Raina's Thing

torontocomics: yaytime: New book goes out for a celebratory...

Tue, 14 May 2013 18:28:37 -0400

yaytime:

New book goes out for a celebratory bagel. #astronautacademyday

Congratulations to Dave Roman, whose TCAF Debut book ASTRONAUT ACADEMY: RE-ENTRY officially makes its way to the wider world today! Go out and get a copy of this hilarious YA book. And a bagel too, while you’re at it.

My husband Dave’s new book is out TODAY! We went out for bagels to celebrate. YOU can celebrate with us by ordering a copy… http://www.amazon.com/Astronaut-Academy-Re-entry-Dave-Roman/dp/1596436212/ref=pd_sim_b_1

My daughter is dying to know if your new book is going to be in color like Smile or Black and White like the Babysitters Club books? Thank you!

Thu, 02 May 2013 00:02:29 -0400

My new book will be in color. I’ve been posting a lot of process work to twitter and Facebook lately, which are photos of my black ink on white paper, but the final books will be color.

#sisters #wip #pencils #process

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 21:27:50 -0400

#sisters #wip #pencils #process

jerzydrozd: Get your portrait by NYT Bestselling author Raina...

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 11:44:18 -0400

jerzydrozd:

Get your portrait by NYT Bestselling author Raina Telgemeier!

http://comicsaregreat.com/aaday

Just added two new prizes to the #astronautacademyday contest: Added Chris and Shane Houghton’s marvelous Reed Gunther, the Bear-Riding Cowboy number 6 to the digital comics collection prize. And one lucky winner will get their portrait by Raina Telgemeier, author of Smile and Drama!

It’s easy to enter:
- Just write a review of Astronaut Academy: Re-Entry (http://astronautacademy.com) on Goodreads or Amazon
- or make some Astronaut Academy fanart
- or take a picture with you holding the book on release day, May 14.
- Share the review, fan art, or photo on Twitter with the #astronautacademyday tag, and you’ll be entered to win one of the awesome prizes from a variety of cartoonists.

All of the details are here!

Only a month left before the big day, so now’s the time to get in on the excitement around the book’s release!

My childhood bus stop. Google maps are an INVALUABLE resource! ...

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 14:17:15 -0400

My childhood bus stop. Google maps are an INVALUABLE resource! #memoir #comics #reference #sisters wip

narrativepriorities: Callie, the main character from Raina...

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 18:52:36 -0400

narrativepriorities:

Callie, the main character from Raina Telgemeier’s EXCELLENT graphic novel, Drama! She’s a set designer and part of the stage crew for her middle school’s musical, and I ADORE her.

I don’t recommend very many things without qualification, but Raina’s graphic novels are fantastic and accessible and charming. If you have any interest in all-ages slice-of-life/memoir comics and haven’t checked them out yet, you should!

(This painting is a postcard-sized watercolor that I tidied up a little bit in Photoshop.)

CALLIE FANART!!! From my amazing friend Alison. :)

yaytime: Rebellious hearts! Today’s page of Astronaut Academy...

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 21:37:04 -0400

yaytime:

Rebellious hearts!

Today’s page of Astronaut Academy is ripped straight from the headlines! (Except I drew it a year ago)

Two events in the Montreal area this coming weekend! DRAMA event...

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 17:04:00 -0400

Two events in the Montreal area this coming weekend!

DRAMA event & signing!
Librairie D + Q
Montreal, Quebec
Saturday, March 23
3-5pm

Full audio-visual presentation about my influences, early works, and Scholastic graphic novels! I’ll be presenting in English, but both English and French-Canadian editions of my books will be available.

DRAMA event & signing!
Chapters Pointe-Claire
Pointe-Claire, Quebec
Sunday, March 24
12-2pm
I’ll be speaking, drawing, and signing books! English-language presentation.

yaytime: The Comics Quickfire! makes it’s Seattle debut at...

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 10:56:53 -0500

yaytime:

The Comics Quickfire! makes it’s Seattle debut at the Emerald City Comic Con!
Here’s the info!

COMICS QUICKFIRE!
Saturday, March 2
Start: 3:00PM
Room: ECCC KIDS! – ROOM 201
Comics Quickfire! A fast-paced game show where volunteers are paired off with (or against) professional cartoonists in a series of fun-filled drawing challenges! Audience members will provide suggestions and add to the creation of totally improvised epic drawings! Featuring hosts Dave Roman (Astronaut Academy) and Matthew Holm(Babymouse), with competing artists Raina Telgemeier (Smile), Skottie Young (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz), Katie Cook (My Little Pony), John Green (Teen Boat), & more! Great for all ages!

Check out past Quickfire events:

Quickfire at NY Comic Con
Quickfire at TCAF

Hey, I’m on this panel! And also exhibiting at Emerald City Comicon—stop by and say hello if you’re there! My home base for the weekend will be TABLE B10 in ARTIST ALLEY. Books, t-shirts, and art for sale!

torontocomics: RAINA TELGEMEIER is coming to TCAF! “Raina...

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 16:04:34 -0500

torontocomics:

RAINA TELGEMEIER is coming to TCAF!

