Yep, I finally switched the A/C at home from “cool’” to “heat.”

Ha, no, but really, you know what time it is?

VEGAS VALLEY COMIC BOOK FESTIVAL TIME!

It feels redundant for me to blow a lot of pixels here going over the details of what awesomeness awaits you this Saturday, Nov. 5, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Clark County Library, because a full website already exists dedicated to that mission, so I suggest you go there, read all about it, then come back here so I can share my personal take.

Done? OK, so … I’ve been involved with the planning of the VVCBF since 2009, which is incidentally the first year I officially launched Pop! Goes the Icon, at the very same event. Each year, my involvement has increased, to the point that I now basically handle all of the marketing, promotion and tangential events related to the festival, while the Superduper Events Specialist (or whatever her title is) at the library, Suzanne Scott, handles all the logistics/contracts/money/political stuff. That means from September to November every year for me has become kind of like a marathon (though it really starts in the spring with the conception of the commemorative comic book I edit and publish for the festival, which is a whole different topic). And the finish line is just about two days away, beyond which sleep and, well, catching up on deadlines awaits.

But I would love to see your smiling faces before then, at the VVCBF on Saturday. I’ll be running the Pop! Goes the Icon tables, at which we’ll be launching the aforementioned commemorative, benefit comic, Tales from Fremont Street (which actually soft-launched last night). Most of the contributors to that fine volume will be at our tables signing and sketching and chatting. We’ll also have, of course, the full line of PGTI goodies, including our most recent trade paperbacks. So grab your kids and loved ones, throw on something geeky, and spend Saturday morning/afternoon with me at the Comic Book Festival. It’s FREE, y’all.

But we’re here today to talk specifically about the new exhibit I’m curating at the Marjorie Barrick Museum at UNLV, “Spinning Tales from Fremont Street.” Like the last show I assembled there, “Seduction of the Innocent,” it’s an awareness-builder for the Comic Book Festival. However, this show actually is all about the art, specifically the original art from the stories featured in the new anthology I edited and published to benefit the festival this year, Tales from Fremont Street. Beyond just comic pages, sketches, notes and scripts, the gallery space has also been transformed into a reasonable facsimile of a run-down Fremont Street motel. Most of the credit for artificially decaying the space goes to my co-conspirator, F. Andrew Taylor. Here’s some of his handiwork on the wall behind this lovely art:

Mighty convincing, no?

If you’re so inclined and available, you should attend the opening reception for this exhibit tomorrow, Nov. 2, from 6 to 8 p.m. It’s free, most of the contributors to Tales from Fremont Street will be there, and it’s also your first opportunity in-person to buy the comic (only $5!), from which all proceeds benefit the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District‘s support of the Comic Book Festival. (And if you don’t live near Vegas and want a copy, you can order one here.) And we can hug! You know you love Pj hugs!

I’ll be back with a post about other stuff you can do and/or buy soon. So keep your eyes peeled, and hope to see you tomorrow night!

How are you? I’m good. In the middle of another system reboot. Not going to bore you with the details, because as these get more frequent and less rare, they’re also getting somewhat routine (and easier to get through). Nothing new to report there.

I turned 35, so that was a thing. Been working on some new articles for the usual suspects. Finishing preparations for the release of As Yet Unbroken‘s long-awaited debut full-length album. Been hanging out on Tumblr, posting old comics and new(ish) drawings. Oh, and then there’s this …

That’s the cover(s) for The Best of Omega Comics Presents, Vol. 1. It’s a 102-page trade paperback coming out in September from ye olde publishing company, collecting the, er, best stories from the first four issues of that anthology series. And of certain interest to you, my friends, is the inclusion of the full four-chapter epic that is “Omega,” which I wrote, drew and slobbered over.

This thing is only $7.95. That’s really cheap. The single issues of this series cost $3.99 each, so even just to get all of my stuff, that’s more than a 50 percent savings, but you get ALL THE OTHER AWESOMENESS. We’re talking some really good stuff in here, things that made reviewers write nice things without having to be paid off. So, you know, feel free to pre-order a copy if such if your desire. I won’t mind.

See, that wasn’t so bad, was it? OK, fine, it was half-blog post and half-ad. So?

Hey, don’t I owe you guys another installment of the Magical Musical Mystery Tour? Maybe I’ll do that next…

Is it really time for another comic convention already? Wasn’t it just a month ago I was up in Portland, Ore. for the indie comics-oriented Stumptown Comics Festival? (Answer: yes.) Well, in about 10 days, I’ll be on my way to a significantly different climate, as I drive my Toyota Matrix loaded with comics, display stands and paraphernalia to Phoenix for my first-ever attendance at Phoenix Comicon.

