Original Art Sundays No. 186: Dead Dog Comics Tryout page

Posting on time this week (actually starting a few minutes before midnight, so technically early!). Worked a 51 hour week, so no time to complete either of the current Surrealist Cowgirls projects, but progress has been made on both.
Meanwhile, one more from the vaults.
This was also a colorist tryout page, like last week's, but this time I got the job! It didn't pay, but I got the job.
While completing my BFA, I found an internship with a new publisher out of Hopkins, MN. They were called Dead Dog Comics, and run by the very optimistic and friendly Chazz deMoss. As part of the tryout package, I was asked to color a page from a forthcoming monster book (all of the line was horror books at first). This was the result.

Ooh, scary! Sort of.

This was done in late 1999 or early 2000, so I'm guessing Photoshop 6 or 7. In retrospect, it would have worked just as well as a hand painted piece, but they wanted digital.
I tried to keep it vibrant but not overbearing (though the image doesn't demand subtlety, anyone who know the work of Bernie Wrightson knows it's possible to do sublime horror illustration). The piece doesn't show it, but it is more than 50% gray values.  The light sources are a bit inconsistent (the only visible light sources in the scene are the candle and the window, but much is brightly front lit). In my defense, my first priority was to be consistent with the cast shadows placed by the inker. Not sure if this ever saw print. I also did some spot inking and digital lettering for them.  

The best of the job: genuinely nice people, very enthusiastic about their work.

The worst: the day I showed up early and the place smelled odd. I opened the microwave and was swarmed by fruit flies. Someone had left a dirty plate, food still on it, in the microwave over a long weekend. Once I was able to hold down my cookies, I cleaned it up and got out of there- no more work for me that day! Yikes!

The only real problem I had with the horror books was that one of them was blatantly misogynistic- a slutty woman being chained in a dungeon by the monster, who "eyed with bad intent" as the song goes. This was in one of the stories I lettered for them, and I did very little work for them after that.

Dead Dog continued for a few years. Last time I saw their stuff at MNCBA's Spring Con, they were branching into cop books, and the line looked more polished. I've not heard anything about them for several years, but I do wish them well.

next: Cowgirls!

Original Art Sundays No. 147: The Source Cards

Back to post some art in the midst of the final Best of 2012 posts.
And as promised, it's new work, though possibly not what you expected.
At MN's SpringCon last year, the organizers gave creators cards to illustrate. This year being an anniversary, the 25th, they wanted to put together a set of cards. These will be redistributed randomly to attendees. They did this five years ago for the 20th- it's a lot of fun!
So I did my part.
After leaving the card blanks laying on the drawing table to annoy me for months while I completed other work, I finally just sat down and did them right at the turn of the year.
The work is loose and sketchy- hey, they ARE sketch cards- and colored in pencil, though it looks like marker in the scans. I considered correcting the colors and doing some fancy footwork in Photoshop (what we used to call "production art"), then thought, "naaah."
I decided on four of my favorite characters.
First, Dr. Strange.

I was going for a more urgent tone than this conveys. It's OK, but more mood would have been good. Possibly grayscale/monochrome if I work with the Doctor again?
Next, Omaha, of course.

I might like this one best. While it's much looser than Reed's best work, or even some of my own scattered pieces using the character, I think the tone is right. I freely stole the design and palette from one of the final cover variants of Terry Moore's Strangers in Paradise.

Next, Concrete.

Mildly frustrated by this one. I included the title since not everyone knows the character and the cards are being distributed randomly to attendees, but I think it really hampers the overall tone of the piece. The lettering is too cartoony/ baloony. I deliberately left in most of the pencil marks. I think the intent of the cast shadow in the floor stones doesn't work as well as it might.
Still, I've begun to see Concrete as something of a Buddha figure, and this plays into that, obviously.
The whole thing is grayscale, though it looks blue in the scan.
Finally, CHEW!

The Omaha card elicits the strongest idyllic expression from me, but this just makes me smile! I'm about three issues behind, but CHEW remains one of the funniest and most demented comics out there. The earth tones got seriously bumped into the red in the scan. It was much browner in the original. So be it.
Join us tomorrow (actually later today) for the final installment of Best Comics of 2012.

Comic Book Legal Defense Fund: MN Field Report on Free Speech

The spiffy "new: CBLDF logo, a couple years old now!

