More Fear of Blogging

People, thanks for your encouraging comments, and I SWEAR I'll get up the nerve to write here more often! Meanwhile, here's the news from the past few months and a little something about next month:
First, the sad stuff: I'm very sorry to inform you that pioneer woman cartoonist Hilda Terry passed away on October 13. Hilda's strip, Teena, ran in national
newspapers from 1941 - 1966, after which she became a pioneer computer
animator, animating baseball scoreboards for the Mets, for which she won
a National Cartoonist Society award. There's a little irony there, since
Hilda was responsible for breaking the gender barrier of the NCS, which
up till 1950 was a male-only organization. Hilda's husband, the late
cartoonist Gregory D'Allessio, submitted Hilda's name for membership, and
the ensuing fight between members about whether or not to open up their
membership finally ended with Hilda being accepted into the society a
year later, after which she submitted the names of all her women
cartoonist friends, thus breaking the gender barrier.
Hilda always said that we don't die, and that Gregory was still with her.
Wherever she is, she's with Gregory now.
Now, the happier stuff: but first, a correction. I seems to have supplied the wrong link to that great online article on "She Draws Comics." The correct link is www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2857
Arie Kaplan, MAD Magazine writer, has a new book out called "Masters of the Comic Book Universe Revealed" (Chicago Review Press, September 2006), and along with
such greats as Will Eisner, Neil Gaiman, and Stan Lee,the very kind Mr. Kaplan has included a chapter on moi. I am honored and very happy! For more information
about "Masters of the Comic Book Universe Revealed!" check out: http://www.ariekaplan.com/books.htm>>
And the new GoGirl! is out! It's 184 pages long, and should make up for the fact that there hasn't been a new GoGirl! in over a year. I'm happy with everything in it, except --- if you sent me any letters about the last issues, or sent any designs, I'm sorry to say that for reasons entirely unknown to me, the editor or production person over at our publisher, Dark Horse left out the letters page and the great pinups sent in by various artists. In their name, I apologize, hope to have the lettrs and pinups back in the NEXT GoGirl!, and also hope to talk to the right person at Dark Horse and make sure that never happens again. So don;t stop sending letters!
Coming up in November: The Comics Journal should be out any day now, with my center piece interview with comics legend Lily Renee, and 36 pages of full color reprints of her comics. Lily will be a guest at next Summer's San Diego comic con and I'll be there, too.
And speaking of "Masters of the Comic Book Universe," the infamous exhibit, "Masters of American Comics," the one that includes not one woman, is now at the New York Jewish Museum, and that's where I'll be in November 16th, on a panel with other women cartoonists, talking about why men leave out women. I give great Powerpoint slideshow and I guarantee you'll love my talk. Come see the panel and stay to say hello -- and/or come to the Big Apple con, on November 17, 18, and 19. I'll be on a panel there, too, with other women cartoonists, and we all have a lot to say.
Finally: your luddite pal, yours truly, tried but didn't suceed in adding pictures this time. I'll ask advice of my brilliant web maven, and hope to include pics next time.