How I spend my lunch break

Here's a scene from my lunch break today. I get most of my work done for my comic strip during the day at lunch time. I'll sketch out the comic then ink it while sipping coffee at a nearby coffee shop. At home I'll scan this in and add the text and panel boxes.

Why I'm not going back to Baltimore Comic Con, SPX is better

Last weekend, after packing up my table in Artist Allery at the Baltimore Comic Con to head back to Dallas, I came to the decision that I had made a mistake. I had chosen Baltimore Comic Con over SPX (Small Press Expo) this year and I really should have stuck with SPX. Since the two conventions came just a week apart in the same city this year I had to choose. I couldn't justify taking almost two weeks off of work to attend both cons and because I had gone to SPX last year I decided to give BCC a shot.

I chose ... poorly.

Don't get me wrong, I still had a lot of fun at BCC. I met a lot of people and sold a ton of pins and sketches. The crowds at BCC were overwhelming and everyone I spoke to about it while at the con who had exhibited there last year agreed that there were far more people attending than last year. But, us indie folk in the Artist Alley, which ringed the convention floor, all saw mediocre sales. I could see it in people's eyes as they walked past my table, they were searching for things they knew. They wanted something familiar, something that matched the superhero logo on their t-shirts. The majority of people at the BCC were not interested in new unknowns like myself. Webcomics were not on their radar screens, they wanted a deal on a new copy of Watchmen and the latest Batman action figure.

SPX 2007 was such a different experience for me. The folks that went to SPX were hunting for new comics and cartoons. They wanted to feel like they were discovering something, they wanted fresh, weird and experimental. Webcomics were high on their agenda of things to check out. There may have been fewer attendees, but I sold a lot more books and got a lot of encouraging comments there. The crowd that goes to SPX are far more likely to open their wallets on something that they haven't seen before.

So, lesson learned. I'm sticking to the small press cons from here on out. I'll be at SPX '09 and giving Baltimore Comic Con '09 a miss. I've also got my sights set on STAPLE, APE, SPACE and MOCCA. All those cons seem to attract people much more interested in finding us indie cartoonists and tossing a few bucks our way. That's got to be the way to go.

Baltimore Comic Con 2008

I'm back from the Baltimore Comic Con 2008 and man, what a trip. This was by far the largest comic book convention I had ever exhibited at. You can see the full set of photos I took in my BCC 2008 photo set on Flickr.com.

I left last Friday from Dallas and flew into Baltimore with fellow cartoonist Grant Sutherland and our painter friend Scott. My brother, Ben, met us at the airport and drove us into Baltimore. After getting settled we wandered into downtown and ate at the Hard Rock Cafe. We found a nice local bar called the Ropewalk Tavern and had some drinks. We finally settled into a cigar shop down the street from the Ropewalk and smoked cigars, drank some beers and just relaxed before the big show.

Saturday morning I arrived a couple hours before the Baltimore Comic Con opened to get my table set up. We entered through the back loading dock, but I saw that a long line was already forming in the front for the show. Doors opened around 10:00am and the masses rushed in. In no time the show floor, which was massive, teemed with comic book fans. I spent the day pitching and selling my books and sketches and pins and posters. I made a fair amount of sales on my latest comic books and the sketches and pins went really well too. Over all, though, I'd say sales were a little flat. People came by looking for stuff they recognized, big names like Spiderman and Superman stuff. An underground indie like me took a lot of selling an convincing to get people to part with their cash. The other artist alley folks around me seemed to have the same issues. I did hand out a lot of Hermit Hill fliers though.

After the Show on Saturday we went over to the Orioles game since the ballpark was right next to the convention center. It had been raining all day, so attendance was low. It was blue skies and clear when the game started, but by the 7th inning it was pouring again and the game got called. We had a good time anyway.

Sunday opened and the crowds returned in full force. I did a lot more sales on sketches on Sunday. I even sold a Superman sketch to someone dressed as Superman. How cool is that? Answer: very. I got away from my table a few times and left my brother to watch things. I went over to the HalfPixel.com guys' area to say hi. I got a copy of Dave Kellett's A Blizzard of Lizzards and he signed it for me and put a sketch on the inside cover, which was very cool. I got to chat a little with Brad Guigar and Chris Straub. I picked up some bootleg Mystery Scinece Theater 3000 DVDs and a Star Wars toy for my son. The big seller for me that day were my pins. I easily sold about 60 of those things. I also sold a sketchbook and some Bramble Vine Comics #1 & #2 comic books.

