Robot 6: Unbound: Joe Infurnari on the Process

Brigid Alverson, writer of the webcomics column at Robot 6, recently contacted me about doing an interview regarding the Process. The thrust of her piece was to be how webcomics end; sometimes prematurely and of natural causes. I'll admit that I was embarrassed to be singled out as exemplary of this but I agreed to answer her questions. The results of that interview are now available at the Comic Book Resources blog and I think it's a good interview. Here's a tidbit:

Brigid: Will you finish it, online or in print, or has it served its purpose already?

Joe: The Process was set up to be a very large epic story that tried to encompass as much of my imagination/psychology as I could get. It was an exercise that I created for myself to keep me making art and exploring new art styles and storytelling techniques. As such, the Process has been a success and has actually never stopped for me. I'm working on Ultra-lad, a character that comes directly out of the Process, and wherever possible the ideas that I had for the Process are incorporated into other projects. If I were to wax mythic/poetic about this, I would say that the passing of the Process is like the death of Orpheus whose dismembered head and hands continue to play and sing music as they float down the Hebrus. I've scavenged different pieces of it for different projects and its ideas still resonate with me and my work to this day.

There's plenty more at the site itself. To read the rest of the interview, click here. Thanks Brigid!

Comic Book Resources Reviews The Act-i-vate Primer!

PrimerMockup In his four star review of the Primer, Chad Nevett had this to say about "Memoirs of the 'Kid Immortal'":

…classic comic-looking work of Joe Infurnari on “Memoirs of the ‘Kid Immortal,’” a fantastic story where he does two regular-looking comic pages on each page, telling the story of a wrestler who shares his time with a superhero counterpart.

Click here to read the rest of the review. Thanks, Chad!

Act-i-vate at King Con this Weekend!

KingConPoster I'll be visiting Brooklyn's Comic Convention, King Con, this Saturday November 7th! I'll be participating in the Act-i-vate panel on Saturday and working the table selling Primer's all day. Please stop by and say hello. If you haven't already got your copy of the Primer, this is a great opportunity to have it adorned with signatures and sketches!

Here are some of the highlights and panels members from ACT-I-VATE are participating in:

FRIDAY - NOVEMBER 6TH 2009 - 8PM sharp

THE ACT-I-VATE EXPERIENCE - NYC DEBUT + PRE-PARTY SCREENING The story of the preeminent webcomix collective. A documentary film directed by Seth Kushner + Carlos Molina. Featuring interviews with Nick Bertozzi, Kevin Colden, Molly Crabapple, Simon Fraser, Mike Cavallaro, Dan Goldman, Tim Hamilton, Dean Haspiel, Josh Neufeld, and others as they discuss the genesis of ACT-I-VATE, its impact on the art and business of comics, and its future both online and on the printed page.

SATURDAY - NOVEMBER 7TH 2009

THE ACT-I-VATE PRIMER: SATURDAY 12PM-12:50PM Dean Haspiel (Billy Dogma), Mike Cavallaro (Loviathan), Leland Purvis (Vulcan & Vishnu), Tim Hamilton (Adventures of the Floating Elephant), Simon Fraser (Lilly MacKenzie), Molly Crabapple (Backstage), Joe Infurnari [ULTRA-Lad!), Tim Hall (Uplift the Postivicals), and moderator, Jeff Newelt (SMITH Magazine comics editor), discuss the genesis of THE ACT-I-VATE PRIMER, the premiere webcomix collective's first print anthology, and ACT-I-VATE'S impact on both the art, business, and future of comics.

SPOTLIGHT ON JONATHAN AMES & DEAN HASPIEL: SATURDAY 4PM-4:50PM Jonathan Ames and Dean Haspiel elaborate on their multi-media collaborations, which include their graphic novel, "The Alcoholic," Ames' latest essay collection, "The Double Life Is Twice As Good," and the HBO show, "Bored To Death."

SUNDAY - NOVEMBER 8TH 2009

ZUDA: SUNDAY 3PM-3:50PM Join Ron Perazza (ZUDA COMICS), Kwanza Johnson (ZUDA COMICS), Bobby Timony & Peter Timony (Minion Maze, THE NIGHT OWLS), David Gallaher (HIGH MOON, Box 13), Steve Ellis (HIGH MOON, Box 13), Kevin Colden (Fishtown, I RULE THE NIGHT), Dean Haspiel (Billy Dogma, STREET CODE) and others for an inclusive, roundtable discussion about the advantages, challenges, questions, solutions, costs and benefits of making webcomics for fun and profit. Topics include working with a publisher, self-publishing, promoting yourself, best practices, style and moving from web to print (or vice-versa)!

DIGITAL COMICS ROUNDTABLE: SUNDAY 4PM-4:50PM MODERATOR: Mike Zagari ZUDA, Ron Perazza & Kwanza Johnson ACT-I-VATE, Mike Cavallaro COMIXOLOGY, John Roberts & David Steinberger SMITH MAGAZINE, Jeff Newelt & more to come!

For more panel information, including spotlights on GRAPHIC NYC, Harvey Pekar and The Pekar Project, and Bob Fingerman, go to:

http://www.kingconbrooklyn.com/panels/ http://www.kingconbrooklyn.com/

Pop Matters Reviews The Act-i-vate Primer!

PrimerMockup Zane Austin Grant has written a thoughtful and considered review of the Act-i-vate Primer over at PopMatters.com. He has lots of great things to say about a lot of the stories in the book but here's what he had to say about "Memoirs of the 'Kid Immortal" by yours truly:

Another standout story is Joe Infurnari’s Memoirs of the ‘Kid Immortal’, for example, which follows a defeated wrestler on an occult conquest to become a champion.  The art for the story is made to look like a golden age comic you might have found in a junk bin.  The page is faded and the edges are worn, but the story itself transforms the dramatic language of early adventure comics into a sad poetics that matches the main characters disappointment perfectly.

There's lots more to this review and he gives the book an 8 out of 10! I encourage you all to read the whole thing here.

Thanks, Zane!

Radar Documentary: Next Door Neighbor

At long last the Radar Documentary dedicated to SMITH Magazine's webseries, Next Door Neighbor, is available for viral proliferation! And here it has infected my blog! Enjoy the show!

To embed this video, use the following code:

<div style="background:#000000;width:498px;height:423px"><embed flashVars="playerVars=showStats=no|autoPlay=yes|" src="http://www.metacafe.com/fplayer/bg-3015272/radar_one_next_door_neighbor.swf" width="498" height="423" wmode="transparent" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" name="Metacafe_bg-3015272" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed><div style="font-size:12px;"><a href="http://www.metacafe.com/watch/bg-3015272/radar_one_next_door_neighbor/">Radar One - Next Door Neighbor</a> - <a href="http://www.metacafe.com/">For more amazing video clips, click here</a></div></div>

The Act-i-vate Primer Salon at Book Court Thursday!

poster Brooklyn preeminent independent bookstore, Book Court, will be hosting a unique and exciting event this week, The Act-i-vate Salon! What makes it oh so fancy (hence the 'Salon') is that members of the Act-i-vate collective will be doing dramatic readings of some of their stories in The Act-i-vate Primer. It's a comics anthology meets performance art plus free alcohol and book signing extravaganza. Whoa, whoa there, Nelly! Don't rush off just yet, the event happens next Thursday, October 29th! Check out the poster above or the this blog post for even more tantalizing tidbits!