The first cover. I have to give huge props to Dexter Wee for drawing it and Jeremy Colwell for the awesome coloring job. You’ll see. Each cover is just amazing.
The story kicks off tomorrow.
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Man, it’s been a little bit since my last post. Well, I’ve been working on some new stuff as well as handling some personal stuff. But it’s mostly been trying to work on new stuff.
After NWI Comic Con, I put all my focus on preparing for Indiana Comic Con in Indianapolis. It was the first three day show I’d be doing and I’d be working it alone. Because of this, I had a lot of nerves going into it and spent hours making sure I was adequately prepared. It was lucky that I did because I found out that I was understocked on Secrets & Shadows.
After making a restocking order and sending off the payment, I focused on making sure I had all the travel supplies, convention supplies, and any other supplies I needed well stocked. Eventually, it got to the point where I was just going in circles. Despite a few hiccups (including finding out that the check I sent to the printer never made it), I had high hopes for the show.
The restock ended up not coming before I left, but I took what I had and traveled down to Indianapolis. I ended up being too late to set-up early so I went to my hotel room and slept…or tried to. I ended up just laying there for several hours. I guess I rested? To counteract this, I made sure to get a big breakfast.
The first day of the show was rough due to lack of sleep, but I made a few sales. I was lucky enough to be set up between two pretty cool artists and met a couple people who were interested in getting some indie comics. It was a slow day, but it was expected. Saturday was the big day.
Saturday was a little better sleep-wise. Also, my mother was kind enough to bring the comic shipment down so I wasn’t as freaked out about it. In terms of sales and people, it was actually on par with Friday which seemed to surprise many of the vendors who had worked the year before. Still, I got a lot of people who were interested in Secrets & Shadows, Someday, and specifically Clusterf@#k. While I didn’t make a huge number of sales, I did get a few “I’ll be back”s.
Sunday was great. Many of the people who said they’d be back the previous day actually came back and picked up books. Some people picked up books, came back, talked up my book to people at the table, and then bought more books. It was by far the best day which was surprising. I also had some great conversations with people where even if they didn’t pick anything up, it didn’t just feel like they were just trying to get ‘cheat codes’ out of me.
Definitely a great show and I plan on going back next year.
Also, ConTroll is finished and available for free as a reward for signing up for my email list.
ConTroll is the story of a superhero who meets his biggest internet troll and the two convention security guards caught in between. It was written by myself with art by Diego Toro, colors by Kote Carvajal, and letters be Cristian Docolomansky. It was also edited by Steven Forbes.
If you aren’t on the email list, you should definitely sign-up for the chance to grab your free copy.
This past weekend, I attended Free Comic Book Day at Creative Comics in Griffith, In. It was an outdoor show (my first) and it was definitely a learning experience. I’ll definitely invest in things to keep my books weighed down as it was particularly windy and my books threatened to blow away several times. Lucky, it wasn’t a hot day or an extremely cold day so being in the sun wasn’t too horrible. I didn’t sell a ton of books but I wasn’t expecting massive sales and I was able to meet some other local creators from my neck of the woods. If you live in the area, I recommend checking out Creative Comics.
No news is good news and while the updates might be a bit spread out, there are great things on the horizon.
Last Saturday, I attended the Northwest Indiana Comic Con (or NWI Comic Con) for the first time. Even though it has been going on for four years, I somehow managed to miss it but was told about it while signing at Tenth Planet. I was pretty excited as it would be my first local convention and the first convention that wasn’t a two hour drive away.
Despite a rough morning and making a few mistakes (like forgetting my camera), I managed to make good time. The venue was actually not too far from the restaurant where my 10 year high school anniversary had been held so the area was familiar. When I arrived, there was a line of cars but a few were just early attendees who were told to wait. I pulled my car up to the building and tried to quickly unpack. My brother had accompanied me to the last two conventions, but I had assumed he’d be working so I’d signed up as one person. When it turned out my brother didn’t have to work, I still assumed that it would be a hassle to try and wrangle a badge for him and continued solo. Imagine my surprise when they showed me my table and handed me 3 badges.
After I got everything out of my trunk and to my table, I hopped into my car to park. I was told that vendors had to park at a nearby church and that someone would pick us up and shuttle us back. It was new, but I understood it was probably to save space for attendees. I dropped my car off and waited for the person to pick us up. Due to a little bit of confusion and the fact that the temperature was much lower than the previous days, a few people (myself included) decided to simply walk back to the venue rather than wait in the cold.
