SDCC:

San Diego is only a few days away, and I apologize for only just now posting about the details. I'll be at booth 2231 (Archaia Studios Press). Julia and I get in to San Diego for preview night and will stay through Sunday...five days of geeky goodness.

I'll have a new color Mouse Guard sketchbook available. 24 pages consisting of past convention sketches colored specifically for the sketchbook. Signed and limited to 300 copies.

I am changing my commission policy. Because I end up taking so many commissions at conventions that I feel like I end up not giving enough attention to attendees stopping by to chat or get their books signed, I am going to be limiting how many I do. I'll take two commissions each day (starting when the floor opens to the public) available for pickup the next day. A 7" x 7" fully inked piece is $150.

I'll also be offering something new this year. I'll be doing sketch cards for $20. (I have a few examples posted here) The images will be per request. And of course, I always do a small sketch when signing a Mouse Guard Fall 1152 hardcover for no charge.

Fan Art:

Two pieces this post. The first comes from Pat who I met briefly at the Motor City convention and my local comic shop. However, it was so brief, that I don't know his full name, what his projects include, or what his site is (Pat I'd be happy to link to your site here). This piece was given to my local shop owner to pass on to me from Pat. Thanks man!!

The second is from a fan named Jamie (whose site appears to be down at the moment. I met Jamie through the Hellboy.com forum. She and her fiance stopped by the Toronto con and she gave me this little drawing. The back says "I figured Saxon dreamt of swords at an early age!" Too true Jamie, too true.

Wizard World Chicago

Back from Chicago, and my brain and body are too tired to type a big report. So short and sweet this time. Sorry about any confusion about my table location, Wizard double booked a table and asked me to move Friday night. And a HUGE thanks to my Brother-in-law Mark for driving out and helping me at the convention, it was his first con, and I think he had a good time! HUGE-ER thanks go to Julia for driving more books out to Chicago from Detroit when I sold out on Friday.

Here is a smattering of photos from the weekend.

Fan Art:

The wonderful Katie Cook did this for me. She was a bit worried I may not find it funny...but she was dead wrong.

.....it's been ages since I have taken apart an owl pellet.....

And also a fan named Issac came by with his dad to give this wood burned piece to me. I really love the snake-eating-it's-tail-border. Thanks Issac!!

From the Vault: The Big One

From the Vault: The Big One:
Back in the late 90's A friend of mine wanted to do a comic. The premise was an alternate WWII with metahumans (Elves, Dwarves, Drow, Dark Dwarves, Goblins, etc.) as the various nations warring. I offered to help with some design work and plotting. This triptych watercolor was one of those preliminary pieces to be used as a jumping-off point. Unfortunately not much became of the idea, but along with this painting I did a few other fun WWII inspired pieces.

How to Make A Wife Unhappy:
a week or so ago, I was frustrated and in a split second impulse decided to trim my beard into "friendly muttonchops". Before I did it I had the idea in my head that it would be funny. It was, but only for about three minutes. When Julia first saw it she didn't notice and then asked me to "stop making that face" before gasping at what I had done. I have trimmed the rest down so that my beard is even, just very trim.

Carving:
I majored in Printmaking in college, and while I was there I used a technique that combined traditional intaglio techniques with traditional relief printing techniques. I was only able to do it a short while (here is an example of one) After I left school, I was unable to continue with the technique because it requires a press. As a replacement I found a way to use the technique where the goal was a printed image, but a carved block of wood. The one photographed here was a gift for Julia. I plan on starting another one soon and I'll try and document the process.


Molded Glass:
This is a collaboration piece I did with glass artist Gary Bolt. He was experimenting with a technique in casting glass using a woodcut technique to create the initial image. Knowing I was a print major, he asked if I'd be willing to do a piece to test the limits of the idea. I carved the image out of a speedycut block (a soft rubber to replace linoleum or wood for a faster cut relief print).

The block was mailed off to Victoria B.C. where Gary made a sand mold and poured molten glass into it (here it is shown cooling). The final piece is buffed on the surface to remove the sand texture from the high points. Today the piece sits in my north studio window.













Wizard World Chicago:
This weekend I'll be in artist's alley signing, sketching, and chatting. I'll also have free Mouse Guard
temporary tattoos!!! See ya there!!

Happy Father's Day

This was going to be posted late last night, but due to some internet outages because of storms, I'm posting it now.
-----------------------------------------------
Father's Day: My Dad was out of town today, so we agreed to celebrate next weekend when he's back home.

