DIGESTATE anthology!

It's official. We will be releasing the DIGESTATE food & eating themed anthology at this year's Small Press Expo in September. I will be spotlighting each of the artists on this blog in the following weeks leading up to publication. See a list of confirmed contributors (there are a few that may be added in at the last minute) by clicking on the image above.

We'll be doing a Kickstarter campaign to raise the money for printing, so please check back for details.

P.S. The Taco Head guy on this image was drawn by the indomitable Victor Kerlow, esq.

SPX & New Comic!!

Oh man, it's been a while since I've written anything here. But that's for good reason. I've been working sun up to sun down to finish a new mini comic in time for SPX this weekend. I just now handed it over to the printer, so hopefully I'll be able to get them assembled, stapled and trimmed in time before we leave for Maryland tomorrow.

I'll be sharing a table (B13 - see map) with Sophia Wiedeman again. Unfortunately she hasn't had time to complete the next chapter of her "Lettuce Girl" story, which I was really looking forward to reading. That said, if you don't have the first chapter (or her other comics), c'mon by and pick it up!

My new one is sort of, but not really, a sequel to the "Tales of Good Ol' Snoop Doggy Dogg" mini. It is another collection of dreams (one of which features Snoop...again!), but this time there all sorts of celebrities (Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dick Cheney, Roseanne Barr, Henry Rollins and Snoop) and the stories are longer and more developed. It's 20 pages and only a piddling four dollars. Oh, and it's called "It's Dream Time, Snoop Doggy Dogg". I know he goes by the abbridged "Snoop Dogg" these days, but "Snoop Doggy Dogg" sounds better in this context, I think.

Major thanks are due to Karen. The last few days she's done the lion's share of watching Lulu, and I suppose she'll do a little more of that while I'm selling at SPX. We're staying with our old pal Dr. Sara Markese, so Karen gets to hang out with her BFF while I'm at the convention.

Review of Losers Weepers #1 on Comics Should Be Good!

Brian Cronin of Comics Should Be Good! gave a fantastic review to the first issue of Losers Weepers. To summarize, he says that the comic works as a story even if you remove the 'gimmick' of it being based on found letters & journals. I went into the project knowing that it could easily turn out poorly if the story linking these various unrelated writings wasn't strong enough to stand on its own, so it's rewarding to hear that I was successful in pulling it off (at least according to a handful of reviewers!). I hope he enjoys issue #2 and the forthcoming issues as well.

Speaking of, I'm nearing completion of another dream comic (this one featuring Dick Cheney). I don't know if I'll be able to finish the other two comics to complete the collection in time for SPX (September 11th & 12th), but I'm trying my damndest. So far, I've completed the dreams featuring Snoop Dogg and Arnold Schwarzenegger. That leaves Roseanne Barr and Henry Rollins. I may not have time to complete both, so please weigh in on which you'd rather see, and I'll start on that first.

Reviews in High Low / Brooklyn Comics & Graphics Festival

Rob Clough reviews a bunch of comics he picked up at SPX including "Old Man Winter & Other Sordid Tales", "Tales of Good Ol' Snoop Doggy Dogg" and "Losers Weepers #1" on High Low (click to read it).

He also reviews my table-mate Sophia Wiedeman's "My Terrible Tearable Heart", new comic friend L. Nichol's "Jumbly Junkery #7" and "J J #8", both of which I just picked up this weekend at the Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival, as well as Julia Wertz's excellent "Legend of Rebob Mountain", Noah Van Sciver's depressingly funny eponymous mini comic and Jeff Zwirek's beautifully designed "Pinstriped Bloodbath" anthology of Chicago artists, all of which I also picked up at SPX.

The Brooklyn Comics & Graphics Festival was the first local fest that I haven't had a table at this year, and I was very upset by that fact. Of all the cons I've attended, this one seemed to jibe with my personal aesthetic the most. Nothing against traditional super-hero comics, but they're just not my bag and there were none to be found at this particular con. There were only about fifty or so exhibitors, and they seemed to all be really great. The place was packed the entire three hours I was there, and I almost couldn't make it to the next table without running into friends. There was no fee to get in, which undoubtedly helped combat the fact that it was sort of hailing outside.

I picked up some wonderful looking new (to me, anyway) comics at the con including a bunch of new ones from Matt Wiegle, an absolutely insane looking one called "I Want You" by Lisa Hanawalt that features lots of anthropomorphic animals wearing human clothing (one of my own favorite things to draw) and a new anthology featuring a two-pager about pigeons by yours truly. The anthology is called "SuperTalk", and it has pieces by some really really great artists that I've had the pleasure of working with in the past.

King Con

Me n' Sophia shared a table at King Con in Brooklyn this weekend. I had to miss the first few hours of the first day to attend a baby birthin' class (some of my least favorite birth-related phrases include "bloody show", "sweep the membrane" and "ripened cervix"), but it was in full swing once I got there.

This was a new con mostly favoring local comic artists. It was a nice change of pace from the sometimes overwhelming MoCCA and SPX. The show was small enough that most attendees perused just about every table instead of homing in on the larger small-press tables (an oxymoron?).

It seemed like Regan, the organizer, was doing just about everything herself, so there were understandably some small problems. Hopefully she'll outsource some of the work next year to save herself from a mental breakdown.

The table across from us was full of talented and especially nice folks (L. Nichols, Darryl Ay0 and Matt Wiegle, some of whom I recognized from previous conventions. I traded a bunch of comics with them, which I look forward to reading.