All in all, it was a fun show to go to. I met with a lot of people I admire, sold some comics and got the word out about Hermit Hill the Webcomic. However, while I sold about as many books as I usually do, maybe a little more, that doesn't really scale up to the number of people passing by my table. It was a real hard sell. I think I'll be sticking the independent publishing cons from here on out. The mainstream comics crowd just didn't seem very interested in trying an indie guy like me. Next year I'll hit the Small Press Expo instead.

At the Baltimore Comic Con

I've survived the first day of the Baltimore Comic Con! I'll be heading back again today to keep pushing my comic books and webcomic. It's going really well so far. The word on the floor is that there are way more people here this year than last year. It's huge and crowded and a ton of fun. I'll post some photos when I get back to Texas.

If you're in the Baltimore area and you're heading out to the con come by and say hi. I'm at table 50 on the map in the program.

Baltimore Comic Con Appearance in Two Weeks

Just to remind everyone that the Baltimore Comic Con is coming up in just two more weeks. During the weekend of Sept. 27th & 28th I'll be at my Artists' Alley table at the convention at the Baltimore Convention Center in downtown Baltimore. The guest list to this year's show is really impressive. It's going to be a world class show. I'll have all my books on hand including my most recent 144 page book Doodlin', A Cartoonist's Sketchbook, Bramble Vine Comics #2, Gadgeteria and more. I'll have posters and pins on hand, personalized sketches and copies of the Dallas cartoonists' book the Synesthetic Anthology. It's going to be a great show and I hope folks make it out to say "hi".

Hermit Hill | Vol.1 | 09/03/08

Taking out the trash. The everyday problems of an agoraphobic can lead to some strange problems that need to be solved. The insensitivity of the average waste disposal engineer doesn't help matters.

On the drawing table tonight

Here's a photo from my drawing board tonight. I just finished inking a comic that'll be online next week. So, this is kind of a preview I guess, a peak behind the curtain. I pencil the page in non-photo blue and then ink over top of that directly. The borders and text will be added after I scan it into the computer using PhotoShop.

Hermit Hill | Vol. 1 | 09/02/08

Put that in your pipe and smoke it! This comic was updated while I was on vacation with my family. Hence my dedication to you, the loyal Hermit Hill reader. Namaste.

Hermit Hill | Vol. 1 | 08/28/08

Ah yes, the plight of the artist. A famous artist was once asked how he could charge such a high price for his paintings and the artist replied that one doesn't pay for a single painting, one pays for the lifetime of artistic experience that leads up to the painting's creation. That's probably a more eloquent way to express this idea than a crude cartoon of an old guy brow beating some kid, but we all do what we can I suppose.

Hermit Hill | Vol. 1 | 08/26/08

The Bird of Wisdom, he gets what he deserves if you ask me. Mouthy little fowl. Enjoy!

Hermit Hill | Vol. 1 | 08/21/08

New Hermit Hill comic uploaded, Quit Bugging Me.

Hermit Hill Webcomic Moves to Own Site

Hermit Hill now has it's own web site. Since I'll be focusing on Hermit Hill as my cartooning project for the foreseeable future I've split the comic out of the Bramble Vine Comics site and created HermitHillComic.com. I've also re-written the code I created to manage the comic navigation to allow for individual URL's for each comic. This will allow people to link directly to their favorite comics.

I still need to add some content to the site, like character details and comic book info once the first volume is complete, but it's a good start I think.

Hermit Hill | Vol. 1 | 08/19/08

Here is the latest Hermit Hill comic, "Shout from on High".

Synesthetic Anthology Release Party Photos

Click to see more photos

Here is the stylish cover of the Synesthetic Anthology. The book is a collection of comics and cartoons from over 20 different creators all in the Dallas, TX area. I have a 7 page story in there titled 'Normal'. Today there was a release party for the completion of the book down in Dallas at Titan Comics and I took a bunch of photos. Click through to see more images from the event.

