R.I.P. gbtran.blogspot.com

7 March 2008 – 4 October 2012

I've created my new blog at gbtran.com/blog so goodbye Blogspot! Please tune in there for all future news and announcements!

Last week, I began my 36th year...

 ... and as a belated birthday gift, I built myself a brand spanking new website!

I've been chipping away at it in-between work and Iona [not] sleeping this past month—hence the lack of blog posts—so please celebrate with me by visiting gbtran.com and unwrapping version 3.0!

Back on the airwaves!

I was recently interviewed on the venerable and prolific INKSTUDS—huge thanks to host Robin McConnell for inviting me! He's chatted with more cartoonists then you could seemingly listen to in a lifetime, and it's all archived online for your listening pleasure.

And here are more pages from the Rwanda project. The book's proposal includes 10 pages of finished artwork and two chapters' roughs shown earlier here and here.

Sneak peek...

Here are pages from one of my long gestating book projects, a collaboration with psychologist and author Patricia Pasick. In 2008, she founded the organization Stories for Hope Rwanda, an intergenerational project that uncovers and preserves stories of the 1994 Genocide through conversations between youths and their elders. This book was initially conceived as an anthology, but ultimately morphed into one specific story of a surviver's search for his missing sister.

It's an incredible story, and I'm honored and deeply grateful for the trust that Patricia's placed in me to bring it to life as a comic. Conceived as a 2-color, 128 page book, we're putting on the proposal's finishing touches now so if by chance you're a publisher interested in reading the words that go in those balloons and learning more, please contact the book's rep, Bob Mecoy.

And in peripheral comics news, I'm psyched to announce that I'll be part of the Alt. Comics: Asian American Artists Reinvent the Comic Book exhibit opening next month at Manhattan's Museum of Chinese in America! Opening night is Thursday, September 27th, for those who like to plan ahead.

Last but not least, that fun live radio interview on Design*Sponge's AFTER THE JUMP mentioned a couple posts ago is now archived at Heritage Radio Network. If you're interested in the process behind VIETNAMERICA, give it a listen; I swear I default to talking about my baby only in the last 30 seconds.

In my post-baby reality...

... any week where I can get this much comics done is a damn good week. (I can only get faster, right?) Now, on to coloring them!

On the airwaves:

For folks looking' to break up their work Monday, tune into Design*Sponge's live radio show AFTER THE JUMP, tomorrow from 12-12:30 EST. I'll be this week's guest and chatting about VIETNAMERICA and beyond with host Grace Bonney! (Free streaming at Heritage Radio Network)

The end of an era.

After attending for over 15 years and exhibiting for the last 6, this year was my farewell for the foreseeable future to San Diego Comic-con. Actually, last year was suppose to be my final cross country pilgrimage, but having been nominated for a 2012 Eisner, I dug deep—into my wallet, that is—for one last hurrah and to be in the room as Jonathan Ross succinctly captured the heart of doing reality comics (pardon the super nervous shaky cam):

As a consolation prize to being an Eisner non-winner, I was flabbergasted to discover that VIETNAMERICA was one of two graphic novels being discussed on an academic comics theory panel:

I went as an audience member, but when the panelists noticed I was there, I suddenly wound up on stage as part of the discussion with Keegan Lannon, Jade Hidle, and freakin' SCOTT McCLOUD?!

I reread UNDERSTANDING COMICS every time I start a new project, so to unexpectedly be talking with him about VIETNAMERICA was an honor I'll be carrying to my deathbed.

So one redeye flight later, I'm back in Brooklyn and excited to get back to work. To me, the Eisner ceremony simultaneously marked the end of a long, unpredictable, wondrous, journey with VIETNAMERICA as well as beginning its new life in college and university classrooms and all the exciting opportunities that that entails: I'll be back to Davidson in September, then the University of Oregon and Connecticut in October, with Stanford in January and hopefully who-knows-where next? All while devoting every waking moment to new comic projects, illustration gigs, and watching life unfold through the eyes of this squeaky lil' porpoise:

Bits 'n' pieces:

Some regular readers may recall that I have this morning ritual with emailing. Well, I've started tumblr-ing them to do my part in lowering the maturity and IQ of the internet at MorningIllustration.tumblr.com. Swing by to witness the phenomenal heights my art can achieve.

