Tom Spurgeon at The Comics Reporter recently made a list of "Twelve Mostly Overlooked Comics Published In The Last Twelve Or So Years" and among them was Paris by Andi Watson and Simon Gane, a "lovely romance" between an American artist and British socialite set in the eponymous city. Spurgeon calls it "A deeply pleasurable comic to read..."

I agree. It's been a few years since we first published Paris #1, and I still have a swoon-crush on this comic. I like to think the two main characters, Juliet and Deborah, today are like real-life couple Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, who met in 1950 and were married on June 16 in San Francisco.

Richard Bruton reviews Paris by Andi Watson and Simon Gane at The Forbidden Planet blog. He is, apparently, enchanted with the book:

"Paris is a beautiful, understated love story, luxuriating in the surroundings, the art and the sheer experience that is Paris. But Watson doesn’t rely on his surroundings to tell his story, he creates two interesting and believable characters, and makes you care about them and does that thing all the best romances do; has you wishing, hoping for love to win out in the end."

Bruton notes that it's difficult to accept another artist drawing an Andi Watson story since Andi is such a fine artist himself, but Bruton soon found "Gane’s work was equal to Watson’s, beautiful and perfectly suited to the tale." He shows you some panels and pages to drive that point home, displaying Simon's angular line and calculated distortions for artistic effect. Here's a fun detail: Note the couple on the top left of page nine and look for them throughout the book. You can follow the arc of their relationship!

Paris by Andi Watson and Simon Gane gets a rave review from Steve Higgins at PLAYBACK:stl: "an incredibly charming and atmospheric book featuring some of the most fantastically detailed black and white art I've seen in ages."

I'm actually feeling a little blah today, and I would very much like to be transported to the universe in which Paris takes place, tout de suite.

Now that you know that we're having a sale at SLGComic.com, you might be asking yourself what you should order. Perhaps some interviews and reviews can help you decide.

First, a review of Paris at the newly-christened ComicsBulletin.com (it used to be Silver Bullet Comic Books). They give the love story by Andi Watson and Simon Gane five silver bullets: "This book looks and feels like a graphic novel the way Will Eisner intended it to be."

High praise!

Some reviewers trot out their "Best of" lists before December is even halfway through, and others patiently wait, as is proper, until the year in question is over. The comics reviewers of PLAYBACK:stl are of those latter kind, and SLG books make appearances in a couple of their lists.

First, on Jason Green's list, Zombies Calling by Faith Erin Hicks is at number nine: "Hip writing with a metafictional twist and smoothly brushed inks..."

And on Steve Higgins's list, Paris by Andi Watson and Simon Gane is at number two: "I love it." Higgins promises a full review in a few weeks.

Paris by Andi Watson and Simon Gane is getting some much-deserved attention at the end of the year. Tom Spurgeon at The Comics Reporter interviews artist Simon Gane about his work on the series, which was collected into a lovely trade paperback in October. Simon's work on Paris was a real labor of love, and it shows in his wonderful art.

Meanwhile, comics critic Kevin Church of BeaucoupKevin.com calls Paris, "Easily the best romance I read this year."

Ed Hall, comics critic for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (no link, sorry -- this is in print), declares the series his "favorite comic of 2006," notes that "Gane's angular yet surprising sensual drawings offer nearly endless pleasures" and that Andi's story "bring[s] refreshingly modern twists to his touchingly retro tale."

And Pop Colony brings in a much-needed fashion perspective, noting the resemblance of Deborah's dress on the cover to the much coveted Rouland Mouret Titanium and Galaxy dresses.

It has been my goal to emulate the fashion in this book, seriously. Deborah's tailored elegance, alas, has not been among the looks I've mastered. Juliet's art student ponytail, cat-eye glasses, black sweaters and ballet flats, though? I got that look right down.

You know how I've been mentioning that July is Andi Watson Jamboree month at SLG? Well, we have had to change the month of the festivities so that they don't get lost in all the other new books we have scheduled for July: Andi Watson Jubilee month is now August!

And here's a bit of a teaser for the Paris trade paperback, to be released in August, along with the new edition of Slow News Day. I told Simon Gane, the artist for Paris, that I was in envy of the outfits he draws Paulette, a post-war revolutionary, wearing, and so he created what the situation obviously demanded: a Paulette paperdoll. Click to see a larger version! I have an Illustrator file in which I can move around Paulette's outfits, so perhaps I will be posting those creations as I continue to remind you of the release of Paris.

Check it out: A great interview with Andi Watson at Comics, Covered.