I'm now finishing up a new two-pager for a comics anthology slated to debut at the Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival. I wasn't able to get a table there, but maybe I'll be able to squeeze some books onto the aforementioned anthology's table (if they get one). Anyhow, I'll post that comic soon.

New reviews

I have the after-comic-convention saddies that I've heard so much about. You spend months working your butt off, hang out with tons of like-minded folks surrounded my incredible talent, and then...it's over. Back to real life where nobody around you really gives a crap about comics.

Oh well, time to get started on the next issue of "Losers Weepers".

I did get a couple of reviews while I was gone. Chris Allen reviewed "Old Man Winter" on his blog Chris Allen Online (click to read it), and Brian Warmoth reviewed "Tales of Good Ol' Snoop Doggy Dogg" on Warmoth.org (click to read). I was especially tickled by the in-depth interpretation of the influence of Schulz's "Peanuts". That reference was more or less meant as a throw-away joke for the cover and doesn't really carry through to the actual content of the stories, but Brian just about had me convinced otherwise! I have to admit that I was obsessed with "Peanuts" as a kid, so it's not hard to imagine it creeping into my subconscious and affecting everything I do.

SPX mayhem / Losers Weepers #1 now available

The Small Press Expo was this weekend, and it was a sh*t-ton of fun. I shared half a table with Sophia Wiedeman, and the other half of the table housed the incredibly talented Josh Neufeld.

He's done a ton of comic work including several pieces for Harvey Pekar's "American Splendor", and most recently, "A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge". While volunteering for Red Cross in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Josh interviewed six residents of New Orleans affected by the destruction. He's turned their stories into an incredibly dense comic that I can't wait to read (it's next on my list, but I've got to finish a couple of library books before they're due!).

I debuted a new 44 page comic called "Losers Weepers #1" (first chapter in a series) which is now available on the Birdcage Bottom Books website along with my other books.

"Tales of Good Ol' Snoop Doggy Dogg" was once again my best selling item. Ulises Farinas of The Bear Party Collective told me a relevant joke that I then told to any and everybody who was within speaking distance. I will now tell it to you because it is awesome:
Q: What's brown and rhymes with 'Snoop'? A: Dr. Dre

Mini Comics: Tools O' The Trade

In preparation for SPX this weekend, I've been assembling mini comics like a maniac. Three tools have made my life so much easier that I felt I must give them a proper shout-out.

1. INDUSTRIAL PAPER-CUTTER

This guy is phenomenal. He cost $130 ($30 of it was shipping 'cause it's heavy), which isn't too much more than one of those crummy guillotine style dudes you get at Staples or whatever. "Yusef", as I call him, (a tribute to Cat Stevens, who wrote "The First Cut Is The Deepest"...he later changed his name to Yusef when he became a devout Muslim) can cut up to 400 pages at once!!!! I got mine on ebay, and I HIGHLY recommend getting one if you do a lot of your own assembly.

2. LONG-ARM STAPLER

Costs about $25. It can be adjusted to any length for whatever size your comics are. My only complaint is that the measuring stop mechanism that you rest the papers against while stapling sucks. It doesn't click into place or anything, so it can slide out of place. Also, the metal piece doesn't reach all the way down to the base, so paper can actually slide under it. Lastly, you have to just eyeball the measurement according to some vague markings on the top of the stapler, so it's not very exact.

3. BONE FOLDER

This would be my stage name were I a professional wrestler. It's also a very handy little tool. It ensures a nice crisp crease every time. My wife makes fun of me for owning one (apparently owning a bone folder is "nerdy"), but I swear by it.

Losers Weepers #1 - New Comic!

I'm gonna be dramatically unveiling a new 44 page comic at The Small Press Expo (SPX) in Bethesda, MD this weekend. It will undoubtedly involve fire, chihuahuas in sparkling jackets and/or levitation (the unveiling, not the comic itself).

I'll put it up for sale on www.birdcagebottombooks.com next week when I get back.

I've posted an image of the front cover, although it is being printed on green cardstock. I was going to stamp color onto the covers like I did with the Snoop Dogg comic, but it turned out looking very ugly (in my opinion). I'll have about 20 on hand that ARE stamped if you prefer those, but otherwise it's just going to be plain jane. Saves me some time, anyway.

Anyhow, hope to see you at SPX!

Review in Comic Related

A short and sweet review by Richard Krauss on Comic Related (click to read it).

Last weekend was my first time behind a table at the MoCCA festival, and it was an amazing experience. I still bought way too many books, but at least this time I was selling some to balance things out. It was so much fun to be able to talk to so many like-minded people and to meet a ton of artists I have so much respect for. My table-mate and I had such a great time that we've already reserved a table for next year.

My new mini, "Tales of Good Ol' Snoop Doggy Dogg" almost sold out, but I've still got a few copies left for sale on the Birdcage Bottom Books website. They're only a measly $three bones$, so step up!

Anyhow, I'm pretty exhausted and have a ton of work to catch up on, so I'll write in more depth later.

Review in BeacoupKevin.com

A new review of "Old Man Winter & Other Sordid Tales" on Kevin Church's BeacoupKevin.com blog (click to read it).

Short and semi-sweet. He seems to like most of it, but O.D.s on the animal-welfare theme. Chalk another vote up for "hates the cover".

I got a table at the MoCCA festival (Museum of Comic & Cartoon Art), so I'll be at both MoCCA and SPX (Small Press Expo) this year. This will be my first time as a publisher rather than a customer. I'm desperately trying to get my Snoop Dogg mini finished in time for MoCCA in three weeks. Wish me luck, I'm gonna need it.