In BIG BABIES OR WHY CAN’T WE JUST GROW UP?, now available in paperback, writer and broadaster Michael Bywater skewers the infantile nature of our contemporary society. Examining advertising, music, politics, the health industry, education, religion, fashion, sports and publishing, Bywater makes a fierce and often hilarious case that, in almost every area of our lives, we are inexorably becoming Big Babies. He recently talked to with Kindah Mardam Bey from A n E Vibe for a brilliant interview:
“Why are people not educating their children on manners? I wonder if this has something to do with the Baby Boom generation wanting to be liked by their children. We want them to think of us as their friends. I never thought of my parents as friends. They are supposed to be you parents. Now the lengths that children have to go to declare their independence from the parents is ridiculous. It was much easier when parents were stuffy; all you had to do to rebel was listen to rock music. Now parents are listening to the same music, know the bands names, are usurping teenage attire, parents who really like Eminem, and the kids are thinking ‘your not supposed to like Eminem, that’s the whole point of it!’ So what lengths do kids have to go to rebel, because we all have to rebel, it’s the natural course of things.”
Graphic designer Michael Bierut, author of SEVENTY-NINE SHORT ESSAYS ON DESIGN (one of my favourite books of last year) talks about typography, including Stanley Kubrick’s favorite font and the cover design of The Catcher in the Rye in a video interview with The Atlantic magazine.
More comics!
Robin McConnell has a big sprawling, meandering (but very informative) chat with autobiographical cartoonist Joe Matt on his radio show Inkstuds:
“Everything in comics is a construction, so you’re not really getting real autobiography ever, you’re not really getting like the unvarnished truth, you’re always getting an edited version. You’re getting what the author intends to give you and nothing more. It’s a paradox. Everything is autobiographical, but everything is also fictional at the same time.”
The interview is about comics, but Joe Matt’s work is not for everyone as it often touches on some adult themes, so a certain amount of discretion is advised ...
Carol Borden recently posted a list of her favourite comics in 2007 over at The Cultural Gutter, and BEASTS! by Jacob Covey (Fantagraphics), JAMES STURM’S AMERICA (Drawn & Quarterly), and WALT & SKEEZIX by Frank King (Drawn & Quarterly) all made the list!
Thanks Carol!
Other books on the list include Grant Morrison’s ALL-STAR SUPERMAN VOL. 1 (DC Comics), LAIKA by Nick Abadzisand (First Second: 2007), and INCREDIBLE CHANGE-BOTS by Jeffrey Brown (Top Shelf) which sounds brilliant. Click here for the full list.
PS - Click here for previews of the much-loved WALT & SKEEZIX on the D & Q website...
Press Release (Vancouver January 7, 2008)
Raincoast Books announced today a comprehensive plan to focus on its core business operations.
In the wake of 2007’s appreciation of the Canadian dollar, Raincoast reduced suggested retail prices by 20%. Now Raincoast is moving to control costs. Starting today, the company will be streamlining business operations and focusing exclusively on its long-term distribution partners and wholesale business. This marks a return to Raincoast’s original, and very successful, business model.
The major elements of the 2008 business plan include:
The closing of the Raincoast publishing program: Spring 2008 will be the final season for the Raincoast publishing program. Although it has won or been short-listed for every major literary prize in Canada during the last decade, the publishing division has remained unprofitable. The spring’s 15 titles will be supported with full sales and marketing campaigns. Raincoast will honour all outstanding financial contractual commitments to its authors. “This has been a necessary but very painful cost-cutting decision,” said Allan MacDougall, CEO of Raincoast Books; “made all the more difficult by the exceptional calibre of writers and the staff we have cultivated over the last few years.”
Consolidating warehouse space: Currently 95% of Raincoast’s shipping is through the Vancouver warehouse and the company has decided to close its smaller secondary warehouse in Mississauga. The target completion date for this is March 31. Raincoast is confident that it will maintain its industry-leading shipping times to customers across Canada.
Staff reductions: The above closures, combined with some streamlining of workflows, will result in a loss of 20 staff positions through layoffs and attrition. Raincoast and its Toronto-based division, Publishers Group Canada, will continue to operate fully staffed sales and marketing offices in both Vancouver and Toronto. BookExpress will continue to provide wholesale service to customers across Canada.
Focus on core distribution partners: Raincoast plans to make strategic cuts to its stable of distribution clients in order to devote more resources to key publishers. This will be implemented in the second half of 2008 and trade announcements will follow shortly. This strategy will allow Raincoast to devote more resources to its long-term core distribution partners and to seek out new lines that fit its business model.
“Raincoast can only deliver on the promise of lower suggested retail pricing by having rigorous cost controls and an absolute focus on our core business,” said Allan MacDougall. “These are the new realities of the Canadian book industry, and we are prepared to face these challenges head on in 2008.”
Raincoast podcasts are available from iTunes by searching for "Raincoast" or the RSS feed is available from Feedburner at 
Check out our NEWEST Podcast for Clancy with the Puck, a hilarious tale of hockey hubris.