I’ll be kicking it at small press table 237 all weekend (well, Friday, Saturday and Sunday), representing Pop! Goes the Icon with fellow Vegas cartoonist F. Andrew Taylor. I got new prints made for the show, will have fresh copies of the Utopian trade paperback, and will be doing sketches on request. I already started taking some requests ahead of time, so if you’d like a cheap sketch commissioned to pick up at the show (or otherwise), drop me a message.

I’ve heard good things about Phoenix Comicon and I’m looking forward to a great show. If you’re in the area, I hope you can swing by.

However, on Friday I fly up to Portland, Ore. for the first time to attend the eighth annual Stumptown Comics Fest, being held April 16 and 17 at the Oregon Convention Center. I’m looking forward to seeing old friends such as Jill and Frank Beaton (and their bouncing baby Beatrice), finally meeting collaborators such as John Bivens (an awesome artist who will be sharing my table throughout the weekend), and generally putting birds on everything to make it into art. If you live in the area and love comics, you should check it out. Otherwise, I’ll be hanging around for an extra day or two just to take a short break before returning to the madness.

I’ve been hinting at what’s been occupying most of my time the last two weeks here, but overtly giving peeks at it on Facebook, however, I haven’t completely revealed just what the heck I did in the windows of the Contemporary Arts Center until now. OK, technically the art installation itself was revealed to the public Thursday, when I put the finishing touch on it. But I haven’t really explained what the heck is going on.

Basically, the CAC separately curates its large, front window display facing Charleston Boulevard separately from the exhibits running inside the gallery. These “East Side Projects” essentially let an artist use the entire display to execute his or her vision. I was asked by the CAC board if I’d be interested in doing something with the window for March related to my comic book work, specifically The Utopian. I was honored, of course, but a bit apprehensive. After all, I’ve only had a few little piece of “art” shown in a few group shows, and had never done anything on the scale of filling a 22-foot-wide space, especially one that would be viewable 24 hours a day on one of the busiest thoroughfares in Las Vegas. Also, I didn’t want it to be (nor did the CAC) want it to be an overt ad for The Utopian, but I did know what I wanted it to be: fun, colorful and representative of my illustration style.

The concept I ended up developing was the effect of a passerby looking at life-sized comic book panels. I wanted to get across a few of the major themes of The Utopian, including the tendency to render the past with overly nostalgic eyes, and of course, the message of real change coming from the group up — something extremely relevant in light of the uprisings in Iran, Egypt, Bahrain and elsewhere. To my surprise, the initial designs I submitted — a combination of art and text culled from or inspired by the original comics — were accepted wholeheartedly, which left me to figure out just how I’d fabricate all the parts of this giant diorama.

There were three major elements to this installation: The two different backgrounds, the “stand-up” characters, and the foreground lettering (speech balloons and captions). It became almost more like set design. After initially considering producing everything digitally and printing in large format (which would have cost much, much more than the approximately $200 I poured into this project), I ended up doing everything by hand. The back walls — one a forced “exterior” perspective, one a high school hallway — were hand-painted with a combo of house paints and  acrylics. The stand-ups (four of them) were drawn onto and cut out of 5-foot-tall foam board, painted with  acrylics and outlined with a Sharpie. I created stands from left-over foam board. The lettering was done (poorly) by hand on poster board, and then suspended from the rafters with clear thread. Other elements were also created on the cheap, such as the “PRINCIPAL” door plate (white adhesive letters on black foam board) and a homecoming poster.

It took me about three days to paint the backgrounds and a day and a half to cut and paint the stand-ups.  Installation of the stand-ups and hanging elements took another day and a half. I did it all myself, with some last-minute assistance from Sara.

Feedback so far has been very kind. I personally think it turned out just “OK.” Of course, you lose a lot going from a perfectly controlled digital design to a real-life environment. But the effect is there. And it definitely brings attention to the CAC’s windows. If you get a chance over the next few weeks, swing by the Arts Factory and check it out.

You guys know I use these “desktop snapshot” posts just as an excuse to blog, right? Right.

I’ve been mostly head-down for the last week, working simultaneously on three projects. One, as seen above, the final chapter of “Omega,” my action-espionage serial which has been running through the Omega Comics Presents anthology over the last year. The fourth issue (featuring the final chapter) is now available for pre-order and should be shipping the first week of April, so if you’ve read the first three chapters, you might want to order a copy NOW. It got delayed a bit by a variety of factors, including me having to switch inkers in the middle unexpectedly. But as you can see above, the man (well, I presume he’s a man. We’ve only spoken via e-mail!) has a way of actually making my poor excuse for comic art look almost pro!

