Boogers and Snot

This documents one of my favorite things about kids: when they are so in the zone and they get that far away look in their eyes and their finger goes right up their nose. Okay, maybe grown- ups do that too. I remember when I was little, I thought that being an adult meant you didn't pick your nose anymore. And I dreaded that day because I LOVED picking my nose.

Too gross?

ANYWAY Today I video chatted with some of Sam Sharpe's students in Chicago! They all read my book, and we asked each other questions about comics. They asked me if I was married. It was great!

AND Carrie who has a really awesome blog called Try Harder just wrote a great review of Freddy Stories. My favorite part: "Even if your ovaries aren't bursting, Freddy is charming because even though she craves comfort and fun like the rest of us, she knows when yelling is the best policy".

Thanks Carrie! You all should read her blog, it rules.

OVER AND OUT

Have you been watching the Woody Allen documentary on PBS? I can't get enough of that man!

I got wee-viewed

Here: by Rob Clough at the Comics Journal

He reviewed "Warmth" and "Freddy: more stories". Rob is a really great writer, be sure to read all of his reviews. He mentions both Crockett Johnson and Lynda Barry, two of my favorite artists ever, which makes me incredibly happy. He is also spot-on about Tom Hart's wonderful influence on me as my advisor. Thank you so much Rob!

It's really interesting how most people think that the character in "Warmth" is Freddy... it's actually not wrong at all, even though I intended it to be me. Freddy and I are pretty much interchangeable. She's me as a child, but then made into her own person. Does that make sense?

Happy summer everybody!

(photo by ol' Joe Lambertini)

Wowie Zowie

I'm blushing.

This is a really, really nice review of my first collection of Freddy stories (buy it here!) and a mini from fall 2008 called Dear Bill (read it here!) from Rich Kreiner at the Comics Journal's most recent Mini-Comics Monday. Here's a quote: (man, does this guy have a way with words...)

"These comics by Melissa Mendes are the strip equivalent of haikus, rigorously trimmed distillations of concrete, evocative moments bespeaking clarity and insight. Like those terse, concrete poems, these cartoons achieve an air of untroubled spontaneity. But instead of reflecting upon the natural world, they preoccupy themselves with social and domestic conditions rooted in — should we be so lucky — shared experience."

Gosh. Thanks Rich!

Right now, I am working my rear end off on my thesis project at the Center for Cartoon Studies, which is a new collection of Freddy stories (and possibly more). Here is a little preview panel:

In other news, we're not going to TCAF anymore. It's kind of sad (TCAF is AWESOME!), but we're poor, and plus I couldn't go anyway because it's the same weekend as my little sister's senior thesis show at Hampshire College. Go Amy!!!

Thanks Rob!

A review of Freddy and the mini I did for SPX called Birthday!

Rob Clough has been doing lots of great reviews of CCS alumni and current students for th

e Comics Journal. Here he reviews me along with two of my talented classmates, Jose-Luis Olivares and Garry-Paul Bonesteel. I've been reading Rob's reviews since before he was doing them for TCJ, and I've always appreciated how closely he reads everything he writes about, and how attentive he is to things that work and don't work. So thanks

Rob!