Don't forget the July Andi Watson Jamboree! In July SLG will be releasing a new edition of Slow News Day, digest-sized with a new cover, and the trade paperback of Paris.

Simon Gane sent me the new illustration Paulette from Paris seen at left a few weeks ago, leading me to exclaim that I want to steal all of Paulette's clothes. (Though some of the funniest scenes in the book take place when Paulette is sans vêtements.) The interiors of Paris are more of the same gorgeousness, with a lovely story by Andi.

Guess what we have in store for July?

...

Hey! Are you paying attention? I said, "GUESS!"

...

No. WRONG! How could you get it wrong with that huge image to the left? Did you even read the subject line? I bet you didn't do your homework, either. Oh, you people!

What we have in store for July is several things, including the Whistles graphic novel and a color issue of Lenore, both of which are very exciting. I will be producing more details on those projects soon. (Go here to see the cover of Lenore #13 on Roman Dirge's LJ.) But what I'm here to tell you about today is the July Andi Watson Jamboree.

We will be re-releasing Andi's critically-acclaimed Slow News Day, the story of a young American woman who goes to small-town England to write for a local paper, in a smaller format--5.5 x 8.5"--and with new cover art! Also in July, we're publishing the much-asked-for collection of the equally critically-acclaimed and absolutely gorgeous Paris, written by Andi Watson and drawn by Simon Gane.

We'll also be offering our Andi Watson Love Fights T-shirts -- "I Want Your Kittens" and "Pussy with Attitude", featuring Gunther, the super-powered Siamese cat -- in Previews, so that stores can get in on that action, too. Love Fights, by the way, is an excellent romance/superhero comic published by our pals at Oni Press.

The last of the Pulse previews... for now!

Andi Watson comments on some pages of Paris #4, the last issue of the miniseries about two young women finding love in the eponymous city.

I could have sworn I read a review of this issue that had a very nice comment about the last three pages, but I can't find it now! How frustrating!

It's new comic day, this bright and cold day of February. It's a perfect day for:



GloomCookie #26 by Serena Valentino and Vincent Batignole
32-page comic book, $2.95

Sebastian brings all of his friends & family back just in time for Vermilion & Moon Raven’s actual wedding… after learning of Moon Raven’s transgressions they all decide it would be a shame to miss this undoubtedly ridiculous spectacle. Meanwhile, Lex voices her concerns for the future of her relationship with Damion – and likewise Sebastian seems to be having some misgivings about his relationship with Chrys.




Paris #3 by Andi Watson and Simon Gane
32-page comic book, $2.95

It's the morning after the night before and Juliet struggles to finish her portrait of her muse while Gerard pays an unwelcome visit. Debs invites Juliet to the ball but the poverty stricken art student has nothing to wear. Who will play fairy godmother to our heroines?

In our continuing series of articles from SLG's ITW magazine, here is the article about Paris by Andi Watson and Simon Gane from ITW #2. Paris #3 will be in stores on February 22.

Simon Gane has a new website up, www.simongane.com, with previews of a lot of his comic work, including Paris. I recommend his work with Graphic Classics. But don't ask me about "The Engineer's Thumb." I'll give away the ending.




Coming in October from SLG is Paris, the new mini-series written by Andi Watson, the critically-acclaimed artist/writer of such comics as Skeleton Key, Slow News Day and Love Fights. Watson’s skill for sensitively-rendered characters and stories is matched with the beautiful artwork of Simon Gane, best known for his adaptations of classic works of literature for Graphic Classics.

Together, Watson and Gane reproduce the Bohemian Paris of the early 1950s, where Juliet, a penniless American art student, shares a flat with Paulette, a revolutionary with an extensive lingerie collection. To make ends meet, Juliet paints portraits of wealthy debutantes. One of her subjects is Deborah, a young woman trapped in the old social order of her wealthy family. Juliet herself has felt confined in the rigid academic structure of her art education and finds an unlikely kindred spirit in Deborah. And though Juliet wasn’t expecting romance, this is Paris after all, where both inspiration and love abound. Juliet and Deborah’s love for art bring them together, even as their friends and family try to drive them apart.

Artist Simon Gane was the impetus for the creation of Paris, according to Andi Watson, who has long admired Gane’s art. “Simon had a shopping list of stuff he wanted to draw -- a bo-ho artist girl, sozzled art tutor, two girls falling in love, Paris, a jealous male student,” Andi says. “I took that, added the Deborah character and created a drama and love story out of it.”

