Saturday, June 19 will be the debut the first-ever GEEKS CON, a mini-comic book convention being held inside GEEKS Comics!
GEEKS CON is FREE to attend, and will be held inside GEEKS Comics, the friendly, neighborhood, upscale comic shop in Uptown Whittier. The show runs from 12 noon-10pm, perhaps making it one of the longest, single day comic conventions around!
Uptown Whittier has plenty of restaurants and shops, and even a movie theater just down the street from GEEKS. So come on out and build a whole day around GEEKS CON.
There will be over 20 creators exhibiting at GEEKS CON, believe it or not. Independent artists who work in various mediums, such as comic books, animation, video games, fine art, web comics and probably a few others as well! For a complete list of participating artists, check out the GEEKS CON Facebook page.
I'll be bringing, besides my usual catalog of goodness, a brand-new button featuring my comic book mascot, FLOPPY the COMIC:
Copies of my brand-new WANTED:TEX-MEX mini-comic, created for my recent trip to the Phoenix Comic Con:
My current sketchbook, featuring over 40 pages of art from my sketchbooks:
And...some new items from my newest entrepreneurial, artistic endeavor. Check back later next week on this blog for pics on these one-of-a-kind items!
Geeks Comics is located at: 6747 Greenleaf Ave, Suite A Whittier, CA 90601 Ph.: 562.696.9393
GEEKS CON is Saturday, June 19 from 12 noon- 10 pm!!
Yesterday was Super Saturday for me. I participated in a Free Comic Book Day event, and attended the Opening Reception of GEEKS Comics 'Covered' group show. A full 12 hours of comics and art, and every minute was a fun time.
My day actually started out at about 9:30am, when I hit the freeways toward Rancho Cucamonga, a good 35 minutes from home. Traffic was pretty non-existent and the weather was crystal clear. As I approached the shop, I was taken back by the sheer majesty of the San Bernardino Mountains. Now that's some serious Art!
The FCBD event I went to was hosted by 4 COLOR FANTASIES, run by Chris Brady. My good friend John Narcomey Jr. split his table with me, and as usual with any time I exhibit, it's always best to have someone you actually like sitting in the trenches with you. John's a writer/artist, and the Creative Director of Hightower Comics. He's got a great outgoing persona, and I love talking comics craft, business and superhero movies with 'im. I actually recently did a pin-up for John's GHOSTFACE #3. FYI: You can order the new GHOSTFACE tpb via Indy Planet!
John Narcomey, representin'!
Me, being...me.....
Chris had told me he puts on a pretty big show for FCBD, but Jeez Louise, it was mind-boggling to actually be in the eye of the storm! Here's a shot I took from a stairwell across the driveway:
On the left, with the 'Free Comic Book Day' sign, is Chris' store, 4 Color Fantasies. To the right is the sectioned off parking lot with tents for creators, Star Wars 501st Legion, Hamburger vendor, kid's jumper, local library booth, $1 back issue bins, face make-up booth, photo op area for costumed characters and a few more I'm missing!
I swear, the event started at 11am, and by about 3 pm, there were still people in line to get free comics. Tons of kids and families and the usual comic fans. I got to meet lots of new readers, and even got commissioned for an interesting idea:
This gentleman asked if I could create a drawing for his friend, whose a minister. He showed me a pic of his friend via a Blackberry, and I went ahead and made this sketch. The guy was really happy with it, and was looking forward to give it to his friend. I had fun doing this.
People, people, everywhere!
The Scorpion (Spider-Man villian), Vixen of the Justice League and Kick-Ass, with a young comic fan. There were several costumed characters throughout the day posing with fans for photos in this area.
Chris Brady, and his army of volunteers deserve a huge amount of gratitude and recognition for putting on such a stellar event. I can imagine the logistics, and cost, to have put on this event. Those 'free' comics aren't free to the retailers, and with about 20 creators showing up, plus all his other vendors and participants, Chris really had his hands full. But he does this because he loves comics, he's a totally professional retailer, and he's always trying to connect the community with this wonderful artform.
After we packed up all our gear, John and I drove over to Whittier, as we had an art show to attend to! After a relaxing break at Brickhouse Pizza (quickly becoming a standard if you're a local comics creator), we waltzed over to GEEKS and met our fellow artists. Here's a group of us having a grand ol' time:
Cartooning dynamo Raul Aguirre, the host of the lively and entertaining MAN VS. ART podcast, showed up with his contribution to Free Comic Book Day, a 'Citizen Sanchez' mini comic. And he was handing out free copies to one and all!
