Summit City Comic-Con 2010 Recap

This con season has been amazing thus far. I had a blast at the first ever Summit City Comic-Con, held in unbelievably nice Ft. Wayne, IN. I've never been treated so well at a show before. It was absolutely amazing. The volunteers were great and of course the host with the most, Zack Kruse, was the man.

I had a really fun time on the panel with Art, Mike and Dan. Totally felt like a rockstar, even it was for only 55 minutes. The kids and adults all seemed to have fun and they asked some good questions. Big ups to John Siuntres from Wordballoon.com for moderating and keeping it interesting. I should have a video up sometime this week.

I'd also like to thank everyone who came out and supported this con in its first year. You, the fans, made it a success. You're all awesome. Thank you all for coming by the table and picking up copies of my books and hanging out and high fiving. You were all so very kind to me and made my experience at SCCC that much better.

So I got a buncha pics to share, here goes:

Da Coach. We joked in the panel that a Ditka comic needs to be made. I called dibs.
Cupcake with a stache. Basically everything I drew that day had a stache.



Even the How Stuff Happens mountains got 'stached!
Meowstache.
I think the Joker was one of the only sketches I did that didn't include some form of facial hair.
Garbage cans at every table = the most genius idea ever.

I liked this storm cloud painting I did so much that it's now the background on my phone. Wow, I have a huge ego.
It's important that kids read comics about sandwiches that solve crimes. (Thanks to Bill for the photo)
Three wonderful young ladies displaying their British R2D2.
Pop wrapped in a napkin. Classy.
Sean demonstrates the classiness.
Mike Norton's The Answer....with a handlebar mustache.


I ended the evening with some fully loaded Rally's fries. I'm sure this was very healthy.

Man, that was a lot of pictures.

So just an update on GSD #1. I announced a May 26th store release. That is partially true. Some stores will have them tomorrow. Due to the overwhelming response to the book the past two weekends at the conventions, I was left with very limited stock. So I split the remaining stock between Brainstorm Comics, The Comic Vault and Chicago Comics (at the time I'm writing this, I will be bringing them to Chicago Comics in the morning). Get Your Game On in Ann Arbor, MI also has them and may have already had them out for sale. I am placing an emergency re-order this week. When I receive them, I will be delivering copies to Tenth Planet, Challengers, Fantasy Books and then whoever else requests them. To make up for the fact that some of the stores will get delayed stock, I will be randomly inserting one of a kind artist sketch cards in various copies. So just to recap: You can go to Brainstorm, The Comic Vault and Chicago Comics tomorrow and pick up copies. All other stores will be receiving them in a couple of weeks.

How Stuff Happens #2 will be coming out June 9th (just in time for Cherry Capital Con) and will be entitled "How Toast Is Made". It's gonna be fun stuff. I'll post a preview pic up next week. There are still copies of How Stuff Happens #1 available at Brainstorm and The Comic Vault. I'm gonna work on a massive reprint soon so I can give copies to other stores as well. As for GSD #2, I have it slotted for a June 30th release date. After that, it will be going to the bi-monthly schedule with Issue #3 coming out August 18th, just in time for Chicago Comic-Con.

I suppose that's it for now. I'm super busy wrapping up GSD #2 and other projects. But I'm having such an amazing time doing this and meeting all you wonderful people. Woo!

Dave!

Hey!

See you this weekend ;)

Summit City Comic-Con Preview

Summit City Comic-Con 2010 is only a couple days away, so I decided to give you all a little preview of some of the stuff I'll have with me.

This is my contribution to the silent auction they will be holding to benefit the Hero Initiative. If you aren't aware of the Hero Initiative, click here for more info. It's an amazing cause that I'm very proud to be a part of. I urge you to bid on all the pieces that will be available from all the artists this weekend. You'll definitely be making a difference. My piece is called "The Great Sandwich Detective vs. The World" and is obviously a parody of one of the opening pages of the first Scott Pilgrim book (or for all you newbies, the movie poster featuring Michael Cera). It's watercolor and ink on 11x14 Bristol board.

All of the artists were given 10 really cool SCCC-exclusive sketch cards to draw on for the show. I went with a mustache theme for mine (big surprise). So from left to right, starting at the top, they go: Dr. Doom, The Thing, Godzilla, MODOK, Bane, Swamp Thing, Max Rebo, Sinestro and Kilowog. They are all done in blue sketch pencil with some being outlined or inked entirely. If you'll notice, one card is missing. I left that card blank for a reason. Just like the Robocop drawing I held at Motor City, I'm doing a drawing this weekend. If you stop by my table and purchase anything (sketch, comic, print, etc.), I'll enter your name into a cup. I'll pick a winner about a half hour before the show is over and that winner gets to pick what I draw on the 10th card and then I will hand that card over to said person. Only exception is I'm gonna draw a mustache on whatever character you pick. Y'know. You can also enter by donating $1 to the Hero Initiative.

