Hey all, it’s time for our tri-annual (or so) open call for writers. If you’re an avid indie comics fan who has the blogging chops, please drop us a line at dailycrosshatch@gmail.com with the following information:

1. Three published clips. If you haven’t been published, we’ll accept three comic reviews written specifically for the site.
2. Five titles/authors that you read regularly.
3. The frequency with which you feel comfortable posting.
4. One pitch for an interview, column, or feature idea.

Thanks much.

Two-thirds of the way into my interview with Liz Baillie, a shouting match broke out in the Holiday Cocktail Lounge on St. Mark’s St. in Manhattan’s East Village. After 15 minutes, the incessant sound of the woman sitting directly behind us, banging a pair of wooden drumsticks against her table was enough to make a man seated nearby snap. Naturally, we both stopped the conversation for moment.

After a beat, Baillie turned to me and smile, “It’s a perfect environment for an interview with Liz Baillie.”

Fair enough.

In this final part of our interview with the Sing Along Forever author, we discuss the impetus for Baillie’s Mini Comic of the Month Club, the author’s inability to write a short story, and oh yeah, there’s also some talk about a punk band from New Brunswick, New Jersey, whose name currently escapes me.

[Part One][Part Two]

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The diverse talents and interests of Benjamin “Ben’s-ya-friend” Rosen find a happy execution in his comics. Love, competition, friendship, disappointment, sports, heroism and awkward moments all blissfully lay out on the page.

His considerable storytelling ability is often put to work through his self-published series Insult to Injury, which he annually promotes at MoCCA.  The stories are so human and smart, that even as a high schooler he was impressing audiences and hustling a respectable sum of books.

The 8th issue of I2I was just released.  In it, he deviates somewhat from his fiction roots by collecting his more recent journal strips.  For this year’s MoCCA though, you can expect to see the first full issue of White Cat stories (his sad, often ignored not-so-super super guy), and a new book of journal strips.

Rosen was previously interviewed by the Cross Hatch HERE and reviewed HERE.  You can also view archives of his midnight-2am radio show “Rose Knows” by going HERE.

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Is that a comic in your Cross Hatch or are you just happy to see me?

Both!  Yes!

Now on Fridays at the Daily Cross Hatch, we’re feeding our readers fresh comics, pulled straight from the oven.  Consider it the junk food part of your comically balanced and independent diet.  (Because sometimes when you pick a food metaphor, you’ve got to run with it.  Fast.)

Guest Strip Fridays continue to bridge the gap between artist and aficionado by showing you totally original comic strips by anyone and everyone making comics today.  Since not every mini submitted can be reviewed, it’s a nice alternative for cartoonists trying connect to our readers.

GET IT? Every guest strip submission gets posted, so long as you follow the RULES.

Do you have something to share with with the Hatch?  Step in line.

- Sarah Morean

08: A Graphic Diary of the Campaign Trail
By Michael Crowley and Dan Goldman
Three Rivers Press

The non-fiction graphic novel has, by most accounts been largely neglected. Those well-received works that have ventured into that world—Maus, Palestine, Perselopis, et al.—have largely been content to bide by independent comics’ fiction with the first-person narrative. This fact takes nothing away from their staggering importance to the medium—all of the above bravely tackled difficult and important issues while bringing comics a new-found level of respect both among the literati and a mainstream readership.

Their fixation with the memoir does, however, point to a seemingly fundamental hang up with the style—illustrated by that troublesome label “graphic novel,” a term which, in its very essence, implies some form of fictionalization, or, at the very least, the sort of first-person storytelling that often designates prose books for the fiction shelves. In a sense, it also points to a problem with scope.

There are few sufficiently educated in the world of sequential art who would argue that the medium presents more limitations its prose counterparts.  But as is often the case, it takes an outsider to shake things up. Michael Crowley’s 08 is hardly the first book to prevent a news-styled piece of graphic non-fiction, but it certainly is a member of a far rarer breed than one might reasonably expect.