Both Watson and Gane found inspiration for Paris in the early films of Audrey Hepburn, such as “Roman Holiday”, “Sabrina” and “Funny Face”. The two artists strived to give the romance between Deborah and Juliet the innocence and exuberance of the love stories in those films, and the Paris Gane depicts in the comic mirrors the tone of the story. “The Paris of the story is a romanticized version of the city in some ways,” says Gane, who used many photos, graphic design and cartooning references from the 1950s to perfectly hone his vision of the city. To capture 1950s Belleville, the neighborhood where Juliet lives, Gane looked to “The Red Balloon” (a film well-known to most Americans from many a rainy-day recess).

It is in these details that Gane’s eye for fun and his genius for creating setting shine. In the rich backgrounds of Paris’s full-page establishing shots are unmistakably Parisian architecture and people. Two friends meet at a street cafe in Place St. Michel, the heart of the Left Bank, as scooters zoom through the streets. An artist paints and two men play at checkers next to the Seine, Notre Dame rising on the opposite bank. A nun leads schoolgirls through a square where an old man feeds pigeons and two academics engage in debate. Bohemians and Beatniks dance in a smoky jazz club.

“I think Simon started to hate me for putting in the full pages after a while,” Watson admits, “but I was so excited getting the pages back. The amount of detail and love lavished on them blew me away.”

Gane also got to show his skills in depicting the great works of art found in Paris, which are integral to Paris’s story. Juliet’s art education demands that she draw from classical masterpieces, and Deborah and Juliet bond over their love for Ingres, giving Gane the opportunity to reproduce works such as the Winged Victory and Ingres’s famous portrait of the Comtesse d’Haussonville. Art is a constant presence in Paris, bringing characters together and forming the texture of their world. In this way, Watson and Gane have created two romances in Paris: It is the love story of Juliet and Deborah, but also a love letter to art itself.

Paris, written by Andi Watson and drawn by Simon Gane, is a four-issue miniseries, debuting in October 2005.

Paris #1 by Andi Watson and Simon Gane gets a thorough, insightful review by Stephanie Kay at Comixfan, calling the new miniseries "a lovely understated tribute to art, misjudged soul-mates, and one of the most popular cities on Earth."

Issue #2 of Paris will be in stores on December 28! I would like to say more about Paris, but, seriously, I'm way too sleepy to think. Why did I drink a cup of cocoa instead of my usual tea? WHY?

Having recently discovered that my life would have been better spent discussing Being and Nothingness in a Paris cafe during the 1950s, I am of course very excited about the beautiful, hip and romantic new comic, Paris by Andi Watson and Simon Gane. It was in stores last week, and I'm not the only one who assures you that it is wonderful:

Paul O'Brien, infamous for declaring his disenchantment with comics as a whole a few months back, gives Paris #1 an A- at The X-Axis. He says of Andi's writing: "The key with these stories is to bring the characters to life, and that's where Andi Watson excels as a writer. He has an eye for detail that makes every throwaway item go towards building his characters." And of Simon Gane and his gorgeous splash pages: "At several points, Gane is allowed to do full-page establishing shots, something that would be a waste of time with many artists. Instead Gane packs the pages with detail, almost overloading the reader by throwing them into the scene. It's fabulous stuff, and more than justifies the decision to give him the space."

Don MacPherson, not infamous in any way I know of, gives it a 9/10 at The Fourth Rail. The city of Paris is integral to this new comic, and MacPherson writes that "Simon Gane captures the backdrop perfectly, whisking the audience away to the exotic and mundane corners of the most romanticized city on the planet." As for Andi's writing: "One can always count on Andi Watson's small-press work to offer a convincing and compelling view of everyday life, with characters that breathe as if real."

One of the comics we're really looking forward to getting out into the world is the four-issue miniseries Paris by Andi Watson and Simon Gane. SLG has a long relationship with Andi, having published his first comic book, Samurai Jam, and watching his art and storytelling chops mature -- from the early issues of Skeleton Key to the witty romance of Slow News Day. This is our first time publishing Simon Gane. He's an amazing artist, and I find something new to marvel at every time I look at his pages.

Both Andi and Simon have been recently interviewed by Arune Singh at Comic Book Resources. Andi Watson talks about the post-WWII art scene, writing romance comics and working with an artist whose work he loves, while Simon Gane tells us about Tin-Tin, his love of Paris, making the most of the freedom afforded to one in independent comics and working with a "subtle and precise" writer like Andi. The interviews also have several preview pages not in the SLG preview, so do check them out.