Cartoonist from three generations plot the growth of the graphic novel in SVA and western comics and Never Forget, Never Forgive – The Graphic Novel was selected to be a dot on the way.

It will be open October 8 – November 6, 2010 and the reception will take place on Thursday, October 14, 6 – 8pm. “Ink Plots” is curated by Marshall Arisman, chair of the MFA Illustration as Visual Essay Department, and Thomas Woodruff, chair of the BFA Illustration and Cartooning Department.

More information here.

Klaus Janson and I at the reception

http://www.tcj.com/review/never-forget-never-forgive/

“Wild Apples Inc. seeks to educate the public through the arts about ways to live sustainably on the earth. In pursuit of that goal, our primary activity is the publication of a 48-page, full-color, soft cover arts magazine called Wild Apples: a journal of nature, art, and inquiry. Taking its name and inspiration from Henry David Thoreau’s essay, “Wild Apples,” the journal brings together the work of artists, writers, and photographers who are connected by the common threads of care for the environment, engagement in social concerns, and commitment to the arts and the way they shape our world.”

(Click the image to go to the official website)

Ignatz Award Nominee 2010. “Stunning” – The Comics Journal.

“Whom will one forgive if not one’s enemies?” On Obon, The Day of the Dead, it is believed that the spirits of Japanese ancestors visit the homes of their families, and the living set paper lanterns on river waters to illuminate their path back to the netherworld. This year, in the midst of a bloody and decades long clan war, the festivities halt as the Okumura troops return from battle, carrying along with their wounded and fallen, the captive daugthers of their enemy. For samurai Oda and his two children, Ryoan and Kaimen, this homecoming begins a chain of events both intimate and violent, revealing harsh truths about themselves and their war, that will change each one of them forever.

Previously serialized on Activatecomix.com and published as “Never Forget, Never Forgive.” Available in reguilar and economy editions, including revised, expanded and new material.

“…Acknowledging that man-made horrors exist, and will continue to exist, but that each of us still holds the ability to choose not to let these horrors define us. Stunning and dynamic, demonstrating a keen sense of composition, cinematography and lighting… Efal takes the narrative equivalent of a deep, cleansing breath… one of the most impressive, thoughtful debut graphic novels.”

The Comics Journal

“Remarkable…an intense story about the generational, environmental, and societal gaps that open wider and wider in times of war…synthesizes the best of Japanese manga with the best of American graphic novels.”
LongAndShortBoxOfIt

“Samurai Struggles in the Shadow of Jewish Life:
The Jewish mantra of “Never Forget, Never Forgive” is given new truths when transplanted into the foreign setting and foreign soil of historic Japan, and Efal tries to understand and interpret his own thoughts regarding those lessons.”
Newsarama

“A new reading experience…masterful storytelling, subtle characterization…felt with a quick emotional wallop…Efal’s style is spot on.”
NYCGraphicNovelists.com

“Beautiful brushwork…breathtaking”

BrokenFrontier.com

“…a powerful and engaging tale…a few brush strokes conveying a universe of meaning…the echoes of the loss and horror of the Holocaust can be felt through the story itself… It works as a beautiful combination of the best of both traditions.”
Jewish Outreach Institute

“Ink-heavy, occasionally scratchy, shadow-laden style to the art; anybody that likes the work ofGoseki Kojima is encouraged to look closely at this one.”
Fleen.com

Haiti paintings collection

“Never Forget, Never Forgive” on Activatecomix.com

In New York Comicon 2009 I participated in a panel on the subject of digital comic book making, and discussed the process of creating “Never Forget, Never Forgive” using Flash CS3 and a 12″ Cintiq. See some slides from the presentation here.

Art for Tricycle: The Buddhist Review Magazine, February 2009

www.tricycle.com/insights/a-quiver-heart

www.tricycle.com/insights/rich-generosity