Post- Motor City Comic Con

Well, I’m still rather tired after a big weekend at Motor City Comic Con, but I’ll try to say a few words about the show.  First, the show is absolutely massive!  The amount of talented people and the amount of attendees is truly amazing!  In fact, the attendance was so big this year is caused some trouble on roads leading to the convention center!  I do feel sorry for people who waited for hours to get into the show, but I hope they had a great time once they got inside.

Personally, I had a blast!  I talked with some great people, including the legendary George Perez, one of the greatest comic creators ever and the inspiration for many of my recent statuary work!  The other creators around me were great people and interacting with them made the experience fantastic!  The people who came by my table, whether they bought something or not were friendly and kind.  But an extra thank you to those who did buy something!  I am still rather awed that anyone would want to own something made by me, and very flattered that people are willing to pay some money to own my work!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!!  I’m not awed that people want to buy my wife’s creations, especially the crocheted Cthulhus, but I still thank you and so does she!  I also would like to acknowledge all the kids who show interest in the stuff on my table.  There are plenty of adults (young at heart) who buy from me, but the work that covers my table is especially kid-friendly and I love their reactions and questions about my work.

I also tried to promote my upcoming Out with Dad comic (see here for details) to as many people as I could.  Most sounded impressed so I hope they check out the series and spread the word!  And hopefully, next year when I see those folks, they can give me their reactions and reviews!

Speaking of reviews, I picked up some more comics at Motor City by some really cool creators, and I will need to review them here in the future.  I have barely started my reviews of the comics I got at SPACE last month, however, so I hope you’ll all be patient with me!

And I think I’ll end today by posting some pictures of statues I made especially for this event!

Cthuhlu, Red Skull, Beast

 



Loki, Captain America, Cyclops

 



Robin, Cyborg

 



 

Superman holding dead Supergirl, tribute to the classic George Perez Crisis cover!

Review: Blink: To go with this Door Knob: Rough cut edition

Blink: So It Goes 2- To go with this Door Knob, The Rough Cut Edition is the almost complete next chapter in the continuing saga of Blink.  Blink creator Max Ink puts together a wonderful tale and I think I loved it more because it is an opportunity to see a work in progress.  As an artist, seeing how someone else works is always interesting, and Max’s work with pen and brush is amazing.  But I get ahead of myself.  The reason this is the “Rough Cut edition” is because Max wanted something new out at the SPACE con and he wasn’t quite finished with this book.  It does include all finished dialogue and the characters are all finished inked.  The backgrounds are not all finished however, but they aren’t so vague as to make it hard to tell what is going on.  So, if you’re interested in Blink (and you should be!) I wouldn’t wait for the final version if you get a chance to buy the Rough Cut Edition.

As to the story, it features Merle, also known as Blink, as she meets some new characters and converses with them about things including life, being homeless, and Blink’s friends Sam and Hank.  Long-time Blink readers may be a little disappointed to not see Sam and Hank during the story, but they are present in the plot even though they are not physically present.  I don’t know what else to say about the story, because I think you really have to read it yourself to understand it.  But I will give away my favorite line.  It’s a description of Blink and Sam’s relationship as “A joy to behold”.

Max’s art is great.  The backgrounds, based on real locations in Columbus, are meticulously rendered and really bring you into the story.  The characters’ expressions are right on, and the storytelling is great.  You can tell Max really loves this work and puts a lot of effort into its’ creation.  I’d even say the book is “A joy to behold”!

Check out Max’s work here!

Review: OH, Comics #21, "Magic"

OH, Comics #21, “Magic”, is the 25^th anniversary issue of Bob Corby’s  great anthology.  As you can tell by the numbering, the anthology has been produced almost every year since 1988.  The book began as a collection of mostly-Ohio artists creating strips for a photocopied and hand folded and stapled small press book that was sold at the Mid-Ohio Con in benefit of the March of Dimes.  Mid-Ohio con is no longer, and I don’t know of any conventions supporting the March of Dimes anymore, but OH, Comics is still around.  It is currently published annually and premieres at Bob Corby’s SPACE Convention every spring.

But enough history.  On to the reviews!

The theme of this year’s issue is Magic, and Max Ink starts us out with a story of his great character Blink with her friends Sam and Hank discussing musicals.  The story is called “Oh, the Magic of Musicals” and the group discuss musicals from “Xanadu” to “Singin’ in the Rain” to the immortal “All that Jazz”.  The art is wonderful and the conversation is interesting and feels very real.  I must however admit I have not seen any of the movies discussed in the story except The Beatles’ “Help” and “Magical Mystery Tour”.  The latter of which is probably on the same level as Xanadu.

The second story is mine.  “The Magic Spear” pits my patriotic hero, the First Lady against a Nazi vampire.  Because I couldn’t think of anything more evil than that!

Next is “The Box Elder” by Canada Keck.  It’s the story of a magical place to read, and I can’t think of anything more magical than reading, so I give Canada the prize for the best on-theme idea in this years’ anthology.  It’s a nice, sweet story with cute artwork.

“Do You Believe in Magic” by Matt Levin incorporates classical rock lyrics, stamps, and effects to give the reader a nice experience.  I can hear the melodies as I read along.