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In the second part of our interview with My Brain Hurts creator Liz Baillie, we explore the parallels between the artist’s life that her protagonist Kate, whom the artist readily admits is a thinly-veiled stand-in for herself. The chronological end of the series (which Baillie has recently wrapped up) parallels her own post-high school move from New York to Boston, where, while at school, she first entertained thoughts of pursuing a career as a professional cartoonist.

Oh, and we also talk about the Bouncing Souls a little bit as well, because, well, some things just can’t be helped…

[Part One]
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“Timing,” Peter Laird proclaims wistfully, “in a lot of ways is everything.” A quarter of a century after first introducing his most famous creations to the world alongside long time co-conspirator Kevin Eastman, the artist has had plenty time to reflect on such things. It’s hard to argue with the sentiment. The introduction of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as a black and white comic in the fall of 1983 was about as perfect as timing gets.

Three years after the release of that first book, the Turtles had been successfully translated into an animated series and action figure line. Soon after that, Eastman and Laird’s creations would become a bona fide cultural phenomenon.

Even after the cartoons, and the movies, and the breakfast cereals, however, the duo have never forgotten their roots as struggling independent cartoonist who, in the face of rejection from power house publishers, Marvel and DC, took a leap into the often rocky world of self-publishing. Eastman, for his part, launched Tundra in 1990, publishing works by artists like Jim Woodring, Scott McCloud, and Mike Allred. Laird took things a step further, creating the Xeric Foundation, which since 1992, has been a major force in self-publishing, having issued grants to such future big name artists as Jason Lutes, Adrian Tomine, Tom Hart, Jessica Abel, and Gene Yang.

We had the fortune of bumping in Laird in amongst the gauntlet that is The New York Comic Con Artist Alley. We spoke to the artist about his journey from self-publishing to pop-cultural icon.

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The great on-going game for New York Comic Con 2009 was—not surprisingly—playing ’spot the effects of the recession.’ There plenty of theories on the manner, of course—some swore that the floor size had shrunk from past years. Others noted, thoughtfully, the seemingly increased influence of the so-called “recession-proof” video game industry. I heard a few people point to an observed lack of presence on the part of the roaming bands of storm troopers who have traditionally stalked the floor in hopes of confronting solo Jedis. Surely tough times have fallen on the empire.

From the looks of it, however, such rushed assessments were hardly indicative of an overall trends—faced with the greatest economic crisis since the great depression, the virtual implosion of the publishing industry, and even—god help us—increased admission prices, the prospect of having Whilce Portacio sign their mint condition variant of Wetworks #1 ultimately proved far too appealing for droves of attendees to resist.

[Check out our full Flickr set here.]
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Andrew Lorenzi is what I’d call an internet success story. I first encountered his wide-eyed enthusiasm for indie comics on, believe it or not, the Brian Michael Bendis message board. He’d messed around with comics in the past, but something about the indie press struck a cord with Lorenzi, and he began drawing more and more. For himself, at first, and for a few friends, but when he began regularly publishing jam comics and autobio comics on his livejournal a few years back, it seemed like the red carpet rolled out before him. Encouraged by other fans and cartoonists on lj (a shocking force, really), he developed his current style. Lorenzi’s comics are often sad reflections, twinged with humor, pop-culture, and total modesty.  He recently published his first, long-awaited mini-comic, which is only available to those who pester him enough for a copy.

It’s with great pleasure that I reveal to you, if for the first time, an example of his work, made just for us at the Cross Hatch.

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The Single Girls
by Amy Martin
Self-published

Amy Martin’s comic The Single Girls begs for comparison with TV’s “Sex and the City.”

The  collection of short comics follows three oversexed ladies who have the best time being fabulous together and critical of everybody else. Sound vaguely familiar?  If you haven’t seen it on TV, then you’ve probably lived it, gals, which is what makes reading this no-excuses feminist comic so much fun.

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