THIS BLOG HAS BEEN RETIRED

THIS BLOG HAS BEEN RETIRED. I'm still going to be keeping it up here, though-- there's some pretty cool old stuff on it. That said, if you want to keep up to date with me, please go to www.georgeoconnorbooks.com.

Monday, December 28, 2009

Olympians Rule is live!



The long-in-the-works website for my new series Olympians has gone live today. Just click on olympiansrule.com and check out pages of bios of the gods, activities for kids and teachers, a look at how the books are made, and more.

Also be sure to check out my new Olympians Rule! blog, linkable off the site, or accessible directly from here. It will have lots of exclusive info related to the series, as well as much general info about the Greeks and their gods. Hope you enjoy!

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Journey into Mohawk Country in the New York Times!



The New York Times ran an article this weekend on Charles Gehring, one of the gentlemen who provided the English translation (from Dutch) for my graphic novel Journey into Mohawk Country. As part of the bonus content, the New York Times ran this big feature on the graphic novel itself, featuring sketches and commentary from yours truly. Please check it out!

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Children's Book Review: Zeus: King of the Gods, Olympians #1


Children's Book Review: Zeus: King of the Gods, Olympians #1

From the good folks at Shelf Awareness, a very nice review of Zeus: King of the Gods. As an author/illustrator who feels more comfortable on the drawing side of things, it's particularly nice to see the attention the review pays to my writing.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Zeus and Kampe



Ah, Google alerts, I love you. How else would I find out about cool stuff like this? N.S.Gill is a classicist with her own ancient history blog on About.com. Every Monday she writes a piece spotlighting a myth of the ancient world (and not just limited to those of the Hellenic persuasion)and, by way of a review of Zeus: King of the Gods, she talks about Zeus and Kampe.

Ms. Gill, at her own admission, has never read a graphic novel before, but man, she knows her stuff. She deftly pinpointed the literary sources I used to construct my own depiction of the encounter between Zeus and Kampe, who was the guard of the Hekatonchieres and Cyclopes during their imprisonment by the Titans in Tartaros. Check out the review, and her blog. Some very interesting stuff.

This dude looks familiar...



Some more artwork for the Olympiansrule.com website. A self-portrait this time. Either that, or the standards on Mount Olympus are seriously slipping.

BTW, as part of the new site, I'll be running a new blog, the aptly named olympiansrule.blogspot.com. Head on over and check it out.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Interview at Thick Mick's blog


Check out the recent interview I did at Thick Mick's Blog, also known as the blog of cartoonist John A. Walsh, a man with a name almost as Irish-sounding as my own. Visit to snicker at my windbaggyness, stay to check out some of John's sweet cartooning.

Real Blushworthy Zeus mention in The School Library Journal



Well, sometimes in this business people write some nice things about your work, and sometimes they write some really nice things about your work, and then there's this.

The good folks at Macmillan (the parent company of Roaring Brook and First Second) recently hosted an event where they presented some of the companies upcoming offerings to an invited crowd of Alpha Librarians (the best sort of friends one can hope to have for your book. Librarians are teh awesome). The above link takes you to a preview of some of the offerings they saw. My own Zeus comes way down at the bottom. As the title of this post may lead you to believe, they say some very nice things indeed.

Thanks to Tim Bush and Sara Hudson (by way of Phil Stead, apparently) for the heads-upses.

Zeus preview at the Graphic Novel Reporter!


Want to read some Zeus-y action but just can't wait until the first week of January? The Graphic Novel Reporter has ten pages up for your viewing pleasure right now. Click here!

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Guest drawing from Becky Cloonan


So here's a nice side effect of working in a studio with a bunch of amazingly talented artists. Sometimes you come in and there will be an awesome little drawing by one of them at your desk. Becky Cloonan drew this great portrait of Poseidon on a scrap of paper at my desk. How cool is that?

Blush-worthy article on Comic Book Resources


Didn't I just say I normally don't link to reviews? Maybe I should give that practice up for the new year. Regardless, this article at Comic Book Resources, while it does say some very nice things about Ball-Peen Hammer is not really a review, per se, but a rather cool little piece about Adam and my thoughts on Ball-Peen, before veering off into Olympians territory. I humbly suggest you give it a read.

Ball-Peen Review in the Comics Journal



I normally don't link to all that many reviews on my blog, but I had to make this exception. The Comics Journal (bold and italics! It's that important!) has a brand new website and right up there, on day one, a big, two-paged review of Ball-Peen Hammer. The reviewer says some very nice things about Adam Rapp's and my cheerful little tale. Check it out here.