“Raina Telgemeier is the author-illustrator of the bestselling dental memoir graphic novel Smile, which recently won the Eisner Award for Best Publication for a Teen Audience. Her new book, DRAMA, is about a group of kids putting on a school play. Neither Smile nor DRAMA have left The New York Times Bestseller lists since their respective debuts…“ - Full Bio at the TCAF site

Author’s Homepage: http://goraina.com/

Publisher’s Website: http://www.scholastic.com/graphix/

—

TCAF is The Toronto Comic Arts Festival, taking place May 11-12, 2013, in Toronto, Canada. More at http://torontocomics.com/

It’s true!

Big news… My next book will be called SISTERS! From the...

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 22:57:09 -0500

Big news…

My next book will be called SISTERS!

From the press release:

Raina Telgemeier has signed a two-book deal with Scholastic’s Graphix imprint….The first book, Sisters, will be a companion to the author’s 2010 Eisner Award winner, Smile (also published by Graphix). Sisters, which is set for 2014, will look at “the inner workings of [Telgemeier’s] family,” focusing on her relationship with her younger sister. The second book in the deal, which is currently untitled, will also be a graphic work.

I don’t have a set release date yet, but it will be sometime next year. I’m working on the art as we speak! Enjoy a sneak peak, above, at a couple of my penciled panels.

yaytime: @_@ I was pretty excited to see Astronaut Academy...

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 21:27:52 -0500

yaytime:

@_@

I was pretty excited to see Astronaut Academy reviewed over at io9!

“…a delightful and often clever voyage that will remind you of middle school even when it’s completely packed with robots and panda bears.”

http://io9.com/5984652/saturday-webcomic-at-astronaut-academy-love-means-literally-losing-your-heart

Woo hoo Dave!!

I did Hourly Comic Day again this year. Click here to read the...

Sat, 02 Feb 2013 12:49:21 -0500

I did Hourly Comic Day again this year. Click here to read the whole thing: http://www.tencentticker.com/msgbrd/viewtopic.php?t=2572

yaytime: Hourly Comics 1-2PM I am forcing Dave to do Hourly...

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 17:22:27 -0500

yaytime:

Hourly Comics 1-2PM

I am forcing Dave to do Hourly Comics Day this year. Keep it up, Dave!

A preview. #hourlycomicday

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 13:37:31 -0500

A preview. #hourlycomicday

yaytime: Over on my AA blog, I wrote a post for struggling...

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 22:50:48 -0500

yaytime:

Over on my AA blog, I wrote a post for struggling artists:

Before you give up…you may want to try changing it up.

“…If we’re honest, often our lack of success is because we’re just not ready for prime time. Most cartoonists prefer to dive in first and learn our craft as we go. But what if other people don’t see our dreams the same way we do? How long do we tread water, believing in a dream if nothing ever seems to change?

There’s nothing harder than realizing our personal project just isn’t going to hit it big. In our mind, the comic we’ve been working on since art school is this generation’s Star Wars…but something is getting lost in translation. We started self-publishing to be the next Jeff Smith…but what worked for him isn’t coming together the same way for us.

So, it might be time to try a new dream that better reflects our current abilities.

Put aside the old ideas (even if just temporarily) and switch gears. Break out of our box. Shake it up.

Switch genres or art styles. Kill your darlings.

See how it feels to face the unknown of a fresh canvas.

Many of us worry that we only have one big story in us. And too often, that story is a trilogy or multi-part epic.

Or we’re attached to a single character so much, we believe it to be an extension of ourselves…”

…continued over at AstronautAcademy.com

Some good words of advice from Dave!

yaytime: Congrats to Raina on Drama hitting the #1 spot on the...

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 15:39:23 -0500

yaytime:

Congrats to Raina on Drama hitting the #1 spot on the NY Times Bestseller list for Graphic Books! The book had to surpass multiple zombie attacks from several volumes of The Walking Dead to claim the top spot this week! :)

http://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/paperback-graphic-books/list.html

Yes. This happened. :)

Hi! I would just like to say that I love your work and that DRAMA is now my favourite graphic novel! I don't know who I love more... Justin or Jesse. Or Callie! I wish they were people in real life! - Tumblnpanda ^ - ^

Sun, 13 Jan 2013 18:01:26 -0500

Thank you!

Justin and Jesse are actually inspired by friends of mine! (Yep; twins.) So even though I made up the story, the friendships between the characters are very much like ones from my real life.

I spend more time on my layouts than on any other stage of...

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 23:06:51 -0500

I spend more time on my layouts than on any other stage of making comics. If the panel composition isn’t good, everything else will fall apart. This is a blue pencil layout base on my thumbnails. Next stage is pencils, followed by inks, colors, and digital letters. #comics. #process

yaytime: Page 26 of Astronaut Academy: Re-Entry features bears...

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 11:20:25 -0500

yaytime:

Page 26 of Astronaut Academy: Re-Entry features bears with bazooka feet & fireball fists. The page also includes a blog post where I share how I was called out by some girls for liking Care Bears so much in the 5th grade.

http://www.astronautacademy.com/comic/page-026-2/

When I was a kid, my sister had a beloved Skeletor toy, which got a very similar response from people!