Mike Dawson Comics

Four new Troop 142 pages posted. I love the word “wuss”. Is it regional to the New York area, or is it widely used? I used it around my Scottish Uncle once, and always thought it was amusing how he pronounced it (woose, like “Moose”) with his thick accent.

In other news, Troop 142 #4 got a mixed-to-good write-up over at The Comics Reporter. Obviously I wish the review had been 100% totally positive, as Tom Spurgeon is one of my favorite writers about comics, but I’m still psyched to get to read his response to the book. And, he’s not wrong about some of the criticisms he made, especially that scene where the Dad’s discuss Scouts and atheism. It felt clumsy when I wrote it, and I’m not sure I’ve ever felt totally confident about it.

Having wobbly scenes like this go out into the world is one of the big downsides to my approach to writing combined with how I’m releasing the pages (online and in print) as I finish them. I’m certainly look forward to the day I start editing/revising this thing as a whole.

Rob Clough, one of my favorite reviewers, posted a thoughtful write-up of Troop 142 #3 over at The Comics Journal website

The issue’s ending was another marvelous bit of restraint on Dawson’s part, as one of the boys asks the other if he wants to know a secret. Nothing further is revealed here, and I’ll be fascinated to see where Dawson takes this particular development, especially in light of the BSA’s infamous attitudes toward homosexuality. Dawson is cooking up a fascinating series here, and it’s clearly the best work of his career.

Clearly! Come on people, pay attention!

I was the guest on two podcasts which were posted today.

The Weekly Midtown Comics Podcast. We talk about all my books, The Ink Panthers, and the meaning of friendship.

Kidsmomo Podcast. My friends Nancy and Karen host a great podcast for kids, where they recommend all sorts of children’s books. I came on as a graphic novel expert and also to talk about BONE and OWLY.

A very nice review of the first two TROOP 142 minis over at tcj.com

Mike Dawson has two chief virtues as a writer: writing dialogue with an almost painful level of verisimilitude, and an understanding of the dynamics of teenagers that manages to emphasize the Darwinian nature of their relationships along with the naivete’ of youth. The first two issues of his latest project, TROOP 142, put the viciousness of the interplay between teenage boys in the context of a Boy Scout outing. One thing that Dawson hammers home in these comics is the tension between the ideals of being a Boy Scout and the reality of being a teen.

I haven’t yet figured out how I’m going to make these minis available for sale outside of comic conventions. I’d like to try to get a distributor interested in helping me out, but if that doesn’t work out, I’ll probably setup some kind of Paypal system or something.

iFanboy’s Josh Flanagan sits down for a lengthy chat with me about Freddie & Me, Ace-Face, Ink Panthers, and more on the latest Talksplode podcast.

I wasn’t totally sure what was going on with this, but it looks like the Czech edition of Freddie & Me is going to be published soon

Robin McConnell interviewed me this past week for his excellent comics-related radio show, Inkstuds. We talk about my books Ace-Face and Freddie & Me, as well as my ongoing webcomic, Jack & Max Escape From the End of Time, among other things.

Unfortunately the last minute and a half of our chat got scrambled, so had to be cut from the online audio. This results in the conversation ending kind of abruptly, just as I started on some weird rant about my disgust at my former college-age self for being such Politically Correct drip instead of going out and partying for four years. Maybe it’s for the best that the majority of this screed has been lost to the ages…

Things keep moving along with two new pages posted here.

To read from the very beginning, click here.

Apologies for the small update, but last week was killer, with Passover, Easter, and an unfortunate bout of food poisoning (I do not recommend the “Potage” soup from the Red Hook Fairway!).

In more pleasant news, I was happy to see this morning the first review (brief as it is) of Ace-Face, over on the Inkstuds blog. As mentioned in the review, Robin will be interviewing me later today, though the audio won’t be going online for a few weeks. Rest assured, I will link to that audio once it goes live.

Freddie & Me reviewed as Book of the Month at iFanboy.com.

It’s a great review, and I’m psyched they spotlighted it. I can’t help but assume the worst though, at the beginning where he mentions seeing the book on the shelves, noting in his “to check out one day” mental filing cabinet, and then a year later picking it up. Was it the same copy that he saw both times?

A Fanboy Radio “indie” themed podcast that was recorded live last week has been posted online. I’m the last caller to call in at the end of the show.