My Dad was a terrific Dad when I was growing up. I know we don't pick our parents but, I can't think of a soul I would have prefered to have been my father and to have raised me than him. He is a teacher. Not a school teacher (though he studied to be one and taught at the junior high and high school levels), he spent most of his life in the engineering field. What I mean is that at his core his biggest asset is to be able to explain something to someone unfamiliar with the topic. He can teach about theory and he can teach in practice. When I was six years old he taught me to turn candlesticks on the wood lathe (a gift for my grandparents for Christmas that year). He taught me how to gas weld when I was thirteen (something that I still enjoy doing and find 'calming'). He taught me how to build better building designs, to question authority, not to be taken, how to camp, how to cook a steak, about politics, how to build a fire, how to drive, how to rebuild an engine...and the list goes on and on.

If it seems like this list is wide in it's scope, that's because it IS. I regard my father as a man who knows more about more things that I'll know. It's something he inherited from his father. My Grandfather (Gumpa as we grandkids called him) had a piece of information on any topic and if he didn't he listened carefully to learn a new piece. My father also received his father's name as a middle name. I received my father's name in the same way. And I fully intend to continue the tradition if God is willing.

Mouse guard owes a great deal to my Dad. He taught me to appreciate my state. To enjoy the natural world, to respect elegant design and how the most primitive of techniques and tools sometimes can't be improved upon. He stressed history and how it should be treated as stories of adventure rather than dusty texts one is forced to read. But mostly, My Dad always gave me the space to be who I was and to encourage doing the things I enjoyed doing.

Thanks Dad. Happy Fathers Day. Happy Father's Day to my Grandfather also, and to all the Dads in my life, and even those I don't know.

ForeWord's Book of the Year Awards
Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 won bronze in ForeWord Magazine's annual awards in the Graphic Novel category! This is the fifth straight year that an ASP book has won in the category:
**Gold Medal (2003): ARTESIA
**Silver Medal (2004): ARTESIA AFIRE
**Honorable Mention (2005): THE LONE AND LEVEL SANDS
**Bronze Award (2006): ROBOTIKA
**Bronze Award (2007): Mouse Guard Fall 1152
It is a huge honor and I thank the folks at ASP and the folks at ForeWord Magazine!!

Kenzie moonlighting in another comic!?!? Brian Anderson who draws the daily syndicated strip Dog Eat Doug sent over his strip that paid homage to Mouse Guard. Turns out Brian is a fan of Mouse Guard and couldn't help naming the mouse in this day's strip after the blue-cloaked Kenzie. You can check out Brian's site here: http://dogeatdoug.com/

Writing Folk-Songs
For part of the Winter storyline a folk-song/ballad is used. I was finding it hard to write something on my own. I wanted it to be authentic and to have the haunting charm of a song like Peggy-O has. I asked my pal Jesse Glenn, who Kenzie is based on, if he could write some music that I could use as a springboard. On a visit out to see him, he pulled out his guitar and quickly recorded the basic repeating melody with an alternate refrain*. The ballad lyrics are finished and before they are published I wanted the music to be heard as well. I plan on having the lyrics and music printed as an extra in the hardcover of Winter 1152. You can download the MP3 here
*The melody will repeat 3 times instead of the recorded 2 before hitting the refrain.

Upcoming Appearances:

Wizard World Chicago: June 26-29

Paradise Expo Toronto: July 12-13

Sorry about the lack of new artwork in this post. I'll try and do another post soon with some misc/non-Mouse Guard work to make up for it

ASP Restructuring

By now fans of Mouse Guard have had a chance to see the news about ASP’s restructuring. Obviously, I have known about it for a while now, but waited for the news to go public before talking about it.

As one of the earlier additions to the ASP family, I’ve had many interactions with Aki Liao over the years and while I will miss him, I can see that this will be a positive change for the company. I still strongly believe in the vision, quality, and talent Mark Smylie has brought to ASP.

"What does this mean about future Mouse Guard issues and hardcovers?" you may be asking. I have no plans to move Mouse Guard to another publisher. Once the restructuring is complete Mouse Guard will be back on track. I apologize for the delays thus far and hope that the fans can bear with us. The coming weeks should give us a better idea of the timeline for upcoming releases.
No matter what, I am fully committed to creating more Mouse Guard and getting it into the fans hands as soon as possible.

Motor City Comic Con:
Last weekend was the MCCC, and I think I have recovered from it sleep-wise. The show seems to have suffered recently from some organizational shake-ups. Attendance seemed down from last May and I heard a general tone from exhibitors wishing the MCCC could grow to be the show it's capable of

However, to not dwell on the negative, I always enjoy sitting near two of my favorite artists: Jeremy Bastian and Nate Pride. Their respective girlfriends joined them as well as my wife Julia so it was just a big-old-party behind our tables. Friday night we all made a mad-dash to Home Depot to collect enough PVC pipe and connectors to construct three free-standing banner-holders. At the time is seemed like a huge hassle and very frustrating, but only a few days away from it, I can already see it was a con-memory with good friends I'll always remember.

