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By Periscope Studio, on May 20, 2008, 9:21 am in: Jesse Hamm /
Comments are closed 
Jesse Hamm, who drew the portrait, also wrote a fine livejournal post about beloved Bay Area comics retailer Rory Root.
By Steve Lieber, on February 22, 2008, 9:23 am in: Good as Lily, Jesse Hamm /
Comments are closed “I do really love Hamm’s art in Good As Lily; it’s a slightly cartoonish, loose style but Hamm’s able to really do a lot with it. There was one moment about halfway through the book when Stephanie is being berated and put down by her mother, and you see her give her mother a look out of the corner of her eyes. At that moment, in just that one panel, you see a perfect mix of disdain and hatred and sadness all rolled together, and that’s when I knew that Hamm was the perfect artist for Good As Lily.”
Greg McElhatton reviews Derek Kirk Kim and Jess Hamm’s Good as Lily.
By Steve Lieber, on February 3, 2008, 3:36 pm in: Good as Lily, Jesse Hamm /
Comments are closed  Good As Lily is the latest book from Minx, who publish girl-positive comics aimed at young readers, and it may just be the best volume in the series so far. I’ve been a fan of the Minx comics imprint since I read the first volume, The Plain Janes. Good As Lily comes from Derek Kirk Kim (author of the multiple-award-winning Same Difference and Other Stories, and new illustrator Jesse Hamm.
Cory Doctorow has posted a rave review of Derek and Jesse’s graphic novel Good as Lily.
By Periscope Studio, on December 13, 2007, 11:21 am in: Jesse Hamm /
Comments are closed Editions Husky has published a French-language edition of Jesse Hamm’s Tales to Bore and Confuse You. They’re publishing it under the title Bate & Fonte.
By Periscope Studio, on December 7, 2007, 10:36 am in: Agents of Atlas, Good as Lily, Jeff Parker, Jesse Hamm /
Comments are closed The American Library Association has the complete list of nominees for the Young Adult Library Services Association’s list of Great Graphic Novels. Special congrats to Periscope’s own Jesse Hamm for the Good As Lily nomination and Jeff Parker for Agents of Atlas.
 
By Periscope Studio, on September 21, 2007, 8:52 am in: artists we like, Jesse Hamm /
Comments are closed I’m mirroring this from my own blog, since I expect folks here will find it interestng.
Bud Fisher, creator of Mutt & Jeff, is the current entry on our roster of cartooning bigwigs of the ’20s who replied to Clare Briggs’ questionnaire. Fisher’s answers are brief, so I’ll transcribe ‘em below (in tandem with Briggs’ questions, in blue), and follow them up with a page about Fisher’s colorful life, from R.C. Harvey’s entertaining and informative book, The Art of the Funnies.
1. What do you consider the greatest contributing factor to your success?
“I will have to say ‘Ambition.’”
2. How much importance do you attach to an art education where the student intends to adopt cartooning as a profession?
“I will answer, ‘Very little’ except, ‘Self-education.’ I have never seen an artist educated in model-drawing much of a success in cartooning. As a professional, I am inclined to think that most people desiring to be cartoonists attach more importance to the drawing than they do to the humor.”
3. What is your opinion of the average correspondence school?
“My answer is ‘Nil.’”
4. How did you get your start?
“By camping on the doorsteps of all the art departments in San Francisco.”
5. What general rule or advice would you give to the average beginner?
“To practice constantly and remember that humor goes further than a pretty drawing as far as cartoonists are concerned.”
Now for some background about Fisher, from The Art of the Funnies:
Harvey goes on to describe Fisher buying a stable of racehorses, nightclubbing with beautiful showgirls, driving around in a Rolls Royce, marrying a countess he met on a voyage home from France (and divorcing her 4 months later), relocating whole rooms from European estates to his posh New York digs, relying on assistants to do most of his cartooning, and ending up in a lonely, squalid, Howard Hughes-like existence after alienating most of his friends and colleagues. When I think of his profligate cartoonist lifestyle, I can’t help but recall this B. Kliban cartoon, which in Fisher’s case was probably closer to the truth than Kliban intended:
See y’all next time!