Elsewhere on the interwebs, thanks to the awesome gents behind the excellent THE SILENCE OF OUR FRIENDS—Mark Long and Nate Powell—for contributing a VIETNAMERICA-inspired guest strip to the equally awesome gents of UNSHELVED's artist book review segment:

It ran way back in February, but I only just found out about it recently. Blaming that faux pas on the whole "preparing for baby" thingy.  Okay, back to work:

It's haaawwwttt!!!

In the midst of a country wide heatwave, here are some NYC-centric ink drawings for Aeropostale to help everybody get in that summer "out-of-office" mood.

Traditionally, deadlines slow down during the summer daze so my wife and I already squeezed in a nice vacation to Vermont for WANDERLUST. Actually, hard work for her... but still a vacation for me and the lil' lady! 

She's the blue dot standing at the very front of that room.

Why hike when there's a gondola?

Aw crap, there IS hiking after all!

That baby's gonna need a bigger bed.

Channeling my fanboy:

Here's a recent comic-tastic mash-up private commission... for a couple's wedding anniversary?! These are always extra fun when they're for such a very unique and intimate purpose.  Sketch > ink > tones:

Artwork coming to a college/university near you?

Huge, incredible news with VIETNAMERICA:  Davidson College has chosen it as this Fall's new student orientation common reading book! It's the first comic selected as their common reads in the program's 20 year history!

"Davidson College is devoted to the life of the mind and the development of the whole person. We believe that one of the best ways to begin your journey here is to read a common book, discuss it during orientation, and apply what you learn to your life at Davidson. We are excited to announce that the common reading selection for New Student Orientation 2012 is Vietnamerica: A Family's Journey by G.B. Tran."

To all the freshman who will be reading, taking notes, and discussing my little graphic memoir:  I'm REALLY REALLY REALLY sorry the pages aren't numbered!

While on the topic of higher education, here's one last peek at illustrations for the upcoming Bedford/St. Martin's college-level writing guide I've been previewing:

The textbook contains plenty more artwork, but best to save the rest for when it's on campus bookstore shelves.

New studio = new work

Here are more pieces from the college textbook project mentioned earlier:

Continuing my studio hopping ways, June begins a summer stint in awesome animator Kneeon's space. Perks include being located a stone's throw from home and SNES lounge with ZOMBIES ATE MY NEIGHBORS (but no tv... so cruel!):

Less work commute = more quality time with these lovely ladies:

Zombies LOVE Vietnamese food!

Here's a recent piece for the next Secret Identities anthology for Bao Phi's story about two freedom fighters in a post-apocalyptic zombie world. Between dismembering the undead and liberating labor camp prisoners, they dream of the perfect bowl of pho. Truly a tale after my own heart. Sketch > ink > tones:

Not to jinx it...

... but I'm trying to get back into weekly blog updates.  This week's edition even comes with explanations!

Here are more layouts for a nonfiction book I'm pitching with a collaborator.  I usually don't include page roughs among the sample artwork and just instead provide finished sample pages, but in this case it's crucial that we show how I interpret her source material since there's notable tweaking and editing on my part.  It provides prospective publishers a better idea of our work dynamic since I'm more than just drawing from script.  I'll spill the beans on this project as soon as we start shopping it around.

These are more illustrations for a college writing guide published by Bedford/St. Martin's.  It's an enormous gig containing over 50 pieces ranging from tiny spots to section openers, and I'll continue to post excerpts as the book approaches completion.  This was a blast to work on, and the continual back 'n' forth with the editor, writer, and art directors was a truly collaborative experience.  A really great time, and hope to be doing more projects like this!

Work week in pictures:

Look hard enough and there's a baby in there somewhere.