Once inside, I managed to quickly set up shop and wait for the show to get underway.
A few early hiccups aside, I really enjoyed this show. It was a nice sized venue (though the audience may outgrow it) with a steady stream of people throughout the day. I was at an aisle near a door so we got good traffic and people who stopped by were genuinely interested in what I had. Even if they weren’t, they were respectful and polite. I was able to talk to people about my books and they really seemed to be impressed by my enthusiasm with my work. I also was able to talk with fellow creator Daejuan Jacobs and his wife, Diane. Both were very welcoming and even gave me info on even more nearby conventions I didn’t know about, but will definitely be attending. I was also surprised to see my Aunt and my cousin stop by to pick up some books as well.
And while it wasn’t just about selling books, I’d like to say that that I didn’t do too badly. The Clusterf@#k trade sold really well and I managed to sell a sketch cover to a young artist who wanted to put his spin on the characters (I told him to post the finished art and @ me when he does). I met artists and creators who were just walking the floor and networking. It was just a great feeling to see so many people from different backgrounds and walks of life come together to embrace the culture.
As the show was winding down, I managed to get from behind my booth and speak with a couple people in my aisle and try to make a few purchases. I picked up Daejuan’s book, Fractal, as well as Victorie City by Keith Carmack & Vincent Nappi and Voracious by by Jason Muhr & Markisan Naso. I also met Ben Miller who has his own upcoming book with Alterna Comics and will also be attending Indiana Comic Con.
Overall, I think the show went really well. The staff was helpful and welcoming, the people attending seemed to enjoy it, and vendors who had done the show before didn’t have any complaints. At the end of the day, I call that a success. It was a fun show and brought the convention feel a lot closer to home. I would definitely recommend going next year because barring any unforeseen issues, I plan to be there again.
Below is a recap video of the event. I make a brief appearance at the 1:30 mark so don’t blink.
Next up on the list is Indiana Comic Con in April. Check in for updates and news. Some cool stuff is happening and coming down the pipeline.
Later Days
So, here we are at the end of 2016. Some people are calling it the worst year ever and I on some level, I have to agree. This year felt rough, rougher than the last few years.
On a personal level, I feel like I need to look back and take inventory on all of the dope things that happened in 2016 in regards to comics. While I didn’t set the world on fire, I made huge strides in terms of creative/professional growth and I feel like I should highlight and show appreciation for those moments.
January: Previews Staff Pick!
February: Professionalism
BlackComicsMonth Review
March: Boxes of Clusterf@#k arrived.
April: Clusterf@#k is released in stores!
May: Pastimes Comic Book Signing for FCBD!
June: St. Louis Comic Con
August: New Management
September: Madison Comic Con
October: Tenth Planet HalloweenFest Signing
November: Eye on the Arts
December: My 31st Birthday!
I managed to have something going on almost every month. I felt like I wasn’t really busy, but I can see that I was completely stationary in 2016. A lot of great things happened, some of which will roll into 2017 and help me move onward and upward.
I hope that 2017 brings everyone great things or that you’re able to find the things worth fighting for. I’m just going to keep on writing.
Later Days
Things have been quiet here and that’s been because I’m pushing to get projects ready for 2017 (some new and some not so new).
First, I’m putting a few short crime stories I’ve written into a collection called Career Criminals. It will be collecting Job Security, Professionalism, and New Management. I was lucky enough to get Eduardo Jimenez, the artist on Professionalism, to do the cover for the collection.
Next, I am finally collecting Secrets & Shadows into a trade paperback book. I know, it’s been a long time coming and I am finally ready to get it put together.
I also have a couple new stories on the horizon including one with the Clusterf@#k art team of Diego Toro and Kote Carvajal. It’s called Con-Troll and it follows two security guards trying to keep order at a convention after a guest meets his biggest troll.
Diego has already provided a couple character layouts. Enjoy.
Unlike most of my other stories, this probably won’t be on the website but I will have updates as to where it will be available.
Another project I’m looking to get started on is a new miniseries that will basically be my take on the Power Rangers. I’ve been knocking it around for at least a year and I realize that there’s no time like the present. Look out for more updates on that as well.
Hoping that things are well and excited for 2017 (comic wise, anyway).
Later Days
Last month, I did a segment with Eye on the Arts and spoke about writing comics. Well, the episode comes on today and for those of you not currently living in Northwest Indiana, I have linked the video below.
Enjoy. The Lakeshore team did an amazing job. There was some stuff that didn’t make the final cut, but I’m really happy with the results. Definitely check it out when you have time.
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