Pam Bliss (who also drew the great cover to this issue) contributes “Clarke’s Third Law”.  A tale of science, magic, and time travel.  Great line art and characterization in this one.

Kel Crum tells a Cornelia tale about snarky up-grading people.  He does a great job making them very annoying.  I think the vast majority of us can relate to this one.

Mike Carroll’s RAINBOW characters tell about their time as Ninjas.  Really bad Ninjas as it turns out, but Mike draws great Ninjas and that’s what really matters!  There’s a also an evil Wizard in this funny tale so it even fits the theme!

Then we have “Onion City” by Sue Olcott involving a cute animal that turns invisible that meets Onion and Radish.  Yep, it’s rather odd.  But it’s magic!

Bob Corby himself anchors the book with a short little tale of Marcel the Penguin performing stage magic.  It’s helpful to know something about Bob’s characters to enjoy this.  But they’re rather cheap and available from Bob via the same website you can order OH, Comics #21 from!

Bob  promoting OH, Comics #1

Recap: SPACE 2013

Well, the Small Press and Alternative Comics Exposition (SPACE) was last weekend, and I’m currently making my way through all the really cool comics I picked up while I was there.    I plan to write my reactions to these comics here on the Fedsblog as soon as I can.  I always enjoy the small press convention very year because it’s so nice to see people who are working on their own projects, mostly motivated by the love of the art of comics more than anything else.  Here’s some pictures of various stuff:



My version of Captain Comic Book for the Elyria Comic Book Initiative

Statues I made of Mike Carroll's R.A.In.B.o.W.

Some of my clay figures

 



Out With Dad: The Lost Episode

Did you know there’s a “lost episode” of the award-winning webseries Out With Dad?  Seriously, it is absolutely true!  I am certain I remember creator/writer Jason Leaver discussing the episode in an interview or commentary sometime in the past, though I do not remember exactly where or when.

But I do know it to be true.  I know this because Jason asked me to adapt the script for the “lost episode” into a comic.  Yes!  I have the pleasure of creating what is, to my knowledge, the first official Out With Dad product outside of the webseries.  I think I’ll take some time to give a little information about the project, but not too much.  I really don’t want to spoil it before the official release!

So what I will say is this: The events in the comic take place during season 2 of Out With Dad.  The comic runs 10 pages.  I do not know the release date.  When adapting the story I have made sure not to change any of the dialogue from the script.

Finally, I will have a flier promoting the comic available at my table at the SPACE convention in Columbus this weekend, along with a little of the art available for viewing (without too many spoilers!).

And one more thing, I would like to publicly thank Jason for allowing me the opportunity to do this.  I just can’t put into words how thrilled I am to be working on this project!

F.E.D.s #17

I just finished putting together F.E.D.s #17, the final issue of vol. 1 of the F.E.D.s.  It will be available at the SPACE Convention this weekend (April 13 & 14) or it can be ordered via mail (e-mail me at Fedscomic@yahoo.com). This story resolves some plot threads that have been lingering since the early issues and leaves a lot to be resolved for volume 2.  Hopefully, the ending is quite the surprise, also!

Review: SPACE Anthology 2013 part 2

And here are my thoughts on the rest of the 2013 SPACE Anthology.

Cosmos by Seth by Christina Wald is a take on a reboot of the classic science series Cosmos.  I am a huge fan of Cosmos!  In Fact, I’m currently reading the companion book to the TV series.  Christina looks at the possible reboot apparently being done my Neil Degrasse Tyson and Seth MacFarland.  There are some interesting bits in this two-page strip.  And anything Cosmos gets a thumbs up from me!

Bamn Rob's Adventure by Troy-Jeffrey Allen & Jay Payne is a very well written story of a teenager selling a prized gaming card while wearing a Viking outfit.  I really like this story, and it didn’t grab me initially.  Well done!

End of the Rainbow by Michael Carroll tells the origin of Mike’s RAINBOW group of stick-figure misfits. This is as funny as Mr. Carroll usually is.  Boy, I think those rainbow guys would make neat clay statues…

One Scoop of Justice: Mystery of the Mailbox Monster! by Mark Mariano is a mystery about a stamp collector who is also a kidnapper.  This strip features plenty of outrageous characters and is great fun!

 Lament's Dawn by R.J. Paré & Danny Kelly is a take on Middle-Earth type creatures on the American continent.  It has a very neat artistic style.

Tecumseh in the Ohio Territory by Lee Smith is a cartoon retelling of the history of the great chief Tecumseh.  This is a great comic for a classroom! 

Three Years by Chris Charlton & David Hollenbach is a sad tale with very painterly art about a survivor of the apocalypse.  It’s very moody and has a neat ending.

Mutant Elf in Shop 'til You Drop by Steve Myers is my strip.  I hope you like it!

Welcome to Fair at New Boston by Rachel Altvater Is the story of a packer.  You just have to read it to understand.

The Last Meow by Lorenzo Ross is about a guy working for a business that sells cat items.  The business isn’t very well run, which causes problems for the narrator.

Robbery at Key Foods Redhead by R Hendricks is about two people who meet during a robbery.

And that’s it!  All the neat comics in the SPACE Anthology 2013!  I hope you check them all out and if you like it maybe buy a print copy.  For more information about the creators check out the links listed in the SPACE Anthology or the creator list on the Back Porch Comics SPACE page.