By Periscope Studio, on September 20, 2007, 8:26 am in: Good as Lily, Jesse Hamm /
Comments are closed Over at Publisher’s Weekly Heidi posted something that sugeested that Minx titles haven’t been getting much attention from female reviewers. Jesse Hamm, artist of Good As Lily, writes in to draw attention to a few that Heidi might have missed:
The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Katie Haegele says that GOOD AS LILY’s “modern, imaginative story is a good choice for readers, male or female, who are looking for a book that has both brains and heart.”
The Chicago Tribune’s Kristin Kloberdanz declares: “Cheers to the Minx imprint. … The books boast strong, complex female characters, unique storylines and bold graphics. … Funny and tender, [Good As Lily is] a triumphant addition to the Minx collection.”
USA Today’s “Pop Candy” blogger calls Good As Lily the best book she read last week, adding that,“If you have any young women in your life who loves or might love comics, the Minx line has impressed me so far.”
Our first pre-teen reviewer, a bright young lady named Morgan Newman, reports that “I enjoyed Good as Lily. I would suggest that anyone who likes the Minx books should read this.”
This Korean-American calls Good As Lily her “personal favorite of all the Minx titles.”
Another young Korean-American woman says,“Kim is AWESOME at showing what it’s like to be a 2nd generation in the US.” She calls Good As Lily “A very easy, lovely read with winning characters whose varying plights (not just Grace’s) are all interesting and relate-able.”
This New Zealander dubbed Good As Lily her “favourite” of the Minx comics.
On a comics forum, Hannah says: “This book is probably my favorite of the Minx line to date. It’s probably the most mature book they have out right now. The story is about life and they do a good job with it.”
Cartoonist Shaenon Garrity says: “[Y]ou should totally read it … it’s a super cute comic.”
At her blog, this librarian reports that she’s impressed by Derek’s effective, Asian-friendly story, adding: “Props to Jesse Hamm for the great artwork too. I’m going to have to lift my self imposed ban on DC to purchase Good As Lily for the library when it comes out in August.” In the comments section, another female librarian/reviewer chimes in: “I enjoyed this novel throughly and like the fact that Grace’s parents were just regular parents without any ‘Korean parental stereotypes.’”
Yet another librarian reports at her blog that the Minx line is “very good,” judging by the two Minx books she’s read, and that “Kim has written graphic novels before, so his story is a better fit” for the format than that of the other Minx book she reviewed.
Still another librarian reports on HER blog that GOOD AS LILY “may have been my favorite of the Minx bunch.”
The Avid Bookreader says that she “really liked the story and the ending had a nice fairytale touch. There’s some bits of humor, too. My favorite [Minx] title so far.”
Yet another female reviewer grants us a “heartily recommended.”
And another:
“Thematically it touches on life and death, seeing what’s really in front of you, and how choices shape your life. … a graphic a novel with as much thought and story as a standard novel. Bravo!” (In the comments section, she adds: “It made me cry. Derek Kirk Kim is an amazing story teller. He really gets the whole writing for comics thing.”)
And another:
“…a fresh, entertaining and engaging tale of true friendship, love, and valuing one self as much as the people in your life do. Absolutely delightful and highly recommended.”
And another:
“My advanced copy of this graphic novel says that I shouldn’t quote or review this without comparing it to the final version of the book…but I must say one thing. This Rocks! :)”
And another:
“If you are in the mood for a fun read that ends up being a little meatier than you might expect, GOOD AS LILY will be mighty good, indeed.”
That’s not even all of the positive reviews Good As Lily has garnered from women, but we’re running out of space.
By Periscope Studio, on September 10, 2007, 6:52 pm in: Jesse Hamm /
Comments are closed “All noble goals; all lousy advice. Lousy because it substitutes destinations for directions. Might as well direct someone to the Fortress of Solitude by telling her to go to Superman’s hideout. The shortest route to better comics is, instead, concrete advice that any creator can put to use right now.
That said, here are 8 things I’d like to see more of in comics. These are suggestions that I think any creator can try out immediately; adjustments that don’t require new skills to implement. They aren’t all about quality; some are just intended to foster variety. But in every case I think they would add extra oomph to today’s comics — both alternative and mainstream.”
