Farm Toy Show, Walnut IL

Attention farm toy collectors!

For those of you in the north-central Illinois area this Sunday, April 19, the 23rd Annual Farm & Toy Show will be held at the Bureau Valley North school gym. The school is located at 323 S. Main St. in Walnut, Illinois, and the show will run from 9am to 3pm. For more information call (815) 303-8764.

Sounds like a nice show!

2009 Eisner Award Nominees

The 2009 Eisner Award nominees were released this week, and it's a very diverse list that features entries from 38 publishers. Named for famed cartoonist Will Eisner, the awards are the Oscars of the comics world and are handed out each year during a ceremony at Comic-Con International San Diego.

The nice thing about the list is that it serves as a "recommended reading list" for the summer. I'm already familiar with quite a few of the titles nominated, but those that I don't know will spark conversations for the next several months. I must admit that Willie & Joe is a personal favorite, and I'll be cheering for it.

Classics Illustrated: The Raven

Just received a review copy of Classics Illustrated: The Raven and other Poems from the folks at Papercutz.

Their successful revival of the Classics Illustrated series continues with this collection of Edgar Allan Poe's masterpiece, "The Raven," and other poems including, "Eldorado," "Annabel Lee," "The City in the Sea," "The Sleeper, " "The Haunted Palace," and "The Conqueror Worm" as interpreted by Gahan Wilson, the hilarious and insightful cartoonist for The New Yorker.

Wilson's style is perfectly suited to Poe's turn of phrase, as his artwork moves across the page with the cadence established by the words. But don't take my word for it. At $9.95 this modern classic is a bargain -- so order two copies and donate one to your local library!

Interview with Thom Zahler

For my column, "The O'Brien Factor," in issue #1652 of Comics Buyer's Guide magazine, I had the pleasure of interviewing writer/artist/self publisher Thom Zahler. Zahler is the creator of Love and Capes, a super hero/sitcom/romance comic book about Mark, the super hero, and Abby, his normal bookstore-owner girlfriend.

The comic is brilliant, but don't take my word for it, Zahler posts panels to the website so you can check it out for yourself. Then you can feel free to click on "Comments" below and tell me what you liked about it.

My intervew with Zahler included much more material than I could use in the magazine, so I'm posting the unabbreviated version of his answers HERE. I'll add another question/answer every couple of days, so be sure to check back often.

Charlotte Auto Fair

The Charlotte Auto Fair began yesterday and goes on through Sunday at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina. Hosted by the Hornet's Nest Region AACA club, the event is billed as the "Largest Collector Vehicle Event in the Southeast," and with an expected crowd of 150,000 and 10,000 swap meet vendor spaces, I can't dispute the claim.

The AACA (Antique Automobile Club of America) will be holding its National Spring Meet car show on Saturday, April 4, in conjunction with the Auto Fair. This is one event I'm adding to my "Gotta Get There Someday" list. Hope you have great weather, Charlotte!

Free Comic Book Day

Let the countdown to Free Comic Book Day begin! We are just one month from one of the best events of the year, and I can't wait.

For those of you who might not be aware, on the first Saturday in May comics created especially for the event will be offered free of charge at participating comic shops nationwide. No kidding -- free comics. So there's no misunderstanding -- the only comics that retailers will have for free are those created for the day -- regular releases on their shelves are not free.

This year's selection of FCBD comics is one of the best lineups yet. Material for all ages and reading levels mean that there will be comics for everyone. Got kids that don't read yet -- Owly & Friends from Top Shelf is full of wordless adventures. Go to the site and click on "The Comics" to see a complete lineup.

Don't know where to find a comic book shop? Use the FCBD locator on the site, just type in your zip code and it will give you a list of shops in your area. Many shops are planning special events that day, so you may even find comics professionals making appearances. Call the shop in advance to find out what they are planning. If you're a professional, please add your appearances to the growing list on the site -- and join in the discussion on CBGxtra.

We're only a month away, so get the word out to teachers, librarians, comics fans and everyone else you know. Be sure to add the event at your local shop to community calendars, as well.

The BIG READ

The Columbia College Library is presenting a month-long series of events for the annual BIG READ. The featured book is Ray Bradbury's masterpiece, Fahrenheit 451.

What is the BIG READ? Glad you asked. From the site:

In 2004, the National Endowment for the Arts released a report entitled, Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading, and its findings revealed that during the period 1982-2002, reading has declined at a high rate among all ages, but particularly in the younger age groups. As a result, the National Endowment for the Arts developed the BIG READ initiative in 2006 to address this problem, with the fundamental goal of restoring reading to the center of American culture.

Visit the site and check out The BIG READ. You don't have to attend the events to get a lot out of this series -- heck, go buy a copy of the book and follow along online.

Reading less as a society is a scary thought. Or are we just reading more junk?