The book Dave Eggers hails as “one of the best-ever examples of comics reportage, and one of the clearest portraits of post-Katrina New Orleans yet published,” and Cornel West calls “intimate and yet seismic in its scope” is going on tour. Tell your friends and come on out. (Times and dates subject to change.)

Wednesday, August 19: Josh commemorates A.D.’s release with a presentation and signing in Austin, Texas, @ Book People. 603 N. Lamar, Austin, 7pm.

Thursday, August 20: A.D. presentation & signing with Josh @ Domy Books in Houston, Texas. 1709 Westheimer, Houston, 6:00 pm.

Friday, August 21: A.D. hits New Orleans. Release party with Josh and some of the book’s subjects, live and in person! Plus an art show, music, and refreshments. The Canary Collective, 329 Julia Street, New Orleans, 7pm.

Saturday, August 22: Josh signs books @ Maple Street Book Shop, 7523 Maple Street, New Orleans. 1pm.

Tuesday, August 25: A.D.’s New York release party @ Idlewild Books, co-sponsored by SMITH and Teachers & Writers Collaborative. Live music by Mary McBride and her band, refreshments, and an art auction to benefit New Orleans relief organizations. 12 West 19th St., New York City, 7pm
Read the rest of this entry »

New Orleans writer Cheryl Wagner had a wonderful back-page piece in the New York Times magazine last month, which I’m linking to here. Though a mere 800 words, it uses the story of a bedraggled hurricane-survivor cat to evocatively describe post-Katrina New Orleans. Wagner’s gritty, humorous prose perfectly captures the unique character of the Crescent City, which emerged unscathed from the storm. Check out Wagner’s new memoir Plenty Enough Suck to Go Around: A Memoir of Floods, Fires, Parades and Plywood, out now from Citadel Press.

In case you haven’t seen these yet, here’s what the front and back cover of the A.D. hardcover look like:

Stay tuned for further updates as we get closer to the August 18 pub. date

The forthcoming A.D. book has had the extreme good fortune of being praised by some terrific people of late. Check it out:

“Josh Neufeld is a master storyteller. A.D. is intimate and yet seismic in its scope. Through seven finely drawn lives, we end up with new understanding of both devastation and redemption. His art takes us to the depth of the humanity of those we cherish.”
— Cornel West, philosopher, author, critic, pastor, and civil rights activist

“Who’d have thought that after watching all that video we’d come upon a fresh visual way to experience Hurricane Katrina? Josh Neufeld’s drawings—and his tender, dead-honest dialogue—brought it all back in a way that made me feel it in my gut.”
— Dan Baum, author of Nine Lives: Death and Life in New Orleans

“Beautifully rendered, provocative and deeply moving, A.D. depicts the true heroism and humanity that took place in the weeks leading up to and following Hurricane Katrina. Josh Neufeld’s portrait of a city under siege is a powerful memorial to one of the biggest tragedies in American history.”
— Tia Lessin, producer and director of the Academy Award-nominated documentary Trouble the Water

A.D. will be front and center at New York Comic Con Tomorrow: “Comics and New Media,” a roundtable panel discussion featuring Josh Neufeld (A.D. author), Jeff Newelt aka Jahfurry (SMITH comics editor), Kate Lee (agent at ICM), and Lisa Weinert (A.D.’s Pantheon editor).

What challenges do we, as publishing professionals, face with the rise of new media? How has it influenced the editorial process and the promotion end of things? How have webcomics affected the industry? And, what happens when webcomics transition to printed books? The panelists will use the example of A.D. to illustrate their points on Friday, February 6, 3:30pm to 4:30pm, Jacob Javits Center (644 West 34th Street), room 1a22. Anyone with a badge can swing by. Can’t make it? Worry not! We’ll be taping the panel and will make the links available on SMITH.