The other project I showed you last time, but kind of talked around the specifics. It’s doing a comic book adaptation of “War of the Ghosts,” a story which has been used for memory research for almost a century, but this professor at UNLV had the novel idea to conduct the same research with a visual presentation, not just prose. I have two pages fully inked, but seven still to go, and a loose deadline at the end of this month, so most of my time is being spent drawing rivers, canoes and trees.

The third thing I’m not sure I want to talk about right now, at least not until I physically start the work. But it’s basically been approved and all the design work for it is done. You’ll just have to stay tuned for an announcement next week. Hopefully.

So, yeah, I’ve been doing a lot of artwork, and not as much writing. At least, not as much that you’re seeing in the usual places. I’ve been squeezing in time when I can to force progress on two screenplays and a potential novel, and once these art deadlines are met, I’ll be diving back into those full speed. It would also be helpful if I could obtain a new laptop soon. My lappy finally gave out last week, after barely holding on for the last year. To be fair, I’ve had it since 2004, so it was really waaaay past its prime. But I’m not the type to buy a new device when the one I have is usable in any way. However, I’m holding out for a MacBook Air, because, well, if I’m going to buy a new laptop, it’s going to be a good one. And the Air is the perfect middle ground between an iPad and a Macbook Pro — just enough power without the bells & whistles — and no moving parts!

All right, back to the Wacom tablet for me.

Photo blatantly stolen from Fox5Vegas.com. Thanks Jaaaay!

I was going to start the title of this post with the usual “Where I’ll Be” prefix, but next weekend is another of those where I’m sort of all over the place, so there you go. Here’s the deal: I’ll be signing comics and shaking hands at two very worthy events in Las Vegas next week, and I’m hoping you can come to one or both.

First up, next Friday, Jan. 21, from 5 to 8 p.m., I’m going to be selling comics at a benefit for Spread the Word Nevada, a non-profit organization that provides books to schools to promote literacy among children. It’ll be at Sunrise Coffee (3130 E. Sunset Road, Suite A, just east of Sunset Park) and organized by my pals from the Avant Arts Collective. Other creative-types on hand include a couple authors behind The Perpetual Engine of Hope, live poetry by Harry Fagel and Kari O’Connor, and a wine-and-cheese bar benefiting the charity. Make sure you bring gently used or new children’s books to donate as well!  I’m also going to be donating 25 percent of comic sales from that night to Spread the Word.

The next day, Saturday, Jan. 22, from noon to 3 p.m., however, is the official release party for The Utopian trade paperback at Alternate Reality Comics (4110 S. Maryland Parkway, #8). My homeboy and cover artist Hernan Valencia is going to join me to sign comics, kiss babies and if you’re nice and get in line, do sketches. I’ve partnered with The Shade Tree shelter for women, children and pets for this event, so please bring one (or as many) of the shelter’s most-needed items from this list. Donors (and customers) will receive raffle tickets to win comics and merchandise from Alternate Reality, as well as signed copies of The Utopian courtesy of me. There will be snacks and stuff, so come down and geek out with us!

If you live out of Las Vegas and haven’t bought your copy of the awesome 120-page Utopian trade paperback, I’ve got a solution for you. Also, if you live in either Portland or Phoenix and want to see my pretty face, well, check it out, I’m coming for you, too.

Well, I believe it was actually still Jan. 7 when I grabbed this screen cap, but apparently we have moved to a new day. Hello Jan. 8!

I’m still hard at work finishing the pencils on these pages from “Omega” for Vic Moya to ink. Interestingly, I’ve spent more time painstakingly rendering these pencils than I ever did doing finished inks for any of the previous chapters. Go figure. Maybe it’s because I want to provide Vic the best pages possible for him to embellish. Maybe it’s because, unlike usual, I’m not doing layouts knowing I’ll be finishing them, so I’m actually putting more effort into the initial rendering. Either way, I still have five more pages to do, and Vic still has to make them pretty, so back to the drawing board/Wacom tablet I go …

I’m back at the art thing, feverishly (OK, fine, I’m not burning up or sweating or anything, but you get it) working to get done my portion of the next issue of Omega Comics Presents before I look like a jackass for holding up the issue’s release, while all my other creative teams actually made their deadlines. To speed things up — and make it look a lot better than I could do — I’m turning inking chores over to my man Victor Moya, who illustrated the post-apocalyptic story Jarret Keene wrote for Tales from the Boneyard (you have bought your copy, right?). Of course, that means I need to actually send him penciled pages (in my case, digitally), so no more slacking from me.

Aside from one other project that may or may not happen in the next year, I’m swearing off illustrating my own stories in 2011. I’m focusing heavily on writing this year, and I predict much better visual results if I hire out an artist as opposed to try to do the one-man show. Either the art or the writing suffers when I do it all, and I’d prefer not to choose.