I had three highlights at the show:

1) Meeting Katie Cook and her Husband Ryan in person.

Katie and I have e-mailed a few times, but never took the time to really connect with each other in person. Julia & I adore her work and she is a bigger Star Wars and Muppet geek than I am!

After the show on Sunday Katie and Ryan invited our crew to dinner. It was really cool to just unwind and talk about all sorts of geekdom over delicious food with them. To quote the Great Gonzo "There's not a word yet for old friends you've just met..."

2) Talking with Bill Stolpin.
Bill is a printmaker from Flint and knows and studied under the Printmaker who turned me on to the medium (and thus changed the course of my major) I saw Bill's work in that 1st semester class as an example, and it blew me away. He is now teaching printmaking up at the Flint Institute of Arts and offered me use of the facilities if I come up when class is in session. It was wonderfully generous and kind of him, and I look forward to taking him up on it. Check out Bill's website here

3) Surprising Jeremy with the Autographed Frankenstein book.

When Julia and I were in Calgary, Julia found a copy of Bernie Wrightson's Frankenstein book (which is IMPOSSIBLE to find from what I understand). Knowing that Jeremy Bastian wanted a copy, I mocked him openly that I had a copy (knowing in my mind that I had every intention of giving it to him). I even taunted him about Bernie being at the MCCC and getting MY book signed. So on Friday I took the book over to Bernie and had him sign it "To Jeremy". When I brought the book back to Jeremy his jaw nearly fell off his head when I showed him the inscription and confessed my intent to give it to him all along. Happy early Birthday pal!

I also was able to nab some sweet swag:

A: Katie Cook's Sketchbook with a crayon sketch of R5-D4 on the cover

B: Nate Pride's new Sketchbook. Nate's got a great sampling of his newer inkwork

C: Jane Irwin's historical mini-comic Clockwork Game

D: Jane's 2nd Vogelein trade paperback

E: a handpainted Harry Potter greeting card by Katie Cook

F: a print of Nate's awesome character Gip Noodlebottom

G: a Nate Pride original piece of a gnomish guy with a big bowl

H: a Katie Cook original of a Wookiee scared of a mouse-droid

I: a metal transfer print of my Free Comic Book Day image from a fan

J: a Nate Pride print of his version of Grendel himself

K: a Nate Pride print of his version of Grendel's Mom

Upcoming Appearances:

Wizard World Philly: May 30- June 1

Detroit Comics Signing: June 7

Wizard World Chicago: June 26-29

Paradise Comic Con Toronto: July 12-13 *just added

Calgary Comics Expo:
It's been a while since I posted, so I haven't been able to share how great the Calgary con was. Julia and I had some travel difficulties getting there, but it was worth it! It's a great show with a very impressive guest list. I met Whilce Portacio, Jim Mafood, Bill Pressing, and Bill Willingham and reconnected with Josh Middleton and Stewart Immonen. I was really impressed with the hardcover art book they publish to bennifit the Boys and Girls clubs of Canada. I didn't get many sketches done at this show (it was very busy for being a smaller convention) but I was able to do this young hellboy. The owner scanned it and I gave it a quick color job as a warm-up for today.


Our driver to and from the airport was super-nice-guy Steven Gettis. I had never met him in person, but did a piece for his literature themed blog. And I was able to get another piece done for him. When I was in 2nd grade some of my classmates and I decided we were going to do a play of the Wizard of Oz for our class. We cast roles, rehearsed, planned, conned our folks into making costumes: all without ever getting permission from the teacher to ever preform it. She said "no" our parents, knowing how much work we had all put into it, talked her into sparing a bit of time over 2 days for us to preform it in two parts. I was the tin-woodsman and have always had a soft spot for the character. So here is the moment (with text from the book) Dorothy and Scarecrow find the Woodsman rusted stiff.


Free Comic Book Day:
Had a great time signing at Green Brain Comics in Dearborn, Michigan. I had free prints available for everyone, since I didn't have a Free Comic. Dan and Katie went all out to make all the guests feel well cared for. I met and sat next to James Kochalka who draws 'American Elf' and the upcoming 'Johnny Boo'. Thanks Dan and Katie for the great day!

Runners:
Sean Wang does a great book called Runners. He self published the series of five issues and later a compilation over the course of several years and with the support of his then-girlfriend/now-wife Peggy. Runners is a sci-fi adventure comic that takes a lot of it's cues from the han/chewie parts of Star Wars. When Sean found out that his 2nd Runners series would be picked up by ASP, I was thrilled to do a pin-up for him. It won't be in print for a while because it's slated for the extras section of the collected hardcover (after the issues are published) but I wanted to share it and hopefully get some new people familiar with what I find to be a great comic. The pinup is based on the flashback scenes from Sean's first story arc. They stuck with me enough I had to draw the old crew for myself.