His comic's based on his animation project, which you can see right here:
And Raul's wife Hortencia also showed up with some art of her own:
Yep, a heavenly delicious Brownie cake, with the El Muerto logo emblazoned on it. It was a belated birthday gift, and it was a very nice gesture. Class acts, Señor and Señorita Aguirre! Many thanks!
I unfortunately didn't take more photos of the artwork on display, but the show will be up for a few weeks. I'll post some pics later. Here's one of a kid clutching a copy of the kid friendly MANGA MUERTO! His parents asked about my work, and I directed them to this particular book.
It was nice chatting with some of the patrons, and with my fellow artists. By the time I left GEEKS, it was about 11pm, some 12 hours after the FCBD event began at 4 Color Fantasies. Not a bad way to spend a full day. And topping it off with some homemade Brownies, well, c'mon now!
Well, you've most likely read my two blog posts about the Opening Reception to my art show, COMIC POP. If not, PT 1 is here, and PT 2 is here.
My show opened April 3, and one week later in Whittier, CA, my good friend, JIM LUJAN, had the opening for his art show, EVERYDAY PEOPLE, at GEEKS Comics. I was glad to attend, and it was quite the event. Tons of everyday people showed up to see, and buy, Jim's great paintings of real-life sport stars as well as characters from his awesome animated films.
Besides meeting some of Jim's family and friends, there were several of the Cartoonistas in attendance, showing support and having a great time. Jim and I co-founded the Cartoonistas a few years back, and it's been great to see the group grow with a rich diversity of artists enhancing the whole group.
But I'm actually more pleased when I see the individual artists grow, because in reality that's what makes an artist better. And of course, as each artist evolves and expands their talents, it only makes the Cartoonistas as a whole an even stronger group.
Congrats to Jimmy on his first solo art show, and I expect to see a whole new career for this amazingly talented and unique artist. As long as he remains one of my best friends, I don't care how rich and famous he gets!
Here's the most recent episode of CARTOONISTA RADIO, where Jim and I interview one another about each other's art shows!
GEEKS Comics in Whittier is going to be ground zero for all kinds of coolness this weekend!
I'll be conducting a free seminar on self-publishing comics on Saturday at 2pm!
Also just added to my appearance at GEEKS, I'll have freshly printed copies of both MAN-SWAMP and ZOMBIE MAN ZERO for sale! Ted Seko, creator of ZOMBIE MAN ZERO, and myself, the creator of MAN-SWAMP, have created a new imprint, and these two books are the first titles to be released. Buy your copies at GEEKS before they're made available to the whole world via the upcoming, online Xomix Comix shop!
And if that's not enough excitement for one day, Saturday is also the day of the Opening Reception for cartoonist Rafael Navarro's one-man exhibit, NAVARRO NOIR!
The reception starts at 7pm. Rafael will of course be there, and you'll even find me hanging around that evening, along with a few other L.A. area cartoonist types.
If you live in the area, and you're curious about publishing your own comics, come on down to GEEKS comics in Whittier on September 5. I'll be hosting a one-hour FREE talk about self-publishing. Thanks to GEEKS for hosting this, and for providing this opportunity to upcoming comic creators!
This evening I put up the two-man art show me and my nephew Christian will be exhibiting at GEEKS comics in Whittier.
When I proposed the show to my nephew he was extremely excited (which turned into nervousness once he realized the show was set in stone!). He's shown his work at student art shows in high school and has displayed, and sold, some pieces at his local art walk. But this is his first proper exhibit, and in conjunction with me, his good ol 'Uncle J'.
For the last several weeks we've both been working on our paintings. Some of mine were based on ideas I've has in my sketchbooks featuring the many characters that I come up with. Sometimes I think the ideas may work as a comic, maybe even a cartoon. But for now they'll have their debut in the form of paintings. Here's one (which regular readers of JAVZILLA will remember from this previous post):
The lurid colors for this piece came to me from discussing with some friends the funky color choices from old 1970s cartoons, in particular the wonderfully wild palette for the PLANET OF THE APES cartoon:
Okay, back to our regularly scheduled blog post!
Here's the piece, by Christian Silva, my nephew, that I think is the star attraction of the show (and the pic doesn't capture the detail and nuances of the piece)...