Synesthetic book release party this weekend

Almost a year and a half ago I joined up with some local Dallas artists who were looking for cartoonists and comic book creators in the area to help put an anthology book together. After all that time and a lot of work from everyone involved the book is finally complete. The Synesthetic Anthology is a collection of skilled cartoonists, writers and illustrators here in Dallas. I'm proud to say I have a story in the book and the book looks great.

This weekend we're having a release party in Dallas at Titan Comics. Creators who worked on the book will be on hand for signings and war stories about getting our part complete by the dead lines. We'll be there from noon to about 5:00, so please come by and have a look at all our hard work.

Kudos to Jake and Luan, the editors and the two guys who brought the whole thing together. Give 'em a pat on the back when you see them, they deserve a ton of creadit for getting this project complete.

New Bramble Vine Comics Hat Design

Here I am wearing my hat. I designed it through Lids.com where you can upload your own image and have them incorporate it into the hat stitching. I used one of the cartoon faces I made for a recent poster I designed. The quality of the hat is excellent, it came out pretty good I think.

Bramble Vine Comics #2 Printer Proof

I have the proof copy of my latest comic book back from the printer. If you click the image above you can see some pics of the cover and the back of the book. I think it came out really good and sent the printer the go-ahead to fill the rest of my order. I'll have these in time to distribute to the Dallas area comic shops that carry my books and for the upcoming Baltimore Comic Con.

Hermit Hill Webcomic Launch Day

Today I am starting a regularly updated comic called Hermit Hill. I'll be uploading new Hermit Hill comics twice a week, one on Tuesday and one on Thursday. This is something I've been developing since I completed my last comic book and I am pretty excited about it.

The comic revolves around Walter, an agoraphobic shut-in and all around old coot. He lives in a little house on top of a hill. He gets occasional deliveries from a kid named Francis who brings Walter his groceries and mail and tries hard to cheer up the old grouch.

My plan is to upload the installments in volumes, starting of course with volume one. Each time I reach 24 pages in a volume I'll put out a comic book that collects all the comics up to that point and move on to the next volume. Each book will be available for sale here on my web site, at local Dallas area comic shops and at any comic conventions that I attend.

Anyway, before I get too far ahead of myself, for now I just need to get the comics created. I have several week's worth ready to go and many more already scripted.

Ok, here we go.

Doodlin' : A Cartoonist's Sketchbook

I have put together a book containing the scanned images from my various sketchbooks from the past 4 years. This proof copy just came back from the printer and I am really happy with it. I think looks good. You can buy a copy right now through the Lulu.com page for $9.95. It contains over 140 pages of doodle cartoons and sketches. I'll have these available at future conventions like Baltimore Comic Con and Wizard World Texas. If you click on the image above you'll some interior pages as well.

Sketchbook Page Portrait

This is a scanned page from my sketchbook. I drew this from a photograph that was in an excellent book I recently picked up. It's called Facial Expressions : A Visual Reference for Artists by Mark Simon. The book is a visual reference of people's faces in the best poses I've ever seen in a book like this. I have a bunch of different visual reference books, but this one really stands out, especially coming from a cartoonist's perspective. There isn't just people's faces in the book, there are tons of great extreme facial expressions. It's such a fun thing to flip through the book and sketch some of these facial poses, which you rarely get to see.

Cartoon Pins!

Here are some new pin designs. I ordered these from Button Arcade and I am really happy with the quality of them. I got 10 different designs all based on my recent Faces poster. I got these done for the upcoming Baltimore Comic Con. This was the first time I've created pin designs with color. I will be selling these at my table for $0.50 each and I hope people enjoy them.

Gadgeteria on Retail Shelves Today!

It's Wednesday, which means new comics hit the comic shops across the land. If you happen to be in the Dallas, TX area on this clear summer day you can swing by some excellent comic shops and find some Bramble Vine Comics books on their shelves. Currently my books can be found at these fine comics retailers:

Zeus Comics

Titan Comics

Keith's Comics

I just met with Keith today actually, and he'll be putting up copies of Gadgeteria once the next printing is shipped at the end of August. Many thanks to Richard, Jeremy and Keith for giving an indie artist like me some shelf space. It is very much appreciated!