Upcoming Appearances:
Motor City Comic Con: This weekend is the Motor City Comic Con. I'll be there all three days (though I may be leaving an hour early on Saturday to make it to a cousin's wedding) signing, meeting fans, and sketching. Motor City is always a fun show because of the close friends I have that also set up there like Jeremy Bastian and Nate Pride.

Detroit Comics Signing:
June 7th I'll be signing at Ferndale Michigan's only comic shop: Detroit Comics on Woodward from noon to three. If you are in the area, stop by!



Fan Art:
This one was e-mailed from fan Orlando Ambriz. He says he imagined Celanawe wearing clean linen robes after becoming the Black Axe.

Back from NYCC

NYCC:

I'm back from Year 3 of the New York Comic Con. It was a really fun and exhausting show. I think I only got up and wandered for a total of 2 hours the whole 3 day con. It was great to see ASP with such a large space (last year's San Diego was like being in a sardine can). And I am proud to be published by a company that boasts the creative works of A.Dave Lewis, Sean Wang, Jon Rea, MATZ, Mark Smylie, Nick Tapalansky, Alex Shiekman, Jeremy Bastian, Alex Eckman-Lawn, Grant Bond, and many many more.



Mouse Guard RPG
When I arrived in NYC on Thursday I was whisked off to Burning Wheel Headquarters where Luke Crane had me playtest the Mouse Guard role playing game. To save some time, we used sample characters and got right into an adventure. I could go on and describe the system, the situation, or the details, but instead I'll sum it up with the most important part: I had a lot of fun playing it. Thanks Luke and Thor for the dinner and adventure!

Jeremy Bastian, his girlfriend Emily, and I shared a hotel room, which was lovely. It's always nice to be able to go back to a room and relax with old friends. Saturday night Jeremy and I were each behind in con sketches and stayed up 'till the wee hours of the morning finishing them. You can see some of the stuff Jeremy did this weekend on his blog: http://jeremybastian.wordpress.com/

I was also really pleased to meet some great folks at this con. Joao Lemos, who's Avenger's Fairy Tales #1 artwork blew me away, was in from Portugal. I was pleased to exchange artwork with him and see his incredible journal/sketchbook he kept to document the Peter Pan history and his adaptation for AFT#1. (his versions of the Avengers as the Lost Boys can be seen to the right)



James Gurney has been on my list of great illustrators for some time. I discovered his work in an issue of Smithsonian magazine where he discussed his process. There were photos of his dinosaur models and gadgets and goggles he had modeled as reference for authenticity in Dinotopia. James and I have e-mailed back and forth a few times recently and I was really excited to meet him face to face. If you haven't check out his blog, it's AMAZING (and if you have checked out his blog, you know it's amazing). He posts on composition, color theory, painting techniques, model making, history, and concept thinking. It's like a refresher for all the things you wish had been explained better in a college art curriculum.

It was also fun to catch up with Runner artist/writer Sean Wang and his lovely wife Peggy. I met Sean a few years ago and read his first self-published collection of Runners on the plane ride home. I have been hooked ever since. Runners is the continuing adventures of alien smugglers, rouges, and outcasts in a sci-fi setting that brings the best parts of Star Wars, without ever crossing the line of being derivative. My favorite of Sean's characters from the book is Grissom, a smuggler from our heroes' past. Sean did this awesome sketch for me while in NY this weekend. Thanks Sean! A new Runners series will be coming this summer through Archaia Studios Press.


Upcoming Appearances:
Calgary Comics Expo:
This weekend I'll be in Calgary, Alberta (that's right, now that it's 70F in Michigan, I'm headed for 30F Calgary) for their Calgary Comics Expo! If you remember in a previous post I showed the image that would appear in their western themed artbook. I'll be signing that book, any Mouse Guard book, sketching, and meeting fans. I'll also be on a panel about being an artist with an indy published book (I don't have details on the time or date of the panel)


Free Comic Book Day!!!
May 3rd is Free Comic Book Day. I'll be at Green Brain comics in Dearborn, MI (unsure of the time yet, but I'll aim to be there by 10AM.) I'll be giving out a Free Mouse Guard print especially made for Free Comic Book Day. (I'm sorry to say that the print will not be available though sources other than Green Brain...sorry out-of-town fans, I'll try and get something out there in a national way next year) So stop by and chat and pick up some free books!

Fan Art:
This Wintery piece comes from the hand of Matt Strackbein. Thanks Matt!