I really love this piece. It's packed with emotion, and I'm sure, insights that only the artist who created it has. Strong clash of color and a free-form style of expression that really inspires me. I was comparing his style from the way I usually paint. I often go for one bold image with a strong choice of bright colors, and some sort of symmetry in the design. Christian's approach is to layer a painting with several images at a time, often with an underdrawing showing through. He'll add text throughout the piece, and all the while using different mediums: acrylic, marker, even ballpoint pen. I started thinking that since I do comics, I use that medium to tell a story with pages and panels and word balloons. His pieces remind me of one-panel compilations: text and images are all overlapped together on the canvas, giving the viewer fragments of the whole story known only to the creator of the piece. I'll have to ask him on Saturday what he thinks of my 'theory'.
If you're in the Whittier area, please come visit us at GEEKS, Saturday night, May 23 from 7-10pm for our show!
Last night's opening night for the month-long CARTOONISTAS art show was a rollickin' good time! The show is hosted by GEEKS comic shop, located in the historic Uptown Whittier section of my fair city.
GEEKS hosted the Q&A for the Uptown Whittier Film Festival screening of EL MUERTO earlier this year. Saturday evening's festivities brought it's own type of fun. All but one of the exhibiting CARTOONISTA's attended (Jose Cabrera was out of town). As usual with these type of events, my picture-taking moments were sporadic at best. But here are some shots:
WILL CAULFIELD with a digital print of his one and only BAT-BAT!
Me an' JIM LUJAN, fun-lovin' and multi-tasking animator/cartoonist.
Jim had several pieces in the show, all from his classic 'Security Man' toon. Jim's other claim to fame is that he came to me with the dream of uniting area artists into a league that would rival, well, the Mafia, in terms of impact on American culture! I was honored to co-found the Cartoonistas with him. ( Check out the Cartoonistas blog Jimmy maintains for more pix and a cool little video he made...)
Me and Steve Romo, another Whittier artist. Steve actually colored Jim's 'Security Man' pieces, using a real nice application of watercolor. You can see a couple of the pieces above us.
I created three new paintings for the show. One being the first-ever Demolition Dove painting. Appropriate to create it for an Independence Day weekend opening. And in an egg-shaped (well, okay...oval) canvas!
And in honor of their new movies, or perhaps in homage to their classic tv shows I grew up on, Speed Racer and The Incredible Hulk!
A few years ago I had the good fortune to have been contacted by an old friend of mine from my High School days. Raul teaches at a local elementary school in the area, and I've been visiting his class every June for the last three years. Last week he and his wife hosted a little get together at their home. Among the attendees was myself and a mutual friend of ours I had not seen since 1984! My best friend from Jr. High School and into High School, Elias Hernandez! Well, both Raul and Elias came to the opening. The Whittier High School Class of 1984!
Elias, (on the right) and I seemed to have seamlessly picked up where we left off 24 years ago! He still has a box of comic books he collected when I got him into comics. THE HUMAN FLY, Jack Kirby's ETERNALS, SHE-HULk, etc. Wow, the memories are crystal clear and they come flooding back. Very nice to be able to have the three of us long-time Whittier residents finally hook up at the same time again! See guys, all them comics and drawing led me to something cool!
This was a very special night for me personally, no doubt. Sure, I'm always glad to have a chance to exhibit my artwork. And to share the space with so many great artists, especially in our first Cartoonistas group show, that was really gratifying. And having friends dating back to 1980, well, it makes one glad to be alive.
By 10:30pm, everyone had finally cleared out! Here are the final five, starting from the left: Tony Saxon (a friend I met back in college, which would be about....sheesh, 1989/90!), Jennifer and Sal (Sal is another friend from High School that I ran into about 2 years ago. He and I, and a few other artists, formed an art/discussion group called Cesos!), and on the far right, Bernyce Talley (an artist herself, and a best friend to me for several years now....)
Thanks to all the artists and friends for coming out that night. And thanks to GEEKS for hosting the show. The exhibit will be up until August 3rd, so please visit the store if you can!
This is the first-ever group art show for the Cartoonistas!
The Cartoonistas is a group of San Gabriel Valley artists/cartoonists/animators that I helped co-found with my friend Jim Lujan, web-toonist extraordinaire. Jimmy had a dream to unite his fellow creative individuals from our area. Well, who am I to not help another artist with his dream of cartoon glory? We're still slowly putting the group together, but we had a chance to partner with Geeks during their 2nd Year Anniversay Sale this Independence Day Weekend so here we are! We know a great opportunity when we see one!
I'll post more about this event in a few days (I'll even include a pic of one of the new paintings I'm creating for this show!).
