Zine Scene

Hey folks. This weekend I'll be at the NYC Zine Fest:



It's in Park Slope (my own neighborhood - I love an easy commute) at the Brooklyn Lyceum, and it's FREE! I'm sharing a table with my pal GB Tran, and I'll have copies of my book, some mini-comics, sketchbooks, prints, and whatever else I manage to make between now and Saturday. Stop by and say hello...

Heads-up

This weekend: MoCCA Art Fest. I'll be at the AdHouse table with Mike Dawson, Fred Chao, Lamar Abrams, and the mighty Chris Pitzer.

In a few weeks: NYC Zine Fest.

Right now, for no reason:

Goodbye to '08, Hello to '09

Strike that; reverse it. First, in with the new - this weekend (February 6-8) is this year's New York Comic-Con, the first comics-related thing I'll be involved with in what feels like a very long time. I'll be sharing table space with GB Tran and Fred Chao, outstanding cartoonists and fine gentlemen, the both of 'em. I'll have copies of The Aviary, a minicomic (featuring one of the very very few - two, to be exact - comics stories I've managed to draw since completing The Aviary almost two years ago now), and a fancypants print for sale. The print is largeish (13x18 or so), and looks like this:



Next, out with the old - a few highlights of my 2008, in no particular order: Got married, became an Eisner Award nominee, went to Greece, became an Eisner Award loser, went to Japan. Lowlight (is that a word?) of the year is that I drew virtually no new comics at all. Spent the year as a consumer far more than a producer of any sort of "art". Saw, heard, and read quite a few things I enjoyed, so for no particular reason, here are some lists of favorite/best entertainments/distractions of 2008 (The Proverbial Top-Whatevers):

Comics: Skyscrapers of the Midwest, by Josh Cotter; Freddie and Me, by Mike Dawson; Pocket Full of Rain, by Jason; Acme Novelty Library #19, by Chris Ware; The Amazing Remarkable Monsieur Leotard, by Eddie Campbell; Ganges #2, by Kevin Huizenga

Movies: The Dark Knight, Synecdoche, NY, Let the Right One In, WALL-E, The Wrestler, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, The Visitor, Snow Angels, Cloverfield

Music: The Night Marchers - See You in Magic, The Hold Steady - Stay Positive, The Gutter Twins - Saturnalia and Adorata, Metallica - Death Magnetic, Girl Talk - Feed the Animals, Greg Dulli - Live at Triple Door, Kanye West - 808s and Heartbreak

Laffs: No funnier show of any kind than the Never Not Funny podcast. And I offer the highest possible recommendation for the album Impersonal, by Mr. Paul F. Tompkins.

That's all for now. If you're coming to NY Comic-con, come on by and say hello...

Crazy Good News / NY Comic-Con

Most surprising phone call I ever received whilst at work: my fantastic publisher calling to let me know my book has been nominated for an Eisner Award! Not sure what "Special Recognition" means exactly, but this is surreal and wonderful news. Check out all the nominations here (including FOUR much-deserved nominations for fellow AdHouser Fred Chao, whose comic Johnny Hiro is loads of fun).

This weekend is the New York Comic-con, and I'll be there, schmoozin', sketchin' and signin' at the Indie Spinner Rack podcast's table on Saturday and Sunday afternoon, along with a whole bunch of great cartoonists, including the aforementioned Fred Chao, Mike Dawson, Julia Wertz, Liz Baillie, Alec Longstreth, and more more more. Should be a swell time - if you're coming to the show, stop by the ISR table and say hello (and listen to their podcast!)...

Updatin' & Invitin'

Hey folks. Couple quick items of interest:

First, I'll be selling and signing THE AVIARY - recently named 9th best comic book of 2007 by the great Mister Phil of the awesome Indie Spinner Rack podcast (thanks, Phil!) - this Friday night (February 22) at VOX POP here in Brooklyn, NY. Music will be performed by TWICE AS BRIGHT and scaresthedaylights. I'm told there will be some manner of drink specials, so anticipate an entertaining evening. Come on by if you can - VOX POP is at 1022 Cortelyou Road and seems like a terrific place (bookstore / cafe / venue - sounds good to me!)

Also, if anyone out there is curious about THE AVIARY, there's an excerpt (a story entitled Barry Pago: Crime Scene Photographer) in the most recent issue of Weird Tales Magazine. Check it out at a better magazine rack near you...

Catchin' Up

Been a little while, lots to "report":

Belated TCAF photos here. Great show, great city. A bona fide vacation this one was. I talked more about it with the fine folks over at the Comic News Insider podcast. I'm on Episode 102, along with Paul Pope and TCAF organizer Chris Butcher.

Just got back from SPX - photos / mini-report here. This remains my very favorite comics show. Such a good time. No better way to wrap up my busiest convention year ever.

This weekend (actually in about, oh, 20 hours from the time I'm writing this): The AWESOME Anthology Release Party at Rocketship!

Got my copy of the book at SPX and it looks great. More about the book here, more about the party here. This was originally supposed to happen Saturday the 20th, but got moved up to Friday the 19th. So, uh, tonight. If you're free, come on out for some free drinks and some chatter with many fine cartoonists.

Before I go, here's a quick look at a page from my contribution to the anthology, a 7-page story called "The Accommodations of Old Man Small":

SDCC, TCAF, AWESOME, NY

Haven't blogged in a bit, so here's a little catch-up post...

First, some photos from the San Diego Comic-Con, which was pretty overwhelming. I had a good time, though, and didn't make a total fool of myself on the New Voices in Graphic Novels panel.


Next stop - Toronto! This weekend is TCAF (Toronto Comic Arts Festival), which should be really great. What an amazing guest list they've got. And I've never been to Toronto before, so I'm looking forward to it. I'm currently finishing up a brand-new mini for the show, which is a two-part book of sketches and illustrations and things. As soon as I get some copies put together, I'll post a picture.


Coming in October - AWESOME, the Indie Spinner Rack anthology. I've got a new story in here, along with loads of great cartoonists - seriously, way too many incredible people to list. Check out the sample pages on the AWESOME site (including a page from my own story) and marvel at the contributors. Proceeds go to the Indie Spinner Rack podcast and to a scholarship for the Center for Cartoon Studies, so it's for a good cause. Not to mention over 200 pages of great comics for a low price. And for an even lower price, you can pre-order the book now for just $8.22 - seriously, you should: Pre-order here. It'll be out just in time for SPX, and there'll be a release party October 20th at the one and only Rocketship.

One last odd item - my name is in the new issue of New York magazine! Not somewhere I'd ever have expected to see it. The article's a guide to NYC for different types of people, each with a different map of the city - on the "Lit Guy" map, they mention Brooklyn's finest comic store, the aforementioned Rocketship, and their frequent book launch parties featuring artists such as, uh, me (and Peter Kuper - I'm in good company!). It's a fun article with some terrific illustrations - check it out here. Very weird to see myself mentioned, even in passing, alongside the landmarks and luminaries on that map...