Hopefully, more stores will be added soon. On that note, if you are a comics retailer and you're interested in putting some of my books in your shop send me a message and I will give you all the details.

New Stuff Coming in Time for Baltimore Comic Con

It's been a productive few weeks. I haven't done a lot with the blog, but I have been getting things together back in meatspace for the upcoming Baltimore Comic Con this September. I have my latest comic book, Bramble Vine Comics #2, currently in the printing stage over at Ka-Blam. I'm expecting the proof copy by the end of this week. I'm also printing up a new version of my cartoon Faces poster, so I'll have those on hand at the con. I have some new pins printed up with images from the poster that I think are really fun.

Also, I have a new paperback book I'm having made that should also be arriving this week. It's a re-print of several of my sketchbooks over the past 4 years. I haven't ever done a book like that before, but I'm excited about it.

I know it's still a couple months off, but it really takes time to put these things together and I think my table at Baltimore Comic Con will have a great selection of cartooning fun!

Bramble Vine Comics #2 off to the printers

I know it’s been a while since I’ve updated the site, but I have been busy getting the last details in place for my next book. I’m happy to report that Bramble vine comics #2 has been sent off to the printers. I should get a proof copy back in about 3 weeks. I’m really happy with this one. I think it really does have some of my best work.

Now that it is complete I can move on to my next project which will be a published collection of sketchbook pages from my various piles of doodles. Hopefully I’ll have that in hand in time for the Baltimore Comic Con.

I will get some pages from my latest book up on the site soon.

Sketchbook page

Here is the most recent page out of my sketchbook. I’m working on developing a more cartoony character design here. I want to come up with some concepts that fill the page with smaller panels, but still retain a full character body as much as possible. I think it’s starting to come together. now I just need to write a story that will accommodate the new format and we’ll see if this can come together.

Screwed by JMV Entertainment

First off I’d like to apologize to my readers about this weekend. I had announced a personal appearance in Houston with the JMV Entertainment comic book show and that show did not happen. To everyone that showed up for the show you saw the same thing I did when I got there ready to sell some books, draw some sketches and meet some readers ... a whole lot of nothing.

James Vaughn of JMV Entertainment contacted me about two months ago and invited me to be a guest artist at the next JMV comic show down in Houston. That was supposed to be today, but when I arrived to the show at the hotel in Houston I was met with a blank stare from the hotel reception person. There was no show scheduled. They'd never heard of JMV Entertainment. There was a hotel lobby full of very pissed off people; exhibitors and artists and comic fans who all came for a show that wasn't there.

Neither Vaughn nor anyone else with JMV (if there is anyone else) contacted me or any of the other guests to tell us that the show had been cancelled. I spoke to some of the other invited guests and they are all as pissed as I am. Even as I type this the JMV Entertainment web site is still using my name and a few others to promote the fake show today. I flew to Houston, rented a car and paid for a night in a hotel all for nothing.

I’ve heard from other cartoonists about being screwed over by shady show promoters before like the type of extortion that went on at this year’s New York Comic Con in which people showed up to their pre-paid space only to be gouged an additional couple hundred bucks for a table and chair and even carpet, but this is the first time I’ve experienced something like that first hand.

So, again, I apologize to everyone that tried to come to the show this weekend. I’ll have to choose the shows I attend more carefully in the future.

Appearance at JMV Comic Book Show, Houston, May 25

This weekend I’ll be at the JMV Comic Book show in Houston, TX. It’s being held at the Crowne plaza - Northwest. You can come by and find me in the artist alley part of the show. I’ll be selling my comics, including my latest book, Gadgeteria, posters, pins and sketches.

UPDATE: Screwed by JMV Comic Book Show.

New site design

I’m in the middle of migrating my site to a brand new design and hosting service. Check out all the colors! There may be some growing pains here and there, so if you happen to see any problems please let me know.

In the move I’ll be moving to a new blog system as well, so my older posts will be temporarily unavailable. I’ll find a way to archive all that stuff and put it up somewhere online.

Working on my next project

I spent my lunch break the same way I usually spend it, working on my next comic in the back of my local coffee shop. Here you can see the pages I am currently inking, taken with my camera phone. I’m about half way through this current short story. A few more lunches and I should be done.