Cartoonist Jen Sorensen Releases New Book

For Immediate Release
April 20, 2008

Contact:
Robert Lasner
robert (at) igpub.com
(718) 797-0676

Interview requests:
Nettie Hartsock
Nettie (at) nettiehartsock.com

“Sly, quick and smart, Jen Sorensen’s comic strip is nothing like its name. So don’t be deceived — Slowpoke is going places.”
— Doonesbury creator Garry Trudeau

Jen Sorensen, creator of the award-winning comic “Slowpoke” which appears in the Village Voice and other newsweeklies around the country, has released a new collection of her cartoons entitled Slowpoke: One Nation, Oh My God!

She kicks off her book tour on the West Coast this week with cartoon slideshows in Berkeley, Portland, and Seattle, followed by East Coast dates in New York City and Philadelphia.

The collection includes 150 of Sorensen’s provocative strips and an introduction by “Tom the Dancing Bug” creator Ruben Bolling. Deploying the trademark Slowpoke brand of absurdist humor, One Nation, Oh My God! covers everything from the Antique Ideology Roadshow to the rise of virtual donuts.

“This is not just another quirky cartoon book,” says Sorensen. “One Nation, Oh My God! is packed with commentary for every strip and chock full of devastatingly sophisticated and accurate political analysis. It also answers all your questions about tube socks and teledildonics.”

Sorensen adds, “This book will make you wonder what a complete tool like Bill Kristol is doing on the New York Times op-ed pages instead of, well, me.”

Jen’s cartoons and blog can be found online at www.slowpokecomics.com

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

“Jen Sorensen is a maniacal genius, gleefully exposing the mendacity which lurks behind conventional wisdom, glib newscasters, celebrity culture, Republican doublespeak, and other ills of our age. I can’t recommend her work highly enough.”
— Tom Tomorrow, creator of This Modern World

“In a world that seems to get murkier by the minute, Slowpoke is a freakin’ beacon of lucidity.”
— Alison Bechdel, author of Fun Home

“Boot-stompingly funny and progressively pointed. It skewers the bastards!”
—Jim Hightower, best-selling author and radio commentator

ABOUT JEN SORENSEN

Sorensen is one of the most widely-published female political cartoonists working today. In addition to the Village Voice, her comics and illustrations have appeared in The Los Angeles Times, Ms. Magazine, The American Prospect, Legal Affairs, Funny Times, Cagle’s Cartoon Index, CampusProgress.org, Nickelodeon Magazine, and dozens of alt-weeklies. She has given presentations at the first annual ACLU convention, the Center for American Progress, the Rhode Island School of Design, and the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles. Her work has won a Xeric Grant and first place in the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies Awards.

Jen has been drawing Slowpoke for nearly ten years. She currently lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.

BOOK TOUR

Sorensen will present her cartoons, sign books, and draw funny pictures at the following locations. Other top alt-weekly cartoonists are joining her at various stops.

4/22 – BERKELEY: Cody’s Books with “Troubletown” creator Lloyd Dangle, 7pm

4/25 – PORTLAND: Powell’s on Burnside with “Idiot Box” creator Matt Bors, 7:30pm

4/26 & 4/27 – PORTLAND: Stumptown Comics Fest (at table, no presentation)

4/29 – SEATTLE: University Bookstore, U District, 7pm

5/14 – NYC: The Tank with “Tom the Dancing Bug” creator Ruben Bolling, 8pm

6/4 – PHILADELPHIA: Robin’s Bookstore, 6pm

PUBLICATION INFO

Based in Brooklyn, NY, Ig Publishing is an independent press dedicated to publishing original literary fiction, and progressive political and cultural nonfiction.

Slowpoke: One Nation, Oh My God! by Jen Sorensen
Trade Paperback • $13.95 • 168 pages • 8”x 9.5”
ISBN 978-0978843168 • April 10, 2008
Published by Ig Publishing, Brooklyn, NY • www.igpub.com