Also for sale this weekend will be copies of The Great Sandwich Detective #1, How Stuff Happens #1 and leftover Robocop prints from Motor City. I will also be doing sketches for $1 and small paintings for $3. I will be be open to doing commission work but seeing as the show is only one 8 hour day, I'll more than likely have to take that work home with me and then mail it to you. I'll also have my portfolio with me which includes some original art I'm willing to part with.

I'll also have an exclusive Summit City Comic-Con print for sale. It will be printed on white, matte cardstock and individually numbered. I will have 40 of them with me. They will be watercolor and ink. I don't know the exact sizing yet as I'm still working on it. I'll will have an exact size plus a picture of it posted by tomorrow night. It is going to be How Stuff Happened-related and super cool.

Another thing I'm really excited about is the All Ages Comics panel I'm going to be part of. I will be joining Art Baltazar (Tiny Titans), Mike Norton (Billy Batson & The Magic Of Shazam) and Dan Davis (Cartoon Network) in a Q&A panel about All Ages/Kids comics. It's an interactive panel with hopes that the little ones will get involved and ask us all kinds of questions. I'm really humbled and honored to be a part of this, especially since it's my first ever panel. My friend will be taping it and we'll post it online next week. That takes place from 11-11:55 AM. So I'll be in the Artists Alley for the first hour of the show, then the panel for about an hour and then back in the Alley. Really looking forward to it.

I guess that's just about it in terms of SCCC. You can check out the official website for more info including the guests and other panels and events taking place that day.

My convention schedule is getting busier. I'll be heading back to the Mitten State next month for Cherry Capital Con in Traverse City, MI, June 12th & 13th. It's gonna be a great show with some great guests (cough-Steve Dillon-cough). I'll also be at Kokomo Con in Kokomo, IN on October 23rd and I plan on also attending Mid-Ohio Con in November. I'll keep my calendar updated with those dates.

Well, that was a lot of words. Time to get back to painting and preparing for this weekend. High fives and see you this weekend!

Dave!

Motor City Comic-Con 2010 - Day 3!

And so another Motor City Comic-Con comes to a close. I had such a blast this year that I'm bummed it went by so fast. I wish I could do shows like that every day. I'd like to thank all the awesome people who came by the table and hung out this weekend. I'd like to thank all the creators I met who were so unbelievably nice to me. Hearing Sergio Aragones compliment your comic book is a hard thing to accept as reality.

So I'll get back to the grind and work more on the GSD #2 this week. I expect it to be in stores on June 30th. And remember, Issue #1 comes out in the Chicagoland areas as well as some other random stores on May 26th. If your local shop would like to carry it, please contact me and I'd be glad to send them copies.

Well, only 5 more days 'til the next convention! See you at Summit City Comic-Con next weekend!

I leave you with some more awesome pictures. Woo!

Another good morning breakfast? Ehh, not so much this time.
I added this Yoda to a dude's amazingly awesome Yoda sketchbook. If you ever wanna feel pressure before you go to draw in someone's sketchbook, flip through the first few pages and see a Jeff Smith sketch in there. True story.
This is for a very special lil' lady named Faith who is bravely battling leukemia. She is a real deal superhero!
Neil Gaiman's Death, or as I like to call her, Lady Robert Smith From The Cure.
A lady had me do this Darth Maul for her grandson and then totally forgot to come pick it up later in the day. Kind of a bummer. Oh well, I'll paint it and put it up for sale next weekend!
Sergio has a glorious mustache already but even he couldn't resist trying on one of the free cookiedusters.
Max Brooks wants to remind you to not panic, and to grow a 'stache on your forehead. (Thanks to Braden for this one!)
I do not encourage the use of mustaches to vandalize things at conventions. Okay, well, maybe a little.
Dudepool.
Braden was our mustache man on the streets.






I should have some more pictures popping up randomly throughout the week. If you have any cool ones, send em my way!

Dave!

Motor City Comic-Con 2010 - Day 2!

Another rip-roaring day at Motor City Con 2010. Today was even more awesome than yesterday. Tons of traffic in the Artists Alley. I love it. The 'staches were a huge hit, even drawing the attention of Maryann from Gilligan's Island! Oh yeah! So tomorrow is sadly the last day so I'm hoping to meet even more awesome people. So if you haven't already, come by and give me a high five or hug and get a sketch or something. And if you have already, just come back again! So here's the bunch of pictures I promised. Enjoy.

Good morning to me.
Squirrel!
Scott Pilgrim sketch card I did for fun. Come by and buy it or else Sean is gonna steal it from me!
Ryan as the Vegan Lantern.


Our team of mustachioed friends:

Our mascot of Day 2, complete with a monacle!
Sand 'stache!
I want your 'staaaache, I need your 'staaaache.
Somehow Freddy's 'stache didn't get burned off in the boiler room!
Batstache!







I ended the evening with some hot dogs and chili-cheese fries. Mmmmm.

Well, time to go party with my fellow geeks and have a few soda pops!

Dave!
MCCC '10