I've been procrastinating this post for a while, but with San Diego ComicCon right around the corner and the 4th of July fading into the past as I prepare for the second wave of summer classes, I don't want it to be too long overdue. And in light of the CBLDF auction scheduled for that huge event, this seems the ideal time to correct the oversight.
Back in May, I volunteered to run the booth so the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, of which I've been a supporting member for the past decade plus (skipping one year when I was too broke), would have a presence at the MN Comic Book Party, AKA SpringCon.
I'd like to offer a summary of the event.
The first day I was aided by longtime friend and fellow comic book geek Jesse Haller.  Jesse and I have countless discussions on the nature of comics, and endless fun dishing comic book gossip. Jesse was great about creating an effective setup, putting his retail and merchandising experience to work to make the booth shine. He also covered the booth for a couple hours while I had lunch with our mutual friend Frenchy Lunning!

As to the booth itself, it took a while for some of the patrons to figure out what the deal was. But very soon, after the initial burst of people mad to get to the comics (our booth was right by the door!), things settled down and people stopped to talk about the work of CBLDF, and to contribute to the cause.
The degree to which some patrons didn't get it at first was made clear by some folks asking for deals on our books!
Since I wasn't sure of the demographic, I just told the CBLDF people to send stuff they thought apropos. I quickly saw my mistakes. Here's how the event went down:

• This is a family-friendly Con. The items for kids and the small ticket items sold out. 
• Lots of folks buy art at this Con! Some of the limited edition prints would have gone over well.
• Neil Gaiman remains very popular here. The signed 1st printings of The Graveyard Book sold out. IN light of that, if we run the table again, including some of the limited edition prints might be a good idea.
• While we had ample stories of the big cases that CBLDF has helped with, there are many smaller instances that get overlooked. The owner of B & B Comics in Bemidji told us of the organization's help in quieting a "concerned parent" irate over a Frank Miller poster. I also knew from past conversations that Tyler Page, whose strip Nothing Better is linked to screen left, had assistance from them with a rather odd legal threat he received over the content of his strip.

Camille, Lady Liberty and Diana!

Day Two saw me aided by Manga fan and aspiring veterinarian Camille McAloney. Her enthusiasm and ability to engage people really helped our sales and communication efforts!
Both days were made for me on a personal level by encountering so many old friends, quite unexpectedly, including one of my favorite former students and the gent who first hired me to teach! Seemed like every time I looked up, there was someone else I knew! That was so positive, just what I needed coming off a rough year.
But it wasn't about me, it was about the cause.
We raised right around $600, give or take, at the table. And SpringCon gives a significant portion of its art auction proceeds to CBDLF as well, so the organization made a decent piece of change for The Cause.
CBLDF has been in existence since the Friendly Frank's bust in the early 1980s led to Greg Ketter and Dreamhaven throwing The Irish Wake for the First Amendment, an event which I was privileged to attend. This was a direct precursor to the CBLDF. Among hundreds of subsequent cases, they defended a comic book store owner who was arrested for selling  an adults only comic book to an adult.
The mind boggles.
While the problem has diminished a bit, there remains a huge need to protect the rights of comic book creators, publishers and retailers from people who engage in censorship, which is, in the words of Mark Twain, "telling a man he can't have a steak just because a baby can't chew it."
And just for fun, here's a SpringCon attendee in the role of a Wally Wood EC Comics spaceman!

Original Art Sundays No. 123: Tranny Towers, p.25

Posting a tad late, technically Monday.
Got in from MNCBA exhausted, slept on the couch for five hours after getting in (!), but our table raised close to $500 for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, not counting monies raised at the art auction. Yay volunteering! Yay free speech! More about this later this week.
Right now, it's time to post the next chapter of Tranny Towers.

Again scanned from a tearsheet. Some dropouts in this one, notably the lines on the pole.
Quirky little things to notice: Rick's last name is O'Shay, a nod to the classic Western comic strip by Stan Lynde. Tigger is on drums!
This was foreshadowed by the poster on the wall in the phone conversation chapter ("Duke Ellingtoon") which set the stage, so to speak, for Rick as a jazz man.
Brings to mind Marge's lines in the early Simpsons episode: "Lisa, stay away from that jazzman!" (then speaking to Bleeding Gums Murphy) "Nothing personal, I just have  deep fear of the unknown."
Ahem.
Back to the page.
The rendering of the bar doesn't stand up to scrutiny very well, but it's a plausible environment. Had real fun drawing the jazz combo and the design-y hipster poster on the phone pole. I didn't notice till after I saw it in print that I just plain forgot to put cars on the street!
The panel break intruding on the stage between the second and third tiers on the left is a little disconcerting once you notice it, but it scans fairly well.
As regards the narrative,  the climactic moment is the instant of pure dread in a doomed relationship, where you realize that the object of your desire not only does not reciprocate your affection, but offers it to another. In Dena's case, this pain is exacerbated by her competition being cisgendered, or as we used to say, a genetic female.
As the tag line indicates, the magazine skipped a week for Christmas.
Thanks for holding out a few extra hours, and we'll be back next week with the next chapter.

