Posts Tagged ‘comic books’

Anyone who’s dealt with me over the last few weeks knows I’ve probably been more stressed than usual (and usually I’m not stressed at all, really). As we’re in the two-month ramp-up for the annual Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival, that’s basically status quo for me until Nov. 5, but in particular, a good amount of my time has been spent curating and co-organizing the opening reception for a new exhibit opening this Friday, Sept. 30 at UNLV’s Marjorie Barrick Museum called “Seduction of the Innocent.”

The exhibit is a visual exploration of comic book censorship throughout the medium’s 80 or so years, timed to launch during Banned Books Week. I’ve effectively created a shorthand timeline of major events and issues in the history of banned and censored comics (and it’s a rich history — we’re barely scraping the surface here) using reproductions of classic comic strips, covers, photos and other visual cues. And this is the first gallery show I’m curating all by myself, so … hopefully it doesn’t suck. I don’t think it does.

“Seduction of the Innocent” will be up through Oct. 29, so you can visit the Barrick basically anytime in October to see the show, but the opening reception this Friday from 6 to 9 p.m. is kind of a big production. In addition to being a satellite event for the Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival, it’s also the final event of September’s Yelp Geeks Out promotion, so in addition to comic book retailers, a caricature artist and tours of the exhibit, there will also be live entertainment and free food and drink sampling. And a 100 percent chance of seeing me. So make sure you RSVP now to get on the guest list!

Hope to see you there. I’ll probably look tired, but your support will make it worth it.

There’s a lot to love about comic books: The iconic characters. The vibrant artwork. The dynamic stories. The seemingly boundless opportunities to educate, entertain and inspire the imagination. And no matter the change or advance in the technology that puts these creations into our hands, whether scrawled on the back of a paper grocery bag or sketched on a Mac Pro with a Cintiq, whether read in a paperback digest purchased at a grocery store or delivered in an app on your Galaxy Tablet, it took one or more real people to conceive, execute and deliver them to your hungry eyes.

Comic book writer, indie filmmaker and all-around good dude Brandon Jerwa is making a documentary that focuses on those insanely creative people who — more often out of love than money — work endlessly at bringing comic books, graphic novels and cartoons to life. Called “Untold Tales of the Comic Industry,” the film is basically a collection of interviews with a huge scope of writers, artists and editors telling it like it is — what got them into comics, what they see is good and bad about the industry, where they see it going. Here, why don’t I let Brandon tell you more:

“Untold Tales” is down to its last 46 hours or so of trying to raise the remaining $3,000 of its $18,000 goal on Kickstarter, that crowd-sourcing site that has become the lifeblood for hundreds (thousands, more likely) of self-started creative projects. I’m asking you — both as a financial backer of the film and a guy who likes to see worthy endeavors happen — to consider donating even just $1 (though hopefully more) to help Brandon make this thing reach its full potential, and if you can’t, to please share the Kickstarter page or video (or this post) with your circle of internet influence.

Either way, the film will get made, but reaching the funding goal ensures it gets made with the best interviews and best opportunities for distribution possible. It’s come so far; I’d hate to see the funding goal not happen in these crucial final days.

You have to love blog post titles that tell you exactly what the post is about: As mentioned earlier this week, I’ll be trekking down to the Valley of the Sun for my first time tabling at Phoenix Comicon. If you’re planning on attending the show, you’re definitely going to want to stop by the Pop! Goes the Icon table (237) in the Small Press area. I’m going to have some awesome goodies, perhaps none more awesome than a hand-painted “Utopian” Munny:

Yep. That bad boy is not for sale. The only way to get it is to stop by our table at the convention and enter the sweepstakes to win it. Crazy, right? Right.

Other items I’m bringing to actually sell? Aside from just about every comic currently in stock that Pop! Goes the Icon‘s ever published (including the Utopian trade paperback), I’ll have brand-new, 11×14 prints of some of my most in-demand illustrations, including “Giant Robot” and X-Men knitting, as well as a very limited quantity of the brand-new “My Other Car is a Landspeeder” stickers.

So come on down this weekend. It’ll be fun times.

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.

It’s not overstatement to say the comics world was taken completely unaware today with news that legendary (and very active) writer Dwayne McDuffie died yesterday of complications from surgery. You can head to the link to read a little about his accomplishments, which include breaking racial barriers and stereotypes of black characters in the comic industry. Making it worse? McDuffie wrote the animated adaptation of the acclaimed graphic novel All-Star Superman, which debuted on DVD TODAY.

I wish I had time to do a proper digital portrait of McDuffie, but my workload this week is nuts. Instead, you get the above photo that I shot when McDuffie guested at the Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival in ’08. Suffice to say he’ll be missed.

I’m trying to cram in getting as many of these comic book pages for the final chapter of my anthology serial “Omega” done as I can this weekend. If I avoid shenanigans like last night’s bar-hopping (though much-needed, and for good reasons), and not find myself dragging ass in the morning like I did today, maybe I can even get all five pages penciled and sent to my boy Vic to ink. But we’ll see.

It’s been a very interesting week, between posing for photos that may be featured in multiple publications, laying the groundwork for and promoting next week’s Utopian trade paperback release party, and working on a particularly physically challenging article that I’m sure you’ll hear more about later. That, and I had a meeting with a new friend that, depending on what side of the coin fate decides to land, could prove to be the start of something fruitful. Yes, I know I’m being very vague right now. I just seem to have a lot of things in the works that have to be kept under wraps right now, but I really hope to share the behind-the-scenes soon.

In other news, somewhat related to the earlier item about the physical article research, I realized this week just how out of shape I am compared to when I was running three-to-four days a week. I’ve already gained back a pound or two from the 10 or so pounds I dropped in the fall, and after one grueling experience this week, it struck me I need to get my act back together. Thanks to the amazing, Southern California-like weather we’re having in Las Vegas this weekend, I went for my first outdoor run in probably three months today, and while I’m definitely off my game, it feels as though it won’t take too much effort to get ready for my next benchmark, the Run Away with Cirque du Soleil 5k on March 19 at the Springs Preserve. I half-jogged, half-walked about 1.8 miles (if you believe Google Maps) in 20 minutes today, which wasn’t terrible, though I definitely felt it in my chest.

I’m gonna get back to the drawing board now. Hope you enjoy your Five-One Day.

When it’s in the “World’s Awesomest Cancer Comic Book,” sure.

We interrupt Choose Your Own Adventure Week to share with you a really cool project being assembled by my pal Jon Solo and his cancer-surviving partner-in-crime, Kaylin Andres, called “Terminally Illin’.” Here, I’ll let them tell you about it:

Yeah, so basically, kick-ass Kaylin kicked cancer’s ass (twice!), and instead of being all down about her experience, she’s decided to tackle it on head-first in a really creative way, with a project that will hopefully serve as inspiration to other folks battling cancer.

Where do you come in? Well, there’s only 16 days left for Jon and Kaylin to meet their Kickstarter goal of $8,500 to fund this project, and they’re at about the halfway point. That means enough people have to pledge to raise about $250 a day for the next two weeks or else the funding won’t go through.

So if, like me, you think this is a worthy (and fun!) endeavor, maybe you could pledge to donate whatever amount works for you. Or, ya know, just spread the word on your Twitterspaces and FacePages.

All right, as you were!