Filed under: Uncategorized
So in a week we’ll be doing APE, the Alternative Press Expo across the way over in San Francisco. Should be a fun show. Last year was kind of light, because (a) it was raining cats n dogs, (b) Obama was about to be elected, (c) Prop 8 was about to be defeated (boo!), and (d) I think it was literally a night or two before Halloween. So indie comics just didn’t seem to be at the top of priorities for folks in the bay area. No one’s fault, just happened to be a bad weekend for the show. We still did good, considering we had pretty much nothing there that was new.
So this year, we’ve got the first issue of American Juice (which made its debut at San Diego and still hasn’t gone up in the store yet. My bad.), we’ve got a bunch of new prints of my stuff, and I’ll be bringing some original art from past projects to sell for pretty cheap. So I’m looking forward to this show. We’re also bringing a 24-page mini-comic, This Is It, which is a re-jiggered version of a 24-hour comic Jeff and I did a few years back.
Finally, our Lost in the Dark YouTube page will be going live with as-it-happens (more or less) videos from the show. Link to that via our Twitter, Facebook and Lost in the Dark HQ.
Filed under: Projects
Whup whup, starting up a new webcomic for funtimes.
Nacho Tsunami, every Mon, Wed, and Fri.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Okay, so I slipped. Went like two weeks without a post, so here’s my cheat. Small Press Alley is my favorite spot in the con. It’s the area I always have to limit my spending, which always hurts, because there’s so much great undiscovered stuff. So I’ve gone through the Small Press listing for this year, and have 15 Small Pressers for you to check out! Some of these have specific reasons behind them on top of their awesomeness, but they’re all amazing in their own right. Not linking cuz I’m lazy, so google is your friend here.
Tips and Tricks #’s 8-23: Who to see in the Small Press Alley:
#8: Binary Winter Press- Besides being buds of mine, the artwork of Cody Vrosh here is out of sight.
#9: A Wave Blue World Comics- Checked out American Terrorist in the iPhone, and its good stuff.
#10: Art Jumble- Have no idea who they are, but a glimpse at their site offers up some sick art from this collective.
#11: Atomic Tiki Studio- Steve Bryant, the artist from Athena Voltaire.
#12: Black Sheep Comics- They has skull bunnies. 
#13: Camilla D’Errico- I gave my niece a few prints of D’Errico’s, they promptly found a way up on her wall.
#14: Cheap Paper Art- Super cool paintings…
#15: Chris Wisnia: I’d be remiss not to mention my original convention friend, Chris Wisnia. As much as it pains me to say this, Chris just gets better and better with each project. And he has the most depressing blog in the industry, not to mention the most honest.
#16: Color Ink Book: Pretty cool stuff here.
#17: Conjoined Comics- never heard of them, but their latest offering has the tagline “Science! Spreadsheets! Tacos! Explosions!” which is all kinds of awesome.
#18: Dark’s Art Parlour- amazing paintings
#19: Electric Milk Creations- Art Baltazar, did the awesome kiddy Titans book for DC
#20: Gia-Bao Tran- comics artist on a number of high quality anthologies
#21: Leadpoint Comics- Not really sure what it’s all about, but cool artwork!
#22: Rudy Mcbacon Enterprises- Hilarious
#23: Writers Old Fashioned- San Fran-based collective of great comics writers, including Jason Macnamara, Matt Silady and Storm.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Well, so much for the every day thing. Time flies when you have deadlines. The last few weeks have been hectic, precisely due to this latest tip for preparing for Comic-con:
#7: PREPARE EARLY
This year, I’m planning on debuting the first issue of American Juice, my punk homage to They Live. I’m excited about it, it’s a fun break from the grimmer tone of Alien Echo. Anyways, finishing up about 7 pages, and prepping the 40-page issue took up more time than I had planned, BUT it had to get done well in advance of the show so the printer would have plenty of time to get it in my hands before the show. (And watch, this will probably be one of those ridiculous situations where its still not ready. Let’s hope not.) So whatever you have, whatever you’re bringing, be it your portfolio, business cards, self-pubbed book or what have you, get it all ready WELL in advance of the show. Which means stop reading this and GET TO IT!!!
Tomorrow, the LIGHTENING ROUND to catch us up on our Tips and Tricks. In the meantime, here’s the cover art for the first issue of American Juice.
Filed under: Comic-con Tips
#6: The bathrooms towards the back of the floor are infinitely cleaner and less disgusting than the ones out in the entry hall area.
TRUST ME. You’ll need to remember this. I’m referring to the bathrooms by the Small Press Alley. Apparently way less people use them, because they’re usually not terrible. The bathrooms outside the Convention Floor entrance are horrendous, from first thing in the morning.
Filed under: Comic-con Tips
Come on, you’re in San Diego…
#5: Go to the beach, people.
A bunch of you attending are either San Diegans or Los Angelinos already, so I’m not talking to you. The rest of you are from no wheres near the coast, so take an afternoon out from the gnarly comic-con sights and smells and mellow out at the beach. Then get back to the nerding out.
Filed under: Uncategorized
#4: Convention Pizzas will FUCK your shit UP.
This one really doesn’t need elaboration.
Filed under: Comic-con Tips
#3 Exhibitors, this is not a used car lot.
This goes out to my friends with booths or tables, but really, this applies mostly to the Small Press Alley. I LOVE the Small Press Alley. Love it. But, it sometimes makes me feel like I did when I lived in Hollywood and walked from my apartment to the pizza joint on Hollywood Blvd. & Vine to get a slice, and the streets were littered with beggers staring at my with homeless puppy dog eyes. I’m sorry if this isn’t exactly sensitive, but hungry eyes can be really off-putting. Especially when they shout at me. Look, I know what I like, I know what I look for. Everyone does. Demanding that I come to your table isn’t gonna change my mind on that. Sit or stand there, look pleasant, offer your help if needed, otherwise, just let me do my thing, man.
Filed under: Comic-con Tips
While I take a break from watching weird Sacramento late night public access, here’s our second in the 55-part series on how to handle the upcoming Comic-con International in San Diego.
#2: Learn to Phase Through People and Objects
Put another way, there will be crowd. Not crowds, plural. Just crowd. One massive, never-ending, 100,000-person strong crowd, stretching from one end of the convention floor to the other. So, there’s not so much walking through the con so much as there is slithering your way from body to body. Back when I first attended, in 2003, this wasn’t the case. The attendance was still at a manageable 65,000 or so. This number has basically doubled since then. I believe the maximum number of people allowed in is 140,000 or so. There literally is no more room for people at this show. Some say this is part of the fun. I prefer my personal space, so I keep my floor-roaming time limited to before the doors open to everyone and/or maybe on Preview Night, but even that’s a mess now. The booth is my safe haven. So really, just expect to say goodbye to your personal space once you hit the floor.