Even later: Minnesota Spring Con Part II

Okay, I know I said next day. I've been waiting for some photos to be emailed by friends.
Enough with the waiting. Here's the rest of SpringCon.

Here's Terry Beatty, longtime comics pro, on-and-off MCAD teacher, rockabilly maven, Karaoke Ninja, and generally cool guy.
The book he's holding, Batman and Robin, is a custom bind belonging to my friend James Friel. James sent me a batch for books for signing and sketching, and Terry was glad to accommodate!
We're losing Terry soon. His wife got a great job in Kansas City, MO, so he's off to an even more mid- middle America.
Terry just completed work on the next GN in the Road to Perdition series, written by his old Ms. Tree partner, Max Alan Collins! He's also been doing box cover art for monster model kits, and taking on new commissions. His blog, Scary Terry's World, is linked to your left.

Also on board for this convention: former students from my Comic Book History course, Asby Utting and Andrew Herbst!
Ashby graduated a year or so ago, and Andrew completed his devoirs this January. Andrew gave me a copy of their joint effort, GROTTO, last year, and I enjoyed it immensely. Very professional, energetic work. The "for students" disclaimer does not apply. This work is professional by any standard.You can see it here.
Ashby is planning an on-again, off-again trip to Korea to study manhwa.  He plans to take his toddler son along with him. Now that's bringing a kid up right!

Another former student showing at the Con: Toe Vue!
Toe's paintings are remarkably powerful. I suspect he was a little under-appreciated at this Con, but I was very happy to see him there. The work at his blog, Create Chaos, shows his range and his influences.
I see elements of street art, Paul Pope, Ryan Kelly (well, you can't really talk about Paul Pope without talking about Ryan Kelly, can you?), Boticelli and Jack Kirby in Toe's work. An eclectic mix with a deliberate, singular style that wouldn't work for anyone else, I done't think, but for Toe, it's very effective.
Finances have stopped me from getting his comic GHETTORISTIC, but don't let my problems be yours. Check out the link and spend a fin on a good comic!
Other former MCAD students presenting at this year's con included Evan Palmer, Anna Bongiovanni, Jesse Haller, and Will Schar. Sorry I didn't get photos of you guys, and I hope I didn't leave anyone out!
Very happy to chat briefly with Seamus Burke, whose first collection of Oh Goodie! is now available in Dead Tree, or as we used to call it, TPB format.

Very excited to see this book out, as Yours Truly wrote the Foreword!
Seamus' work has evolved considerably.  He works in the model of Doonesbury, using scathing wit and somewhat static images to advance his narratives. With the evolution of the band in his strip, which updates 5 times a week over at his blog, he's broken out of that pattern.
The band in the strip is called the Filthy F@#$ing Fairies!
I didn't talk to Seamus for very long this time around. Usually I get him to fork over his guitar so I can tear off a number, but not today.
Another personal highlight was getting a wedding invitation from the vibrant and scary talented Ursula Murray Husted and her intended, Bryan Bornmuller.
Ursula and Bryan are in contention with Trina and Steve for the title of Cutest Couple in Comics.
You be the judge.

'oo's cute then?

More book signings:
Jose Luis Garcia Lopez

Len Strazewski, who was moved to tears that someone would bind his work!

Me hanging with Len

Peter Krause, who was so astounded by the SHAZAM! collections that he volunteered to do a sketch, and it was a beauty!

Following the Con, a bunch of us went out for Girls' Comics Dinner at the always enjoyable Jasmine 27. In attendance, Frenchy Lunning, Barb Guttman (who is currently assisting Peter Gross on art for The Unwritten), Barb Schultz, Jesse Haller (who was an honorary girl for the occasion), Rana Rauechle, Trina, Steve Leialoha (can't really have Trina without Steve!), myself, and Roberta Gregory. I haven't mentioned Roberta's presence till now. I still get a little tongue-tied around her after meeting her twice and spending several hours accepting that she's just Regular Folks. Her work set the bar for women's comics for years, and her honesty and craft remain benchmarks. She's currently working full time for the Seattle Opera and Children's Theater, unless memory fails me.
At the end of every con, I think I'll pull together a body of creative work for the next one and get a table.
perhaps, perhaps not.
I like the idea of having a body of work to offer, but I have no problem with being a fan. If that remains what MN Springcon is about for me, I can live with that.

late to the table: Minnesota Spring Con 2011

Between illness and scheduling conflicts, I've neglected my posting for a while. Attempts to catch up begin, well, now.
I attended Spring Con in St. Paul last weekend for both days and had a splendid, if exhausting, time!
News:
Johnny Recon, a book I picked as one of my Top Comics of 2010, has not had a new issue for quite a while. This is because its creators, Mitch Gerads and Scott Dillon, have signed a new publishing deal!

