some point but have no immediate plans to. NBM and First Second have both, I believe, released some of his work.

I don't know for certain, but I suspect any English language versions of his work utilize fonts. Font technology has really advanced the last decade and most translated works at this point in time use them. A font can be created that all partnering publishers in various markets can utilize, saving costs in the long-run on having to pay to have each individual edition hand-lettered. I used to be a complete and utter anti-font snob, but our own books of artists like Tardi, Jason and Trondheim have all swayed me on how good font-lettered books can look. At this point, I think a font created from the author's own lettering can look better than a hand-lettered version from a professional letterer attempting to mimic the author's style.

Quicksilver.

The Flash is faster.

I haven't read Sfar's work, though I am aware of him. He's done some stuff with Lewis Trondheim, who's a big favorite of mine (Trondheim's Mister O and Mister I books, which are wordless repetitions on the same simple theme--like a guy trying to cross a small gorge--are HILARIOUS).

My guess is that he probably did not letter his own translations; usually a font is made of the artist's lettering and then the translator/production people letter it in that artist's style. But I don't know for certain.