Scoop: Craig Thompson Wins an Eisner

1. INKY GLORY: Portland graphic novelist Craig Thompson won an Eisner Award for “Best Writer/Artist” for his epic 2011 tome Habibi. Presented at San Diego Comic-Con last weekend, the Eisner Awards are basically the Oscars of comic books. This was Thompson’s third win—he scored two in 2004 for his autobiographical graphic novel Blankets. The 672-page Habibi was the result of seven years of work and divided critics, with some taking issue with the depiction of sexuality and Orientalism, and others lauding its ambitious scope and striking illustrations. (WW declared it should be turned into a tabletop RPG. We stand by this statement.)

1. THANKS, MOMS: Portland’s Menomena spoke with Pitchfork last week about its forthcoming album, Moms, revealing the somewhat confounding cover art and talking about its familial inspiration. The duo—which lost founding member Brent Knopf last January after group-infighting (see “Everyone Loves Menomena...Except Menomena,” WW, Sept. 8, 2010)—chose to write about family on the new record “because writing about the band would be predictable and boring,” Danny Seim said in the article. “Justin [Harris] and I are both bummed about how our entire press angle for Mines was negative...I guess it was true, but in retrospect, I’m not too proud of it.” Menomena plays this year’s MusicfestNW on Sept. 7.

1. WE’RE GONNA NEED A BIGGER SCREEN: The NW Film Center is raising money to purchase a bigger screen for Top Down, its popular outdoor summer movie series. For nine years, the center has shown classic films on the roof of the Hotel deLuxe, making do with a screen smaller than that of an average indoor theater. As audiences have grown, however, an upgrade is needed. Through Kickstarter, NW Film Center is hoping to raise $7,000 to buy a new 20-by-11-foot inflatable screen before the 2012 season, which kicks off July 26 with the 1942 Preston Sturges comedy The Palm Beach Story.

1. PORTLAND JUST GOT YOUNGER: And a little lighter, too. Veteran Trail Blazers center Kurt “Crazy Eyes” Thomas, the oldest man in the NBA at age 39, and Raymond “Not My Fault” Felton made the long trip to New York City after a sign-and-trade deal Monday that sent both players to the Knicks. In return, the Blazers will land a whopping four role players, including two Greek dudes and another of the league’s older players, Dan “Gadzooks” Gadzuric. The Knicks’ signing of Felton will probably be a relief to the chubby-cheeked point guard, who had a rocky relationship with Blazers fans during his one-year stay in Rip City. Felton has publicly suggested he will prove the doubters wrong by returning to PDX and “droppin’ 50 on ’em” with his new team. No word on whether he was referring to points or pounds.

WWeek 2015