Mitch and Scott, beaming at success!

They were not at liberty to divulge details, but were quite happy. Possibly this is a new model: hone your craft, do a Kickstarter for recognition, get picked up by a publisher?
The models for becoming a comics professional have evolved over the decades. Initially, an aspiring comics creator, especially an artist, would work their way up through apprenticeship. This was followed by a few dangerous years in which creators jumped into self-publishing with little regard for learning craft, and equally disastrous results.
Following that, folks began posting comics online willy-nilly.
As we worked through Web II and Web III, that evolved into a number of alternative funding models. Kickstarter, which will get a separate post soon, is the latest and, in many ways, best of those models.
In any event, congratulations to Scott and Mitch!
Appearing at the Con for the first time: the Minneapolis Roller Girls!

My old friend Jenna, from Trans Voices Choir, was also a Roller Girl. Their spirit is indomitable and contagious.
It's one thing to have folks around in really cool costumes. That's plenty of fun, but it's still in the delighful realm of make-beleive.
It's quite another to have costumed athletes in such an unusual, exuberant sport in, ahem, uniform, promoting their trade.
Even though it's still unreal, it's more real, if that makes any sense.
Other big news: after two years of waiting, the newest Uptown Girl book from Bob Lipski and Brian Bastian is out!
Here's a shot of the book from Bob's blog:

There are some differences between this and past works in this fun series. The size and format are a bit different, and the lettering is digital. It's quite legible, but I'm not sure if the font (Cooper Black, I think) is a good match for Bob's clean, spare art.
That said, the story is as much fun as always, and just as engaging. I hadn't realized how much I'd missed having a new Uptown Girl to read until I went without for a while. This was the only new book, pretty much the only book at all, that I bought at the Con.
But not the only book I got! I burned a copy of the Recobbled Cut of Thief and the Cobbler for old friend and fellow cinephile Sam Hiti, and he gave me a copy of his newest, Death-Day, part 1, in trade, completely unexpected on my end!
Sam's work fascinates me. He creates a meld of Sergio Leone, Jack Kirby, and Doug TenAppel, seemingly without effort. I wasn't able to afford this when it came out last September, so it was a welcome addition to my Hiti library!
Also in attendance: Geoff Sebesta, who I hung out with at the CBLDF benefit the first year I attended San Diego. Geoff has expanded his I Am the President of Ice Cream (I have one of the earlier versions), and I begged poverty, promising him a sale next year! Here's a shot of the smiling, charismatic Geoff at another con. His smile is usually much bigger than this:

But my personal highlight of the Con was the presence of dear friend Trina Robbins, with her partner Steve Leialoha, the cutest couple in comics.

Steve signs his bubblegum card for me as Trina smiles her wonderful smile!

I'm running out of time and will finish this post tomorrow. So much more to say!

Fall into May?

So the Minneapolis/St. Paul FallCon is now in May.
Luckily, they changed the name.
I always see a lot of friends there, and there's always a party of favorites!

This is a very fun local con, and has had great luck in getting guest stars of note. It also has a track record of getting Golden and Silver Age creators to show, making it a tremendous opportunity for those of us working in comic studies. I was delighted to meet Michael T. Gilbert this fall, and to give him a copy of this paper.
I had glimmers of hope that I'd have a booth this fall. This date change makes that problematic. I could put out a Surrealist Cowgirls book by May, and do The World in Love as a one-off, reworking just that one awful page. I have some back inventory of Speedy Ricuvveri (about 10 copies left) and about 75 copies of the 1994 Ink Tantrums #1. I think I'd just give Ink Tantrums away to any grownups who might buy something at this point. It was one of those "I have to do something right now to prove I still can" things, and it shows. There are a couple stories in it I really like, but the best one was a prototype for The World In Love. Ideas from the old story may show up in TWIL #2, which is percolating in my cranium.
I could also get off my fanny and finish The Street Giveth, the Street Taketh Away. I don't know if it's normal to have 4 or 5 books in various stages of completion, but that seems to be the way it is with me, normal or not.
Anyway, other than the stability, normal is boring.
So in theory I could have 4 or 5 books, but so much of it is older work.
To booth or not to booth? That is the quandary.