Jesse Hamm writing a guest column for Comics Should be good.
“I arrive at Periscope Studio, in downtown Portland, where there are usually eight or ten artists working on their various freelance projects. If I have an illustration assignment of my own, I work on that; otherwise, I do assistant work for other artists in the studio — penciling and inking backgrounds, storyboarding, miscellaneous design/illustration work, etc. We listen to music, and there’s a lot of joking around; we’ve also got a large reference library and a Cintiq and other fun toys. (And by “toys,” I mean action figures.) We’re often snapping digital photos of each other for reference, usually while brandishing weapons, and we brew a lot of tea and treat each other to hummus and pita bread from a restaurant down the street. It’s a great environment, like a sitcom with less attractive people.”
Jesse Hamm interviewed at Sequential Tart.
“As for the art, it is black and white, but is so nearly flawless that you won’t notice. Also, I was happy to see that Hamm can draw Korean people most excellently and so this book probably has the most Asian looking Asian people that I have seen since Scott Pigrim by Brian Lee ’O Malley.”
Mike’s Bitchin Comics Pickswrites about Jesse Hamm’s Good As Lily. (No direct link available- go to the 8/21 entry.)
By Periscope Studio, on August 25, 2007, 10:48 pm in: Jesse Hamm, Ron Chan /
Comments are closed “DC’s new Minx imprint has been a source of intense industry conversation since it was announced as the company’s new, concerted effort to get girls to read comics (well, comics published by DC, rather than manga). It’s hard to evaluate how well the line does in meeting its goal as I’m not, nor have I ever been, a teenage girl.
But it certainly seems like (Good as Lily) should hit the target audience. The story reads like young-adult fiction with a teen-movie accent, and the art resembles something between manga (black and white, digest-sized, occasional use of the Eastern visual lexicon) and Western original graphic novels. “
Las Vegas Weekly reviews Jesse Hamm’s Good as Lily (and Ron Chan’s A Dummy’s Guide to Danger, too)
By Periscope Studio, on August 15, 2007, 12:28 pm in: Good as Lily, Jesse Hamm /
Comments are closed 
Jesse Hamm’s graphic novel for the MINX line GOOD AS LILY arrives in stores today. The reviews have been terrific!
“Thematically it touches on life and death, seeing what’s really in front of you, and how choices shape your life. … a graphic a novel with as much thought and story as a standard novel. Bravo!” (In the comments section, she adds: “It made me cry. Derek Kirk Kim is an amazing story teller. He really gets the whole writing for comics thing.”)
http://mango-firefly.livejournal.com/13821.html
“…a fresh, entertaining and engaging tale of true friendship, love, and valuing one self as much as the people in your life do. Absolutely delightful and highly recommended.”
http://dawnoftheread.livejournal.com/17012.html
“My advanced copy of this graphic novel says that I shouldn’t quote or review this without comparing it to the final version of the book…but I must say one thing. This Rocks! :)”
http://www.allconsuming.net/entry/view/49008
“DC’s Minx line continues to come on strong with Derek Kirk Kim’s Good As Lily… a fairly complex little story about the things people want in life, how they change, and all the little key points where a life can start unraveling… [grade] A”
http://mobile.avclub.com/content/node/64696
“If you are in the mood for a fun read that ends up being a little meatier than you might expect, GOOD AS LILY will be mighty good, indeed.”
http://www.teenreads.com/reviews/1401213812.asp
“I absolutely loved this book. … The momentum of the story carries it to a
conclusion that’s satisfying without ever being pat or cloying. This fantastic done-in-one tale is easily one of the most heartwarming and enjoyable releases so far this year.” And about Jesse’s work specifically: “…[Hamm] turns out to be a very solid collaborator. … Hamm’s art does a stellar job using facial expressions and body language to communicate the subtle personality traits that Kim’s script demands.”
http://www.playbackstl.com/content/view/6484/167/
Also, KTVU (the TV channel Jesse relied on for cartoons as a youngster) ran a short interview with Derek Kirk Kim which can be viewed here. Toward the end is a nice flip-through of the pages of GOOD AS LILY.
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